The Advantages of Hiring Freelancers for Your Small Business Have you ever hired an employee only to have them resign a few weeks or months later? This is a fairly common and frustrating experience among business owners and has been exacerbated as a result of the Great Resignation https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/03/09/majority-of-workers-who-quit-a-job-in-2021-cite-low-pay-no-opportunities-for-advancement-feeling-disrespected/. So what if there was an alternate solution to hiring a full or part-time employee that involves less time, money and resources? Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve encouraged many of my clients to consider hiring independent contractors or freelance workers to fulfill some of their interim or even ongoing needs. This solution provides a cost-effective and flexible approach to hiring that can be beneficial for both parties.

Whether you recognize it or not, your business has a brand personality. The big question is, is it the one that you want? Brand personality is essentially the attributes one would ascribe to your brand if it were a human being. And just like people, a brand’s personality traits affect how that brand connects with the world around them. For most small businesses it is difficult, and probably meaningless, to distinguish brand personality from that of the overall company - unlike large corporations who likely have a unique brand personality for each of their product lines or subsidiaries.

Branding is the process of defining what your business stands for, crafting the positive impression you want associated with your products or services, then infusing those elements throughout your entire organization and marketing efforts. Branding your business differentiates you from your competition, helps identify you in an often-crowded market, and enhances emotional connection and customer loyalty. If you are a business owner who has yet to consider your brand and branding strategy, now is the time.

With an abundance of information available on the internet today, you may think it’s unnecessary to have a mentor. You can learn from great minds and experienced entrepreneurs on YouTube, from podcasts, and through online courses. Many entrepreneurs do just that. It provides a diversification in the content they consume and perspectives they consider. And yet, a mentoring relationship provides something that these online resources can’t – customization. A one-on-one relationship with someone who can advise you, your company, and your professional career specifically can make a significant difference in your success. The power of mentorship is a known fact in the corporate world. CNBC reported that more than nine in ten workers, or 91% of workers who have mentors are satisfied in their jobs.

Your friends and family, the online gurus, publications, and even casual acquaintances can provide you with a steady flow of information regarding business news, industry developments, and opportunities. Industry analysts, consultants, employees, and good networking contacts can share their expert knowledge with you regarding particular situations and needs you may encounter. However, only a business mentor can truly share wisdom with you on an ongoing basis, and in a manner that can have a direct, positive impact on the growth of your business over time. The generic business advice you'll get from online publications will only go so far, and a good business mentor picks up right where that leaves off. A business mentor is someone with more entrepreneurial business experience than you who serves as a trusted confidante over an extended period of time.

Business owners are in a bit of a pickle these days. The supply chain is still a mess, historic inflation is increasing the cost of literally everything, and the Great Resignation and a disengaged labor pool continue to take a substantial toll on productivity. While there is not much any single organization can do to settle down the economy or get distribution channels back on track, there is a lot business owners can do to combat the nagging labor shortage. It boils down to investing in the people you already have, motivating them to professionally excel, and inspiring them to align with your company Vision.

When running a business, it’s easy for costs to get out of control quickly. We’ve broken down the best cost cutting ideas for you to implement in 2022 from marketing, to HR, to equipment costs. Follow these 22 tips to slash spending in your small business and help your bottom line. #small_business #smallbusiness

Imagine a world where manufacturers don’t test that things work properly. Where no tests are run, apps fail every second, and electronic products are sold with no guarantee that they’ll function properly. While this is far from a dystopian nightmare, it’s not ideal. If Quality Assurance didn’t exist, we wouldn’t dare to ride a roller-coaster and only the brave among us would buy cars – praying that nothing self-ignites and the brakes work. Sure, technical errors, bugs, and glitches are inevitable. As professional and experienced as your team is, perfection is most definitely difficult to achieve. At the same time, as our world turns increasingly digital, people expect websites and apps to run smoothly. It’s no shock that 40% of people abandon websites that take more than three seconds to load. Here’s a great example of where Quality Assurance can improve UX. We can introduce all the customer acquisition strategies we want to, but if we don’t have a team controlling production and delivery standards, we won’t be able to retain valuable clients. #quality #quality_assurance #UX

“Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” – Henry David Thoreau

LinkedIn is a mainstay social media platform for business owners and professionals. No news flash there. But while most of us understand that having an engaging LinkedIn presence can bring tremendous value, many feel that the effort involved can be overwhelming. Business owners are very busy people, so the argument is, “Who has the time?” :hourglass-done: The answer is, in all likeliness, you do. Maintaining an active LinkedIn presence is easy and should really only take you a maximum of 5-10 minutes a day – even less if you are already an online news reader. That’s it. Just a few minutes to engage with your audience, enhance your opportunities for connection, and remind your contacts (and potentially others) that you are an expert in your field with worthy opinions and insights.