http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/blogs A syndication feed of all the articles on this system Sat, 19 May 2012 13:45:13 GMT Jive SBS 4.5.6.0 (http://jivesoftware.com/products/clearspace/) 2012-05-19T13:45:13Z http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/generalbusiness/blog/2012/05/19/holidays-and-your-business I am curious how you, as a business owner, decide whether to offer your customers a special day or weekend with sales and special offers or allow your employees to enjoy the holiday with a day off.   The holiday offers your business an opportunity Sat, 19 May 2012 13:45:13 GMT updates@sbcommunity.bankofamerica.com http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/generalbusiness/blog/2012/05/19/holidays-and-your-business 2012-05-19T13:45:13Z http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/generalbusiness/blog/comment/holidays-and-your-business http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/generalbusiness/blog/feeds/comments?blogPost=1506 http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/internetecommerce/blog/2012/05/18/online-ads-expert-qa-getting-prospects-and-customers-to-click-on-your-message by Robert Lerose.   Online ads come in different shapes and sizes, but one thing they all strive for is to get the audience member to click on them and be whisked one step further along the sales cycle. To understand the psychology of the click, small_business marketing search_engine advertising online_marketing e-commerce web_presence seo_best_practices marketing_strategy keyword_relevancy Fri, 18 May 2012 12:08:33 GMT updates@sbcommunity.bankofamerica.com http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/internetecommerce/blog/2012/05/18/online-ads-expert-qa-getting-prospects-and-customers-to-click-on-your-message 2012-05-18T12:08:33Z http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/internetecommerce/blog/comment/online-ads-expert-qa-getting-prospects-and-customers-to-click-on-your-message http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/internetecommerce/blog/feeds/comments?blogPost=1498 http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/accountingandbudgeting/blog/2012/05/17/don-t-forget-debt-why-small-businesses-shouldn-t-overlook-debt-financing-to-fuel-growth by Jen Hickey. For most entrepreneurs, starting their own business is a labor of love. The time, energy, and money they spend help bring their dream of being the boss to life. However, after pumping in personal assets and money from family and friends to small_business accounting business_finances cash_flow_control bills business_growth financing capital funding money Thu, 17 May 2012 12:08:33 GMT updates@sbcommunity.bankofamerica.com http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/accountingandbudgeting/blog/2012/05/17/don-t-forget-debt-why-small-businesses-shouldn-t-overlook-debt-financing-to-fuel-growth 2012-05-17T12:08:33Z http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/accountingandbudgeting/blog/comment/don-t-forget-debt-why-small-businesses-shouldn-t-overlook-debt-financing-to-fuel-growth http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/accountingandbudgeting/blog/feeds/comments?blogPost=1505 http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/startingabusiness/blog/2012/05/16/the-silent-partner-boon-or-bane by Erin McDermott.   Psst. Is that silent partner you’re seeking really the best move for your small business?   When it comes to finding additional funding these days, it’s sometimes a tough road. As a result, people are looking small_business capital entrepreneurs funding partnership venture_capital starting_a_new_business financial_partners angel_investor vc silent_partner limited startups business_expertise Wed, 16 May 2012 12:08:33 GMT updates@sbcommunity.bankofamerica.com http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/startingabusiness/blog/2012/05/16/the-silent-partner-boon-or-bane 2012-05-16T12:08:33Z http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/startingabusiness/blog/comment/the-silent-partner-boon-or-bane http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/startingabusiness/blog/feeds/comments?blogPost=1500 http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/generalbusiness/blog/2012/05/15/the-critical-importance-of-establishing-social-media-policies-for-your-business Sign of the times: When I first wrote my book, The Small Business Bible in 2003, I never mentioned the phrase “social media” – because it didn’t exist at that time. When I wrote the second edition in 2007, I mentioned it once and, small_business social_media twitter facebook small_business_bible small_busines_steve_strauss social_media_policies tweets Tue, 15 May 2012 13:08:33 GMT updates@sbcommunity.bankofamerica.com http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/generalbusiness/blog/2012/05/15/the-critical-importance-of-establishing-social-media-policies-for-your-business 2012-05-15T13:08:33Z http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/generalbusiness/blog/comment/the-critical-importance-of-establishing-social-media-policies-for-your-business http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/generalbusiness/blog/feeds/comments?blogPost=1504 