10 Tips for Building Business Relationships
No matter what industry you’re in, building business relationships helps you increase sales, develop innovative ideas and discover new ways to grow your company. Read More

How to Choose a Reliable Notebook PC
As business goes mobile, a broken laptop can mean a broken business. Find out how to pick a reliable, well-designed notebook. Tom Peters, the management guru, knows more about laptop reliability that most people. He takes 70-100 trips a year to give speeches. Like many business people, he uses his... Read More

10 Tax Breaks for Small Businesses
America's entrepreneurs and small business owners continue to grow their businesses and create jobs due to unprecedented tax cuts that have been signed into law over the past two years. This includes billions of dollars in tax relief from laws such as the Recovery Act, the Small Business Jobs Act, t... Read More

Bridging the Cultural Gap
Despite the fact that the world is shrinking, foreign customers are very much entrenched in their lifestyles, habits and social norms. Businesses need to understand and appreciate their international customers’ needs, expectations and values when they do business overseas. The three pillars i... Read More

Global Knowledge is Power
Global Leaders must develop intellectual curiosity and do their research diligently to be able to see both the differences and similarities in different cultures. Inquisitiveness, research and observation are the key factors behind global leadership success. They always have to be on the lookout for... Read More

Power of Emerging Markets
In the mid-90’s America was the dominant power of the world economy in terms of consumer spending. At the present time, emerging economies are reversing this trend and claiming leadership of world consumers by increasing spending by 65 percent. Both Chicago-based economist Mr.Hale in his Wall ... Read More

Going Global for Profit
Growth Opportunities for Small and Mid-Sized Businesses Today’s evolutionary technology allows us to live in an integrated, interdependent and interconnected world. It creates enormous opportunities for small and mid-sized companies to compete and thrive in international markets. Smal... Read More

10 Tips for Tax Season
Small-business owners saw many changes to tax law in 2009. If you bought business property or equipment, dealt with cancelled business debt or provided COBRA assistance to employees, new laws could aff ect your returns. How to minimize the tax bite? Try these 10 tips (and always talk to your account... Read More

10 Tips to Get Your Personal & Business Credit in Order
10 Tips to Get Your Personal & Business Credit in Order While your business is in its early stages and still building a credit record, potential creditors may look at your personal credit to decide whether to do business with your company. That’s why it’s important to get your person... Read More

10 Tips to Make You More Productive
Do you feel like there are never enough hours in the day to do all you need to do? Maybe the problem isn’t time, but how you’re using it. Try these 10 tips to power up your personal PRODUCTIVITY. View Full Article WE HAVE ANSWERS TO BUSINESS QUESTIONS YOU SHOULD BE ASKING. The Los Angel... Read More

10 Tips for International Trade
Are you thinking of doing business internationally? Exporting your products overseas exposes you to a whole new world of customers. Here are 10 tips for taking your business global. 1. Start small. To begin, pinpoint one country that has a strong demand for your product, well-established transportat... Read More

10 Tips for Promoting your Business to the Press
You don’t need a degree in public relations to effectively publicize your business to the press. What you do need is a clear understanding of how to reach reporters and what they’re looking for. These 10 tips will get you started 1. Know what makes you newsworthy. This differs for each... Read More

10 Tips for Using Twitter to Grow Your Business
TWITTER, the microblogging service that lets you send out messages of 140 characters or less, has fast become one of today’s hottest tools for networking and marketing your business. Twitter messages are called “tweets,” forwarding a tweet is “retweeting,” and users &ld...Read More

10 Tips for Marketing Your Business
Want to power up your business’s sales? SMART MARKETING is more important than ever these days. To boost your brand, try these 10 marketing tips. View Full Article WE HAVE ANSWERS TO BUSINESS QUESTIONS YOU SHOULD BE ASKING. The Los Angeles Regional Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) of... Read More

