Professionalisms
Is Your Company A Patriarchy? Seven Warning Signs To Watch For
Striving to make your organization "one big happy family" won't create the workplace utopia you hope for. Here, Daniel F. Prosser explains what a patriarchy is, why it's bad for your company, and how to tell if you've created one.
The 5 Types Of Franchisees
There are generally five main types of franchisees, and each is ideally suited to success in a particular type of business. Kyle Zagrodzky, president of OsteoStrong, looks at the five kinds.
Streamlining The Hiring Process: Three Areas All Businesses Should Focus On
Having a full understanding of the inner workings of the recruitment process will help you make a more informed decision on which areas should be improved upon. Here are a few common areas to consider improving upon.
What Startups Need To Know About Business Valuation
With the daily demands of running a business along with the financial pressures and challenges inherent in early-stage companies, a business valuation may not be the first thing an entrepreneur thinks of when he awakes each morning. But it’s an important consideration, especially for companies that plan to offer alternative compensation such as employee stock options, says Janet Chase of Kaufman Rossin.
Nine Career-Damaging Bad Listening Habits And What You Can Do About Them
Listening is the single most important job skill you can have in the 21st century. Ed Hess explains why. Here, he identifies some of our worst listening (or not listening!) habits and explains what you can do about them.
Why Only 13 Percent of Companies Successfully Execute Their Strategies
Some 87 percent of businesses fail to execute their strategy each year. Author of THIRTEENERS, consultant Dan Prosser explains why — and offers eight startling insights into human interaction, the hidden forces that drive leaders, and the astonishing power of the conversations we enable and nurture.
6 Ways OKRs Can Help Your Startup Achieve World Domination
Born out of Intel and then later fully actualized at Google with the help of John Doerr, OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) have ushered in a new goal-setting framework that empowers every size business — but especially new ventures — to set out and stay on the right path to drive organizational success. Kris Duggan, CEO and co-founder of BetterWorks, shares how startups can adopt that practice.
Theft In Your Own Business: Some Practical Tips
If you own a business and you've begun to hire employees, it's time to start worrying about employee theft, if only because there are some issues you should contemplate before serious problems arise.
Why You Shouldn’t Leave Your Social Media To A Niece Or Nephew
Or your son, daughter or even the kid down the street, insists Jay York, a social media strategist at EMSI Public Relations.
How To Make A Killing With An E Commerce Business
The trick with e-commerce isn’t forcing people to buy, it’s simply nudging them in the right direction. That’s what we’ll help you with today.
4 Tools Every Multichannel Seller Needs To Succeed
Multichannel retailers are just now getting started on their 2015 goals. Jake Gasaway, co-founder of Stitch Labs shares some of the top online tools and solutions that will help business owners stay on track and make 2015 a success.
Product Knowledge And Savvy Salesmanship Not Enough When Selling Internationally; Overcoming Cultural Differences Is...
When the boss says he is going to let you take the lead on the European account, don’t think the same old sales tactics you use to wow your American customers will work in Europe, says Martin Limbeck, “NO is Short for Next Opportunity: How Top Sales Professionals Think“. All sales professionals who sell internationally need to be well prepared and aware of cultural differences.
Hiring New Talent? Seven Ways To Spot Entrepreneurial DNA
Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey explain why entrepreneurial DNA is the most important quality a job seeker can possess and share seven ways to identify it during an interview.
Market Like Its 1999 In 2015 – 9 Marketing Strategies That Worked Back Then...
While it is important to keep pace with technological and tactical advances, it’s also important to hang on to marketing tools that continue to prove their worth. Victoria Treyger, CMO of Kabbage looks at the those classic marketing tactics that have been working – and working well – for the past twenty-five-plus years.
Cybersecurity: What Every Small Business Owner Needs To Know
No matter how you look at it, there is a high price to pay for not protecting a company’s website and network, points out Matthew Edenhofer, Director of Information Technology, Balboa Capital.
