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	<title>Business &#38; MoneyCategory: Small Business Tip of the Day &#124; Business &#38; Money &#124; TIME.com</title>
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		<title>Banking on Business Growth</title>
		<link>http://business.time.com/2013/05/21/banking-on-business-growth/</link>
		<comments>http://business.time.com/2013/05/21/banking-on-business-growth/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 21 May 2013 16:54:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lauren Simonds</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business Tip of the Day]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://business.time.com/?p=80435</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Your banker can make a big difference in your long-term business success. Is yours working hard for you? The right partnerships can play a big role in the success or failure of a business, so enter into any partnership with an eye toward how it can advance your goals. Choose a bank the same way, not because it’s next door and you’ve always gone there. Finding the right bank for your needs doesn&#8217;t take a lot of work, but it can offer a lot of rewards. Asking the right questions and building a strong relationship with your banker can save you money on interest rates and result in new business opportunities. These American Bankers Association tips, discussed by Joe Taylor at Small Business Computing, can help you improve your current banking situation or help you find a bank that works for you. (MORE: Talk Your Way to Success) 1. Make it Personal Personal connections are more meaningful and memorable, so get to know the people who make decisions at your bank by having face-to-face conversations throughout the year. Discuss your accounts and let them know you&#8217;re willing to help bring business to their bank if they&#8217;re willing to help you grow your business. Banks often reward this kind of loyalty with free services or lower interest rates on credit cards (both for you and your employees) and other financial products. Be sure to ask how you can qualify for these types of discounts. 2. Request an Annual Review Banks have experts who specialize in helping other companies grow, but many small business owners fail to take advantage of their expertise. Request an annual review, where your team can present to the bank&#8217;s relationship manager and other relevant members of the staff. Ask them to share their view of your firm&#8217;s financial performance, possible business opportunities, and your prospects for growth within your industry. The information you receive can be invaluable when you&#8217;re ready to pitch your business to potential investors. 3. Monitor Give and Take Does your current banker suggest<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=business.time.com&#038;blog=31173800&#038;post=80435&#038;subd=timebusinessblog&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>Small Business Tip of the Day</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://business.time.com/category/small-business/small-business-tip-of-the-day/</primary_category_link>
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		<title>Arresting Small Business Fraud</title>
		<link>http://business.time.com/2013/05/17/arresting-small-business-fraud/</link>
		<comments>http://business.time.com/2013/05/17/arresting-small-business-fraud/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 17 May 2013 15:00:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lauren Simonds</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business Tip of the Day]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://business.time.com/?p=80249</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s tough enough to grow a business without people ripping you off. Here are four simple ways to protect your business from fraud. Small business owners know that it takes lot of hard work to build a successful business. You most likely read this and other advice articles looking for ideas and inspiration to help push your business to even greater success. That&#8217;s awesome. But while you fine tune your sales pitches, marketing strategies and countless other aspects of your business, don’t forget to protect what you&#8217;ve already built. Criminals, who make their living by committing small business fraud, keep coming up with new, insidious ways to take your money. (MORE: Take Advantage of Free Resources to Grow Your Business) As Dr. Martin Bressler, a marketing and management professor at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, noted in an article at Small Business Computing that a single instance of loss due to fraud typically costs the business owner $190,000. We&#8217;re turning an old adage on its ear, because when it comes to small business fraud, your best offense is a good defense. Experts offer these four tips that you can easily incorporate into your business to foil scammers and crooks. 1. Compare checks to invoices: Keep a sharp eye on any incoming cashier&#8217;s or business checks you process. The checks may look real, and they might even make it past phone or online confirmation. The problem, however, is that they may not correspond with your customer&#8217;s order. That sketchy check is usually followed up by a distraught or embarrassed &#8220;customer&#8221; asking for a refund. It can take weeks for a bank to deal with a fraudulent check, which gives the perpetrator plenty of time to make a clean getaway with your money. 2. Institute a wire transfer policy: If you allow your customers to pay with wire transfers, you run the risk of having your business account cleaned out by an informed criminal. Fortunately, there&#8217;s an easy fix. Ask your bank to set up a free checking account and use it only for<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=business.time.com&#038;blog=31173800&#038;post=80249&#038;subd=timebusinessblog&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>Small Business Tip of the Day</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://business.time.com/category/small-business/small-business-tip-of-the-day/</primary_category_link>
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		<title>Take Advantage of Free Resources to Grow Your Business</title>
		<link>http://business.time.com/2013/05/16/take-advantage-of-free-resources-to-grow-your-business/</link>
