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This year, the first full week of October (10/3-10/7) marks Customer Service Week, a celebration of the “importance of customer service and of the people who serve and support customers on a daily basis,” according to the official website

“We live in a time of unprecedented customer choice and customer voice,” says Joseph Michelli, CEO of the The Michelli Experience.

“Perceptions of a company have a substantial impact on consideration and purchase decisions today. Flawed products, inconsistent service, a lack of price transparency, slow delivery speed and uncaring brand representatives make up a lot of the negative online reviews that drive prospective customers toward competitors.”Customer service is the new marketing, adds Micah Solomon, a customer service consultant and author of the Heart of Hospitality. “When you treat your customers well, it can generate exceptional word of mouth, or what I call ‘word of thumb,’ which is digital sharing and great online reviews,” he says. “This is every bit as powerful—or more so—than old-school marketing. Customer service is powerful for the converse reason, as well. Treat customers terribly, and it can be deadly to your business.”

Cost-Effective Marketing

When it comes to marketing efforts during Customer Service Week and beyond, customer service is probably the least expensive, yet has the highest return on investment, notes Jordan Edwards, president and CEO of Mixology Clothing Company, which operates online and has six brick and mortar locations.

“There are some marketing strategies that cost a lot of money, such as big advertising campaigns, new inventory or hiring top consultants,” says Edwards. “We’ve found that the ‘little’ things like excellent customer service make the biggest impact. One of our core principals is, ‘People do business with people who treat them well.’ Excellent customer service will always allow the best companies to stand apart from the crowd.”

Steps to Great Customer Service

In today’s market, where customers can scan products on their phones and find them online for less money, it’s important that business owners look in the mirror and constantly critique themselves. This can help them offer their customers the best possible experience, believes Jordan. He and other small-business experts suggest the following insider secrets to great customer service during Customer Service Week and beyond.

Say thank you. “Countless numbers of leaders with whom I’ve worked commit to writing weekly thank you notes to their staff and customers,” says Edwards. “These leaders have found this personal touch has significant impact on driving brand loyalty.”

Michelli agrees. “Say thank you to those employees delivering great service in your organization and to the customers who frequent your business. People today want to be seen, heard, understood and valued.”

Empower employees. “So many big organizations focus on driving down operating expenses and handcuffing their employees,” says Edwards. “Many times these companies forget what made them successful in the first place. We empower even our lowest-level employees to think like entrepreneurs. You would be surprised at how many customer service issues can be solved with empathy and quick decision making. We work with our team to make sure they know they don’t have to ask permission to make customers happy.”

Building a blame-free culture can help empower employees, agrees Solomon. “Employees need to feel safe trying new ways of serving customers, even if they don’t always work out perfectly. They also need to feel safe admitting their mistakes so they—and the company—can learn from them.”

Strive for a “yes” attitude. “If you and your employees can always start with a positive, can-do attitude, that begins every customer conversation on the right footing,” says Solomon. “This tactic also leads to finding creative solutions. The customer may not always be right, but it’s almost always better to treat them as if they are. What’s the point of proving a point to a customer, or ‘winning’ an argument?”

Be flexible. “Great customer service moves on the schedule of the customer, rather than just the preferred schedule of the business,” says Solomon. He shares an experience he had that illustrates this point:

“One especially hot July day, my kids and I accidentally arrived 45 minutes early at an ice cream parlor. The teenage employees busy doing their prep work saw us outside looking hot, disappointed and miserable, so they opened up for us in spite of us being so ridiculously off their schedule. And they did it with a smile.”

Hire carefully. When it comes to ensuring excellent customer service, judicious hiring can be beneficial. “You’re not just looking for employees with experience or particular skills,” says Solomon. “If they’re going to be facing customers all day, employees require warmth, empathy, teamwork, conscientiousness and a pleasant temperament.”

Apologize when necessary. Though you may strive to ensure customer satisfaction, you may have unhappy customers occasionally. Man Crates, a subscription box service for manly men, deals with this eventuality by using humor to cheer up unhappy customers, says Jon Beekman, the company’s CEO.“Our customer service team will occasionally produce ‘Mea Culpa’—It’s Our Fault—videos featuring warehouse employee Trevor. [The videos show] the team duct tape wrapping Trevor to the warehouse wall, and another where the team shaves his head.”

Examine the customer’s journey. “Look at the customer service experience from the vantage point of the customer,” suggests Michelli. “What do your customers see, think, feel, expect and need at each step in their journey with you? Where are they experiencing pain, pleasure and ease? What are the points along their journey that will cause them to stay loyal or churn, often called moments of truth? Ask frontline customer service providers in the company what can be done to help remove pain points—particularly at those moments of truth.”

Practice what you preach. “Staff members emulate leadership behaviors,” says Michelli. “If you are the leader of an organization that is not delivering great service—look in the mirror.”

For more tips on how to keep customers engaged, access 4 Growth Hacks for More Engaged Customers, with insights from CEO of Growth Hackers, Sean Ellis.

Read more articles on getting customers.

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SEPTEMBER 29, 2016 As you gear up for the holiday season, you may want to pay careful attention to back-end staffing. With online sales growing year over year, the behind-the-scenes landscape of your company may require extra focus when it comes to hiring ideal seasonal workers.

“At our company we can no longer ‘steal’ staff from stores to meet the demand of Internet sales during the holidays,” says Jordan Edwards, president and CEO of Mixology Clothing Company. “Today we plan our staff for the web and stores the same way, budgeting for our expected sales in all divisions and stores and staffing appropriately. This holiday season we will nearly double our web staff from last year, as the business continues to grow exponentially.”While online sales are still a small portion of overall retail sales, the numbers are impressive when it comes to the growth of e-commerce. According to the U.S. Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce, retail e-commerce sales for the second quarter of 2016 reached 97.3 billion, increasing by 4.5 percent from the first quarter.

“Online products cannot be delivered through the computer screen,” says Michael Houlihan, co-founder of Barefoot Wines and the Barefoot Spirit. “Such merchandise is subject to distribution, handling and delivery, just like any off-line products. Resulting pressure on a small business’s fulfillment arm will require more relief workers during the holidays.”To support the anticipated package volume increase, UPS recently announced  that it expects to hire about 95,000 seasonal workers for the period from November through January 2017.

Competition Stiff for Hiring Seasonal Workers

The shift in online orders may cause more competition when it comes to hiring, notes Nicole Smartt, vice president of Star Staffing. “As hiring shifts from traditional retail positions to those that support online shopping, we’re seeing a more competitive hiring environment around the holidays,” she says. “Macy’s, UPS, Amazon, Kohl’s, Target and JC Penney started running job ads recently. They’re now swooping up the workers who already possess the requisite skills. Those small-business owners who start hiring early will be able to better compete for already-skilled talent and/or have the time needed to train unskilled talent before the big rush.”Beginning the recruiting and hiring process right now is advisable, agrees business consultant Scott Wintrip, author of the upcoming book, High Velocity Hiring: How to Hire Top Talent in an Instant. “The shift to shopping online has created the need for more people behind the scenes. Businesses accustomed to recruiting and hiring customer-facing personnel are now competing with one another for employees who fulfill online orders, and that is straining an already tapped out talent pool.”

Tips for Hiring Effective Holiday Employees

Chances are the temporary employee pool you’ll pull from isn’t going to include many individuals who are well-versed in the specific work performed by your existing employees. That means rather than focusing on required skill sets, you may want to look for employees who are good team players, advises Smartt. “Look for people who will be high energy and enthusiastic, even in the face of long, draining shifts. Try to determine if the candidate is a fast learner by building into the interview a quick hands-on test.”

Wintrip agrees. “Small-business owners need to hire resourceful people, who are able to quickly change gears, because changes occur quickly and moment to moment for a small business during the holiday season.”

Hiring individuals who are able to relate and sell to the younger generation may help keep sales coming in and help your business remain viable, believes Peter Gold, chief digital marketing officer of SHOP.COM. “For progressive retailers that wish to reach a millennial, digital clientele, it’s important to hire holiday employees who walk the walk and talk the talk,” he says. “Temporary workers who understand how the younger generation shops, including their turn-ons and turn-offs, can lure in and sell to that generation.”A great way to help locate effective seasonal workers is to ask around. “Referrals have always been our most potent talent stream,” says Wintrip. “One person has the ability to guide us to many potential employees with strong ethics and above average skill sets. Current employees, along with their family and friends, may connect us to thousands. Every candidate interviewed by a business owner can be a source of introductions to colleagues and friends.”

Smartt also suggests checking with your customers for potential seasonal workers. “Keep your eyes and ears open for people who are passionate about your business and make them an attractive offer,” she says. “You can also give current employees a referral bonus to encourage them to refer talented candidates who would make strong coworkers.”

For more tips on building a strong company culture, access our exclusive guide by author and leadership expert Jon Gordon: Build a Winning Organizational Culture.

Read more articles on hiring & HR.

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SEPTEMBER 23, 2016  Businesses that offer great benefits may be more likely to attract better employees. But when it comes to providing employees with retirement plans that small-business owners can afford, options can be limited. However, that may start to change.

The recently passed SB 1234 California Secure Choice Retirement Savings Program  provides small-business owners in California with the ability to offer their employees and themselves a retirement plan that doesn’t cost the employer anything. If California governor Jerry Brown signs it, this new bill will provide employees with a portable, state-run retirement savings plan. Contributions will be automatically deducted from paychecks without a cost to the employer.“Due to changes in the economy, retirement has become an increasingly important factor for attracting high-quality employees, but many small-business owners have found barriers to offering such plans, including cost, time and paperwork,” says Mark Herbert, California director for Small Business Majority

“The California Secure Choice Retirement Savings Program [which will require companies with five or more employees to take part] will help address this issue,” Herbert continues. “Employers won’t have to set up the program, contribute to funds or take on any fiduciary responsibilities, which means small-business employees can start saving for retirement without significant burdens or risks being placed on their employers.”

Retirement Plans May Attract Great Employees

“The ability to access a retirement plan for employees is a relief for owners, because most want to offer a plan, but don’t have the expertise, time or resources to implement,” says federal benefits and retirement planning specialist Ann Vanderslice, who is currently investigating options for offering a retirement plan to her employees. “Small-business owners also know that given the choice, employees seek meaningful work as well as benefits that enable them to reach their short and long-term goals. A portable retirement plan is a win-win for the small business recruiting the best talent.”Cyber security expert Scott Spiro, CEO of Computer Solutions Group, Inc., notes that having an excellent team is important to running a small business. “We as business owners have a moral responsibility to take care of our employees,” Spiro says. “When starting out, this is tough, but having a competitive benefits program to offer prospective hires helps you compete for the best and brightest in the workplace.”

More States May Be Looking Into Accessible Retirement Plans

Though there is much to be done in this area, states around the country are looking into ways of using the efficiencies of public retirement systems to administer new types of pension plans for private-sector workers, according to retirement income planning specialist Alexander Joyce, president and CEO of ReJoyce Financial LLC.“In addition to California’s state-run retirement plan for workers at companies that don’t offer retirement benefits, Colorado considered a similar idea  in May [2016], but decided against it,” says Joyce, “and New Jersey and Washington have opted instead for programs with very limited state involvement. However, Connecticut, Oregon, Maryland and Illinois are moving forward with their own state-run retirement programs and are looking to California as an example.”

Options for States Without Formal Retirement Plans

There are other options available when it comes to retirement plans, but they tend to cost more, notes Spiro. “Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs) are certainly an option, as they can offer great alternatives for 401K and healthcare plans that are normally reserved for much larger enterprise firms. Another option is to simply go directly to a low-fee investment firm for 401Ks and other financial products.”

While programs like Secure Choice may help make retirement plans much easier for small businesses and their employees, small-business owners in states without similar programs still have options, notes Herbert. “Small Business Majority hosts weekly webinars  for small-business owners across the country who need help sorting through the various retirement options.”

Read more articles on hiring & HR.

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AUGUST 23, 2016 A wild ride on Wall Street may seem alarming. But the stock market’s ups and downs may be no different than what happens when you run your own business. It might not occur in the space of a week’s time, but small businesses may experience economic ups and downs on a regular basis.

“No business is immune to the fickle and unpredictable nature of a competitive marketplace,” says speaker and strategic consultant, Tom Panaggio, author of The Risk Advantage: Embracing the Entrepreneur’s Unexpected Edge. “All business climates are made up of a series of connected cycles, both positive and negative, that business leaders must accept as a risk and a cost for the opportunity to follow their entrepreneurial dreams.”

Tom Wheelwright agrees. “I have never seen any business that didn’t have ups and downs,” says the author of Tax-Free Wealth: How to Build Massive Wealth by Permanently Lowering Your Taxes and CEO of ProVision Wealth Strategists. “The stock market and economy in general affect all small businesses, because it causes customers to either hold on to their money or spend.”

While the overall economy may create some cyclical exposure for small businesses, most owners may be more in control of their destinies than they think, says De’Andre Salter, CEO of Professional Risk Solutions and author of Seven Wealth Building Secrets: Your Guide to Money and Meaning.

“Even in down markets, people spend money and buy goods and services,” Salter says. “Better managed and capitalized businesses are the ones that prosper during the downturns. It’s possible for small-business owners to come out ahead during downturns if they prepare for the ride. For instance, I don’t like rollercoasters, especially those with really big hills and drops, but if I know I’m visiting an amusement park, I research the drop, its height, speed, etc., so I’m prepared for the trauma that will inevitably come my way.”

In order to survive and thrive no matter the economic times, there are several things you can do to help keep your small business on course.

Always Keep Marketing

“Marketing is often the first budget that gets cut during a downturn, but it should be the last,” Panaggio says. “Cutting your marketing and sales is like turning off your engine in the middle of a car race. Let your competitors cut their marketing budgets and capitalize on their fear.”

When times are bad, don’t give in to the fear and turn off the marketing engine to save money, agrees integrated marketing expert Bonnie Harris of Wax Marketing, Inc. “Do whatever it takes to create as many income streams as possible, while getting serious in terms of ROI. Pursue less expensive marketing channels like online and content marketing and social media.”

Remain Innovative

“Never stop looking for ways to implement change, especially during tough times,” Panaggio says. “When things get rough, weak competitors will go into hibernation, and this is when creative business leaders make their moves. A couple percentage points of market share gained during a slowdown can pay huge dividends when the cycle turns around.”

Get closer to your customers in order to offer them products and services that best serve their needs, Salter advises. “When things are bad for the owner, it may be worse for the customer. So you must find creative ways to engage customers at a new level; understand their interests and help them solve life problems.”

Do More with Less

Small-business owners should become experts at survival tactics, Salter notes. “If you have to lay off employees, then keep the best, train them more, and pay them more to do more. The customer experience cannot suffer because the owner has fewer resources.”

