Small Business News, Tools and Articles

Take the Long View When Negotiating With Your Vendors : Money :: American Express OPEN Forum

bizSugar / Hot Topics — And even if price is no object, your vendors' abilities to deliver products or services on time, while avoiding errors or damaged products can control the fate of your business. ^

Now you have a chance to network right on this blog!

Learn Small Business — Now you have a chance to network right on this blog! I’ve added a forum to this blog! ^

The Value of Design

BusinessWeek.com -- Innovation & Design — The Value of Design The catalyst for this report on the value of design in business was the outpouring of reader comments that arrived after a bad-tempered blog post

10 Ways to Validate a Sales Forecast

Entrepreneur.com: Latest Articles — 10 Ways to Validate a Sales Forecast Even without data, there are other ways to test your projections.

Off to a Great Start

The Entrepreneurial Mind — Off to a Great Start Well, our latest student-create, student-run campus business, Buzzy's Candy Store, is off to a roaring start!  It demonstrates that the market is still open to businesses that fill a niche, even in the throws of the recession.  The student who proposed the venture did her homework and found that a candy store is something our students, faculty, staff and neighbors all wanted. ^

Who will save us?

Seth's Blog — It's over.If by save you mean, "who will keep the jobs of the pressmen and the delivery guys and the squadrons of accountants and box makers and transshippers and bookstore buyers and assistant editors and coffee boys," then the answer is still nothing will. ^

As Foundations Seek More Impact, Their "Green Consciousness" Blocks the Way

nuPOLIS — An aversion to many kinds of hierarchies (both good and bad) A valuing of intentions over results Another problem with the Green/Consensus world view is that it dismisses the strengths of the Orange/Strategic worldview (the dominant capitalist business worldview) as well as the Blue/Authority worldview (the dominant conservative culture worldview).  What This Means in Practice Using this consciousness framework to assess one foundation's strategies, we provided a top executive with this anal

Holding successful Kaizen Events Part 2 of 3

Business 901 — Holding successful Kaizen Events Part 2 of 3 Last week the Business901 podcast, featured Karen Martin the co-author of The Kaizen Event Planner: Achieving Rapid Improvement in Office, Service and Technical Environments. ^

Make the Most of Bad News

Entrepreneur.com: Latest Articles — Make the Most of Bad News Learn to embrace negative feedback and use it as a competitive edge.

Moms Are Great Businesswomen

Entrepreneur.com: Latest Articles — Moms Are Great Businesswomen Motherhood and entrepreneurship complement each other in many ways.

What’s Your Plan? | Online Media Gazette

bizSugar / Hot Topics — Online Media Gazette With any social media marketing effort the most crucial element is the planning stage. ^

“Crowdsourcing” Your Logo Design: Should You Do It? (99designs Review)

erica.biz - Erica Douglass shows you how to build an inspired, successful business. — (99designs Review) When it comes to getting a logo designed, you have a lot of choices. ^

How to Prevent a Community From Growing On Your Site | Small Business Trends

bizSugar / Hot Topics — Small Business Trends The days of the cold static site are coming to end. ^

What to Do When the Client Is Wrong

Freelance Folder — What to Do When the Client Is Wrong Sooner or later most freelancers will have the pleasure of working with a client who seems to have forgotten why…

There is Still Money Out There

The Entrepreneurial Mind — There is Still Money Out There While money is harder to come by, there is still money out there for deals that hold promise.Last year the Forbes America's Most Promising Companies identified twenty entrepreneurial ventures with strong promise for growth.In a follow-up, we find that many of these firms have had success in raising money.  Mind you, it has not been a flood gate of cash flow opening for these firms even with the publicity from this event.  But, together they have raised ab

Next Fab: A Gym for Innovators

Small Business Labs — Next Fab: A Gym for Innovators Next Fab is a new "gym for innovators" that released opened in Philadelphia. ^

How much is that little piccie in the window? Why product doesn't determine price

BusinessBurned — Why product doesn't determine price In 1989 this tiny oil painting of the Virgin Mary was valued at some $9000. ^

Will Optimization For Mobile Apps Soon Outweigh Search Engine Optimization?

Mobile Marketing Watch — Will Optimization For Mobile Apps Soon Outweigh Search Engine Optimization? I wrote recently about the concept of location becoming more important than standard SEO in terms of mobile search, but with the proliferation of mobile apps becoming a de-facto branding method for many advertisers entering the mobile channel, optimization is taking on an entirely different role. A great article published by Patricia Brusha on HospitalityNet discusses [...]

Ford Sees Mobile Success With Campaign Touting 2010 Taurus, Generates 20% CTR

Mobile Marketing Watch — Ford Sees Mobile Success With Campaign Touting 2010 Taurus, Generates 20% CTR Ford Motor Company, in an attempt to drive interest in its completely redesigned 2010 Taurus, launched a national mobile campaign at the end of last year that ended with an overall CTR of 20%, and reached a total mobile audience of over 1 million consumers. The campaign, powered by Mobile Posse, utilized full-color, full-screen creatives to [...]