		<comments>http://business.time.com/2013/05/16/take-advantage-of-free-resources-to-grow-your-business/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 16 May 2013 15:00:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lauren Simonds</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business Tip of the Day]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://business.time.com/?p=80159</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Don’t let a tight budget keep you from growing your business. These free resources can connect you with mentors, train employees and save money on software. Whether you&#8217;re just starting a new business venture, thinking about expanding your current business or taking it in a new direction altogether, coming up with the money to fund those plans is a challenge for most aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners. That&#8217;s where free or very affordable resources can make a big difference in turning a dream into a reality. As pointed out by Maryalene LaPonsie at Small Business Computing, free tools and resources can save you money, but the benefits go beyond your immediate cash flow issues. The right information can save you or your employees from making avoidable—and expensive—missteps along the way. And just as important, it can teach you to recognize and take advantage of growth opportunities. These three information-rich resources can help. (MORE: Deliver a World-Class Customer Experience) SCORE a Trusted Advisor Could you use a mentor, someone who&#8217;s been in the business trenches, and someone who knows how to avoid the pitfalls and capitalize on the opportunities? Forget high-priced consultants (you can’t afford them anyway). You need a mentor. One of the best, free mentoring resources for anyone who wants to start, grow or expand a business is an outfit called SCORE— the Service Corp of Retired Executives. This national group of more than 340 chapters encompasses 13,000 working and retired business professionals. Their collective expertise spans 62 industries and 500 skills. SCORE also offers affordable workshops and free online tools and templates. Basic Training and Beyond Aspiring and current small business owners—and their employees—can often use training to learn or sharpen the skills necessary to build and grow a business. Through its Small Business Technology and Development Centers, the Small Business Administration offers a range of free workshops and training sessions. Topics vary depending on location, but can include workshops on how to start a business, how to write a business plan, financial management, marketing and the<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=business.time.com&#038;blog=31173800&#038;post=80159&#038;subd=timebusinessblog&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>Small Business Tip of the Day</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://business.time.com/category/small-business/small-business-tip-of-the-day/</primary_category_link>
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		<title>Deliver a World-Class Customer Experience</title>
		<link>http://business.time.com/2013/05/15/deliver-a-world-class-customer-experience/</link>
		<comments>http://business.time.com/2013/05/15/deliver-a-world-class-customer-experience/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 15 May 2013 15:00:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lauren Simonds</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business Tip of the Day]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://business.time.com/?p=80019</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Take a page out of Disney&#8217;s employee training playbook to see how creative management can lead to fully engaged employees dedicated to pleasing customers. It stands to reason that anyone who owns a business can learn a lot from studying The Walt Disney Company. The venerable business has been in existence since 1923, and it&#8217;s grown up to become both a worldwide media-and-entertainment giant and a global household name. Along with Mickey and his friends, the House of Mouse encompasses ABC, Marvel Entertainment, Pixar, Lucasfilm and ESPN. But as Dennis McCafferty points out in an article at CIO Insight, it takes more than impressive acquisitions to spur and sustain growth. It takes, among other things, a culture that&#8217;s dedicated to excellence. In a recent book entitled &#8220;Disney U: How Disney University Develops the World&#8217;s Most Engaged, Loyal, and Customer-Centric Employees&#8221; (McGraw-Hill), author Doug Lipp takes a deep dive into Disney&#8217;s workplace culture. A global training enterprise that began in 1955, Disney U is the place where the company&#8217;s leaders have defined and instilled a workplace culture that incorporates attention to detail and company values along with a healthy dose of fun. The result is an engaged workforce dedicated to providing the best possible customer experience. And Lipp provides an insider&#8217;s perspective; he helped develop the international version of the program. (MORE: When it Comes to Strategy, Size Doesn&#8217;t Matter) Below you&#8217;ll find a dozen management tips and best practices taught at Disney U. How many can you adapt to your small business to help your employees give your customers the best possible experience? 1. As Walt Disney said, &#8220;Laughter is no enemy to learning.&#8221; Disney U takes learning seriously by incorporating humor and entertainment into its training sessions. 2.  Simplified lesson plans include actionable items. Plus, the curriculum receives organization-wide support. 3. Tools to develop engaged employees include strong corporate values and incentives, like gifts and cash bonuses, in equal measure. 4. Increased understanding builds appreciation. A buddy system pairs Disney workers with different jobs, and they shadow each other<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=business.time.com&#038;blog=31173800&#038;post=80019&#038;subd=timebusinessblog&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>Small Business Tip of the Day</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://business.time.com/category/small-business/small-business-tip-of-the-day/</primary_category_link>
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		<title>When It Comes to Strategy, Size Doesn’t Matter</title>
		<link>http://business.time.com/2013/05/14/when-it-comes-to-strategy-size-doesnt-matter/</link>
		<comments>http://business.time.com/2013/05/14/when-it-comes-to-strategy-size-doesnt-matter/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 14 May 2013 15:00:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lauren Simonds</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business Tip of the Day]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://business.time.com/?p=79750</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[You don’t need a mountain of fancy resources to craft a strategic roadmap for your business, but you do need to give up a lot of preconceived notions about strategy. Sometimes the thing that holds a small business back the most is small thinking. For example, believing that your size is a disadvantage when it comes to strategic planning. After all, the big companies have the financial resources and the manpower to throw at market forecasting and prognostication. You don’t stand a chance, right? Fortunately common sense, not money or headcount, is the key ingredient in creating a strategic plan, and that beats (or at least matches) bells and whistles every time. According to business experts interviewed by Pedro Hernandez at Small Business Computing, your company size is not a strategic disadvantage. In fact, it lets you change course much faster than your larger competition. How can you develop your strategic-thinking chops? Listen up. Curb Your Enthusiasm You might be surprised to hear that the first step is to stop strategizing. Say what now? Yes, you need to understand your market conditions, and you still need goals; the point here is to stop planning unnecessarily or obsessively. (MORE: Soup Up Your Sales Team) Instead, business author Kaihan Krippendorff suggests relying on your company&#8217;s nimble size. Shoot for shorter, regular sessions to &#8220;address challenges, explore options and seize opportunities to out-maneuver bigger, slower rivals.&#8221; Challenge Assumptions If you&#8217;re a big believer in the status quo, you might need a big steaming cup of reality. The business climate is changing faster than ever. For an example, just consider how quickly the Internet, social media and mobile devices have changed the way people conduct business. Now consider how many companies are littering the information highway because they couldn’t see or adapt to the changing times. Question everything. Krippendorff suggests that you write down all the reasons you think an idea won’t work, and then test your reasoning. Gather your team and devise ways to make your idea viable. While it&#8217;s true that some<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=business.time.com&#038;blog=31173800&#038;post=79750&#038;subd=timebusinessblog&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>Small Business Tip of the Day</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://business.time.com/category/small-business/small-business-tip-of-the-day/</primary_category_link>
