Growth is #1 Challenge for Business Owners

NEW YORK, NY (March 26, 2018) - Sales and revenue growth is the top challenge for small and mid-size business owners, according to the JP Morgan Chase 2018 Business Leaders Outlook survey.

“Just half of small business executives—those who lead businesses with revenues of $100,000 to $20 million—say growth is a challenge, a significant jump from last year. While 63 percent of leaders at midsize companies (with revenues of $20 million to $500 million) say the same, that portion has been trending downward for two years in a row,” the survey reports.

Read the entire survey results here.

Saving on Taxes for Small Business Owners

March 23, 2018 (via David Rae, Forbes): 

Tax season is upon us, much to the dismay of small business owners. Forbes offers some simple and easy-to-use advice on how to navigate taxes and save as much as possible.

Read the article here.

Elon Musk’s Business Growth Hack

NEW YORK, NY (March 20, 2018) - USA Today reveals the key factor behind Elon Musk’s successful approach to marketing: find something unique that people will want to talk about.

Standing out from the crowd is a challenge in today’s market, but successful businesses thrive from highlighting features or events that people will remember.

Musk’s company SpaceX recently launched a rocket with a Tesla onboard into space and successfully landed it back on earth, achieving the ultimate publicity stunt.

Other companies have employed similar awe-inspiring tactics.

“What about the Amazon drone delivery system?” author Steve Strauss writes. “You remember that, don’t you? Of course you do. A few years ago, right before the holidays, Amazon cleverly released videos of a drone delivering packages to customers’ doorsteps. That it hasn’t happened yet has not hurt Amazon’s image as an innovator and go-to shopping hub.”

Read the entire article here with tips on how to utilize these strategies on the scale of a small business.

Savvy Advertising Strategy for Small Businesses

NEW YORK, NY (February 6, 2018) - Advertising is essential for any company to spread brand awareness, and yet most small businesses don’t have an advertising professional on staff or understand how to maximize its use.

Forbes presents a guide to advertising for small business owners with a focus on doing a lot with a little - using resources and time intelligently and effectively.

“Creativity has nothing to do with size of your budget or team. As Vahbiz has seen with many of her nonprofit clients, being creative with where you spend what few resources you have is the key to success. Take the time to think about what you have and how to use it best to grab headlines,” Anuja Khemka writes.

Read the entire article here.  

Coping with Stress for Business Owners

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM (January 25, 2018) - Running a business can be an immensely satisfying experience, but the mental and emotional burden is heavy. Many entrepreneurs work independently or remotely, limiting social contact and sense of community. Business owners are responsible for their employees, paying the bills, and the success of the company as a whole.  

The business blog Real Business addresses the often-overlooked issue of wellness and stress relief for business owners, and steps they can take to improve their well-being.

Click here to read more.

Smart Marketing Hacks for Small Business Owners

NEW YORK, NY (January 24, 2018) - With so many responsibilities, small business owners often make marketing a lower priority. However, marketing plays a crucial role in every business - if people don’t know your product exists, they’re not going to buy it. TGDaily provides some excellent advice on how to streamline and maximize your marketing efforts.

Read the entire article here.

How the Tech World Can Help Small Businesses

SAN JOSE, CA (January 23, 2018) - Devin Wenig, CEO of eBay shares a compelling Op-Ed in USA Today highlighting the importance of connection and collaboration between the tech industry and the small business world.

“Creating pathways between remote areas and urban centers is beneficial in recirculating economic prosperity. Instead of painting the tech sector and innovation as job destroyers, we need a new model of public-private tech partnership where technology companies and public officials come together to rev the small business engine,” Wenig writes.  

Read the entire article here.

Big Data for Small Businesses

NEW YORK, NY (January 19, 2018) - Big Data and artificial intelligence have been hot topics in the media lately - and yet most entrepreneurs don’t realize that they can use these tools in their own business.

“The majority of techniques used in Big Data and the Internet of Things (even some artificial intelligence) don’t require a large budget or a huge staff. They only require a willingness to learn and experiment,” the business blog SmallBizTrends reports.

The blog presents a fascinating list of books on Big Data, introducing the opportunities that it offers for business and offering ways to utilize these resources.  

Read the entire list here.

A Guide to Navigating the New Tax Law

WASHINGTON DC (January 17, 2018) - The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act offers a 20 percent deduction for business income from limited liability companies and S corporations, causing many entrepreneurs to contemplate whether they should incorporate their business. However, the new law provides numerous stipulations that are important for business owners to understand.

CNBC offers a straightforward guide to evaluating and maximizing the tax law for your business. Read the entire article here.

Three Ways to Keep Your Small Business Running After A Natural Disaster

HOUSTON, TX (September 21, 2017) — Natural disasters can strike at any time, and have a devastating impact on communities and small businesses. For owners, government organizations like the Small Business Administration (SBA) have been offering disaster relief since before World War II, and continue to do so today with Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. According to MarketWatch, as of last week, the SBA had received 2,117 loan applications from residents and businesses affected by Hurricane Harvey.

Unfortunately, not all small businesses are able to recover after a natural disaster, and 75 percent of small businesses don’t have a disaster plan in place. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), 40 percent don’t reopen after a natural disaster due to the astronomical cost of repairing damages. Even if the small business does reopen, 52 percent of owners say it would take at least three months to recover.

To read the entire article, click here.