AMERICAN EXPRESS BUSINESS TRENDS AND INSIGHTS

3 Ways To Prepare For Business Growth

AUGUST 21, 2013 Growing your business has obvious advantages. The opportunity to diversify, combat competition, launch new products and services and provide opportunities for staff advancement is exciting and can help realize your goals and dreams for your business.

Before you make plans for expansion, though, it’s important to answer a few key questions. OPEN Forum community member, marketing consultant and blogger Patrick McFadden with Indispensable Marketing asks: “How critical is it to be prepared before you grow your business? Growing your business takes a lot of work and planning. What do I need to be prepared?”

Be Prepared

“The better prepared you are for growth, the better your chances for business expansion success,” says Brian Moran, publisher of At Home with Century 21 Magazine and OPEN Forum contributor. He advises devising an operational plan that helps you get to where you want to go. “Think of your operational plan as a GPS system,” Moran says. “The more specific your plan (e.g., growth from existing business and new business), the less chance you have to get lost.” Without a clear plan, expanding your business can be disastrous, adds Reggie Gilyard, Chapman University’s Dean of the George L. Argyros School of Business and Economics, who worked at the Boston Consulting Group for 16 years developing growth strategies for companies.“Growing your business without the proper preparation impacts customer and/or supplier relationships, staff morale and potentially the viability of the business,” Gilyard says. Here are Gilyard’s three steps to prepare for growth.

1. Set attainable business growth goals.

“Start your expansion plans with a specific, measurable, attainable goal, such as 10 new accounts in 2013 or $1 million in revenue,” Moran suggests in the OPEN Forum community. “Then put together an operational plan. How will you get from where you are now to where you want to go? The key is to refer to your plan on a regular basis and revise it if necessary. Also, have the resources in place to successfully execute your plan.”

2. Plan for sustainable small-business growth.

Perhaps even more important than being attainable is the idea of growth that is sustainable, Gilyard says: “Planning for sustainable growth begins with setting a rational growth target for the business and follows with a rigorous analysis of a set of questions to realize the target.” According to Gilyard, no matter what your goal—for instance, to grow the business by 15 percent per year for the next five years—you would ask and answer the following two sets of questions:

Consider the operations of your company. “Can you operationally sustain this rate of growth with your current infrastructure, suppliers, human capital, management bandwidth and such?” Gilyard asks. “Do you have access to investment capital at a reasonable cost, if needed, for new infrastructure? Do you have access to additional supplier and/or human capital capacity at historical rates, if needed? What are the potential sources for this incremental capacity and what is your plan for securing new suppliers or people?”
Look closely at your finances. “Is the target growth rate financially sustainable given your current debt/equity structure and profit margin(s)?” Gilyard asks. “If not, do you have access to capital to support the investments required to grow, and should you take on more debt or seek more equity? Or, can you increase your profit margin to make the numbers work?”

3. Revise your business expansion plan as you progress.

Planning for sustainable growth may require some recalculation, Gilyard says. “As you work through answers to the questions, you may find the need to revisit and revise the target growth rate.” Being prepared before you grow your business helps ensure a smooth expansion and continued success with your business. Read more articles and see exclusive videos in OPEN Forum’s special section on Managing Your Money. A freelancer since 1985, Julie Bawden-Davis has written for many publications, including Entrepreneur, Better Homes & Gardens and Family Circle. Photos: Thinkstock, OPEN Forum Community

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AUTHOR

Julie Bawden-Davis

Writer/Author/Publisher/Speaker, Garden Guides Press

Celebrate the Holidays and Your Business With Company Events

Occasions like the first day of spring and holidays can give you and your employees the chance to enjoy yourselves at company events. MARCH 17, 2017 Throwing company events for holidays or special occasions (like the first day of spring on March 20) can be a great opportunity to thank your employees. Now after a long winter, there’s a good chance that you and your staff are ready for a break. In addition to offering a reprieve from the daily grind, celebrating special days with events and parties can benefit the entire company, believes Allen Shayanfekr, CEO of Sharestates, an online marketplace for real estate investing. “Despite how much you may enjoy going to work each day, it’s important to give yourself and your employees a break,” says Shayanfekr. “Even when you love your job, you can feel restless and even burnt out. I like to focus on company parties and office events that bring the team together. These events serve a much broader purpose by offering support and encouragement and bolstering employee satisfaction.”

Company Events Are More Than Just Parties

Brad Deutser is president of Deutser LLC, a consulting firm that teaches companies to leverage company culture to drive business performance. “Celebrating the success of your business with reasons and seasons, like spring, is an important factor in keeping all employees motivated and inspired,” he says. “We live in a society dominated by what is wrong. Embrace positivity and find reasons to celebrate. Your people will appreciate it and you, and their performance will be positively impacted.”

You want your employees to be comfortable, and that’s hard to do when they’re standing by their cubicles. Use a company event as an opportunity to show a side of you that your employees wouldn’t normally see.

—Lior Rachmany, CEO, Dumbo Moving and Storage

Workplace celebrations can boost morale, agrees Angela Sposato, senior vice president of human resources at 5W Public Relations, a full-service PR agency. “Celebrations show employees that they’ve made positive contributions to the business and that their achievements are recognized and appreciated,” Sposato says. “Celebrations should be moments that invite teams to rejoice over their biggest successes and proudly recount the work that led to the success. Encouragement contributes to a thriving and innovative workplace where employees are motivated to engage, achieve more and stay.” So how can you make the most of company events?

1. Have a purpose.

“Don’t have an event just to have an event,” says Deutser. “If your goal is fun, then make the company event fun. If it’s to learn, then make it informative. Ideally, events should be fun and provide an opportunity to get away and celebrate the team, while also being purposeful and relevant to the business.” Celebrations should have a focus, adds Sposato. “Determine what kind of success is being recognized. Is it a big win for an individual or a remarkably profitable year for the company? Recognize deserving individuals and teams in front of their peers. Reward innovation, a quality that drives business forward. Events should be opportunities for teams to collaborate on fun activities rather than work projects, and for employees who work in different departments to get to know each other.”

2. Make company events enjoyable.

“The work family that plays together stays together,” says Sposato. “We use widely celebrated days, such as Cinco de Mayo and National Cookie Day, as inspiration for potlucks and cook-offs. These events encourage employees to showcase their creativity and can be turned into friendly competitions with giveaways and prizes.”

3. Celebrate away from the office.

“Being able to take a break from work is so important to the mindset of each team member,” says Evan Rosenberg, owner of At Your Service Hospitality Group. “We recently took a trip to Brooklyn to see the Nets play at Barclays with our entire staff. It’s nice to get out of the office and interact on a more personal level.” Lior Rachmany, CEO of Dumbo Moving and Storage, also advises against throwing company events at the company facility. “You want your employees to be comfortable, and that’s hard to do when they’re standing by their cubicles. Use a company event as an opportunity to show a side of you that your employees wouldn’t normally see.” Leaving the office, even for short breaks, can be one of the best things you can do for your employees and even yourself, believes Raghav Mathur, VP of strategy and business development for G/O Digital, a digital marketing company for businesses. “We’re fortunate to be located in an area with about a dozen coffee shops within walking distance and some great local spots for afternoon treats,” says Mathur. “We encourage our employees to leave their desks and meet up with coworkers from other departments to take a walk. Sometimes that’s where the best collaboration happens. I have interrupted my team more than once for an impromptu ice cream fix.”

4. Decide on a theme for your company event.

“For an injection of creativity, we’ve visited an art exhibit at a local museum with purposeful discussions to tie back to the theme,” says Deutser. “We’ve also planned family picnics to convey togetherness and scavenger hunts to create teamwork. We’ve also held giving days that allow participants to learn, grow and give back. And, when all else fails, the old-fashioned cocktail hour creates new bonds and refreshes the organization.”

5. Find the ideal venue.

“Your most important first step to a successful company event is locating the ideal venue,” says Jayna Cooke, CEO of EVENTup, an online marketplace for event spaces. “From there, you can bring everything else into place. This is an essential first step, because each venue is different. If you want a certain look for a space, for example, some venues don’t allow certain decor, so if it’s important to have a balloon installation hanging from the ceiling; you’ll have to find a venue that can comply.”

6. Touch all five senses.

“If you want to leave a lasting impression, affect all five senses in a special way,” says AlexAnndra Ontra, co-founder of Shufflrr, a presentation management platform. “For one of our women’s events, in addition to a nice venue, we filled the room with flowers, set the tone with an appropriate music playlist and offered plenty of tasty food and drink. On the way out, everyone got flowers and chocolate, and we even provided car service home.” Read more articles on team-building activities.

Photo: iStock

18 Insights Into How Women in Business Embrace Competition

Find out what successful women in business do to stay ahead of the competition and thrive in today’s ever-evolving business climate. MARCH 08, 2017 What do women in business feel are the secrets to thriving when it comes to staying competitive? Most of the women I spoke to ahead of International Women’s Day (March 8) agree that while today’s business world has unique challenges, it’s time-honored traditions like staying abreast of industry changes and simply taking the plunge and and being brave that results in continued success for women in business. “The theme for International Women’s Day this year is ‘Be Bold for Change,'” says Carol Talbot, author of the YOU The Divine Genius. “It’s about being bold to create a shift and a change inside each and every one of us in these competitive times.” I spoke to several women in business about what they do to remain competitive in an increasingly competitive business world. Their answers may surprise you.

Continue to Grow and Learn

“Because I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty doing work that others might perceive as ‘beneath me,’ I’m able to continue learning and growing with my company and in the industry. I’m also always keeping my eyes and ears open, looking for opportunities to increase company morale, which comes in the form of volunteering, giving back or having fun company events. With incredible company and staff support behind me, Broadway Stages is able to get ahead and continue to be a leader in the very competitive TV and film production industry.” —Gina Argento, president and CEO of Broadway Stages

“I keep ahead of the competition by staying on top of the various trending regulatory topics through subscriptions to multiple industry newsletters. I also often confer with colleagues in the industry through networking and sharing information. Doing this information gathering helps keep me informed and on the competitive edge of things.” —Katrina Jully, regulatory specialist for Popchips

“I stay ahead by reading. I read what’s happening in my clients’ industries and in other industries. It’s actually the other industries where I learn the most. I’ve found that it’s important to keep your finger on the pulse all around you. That’s how you provide the best for your company and its clients.” —Sandy Rubinstein, CEO of Dxagency

“Our competitive advantage is staying vigilant on the changes in our industry, understanding new opportunities available to better serve our clients’ needs and executing our service at an expert level. At the end of the day, the best driver for staying ahead of your competition is a strong desire to have clients who are happy because you’re delivering exactly what you promised, if not more. As a result, they continue to use your service and/or refer their friends and associates to your company.” —Marsha Friedman, founder and CEO, EMSI Public Relations

Find Your Niche and Excel

“Understand your unique space in the market. The e-commerce world can be crowded. It’s vital that you have clarity on how to bring an experience that is different or better. At Paper Mart, we built our company on providing quality packaging solutions at low prices. What we do differently, and the reason our customers are so loyal, is that we also provide excellent service, which customers don’t always find online. That model of low prices and high quality service has set us apart in our industry. Finding your own magic formula is key to jumping into e-commerce successfully.” —Buffy Simoni, president of Paper Mart

“The trick to succeeding in a competitive industry is to find a niche that’s both lucrative and a good fit for the business. By lucrative, I mean a product or service that can easily produce a profit and one that potential customers can and will spend money to acquire.” —Wendy Connick, owner of Connick Financial Solutions

To stay competitive long-term, you have to invest in and empower the people around you. Relationships are crucial to business outcomes, and I’m not just talking about relationships between leadership and employees; meaningful connections are critical to every aspect of business.

—Heidi Jannenga, co-founder, WebPT

“In a competitive field such as public relations, I’ve found that being an ‘expert’ in one area is more beneficial than trying to be an ‘expert’ in all. Defining and remaining true to my niche keeps me focused on my job and in demand. Though I get approached to do jobs outside of my niche, I feel it’s in the best interest of me, my company and my clients to remain focused on my areas of expertise.” —Tess Woods, principal, Tess Woods PR, LLC

“You’ll never gain ground in a competitive market if you don’t have a clear differentiator. Potential clients need to know what makes you different than others, and it must be clear and significant. If not, you’ll consistently be chosen—or not—by pricing alone. Secondly, never stop learning: researching, reading, etc. You can’t stay ahead of the rest if they are more informed than you!” —Kristin Hege, president and co-founder of Wired PR Group

Focus on Communication

“Kevin Lund, CEO of the award-winning content marketing firm T3 Custom, talks about ‘speaking human’ in content-driven business communications, and I’ve definitely found that to be an effective way to stay ahead and gain that edge in competitive industries. It allows a professional or organization at large to ‘rise above the noise’ in a content-crammed marketplace. It’s a style and an attitude that I strive for at every touch point, both internally and when reaching out to the marketplace. This involves marketing, business development, public relations and all other communications initiatives focusing on telling a simple, human story that will educate, inform, entertain and, most importantly, compel your intended audience in a way that fully captures mindshare through messaging and a delivery approach that truly resonates on a more personal and emotional level. The result is simply communicating with your audience instead of talking AT them. This is not just in a given ‘handshake moment,’ but rather it is a continual friendly engagement with consumers and the marketplace at large that is built primarily by trust and performance.” —Merilee Kern, chief PR strategist, Ascendant Group Branding

“I try to be the best at what I do, and to do what I do in the most conscious, most self-aware way possible. This means being open to feedback, even when it’s constructive criticism that’s hard to hear; continually being in learning mode; and working on myself and my own personal growth all of the time. If I’m ‘walking my talk’ it makes me much more powerful, effective, creative and open.” —Beatrice Chestnut, founder, The Chestnut Group and author of The 9 Types of Leadership: Mastering the Art of People in the 21st-Century Workplace

Expand Your Expectations and Horizons

“Ensure that you are constantly pushing yourself to be better. Learn from those who are better than you. Surround yourself with those who inspire you. Always question yourself. How can you improve? Lastly, travel. See the world and broaden your horizons. You will grow incredibly quickly when you experience other cultures and open your mind to new ideas.” —Ivana Wong, senior art director, Fathom Creative “The main thing that I do to stay competitive in today’s market is to continually push my limits. I feel that complacency is the death of business. You can never stop growing. This means learning, trying new ideas, being innovative, being creative and pushing past what you have done before. I strive to become a better photographer with every shoot I do. To do that I look to other photographers for inspiration, and I compete against who I was yesterday. I also take time to create just for me, to rekindle my passion and to remember why I started in the first place. This helps me remain fresh and creative for my clients.” —Larissa Bahr, business owner and creator, Larissa Bahr Photography

Stay Focused on Yourself

“Investing in yourself as a business owner is essential to personal growth and [consider] the opportunities you gain by getting around successful individuals who you can learn from. My best business ideas came from coaching opportunities I engaged in and continue to budget for. Continuous learning is the bedrock of business success so just as you would invest in technology, marketing materials, employees, you must invest in yourself to stay ahead.” —Jeannette Bajalia, author of Retirement Done Right and Wi$e Up Women and president and principal advisor of Petros Estate & Retirement Planning

“Stay focused on the end result you want to achieve, not on what you think others want you to do. Stay positive and work hard. Don’t compare yourself to others. I don’t worry about what other people are doing. I know what I want to create and I stay focused on making that vision become a reality.” —Susan Morrow Potje, owner Celebration of Fine Art

“To stay ahead in competitive industries, one must actually focus on one’s self. Get in a good place mentally and physically so your brainpower can be maximized whenever necessary. By focusing on what you can do, as opposed to comparing yourself to others, you’ll continue to make steps towards larger career goals. If you really can’t stop the comparison game to get ahead? Reach out to those colleagues whose grass looks so green. Ask about grabbing a coffee or meal to see what their reality is like and how they got there.” — Emily White, CEO of Dreamfuel and author of Interning 101

Successful Women in Business Remember That it’s all About People

“In our business, what’s given us an edge on the competition is the quality of people who we employ. Do your absolute best to vet employees and follow a thorough interview process. When you take the time to choose employees who fit your company and its mission and goals, you give yourself an extremely valuable asset.” —Verna Maldonado, managing partner at Spectrumland Services

“To stay competitive long-term, you have to invest in and empower the people around you. Relationships are crucial to business outcomes, and I’m not just talking about relationships between leadership and employees; meaningful connections are critical to every aspect of business. That’s why we take a people-first approach at WebPT: We strive to serve all stakeholders (including employees, investors, vendors, customers, and community members) first, and trust that business success will naturally follow.” —Heidi Jannenga, co-founder and president of WebPT

“Define your core company values early on and then align every decision you make to support these values. For example, at Worldwide101 one of our core values is to provide over the top service, so we have aligned our hiring processes to deliver on that promise. We look for team members who are passionate about service, who love to make a difference in someone’s day, who are friendly and caring. Of course, our team is also skilled in their field of expertise however, attitude and a true desire to make our clients successful and look good is what crowns it all, and what has made our company the #1 choice as a premium virtual assistant company for hundreds of demanding business owners.” —Sandra Lewis, founder and director, Worldwide101

Read more articles on leadership.

Photo: iStock

Social Media Trends You May Want to Incorporate Into Your Marketing Strategy

MARCH 06, 2017Social media has revolutionized the way companies market their brands and engage with customers. Now that social media has become a business mainstay, the industry celebrates its advent with events like Social Media Week (February 27 to March 3). “Businesses have started moving away from the idea of social media being a separate entity and are now fully incorporating it into their marketing, PR and customer service campaigns,” says Todd Grossman, CEO of Talkwalker, a marketing analysis tool that assists businesses in developing a social media strategy and measuring results. “Many business owners now realize that the data produced by social networks holds a treasure trove of marketing and PR information.” Amidst the many platforms and online chatter, it’s often challenging for a business owner to know where and how to focus social media efforts. But knowing what’s trending in social media may help you pinpoint where to focus your efforts so you can leverage its many aspects.

