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The First 5 Things to Do When Getting Started on Twitter

September 21, 2012

For most things you want to accomplish in life, getting started is often the hardest part. The same is true for social media. If you are anxious about getting started it is easy to put off signing up for Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest until tomorrow… or next week… or next month.

To help you stop procrastinating and start achieving your social media goals, here’s a list of the first 5 things you should do to get started on Twitter.

1. Develop your identity.

After choosing a username, or as it’s called on Twitter your “handle,” you’ll want to create a bio that captures the spirit of your business. Keep in mind, more people will find you on Twitter that have no previous knowledge of who you are or what you do than on any other network. If you had just a few seconds (or in this case 160 characters) to explain your business to a complete stranger, what would you say? That will be your bio. (more…)

Internet Marketing for Beginners: Part 1 – The Goal

September 17, 2012

Are you a business owner? Listen up! Today, it is ESSENTIAL you have a concrete online marketing plan…and I’m here to show you how. Don’t worry, I’m not going to bury you in techy lingo, like “hits, bandwidth, and servers.” This article is your non-technical, business-owner friendly introduction to Internet marketing.

The goal of any good marketing plan is to generate business. A good Internet marketing plan should do the same. The website, while not the only piece of your online strategy, is the hub in the wheel of your Internet strategy.

A good website must generate at least one of the following: sales, leads, or customer support. Unfortunately, most people view a website as an online billboard or virtual pamphlet. A good website DOES something. Let me reiterate: A good website MUST generate sales, leads, or support for an existing group. Otherwise, in my opinion, you are wasting your money. (more…)

Never stop learning – tips for being a lifelong student

September 10, 2012

Businessman Henry L. Doherty once said, “Get over the idea that only children should spend their time in study. Be a student so long as you still have something to learn, and this will mean all your life.” We probably would all nod our heads in agreement over the truth of this statement, but if we’re honest with ourselves, many of us may also confess to not being the students we aspire to be.

Probably the biggest obstacle keeping us from prioritizing our continuing education is time. None of us seems to have enough of it and though we have all good intentions of getting back into reading notable biographies or taking that evening class at the local community college, it’s all too easy for the demands of life and work to interfere and for being a student to take a backseat until it’s more convenient.

However, as we find ourselves in the midst of back-to-school season, let’s use this as an impetus to actually take some action when it comes to lifelong learning. Doing so will benefit us not only personally but also professionally. For example, keeping our minds fit will help us be more inquisitive and open to new possibilities in the workplace and. As you consider ways you can take yourself “back-to-school,” here are a few ideas you might want to incorporate in your curriculum: (more…)

Three Important Technical Skills Veterans Can Bring to Your Business

September 7, 2012

The compelling reasons for hiring veterans cover the gamut, from the benefits veterans can bring to your company to the tax credits you might receive if you complete a little paperwork. Employees exuding qualities like leadership, adaptability and working well under stress can help any business achieve greater heights.

Yet considering veterans for those qualities alone is only tapping into a small portion of their potential. Many veterans can enlist in your workforce with technical skills that can be a boost to your business. But, in many instances, you have to dig to discover what technical skills lie under the surface. As you interview and evaluate veteran candidates, see if they possess any of these important skills.

1. Mechanical skills. What the military uses, the military repairs. If you’re an entrepreneur in a mechanical field—or own a business with many mechanical assets, like a warehouse or towing company— see what mechanical skills vet applicants can bring to your shop. Some skills may not be listed because they’re not within the scope of a veteran’s former assignment. (more…)

Jumpstarting Growth from The Legal Edge, SmartCEO Magazine

September 5, 2012
By Jack Garson

The JOBS Act promotes investments in small businesses

On April 5, 2012, the new Jumpstart Our Business Start-ups Act became law. The primary purpose of the JOBS Act is to reduce the legal burdens that small businesses face in raising capital.

With this new law, the pendulum has now swung once again toward deregulation, and rather quickly at that. In the wake of the Enron scandal and, later, the financial meltdown on Wall Street in 2008, Congress passed a variety of restrictions on the financial world. First the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and then the Dodd-Frank Act imposed new regulations, including burdensome disclosure requirements for publicly traded companies. These laws were layered on top of the securities acts passed in the 1930s, largely as a consequence of another couple of economic boo-boos: the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression. (more…)