I have recently been exposed to too many instances of sales calls that are inappropriate and ineffective to actually make a sale. Social media networks such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook are great for making the initial connection, but if you do not take the time to interact and actually build a relationship with your […]
How to Avoid a Holiday Disaster
Sponsored Post We’re just a few weeks away from putting up the Halloween decorations, now is the ideal time to make sure your small business is set up for holiday sales. If you make the bulk of your revenue during the biggest shopping season of the year, it’s time to get started with what you […]
New Year, New Resolve
I hope you didn’t spend too much time making resolutions that you probably won’t keep over the holidays. Let’s resolve to do something different in 2017. If you are fearful about launching a business. Swallow the fear and deal with facts. Create a plan and then work your plan. You can do it. Just make […]
Best of Melinda Emerson™’s #SmallBizChat Interviews in 2009
My interview with Sherri Garrity on how to quit a job to start a business: Sherri is the founder of Corporate Fugitive. Her company provides business coaching to aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners who want to go from overwhelmed to extraordinary. In 2007, she walked away from a successful marketing career to start her own […]
Developing a Blog vs. Website Strategy
This is the second of a three part series on blogging for business. It is such an essential issue for small businesses today that I felt it important to dedicate some real time to the topic. The first article focused on building a small business blog. Today’s piece investigates the decision to have a separate […]
How to Define Your Small Business Brand
What’s your small business brand? Every business should have a clear definition of its brand identity. To put it simply, a brand is what your customer thinks of when she hears your company or product name. The brand is typically the visual image of your business (your logo) and how your product is expressed. Companies […]
Do you need a Small Business Makeover?
Pitney Bowes wants to give your business a communications makeover worth up to $10,000. If you could use some help with your email, direct mail and social media communications, you can win a free year of using Pitney Bowes’ full suite of business tools. The grand prize winners will also receive in person one-on-one coaching […]
4 P’s of Small Business Success
Most of us do not enjoy the feeling of rushing from one thing to the next. Starting a business can make you feel that way, particularly if you did not take enough time to plan from the beginning. It does feel chaotic at times. You might need to deal with customer requests, follow-up from networking events, there’s […]
Could Franchising Be For You?
Franchising is a great opportunity to take a proven business model that has produced financial success and run it as your own business. While there are many wildly inaccurate statistics about success rates for franchises all over the internet, in general “a franchise is a lower risk proposition than investing in a pure start-up,” according […]
Are You Ready for 2010?
The economy is on the rebound, but the nature of business has changed. Is your small business repositioned for 2010? October and November is the perfect time to start planning for how you will kickoff the New Year. It’s not about making it through the recession; it’s about coming out of this recession with a […]