Scaling back before you’ve lost too much is critical, Wheelwright adds. “Avoid throwing good money after bad. Business owners tend to try too hard and too long to keep employees and the business running as it was. Instead, regroup and look at how to ride out the storm. Laying off some longtime employees is better than going bankrupt, which doesn’t help anyone.”

Shave Taxes

Rather than inventory or employees, taxes may be the single biggest cost to a small business, Wheelwright notes. “We pay so much attention to production and employees that we often forget taxes are taking 50 percent or more of the net income from most small businesses. A simple plan of action from a good tax advisor can reduce taxes by 10 to 40 percent in a very short period of time. The extra cash flow from reduced taxes can be used for marketing, expansion and a well-deserved vacation for the owner.”

Maximize the Highs

When the good times come, and they will, use those opportunities to prepare for the long haul and focus on growing your business. “Be strategic and proactive and use the wave to look for ways to reduce expenses and increase profit margins,” says business optimization strategist Darnyelle Jervey, CEO of Incredible One Enterprises. “By running your business a minimum of 90 days ahead strategically, you’ll likely be proactive versus reactive to unseen circumstances.”

Whatever you do, don’t convince yourself that the boon is here to stay and spend all your cash. “All small businesses should maintain a cash reserve of three to six months of expenses at all times,” Wheelwright says. “A strong line of credit can also take the pressure off when the business has its downs.”

Be Straightforward

“Don’t deceive your employees, especially when times are difficult,” Panaggio says. “Employees are perceptive. Communicate the state of the company on a regular basis. When advised and included in the process of implementing change during down markets, employees become understanding and helpful. In the same respect, when things are good, reward them. Then they’ll stand by you and work extra hard through any market fluctuations.”

For more tips on how to help ease your way through tax season, access our exclusive guide, It’s Tax Time: A Business Owner’s Survival Guide.

Read more articles about financial analysis.

_{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.}

A version of this article was originally published on August 28, 2015.

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AUGUST 19, 2016 As we celebrate Women’s Equality Day on  August 26, we should take time to remember that mentoring and being mentored are keys to success for many women in business. It often takes a village comprised of outstretched and interlocking hands.

“There is nothing like a great mentor—someone who can guide you and provide honest, real-time, practical advice,” says Jackie Stone, CMO of MiMedia.   “Mentors don’t judge your thoughts, ideas or dreams—they help you achieve them. My mentors have guided me to new opportunities and pushed me to take risks.”

Sherron Washington, CEO of marketing and communications firm P3 Solution

, agrees. “It is an invaluable investment to mentor and support other women in their businesses and networks. Historically, when women band together we are powerful, inspiring and resourceful, achieving extraordinary feats that have changed the course of history. It’s vital for our success to advise, collaborate and promote other women to help develop the current, as well as the next generation of, women powerhouses.”For any woman who wants to build a successful business or advance in her career, having mentors and advocates who support your growth is important, adds Becky Davis, a small-business expert, consultant and speaker. “You can be successful without a mentor, but it’s harder and can take longer,” she says. “Creating a strong network of women who support you is critical. You shouldn’t feel like you are the first person to go to Mars without other women to direct, guide and inspire you along the way.”

Life-Changing Connections

Mentoring can be life changing, believes Amber Alvarez, executive design director of Fuze Interactive, a company that teaches kids how to code. “I was frustrated in my role at a sprawling company. I felt I had good ideas, but no one to listen to them,” Alvarez recalls. She met a woman in the company she admired in the elevator and met up with her for coffee. This meeting resulted in her landing her dream job.

“During the time I worked there, she coached me to greatness,” says Alvarez. “I never imagined anyone capable of such kindness. She reached down the ladder to help me up and changed my life.”

Kristy Muir Sevy, Fuze Interactive’s CEO and founder, has a similar story. “A managing partner at a big VC firm offered to help me craft my pitch, and people were amazed I got a meeting with her,” says Sevy. “She brought another woman, a CEO of a multi-million dollar corporation. They mentored me for more than an hour. This was a huge lesson that successful women genuinely want to champion other women, and that I should never be afraid to simply ask for advice. ”

Claire Roberts, CEO of Lice Clinics of America, echoes Sevy’s sentiments. “I would not be a CEO today without mentors. In every case, mentors have also been my toughest critics–they pushed me, challenged me and demanded the best.”

Mentoring can be just as rewarding as being mentored, adds speaker and CEO Shama Hyder. “I’ve enjoyed mentoring young female entrepreneurs, and I’ve always felt like I learn just as much as I teach,” she says as Women’s Equality Day approaches.

The Benefits of Being a Mentor

It can be important for women to mentor and support each other in their businesses and networks beyond Women’s Equality Day.

Vickie Brett of the Inclusive Education Project  and special education law firm Selogie & Brett  sees myriad benefits to mentoring and being a mentee. “Mentors are able to share their knowledge and experience with mentees in order to help them avoid the mistakes they may have made in the past, while mentees are able to listen and learn.”

“For the mentor,” says Marsha Friedman, CEO and founder of EMSI Public Relations, “I believe there is no greater gift than to be able to help others. For the mentee, it’s priceless having a mentor who understands all the facets of your life and has gone through what you are going through.”

Lauren Davenport, founder and CEO of Symphoni Media,  agrees. “As a mentor, you have the privilege of helping shape the next generation of leaders by sharing your experiences, advice, successes and network. Often unexpectedly, the relationship also benefits the mentor as the mentee provides a fresh perspective.”

Aurea McGarry is a TV show host, producer, director and author. She also runs Live Your Legacy Summit,  a women entrepreneur support event in Atlanta that’s in its tenth year. “I would not be the successful entrepreneur that I am today without a village of women,” she says. “Women have touched my life and taught me so much. I now happily pay that forward.”

What to Do if You Want to Mentor or Be Mentored

If you’re inspired by these testimonies or the call for action Women’s Equality Day inspires, consider these tips on how to become a mentor or mentee.

• Be vocal: “Don’t be afraid to speak as a woman and acknowledge the challenge of balancing a busy work-family balance,” says Jordan Gaspar, co-founder and managing partner of food and beverage investor AccelFoods. “Be an example of someone who is trying to conquer the challenge and isn’t afraid to admit it is hard along the way.”
• Be a sounding board. Listen to issues, concerns and ask the tough questions, says Davis. “Support doesn’t mean being a yes person; it means being an honest person with honest feedback.”
• Make it easy. “When you want someone’s help, make it easy for them to help you,” says Hyder. “Good mentors are often busy. If they can’t make time for coffee, offer to bring their favorite drink to their office so you can have a few moments of their time.”
• Show your value. “The mentor-mentee relationship is not necessarily one of just taking,” says Hyder. “Make it easy for them to mentor you. Ask clear questions.”
• Ask. “Most successful women in business are incredibly busy,” says Sevy. “I’ve found a direct approach to be most successful, so ask about advice and mentorship. Before asking, always know what you want from a mentor; otherwise it will be a waste of time for both parties.”
• Know where to look. “Find mentors in a wide variety of places,” says Nicole Smartt, vice president of Star Staffing.   “Seek out mentors at business and women’s associations in your area, nonprofit organizations, within your family, church groups, and even community groups, such as chambers of commerce. Ask questions, listen carefully and discover passion for what you’re doing.”

For more of the best insights from mentors at the Boomtown accelerator program, access our exclusive video series: Mentor Insights – On Your Schedule.

Read more articles on leadership.

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AUGUST 18, 2016 Some people believe that if small-business owners lived by the customer service adage “the customer is always right,” sales automatically followed. But times have changed.

“Customers have never been so empowered and that trend is set to continue. They expect anytime, anyplace and anywhere service 24/7, and the basics need to be done brilliantly, every time, without question,” says Terence Mauri, author of The Leader’s Mindset: How to Win in the Age of Disruption. “Millennials, in particular, have shifted from calling in for customer service to self-service apps or networks of support communities.”

Customer Service and the Millennial Mindset

The face of customer service is changing the most when it comes to the millennial generation.

“Millennials expect to be treated like royalty with effusive gratitude and appreciation for their business,” says Brett Glass, CEO of Gift Card Impressions  and the Gift Tokens™ app. “This is especially true in cases of poor customer experiences that may require a formal apology or gift to keep the business. The last thing a business wants is a scathing Yelp review from a millennial tarnishing their reputation.”

Millennials represent a huge shift in customer service and how business owners relate to their customers in general, believes William Chase, owner of Webtacular. “This generation really wants to be thought of as unique individuals and not numbers in your customer service queue.”“Because millennials are digital natives, their expectations for all kinds of experiences are colored by how quickly and easily things happen via an app or just a few taps on their phone,” according to Thomas A. Stewart and Patricia O’Connell, co-authors of the upcoming book, Woo, Wow and Win: Service Design, Strategy, and the Art of Customer Delight. “They expect everything to be as easy and impersonal as ordering an Uber.”

Keeping Millennials Happy

The following tips may help you respond to millennial customers and the current shifts in customer service:

React quickly. “Small businesses may have an advantage in that their size allows them to be nimble, so they can adjust or adapt their processes more quickly and easily,” say Stewart and O’Connell.

Always aim for happy customers. “No matter what your industry, mission number one needs to be customer service, or someone else will end up eating your lunch,” says Chase. “It doesn’t matter if you deliver on-time and on-budget. If the person writing the check isn’t happy for some reason, that customer is probably not coming back.”

Apologize when necessary. “Even a small token of apology, like a $10 gift card, goes a long way in making things right,” says Glass. “Our new Gift Tokens™ app, for instance, allows business owners to send quick item-based e-gift cards, like a movie ticket or a burrito, as an apology. They’re sent digitally, which millennials love, because they can redeem the gifts right from their mobile device. Such micro-gifting is easy and relatively inexpensive to do, yet these small, timely gestures can sometimes make the biggest impact on customer loyalty.”

Make a connection. “Your customers aren’t robots lining up to hand you checks,” says Chase. “You need to strive to create some kind of meaningful connection, or at least make them feel that your goal is to help them. Like the old saying goes, all things being equal, people want to do business with people they like, and all things not being equal, people still want to do business with people they like.”

Chase suggests using social media to engage customers—especially millennials. “Social media is such an important tool for engaging this group, and creating connections this way can really pay off in terms of customer loyalty.”

Differentiate yourself from competitors. “The experience companies give customers—at every touch point in the process—is something that has to be carefully and strategically designed so it can serve as a point of differentiation,” Stewart and O’Connell advise.

Design with service in mind. Consider putting design before service, advise Stewart and O’Connell.

“Great service is not a consequence of good intentions, attentive management and a supportive culture. In fact, cause and effect are reversed,” they say. “Service needs to be laid into the company’s keel… If service isn’t built in, no amount of goodwill can deliver it reliably and no effort can compensate for the lack of it. A company designed for service, however, will naturally display the behaviors—the intentions, attention and culture—good service requires.

“Figure out what experience you want customers to receive at every point of interaction,” Stewart and O’Connell continue. “Then make sure that the company is configured to deliver that experience every time, without heroics.”

Decide what customers you want and don’t want. “The fact is, you have the power to decide which customers you want and which you don’t,” believe Stewart and O’Connell. “Customers who routinely ask too much of you and your employees are customers you can’t reliably, repeatedly and profitably service. The bottom line is that the customer isn’t always right.”

For more tips on how to keep customers engaged, access 4 Growth Hacks for More Engaged Customers, with insights from CEO of Growth Hackers, Sean Ellis.

Read more articles on customer relations.

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AUGUST 16, 2016 Record-setting summer rains in drought-stricken California. Hurricanes in Texas. Tornadoes in the Plains, flooding on the coast. These are all sudden curveballs small-business owners commonly have to deal with.

“Just when you think things are cool, wham! A sucker punch,” says Peter Boni, managing principal of Kedgeway and author of All Hands On Deck: Navigating Your Team Through Crises, Getting Your Organization Unstuck, and Emerging Victorious. “It happens to outfits big and small. Sometimes it’s self-induced. The culprit could be lack of foresight and planning, or just bad management. Other times, external forces beyond anyone’s control can whack you.”

Catastrophic Events

“Natural disasters happen all the time all over the United States, from the floods in California and Texas, to the tornadoes in the Midwest, or hurricanes,” adds Bill McBean, author of The Facts of Business Life: What Every Successful Business Owner Knows That You Don’t. “Successful business owners understand one important reality from those owners who are just hanging on or have had to close their businesses. They understand that what can be controlled must be. And what can’t be controlled has to be contained.”

Natural disasters can’t be controlled, but adequate insurance coverage may go a long way to helping lessen the blow of the unexpected, McBean notes. “[You should] realize the importance of asset protection, that profits or sales would not be possible if the assets of the business aren’t protected. In reality, asset protection is more important than sales and profits, because assets create the tools and the inventory from which profits and sales are generated. Assets represent cash or credit already spent, and not protecting them is equivalent to leaving thousands of dollars on a park bench and hoping no one will take it.

“Always break down your assets into the controllable and uncontrollable ones,” McBean adds. “Then make intelligent decisions regarding all your assets in terms of how they can be protected after a disaster, so your business can survive to fight for market share when things calm down.”

Whatever you do when presented with a challenge, try not to go it alone, Boni says. “The realization that you can’t handle things all by yourself is tough for some small-business people to recognize, but it’s imperative that you create a crisis team to help pull you through. Reach out to your staff, advisors and vendors and ask for assistance.”

Other suggestions for disaster preparation:

• Consider developing a written, documented disaster preparedness plan and review it with your employees. You might determine how you will communicate with one another in the event of a crisis, and make sure the information includes emergency contact information for everyone.
• Communicate your disaster preparedness plan. Hold a meeting and run through potential disasters, where you might discuss your first and future steps.
• Determine chain of command. This may mean designating an employee to take over if you’re out of town and unreachable, so you have someone you can rely on steering the ship while you’re gone.
• You might share your plan with critical external contacts. If you rely heavily on outside vendors, such as computer support people, sharing your potential disaster plan with them may help them know what to expect and do if something does occur.
• Consider an alternative operation site. If a natural disaster strikes, you probably won’t want to have to scramble to find an alternate location. Deciding ahead of time where that will be may help.
• Back up frequently. Loss of data may be a small-business owner’s biggest potential threat. Backing up into a cloud, daily, may help ensure your data is safe

The Other Side of Disaster

When a storm has passed and your company is still standing, you may find it has made you a better business owner, Boni believes. “It improves your judgment and your confidence when you overcome the storms. And it builds camaraderie. Those scars of experience build character for you and your team.”