How Small Businesses Can Grow Faster Using Business Dashboards
by Sreeram Sreenivasan, founder of Ubiq
As business owners, we need to regularly keep an eye on all the important activities and processes in our business;...
Optimizing Your Website For Better Business: Four Tips To Getting It Right
By Patrick Llewellyn, CEO of 99designs
You never get a second chance to make a first impression. While most entrepreneurs today recognize the critical role...
Building Your Brand: The Basics
Building a brand for your small business is an essential element of success, especially when you’re just starting out. Branding is how you define your business — both internally to your employees and investors, and externally to customers, the media and the world of social media, says Claire Prendergast, Director of Marketing Communications at agencyEA.
The 4-Star Turnaround: How A Struggling Island Airline Revolutionized Service
Two years ago, Air Mauritius struggled with a $30 million loss, merely average service ratings, and bad morale. Today, it's profitable again and has earned the prestigious 4-star Skytrax rating. Global service guru Ron Kaufman, who helped the airline make its dramatic culture shift, lays out some lessons all companies can learn from its example.
6 Ideas To Engage Your Customers Emotionally
When customers identify with you emotionally, you have a greater opportunity to influence them. Consider these ideas from Dianna Booher, author of "What More Can I Say?: Why Communication Fails and What to Do About It", to strengthen the emotional connection.
The Year Of Customer Delight: In 2015, Rewire Your Culture Around Service
Global service guru Ron Kaufman explains why rewiring your culture around meaningful service can create happy customers, engaged employees, and increased profitability in 2015. Here, he shares the seven rules of service leadership that will get you started.
7 Ways To Make Teamwork Work
When processes break down at the workplace, the problem is usually that there’s no system in place to help you assign tasks and hold people accountable, says Igal Hauer, CEO of Help Desk Technology Corporation. He offers seven steps that can help you improve collaboration and efficiency.
What Makes A Workplace Toxic?
Paul White, Ph.D., author of "The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace" and "Rising Above a Toxic Workplace" looks at the three core components that contribute to making a workplace "toxic" - a work environment that is unhealthy, and even dangerous, to the well-being of its employees.
Avoid These Big Mistakes When Hiring Your Next Keynote Speaker
No matter which way you lean politically, the 2012 Republican National Convention featured some disastrous public speaking. Before you book keynote speakers for your next company event, learn some lessons from what the Romney campaign did wrong.
Mapping Movement: The Growing Need For Computer And Cell Phone Forensics
Computer and cell phone forensics are becoming more mainstream, and for good reason. There’s a lot of information hiding on electronic devices these days, and that information could be the key to uncovering huge liabilities for companies and help the government solve crimes more quickly, says Jared K Stern, President/CEO at Prudent Risk.
7 Surefire Ways To Increase Sales With Autoresponders
Autoresponder emails, which are automatically triggered based on specific criteria you set, can be one of the greatest tools for building relationships and growing sales, if they are used appropriately. Here are a few types of autoresponder emails that work brilliantly at improving revenue.
Top Disaster Recovery Challenges And How To Address Them
Creating an effective disaster recovery plan isn’t without its fair share of challenges. Unless every essential aspect is factored into the strategy, the enterprise will likely find it lacking when it comes time to activate the plan, warns Alan Glazer, Senior Product Manager at Hostway Services, Inc.
Must-Have Technological Aids For Real Estate Agents
Real estate agents who want to stay ahead of the herd can employ technology to help them market their business and close deals quickly. Preethy Martin, content strategist at Proptiger.com, looks at a few technological aids that every real estate agent needs be equipped with to perform optimally.
PR Checklist For 2015 To Get Back Into The Swing Of Things
Hard to believe January is over and the holidays are a distant memory; make 2015 the year you love your business back to success. Diana Ennen, President of Virtual Word Publishing, offers some tips to help you get there.
Must-Haves For Your Online Store In 2015
With continued innovation in e-commerce technologies, what should online merchants do to take advantage of such innovation to keep their online store abreast in 2015?