This week in small business: All your basic assumptions challenged!
There may be more variety in our curated content this week than ever before. We go around the world to see what women are doing in Liberia and Saudi Arabia and we feature several articles that will challenge your preconceived notions.
Hang on to your hat!
Leadership, management, and productivity
While there are certainly many benefits, Nick Clements details five risks of using a small business credit card.
Need to get up to speed on SBA loan basics? This article from Independent Bank will do it.
There’s no substitute for good training, so Wakas Javed’s article on how to train for top productivity is recommended reading.
Exactly what should you say to your employees and when? It’s time to master workplace feedback.
Believe it or not, there’s a lot of wisdom in Harvey Schachter’s point that laziness is the secret to productivity.
Think social media is killing your workplace productivity? Jo Disney makes a good case for the opposite.
In this installment of Laura Emily Dunn’s Women in Business Q&A, she interviews Ammara Yaqub, who has been a major player in the fashion industry for many years.
Have a great business that you want to take to the next level? Check out “4 Tips for Creating a Strong Franchise Infrastructure,” by Rick Grossmann.
Marketing and sales
Are you taking advantage of the three 2017 marketing trends Marie Flounoy covers in her interview with Kim Brown, founder of Centrally Human, LLC?
Brian Sutter takes an unusual look at small business marketing in his Business.com article, “3 Big Ideas for Small Business Marketing.”
Writing for Buffer, Ash Read shares seven secrets of successful video marketing. (I guess they aren’t secrets any longer…)
Clip this infographic and stick it on your lunch room refrigerator: The Anatomy of an Optimal Marketing Email, by Sean Work.
Lin Grosman gives practical advice in her Forbes article, “Six Ways To Improve E-Commerce Conversions.”
If you’re ready to see things from differing perspectives, check out Andrew Stephen’s, “Challenge The False Dichotomies Of Marketing.”
Entrepreneurship, startups, and innovation
After civil war and Ebola devastated the Liberian economy, new businesses – powered by young women self-starters – are finally on the rise, says Gayle Tzemach Lemmon in Fast Company. Let’s continue our world tour. Ellen R. Wald relates why business will determine the future for women in Saudi Arabia.
Maybe you’ll need a pair of those new Apple wireless earbuds because Rahul Dubey says music can make you a more creative entrepreneur.
Neil Napier relays the biggest business mistakes made by 14 entrepreneurs.
Writing for Entrepreneur India, Aashika Jain explains how one Internet businessman believes that the next four to five years will be the best time to be an entrepreneur.
“Forget seizing the moment. Seize the opportunity.” – Tim Fargo