A recent Gallup report tells us that 43 percent of employed Americans spend at least some time working remotely – and that offering work-from-home options actually helps a company retain employees. Between the documented boosts in productivity in work-from-home employees and the potential for increased retention, extending flexible options seems like a no-brainer. For many small businesses, though, managing a remote team can be tricky. The good news? There are several tools and tips to help small business owners overcome these hurdles. Embrace remote positions when seeking talent By 2025, at l ..read more

A strong sales team is a vital part of your overall business success. But, don’t forget that there are other methods you can use to build sales and many of them will cost you not much or, even, nothing, in many cases. Optimize the placement of your call to action As simple as this may seem, many marketers are probably not putting their call to action (CTA) anywhere besides the obvious, a landing page or the product description page. Let’s think about this. You want your audience to contact you. That is the bottom line when it comes to using websites as a sales incentive. CTAs can be extremely ..read more

We know that we have the Income Statement and the Balance Sheet. We know that we have Accounts Receivables and Accounts Payables. We know that we have Net Income and potentially Net Loss. But did you know that you have Direct and Indirect Labor? Did you know that there are different types of labor within your business? There are so many different ways to describe the two different types of labor; in fact you could spend hours on Google trying to figure it all out. In the end it all comes down to Direct – Revenue Generating (billable) and Indirect – Non-Revenue Generating (non-billable). Direc ..read more

When it comes to the things you should be saying in a customer service interaction, there’s plenty of advice out there. There are best practice tips, handy canned statements, and end-to-end conversation guides. But what about the things you shouldn’t say? Some are self-explanatory — it’s obvious that it’s a bad idea to swear at customers, for example. But there is also a host of poor customer service phrases that are a little more nuanced. At face value, they might even seem acceptable and useful. So, what are the phrases that enrage customers? 1. “Calm down” Telling a customer to calm down ..read more

Small businesses often find it hard to compete against larger enterprises, especially due to their limited resources. But this doesn’t mean that you have to give up and be okay with conglomerates zeroing in on your tuff. A little creative thinking and innovation can go a long way towards successfully marketing your small business. The trick is knowing what methods are a waste of resources and which ones provide a positive ROI. This post highlights marketing ideas for small businesses that provide results without requiring too much financial investment. Invest in marketing automation Marketing ..read more

A balance sheet reflecting a working capital that has been clearly mishandled can teach small businesses operating inventory a lesson or two about the consequences of a badly managed stock. A lesson learned, now what? How to manage inventory so not to hurt the cash flow and endanger the future of your company?  Stock control is a highly challenging task unless you learn certain routines. Let us try and break it down for you. A cash flow is defined by Investopedia as the net amount of cash and cash-equivalents being transferred into and out of a business.  Once you purchase inventory your money ..read more

Starting your own business or working at a bustling startup can be thrilling. Every milestone is worth celebrating. Each success well-earned. Flexibility, following your passion, there are countless reasons to work for yourself or at a small company. But sometimes there’s a small business catch: an equally small marketing budget. You need to make a major marketing splash if you want your company to succeed. But how do you do that when there isn’t enough cash flow for your dream marketing campaign? Luckily, you can “hack” your way to the top with free marketing resources. No budget? No problem ..read more

In order to fill your CRM with useful information, you need to get creative and dedicated to the collection of customer data. And to make the most of your CRM, you need to be proactive in applying that information to customer experience improvement. The entire purpose of a CRM tool is to manage your relationship with your customers. So it’s only natural you’ll want to utilize the detailed customer information with any automated marketing tactics. One of the most popular automated marketing tactics of today is through the live chat trend. Having chatbots tend your website is a great way for a s ..read more

Summer is here, which means that construction companies are getting ready to break ground all over the country—if they haven’t already. As construction business owners know all too well, cash can seem to evaporate once a project is underway. Maybe you underestimate the cost of a project, maybe you have to rent or buy expensive construction equipment, or maybe you need to procure costly materials only to have to wait around for weeks to get reimbursed. Whatever the case may be, it can be tricky for construction business owners to find the funds needed to ensure projects stay on schedule, keep ..read more

When most entrepreneurs think of Amazon, they think of a prime place to sell online. And that’s the truth — but there’s a lot behind the scenes that goes into selling on the marketplace. Namely, order fulfillment. Amazon offers four main ways of getting your orders to the customer’s door, each with its own pros and cons, and each with its own ins and outs. Here’s a primer on every fulfillment model the marketplace supports. Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA) This is one of the most popular programs Amazon has to offer, and that’s mainly because you’re punting fulfillment 100% to Amazon. It allows sel ..read more