Social Networking Risks and Challenges for Small Business Owners

social networking risks and challengesEveryone knows the benefits of being active members in social networking sites. The huge opportunities brought forth by social media blasts for promotion is almost too good to be true for small business owners. The temptation of free publicity it seems is too much to not give in.

While there are various articles on how good social networking is, there are regrettably, some negative sides to it as well. I am in no way attempting to dissuade anyone from being active in social networking sites. However, it is imperative that every business owner who goes all out in tweeting, posting and sharing know the risks before jumping into the fray.…

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How To Combat And Learn From Negative Feedback

learning from negative feedback

Negative reviews and feedback for a small business can have a greater impact today than ever before due to the increased use and accessibility of the Internet. Unfortunately, one negative review can turn consumers away, but with the right proactive approach, negative reviews don’t need to have a huge impact on your business and can even be viewed in a positive light by incorporating the following into your reputation management campaign.

  • Confirm the legitimacy of the claim. Unfortunately, some do attempt to make other businesses look bad for personal gain, so first confirm the legitimacy of any negative feedback you receive.
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8 Things You Need To Know About Social Networking

social networking tips

Social networking has taken the business world by storm. From Facebook sharing to tweeting to actually attending seminars and meet-ups, the goal has always been to be more visible. Social networking is more than just having a consistent online presence. Offline interaction is as important as online engagement.

Social networking should not in any way be misconstrued as a replacement for face-to-face interaction. It is a marriage of your business’ on and offline persona. Belonging in communities which foster growth for your business is not only a way to let people know that your business is “out there”, it would also serve as your support group, your security blanket for a very unpredictable and often harsh realities of the business industry.…

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Implement Workplace Diversity In 5 Easy Steps

ethnic diversity in the workplaceThere are more and varied types of individuals in the workplace today than ever before. Along with various social and cultural challenges this diversity brings, the psychology of understanding people from various backgrounds and experiences can spell the difference between an advancing company and one stuck doing things the way they have always been done.

Instituting an effective workplace diversity plan need not be an overwhelming challenge if its directives are taken seriously by all involved. Those in charge of such implementation need only impress the earnestness of the overall organization, its management and leadership in contributing to the successful integration of all types of individuals into its workforce.…

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Creating A Socially Responsible For-Profit Company

We have all heard about corporate social responsibility and we all know how important it is to give back to the community. In fact, there are various initiatives led by large companies such as HSBC, IBM and yes, even American Idol has joined the fray.

creating socially responsible for-profit

One might say that it’s all good for businesses who earn big money to lend a helping hand to the community but should small business owners be exempt from participating in this noble and worthy cause just because we aren’t in the same financial boat? Should social consciousness be calculated based on how much a company is earning per capita?…

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What The Panda Google Algorithm Change Means To Small Business Owners

In February 2011, Google made big news on the Internet by publishing an algorithm change for search engine relevancy.  By and large this was designed to punish duplicate content farms that re-purpose the same written content over and over in different forms.

I’ve seen plenty of panicked content online about what this means to e-marketers and website developers, but little in the way of how small business owners can capitalize on the Google algorithm change.

Winners and Losers

There were plenty of losers that aggregate informational content that are now scrambling to learn what has happened and re-strategize ways to defeat the Google changes.  …

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How The Alternative Work Schedule Can Help Your Company

As a small business owner, you’re always looking for ways to keep operating costs down while retaining people, right? Have you ever considered alternative work scheduling?

As technology progresses and jobs become more reliant on that technology, working without having to actually be in the office doesn’t just become a more viable option, it becomes a more attractive one that people all throughout your company can benefit from if the right sort of alternative scheduling is implemented.

alternative work schedules

There are a number of different ways to approach this idea. Some businesses practice compressed weeks that allow for more hours in a day in exchange for fewer days a week, while others give employees the option to work whenever they want, wherever they want outside of “core” hours or days where a presence at the office is necessary for things like meetings.…

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6 Simple Ways To A Greener Business

6 ways to a green business

Start-ups to large enterprises are looking for ways to be greener businesses. Aside from the fact that your company does its share to preserve and nurture the environment, it is also good for business since it would allow you to conserve resources which means, more savings.

We cannot control underlying forces which are responsible for price hikes of almost everything from gas prices to energy costs. However, what we can control is our usage. I am not a full-blown nature advocate. What I am an advocate of is sustainable and growing businesses.

Without further ado, here are 6 simple ways you can increase your business’ bottom line by running a greener business:

  1. Turn off all your equipment when not in use.
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Reduce The Risk Of Employee Fraud

reduce the risk of employee fraudIn any business – small or large, good or bad economy – internal theft or employee fraud can occur.   Actually, in my experience, I have seen more employee fraud occurring in small to medium-sized businesses because there is a greater level of trust, a less formal process at times, greater familiarity with each person in the company, and a greater breadth of duties for each employee.

While the percentage of employees committing fraud may be low, I have seen some small businesses devastated and almost have to close their doors because of one or more employees who stole from them.

Types of Employee Fraud

There are a few types of employee fraud that are prevalent in small businesses.  …

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Why SMBs Should Outsource Their ERP

Outsourcing an ERP system (enterprise resource planning) was once thought of something that only large, corporate businesses would venture in but the benefits of outsourcing ERP systems have now caught the attention of smaller companies.   Smaller companies are finding that the improved efficiencies in implementing an ERP system are more than covering the cost of outsourcing their ERP.

outsourcing ERP systems

Before we look at the benefits of outsourcing, it would be beneficial to look at what exactly outsourcing your ERP means to SMBs. This can be broken down into three basic stages:

Application hosting – This is hosting in its traditional form and is the component of hosting which most people will be familiar with.…

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