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Finding Qualified Applicants

Finding and hiring good employees is one of the most important things you can do as a small business.  Employees help set the tone, do the work, deal with customers and are on the front lines.  Thus, it is important to have the right people in the right positions to ensure your success. Before hiring [...]

What’s Your Elevator Pitch?

As an entrepreneur or small business owner, you are often asked what you do.  Be it from family, friends or attendees at a conference, people want to know about your business. Knowing this, how many times have you started and ended with something like, “huh?” Well, get ready for your story to change. Having a [...]

Developing A Marketing Plan

Marketing, advertising and branding makeup your business image.  If they reinforce one another and communicate a unified message, then your business image will result in a clear identity that people can recall. Marketing, boiled down, is the combination of all your efforts to get people to remember your business.  It includes everything from how you [...]

Virtual Assistants – An Alternative to Hiring Employees

If you don’t want the expense and responsibility of hiring employees and finding space for them to work, consider hiring a virtual assistant. Virtual assistants are independent contractors who work from their own home or office, handle duties for you, and communicate with you via telephone, fax, e-mail or messenger service. Virtual assistants are especially [...]

6 Tips To Use Your Blog To Market Your Business

As you may already know, a blog is an excellent tool to let the world know about your business or your product, to connect with potential customers and promote your expertise. Knowing how to maximize your blog’s impact, however, can be challenging. Here are six tips to help you do just that: 1. Blog Consistently. [...]

Employee or Independent Contractor?

Deciding to hire an independent contractor can often be advantageous and cost-effective for a small business.  Although an independent contractor often performs similar duties as an employee, your obligations toward an independent contractor are minimal compared to an employee. Unlike employees: An independent contractor is not subject to minimum wage and overtime requirements. An independent [...]

Help An Employee Out

Good training creates better employees.  Whether it’s explaining a new policy or teaching new skills, adequately training your staff is vital to the continued success of your small business. To be most effective, employee training should begin on the first day of work and cover everything the employee needs to know.  I repeat, training should [...]

Avoiding Employment Discrimination Claims

Almost all employees are considered to be employed at will.  An at will employee can be fired at any time, for almost any reason, except under the following circumstances: 1.  You cannot fire someone in retaliation for the exercise of a statutory right, such as filing a workers’ compensation claim. 2.  You cannot fire someone [...]

4 Tips to Avoid Customer Complaints

People can make or break your small business.  Offering excellent customer service can distinguish you from the competition, result in increased sales and a more loyal clientele.  Therefore, teaching employees how to treat customers right should become part of your initial and ongoing training.  It should be reinforced daily. Below are four tips you can [...]

Managing Generation Y

Generation Y is causing quite a stir in the work environment. This generation has very different expectations and preferences when it comes to employment and how they want to be managed. Members of Gen Y were born between the years of 1982 and 2000 and are currently ages 7-26. Today they represent about 15 percent [...]