Surviving storms of adversity may also lead to increased business, McBean notes. “One company’s disaster can be another company’s road to riches,” he says. “Like the floods of California, destruction causes reconstruction, and those small-business owners who covered themselves adequately can expand.”

Whatever you do, it may be best to stay away from what McBean calls the hope theory. “In this case, small-business owners hope that unfortunate incidents simply don’t happen,” he says. “The hope theory destroys businesses, because the unforeseen and mismanaged always catches up with you.”

For more tips on expanding your business, access Business Growth: How to Survive and Thrive, from MSNBC’s Your Business.

Read more articles about strategic planning.

A version of this article was originally published on July 24, 2015.

Photo: iStock

AUGUST 12, 2016 Although online retailing has been around for more than two decades—Amazon was founded in 1994 —in many ways the industry is still in its infancy. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, e-commerce sales have more than doubled since 2007, but as of the first quarter of 2016, they still only comprise 7.7 percent of total retail sales.“E-commerce is still very much in major growth mode, because a majority of shopping is still done offline,” says Peter Gold, SHOP.COM’s chief digital marketing officer. “Walmart’s recent acquisition of Jet.com  is proof that the competition is indeed fierce and that those operators with strong value propositions and differentiators are well-positioned to capture disproportionate market share from consumers. Small businesses have tremendous opportunities to enter or thrive, if already in, the e-commerce space.”The e-commerce market is “hotter than ever right now thanks to the very low barrier to entry,” agrees Misty Starks, CEO of Misty Blue Media. “More and more people are discovering ways to make money online for little to no cost. With the mega success of companies like Airbnb, many entrepreneurs are vying to be the next big digital disruptor, which can be exciting for consumers, investors and the business community.”

Ways to Tap Into E-Commerce’s Power

Whether you’re a brick and mortar using e-commerce as an additional source of revenue or you’re completely online, the following pointers may help you increase your digital sales.

Bridge the gap between on and offline. “Offer the chance to ‘buy online, pickup in store,’” says Gold. “This gives customers the convenience of shopping online combined with immediate pickup in store.” Doing this may also help get them into your online store.

Offer online exclusives. “Brick and mortar companies can sweeten the deal by offering digital-only sales to drive traffic to their online stores,” says Starks.

“Along the same lines, use loyalty programs that provide existing customers with reasons to buy online and make repeat purchases,” adds Gold. “Cashback, loyalty/rewards points, VIP treatment, ‘the more you spend, the more you save’ programs are some great examples of this.”

Tie into local. Online small businesses can localize by tapping into brick and mortar merchants, suggests Gold. “SHOP.COM has a program that deals with this called SHOP Local. The program allows local merchants to opt into the program and tap into SHOP.COM’s massive customer base in each market. It’s a turnkey business program that drives new customers and incremental revenue without SMBs having to do any heavy lifting or digital marketing.”

Make shopping easy. Having a great onsite search and simple navigation may help your customers quickly and easily find what they seek. If you don’t have an easy to navigate or search site, they may go to a site that offers simple, fast service. “Use site personalization and product recommendations to be timely, relevant and contextual to each of your customers, because they are all unique,” Gold adds.

Provide great products and excellent customer service. The web is huge and the options appear limitless to consumers, so it’s critical that your products stand out, believes Gold. “If you can forge an emotional connection with your customers, even better.” And remember, “the customer is always right,” he adds. “The internet is a cold and impersonal medium, so e-commerce companies must compensate with superior customer service and hand holding. Being responsive is critical.”

Starks agrees. “Address customer complaints immediately and work quickly to resolve any disputes. As we see on a daily basis, consumers move quickly in leaving reviews and taking to social media to express their dissatisfaction with a product or service much more often than sharing a positive experience.”

Give customers assurance. “When customers shop online, they can’t touch the merchandise and are in essence taking a gamble,” says Starks. “Whether it’s in the form of a money-back guarantee or a generous return policy, help customers feel like the house isn’t stacked against them by standing behind your offer. Companies that are e-commerce only should keep in mind that free shipping goes a long way with consumers, especially around the holidays.”

Avoid excessive post-purchase emails. “Don’t bombard your e-commerce customers with tons of emails after they’ve made a purchase,” says Starks. “While it’s expected you’ll advertise some of your other products and services, no one wants to feel spammed with daily or weekly emails.”

Don’t sell your customers’ information. “This is the holy grail of don’ts,” says Starks. “People patronize your online business because of the great products and services you offer; not to land on multiple lists for unsolicited emails from other businesses whose wares don’t meet their needs.”

Read more articles about getting customers.

Photo: iStock

AUGUST 06, 2013 Before you officially open your doors for business, you begin spending money. Accuratelyestimating the startup costs of getting a new business off the ground makes it more likely you’ll succeed with your venture.

Determining solid startup costs requires careful analysis of a variety of factors. Keep in mind that every business is different regarding startup costs. While some businesses can successfully launch on a shoestring budget, others require a considerable investment to open.

Consider the following guidelines when estimating the startup costs for your business.

Research Potential Startup Costs

The most effective way to accurately determine your startup costs is to research what it usually costs other similar businesses to get started in your chosen industry. As you explore, find out how much money other companies spent to open the doors and to keep them open for the first 12 months of business.

Several means of obtaining information on startup costs exist. While there are websites containing valid information on startup expenses for your particular business that you should consult, you’ll require more than a virtual perspective to get a truly accurate picture. A skilled research librarian at your local library can point you to a wealth of information.

Trade associations are also a goldmine of data. In addition to having research available, they often hold trade shows you can attend that provide seminars on business-building topics such as startup costs. At such shows, you also have the opportunity to talk to other business owners. Speaking with successful entrepreneurs about anticipated costs is a particularly effective way of gathering accurate information.

Determine Initial One-Time Costs

Depending on your business, the one-time items and fees required to open up shop may add up to a substantial amount of money. Such costs are generally only required once, or periodically. They include expenses such as: legal and accounting fees to set up your corporation or partnership; logo and website design and implementation; permits; remodeling and improvements of the selected site; security deposit if you are renting the site; signage; furniture; and technological equipment, such as computers, printers, servers, cellphones, and initial inventory.

Some of these tangible expenses required to operate over the long-term, like furniture and equipment, are also considered starting assets.

Calculate Ongoing Expenses

Those monthly expenses that you continue to pay on a regular basis must also be factored in to your startup costs. Such costs include:

• Rent or mortgage, including utilities
• Salary, wages and benefits, sales commissions and licenses
• Dues and subscriptions
• Legal and accounting fees, insurance, taxes
• Advertising and marketing
• Manufacturing and shipping costs
• Website hosting and management
• Office supplies
• IT maintenance and replacement
• Inventory
• Working capital

This ongoing category also includes debt repayment of any loans, including the interest.

Project Out One Year

To determine your final startup costs, multiply your ongoing monthly expenses by 12, then add that figure to your initial one-time costs. This gives you your total necessary startup costs, which should get you through your first year of business, at which point sufficient profits will hopefully be coming in to cover costs.

Having a year of fixed expenses in the bank is considered prudent, although some entrepreneurs start with six months’ worth. The danger in this strategy is that after six months, you may not have sufficient revenue to support continuing the business, which could cause your business to falter. With 12 months’ worth of expenses in the bank, you have an entire year to focus on making the business a success.

Now that you know how much startup costs you’ll need to open your doors and stay in business, you can crunch the numbers and set an opening date.

Read more articles and see exclusive videos in OPEN Forum’s special section on Managing Your Money.

Photos from top: Getty Images,  iStockphoto

JULY 07, 2016 Now that the dust has settled regarding the United Kingdom’s unprecedented recent vote to leave the European Union, as a small-business owner, you’re most likely wondering how Brexit could affect your company in the long run. While the opinions vary as to the potentially lasting effects, many agree that the situation has presented small-business owners with a variety of potential challenges and lessons.

I spoke with several experts in the financial industry for their takes on how Brexit has and could affect small businesses. Here’s what small-business owners I interviewed said you should think about as you prepare for the rest of the Brexit fallout.

Change in International Business

There are likely to be changes for those companies that do business internationally, but not immediately, notes Rick Rivera, a partner of Safeguard Investment Advisory Group, which specializes in retirement planning.

“Small businesses dealing internationally must keep in mind that these changes may take up to two years to go into effect,” says Rivera. “The only immediate potential effect would be exchange rate concerns, but that is nothing new. This means there is no need to panic or overreact. There is nothing that is going to happen overnight that small-business owners won’t have time to react to if the need should arise.”

The biggest concern regarding Brexit will be that the U.K. would not be able to duplicate the types of trade deals it currently possesses with third parties, adds Willie Schuette of The JL Smith Group. “Small retailing businesses will now have to have separate European distribution; meaning lower margins and higher shipping costs. And new rules, agreements and laws will have to be rewritten and contractual agreements will be impacted.”

Long-Term Uncertainty

The Brexit vote created a situation that very few businesses had prepared for, believes Jeff Stibel, vice chairman of Dun & Bradstreet, which is offering complimentary access to business credit reports until the end of July. “Savvy small-business owners are waiting to see what this vote actually means versus reacting quickly, which leaves many small businesses exposed to long-term uncertainty,” says Stibel. “Businesses are good at operating in good times and typically have a plan for the tough times, but they are uniformly bad at operating in times of uncertainty. For this reason, many small businesses may be feeling vulnerable at this time.”

Long-term uncertainty regarding the effects of the Brexit vote does seem to be in the cards, agrees retirement income planning specialist Alexander Joyce, president of ReJoyce Financial.

“Being in the financial services industry and providing retirement planning solutions, we get a direct market indicator as to the sentiment regarding Brexit that plays a role in market fluctuation and volatility,” says Joyce. “The baby-boomer generation doesn’t like change, especially if it is sudden, directly impactful and out of their control. Brexit changed our long-term planning objective for some of our clients, as well as caused immediate change and/or modification in the short term. Our goal for each client is successful retirement planning, but so far in 2016 that goal is becoming harder to manage. Interest rates, as we know, are nearly negative. Brexit will significantly impact an already weak US economic growth.”

Potential Economic Disruption

Certain parts of Europe and Asia are seeing zero and negative interest rates, notes PBS TV financial show host Joshua Mellberg, founder and CEO of J.D. Mellberg Financial. “The United States is seeing more and more money coming over from Europe, because the risk is so high there and the interest rates so low. For our business, it actually helps us, because we focus on protecting people’s money, but if we continue to see bigger ripple effects here in the U.S. leading closer to zero to negative interest rates, that will hurt us. If you look at the UK, you’ll also see tremendous inflation that could potentially hit here, as well.”

Brexit could also significantly affect your acquisition costs, believes Joyce. “Wise small-business owners make everyday operations decisions not based off of assumptions or a conservative approach from questionable knowing, but by knowing the actual numbers,” he says. “For many small businesses the cost per acquisition has gone up or will go up. If your business is already struggling, this could be highly detrimental.”

What to Keep in Mind Regarding Brexit and Your Business

Don’t panic. “So far Brexit has been a non-event for the small business owner,” says Chuck Price, radio show host, author and president of Price Financial Group Wealth Management.

“Be careful not to overreact,” agrees Joseph Mallen, chief investment officer for Sawtooth Solutions, a technology-focused company that concentrates on wealth-management platforms. “There may be some benefits in the area of potential trade agreements,” he says. “I think the UK leaving the EU, especially from the U.S. standpoint, is going to allow the U.S. and the UK to negotiate their own free-trade agreement. That could actually be a benefit to U.S. companies in the long run.”

Build up cash reserves. Having sufficient cash capital as a small-business owner can be helpful. “When events like Brexit happen, the market will react,” says Joyce. “Depending on your profession, this could affect your marketing, bottom line and ultimately your operations.”

Avoid being blindsided. “Look at who your clients are, who your vendors are and how they all might be affected,” says Mellberg. “Determine if you will experience any ripple effects. It could be three to six months out, but don’t be blindsided.”

Always focus on customer service. “When a business has a loyal following, it can weather most storms,” says Rivera. “Always concentrate on what makes your business unique and what keeps customers coming back. If you’re doing all of the right things, chances are Brexit won’t affect your business.”

Read more articles on market research.

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.

JUNE 22, 2016 It may not be talked about openly, but employee poaching is an unpleasant reality. Take a look at many of today’s top companies and you’ll see them vying for the best and brightest workers.

The luring away of top talent may hurt any company, but small businesses may be especially vulnerable. After investing time and energy into training high-performing employees and coming to rely on their services, having them snatched away may be a devastating blow to the bottom line.

Unfortunately, poaching may be on the increase, believes Dan Prosser, author of Thirteeners—Why Only 13 Percent of Companies Successfully Execute Their Strategy—and How Yours Can Be One of Them. “The competition for employees in America, despite higher than reported actual unemployment numbers, is about to get worse, not better, and the companies who will win this ‘war for talent’ will be the companies who ascribe to the largely unrecognized relational values of the new world of work.”

For the small-business owner, it may not be feasible or practical to launch into a bidding war over an employee. And the reasons employees leave may be more complicated than money.

“If you try to address the symptom as most companies do by piling on more benefits and perks, you simply delay for a short time the devastating impact of the real problem,” Prosser says. “Engagement is what will allow companies to cement relationships with their most valuable employees, and it’s what most employees desire.”

Attracting and keeping employees can be a multifaceted challenge. Offer the following perks to your workforce, and employees may be less likely to leave for your competitors.

1. Provide Responsibility

“Give your employees permission to be creative in solving problems and even make mistakes,” Harvey says. “Share the company’s challenges with them and ask for their ideas. Then when they solve a problem, reduce costs or increase sales, acknowledge them publicly. The team will have more respect for them and want the same kind of acknowledgement themselves.”

2. Create a Clear Career Path

Identify the trajectory of each key job. “Employees worth keeping are always looking for new responsibility and want to know that there are next steps and that they are not in dead-end jobs,” Harvey says. “Make them part of a growing company where they see that as the company expands, insiders have the advantage in getting the top jobs. They won’t be so eager to jump ship if they can see what is waiting for them.”

3. Pay for Performance

Don’t pay everyone the same no matter how they perform or how well the company does, Houlihan advises. When you pay your people right, non-performers can’t afford to stay and performers can’t afford to leave. Recognizing performers with salary differentials can send the message they don’t have to leave to get what they deserve.

4. Institute “Stay” Bonuses

Match some portion of key employee salaries in an account that is at risk if they leave the company before a set period of time, Harvey suggests. “As the time approaches, offer to increase the contribution for a new extended term of tenure. This can be done with notes, stock options, cash or contributions to tax deferred retirement funds. The investment will be a fraction of the cost of losing a key player.”