Visual Storytelling Is a Growing Trend

“One of the most powerful trends in social media is live video, which is a powerful and captivating resource for businesses,” says Jay York, social media manager for EMSI Public Relations. He has extensive experience in social media marketing dating back to the early days of MySpace and LiveJournal. “With support from Facebook and Instagram in the form of automatic push notifications to followers, it’s possible for a business to quickly garner a sizeable live audience,” says York. “The interactive nature of this platform allows brands to take questions and directly interact with their following.”

Business owners should incorporate not only graphics, but also video and live streaming into their editorial calendars.

—Fauzia Burke, founder, FSB Associates

Visual storytelling is a big trend, agrees Grossman. “Whether it’s Instagram stories, Facebook Live or on Twitter, telling stories on visuals continues to increase in popularity,” he says. “Brands of all kinds are getting strong engagement from this form of social media posting, and social networks are also favoring this kind of content by pushing users to post live videos.” While once a “nice to have” bonus, visual content may be a necessity moving forward, believes Fauzia Burke, founder and president of FSB Associates, an online publicity and marketing firm specializing in creating awareness for books and authors. “Business owners should incorporate not only graphics, but also video and live streaming into their editorial calendars,” says Burke. “With video, keep in mind that your audience’s attention span is relatively short—particularly when viewing on mobile. Aim for video less than 30 seconds. Longer video can certainly be worthwhile, but know you have a significant chance of losing viewers before they reach the end, so grab them early.”

Social Media Engagement Becoming a Necessity

One of the reasons that video is increasing in popularity is its ability to encourage two-way communication. And connecting and engaging with businesses is something that customers increasingly seek and expect. “You can’t simply post content and then fall flat on engagement,” says Lori Noonan, owner of Social Caterpillar, which provides business consulting, including content management. “Your followers want to hear from you if they comment or ask a question on your post. Oftentimes, this is where a company’s social media strategy fails. Yes, content is key, but if you engage your customers and fail to keep that interaction, they may be left feeling you’re just a computer and not a person behind the strategy.” Another important trend is social messaging, agrees York. “As customer service is quickly becoming more socially influenced, brands are finding new resources and channels for handling customer inquiries,” he says. “Facebook has released several tools, including automated messaging, away messages and more to provide more control to brands, while ensuring they’re able to assist customers before any escalation.” Facebook “reactions” may be weighted more heavily than “likes” in the news feed, allowing users to create posts to summon emotional responses, adds Amanda Corman, social media specialist for The Symphony Agency, a company that provides digital marketing solutions and technology products.

Avoid Intrusive Social Media Marketing and Overselling

“Today’s consumers don’t want brands aggressively pushing their way into social media feeds,” says social media strategist Stacy DeBroff, founder and CEO of Influence Central, which connects brands with influencers. “Pop-ups, banner ads and disruptive brand messages aren’t welcomed. As consumers seek to learn about new products on their own time and when it makes sense for them, we can expect continued resentment over perceived intrusive marketing to further deepen in 2017. Consumers will vote with their feet away from social platforms that overly inundate them with brand marketing.” That being said, be careful about how you use social media when it comes to pushing your brand, believes Grossman. “Don’t just use social solely as a channel for promoting your own content and news,” he says. “It can be a great channel for promotion, but if that’s all you do, people will turn off. Share and comment on posts that you find interesting, even if they don’t mention your company.” Noonan agrees. “When using social media, don’t just think about what’s in it for you. Think about what’s in it for your followers. Instead of just promoting a sale, tell customers what’s in it for them by explaining how much they can save. And if you’re a local business that loves to support other local businesses, do it and post about it. Build your followers by being a leader who shows you’re also an active follower.” Playing it too safe may work against you, suggests Grossman. “Bold statements make an impact on social media. Over the last year, we’ve seen big brands stray from purely industry-related content to take a stand on social issues. This approach does, of course, carry risks, but done well it can help companies develop a stronger connection with their audiences and helps break through an increasingly noisy social media environment.” Read more articles on social media strategy.

Photo: iStock

Can Small-Business Owners Command Big Speaking Fees?

Speaking fees could help line your pockets with added revenue, if you can spread the word about your business acumen.

MARCH 03, 2017 As a business owner, you may sometimes find yourself in awe of the substantial speaking fees commanded by experts in their fields. What you might not know is that you, too, may be able to share your expertise and get paid for doing so.

“Often small-business owners underestimate the value of what they know. Everyone has expertise that can be leveraged into a marketable message that creates a revenue stream,” says certified speaking professional and author Joseph Michelli of The Michelli Experience

Capitalize on Your Expertise

The best way to get paid for speaking may be to raise your profile as an expert, believes business and speaking coach , author of “The Wealthy Speaker 2.0” and “The Epic Keynote.” “Companies will pay big bucks to solve issues like attracting and retaining top talent,” she says. “Think about what you have to offer. If you own a small business that has been highly successful with customer service, groups may want to hear your tips and tactics.”The key to acquiring impressive speaking gigs may be knowing how to position yourself as a sought after expert within your industry, agrees Douglas Vermeeren, CEO of High Profit Speaker and author of several books, including Guerrilla Achiever. “You establish expertise by constantly learning about your industry and coming up with problem-solving techniques. Business owners who solve issues become high-demand speakers.”Keynote speaker and business coach Bill Wooditch , founder, CEO and president of The Wooditch Group suggests letting your mastery do the speaking for you. “Don’t extend too far outside of your knowledge base—stay centered,” he says. “Drill deep on a few areas you’ve mastered and let the audience feel your conviction, confidence and competence.”

Funnel where you want to take your audience so they can achieve powerful results and overcome specific problems. When you become very focused and knowledgeable in those areas, people will recognize you for it.—Douglas Vermeeren, CEO, High Profit Speaker

Determine Speaking Topics

When you speak, Atkinson suggests focusing on subjects that have earned you business. “What’s your secret sauce for winning business or creating long-term loyal clients?” she asks. “How have you influenced people or been a great leader? If you are overwhelmed by many choices, pick a topic you are truly passionate about.” Consider being focused about your topic and goals, Vermeeren adds. “Funnel where you want to take your audience so they can achieve powerful results and overcome specific problems. When you become very focused and knowledgeable in those areas, people will recognize you for it.” The topic should pass what Michelli calls the CRUD test. “On which topics will you be most credible; which topics will enable you to provide unique content, and on which topics will you be most relevant? Also, what are you most passionate about? A message without an audience is pointless, and a speaker without passion is a snooze fest.”

Market Yourself

“Those small-business owners who get impressive speaking gigs know how to market and position themselves as the experts in their industry,” Vermeeren says. “The gigs don’t always go to the most qualified, but to the most visible.”

To help sell your speaking skills, create an effective media kit, adds Denise Jones, speaker bureau director for Ascendant Group Branding. “When pitching yourself, make sure the information you present is clear, precise and to the point.”

Negotiate Speaking Fees

When it comes to negotiating and setting your speaking fees, Michelli notes that it’s a market-driven process. “Many speakers start by keeping fees low until they have tightened their message and dialed-in their platform skills,” he says. “They then set a higher speaking fee.”

Also take a look at your competition to see what other business owners are charging. Michelli suggests consulting your local chapter of the National Speakers Association, which may have a mentorship program. “A mentor can help with both the business—marketing/pricing—and platform—presentation/technology—aspects of being a professional speaker,” he says.Whatever you do, you may not want to accept the first offer, Atkinson suggests. “Negotiating is a mental game, and the more you believe in your value, the better you’re positioned to ask for what you’re worth,” she says. “If you believe even subconsciously that a company or association is never going to pay your going rate, that’s going to come through in your posture and approach and will have a negative impact. Learn what the market will bear, know your value and stand tall when asking for your fee.”

Should You Speak for Free?

At some point, you may be asked to speak for free. “I’m careful to not give my expertise away,” Vermeeren says. “Unless you are absolutely brilliant, most audiences will never remember you or your business. The old adage that people value most what they pay for is certainly true in the speaking business. I will generally only speak for free if I can sell my products or services or be assured of the likelihood of acquiring paying customers.”

If you find that speaking for a group won’t provide any value without compensation, consider suggesting the group find a sponsor to pay your bill, Atkinson suggests. “You can give the sponsor visibility by having them introduce you.”

Before you decide to do an event for exposure, it may be helpful to try to find out specifics such as how many people they expect in the audience. If possible, consider consulting with others who have spoken there about their experiences. You may want to determine if sufficient marketing is done for the event.

“There are going to be speaking engagements you’ll want to put on your freebie list, because your ideal client may be in the audience,” Atkinson says. “If a speaking engagement results in $20,000 worth of business, you won’t want to turn down the opportunity because you won’t get your $2,500 fee.”

A version of this article was originally published on February 19, 2016.

Photo: iStock

Are Your Employees Suited for Telecommuting?

This Telecommuter Appreciation Week, keep the following tips in mind to ensure that your telecommuting employees remain productive and engaged.

FEBRUARY 27, 2017 As we celebrate Telecommuter Appreciation Week (February 26 to March 4), business owners have an opportunity to examine how telecommuting benefits their companies and employees. Statistics show that telecommuting is becoming more popular. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the number of people working from home has increased over the last decade. In a 2015 study of approximately 10,900 individuals interviewed for the BLS ongoing American Time Use Survey (ATUS), on the days they worked, 24 percent of those surveyed did some or all of their work at home, compared to 19 percent in 2003.“Telecommuting is definitely on the rise for employees of all ages as companies continue to look for ways to accommodate the changing needs and expectations of their workforces,” says Ursula Mead, CEO of InHerSight , an anonymous company review platform.

Employers are increasingly looking for ways to drive performance and create higher levels of engagement with their workforce, as well as attract and retain top talent, and some of that talent works better at home.

—Brad Deutser, president, Deutser

“The introduction of a variety of online tools has made remote work often more convenient and productive for employees than heading into the office,” says Sandra Lewis, founder and CEO of virtual assistant company Worldwide101. “Advances in online video meetings, live chats and document sharing have created an environment that fosters and even favors remote work.”Cloud-based applications have fueled the working remotely trend, adds Beth Cochran, co-founder and CEO of public relations agency Wired PR Group. “These applications have completely changed the way we experience business. They allow us to communicate in real time, have meetings without being in the same room, manage and collaborate on projects and track time.”

The Benefits of Working From Home

The ability to work from home yields benefits for employers and employees. “If an employee works from a home office, this eliminates the need for a physical space, significantly reducing the overhead costs of an office, furniture, utilities, insurance, etc.,” says Cochran. “Employers are increasingly looking for ways to drive performance and create higher levels of engagement with their workforce, as well as attract and retain top talent, and some of that talent works better at home,” says Brad Deutser, president of Deutser, a consulting firm that advises leaders and organizations. “Employers willing to work through challenges and set clear expectations will yield great benefit from telecommuting employees.”Leela Srinivasan, CMO of Lever, which makes recruiting software, runs a marketing team of 100 employees and has telecommuted herself. “Our engineering team has long worked from home one day a week, and we recently implemented the same for our marketing team. They’re excited, because many people are simply more productive at home. The modern open plan office environment may have enhanced team spirit and collaboration, but it comes at the cost of concentration and focus.”Today’s workforce also prizes flexibility. “The work-life compartmentalization of yesteryear no longer holds,” says Srinivasan. “Employees value the freedom to work when and where they want, on their terms, and they appreciate being treated like grownups in the process. If they’re able to be home for the electrician, that decreases their stress and enhances their well-being, without costing the employer anything at all.” Remote work especially appeals to the Millennial generation. “First and foremost, they seek a more flexible lifestyle,” says Lewis. “They see work and life as one and the same. Being confined to 9 to 5 stifles their creativity and need for balance.”

The Downsides of Telecommuting

Telecommuting isn’t for every company or every employee. While some may like the flexibility, others prefer the structure an office setting provides. “I don’t believe that full-time telecommuting is good for the company or the employee. In-person interaction is required,” says Dave Hopson, managing partner of Triumphus, a professional consulting firm, and author of Surviving the Business Storm Cycle. “It’s important to have everyone in the office at least a couple of days a week so they can share ideas.”It’s also a good idea to keep other employees in mind. “Telecommuters can unintentionally create frustration with supervisors and co-workers who may want the same opportunity or who may question the remote worker’s commitment,” says Deutser. “It’s important to have clear, defined expectations for telecommuting employees.”

Telecommuting Tips

You can help your employees improve their telecommuting experience by keeping the following in mind.

Hold remote employees accountable. Consider making your expectations clear when offering the option to work remotely. You can specify the schedule and how often these employees can expect communication throughout the workday.
Invest in apps and tools that make remote work efficient. Providing remote employees with the technology and resources they need can help them telecommute successfully. “Have a robust chat or collaboration tool that simulates the ‘water cooler’ for remote workers and helps them instantly plug into conversations,” says Srinivasan. “At Lever, we are big fans of Slack.”
Encourage regular contact. “We have mandatory, in-person team meetings at our office each week and a daily morning call when everyone calls in and gives a quick digest of what they’re working on for the day,” says Cochran. “Each person has the floor to discuss any challenges they might be facing so we can collectively come up with solutions to remove the roadblocks.”
Promote a culture of trust and autonomy. “Be prepared to work a little harder at establishing and cultivating your team culture,” says Cochran. “A strong culture will help ensure remote employees are ‘bought in’ to the company vision, and it will help build a bond between the team, no matter the miles that separate them.”

Photo: iStock

Going HTTPS: How to Help Avoid Google’s Unencrypted Website Warning

Chrome browser users will be warned of the cybersecurity risks of accessing non-HTTPS site. See how you can help avoid your site being labeled a danger.

FEBRUARY 20, 2017 In September 2016 Google announced its long-term plan to mark all HTTP sites

as non-secure. Starting with the new Chrome 56, the browser warns visitor when sites aren’t using HTTPS connections. Eventually, all sites accessed in Chrome that don’t meet cybersecurity standards will be flagged with a red “danger” icon.This move to warn online users when websites are unsecure—and credit card and password information could get into unwanted hands—comes at a time when cybersecurity is receiving much warranted attention. It’s an issue being discussed across the country, including at cybersecurity gatherings like the RSA Conference 2017.“The internet is still somewhat rooted in the Wild West,” says Nick Greene of Nick Greene Digital Marketing & Design. “Some players are following the rules and being fair to all, while others are taking shortcuts at the expense of others. Google’s new cybersecurity measure will help level the playing field by seeing that all business owners ensure their websites collect and pass data in a secure, encrypted manner.”

The Push to Secure Data With HTTPS

The concept of securing data with HTTPS is nothing new, notes Gary S. Miliefsky, founder of SnoopWall Inc., a counter-intelligence technology company, and executive producer of Cyber Defense Magazine.“Since the early days of electronic commerce, the SSL protocol [Secure Sockets Layer] driving the HTTPS secure web browser experience has helped protect personally identifiable information [PII] from being stolen during online purchases,” Miliefsky explains. “A lock on your web browser indicates that a site is using HTTPS and is more secure.”

Business owners who have not implemented basic security measures such as SSL/TLS to protect sensitive webpages like login and checkout pages now need to make sure they implement this, because customers are going to take it seriously when their browsers show a red-for-danger icon.

—Atit Shah, head of security, WePay

This is the first time, though, that Google has penalized websites by warning visitors, adds Adam Levin, chairman and founder of cybersecurity solutions company CyberScout and author of Swiped.“Google’s push to combat unencrypted web traffic by identifying HTTP sites as unsecure is a Paul Revere moment for businesses that have e-commerce sites and conduct transactions online,” says Levin. “As breaches have become the third certainty in life, the gateway point for major data breaches has often been unsecure websites. Google is not only giving the consumer the awareness to avoid risky behavior, they’re also calling out certain companies as having poor security.”

Cybersecurity Steps You Can Take for Your Business

If you wish to reach out to a broader customer base and build trust, you may want to take your security more seriously, believes Atit Shah, head of security for online payment platform WePay.“Business owners who have not implemented basic security measures such as SSL/TLS to protect sensitive webpages like login and checkout pages now need to make sure they implement this, because customers are going to take it seriously when their browsers show a red-for-danger icon.” Google is a leader when it comes to web security, so other browser vendors may follow in its footsteps, adds Matias Woloski, author of A Guide to Claims-Based Identity and Access Control and CTO and co-founder of Auth0, which provides authentication and authorization for developers.“Given Chrome’s [57] percent market share in the browser space, this latest change will put a lot of pressure on businesses [and] websites that have so far ignored web security best practices,” says Woloski. “If they haven’t already been working on this requirement, they will have to scramble to do so now.”Adhering to the requirements means configuring servers to use HTTPS, as well as acquiring the necessary TLS certificates and possibly updating custom applications. “It’s important to note that HTTPS does add operational complexity, and organizations will need to manage issues such as browser compatibility and certificate expiration,” says Woloski. “Given this level of effort, we recommend moving to HTTPS for the entire website, not just sensitive pages. This will help future-proof businesses against upcoming browser warnings.” Instituting HTTPS and its encryption ability may not be the complete answer, believes Shah. “In the last few years, various attacks such as Heartbleed, BEAST and POODLE have targeted security vulnerabilities in SSL/TLS,” Shah says, listing three infamous security bugs. “Therefore, online businesses should also make sure that SSL/TLS implementations are secure and that they’ve have implemented best practices, such as reliable Certificate Authority and secure cipher suites with perfect forward secrecy.”

