What The Panda Google Algorithm Change Means To Small Business Owners

In February 2011, Google made big news on the Internet by publishing an algorithm change for search engine relevancy.  By and large this was designed to punish duplicate content farms that re-purpose the same written content over and over in different forms.

I’ve seen plenty of panicked content online about what this means to e-marketers and website developers, but little in the way of how small business owners can capitalize on the Google algorithm change.

Winners and Losers

There were plenty of losers that aggregate informational content that are now scrambling to learn what has happened and re-strategize ways to defeat the Google changes.  …

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How The Alternative Work Schedule Can Help Your Company

As a small business owner, you’re always looking for ways to keep operating costs down while retaining people, right? Have you ever considered alternative work scheduling?

As technology progresses and jobs become more reliant on that technology, working without having to actually be in the office doesn’t just become a more viable option, it becomes a more attractive one that people all throughout your company can benefit from if the right sort of alternative scheduling is implemented.

alternative work schedules

There are a number of different ways to approach this idea. Some businesses practice compressed weeks that allow for more hours in a day in exchange for fewer days a week, while others give employees the option to work whenever they want, wherever they want outside of “core” hours or days where a presence at the office is necessary for things like meetings.…

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6 Simple Ways To A Greener Business

6 ways to a green business

Start-ups to large enterprises are looking for ways to be greener businesses. Aside from the fact that your company does its share to preserve and nurture the environment, it is also good for business since it would allow you to conserve resources which means, more savings.

We cannot control underlying forces which are responsible for price hikes of almost everything from gas prices to energy costs. However, what we can control is our usage. I am not a full-blown nature advocate. What I am an advocate of is sustainable and growing businesses.

Without further ado, here are 6 simple ways you can increase your business’ bottom line by running a greener business:

  1. Turn off all your equipment when not in use.
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Reduce The Risk Of Employee Fraud

reduce the risk of employee fraudIn any business – small or large, good or bad economy – internal theft or employee fraud can occur.   Actually, in my experience, I have seen more employee fraud occurring in small to medium-sized businesses because there is a greater level of trust, a less formal process at times, greater familiarity with each person in the company, and a greater breadth of duties for each employee.

While the percentage of employees committing fraud may be low, I have seen some small businesses devastated and almost have to close their doors because of one or more employees who stole from them.

Types of Employee Fraud

There are a few types of employee fraud that are prevalent in small businesses.  …

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Why SMBs Should Outsource Their ERP

Outsourcing an ERP system (enterprise resource planning) was once thought of something that only large, corporate businesses would venture in but the benefits of outsourcing ERP systems have now caught the attention of smaller companies.   Smaller companies are finding that the improved efficiencies in implementing an ERP system are more than covering the cost of outsourcing their ERP.

outsourcing ERP systems

Before we look at the benefits of outsourcing, it would be beneficial to look at what exactly outsourcing your ERP means to SMBs. This can be broken down into three basic stages:

Application hosting – This is hosting in its traditional form and is the component of hosting which most people will be familiar with.…

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4 Ways to Beat Entrepreneurial Fatigue

Every person on the planet is prone to experience fatigue. As an entrepreneur, you are no exception. Some might say that running your own business would make you your own boss and that it would give you more freedom to do what you want, when you want to do it.

entrepreneurial fatigue tips

This of course is a myth. Running your own business does not mean that you have lesser things to do or a shorter to-do list than you had when you were employed. When you think about it, entrepreneurs get stressed out from the moment they start planning the business until the time that they are exiting it.…

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How Group Buying Can Help Your Business

Group buying or collective buying is fast gaining popularity among business owners. The idea originally hailed from China where it is known as Tuangou. Online group buying was first introduced through an e-commerce start-up, Mercata, ten years ago and they had dubbed this business plan as “We Commerce”. For those business owners who are still trying to grasp the concept of this phenomenon, let me break it down for you.

Let’s say you are a subscriber to a discount website or a daily deals site as it is more popularly known nowadays. You would see various offers on product discounts on the site and if you are interested, you would just need to enter your payment details and wait until the minimum number of people is reached.…

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5 Biggest Website Mistakes for Small Businesses And How to Fix Them

5 biggest website mistakes and how to fix themYour website is the front door to your business. It’s imperative potential clients and customers  know where to find you, and once there, have a clear idea what your company does and how it can benefit them.

Implement these simple, inexpensive tips to ensure your website is achieving those goals.

1. Not claiming your Google Place Page

Look up your business in Google Maps and click on your business listing (or “Place Page”). Your business name will be on the left and a map on the right.  In between, at the top of the page, is a link that reads either “Business Owner?”…

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Mobile Technology Is Changing The Way We Do Business

Technology has certainly changed the way we do things, the way we run our business. We are all constantly on-the-go and instead of doing just one thing at a time, we can now do everything (well, almost everything) at the touch of a button.

mobile technology changing how we do business

In a recent  Business Journals study, it is found that small businesses are increasingly relying more on technology, especially the internet, as a critical business tool. Business owners can be addicted to running the business, if you think about it.

According to the same study, 55% of SMB owners are online to be connected to their businesses.…

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The 4 Biggest Customer Service Mistakes You Can Easily Avoid

We have all heard it said that a service by a particular business, when it exceeds your expectations, is done from the heart. I do not doubt that but it is also my belief that customer service is the heart of any business, no matter its size.

If money or finance is the lifeblood of a business, we can then assume that there would not be (financial) blockage as long as the heart (customer service) is healthy and strong. If it isn’t, then your business may just as well suffer from cardiac arrest.

4 customer service mistakes

Running a business is tough and the economy does not make it any easier.…

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