In 2009, my business partner and I wrote our book because we were on the speaking circuit as successful business owners. We got asked the same questions all the time, and frankly, it became boring as our responses became canned. It was an Uh Ah moment for us. Many business owners were becoming authors for this reason – it’s a
An operating agreement is a key document used by LLCs because it outlines the business’ financial and functional decisions including rules, regulations, and provisions. The purpose of the document is to govern the internal operations of the business in a way that suits the specific needs of the business owners. + If a company is a multi-member LLC, the operating
Sales skills consistently rank among the essential skills small business owners should cultivate. Many of us entrepreneurs started our companies because we were the ones with the expertise, not because we knew how to run a business. Most of us did not come from a sales background, even though we worked in corporations, so we don’t realize the amount of
We are in December! You and your employees, if you have any, are wrapping up the year. They are scrambling to take the rest of their vacation or personal time off so they don’t lose it. The approaching holiday season, and New Year, symbolize the common adage “out with the old and in with the new,” and it also means
I help business owners create advisory boards – we all know about a company having an advisory board, but do you know that individuals can create a personal advisory board to get them to a particular goal? Yes, you can. An advisory board is simply a group of people whom you have selected to get you to that goal you’ve
When business owners say, “I would like to form a board!” They usually mean an advisory board. I’m not sure if they know that there are four types of boards. So, how are they different? Johanne Bouchard is a governance and leadership advisor to boards, CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs, as well as an expert in board composition and dynamics. I
Social media has moved from an emerging form of communication to the mainstream, and as a result, most small businesses use social media within their marketing strategies. Because this is now the primary communication vehicle for small businesses, owners need to put in policies to guide their employees’ online actions. A social media policy informs employees on the
Your sales team is at the heart of your small business. A great sales team can increase revenues, keep current clients satisfied, and bring in new customers, but your business can stagnate and suffer without the right salespeople. When looking to hire the best sales team for your business, there isn’t much room to improvise on the recruiting process. Hiring
So, you’ve done your mid-year business review and have taken the steps to completely overhaul your strategic business plan and make changes for the rest of the year, but what about your social media marketing strategy? If you have yet to implement social media into your strategy and you’re determined to use it as a weapon in your marketing arsenal,
Successfully promoting your goods or services can result in impressive revenue growth for your business. Whether your business is in the start-up phase or not, marketing can, and should, get you sales! Begin by creating a marketing strategy that will outline how you’ll go about marketing your products or services. Here are a few tips to include in