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		<title>Leading from Failure to Success</title>
		<link>http://business.time.com/2013/05/09/leading-from-failure-to-success/</link>
		<comments>http://business.time.com/2013/05/09/leading-from-failure-to-success/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 09 May 2013 15:00:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lauren Simonds</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business Tip of the Day]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://business.time.com/?p=79571</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Turning around a losing team isn’t easy, but it is possible. These 10 tips can help. Everyone wants a winning team. The truth is, however, that some teams — whether in sports or in business — continually suffer the agony of defeat without ever experiencing the thrill of victory (think Chicago Cubs). If you&#8217;re leading a team that&#8217;s never known success, how can you turn that entrenched losing streak into a winning season? In their book, &#8220;Team Turnarounds: A Playbook for Transforming Underperforming Teams&#8221; (Jossey-Bass), authors Joe Frontiera and Daniel Leidl offer advice on how to lead and transform an uninspired team into a winning team that knows the unadulterated joy of success. Not surprisingly, the book draws on examples from professional sports as its primary model for motivation and for creating incremental changes in behavior. Much like a coach inspires average athletes to out-work and out-play the competition, managers need to find ways to help and encourage employees to recondition and strengthen both their mindset and their work ethic. (MORE: Talk Your Way to Success) Change of this magnitude won’t happen overnight, so consider it a work-in-progress. These tips from the book should help get you and your team back on the field and back in the game. 1. What you focus on expands, so stop that loser mindset right in its tracks. The more your team worries about losing, the more likely they are to lose. 2. Face facts and assess the failures—including individual and team performance—honestly. Glossing over what went wrong or discussing events in general terms doesn’t work, and it won’t help your people learn from their mistakes. 3. Clearly define team roles, and make sure individuals know what tasks and goals they own. Setting up clear accountability cultivates a self-policing ethic within the workplace. 4. Encourage your employees to suggest ways to improve processes. Giving them a voice in solving the problems ensures they&#8217;ll work harder to succeed. 5. Expect and encourage your team to be excellent. Demonstrate a commitment to quality by paying attention<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=business.time.com&#038;blog=31173800&#038;post=79571&#038;subd=timebusinessblog&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>Small Business Tip of the Day</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://business.time.com/category/small-business/small-business-tip-of-the-day/</primary_category_link>
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		<title>Talk Your Way to Success</title>
		<link>http://business.time.com/2013/05/08/talk-your-way-to-success/</link>
		<comments>http://business.time.com/2013/05/08/talk-your-way-to-success/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 08 May 2013 14:58:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lauren Simonds</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business Tip of the Day]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://business.time.com/?p=79472</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you want your business to succeed—and we&#8217;re guessing you do—then consider these tips for improving your internal communications. It&#8217;s more important than you think. You&#8217;ve heard the expression &#8220;talk is cheap.&#8221; That&#8217;s good news for small business owners with big ambitions, because talking is an essential tool if you want to succeed. It&#8217;s nice to know there&#8217;s one strategy you can implement that won’t be a line item on your budget. But exactly what kind of talking are we, uh, talking about? According to Janine Popick, CEO of VerticalResponse, how you handle your internal communications makes a big difference in a company&#8217;s growth and success. And don’t think that size matters. No matter how many employees you have, just a few or a cast of thousands, you need to keep every one of them informed so that they feel connected to the business and to its success. (MORE: Soup Up Your Sales Team) As your business grows and employees move from being generalists wearing many hats to specialists with just one, their focus can result in a restricted view of the big picture. That, coupled with the reality that some of your managers communicate the company’s big picture to their teams and others don&#8217;t, presents a challenge. It can create an atmosphere of misinformation floating around the office, and nothing good ever comes from that. Here are a few simple ways to start talking with your employees and give them the information they need to play an active, committed role in their success — and yours. Employee Forums Schedule regular all-hands meetings that all of your employees can attend. It&#8217;s an opportunity for departments to share the projects they&#8217;re working on and to spotlight individual or team accomplishments. Make sure you give people a chance to ask questions, and don’t forget to let people inject a little fun and creativity to avoid boredom and to increase employee engagement. News That&#8217;s Fit to Print Create a monthly internal newsletter to give your employees high-level updates from throughout the company. Again,<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=business.time.com&#038;blog=31173800&#038;post=79472&#038;subd=timebusinessblog&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>Small Business Tip of the Day</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://business.time.com/category/small-business/small-business-tip-of-the-day/</primary_category_link>
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		<title>Soup Up Your Sales Team</title>
		<link>http://business.time.com/2013/05/07/soup-up-your-sales-team/</link>
