Interest Rate Changes: What an Entrepreneur Needs to Know
Interest Rate Changes: What an Entrepreneur Needs to Know We’ve all seen the headlines popping up on our news feeds, in the paper and in friendly conversations. But why should I care about the Fed changing it’s key interest rate? Well, here’s a brief overview of the implications of interest rate changes on your small business. First off, the Fed’s decision to raise rates is a good sign. The Fed will only do this when it strongly believes the economy is very healthy and growing well. In fact, that’s one of the biggest reasons they raise rates. If the economy is expanding too...
Read MoreThe Profit Cycle
The Profit Cycle As a small business owner, investing in your people can sometimes seem far away from the bottom line. In this cycle, shared by Bob Nilsen, former President of Burger King and current CEO of Cafe Rio, the payoff of investment in employee training, morale and well-being is clear. Here’s a quick summary: 1. Invest in your people, helping them become trained and happy 2. Your people will treat your customers well 3. Satisfied customers generate sales 4. Sales generate profits 5. Profits can the be reinvested into your people, your customers, sales...
Read MorePutting the Thanks into Thanksgiving
Putting the Thanks into Thanksgiving As an American National holiday, Thanksgiving has root in the 1620’s beginning as a celebration in gratitude for a much needed harvest in combination with gratitude for much needed and recently acquired freedoms. Thanksgiving is meant to commemorate a life of opportunity and abundance. But, in reality, does thanks seem to be the focus of the day? Oftentimes Thanksgiving ends up being more about turkey, pie and side dishes—this year, let’s take on the “THANKS-giving challenge” and put the thanks back into Thanksgiving. Step one: Pick a...
Read MoreAmazing Customer Service
Amazing Customer Service Experience #1: After spending some time in the yard, my brother-in-law, father-in-law and I decided to head to Subway to get some lunch. My father-in-law was nice enough to foot the bill but unfortunately he’d forgotten his rewards card at home. The cashier told him not to worry and that he could get a new card, go online and merge it with the old one once we got back to the house. After 45 frustrating minutes of trying to get the two cards merged online, we gave up—I’m a tech savvy guy and I literally couldn’t figure it out. Contrast that to another...
Read MoreContent Marketing: The Rule of Thirds
Content Marketing: The Rule of Thirds Competition for a customer’s time has never been higher. But at the same time, jumping into the marketing mix has never been easier. But how much do I spend? And where do I spend it? Michael Brenner, owner of NewsCred, a content marketing software company, shares his formula: the “Rule of Thirds.” We’ll break it into three steps. First: Assign a marketing budget The amount is up to you and depends greatly on your industry…but have something! The key is to allocate a certain amount of money each month, quarter or year—depending on your budget...
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