Archives: April 2010

The Case for Seller Financing

Posted by: Today's Tip Contributor on April 30

Financing a business purchase can be a difficult task for potential buyers. If you're planning to sell your business, offering seller financing will certainly help make your business more attractive...

Make It Easier to Get Paid and Pay Employees

Posted by: Today's Tip Contributor on April 29

Businesses that pay attention to customers' payment preferences should note trends and consider incorporating new technologies into their payment processes. For example, PIN-debit transactions grew 11.8% this January compared with...

Take Advantage of Unused R&D and AMT Credits

Posted by: Today's Tip Contributor on April 28

If your company has unused research and development (R&D) or alternative minimum tax (AMT) credits from pre-2006 tax years, you may have a decision to make while preparing your 2009...

Waiting on the Recovery Isn't an Option

Posted by: Today's Tip Contributor on April 27

Regardless of whether or not you believe the recession is over, there’s no doubt that the economic hammer created a new mindset—and a new way of doing business. The shocking...

Combat Rising Health-Care Costs

Posted by: Today's Tip Contributor on April 26

Current trends indicate that health-care benefits are a top priority for employees and can be the key differentiator in retaining employees for the long haul. For example, according to the...

Make Yourself Get Things Done

Posted by: Today's Tip Contributor on April 23

Creating accountability is challenging because it is easy to get caught up in the day-to-day operations of your business. If you are not generating ideas to overcome business issues and...

Become More Accountable

Posted by: Today's Tip Contributor on April 22

Accountability has always haunted business owners. Employees have someone to report to, someone to push them for results and most important, someone to hold them responsible. Business owners typically have...

Find the Value in Networking

Posted by: Today's Tip Contributor on April 21

Networking is a term that is often misunderstood. Business owners know it is important but often don't fully understand how to do it effectively. Most business owners go into networking...

Top Mistakes Business Owners Make When Networking

Posted by: Today's Tip Contributor on April 20

Business owners and sales professionals understand the importance and value of business referrals. The problem is that few understand how to get consistent, qualified referrals. If you are attempting to...

Effective Pricing Strategies to Improve Profits

Posted by: Today's Tip Contributor on April 19

Current turmoil in the financial markets, highly competitive markets, and downward pressure on product prices strain the profits of companies both large and small. Now more than ever, companies must...

Understand SEO

Posted by: Today's Tip Contributor on April 16

Search engine optimization is one of the most misunderstood aspects of the Internet. How does a company get ranked on the first page of Google? Contrary to what many people...

Don't Overlook Your Workforce

Posted by: Today's Tip Contributor on April 15

How well you optimize your company's three key assets—customers, product and service offerings, and labor—can impact pricing, competitive edge, and business success. Yet many organizations optimize only two of these...

Make a Difference in Your Local Community

Posted by: Today's Tip Contributor on April 14

In these tough economic times, I believe it's more important than ever for small businesses and entrepreneurs to support their local communities. Although many believe they're powerless to aid their...

Know Your Audience

Posted by: Today's Tip Contributor on April 13

It's a commonly held myth that in order to realize the benefits of Business Intelligence technologies, you have to implement costly, complicated tools that are nearly impossible to navigate. Long...

Think Big by Thinking Small

Posted by: Today's Tip Contributor on April 12

While most organizations recognize the value of Business Intelligence (BI) technologies that address "enterprise-wide" issues such as financial reporting, small-scale or "workgroup" BI solutions can add enormous benefit and have...

Social Networking Lessons from Kindergarten

Posted by: Today's Tip Contributor on April 09

When you stop to think about it, the rules of social networking are really about being a good person—basic human behavior that even a child can understand. Most of what...

Four Ways to Stop Throwing Money Down the IT Drain

Posted by: Today's Tip Contributor on April 08

International Data predicts worldwide small- and medium-size information technology spending will reach $509.6 billion in 2010, with the majority spent on hardware and software applications. Unfortunately, industry experts estimate that...

Ten Ergonomic Tips for Setting up Your Home Workstation

Posted by: Today's Tip Contributor on April 07

Two-plus years working from the couch and kitchen table had my back and wrists all cranky, to say the least. I recently set up a permanent workstation, taking into account...

Use the Recovery Act's Loss Carryback Provision

Posted by: Today's Tip Contributor on April 06

The 2009 tax deadline is quickly approaching. Balancing the demands of running your business with preparing a complicated tax return can be a daunting task, especially with new tax laws...

Shift from Canned Monologue to Constructive Dialogue

Posted by: Today's Tip Contributor on April 05

Networking events are jammed these days with Walking Billboards: hard-selling, attention-grabbing, in-your-face, walking, talking advertisements. No one in their right mind wants to be talked at and sold to while...

Social Media for Small Business

Posted by: Today's Tip Contributor on April 02

Social media is fast becoming part of the savvy small business owner's world. The most popular sites coming out of the revolution are social networking sites. At the most basic...

Using Technology to Manage Your Business Contacts

Posted by: Today's Tip Contributor on April 01

Relationships are the lifeblood of your business but as your network grows, you can't remember everything about everyone. Anyone with contact information spread across multiple devices, files, sticky notes, and...