Archives: November 2009

Social Media: Listening Is Not Enough

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on November 30

Small businesses can gain tremendous branding and sales benefits from launching social media marketing programs—and it's not even that hard or costly. After all, the first step to get in...

Launch an Online Contest

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on November 27

Your business may already have a Facebook Page or a Twitter account. Perhaps you've even posted some videos to YouTube and launched a company blog. But few small businesses have...

Cultivate a Culture of Innovation

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on November 26

Innovate. Innovation. Innovative. These words get thrown around a lot these days. As far as our organization's self-image is concerned, we'd all like to think of ourselves as innovative. After...

The Insider Threat Checklist

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on November 25

When we think about IT saboteurs, the majority of us picture a professional hacker bent on stealing highly confidential information or wreaking havoc with our business. In such cases, the...

It's O.K. to Not Be There

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on November 24

How many times have you flown to a meeting to help close a deal, build relationships with partners, or connect face-to-face with a customer? Without dismissing in-person interaction, there is...

Employ Foreign Exchange Strategies when Going Global

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on November 23

Business owners with experience know that doing international business isn't as simple as selling your product in another country. A key consideration when buying and selling overseas is how to...

The 'ABCs' of Password Management

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on November 20

Today's typical user has about a dozen systems they need to access with a user name and password. While passwords are an important and almost inevitable part of our everyday...

Reducing Data Center Power Usage

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on November 19

IT managers today are looking to curb the energy hogs in their data centers in order to limit spiraling energy costs by reducing power consumption, as well as cut overall...

Examine Pricing

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on November 18

The recession has created new competitive conditions. Led by the consumer who will no longer pay full retail, the discounting mentality has moved down the supply chain. Every business is...

Create Forecasting for Business Units

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on November 17

Forecasting seems like a simple idea, yet many entrepreneurs don’t put it into practice. Forecasting is a valuable tool that will give you better control of your business and help...

Assess Customer Profitability

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on November 16

Keeping your current customers and securing new ones may seem difficult enough in the recession. But not every customer is a "good" customer. Some customers could be costing you money....

Establish Daily Forecasting

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on November 13

With just about every business now under pressure to lower prices, it is more important than ever for business owners to know their real costs. What are the daily forecasts...

Measure Current Performance

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on November 12

In today’s tough economy, every dollar counts. Yet do you know how your business is really performing? How your company might compare to the norms for your industry? Many entrepreneurs...

Burn the Company Suggestion Box

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on November 11

Does your small business still use a suggestion box for employee feedback? If so, it’s time to upgrade to a better system. Your business needs to continually progress and that...

Be Loyal to the 'Customer Experience'

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on November 10

Small business owners have always had to focus on streamlining and improving efficiencies in order to stay competitive and remain afloat—but what about creating solid competitive advantages by improving the...

What Does the Cloud Mean?

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on November 09

In the technology business, we often forget that to most people, we speak a foreign language. The first time I met my former boss, Web.com CEO Jeff Stibel, he asked...

Creating An Innovation-Intelligence Ecosystem

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on November 06

Most companies have an innovation community of master and everyday innovators. Normally, 10% to 20% of innovation workers are master innovators, who focus on driving disruptive innovation and strategic innovation...

Low-Cost Ways to Acquire Customers

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on November 05

Customers are the lifeblood of any successful business. In fact, according to a recent PartnerUp survey of more than 800 small business owners, customer acquisition was seen as a top...

The Basics on Financing Your Own Business

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on November 04

With the unemployment rate hovering near double digits, a growing number of people are viewing job loss as that "karmic kick in the pants" to try something new. In fact,...

Put a Data-Loss Prevention Strategy in Place

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on November 03

Massive data breaches make headlines every day, but even small data breaches can have devastating repercussions on businesses and their clients. When one considers the financial, legal, and reputational damage...

Determine the Data You Need to Protect

Posted by: Rod Kurtz on November 02

Protecting essential information such as intellectual property and customer data is critical for businesses of all sizes. Small businesses deal with many of the same regulatory compliance demands as large...