Great Ideas for your Small Business: Tailor Benefits to Employees’ Needs In the small business world, one size definitely does not fit all. Every company has a distinct group of employees with varying personal lives, professional goals, and priorities. While big companies prefer to offer the same insurance benefits and options to everyone, small companies … Read more
Great Ideas for your Small Business: Work with People You Like John chuang, founder of boston-based Acquent, matches candidates with Mac and Windows expertise with companies that need temporary support. He has some contrarian advice for entrepre- neurs growing their businesses. “You’ve heard that two things you never want to do with friends is lend … Read more
Great Ideas for your Small Business: Look Far and Wide for the Best Person Finding the right person to help run your small business may mean hiring an out-of-towner and paying to relocate that person. Relocation involves a myriad of financial and emotional issues for both you and your employee. It’s a complex and expensive … Read more
Great Ideas for your Small Business: Make Your 800 Line Ring An 800 line is a great way to boost sales, especially if you serve customers in a wide area. If you can’t get an 800 number, try 888 or 877, which are also toll-free for callers. Here are five tips to generate more calls: … Read more
Great Ideas for your Small Business: Become Politically Active Dal lamagna has sold millions of tweezers. In 1996 he was busy selling himself. “Hi, I’m Dal LaMagna, and I’m running for Congress,” LaMagna said, handing out campaign flyers to sunbathers on Tobay Beach on Long Island. “LaMagna— rhymes with lasagna.” LaMagna, a successful entrepreneur, spent … Read more
Great Ideas for your Small Business: Put a Pig in Your Window Iris fuller, founder and president of Fillamento in San Francisco, cried for two hours after attending a retailing seminar by Peter Glen. They were tears of joy and inspiration. “He made such a difference in the way we do what we do,” said … Read more
Great Ideas for your Small Business: Produce an Infomercial If you think marketing your product via an infomercial is a quick and easy way to make mil- lions—think again. Industry experts say only one product in twenty actually hits the big time. Although consumers bought more than $1.5 billion worth of products via infomercials in … Read more
Great Ideas for your Small Business: Lock Your Supply Cabinet Profit-meister barry schimel shared this idea. If your office supply bill is skyrocketing, and the supply closet shelves are always empty, try locking the closet. Hand the key to one responsible person, the office manager, or if that’s not feasible, to a couple of managers … Read more
Great Ideas for your Small Business: Shop Carefully for Long-Distance Service Every day, entrepreneurs are bombarded with offers by long-distance companies. Deregulation has created absolute chaos and confusion in the marketplace. But you can sort it out if you know the right questions to ask. Gerald Dunne Jr., former chief executive officer of Group Long … Read more
Great Ideas for your Small Business: Move Your Business into a Main Street Revitalization Zone When paul curtain, owner of raymond’s Jewellers in downtown Sioux Falls, South Dakota, needed a loan to remodel his store, he borrowed money, below prime rate, from a revolving fund set up especially for downtown merchants. “As a small retailer, … Read more
