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" I have no idea who those people are, but they were important to me at one time. " That is what a recent client told me when I opened a drawer in her office and found it filled with business cards. The cards had been collected over a year or so of miscellaneous networking events and trade shows. She'd had good intentions of making connections after the events, but the cards never made it farther than her desk drawer. Over time, she had forgotten who many of the people
There are a few standard career management tips I recommend to every professional regardless of position, industry, experience level, or future ambitions. These things are super easy to do and they help ensure you’re taking at least a minimally active role in your professional development. No matter how busy you are, there’s just no excuse to ignore these tips.
There's some really interesting data in the Network Solutions State of Small Business report on the impact of social media on traditional websites. When asked how social media usage is impacting their spending plans on their traditional websites, 62% of small businesses said that social media didn't change their spending plans for the coming year. 27% said they are planning on increasing their spend due to social media. But 9% plan on elimin
Forgetfulness is costing you time, money, and a ton of missed opportunities. In the age of automation, it’s easy to underestimate the power of a well-trained human mind. But memory isn’t just a parlor trick, it's a strategic edge. Human memory is one of the most underrated business skills. Whether you’re managing people, leading sessions, or having high-stakes conversations, remembering names, details, and concepts can be transformative in building trust, absorbing knowledge, and driving perform
Today, March 22, 2011 is World Water Day: The objective of World Water Day 2011 is to focus international attention on the impact of rapid urban population growth, industrialization and uncertainties caused by climate change, conflicts and natural disasters on urban water systems. – from un-water. Not too many moons ago, my family was in a position of knowing what is like to go without water.
The job-search arena has changed. The new technology makes job search more sophisticated and difficult. Think social media, video interview different type of resumes and more.
Business owners hear it all of the time: document your processes and procedures. Yet, time and again, it does not happen. It might start out innocently enough. The business is small - maybe one person - and the need to outline procedures is put low on the priority list. Then things get busier. Maybe the business grows and more people are added. Suddenly, the need for processes and procedures becomes obvious. Today, 16 business owners share their t
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Business owners hear it all of the time: document your processes and procedures. Yet, time and again, it does not happen. It might start out innocently enough. The business is small - maybe one person - and the need to outline procedures is put low on the priority list. Then things get busier. Maybe the business grows and more people are added. Suddenly, the need for processes and procedures becomes obvious. Today, 16 business owners share their t
A few years ago, I decided I was going to run a marathon. I bought a brand new pair of Nikes, loaded my iPod full of great running songs, and mapped out the perfect route around my house. A month later, my Nikes were still pristine, my iPod was collecting dust and that perfect route was gently mocking me every time I left my house. Needless to say, I had the motivation at some point.
Network Solutions recently released its 2010 State of Small Business report and it has lots of interesting information, including data on social media usage by small businesses. As the chart below (chart 14 from the report) shows, Facebook is used by 27% of small businesses for business purposes. That's up from 17% just last June. This is stunning growth and another data point suggesting Facebook is taking over the web. The chart also
Most companies will look to document scanning as a way of managing their paper based information and with advances and maturing technology these solutions have started to become economically viable. There are some economic benefits for organizations to make this transition: Paper based business processes are resource intensive and costly to manage. These systems are often error prone.
In the climb from contributor to leader, the rules quietly change. If you’re aiming for the summit, the air gets thinner—and what got you here won’t be enough to get you to the top (a concept first popularized by Marshall Goldsmith in his book What Got You Here Won’t Get You There ). What made you successful early in your finance career—technical accuracy, sharp analysis, flawless execution—won’t be what carries you to the next level.
The top 5 tips weekly post is always full of hints and tips for small, home & micro business owners. 1. Identify your goal and objectives when tackling a problem. All objectives should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely). 2. Find someone who has already been through similar problems and ask them to be your business mentor. 3.
You have heard it before. You must invest time to save time. But what does that really mean? Do you have small things that bother you -- that take you time? Maybe you have opportunities to invest time to save time. The other day I was working with a client on his computer. He started the conversation by telling me that he did not like how his new Windows laptop was organized. He had gotten used to Windows XP and the new operating system was just not what he li
Season 2/Episode 12 Program Notes. Scroll to the bottom of this page and click on the “AZVAs the Podcast&# link to listen to the episode now. iPod users can find the episode in the podcast directory at the iTunes Store. Here’s that link ! Contents of this episode: Discussion/Announcements/Tips: Tara and Katie give real tips on exactly where to look to find work opportunities within entertainment and sports fields.
OK, I admit we are patting ourselves on the back here. In early 2007 we released the Intuit Future of Small Business report The Changing Face of Entrepreneurs. In it we forecast that the next decade would see entrepreneurs become much more diverse than their predecessors in age, origin and gender. The report also forecast that personal businesses - one person businesses without employees - would increase in number and importance, and drive an overall increase in entrep
The most overlooked, yet most critical, element of transformation is preparing people for change. Automation and AI aren't just technical upgrades, they’re cultural shifts which can challenge identities. That’s why change management isn’t a side project—it’s the foundation. In finance, where precision and process rule, navigating change can feel especially disruptive.
If you’re thinking about how to create a healthier workplace environment, consider going low-VOC. Volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, are chemicals widely used as ingredients in products such as paint, building materials and furnishings, office equipment and cleaning supplies. Elevated levels of VOCs have been linked to eye and respiratory irritation, headaches, fatigue and other symptoms associated with sick building syndrome.
