All Entries in the "Featured" Category
Why Even Great Marketing Ideas Fail
Small business owners are always devising “killer” marketing or ad campaigns that – in theory at least – will send business soaring. Whether created in-house or with outside help, it can be a great concept, with sparkling design and a compelling message and yet still bomb big time. What’s up with that? In most cases [...]
8 Keys to Re-energizing Your Business
It’s a tough world out there. Customers are demanding more. Competition is keen – sometimes from unexpected places. Your business must work harder and smarter to improve profits. And on top of it all, there always seem to be new taxes and regulations to deal with. Sometimes however (not that this includes you, of course), [...]
5 Ways Mistakes Can Make a Business Better
With little cash, and even less wine industry experience, Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey launched Barefoot Wine in – where else – their laundry room. They built the brand and later sold it to wine giant E&J Gallo. Now the business owner duo share what they learned along the way with other business owners. One [...]
Which Social Media Work Best for Business
Small business owners are continuing to try social media as a marketing channel. But with so many options – and limited time and resources to use them – which ones are working best? As with so many other things in business, the answer is: “It depends.” One thing is clear: Small businesses are moving headlong [...]
The 8 Best Online Businesses to Start Now
Looking to start a business? If you want something with big potential that doesn’t take much startup capital, consider an online service of some type. A major shift toward purchasing both consumer and business-to-business services online has created a slew of opportunities for would-be entrepreneurs. For one thing, Internet usage continues to soar. Going online [...]
Obamacare Small Business Quick Start Guide
Whether you’re angry, happy or just plain confused about how “Obamacare” (a.k.a. the Affordable Care Act, or ACA) will impact your business, my best advice is this: Get over it! Official start date is January 1, 2014, but some provisions are already in place (such as healthcare tax credits for small biz) with more coming [...]
5 Low Risk Ways to Fund Future Business Growth
Here at BizBest, a common concern I often see from business owners and start-up entrepreneurs is where the money will come from to fund future growth. For some, that might require outside investors, which in turn can mean giving up partial ownership or control. But most businesses can grow successfully by using one or a [...]
6 Lessons on Becoming a High Impact Business
Uncle Sam wanted to know: What kinds of companies are America’s true growth generators? Is it corporate giants like Apple, Amazon or GE? Is it startups? Is it relative newbies such as Facebook. After some exhaustive research, the answer was clear: “None of the above.” As it turns out, the real economic spark plugs in [...]
Why Marketing Metrics Matter to Your Business
When it comes to measuring marketing success, many business owners (and professional marketers) prefer to think that results are more magic than math. But that’s just not so. The digital era – with it’s easy (relatively) access to analytics – has introduced a whole new way of thinking. Using real data, business owners can now [...]
5 Free or Frugal Business PR Tools
Business owners and startup entrepreneurs are always searching for low-cost and no-cost ways to promote their businesses and get their name in front of potential customers. PR is a perfect way for most businesses to get attention and attract new customers. Nothing brings people to your door (website, Facebook page, etc.) like PR. Most businesses [...]
