5 Professional Development Ideas for Small Businesses

No one is born exceptional at their job, nor is there a shortcut to success. Every brilliant leader spent years honing their skills, and businesses do not become empires overnight.

Professional development

In a constantly evolving market that is becoming increasingly competitive, the key to achieving your goals is through professional development. It does not only enhance your current skills and keep you up-to-date on industry trends. It also allows you to gain a clearer perspective of the business landscape, enabling you to create a more effective strategy and come out ahead of your competitors.

Here are four professional development ideas that every small business should consider.…

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How Tech Is Changing the Way Small Businesses Run

Technology propels companies forward, from streamlining processes to boosting security to improving communication and expanding research capacity. However, it is also evolving at a breakneck pace, and keeping track of the ongoing advancements is an enormous challenge.

Businesswoman using tech

In a tech-driven world, any company will not survive without embracing the changes. To determine which tech is most suitable for your organization, let us first understand how technology is reshaping the way businesses work.

Candidate Tracking Systems

An expanding business needs new talents to sustain its growth. Recruiting an HR staff to handle the hiring process is a crucial step. However, it is not enough to get the best candidates.…

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An Ultimate Guide To Keeping Your Startup Safe From Financial Frauds

As a startup, you don’t have a lot of data to protect compared to other massive companies. However, the small amount that you do have is extremely valuable and, if leaked, can ruin your business completely. More than three million people in the US alone have been victims of a financial scam in a single year.

Protecting against financial fraud

In reality, avoiding these frauds is not all too difficult if you implement the necessary measures. The following six tips will help maximize your startup’s safety and make you a poor target for any potential scammers.

1. Fortify Your Cyber Environment

With almost all crucial data and transaction information being stored online, it’s vital to put robust systems into place in order to stop anyone wanting to access it from outside.…

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Tips for Setting Up a Food Truck Business

Food trucks have become quite a cultural phenomenon in the last decade. However, since the fallout from the global pandemic caused many restaurants to close or radically change their setup for social distancing needs, more people are considering turning to a food truck business rather than one in a set location with expensive rent.

Fancy food truck

If you’re thinking of launching a venture within the next year, here are some tips to help.

Do Your Research

It’s crucial to look into who your target market might be and where these people frequent. What kinds of foods do they like, what price points do they buy at, and what type of marketing appeals to them?…

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How to Keep Scams from Hurting Your Business

At even the best of times, it can be challenging to be a business owner. Unstable supply chains, unreliable employees and, yes, pandemics can throw a big wrench into things. The last thing you need is a scammer showing up and trying to take advantage.

Business owner managing his buiness

Photo by Monkey Business Images, courtesy of www.shutterstock.com

Unfortunately, scammers are everywhere. That’s why it’s so important for you to know how to identify them and stop them from affecting your bottom line.

Whether they come by phone, email or even in-person, you can stop scammers in their tracks by knowing the following:

Phone/Text Scams

We’ve all gotten them: calls or texts from phone numbers that look familiar.…

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Invest in Every Employee

Investments made in any business activity are always measured by the returns they give. Be it an investment in a plan, product, or even in employee training, a business always expects returns that compensate for the investment made.

Happy employees

Investing in employees and their training procedures often maximizes profits and minimizes expenses. Effective employee training results in reduced turnover time and a lesser number of fines because of incompliances. Proper training can enhance revenues through augmented sales and high productivity.

Investing in employees can evidently enhance profits through a planned process that results in:

  • Retaining the existing clients
  • Increasing the upselling
  • Short sales cycle
  • Growth in productivity
  • Reduced turnover rate

Role of Human Resources in the Investment of Employee

While human resources training seems to be never-ending, it’s actually for good reason.…

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What Should You Check When Looking for Digital Directory Signs for Your Building?

Digital directories and wayfinding signs could quickly help visitors and staff provide accurate information. There are various sizes and options for digital directory signs available in the marketplace today.

Digital directory sign

photo credit: Poly Surasit / Pinterest

According to a market research report the global digital signage market is estimated to close in 2021 at a value of $16.3 billion. Furthermore, the sector is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.2% in the next five years. These numbers are an indication as there are multiple players involved in the digital signage sector.

How do you go about selecting the best brand to purchase wayfinding and directory signs for your building?…

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The 3 Little Known Tips To Help You Grow Your Contractor Business

Whatever the type of contractor business you have, it is essential to always be growing. Plumbers, HVAC technicians and electricians usually work for themselves and have trouble growing the business while also getting the work done.

Electrician working on a business premise electrical equipment

The problem with this is that you aren’t running a business but rather making a job for yourself. Though it’s nice not having a boss, you are essentially slaving away. The way to go is to grow the business so it can be an actual business.

There are a few things that you can do to grow the business so you can focus on the work getting done.…

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Influencer Marketing Pricing Guide for Small Businesses

With the small business market growing exponentially every year, it’s important for some to differentiate themselves in their respective industries. And now, with influencer marketing booming into a 13 billion dollar industry, small businesses have found success spending their marketing dollars on carefully selected influencers. But what’s the cost?

Influencer marketing price guide

Here, we’ll help break down the influencer marketing space and dive deeper into the cost of influencer marketing.

What is Influencer Marketing?

To put it simply, influencer marketing is a form of marketing in which influencers promote brands, products, or services within a campaign. It’s a great way for small businesses to tap into larger yet specific audiences under a creator they trust.…

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3 Side-hustles You Can Convert to Full Time Careers

As we move falteringly towards the post-pandemic era, the world has changed permanently.

But perhaps not all of these changes will be for the worst – employment is one area where it’s possible that workers might enjoy better life-work balance once the dust settles.

Visual artist as a side hustle

photo credit: Dusan Jovic / Unsplash

This is the era of ‘the Great Resignation’ – when millions of dissatisfied workers with an entirely new perspective on what’s important in life are ready to resign their jobs in favour of making a living doing things which make them happier and healthier (as well as paying bills).…

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