Category: Business Growth

What is the one thing we’ve always got with us? That’s an easy answer: our smartphones. These devices have been our once-in-a-generation technological advancement, like the computer before them, the TV before that, and the radio before that. It didn’t take long for smartphones to blow away the rest of those. For example, in 2019,…

It’s no secret that the economy is not at its strongest right now, and that many small businesses are struggling. The approximately 30 million small firms in this country are the backbone of our economy and it’s worrying to think that we have lost at least 2% of them in the last half year alone.…

If you asked most people how much they would pay themselves if they could set their own salary, you’d probably hear a lot of 6 or 7-figure numbers being thrown around. But when you’re the owner of a small business, that question becomes very real, and is much more complicated. There are a lot of…

Hiring an employee is expensive. Three different recent studies have found that the cost of hiring a new employee can be anywhere from $4,000 to over $7,000. Money isn’t the only resource that you use when making a new hire: it can take anywhere from 40 to 50 days to fill an open position. If…

When most people hear the word “franchise,” they probably think of a huge, modern-day corporation, like McDonald’s, and its thousands of fast food outlets all over the world. But this type of business model is not new; in fact, it has been around since at least the Middle Ages, and the modern version of it…

It’s no secret that in order to survive, your business has to grow. How that growth looks might differ from business to business. You might not be interested in adding locations, franchising, or expanding your product lines right now, but one thing you do need to think about is customer acquisition. There are lots of…

Nobody said starting your own business would be easy. There are so many moving pieces,  and you are responsible for everything. The pressure of solo entrepreneurship can lead to stress, setbacks, and tough decisions. There are no guarantees that you’ll make it: in 2019, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that only 20% of businesses…

There’s a new school of thought in the business world, one that makes positivity and employee experience a higher priority than it was in the past. It used to be that the majority of businesses focused on fiscal performance above all else. This meant that many workers experienced catastrophic burnout and that the daily grind…

Building a business from the ground up is no small feat. It requires patience, commitment, and most of all, strategy. It’s like they say - if you fail to plan, you can plan to fail. So much of business growth is about strategic planning: you need an investment strategy, a growth strategy, a recruitment strategy,…

If your business is really taking off, and you’ve decided to expand, then you’ll need to start thinking about updating your commercial insurance policies. When you first started your business, you purchased the right amount of commercial insurance, but as your business grows and changes, so do your insurance needs. The last thing you want…

"Mompreneurs" are powerful women who run businesses and households. Separately, each of these jobs is daunting and exhausting, so combining them is not for the faint of heart. Women who are raising children while growing a business can face incredible rates of burnout, but there are ways to keep yourself centered no matter what your…

The time has come to hire a new employee! Maybe you’re expanding your business, realizing you can’t use interns for full time labor, or replacing an employee who has moved on. Whatever the reason, the hiring process can be time consuming and stressful. Be ready for a longer to-do list as you sort through applications,…

Businesses big and small all use social media to connect and communicate with their customers. Many bigger businesses pay for a social media strategist, but we believe you can handle the basics on your own! In “Building Your Brand: Social Media Marketing” editions 101-104, we covered the basics of social media, building your brand, and…

Do you remember your first internship? For many business school graduates, an internship is a rite of passage. And now, the tables have turned and you’re in a position to supervise a young up-and-comer! For some business owners, having an intern sounds like an ideal situation - an extra set of hands who are bright,…

Social media is a powerful tool for communication with and connection to your customers. In this multi-part series we have been covering the basics of social media for businesses. In this edition, we’ll dive deeper into gaining website traffic and online visibility for businesses using Search Engine Optimization. Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is the…

Setting goals for yourself and your business is always a great idea, but some goals are better than others. It’s not enough to have good intentions for a positive end result, you need to be able to clearly define and articulate the progress you want to make.  This is where the idea of SMART goals…

So, you’ve decided to take the plunge and start a small business. Congratulations! You’re in good company. As we saw with the recent pandemic, many people have left the traditional 9-to-5 pursue a creative, flexible career. Becoming an entrepreneur takes creativity, guts, and vision; it also requires dedication, strategy, and organization. This last requirement is…

How well do you really know your customers? How well do you really know what they want, and do you really know how you can provide the best possible service to them? If these questions have you scratching your head, then you should consider conducting a focus group to get the answers. Focus groups are…