The dirty little secret about entrepreneurship is that most people who start a business had no idea what they were doing when they began – myself included. Oh sure, they may have read some books and articles, gone to seminars, or maybe have even written a business plan. But actually knowing what to expect, what slings and arrows would come their way – no. The good news about that, as one intrepid entrepreneur once told me, is that you don’t know what you don’t know. That is – you don’t know...

According to a survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), nearly 50% of employers would like to see an internship on a student’s resume. Following up on a previous article about identifying an intern for your small business, here are some guidelines on how to manage interns once you’ve brought them on board. If you’ve found an intern who has some background in your industry, there’s no reason to pigeonhole them into the most obvious position based on...

Compare these two definitions of “brainstorming”: Merriam Webster defines brainstorming as a group problem-solving technique that involves the spontaneous contribution of ideas from all members of the group. By contrast, the Oxford Dictionary defines brainstorming as a moment in which one is suddenly unable to think clearly or act sensibly. Note the difference. While brainstorming can spark innovative business ideas or solutions – that does not always happen. In some cases, a group...

What is it that separates those small businesses that are very successful with their social media efforts with those that are not? Let me suggest a one word answer: Content. The phrase is not “Content is prince” or “Content is duke.” No, they say, “Content is king” for a reason. Because it is. Offer your folks great content and they will pay attention to you. Don’t and they won’t. So what is great content and how do you create or offer it? The first thing to understand about social...

Workplace culture can be broadly defined as how employees describe their working environment. While some cultures will be defined naturally based on a small business owner’s leadership style or industry type, a lot of it will also be determined by the employees you hire and the office tone that management sets. How you implement your unique small business culture in day-to-day operations can help to attract and retain talent while ultimately contributing to your business’ success.  Here are...

There are numerous perspectives on the different types of “management styles.” To help you identify your type, or learn more about, we’ve outlined eight different styles below. Active leadership: Active leaders tend to lead by example and set a high standard for themselves and their employees. They wouldn’t ask an employee to take on a task they’d be unwilling to do themselves. They are highly involved in the day-to-day work and fully aware of what’s taking place in the office. Democratic...

While we are all familiar with the making of personal New Year’s resolutions (maybe too familiar!) a recent and emerging trend is to make New Year’s business resolutions. The challenge of course is that, like personal resolutions, we want our business resolutions to stick. So how do we do that? Experts say that people who are able to make and keep resolutions know not to bite off more than they can chew. Here are a few simple, easy-to-implement, small business resolutions that can make a...