Entreprenuers must continually invest in themselves with golden nuggets of insightful information and tips.  Learning from other seasoned entrepreneurs who have been successful in their own ventures and are giving back to like-minded business owners can be invaluable!  Seeking self-improvement is a huge investment back into your business, its employees, services & products, growth and consequent value. 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics, a division within the Department of Labor, reported several weeks ago that less than 50% of small businesses successfully make it past 4 years of operation.  In fact, only 44% of business owners can “hack it” through 4 years of operation.  Nearly 65% of businesses successfully make it past the first two years.

     Over at Yahoo! Finance, they feature an article about hiring family members and friends in the small business.  When I first began reading the article, I almost choked on my lunch at one of the opening comments:  “I’m a big fan of nepotism.”

Fortunately, the article went on to lay out guidelines for the small business owner who is seeking talent and is looking to family and friends as new employees.  It’s a good read if you’re at the crossroads of staffing…..check it out.

When starting a business, launching a new product or executing strategic growth initiatives it is important that you throw a 1-2 punch.  A wise man (my father ;-)) once said, “plan your work, work your plan”.  This is a simple yet very complex concept.  This idea can really carry over to all parts of life — family, friends, work, faith, health, play, etc.  While we all have ideas and expectations we hope come to fruition, the responsiblity to act still rests solely on our own shoulders for us to take action and turn potential and actual.

If your business caters to a local, geographic audience then a question always top of mind is “How do we reach more customers in our city?”.  There are a multitude of answers and the degree of these will vary based on your type of business, who you’re talking to, and what your goals are.  In general, it is critical that you integrate a strong marketing mix into the equation.  Traditional examples would include direct mail, yellow page advertising, networking events, partnership opportunities, event sponsorships, etc.  In today’s rapidly evolving world of technology and internet, an untapped market that has significant upside to small business owners is search engine marketing and advertising.