5. Provide Flex Hours

Don’t let poachers lure people away with the flexible hours they require for childcare and personal needs. Wherever possible, consider using technology to allow remote work.

6. Focus on Work-Life Balance

“A small business can differentiate itself by creating a balanced life for employees,” says Josh Davis, author of Two Awesome Hours: Science-Based Strategies to Harness Your Best Time and Get Your Most Important Work Done.  He notes that while a balanced work life does mean less work, it can actually lead to higher productivity.

As part of a balanced life, you could offer employees time off based on how long they’ve been with the company. Consider extending sabbaticals to key employees. Adequate time off can keep employees happy and encourage them to stay put.

7. Stand for Something

In today’s world of increasing transparency, it may not be enough to have the best products or services. “Employees want to be proud of their company and what it stands for in the broader community,” Houlihan says. “Give them the feeling that they are making a difference, and they will be more likely to stay for social reasons.”

If you do lose an employee to poaching, you might treat the event as a learning experience. Determine what the other company offered in money, benefits and perks, and ask the departing employee why those things are preferable to what you offer. This may enable you to take proactive measures to reduce the likelihood of a reoccurrence.

It may also be best to bow out gracefully, advises Linda Losey, owner of the Bloomery Plantation Distillery. “Wish the employee well, and keep the door open. The possibility of paths crossing in many industries is very real. It’s all about relationships and preserving your reputation.”

Read more articles about HR.

A version of this article was originally published on June 18, 2015.

Photo: iStock

JUNE 16, 2016 It’s always satisfying to be rewarded for a job well done, and at this week’s 12^th annual America’s Small Business Summit, a number of SMBs were awarded for their contributions to the U.S. economy. Held in Washington D.C., the yearly event honored 100 Blue Ribbon winners and seven regional finalists, including the DREAM BIG Small Business of the Year Award finalist that received a $10,000 cash prize. (In order to be eligible for the DREAM BIG award, small businesses must have had less than 250 employees and $20 million in annual revenue in 2013 and 2014.)

This year’s DREAM BIG 2016 winner and Western regional finalist was SearchPros Staffing  in Citrus Heights, California, which opened 11 years ago. In a video  that appears on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce website, the company’s founder and other key personnel discuss how SearchPros has grown over the years and what has led to their success, including acknowledging employees for their dedication and hard work, focusing on continual growth and contributing to community causes.

Attended by more than 800 small-business owners and chamber executives, the Small Business Summit also featured presentations from a variety of experts in business, including Thomas Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; Kat Cole, group president of Focus Brands; and Allan Golston, president of U.S. Programs for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

4 Keys to DREAM BIG Small Business Success

DREAM BIG entrants were judged on four main criteria considered necessary to running a successful small business. These requirements enable companies to grow sustainably and “ultimately have a competitive edge over other companies,” according to Pamela Herrmann and Patty Dominguez, co-founders of CREATE Buzz,  an online training experience that assists business owners and their employees with developing customer engagement skills.

Here are the four elements required of the DREAM BIG-winning company and why these attributes are considered critical to the success of any business.

Strategic Planning

Having a clear business plan that outlines strategies and goals is one of those elements deemed a necessity by DREAM BIG. With planning, a company has a clear map that leads to success, believe Herrmann and Dominguez. “It’s imperative that small-business owners understand and have a good handle on strategic planning, because that provides the tracks to run on, which with focused activity ensures that the company meets business objectives.”

Creating a business plan is one of the integral steps a business can take to be successful, agrees Brett King, senior vice president of investments for Elite Financial Associates. “This plan includes how the business will be funded, which products or services will be offered and why consumers will want or need them, clearly defined responsibilities of the owner(s) and any employees and how future growth plans will be implemented.”

Focus on Employee Development

Staff training and a focus on motivating employees may be helpful in the continued success of any company. “Employee development is something that you must pay very special attention to in order to create an environment for employees to grow and thrive, which is critical to your business’s growth and success,” say Herrmann and Dominguez. “Investing in your people allows for your organization to become a go-to company for prospective employees. The additional benefit is the fact that as employee morale goes up, productivity also increases.”

The success and growth of any business largely depends on it’s employees, adds King. “Business owners can only do so much by themselves, so it’s critical that they hire the right personnel, train and develop their skills properly and provide incentives for employees to grow alongside the business. Happy, incentivized employees are far more productive and much more likely to remain with their employer longer. Having to constantly hire and train replacement workers is costly and unproductive for any small business.”

Customer Service

Customer-focused activities are essential to extending a lifetime value to your customers, believe Herrmann and Dominguez. “Developing a focus on customer experience insures not only that the experience is consistent, but it also leads to a heightened experience for the customer. The long-lasting effects of good customer experience create referrals and sustainable growth.”

If there’s one area that can set a business apart from it’s competitors, providing a great customer experience is it, notes King. “The best and least expensive type of advertising is clearly referrals from satisfied customers. Repeat customers are very likely to tell their friends, neighbors and co-workers why they should be supporting that business as well. Providing over-the-top customer service will free up business capital for growth rather than having to use those dollars for marketing or hiring other employee’s in the hopes they provide better service than current ones.”

Community Involvement

Giving back to the community is another positive for any small business that can show appreciation and support to the very people that have made the business a success.

“Community involvement shows that a company cares and is there for the long-haul, intending to remain a positive influence in the community,” say Herrmann and Dominguez. “There’s a level of emotional payback with community service that you can’t necessarily measure for a small business, but the positive consequences help lead to long-term success and improved companywide morale.”

If you’re interested in being considered for next year’s DREAM BIG Small Business of the Year Award, you can apply directly or be nominated. Consult with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for more details. Nominations are due in January.

Read more articles on leadership.

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JUNE 15, 2016 When your workdays are jam-packed, it can be easy for you and your employees to procrastinate the vital task of tracking expenses.

Tracking expenses is essential for several reasons, says financial advisor Eric Tyson, co-author of Small Business for Dummies. “First, you need to know how your business is doing, and tracking revenues, expenses, profitability, cash, debts, etc. helps you keep a handle on the financial pulse of your business. Second, you’ll need documentation of your expenses and other financials to enable you to prepare an accurate tax return. And third, if you’re audited by the IRS or state tax authorities, you may need the expense documentation to show them.”

Fortunately, in today’s app-driven market, there are a number of good mobile programs that can help you easily and quickly track expenses and receipts with your smartphone. Such apps are also an expedient way to get timely expense reports from your employees.

For budget-conscious business owners, the good news is, many of the apps are either free, free with an option to upgrade, or cost just a few dollars. Below are six expense-tracking apps:

1. BizXpenseTracker

Developed with small-business owners and consultants in mind, this app is quite comprehensive. In addition to tracking expenses and mileage, it also allows you to record time worked. You can customize categories and sub-categories, and it generates expense reports. The templates in the app provide the information required by your accountant.

2. Concur Mobile

Designed for small businesses whose employees travel frequently, this free app, available for both iPhone and Android users, allows for fast creation of detailed expense reports. You can track travel expenses and approve travel spending for employees, as well as book hotels and flights. The app can also link up with credit cards and import charges automatically.

3. Expensify

This free app enables you to keep track of business expenses, mileage and billable time. It offers receipt capture and can be synced with your credit cards so that expenses can be pulled in automatically. You can also use this app to scan receipts and create an expense report. It also allows for multiple expense reports that can be converted to PDF files. Mileage expenses can also be recorded.

4. Mileage Log+

If getting accurate and timely mileage logs from your employees so you can reimburse them is always a struggle, this app may help. Created strictly for tracking gas mileage, the app has a mileage log and IRS rates for reimbursement. The app can store frequent trips, so a simple tap inputs that mileage. Expense reports are easy to share.

5. Shoeboxed

This expense-tracking app lets you capture receipts and file them for reimbursement or as a deductible. Or, if you’re pressed for time, you can mail or ship an envelope full of receipts to the company and they’ll input the receipts for you, then send you an itemized list of your expenses in a digital file. The app works with both iPhone and Android phones and is free with a membership option.

6. Smart Receipts

Available for your Android device, this open source app scans receipts via phone and generates expense reports that you can email to yourself as a PDF or CSV file. PDF reports are tabulated, making them easy to read and appropriate for sharing. There are both free and paid versions.

One last note: While not every expense tracker caters to both Apple iOS and Google Android, choosing one that caters to both may help make expense-tracking even easier.

Read more articles on digital tools.

A version of this article was originally published on June 16, 2014.

Photo: Getty Images

JUNE 09, 2016  Small-business owners are aware that who and what you know can equal success. At the Small Business Expo in New York on June 9, 10,000 registrants will have the opportunity to attend seminars by industry experts and network with peers. The free, one-day business-to-business expo’s mission is to help SMBs achieve success.

“To be successful, it’s critical that small-business owners have venues, such as this expo, where they can learn and exchange ideas,” says Jackie Dryden, chief purpose architect at Savage Brands. “Peer-to-peer interaction is incredibly valuable. It can build skills, connections and confidence.”There are 14 Small Business Expos held throughout the country in major cities; Minneapolis and Seattle are the next stops. Savage attended the Expo in Houston. “I found the networking to be incredibly valuable,” she says. “I made connections that have proved mutually beneficial for years after the event.”

For the networking alone, the Small Business Expo is a “must,” says Alaina Levine, president of Quantum Success Solutions and author of Networking for Nerds. “The Expo provides a unique and unmatched chance for entrepreneurs to unlock new opportunities for business. Not only do you gain insight and advice about practical and critical issues that can propel your business forward, you also interact and network with leaders and potential collaborators who have access to game-changing business and career opportunities.”

Insights From Industry Experts

When you’re trying to grow your business, there can be a great deal of value in learning from successful business owners, instead of trying to reinvent the proverbial wheel, believes Patrick Stroh, president of Mercury Business Advisors. “With a forum like the Expo, you can quickly get a pulse on the market and obtain a plethora of ideas for your own business. While you’re focused on growth and innovation, which is a commotheme at the workshops being held at the Expo, [you can also] leverage and learn from what others are doing in their businesses.”

According to Levine, this year’s Expo agenda is diversified, providing information and guidance about many aspects of growing a small business. “Whether you want to improve your web traffic, hone your public speaking—and pitching—skills, or learn how to franchise your company, the Expo has something for small-business leaders who are in any phase of their career and business development,” she says. “I especially appreciate that there will be sessions on regulatory, legal and fundraising issues. These are often topics that don’t get discussed as much as they should in entrepreneurial forums.”

Ways to Tackle This Year’s Small Business Expo

In order to get the most out of the Small Business Expo, you may be able to optimize your time there by trying the following:

• Take advantage of networking events. “Remember that networking is not about ‘getting’ something from someone or mining someone’s brain for a job, a lead or a sale,” says Levine. “Networking is about crafting win-win partnerships that provide value to both parties in myriad ways over time.”
• Be an early (and friendly) bird. “Arrive early to talks and sit down near someone you don’t know,” advises Levine. “This is a great opportunity to network, especially for introverts, because there is a reason to speak with the other person. After you sit, introduce yourself, then reference the speaker and his or her subject as a way to get the conversation started. When the speaker begins, whisper, ‘It was great to meet you. May I have your business card?’ ”
• Leverage the exhibit hall. Rather than wandering around aimlessly, consider using the exhibit hall experience as a time to learn and make connections. Ahead of time, examine the list of exhibitors and prioritize the ones you want to visit.
• Don’t eat alone. Instead of spending your lunch hour reading email, you may want to “take advantage of the networking gold all around you,” suggests Levine. “If you see someone eating alone, ask if you can join the person. Chances are you’ll be invited to sit, and the fact that you’re both attending the Expo gives you something to talk about.”
• Use social media before, during and even after the conference. “Many last-minute changes to conferences programs (as well as supplementary events and activities) are promoted only via the conference app or on social media, in particular Twitter,” says Levine. “You’ll get useful insight that may not be shared anywhere else and will discover who the trendsetters and leaders in the community are. Retweet these individuals’ tweets to help establish and amplify your brand, and use social media to contact your newfound colleagues after the conference.”

For more insights on getting the most out of networking opportunities, access the exclusive guide, Networking That Works: Connect Your Way to Business Growth.

Read more articles on networking.

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JUNE 02, 2016 It used to be that there were only seven options when it came to top level domain names (TLD), or that part of the domain located to the right of the dot. (.com, .org, .net and .edu are the best known of the original TLDs.) But alternative domain extensions are quickly gaining in popularity.

Businesses can now select from many other options, with extensions such as .live, .reviews and .video, according to Bill Glenn, vice president of marketing for Rightside, a domain name registry. “New domain extensions are steadily increasing, and brands and marketers will soon see that these domains are a part of our online ecosystem.”

Companies such as Apple, Google and Dow Jones have embraced the use of new domain extensions. “The belief is that more descriptive and targeted URL extensions offer diverse benefits, such as better calls to action and enhanced branding,” says Glenn. “One of the newest domains is .family, which [was] announced just last month and has already been embraced by companies worldwide, including Amazon.”

Digital Identity Can Become More Multi-faceted

Ten years ago, a brand could rely on a single website to promote a product or message. “To carry their brand’s messages, today’s small businesses typically need a website, as well as profiles on third-party social platforms,” says Glenn. “The old approach of a single domain carrying your brand forward simply isn’t enough, especially given that these third-party platforms understandably put their brands first, like www.facebook.com/yourbrand. Brands that want a thoughtful, curated experience for their customers and audience need to take a creative approach and register complementary domains like www.yourbrand.live.”

Such complementary domains may help give businesses the ability to maintain more control over their brands and create a better experience for their customers. “Complementary domains simply means differentiating the URL through the TLD, while keeping the domain name itself static,” says Glenn. “The Los Angeles Times’ web properties are a good example of this strategy. They’ve split various pages into LATimes.video, LATimes.social and LATimes.news.”

Adopting New Domain Extensions Can Pay Off

With competition becoming stiffer when it comes to organic and even Pay Per Click (PPC) search results, it may pay to experiment with alternative domain extensions, believes Glenn. “Some of the most expensive Google keyword phrases are related to legal services. In March 2015, attorney Eric Block decided to forgo the PPC-heavy approach of his competitors and moved from EricBlockLaw.com to his current Jacksonville.Attorney domain. Within months, Eric saw huge gains in traffic and search rankings. Today, the site ranks as high as the first overall search result for keywords like ‘Jacksonville attorney.’ This is an example of how new domain extensions are a boon to search engine marketing efforts.”

There are a variety of reasons to buy new domain extensions such as .attorney or .accountant, believes V. Michael Santoro, co-founder with John S. Rizzo of InVidz, LLC and Vaetas, an online video marketing syndication network that helps users brand their businesses as an authority while generating organic leads from search engines.