10 Tips for Using Social Media to Grow Your Business
Wouldn’t it be great if you could build brand awareness, find customers and make more sales—without spending any money? You can—by using SOCIAL MEDIA tools. You’ve probably heard about LinkedIn, Facebook and T...Read More

The 6 Rules of Small Business Direct Mail Success
A well-constructed sales letter is considered salesmanship in print, allowing a business owner to make their sales presentation to hundreds or thousands of people at once without ever leaving their office. In today’s high tech world of e-mail marketing and internet strategies, direct mail some... Read More

Direct Mail Must Be More Direct Than Ever
People don’t want to be sold – if they don’t know, like or trust you they can block your messages in a staggering amount of ways. So, what’s a small business that wants to target a very defined group of prospects to do? I mean, direct mail is still a viable tool for this kind... Read More

Taking Customer Service Online
A funny thing happened on the way to social media tools like Twitter becoming so popular. more and more consumers started to find that one of the best ways to get help about how to use the products and services they had purchased was to ask other users who happened to be online. (People have done th... Read More

Split Testing for Direct Marketing Success
Unlike nearly all other forms of marketing, direct marketing allows you the unique opportunity to test the success of not just the complete marketing effort, but discrete pieces of the marketing program individually. This is called s... Read More

Lots of Social Media Questions
Recently we conducted a live web panel discussion - Taking Your Brand Online - with Chris Brogan, [http://www.chrisbrogan.com] Guy Kawasaki [www.alltop.com], David Meerman Scott [www.davidmeermanscott.com] and me as part of a webinar series aimed at helping small business owners get up and running a...Read More

Making the Case for a Robust Disaster Recovery Strategy
Making the Case for a Robust, Cost-Effective Disaster Recovery Strategy June 10, 2008 In This Article Introduction Unprecedented threats The lessons of Katrina Conclusion Summary IT departments today are feeling increased pressure to improve their business continuity capabilities while containing co... Read More

Five Steps Toward Disaster Preparedness
For small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), the impacts of a disaster can result in loss of or lack of access to data, applications, and work facilities. Hurricane Katrina's devastation of the U.S. Gulf Coast in 2005 impacted countless businesses, from retail stores and hotels to major corporation...Read More

Disaster Recovery Planning
How Planning for a Disaster Can Save Your Business Executive Summary Target Audience: Small business owners who are interested in learning about disaster planning best practices to help increase revenue and reduce risks. Special attention is paid to how technology can significantly reduce data...Read More

Is Online Data Backup Part of Your Disaster Recovery Plan?
Every business needs to backup their electronic data. By choosing to use an online backup service as part of your disaster recovery plan, you can assure your data is offsite, safe and secure in case of a disaster. Whether you have a small business or a large corporation, one of the most valuab...Read More

Offsite Data Storage for Guaranteed Disaster Recovery
Any business today needs to have a solid disaster recovery plan. A disaster recovery plan outlines how your business will protect its electronic data and what the process will be to restore that data in the case of a manmade or natural disaster. Every company today needs to have a solid disaster... Read More

Disaster Proof Your Business
Who cares about which side of the toast hits the floor first? If it's your toast, and your floor, then the answer is probably you. But fate may have a lot more than a dirty breakfast in store for you, especially when it comes to your business. The disturbing fact is that those of us who run our own ... Read More

Disaster Preparedness for the Small Business Owner
Small business owners often think it would not be difficult to recover from a business interruption because they are a 'small business'. However, statistics show that a natural or man-made disaster can be a devastating, if not business-ending, occurrence. How quickly can your company get back to...Read More

Is the cloud the right move for you?
Cloud computing holds a great deal of promise for small businesses—simplicity, affordability and efficiency. But, it’s still new and therefore many small businesses greet cloud with apprehension. And, the news of cloud outages and chatter about clou... Read More

What You Need To Do To Recover from a Malware Attack
If you’re a small business, you are probably more interested in increasing revenue and decreasing costs than dedicating resources to IT security. However, this mindset could put you at risk of a security attack that can result in downtime, decreased custome... Read More

