Boy, I remember my first few years of business… When I think back, I kind of cringe at some of the mistakes that I made in my first few years as a small business owner. Now, sixteen years later, I simply can’t believe that I ever made those silly errors. But the reason that I am still in business is because I learned from them. Every single mistake I ever made, I learned from. That’s how you make a small business thrive. December is the perfect time to take a good look back at your year, figure out what worked…
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Is there anything worse than having a bad customer service experience during the holidays? The holidays are packed with stressful situations. You need to get everything at work finished before the holidays start. You need to buy presents. You need to decorate. And you need to go to all of those wonderful social occasions you’re invited to! Earlier this week, I got a quick reminder of how important good customer service is over the holidays. I had ordered a very special holiday gift for my husband that was supposed to arrive on Monday. Wednesday morning, two days later, I awoke…
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There is nothing like shopping for gifts to make the holiday stresses pile up! Even though Black Friday is behind us, the malls are still packed with folks trying to find the right gifts for their family and friends. You’re probably one of them (if you can find the time…). Gifts are more than just objects; they show someone how much we care about them. And who does a small business care about more than their clients? Small client holiday gifts or gestures can be a great way to reinforce current client relationships while also reviving old ones. These don’t…
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Tis the season… to be ridiculously stressed out! The holidays can come at you fast, sometimes too fast for you to get everything done in time. Your usual workload is often augmented by extra holiday-related tasks, and not just at your small business. There is decorating, cooking, gift shopping… That kind of stress can build up! If you have limited staff at work, or if it is just you, getting a little extra holiday help can be useful. But it can cost too much to hire and train new employees just for the holiday season. Enter an experienced virtual assistant!…
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It is no coincidence that you see an explosion of advertising around the holiday season. No matter what the industry, the winter holidays are a time when wallets tend to open just a little bit easier than the rest of the year. As a small business owner, you want to take advantage of the spirit of the season by putting your brand’s best foot forward. Here are a few ways that you can give your brand a boost before the new year! #1: Outsource Frequent Tasks Time is money, and as a small business owner, you probably don’t have much…
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There are some holidays that seem almost custom-made to give you the perfect excuse to reach out to former and current clients, telling them how much you appreciated their business. There is Christmas, of course. Valentine’s Day is another popular occasion. And then, there is the November holiday that is coming up fast, Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is the time of year where we gather with family and friends to give thanks for all of the wonderful things in our lives. For the small business owner or entrepreneur, Thanksgiving also gives you an ideal opportunity to be thankful for your business, including…
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Time flies. To me, it feels like the year just got started, but now we are rapidly approaching the end of it. With Thanksgiving in just a few weeks, you can soon expect to see holiday decorations everywhere, with “Jingle Bell Rock” playing every time you walk into a mall. Between the chaos of the holidays and the end of year work crunch, you might be worried that you won’t be able to find the time to spend with your family and friends, let alone make time for a winter vacation. The last thing you want to do is get…
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How long is your to-do list? To-do lists are awesome things. Just trying to get through the day-to-day work at your business can be stressful. When you need to tackle a huge project, the work can sometimes seem overwhelming. By using a great to-do list, you can mitigate that stress by seeing all of the tasks of the day, week, or month laid out in front of you. The trick is that, when you are running a small business, your regular to-do list might be a bit too limited to get the job done. This is one of the reasons…
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Have you ever heard the old saying, “Show, don’t tell”? Visual and graphic design is an absolutely essential part of any company’s branding. Without an attractive visual element, a brand is simply words on a page. With great graphic design, a brand can pop and get into the minds of potential clients and customers alike. Unfortunately, many companies tend to put the importance of graphic design on the back burner, either believing it doesn’t makes a huge difference or feeling that they can do just as good a job themselves. This kind of thinking can make or break a business.…
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With the advent of social media, the world of advertising has been blown wide open. It used to be that small businesses would have to pay through the nose to get print ads in major publications. I mean, how else could they get the attention of new customers? But social media and the internet changed all that. Now, small businesses can run specifically targeted ads on social media platforms, and best of all, they can do it at a price point that is WAY cheaper than it used to be. One of the best advertising platforms today is an app…
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