Promoting a Cybersecurity Culture

The bottom line is that cybersecurity will continue to be an issue, which means that business owners must adopt a culture of security and privacy. “This means encrypting data, investing in employee training on security and privacy protocols, securing all connected devices with the most sophisticated and up-to-date antivirus software, penetration testing and role-based data segmentation,” says Levin. One of the biggest sources of breaches come from employees who use their personal mobile devices at work and download unverified apps, access unsecure sites or use unsecure WiFi, notes Levin. “It only takes one employee clicking on the wrong link or entering sensitive information on a fake site to create a potential extinction level event for the business,” says Levin. “A business must get everything right while a hacker need only find one tiny point of vulnerability open for a matter of seconds.” While the encryption alert isn’t desirable, it need not be the “equivalent of a scarlet letter,” says Levin. “Use this as a tool to step up your security game. Those who fail to properly design and test solutions could suffer reputational damage, but that pales in comparison to the reputational damage they will endure if your failure to take proper security precautions provides a conduit for hackers to compromise customer information.” Read more articles on cybersecurity.

Photo: iStock

Is It Time to Make Up or Break Up With Your Management Team?

When delegating to your management team, misalignments between your vision and theirs can occur. These tips can help you get back on track with your team.

FEBRUARY 10, 2017 This Valentine’s week, as you examine significant relationships in your life, take a close look at your company’s management team. Are the views of those operating your business still in line with your company vision and mission?

“As a company grows, a shift can occur as the owner transitions from exercising a lot of control and begins to delegate to management,” says business consultant Beatrice Chestnut of The Chestnut Group and author of The 9 Types of Leadership. “If managers have different personality styles and world views than the founder, a misalignment can occur between the original vision and the management team’s priorities.

“Organizations evolve, and that process is a natural part of growth, adds Brad Deutser, president of Deutser, LLC , a consulting firm that advises leaders and organizations during times of transition, growth and crisis.“The highest-performing organizations are those that grow from the inside out. When organizations are anchored by a strong culture, they are more effective at scaling and driving performance of their people and business.”

Signs of a Flickering Owner/Management Team Relationship

“Like any relationship, core values, beliefs, behaviors and expectations between owners and management can become misaligned,” says Deutser.

“Professional managers can inadvertently hurt the brand and violate the brand promise through standardization,” says Michael Houlihan, co-author of The Entrepreneurial Culture. “It’s up to the company founder to ensure that customer expectations are exceeded. When owners delegate to management, they must practice constant vigilance to protect the customer experience.”

To facilitate alignment, the leader and management need a roadmap that originates from the core of the organization. —Brad Deutser, president, Deutser, LLC

New hires should be briefed on the company vision by management, to continue building positive customer relationships. But if you start noticing communication breakdowns, lack of engagement or conflict amongst your management team members, it may be time to reconnect on your company vision.

Tips for Reconnecting With Your Management Team

If management isn’t clear on the mission or the main strategies and tactics that should drive the work, you and your management team may need to realign your vision.

When there is a disconnect between what you as a business owner want and see for your business and your operations management, Deutser believes you have a clear choice. “Leadership can either change the people or change the people,” he says. “If management can be motivated to change views and align with the organization’s mission and purpose, then realignment can occur,” he says.

“To facilitate alignment, the leader and management need a roadmap that originates from the core of the organization,” continues Deutser. “Leadership must be purposeful, with clearly defined expectations and metrics for the organization and employees. Clarity of thought, clarity of purpose and clarity of mission are all critical. If you know what you want and where you’re going, others are more likely to follow.”

Staying focused with a clear vision and creative marketing plan when you delegate to management can help differentiate your idea from the million others out there, agrees Charles Sankowich, CEO and founder of Friendthem, a social network app that allows users to connect across multiple social media platforms. “Passion for your business is also important, because it’s contagious.

“Continual interaction between business owners and management can also be vital. “When leaders are not engaged with their operations team, they will see misalignment brewing,” says Deutser. “Fostering relationships on a regular basis—during status quo and times of change—is necessary to ensuring you continue to enjoy working with one another and stay aligned.”

“When you delegate to management, getting both parties on the same page requires regular, straightforward discussions about whether the owner and operator have shared goals and values,” says Paul Thornton, the author of Precise Leaders Get Results. “Small gaps can be worked out. Big gaps require a candid discussion and decisions on how to proceed.”

All relationships have challenges. Considering the time and energy you’ve put into your relationship with your management team, you may want to do whatever you can to prevent a breakup. Avoiding irreconcilable differences often takes communicating and a willingness to compromise. Riding out the rough times can lead to a stronger union in the long run.

Read more articles on building your team.

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4 Healthy Ways to Help Promote Employee Wellness in Your Office

Healthy employees may tend to be more positive and productive. Learn how you can help make employee wellness part of your company culture.

FEBRUARY 10, 2017 Many business owners are realizing that employee wellness can be tied to performance. For that reason, some forward-thinking employers are incorporating standing desks and fitness opportunities into the workplace. “We believe promoting health and wellness reduces sick days, which improves productivity and employee satisfaction,” says Jonathan Sacks, owner and CEO of PUSH Agency, a worldwide live marketing and promotional staffing company. “Our employees aren’t confined to working at their desks. They can use our outdoor workspace and get fresh air, sunlight and a change of scenery. We also provide bicycles—with helmets—so employees can ride on their breaks.”Since employees spend many of their waking hours at work, encouraging healthy living in the office is important, agrees Mike McEwan, owner of JANE, an online boutique marketplace featuring women’s and children’s clothing and home décor.“JANE’s office is a well-designed space that encourages creative thinking, productivity and wellness,” says McEwan. “We provide adjustable desks for all employees. They can work standing or sitting in a chair or on a yoga ball. Our 30,000-square-foot space gives employees the chance to increase blood flow and oxygen levels by walking between the various departments for collaboration and meetings.”

Methods of promoting employee wellness will vary according to your company culture. Here are several ways to inspire employee wellness at your company.

1. Encourage employee wellness by getting your team to move.

“Ultimately, healthy living creates higher energy levels, which helps in all aspects of your business,” says Bart Silvestro, CEO of Chef’s Cut Real Jerky. “I’m a strong believer in creating a high-energy workplace with upbeat music playing. We also promote taking walks with team members to discuss current projects and problems.”Carol Talbot, speaker and author of YOU the Divine Genius, notes that sitting eight to 15 hours a day is not something the body was designed to do. “All that sitting is causing health problems,” she says. “Fortunately, there’s a lot that can be done in the workplace to shift our sitting culture, including holding walking meetings and encouraging desk-bound employees to get up and move around at least once an hour.”

Most of our team members report reduced stress and more mental clarity after participating in our health programs, which leads to more creative ideas and stronger results from the entire team.

—Matt Geiger, co-founder, Blend

Prolonged sitting can be highly detrimental to good health, agrees physician and spine specialist Pawan Grover of Inovospine, a company that provides innovative treatments for acute and chronic back pain.“During prolonged sitting, blood can pool in the legs and lead to blood clots,” he says. “Even in a static standing position the muscles can’t pump the blood as effectively. If you’re moving your legs or shifting your weight when standing, it could be helpful, because that causes your muscles to pump blood.”

2. Incorporate standing desks into the office.

Movement can be important to employee wellness. That’s why standing desks are becoming a welcome and healthy addition to the workplace.

“Standing desks are a must at our company,” says Nina Church, co-founder of Nomva, a line of probiotic super smoothie packs. “We found the ideal solution with regular desks that easily convert to standing desks. This offers the best of both worlds and encourages employees to stand at least a few minutes each day.”At Rhonda Allison Cosmeceuticals, a professional skin care company, they’ve had standing desks for several years now. “We’ve also implemented thick-cushioned standing pads at stations and headset telephones to ease the strain on those who are at their desks or on the phone frequently,” says founder and CEO Rhonda Allison.Before investing in standing desks, Grover suggests making sure that standing is advised for your employees. Some health problems require that you sit down (e.g. individuals with knee or hip problems). Grover suggests encouraging employees to protect their spines against slouching by using lumbar rolls in chairs and taking frequent breaks to stretch.

Other additions to enhance employee wellness include ergonomic chairs and keyboards and adjustable monitors.

3. Offer fitness opportunities that promote employee wellness.

Promoting exercise is another great way to help incorporate employee wellness into your company culture.

“We have a yoga instructor come in once a week, we offer Pilates, [and a] membership at a fitness club so that employees have every opportunity to engage in healthy habits on a regular basis,” says Allison.

At Nomva, they allow employees to wear activewear at the office. “Being in sneakers and workout clothes during the workday can signal to employees that they are active people and give them the encouragement to stretch, get in a quick workout or walk at lunch,” says co-founder Caroline Beckman. “We do a weekly workout, which is a fun bonding experience that really energizes us.”

HealthyWage co-founder David Roddenberry notes there are many tactics employers can use to incorporate exercise into the office. (And he should know—his company facilitates corporate wellness challenges.)“Try treadmill desks, walking paths at work and fitness competitions,” Roddenberry advises. “We’ve found that walking or weight-loss challenges are popular, because they have the potential to engage all employees and their families. Fitness challenges can be offered at no cost to your company. Employees contribute to the pot, committing themselves to the challenge.”

At Nootrobox, a biohacking company focused on improving brain performance with nootropics (cognitive enhancing supplements) and energy-on-the-go products, they offer gym subsidies and encourage all employees to work out in the morning. “Our biohacking research has shown that morning workouts are optimal for health and productivity,” says the company’s CEO Geoff Woo.Matt Geiger, co-founder of Blend, a millennial chatbot platform, adds that his company has a workout machine in the office. Geiger says it gives employees “permission to focus on their health and well-being while on the job.”

4. Promote relaxation as a part of your company culture.

According to Grover, stress can cause poor health conditions.

“Stress causes the body to be in survival mode and release a stress hormone called cortisol,” he says. “This is a very destructive hormone that decreases our immune system and breaks down the body.”

Helping your employees to remain as calm as possible can help promote employee wellness. Some companies use meditation to help relieve stress. “Blend offers a daily 15-minute meditation, with some guided, breath-based and Eastern tradition practices,” says Geiger. “Most of our team members report reduced stress and more mental clarity after participating in our health programs, which leads to more creative ideas and stronger results from the entire team.”

Rhonda Allison’s team combats stress with a four-day work week. “A shortened week gives employees a balanced lifestyle,” says Allison. “Having three days to regroup and take care of their lives enables them to bring their all to the table when they’re at work.”

Photo: iStock

Can Your Company Compete With Fast, Free Online Shipping?

The online shipping bar is constantly being raised when it comes to cost and speed. You may want to consider offering free online shipping to keep up.

FEBRUARY 01, 2017 As retail increasingly moves from brick-and-mortar stores to e-commerce, customers expectations have risen. They want their orders fast, with free shipping. Now that the technology for ultra-high-speed delivery systems exists, it may be a matter of time before same-day delivery is replaced by same-hour delivery for online shipping.

While the infrastructure hasn’t yet been developed for ultra-high-speed delivery, fast and free online shipping has arrived. This development could affect your retail internet business model, notes Craig Cleveland, director of business development for Jane, an online boutique marketplace featuring women’s and children’s clothing and home décor.

“Consumers have become ‘Amazon spoiled,’ and as a result now expect to receive free or cheap shipping in two to three days—this is the standard against which online businesses are now competing,” Cleveland says. “As more and more courier services enter the marketplace looking to lower shipping costs, same-day delivery will become the new standard.”

Customers Want Free and Fast Shipping

When customers have a choice between free online shipping and paying for freight, they may opt for the former. How you deal with expectations regarding free shipping and speedier service can be tied to how well you do with online sales.

As more and more courier services enter the marketplace looking to lower shipping costs, same-day delivery will become the new standard.

—Craig Cleveland, director of business development, Jane

“Differentiating your business from other online sellers requires unique product and a better overall customer experience,” says Cleveland. “Our policies and procedures at Jane allow us to maintain a preferred customer experience. That customer experience is key to customer retention.”

While his site charges for shipping, Cleveland believes that the secret to delivering a superior customer online experience is a seamless and fast shipping experience. “By developing and maintaining integrations with shipping partners and their advanced technology, Jane has been able to empower its sellers with the necessary tools to create a consistent shipping experience.”

Should You Consider Free Shipping?

The costs associated with free and fast shipping could have the potential for pricing your online business out of the market or of making margins so thin that you can’t compete. At the same time, these tactics could help increase sales.

Try taking these tips into consideration when deciding whether or not you should offer free online shipping.

Compare conversion with and without free shipping. There may not be a point in using free shipping if it doesn’t improve conversion rates. Do a comparison between the two for a designated time to see if offering free online shipping improves your conversions. You could do the comparison between products, site-wide or both.

Consider free shipping at a certain threshold. Offering free online shipping can help increase conversions. It may also help encourage visitors to spend more money on your site. But can you afford to offer free shipping? This can be accomplished by determining your site’s average order value. You can then offer free shipping for orders equaling that amount or higher. You may want to test three to five shipping thresholds to see which results in the most increased spending among shoppers.

Offer free online shipping on select items. See if sales improve by offering free shipping only on certain products. You could select the products based on their popularity or exclusivity and see how sales compare with and without free shipping.

Test price increases. Consider compensating for the loss of revenue from free shipping by increasing prices. Monitor sales of products you increase in price.

If you find that free shipping isn’t a profitable choice, you may be better off focusing on faster shipping and a user-friendly experience. To streamline shipping practices so that the customer experience is seamless and as fast as possible, you could try the following:

Offer a fast delivery option in addition to standard delivery. Customers may not often use the faster option, but it may be comforting for them to know it’s available.
Incorporate and advertise a maximum one-day handling time. Clients often want to know that you’re getting to work preparing and packaging their product.
Ship products within 24 business hours of order receipt. Any longer may be too long for customers to wait.
Use a carrier that offers tracking and share those details with customers.
Respond promptly to any customer issues or complaints. It’s important that your shoppers know that you hear them and that you care.
Consider offering free returns. A money-back guarantee that includes shipping charges may help customers take a chance on your products.
Deliver a great product. It may not matter how fast or inexpensive your online shipping charges are. The bottom line is that your product is what customers are buying. And what will be with them long after the bill is paid.

Read more articles on e-commerce.

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What Does the Rise of Automated Delivery Mean for Your Business?

As companies experiment with using drones and robots for automated delivery, questions arise as to the pros and cons of space-age delivery systems.

JANUARY 25, 2017 It might seem like a scene out of a science fiction movie, but automated delivery by drones and robots has become a reality. Testing is still taking place in the United States, but one of the first successful drone deliveries occurred this past December in the U.K.

In the U.S., food delivery startup DoorDash and courier service Postmates recently announced a partnership with the robotic delivery developer Starship Technologies to use robots to deliver meals. Testing is currently occurring on a limited basis in Redwood City, California and Washington, DC.

The Potential Positive Impact of Automated Delivery Technology

Given the fact that machines have successfully delivered products to customers, what could that mean for your business in the future?

“Drones are becoming more common in logistics, as they’re the new trend of the day,” says Daniel Oh, director of EasyPost, an API that ships packages each month for thousands of customers and strives to resolve technological obstacles of logistics for its customers.“Drones will eventually have the potential to lower shipping costs, widen

“Drones will eventually have the potential to lower shipping costs, widen logistical reach and make same-day delivery more common,” continues Oh. “In the long term, drones could drastically improve customer expectations. In an ideal world built for drone delivery, you can order your product, pay minimal shipping fees, track your delivery like you’d track an Uber and receive it the same day.”

Drones might be an exciting, new automated delivery technology trend right now, but until someone figures out how to navigate the regulatory thicket and lower the overall costs of a drone, businesses should focus on the basics for now.

—Daniel Oh, director, EasyPost

A benefit of drone delivery is the ability to deliver in dangerous or rural areas, adds business strategy advisor Patrick Stroh, president of Mercury Business Advisors and author of Advancing Innovation.

“Consider the ability now to deliver food and water in a disaster area, where roads may be impassable, or medical supplies to a remote section in China,” says Stroh. “Drones take risk out of the delivery side and allow more people, who may not get this help, to be served and saved.”

Drawbacks of Drone and Robot Deliveries

While innovations like drones can create value, they may also produce challenges.

“The innovation is great, but the execution, practicality and risk/reward needs to be worked through to ultimately drive more value,” believes Stroh. “How we regulate drones and airspace, deter the automated delivery of dangerous packages, thwart drone crashers that follow drones and then steal the delivery packages and many other situations that one can only imagine, requires critical thinking and action.”

Oh agrees. “Drone delivery still hasn’t resolved the regulatory issue,” he says. Nobody can buy a fleet of drones and expect the FAA to let them operate freely. The FAA has trouble managing hundreds of planes in our airspace. How will they manage millions of autonomous drones on top of that?”

Beyond the logistics, automated delivery is expensive. “How will carriers afford the purchase and maintenance of these drones?” says Oh. “They’re not cheap, and there’s no guarantee they’ll last as long as other delivery vehicles. There’s also no guarantee these costs won’t get passed onto businesses, and therefore [to] the customers. Customers love same-day delivery until they start paying the true cost of it. It’s too big of a risk to invest in drone delivery when there’s so much uncertainty about how drones will operate.”

Automated Delivery Can’t Replace Great Customer Service

While it may be fun to imagine drones or robots delivering your products, all customers truly want is reliable, fast delivery without paying too much for it, notes Oh.

“Drones might be an exciting, new automated delivery technology trend right now, but until someone figures out how to navigate the regulatory thicket and lower the overall costs of a drone, businesses should focus on the basics for now,” believes Oh.

“With good logistics planning and the right technology, you can offer reliable and affordable shipping within two to five days, which is perfectly reasonable for today’s customer.”

Read more articles on innovation.

