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How To Safely Manage The Crowds On Black Friday Deals

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The large crowds that Black Friday deals attract can create unsafe conditions. Store owners should be prepared. Black Friday is only a day away and the anticipation among retailers and consumers is building to a fever pitch. During last year’s Black Friday weekend over 138 million consumers ventured out in search of deals, discounts and door busters. According to the National Retail Federation, 152 million consumers plan to shop this year’s Black Friday weekend, a significant increase of 10 … [Read more...]

3 Ways To Deal With Threats To Your Cash Cow

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Dealing with competition is natural, but if a company is after your biggest client, then you need to play smart. Here are 3 Ways To Deal With Threats To Your Cash Cow Many small businesses have a cash cow customer, that is, a buyer who generates a significant portion of the company’s revenues. Oftentimes, these customers renew contracts without much effort, generating a stream of reliable cash flow—until, of course, a competitor zeroes in on the client with the intent of taking the business … [Read more...]

Should You Go Down Market In This Economy?

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A new study finds that 16 percent of the population lives in poverty. What does this mean for your business? Should You Go Down Market In This Economy? The U.S. Census Bureau recently published a shocking study about the financial condition of consumers, which could have a significant impact on the future of small business. The study calculated the number of Americans that are living in poverty, which the Census classifies as a family of four living in the continental U.S., having a total … [Read more...]

How The SIPC Protects Your Brokerage Accounts

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The SIPC was instituted in 1970 to protect client assets when a brokerage firm goes bankrupt. Here's what it can do now. MF Global, a leading derivatives broker with over $40 billion in assets, filed for bankruptcy on October 31. Headed by former Goldman Sachs CEO/Senator/Governor Jon Corzine, the company made risky investment decisions, which failed and wiped out the company’s capital. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating to determine … [Read more...]

The Importance Of Aligning Metrics And Goals At Your Company

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Your company is losing money but you can't figure out what's wrong. Here's how to properly use your metrics and goals at your company. One of the most difficult challenges business owners and managers face is processing conflicting information. Some business metrics simultaneously show that a company is doing well while others raise red flags. These diverging signals could be caused by faulty metrics, poor tracking, unclear goals or perhaps all of the above. But how is an executive supposed to … [Read more...]

3 Lessons From Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares

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Gordon Ramsay is one of the world's most renowned chefs, but also a prolific entrepreneur. Here's what he can teach us. I don’t watch much television, but from time to time, there are programs that manage to capture my attention and keep it. Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares is one such show, and it’s one I enthusiastically recommend to small business owners. Ramsay is one of the world’s most renowned chefs, having earned a total of 13 Michelin stars—an extraordinary feat. While he is mainly … [Read more...]

Profiting From Your Competitor makes a mistake

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If your company tends to make good decisions, then you should be prepared to act when a key competitor makes a mistake. Capitalizing on a competitor’s mistakes can seem a bit awkward for many small business owners. Some feel badly profiting from someone else’s misery but in reality there is no reason to feel this way. Our economy grows stronger as companies that make the right decisions expand while those that tend to make poor decisions grow weaker and shrink until they close. Resources … [Read more...]

The Online-Only freelance Workforce Is Ready For Your Business

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An online-only freelance workforce is quickly becoming a permanent part of the economy. Should you consider taking part? Our economy is going through transformative changes and many of the principles that held true for decades about work are no longer valid. One of the most recent changes taking place is the rise of the online-only freelancer. These are people that work independently as contractors and who obtain their clients mainly or exclusively through online channels. More importantly, … [Read more...]

Are U.S. Banks Getting Healthier?

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Banks need to bounce back so that small businesses to thrive. But is the banking sector really on the road to recovery? Are U.S. Banks Getting Healthier? The fate of virtually every small business in the United States is tied to the health of the banking sector. Banks are the institutions that circulate and multiply money throughout our economy. Think of them as financial funnels; when the funnels are in working order, money from depositors enters the narrow stem, multiplies and exits the wide … [Read more...]

Economic Update: Positive Signals Finally Emerging

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Positive Signals Finally Emerging: A closer look at three important economic indicators that are turning positive. Updating readers on the state of the economy has been a painful task over the past several years. It has been many decades since we've had such a convergence of negative results across virtually all major indicators used to measure our economic performance. While it will still be some time until we return to consistent and sustainable growth that can support the creation of … [Read more...]