“Get a niche-specific domain name, and you can track specific branding campaigns,” says Santoro. “It’s also a good idea to buy new domain extensions with your company name, even if you don’t use them, because domain jacking is a serious issue. A competitor can buy the available domain names using your business name and try to steal your traffic and leads by ranking the site for your business name in the search engines.”

For some companies, the push towards alternative domain extensions is purely economic, adds Jay York, senior digital marketing strategist for EMSI Public Relations. “Either the .com domain a company is interested in is in use or being ‘squatted,’ which could potentially cost thousands of dollars or more to retrieve. For other companies, the end extension is aesthetic,” says York. “Domains such as .co and .io are being used by developers, branders and designers to differentiate themselves from the standard .com extension and elevate their domain name.”

Other benefits of adopting domain extensions may include:

• The ability to create shorter and easy-to-remember internet addresses
• The opportunity to amplify brand awareness and make it easier for customers to access information about your company and its services
• Creating second-level domains for peripheral services and products
• Increased security against trademark abuse
• Offers new possibilities for online marketing campaigns

A Tip to Help Benefit from Domain Extensions

In order to help get the most benefit from adopting domain extensions, Glenn advises ensuring that the domains are complementary and not complicated. “The proliferation of new TLDs gives businesses a novel way to strengthen their brand while streamlining the audience’s path to reach them,” says Glenn. “Complementary domains simply mean differentiating the URL through the TLD, while keeping the domain name itself static. This doesn’t mean you need to create a new microsite for every new domain, but you always want to re-direct the TLD to your website, which doesn’t penalize your SEO.”

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MAY 20, 2016 Money may not necessarily make for happy employees, but as campaigns across the nation to raise the minimum wage may have indicated, the size of employee paychecks can be a major predictor of job satisfaction. Offering a salary that employees find competitive may allow you to attract and retain the best talent.

It makes sense that employees expect to be paid what they consider is fair. It’s often a challenge as a small-business owner to determine a fair wage so your employees feel well compensated, advises Jessie Seaman, a licensed tax professional and attorney at Tax Defense Network. “Determining competitive pay requires that you develop and follow a strategy,” she says.

Check Out the Competition

Start salary determination by doing comparisons of similar jobs in your geographic area, advises Tom Panaggio, author of The Risk Advantage: Embracing the Entrepreneur’s Unexpected Edge and co-founder of two direct marketing companies.

“It doesn’t have to be a scientific study or involve a great deal of research,” he says. “Survey temporary services, employment agencies and want ads to get a sense of what others in your local marketplace are paying. You can then offer lower level employees the same pay rate, and for higher level employees, use market comparisons as a starting point for salary negotiations.”

Such research is something employees may do themselves during a job search, so having your facts straight can help. Ideally, you want to avoid being asked during an interview why you’re offering less than the going rate.

Make It Incremental

The hiring and training process can be lengthy and costly for a company, with much expense on the front end and very little revenue generation from new employees, Seaman notes. “Considering the cost of hiring, it can be best to focus on retention. One effective way to keep new employees invested in your company is to start them off at the low-end of the pay scale, but give increases after 90 days, six months and nine months.”

Offering raises over time helps you determine how much an employee is worth to your company. “The incremental increases in pay during the first year will drive employees to ‘prove’ themselves and give their best effort all year long,” Seaman says. “In this environment, employees will want to show you that they are an asset to your company, and you in turn increase their wages based on their proven value.”

Reward Productivity

Panaggio advises focusing on what employees produce when determining wages rather than seniority. “Don’t give raises just because someone has worked for you a long time,” he says. “Instead, give performance raises, and pay salespeople as much money as they can possibly earn, even if it means they make more than top-line managers. I had a couple of salespeople who made more than me, the CEO. And don’t ever cut commissions because salespeople are making too much.”

While many employees tend to focus on fair pay across the board, Panaggio finds it helps to explain to employees that some positions in your company have wage ceilings, and the only way to earn more is take on more responsibility and progress within the company.

Watch Your Bottom Line

“Balancing wage levels with the financial health of your company is a delicate balancing act,” says Panaggio. “It can become a ‘chicken or the egg’ predicament. If the financial health of your company is suspect, then it may require you to pay more than market for better employees with the idea that maybe your financial problems are the result of poor execution by less than capable employees. And you have less than capable employees because you didn’t attract better ones due to your wage scale.”

Whatever you decide to pay your employees, keep in mind that you may not want to compensate them more than the job is worth to you. Salaries are business expenses, after all. They’re investments that should offer you good returns. Before offering someone employment and a salary or offering an existing employee a raise, it might pay to determine your absolute salary ceiling by analyzing the potential value that person can bring to your company.

Think Beyond Salary

The work environment often plays a big factor in employee contentment, Panaggio believes.

“Wages are certainly a component to a happy workforce, but not the only factor,” he says. “Create a positive work environment with employees who are informed by management about the state of the company, and they will be much more accommodating and accepting when wages have to be reduced during tough times. When times are good, give back to employees in the form of bonuses and incentives.”

Also remember that being a small business can be an advantage. “You will likely attract potential employees looking for something beyond the corporate structure,” Seaman says. “Offering something as simple as a special title can go a long way toward making a would-be or current staff member happy.”

Read more articles about hiring & HR.

This article was originally published on May 21, 2015.

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MAY 19, 2016 When you analyze what could threaten the bottom line of your small business, you may want to factor in common workplace injuries. A recently released study by Travelers Risk Control, which analyzed 1.5 million workers’ compensation claims over a five-year period, found that small- and mid-sized businesses represent 60 percent of total claims.

Workplace injuries can be a serious threat to small businesses, both financially and in terms of morale, believes Woody Dwyer, second vice president of workers’ compensation for Travelers Risk Control. “Roughly three million workers are injured per year in U.S. private businesses, and the rate of injuries and illnesses remains highest among small and mid-sized establishments.”

According to the study, the most common injuries at small businesses are strains/sprains and cuts/punctures, with materials handling being the single most common accident. “The average cost per claim for strains/sprains is $17,000 and $8,200 for cuts/punctures,” says Dwyer, who notes that small businesses suffer the highest percentage of accidents involving tools. “The costliest injury is dislocation at $97,100.”

Common Workplace Injuries Threaten the Bottom Line

The costs of common workplace injuries to a small business are three-pronged. There are the medical costs associated with the injuries, as well as workers’ compensation claims and potentially having to pay higher premiums as a result. Beyond that are the often significant costs associated with loss of manpower.

“For small-business owners, one severe injury can have a detrimental effect on what is most likely a small employee pool,” says Dwyer. “If a key employee is unable to work, it may be difficult, if not impossible, to find a replacement. The average days lost to a strain or sprain is 57. Almost two months is a long time to have a key employee out of commission.”

When it comes to spine injuries, the costs can be steep for a small business, notes Kamshad Raiszadeh, orthopedic surgeon and co-founder of SpineZone Medical Fitness, Inc. “With simple sprain/strain injuries costing approximately $17,000, and more serious injuries to the spine costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, spine injuries can significantly impact a small business,” says Raiszadeh. “Such injuries are also a major cause of lost workdays. For small businesses that don’t have a lot of redundancy, this can significantly impact their workflow and finances.”

Injuries can also put other employees at risk, believes Dwyer. “When you are short an employee, it will inevitably affect other workers. For instance, if you have two electricians on staff and one is injured, the other employee will have to pick up the slack by working longer days and weeks, which puts that employee at risk. People sometimes underestimate fatigue, which can lead to dangerous situations for some employees.”

Raiszadeh agrees. “Spine injuries also have a strong psychological component,” he says. “When a co-worker sustains a spinal injury, it can affect morale by striking fear in other employees regarding the potential of them also being injured.”

Preventing Common Workplace Injuries

One of the reasons that small businesses have a higher proportion of injuries may be related to the fact that they often don’t have an environmental health and safety professional on staff, according to Dwyer. “Because the business owner has a small staff, injuries may not be top of the mind, but they really should be.”

Brian Greenberg, co-owner of TouchFreeConcepts.com, agrees that it’s impossible to predict whether you’ll have illnesses or injuries at your company. “If you are a food service company, for instance, you aren’t immune to bacterium-borne illness affecting your products at any time, especially if appropriate precautions are not in place to vastly mitigate the risk. In today’s rapid fire Internet culture where even one slight mishap or moment of carelessness can go global in minutes, coupled with the litigious nature of modern society in general, doing your utmost to ensure the health and well-being of any person visiting or working at your business site is not discretionary—it’s mission critical.”

Safeguarding your employees and your business with a predetermined protocol aimed at preventing injuries and illness may be beneficial to reducing the risk of common workplace injuries at your company.

Know your exposures. You may want to look at the most common workplace injuries—and even less common ones—to analyze your risks. “If you have a meat grinder, considering that cuts are at the top of the list when it comes to employee injuries, examine your risks and the practices you have in place regarding employee safety,” says Dwyer. “Ensure that all of the safety protocol is followed without exceptions.”

Along the same lines, you may want to look for exposure in material handling that occurs within your place of business. The handling of material is the single most common accident cause among all small business claims, according to the Travelers study. “It’s important to recognize that moving materials within a business causes a significant amount of injuries,” says Dwyer. “This allows you to develop training programs to prevent such injuries.”

Train to reduce risk. A tailored training program for your business that addresses potential risks may be a good way to prevent injuries. Such a program could include very clear protocol for how to deal with safety practices in situations particular to your company.

When training new employees, keep in mind that 28 percent of injuries occur in the first year of employment, adds Dwyer. “Keep in mind that training is different than orientation,” he says. “Orientation is pointing out where the bathrooms and emergency exits are, while safety training is more in-depth. It refers to how to do a job properly and requires that you have trained staff demonstrate.”

Provide continuing education. You may want to consider keeping all employees up-to-date with the latest safety measures, advises Raiszadeh. “With an investment of time and education regarding spinal injuries and prevention strategies, for instance, a small-business owner can significantly minimize risk. Small-business owners can provide education regarding proper sitting techniques, including periodic breaks to stand and stretch and proper lifting techniques.”

Strive for positive employee morale. “Take steps to create a more relaxed work environment and you’ll have fewer injuries,” says Greenberg. “Calm and content employees are more likely to follow protocol, such as hygiene and cleaning procedures. Avoid the ‘tough it out’ mentality that encourages employees to come to work sick or push through fatigue, which only decreases productivity and puts other employees and customers at risk.”

Occupational safety goes much deeper than training and rule enforcement, believes Laura Putnam, author of Workplace Wellness That Works and CEO and founder of Motion Infusion, a well-being provider. “An organization we worked with experienced five safety-related fatalities in one year. All five workers were seasoned technicians who ‘knew better’ and yet had disregarded safety precautions at their own peril.”

Rather than blaming the employees, Putnam suggests looking at the overall culture of the work environment and the health and well-being of the employees, ensuring that they are truly “present” while at work. “A key factor is ‘perceived organizational support,’ or the extent to which employees feel that their employer authentically cares about them,” says Putnam. “When employees feel that their employer values them, this can have an enormous impact on issues like engagement, being present and safety.”

Dwyer agrees. “An engaged workforce is less likely to become injured. A Gallup study found that an engaged workforce has 48 percent fewer safety incidences.”

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MAY 06, 2016 As this year’s Small Business Association’s (SBA) National Small Business Week wraps up, I wanted to take a look at some of the helpful and inspirational tips and information that came out of this annual event. Held throughout the nation since 1963, this weeklong event offers plenty of opportunities to learn what is currently affecting the small business climate.

“National Small Business Week offers the opportunity to engage in a national dialog about small business and consider new trends and opportunities,” says Kurt Bilafer, global vice president and in charge of sales at payment platform WePay. He took advantage of various Small Business Week events, such as attending webinars, and found that “there is plenty to learn throughout the week about how to improve your business.”

Here are some tips and trends highlighted during Small Business Week that were aimed at helping you grow and improve your small business.

Focus on Financial Fitness

A firm financial foundation is just one aspect of a small business’ success. The webinar “Tips for Getting Your Business Financially Fit” was provided by the SBA’s SCORE mentorship program. Presented by John Shapiro of Intuit Quickbooks, the webinar discussed how understanding the financial condition of your business can be important to planning for long-term success.

Invest in Online Business Growth

No matter your business, your online presence may need constant bolstering. A variety of events held throughout the week helped small-business owners with the task of shining on the web. Google teamed up with small-business-focused organizations and hosted free workshops on how to grow your company’s web presence.

“Building a solid online presence requires embracing technology enabled platforms and leveraging their power,” says Bilafer. “These platforms’ speed of growth and economies of scale enable them to out-compete traditional businesses. Well-known platforms include social networks such as Facebook and Twitter and sharing economy apps like Uber and Airbnb. Any company that has a product or service or a business system they’ve perfected that enables other companies to better operate their business can evolve to become a platform company.”

Believe in Endless Possibilities

This year’s Small Business Week was especially encouraging when it came to opening a business today, believes Debora McLaughlin, CEO of The Renegade Leader.

“The week’s key message of ‘Dream Big, Start Small’ opens the door of possibility,” she says. “For the first time, anyone can be an entrepreneur. With the Internet, access to crowd funding, venture capital and the willingness of organization such as the SBA to offer assistance, small businesses can be started with ease. The traditional barriers of funding, research and marketing data and lack of mentorship are eliminated.”

Learn to Ask for Help

A far-reaching event such as Small Business Week illustrates how helpful it can be to ask for and seek out assistance. “Small businesses don’t have to go it alone,” says McLaughlin. “The path to entrepreneur can be lonely, and many business owners believe they have to know all of the answers, which isn’t true. Instead, seek out resources, such as the SBA, Center for Women & Enterprise  and the Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers, the latter of which helps businesses secure large government contracts.

A key lesson to come out of Small Business Week is the SBA’s willingness and ability to assist a wide range of businesses, adds Brett King, senior vice president and managing partner of Elite Financial Associates. “This forum encourages communication between successful business owners and provides step-by-step assistance, which may help to eliminate common mistakes new business owners make. As the old saying goes, why try to reinvent the wheel. Most successful people in business are the one’s willing to learn from others with more experience, which is the key purpose of National Small Business Week.”

Take Full Advantage Next Year

In addition to providing a wealth of information on how to improve business, Small Business Week offers a unique opportunity to market your business, believes Karen Leland, founder of the branding and marketing strategy firm Sterling Marketing Group and author of The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand.

“A variety of ways exist to take advantage of small business week and promote your business,” says Leland. “This can be everything from holding a special webinar or meeting to offering a discount and using social media to promote the week. The great thing about Small Business Week is that many small events that the general public may never have heard of otherwise become apparent during the week, and this positively impacts small business in exponential ways.”

