A few years ago, my car broke down in Chicago, one late Saturday afternoon. I had it towed to the only shop that was still open. The place looked shady and emanated a feeling that I was about to be taken. A mechanic looked under the hood and then told me that the {something} was [...]

If you’re thinking of launching your own plumbing business, you should first decide on what kind of plumbing business you want to run: service-oriented or product-oriented. You can either go it alone or hire on others to work with you. You can choose to be an independent business or belong to a network of franchised [...]

In order to optimize your website, you need to ask yourself three questions: 1. How are people searching for my products and/or services? 2. Which sites are winning for those searches and why? 3. Which searches can I “win”? (This question shouldn’t be hard for nichepreneurs.) From here, identify some search phrases for your website [...]

Each search engine has their own rules, and like anything else internet-related, they change without notice. However, there are a few basics you can build into your web site will help you retain a good ranking. Start with choosing a good domain name. It should be easy to remember and reflect the content of your [...]

A great start to increasing your page’s ranking in search results is by adding links that point to your webpage. When links that point to your page have the relevant keyword text in them, it will automatically rank higher in search engine results. For example, a link with the text “Cheap Shoe Store” pointing at [...]

Think of the last time you were around someone who was really enthusiastic; did that enthusiasm spread to you? The same will happen with your employees. It has been shown that motivated employees do a better job and perform at a higher level; the success of your business relies upon this. Figuring out what motivates [...]

Employee loyalty can be defined as employees dedicated to the success of the organization. Unfortunately, too many people go to work to simply earn a wage and care about little else. Using the right strategies with your employees will encourage loyalty, dedication, and a pride in one’s work. Conversely, if your company lacks employee loyalty, [...]

Everyone likes to help implement better processes for their job and company. Given the opportunity, employees might just submit some ideas that really work and wind up saving the company money and time. Good ideas come from everywhere, so start by using the very people you hired and trust by initiating an employee suggestion process. [...]

How you welcome new employees into your business will differentiate you from other companies. Some employers do not feel a new employee orientation is necessary, but there are quite a few things covered in this procedure that are valuable to both employee and employer. Showing the employee the ropes, so to speak, gets them familiar [...]

It’s important for a business owner to be able to make the distinction between employee and independent contractor for many reasons, the most important being how that person gets paid. The easiest place to begin is by defining what an employee is: “a person who is hired to provide services to a company on a [...]

Unlike the hefty price tags associated with TV advertising, online video is affordable for businesses of any size. More and more local companies are finding success using online video. Statistics show video improves visibility and drives more action than plain images and text. For example, according to the BIA Kelsey Group, viewers engage more after [...]

Intellectual property is important to your small business, as it’s those ideas that got you to where you are today. Intellectual property includes everything from a new logo for your business cards and website content to a company slogan. Without protection, you may fall victim to piracy, counterfeiting, and theft of all intellectual property assets. [...]