General articles

When customers can easily comparison shop online with a few mouse clicks, the notion of loyalty seems almost old fashioned. Your best customers are someone else’s most sought-after prospects. Big companies have adopted a fancy term for addressing the problem, called “customer retention management” or CRM. Massive amounts of time and energy are devoted to […]

If you are involved in a small business that is also a family business, you’ve probably heard warnings about the pitfalls of working with relatives. Operating a business with a spouse, parents, siblings, children or other family members presents many potential pitfalls over and above the usual problems business owners face. To help ensure survival

For a small business, taking the first steps into advertising can be an intimidating and mysterious process. Even though we see advertising everywhere, creating and using ads ourselves can seem alien and expensive. Understanding how the medium works and what it can and cannot do for a small business is tougher than it seems. And

Why Network? Networking is a cost effective way of putting your business on the map and expanding it. More people in your network mean more exposure for your products/services. You will also expand your sphere of influence as you connect large numbers of people to your network and have the opportunity to connect to their

In order to be a successful small business, you have to think and act like a successful business. Sounds simple, perhaps, but many small business owners and startup entrepreneurs forget this basic concept. In the face of financial adversity, they adopt a “can’t do” attitude. As leader of your business you should spread a message

Word-of-mouth is one of the best ways for a small business to attract new customers. It requires no expensive and time-consuming advertising or marketing campaigns and uses the most trusted spokesperson you could ever find for your business—a satisfied client. But while the power of word-of-mouth can drive business to your door, even if your marketing

Freelancer, sole operator, independent contractor and free agent are all terms for a similar type of small business operator with a key trait in common—all are constantly looking for new gigs to fill their time and pay the bills. For these business owners, the Internet has become a boon to finding work. Web sites that

“Do I trust him or her?” Others may ask many questions about you, but this is a key one. Trust lies at the root of building good interpersonal relations. Research into human relations proves that if trust is present, weaknesses tend to be overlooked and mistakes tolerated. Some people are trusted, and some are not,

The recession is not yet over. Business is still slow. It’s tough to find new customers. Traditional advertising just doesn’t seem to be working. What to do? First forget about finding new customers. They are expensive to acquire. Many are only price buyers and have no long term loyalty. Why bother chasing after them? Your

Everyone knows that backing up computer files is important, and most of us will face a computer crisis of some type sooner or later. But simple laziness, or perhaps a lack of information and belief that backups are too costly or time-consuming cause business owners to put it off. And that can have disastrous consequences.