02/28/2018
Like many entrepreneurs, in the beginning of my own business I did not really plan for growth. Instead, I responded to opportunities as they came. In fact, I first went in to business by literally bumping into an opportunity. One day, while walking my dog, I met a man who needed a business plan. He was my first client.

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02/26/2018
Being a small business owner is expensive as it is -- every penny counts when entrepreneurs are living on razor-thin margins and fighting for market share. But owning and operating a small business is even more expensive when you pay more taxes than you owe.

In a survey personal finance expert Garrett Gunderson conducted of his small business-owner clients and wrote about for Forbes, approximately 93 percent of them had overpaid over the past dozen years. Now, nobody expects owners to be tax professionals -- you do have businesses to run, after all -- but it's important to know where you can save money in order to invest that money back into your business.

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02/23/2018
Video is a medium that gives your small business lots of different options for communicating and sharing information with customers. But it can be sort of overwhelming for some small businesses. Arielle Kimbarovsky of CrowdSpring offers some suggestions for businesses looking to make the most of video in a recent post.

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02/21/2018
In fact, some business leaders get so overwhelmed by the din of competing voices from service providers, they sit on the sidelines and fail to take advantage of some productivity and profitability enhancing systems.

I want to point out several good apps and SaaS tools, but before I get into specifics, I want to create a simple framework in which you should evaluate these tools. Further, keep in mind that one of the biggest advantages these tools give you is the ability to successfully manage virtual teams. However, you will find almost all of them appropriate for local use as well.

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02/19/2018
Continuing with our annual look at the top trends in small business, this week we get to the Top 5. Apparently, the only thing constant is change.

5. You will get hacked. In fact, you probably were in the past year, right? The Equifax hack alone exposed the private data of almost 150 million people. Or how about Yahoo? Last year the company divulged that all 3 billion of its accounts were hacked a couple of years ago. Other notable breaches this past year include:

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02/16/2018
Building a small business online is scary. Big businesses can easily outspend you with PPC, SEO, SMM and inbound marketing campaigns.

However, smart startup founders grimly pass around business battles on the blogosphere, charging low prices for quality product, reversing their vision, failing to voice their opinion on their podcasts, showing contempt for our product, and disrespect for our craft.

And yet, look around at the World Wide Web jungle. It's watered by the services offered by small businesses. The technology to produce product and convert customers exists because we create codes, design services, and write web pages, blog posts, and marketing materials that generate leads and close sales. And every 350-pound gorilla company uses our products or services to thrive.

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02/14/2018
Branding, services, promotions, products, pricing, prints, blogs, advertising, research and social media -- all of this is marketing. With all the marketing options out there, it can be difficult for small businesses to know what to do. Marketing is a concentrated effort to do push your brand across a variety of platforms and hope that enough makes it through to your customer. Customers need to hear your message several times, so brand, brand, brand! Here are some simple steps to help you market your small business:

1. Get organized. Getting an organized plan is the first step in any marketing effort. Make one. Start with brainstorming, create themes and transfer action items to a calendar or to-do list.

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02/12/2018
Although there are still many unknowns about the tax law that took effect Jan. 1, some small business owners have already figured out that they stand to gain from some of its changes and are changing their plans to maximize their benefits. Some believe they will get a break on income taxes for sole proprietorships, partners and what are called S corporations. Those who buy new computers, vehicles or other equipment can take a bigger deduction.

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02/09/2018
Personal resolutions can be tough to keep — lose those pounds or quit smoking — but those of the small business variety can be a whole lot easier and bring you greater satisfaction and success by year’s end.

Seven resolutions to help you succeed in 2018:

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02/07/2018
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was signed into law by President Donald Trump on Dec. 22, 2017, and it is being put into action starting with the 2018 tax year.

On the personal side, the final bill cuts income tax rates in almost every tax bracket, doubles the standard deduction, eliminates personal exemptions, doubles the child tax credit, expands medical expense deductions, repeals the Obamacare tax and doubles the estate tax exemption.

On the business side of things, the tax bill lowers the corporate tax rate from 35 to 21 percent -- which is the lowest rate since 1939. For pass-through businesses -- which many small businesses are -- the standard deduction gets boosted to 20 percent.

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02/05/2018
Here are five things in technology that happened this past week and how they affect your business. Did you miss them?

1 — Amazon Go cashier-less convenience store opens to the public in Seattle.

This week in Seattle, Amazon opened its cashier-less convenience store to the general public. At Amazon Go, customers scan their smartphone on the way in and are then tracked with cameras and other sensors as they browse.

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02/02/2018
The beginning of the new year is when the worlds top investors make their predictions of industries to keep an eye on. Innovative technologies and ways of doing business are creating growth in certain industries. For those looking for something new to invest time or money in, take a look at these five industries that experts predict to have an increase in growth in 2018.

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