Professionalisms
How To Nurture User Engagement Through Gamification
What exactly is gamification? In its simplest sense, this is the process of rewarding customers for completing tasks that you measure and thus channeling your visitors through a funnel that drives conversion. Anand Srinivasan, founder of LeadJoint.com shares some prominent ways to drive user engagement.
Leadership Through A Transparent Lens
By Conor Delaney, founder and Chief Executive Officer at Good Life Advisors
Fiduciary responsibility is a two-way street paved with trust. Trust that the client is...
Five Crucial Ingredients For Your Closest Business Relationships
by Dr. Henry Cloud, author of "The Power of the Other"
Every entrepreneur and business leader worries about the strategy and business plan. They know it...
The Unwritten Rules Of Shared Office Spaces
There are some ‘unwritten rules’ if you will, that apply to working in a shared office space, so let’s take a look at some of them here in the hopes that it helps you to keep a happy office.
Basic IP Tips Every Entrepreneur Should Know
As an entrepreneur, you must be a step ahead of the competition, which means you need robust IP protection in place as early as possible. Paige Zandri, Attorney Network Director at Priori Legal shares about four classes of protected IP - trademarks, patents, copyrights, and trade secrets - that you should look at.
How To Own Your Performance Review
Mention “performance review” and even the most unflappable employees feel sparks of dread or resentment. No one likes to see his or her hard work and contributions reduced to a mere number or rating. M. Tamra Chandler, author of "How Performance Management Is Killing Performance - and What to Do About It" shares five insider tips that will help you own it.
Tips On Starting A Business Without Sabotaging Your Personal Finances
Too many people put their personal finances at risk to launch a business, but Tim Steffen, Director of Financial Planning for Baird, believe it can be done without sabotaging your financial future.
Grow Your Business By Hiring Nurturing Leaders
When looking to hire women for leadership positions, the conclusion for those in the public or private sector is that to be perceived as competent, women in authority have to be assertive, perhaps even ruthless in their decisions, and autocratic in their style. But such "Machiavellian Marys" kills potential, argue Shoba Sreenivasan, Ph.D. & Linda E. Weinberger, Ph.D., authors of "Psychological Nutrition".
How To Convert Your Innovation Into A Running Business
Saad Amanullah Khan, author of "It's Business, It's Personal: From Setting a Vision to Delivering it Through Organizational Excellence" says one of the greatest challenges any start-up, entrepreneur or an existing business can face is how to convert their innovation or unique idea into an actual running, profitable and sustainable business.
5 Ways Artists Can Work Like Entrepreneurs
“How am I going to make a creative living and a life?” is a question that can be daunting for artists, writers, performers and musicians at all stages in their careers, whether just starting out fresh, mid-career, or choosing to focus on artistic work full time after a lifetime of balancing it with other jobs. Laura Zabel, founder of Creative Exchange shares a toolkit that can help.
Sales Success Begins And Ends With Engagement
As a sales leader, Kurt Bilafer's professional life is filled with quotas, metrics and dashboards. But if the Global Vice President Sales & Success at WePay had to pick just one thing he's optimizing for, it would be engagement.
Creating Brand Ambassadors From Within
Creating brand ambassadors from within your company will not only boost employee morale and get them excited about a re-brand, but it also works to engage clients and inform potential clients about the company’s new direction, insists Brandon Moxam, Director of Brand Development at U.S. Lawns.
How To Lose Email Subscribers In 10 Days Or Less
When deciding how to organically build your list, marketers go back and forth between the single or double opt-in methods. John Thies, CEO and co-founder of Email on Acid says they practice the double opt-in method in their lead generation efforts and it has worked well for them.
Five Small Innovations That Can Make A Big Difference In Your Company
An innovation can be a revamped business process or a tweak to a manufacturing technique or a change in the way you work with a supplier — as long as it adds to customer value, it counts, says Patrick Stroh, author of "Business Strategy: Plan, Execute, Win!" and "Advancing Innovation". He shares five small innovations that can make a big difference in your company.
What Do A Company’s Core Values Say About Its Culture?
There’s no one-size-fits-all solution to creating the right company culture. However, defining your values that will be the building blocks for your culture early on is integral to the future success of your company, particularly as it achieves new stages of growth, says Amy Zimmerman, Global Head of People at Kabbage.
