04/30/2014
Small business owners know that rapidly changing technologies offer great potential for profit. But with countless technology offerings and few clear ways to weed out gems from the fads, it is easy to get overwhelmed.

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04/29/2014
Learn why every small business needs a dashboard, and how it can transform your success.

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04/28/2014
If your business has only a few employees, you may think you are too small to offer a 401k plan. But even entrepreneurs have to retire someday, and there's no time like the present to start planning for the future.

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04/18/2014
But Pubsoft Director of Marketing Heather Wied says small businesses should not spread themselves thin trying to master every social network under the sun. Pubsoft, which helps businesses publish online content, integrates social networking to help customers spread the word about their businesses.

The best social network for you is dependent on your target market, says Wied.

To maximize your time on social media – without losing your mind – check out Wieds three best tips:

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04/13/2014
After years of courting the nations biggest advertisers, Facebook is going after the 99%.

That figure represents the long tail of advertisers; the plumbers and dentists, restaurants and political candidates, app developers and direct-response advertisers. These small and mid-sized businesses do not have Facebook account reps and are left to figure out Facebook advertising for themselves.

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04/16/2014
At Sage, we meet with small business owners regularly to get a complete picture of how their businesses run. We have had countless discussions about the tools these business owners use and why they chose them. These are businesses of all types, sizes and ages; but do you know what is common among them?

To some degree, they all use a mix of tools that are either the wrong fit or not connected with each other…or both. One conversation that comes to mind was with a consultant who was using desktop accounting software that she described as too much for her needs. This business owner used three separate applications to track time, organize tasks, and collect online payments, none of which were connected to each other. She struggled with sharing pertinent information with her business partner who was in another city. The result was frustration and wasted time as she tried to make it all work, and she is not alone.

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04/14/2014
Owners now say the administrative burdens of tax season pose a bigger burden than their actual tax bill.

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04/11/2014
After a winter most of us would like to forget, spring is here. But with the good, comes the bad it is time for a little spring cleaning, or to spruce up your small business technology. Considering how fast business is evolving, this is going to take more than the traditional broom and dustpan.

If you, like many small business owners, have been reluctant to invest in new business technology dues to the after-effects of the Great Recession, this is the time to finally get moving and create and implement digital priorities. Here are some tasks you need to put on your  spring cleaning checklist:

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04/09/2014
Owning your own company can be a dream from making your own hours and choosing your own staff, to even doing something you love. However, owning a small business can also be really exhausting, difficult, and time consuming. If you are still looking into self-employment, doing your research first will help. However, if you already own a small business, your next task might be determining how you can save time and money on that business. There are many easy ways for small business owners to save time, including choosing the appropriate staff, picking deadlines, and using programs that are designed to help business owners save time, like Zirtual assistant. Many of the tools that save time also save money, and Zirtual’s assistants are a great example of this. Read on to learn five ways you can save money for your small business, and hopefully, save some time too.

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04/07/2014
Despite the importance of putting the right people in charge, companies fail to choose the managerial candidate with the right talent for the job 82 percent of the time, according to new research from Gallup. The research revealed that, overall, just 1 in 10 people possess the talent needed to manage others.

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04/04/2014
1. Get comfortable being uncomfortable.
2. Commit yourself.
3. Really understand your clients/customers/target audience.
4. Get connected.
5. Prioritize.
6. Team up.
7. Find your balance.
8. Say what you mean and mean what you say.
9. Make it fun! Starting

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04/02/2014
Gaining customers. Producing a quality product. Finding new markets. These are the things that small business owners focus on when starting their latest venture. But while entrepreneurs are busy planning for the future, many fail to prepare for the worst.

Businesses large and small are loaded with risk. Liability is—or should be—a chief concern. Too many entrepreneurs, however, overlook the need to plan for and manage risk when launching their businesses.

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03/31/2014
Just because you are small does not mean you have to act small. With a few smart adjustments and a solid NAS setup, you can give your company the capabilities of the big guys in a package that will not break the budget.

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