		<comments>http://business.time.com/2013/05/07/soup-up-your-sales-team/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 07 May 2013 15:00:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lauren Simonds</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business Tip of the Day]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://business.time.com/?p=79419</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Tepid sales may be the result of more than just a sluggish economy. Maybe it’s time to reevaluate your sales approach and how you attract new customers. Want to know how you can grow your business? Make more sales. And while the answer is a little obvious, the execution is a tad more complicated. You assess your market, price your products and services competitively, fire up your marketing and sales engines and hope for the best. But how does a small business take on the competition, deliver on its products and services, keep its customers satisfied and, at the same time, attract new customers? In a conversation with Pedro Hernandez at Small Business Computing, Joe Fuster, senior vice president of global sales for SAP Cloud, says the answer may be in how you approach sales opportunities. Here is some of his advice. (MORE: Are You Zoned for Comfort?) A Consistent Sales Force Sit down with your entire sales team and together identify and visualize what the perfect sale would look like. With that and &#8220;a successful sale and an excellent customer experience&#8221; as your goal, write down 5 or 10 steps required to get you and your sales team to that ideal. Doing so will inform the process and keep all of your sales people focused on the outcome instead of becoming mired in the details of the sale. Small businesses have an advantage over their big competitors: they’re much more nimble, which lets them react to changing conditions much more quickly. Fuster urges small business owners to take full advantage of that fact. &#8220;Use your lean and nimble business processes to help everyone involved reach a good outcome,&#8221; he says. Tap Existing Accounts Landing a customer is just the beginning of the sales odyssey. Don&#8217;t wait for repeat business. Instead, think of yourself as a general contractor and how you can provide more value to your customers. Look at your customer&#8217;s business and understand where problems might arise, and when you see a problem that your product and service<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=business.time.com&#038;blog=31173800&#038;post=79419&#038;subd=timebusinessblog&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>Small Business Tip of the Day</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://business.time.com/category/small-business/small-business-tip-of-the-day/</primary_category_link>
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		<title>Are You Zoned for Comfort?</title>
		<link>http://business.time.com/2013/05/06/are-you-zoned-for-comfort/</link>
		<comments>http://business.time.com/2013/05/06/are-you-zoned-for-comfort/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 May 2013 15:00:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lauren Simonds</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business Tip of the Day]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://business.time.com/?p=79301</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Challenging yourself to leave your comfort zone isn’t easy, but it may be necessary if you want to be an effective business leader. These tips can help ease the pain. How comfortable are you with being uncomfortable? It&#8217;s an important question given the pressure that business owners face to make decisions quickly and to adapt to changing markets, economic realities and customer demands. When the pressure builds, it can be tempting to stay (or retreat) to what you know – back where it&#8217;s safe and familiar. But that may not be the smartest move you can make. In his book, &#8220;Your Survival Instinct is Killing You: Retrain Your Brain to Conquer Fear, Make Better Decisions, and Thrive in the 21st Century&#8221; (Hudson Street Press), author Marc Schoen asserts that to be effective, business leaders must face and conquer their fear of the unknown. (MORE: Go Global and Grow) And while you may consciously understand the difference between job pressure and fear, your subconscious does not; it interprets pressure as fear. If you&#8217;re ready to expand your comfort zone, Dennis McCafferty at CIO Insight outlines a few of Schoen&#8217;s tips to help you fearlessly tackle whatever business challenges come your way. 1. It&#8217;s normal to feel uncomfortable when the stakes are high; instead of shutting down your emotions, tap into your unease and use it as fuel to get the job done. 2. Hone your ability to perform under pressure by playing games like Scrabble or chess. Not a leisurely game; play timed matches or place a wager on the outcome to up the ante. 3. At times, focusing on the goal – and seeing all the work it will take to reach it – can feel overwhelming. Instead, break the journey down into tangible steps and find the fun and excitement in what you learn or achieve on the way to your destination. 4. Search out foods, music, activities and places you&#8217;ve never experienced. 5. Decrease your reliance on technology to answer questions, i.e., Google. Sharpen your mind by reading<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=business.time.com&#038;blog=31173800&#038;post=79301&#038;subd=timebusinessblog&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Small Business Tip of the Day</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://business.time.com/category/small-business/small-business-tip-of-the-day/</primary_category_link>
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		<title>Go Global and Grow</title>
		<link>http://business.time.com/2013/05/03/go-global-and-grow/</link>
		<comments>http://business.time.com/2013/05/03/go-global-and-grow/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 03 May 2013 15:01:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lauren Simonds</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business Tip of the Day]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://business.time.com/?p=79103</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The world offers a whole lot of buying power, and a well-prepared entrepreneur can tap into that revenue ocean more easily than ever. These tips and resources can help. If you dream of business growth and expansion, you might consider looking beyond your area code. Way beyond your area code. According to the SBA, 96 percent of the world&#8217;s consumers live outside of U.S. borders. And, while global trade used to be the purview of huge multinationals, the times have changed – along with the cost and complexity of doing business overseas. As Michael Lee, the director of global marketing for Alibaba.com, an international B2B ecommerce platform, tells Pedro Hernandez at Small Business Computing, small business owners can now expand globally at a &#8220;low or minimal cost.