When you become a small business owner, you automatically open yourself up to a range of new roles and responsibilities. Although you may have no prior experience, one of the most important responsibilities you will encounter is managing a small team of workers - whether they are employees who work alongside you or freelancers...
[content field="callout1" format="true" class="calloutwide"]The average cost of a data breach is on the rise, hitting $3.79 million in 2015, which was an increase of 23 percent over 2013 and 2014. When a business’s customer data is compromised, the financial loss that comes from damaged customer relationships can close that business’s doors for good. That is...
[content field="callout1" format="true" class="calloutwide"]Freelancers are changing the way small businesses operate, allowing small or one-man operations to compete with larger companies. Recent statistics show there are 53 million American freelancers (representing 34 percent of the U.S. workforce) and demand is steadily growing. In fact, over half of micro business owners (those with 10 employees are less) employed...
[content field="callout1" format="true" class="calloutwide"]When House of Flowers noticed floral sales had stagnated, they knew they would have to get creative to find a solution. So they began looking for an opportunity to do something new. While still maintaining its usual business, House of Flowers expanded into an area that was closely related to its...
[content field="callout1" format="true" class="calloutwide"]Small businesses have many competitive advantages over the big guys. Are you embracing these strengths or trying to quickly scale up and grow your business out of the ‘small’ label? While there isn’t one correct path, many small business owners do focus on growth in a quest to find more customers...
[content field="callout1" format="true" class="calloutwide"] Entrepreneurship can be a lonely endeavor. Solo business owners work long hours to build their businesses, often without the benefit of conversation or camaraderie. But without help from others, entrepreneurs can easily fail. As important as it is to have trustworthy partners, you may find that many of the options...
[content field="callout1" format="true" class="calloutwide"]Another year is here, and many people choose to make a goal to be better versions of ourselves. Our work lives are an easily quantified place to start– we are given formal reviews and rewarded for jobs well done in promotions or pay raises. There are other aspects of our career too...
[content field="callout1" format="true" class="calloutwide"]With all the resources available today, it has never been easier to build a successful business from the ground up – even if you decide to go it alone and take a DIY approach. Although there are many aspects of building your business (too many to list here!) we’ve found quite...
[content field="callout1" format="true" class="calloutwide"] When Jim Kolb bought a floral shop in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, he decided to name his business Oshkosh House of Flowers. But over time, Kolb and his team felt that the word “Oshkosh” in the name of the business limited his shop to an Oshkosh customer base. With the growth of...
[content field="callout1" format="true" class="calloutwide"]Start-ups are booming: more and more people are setting up an at-home business selling physical goods via e-commerce. If you are considering starting an at-home e-commerce business in the year ahead, whether it's sourcing trending items on Alibaba, making one-off jewelry pieces or selling t-shirts with your own designs, below we have...