4 Major Mistakes Established Companies Make
There are common, detrimental characteristics present in many established companies that seem to evolve over time — even though no one in these companies has set forth an explicit strategy or plan to create them. Steven D. Goldstein, author of “Why Are There Snowblowers in Miami?“ points out four major mistakes most traditional companies make.
Why Every Business Needs To Become A Platform, And How To Do It
Although on the surface these companies appear to have completely different business models, they all share one very powerful component: a scalable online platform connecting people and ecosystems. Kurt Bilafer, Global Vice President Sales & Success at WePay says businesses can evolve to become a platform company by thinking about their business through these three lenses.
Money Management Tips For Virtual Assistants & Small Business Owners
Smart business owners know the importance of good money management and apply tactics in their business to actually help them. Diana Ennen and Kelly Poelker, co-authors of “Virtual Assistant, The Series: Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA“ shares some tips to help.
Don’t Miss Your Window Of Opportunity
If you are looking for new opportunities to market your business, the answer may be right in front of you. Your store window opens a pathway to get your message to consumers on a daily basis and should be used as a promotional tool for your business, says Lea Schneider.
5 Ways To Unleash Your Creativity Through Humor
Through comedy’s many forms, we can infuse a variety of influences into the creative approach we take when solving problems, writing content and promoting new ideas. Will Becker, Copywriter & Social Content Strategist at Trepoint shares five simple practices to help you unlock and unleash your creative skill sets through humor.
Fail To Plan, Plan To Fail: Designing An Implementation Process
Every business venture needs a solid plan to gain success. It is especially true during the initial stages of incorporation that a good solid plan is in place. If no plan is in place, your venture has minimal chances of succeeding.
Five Powerful Tools For Tough Negotiations
Whether you’re trying to work out the terms of a sale, a contract or a job, preparing yourself for the hardball tactics employed by opposing sides can help you avoid an impasse and bring a good deal safely home. Prof. Deepak Malhotra, author of the bestselling book "Negotiating the Impossible" shares 5 ways to avoid the hardballs (or make a hit when they’re hurled).
Do Small Businesses Need SEO Services?
Due to the evolving nature of SEO, keeping up with the latest changes is a full-time commitment that would take you away from your primary concerns. This is why you need to find an SEO expert no matter how small your company, says On Yavin, founder and CEO of Online Performance.
Connecting With Customers
There are three ways to find out what your customers want, feel, and think: through phone interaction, field trips or onsite visits, and by being your own customer. Steven D. Goldstein, author of "Why Are There Snowblowers in Miami?" talks us through those three ways.
The True Cost Of Poor Leadership
Bad leadership can be the result of insufficient training, an inadequate understanding of the business, and weak management skills. So, what exactly is bad leadership costing your business and what can be done to safeguard against it?Will Bridges, HR Consultant at Unum, explores.
How Video Conferencing Can Take Your Business To The Next Level
As your business grows, the need for video conferencing across multiple sites becomes essential. Having the right solution in place can help take your business to new highs and keep a healthy spirit of collaboration alive and well. Nicole Swartwout, partner at CallTeks shares a few ways your business can make the most of the benefits of video conferencing without burning out your IT department.
Why 2016 Will Be A Turning Point For Startups And Other Software And Tech...
With tax filing deadlines right around the corner, and with tax planning still on everyone’s mind, alliantgroup Senior Associate Director Margorie McLenan believes now would be the perfect time to remind entrepreneurs and executives in the software and tech space of an opportunity that could be the difference in ensuring the future success of their businesses.
Don’t Let Slow Load Times Limit Your Potential
An e-commerce website earns or loses business in part based on how quickly it responds. So how do you ensure that your e-commerce site runs at optimal speed while still delivering the graphics-intensive experience that sells your product? Josh Hatfield, Senior Manager, Digital & Cloud Sales at Hostway Services, Inc. highlights five elements to consider to get the most speed out of your e-commerce site.
Cleanliness Starts At The Top: How You Can Keep A Tidy Business
cleanliness doesn't just impact a customer's perception of a business — it also has a direct impact on the business as a whole. Cris Burnam, president of StorageMart shares six ways cleanliness can lay the foundation for business success.
The Power of “Old School” Service: Four Reasons Your Business Should Bring It Back
Companies are more tech-savvy than ever, but customers still crave old-fashioned service (albeit with a modern spin). Customer experience thought leader Joseph Michelli says that if you want your organization to thrive, you'd better go retro in your service delivery.