Start, Run, & Grow Your Business

Running a Business During COVID-19? 12 Tips to Ensure Success

Running a business is never easy, but COVID-19 has created a slew of additional challenges. From lockdowns to capacity restrictions, businesses everywhere are struggling to adapt to the new normal. The pandemic is especially difficult for small businesses and entrepreneurs. Don’t panic! You don’t need to let COVID-19 bring an end to your business. So, how do you keep your business afloat during a pandemic? Online meetings & teleworking are a couple of the ways that businesses are coping. However, those solutions don’t work for every business owner.. Luckily, we’ve uncovered a variety of tactics that you can use to ride out the pandemic. Whether you have an online or a local business, the following 12 tips can help you remain successful. 1. Review Your Local COVID-19 Restrictions If you want to avoid costly fines and penalties, you first need to review the COVID-19 restrictions in …

Siete Foods: Reinventing Classic Mexican-American Food

If you’ve browsed the chip aisle of your local grocery store in the past year or two, you’ve likely seen Siete tortillas & tortilla chips. The popular brand is relatively new to the scene, yet it’s slowly reinventing the way people think about Mexican-American food. Instead of wheat or corn, the tortilla chips are grain-free. They are made with natural alternatives, such as almonds and chickpeas. Despite the massive popularity of Siete Family Foods, the company is still a family-owned and operated business. The Garzas are the family behind the brand, led by siblings Miguel and Veronica. They recently obtained $90 million in funding and appear ready to take over the natural foods industry. So, how did a Mexican-American family launch the fastest-growing company in the natural food industry? Here’s the story of entrepreneurs Miguel and Veronica Garza – the founders of Siete Family Foods. Who Are …

Don’t Wear Too Many Hats as a Small Business Owner

The truth is that, as a small business owner, you will naturally find yourself handling all kinds of different tasks, being pulled in multiple directions at the same time. Even though that’s the case, you still shouldn’t have to destroy yourself in the process. Most business owners are extremely ambitious and results-driven, so no matter what is thrown at them, they just push through and get it done without a second thought. That may become a problem, if you’re not careful. It’s all about balance & making sure you are not letting yourself become too overwhelmed. The aim of this post is to give you at least the beginnings of a plan for using healthy practices to manage the heavy load and still get everything done. A Day in the Life of a Small Business Owner A small business owner, especially with a new business, will have …

How Small Businesses Can Compete with Big Companies & Win

Entering an industry as a business owner where big companies are already operating in the space is a bold prospect and very intimidating. Though it’s not statistically likely that you’re going to be able to jump in and overtake a company like Target in their home court, you can absolutely prosper and even proliferate alongside the well-established heavy hitters. If there are multiple businesses who are offering the same product or service within the same general area, then that means there is probably a large enough market to support them all. Dig in, commit yourself to the task, and use the following strategies to give your small business every advantage that you can. The Odds Are Already in Your Favor With some exceptions, nearly everything about what a small business produces is better than the big ones. Service and support are generally faster and more attentive; quality …

6-Step Plan to the Perfect Business Phone System

Whether you already have an established business or are just getting started, at some point you are going to need to think about your phones. While some business owners will opt to use their cell number as the business line (please don’t do this; see why) others will be considering a fancy office system. That is until you are confronted with the upfront costs, old school desk phones, networking equipment & long term contracts that come with these “modern” office systems… This is why virtual phone systems have gained popularity in recent years. Not only are there no contracts, upfront costs, or equipment to purchase but you can have everything up and running in less than an hour. All you need is access to a web browser and either a PC, cell phone or landline! To lean more about virtual phone systems, check out this article: How Does a …

UFC to Podcast Heavy-Hitter: Joe Rogan Hits the Mark

Joe Rogan is a household name, even if you don’t quite remember what he’s famous for. Some people remember Joe Rogan from his time on NewsRadio. Others think of his stint as the original host of Fear Factor. However, his acting career pales in comparison to his position as one of the most successful podcasters in recent history. So, how did Joe Rogan go from supporting actor on a sitcom to the host of a wildly popular podcast? Certainly not from blending in with the rest of the crowd.. Facing Fear Comes Naturally to Joe Rogan Joe Rogan helped people face their fears on Fear Factor, which is something that he strongly believes in. Early in his life, Joe overcame his own fears by taking up martial arts. He’s stated that he was “terrified of being a loser” growing up. Practicing martial arts was a natural …

How Does a Virtual Phone System Work?

It’s actually rather simple. If you’ve ever worked at a business, or have your own business that utilizes a traditional phone system, then you already understand how a virtual phone system works because the concept is the same. On-site, traditional phone systems have been the backbone of businesses for a long time, and this kind of network is a precursor to the service provided by Talkroute. Inspired by conventional networks, Talkroute works along the same principles and offers the same features—except it’s completely virtual, which is why there is no need to buy or install new equipment. It’s 100% in the cloud and works with your existing phones and devices. Turn Your Desktop & Cell Phone Into a Fully-Functional Virtual Phone System Just like the conventional phone networks, a virtual phone system manages every call that comes into your business. Instead of buying a bunch of new …

7 Tips for Hiring & Managing Remote Employees

More and more small businesses have been deciding to use remote employees for a few different reasons, not the least of which is to save money that would otherwise be spent on an office space. Then Covid-19 comes along & inadvertently forces us all to truly reevaluate our current working environments. While some people are already very familiar with working this way, many are not. So in this article we’ll dive in & address some of the issues a business owner will run into when hiring and managing remote employees. Working remotely immediately sounds like a great idea, and it is, but there are some things that you will encounter that you probably won’t expect. That’s precisely why it’s good to know certain key things before you delve into this pervasive & fairly new working sphere. These 7 points will help you a great deal as you move into …

Wash, Rinse, Repeat: Briogeo CEO Nancy Twine Renews Hair Care

Nancy Twine has the distinction of being the youngest African-American to launch a line of hair care products at Sephora. After spending seven years working on Wall Street, she ditched finance for beauty. She’s now the CEO of a multi-million-dollar company and carving out a niche in a crowded industry. So how did Nancy Twine go from managing investments to managing one of the fastest-growing hair care lines? It turns out this wasn’t a sudden career change. Nancy started making natural hair care products years before reaching Wall Street. Let’s take a detailed look at the history of Briogeo and the CEO behind it. Who Is Nancy Twine? Nancy Twine is the founder and CEO of Briogeo. She founded the company in 2013 before the age of 30 after working for one of the largest financial companies in the world. However, her experience with making organic …

7 Tips for Bootstrapping Your Business Without Falling Apart

This is for all you wide-eyed, ambitious, and driven small business owners out there, who have decided to take it upon yourself to foot the bill for your business without taking an investment from anyone. You don’t want to owe anything to anybody, which is both admirable and smart because once you get going and you’ve been in business for a while, it’s really nice to be able to keep all your profits (or put it back into the business, as one does). Bootstrapping your business can be tough, and especially tough when you’re not made of money. If you’ve made the decision to do that, then you probably know what you’re getting into. Be that as it may, however, you will likely still welcome some tips to make sure your business ends up fully-funded and flourishing. That’s the purpose of this article, and these small pieces of advice …

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