http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/technologymanagement/blog/2012/05/14/cracking-the-code-leveraging-website-analytics-to-learn-more-about-your-customers by Iris Dorbian. For small businesses with a burgeoning online presence, using online site metrics as a benchmark for performance can be critical to the company’s growth. Not only can such tools as website analytics track the number of visitors small_business customer_behavior website_traffic website_best_practices website google_analytics analytics web_analysis knowing_your_customers customer_analysis customer_tracking real_time_tracking online_customer Mon, 14 May 2012 12:00:32 GMT updates@sbcommunity.bankofamerica.com http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/technologymanagement/blog/2012/05/14/cracking-the-code-leveraging-website-analytics-to-learn-more-about-your-customers 2012-05-14T12:00:32Z http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/technologymanagement/blog/comment/cracking-the-code-leveraging-website-analytics-to-learn-more-about-your-customers http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/technologymanagement/blog/feeds/comments?blogPost=1499 http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/generalbusiness/blog/2012/05/11/healthy-body-healthy-business-q-a-why-small-business-owners-can-t-afford-to-sacrifice-their-health-for-their-business by Iris Dorbian.   Like many small business owners, Ceres “C.C.” Opanowski has had an unusual career trajectory. After spending a decade as a paralegal, she jettisoned the corporate lifestyle to become a certified Pilates instructor. small_business work_life_balance work_balance small_business_owners motivation health stress_management physical managing_stress employer_health staying_motivated Fri, 11 May 2012 19:50:47 GMT updates@sbcommunity.bankofamerica.com http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/generalbusiness/blog/2012/05/11/healthy-body-healthy-business-q-a-why-small-business-owners-can-t-afford-to-sacrifice-their-health-for-their-business 2012-05-11T19:50:47Z http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/generalbusiness/blog/comment/healthy-body-healthy-business-q-a-why-small-business-owners-can-t-afford-to-sacrifice-their-health-for-their-business http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/generalbusiness/blog/feeds/comments?blogPost=1490 http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/internetecommerce/blog/2012/05/10/your-online-reputation-who-s-watching-out-for-you by Erin McDermott. “Awful work and unethical business practices! Stay away!” “I will be sure to tell everyone I know how disgusting this place is.” “They will suck the money out of you any way they can and do substandard small_business online_marketing e-commerce brand rankings online_reviews online_reputation online_branding customer_reviews customer_rating business_reputation Thu, 10 May 2012 12:08:33 GMT updates@sbcommunity.bankofamerica.com http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/internetecommerce/blog/2012/05/10/your-online-reputation-who-s-watching-out-for-you 2012-05-10T12:08:33Z http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/internetecommerce/blog/comment/your-online-reputation-who-s-watching-out-for-you http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/internetecommerce/blog/feeds/comments?blogPost=1497 http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/generalbusiness/blog/2012/05/09/business-coaching by Susan Caminiti.   Marsha Egan is no stranger to business coaches. She used one back in 2005 as she was planning to leave her job as a senior vice president with a Fortune 500 insurance company to strike out on her own. Now that she’s small_business worklife_balance productivity mentor coaching business_coaching managing_a_small_business performance_management business_mentor business_performance Wed, 09 May 2012 12:00:40 GMT updates@sbcommunity.bankofamerica.com http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/generalbusiness/blog/2012/05/09/business-coaching 2012-05-09T12:00:40Z http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/generalbusiness/blog/comment/business-coaching http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/generalbusiness/blog/feeds/comments?blogPost=1495 http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/generalbusiness/blog/2012/05/08/5-ways-to-reward-great-performance When it comes to attracting and retaining talent, small business owners often wonder how to show their employees appreciation for a job well done. The good news is that there is no shortage of ways to reward great performances, and none of them need to small_business employee_recognition steve_strauss small_business_steve_strauss small_business_rewards human_resources_management_study Tue, 08 May 2012 13:00:40 GMT updates@sbcommunity.bankofamerica.com http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/generalbusiness/blog/2012/05/08/5-ways-to-reward-great-performance 2012-05-08T13:00:40Z http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/generalbusiness/blog/comment/5-ways-to-reward-great-performance http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/generalbusiness/blog/feeds/comments?blogPost=1494 http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/managingemployeesandhr/blog/2012/05/07/setting-your-employees-free-to-work-creative-ways-to-foster-your-staffs-worklife-balance by Iris Dorbian.   “I believe that if you provide the right working environment, people enjoy work,” says Colin Earl, CEO of EnterpriseWizard, a web-based business solutions company in Silicon Valley. This attitude—fueled by the home_office small_business employee_delegation working_remotely work_from_home telecommute remote_employee telework flexible_hours flexible_scheduling flextime Mon, 07 May 2012 12:08:33 GMT updates@sbcommunity.bankofamerica.com http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/managingemployeesandhr/blog/2012/05/07/setting-your-employees-free-to-work-creative-ways-to-foster-your-staffs-worklife-balance 2012-05-07T12:08:33Z http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/managingemployeesandhr/blog/comment/setting-your-employees-free-to-work-creative-ways-to-foster-your-staffs-worklife-balance http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/managingemployeesandhr/blog/feeds/comments?blogPost=1491 http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/startingabusiness/blog/2012/05/04/flea-market-qa-entrepreneurial-lessons-from-the-world-of-secondhand-retail by Erin McDermott.   Flea markets rang up $30 billion in sales last year, according to the National Flea Market Association. Ki Nassauer (pictured) is executive editor of Flea Market Style magazine and founder of Junk Revolution a popular online small_business entrepreneur start_up new_business starting_a_business getting_started retail business_opportunity side_business business_start_up part_time vintage flea_market Fri, 04 May 2012 12:08:33 GMT updates@sbcommunity.bankofamerica.com http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/startingabusiness/blog/2012/05/04/flea-market-qa-entrepreneurial-lessons-from-the-world-of-secondhand-retail 2012-05-04T12:08:33Z http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/startingabusiness/blog/comment/flea-market-qa-entrepreneurial-lessons-from-the-world-of-secondhand-retail http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/startingabusiness/blog/feeds/comments?blogPost=1487 http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/generalbusiness/blog/2012/05/03/managing-goldilocks-growth-avoiding-the-traps-of-expanding-too-quickly-or-too-slowly by Sherron Lumley.   When Goldilocks of fairytale fame first launched Three Bears, LLC, the small start-up company was a long ways from where she wanted it. “Oh no, this business is too small!,” she complained. Right away she set about small_business managing_employees forecast financing_your_business firing_a_customer growth management strategic_planning growth_strategy strategic_goals rapid_expansion slow_growth customer_demand company_culture Thu, 03 May 2012 12:08:33 GMT updates@sbcommunity.bankofamerica.com http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/generalbusiness/blog/2012/05/03/managing-goldilocks-growth-avoiding-the-traps-of-expanding-too-quickly-or-too-slowly 2012-05-03T12:08:33Z http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/generalbusiness/blog/comment/managing-goldilocks-growth-avoiding-the-traps-of-expanding-too-quickly-or-too-slowly http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/generalbusiness/blog/feeds/comments?blogPost=1493 http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/homebasedbusiness/blog/2012/05/02/five-things-to-make-your-home-office-work-for-you by Erin McDermott.   Nick Loper is a mover and shaker at his home office. Actually, these days, mostly a mover.   Back in December, he found a treadmill on Craigslist, and with a little DIY derring-do, he rigged his workspace to it. Now the home_office small_business home_based_business work_life_balance worklife_balance working_from_home home_business work_at_home Wed, 02 May 2012 12:08:33 GMT updates@sbcommunity.bankofamerica.com http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/homebasedbusiness/blog/2012/05/02/five-things-to-make-your-home-office-work-for-you 2012-05-02T12:08:33Z http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/homebasedbusiness/blog/comment/five-things-to-make-your-home-office-work-for-you http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/homebasedbusiness/blog/feeds/comments?blogPost=1488 http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/generalbusiness/blog/2012/05/01/the-six-rules-of-innovation In the late 1930s, George de Mestral went for a walk in the woods. He wanted to catch some damselflies to view them underhis new microscope, but the only thing he was able to catch were scores of sticky burrs in his sock. De Mestral decided to look at small_business steve_strauss innovation_small_business george_de_mestral creativity_small_business synergy_small_business Tue, 01 May 2012 13:08:33 GMT updates@sbcommunity.bankofamerica.com http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/generalbusiness/blog/2012/05/01/the-six-rules-of-innovation 2012-05-01T13:08:33Z http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/generalbusiness/blog/comment/the-six-rules-of-innovation http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/generalbusiness/blog/feeds/comments?blogPost=1492