&#8221; If you&#8217;re ready to expand your business horizons and scoop up your share of global customers, consider these tips and resources. (MORE: Inspiring Quotes from Business Leaders) Globe Trotter Make the Explore Exporting resources at SBA.gov the first stop on your quest for world-market domination. It&#8217;s a helpful resource for learning everything you always wanted to know about being an exporter. Maybe even more. Educate Yourself This is no time to skimp on market research or slack off on your due diligence. You&#8217;ll find plenty of information at The Market Research Library and Trade Stats Express to help you determine whether it&#8217;s worth your while to go into a particular market. And if that&#8217;s not enough, be sure to avail yourself of the U.S. government&#8217;s trade statistics. Build Strong Partner Relationships As with any business partnership, it&#8217;s important to develop a good relationship; doing that with an ocean between you and your supplier can be tricky, so invest the extra time and effort to ensure a good result. It also pays to trust your initial instincts. If you sense an online supplier isn’t forthcoming, presents you with incomplete information, or the company&#8217;s website looks sketchy, Lee recommends that you look elsewhere. (MORE: Use Your Online Network to Test Ideas) Communicate Like Crazy As<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=business.time.com&#038;blog=31173800&#038;post=79103&#038;subd=timebusinessblog&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Small Business Tip of the Day</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://business.time.com/category/small-business/small-business-tip-of-the-day/</primary_category_link>
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		<title>Thanks, I Needed That: Inspiring Quotes from Business Leaders</title>
		<link>http://business.time.com/2013/05/01/thanks-i-needed-that-inspiring-quotes-from-business-leaders/</link>
		<comments>http://business.time.com/2013/05/01/thanks-i-needed-that-inspiring-quotes-from-business-leaders/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2013 19:03:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lauren Simonds</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business Tip of the Day]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://business.time.com/?p=78952</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Ready to recharge your inner CEO? These best-selling business authors can help you get ready to face another day. There are days when every entrepreneur could use a quick hit of inspiration to tackle the next pitch, the next challenge, or even the next item on the to-do list. Seeking advice or motivation from successful business people makes perfect sense, and judging by the unrelenting popularity of best-selling business books, lots of folks do it every day. If you could use an infusion of insight, encouragement or inspiration, we&#8217;ve got you covered with these nine quotes from best-selling business leaders. Print out these quotes – compiled by Kevin Delaney, co-founder of a website called Quartz – and keep them handy for those times when your entrepreneurial battery could use a recharge. 1. &#8220;How are you first, only, faster, better or cheaper than other people who want to do what you&#8217;re doing in the world? What are you offering that&#8217;s hard to come by?&#8221; – Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha, &#8220;The Start-up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career.&#8221; 2. &#8220;Here&#8217;s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently.&#8221; – Walter Isaacson, &#8220;Steve Jobs.&#8221; 3. &#8220;People who know what they&#8217;re talking about don&#8217;t need PowerPoint.&#8221; – Walter Isaacson, &#8220;Steve Jobs.&#8221; (MORE: The Splurge Surge: Luxury Spending on the Rise) 4.&#8221;Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.&#8221; – Stephen Covey, &#8220;The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.&#8221; 5. &#8220;To change a habit, you must keep the old cue, and deliver the old reward, but insert a new routine.&#8221;  – Charles Duhigg, &#8220;The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business.&#8221; 6. &#8220;Studies have shown that performance gets worse as group size increases &#8230; If you have talented and motivated people, they should be encouraged to work alone when creativity or efficiency is the highest priority.&#8221; – Susan Cain, &#8220;Quiet: The Power of<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=business.time.com&#038;blog=31173800&#038;post=78952&#038;subd=timebusinessblog&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Small Business Tip of the Day</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://business.time.com/category/small-business/small-business-tip-of-the-day/</primary_category_link>
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		<title>Add Forecasting to your Business Arsenal</title>
		<link>http://business.time.com/2013/04/30/add-forecasting-to-your-business-arsenal/</link>
		<comments>http://business.time.com/2013/04/30/add-forecasting-to-your-business-arsenal/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:22:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lauren Simonds</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business Tip of the Day]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://business.time.com/?p=78900</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Yes, we know you&#8217;re busy. Very busy. But don’t get so caught up in the busy that you neglect long-term planning for success. Planning your company&#8217;s long-term strategy often takes a back seat to the pressing everyday demands of running your own business. But business forecasting is one of those activities you need to push to the top of your to-do list, because it can help your overall business growth. It can also reveal parts of your business that need attention or areas where you can expand. Don’t worry if numbers aren&#8217;t your strong suit (hey, that&#8217;s why we have accountants, right?). You don’t need an MBA to calculate a few simple forecasting scenarios. Establish a Benchmark Before you can make a serious attempt at predicting how many gizmos and widgets you&#8217;re going to sell in a given year (and how much that will cost you), you need to understand where your business stands in the present. Start by gathering the following information: Fixed expenses Variable expenses Revenue, broken down by product line if appropriate Gross margin and operating profit margin Interest rates (MORE: Why Originality is Overrated) Test Different Variables Now that you know where you stand, you can run different calculations to test different scenarios. Yes, you should run multiple forecasts using a variety of situations and variables such as Price points Staffing levels Marketing and advertising Multiple scenarios give you more strategic insight into the coming year, and they can help you plan more effectively. Tap into your historical data and use the variables above to predict future sales. If your growth rate over the past few years has been a consistent 2 percent, for example, use that as a starting point. Then run forecasts for negative growth, flat growth and above-average growth. Of course, not all of your expenses are fixed, so be sure to account for utilities and interest payments and other variable expenses that can change over time. Tap Tech Resources Business forecasting software can help you make short work of the task. Some<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=business.time.com&#038;blog=31173800&#038;post=78900&#038;subd=timebusinessblog&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Small Business Tip of the Day</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://business.time.com/category/small-business/small-business-tip-of-the-day/</primary_category_link>