Photo: iStock

How to Talk to Your Team About Changes In Employee Benefits

How you approach decreases and increases in employee benefits can affect morale and work performance.

JANUARY 13, 2017 In the area of employee benefits, change seems to be a constant. Factors like health insurance costs and regulations regarding employee pay can make it necessary to meet with your team to discuss what may be unwelcome changes to employee benefits.

When the news is positive, such as a pay increase, the conversation tends to be an easier one. It’s when you must inform workers that they will lose employee benefits that the interaction can become awkward and potentially unpleasant.

“Successfully running a business requires balance—whether that is balancing the number of employees necessary to do the work with the amount of money available to pay them or balancing the size of the office space you can rent or purchase with the knowledge that you may eventually need much more,” says Heidi Jannenga, president and co-founder of WebPT, a rehab therapy platform for enhancing patient care and fueling business growth.

When Decreasing Employee Benefits Can Be Necessary

“Reducing and/or freezing pay and benefits is never an easy topic of conversation, but from time to time it can become necessary, especially as the cost of health insurance continues to rise,” says Jannenga. “If you’ve explored all other options to increase revenue without cutting employee benefits and determine that you must proceed, then be transparent, open and honest.”

People are a company’s best asset, and the way we treat our employees has a direct impact on the success of our businesses and the satisfaction of our customers.

—Heidi Jannenga, president and co-founder of WebPT

Jannenga shares costs with her employees, including facts such as how much their health insurance has gone up for the year during an open enrollment benefit workshop they hold for employees each year. “We have the vendors providing the benefits introduce the new options and discuss strategies for maximizing use. We announce the workshop via a number of channels, including the all-hands stand-up, team meetings, email newsletters and office posters,” she says. “Our HR team also attends each session in order to ensure they fully understand the information and are able to answer questions employees may have throughout the year.”

Encouraging Employee Buy-In

While employees understand the importance of putting the customer first, that concept can be hard for them to swallow when their benefits and/or pay have been reduced, believes Mark Goulston, author of Just Listen: Discover the Secret to Getting Through to Absolutely Anyone. He runs a mentor program for entrepreneurs who want to be more influential business leaders. “It can be difficult to expect employees to help customers/clients/users to have an ‘abundant’ experience when the employees are coming from scarcity,” he says. “This is especially true when employees feel that top executives are paid so much more than them and are even given pay raises and benefits in the face of poor performance.” To help successfully present a decrease in employee benefits, Goulston suggests approaching the conversation in the following manner: “Tell each employee that you’re all in this together. […] Not only may you not be able to give them more benefits and higher pay, you may need to cut both,” says Goulston. “At the same time, you’d like and need their help in getting through this period and still keeping morale up.” In order to maintain a positive attitude in the office, Goulston suggests asking employees to take the benefits, pay and perks they thought they were going to receive out of the equation and tell you what would need to be different in your company and their position in order for them to say that they thoroughly enjoy their jobs. They may bring up something that you do have control over at this point, such as a change in work hours.

Embrace Conscious Leadership

“People are a company’s best asset, and the way we treat our employees has a direct impact on the success of our businesses and the satisfaction of our customers,” says Jannenga. “The key to running a successful business is embracing conscious leadership. Get employees to buy in to your overall mission and purpose with as much passion and fervor as you do. When employees become stakeholders in your vision and that vision stays steady, it serves as an anchor to keep everyone on board, even during times of change.”

Sharing Good News about Employee Benefits

Of course, telling your workers that you’re able to pay them more and offer additional employee benefits and perks can be a positive conversation that everyone may want to have. “When delivering good news to employees, also be transparent, open and honest,” says Jannenga. “Your team has earned this increase together, and it should be an honor to be able to offer them more, so be sure to thank them for their hard work, dedication and vision. Your sincere enjoyment at being able to reward their successes will go a long way. After all, your business wouldn’t be what it is without them.” Read more articles on hiring & HR.

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Chip Cards May Lead to Online Fraud. Is Your Business Ready?

The transition to credit cards with chips is leading to a spike in online fraud. Discover what you can do to help protect your company from loss.

Credit card chip readers may have led to fraud reduction for brick-and-mortar businesses, but hackers have found a new way to cause trouble. Thieves no longer able to hack in-person transactions have turned to online fraud using e-commerce and other card-not-present transactions.

“With the advent of the CHIP and PIN across the EU, physical imprints of stolen card information became useless for European criminals and hackers over the past few years,” says breach prevention expert Gary Miliefsky, CEO of SnoopWall, Inc. “Now, with CHIP enabled cards becoming a requirement across the U.S., we see the same results.

“Cybercrime has shifted to the weak underbelly of network security, e-commerce, mobile commerce and online transactions,” he continues. “This is creating a growing wave in online cybercrime across America.”

Maintain the delicate balance between rejecting fraudsters and approving trustworthy customers.

—Debbie Cates, CMO, Emailage

Fraudsters are migrating to e-commerce, agrees Vinodh Poyyapakkam, head of risk policy and consulting at WePay, an integrated payments platform. “With this significant change in the in-store payments landscape making in-store payments secure, fraudsters are rapidly migrating to e-commerce to monetize stolen financial and identity information.

“Although large breaches reach the news, those are just the tip of the iceberg, says Miliefsky. “Most cyber criminals want to attack smaller to medium-size (SME) enterprises in waves, in order to stay off the radar of EUROPOL, INTERPOL and the FBI. By refocusing their efforts on the SMEs, they’ve made small and medium-sized businesses the new target, which means business owners should be vigilant.”

Steps to Protect Your Business From Online Fraud

While a firewall and antivirus protections are necessary, they aren’t focused on today’s threats, Miliefsky warns.

“It’s time to get vigilant and get one step ahead of the next threat so that you won’t become a victim or a statistic,” he says. “It will also be much easier for you to get cyber insurance protection at a low cost if you can document that you’ve been taking these steps.”

Employ best practices.

“Use strong encryption at all times, perform daily backups and have the server(s) tested frequently for vulnerabilities,” says Miliefsky.

Secure all computer touchpoints.

“In your intranet and your office, make sure the computers are secure and that you’re using some form of breach prevention—also known as Network Access Control or NAC—to avoid having the cleaning company or some guest or rogue employee accessing the PII (Personally identifiable information) to steal it and sell it,” says Miliefsky.

“Ensure that you segment the data and segment the network so that only the right people can gain access to the data,” he continues. “You can do this with multi-factor authentication, stronger password requirements and virtual LANs (VLANs).”

Beware of spear phishing.

“Most attacks against online shopping experiences start with a spear phishing attack targeting you or one of your C-level employees,” says Miliefsky. “Unknowing employees open an email attachment and they get infected with something called a remote access Trojan (RAT) or worse yet, Ransomware. These are very dangerous to your business, so more frequent employee training and tools to stop or block spear phishing are a must-have in today’s cyber business world.”

Employ the latest online fraud prevention techniques.

“Use cutting-edge tools to identify out-of-pattern transactions and have them either manually reviewed by a risk agent or declined automatically in case of confirmed fraud,” says Poyyapakkam. “Businesses can also look at suspicious IP addresses and devices from where the payments originate to identify and mitigate fraudulent payments. Also maintain a database of information on bad payers and confirmed fraudsters.”

Consider legitimate customers.

“Maintain the delicate balance between rejecting fraudsters and approving trustworthy customers,” says Debbie Cates, CMO at Emailage, a company that provides fraud solutions. “When you stop a fraudster, that’s a one-time loss prevented, but every time you deny a loyal customer or send the person to manual review, you risk losing lifetime value.”To mitigate online fraud without turning away legitimate customers, Poyyapakkam advises using a trusted payment processor that employs state-of-the-art, advanced risk technologies.

Read more articles on e-commerce.

Photo: iStock

6 Marketing Trends to Look for in 2017

When making plans to grow your business in the coming year, you may want to consider using one of these emerging marketing trends.

JANUARY 04, 2017 As we head into a new year, a question that may be on the minds of many business owners is where to concentrate their marketing efforts. With the dizzying array of possibilities, it can seem difficult to sift through the different marketing trends.

To help improve your marketing plans, several experts offer their predictions of where marketing is headed in 2017.

1. Digital marketing is expected to grow exponentially.

Overall, the move to digital may increase at a faster pace than ever before, believes Dushyant Sukhija, a former Cisco executive and author of The Cisco Way.“As business owners navigate the inevitable and highly disruptive transition to the new digital service economy,” Sukhija says, “they’ll find it necessary to accelerate their digitization efforts to protect their footprint in the global marketplace.”

John Rizzo, co-founder of Vaetas, an interactive video platform for businesses, agrees. “It will be a good idea for companies to take digital marketing more seriously and transition how they view their businesses on the internet,” Rizzo says. “It’s time to move from viewing the internet as an extension of traditional marketing methods.”In the digital marketing realm, an up-and-coming major player is Over-The-Top Advertising (OTT), which refers to video ads on streaming services like Hulu.

“With a growing number of U.S. households using some type of streaming service, there is great potential, because the platforms that offer advertising often require the user to watch the full ad before programing will resume,” says Lauren Davenport, CEO of The Symphony Agency, a marketing and branding strategy agency. “Combine this and the ability to hyper-target your audience, and OTT is set to make a big splash in the coming year.”

2. Personalized marketing may take center stage.

“A less intrusive, more intuitive buyer’s journey is on the horizon,” says Raghav Mathur, VP of product, strategy and marketing with G/O Digital Marketing agency. “Consumers have wised up to the sales pitch and have easy access to reviews and price comparisons. As a result, updates in retargeting and ad segmentation over the last year have made digital marketing a hyper-personalized experience. We’re going to see much more of that in 2017.”Shortcuts when it comes to marketing may not be sufficient anymore, believes Justin Gray, CEO and marketing expert for LeadMD, a marketing automation services provider.

As business owners navigate through the inevitable and highly disruptive transition to the new digital service economy, they’ll find it necessary to accelerate their digitization efforts to protect their footprint in the global marketplace.

—Dushyant Sukhija, author

“The marketing ‘hack’ will die in 2017,” Gray predicts. “Good enough is no longer good enough. Personalization and true engagement measurement will take the lead. 2016 taught us that buyers are no longer willing to give their attention up so readily, which is why we are seeing such a rise in hyper-personalization through strategies such as ABM—account-based marketing,” he says.

“In the coming year, we’ll see brands become even more dramatically attuned to the needs and priorities of the end consumer and increasingly shape their product offerings around rising lifestyle trends,” says Stacy DeBroff, founder and CEO of Influence Central. Personalizing outreach to connect with prospects and customers may help generate sales, agrees Rizzo. “For instance,” he says, “businesses will transition from just generating an email list and sending standard email blasts to building an audience segmented by interest.”

3. Expert content may become the norm.

Building trust with potential customers, which can help lead to sales and eventual customer loyalty, may be one of the marketing trends that sticks in 2017. This can occur through the development of expert content.

“Companies will begin establishing an online branded foundation to build trust with potential customers while simultaneously building their online authority in their niche,” says Vito Santoro, SEO expert and co-founder of Vaetas.

“Building your brand and online authority and credibility are accomplished by strategically publishing expert high-value content to your social platforms that addresses the concerns of your customers,” he continues. “’Less content is more’ will become the new standard for effective content creation.”

4. Video content will be king.

“Whether it’s virtual/augmented reality, video social ads or live, creation and consumption of video will continue to boom in 2017,” believes Mathur. “Before getting carried away or overwhelmed by the abilities of these rising technologies, think strategically to make smart investments in video that will help your bottom line.

“This includes creating video content that supports the buyer’s journey through every phase, from discovery to conversion and after-purchase,” Mathur continues. “Providing customers with useful content well after their purchase is a tactful method to build customer loyalty and brand ambassadors.”

Sending video emails may begin to replace current text email messages, adds Santoro. “Facebook is fiercely competing in the online video space and is rewarding people who use Facebook Live to reach their audience. Similarly, Snapchat has experienced unprecedented growth and has become a primary marketing channel.”

Analyzing and monitoring visual and video content will be on the top of some business owners’ to-do lists, notes Todd Grossman, CEO of Talkwalker, a social data intelligence company.“It’s no secret that visual content, and especially video content, is taking over the internet,” Grossman says. “It’s easy to consume and entertaining. As this trend grows, business owners will need to be able to monitor and analyze the results of using video.”

5. Retro marketing tactics may be an added bonus.

Some of the most exciting and profitable campaigns in 2017 may incorporate “old” and “new” media, believes Noah Dyer, vice president of marketing strategies for On Advertising.“While there will be some great videos and online content, a few of the savviest marketers will look to capitalize on nostalgia by producing campaigns that also incorporate marketing strategies that have been around for decades—such as door hangers and promotional swag,” he says. “An example of such a campaign is Snapchat Spectacles, which launched with vending machine distribution earlier this year.”

6. Consumers will expect unprecedented digital speed.

As digital becomes the norm, customers may start demanding faster online speeds.

“People aren’t patient when they surf the internet,” says Davenport. “By the end of 2017, online marketing success will be impossible without having a website load speed less than two seconds.

“For small businesses, this means your website load time on both mobile and desktop will be critical to reaching customers online,” she continues. “The difficult part for business owners will be that increasing site speed is heavily dependent on back-end development. If your site wasn’t built for speed initially, it’s often more cost efficient to rebuild than trying to optimize slow code.”

If you want to discover how your website is performing, Davenport suggests using Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool. This shows you a 1 to 100 score for how Google is currently ranking your site’s speed. Davenport suggests shooting for a 60+ score for site success in 2017. Pingdom and GTmetrix can show you how many seconds it takes your site to load.

Speed can be important when it comes to connecting with potential customers via social media as well. “Real-time communication will be demanded by consumers, not just expected, with tools such as Facebook Messenger and other platforms grading businesses on their rate of response,” says Rizzo.

Read more articles on marketing & sales.

Photo: iStock

How Will Gift Card Sales Affect Your Business in January?

January is gift card redemption month. Is your business ready for the onslaught?

DECEMBER 28, 2016 Remember those gift cards you sold during the December buying frenzy? January is the key redemption month for gift cards, and your sales this month could be heavily impacted.

“The holiday buying season is not over,” says Brett Glass, CEO of Gift Card Impressions. Glass points out that “gift card sales in the U.S. are $130 billion, with about half of that figure occurring during the holidays. That means consumers received an estimated $65 billion in gift cards over the last few weeks, representing 14 percent of all gifts. Now is likely the time these gift cards will be redeemed.” The 2015 Gift Cards report from CEB supports these numbers, with their projections for gift card transactions in 2015 coming close to $130 billion, and increasing to $160 billion by 2018.

If you’re like a lot of small-business owners, you may spend considerable effort on selling gift cards but not a lot of time thinking about gift card redemption. Yet Glass believes influencing and directing gift card use is just as important.

Benefits of Targeting Gift Card Holders

“January sales results are heavily impacted by gift card redemption,” Glass says. “The majority of these gift cards received during the holidays will be redeemed in the first 30 days of receipt. Since sales of gift cards don’t get officially reported until they’re redeemed, it’s important to your January sales figures to encourage consumers to spend those gift cards as soon as possible in order to record revenue in a timely manner.”

Since sales of gift cards don’t get officially reported until they’re redeemed, it’s important to your January sales figures to encourage consumers to spend those gift cards as soon as possible in order to record revenue in a timely manner.

—Brett Glass, CEO of Gift Card Impressions

Gift cards can get customers back shopping during January, which can be a notoriously slow month for business. “Often, the consumers who still have money after the holiday season are those with gift cards,” Glass says. “They will come to shop, not because of advertisements, but because they have the equivalent of cash to spend. This can stimulate early spring merchandise sales that aren’t yet discounted, leading to more profitable sales. The gift cards also bring in new customers, and since consumers look at the gift cards as ‘free,’ they don’t mind spending a little more.”

Gift Card Redemption Drawbacks and Solutions

In some instances, January gift card redemption can deteriorate your profit margin, Glass notes. “If you carry items that will result in a desirable profit margin, the hope is that customers will redeem their gift cards on those items, but they may instead decide to purchase ‘happy hour’ products that bring you a low profit margin, such as those that are heavily discounted or even close-outs now that the holidays are over. This can negatively affect your bottom line.”

It is possible, however, to encourage customers to spend their gift cards on items that can bring in more profit.

“Consumers with gift cards want to be provided suggestions on the best ways to use them. These ideas serve as welcome reminders to use the cards and not misplace them,” Glass says. You can target gift card holders now to get them spending with posts on social media, emails and text campaigns with messages such as “time to use your gift cards” and “it’s gift card Tuesday.”

It’s also helpful to add extras to the incentives. “Offer free items for using gift cards on certain types of merchandise,” Glass says. “If you carry branded merchandise, be aware that ‘extra’ items added to gifts received over the holiday are great ways to get high-profit sales in January. Fashion accessories and cosmetics are a great added purchase for those who got clothing for the holidays. Working closely with vendor partners to create new ways to promote their brand as a great gift card item can deliver winning results for all.”

Gift Card Use Likely to Increase

Gift cards may become even more popular, believes Jason Dorsey, an expert in millennials’ buying habits and a researcher with The Center for Generational Kinetics, which found that gift card sales in general continue to grow at an estimated 6 percent, while digital gift cards are growing at 50 percent.

“From a generational standpoint, gift cards have never been more important,” Dorsey says. “Millennials love to shop online and provide gifts that are deliverable online. Gift cards give millennials tremendous flexibility. They can use them while shopping on their phone, while riding the subway or waiting for mom to make that awesome holiday meal. The easier merchants make it to purchase gift cards, the more millennials will buy them and talk about how great the experience was to their 5,000 Instagram followers.”

Read more articles about customer service. A version of this article was originally published on December 25, 2015.

