As entrepreneurs, we think we are the only one who can get the job done. We have a hard time letting go of the reins, and letting other qualified people help us in areas where we need assistance. But if you don’t learn to allow others to help you — especially in your areas of weakness — you set yourself up to become overwhelmed and frustrated. Continue reading »
I’ve had my company up and running for five years. We’ve gotten past the start-up days where it felt like survival most of the time. We have a steady group of customers, and we’ve gotten through the recession with flat revenue, and now we’re starting to grow again. I feel like we’re at a fork in the road: We’re no longer worried about making payroll, but at the same time, I don’t see the potential for creating a huge business in the future. I’m not feeling the same passion and motivation for the business that I used to feel when we were just starting up—I’d like to get re-energized, but I’m not sure what to focus on. Any suggestions?
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Small business owners who don’t understand their financial statements and don’t bother to learn how to read them will never make fully informed decisions for their companies, says Bill Hettinger, co-author of a new book, Finance Without Fear. Hettinger, an economic development and entrepreneurship consultant and business professor, and his co-author, John Dolan-Heitlinger, aim to take the mysteries out of basic financial statements and make them more accessible to entrepreneurs. Once small business owners know what the numbers mean, they can plan more knowledgeably and avoid being blindsided, says Hettinger. Edited excerpts of Continue reading »
I’ve suggested often that reviews in your Google Places and Yelp pages have become a very necessary aspect of trust building as well as local SEO. So much so that getting proactive in stimulating reviews in all the right places must be on the checklist of marketing action steps.
Today Google added an interesting twist to Google Maps searches called Descriptive Terms that injects another dynamic – search optimized reviews. Google has started indexing local search results with phrases that accompany things like reviews. So if you search Marketing Agencies Kansas City, MO you get one set of listing and if you add something like “digital work” to the search the list changes based on words in the reviews.
Right now this is just a Google Maps function, but Google claims it will spread in Place search on Google.com and Google Maps for mobile soon!
Better start suggesting keyword phrases for those reviews people are anxious to write.
Learn More about mobile marketing: http://www.uscsb.org/blog/uscsb-local-mobile-marketing-options
Dear John:
I have an idea for a business, but there is already a lot of competition. Do I need to find a new idea?
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