Virtualization: The Antidote for Hospital Computing Ills
This white paper presents an overview of virtualization technology, with an emphasis on client virtualization. It also presents the findings and analysis of an in-depth interview conducted with a senior information technology (IT) executive at Synernet Inc.The increasing sophistication of healthcare... Read More

What you need to know before embracing Social Networking
Summary: Begin with a formal and well-understood policy for employees’ use of public sites like Facebook and Twitter. Then follow the five recommendations in this article for balancing the risks and opportunities presented by social networking. When Adam Savage, the tech-savvy host of the ...Read More

Palm Secure
Palm Vein Pattern Authentication Technology Fujitsu has developed a contactless palm vein pattern authentication technology that uses vascular patterns as personal identification data. Vein recognition technology is secure because the authentication data exists inside the body and is therefore very...Read More

Electronic Forms
Organizations use business forms to handle both internal and external processes, from simple employee vacation requests to complex customer enrollments in financial services. Regardless of the level of complexity, business forms enable participants to submit required data in the correct format...Read More

3 Reasons Your Brand Doesn't Have More Facebook Fans
The value of Facebook as a marketing communications channel is now indisputable. Brands are beginning to increase their advertising investment in the platform, some as much as 10 times last year's spend. Additionally, companies are focusing more effort on engaging with their Faceb... Read More

10 Tips to Achieve Backup and Recovery Success
A One-Page Expert Guide from Ramon Ray Editor & Technology Evangelist, Smallbiztechnology.com Security and backup go hand in hand. Having secure network and computers is great, but it is only half of a comprehensive security solution. Having a secure network (and secure computers) means that... Read More

Choosing the Ideal Notebook for your Business
Every business has different requirements for choosing the perfect notebook computer for their needs. For example, a legal practice may require little more than a computer capable of running Microsoft Office software to compose documents and read emails, whereas an architectural firm may require a m... Read More

How to Choose the Right PC: Consumer vs Business Models
How to Choose the Right PC – Consumer vs. Business Models The temptation when buying a new desktop or notebook computer system is to look for the system with the highest core specifications – processor speed, included RAM, included hard drive, etc. – that fits the available budget ... Read More

10 Tips for Employee Training on a Budget
As a small business owner, your employees are a crucial factor in your success. How can you provide the training they need to keep their skills up-to-date — without spending a lot of money? Here are . 1. Assess their needs. What do your employees need to learn — both for their current... Read More

Outsource to Increase Profits
How I Stopped Worrying About PPDs and Started Thinking About PEDs by Dr. Lorin Berland Fortunately, even in times likes this, my practice continues to grow. I have been practicing for 25 years in the same building and in that time I've undergone three expansions. Why? Because I focus on patient care... Read More

Outsourcing turns HR nightmares into a dream
DDS During my 25 years in practice, I’ve learned a lot from the trials and tribulations of being both a dentist and small-business owner. Being self-employed and running a small business, obtaining medical insurance for me, my family, and loyal employees had become increasing... Read More

Outsourcing Human Resources
Just how much HR can a practice outsource? We wanted to know so we asked some experts One day I was chatting with Dr. Lorin Berland, the editor in chief of Cosmetic Tribune, and he mentioned how much outsourcing his human resources has saved his sanity. As this was something I was not aware a dentis...Read More

10 Tips for Keeping Your Employees Happy and Loyal
Keeping employees happy is crucial in any economy. Recent surveys show that when hiring picks up again, the majority of employees plan to seek new positions. How can you make sure your staff isn’t among them? Try these 10 tips....Read More

10 Tips for Hiring Smart
Is your business’s workload getting out of hand? FINDING THE RIGHT EMPLOYEES to meet your company’s needs can be challenging. When it’s time to hire, these 10 tips will help you pick the perfect person for the job. ... Read More