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		<title>Why Originality is Overrated</title>
		<link>http://business.time.com/2013/04/29/why-originality-is-overrated/</link>
		<comments>http://business.time.com/2013/04/29/why-originality-is-overrated/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:18:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Howard A. Tullman</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business Tip of the Day]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://business.time.com/?p=78433</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=business.time.com&#038;blog=31173800&#038;post=78433&#038;subd=timebusinessblog&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Small Business Tip of the Day</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://business.time.com/category/small-business/small-business-tip-of-the-day/</primary_category_link>
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		<title>Get the Most Out of Your Online Presence</title>
		<link>http://business.time.com/2013/04/29/get-the-most-out-of-your-online-presence/</link>
		<comments>http://business.time.com/2013/04/29/get-the-most-out-of-your-online-presence/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:35:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lauren Simonds</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business Tip of the Day]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://business.time.com/?p=78866</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Small business owners frequently double as world-class plate spinners, working hard to keep all those moving parts in motion. But if you really want business growth with more customers and fatter revenues – and who doesn&#8217;t – focus more time on the plate labeled &#8220;Web presence.&#8221; Web presence simply refers to all of your online business locations: your websites, your blogs, and your social media pages such as Facebook, Google+, Twitter or Pinterest. In this digital age, Web presence is your company&#8217;s marketing window to the world; it&#8217;s often how new customers find you, and it&#8217;s where they can form a lasting impression. Bottom line: you need to optimize your online presence. In her article at Small Business Computing, Tamara Weintraub, a content marketing manager for ReachLocal, offers five ways that you can optimize your Web presence to keep it relevant, consistent and fresh. 1. Get Your Google+ Local Page Google+ Local Page ranks as a &#8220;must-have&#8221; tool for your marketing arsenal. If you don’t have one, get one; if you have one, make sure the information it contains – basic business details, photos, videos, customer reviews – is accurate and owner-verified. Populating the page with relevant business information – don&#8217;t forget to sprinkle in appropriate keywords – helps your map listing appear in organic search results. 2. Clean House Google loves fresh content, and sites that provide it tend to do better in the search result rankings. Check your websites, blogs and social media pages and get rid of old, stale or inaccurate info. You’d be surprised how much outdated info – expired offers, old products, maybe even a former employee listing or two – lurks within your Web pages. 3. Redecorate People find visual content compelling, and providing it is a great way to connect more deeply with current and potential customers. Updating your websites and social media pages with new images (think employees, product shots, logos) and video keeps things fresh and engaging. Remember to keep your images and branding consistent across all your online outlets. 4. <img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=business.time.com&#038;blog=31173800&#038;post=78866&#038;subd=timebusinessblog&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Small Business Tip of the Day</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://business.time.com/category/small-business/small-business-tip-of-the-day/</primary_category_link>
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		<title>Are You a Strategic Leader?</title>
		<link>http://business.time.com/2013/04/26/are-you-a-strategic-leader/</link>
		<comments>http://business.time.com/2013/04/26/are-you-a-strategic-leader/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 26 Apr 2013 17:00:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lauren Simonds</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business Tip of the Day]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://business.time.com/?p=78634</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Before you automatically hit the &#8220;yes&#8221; button, you might want to ask yourself if you can deliver in three key areas. Do you know anyone in business that has jumped on the strategic-leader bandwagon? Someone who&#8217;s quick to tell you how he or she is a strategic thinker? You know the type, lots of big ideas, lots of talk, but very little to show in terms of actually accomplishing anything. You probably know several given the overcrowded state of that particular bandwagon. Everyone, it seems, wants to be seen as a strategic. The problem, according to a CIO Insight article by Charles Araujo, founder and CEO of The IT Transformation Institute, is that in our business culture, being perceived as strategic has taken on nearly mythic importance. If you&#8217;re not &#8220;strategic,&#8221; you risk becoming invisible. Don’t misunderstand; we need strategic business leaders desperately. But there seems to be considerable confusion about what it really takes to be one. In order to be a true strategic leader, you need to deliver in three critical areas. Know Your Mission Before strategy ever enters into the equation, you must understand your mission. Don’t get caught up in the overblown, MBA-type of mission statements.  Your mission (should you choose to accept it) is simply your professional purpose. What do you and your company exist to do and for whom? &#8220;It is only in the context of understanding your mission, and the mission of your organization, that you can begin to be strategic,&#8221; said Araujo. A simple mission is often the most powerful one. Fully understanding who and why you serve, and how to provide value to your customers is the foundation from which strategic leadership springs. Have a Vision Once you grasp your mission, you need picture of what your goal will look like at a particular point in the future. The strategic part comes into play when you begin taking action that moves you from where you are now to that future state you envision. As Araujo states, &#8220;When you can clearly articulate<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=business.time.com&#038;blog=31173800&#038;post=78634&#038;subd=timebusinessblog&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Small Business Tip of the Day</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://business.time.com/category/small-business/small-business-tip-of-the-day/</primary_category_link>
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		<title>How to Deal with That Problem Employee</title>
		<link>http://business.time.com/2013/04/25/how-to-deal-with-that-problem-employee/</link>
