SEO 101: Seven Tips for Increasing Your Search Rankings
SEO 101: Seven Tips for Increasing Your Search Rankings If you’re a small business owner, you’ve almost certainly heard the words “search engine optimization” before. It’s no longer enough to have a website where potential and returning customers can find your location and hours, or even order from you directly—you need to make sure your site is doing the best it can to reach the top of the search rankings. This is SEO 101. Whether your business is competing with other local businesses in the same industry or looking to grab a national or even global market, appearing in the first page of search results is crucial:...
Business Entrepreneurs Networking
Business Entrepreneurs Networking Event went great. In every meeting, there are new entrepreneurs who come to network with other business owners. In some occasions, it is not what you know, but it is who you know. Be sure to socialize with other entrepreneurs after the meetings to help each other succeed and grow. During our events , we have a special guest covering a special topic. Our Speaker was Shane Hennesey from Rising Tides, who talked about the energy you put out determines the energy you’ll get back. Where attention goes, energy flows. So let’s get conscious about where you are putting your energy. The lenses you view life through...
Take Your Business Global to Increase Sales and Profit
Take Your Business Global to Increase Sales and Profit The SBA Houston District Office will be participating at the International Pipeline, Oil and Gas Safety Conference March 14-16. This conference seeks to address process safety issues in the upstream, midstream and downstream sub-sectors of the industry; with special focus on well control safety, process safety, pipeline safety, hazardous transportation safety and new regulatory impact. To help improve public safety/health and environmental impact in the various communities where the industry operates- with emerging technologies, leak detection and prevention technologies, emission reduction technologies, compliance audit, best practices to reduce risks and hazards, and improve the overall operational safety is...
Working Remotely Is Bad for Your Productivity: Here’s Why
Working Remotely Is Bad for Your Productivity: Here’s Why It’s no secret that technology has made it easy to work from anywhere at any time during the day. The freedom it can provide an employee is nothing short of, well, sexy. Maybe not the whole working in pajamas thing, but you get my meaning. Look at it this way: As an employer, it’s like you’re giving your employees the freedom to be their own bosses. But kids, pets, and that drawer that needs straightening can all be distractions for almost anyone working from home, which isn’t ideal for business leaders preaching productivity. In fact, people who telecommute roughly two...
How One Man’s Hobby Brewed Up a Business Idea
For many entrepreneurs, a local trend can spark a business idea. That’s exactly what happened for Peter Kinslow in the South Carolina Lowcountry outside of Charleston. After being laid off from his 25-year IT career, Kinslow knew it was time for something new. He began to renew his love of home brewing, and after a career of “working for others,” he says, “I wanted to try my hand at running my own business.” The craft-beer scene in Charleston had exploded, and he thought it only natural that the homebrewing hobby would surge alongside it. “It was really the perfect time for a dedicated homebrew supply shop here in...
Business Entrepreneurs Networking
Business Entrepreneurs Networking keeps getting bigger and better every meeting. During our events , we have a special guest covering a special topic. Our guess speaker was Claudia Autry, who talked about stress reduction. She talked about ways to reduce stress in a business environment while being productive and efficient. After every event, be sure to socialize with other entrepreneurs to help each other succeed and grow. In the business world, it is important to market your company and network with others to stay ahead of the competition. If you would like to participate or would like to be a speaker in one of our events, feel free...
How to Encourage Work-Life Balance in Your Small Business
In our connected world, every small business owner struggles to develop and maintain work-life balance that works for them. But what about the rest of your team? You can’t be responsible for your staff’s personal choices, but you can set policies that encourage a healthy work-life balance. After all, if you’re searching for balance yourself, your employees probably face a similar struggle. With a few simple adjustments, you can make the quest for work-life balance a little easier for the team that keeps your small business running. Try one or more of these strategies: 1. Set communication standards It’s easy to encourage your team to step away from their electronic devices...
16 Steps to Starting a Business While Working Full Time — STEP 9: Invest in Your Image
Thinking about starting your own business but still need your fulltime job? You’re in luck. SCORE and The UPS Store partnered to create the “16 Steps to Starting a Business While Working Full Time” eBook for people just like you. It offers detailed steps on how to start your dream business. In step 9, we will cover how and why to invest in your professional image. If you need a refresher of the eight previous steps, here they are: select a business; create a business plan; establish goals; choose your marketing methods; figure out your finances; know the rules; how to set up your office and business...
Don’t Let Your Business Be Held for Ransomware
Is your small business at risk from ransomware? The latest cyberthreat, ransomware attacks work like this Hackers infiltrate your business network, encrypt your data and then hold it for ransom, refusing to un-encrypt it until you pay up While ransomware has been around for a while, it’s becoming more insidious and more widespread, Symantec reports. The latest development, crypto-ransomware, uses unbreakable encryption so that even if you remove the malware from your system, you still can’t read your data. Ransomware on the rise Ransomware has become easier for cybercrooks to use; as a result, the number of attacks—and specifically, attacks on small businesses—is on the rise. But if you...
The Fundamentals of Content Marketing for Small Businesses
When you combine the unique personality of your small business with great content marketing, the results can pay off big time. Engaging content like photos, illustrations and other visuals, can increase traffic to your website, boost awareness of your brand, and help your customers with their buying choices, making it an effective and easy way to promote your business. Content Marketing does not need to involve extensive guides or even blog posts on your site. It can be as simple as beautiful photography or creative videos shared on social media sparking inspiration among followers and potential customers. Resources such as Shutterstock, EyeEm and Giphy are an...