How to Develop Clear Objectives That Work Every Time
Whether you are developing goals and objectives for a grant application, during a strategic planning process, or for your staff members or team, there are four items you need to remember to ensure your goals and objectives are easy... Read More

Seven Items to Consider When Interviewing Potential Staff Members
I have interviewed potential applicants for a variety of staff positions over the past 20 years. In the nonprofit field, I have found there are certain steps supervisors should take when interviewing potential candidates. My top seven items to consider during the interview process, to ensure you i...Read More

Top Eight Items to Consider When Recruiting New Staff Members
I have recruited potential applicants for a variety of staff positions over the past 20 years. In the nonprofit field, organizations generally have limited budgets. This can result in lower salaries and a high turnover in staff members. If you want to attract qualified individuals whose primary...Read More

Top 12 Attributes of Effective Leaders
Have you ever wondered why some individuals make great leaders yet, no matter what they do or how hard they try, others fail at leadership? Most likely, it’s because great leaders share a common set of attributes that inspir...Read More

How to Avoid the Top 6 IT Mistakes Small Business Make
How to Avoid the Top 6 IT Mistakes Small Businesses Make By Blake McConnell It used to be that small business people did not have to worry about being computer experts or IT savvy, but this time has come and gone. Today, anyone owning, running or working in small business must be as smart about IT...Read More

How Culture Affects Negotiations
Culture plays an important role in the negotiation process when people from different countries get involved.Here are some ways different cultural nuances impact the end result of reaching an agreement on different ideas and needs between the negotiating parties:· Negotiating Goal... Read More

Demystifying Social Media: Using Its Power to Connect with Customers
The time has never been more right for businesses to tap into the power of social media to initiate direct conversations with target customers and influence buying decisions. Social media tools facilitate easy,impactful,businessowner-to-customer-interactions, as well as customer-to-customer connecti...Read More

Service Included
Written by: Noli Novak JOHN STEWARD IMPARTS SOME USEFUL ADVICE ON HOW TO SERVE YOUR CUSTOMERS EFFICIENTLY AND WITH DIGNITY So, the customer’s always right. This universal consumer relations tenet is often viewed as a negative philosophy - a tired eye-roller among product and service providers...Read More

Net Gains
Cuban Council NETREPRENEURS” CUBAN COUNCIL IMPART SOME ADVICE ON HOW TO DEVELOP A WEB PRESENCE THAT WILL DRIVE SALES AND REACH NEW CUSTOMERS A great number of small businesses are adding a Web site to their enterprise. How well they utilize the medium is another story.With word of mouth as the... Read More

The Top Line
SUCCESS IN SALES TAKES MORE THAN A SMILE AND SLICK PRESENTATION — GINA SELLS US SOME SOLUTIONS There is an old adage in business that nothing happens until somebody makes a sale. Indeed, making sales is the reason businesses exist, but exactly how to identify, acquire and keep customers can be... Read More

Why Did We Lose the Big Deal?
When we’re closing business life’s great! When we’re on the losing side of a deal, it is easy to feel like our entire world has fallen apart. Losing is a subject that most salespeople and sales managers don’t like to talk about. Therefore, the vice president of sales play... Read More

Selling in a Recession: The Best Sales Strategy
I have no doubt that our economy is already in a recession. Whether or not they’ll admit it, the Federal Reserve’s recent actions surely prove this as well. However, I would like to offer two of my own economic indicators that truly reflect the dismal state of the economy. 1. I... Read More

Improve Your Sales Call Memory to Strengthen Your Sales Intuition
The average person only remembers about forty major events of their entire life. However, Jill Rose has a very unique talent. She can remember every detail about every day of her life. As a result, memory researchers at the University California at Irvine have been studying Jill's memory recall for ...Read More

How Ronald Reagan Would Change Your Corporate Sales Presentation
Whether you’re trying to win the big multi-million dollar account or sway industry analysts, your corporate sales presentation is a key event in most every deal. It is the pivotal moment where you can communicate your advantages...Read More