Manage your FreshBooks expenses on the go

Fresh Thinking — Manage your FreshBooks expenses on the go ExpenseBooks puts all of your expenses in the palm of your hands. One of the biggest requests we get time after time, is more mobile support for FreshBooks. ^

Coca-Cola Launches Mobile Initiative for Winter Olympics

Mobile Marketing Watch — Coca-Cola Launches Mobile Initiative for Winter Olympics Coca-Cola is going mobile for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. ^

Your Business is No Excuse for Being an A**hole

Planning, Startups, Stories — Your Business is No Excuse for Being an A**hole To be honest, I thought it was a joke; ^

The Single Greatest Way To Discover Innovation

Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing — The Single Greatest Way To Discover Innovation The Single Greatest Way To Discover InnovationThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing ShareThe Single Greatest Way To Discover InnovationThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing Warning: I have no scientific research to back up the theory I’m about to ponder, but I would love to hear your thoughts after/if you complete reading this post. I don’t really recall the first time I discovered this, but it’s happened enough that I [...]

How to Prevent a Community From Growing On Your Site

Small Business Trends — How to Prevent a Community From Growing On Your Site The days of the cold static site are coming to end. ^

How Important is Social Media in a Marketing Plan?

bizSugar / Hot Topics — Actually, it is not too surprising to find that entrepreneurs who are doing most of the work might have trouble seeing the forest for the trees. ^

Pepsi vs Coke: advertising battle turns to social media

bizSugar / Hot Topics — Pepsi vs Coke: advertising battle turns to social media In the 1980s and 1990s the battle between the two dominant brands intensified to such an extent that the term "cola wars" was used to describe the feud. ^

Blazing Hot Business Trend - Online Scheduling

bizSugar / Hot Topics — Blazing Hot Business Trend - Online Scheduling Review of online scheduling tools Doodle & Tungle.me. ^

Video Conferencing: Beyond Jerky Video Is For You Now

Smallbiztechnology.com — Video Conferencing: Beyond Jerky Video Is For You Now Technology consultant Gene Marks writes in Forbes I live in a pretty nice area outside of Philadelphia. ^

Do You Recognize the Early Warning Signs of Freelancer Burnout?

Freelance Folder — Do You Recognize the Early Warning Signs of Freelancer Burnout? You just love your job as a freelancer, but lately it seems like you really have to force yourself to…

Three Great Resources to Grow Your Small Business | Inspire Enterprise

bizSugar / Hot Topics — Inspire Enterprise So, the question still remains to be answered, how are you going to grow your business in 2010? ^

Another Good Reason To Buy A Franchise

The Franchise King — Do you want to be left in the dust?*******************************************************************************************Here's a question;Do you feel that it's important for you, as a prospective new small business/franchise owner, to leverage all you can from those who have developed a system that can enable you to get to market quickly?(Like a franchise, or a licensing opportunity)Or, would you rather save the cost of a franchise fee, and do it yourself? Do you know how to select a franc

Sales Tip of the Day: DON’T GIVE UP

The Selling Sherpa — Sales Tip of the Day: DON’T GIVE UP Statistics reveal that, on average, 80% of sales are made after the fourth call on a prospect. Funny thing is, approximately 75% of salespeople stop calling the prospect after three attempts. ^

Sales Tip of the Day: DON’T GIVE UP

The Selling Sherpa — Sales Tip of the Day: DON’T GIVE UP Statistics reveal that, on average, 80% of sales are made after the fourth call on a prospect. Funny thing is, approximately 75% of salespeople stop calling the prospect after three attempts. ^

Helping small business grow and prosper in Novi

Pipes Output — Helping small business grow and prosper in Novi Join Walsh College, The City of Novi and National City Bank on Tuesday, March 2, 2010 at Walsh College in Novi for a FREE networking event and an opportunity to learn about the Business Assistance Team (BAT) in Novi.The mission of the BAT is to identify small and medium size businesses within the Novi community that would benefit from the business and planning experience the team is able to offer. ^

5 Ways to Rock Customer Review Sites :: Duct Tape Marketing

bizSugar / Hot Topics — 5 Ways to Rock Customer Review Sites :: Duct Tape Marketing local businessThere's been a fair amount of coverage recently about the ins and outs, good and evil, usefulness and rudeness of customer rating and reviews sites. ^

12 Social Media Tips Under 140 Characters by @shanegibson

bizSugar / Hot Topics — 12 Social Media Tips Under 140 Characters by @shanegibson These are social media tips under 140 characters that I have posted on Twitter over the past week or so. ^

Oracle vs. SAP: Battle of the Winter 2009-2010 Balance Sheets

CIO Magazine — Oracle vs. ^

Mobile Marketing Association Expands, Restructures

Mobile Marketing Watch — Mobile Marketing Association Expands, Restructures The Mobile Marketing Association has revealed pans to restructure into business units its operating regions, which include Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Latin America and North America. ^

Ingeniously simple tools ... don't happen by chance

BusinessBurned — don't happen by chance Have you ever wondered what pulling a pint of English ale can tell you about software interfaces? ^

Forget Branded Mobile Apps, Sponsorships Are Making A Comeback In Mobile Marketing

Mobile Marketing Watch — Forget Branded Mobile Apps, Sponsorships Are Making A Comeback In Mobile Marketing Mobile apps, and especially branded apps, are all the rage now-a-days, but a resurgence in the lost art of sponsorship is making a comeback, and brands are shifting their thinking because of it. Steve Smith of MediaPost published a great article recently that talks about sponsorships in terms of mobile marketing, and what benefits the concept [...]