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MAY 03, 2016 Every year during the first week of May, we celebrate National Small Business Week, which highlights the persistence, innovation, vision and contributions of small-business owners. Started in 1963 by the Small Business Administration (SBA), this week also offers an opportunity to get a bird’s eye view of some of the key themes that small-business owners face.

As many of us know, small businesses are an important part of our economy: “More than half of Americans either own or work for a small business, and they create about two out of every three new jobs in the U.S. each year,” the SBA reports. But there are also a fair amount of challenges and concerns that come with running your own business, and many of the events this week were created to help provide guidance and encourage business growth.

I spoke to several small-business owners to hear them voice their opinions about their top concerns to learn how they grow from those challenges. Perhaps you’ll be able to take some of these lessons, and use them for your business this Small Business Week and beyond.

It Takes a Village

At the heart of the discussion surrounding National Small Business Week is the idea that running a small business is not a solo venture. Those small businesses that succeed in today’s ever-changing environment gather and rally the best talent possible to achieve success, notes Don Cloud, president and founder of independent financial firm Cloud Investments LLC.

“Employee recruitment and retention is essential for a business to run efficiently,” says Cloud. “This means using some creativity when it comes to those high-level employees you require to succeed. It can be a delicate balance between company revenue and employee compensation.”

People are always the first challenge, agrees Bill Wooditch, founder, CEO and president of risk-management and insurance services firm The Wooditch Group. “Employees are the joy, the triumph and the ‘fun’ in the creation of a culture that can change the course of a company.”

It’s an exciting challenge to find employees ready and willing to grow with your company, notes David Glickman, co-founder and CEO of Ultra Mobile and Primo Connect. “A business often starts with a number of highly skilled generalists [who] have broad experience and can fill in gaps. As the company grows, hiring specialists becomes more important and the transition can be incredibly complex,” he says. “At Ultra Mobile, we’ve refined the structure of the organization to accommodate these changes, as well as improved our processes, which is needed as the business grows.”

Mark Aardsma, CEO of ATS Acoustics, agrees. “In a growing business, it’s essential to ensure our key personnel continue to develop the technical and human skills they need to take on new levels of responsibility. If we aren’t committed to investing in that, the business will outgrow us.”

Frank Granara, CEO of General Insulation Co., feels that creating a “village” that works together to seamlessly further the mission of your small business requires carefully fostering your company’s culture. “We focus on developing our people through multiple training programs,” he explains. “In addition to basic skill-based training, we have a leadership development program for our high potential leaders as part of our succession plan. We encourage our employees to look towards the future and continually strive to improve each day.”

The secret to retaining high-quality employees for your village is keeping them engaged, adds DeDe Murcer Moffett, an international speaker and author of SNAP Yes! The Art of Seeing New Achievable Possibilities in Business and Life. “When it comes to employment, people don’t leave companies; they leave disengaged managers,” she says. “Although money is important, what keeps employees buying into a company’s mission is having their own personal vision acknowledged and validated. Employees are less likely to seek employment elsewhere when they feel they are working together with the company towards a larger purpose and common goal.”

Technology as an Engine for Growth

There’s no doubt that the Internet and mobile have made running a small company potentially big business. The SBA has even scheduled online events focused on increasing business through mobile and other technologies. Such events are designed to help small-business owners who may find that keeping up with the Jones’ in the technological department can be daunting.

“The Internet is the great equalizer between small and large businesses, allowing for a deep and global reach into customer markets at a low cost, yet high speed,” says Patrick Stroh, owner of Mercury Business Advisors. “The challenge comes with adequately taking advantage of all of the aspects, including distribution, virtual storefronts and all the other benefits of doing business on the net. Today the key element of using the internet for distribution and marketing is mobile. Having a clear, robust mobile strategy is paramount for small businesses.”

For Marsha Friedman, CEO and founder of EMSI Public Relations, the digital landscape has provided opportunities along with challenges.

“In the past, we helped clients build their brands strictly through editorial coverage in traditional media, but hard-copy newspapers and magazines reduced their size and staffs, so we’re now competing in the digital space, which means a great demand for quality content, 24/7,” Friedman says. “Given that digital media development is critical, there is more competition for client marketing dollars. Fortunately, a significant part of our business involves providing quality content, and we were an early adopter of digital marketing. As new software and platforms are being created, we’ll see more opportunities for businesses to succeed in their marketing efforts. But be warned: Things will be even more competitive, because your competitors will have the same opportunities.”

“Dream Big, Start Small”

This year’s National Small Business Week theme,”Dream Big, Start Small,” epitomizes the entrepreneurial spirit. It’s a small-business owner’s great idea that propels the business forward in the first place. Yet while a business is often expected to start small, growth is desired, and that can be one of the small-business owner’s biggest challenges, believes Bill McBean, a small-business owner, speaker and author of The Facts Of Business Life.

“A small-business owner’s main hurdle is keeping the business growing and moving forward, but this is harder than it sounds,” he says. “To grow steadily, small-business owners must pay attention to a variety of factors in managing growth, including understanding the marketplace for themselves and their competitors, fully understanding value and price points and how products stack up to the competition.”

Bobby Rossi, co-founder of men’s lifestyle website Headlines and Heroes, adds, “Competition is fierce in the online sphere. In order to ensure continued growth, you need to keep customers continuously engaged, which creates brand loyalty. One way we’ve done this is by holding ongoing giveaways, which has allowed us to consistently engage with our audience and keep them coming back for more so that our company can continue to grow.”

Standing out from the crowd is often the key to growth, notes Jeffrey Leiken, CEO of Evolution Mentoring International and co-founder of HeroPath Life Coaching. “There is a flood of voices and opinions in the marketplace now. Amateurs with small budgets can build a website that makes huge promises or represents them as an expert, regardless of whether they are. To a certain extent it is a challenge to continually stand out from the crowd amidst the cacophony of noise and flurry of data coming at people, but it’s necessary in order to succeed.”

Aaron Zwas, a strategic technology advisor, believes it’s important for small companies to have solid business processes in place. “Many small businesses are built around what I call ‘personality driven processes,’ meaning that the business sinks or swims on the efforts of one or two individuals. This kind of passion is necessary and even healthy at the start, but as the business grows, something gives, such as missing a big order or falling out with a key supplier. It’s vitally important for small businesses to map out the key business processes that make their operations tick. Documenting those responsibilities enables business owners to safely shed responsibilities to other employees so that they can focus on the big stuff.”

Glickman agrees. “Once you’ve started a company and proven your business model, you shift from startup to scale-up mode. At this point, the challenge becomes removing any restrictions on growth. For us this has been a matter of ensuring we have hired the right senior leaders and ensuring we have enough funding.”

You worked hard to launch your business and you need to work equally hard to keep it relevant and thriving, says Stroh of Mercury Business Advisors. “A relentless focus on innovation drives consistent and predictable growth. If you aren’t reinventing your value proposition every three to five years, you are falling behind, so you must focus on innovation and how to consistently drive new thinking, ideas and improvements through your business. And don’t fall for the myths that innovation is only about new technologies or requires significant investments. Sometimes the best innovations for any-sized business is to discover innovations that already exist and simply apply them to your business.”

Join the discussion with other small-business owners here.

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APRIL 28, 2016 A generation ago, there was one main benchmark when it came to measuring a company’s success—the health of its balance sheet. If a business was making a profit, then all was well. Fast forward to today’s business climate and the balance sheet is only part of it. In a small-business climate increasingly inhabited by millennial customers, employees and business owners, a key barometer of how well a company is doing is whether the business successfully strives to affect social change.

“For the first time, businesses in America are being defined not by what revenue their products bring in, but by what their brand stands for, and leading this change is the millennial generation, whose values are drastically different than their parents’ generation,” says Joseph Anthony, CEO of millennial marketing agency HERO Group.

Millennials Are Redefining Business Success

“In a post Great Recession economy, young Americans freshly out of college and riddled with student debt are entering the workforce facing unprecedented challenges. As a result of this reality, millennials have redefined success from a strictly monetary sense to being something that adds value,” says Anthony. “This shift in thinking about measuring success has turned the millennial generation into the generation of social change for a better world.”

Small businesses are now finding themselves needing to adapt to the demands of millennial customers and employees seeking to improve society.

Today’s young people make no distinction between business change and social change, agree Glenda Eoyang and Royce Holladay, co-authors of Adaptive Action: Leveraging Uncertainty in Your Organization. “At Human Systems Dynamics (HSD) Institute, we engage with numerous millennials in the context of helping them learn models for getting unstuck and achieving results in today’s workplace,” say Eoyang, who is founding executive director of HSD, and Holladay, who is director of services. “Working with these young people, we find that the ‘results’ they want have less to do with making money and more with making a difference in people’s lives. It’s just the way they naturally orient.”

There are positives to this outlook, say Eoyang and Holladay. “There is tremendous power in the compassion, hope and incredible optimism it takes to believe you can truly change the world for the better. While a disillusioned baby boomer might think, ‘These kids have these pie-in-the-sky ideas that just don’t work in the real world,’ the fact is that these social enterprises exist and are thriving.”

Unique Millennial Worldview

Millennials have gotten their one-of-a-kind perspective from their experiences, which have been decidedly different from those of prior generations. “Millennials are the first generation of Americans who will be less financially secure than their parents,” says Anthony. “Their world view, shaped by the tragic events of September 11 and the global financial crisis, have led them to have less faith in the American Dream. The stereotype that millennials are lazy and materialistic does not hold water when you consider their values. This is the generation of Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter. They are the antithesis of Gordon Gecko’s ‘greed is good’ mantra. For millennials, what your brand stands for means more than its bottom line.”

This unique world view has also made millennials more adaptable to change than prior generations. “What we see as a big differentiator is how the different generations respond to the new state of the workplace. That state is pure chaos, unpredictability and constant, relentless change,” note Eoyang and Holladay. “It may be somewhat of an oversimplification, but from what we’ve observed, baby boomers are fearful of this reality, while millennials are comfortable with it and even excited and optimistic.”

Millennial employees and business owners view the world through a unique lens that is quite different than baby boomers, say Eoyang and Holladay. “This generation is forging ahead with social entrepreneurship. It’s a natural manifestation of how they experience the world—whereas boomers tend to see work and society as separate boxes.”

Boomer small-business owners and consumers also approach marketing differently, adds William`Chase, owner of Webtacular, which creates business websites. “One thing that millennial entrepreneurs do right is use social media to create authentic connections with their clients,” he says. “Instead of bombarding them with advertising, they instead connect with them to build real relationships that then turn into lucrative sales. The older generations tend to focus on slick ads that many customers are desensitized to. One thing you can never grow desensitized to is genuine connections with people. Millennials are willing to take the extra step to find out what customers want and how they can help.”

Marketing to prior generations mostly relied on creating a level of awareness of your brand or product, agrees Anthony. “For millennials, who are bombarded with display advertising non-stop, brands need to create affinity by fostering a deeper level of engagement between the brand and the target audience.”

Embracing the Millennial Outlook in Small Businesses

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, millennials now outnumber baby boomers as the nation’s largest generation, which means that “there is simply no other approach to business than the millennial approach,” says Anthony. “Yes, it’s more challenging to develop a communication strategy that feels innate and genuine, but many Americans now expect this level of authenticity.”

In order to keep millennial employees satisfied and committed to working for your company, it’s vital that small-business owners “infuse meaningful, socially conscious action into their jobs and workdays,” say Eoyang and Holladay.

“Millennials often start up their own ventures, because they’re unhappy with the way existing companies are run. If they can’t find an outlet for their passion for making a difference at your company, they’ll leave and take that incredibly valuable capital somewhere else. In order to prevent this, small-business owners can let millennial employees take ideas that drive social change and run with them—perhaps as independent projects or even as spin-off ventures,” they advise.

When it comes to attracting the millennial consumer, small-business owners should first ask themselves why their company exists, Anthony adds. “If you’re of the opinion that one great idea can change the world, determine what your brand’s inherent value is. When your small business delivers a product, package it with a purpose. As buzz terms stemming from the millennial generation like ‘shop local’ continue to catch fire, small businesses remain at a tremendous advantage for wooing millennial consumers.”

Read more articles on company culture.

Photo: iStock

APRIL 21, 2016 Successful small-business owners know that when it comes to the marketplace, change is the only constant they can count on. Perpetually shifting market and business trends require that you stay fast on your feet in order to remain in the running.

The “big guys” are constantly responding to changes, such as Subway, which recently introduced a new carved, healthier turkey option to meet consumer demand for healthier fast food options. But the good news is that small-business owners can react more quickly, says branding and marketing strategist Karen Leland, founder of Sterling Marketing Group  and author of The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand.

“Today, shifts in technology, political climates, market preferences, etc. are a constant and should be the expected norm,” says Leland. “The good news for small businesses is that they are much better able to pivot and adapt than large corporations, because with just a handful of people, as opposed to thousands, small businesses can almost instantly react to the marketplace.”

Change in the marketplace is a given, agrees Charles Chehebar, executive vice president of Accessory Headquarters (AHQ). “We like to say that the market changes like the weather, and if you’re not properly geared to combat the weather, then you might catch a cold.”

When It Comes to Business Trends, Being Proactive Is Best

Given that change is inevitable, it’s the small-business owners who stay ahead of the curve and are proactive, rather than reactive, that do more than survive—they thrive. “Being a leader is preferable to being a follower,” says Chehebar. “In the business world it is imperative to be ahead of the curve with trends in order to keep your customers constantly coming back for newness and always wanting more.”

How a small business reacts to change will determine success, agrees Scott Moffitt, president and CEO of the financial planning firm, Summit Financial Group, Inc. and author of College and Retirement: You Can Do Both. “Being proactive or reactive will determine whether your company is a market leader or you are late to the party and fighting for remaining market share. While being an early adopter may at times have a longer gestation period before your target audience embraces, greater success will be had once they do embrace.”

Leland concurs. “Lagging in trends always puts a small business behind, because you end up playing ‘catch’ up and ‘me too,’ rather than being an industry leader. When a company waits until a loss of sales or clients forces them to make a change, they are always behind the eight ball. Not just financially, but emotionally. The mood in a small business that is struggling or trying to change with the times can be one of frustration and fear. As opposed to the mood of a company that is being proactive and future oriented, which is more hopeful and exciting.”

Anticipate Needs and Desires

When a small-business owner manages to anticipate needs and desires and makes changes in response, doing so leads to “tremendous opportunities for increased consumer engagement and loyalty—even when you charge more,” says Sandy Rubinstein, CEO of the marketing and engagement company DXagency. “Starbucks has done a tremendous job introducing new, healthier food options, including yogurt, fruit and granola.”

