Too Many Passions?
Entrepreneurs are known for forging ahead with an unshakable determination to live their passion. They spend countless hours pursuing their goals, but what happens when there are too many passions to sort through? To succeed, you need to assess where you want to spend your energy and concentrate on one career path to follow. Entrepreneurs…
Read MoreTax Rules for Turtle Businesses
No, this term doesn’t refer to pet stores or turtle farmers. It refers to small business owners who carry their businesses on their backs. They work from Starbucks or mobile homes. I couldn’t find any statistics on turtle businesses, but I know a number of them. From a tax perspective, what does this mean? Mobile…
Read MoreI’m Not Your Sweetie, Honey, or Darling!
I recently had a call with a representative in the billing department of a vendor who provides technology services to my business. Before I go any further, think of the expected tone of a customer service interaction in regards to technology. I expect a professional communication. While the representative was very polite and helpful, she…
Read MoreWe’ve Lost 17% of Our Social Traffic in the Last 12 Months, But…
This title is of course reminiscent of the now famous Buffer article recently published entitled “We’ve Lost Nearly Half Our Social Referral Traffic in the Last 12 Months.” You read that right; Buffer lost nearly 50 percent of their social traffic, year-over-year. How could this be? What’s happening out there in social land? The article opines…
Read MoreHow to Pick Your Shots When Advertising a Small Business
Almost every small business and startup faces a single problem and it’s one that gets very little attention in articles like these: How can you compete against bigger or more established businesses? If you only pay attention to the conventional wisdom that is most often articulated in advice articles, it will make marketing or advertising…
Read MoreCyber Shoplifting is Affecting Both Retailers and Consumers
There is a phenomenon sweeping through the ecommerce environment, and it’s negatively impacting everyone involved. Friendly fraud and illegitimate chargebacks have negative ramifications for consumers, merchants, financial institutions and card networks. The Good and the Bad First, the good news. Between 2012 and 2014, the number of ecommerce sales increased by 40 million. By 2018,…
Read MorePaid Advertising 101: Understanding the Basics of Advertising on Social Media
An age-old advertising industry aphorism notes how ad spend follows eyeballs, and these days all eyeballs are on social media. According to data from eMarketer, Advertisers worldwide will spend $23.68 billion on paid media to reach consumers on social networks in 2015, a 33.5% increase from 2014. By 2017, social network ad spending will reach $35.98…
Read MoreDo You Meet People and Subscribe Them to Your List?
Dear Business Person I Just Met, It was lovely to meet you at that business networking (or other) event. When I gave you my business card, though, I was hoping to communicate with you. I did not expect you to subscribe me to your list. I wasn’t interested in you communicating at me, but rather in furthering our…
Read More6 Valuable Tips to Improve Customer Service
There are many different aspects of your role as a customer service representative, regardless of whether it’s face-to-face or on the telephone. Understanding some of the key tips that improve customer service will enable your team to do their job better. Here are 6 valuable tips to improve customer service in your organization: 1. Make people feel welcome…
Read MoreWhoa. Wow! Hmmm. Yes! (How Steve Jobs Got It Right)
Credit Dr. Mark Goulston with this headline. Mark teaches that there is a process to innovation that can be summed up with these four words. In fact, he states, that’s exactly how Steve Jobs described his “aha moment.” So let’s paraphrase Mr. Jobs as we describe this process. Jobs was invited to Xerox Parc research…
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