Category: Tips and Tools

Nobody particularly enjoys dealing with customer complaints. When an angry email lands in your inbox or you see an unhappy face approaching your counter, it’s easy to feel somewhat aggrieved by the energy being thrown at you. In some cases, it's enough to make your stomach drop. Yet these situations often present a decent opportunity to change a disappointed customer into a loyal advocate for your business. It’s one thing to feel put out, but to have your complaint listened to, your issue rectified, and goodwill restored can help you really appreciate a service. It's all in how you handle it. Now, keep in mind that anyone can offer a refund or a quick fix. The best approach is in managing these situations in a way that leaves customers feeling…

Bringing employees on board your business is a huge undertaking, and having people working for you in any capacity can increase the risks for your business. This is because you're adding another variable into the equation that can produce any number of favorable and unfavorable results, many of which are unpredictable. Understanding your legal rights and responsibilities when you become an employer empowers you and your business. It's not a decision to be made without forethought and planning, and ensuring you know what your legal rights are can give you peace of mind and help you move towards protecting all involved parties once you commit to hiring people. 5 Ways To Protect Your Business When Hiring Employees EIN Before you do anything else, get an EIN if you haven't already…

Brands need to advertise, and there are multiple ways they can do this. Social media, email, and content marketing are all worthy investments. So is paid advertising. As the name implies, it’s a marketing strategy focusing on paying to have your website or products or services in front of audiences. These ads can often appear in newspapers, on television, and over the radio. More recently, however, paid advertising refers mainly to online ads. It’s a strategy you’ll likely be considering to bring in sales and grow your business. The results it offers are more than enough to consider investing in it. When you do, you’ll have to make sure you get it right so you can actually see proper results. Wingin' it is a quick way to throw money down…

Remember when marketing was as simple as placing an ad in the local paper? Those days are long gone, but that's actually good news for small business owners like you. Today's marketing landscape offers endless possibilities to reach your ideal customers - if you know how to navigate it. Whether you're feeling overwhelmed by the constant changes or excited about new opportunities, apply these marketing essentials to your business and you'll level up your marketing strategy for real results. Modern Marketing Essentials for Small Business  Monitor and embrace new trends New trends influence the way businesses market products and services and consumers buy products and choose companies or brands. It’s hugely beneficial for business owners and marketing teams to be aware of new trends. Embracing marketing trends and changing consumer…

Taxes. We have to deal with 'em whether we want to or not. And when it comes to running a business, you need to be able to stay ahead of your taxes. Before tax time, before you've even got your business off of the ground, you need to have your tax ID and employer ID so that you can be billed correctly by the government for the business profit and the money that you make. There are distinct difficulties and possibilities when it comes to your business, and success requires you to keep up with an ever changing tax situation. Of course, having the right understanding of how taxes work can really help. When you apply online for an EIN, you need to be aware of what that will mean…

It’s a golden rule of business: You can’t grow if you don’t invest. However, for many self employed experts and small businesses, working with a limited budget can make investment strategies confusing and challenging. AT first thought, investing more into your business could seem counterproductive. But don’t dismiss investing for growth just yet. If you’re going to invest in your business and see a return on your investment, you need to be able to answer one question: What benefits will you get from the investment? This is not as easy to answer as it sounds. After all, business investments don't offer as linear a return as some might think. So spending $1 could return $1, but it could also return 50 cents or $5. It's not a 1:1, or dollar…

Technology has been growing in all industries around the world for a while now, and with the uprising of technological advancements such as artificial intelligence (AI), it won’t be slowing down any time soon. The great thing is, that technology can be an efficient and effective way to help you grow your business. It can: automate processes provide your business with valuable data and insights analyze information in real-time help you to create more informed strategies help you to identify market changes adapt better to the changes in the economy increase your efficiency of your workforce help you to understand your customers and reach more of your audience, and much more. Technology can also be an excellent way to help reduce risks, costs, and errors within your business, saving you a lot of…