Starting a business is exciting, exhausting, thrilling, stressful, and always, always an involved process. According to the Small Business Association, more than 627,000 new businesses open their doors (metaphorical or otherwise) every year. Unfortunately, the same report found that around 595,000 businesses close each year, too, meaning that getting off to the right start can […]

We’re officially just a couple of weeks away from entering a new decade, leaving the 2010’s behind. In the last ten years, an almost unbelievable number of things have changed, and they’ve done so drastically, especially in the business and entrepreneur world.  The advancements in technology (which includes more accessible and reliable internet) have changed […]

Whether you’re an entrepreneur or someone working remotely, it’s possible you don’t have a traditional workspace or hold standard work hours. Maybe you don’t even have an actual desk and work from a new location every single day. No matter where you work, a cluttered workspace is distracting and can seriously inhibit your productivity. There […]

Small Business Saturday is just a few days away, and marks the beginning of the busy holiday season for most small businesses. It’s been ten years since American Express established the holiday to take place the Saturday after Thanksgiving with the focus to support small businesses and the communities they serve – and has grown […]

The holidays are such a stressful time – we’re all feeling the strain. Between the pull of work and obligations with friends and family, the last few months of the year get filled up fast. The to-do lists become a mile long and everyone starts mentioning how they could really use a clone. Businesses feel […]

If you’re going to utilize voicemail for your small business, it’s important to create a greeting that is interesting and grabs your callers’ attention. It coaxes them into leaving a message. They feel compelled. A great voicemail greeting ensures your leads and other important contacts aren’t floating around in a spam email folder, wondering why […]

With so much to do, businesses and marketers are increasingly relying on technology and tools that are designed to automate some of the work that we’re doing. We all want more time in our day, and finding ways to cut costs and reduce the need for extra manpower on “non-critical” tasks seems like a good […]

The average American checks their phone 47 times a day, every day. American Millennials check their phones even more frequently, hitting an average of 86 times per day. We’ve always got our phones in our hands (or at least close by), and they play an increasingly prevalent role in our personal and professional lives. Choosing […]

Twenty years ago, phrases like “LOL” didn’t exist, and you would look at someone like they were insane if they talked about emojis, let alone dared to say “hashtag-girls-night” out loud. The thought that a phone call would be considered too personal and inconvenient even though it was happening through tiny blocks we hauled around […]

When you’re building up your business, it’s easy to focus on big picture things – your brand, unique selling proposition, pricing, and website. With so many things to think about, it’s easy to overlook tiny details, like how you want company email addresses to end or what type of phone number you choose. While they may […]

Starting and running a business has so many moving parts that are difficult to keep up with, and so many of those moving parts are so expensive. It’s no surprise that most small business owners end up working overtime to make their new venture a success, sacrificing a work-life balance to try to make their […]

Not long ago, setting up a business phone system for your small business was a tedious and complicated process that often required expensive IT specialists or consultants. Fortunately, a lot has changed, and now freelancers, solopreneurs, and small business owners can choose from a host of easy-to-configure virtual phone systems. This simple, four-step guide will […]

Increasing numbers of teams are working remotely, whether they’re working with a few external third party members like freelancers or if their entire team is spread out across multiple zip codes (or continents). This presents a new challenge that many businesses haven’t experienced before: how to manage a remote team as effectively as they would […]

70% of professionals work remotely at least once/week and around 50% of small businesses are home-based. Businesses are moving further away from the full-time traditional office setting, increasing flexibility and making for a happier workforce. However, less water cooler talk and access to the supply closet stocked with 4 different colors of post it notes […]

Do you remember anxiously waiting until 9pm to call your best friend from camp across the country? It’s true, long distance phone calls aren’t nearly as much of a concern as they used to be, with most people shifting more towards cell phone usage instead of relying heavily on landlines, but toll-free numbers still play […]

It seems like such a small detail, finding and choosing a business phone number, until it’s actually time for you to do exactly that. Then it’s clear that there are a number of different decisions and considerations involved in the process, and that there’s a lot of pressure to choose the right one. What type […]