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43 Posts tagged with the steve_strauss tag
5 Ways to Reward Great Performance
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Posted by: Steve Strauss, May 8, 2012

When it comes to attracting and retaining talent, small business owners often wonder how to show their employees appreciation for a job well done. The good news is that there is no shortage of ways to reward great performances, and none of them need to break the bank. Consider: 1. Money: It is no secret that money motivates employees; we all know that. Holding sales contests, offering bonuses, dangling raises—these are tried-and-true approaches that are effective. But these things also...
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The Six Rules of Innovation
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Posted by: Steve Strauss, May 1, 2012

In the late 1930s, George de Mestral went for a walk in the woods. He wanted to catch some damselflies to view them underhis new microscope, but the only thing he was able to catch were scores of sticky burrs in his sock. De Mestral decided to look at the burrs under his microscope to see what made them stick. He discovered that each burr was covered with hundreds of tiny “hooks” that grabbed onto anything with a loop, such as clothing fiber, animal fur, or even human hair. And that is when...
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The Small Business Self-Assessment Quiz – 7 Questions to Ask Yourself
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Posted by: Steve Strauss, Apr 24, 2012

It is easy when you are a small business owner to have a narrow view of how you are doing. If things are going well and you are making a profit, you are in good shape, right? And, if you are in a rough spot and money is tight, then you need to be doing something better, no? Let me suggest that both views are probably too myopic, and as a result, probably incorrect as well. Judging the success or failure of your business by a snapshot of how you are doing today, or this week, or even this...
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9 Ways to Give Back
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Posted by: Steve Strauss, Apr 17, 2012

Small business people are among the most passionate, idealistic people out there. After all, how could you be anything but if you are willing to quit a more traditional job, forgo your benefits, follow your passion, take out a loan, open up shop, find and serve your new customers, and believe you will be profitable and happy? I would consider that fairly idealistic – in the best sense of the word. So it may be no surprise that small business owners are among the most active people in terms...
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6 Keys to Having a Better Work-Life Balance
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Posted by: Steve Strauss, Apr 3, 2012

Recently, I have been involved in a big, new work project. You know the type –it gets your adrenaline flowing, requires creativity and discipline and takes up a lot of time and bandwidth. The kind of project that is both exciting and overwhelming at the same time. Did I mention that I am pretty tired? But unlike other times when I have faced similar deadlines on big projects, this time, while weary in a good way, I am not burnt-out like I may have been (OK, have been) in the past. The...
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6 Ways to Create a Better Culture for Your Business
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Posted by: Steve Strauss, Mar 27, 2012

Recently, I was speaking with a client at a large tech firm about her business and she was explaining to me that she was very busy because they had recently bought a smaller business and she was part of the team that was working to integrate the two companies. The companies faced all sorts of challenges combining their two distinct forces – work overlap, communication, and geography – but guess what the biggest issue was? Culture. The smaller business was still in startup mode and did...
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Workplace Laws You Need to Know
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Posted by: Steve Strauss, Mar 20, 2012

Small business pop quiz: Which employees are entitled to overtime and which are not? What workplace benefits are required and which are perks? The answers to these types of questions are of course important, vital even to the success of your business, but many small business owners do not know the answers. And that begs two questions: First, when you own a business, where do you go to get legal information? And second, are there common legal issues of which you need to be especially aware?...
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How to Turn Resolutions into a Vision for Your Business
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Posted by: Steve Strauss, Mar 13, 2012

What is it that separates the good small business from the great small business? Many things come into play: Innovation: Better businesses tend to be more willing to innovate and try new things.The team: When VCs invest in a startup, one of the most critical things they look at is the quality of the management team. Good ideas with a great team have a greater likelihood of getting funding than a great idea with a good team. But probably the most important thing when it comes to going...
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4 Ways to Handle a Difficult Client
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Posted by: Steve Strauss, Mar 6, 2012

There are all sorts of clients you can have when you are in business, and most are pretty good. The valuable client, the friendly client, the repeat client – yeah, we love them. But what about the troublesome client, the difficult client? No, we don’t love them so much. What makes for difficult clients? It could be any number of things: They are too demanding or unrealistic in their expectationsThey might be belligerentThey may complain excessivelyThey ask for revision upon revisionThey...
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5 Ways to Conduct Business Research on the Cheap
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Posted by: Steve Strauss, Feb 28, 2012

Is your big, new idea a winner or a loser and how do you know? As a small business owner, you probably have good business instincts, but the smart entrepreneur knows that gut instincts and a small sample are not the kind of research you can, literally or figuratively, take to the bank. Your idea may be a winner, or it might not.  The important thing is that you carefully analyze your idea, and the market, and make sure you are not the only one who thinks that it will work.  A hunch simply...
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Should You Embrace March Madness in the Office?
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Posted by: Steve Strauss, Feb 21, 2012

Can you smell it? March Madness is in the air and we all know what that means: Folks fill out their brackets, watch games online and in the break room, chat about how they are doing and get less done. According to Gray & Christmas, a consulting firm specializing in workplace issues, about $1.7 billion is lost in productivity during March Madness. But figures like that assume people are busy little bees while at work, humming along, doing their job all day, consistently and persistently...
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Top 10 Signs You Are a Good Boss
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Posted by: Steve Strauss, Feb 14, 2012

It is probably a safe bet to say that most folks who manage other people think that they are a good boss. After all, we have all had bad bosses, and no one likes working for a bad one, let alone thinking that they are the bad boss. As you may remember, I wrote “Top 10 Signs You Are a Bad Boss” in an earlier column, you can read that article here. The truth is, all bosses are not created equal. So which are you? Let’s find out. Here are the top 10 signs that you really are a good boss....
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5 Ways to Find a Mentor
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Posted by: Steve Strauss, Feb 7, 2012

I would venture to say that we have all had an influential mentor at one time or another. It might have been a teacher who inspired you or a colleague who guided you, but whatever the case, you were fortunate to have the right someone at the right time. Yes, mentors can make a difference but the funny thing about them is that, typically, they show up when they show up. You don’t normally get to choose when a mentor relationship becomes available. All too often, finding a mentor when you...
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8 Ways to Market on a Shoestring
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Posted by: Steve Strauss, Jan 31, 2012

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...
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Five Secrets to Making Great Sales Presentations
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Posted by: Steve Strauss, Jan 24, 2012

Small business and sales go hand in hand. Indeed, it is impossible to be a small business owner without learning a thing or two about sales in the process. But that said, it doesn’t always follow that making sales comes easy, because for some people it most certainly does not. The good news is that sales is one of those things that, even if it doesn’t come naturally, can be learned with a bit of effort. This is especially true for those all-important presentations. Small business folks...
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