Photo: iStock

Year-end reviews: the tasks you may want to add to your to-do list

When conducting year-end reviews for your business, you may want to consider looking at more than just your sales and cash flow. DECEMBER 23, 2016

As you review and assess your business over the past year, your first thought may be on profits. While analyzing your sales and cash flow is important, when it comes to year-end reviews, you may want to look at the overall big picture. There are a variety of minor pieces of the puzzle that can make a big difference in whether your company is successful.

“A business can be looked at as a well-oiled machine,” says Hillel L. Presser, president of the Presser Law Firm and author of Asset Protection Secrets. “If one piece or part is broken, the entire machine doesn’t work. Many business owners focus way too much on the minute details of their businesses and fail to see the larger picture. The goal for every business is to offer the best merchandise or service. In order to do so, every procedure and method should ideally be completely streamlined.”

Evaluating the whole picture is important, agrees business and personal development expert Douglas Vermeere.

“My business is working with speakers and coaches,” Vermeeren explains. “Most of them focus much of their efforts on presentation skills and neglect the balance of their businesses. Many people in the service industry approach things in the same way, focusing mostly on what the customer sees. A business can be compared to an iceberg. The majority of what makes the iceberg is never visible to the observer. Your business cannot be successful if you focus only on cosmetics, rather than the whole iceberg.”

When conducting a year-end review, consider the following vital business components to help you look at the big picture.

Examine Sources of Business

During a year-end review, you may want to take a close look at the origin of your business. “Review not only overall numbers, but particularly where business comes from—namely referrals,” suggests professional photographer Everardo Keeme. “I want to know, and then reward, those who refer me. I do this from two aspects. I look at who referred me the most often and who gave me the best referrals—so quality and quantity.”

Now is a great time to take note of what’s working and what’s not within your everyday processes.

—Nick Candito, CEO, Progressly

You may also want to identify where the year’s most profitable transactions came from during a year-end review, concurs Vermeeren. “Look carefully at how and where you found the clients who created those lucrative transactions and what made them work so well,” he says. “Your best transactions are what make your company more profitable. Having a clear view of what those transactions were and how they came about will give you the ability to create more of them over the coming year.”

Consider Costs Versus Pricing

In a rush to consider profits and overall sales, it’s not uncommon for business owners to overlook the important details of how much you’re spending versus how much you’re charging. “Remember to review your costs, such as vendors and materials, and revise pricing sheets and product menus accordingly,” advises Keeme.

“Your business may not have the volume to sustain a shrink in cost of goods versus profit margin,” Keeme continues. “While reviewing this [ratio] should ideally be done several times a year, it’s especially important to complete this task at year end when you have all of your sales and costs together and can evaluate a true average from month to month.”

Evaluate and Gather Your Team

The end of the year can be an ideal time to take a close look at your employees and evaluate their performances. When doing so, you may want to take their contribution to company profits over the last year into consideration. Also consider analyzing if their work performance and attitude dovetail with your company’s goals and mission. If you discover that there are employees lacking in performance or buy-in, you can then make plans for addressing this issue.

You may also want to look at your overall business team and ensure that your company is well-protected, advises Presser.

“See that you have the necessary experts on your team,” Presser says. “The year end is a good time to meet as a group and get on the same page. Doing this could save you substantial money in the future.”

Examine Everyday Processes

“Now is a great time to take note of what’s working and what’s not within your everyday processes,” suggests Nick Candito, CEO and founder of Progressly, a centralized platform for business processes.

“Companies today are burdened by siloed, difficult-to-use business systems that complicate processes and hamper operations, and such [inefficiencies] can cause a reduction in revenue,” says Candito. “Yet many companies continue to ‘make do’ with their current applications and systems even though these solutions may not be right for them. Rather than continuing to use antiquated business process solutions, consider a single system of record to achieve transparency, streamline communications and manage performance.”

After a year-end review and before the start of a new year can be an ideal time to streamline everyday processes, agrees Jesse Wood, CEO of eFileCabinet, a document management software vendor.

“Businesses are creating more data and information than ever, and the trend will only intensify in 2017,” Wood says. “Although unprecedented data acquisition and creation is good, it incurs significant operating expenses when businesses attempt to leverage information through traditional, paper-dependent methods. Going paperless and relying on document management technologies to facilitate collaboration and data storage can help.”

Ask, “Am I Having Fun Yet?”

Although this may not occur to you as you work hard to ensure that the year ahead is a profitable one, it helps to remember why you went into business for yourself in the first place, encourages Keeme.

“Review how much time you actually took off this past year,” he says. “Many business owners start their own companies for the freedom and independence it gives them. If you’re working harder, longer and more often and not enjoying time off with friends and family and doing things you enjoy, the year end gives you an opportunity to evaluate why you’re doing what you’re doing and how you can meet your personal goals in the coming year.”

Why Holiday Discounts Could Help You Drive Sales

Offering customers incentives for buying through holiday discounts can help boost business during this competitive time of year.

DECEMBER 21, 2016 Are you competing for business this holiday season? If you’re thinking about offering holiday discounts, you’re in good company.

According to the American Express Holiday Growth Pulse, a survey of over 1,500 small- and middle-market business owners across a variety of industries, retailers feel a lot of pressure to discount. The study found that “small and middle-market retailers are putting a great deal of effort into making sure they see strong results. As retailers of any size look for ways to succeed, many feel they will need to offer sales and promotions. Sixty-four percent of small-business retailers and 88 percent of middle-market retailers think they will need to be more aggressive in sales and promotions in order to stand out.”

The study also discovered that 42 percent of small retailers, and 66 percent of middle market retailers will start offering holiday discounts earlier this year compared to last year.

Benefits of Offering Holiday Discounts

Holiday discounts can serve a variety of important purposes, notes Keren Kang, CEO of Native Commerce, a digital marketing and e-commerce company. “Discounts serve to drive sales for the busiest buying season of the year.”

Think of unusual ways to make holiday discounts work for your business, such as guaranteed shipping, free shipping, gift wrap and bulk discounts.

—Keren Kang, CEO, Native Commerce

Since the Great Recession, holiday shoppers now expect discounts, believes Ted Mayeda, co-owner of gardening store M & M Nursery and their online store, Fairy Garden Expert. “With discounts being offered by competitors, we find it necessary to offer some holiday sales and special offers. In addition to keeping us competitive, offering discounts gives us an ideal opportunity to thank our regular customers for their loyal patronage throughout the year.

”Discounting can also do double duty for your business. It helps clear out inventory to make room for new products for 2017, adds Kang. You can take advantage of this by discounting the products for which you have the largest remaining inventory and for those that feature new and improved versions for next season.

Choosing Holiday Discounts

Determining the best type of discount for your business takes analyzing the pros and cons of the various options. You may want to start thinking outside of the proverbial gift box.

“Sometimes, coupons and markdowns aren’t compelling enough for your business,” says Kang. “Think of unusual ways to make holiday discounts work for your business, such as guaranteed shipping, free shipping, gift wrap and bulk discounts.”

Here are a few holiday discount options you may want to consider:

Coupons. Coupons offer you a chance to give customers what can be seen as a valuable discount. And the coupon itself can be an advertisement for your business. Coupons can also offer you a great way to introduce new product lines, as well as clear out inventory before the New Year.

The key to coupons is using them strategically by paying careful attention to the expiration date. Instead of giving customers until December 24, you can inspire more urgency by having the discount expire a few days earlier. Coupons can also be an opportunity to build your email list. When customers download a coupon or coupon code, you can require that they enter their email addresses for your database.

Free shipping. Online customers gravitate toward free shipping. Offering to foot the bill for shipping may help increase conversion for your online store. Think carefully about your free shipping strategy. Consider a minimum order size for free shipping, which may help entice customers to buy more merchandise.

Percentage-based discount. If you are planning to discount much or all of your merchandise, you may want to consider offering a percentage-based discount.

Offering 10 to 25 percent off your entire inventory may help, as it encourages customers to spend. Encourage shoppers to buy sooner, rather than later, by reducing the discounts as the holidays approach. For instance, consider starting at 25 percent and work your way down to 10 percent.

Free gift. Customers like free, so a complimentary loss-leader gift can be a great way to get people to buy. This strategy also offers you a chance to clear your inventory of items that aren’t selling as well as you’d hoped. Depending on how much inventory you have, you can give a free gift for all purchases, or set a minimum order amount.

Informing Your Customers About Holiday Discounts

Letting your customers know about discounts is, of course, important. While you don’t want to hit them over the head, you do want to make sure they hear and see you over the many other offers circulating at this time of year.

“Email communication is the most non-intrusive, [targeted] way to introduce discounts,” says Kang. This also gives you a chance to offer customers additional special discounts. For instance, with a percentage-based discount campaign, you could offer your customers an additional 10 percent off or some other incentive that rewards them for their loyalty.

Social media is another good place to announce your discounts. “Consider social media boosts like Instagram and Facebook,” says Kang. “Just make sure your creatives are in line with each platform’s tendencies. For example, Instagram loves beautiful, non-stock imaged photos that show vibrancy, interest and life.” And make sure that you have someone monitoring the social media discount campaign so that customer questions are answered quickly.

When Not to Offer Holiday Discounts

Think carefully about your long-term strategy before discounting items during the holidays. If you’re positioning yourself as a high-end brand, it’s generally not advisable to discount a wide variety of products. You may just want to discount a handful of items that you wish to clear from your inventory. Or you may even find that your marketing strategy requires that you don’t discount at all.

Read more articles on marketing & sales.

Photo: iStock

What Does It Take to Navigate the Unknown? These Experts Weigh In

Expanding your business by exploring new, unknown territory can be intimidating, but the results may be well worth the risk.

DECEMBER 15, 2016 With a new year quickly approaching and potential changes on the horizon, it’s not uncommon for business owners to look ahead and wonder what the coming months will bring. If you plan on making some changes to your business in 2017, new territory may seem daunting.

While the unknown can cause uneasiness, at the same time it can be thrilling. After all, there can be a sense of excitement at what lies around the next bend. The truth is, great business ideas can come from forging into unfamiliar surroundings and scenarios.

“Rather than seeing the world as it is, successful business owners see the world as it could be and create opportunity by stepping into the space that isn’t yet created,” says Greg Head, CEO of Greg Head Consulting, which advises business owners on navigating the challenges of company growth. “They essentially make it up and then make it obvious for the rest of the world.”

The Benefits of Exploring Unknown Territory

“We naturally crave certainty, but that doesn’t exist in a competitive marketplace,” says strategic consultant Tom Panaggio, author of The Risk Advantage. “As a business leader, you must keep your business moving forward, and there is no way you can foretell the future, so everything is an unknown. At the same time, it’s important to remember that there’s a direct correlation between risk and opportunity. Those business leaders who recognize this fact are the ones who enjoy long-term success.”

When embarking on a project with many unknown variables, it’s essential to stay positive and not second guess yourself.

—Jon Sebastiani, founder, KRAVE Jerky

The unknown can be scary to business owners, but it can also open up endless possibilities, agrees Jon Sebastiani, founder of KRAVE Jerky. Sebastiani speaks from personal experience: He sold KRAVE and then launched Sonoma Brands, a consumer products incubator and venture fund.“The newness of the unknown can spark creativity and open up opportunities beyond what you could ever imagine,” he says. “When I founded KRAVE, people viewed jerky as a gas station snack, and the category was sleepy. Through embracing the unknown, we embarked on the jerky renaissance by elevating the snack and targeting new, previously untapped audiences. Now at Sonoma Brands, we offer the same insight to the brands in our portfolio.”

Tips for Making the Most of Uncharted Territory

As you navigate the journey into the unknown over the coming months and year, keep the following strategies in mind.

Manage growth. “One of the most important decisions an owner faces is maintaining the size and quality of the company while seeking the growth found in new opportunities,” says Alexander Joyce, president and CEO of ReJoyce Financial LLC, a full-service retirement income planning firm. “A successful company has a well-defined plan for growth that recognizes the uncertainties of the future and proposes proactive responses to potential situations.”Stay confident and keep your higher purpose at the forefront. “When embarking on a project with many unknown variables, it’s essential to stay positive and not second-guess yourself,” says Sebastiani. “As you move into the unknown, many decisions need to be made, and you’ll require a firm hold of your company’s core beliefs and mission to make them.”

Don’t be afraid of change. “Avoid allowing fear to compromise your leadership,” advises Panaggio. “Stay steadfast in your resolve to face the unknown with enthusiasm and a positive attitude, even if you are as frightened as a child in a haunted house. Don’t show it.”

Involve your team. “Employees are one of the best assets of a successful company,” says Joyce. “Share the company’s plans and allow their input, which is likely to provide you with viable suggestions along the way.”

Engage your employees as you forge into uncharted territory, agrees Panaggio. “If you empower your people to help with the planning and implementation of change, there will be greater buy-in and less fear about the unknown for everyone.”

Learn from successes and failures. View both the wins and the losses of the journey as opportunities to learn and grow. You can analyze the situations you mastered and those you didn’t for clues as to how to succeed in the future.

Read more articles on planning for growth.

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How Small Businesses Can Make a Big Difference Through Charitable Donations

Giving to organizations in need can reap all sorts of benefits. You (and your business) don’t need to give million-dollar gifts to have an impact.

DECEMBER 14, 2016 Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, plan to donate 99 percent of their Facebook shares during their lifetime. The couple’s charitable gift is a sizable one not easily matched by many, but it brings to the forefront how businesses of all sizes have the power to make a difference.“Small-business owners do not need to give 99 percent of their revenue like Zuckerberg to make an impact on humanity,” says Allison Maslan, CEO of Allison Maslan International and author of, Blast Off! The Surefire Success Plan to Launch Your Dreams into Reality. “We may not be able to give as much as Zuckerberg, but every bit counts.”

Charitable giving by small business is often the primary revenue of many local and even national-based charities, reports Kaitlin Hayes Reimann, co-founder of uBack, an app that makes donating to nonprofit organizations more accessible. “A small business may not be able to give millions, but it doesn’t take that much to make an impact. We’re working with several charities right now that are trying to fill gaps of $5,000, $10,000 and $20,000. These amounts, though small in comparison, have significant impact on these charities and the communities they serve.”

Benefits to Charitable Donations

When deciding if your business can donate to charities this season, it pays to consider the many benefits to giving.

“In addition to tax benefits, giving back to humanity is the right thing to do,” believes motivational speaker Terrell Fletcher, a former NFL player. “Charitable donations build goodwill in communities. When your business gives to the less fortunate, it makes the statement to your customers that they mean more than mere dollar signs. This shared responsibility builds a bond between business and community that will strengthen your position and build trust in your intentions.”

When your business gives to the less fortunate, it makes the statement to your customers that they mean more than mere dollar signs. This shared responsibility builds a bond between business and community that will strengthen your position and build trust in your intentions.

—Terrell Fletcher, motivational speaker

For small businesses, there are numerous benefits to giving, adds Hayes Reimann. “While the financial benefits are clear and tangible, it is the intangible, positive outcomes that motivate a small-business owner to support the local community, and this includes increased employee morale. Employees are happier and more positively engaged with their employers when they support charities they care about. There’s also a real sense of community that develops when a small business is tied to charitable giving. It creates engagement beyond the corporate walls.”

Giving back is not only smiled upon, it can greatly improve the bottom line, notes Maslan. “We live in a time of conscious capitalism,” she says. “By attracting loyal customers who believe in the same mission, small-business owners can quickly build a following. When supporting the community, they look like angels in the eyes of their customers, who want to buy from a business that shares their high values. Supporting a cause that aligns with the spirit of your business not only helps the charity, it creates abundance for your business as well.”

Charitable Giving Ideas

A little brainstorming can help produce myriad ways to donate. In addition to volunteering time alongside your employees to help local charities, consider hosting a clothing or food drive at your office. Look around your own company for those in need, suggests Hayes Reimann.

“We know of one small business that learned of an employee who was sleeping in her car, so they got her an apartment,” she says. “Another was walking five miles to work without transportation. They created a daily driver schedule to help him get to work.”

Cross-promotion between your small business and a nonprofit can also work really well, as it has between the nonprofit animal rescue organization, Kitty Bungalow Charm School for Wayward Cats, and the pet lifestyle boutique, Pussy & Pooch.

“This year, Kitty Bungalow has had a presence at Pussy & Pooch, including a kick-off of an interactive game that teaches the importance of spaying and neutering cats while raising funds for the shelter and encouraging sales in the store,” says Shawn Simons of Kitty Bungalow. “If you are a small business, find a local nonprofit working in a cause you care about or that connects to your business and create a donation program that will boost both audiences.”

Look for a symbiotic partnership that fits, advises Janene Zakrajsek, owner of Pussy & Pooch. “It’s always possible to give, even if it’s volunteered time or cross-promotion in creative ways. In our niche, it’s especially easy to work with animal welfare groups in a win-win, synergistic way, because we connect the dots between animal lovers in the community. We think of charitable donations as a local marketing expense rather than a write-off, because the goal is to increase reach. At the same time, giving feels good and is the right thing to do.”

Read more articles about customer engagement. A version of this article was originally published on December 10, 2015.

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Should Your Business Have a Paternity Leave Policy?

After Mark Zuckerberg took two months off to spend with his newborn, business leaders started asking whether they too should rethink leave for new fathers.

DECEMBER 09, 2016 Social media entrepreneur Mark Zuckerberg made history by embarking on a two-month long paternity leave. When he announced his intention to spend uninterrupted time with his baby, many applauded his decision.“It is courageous of Zuckerberg to lead by example and set the precedent that no job is more important than being a parent,” says Nick Haase, CEO and co-founder of mobile marketing platform Loot! “Even more impressive is the buy-in and support he has had from the business community and even Wall Street.” Zuckerberg’s unconventional decision was surprising, adds Piyush Jain, CEO of SIMpalm. “I have never seen a male CEO take paternity leave for that long before. He is a trendsetter sending out a message to businesses that fathers should spend more time with their newborns.”

