If you have remotely paid attention to the 2016 primary elections, you know there is something crazy going on. The two most (dare I say) hated, despised, and polarizing figures in U.S. Presidential history are vying for your vote as President. It is unimaginable that our presidential election cycle has produced history making precedents that may set the tone for years to … [Read more...]
Does Your Business Need a Live or Virtual Assistant?
Virtual assistants are all the rage these days. Generally speaking, they are cost effective, efficient, and work on an as-needed basis. The “relationship” is not complicated, and in most cases, you are paying per task. It's easy to see why this mode of contract work has become so popular. Despite popularity, virtual assistants are not right for all business owners and … [Read more...]
How to Create a Training Plan for your Employees
Hiring and retaining good employees are essential to small business growth. Many small businesses lack the resources to hire top talent and find themselves fighting for scraps in the employee gene pool. Small businesses tend to be the entry point for the unemployed and underemployed. On the rare occasion that a good employee is hired, they tend to leave for greener … [Read more...]
The Art of Competition: How Your Small Business Can Survive in a Big World
It is unfortunate when small businesses close their doors due to increased competition from large brands. The bargaining power of large companies means that they can keep their costs low by negotiating better deals on leases, taxes, goods, and services. The bottom line is that their dollars go further than yours, which in turn, means they can offer better price points or … [Read more...]
How to Know if It’s Time to Expand Your Business
Thinking about expanding your business is a big deal for obvious reasons. If your clientele is growing and you need to move to a bigger space or increase the number of employees, you need to make sure that you'll continue to operate efficiently and effectively. More importantly, you need to make sure that you don't get ahead of yourself. Growing is good, expanding without … [Read more...]
How to Save a Dying Business
The cyclical nature of business suggests that at some point, your business is going to go through a down phase---a recession and oppression that is either due to owner mismanagement or the overall economy. Many know the statistics of business failure, what is less known is the statistics of business survival. Saving a dying business that has gone through a major downturn is … [Read more...]
Why Collaboration as a Business Model Works
Over the past few months, I have had a myriad of discussions around the concept of collaboration. It has come in many different forms, ranging from finding the right clients to how to create a startup community in my city. Interestingly enough, I had three conversations in one week about how “helping each other” was a necessary and vital part of the small business community. … [Read more...]
How to Use Joint Ventures to Your Advantage
When clients approach me with helping them with their businesses, the first thing I ask is, "Who do you know well in your industry?" I ask this question because small businesses need other small businesses to help grow. The misconception in small business is that there is a 'do it all by myself' mentality. The truth is that you can grow your business as well as another’s by … [Read more...]
The Business of Charity: Where Purpose and Profit Meet
Generally, when clients approach me about starting a nonprofit organization, I try to talk them out of it. I do this for several reasons. The most important reason being that I do not think that people really understand what it means to operate a nonprofit. In my purely non-scientific assessment of non-profit founders, I find that many them have a good heart but are looking at … [Read more...]
How to Create a Plan of Action to Grow Your Business
So often I have business owners approach me with ideas and thoughts about growing their business. Often, the problem is not the lack of ideas but where to start and which ones to start with. Sometimes, business owners are so overwhelmed with options (which is a good thing) that they do not know what to do with them. So to not get overwhelmed, it's necessary to create a plan of … [Read more...]