Thinking about launching a startup, but scared of the legendary failure statistics? Today’s post covers the nine most common mistakes small business owners make in the first year—so you can learn how to avoid them and set yourself up for smooth seas ahead. Mistake #1: Failing to Plan By and far, the number one reason […]
Mistakes
The Tyranny of the Urgent
I have a somewhat unusual combination of education and job experience. I think I am one of the few college professors who have worked in industry as a service manager in a line management position. From that background, I have had the opportunity to consult with a number of service managers in the computer industry. […]
4 Steps You May Have Missed in Your Startup
Nowadays, it’s easier than ever to build a business. The internet is not only a resource for countless articles and how-to lists that can teach you all about running a new enterprise, but it can also function as a way to spread the word about your business or even do business. You can become a […]
Social Media Fails During a Crisis
Social media has changed the way we learn about, share and react to big events—good or bad. We rush to it to celebrate but we also rush to it when the world is in danger or a tragedy has occurred, whether it’s a natural disaster like Hurricane Sandy or acts of terror like the shootings […]
Red Flags Pointing to Black Hat SEO
The penalties for black hat SEO far exceed any short-term gains. You’re probably asking, “What is black hat SEO”? Black hat SEO is a set of practices that increases a website’s ranking on Google and other search engines. It’s done in such a way that violate the search engines rules and best practices. Whether you […]
10 Ways to Trample and Smother Business Innovation
Success in any business these days requires a constant flow of new and innovative solutions, to keep up with changes in the market, competition, and to attract new customers. Yet in my role as a small business advisor, I still see a singular focus on achieving repeatable processes and “cookie-cutter” manufacturing. I don’t believe these […]
Avoid These 3 Employee Time-Tracking Mistakes
Time tracking is one of the most important parts of your business. This is especially true for larger businesses which have a lot of employees working for them. These employees often need to adjust their shifts according to their daily routines. With the increasing popularity of time tracking and with more companies looking to implement […]
Do You Work with The Sales Team?
Like it or not, whether you work for an agency or client-side marketing department, much of your success is out of your hands. In the “you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink” analogy, it’s your job to lure the horse to the water. But you are depending on the […]
7 Common Causes of Failure to Communicate in Business
Most business mentors tell me that the single biggest problem they have to deal with in small companies is the lack of open, honest, and effective communication, both from the top down and from the bottom up. Some entrepreneurs forget that talking is not communicating. Fortunately these skills can be learned, and the barriers to […]
Caution: 3 Main Reasons for Business Failures
Running out of money Lack of planning Growing too fast There are countless scare stories out there and it’s true, many businesses don’t make it in the long run, but according to the SBA, only 30% of new businesses fail during the first two years of being open, 50% during the first five years and […]
