I read a lot of blogs. I subscribe to a lot more blogs than I have time to read. Sound familiar? If you're like me, you don't have time to read everything you want (if you do, please tell me your secret). In an effort to reduce the chaos of life, I do two weekly article roundups: one for small business things and one for technical things.
Here's a roundup of the most interesting small business articles I found this week. Enjoy!
Business owners band together, offer advice – This is a great story about a group of business owners in New Jersey with a free networking group. These business groups are excellent for those of us that don’t like traditional networking because it doesn’t feel like we’re networking, it feels like sharing stories and helping each other out (but, of course, that is networking). There are a lot of these kinds of groups around (and even more of the “Eww, networking” variety). The great thing is if there isn’t a group in your area that meets your needs you can start your own!
Work Your Profit Margin – Ten Ways To Increase Profit By Working Smarter Not Harder – This article has “10 ways to streamline, automate, and stop wheel-spinning.” Who wouldn’t love to stop the wheel-spinning? The suggestions are tech-heavy but that doesn’t mean you need to be a geek to use them. Think about how you could apply these tips and tools to your business. For example, if you have an appointment-based business, a variation of #2 “Get your calendar online” is to start using an online scheduling system.
5 Ways To Raise Your Rates And Keep Your Clients – These are nonthreatening, non-scary ways to raise your rates. Many of them make so much sense I wonder how I hadn’t thought of them on my own. I love the idea of building rate increases into your business process so it is just how it is. It’s definitely a mind hack but it’s a great one! How do you approach price increases in your business?
Facebook Sponsored Stories Performing 2 Times Better Than Standard Ads – Facebook’s Sponsored Stories are essentially a word-of-mouth kind of advertising because it’s based on a friend’s Likes and check-ins. It acts as a sort of endorsement of a product, service, or company. I haven’t seen any of these ads in my Facebook experience yet but it seems like it would be more appealing to see what my friends like than the traditional ad style. It would also be interesting to see what kinds of businesses are seeing success with it.
How Do I Make the Most of Google+? – This article covers layout adjustments, keyboard shortcuts, sharing plugins, and more. I’m sure it’s not comprehensive but it’s covers a lot. Also on G+, Gphangouts Lists Public Google+ Hangouts for You to Join – If you’re on G+ you’ve probably seen the green “Start a Hangout” button and wondered what that was really all about. Hangouts are kind of like video chat rooms where you can discuss a specific topic. This site will show you a list of current Hangouts and you can publish your own.
If you enjoy these Roundups please share with your friends!
Tech news is up later this afternoon. Have a great weekend!
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