Paternity (and Even Maternity) Leave Unusual

“In today’s constantly connected business world, it’s very unusual for someone in a position of leadership to take time off to vacation, let alone an extended leave for family time,” says Heidi Hanna, CEO and founder of Synergy and author of Stressaholic: 5 Steps to Transform Your Relationship with Stress. “Here in the U.S., we are among the worst when it comes to not using vacation time, and even when we do leave the office, our mental energy often stays with work.”Paternity leave still has a long way to go before mainstream acceptance, Haase agrees. “Progressive paternity leave laws are in place in Europe, and they’ve shown great developmental benefits to the children and families. While I’m not in favor of a paternity law, I hope companies will appreciate the importance of adopting policies that progressive tech companies like Facebook and Google have adopted.”

Consider flexible work hours, work from home and even small, congratulatory bonuses to new parents to help alleviate the stress that comes with a new child. Any gesture honoring the fact that they’re new parents goes a long way toward creating happy employees.

—Nick Haase, CEO and co-founder, Loot!

Benefits of Paternity Leave

Paternity leave for employees that allows for both parents to care for a newborn diminishes the chronic stress that can occur if one parent is at work worrying about what is going on at home, Hanna believes. “Having a newborn in the house is known for causing sleep and energy deprivation for both parents, which can wear on health and performance,” says Hanna. “Paternity leave allows employees to recover from the stress of being new parents, because even good stress can cause a negative response when we don’t have enough recovery. Employees are also grateful for the opportunity, which can increase engagement, loyalty and even future performance.” Ryan Shortill, founder and CEO of Positive Adventures, took paternity leave and says, “One of our core values at the company is family first. I love my family and wanted to be available and a solid support to my wife. This kind of support allows pure bonding with the new child and helps foster stronger family bonds. I have my whole life to work and only a short time to be with my young children. I was unwilling to accept possible regret. I do recognize that my choice was in the minority and that I had the option when so many of our nation’s fathers do not.”

Incorporating Paternity Leave

Offering paternity leave to employees can, of course, be easier said than done when you’re running a small business on a tight budget and within a limited infrastructure. “Paternity leave isn’t as taxing to big corporations as it is to small businesses,” Haase says. “Small businesses are put in very tough positions regarding leave, as each employee is likely a vital cog to operations. It’s because of these challenges that I feel the issue should be left to corporations, rather than made into law.” Ideally, every father could take one to two months off, but if you can only afford to give employees a week or two, then you should do so, Haase suggests. “If time off isn’t possible, consider flexible work hours, work from home and even small, congratulatory bonuses to new parents to help alleviate the stress that comes with a new child. Any gesture honoring the fact that they’re new parents goes a long way toward creating happy employees.” Jain agrees. “Small businesses may find it difficult to give paternity leave from a financial or day-to-day operation perspective, and finding replacement help can also be difficult, especially if your business is specialized,” he says. “If a small business grants an extended paternity leave, that means taking a big cut in business. When business owners and managers take a creative approach, however, they can find solutions, such as having other employees fill in for the employee on leave. A leave exchange could be created among employees.” The financial costs of offering employees even a short paternity leave may likely save you money in the long run, Hanna claims. “There may be a financial cost of paying someone to fill in temporarily, but the reality is that when most people have such significant change at home, even when they’re able to physically be in the office, their performance may suffer. Without adequate recovery, this may lead to chronic stress or burnout, which could diminish performance and ultimately cost the organization more over time.” Read more articles about benefits. A version of this article was originally published on December 3, 2015.

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Should You Give Your Employees Holiday Bonuses?

Many of your employees may be expecting holiday bonuses at the end of the year. But should they? Discover the benefits and drawbacks of offering this perk.

DECEMBER 07, 2016 If you have plans to reward your employees with holiday bonuses this year, you won’t be alone. According to the American Express Holiday Growth Pulse¹, a survey of 1,502 small- and middle-market business owners across a variety of industries, 80 percent of small businesses and 87 percent of middle market companies plan to give employees bonuses this year. “As businesses across a variety of industries anticipate a successful holiday season, the time is ripe to offer holiday bonuses to employees, when possible,” says Nicole Smartt, vice president of Star Staffing

and author of From Receptionist to Boss. “Bonuses are a tangible way to show appreciation for the hard work done all year.”On the surface, holiday bonuses seem like an ideal way to say thank you and inspire dedication in your employees. But are bonuses the best motivator? Considering the benefits and drawbacks may help you decide if bonuses are right for your company.

The Benefits of Holiday Bonuses

“Holiday bonuses are a tangible way to show care and concern for employees and their families,” says Shannon Esau, director of accounts and education for Rhonda Allison Cosmeceuticals. The company uses a performance-based reward system that results in bonuses. “We strongly feel that holiday bonuses are an important part of our culture as a company, as a reward and celebration for all of the committed and dedicated work over the year.”

As businesses across a variety of industries anticipate a successful holiday season, the time is ripe to offer holiday bonuses to employees, when possible.

—Nicole Smartt, vice president, Star Staffing

Year-end bonuses can bring definite benefits, agrees business coach Becky A Davis. “Holiday bonuses are a great way to share how much you value your employees and their contributions to the company metrics,” Davis says. “Bonuses give you a means to help the team to hit company targets and increase morale. When you’ve worked hard and [met] goals, it feels great to be rewarded.”Holiday bonuses can also come at an ideal time of year when employees have giving at the top of their minds, adds Colin Duetta, CEO and co-founder of xocial

, an online community that connects people and organizations with causes they care about and gives them a platform for taking action. “Recognition is a great way to keep employees engaged, and recognition that comes from the top is the most memorable.”

The Drawbacks of Holiday Bonuses

But offering bonuses to employees can have drawbacks as well. One of the biggest ones is cost. Even if you are doling out modest bonuses, they can add up quickly. Jealousy and resentment can also sprout up between employees if the bonus amounts vary. “Bonuses can also create expectations of future holiday bonuses, which may or may not be possible in coming years based on the revenue [and] income of the company,” says Jill Schiaparelli, CEO of InteloMed, which offers medicial professionals real-time analytics on patients. “That can be especially challenging for businesses.”Expectations regarding bonuses can be one of the biggest drawbacks to offering them, agrees Phil Shawe, co-CEO and founder of TransPerfect, a language translation service provider. “Once a bonus becomes expected, it ceases to become a motivator, and may become viewed as an entitlement.”Daniel Rieger, co-founder and managing partner of At Your Service Hospitality Group, agrees. “Employees can come to expect bonuses simply for being employed. This creates a lot of animosity from co-workers of employees who don’t deserve to get paid the amount of the holiday bonus they are expecting.”Giving bonuses without backing them up with performance can create lazy, entitled employees, shares Davis. She believes in giving bonuses based on performance, commitment and results. “I had a client who gave bonuses every year, even when the company had a bad year,” she shares. “When the company decided to change tactics and give bonuses based on performance and commitment, all of the employees were upset and angry, because they were used to getting free money, even if it hurt the company’s bottom line.”

How Much of a Bonus Should You Give?

While there is no exact science to determining how much to give for bonuses, there are some rules of thumb. Smartt of Star Staffing suggests examining company revenue from the first 10 months of the year. “If it’s been a good year, offer what you can, without breaking the bank,” she says. “Some businesses give a flat dollar amount to each employee, which varies by industry and profitability, with amounts ranging from $50 to $5,000; the median being $300. Use generosity in moderation, though. Being too generous in a good year can make for an embarrassing downgrade later.” And Esau of Rhonda Allison Cosmeceuticals recommends only giving bonuses to employees who have been with the company for six months or more. She also advises giving an equivalent of about 10 percent of annual income.

When No Bonus Is Best

When your company has a slow year, you may want to consider foregoing holiday bonuses. “If the company isn’t hitting its numbers, it doesn’t make much sense to reward people for poor results, and everyone should feel responsible,” says Matthew Bird, CEO of on-demand media and news communications company 1800pr. “Sometimes money isn’t the best kind of bonus, anyway. Constructive feedback and encouragement is sometimes the greatest gift you can give employees.”If you can’t afford a bonus of substance, Smartt suggests not giving one at all. “A cheap gift can send the message that employees aren’t valued,” she explains. “If your company is forced to offer no bonuses due to a bad year, be sure to communicate that fact to employees and assure them bonuses will be offered when and if possible. Non-cash gifts or other perks during the holidays can be a good alternative when cash gifts aren’t feasible. They might include extra time off or flexible hours.” When you aren’t able to give bonuses after you’ve been doing so in the past, you may get some backlash, Davis adds. “Expect employees to be upset with you and talk negatively about it in the break room. Some employees will focus on the good, but not all.” If financial rewards don’t fit your current situation, then come up with a holiday recognition program that does, suggests Duetta of xocial. “Get creative,” he says. “If something feels like it took some thought, it will have greater impact than simply receiving an impersonal check or—even worse—an automatic bank deposit. In lieu of a monetary bonus, an organization with a strong corporate social responsibility program could give employees paid opportunities to volunteer or run a social campaign over the holiday season.” Read more articles on hiring & HR.

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¹ Survey Methodology The American Express Holiday Growth Pulse is based on a nationally representative sample of 1,000 U.S. small business owners/managers, defined for the purposes of this survey as companies with fewer than 100 employees and annual revenues of $250,000 or greater, and 502 middle market companies, defined for the purposes of this survey as companies ranging in size from $10 million to $1 billion in annual revenues. The anonymous survey was conducted online among financial decision makers, owners and managers October 4-16, 2016. The survey has a margin of error of +/- 3.1% at the 95% level of confidence for the small business sample of 1000 and a margin of error of +/- 4.4% at the 95% level of confidence for the sample of 502 middle market companies. Sub-samples of small business and middle market retailers have higher error rates.

Can an Email Ban Help Boost Your Productivity?

From the distracting “ding” of notifications to constantly refreshing an inbox, email may be distracting. Is it time to consider a temporary ban?

NOVEMBER 29, 2016 Checking email throughout the day may seem like the best way to deal with potential Information Age overload. While some small businesses may view multitasking by responding to electronic messages 24/7 as a positive, others can consider constant electronic mental downloading a detriment. “There’s no doubt that many employees have become tethered to their electronic devices. Constantly interrupting our work to do something—anything else—disrupts our flow,” says Phil Simon, author of Message Not Received: Why Business Communication Is Broken and How to Fix It. “Great work comes from concentrated effort, not from snippets in between incessant emails and meetings.”

How Email Can Hamper Productivity

On the surface, checking email throughout the day seems like an excellent way to stay on top and productive, but the opposite actually occurs, notes Karen Leland, founder of the Sterling Marketing Group

and author of Time Management In an Instant: Sixty Ways to Make the Most of Your Day.“You’re hard at work on that top priority project when you get a sudden, uncontrollable desire to check your email,” Leland says. “Ten minutes later, you’re back to work on the project, but your former focus is gone. The essential problem with checking email throughout the day is that it amounts to a huge amount of self-interruption and multitasking, which impedes performance.” Checking email repeatedly blocks something that you wouldn’t at first think of as a bad thing, adds Josh Davis, author of Two Awesome Hours: Science-Based Strategies to Harness Your Best Time and Get Your Most Important Work Done. “We tend to check email at exactly the points when a little mind-wandering could profitably happen,” he says. “During mind-wandering, even for just a few minutes, a host of non-conscious processes occur that help you creatively solve complex problems, plan for the future and hold out for better choices. Constant email checking and the resulting required decisions drain your mental energy. The more we make decisions throughout the day, the harder we find it to muster the neural resources for further decision-making.”

I find my most productive work times of the day are from 7 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., so I stay away from reading and answering emails at that time and do so during other less productive periods.

—Randy Nelson, founder, Gold Dolphins, LLC

In addition to the decision fatigue from email, emotional exhaustion can creep in from dealing with excess electronic messaging, Davis believes. “Almost every email is associated with a social obligation—another person wants or needs something from you, and you can’t always come through, so you find it necessary to address these problems, which can be emotionally draining.” Instituting an Email Ban“If everyone knows there is an email moratorium, then there is no need to worry about the social obligations to respond quickly,” Davis says. “The length of the email ban for a specific small business will depend on the nature of the business. If your company requires a lot of writing or other individual creative work, you may want to have a day-long ban, while another company may find it most expedient to stop email for a couple of hours every day.” Taking a break from email can be an eye-opening experience, Leland adds. “When you ban email for a day or week or even just a few hours, you can discover how much and how automatically you rely on it. A break from email use forces people to communicate face-to-face and by phone, which offers opportunities to forge stronger relationships.”

Improving Email Communication

Chances are, banning email for extended periods of time isn’t feasible in the operation of your small business, but there are steps you might take to improve the use of electronic messaging so that it supports productivity. Consider these tips:

Stick to the facts. Remind employees to get to the point with emails and only include pertinent information.
Encourage phone calls. “Institute a three-email rule,” Simon says. “After three emails, it’s time to talk. This discourages ineffective conversations via email, which serves as a valuable business function, but was never intended as a Swiss Army knife, because it doesn’t promote effective collaboration and discussion.”

Phone calls tend to be a highly productive alternative to email, agrees Davis. “Unless a paper trail is critical, there are social constructions in place that reduce the degree to which people are likely to waste each other’s time on nonsense when they actually talk. They will think just a little harder about their use of someone else’s time.”

Batch email correspondence. To encourage productivity and allow employees to stick to their priorities, consider suggesting that they set aside certain times throughout the day to attend to email. “I find my most productive work times of the day are from 7 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., so I stay away from reading and answering emails at that time and do so during other less productive periods,” says Randy Nelson, who runs the coaching and consulting firm Gold Dolphins, LLC and is author of The Second Decision: the QUALIFIED entrepreneur.

Jason Womack

suggests setting up an “out of office” reply for 30 minutes a day and tending to top priorities at that time. “My auto reply announces that I will be working on a project during that time and to call me if it is urgent,” says the productivity coach and author of Your Best Just Got Better: Work Smarter, Think Bigger, Make More. “I check my inbox once the 30 minutes is up. When you do such short-burst focus sessions, in addition to improving performance, you look like a productivity superstar to your colleagues while sending the message to customers that you are able to prioritize your workflow, which proves they can trust you. This also gives your vendors the message that you’re busy and need them to be as efficient as possible.”

Institute an email policy. “Spelling out for employees when and when not to use email helps greatly,” Leland says. “Two specific times when it’s not a good idea to use email are for time-sensitive issues and delicate or potentially inflammatory topics. More emotional conversations rely on body language and tone of voice to get messages across. Email lacks tone or has tone that can be easily misunderstood. If the topic is sensitive, it’s best addressed with an in-person or telephone response.”
Wait. If a response to a message can wait an hour or two or even until your next in-person meeting, then wait, advises Womack. “Instead of emailing someone just to get it out of your head and into their system, avoid interrupting the person more than necessary.”

Being available should not be equated with being obligated, Leland adds. “Just because an email enters your inbox does not mean you are obligated to read it right away. You have a choice.” Read more articles about productivity. A version of this article was originally published on November 27, 2015.

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On Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, Business Owners Reflect on Successes and Challenges

For Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, 11 women describe what it means to be a business owner today, including the progress made and the challenges that remain.

NOVEMBER 17, 2016 Women’s Entrepreneurship Day gives women business owners everywhere a chance to reflect on the many strides women have made in recent years as entrepreneurs.As of 2016, it’s estimated that there are 11.3 million U.S. women-owned businesses employing nearly 9 million people, according to the 2016 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report, commissioned by and prepared for American Express OPEN by Womenable. These businesses are generating over $1.6 trillion in revenues. The number of women-owned firms has increased 45 percent since 2007.

“Women entrepreneurs are changing the face and landscape of the economy around the globe,” says Lisa Skeete Tatum, founder and CEO of Landit, a technology platform designed to increase the success and engagement of women in the workplace. “It’s important through events like Women’s Entrepreneurship Day that we celebrate and support this courageous network of women putting it all on the line to make a difference.”Angela Mader, founder of fitness lifestyle brand fitlosophy, agrees. “It’s [vital] that we celebrate [the] entrepreneurial achievements of women, not only to inspire other entrepreneurs, but to pave the way for the next generation. This isn’t about being better than men—or even being better than each other. It’s about being the best version of ourselves, not because we’re women, but because we are capable.”In honor of Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, a number of entrepreneurs share their views on what it means to be a woman business owner today.

Women Entrepreneurs Are Making Progress

“Women increasingly have a seat at the table by creating new businesses,” says Heather McDowell, founder and CEO of Tickle Water, a line of unsweetened sparkling water for children. “Women are listened to and respected more so than before. We’re often acknowledged for being superb at multitasking and having sharp intuition, which are qualities I believe make us stand out amongst our male counterparts. As a mompreneur, I am proud to have taken Tickle Water from concept to market in an industry that is still predominately male.”

Women are beginning to have other women mentors to guide them, which leads to greater confidence, less barrier to entry and overall greater success.

—Megan McEwan, co-founder, Jane

Rebecca Ballard, owner of Maven Women, creates and sells fair trade women’s workwear. She believes that women entrepreneurs are destined to add more to the business landscape than financial returns.“Women by nature tend to be social entrepreneurs, and they are poised to be leaders of the future by naturally thinking about how the companies they create impact people and the planet,” says Ballard. “Many women business owners are dedicated to how the products they create improve the lives of those who use them, as well as the people who make them. At the same time, these women generously support one another.”

