Small businesses thrive when they design niche products and deliver personalized service, whether they are selling to customers or marketing to employees. This approach works especially well when you’re crafting a wellness program. Several small-business owners shared their strategies for designing, implementing and managing wellness programs. Despite differences in owner philosophy and program features, they [...]
Let’s face it, starting a business can be very easy, but staying in business can be very difficult given that our customers have too many choices on where to spend their hard-earned cash. So the question I posed to small business owners was “How do you make your business stand out from the crowd so [...]
In 2010, the fourth annual goodpurpose study conducted by Edelman, showed that “86% of global consumers believe that business needs to place at least equal weight on society’s interests as on those of business.” This overwhelming majority has led a large portion of businesses, big and small, to listen up and take action. When a [...]
I still remember how red-face frustrated one of my seed investors was after hearing my pitch to another investor in Month One of the business. “It’s a process,” he repeatedly said out loud — and I am pretty sure he was talking to himself. While I’ve always been an adequate-to-solid public speaker, I struggled early [...]
In 2011, the digital landscape underwent a significant shift that will have profound effects on business in 2012. The challenge is that hardly any business leaders noticed. That’s not their fault, however. Although the impact of technology on business and consumer behavior was widely reported, in-depth reports on what to do next or how this [...]
The best businesspeople don’t know everything. They’re the ones who are brave and truthful enough to admit mistakes–and learn the most from them along the way. How did you learn to walk? By falling over. How did you learn to speak? By coming out with a lot of gibberish first. And if you’ve learned to [...]
Naming a product or a company is a difficult decision. Unlike most challenges you’ll face, this one is in a field in which virtually everyone claims expertise. The first thing to remember when naming something is not to rely too heavily on another’s advice. Names created by committee are usually losers. Don’t forget about the [...]
What’s in store for small business in 2012? We asked small-business owners nationwide to tell us what trends and big ideas they think will take center stage next year. Here’s what they had to say: Gesture-recognition technology. Voice is only the first step, according to Microsoft. The company envisions an interactive landscape that involves touch [...]
(Berkeley County, SC) – The Berkeley Chamber of Commerce announced today that Greg Davis of Moncks Corner is the $1000.00 cash winner in the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce Buy Local contest. Berkeley Chamber of Commerce President Bill McCall drew Davis’ name from 1149 entries representing $370,958.10 in local sales receipts. Back in October, the Berkeley [...]
The new year is fast upon us and it is time for that ritual known as resolution-time! I am not talking about a new resolve to eat lighter and get to the gym 4 days a week. I am talking about business resolutions – specific actions and efforts you should take over the course of [...]
