Small-business Advice: Avoiding Common Website Mistakes

These days, pretty much every small-business owner knows the importance of having a functional website. But, of course, not all business websites are created equal. Some are better than others—and, naturally, you want your company's site to be among the best in its category. You can go a long way toward creating a useful, functional and attractive … Continue reading Small-business Advice: Avoiding Common Website Mistakes

Small-business Advice: Creating a Happy, Fun & Functional Workplace

Drew Carey tells a joke about work that goes, "You hate your job? Why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called 'Everybody,' and they meet at the bar." Of course, not everybody really hates their job. In fact, if you're an entrepreneur or business owner, you might bound out of bed on … Continue reading Small-business Advice: Creating a Happy, Fun & Functional Workplace

Frugal Living Tip: Can You Lose Money by Being Social?

There's a lot of pressure these days to join popular social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace and Classmates.com. Social networking sites promise the thrill of reconnecting with old friends and the excitement of possibly making new ones. You may get messages from contacts who have already joined one of these sites urging you to sign … Continue reading Frugal Living Tip: Can You Lose Money by Being Social?

Product of the Week: Three-piece Winter Fleece Set

Want proof that this could be a rough winter? How about the new record low set at Denver International Airport on October 2nd—just 26 degrees! It's not just the mountains that are chilly this fall; even normally balmy Southern California recently set a bushel of record-low temps around Los Angeles and San Diego. Freezing temperatures mean hot sales of … Continue reading Product of the Week: Three-piece Winter Fleece Set

Small-business Advice: What Do Your Customers Want?

Ken Burgin and Elizabeth Walker have an interesting article on the Business in General blog in which they argue that too many businesses make the mistake of focusing on what they would like to offer rather than what customers would like to buy. So how do you figure out what customers want? Ask them! Burgin and Walker have some specific … Continue reading Small-business Advice: What Do Your Customers Want?

Small-business Advice: The Best Advertising You Can’t Buy

One of the hardest things for a small business can be just getting noticed. Giant corporations like Coca-Cola, Apple and Nike can spend millions of dollars advertising on the Super Bowl to a worldwide audience while you struggle to let people in your immediate community know about your products and services. Hopefully, you have at … Continue reading Small-business Advice: The Best Advertising You Can’t Buy

Frugal Living Tip: What’s Your Financial Forecast?

Every businessperson should have some method of keeping track of spending to make sure that expenses don’t outstrip income, [b]ut a new web tool called PocketSmith highlighted over at Wise Bread goes beyond tracking past expenditures to actually predict future spending and savings with its forecasting capabilities. So let’s say you’re hoping to save up … Continue reading Frugal Living Tip: What’s Your Financial Forecast?