		<comments>http://business.time.com/2013/04/25/how-to-deal-with-that-problem-employee/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:14:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lauren Simonds</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business Tip of the Day]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://business.time.com/?p=78479</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[At some point, you’re going to run into an employee who just isn’t performing up to your expectations. You&#8217;ll be lucky if that happens only once, but as Dennis McCafferty points out on CIO Insight, business owners too often let poor performance slide without ever dealing with the problem directly. Some employees constantly arrive late to work while others can&#8217;t seem to grasp the concept of deadlines. Perhaps you have an employee whose brilliant-but-mercurial personality has alienated, well, everyone. If that&#8217;s the case, it&#8217;s long past time to have a constructive conversation to correct the problem. Otherwise, these personnel problems can damage productivity and even your company&#8217;s reputation. Your goal should be to correct the problem, not create a confrontation, so careful planning is essential. These tips from Dan McCarthy, director of executive development programs at the University of New Hampshire, can help. 9 Steps to Fix Problem Performers 1. Collect as much information about the problem from as many sources as possible. This will help you convince both yourself and the employee in question that the problem exists – and that the behavior must change. 2. Before you sit down with the employee, organize your thoughts and write an outline of all the points you want to cover.  This ensures that you don’t forget any important issues. 3. You&#8217;re not here to punish the employee or to vent your spleen. The point is to help this employee improve his or her performance. 4. Discretion works in everyone&#8217;s favor. Choose a quiet time and a private place to respect privacy and to minimize distractions. 5. Don’t focus only on what&#8217;s wrong with your employee&#8217;s behavior; be sure he or she understands the impact the behavior has on your business and why it&#8217;s important to change. 6. Ask the employee what action steps he or she can take to improve. Incorporating those appropriate ideas will increase the likelihood of compliance. 7. Wrap up your meeting with a list of the actions to be taken, a timetable for those actions and, of<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=business.time.com&#038;blog=31173800&#038;post=78479&#038;subd=timebusinessblog&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>Small Business Tip of the Day</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://business.time.com/category/small-business/small-business-tip-of-the-day/</primary_category_link>
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		<title>Ten Quotes to Inspire Business Leaders</title>
		<link>http://business.time.com/2013/04/24/ten-quotes-to-inspire-business-leaders/</link>
		<comments>http://business.time.com/2013/04/24/ten-quotes-to-inspire-business-leaders/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 24 Apr 2013 14:17:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Paul Shread</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business Tip of the Day]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://business.time.com/?p=78324</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Looking for inspiration? Look no further. Here are 10 quotes that were compiled by Dave Kerpen, co-founder of social media marketing firm Likeable Media and co-author of &#8220;Likeable Business: Why Today&#8217;s Consumers Demand More and How Leaders Can Deliver.&#8221; The quotes offer succinct business insights that anyone could benefit from, so without further adieu or explanation, here they are: Bill Gates: &#8220;Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.&#8221; Charles Darwin: &#8220;It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.&#8221; Albert Einstein: &#8220;I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.&#8221; John F. Kennedy: &#8220;Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.&#8221; Navy SEAL team saying: &#8220;Individuals play the game, but teams beat the odds.&#8221; Leonardo da Vinci: &#8220;Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.&#8221; Poet John Greenleaf Whittier: &#8220;As a &#8230; businessperson, you have no greater leverage than the truth.&#8221; Ernest Hemingway: &#8220;When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.&#8221; Author Barbara Greene: &#8220;If you tell me, it&#8217;s an essay. If you show me, it&#8217;s a story.&#8221; Oprah Winfrey: &#8220;I had no idea that being your authentic self could make me as rich as I&#8217;ve become. If I had, I&#8217;d have done it a lot earlier.&#8221; Adapted from Ten Quotes That Will Inspire Your Inner Leader by Dennis McCafferty at Baseline Magazine. Follow Baseline Magazine on Twitter. Paul Shread is editor in chief of the IT Business Edge technology network.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=business.time.com&#038;blog=31173800&#038;post=78324&#038;subd=timebusinessblog&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>Small Business Tip of the Day</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://business.time.com/category/small-business/small-business-tip-of-the-day/</primary_category_link>
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		<title>What You Can Learn from Century-Old Businesses</title>
		<link>http://business.time.com/2013/04/22/what-you-can-learn-from-century-old-businesses/</link>
		<comments>http://business.time.com/2013/04/22/what-you-can-learn-from-century-old-businesses/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:18:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Paul Shread</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business Tip of the Day]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://business.time.com/?p=78198</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[You don&#8217;t stay in business for a century or more by staying the same. Here&#8217;s what a few long-running businesses did to successfully cope with huge disruptions in their core markets that might have put them out of business, courtesy of Joe Taylor Jr. at Small Business Computing. Bagmaker J.W. Hulme spent much of the 20th century manufacturing luggage and handbags sold under other companies&#8217; brands. But by 2003, clients had shifted manufacturing to less expensive operations based in China, and the company was running out of money fast. A new owner and CEO gambled that consumers would buy into the company&#8217;s century-old heritage of American craftsmanship, and the company began selling under its own name through its website and a network of high-end retailers. The company built relationships with customers and expanded its market to include technology accessories like iPad cases. British cheesemongers Paxton &#38; Whitfield can trace its heritage to a London market stall in 1742. With supermarkets cutting into the market for specialty food makers, a new owner embraced ecommerce and used overnight courier services to ship its handmade cheese direct to customers throughout the UK. Beating competitors to the online market helped the company build customer loyalty and expand its market from its bricks-and-mortar storefronts. Ironrock Capital abandoned its original line of paving bricks to keep up with evolving market demands. Today, the company makes quarry, decorative tile, and structural bricks that support modern construction and design methods. What is interesting about all three examples is they were all logical market expansions, not huge leaps into new areas. These are things all businesses should be thinking about every day, not just when creditors come knocking. Adapted from 3 Secrets of Century-old Small Businesses by Joe Taylor Jr. at Small Business Computing. Follow Small Business Computing on Twitter. Paul Shread is editor in chief of the IT Business Edge technology network.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=business.time.com&#038;blog=31173800&#038;post=78198&#038;subd=timebusinessblog&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>Small Business Tip of the Day</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://business.time.com/category/small-business/small-business-tip-of-the-day/</primary_category_link>