Mentorship amongst women entrepreneurs continues to grow, agrees Megan McEwan, co-founder of women’s clothing e-tailer Jane . “Women entrepreneurs have made impressive progress in the past several years,” she says, adding that mentorship has much to do with those gains. “Women are beginning to have other women mentors to guide them, which leads to greater confidence, less barrier to entry and overall greater success.”

Improving the World on Women’s Entrepreneurship Day and Beyond

In addition to focusing on building their businesses, many women business leaders are equally focused on making a difference, adds Tina Hay, CEO and founder of financial literacy multimedia company Napkin Finance. “The impact of having more women entrepreneurs is that many of the fastest-growing and most innovative ventures are not only led by women, but are also dedicated to social causes and missions.”“My desire to succeed is fueled by the fact that I am passionate about empowering children and women to reach their potential,” says Sharon Blumberg, president of CHOOZE Footwear, Apparel & Accessories. “Our company’s social cause is to invest profits in organizations that help women in poverty, so that they can succeed in being entrepreneurs.”

The Top Challenges Women Entrepreneurs Face

While times are more lucrative and productive for women business owners, they aren’t without their challenges, believes Anna Spektor, founder and CMO of Expert Webcas. “Some challenges are just stereotypes of women being a weaker gender, less efficient or less capable than men,” she says. “While other challenges are real and come with the territory of being a woman, such as juggling a career and family life.”Balancing family life and the demands of growing a company is often women entrepreneurs’ biggest challenge, agrees Michele Mehl, founder and CEO of portable exercise bike provider Excy. “Supportive husbands help for sure, but it’s also up to us women to keep ourselves healthy and to strike a balance so we can be great businesswomen, as well as great mothers, wives, friends, sisters and neighbors.”Access to financing is another hindrance women entrepreneurs face, believes Ballard. “Women receive just a portion of the available financing. The data shows that investing in women is a wise financial decision, but we need more investors to put that in action. We would benefit from more investing that particularly focuses on women—from women’s investing circles to traditional financing seeking women-owned businesses.”

Advice to Up-and-Coming Women Business Owners

While established women entrepreneurs all have their lists of dos and don’ts, their top advice aims at encouraging fellow women business owners to embrace self-confidence and seek support.

“Entrepreneurship requires that you take a leap of faith each day,” says Ballard. “You can’t be certain that your business will succeed, and there are constant roadblocks that cause the need to pivot. The financial uncertainty can also be overwhelming. Many women entrepreneurs struggle with doubting themselves and are their worst critics. The key is to be good to yourself and set realistic expectations.”

Your network is one of the most important assets you have, adds Skeete Tatum. “Build your own personal board of advisors—a dream team in your corner. Such a group should have a mentor, a sponsor, a connector, a point expert, a close friend and an executive coach.”

Maia Haag, co-founder and president of I See Me! personalized books, believes that we will see an increase in the number of women entrepreneurs as young women start to see other women who have done it. “When young women see other women starting and running companies, they realize that this is not just a man’s game,” she says. “That realization shifts the conversation from ‘Can I do it?’ to ‘How should I do it?'”Mader finds that many aspiring entrepreneurs are often paralyzed by a fear of failure. “I’ll speak to would-be business owners, who have yet to take the leap of faith,” she says. “Any entrepreneur will tell you that you have to be willing to take that initial risk. Passion and perseverance are an unbeatable combination for success. When you realize that the only person you have to answer to is yourself, you’ll succeed as an entrepreneur.”

Authenticity can be a key to being successful, agrees Marti Wymer, founder and CEO of a Spoonful of Comfort, a comfort food delivery company. “I am thrilled by the number of women running successful companies, who are authentic to themselves. I think initiatives like Women’s Entrepreneurship Day that shed light on the success of female business owners gives aspiring entrepreneurs the confidence they need to start and run their own businesses.”Read more articles on leadership.

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12 Resources to Help Support Veteran Entrepreneurs

There are many organizations that are dedicated to helping veterans build their own business. Read on to learn of several options available to veterans.

NOVEMBER 10, 2016

This Veterans Day, as we honor those who have served our country, it’s a fitting time to consider how veterans can make particularly good business owners. The traits they learn while in service can translate well to the business arena. This is good news for former service members, who wish to become veteran entrepreneurs, and for business owners fortunate enough to hire them.

“One of the greatest challenges for service members is transitioning into the private sector when their military service is done,” says Jon Loew, CEO and founder of KeepTree, the operators of TroopTree, a free private video-messaging platform for deployed military personnel and their loved ones.“Veterans make great business owners, because the discipline the military has instilled in them, along with their relative calmness under fire, prepares them for the life of an entrepreneur,” says Loew. “Being able to adapt and overcome daily, dynamic challenges greatly improves the likelihood of success as a business owner.”

Veterans make great business owners, because the discipline the military has instilled in them, along with their relative calmness under fire, prepares them for the life of an entrepreneur. —Jon Loew, founder, KeepTree

Joseph Kernan, retired US Navy Vice Admiral and chairman of NS2 Serves, a nonprofit that trains and provides employment opportunities to veterans, agrees. “In the military, leadership is continually fostered until it becomes an ingrained attribute. [Service members] also undergo rigorous training programs to become experts in a wide range of skills and concepts that are applicable in a civilian work environment. Being able to adapt to changing situations is imperative to mission success in the military and, when transferred to the workplace, it ensures a highly successful [business owner].”

Programs and Organizations for Veteran Entrepreneurs

The amount of support for training veterans to reenter the job market and for those who wish to take the initiative and run their own companies continues to grow, notes Dennis Haley, co-author of The Leader’s Compass and owner of Academy Leadership, a leadership training organization.“The Veterans Administration has numerous programs and resources to assist veterans who want to be successful business owners,” says Haley.The following resources can offer further assistance for veterans who own businesses.

National Veteran Owned Business Association: Dedicated to creating opportunities for veteran-owned businesses, this organization offers a variety of assistance at the state, local and federal level. Assistance includes training and mentorship and information on how to obtain federal government contracts.

Heroes Linked: This organization connects veterans (and spouses) with private-sector mentors, who help guide them through the transition process, provide guidance and help them translate their military skills into business success.

SCORE/Veteran Fast Launch Initiative: This program offers veterans and their families mentoring aimed at teaching them to start and succeed in opening and running their own businesses. The SCORE Foundation works in partnership with major corporations to provide these mentoring services, which include a free software and services package.

U.S. Small Business Association: The SBA has extensive resources for veteran business owners. Veterans can get help on everything they require to open and maintain a healthy business, including creating a business plan, hiring employees and employee benefits. They also have Veteran Business Outreach centers throughout the country. And their Boots to Business two-step entrepreneurial training program offers a solid foundation in building a business.

V-Wise: Created for women veterans, this organization offers a wide variety of tools designed to teach what it takes to build and maintain a business. The educational training programs are taught by accomplished business owners.

American Corporate Partners: This nonprofit connects veterans to a wide variety of business leaders, who are there to mentor and give business-building advice as veterans ease into the civilian workforce.

Vetrepreneur Mentoring: This service is designed for veterans who are interested in starting their own Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned business. The mentoring services guide veteran entrepreneurs through the entire process, including enabling them to qualify for state and federal government contract opportunities.

Bunker Labs: A national not-for-profit organization created by military veteran entrepreneurs, this organization seeks to empower military veterans in leadership innovation. There are local chapters throughout the U.S. where veterans can experience educational programming, mentoring and networking that is designed to help them grow their businesses.

Honor, Courage, Commitment, Inc.: Founded by a veteran, who owns and operates his own business, this organization offers a 12-week entrepreneurial program for veterans. Participants in the course learn how to run their own businesses, and also develop a network of peers and learn from mentors.

Photo: iStock

How Veterans Can Play a Vital Role in Small Businesses

On Veterans Day, and every day, business owners can benefit from hiring those who have served—and our nation can benefit from more veteran-owned businesses.

NOVEMBER 08, 2016 As we celebrate and honor the men and women who have served our country this Veterans Day, it’s also good to note how many of those former service members contribute to our nation’s small businesses.

Jim Cragg is one of these veteran business owners. An Army Reserve Lieutenant Colonel, Cragg is president and CEO of S.O.Tech/Special Operations Technologies Inc., which he founded more then 18 years ago. He also provides jobs to veterans through Green Vets Los Angeles, a nonprofit vocational rehabilitation program he started to provide job training and employment for returning veterans.

“Our program provides at-risk veterans with meaningful projects where they produce products that provide them with a sense of value in society,” he says. “Our products have a social meaning, like reusable cloth shopping bags and challenge bears for children, but at their base, they show veterans that they have a marketable skill that is valuable to our society—the society that they are struggling to rejoin.”

I’ve watched veterans inspire and motivate teams in our workplace using leadership skills they learned in the military.

—Jim Cragg, founder, president and CEO, S.O.Tech/Special Operations Technologies Inc..

Cragg began helping veterans several years ago in response to the many challenges they face when returning to the workforce and to dispel the stereotypes regarding their ability to contribute to society.

How to Hire Veterans

“In Hollywood, the veteran is dramatized as the broken hero—the depressed isolationist or the abrasive drill sergeant—neither of whom a CEO would want to hire,” Cragg says. “We’ve worked to dispel this image and educate both the veteran and the potential hiring official about the leadership, accountability, presentation and hard work ethic that truly characterize the veteran worker. As a CEO, I’ve watched veterans inspire and motivate teams in our workplace using leadership skills they learned in the military.”

If you want to hire veterans at your company, here are some tips to consider:

Create detailed job descriptions, and consider using military language when doing so. Be clear about the job responsibilities you’re seeking.
Consider all types of hiring options, including part-time and full-time work, apprenticeships and intern work.
Familiarize yourself with military occupational skills that might correlate with the job you’re seeking to fill.
Ask applicants to share their military story, if possible, during interviews, so you can determine where their developed skills and experience would best fit in your company.
Find qualified applicants. Cragg suggests looking for veterans at your nearest Veteran Affairs facility, as well as local government veterans affairs offices. In hiring, he works in conjunction with L.A. mayor Eric Garcetti’s Office of Veteran Affairs.

The Path of Entrepreneurship

Many veterans also return from duty and open their own business. This may work out well because of their dedication and work ethic, says Cragg, who coordinated the Veteran Small Business Conference at the Bob Hope Patriotic Hall in Los Angeles, which attracted 350 veterans—more than double the number of attendees he expected.

“Veterans are likely to start their own businesses, probably due to a combination of learned leadership, a sense of community duty and a calculated risk-taking skill set,” Cragg says.

If you’re a veteran interested in entrepreneurship, consider keeping the following steps in mind:

Seek guidance. A number of organizations exist to help veterans start their own businesses, including the SBA-sponsored Boots to Business. Other agencies, such as Green Vets Los Angeles, list resources.Review financing options. Specialized funding, including SBA loans, may be available to veterans.

Consider government contracting work. As a veteran, it may make sense to consider government funded work, as Uncle Sam can seek to fill a substantial amount of contracts using small-business owners.

Look to your passions. Your interests may be your best indicators as to what sort of business would be best for you to launch. Look to your military training and ask yourself how you’d like to make your mark in the world, then create business ideas that stem from those answers.

Harness your strengths. You’ll likely soon discover that, as a small-business owner, you can’t be everything to everyone, so consider focusing on your strengths and then look to outsourcing or hiring to fulfill other requirements of running the business. For instance, you might want to get assistance for accounting and payroll tasks or information technology.

Read more articles about leadership skills. A version of this article was originally published on November 11, 2015.

Photo: iStock

Office Etiquette: How to Handle Employee Disputes in the Workplace

Differing perspectives can sometimes cause heated discussions in the workplace. Here are some office etiquette tips to help diffuse employee disputes.

NOVEMBER 04, 2016 As the tension of Election Day mounts across the nation, there’s a good chance that some of that emotion may spill over into the work environment. This may be a good time to remind employees of basic office etiquette should disagreements arise.

“Conflict is a fact of life, and it’s going to happen, whether we are comfortable with it or not,” says Mike Staver, author of the audio book and seminar How to Defuse Anger and Calm People Down. “Add politics or religion to the conversation and the heat and emotion only intensifies. The more personal the topic, the more emotional intensity is present.”Unique, individual perspectives may cause disagreements to occur, believes business consultant Debora McLaughlin, author of The Renegade Leader. “Values and past experiences drive our thoughts, feeling and actions. Today’s political field is a battleground deeply rooted in core values. Words such as trust, integrity and character have moved to the forefront of foreign policy, homeland security and taxes. When core values are violated, these emotions increase.”

How Poor Office Etiquette May Affect Productivity

While some discussion is to be expected, there is a point where conversations can become detrimental to the workplace.

“Because of our differing perspectives, disagreements are a part of being human. We see the world through our own unique lens, and most [business owners] understand the value of different perspectives, which result in innovative ideas and customer centric products or services,” says McLaughlin. “When politics spill into the workplace, however, that can affect performance, alliances and engagement. Because employees personalize their values, hearing another employee endorsing another candidate who does not project the same values can raise defensiveness.”

Remind employees it is okay to have differing opinions, but it is not acceptable for differences to impact performance.

—Debora McLaughlin, author

There’s a good reason why office etiquette discourages discussing politics, race and religion in the workplace, adds former clinical psychiatrist Mark Goulston, author of Talking to Crazy: How to Deal with the Irrational and Impossible People in Your Life. “People’s deep emotional connections to all of these topics often trigger individuals to become upset and make it difficult for them to stay focused on what they need to get done.”

4 Steps to Help Prevent and Diffuse Employee Disagreements

Business owners may want to take the lead when it comes to handling discord in the workplace and setting the example. These office etiquette tips can help minimize disagreements when they occur, and may help prevent them in the first place.

Acknowledge the stressor. One way to diffuse trouble before it starts is to let employees know that you are aware of the controversy, whatever it is. For instance, in regards to the election, Goulston recommends telling employees: “This election has been one of the most disruptive and distracting campaigns in decades. As a result, it has caused many of us to get away from the important routines we follow at work. The sooner we get back to those the better. I’m not saying you don’t have the right to passionately support your POV, whatever it is, but the more you compartmentalize it so that it doesn’t negatively affect your work, the better.”
Encourage empathy. Developing empathy amongst employees can be an important step to encouraging polite and productive communication in the office. “Empathy is the ability to step into the shoes of others, be aware of their feelings and understand their needs, and in this presidential election, there seems to be no empathy taking place at all,” says DeLores Pressley, CEO of DeLores Pressley Worldwide. “Empathy requires listening, openness and understanding.”
Make expectations clear. When discussions and disagreements negatively affect productivity, you may want to draw the line, notes McLaughlin. “Remind employees it is okay to have differing opinions, but it is not acceptable for differences to impact performance. When relating, encourage employees to eliminate the words “I” and “you” from their vocabulary. Instead, couch them to refer to the topic at hand, such as the report needs to be completed; the deadline is nearing.”
Instruct employees to practice good office etiquette, and walk away from disagreements. “The most important thing to remind your employees of is that…there is no discussing an opposing opinion with individuals ‘in their passion,'” says negotiations expert Eldonna Lewis-Fernandez, author of Think Like a Negotiator. “You won’t get through to them and attempting to have a viable discussion in those circumstances will end up making you crazy. Encourage employees who find themselves in an altercation to leave emotion out by remaining calm, which may calm the other person. Changing the subject may also work. If those tactics don’t work, then suggest they walk away.”

Photos: iStock

How to Help Protect Your Business From Today’s Sophisticated Cyberattacks

In light of recent attacks, cybersecurity is more important than ever. Here are some ways you can help prevent cyberattacks at your business.

OCTOBER 28, 2016 Think a baby monitor leading to a widespread cyberattack sounds more like a television show than real life? Think again. The recent cyberattack that prevented access to major sites, including Twitter, Netflix and Spotify, could be coming to a computer near you.The increasing sophistication of computer hackers and their methods means they are constantly taking new and different routes to attack computer networks.

“DDoS [Distributed Denial of Service] attacks have become more frequent. Due to the massively deployed secret botnets—malware running on computers all over the globe—hackers can release DDoS attacks against any target for a very low cost,” says cybersecurity expert Gary Miliefsky, CEO of SnoopWall. “Most new Internet of Things devices, from Smart TVs to baby monitors to your home wireless router, have weak operating systems, weak encryption and are easily infected with botnet code used en masse to perform these kinds of attacks.”

Cyberattacks Have Become More Sophisticated

“Hackers have learned that you don’t always have to attack directly to disrupt access to one or more e-commerce sites,” says Ronald Nutter, author of The Hackers are Coming…How to Safely Surf the Internet. “The recent attack involving Amazon and other sites involved an attack on a specific server providing DNS [Domain Name Server] resolution. The attack didn’t directly affect the servers providing the content, but it effectively accomplished the same result. Since the latest breach involved a DDoS type of attack, it presented an additional challenge, because the source of the attack was coming from multiple locations at the same time.”

In addition to the cost and effort associated with identifying the cyberattack and managing the effects of it, the potential damage to the business’s reputation among customers and potential customers [is just as disruptive].

—Eric Biderman, counsel, Arent Fox LLP

The higher the profits, the more sophisticated hackers become, notes Nick Nascimento, founder of the IT services company, Sentage Systems. He is trained as a HIPAA Privacy and Security Expert.“The new world of cyber criminals is more organized and actually composed of big businesses and groups that work together as well or even better than any legitimate business,” says Nascimento. “Hacker tools have become much stronger and their resources have begun to match and in some cases exceed the resources we use to fight them. It is truly a race. Along with the Pros [out for financial gain], we have to deal with all the “one uppers,” who create and post their tool on the internet right along with full instruction and even hosting options.”

Cyberattacks Can Be Potentially Disastrous

“The recently launched [attack] caused unknown dollar damage,” says Nascimento. “I have personally seen a DDoS attack cost an online electronics retailer an estimated $126,000 in sales in just half a day as it crippled their online catalog. Our company specializes in protecting medical and financial information, which is undergoing pressure every day. A breach in these areas and the resulting fines and penalties can put a company out of business.”

