Business Entrepreneur Networking Event
Every other week, Office In America and Agency 258 with Marian LaSalle host an event for small business owners to learn about important topics and to network. We usually start the event with introductions of entrepreneurs to help ease the tension and start connecting. The Business Entrepreneur Networking Event was engaging and exciting. This week, our guest speaker was Marla Parham Regan , who is a certified productivity coach from Organized Time. She asked everyone who attended the event to write down all their thoughts on a piece of paper, both personal and business related. Marla said, when we release information, it will create more room so new information...
One Simple Inventory Organization Hack to Save You Time and Money
Even the most disorganized among us follow some basic organizational principles in our homes: we group all the pants together in our closet and socks go in the sock drawer. In the kitchen, pots and pans live in the same cabinet, and all the knives are stored together. It makes sense: “kind” goes with “kind”. Most eCommerce startups use the sample principles when they create their first inventory system. They group related products together on the same shelf. But packing eCommerce orders is not like picking which pair of pants to wear in the morning. For a simple (and counterintuitive) hack that will save you time and avoid...
3 Ways to Make Your Content Mobile-Friendly
“Mobile has eaten the internet.” You’ve heard that before, right? It might sound dramatic, but it’s pretty much true. There’s more traffic from mobile devices now than there is from desktops. Mobile use is so prevalent that Google’s mobile index is now its default index. And every month, one billion of Facebook’s users access it exclusively on mobile devices. In short, mobile is the go-to way to access all things internet. And all things chat, or messaging apps, bots, or apps in general. So when you think about your website, or your customers researching anything about your business online, it’s time to stop envisioning them doing it via desktop. Instead,...
SCORE Celebrates “National Women in Small Business Month
The United States has more than 11 million woman-owned small businesses, and we celebrate each and every one of them during National Women in Small Business Month in October. Women are starting businesses five times faster than the national average, and they’re making strides in leading industries like healthcare and educational services. Women of color lead the way, starting nearly eight in 10 new woman-owned businesses since 2007. SCORE takes pride in guiding diverse entrepreneurs in all stages of their business journey. Gina Grillo revived and relaunched her small business in 2015, after a Lyme disease diagnosis motivated her to develop a better insect repellant. Grillo Essentials opened more than 30 new...
How to Find Long-Term Financing Through an Online Business Lender
Getting to the next step in your business’s lifecycle is an exciting time for any small business owner. But there will likely come a point (or several) when you’ll need more access to capital before you can continue down the path you want to go. Perhaps you’ve reached a certain point of stability and decided it’s time to start growing — maybe you need more inventory or a large equipment purchase. Maybe you have a few different sources of business debt and are looking to refinance into one simple monthly payment. Or maybe you just need to cover tax obligations and payroll for a short period...
Small Business Owners Optimistic—But Facing Risks
U.S. small and midsized business owners are feeling optimistic—and with good reason. Seventy-two percent of those polled in The Hiscox DNA of an Entrepreneur survey report their companies’ top-line revenues increased over the past year. That's the highest percentage of any country in this annual global survey. But while small business owners in the United States believe their future is bright, they are also facing some challenges that could put their businesses at risk. Here's a closer look at what the survey uncovered. Spreading themselves too thin? Small business owners in the survey aren’t letting the day-to-day challenges of entrepreneurship slow them down. In fact, 26 percent of respondents own...
The Consumer Review Fairness Act & What It Means for Your Business
According to a 2016 Local Consumer Review Survey, 84% of people trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation. That’s a staggering amount of trust, and business owners know it. Is it any surprise then that companies have tried to influence what is said about them online? Digital feedback exists along a spectrum of competing interests somewhere between the consumer’s right to be informed and the entrepreneur’s right to protect their reputation and livelihood. For years, this spectrum has been mostly unregulated, a world of fake reviews, anti-disparagement clauses and strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP). On March 14, 2017, the Consumer Review Fairness Act (CRFA) took effect, laying...
8 Ways to Manage Your Time and Multiple Projects
As a small business owner, you must have fallen into the trap of having to juggle many tasks in a limited time. While there is no magic formula to hitting the right balance and managing your time seamlessly, you can improve your time-handling skills to accomplish more tasks on your to-do list. Here are some ways to help you keep everything in check when working on multiple projects at the same time. 1. Make a to-do list before you start your day We get so preoccupied while working on multiple tasks, that we usually tend to undervalue the importance of a to-do list. Although most things in the business...
How Does My Personal Credit Score Impact My Business Loan Application?
It probably doesn’t take long for any business owner who applies for a business loan to discover that their personal credit impacts their ability to qualify, but whenever I talk to business owners it seems that there are some misconceptions and questions many small business owners have regarding what the impact is, what is included in their profile, and what they can do to improve the odds of loan approval and the options available when they’re looking for a small business loan. Small business owners in the United States really have two profiles, their personal credit profile and their business profile. Both profiles play a role...
How to Establish Quality Control Processes
When you think of quality control, you probably think of manufacturing businesses inspecting products for flaws. In reality, quality control processes can be used in all types of businesses, whether they are product-based or service-based, B2B or B2C. Quality control is a key component of a well-run business. A quality control program helps to ensure your small business is delivering a consistent product, service and customer experience. Developing quality control processes allows your business to operate without you, making it easier to expand into new locations, delegate duties and even sell your business when the time comes. Business growth requires careful attention to both dollars and people,...