The Clean and Simple Cloud Computing Primer for Small Businesses

Nobody likes paying for things they don’t use. From finishing a restaurant meal when you’re already full, to calculating just the number of minutes you’ll need on your phone plan, we hate to hand over our money for nothing.

In a traditional office environment, business owners are forced to estimate how much server space they’ll need as they grow, investing in expensive hardware to store company data. That’s all changed in just a few years.

cloud computing for your small business

Once the sole domain of large-scale corporations, cloud computing is now infinitely accessible to even the smallest of businesses. Do you utilize web-based email services like Gmail?…

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Are You Ready to Be Your Own Boss?

behaviors that are essential to being an entrepreneur

If you have ever thought about starting your own business and being your own boss, you may want to consider if you have the personality traits and necessary skill set to become a successful entrepreneur. The following is a top-ten list of behaviors that can be essential to one seeking entrepreneurial success:

1. Seek Knowledge

Throughout life, we should never stop learning. Successful entrepreneurs will ask questions to gain understanding and then can put this into actionable plans. By asking questions, gaining knowledge and understanding, you can gain the wisdom to achieve great things.

2. Identify Opportunities

An entrepreneur must be able to identify an unmet need.…

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Tax Deductible Business Expenses That Many Small Businesses Miss

Tax Deductible Business Expenses

Far too many small businesses, particularly start-ups and sole traders, are paying tax on things they do not need to. Largely this comes from not understanding which business expenses are tax deductible. These business expenses are there for small businesses to exploit – so is there something your small business is missing?

Employee Costs

Many costs to you or your employees incurred by your business are tax deductible. Expenses include cell phone bills for business calls, union dues, relevant magazine or periodical subscriptions, staff uniforms or business attire and memberships to relevant societies amongst others. Even if you are not currently using any of these services it may be worth looking into them knowing you can use them a little bit cheaper.…

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The Benefits Of Building A Relationship With A Law Firm

Entrepreneurs and business leaders are faced with a variety of challenges on a daily basis. Some of the most difficult challenges business owners face are those that concern matters of law. Even the most experienced business leader may be at a loss when it comes to the ins and outs of legal documents, actions and proceedings.

Benefits Of Building A Relationship With A Law Firm

Instead of making risky guesses on legal matters, business leaders and entrepreneurs can place their trust in law firms. Businesses of all sizes can benefit from keeping a law firm on retainer. Having a firm on retainer essentially means that a business leader has an advocate on his or her side whenever needed.…

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Three Key Steps To Starting a Web-Based Business

keys tip to starting a web-based businessAs an online marketing specialist, I’ve seen too many online businesses go bust due to poor planning. Trust me, you don’t want to blindly dive into the world of online business.

If you don’t know what you’re doing from the get-go, it doesn’t take long to lose your investments. These three steps will help you on your way.

1. Research your market carefully.

Whether you plan to sell a product or service, you must be sure there’s opportunity to turn a profit in your specific online market. For example, my boss initially wanted to start an insurance brokerage “” until he realized that thousands of individual insurance companies were already vying for the same customers online.…

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5 Ways To Use Google+ For Business

5 Ways To Use Google+ For Business

Google Plus is not only for social communication but has proven to be an effective tool for business. Whether it is used in cost reduction efforts or to save time, Google Plus has numerous features designed to improve business productivity and efficiency. Businesses should try Google Plus to determine how the tool can facilitate business growth.

1. Google Plus Hangouts for Video Conferencing

Google Plus Hangouts allows users to collaborate and meet with remote clients and employees. A face-to-face meeting is often more personal than just the phone. Google Plus Hangouts will facilitate videoconferencing when business people cannot reach a central location for a meeting due to budget constraints, schedules or flight delays.…

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5 Ways Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners Are Bootstrapping Their Companies

5 Ways Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners Are BootstrappingStarting a small business is hard. And in today’s economy, getting the most for your money often equates to the creative distribution of your financial resources.

That’s why so many entrepreneurs and small businesses are inventing ways to bootstrap their operations.   Luckily, there are a number of affordable tools and strategies that cost little but deliver big, which is ideal when your business is on a budget.

As a provider of business services and entrepreneur myself, here are five resources I’ve found that are currently working well for small businesses.

  • Inventive marketing – Generate interest in your business through creativity. For example, try promoting a contest like The Royal Society of Chemists.
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Top 7 Gmail Tips and Tricks

Top 7 Gmail Tips and Tricks

As a loyal Gmail user for many years, I have watched Google’s golden child evolve into an incredibly efficient and functional interface. Most of the savvy user “hacks” from the good old days have now been built right in to Gmail, but this old dog is certainly able to learn new tricks.

Here are the top 7 ways to improve your Gmail experience, from Labs and other add-ons to hidden features and hacks.

1. Remove ads with Gmelius

Gmail’s text banner advertising is fairly non-intrusive, but sometimes the ads displayed are so similar to the email you are reading or writing, it’s just plain creepy.…

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Considerations For Social Media Use In The Workplace

Social media has become so commonplace that many employees engage in its use at work on a daily basis.   Unfortunately, many employees demonstrate poor judgment while using social media by assuming that their posts are private and sharing confidential information they would not share in other formats.

social media in workplace

Company use of social media in the workplace is also increasing.   Human resource and other company professionals are using social media sites to screen potential employees, monitor current employees and obtain information about competitors or customers. This practice can create liability for a company absent a policy or set of guidelines for such professionals to reference, allowing them to make sure their behavior does not violate applicable law or expose the company to legal action.…

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How Could Going Green Benefit Your Small Business?

The reasons to go green are often pitched as necessary changes for the continued existence of the world with growing populations and pollution. While not wrong, going green often comes with a stigma of raising costs of business, and in an unstable economy it can seem dangerous to go through any dramatic change in doing business.

How Going Green Could Benefit Your Small Business

Here are some examples of ways going green can save you money and be good for business, all while helping the environment.

Any PR is Good PR, but Positive PR is Better PR

While it may seem like a bad way to think about going green, the fact is that it can easily turn into a great marketing campaign.…

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