Almost everything is easier with help and support from someone who is going through the exact same thing. When you have someone to reach out to you that can truly empathize with the daily challenges of being a small business owner, it can be just what you need to keep you going when you feel frustrated or like giving up altogether. In this step to Building a Better Business, your task is to reach out to another entrepreneur or group of entrepreneurs. The idea is to make a connection with another...

Chances are, you are selling your products and services in the same place that your business is located. So it makes sense to get out every once in a while and give back to the people who live and work in the same community in which your business operates. In this step to Building a Better Business, your aim is to find a way to give back to your community, by participating in, or creating a community service project. An easy way to find out what community service projects may be available is by contacting...

When you were little, you probably had some image in your head of who you wanted to be like when you grew up. Your role model might have been a neighbor, a relative, a teacher, or most likely, someone famous. In this Step to Building a Better Business, I want you to give some thought to what you want your business to be like when it grows up, by analyzing another business as a role model. A lot of business advice out there assumes that every small business owner wants to follow the same path:...

We’ve spent more than a few steps discussing one-way communications from you to your customers; i.e., what you should be saying to your customers via your advertising, marketing, and branding. But how do you go about finding out what your customers have to say to you?  In Step 19 to Building a Better Business, we focused on talking with your employees. In this step, we’ll focus on talking with your customers. Surveys and Such With your employees, it’s easier to find out what...

Before now, you’ve heard me mention that customers are your business’s most valuable resource. Running a very close second, are your employees.  From your customer’s perspective, your employees are the face of your business. They take customer orders, answer customer questions, they keep the tactical aspects of your business going while you focus more on the strategic aspects. Your employees are like your extra eyes, ears, arms, and legs – they may see more of the down-and-dirty...

I’m truly excited to announce the not-so-official launch of Sage Small Business Solutions’ very first hands-on small business class: Create Your Virtual Business Presence. One of the things I tend to evangelize on often is the need for a solid, but not overly complex infrastructure for small business owners. As I’ve mentioned before, I truly believe that infrastructure is the backbone of any business, so I guess you could say I consider a small business’ communications infrastructure to be...