Small Business Blog
Our small business blog contains information which you should find helpful in running your business. If you have a suggestion for a topic, contact us and if we publish the topic on our blog - you'll get a gift card!
Smart Lightbulbs for your Small Business? Yes, please!
Smart lightbulbs. Lightbulbs with AI. They exist. And yes, your office totally wants needs them!
Okay, so this post seems to veer a little off of our regularly trod tech savvy path, but hear us out: in this day in small business age, when at least half of your team works from home and the other half flip flops between HQ and their home office and spend every other waking moment in meetings off-site, smart light bulbs are a dream come true.
Elevate your elevator pitch with a few more stories
If you own a small business, or just work at one, you’ve got your elevator pitch down pat.
4 Social media mistakes that have nothing to do with design and scheduling
There are lists upon lists of social media rules out there that surely you know by now, like that you need to make a plan, ensure your photos and graphics look pro, and post often. So we compiled a list of lesser-known mistakes instead!
What is a reasonable guarantee for Search Engine Optimization ROI, really?
When you make a financial investment you expect to see numerical facts and colourful graphs. Which is why it’s frustrating to sit down with an SEO consultant only to hear that they can’t tell you how many calls you can expect per hour spent on SEO. Perhaps you will walk away from that meeting and go searching online for a better company, one that can promise a high return on investment. Your search will lead you to a ton of ads promising to deliver you first page Google rankings, and all kinds of incoming traffic, with a side of sales galore! Sounds too good to be true? It is.
The Need for Legendary Customer Service in Small Business
We talk a lot about how much of the success of a business relies on the quality of the product and services offered. The daily grind quickly becomes about sales, advertising, growth, and evolution. Customer service takes a back seat in comparison, and customers are taking note.
Losing time at work? Stop looking at your phone for answers
How many screens do you look at on any given workday? Your phone, your computer, your tablet, your e-reader…maybe even multiple monitor screens, your team’s screens, and then some. We put so much trust in the rapid advancement on technology that we think it boosts our productivity.
Do deal with unhappy customers, but don’t let them ruin your groove
Previously we talked all about how personalized customer service techniques can endear you to your customers and instill loyalty. It’s a winning strategy, but you can’t make everyone happy. There will always be someone who cannot be appeased, placated, or consoled. Here are some tips on how to be prepared to professionally and personally handle difficult situations.
How to Embrace Change as a Small Business without Freaking Out
Change. It’s a word that incites immediate cringing and full body chills. Entrepreneurs are dealt that word on the fly 100 times per week. Try this app, automate this, let’s try this marketing idea, that staff member is leaving, we need more people on the team. If ain’t broke…. Right? But this isn’t true.
Hello? Is This Thing On? Advertising Tips for Shiny New Small Business
Starting a new business is overwhelming. You line up all of your ducks in a row, make sure people want the ducks, but then come to the realization that not enough people know you have ducks available. That’s okay, you still got this! Here are our tips for setting up your advertising strategy when your small business is just starting out.
Why Yes, Your Small Business Should Implement a Video Marketing Strategy
Recon work in business is necessary. If you don’t know what your competition is doing, if you don’t know where trends are heading, your business is going to fall behind and eventually out of play. But when you take a look around and see all of the bright, shiny, pro-quality videos posted by the competition you may start to stress.
How to Ask for Business Help without Selling Your Soul
Everyone in business needs help, from the mega-corporations to us SMBs. The difference is that mega-corporations can add someone to the team permanently, or spend ten grand on a consultant, whereas the SMBs tend to require the DIY approach.
How To Write Emails People Will Respond To
It’s quite normal for small businesses to rely on email as their primary form of communication. When you’re working with a team of 5 – or 1 – you can’t spare the time to have someone sit beside a phone all day. Email is convenient and provides an instant paper trail. We love it! Having been a part of our daily lives for well over 20 years, and thanks to our smartphones we’re almost never without it, you’d think that everyone would have email communication down to an art form. Alas! But don’t worry, we’re here to help.
You need an online store, they said. It’ll be fun, they said
Do your customers browse online but shop in store? Or do they browse in-store and shop online?
Yes. Yes, they do.
Only You Can Prevent Wasted Networking Opportunities
Networking has a bad rap, but we’re here to clear up the misconception. Business cannot survive on enthusiasm and guts alone; there truly is value in the adage, it’s all in who you know. You need to be in contact with people who have the right skills or connections to help you develop your business from all angles, including product and service development, marketing, technical support, finances, and customer service. The business community is stronger as a whole, and competition is healthy because it pushes us to focus on making advances in our field. It’s a relief to have connections you can call on when you’re in a jam, or just need to sit down over lunch and problem solve with a like-minded colleague. But we’ve all been caught in networking situations that were a huge waste of time.
Launching an Online Shop? Avoid Making These Common E-commerce Mistakes
Launching your online store is such a thrill! Everything you’ve been working towards for months, possibly years, is paying off – and soon will pay you back, directly. You’ve poured over financials, studied your field, conducted some solid noise on social media, and…wait. You did do all of that, right? Read on about some of the most common e-commerce mistakes that business owners make so that you don’t have to.
Tips for providing your designer with efficient feedback
Despite the surge in DIY website and graphic design, there’s nothing quite like the peace of mind that comes with hiring a pro. All of a sudden *POOF* your problems regarding time and quality disappear and you’re able to focus on business and leave the details to someone else. Which is why you become dismayed and frustrated when you’re inbox is filled with emails from your designer, and your timeline gets stretched out because you’ve still got details to deal with. What gives?
Someone on your team has superpowers. Are you letting them use those powers for good?
Fellow entrepreneurs, did you know that there may be some members of your team who care as passionately about the success of your business as you do? It’s true. They’re known as intrepreneurs because they work with the same work ethic you do, except they’re happy to let you be the boss.
Signs You’re Hiring a High Quality Website Designer
Website designers are plentiful, which makes sense in an economic landscape that relies on online marketing and sales. As the client, at best you know enough about website design to engage in detailed conversation with your designer about the elements and plugins your website needs. At worst you just figure your business needs a website in order to thrive. Be confident that the website designer you hire comes equipped with high-quality design skills and integrity. Here are the top traits you want to ensure your designer has during your consultation.
The Small Business Owners’ Guide to Loving Your Job in 4 Easy Steps
Wouldn’t it be great to finish your workday with a sense of accomplishment instead of feeling run down? It’s easy to look back on a day filled with meetings and a growing To Do list and consider it wasted time, and that, fellow entrepreneurs, is a good way to hate your job. You’re the owner/operator – you should LOVE your job! Of everyone involved in your company, you have the power to make work something to look forward to every morning. Here’s what you can do to make that Monday morning feeling one of joy.
Facebook Advertising Evolved. Again
But don’t panic!
As you may recall, people found out that Facebook advertising included a mega breach of trust, and said people (a.k.a all of us), got mad. Rightfully so. In a move to regain trust of the average Facebook user, your Facebook advertising process has been seriously altered over the last several months.
