Imagine you’re a first-time entrepreneur, excited about your product idea and optimistic about the state of the market for small businesses: Your product has been tested and is ready to go, and your launch date has been set, but you still have one tiny challenge ahead of you: your go-to-market plan. Okay, maybe the challenge is […]

More small businesses are likely to invest in search engine optimization (SEO) in 2017, a new survey shows. Almost three-quarters (74%) of small businesses in the U.S. expect to invest in SEO this year, up from 52% in 2016, according to data from Clutch, a B2B research and reviews firm. Additionally, 66% say they plan […]

Three years ago, I was coaching a successful company that was very confused about the failure of a recent product launch. When I was first hired, they told me they were convinced they had done everything by the book.  Before developing the product, the company held five focus groups with potential customers to make sure […]

“Know thyself.” It’s an old saying, but one more business owners would do well to heed. There are many brand-related mistakes an entrepreneur can make, like overdoing an ad campaign or not being transparent about your products, but perhaps the biggest mistake an entrepreneur can make is having a poorly defined brand identity.  And yet, it happens all […]

What happens when everything falls apart and you lose it all? These very successful entrepreneurs and members of The Oracles, who have all started from scratch more than once, explain what they would do next if they lost it all again. 1. Cover rent, then start another business. I’d hop into a promising business and […]

New startups are rarely easy to finance. Unless you’re independently wealthy or able to completely fund your venture by yourself, creativity and resourcefulness are truly the keys to success in financing your new startup.  Let’s assume you’ve already been turned down for a small business loan, and you don’t qualify for a grant. Now the […]

Technology moves fast. So fast that we’re looking for the next big thing before the last big thing becomes big. The willingness to embrace new technology and understand trends can make or break a company’s success.  Predicting what’s next can be difficult. Internet marketing, social media, and e-commerce were all just ideas at one point […]

Who said starting a small business was easy? In this day and age, there are so many p’s and q’s, dotting the i’s and lower-case j’s and crossing the t’s, that could make your mind explode. Small business operations is no exception and one particular headache facing business owners is human resources. Without a doubt, […]

Social media has become as important as public relations, as it’s even been integrated into the overall PR strategy for many companies. It’s necessary to understand the usefulness of social media and how it can positively impact your business. “There are many reasons a small business needs a social media presence. The most practical reasons […]