Greg
People with passion for their craft always inspire me. One such person is Danny Macaskill. I’m in awe of his creative energy and wizardry with a bicycle. His latest installment, Industrial Revolutions, is without question remarkable.
Industrial Revolutions [video]
Bradley
I’ve always been obsessed with photography. And am in the process of buying a new camera to accompany me in my journeys. While Flickr is a very common photo sharing service, it is the 800 pound gorilla of photography websites which isn’t always the best. Thankfully, there is a wonderful alternative for photographers and enthusiasts to showcase their work. Additionally, the discovery and voting system makes exploring the pictures fun and exciting. So whether you’re looking to post your pics or view other gorgeous photos, this is the place.
500px
While discovering something you’re passionate about and launching into business can be exhilerating, many small business owners don’t pay enough attention to core financial tenets surrounding the fiscal management of their business.
Let’s face it, very few of us have any formal financial education. Even fewer know much about business finance.
Most of us are just someone who discovered a skill or talent and wanted to build a business around it, came up with a brilliant idea and had the guts to take it to market and see what others think of it, or a “techie” that can program something cool that others want to play with.
Regardless of why we jumped into this crazy game of entrepreneurship, we have to remember we’re running a business and a business has a scorecard — that scorecard is our financial performance.
If you’re a savvy entrepreneur you know you must be working with financial professionals including a strong accountant, bookkeeper and maybe an in-house finance manager or CFO depending on the size of your company. But you can’t leave control of your company’s finances solely in the hands of advisors or employees.
Control starts with a basic understanding of several tried-and-true tenets. Understanding and applying these tenets will give you a leg up over most entrepreneurs and will ensure you work more intelligently and strategically with your financial advisors. [continue reading…]
It’s no secret that the world of marketing has drastically changed over the past few years.
But unfortunately, I still see entrepreneurs sticking with the old tactics of marketing to increase sales.
It’s dangerous to your business.
Are you thinking you might be one of these old-time marketers caught up in the old techniques?
If so, we have compiled a list of 5 marketing and sales tactics that no longer work:
Build it and they will come
“We’re in the phonebook.”
Phonebook! What’s that?
Elderly aside, most people turn to the Internet these days. They read reviews on Trip Advisor and Yelp. They quickly check out the competition. And usually make up their mind before leaving their desk.
The companies that rely on the fact that they are simply out there and available, will be left to die a slow and capital-depleting death… alone.
We’ve always done it this way!
Have you heard the saying, “The only thing constant in the world of business is change?”
Marketing strategies are no different.
Fifteen years ago, the Internet was mainly reserved for geeks and gamers. Six years ago, YouTube didn’t exist. Four years ago, Facebook was a thing college kids played with.
Think of the past few years. Has your marketing and business system evolved at this rate? For your business’ sake, I hope so.
[continue reading…]
In today’s world, small business owners face a staggering array of new technologies and services.
This stuff isn’t just for geeks anymore. It’s for all of us. And if we don’t get on board now the world may pass us up all together. Every day it seems a new technology is embedded into mainstream business.
For example, it’s been estimated that 73 percent of small businesses are currently using social media. Additionally, of those not engaged in social media, 62 percent plan to join within the coming year.
And that’s just social media. How about quick response (QR) codes? A report released by Mobio found QR code scanning skyrocketed by as much as 1,200 percent through the second half of 2010. And we’re already into the second half of 2011.
Of course there are other blossoming trends such as smart phone applications, mobile payments, and cloud computing. All projected to grow at a staggering pace in the coming months and years.
Despite this rapid growth in technology and innovation, as small business owners we always have to remember that technology is traditionally unpredictable and volitile. Yet, on the other hand, if we don’t stay out in front we may find ourselves falling too far behind. So what do we do? [continue reading…]
You can learn a lot from a business’ restroom.
From small signs such as the employee’s level of dedication to things as major as the overall success of the company, a restroom usually never lies.
Why?
Because when a business or its coworkers are not on the top of their game, the restroom’s cleanliness is the first to go. Toilet paper rolls are left unchanged, the garbage is neglected and the mirror is full of water spots.
My Father’s old business partner/mentor was adamant about this concept. He would never invest into a business with an unclean restroom.
And me being taught this at a very young age, I’ve constantly kept my eye on restrooms.
It never fails, every clean restroom is found in a successful business. Those unclean facilities I’ve encountered are now mostly all attached to “for lease” empty buildings.
[continue reading…]
