Trying to grow your business in a declining area can put you up against a wall when it comes to recruiting local workers. Could you expand your recruiting outside your area with telecommuting? Ed Morrison has some great telecommuting links on the EDPro weblog. He says that “Reports in Europe indicate that between 15% and…
In a word, yes.I know exactly one business person that I consider successful at small biz survival who had no plan. Now, he possesses way more than his share of innate good business sense. (Maybe that explains why some people have way less than their share.)If you want to survive in the midst of decline,…
If you paid any contractors more than $600 last year, the IRS says you must issue them a 1099. Questions? Check with your tax preparer. The deadline is January 31. [1099] [small business] [small biz]
If you are going to try to compete with the world for online sales, consider this interesting article on live chat for sales websites. On an average website, only 2% of visits result in actual sales. You can do better, maybe up to 25%, by adding a live chat feature.“‘”People like to buy from people,’”…
One of my favorite sources for business how-to articles is the SCORE Reading Room. The articles are generally easy to read and provide a quick introduction to a subject. The topic headings are: Business PlanningDisaster AssistanceE-BusinessFinance & CapitalHuman ResourcesLeadershipLegalMarketing & Public RelationsOffice ManagementSales & Customer ServiceTraining If you haven’t already, add it to your business…
Internet Marketing For Small Business – Entrepreneur’s Journey – by Yaro Starak: As I matured as a solopreneur I slowly realized the importance of relationship building, especially with customers and how powerful it can be as a competitive advantage. Customers that form relationships with your business, or in truth, you as a solopreneur, will remain…
With Few Options, Rural Businesses Forced to Find Their Own Internet Access: “It comes down to population density,” said Josh Holbrook, an analyst with the Yankee Group, a research firm based in Boston. The smaller the population that would benefit from DSL, the less likely a service provider will invest the money into DSL equipment….
Supreme Court Mulls Definition of ‘Small Business’: “”There’s a lot of federal laws that don’t kick in unless a business has a certain number of employees,” Harned said. “So deciding who counts is crucial.”” Those laws include the Americans with Disabilities Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, etc. Each one has…
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