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Is Your Small Business Ready to Go Global?

The National Export Initiative is an encouragement for small businesses to give aid in tapping into the global marketplace. Exporting is a great opportunity, however small business owners need further assistance before jumping into this with both feet. According to the Global Entrepreneurship and Development Index (GEDI), the United States ranks third in the field of entrepreneurship. In the quest to grow your business, it is not surprising that you want to take it to the next level.

doing business on a global scale

Exporting your products and services to other countries denotes that your client base has grown to include the international market. This is growth for your business.…

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Five Ways to Tell the Recession is Over

recession recovery0

One of the largest recessions in recent history has been plaguing our economy and impacting the worldwide market for over four years. With unemployment rates still high, market shares making vague, inconsistent progress, and a record number of homes in foreclosure, the question on everyone’s mind is: when will this recession end?

Unfortunately, as people with online finance degrees will tell you, the only way to determine the exact point at which the economy starts its recovery is by living through the tough times and studying the records once it’s over. However, in the meantime there are a few indicators you can use to figure out when the economy is starting to recover and the recession has an end in sight.…

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Realizing the Potential Of Online Video For Your Business

why businesses should use online videoAs an SMB CEO, you must take on multiple roles to ensure that your company has the greatest chances of success. One of the most important of these roles for building your business is marketing. As technology evolves and consumers spend more and more time on the Internet, you must utilize online tools in order to keep up with technology and compete with big businesses. Online video is one of the best marketing tools out there to attract consumers to your company.

Web video is not just for playback of traditional broadcast content or million dollar ad campaigns.   In fact, it is an important part of any marketing and commerce experience on the web.…

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Business Leader vs. Thought Leader, Can You Be Both?

thought leadership vs business leadershipSome people think that it is easy being the CEO of a certain company. They think it’s all about delegating tasks to your employees. And since you’re “the boss” you could pretty much do nothing except point out employees’ mistakes and get an occasional headache when the numbers don’t add up. Those in the business of leadership, know better.

It’s not just about assigning tasks to someone and then kicking off your shoes to place your feet on your desk all day, waiting for employees to deliver. It is about thinking of ways to sustain the value of your business. It is about handling complex issues, synergism and finding new ways to develop opportunities.…

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Don’t Be Disillusioned By These 5 Business Myths

small business myths There was a time when entrepreneurs were all hankering for advice from anyone and anywhere. Now, everyone seems to know everything about operating and starting a new business that those who plan to start their own business become disillusioned. Truth be told, gurus of small business started out with probably as much hesitation and uncertainty as the next person.

Starting a business is a trial and error process. Business gurus, whether self-proclaimed or not, become such because of tirelessly working to be better, to be well ahead in the game. Business gurus learn how to weed the myths from the realities of starting and operating a business.…

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The Regulatory Strategy for Small Business

It is common knowledge that small business drives job growth and in hopes to generate more jobs, President Obama is ordering government agencies to consider reducing burdens on small businesses. In fact, the president urges a “government-wide review” of business regulations as stated in a Wall Street Journal Op-Ed article. This review of business regulations aims to help small business owners and this is a welcome reprieve as the industry is given a much-needed break by the government.

small business regulatory system

Striking the right balance is important in business as in life. For so long, small business owners have been stifled by different regulations apart from other risks in operating a business, such as the most recent financial woes that businesses continually find themselves in.…

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Small Businesses and Digital Marketing in 2011

Marketing has come a long way from traditional tools used in print or magazine media. We are in an age where everybody who is anybody is interconnected and with a cursory view of your profile, it is pretty easy to know which market you would most likely be under.  As such, entrepreneurs have a greater chance of locating their target markets without leaving their desks.

digital marketing in 2011

In a recently conducted Zoomerang survey, most SMBs would either increase their digital marketing efforts or retain them in 2011. If small businesses are considered by many as the lifeblood of the economy, especially as far as job generation is concerned, then new customers are the holy grail.…

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7 Small Business Scams To Watch Out For

7 small business scams to look out forAs if running a business in today’s economy is not tough enough, we also have to deal with fraud on top of it all.   Fraud can cause a small business to experience financial effects as well as damage to your hard earned reputation.

Every year the BBB receives thousands of complaints from small business owners who fell for an invoicing scam or were misled into paying for products and services they didn’t want. Scammers aren’t always trying to steal money from a business; sometimes they are after a company’s financial or customer data and will use many kinds of high and low-tech methods for getting it.

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Upholding a Culture of Confidentiality

protection customer confidentialityAccording to a recent Trend Micro Global Survey, data loss is one of the biggest concerns for small businesses. It is hard to safeguard your company information if not all your employees think of its importance. Not everybody can appreciate the fact that ensuring the safety of your data is the lifeline to the success of your business.

Confidential information is entrusted to your company by your clients and it is done because they trust you and your services. It is natural therefore that everyone who represents your company in one way or another should be vigilant in protecting confidentiality.…

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Achieving The Right Balance In Employee Interaction

employee interaction

Operating a business, no matter which industry you enter, is vastly competitive. It comes as no surprise then that small business owners are especially critical of how productive their employees are. Low productivity is bad for business, we don’t need to be rocket scientists to figure that out.

One of the most common (and most obvious) reasons why there is a decrease in productivity is employee interaction. In a dog-eat-dog world, there’s still such a thing as too much and too little and both can result in loss instead of profit. Striking the right balance is crucial in ensuring that productive time is exactly what it should be: productive.…

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