Category: Starting a new business

As a small-business owner, you're familiar with the ups and downs of running your own company. Office hours often overlap with personal hours, and it can be difficult to differentiate between the two. A new survey from Constant Contact Inc. found that owners of small businesses feel their company impedes on their personal time, yet they would still choose the same path if they had to do it over again. The survey "Personal Sacrifices/Professional Rewards of Small-Business Owners," a survey produced in conjunction with Small Business Week 2015, asked small-business owners about how they balance their work life with their personal responsibilities and family time. About 56 percent of those surveyed said they feel they can never be away from their business. Just over half claimed they don't have enough time to focus…

Especially in small companies, one bad apple can turn a fun and friendly office culture into a negative and unwelcoming atmosphere to work in. While everyone has a bad day every once in a while, enduring bad attitudes can become pervasive, often affecting everyone in a team or office. And when employees are unhappy, managers can expect things like productivity and customer service to decline as well. That's why it's so important for bosses to take care of unhappiness or resentment before it becomes a larger problem. Here's how you can manage bad attitudes in the workplace:Document Instances of Bad Attitudes As anyone well-versed in human resources could tell you, the first and most important step you should take if you start noticing a bad attitude is to document specific…

Much of the business world is full of people who describe themselves as procrastinators. Even if they know they should be doing one thing, they end up spending their time on something else. This can lead to missed deadlines and lower-quality work because it has to be rushed through. Stop yourself from procrastinating with these three tips:1. Try the five-minute rule  When you realize that you need to do a certain task, take a moment to evaluate how long it will take you to complete. Is it 10 minutes or several hours? If it would take less than five minutes to do (such as writing quick reply to an email or wiping up the break room microwave), don't put it on your to-do list - take care of it now. This will…

Bringing the right new people on board is important for any business, but for startups, the stakes become even higher. Why? Because with such a small team, each new person has to be able to do their job while also filling in elsewhere as needed, which often means wearing several hats and working long hours. What's more, they have to do all of that while also getting along well with everyone who's already working there. So how can you ensure you're hiring the right candidates? Here are a few questions to ask yourself throughout the hiring process:Are They Qualified? The first necessity, of course, is that the person you're hiring is qualified for the position. And, again, due to the company's size, "qualified" may mean something completely different to you…

Small business startups need two things: A great idea and cash. Of course, there are other important ingredients for building a successful small business, like passionate co​-founders and skilled employees, but without enough money, a business won't be able to get off the ground. In fact, according to a 2014 survey from CB Insights, running out of money accounts for 29 percent of failed startups, and another 26 percent is due to other money- or investor-related problems. If you're in the beginning stages of starting a small business, here are five money rules for avoiding cash-related problems:1. Start with enough The most important way to be successful as a startup is to begin with enough cash to keep you sustainable until you start making a profit. This requires a very detailed…

Startups are pretty small, so when new employees get hired, they can sometimes feel like the odd one out - especially if everyone else in the company is tight-knit. There are ways growing companies can help ease the first-day experience for new hires, though. The key strategies for this include making new employees feel welcome, comfortable and part of the team right off the bat. If your startup is growing fast, take a look at these five ways you can help your new employees feel welcome:1. Make Team Introductions a Priority Whether your office has 10 people or 50, new employees should be introduced to their co-workers right away. For smaller companies, this may mean an office-wide introductory meet and greet for a few minutes at the start of the…

We've all been there. You're swamped with meetings and deadlines, you're stressed, and you just don't feel like you have the time to get away from your office for lunch. So, you take out your ham sandwich and a bottle of water, move aside your piles of papers, business cards and other items on your desk, and you scarf down lunch while cleaning up your inbox and responding to emails. It can't hurt to spend lunch working every once in awhile, right? Well, there are actually some pretty big drawbacks to eating lunch at your desk. Not to mention, there are various benefits of taking a break during that time - even if you have a full workload. Read on for why you really shouldn't be eating at your desk:Breaks are…

As a boss, one of the most important parts of your job is to ensure your employees feel appreciated, fulfilled and happy to work for you. As we all know, keeping your employees in good spirits is important for everything from office morale to successful client communications. Plus, unhappy employees could decrease productivity and increase turnover rate - two things that are detrimental to any business' success. One way to show your employees you appreciate them is through the way you communicate. Things like having an open-door policy and responding quickly to comments or concerns are great first steps, but you should also pay attention to even smaller details, such as the words and phrases you're using during conversations. Take a look at these phrases every boss should use more often:'How are…