Ever feel like you’re so consumed with running your business that you have no idea what’s going on in the world outside? It happens to everyone, but small business owners are especially vulnerable. After all, with so many balls in the air and just 24 hours in a day, how much can one person (you) keep track of?
Luckily for us, the folks at Leo Burnett Chicago, a major marketing communications agency, are keeping track of ...
If you’re a small business owner, you’ve got a lot on your mind. You’re likely juggling a brainful of concerns while you go about your day and may carry them with you, even when you’re not working.
Persistent concerns tend to be more about things we can’t control—for example, the country’s economic recovery or the roadwork that closes down the street that runs right by your business.
Most of us, though, worry about things we can control, ...
From the time you first started crawling around on your parents’ rug, obstacles were everywhere! And what did you do when you came up against them? You tried and tried, fell down and got up over and over, until you went over, around or through it. And it felt so good, all you wanted was to do it again…and again.
That’s how we began to build our confidence and skill, our sense of mastery of the ...
Whether your company is relatively young or you’ve been in business for awhile, you and most other small businesses need to be operating from a common assumption. That is, that at some eventual point in time, in order to keep growing, you’ll need to access cash from an outside source. The time to figure out your approach for getting financing is now, long before you need it.
Start by interviewing a small cross-section of those sources, ...
As a small business owner, how many times have you hit the proverbial wall? Been running on empty? Been convinced that you will never come up with another idea or solve another problem?
We’ve all been there. Exhausted. Losing focus. Torn in too many directions. And against this backdrop, wrestling with challenges, big and small, everyday and longer-term.
Let’s face it: Being able to come up with some fresh insight, some new thinking, is the life blood ...
There’s no financial prerequisite for starting a small business. In fact, as many of us would admit, the financial side of managing the business is not our strong suit. At least, not in the beginning.
But like exercising a muscle, paying more attention to your numbers on a regular basis can actually strengthen your “financial IQ.” Not to mention help you avoid all kinds of (unavoidable) trouble—and take advantage of some real opportunities you could be ...
News on the economy is still decidedly mixed and continues to lean a little to the negative. Small business owners, too, report a mixed outlook on their economic futures, with some weighing in with (albeit) guarded optimism, others, not so much. Still others report a “wait and see” position, although patience is wearing thin on this front. Overall, we’d have to say that everyone, regardless of business size or sector, just wants to see some ...
It was almost exactly two years ago when President Obama, in a speech in Buffalo, referred to small businesses as “…the backbone of America’s economy.” A lot of us, including the news media, have repeated similar thoughts on small business until we are absolutely certain that small businesses are single-handedly lifting us out of our economic doldrums. But then we read convincing evidence that makes a very different argument: that small business’s share of—and influence ...
It’s spring. We’re seeing signs of renewal, both in nature and in the economy. And not a moment too soon…hooray!
But in the midst of the country’s growing optimism, there’s still a group who seems intent on keeping the bad news coming, especially when it comes to financing for small businesses. That’s right, it’s banks! Sly foxes all, they’ve long forgotten their own struggles at the recession’s onset. But we just can’t quite figure out why ...
April 22 is Earth Day, so we’re thinking and talking more this week about what it means to be ‘green,’ especially if you’re a small business. There’s a lot we can do, and much we’re doing already. And it doesn’t have to involve expensive retro-fitting or more complicated things that used to be associated with being environmentally conscious.
With small business, it’s more about habits, and adopting certain ones not only benefits Mother Earth but our ...