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		<title>Good Writing Can Help You Succeed</title>
		<link>http://business.time.com/2013/04/19/good-writing-can-help-you-succeed/</link>
		<comments>http://business.time.com/2013/04/19/good-writing-can-help-you-succeed/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 19 Apr 2013 17:32:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lauren Simonds</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business Tip of the Day]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://business.time.com/?p=78066</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We live in an era of sound bites and 140 character messages, but good writing still matters when it comes to the business world. Don’t think that good writing skills matter in this digital age of abbreviated texts and tweets? Consider a recent Grammarly study of 100 LinkedIn profiles. In the same 10-year period, professionals who received one to four promotions made 45 percent more grammatical errors than did professionals who were promoted six to nine times. Whether you&#8217;re an entrepreneur, small business owner, manager or an employee aspiring to any of those positions, you need to know how to write effectively for business. Yes, that means paying attention to grammar, spelling and punctuation, along with good word choice and a consistent style. Bad writing can have a wide-ranging, negative effect on your business, from creating a less-than-coherent business plan and hampering your efforts to attract investors, to communicating with employees, vendors and even your customers. &#8220;If you are a native English speaker and never learned the difference between it&#8217;s and its,&#8221; Grammarly CEO Brad Hoover writes in a recent Harvard Business Review blog, &#8220;especially given access to Google, an employer might wonder what else you&#8217;ve failed to learn that might be useful.&#8221; That quote could easily apply to entrepreneurs or small business owners seeking financial backing. Simply swap the word &#8220;employer&#8221; for &#8220;investor.&#8221; In addition to the standard rules of grammar, these 10 tips – gathered from around the Web – can help you keep your business writing interesting and concise. 10 Tips for Better Business Writing 1. Get to the point. Avoid phrases such as &#8220;The purpose of this report that I am submitting today is &#8230;&#8221; 2. Replace passive &#8220;to be&#8221; verbs with lively, active words. 3. Provide concrete, compelling examples to back up your statements. 4. Use an organized story structure with a logical beginning, middle and end. 5. Don’t let your sentences go on forever. Hint: lots of commas are a sign of trouble. 6. Understand your reading audience. Peers, stakeholders and top execs each<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=business.time.com&#038;blog=31173800&#038;post=78066&#038;subd=timebusinessblog&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>Small Business Tip of the Day</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://business.time.com/category/small-business/small-business-tip-of-the-day/</primary_category_link>
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		<title>Are You Insured for Growth?</title>
		<link>http://business.time.com/2013/04/18/are-you-insured-for-growth/</link>
		<comments>http://business.time.com/2013/04/18/are-you-insured-for-growth/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 18 Apr 2013 17:25:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lauren Simonds</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business Tip of the Day]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://business.time.com/?p=77981</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Congratulations, your business is growing. But before you start celebrating, are you sure your insurance still protects everything you worked so hard to achieve? It&#8217;s not exactly news that small business owners spend a great deal of time focused on how to grow their business. But as the economy thaws and your circumstances change for the better, don’t let growth catch you unprepared. Protect your hard work and persistence by reviewing your insurance policies to make sure they keep up with current business needs. As Pedro Hernandez at Small Business Computing notes, it&#8217;s common sense to review and update your insurance policies when you get married or buy a house. The same holds true in your business life. Insurance coverage that doesn&#8217;t keep pace with your business needs can hand you a serious financial setback or, in the event of disaster, it can drive you out of business altogether. The good news is that it doesn&#8217;t take a lot of effort to keep your policies current with your needs – just a thoughtful talk with your insurance agent. Here are some small business insurance tips on what to discuss. Insure against hackers. You might think your business is too small to attract the attention of hackers, but you&#8217;d be wrong. &#8220;Small businesses suffer cyber losses and hacking losses at a rate that&#8217;s just as big as for big businesses,&#8221; said John O&#8217; Connor, a vice president at Travelers&#8217; Small Commercial division. Check your current Business Owner Policy (BOP) and make sure it covers business data loss. If your business gets hacked and you lose customer data, the resulting lawsuits and fines can be very expensive. Ask about policies that cover remediation and customer notification services. Protect your inventory. O&#8217;Conner urges small business owners to think about damage to their inventory. Is it properly stored and protected? Ask about insurance that covers you in case a supplier goes out of business or a third-party warehouse damages your inventory. Consider contingency planning. Protection and risk mitigation go hand-in-hand, as any good insurance<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=business.time.com&#038;blog=31173800&#038;post=77981&#038;subd=timebusinessblog&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>Small Business Tip of the Day</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://business.time.com/category/small-business/small-business-tip-of-the-day/</primary_category_link>
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