It might be difficult to give up strategies and products that led to your success, but it’s imperative to do so when it’s clear that those offerings have run their course, believes Joseph Michelli, CEO of The Michelli Experience  and author of seven books, including The Zappos Experience: 5 Principles to Inspire, Engage, and WOW.

“Remember that it’s not about you, it is always about your customer,” says Michelli. “We are in business to serve the needs of others, and when we do so, we prosper. If we can anticipate needs and fulfill even the unstated wants and desires of consumers, we can command a premium. Watching and listening for things your customers are likely to want is the key to innovating rather than following the herd. You have to also be willing to cut your losses and diversify your efforts so as not to get caught on the wrong side of a BIG bet.”

Stay True to Your Company Mission

One of the most effective ways companies can stay ahead of marketplace changes is to be clear about what they stand for, says Jackie Dryden, chief purpose architect of Savage Brands and author of Get Your Head Out of Your Bottom Line: And Build Your Brand on Purpose.

“Businesses that get out in front of changes are the ones that last, and one of the best ways to do this is to be clear about the company’s purpose,” says Dryden. “Taking a proactive stance that clearly states what the company stands for attracts customers who are interested in something greater than just sales transactions. When a business communicates its true purpose beyond making a profit, it will attract and retain loyal customers who are more impervious to trends and market conditions.”

Dryden points to the outdoor clothing company Patagonia and their 2012 message to customers to take back the holidays and focus on family and friends rather than gift giving. “When retailers across the country were releasing advertisements to convince people to buy more, Patagonia encouraged their customers to buy less. The company encourages sustainable behavior, and the customers love that about them. Not only do Patagonia’s customers trust the company, but many are also loyal, vocal advocates. People want to invest in brands that have values similar to their own.”

Identify Market Changes and Business Trends

Staying ahead of the trends so that you can react quickly requires that you identify market changes, and that means remaining interested and curious. “Look no farther than your own backyard to see the market trends,” says Leland. “Pay attention to what’s popular on social media, blogs, online publications, television, and listen to customer feedback.”

The pendulum has shifted and consumers are telling businesses everything they need to know to run a smart and efficient operation, says Pamela Herrmann and Patty Dominguez, co-creators of the marketing company CREATE Buzz. “Small businesses are closer to their customers than big national brands, and the customer insights you need are free online if you turn up your social listening skills,” says Herrmann and Dominguez. “Once you know which social media platforms customers use, it’s easy to track conversations and identify influencers and note their questions and frustrations so you can identify product and service gaps.”

Tips for Introducing New Offerings

Successfully introducing new offerings takes illustrating how the changes will benefit your customers, says Moffitt. “It cannot be about what it will do for the company financially. It has to be about why you are so excited to be able [to] enhance your clients’ experiences and why that has value for them. Increased price will not be an issue if the perception is that the value has increased.”

Cheheba agrees. “People in the know are always looking to be the trendsetters and not trend followers and will probably have no issue paying a bit more just to keep up with the latest style.”

Your most important task is to let your customers know you listen to their desires and needs, Leland says. “A ‘we heard you, and here is what we are doing about it’ response is the best jumping off point,” she says. “Focus on ways to share how a new idea will enhance a customer’s experience with the brand. When a brand is upfront and candid about why a product is being added or changed and how this move fits customer needs, there is a much better chance the move will resonate with customers.”

Beware of Trend Marketing

It’s easy to get caught on the bandwagon. “Customers are savvy and they see through attempts to play ‘me too’ just to boost sales,” says Dryden. “It’s much easier to attract customers with a new product that actually ‘fits’ what the brand stands for. A long-term strategy that keeps a brand aligned with its true purpose— the good it wants to contribute to the world— is much more effective. Companies that stay true to who they are and build their reputations from the inside out are the ones that usually lead the trends, not follow them. They are the bands that customers love and competitors envy.”

Read more articles on getting customers.

Photo: iStock

APRIL 15, 2016 College graduates prepare to flood the job market this spring, after graduation. If you’re considering adding to your employee roster, now may be the time to give college graduates a try, advises Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey, founders of Barefoot Wine and authors of The Barefoot Spirit, How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s #1 Wine Brand.

Benefits to Hiring College Graduates

“Today’s college grads are a great source of new, fresh energy for your business,” Houlihan says. “They’re skilled at Internet research and are willing to put in extra hours. Since they haven’t had a lot of experience with other companies, they’re less likely to come to you with preconceived notions and other ways of doing things. That means they’re easier to mold into what you ultimately need.”

College graduates may be highly innovative and used to working in collaboration in team environments. They have often had some leadership experience, so they are often quick learners and are usually highly energetic. From a compensation standpoint, they may also be more cost effective.

Cautions When Hiring College Grads

There may be, of course, a variety of cons to hiring newbie employees, Harvey notes. “College grads can be impetuous. Because they have little or no experience building a resume, they may not realize that they should stay with a company for more than two years to look stable to their next boss. They also may not realize how good they have it at their first job, which may lead them to quit early for what they perceive as a better opportunity to do something more conducive to their true passion.”

To help protect your investment in terms of orientation, training and compensation, Harvey suggests digging deep when vetting and interviewing college grad applicants. “Employers will do well to probe deeply into the true passion of each applicant to see where the person sees himself or herself in five years. It may not be at your business, and that is something to consider before you do any hiring,” she says.

Also be prepared for a “cut-and-paste mentality,” where the new grads ask for examples that they can just copy, Houlihan warns. “This approach makes them feel less culpable. And protection from culpability is at the heart of their reliance on virtual communication, because it protects the user from accountability.”

Virtual communication may also be the culprit in the erosion of soft skills, such as making phone calls to develop relationships with customers and vendors. “The younger generation tends to want to do everything by text, email and tweets, when a simple phone call would be so much more efficient and productive,” says Houlihan, who suggests training them to use realtime communication methods first to establish relationships and virtual communication second to document and confirm. He suggests monitoring them for a few weeks to make sure they’re doing this.

Importance of Transparency

Another potential drawback of hiring college grads is that few may have a basic understanding of how your business monetizes on your goods and services. “They tend to think of a job as a specialization that is insulated from the sales process, despite the fact that many of them are working in the realm of sales support,” Houlihan says. “This can result in a myopic view that does not always take in the big picture.”

You may help solve this limited view and mold effective workers by going long on orientation. “In addition to good job descriptions, spend time explaining how your company’s business model works,” Houlihan says. “Make sure they understand that their money comes from the customer, not the company. When they see their job as ultimately supporting sales, they will have a better understanding of not just what they do, but more importantly why they do it. This will make them more productive, engaged and empowered.”

Consider What Drives College Grads

Like generations before them, this era of employees is unique. They often place a high value on freedom to enjoy personal time, and they may strive for work-life balance, so consider offering flexible hours whenever possible. If working from home is an option, also consider allowing for certain days as telecommuting ones. Consider making meeting the deadlines with exceptional work the barometer of performance, rather than hourly accountability.

“This generation of college grads also has a deep desire to be proud of where they work on a social basis,” Harvey says. “They want their employers and their products and services to stand for more than their mercantile values. They want to tell their network that they work for companies making a difference in the world. So make sure they know how your company is doing just that.”

Read more articles on hiring & HR.

This article was originally published on April 30, 2015.

Photo: Getty Images

APRIL 14, 2016 If you use the United States Postal Service for business mailing, your costs just got slightly less expensive. For the first time in nearly 100 years, the postal service has dropped the price of postage. The price reduction mandated by the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) amounts to pennies less per transaction and will help reduce shipping costs for many businesses, but according to the USPS, the reduction will cost the government agency $2 billion in annual revenue.

Pennies add up, says Marcy Hogan, a manager with SendOutCards. “I was elated to discover that the USPS lowered the cost of stamps,” she says. “My business is a technology-based greeting card and gifting system where recipients receive real cards and gifts in the mail via USPS. Along with plans and packages for sending cards and gifts, my clients purchase postage through the system. Many of them use SendOutCards as a follow-up and marketing tool for their businesses. With the lower cost of stamps, they’ll save money on postage, which is part of their marketing dollars.”

It pays to closely consider shipping charges, agrees Luz Sellers, co-owner of Sellers Gifts, a gift and concierge service. “Shipping fees cut into profit quickly,” Sellers says, “which is why I’m mindful of the various mailing options and even of the use of shipping supplies, such as tape.”

It’s possible to keep shipping charges from taking a big bite out of your bottom line. Reduce shipping costs by keeping the following tips in mind.

Compare Packaging

It’s often best to use packaging provided by the postal carrier. Using your own packaging can cost you more if your box is considered an off size, exceeds certain dimensions or is especially heavy. On the other hand, the USPS’s flat rate boxes allow you to pay the same amount of money no matter how much the packages weigh. In general, it’s best to choose the smallest box or envelope possible—the smaller the package, the less it usually costs to ship.

Save on Packing Materials

Packing materials can add substantially to the cost of shipping. Recycle whenever possible, which will save money and is an environmentally friendly option. Also buy packaging materials in bulk. When weight isn’t an issue, opt for less expensive newspaper over more costly packaging materials like Styrofoam peanuts.

Negotiate

Small businesses can have a surprising amount of clout when it comes to negotiating for lower shipping fees. Compare prices and look for shipping reduction incentives, advises Ronna Coe, owner of Coastal Component Industries (CCI). “We changed our credit card processing to Authorize.Net through Merchant Services. They are a partner with the Small Business Growth Alliance (SBGA) that offers shipping discounts with FedEx. After I signed up for and received a large discount from FedEx, I called my UPS manager to see if they would match my FedEx pricing, and they did.”

Look into Regional Carriers

If you ship within a certain geographic area, it may be more expedient and cost effective to use a regional carrier. Such carriers tend to have lower prices than national companies. Before signing up with a regional carrier, check out their delivery areas carefully to make certain they can help you service your clients.

Try Prepaid Shipping

Some postal carriers offer a discounted rate if you buy certain quantities of shipping labels prior to using them. You simply use the labels when shipping is necessary, rather than paying for each package. If you are going to try this, it’s best to know the box or envelope size that you’ll be using most often.

Inquire about Association Discounts

Belonging to certain organizations can mean a member discount when it comes to shipping. If you are a member of a sizeable association, ask if there are any discounted rates with carriers such as FedEx and UPS.

Read more articles on saving money.

Photo: iStock

APRIL 07, 2016

Recently the New York State Legislature mandated paid family leave for most employees, making New York the fifth state in the nation to adopt such a program. The program gives new parents and those with ailing family members paid time off to care for them.

What makes the New York State mandated leave so significant is the fact that it includes employees working for small businesses and offers workers up to 12 weeks of paid time off. This is double the time provided by California, which was the first state to adopt government-funded paid leave in 2004.

U.S. an Outlier When it Comes to Paid Leave

As our national attention continues to shift toward work-life balance issues such as family leave, it becomes readily apparent just how behind the times Americans actually are. While the U.S. does guarantee up to 12 weeks of job protected leave through the Family and Medical Leave Act, according to Pew Research,  America is the only industrialized nation that doesn’t require employers to pay employees on parental leave.

Now that two of the nation’s most populated states have adopted paid family leave policies, it’s likely that more states will continue to follow suit. It may eventually become a federal mandate, says Ted Mayeda, co-owner of M & M Nursery and Fairy Garden Expert. “Though paid family leave may be inevitable, it does bring definite pros and cons for small-business owners.”

Benefits of Paid Family Leave

The perks of mandated paid family leave for small businesses obviously benefit the employees, but they also make their way back to the employers. One area is improved employee morale. Those employees who are able to take paid time off during a baby’s first months or when a severely ill family member needs them are far more likely to remain content and return to their jobs with renewed enthusiasm when the leave ends.

Paid family time also extends to fathers, which benefits the entire family, adds Linda Scott, owner of eFrog Press. “I have seen the benefits of family paid leave in person,” Scott says. “When I worked at a state university, both parents were entitled to paid leave. Fathers I knew really seemed to enjoy having the extra bonding time to spend with their infants.”

In addition to sending a positive message to those employees who use paid family leave, such benefits also communicate to other employees that the company is concerned about their overall well-being. This investment in human capital by small-business owners is likely to increase employee morale overall.

Drawbacks of Paid Family Leave

Providing paid family leave to employees is not without its drawbacks for small businesses, notes Henry Hutcheson, president of Family Business USA and author of Dirty Little Secrets of Family Business. “Family leave policies, while certainly beneficial for new parents and individuals with sick family members, can place a burden on smaller businesses. The drawbacks are two-fold: smaller businesses, because they are small, are financially impacted more than larger corporations. At the same time, as the policies are at a state level, such policies could become added to the list of reasons why some companies may relocate to other states.”

Family leave policies are particularly burdensome if the leave must be paid for by the business owner. For those owners in states with publicly funded paid maternity leave laws—including California, Hawaii, Rhode Island, New Jersey and New York—the economic impact isn’t as major, though it’s still necessary to pay for the training and salaries of fill-in workers.

If your business is in any other state, you are obligated by law to offer all employees 12 weeks of protected family leave, meaning their jobs are secure until they return. You’re currently not required to provide any paid leave to those employees who take time off, although some companies choose to do so in order to keep valuable employees happy. This can in turn have a long-lasting, positive impact on job performance.

“Incurring additional financial obligations is very hard for small businesses, however, investing in good employees is a good long-term investment,” says Hutcheson. “With the unemployment rate dropping and good employees [being] hard to find, businesses that offer this type of benefit show that they are investing in employees and that attracts and retains high-quality employees.”

Given the many good reasons to provide paid family leave to employees, it makes sense for small-business owners to do their best to offer at least some compensated time off. For instance, voluntarily paying for one or two weeks of pay will show employees that you care about their well-being.

Read more articles on hiring & HR.

Photo: iStock

MARCH 31, 2016 As California recently raised its minimum wage to an eventual $15 an hour over the next several years and other states like New York consider following suit, the wage increase brings up an important question. How might minimum wage hikes affect your small business? It turns out there may be both benefits and drawbacks to paying baseline employees more money.

“The correct level of our minimum wage has always been a hotly debated topic—and for good reason. There are good and bad arguments on both sides,” says Parviz Firouzgar, an entrepreneur, speaker and author of 20/20 Hindsight: If I Knew Then What I Know Now I’d Be A Lot Richer.

“The recently proposed minimum wage hike to $15 per hour in California will not be a sudden jolt to our economy, as it is a gradual hike taking several years to complete,” Firouzgar says. “The fact is that it’s a measure that must take place at some level sooner or later, as the cost of living in California along with standard annual inflation is high.”

Benefits of Minimum Wage Hikes

A minimum wage increase can be beneficial, Firouzgar believes. “Raising the level of income for substantial numbers of people provides more money circulating throughout the economy, which may benefit everyone due to the increased purchasing power of the masses,” he says.

