Before you hire a new employee, be sure to conduct a thorough reference check. That’s why it’s important to make sure that your employment application form requires applicants to consent to a pre-employment background check. You shouldn’t run an actual background screen until making a conditional job offer, but it’s certainly a good idea to [...]

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Now that your small business has grown the to the point where you need to add staff members, you’ll likely find that locating qualified employees who have the skills and personality traits that make them a good fit for your organization isn’t as easy as you thought it would be. In decades past, running an [...]

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Are you looking for an idea for how you can earn a living working from home? Many people successfully operate home based businesses. If you’d like to join their ranks, you need to spend some time thinking about what types of work you want to do, whether or not you have the necessary skills, whether [...]

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As a small business owner or other professional, it’s important to practice proper business etiquette at all times. One of the most common etiquette breaches in the modern world relates to cell phone usage. When you, and your employees, are interacting with customers, networking contacts, and the general public, it’s essential to limit your cell [...]

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Most business owners find themselves traveling for business upon occasion. Some entrepreneurs travel quite frequently, while others do so only infrequently. No matter how often you “hit the road” or “take to the skies”, it’s important to take steps to make sure that your trips go as smoothly as possible. Traveling for business doesn’t have [...]

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No matter what type of small business you own, it’s a good idea to investigate the benefits of joining your local Chamber of Commerce. Depending of the size of the metropolitan area where you live, you may benefit from becoming a member of several chambers: the large organization for the major metropolitan area where you [...]

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If you own a retail business, it’s absolutely critical that you have some sort of merchant account for credit card processing. Merchants who only accept cash and checks lose out on a substantial amount of sales volume simply because many people do not carry cash anymore. They depend on electronic payment methods such as credit [...]

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With the holiday season fast approaching, it’s essential for small business owners to think about what they can do to make sure their best customers know they are appreciated. While it’s always important to let customers know that you value them and their business, it’s certainly a good idea to do something special around the [...]

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Did you realize how many hats you would have to wear when you became a small business owner? Many people who move into owning small businesses after spending years working for other people find themselves surprised at what the reality of truly being fully in charge of a new business is like. On any given [...]

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