Small Business Owners Charge Full Steam Ahead

Small business owners are feeling good about 2013 so far and even more optimistic about the year ahead, according to Manta’s Q1 2013 SMB Wellness Index. The survey of over 1,100 small business owners found more than half (56 percent) think the first quarter of 2013 was successful and 79 percent believe the second quarter will be positive for their companies.

While only 17 percent hired new employees in the first quarter of this year, almost one-third (31 percent) plan to do so in Q2. But that’s not where they’re putting most of their money. Thirty-one percent say they plan to invest most of their money on referrals and finding new customers; 26 percent on online advertising and social media; 24 percent on creating new products and services; and 12 percent on traditional advertising and marketing.…

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23 Small Business Social Media Dos and Don’ts

23 Small Business Social Media Dos and Don'ts

For cash strapped small businesses social media can be a cheap and effective way to promote your business/brand and increase revenue. At the same time many SMBs don’t properly utilize social media or ignore it altogether. No matter where you fall on this spectrum keep the following dos and don’ts in mind.

Dos

  1. Do set up social accounts on all the relevant social platforms for your business. If you sell hard to find car parts only known only to gearheads, Pinterest is not for you.
  2. Do use a high quality logo image that is not blurry, stretched nor distorted. Your brand is your livelihood so make it professional regardless of where it appears.
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The Importance Of Building Global Relationships To The Small Business Owner

The Internet has opened more doors for growth than business owners may realize. Global trade was once thought of as an exotic or inefficient way to do business, but in today’s tech-savvy world, communication with someone on the other side of the planet is as simple as turning on a computer. As the nation’s economic recovery slowly gains momentum, small business owners are finding that working with international partners can help their enterprises stay strong during tough times.

With the new opportunities global markets provide, small businesses often see job growth and productivity increase by up to 20 percent. And it’s not just the company that benefits, but the whole community – working with an offshore manufacturing partner can actually create more jobs at home.…

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Build A Championship Team With Document Management

When you own a business, or hold an executive position within a startup, keeping up with your brand and all of its working parts can be a heavy responsibility. In fact, it’s much like being a head coach. Your business team requires training, nurturing, direction and encouragement to reach its fullest potential.

Build A Championship Team With Document Management

A good head coach knows how to surround himself with assistants, specialists and equipment that enhance the team’s performance. A good executive will do likewise for his business by utilizing technology to track data and minimize human interference.   For example, electronic content management (ECM) can help manage office operations, while raising employee skills and productivity; ultimately helping the business to perform at its best.…

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How Business Loans Can Help Small Business

Loans are an integral part of all businesses big or small. In times of financial needs these loans can help the businesses to keep their doors open. A business can require financial assistance for various different reasons and at different phases of its life cycle.

How Business Loans Can Help Small Business

You might need a loan for starting up your dream project or to expand and modernize or to recover from a financial wreck caused due to unforeseen situations, the reasons are plenty. However, understanding the need for a loan and how the money would add to the prospects of your business is of utmost importance.

There are plenty of sources of finance available to meet your needs.

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What Every CEO Needs To Know About Cloud Computing

Small businesses thinking about a move to the cloud need to consider many factors. A CEO should study these factors to obtain a good understanding of the benefits and which type of solution is best for them.

What Every CEO Needs To Know About Cloud Computing

There are three basic types of cloud computing options:

Private Cloud

This is a cloud computing environment owned and operated by a business. Access to data stored in the cloud is available to users who are given access. This allows a business to oversee all aspects of the infrastructure.

However, maintenance and management is done in-house and storage is based on available capacity. Additional hardware needs to be installed if extra capacity is needed.…

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Is Freelancing The Answer To Today’s Unstable Economy?

The recent economic depression in the United States alerted many working professionals to just how delicate their employment situation is. Many people lost jobs and others lived with the fear of joining former co-workers in the unemployment line. Inevitably, some turned to freelancing as a way to curb their financial losses.

Is Freelancing The Answer To Today's Unstable Economy?

But for some, those freelancing efforts became not just a part-time source of income, but a full-time gig. Laid off professionals found so much success in their freelancing efforts that, in some cases, they stopped looking for new work and stuck with their new source of income.

Of course, that’s not the case for everyone who ventures into the world of freelancing.…

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5 Reasons Why Your Landing Page is Doomed to Fail

5 Reasons Your Landing Page is Doomed to Fail

The landing page is the critical point in lead conversion; often the deciding factor on whether a visitor turns into a lead or walks away. Therefore, don’t let your entire marketing campaign fail as a result of a single landing page. While evaluating your landing pages, keep an eye out for the following warning signs:

1.   Unclear Call-to-Action

Is your call-to-action clear, compelling, and enticing to the eye? A great call-to-action evokes an emotion in the view, a sense of urgency or reason to click on further. But if visitors are having a difficult time finding the CTA, your landing page is setting itself up for failure.…

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4 Smart Business Lessons From Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett is regarded as the richest stock investor in the world. In fact, Forbes magazine regards Warren as a man who made his wealth from the stock market although his success actually came from selling businesses.

business lessons from Warren Buffett

Warren didn’t become rich by selling stocks but became a Billionaire by buying and selling businesses. I call it, ”Berkshire Hathway”. In fact, Warren is not interested in the price of stocks but in the value of businesses. It takes determination and business intelligence to buy and sell businesses; that’s why I regard Warren as an entrepreneur as much as an investor.

In this article, I’ll be sharing with you, 4 business lessons from Warren Buffett.…

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16 Drop-Out Billionaire Entrepreneurs Every Business Owner Should Know

Have you been told that you cannot become someone in life?   Do you feel sad or dejected because you don’t have a college degree?   Or are you in the group that thinks education is the yardstick for success? If any of the above describes you, read on…

Education isn’t the yardstick for success, but hard work and determination is.   How does it sound that some of the world’s influential men and women today never saw the four walls of a school?

16 Drop-Out Billionaire Entrepreneurs

In this article, I’ll be sharing briefly, some of the world’s richest billionaires who never saw the four walls of school.…

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