Owning a small business often means wearing every possible hat available, from marketer to sales clerk and inventory manager to HR professional. Learn from the experiences of the small business owners who are NFIB members as well as the best experts for each industry. Below you will find small business tips for everything from taxes and regulation to promotion and networking.
Thanks to the internet, your small business can reach customers all around the world—but that doesn’t mean that’s where your focus should be. “To generate leads and sales, you need to really hone in on your target customer,” says Jeff Lizik, executive vice president of digital marketing at Z Brand, a marketing communications, PR, and advertising agency. “In addition to knowing...
Sometimes old dogs do have the best tricks. And that’s true for direct mail marketing: 56 percent of customers find print marketing to be the most trustworthy type of marketing, and 70 percent of Americans say mail is more personal than the internet. While popular opinion likes to paint print marketing as dead and gone, new research highlights just the opposite:...
If it was easy to start and run a successful small business, just about everyone would do it. But what leads to business failures? The answers are as diverse as the businesses themselves, but there are some common challenges. More importantly, if you’re thinking of starting a business, what can you do to increase your odds of success? Read on for...
Challenging times are par for the course for small business owners, but when the unexpected happens, like an economic downturn or unforeseen expenses, a shortfall could prove difficult to weather without a buffer. Half of all small businesses hold enough cash to last them only less than a month in the case of an unexpected shortfall, according to a recent study...
From bills and expenses to payroll and taxes, small business owners pay a lot. But how do you pay the person at the top? The right answer is more than just a value. Obviously you can’t pay yourself money that doesn’t exist, but determining how (and how much) to pay yourself as a small business owner can be challenging. There’s no...
Sometimes the best savings come from cutting down on lower-cost items. Here are three areas where a little trimming can go a long way. ...
Regardless of how your business markets and sells its goods or services, if a potential customer can’t find you, you don’t exist. Successfully communicating basic information about your business online is a simple but often overlooked necessity. In an increasingly digital, mobile, and competitive marketplace, it’s important that your business can be easily searched for and found. The good news is there...
Nearly any small business topic can be spun to fit Valentine’s Day. Take it from Mary Blackmon, who runs a farming lifestyle website called Farm Star Living. Two years ago, Blackmon wrote a guide called 10 Farms to Love for Valentine’s Day, listing farms that were offering events like special meals or dances. The guide allowed her to generate publicity and...
Perusing elaborate window displays is an integral part of the shopping experience. Take the flagship storefronts in New York and London, like Bergdorf Goodman or Harrods. The displays are as much of must-see as the merchandise beyond the doors. Mesmerizing displays aren’t just for high-end brands, though. “It’s becoming more important to ensure that not just store windows but also interior design...
Every successful business started with an idea—a moment of excitement when someone realized they could turn an opportunity into a functioning, profitable entity. After that initial spark, though, it’s normal to have some questions of doubt—the gaps between an idea, a plan and an operating business can seem miles long. Studies have shown that a lack of knowledge about critical first...
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