Apek Mulay, owner of Mulay’s Consultancy Services and author of Mass Capitalism: A Blueprint for Economic Revival, agrees: “If all small businesses in a community raise the working wage of their employees, the employees in turn have more disposable income, which they can spend to buy products and services from small-business owners, who then discover that they get back more than what they invested in paying raised wages.”

Though a rise in minimum wage at first may cause some job loss as employers focus on keeping the most valuable employees and letting others go, in the long run it can benefit small business, adds Henry Hutcheson, president of Family Business USA  and author of Dirty Little Secrets of Family Business. “After letting some employees go,” he explains, “small businesses get a more dedicated quality workforce over time.”

Drawbacks of Minimum Wage Increase

Small businesses may be left with a dilemma when it comes to increasing the minimum wage, Firouzgar notes. “On the downside of controlling the minimum wage at any level is that it is essentially a manipulation of the market where the natural levels of supply and demand should logically dictate hourly wages,” he says. “Many small businesses will be forced to cut their labor force or raise their prices, and some will explore automation with robotics.”

In the fast-food industry, an increased minimum wage is already leading to exploration of automation, Firouzgar points out. “This automation has the potential to eliminate thousands of minimum wage workers, which is not something anyone likes to see happen, but it is unavoidable with or without minimum wage increases,” he explains. “As our technology progresses and automation becomes an obvious outcome, a minimum wage increase serves to accelerate innovation in this field, as necessity becomes the mother of invention.”

Solution to the Minimum Wage Dilemma

To adjust to the increase in wages and even profit from them, small-business owners may want to consider making some adjustments.

“There is a solution that most small businesses should consider, and it has to do with the value employees provide,” Firouzgar says. “The small-business owner should contemplate how he or she could reposition employees, giving them more responsibilities, in order to increase the value they contribute to the business so that their work is commensurate to the amount they are being paid.”

Read more articles about HR.

Photo: iStock

MARCH 28, 2016 As headlines have sometimes shown, public officials may catch heat regarding using private rather than government email addresses to conduct business. What about small-business owners and their employees? Just what are the rules and regulations when it comes to your company email?

The Federal Records Act requires that emails of federal officials be public  so that anyone who wishes to—including other government officials, news media and historians—can access them. Small-business owners may not have to worry about constituents, but they do have partners, employees, investors and possibly board members to answer to. And most small businesses have classified, sensitive and proprietary materials that shouldn’t get into the wrong hands.

Here are some tips to help you stay out of hot water when it comes to your and your employees’ email accounts.

Draw a Line

No good can come out of mixing private and company emails. As a business owner, it may be best to delineate between private and business emails, according to Eldonna Lewis-Fernandez, a veteran negotiation and contracts expert and author of Think Like a Negotiator.

“As a corporate employee who was building a business while working a corporate job, I had to toggle between two worlds,” Lewis-Fernandez says. “I could not use my corporate email for personal use and could not use my personal email for corporate use.

“The biggest concern when using your personal email for official business is the inability to track it and the possibility of information getting hacked and sensitive information getting in the wrong hands,” she adds. “This is why safeguarding of information is so critical, and keeping your official business official is paramount to protecting not only your company or organization but also yourself.”

Know Employee Email Rights

As an employer, you have the legal right  to monitor employee emails on your company’s email system. Doing so may ensure that company proprietary information remains safe, and monitoring may enable you to head off trouble that might be brewing. At the same time, it’s also often important to note employee email rights.

Provide Employees With Guidelines

“Email remains the go-to form of online communication and often involves the transfer of sensitive and proprietary business information in both text and file format,” says Robert Rasmussen, COO of Balboa Capital. “Because of this, it is imperative that businesses have an iron-clad policy regarding the use of company and personal email. The email policy should be approved by company executives and a legal counsel, and be included in their employee handbooks.”

One best practice may be to provide employees with clear guidelines regarding company email use in your employee handbook. This may help ensure that employees abide by email protocol that’s best for the company and can protect your business if a legal issue arises regarding email.

In the employee email guidelines, consider spelling out rules regarding company email use. Note when they should use company email and when it’s best to use private email. Discuss when it’s acceptable to forward company emails and to whom. Tell employees if their company email is being monitored.

Protect Company Information

The misuse of email may present companies with a number of security and legal risks, Rasmussen suggests. “If an employee sends an email containing confidential information over an untrusted network that does not have the necessary security protocols, it can be read or copied during transmission,” he says.

Rasmussen advises that small businesses have their IT departments use best practices when it comes to securing and monitoring email communication.

“Network infrastructures should be equipped with firewalls, routers and anti-virus software,” he says. “For an added layer of protection, the mail server application and mail client application can be secured and email encryption technology can be deployed.”

Privacy Online May Not Truly Be Private

The bottom line is that any correspondence put into cyberspace—be it in a company or “private” email—cannot have a guarantee of privacy, advises leadership expert Roxi Bahar Hewertson, author of Lead Like It Matters…Because It Does.

“Anything we write or say electronically is recorded somewhere, like it or not,” she says. “If you don’t want it to show up on the front page of The New York Times, then don’t write it or say it in an email or text.”

Read more articles on cybersecurity.

This article was originally published on March 13, 2015.

Photo: iStockphoto

MARCH 16, 2016 Commonly known as SXSW, the annual South By Southwest festival held this week in Austin, Texas, features events in the realms of interactive media, film and music. The reveals and conferences surrounding the interactive media portion of SXSW often introduce cutting-edge technology poised to gain traction worldwide.

“When you think about the demographic changes on both the buyer and seller sides—younger “digital natives” vs. retiring baby-boomers—you realize that technology will continue to penetrate every aspect of our business and personal lives,” says Dave Stein co-author of Beyond the Sales Process: 12 Proven Strategies for a Customer-Driven World. “Whether it’s wearables to meet healthcare provider requests or robots to further manufacturing effectiveness, efficiency and quality, tech is at the core of it all. SXSW introduces these trends and offers small-business owners the opportunity to delve into those trends that are promising, as well as to meet those who conceived, built and use these trending products, services and practices.”

For small businesses to effectively compete with larger rivals, the understanding and use of technology is often the great equalizer, adds Paul Friederichsen, CEO of BrandBiz and a former creative director of Saatchi & Saatchi. “SXSW empowers small businesses with awareness of the tools and techniques they need in today’s hyper-competitive environment,” Friederichsen says.

Social Media Leads to Social Messaging

At this year’s SXSW, much discussion centered on the shift currently occurring from social media to social messaging, with a significant increase in consumers wanting more intimate sharing in more private networks. This shift is so significant that it may be redefining how brand marketers connect with consumers. The goal now seems to be enabling more intimate conversations.

Marketing is vital and can help small businesses be competitive, Friederichsen believes. “The social media to social messaging trend revealed at SXSW will have the greatest impact for the vast majority of small businesses. It is, without a doubt, the next evolution of marketing communication.”

Stein agrees. “One key trend is the use of social media and messaging to attract and nurture new customers and clients. The amount of noise and hype in the social arena is deafening, but we’ve seen smaller companies propel significant growth through the use of social media strategies relevant to the markets they are pursuing. Social media messaging technologies can provide sales and marketing people with a further and deeper reach into the mind and wallet-share of their target markets.”

Online Harassment

In light of the fact that online activity can and has led to online displays of dark, hateful behavior online and cyberbullying, SXSW held its first Online Harassment Summit. The day-long event featured a wide variety of speakers and tackled solutions for such subjects as why hate thrives online, the economics of online harassment and the bullying of youth online.

“Small-business owners have the biggest challenge when it comes to online harassment,” Stein says. “Having been a victim of harassment myself—the situation, fortunately, was resolved quickly—I understand how very debilitating this kind of digital warfare can be for a small business. Individuals targeting a business can cause the closure of social media accounts [Facebook, for example]. Larger companies have dedicated often well-equipped teams to deal with harassment, but smaller companies must be online to attract new customers and nurture existing ones, so they have the most to lose when it comes to targeted harassment.”

Next Generation Marketing

SXSW acknowledged the fact that today’s consumers rely on multiple digital resources to navigate their days and discover and engage with businesses—from online directories, to email, review sites and mobile search. Their presentation on this topic focused on this evolution in behavior and offered businesses tips for successfully navigating the digital age, such as how to buildup online reviews and communicate with key customers. As a result, it’s imperative that small business owners establish a strong, solid presence on the web.

SXSW Takeaways

As seen at SXSW, technology is continuing to advance, and it’s fascinating, notes John Kohl, president and CEO of TuneGO, a multi-platform music discovery network that connects independent artists with music producers, songwriters, promoters and consumers. “There are, however, certain fears that come with this robot-driven future and will most likely get worse as society continues to depend on technology, such as the hacking of automated cars,” Kohl says. “For small businesses, the lesson is to use technology to listen to customers and show that they are valued.”

Stein echoes Kohl. “SXSW teaches us that small businesses need to understand that technology should be employed as a medium to deliver value that will support achieving business goals and objectives—not as an end unto itself,” Stein explains. “If you want to acquire technology to play with, fine. But if you want to grow your business, you had better know precisely how that new, bright, shiny object is going to get the job done and what the risks are in accomplishing that.”

Read more articles about innovation.

Photo: iStock

MARCH 08, 2016

On International Women’s Day, March 8, what do women in business think about the state of women entrepreneurship? Thanks to technological advances that have increased the ability to work remotely and an increased access to capital, it may be easier for women to make their dreams a reality. In fact, as women continue to define and create their own careers and set off on their own courses, there has never been a better time to be a woman entrepreneur, believes Darnyelle A. Jervey, owner of Incredible One Enterprises.“Women are traditionally known as the head decision-makers in a family, so as more women leverage their gifts in the form of entrepreneurship, the more value will be added to the marketplace,” Jervey says. “I see women becoming more business savvy, confident and focused on leveraging their business platform to usher true change into business.”

I spoke to several female small-business owners and thought leaders to hear their views on the state of women in business and issues like gender parity, as well as the changes they see in store for women entrepreneurs.

Increased Resources

“It is becoming the norm to see women owning their own businesses in America, and the opportunities are growing. There are many more resources to help women get started in business and stay in business for a long time. In recent years, gender inequality in the workplace has changed, and women have proven themselves to be just as qualified and can be easily as successful as their male counterparts.”—Gabrielle Edwards, owner and head buyer, Mixology Clothing Company

Growing Sense of Community

“What is very exciting is that there is a strong sense of community surrounding women entrepreneurs. There are growing resources geared toward women starting their own businesses and investors that specifically seek to support women-owned and operated companies.  As a recent entrepreneur, I have been welcomed into a network of strong women supporting one another and sharing their experiences so we can all learn, provide feedback and grow our businesses together. The number of women small-business owners will only continue to grow over the coming years. As the resources and funding for women continue to expand, there will be fewer barriers to entry, and more women will be able to start up their own companies.”—Jane Wu Brower, CEO and founder of Goalposte

More Internal and External Acceptance

“As a female entrepreneur and small-business owner for 25 years, it has become easier to be accepted in my profession. In the beginning, I was one of a few women professional speakers, coaches and thought leaders in business, so it was difficult. Now I find the less I focus on the gender issue, the less of an issue it is. When I see a conference where the speaker roster is male-centric, rather than see it as an exclusion of a talented female speaker, I see it as an opportunity to put my name into the mix, and they typically welcome me to join the lineup. The biggest change I see is women developing new patterns of thought and belief systems around their capabilities—rather than their gender. In my teaching, success is an inside job. We experience what we believe about ourselves, because we project those beliefs into our experiences.”—Deborah Peters, business coach with Neuro Engineering Institute

“To close the gender gap faster, women must make it a priority to become aware of their mental obstacles and then work to tirelessly eradicate them. We tend to just believe what we believe without ever challenging that belief. And beliefs aren’t logical. Of course a woman should be paid the same amount for same work. But women still have a hard time pushing back and drawing the line. Why? That is the question. Why do we still have a hard time feeling good about demanding what we deserve? Because on some level, we have a belief about what is right, accepted and moral behavior for the female species. And no matter how much we talk about the gender gap, nothing will change very fast until we identify and remove the belief that says we can’t or we shouldn’t.”—DeDe Murcer Moffett, international speaker and author of SNAP Yes! The Art of Seeing New Achievable Possibilities in Business and Life

Women Bring Something Different

“It’s no surprise that women think differently and communicate differently than men. In many ways, this can be an advantage for women entrepreneurs. In the financial services industry, for example, women entrepreneurs are still the minority. The industry is changing, and there is a need for relationships and interpersonal communication that extends beyond the traditional scope of financial planning. With the increasing presence of robo-advisors in the financial services industry, being competitive means doing the things that the low-cost robo-advisor can’t do, which includes high levels of customer service, understanding the hopes and dreams of the clients and being able to add value through education and family interaction. Women are good at creating and maintaining relationships, and in my industry, that gives women entrepreneurs advantage and ongoing opportunity.”—Jennifer Landon, Southeast Idaho’s founder and president of Journey Financial Services

“Women have a statistically higher emotional intelligence quotient. If we use this to our advantage in the boardroom as we do at home, we’re unstoppable. Ever tried to get something past your mom? Exactly. There is nothing like a woman’s intuition.”—Nina Ojeda, CEO and founder of The Avenue West

“Women not only bring a feminine view, but a minority view to occupations such as in STEM, which are in very high demand. Having this kind of foundation—the brainpower and her own financial base—can lead to opportunities to break out and start a business based on solving a problem and/or providing a service around her passion.”—Sofia Milan, consultant, author and speaker

Success Breeds Success

“I spent most of my young adult life in the entertainment industry and started on the path at a young age. I thought what I was experiencing was ageism, but it wasn’t until I hit my mid to late 30s that I realized it had never been ageism, but was always sexism. There are more and more empowered women who have no fears of jumping in and starting their own business. The more of these we see, the more successes there are.”—Shawn Simons, owner of Kitty Bungalow Charm School for Wayward Cats

“According to Mercer’s 2016 ‘When Women Thrive‘ study, Latin America is the only region on track to closing gender parity at the professional level by 2025. Organizations recognize that women offer a different skill set that is needed, yet only 22 percent of North American organizations report equal representation of women in functional jobs. In many instances, this is a training issue and will take many years to turn around. If you’re a woman and don’t want to wait around for organizational change, take action yourself. Start your own business. It’s a huge amount of work, but you will be 100 percent in the driver’s seat, and the rewards are exceptional. I have owned my own consulting firm for almost 35 years. I have always been respected and treated as an equal with men in similar businesses.”—Elaine Biech, president of ebb associates

Read more articles about women in business.

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