Win a Business Negotiation in Three Simple Steps
Getting what you want does not always come easily. You have to work for it. But, if you are properly prepared, you can conquer almost any business dilemma. Things do not always go as planned, and it can be tough trying to negotiate with someone who just will not budge. There is a myriad of ...
How a Virtual Receptionist Helps You Close More Sales
Quality client relationships fuel company growth. Many factors contribute to the making of great business relationships, and, subsequently, great sales. And among them is a great person to greet incoming callers. What’s required in a great receptionist? Bright presence. What’s less mandatory? Physical presence. A great receptionist is genuine, personable, professional and helpful. And...
Get More for Your Business – for Free – with Google
Today, small business owners must wear more hats than ever before. After nailing down your idea, business model, and finally, your product -- you still have to figure out how to reach potential customers and inspire them to take action. With so many options available to market your business, knowing where to start can seem...
Startup Success: Good Things Come to Those Who Wait
Living in a world of overnight success stories like Instagram and Facebook has led many of today’s new entrepreneurs to expect too much without putting in the work. While we all dream of that billion-dollar business idea, the sad reality is that those monumental overnight successes rarely (and I mean very rarely!) happen. Entrepreneurs...
5 Major Cloud Computing Mistakes to Avoid
Is your business ready to venture into the cloud? This new, virtual world can open the door to cost savings, increased productivity, greater scalability and more. However, heading in without a map can prove detrimental to your business. To that end, the following are the top five cloud computing mistakes that information technology consulting firms...
You Started Your Business. Now What??
You’ve got your business licenses in order, all of your initial overhead out of the way, and you're ready for customers. Now what? You may have officially launched your business, but you’ve no idea what to do to keep that business running. You need customers, orders and revenue. And you need them fast. Here’s what...
Subject Line: 5 Tips for Making It Absolutely Irresistible
Enticing your audience to engage with your marketing content is a common struggle, especially when it comes to email marketing. After all, an email is only as good as its subject line. With fewer than five seconds to convince a recipient to open an email instead of delete it, you need to give your email’s...
3 Step Strategy to Land Your First Clients
Five years ago, my business partner and I were fresh out of college with nothing but an idea. We knew that we had more insight on social media than the “adults” running ad agencies, which led us to start an agency that specialized in social media marketing. We didn’t have a website or business...
10 Low-Cost Businesses to Start on the Side
Many people dream of owning their own businesses but are discouraged by potential startup costs. However, if you combine a little creativity with the resources and skills you already have, you can come up with plenty of moneymaking ideas that cost very little to get off the ground. To help get your gears turning, here...
Why You Shouldn’t Be Handling Your Own Personal Branding PR
Before my book came out, I was managing my own public relations department. I would read articles by journalists that covered marketing, careers, and technology, and respond to them. I would also pitch the media on relevant topics around personal branding and constantly network. Looking back at my efforts, I must have appeared like a...
7 Steps to Seize Changing Opportunities in Your Industry
Today’s economic climate is challenging for any corporation. One industry seems particularly lost — film. Unfathomable budgets have led to major losses and far fewer successful franchises. Home entertainment distribution virtually imploded with on-demand, Redbox, and iTunes. 3D is being forced on the public (and theater operators), but many are still skeptical of the price....
Want to Succeed Wildly? Adjust Your Attitude
Have you ever wondered what makes someone a world-renowned musician or a critically acclaimed novelist? Malcolm Gladwell would say it all comes down to practice — over 10,000 hours of practice, to be exact.But a study by Gary McPherson, discussed in David Brooks’ book The Social Animal, highlights that there is also an important attitude needed for...
Believe in It: From Equestrian to Entrepreneur
Life is funny; when you’re in the moment, you have no idea where it’s going to lead. I’ve learned that you just need to trust yourself and stick to what you believe in and — most importantly — what you love. If someone had told me 10 years ago that by the age of 29,...
5 Pieces of Entrepreneurial Advice for College Grads
Six years ago, I graduated from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. And then, nothing happened. Like…nothing. I couldn’t get a job to save my life. Here I was, with an expensive degree in my hand from the best “J-School” in the country and solid work experience behind me, but no one seemed to care....
How to Hire and Manage a Remote Startup Team
We’ve all had days where we’ve walked out of the office vowing, “I’ll never set foot in there again!” Yet despite all our bluster, we come back the next day and muddle through our work — paychecks don’t grow on trees. But how would life be different if you never did set foot in the...
Why Millennial Women Are Poised to Change the World
Business has changed for good. This we know. The beauty of the down economy has been the rise of social enterprise, a collective questioning of public and private sector values, and a mainstream search for ways to integrate sustainability into our lives and work. From where I sit, the future looks bright for Millennials –...
Lessons in Freelancing: Diversify Your Client Base!
Untitled Document Building a business is all about making a series of mistakes… and then, hopefully, learning from them. Unfortunately, some mistakes must be made many times before the lesson becomes clear. This is how it was with me and that old adage: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. I stubbornly put my eggs...
3 Tips for Startup Success (Hint: Flexibility Is Key)
Advice is crucial to entrepreneurial success — it keeps businesses flexible and entrepreneurs humble. Throughout my career, I’ve made sure to stay open to advice, even (and especially) after tasting success. Earlier this year, I heard an excellent keynote delivered by Dharmesh Shah, Chief Technology Officer and Founder of Hubspot. He re-articulated some great advice...
7 Lessons From My First Year as an Entrepreneur
A year ago, I started Greatist with no real clue what I was doing. We’re now the fastest-growing health and fitness site on the Web, so a lot has gone right. But a lot has also gone wrong. A year ago, I’d never really hired someone. Never really fired someone. Never incorporated a company in Delaware....
4 Tips to Find a Mentor Fit for the New Economy
Millennials are the most entrepreneurial generation in American history. Not only have 50 percent of Millennials started a business (or hope to), but their entrepreneurship rate is 10 percent higher than the general population. A 2011 survey by Buzz Marketing Group and the Young Entrepreneur Council also found that 35 percent of recent college graduates started a side...