This week I’m pleased to be able to have a post from PR Web’s Jiyan Wei, here on the SME-Blog. As my regular readers will know I’m a huge advocate of small business bootstrapping, and PR and news exposure is a great way for small businesses to get new customers, and it doesn’t have to cost a fortune! Savvy small business owners are always searching for ways to increase the amount of visibility they have locally and ultimately increase sales.
" Balance? What is that?! " was how she responded when I asked her if she had a balance plan. She is not alone! People are working more than ever. "The more I work the more I get done" is the thought, but that is not always true. Professionals often become overwhelmed with the handling of their personal and business matters.
Retailers know the clock is ticking–legacy SAP Commerce support ends in 2026. Legacy platforms are becoming a liability burdened by complexity, rigidity, and mounting operational costs. But modernization isn’t just about swapping out systems, it’s about preparing for a future shaped by real-time interactions, AI powered buying assistants, and flexible commerce architecture.
If you have ever revamped your website or started over from scratch, you know the challenge of thinking through all of the details from functionality, design, content, and who to trust with the project. As a website writer I find myself in the position of shoemaker – focusing on writing content, consulting and training my [.].
by Donna Toothaker. Spring is coming, and with it, an opportunity for a little sprucing up! Time to make a clean sweep of your office, your business systems, and even your mind! As a Virtual Assistant, you likely work from a home office. Chances are, your clients are all over the country (or the globe), and will never come to your office for a meeting.
Disclaimer: I know that I use virtual professionals (virtual assistants, virtual paralegals, etc.) as an example in a lot of my posts, like the one yesterday for example. But to be honest, most of my posts, e-books and coaching materials apply to any small or micro-business providing services. I just happen to have the inside scoop on my own industry, and like most people, I write what I know.
Documents are the backbone of enterprise operations, but they are also a common source of inefficiency. From buried insights to manual handoffs, document-based workflows can quietly stall decision-making and drain resources. For large, complex organizations, legacy systems and siloed processes create friction that AI is uniquely positioned to resolve.
The top 5 tips weekly post is always full of hints and tips for small, home & micro business owners. 1. Make sure that you have a clear policy in place at your small business to set clear guidelines for your employees about allowable expenses. 2. Great travel bargains can be found on the web if you are prepared to invest time looking for them. 3.
One of the reasons that I can get so much done in my business and in life is because I like things that are easy to implement and this is certainly one of them. Marketing business coaches will tell you that one of the best ways to market on the internet is to re-purpose your content. If you follow me on my various platforms ( www.SocialWithSteph.com ) you may have noticed that I do this quite a bit. Why spend time crafting something to only use it once?!
Today is VMoxie day (as you know). What you may not know is that I almost never write in advance, choosing, instead, to writing about whatever’s showing up now that I want to share with you. Unfortunately, today I’ve woken up having caught my DH’s cold, I feel like total crap, and I don’t feel like teaching or being witty. COULD I do it anyway? I could.
Contrary to popular thought, you don’t have to rely on clothes that stomped on Mother Nature’s feet to get to your closet. Admittedly, it’s easier to stop by the mall on the way home after you’ve spilled coffee on a white blouse, but let’s remember that most of the clothes you’ll find there are unfairly traded and harvested in ways that would make Mother Nature scream.
Payroll compliance is a cornerstone of business success, yet for small and midsize businesses, it’s becoming increasingly challenging to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of federal, state, and local regulations. Mistakes can lead to costly penalties and operational disruptions, making it essential to adopt advanced solutions that ensure accuracy and efficiency.
READER WARNING: If you don’t care about baseball, skip this post, one of my periodic updates on our son’s progress through the Los Angeles Angels organization. I may have imagined such a night, but I couldn’t have scripted it any better than it happened. It’s true that you just can’t make this stuff up. We got a call the night before Dillon was asked to report to the major league game in case they needed a back up 1B player.
How important is your website to your service provider business? Amazingly I still see some ‘so-called’ experts telling people it’s not all that important. In the recent past I’ve overheard at least two conversations in which the expert told the new business owner to ‘just get a free website or Facebook page ‘ If I hadn’t been in a public place I probably would have screamed “Noooooo&# , much like Obi-wan Kenobi when his mentor Qui-Gon Jinn was str
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is one of the most effective methods of driving traffic towards a website. I have written about SEO before, but one aspect that I haven’t touched on is the amount of misdirection and confusion that surrounds the topic. Small businesses often mistakenly believe that they will need a separate page on their website that is dedicated to SEO.
"I must be going crazy!" he stated a few days ago. His frustration was apparent and he stated he was desperate. Although he was extremely bright, he just could not get out of the bad habits that he had developed in his office and those habits were now spilling over to the rest of his staff. After talking with him for a while he told me that he thought he was helpless, but wanted advice from a professional.
Technical degrees might open doors—but it’s the soft skills that keep them open. In the face of disruption, evolving workplace dynamics, and rising expectations of leadership, soft skills like communication, emotional intelligence, and presence have become core business essentials—not nice-to-haves. Inspired by stories from her father coupled with her own career journey, seasoned executive Chandra McCormack breaks down how to lead with impact, connect with purpose, and cultivate a workplace cult
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