Three Tips – Preparing for Economic Recovery

preparing for economic recoveryA week ago, I had an opportunity to hear an economic update from a Federal Reserve Bank economist. While the numbers are far from fabulous, most seem to agree we are on the road out of recession.

Have you reduced employee counts and canceled or delayed capital projects? Do you lack the bench strength and infrastructure to support significant customer and revenue growth? Here are three tips for getting your house in order now:

1. If you haven’t yet taken advantage of the slower business cycle to make the day-to-day processes in your company more efficient, start now. Increase productivity so initial growth can be absorbed by existing employees.…

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Four Secrets to Productivity When You’re Away from the Office

productivity tips for working away from the officeMaybe you’re working the tradeshow at the industry’s big annual convention for the next four days. Perhaps it’s a long-planned romantic vacation to an exotic resort in the Caribbean. Or maybe you’re just calling it a night and are heading home for the evening. No matter what your situation, there’s likely to be a time when you aren’t at the office, but you need to access something that’s on your office computer.

Thankfully, there are plenty of options for working and being productive even when you aren’t in the office-and none of them involves packing up your office computer and lugging it with you everywhere you go!  …

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Take A Look In The Mirror

A client recently asked me to help her analyze the overall state of her company. Her decision to conduct this productivity audit was prompted by an unexpected personal opportunity that would take her out of the country for the better part of a year. For continuity and efficiency reasons, and to make sure her managers had their marching orders throughout her absence, my client wanted to make sure she was “doing things” as well as possible.

conducting a business productivity audit

As it turns out, she wasn’t. She was doing great, no doubt; but she wasn’t operating as efficiently and productively as possible. The subject business, a relatively straightforward, mom-and-pop, retail operation, had just shy of two million dollars of annual sales.…

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Top 5 Small Business iPhone Apps

iPhone small business apps

Small business owners have to make the most of every minute to be successful. Blackberry says their smartphones allow you to reclaim an additional 60 minutes of downtime every day (that’s 250 hours each year!) and with these 5 apps on your iPhone you may be able to do even better.

QuickOffice Mobile Office Suite

Quickoffice Mobile Office Suite takes the iPhone to a whole new level, approaching the functionality of a personal computer. Quickoffice includes Word, Excel, PDF viewers and image viewing. The foundational programs essential on every desktop, are offered to iPhone users. The app offers pristine features, and easy access to the files saved on the phone.…

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