All Entries in the "Trends" Category
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 [...]
Business Owner Optimism Edging Up
The latest Small Business Optimism Index (January 2013), published monthly by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), shows that business owners are getting slightly more optimistic about the year ahead — but just barely. Results are drawn from a sample of about 4,000 small business owners surveyed in December. Here’s a snapshot of what’s happening [...]
13 Business Resolutions for 2013
Here they are, along with some of our best tips and strategies to help you pull each one off: Resolution #1: Fix my website! Here are 10 things that are probably wrong with your site, and how to fix them: 10 Things Wrong With Your Website Resolution#2: Improve our customer service! Here’s how: 8 Ways to [...]
What You Should Know About Pheed
First off, no whining about yet another social media site – even if it is one that gives you a way to directly make money from it (assuming you have content or clout that people will pay for). Here are the basics: Pheed is a new social platform created by a group of tech and [...]
12 Digital Trends That Will Rock Small Business
The digital world is changing rapidly with profound implications for how small businesses are found online, in search, on mobile devices and in social media. Here’s my list of today’s 12 key digital trends with the greatest potential impact (for updates, follow us on Twitter @140Main or visit BizBest): 1. Shrinking Space for Search Results [...]
20 Digital Trends You Need to Know
I just completed an interactive local media conference where some of today’s smartest minds in digital were gathered, from the likes of Google, Facebook, IdeaLab, CitiGrid, Constant Contact and dozens more. Here’s my list of the Top 20 trends (and some implications) in digital, search, social media and online marketing that emerged from this semi-annual [...]
How Small Businesses Use a Facebook Page
For the first time, most small businesses are now using their Facebook page for customer acquisition!
4 Reasons to Ban the Yearend Bonus
Sure, nobody wants to be labeled a Scrooge. But if you’re among the roughly 50% of U.S. businesses (and shrinking) that still offer traditional yearend bonuses, it might be time to join the 21st century – and plan for something different in 2013. Too many small business bonus plans operate on autopilot, under “conventional wisdom” [...]
Why Google AuthorRank is a Game Changer
The arrival of Google AuthorRank, and its cousin Google Authorship, reorders the digital universe in a way that can send digital importance and social influence soaring for business owners, journalists, writers, bloggers, entrepreneurs and executives active in social media. Authorship and AuthorRank are part of a new and rapidly evolving Google initiative with immediate game-changing [...]
A Two Dollar Local Marketing Solution
In the small town where I grew up, my father was known as “King of the $2 Bill.” He ran the local savings & loan, located on (yes, this is for real) Main Street, and loved to hand out $2 bills as gifts. Sometimes he’d even pay spot bonuses to employees in bunches of $2 [...]
