A few weeks back, I wrote an article about buying new computers for your business. Ironically enough, I recently had to purchase a new computer for my business. Before I discuss the computer itself, you need to know a bit about my approach to technology. I like change in general, but technologically I don’t. If … Read more
Your business probably needs software. Before you let a business software vendor come in, demo, and sweet talk you into purchasing their “solution,” you need to figure out if what they are selling is a solution, or more headaches. Starting a business is a difficult decision, and something as innocuous as buying a software solution … Read more
I think everyone has been on the receiving end of an enraged maniac shouting in their ear on the telephone. The reasons for it occurring are probably infinite, but it doesn’t change the fact that it happened. In addition to this obvious fact, there is another obvious fact, you probably weren’t overjoyed about it. Few … Read more
Your business will need a new computer. This is a fact for nearly all businesses, but many small businesses lack the technical resources to know what to do once the computer has been purchased. This is a simple guide designed to help the small business owner who has just purchased or will be purchasing a … Read more
When times get tough, stores find creative ways to save money, but they also try to reduce the visibility of it as much as possible. One trick that has always worked was lowering the amount of inventory that they carry on hand. This can be accomplished a number of ways, such as “fronting shelves”, which … Read more
Starting a business is both an exciting and scary point in your life, but you may not be sure what kind of business to start. You might ask yourself many questions including: Are there small business ideas can I afford? What small business ideas do I have time to do? Which small business ideas fit … Read more
Over the last week or so we’ve discussed why people are scared to start a business, and we’ve also discussed some of the processes behind starting a website. Once you get past the fears of starting your business, you need to know how to lead that business with discipline! Discipline is one of those things … Read more
Have you ever awoken from a nightmare that felt so real, that you actually felt relieved when you realized it was only a dream? Many people each day wake up to a similar crushing fear, but theirs’ is not caused by a bad dream, but instead by a feeling of helplessness, and despair. Each … Read more
Starting a website isn’t difficult, but starting a successful website certainly is. Some of the steps below won’t apply in all cases, but I think that this is an excellent primer for anyone who has never created a website. Starting a Website Your Website Concept Your website concept may come from an entirely different source than mine … Read more
If your internet service provider went down, your electricity went out, or your credit card processing went down, what would you do? If you don’t know, then your business may be lacking a backup plan. More formally, this could be considered a part of Business Continuity Planning (BCP) or Resiliency Planning. Resiliency planning can cover a … Read more
Recently, I published an article about how the 9 to 5 hours might be killing your business, but today I was reminded of another business killer that I’ve encountered: your sales force. According to Advertising Age, a Consumer Reports study found that 65% of people surveyed acknowledged being “Tremendously Annoyed” by a rude salesperson. Rude … Read more
What happens when you want to make a change? You either: Donate money to a cause Volunteer somewhere Or, start a Non-profit organization What if you wanted to make a change but use a standard, for-profit business model? While this has been a very taboo topic in the past, I wanted to discuss some of … Read more
Are the 9 to 5 hours right for your business? The more important question is: are those hours killing your business? If one of the problems with your business is the number of customers walking in the door, then this is definitely a question that you need to ask yourself, and you most certainly need … Read more
Our article “Making Money on Etsy” was extremely popular, so I thought it would be good to follow up with some additional information to help make your business more successful. Etsy is an online marketplace where you can buy and sell handmade and vintage items. It is a wildly popular marketplace that has allowed many … Read more
A time will come in our business where you may need to decide whether you should hire an employee or not. This can happen for any number of reasons: Business is picking up Your available time is less You don’t have time for administrative or clerical things Your expertise isn’t adequate for the particular job. … Read more
It wasn’t long ago that Twitter was a tiny, bird-sized service that was used for novelty’s sake, but now, it has become a one million pound whale of a service that is hard for your business to ignore. Over the last few weeks, I’ve been writing extensively about Twitter, and Twitter marketing, and I thought … Read more
If you’ve heard the phrase “you can’t please all the people all the time” then you know my stance on Mass Market strategies. But first, what is a mass market strategy? Mass Marketing Essentially, it is a plan to target the market in its entirety and neglect sub-markets (market segments). What this creates is … Read more
In part 2 of our 3 part series on Twitter for businesses, we talked about the primary functions available in Twitter such as: Finding people to follow Getting followers Retweeting Direct Messaging At-ing (@) Hash Tags (#) These are the main functions that you will use on Twitter, and the fundamentals you will need to … Read more
In Part 1 of this 3 part Twitter series, we discussed what Twitter is, why it is important, and how it can help your business. In this part, we are going to build on that information by covering the fundamentals you will need to wade your way through Twitter. First, we will start with finding … Read more
This is the 1st part of our 3 part series on Twitter for businesses. In this part we are going to talk about Twitter basics such as: What is Twitter? How Can Twitter Help My Business? Why is Social Networking Important to my business? How do I get started on Twitter? These are the absolute … Read more
Last time, we talked about Business Tablets, how they can be productive, and how you can use them to your advantage. Not everything is rainbows and unicorns when it comes to tablets though. Tablets, despite their diminutive size, have a dark side. I talked about how productive you can be with a tablet, assuming you … Read more