Dealing with the death of a loved one is difficult no matter what, but it’s especially stressful to try to do so and make it into work every day. Ninety percent of businesses surveyed by the Society for Human Resource Management give their employees paid bereavement days, and as a small business owner, it’s vital you support your employees during times of emotional hardship. Be clear on what you’re legally required to provide and what actions, though motivated by good intentions, may actually overstep your professional bounds.…
It’s always been my view that there is no such thing as a perfect business. We may all like to believe that we understand the core elements of building a successful business, but it seems to me that there’s always room for improvement.
When thinking about the changes that can be made, I believe that there’s an important balance to be struck. I have seen business owners make hasty modifications, without giving the process due consideration. In these situations, it often seems that there is an awareness that something is going wrong.…
Funding is absolutely critical for any budding entrepreneur and new business. Unless you’re already a millionaire, your new business venture is going to need at least some funding, be it from external investors or from people you already know such as family or friends.
This post will give a brief overview of some of the forms of funding available for all you up-and-coming entrepreneurs.
A good, detailed business plan is the key to securing quality funding from good sources. If potential investors can see that you have a good business plan, they will be much more willing to lend you money.…
Self-promotion is essential if you are hoping to make yourself money online. We live in a world that is dominated by the internet and online businesses are so popular. Being a freelancer is a profession that appeals to so many people due to the flexibility and the chance to be your own boss, not to mention the fact that you make money from doing something that you love.
We are in a period of economic downturn so it is very important that we all work hard in order make enough money to be comfortable.…
If you are a creative person then you might want to consider getting into the marketing industry as a career option. It is a wide industry that has a lot of great career options to offer and you have a lot of opportunities to build a reputable career.
But what else does it take other than just creativity to make it in the marketing industry? Here are some of the key qualities you should possess and develop.
Passionate About Learning More
It is really important that you are passionate about the marketing industry in order to succeed in it.…
Have a favorite cause you’d like to help out? Wondering what you, as a business owner, can do to leverage your position in the community? There’s actually quite a lot! Your business is probably already set up with a number of different promotional platforms – it’s just a matter of using them a little differently than usual. Here are some ideas for ways you can lend a hand to the cause of your choice – with the added bonus of generating a little goodwill in the community for your business.…
A business event is one of the most effective ways of promoting products, because you hit your target market most of the time. Only those interested (most of them anyway) in the line of products attend the event, so you have already half-sold them to your view. Hosting and holding a business event should thus be one weapon in your armory of sales wares.
However, many entrepreneurs are scared of holding a business event simply because they do not know how.…
You’re coming up on the heaviest selling season of the year, and your e-commerce store suddenly goes down. The server is completely inaccessible and you’re running around with no idea what’s going on. Your Web host gets back to you and tells you a DDoS (distributed denial of service) attack brought your server to its knees.
Cyberattacks are not something that only happen to large corporations. In fact, Forbes reports 71 percent of cyberattacks actually target smaller businesses with less than 100 employees.…
At work, there might come a point when you’re beginning to feel a little fatigued and unable to complete even the simplest task. While this might seem natural, it will almost certainly harm your productivity levels, thus making the coming days in the office a little harder as there’s more left to do than you may have previously anticipated.
To try and increase your productivity, it doesn’t require a series of radical changes. The following tips are actually quite easy to follow and could help to boost your output; possibly your future employment prospects too!…
Owning a business today is much different than it used to be. Years ago, businesses needed to hire employees to do all the necessary tasks. Companies had an in-house marketing department, and in-house billing department, an in-house customer service department and an in-house HR department. Thanks to technology and the Internet, many companies are starting to ditch the in-house departments and opt to outsource their needs.
Today, many business owners are starting to wonder if they should hire someone to work in house for certain tasks and responsibilities or if they should outsource their needs.…
