Sep 03, 2010 10:30AM

One on One: Jon Ferrara of Nimble

Welcome to the One on One conversation series, where Small Business Trends will be speaking to some of the best minds in business today. The goal of the series is to pick the brains of successful entrepreneurs, best-selling author, and executives with organizations serving the small business community, to provide the Small Business Trends community with their valuable business insights.

On Fridays, One on One lets you hear from — as well as learn from — people who have doneRead More

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One on One: Jon Ferrara of Nimble

Sep 03, 2010 04:00AM

Shredder Setting: Puree

Occasionally cartoons are just handed to you.

One day my manager came to me with a stack of paper. “Mark,” he said, “would you do me a favor and shred these? Also, there’s lots of price info in there, so make sure to shred it really good, OK?”

I’m not kidding. “Shred it really good.”

I wasn’t quite sure how to do that – barring maybe setting the shredder on fire in the process – but IRead More

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Shredder Setting: Puree

Sep 02, 2010 08:58PM

Small Business News: A Startup Guide

So you’ve decided to start a small business. Great! Small Business Trends was created for people just like you to bring you the resources and information needed to grow your small business everyday. In fact, the collection of resources we’ve collected for this small business roundup may be particularly helpful in your new venture. We hope this startup guide will get you thinking creatively about the first steps in your new venture.

First Steps

Six entrepreneurs to inspire. When planningRead More

From Small Business Trends

Small Business News: A Startup Guide

Sep 02, 2010 10:30AM

Can You Cut Your Health-Care Costs by Self-Insuring?

Although the results of the health-insurance reform passed earlier this year will take years to fully work out, there’s one way your small business might be able to save on health insurance right now, reports CFO Magazine: Do what a growing number of small businesses are doing, and self-insure.

Large companies have used self-insurance for a long time, but until recently, the conventional wisdom held that was only a good fit for businesses with 1,000 or more employees. ButRead More

From Small Business Trends

Can You Cut Your Health-Care Costs by Self-Insuring?

Sep 02, 2010 10:30AM

It?s About Time: 5 Tools to Streamline Your Social Media

Whenever I speak about social media, the biggest question I get is ?How much time do you spend on it?? My response? Not as much as you?d think. I use a number of time management tools to help me streamline my activity. The 5 with the greatest impact are outlined here:

1. Hootsuite or Social Oomph

The beauty of Hootsuite and Social Oomph is that they let you manage all of your Twitter activity and relationships in one place. YouRead More

From Small Business Trends

It?s About Time: 5 Tools to Streamline Your Social Media

Sep 02, 2010 06:00AM

6 Common SMB SEO Mistakes (and How to Fix Them)

I?m not an SEO expert. Lucky for me, my partners in crime over at Outspoken Media are. But even though I?m not an expert, that doesn?t mean I?m not careful to pay close attention to SEO best practices when creating and publishing content. Paying mind to search engine optimization ensures that I?m giving the search engines all the clues they need to determine what my content is about, while also giving customers what they need to know, as well.Read More

From Small Business Trends

6 Common SMB SEO Mistakes (and How to Fix Them)

Sep 01, 2010 08:58PM

Small Business News: Social Media Power!

If you haven’t figured it out, gotten on board, jumped on the bandwagon (pick your own expression)…well, we’re not going to try to talk you into it. Just be aware of the incredible value social media can create for your business if you use it correctly. In this news wrap-up, we look at tips, trends and great ideas. And we’ll look at the benefits of harnessing social media power for your small business…and the costs of not doing so asRead More

From Small Business Trends

Small Business News: Social Media Power!

Sep 01, 2010 09:30AM

Are Business Owners Risk-Takers? Not When It Comes to Their Finances

Are entrepreneurs financial risk-takers? Conventional wisdom says yes, but a recent research report from the Kauffman Foundation, Business Owners, Financial Risk, and Wealth, suggests otherwise.

Author Tami Gurley-Calvez studied 1989 to 2007 data from the Federal Reserve Board, Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) to research three questions:

1.) Are business owners generally more or less financially conservative than their non-business-owning counterparts?

2.) Do business owners accumulate more wealth?

3.) Do business owners hold a smaller share of their financialRead More

From Small Business Trends

Are Business Owners Risk-Takers? Not When It Comes to Their Finances

Sep 01, 2010 06:00AM

12 Tips for Writing Better Content

Admit it: Sometimes you wonder if your content is really any good. Sure, you worked hard to write it, but you?re a business owner, not a professional writer. Are readers connecting with it? Do they understand what you?re trying to say? Is there an easy way for you to tighten things up and improve upon what?s already there?

Fear not, of course there is! Here are some tips to help you improve and write better content. It?s like 10th gradeRead More

From Small Business Trends

12 Tips for Writing Better Content

Aug 31, 2010 08:58PM

Small Business News: Resources For Rebirth

No matter how bleak the economic outlook, here at Small Business Trends we’ve always believed in the power of small business and entrepreneurship to change the world. In today’s news roundup, we look at resources for rebirth that can hasten an economic recovery in the hands of visionary and courageous entrepreneurs willing to use them.

Entrepreneurship

Weekly entrepreneurship links. Jakes Adams is a young, ambitious entrepreneur who claims on his “about” page I am not a successful billionaire entrepreneur. IRead More

From Small Business Trends

Small Business News: Resources For Rebirth