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Technology, please: Using online productivity tools to do better in business

September 9, 2014

With a friend, I built kitchens and bathrooms. That was fun, and almost a hobby rather than a business — though not intentionally so. We would wait for money to come in, spend many unhealthy hours with a phone seemingly stuck to the side of our heads, and pay multiple visits to customers before jobs to plan, discuss and change plans again.

If only I knew then what I know now.

It wasn’t that we didn’t know about technology — hey, we had mobile phones and used email! And as fast as technology moves, even that short time ago there were tools that would have made our lives so much easier. But we did things the hard way.

We would sketch designs until we ran out of paper, rather than use any of the many free online planning tools widely available. We’d trip over duplicate emails because we weren’t synced up. (I replied to the email; he replied to the same email. How professional is that? Not so much, I agree.) We chased payments. On foot, sometimes.

So would I do it again? Absolutely. But I’d do it so much better.

Knowing what I now know about all the amazing productivity tools available to small business owners (from GoDaddy and other companies), I’d work smarter — using technology to save time and money (not to mention the environment), communicate more effectively, and get paid faster. Here’s how.  (more…)

Four ways to make employees your greatest asset

September 8, 2014
By Cindy Bates –

Your employees have the potential to be the greatest asset to your business. Developing loyal, skilled employees with a passion for the business doesn’t happen on its own and requires a concerted effort. Here are four ways you can start investing in what could be your business’ greatest asset:

1. Create champions. Identify areas of the business that employees are passionate about, like marketing or customer service, and let employees “champion” that part of the business. Have them take responsibility for developing ways to improve their respective areas, and empower champions by providing opportunities to work together across teams. Make sure champions set quantifiable goals – that way you can track success.

2. Get flexible.If the nature of your business allows it, consider allowing employees to work remotely. Research shows that when workers have more flexibility, they’re happier, better able to perform and more likely to stay at a job for longer periods. Job satisfaction is also improved by eliminating the anxiety caused by traffic and daily commutes. This could be a regular occurrence, such as “Work from Home Fridays,” or something that’s permitted on an as-needed basis. Leverage a tool like Office 365 so employees can maintain productivity and collaboration from anywhere.  (more…)

Rhonda Abrams, Travel Blog Series: Smart Small Business Travel

September 3, 2014
Increase Your Return-on-Travel on Your Very Next Trip

This blog post first appeared on 06/30/14 on Visa Business

To increase orders from your current customers and find new clients, plan a business trip. Travel, an important tool in your small-business tool kit, is an investment in growing and sustaining your business. And as with any investment, you want to get the highest return—in this case, your return on travel.

Businesses get an average return of $9.50 for every travel dollar they spend, according to a study the U.S. Travel Association sponsored, which Oxford Economics conducted. And it’s clear why business travel makes sense.

In-person interactions close sales and deepen relationships.  (more…)

3 Things You Need to Do When Choosing Technology for Your Business

September 2, 2014

As an SMB owner, you want to maximize the investments you’ve made in your business. You want to get more done in less time. And you want to ensure you’re communicating effectively with customers and employees. The right technology can help you do both. Here are three ways you can ensure you’re making the right technology decisions for your business.

1. Know that “free” often comes at a cost. The old saying is true: there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Saving money in any way possible is a top priority for most small business owners, but when it comes to choosing technology, it pays to think through the downsides of free solutions before they end up costing your business in the form of frustration and lost productivity. A free software program may have some of the features you need, but getting it to integrate with separate business applications can be a huge challenge.

“Free” also often means you won’t have access to tech support when something does go wrong, and you’ll be on your own to learn the ins and outs of the technology as well. If you want to learn how to use a solution, and get professional help integrating it with other applications and fixing issues when they arise, a sound alternative to free is to pay a reasonable monthly or annual subscription for cloud solutions.  (more…)

Success Story: Iowa

September 1, 2014

Dina Stroud Faith owns The Best of Floyd County Hometown Value Magazine, an advertising magazine coming out in August 2014 that focuses on local businesses and activities in Floyd County, Indiana. The local publication will be sent to higher income Floyd County residents only.

Before becoming an entrepreneur, Dina started her direct mail career 25 years ago,spending the first 10 years selling advertising for Val-Pak.  Dina has also sold advertising for a couple of local direct mail coupon magazines and has spent eight years selling database-driven and targeted solo direct mail products to businesses on a national level.

When asked why she chose this business to get involved in, Dina answered, “I’ve enjoyed all of the products I’ve sold, but there was always “something I would fix” about each program, so I decided I would take the best that each product had to offer, include some added value aspects, and create what I think is the best possible product for local businesses to reach the consumers in the local area.”

Dina’s mission for her business is to provide a high quality, affordable direct mail magazine for local businesses to market their brand, products and services to residents of the local community while apportioning proceeds back to a community development, educational or charitable organization.  (more…)