Cyberattacks can be damaging for businesses on multiple levels, adds Eric Biderman, counsel for law firm Arent Fox LLP. “In addition to the cost and effort associated with identifying the cyberattack and managing the effects of it, the potential damage to the business’s reputation among customers and potential customers [is just as disruptive]. [They] may no longer feel confident that their personal information is safe with the business.”

4 Steps to Help Protect Your Company from Cyberattacks

As a business owner, you can be the first line of defense when it comes to protecting your company against cyberattacks. Consider the following steps to preventing hacks in the first place.

Adopt a company-wide security policy. Very few companies plan a defense against cyberattacks. This is a mistake, believes Nascimento. “Have a set of security measures to protect your data, such as in the area of verbal communication and confirmation. A majority of penetrations we see are emails that are opened by employees, who admit after the fact that they thought things looked a little strange, but they opened the suspect emails anyway, and it was too late. A protocol that requires employees to call one another to confirm if an email has been sent asking for sensitive information can prevent a hack.”

Secure and update. “In order to succeed, mass attacks require that millions of users fail to keep their machines and networks secure and updated,” says Nascimento. “Stop hackers in their tracks with regular deep scans for malware, viruses and rootkits.”

Be proactive. “Harden your network by removing vulnerabilities, patching your system and start using real-time backups and real-time encryption everywhere,” says Miliefsky. “If we were all to do this, breaches would fail to cause damage or steal valuable information. Also audit your devices for common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVEs) and get a patch or reconfigure them to remove their holes before they become part of botnets. Look up your equipment on the U.S. government’s national vulnerability database to see what holes the equipment might have and for instructions to fix any problems.”Purchase cyber-insurance. To protect your company from economic harm in the event a breach does occur, consider purchasing cyber-insurance, suggests James Westerlind, counsel with Arent Fox LLP.

“A good cyber policy would provide first-party coverage to fix the company’s system [if it was damaged], as well as cover the losses of profit caused by the company’s system becoming inoperable as a result of a DDoS attack.”

When choosing a cyber-insurance policy, Westerlind advises that business owners consider the self-insured retention, sub-limits and policy provisions that specify how long the service denial must occur and the percentage of network unavailability that must result for coverage to apply.

Read more articles on digital tools.

Photo: iStock

The information contained in this article is for generalized informational and educational purposes only and is not designed to substitute for, or replace, a professional opinion about any particular business or situation or judgment about the risks or appropriateness of any financial or business strategy or approach for any specific business or situation. THIS ARTICLE IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR PROFESSIONAL ADVICE. The views and opinions expressed in authored articles on OPEN Forum represent the opinion of their author and do not necessarily represent the views, opinions and/or judgments of American Express Company or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries or divisions (including, without limitation, American Express OPEN). American Express makes no representation as to, and is not responsible for, the accuracy, timeliness, completeness or reliability of any opinion, advice or statement made in this article.

Is It Time to Hire a CEO?

OCTOBER 24, 2016 If you’ve built your small business from the ground up and now find yourself wearing so many hats that you can’t fit them all on your head, it may be time to hire a CEO.

“A CEO can manage the execution of the day-to-day tasks within your company, giving you time to work on pursuits such as sales and expanding your business,” says Piyush Jain, CEO of the mobile app developer SIMpalm

To determine whether hiring a CEO is a good move for you, it may help to reflect upon what gives you energy versus what drains you, suggests William Vanderbloemen, president and CEO of Vanderbloemen Search Group, an executive search firm for faith-based organizations.”When small-business owners find themselves procrastinating on work for the company, such as personnel decisions, forecasting financials and working on new and ‘broken’ things within the organization, and instead want to work on the concept and craft end of the business, then it’s time to think about finding a CEO,” Vanderbloemen says.

In addition to taking care of the day-to-day operations of the company, which gives you time to focus on the big picture, a new CEO can bring new management skills, insight and contacts to the table.

—Piyush Jain, CEO, SIMpalm

Benefits of Hiring a CEO

There may be several advantages to hiring a CEO, Jain believes.

“In addition to taking care of the day-to-day operations of the company, which gives you time to focus on the big picture, a new CEO can bring new management skills, insight and contacts to the table,” he says. “For instance, if you wish to expand the business and get work in a particular industry, hire a CEO who is well-versed in that particular industry, which brings those contacts and skills to your business.”

A new CEO can also inject fire into a business and engage employees who may have become lackluster. Alternate leadership can be objective about what isn’t working in the business, including employees, and use that insight to make changes that are good for the company.

Steps to Choosing a CEO

Vanderbloemen suggests the first step to choosing the ideal CEO for your small business should be to consult with a board or trusted group of business advisors about the timeline as to when you want to hire someone and the proposed compensation structure.

“Without a goal of when the organization wants the CEO on board, it’s easy for small-business owners to procrastinate or keep pushing the decision down on the priority list,” he says.

Vanderbloemen also recommends seeking outside assistance with the hiring process. “A transition from owner to CEO can be heated and emotional, and outside expertise like an executive search firm can help keep everyone on the right track toward a unified vision,” he says. “The board and small-business owner should also share the proposed timeline for hiring with key stakeholders and staff.”

A professional executive recruiter may be a good resource for choosing the best candidates, adds Lane Campbell, co-founder and CEO of June. “A key aspect of the hiring process is identifying what you want in the new CEO,” Campbell says. “Consider the responsibilities for the job and the characteristics that the new hire should possess.”

Challenges to Handing over the Reins

Not surprisingly, the biggest challenge associated with hiring a CEO may be letting go of control.

“It’s human nature to resist change, but the small-business owner must be intentional about trusting the new leader once he or she is on board,” Vanderbloemen says. “Let go of the way you’ve always done things and be open to changes the new leader will bring. This might mean a shift in vision or even some staff turnover. Change is never easy, but your team will be watching you to see how you react to it.”

It may help to keep in mind that the CEO sets the vision now, not you, Campbell notes. “If you truly want to set the vision, consider hiring a COO to run the day-to-day aspects of the business and you remain the CEO.”

Policy changes are likely with a new CEO, and this may also be difficult to handle, Jain believes. “New CEOs often like to change the way things are done and may even alter the hierarchy within the company,” he says.

Transition Gradually

To make the changes within your company more palatable for you and your employees, Jain suggests taking a slow, measured approach to the transition.

“Have employees gradually begin reporting to the new CEO and remember that you won’t be able to show all your policies and the ins and outs of working for your various clients to the CEO immediately,” he says. “There are even some aspects of the business, like financials and trade secrets, that you don’t want to relinquish control of initially or perhaps ever.”

Read more articles about leadership skills. A version of this article was originally published on October 21, 2015.

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What Steps Can You Take to Help Protect Your Team From Workplace Injuries?

How you approach the topic of workplace injuries can have a profound effect on the likelihood of accidents and the speed at which injured employees return.

OCTOBER 21, 2016 A 2016 U.S. Department of Labor report recently revealed some unfortunate realities when it comes to workplace injuries. According to the report, when American workers are injured, they’re at risk of becoming economically disadvantaged. This is because many state workers’ compensation systems are falling short and failing to provide adequate benefits when accidents occur.While you probably can’t singlehandedly change the system, you can try to prevent injuries from happening in the first place in your own company. And when accidents do occur, you can help minimize the financial risks to employees by seeing that they get back on the job as soon as possible.

“Injury prevention is a top concern for any small business owner,” says Laura Putnam, author of Workplace Wellness That Works. “Occupational safety, for organizations of all sizes, has largely been defined as a matter of training and enforcement of rules, despite evidence to suggest that it runs much deeper.”

Putnam believes the key to helping prevent workplace injuries—and minimize their negative effects on employees—is to take the focus away from injuries and focus instead on wellness and safety.

Promote Health and Safety

“Congress passed the Health and Safety Act, not the Health or Safety Act. As the name rightly suggests, health and safety go hand in hand,” says Putnam, who is also CEO and founder of Motion Infusion. “By integrating health promotion efforts and safety into the workplace, you enhance the overall workplace culture, which reduces health and safety-related risks, while increasing engagement.”

Your efforts to help employees start working again may help send a message to the rest of the staff: If they are injured at any point, you’ll do what you can to get them back on the job in a timely manner.

The truth is that poor health leads to what is known as “presenteeism,” says Putnam. “This occurs when an employee is at work, but out of it. Presenteeism puts employees at grave risk in regards to their safety.”

Promoting health can also help speed up recovery time when workplace injuries occur. “A healthy worker is more likely to recover more quickly than a less healthy worker,” says Putnam.

Foster a Shared Sense of Ownership

A knee-jerk response to workplace injuries may be blaming the employee for carelessness and clamp down with “no go” rules, believes Putnam.

“Such negative, penalizing responses are not effective. Rather than imposing rules and training that feels punitive, the real solution lies in devising ways to instill a sense of shared ownership among employees,” she says. “The reality is that most workers already know the safety rules, along with the consequences of not following them. And, yet, injuries caused by noncompliance are far too common. Therefore, a small-business owner would be wise to devise ways to replace a top-down ‘do this or else’ approach with a shared sense of ownership.”

Fostering camaraderie in the workplace can help promote a shared sense of ownership. At one Swedish-based construction company, for example, “workers don hard hats that feature their family photos,” says Putnam. “These images drive home the message that safety on the job is about returning home safely to one’s family.” In a sense, that family is also part of the workplace, so staying safe on the job can mean staying safe for the good of the entire company.

Show Authentic Concern

“Occupational injuries and safety-related fatalities may be less a matter of behaviors per se, and more a matter of the conditions that lead to these risky behaviors in the first place,” says Putnam. “A key factor is perceived organizational support, or the extent to which employees feel that their employer authentically cares about them. Employees’ perceptions of the extent to which they feel that they are valued by and cared for by their organization can have an enormous impact on issues like engagement, presenteeism and safety. [It] can go a long way toward avoiding accidents and injuries in the first place.”

One way business owners can show concern is by advising employees of their rights under workers’ compensation laws. This can be based on the assistance generally given by your state, including the potential financial and medical help they can expect if an injury occurs. This information can help them make decisions about their personal health insurance in case they need to use their medical insurance to get adequate medical care in the event that their state’s workers’ compensation isn’t sufficient.

Set up Conditions for a Speedy Re-entry to the Workforce

Setting up conditions so that your employees get back on the job as soon as possible can have a variety of benefits. Doing what you can to ensure a speedy re-entry into the workforce can be good for the employee—and his or her bank account. It can also help boost morale and contribute to a positive company culture.

When workplace injuries occur, consider encouraging injured employees to follow the steps necessary to receive workers’ compensation and medical assistance.
Check in on a regular basis to see how the recovery is progressing. Keeping an open dialogue with your injured employee can help you show your concern and make it clear that you are only a phone call away if help is needed.
Let them know that there is no rush. Stress that his or her welfare comes first and the employee should only return when he or she feels strong and capable enough to perform duties safely and efficiently.
Allow the employee to ease back into work. Consider having the employee return on a part-time basis for the first few weeks.

Read more articles on hiring & HR.

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3 Time-Tested Tips to Help With Recruiting New Employees

Attracting highly qualified employees is no easy task. Consider trying these strategies for recruiting new employees for your staff.

OCTOBER 13, 2016 Business owners know that employees can be a business’s lifeblood. High-quality workers who understand your company’s mission and strive to do their absolute best can help drive your success—which makes the topic of recruiting new employees an important one for business owners.

This very issue was covered at the HR Technology Conference held October 10-13. The conference covered new and time-tested methods of recruiting new employees, which is especially helpful as the pursuit of the best and brightest can be challenging for small and even large businesses, believes Scott Wintrip, author of the upcoming book High Velocity Hiring: How to Hire Top Talent in an Instant.

Talent Shortage

“An ongoing talent shortage is pervasive across all industries,” says Wintrip. “Having been involved in hiring for more than three decades, I’ve watched both small and large companies struggle to fill open jobs in good and bad economic times. There have never been enough qualified candidates to go around, and ongoing innovations will continue to constantly create a vacuum for new skills. As globalization increases, borders will matter less, creating a talent competition unlike anything we’ve seen before.”

To lure top talent, it’s imperative that your business has a strong employment brand that showcases your culture.

—Adam Robinson, founder and CEO, Hireology

Emily White, co-founder of Dreamfuel and Whitesmith Entertainment, agrees. “Currently, we are in a time of low unemployment, but even when those numbers are high, it is crucial that businesses recruit for the right fit, both for the company and employees,” says White, author of Interning 101. “When a small business doesn’t have effective recruiting methods, they are hurting themselves in both the short and long term by spinning wheels and wasting time and energy with folks who aren’t the right fit for the company.”

Tips for Recruiting New Employees

Adopting a powerful hiring process and more effective recruiting methods can go a long way toward ensuring that you hire the absolute best. “The old way of hiring—keeping a job open until the right person shows up—doesn’t work,” says Wintrip. “Instead, small business must engage in the new way of recruiting and hiring—cultivating top talent until the right job shows up.”

Adam Robinson, founder and CEO of Hireology, suggests business owners avoid waiting until they’re in a critical situation to begin the recruiting process. “Have the discipline as the leader of the business to spend at least 10 percent of your time each week on building a network of potential hires,” he says.Robinson and other business experts suggest keeping the following tips in mind when recruiting new employees.

Pay attention to your public presence. “By being active on social media, as well as keeping your website up to date, you attract candidates who are already drawn to and potentially passionate about what your company has going on,” says Robinson, who adds he prefers job candidates who apply based on an interest in the company.

“To lure top talent, it’s imperative that your business has a strong employment brand that showcases your culture,” he continues. “If a highly sought after candidate is deciding between multiple companies, and the work and salary are equal, that person is going to learn a great deal about what you have going on or not by researching your social media and web presence, so make sure to showcase what your company has to offer. Share what you can through social media and your website to appeal to candidates you are recruiting, or better yet, candidates [who] come to you because of your online presence.”

Ask for referrals. “Referrals have always been the most potent talent stream. Current employees, along with their family and friends, can connect you to thousands,” says White.

She also suggests not limiting your scope when asking for referrals. “Rather than just asking for names of those who are currently looking for jobs, ask for referrals to any qualified individuals, even if they aren’t interested, as they may be interested in changing jobs or know other talented individuals.”

Offer the potential for meaningful work. “Many employees report being tired of working in jobs that don’t give them a chance to use their natural abilities,” says Kathy Kolbe, chairman and chief creative officer of Kolbe Corp, and author of Business Is Business. “Such employees want purpose in their lives—not just a paycheck. Those small-business owners who can promise meaningful work when recruiting new employees will get more [promising] candidates.”

Photo: iStock

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Portfolio Categories: AMERICAN EXPRESS BUSINESS TRENDS AND INSIGHTS

Be Prepared

1. Set attainable business growth goals.

2. Plan for sustainable small-business growth.

3. Revise your business expansion plan as you progress.

Want to Dive Deeper Into Productivity?

Company Events Are More Than Just Parties

—Lior Rachmany, CEO, Dumbo Moving and Storage

1. Have a purpose.

2. Make company events enjoyable.

3. Celebrate away from the office.

4. Decide on a theme for your company event.

5. Find the ideal venue.

6. Touch all five senses.

Photo: iStock

Continue to Grow and Learn

Find Your Niche and Excel

—Heidi Jannenga, co-founder, WebPT

Focus on Communication

Expand Your Expectations and Horizons

Stay Focused on Yourself

Successful Women in Business Remember That it’s all About People

Photo: iStock

Visual Storytelling Is a Growing Trend

—Fauzia Burke, founder, FSB Associates

Social Media Engagement Becoming a Necessity

Avoid Intrusive Social Media Marketing and Overselling

Photo: iStock

Capitalize on Your Expertise

Determine Speaking Topics

Market Yourself

Negotiate Speaking Fees

Should You Speak for Free?

Photo: iStock

—Brad Deutser, president, Deutser

The Benefits of Working From Home

The Downsides of Telecommuting

Telecommuting Tips

The Push to Secure Data With HTTPS

—Atit Shah, head of security, WePay

Cybersecurity Steps You Can Take for Your Business

Promoting a Cybersecurity Culture

Photo: iStock

Signs of a Flickering Owner/Management Team Relationship

Tips for Reconnecting With Your Management Team

Photo: iStock

1. Encourage employee wellness by getting your team to move.

—Matt Geiger, co-founder, Blend

2. Incorporate standing desks into the office.

3. Offer fitness opportunities that promote employee wellness.

4. Promote relaxation as a part of your company culture.

Photo: iStock

Customers Want Free and Fast Shipping

—Craig Cleveland, director of business development, Jane

Should You Consider Free Shipping?

Photo: iStock

The Potential Positive Impact of Automated Delivery Technology

—Daniel Oh, director, EasyPost

Drawbacks of Drone and Robot Deliveries

Automated Delivery Can’t Replace Great Customer Service

Photo: iStock

When Decreasing Employee Benefits Can Be Necessary

—Heidi Jannenga, president and co-founder of WebPT

Encouraging Employee Buy-In

Embrace Conscious Leadership

Sharing Good News about Employee Benefits

Photo: iStock

Steps to Protect Your Business From Online Fraud

Employ best practices.

Secure all computer touchpoints.

Beware of spear phishing.

Employ the latest online fraud prevention techniques.

Consider legitimate customers.

Photo: iStock

1. Digital marketing is expected to grow exponentially.

2. Personalized marketing may take center stage.

3. Expert content may become the norm.

4. Video content will be king.

5. Retro marketing tactics may be an added bonus.

6. Consumers will expect unprecedented digital speed.