8 Ways to Become Everyone's Favorite Boss

Adam Fine Contributor It’s easy to understand why the motto “Work hard and be nice to people” is so popular. Not only is it short and memorable, but it reminds us how valuable often overlooked traits like diligence and kindness are in the workplace. With that in mind, I’ve created a detailed guide corporate leaders can follow to become bosses valued and liked by their...

Read More

Pro Tips for Hitting the Pricing Nail on the Head

Robert W. Bly Contributor In The Marketing Plan Handbook, author Robert W. Bly explains how you can develop big-picture marketing plans for pennies on the dollar with his 12-step marketing plan. In this edited excerpt, Bly outlines the five factors you need to take into account when pricing your product or service. What should you charge for your product? Are you...

Read More

Hiring Overqualified Employees Might Be Good for Your Business

By Chad Brooks Despite common beliefs, hiring overqualified employees isn't always harmful to your business, new research suggests.Although it has long been accepted that hiring overqualified employees is detrimental to an organization, new research finds that there are ways to negate the negative impact, according to a study recently published in the Journal of Applied Psychology.The key to...

Read More

3 Oddball Interview Questions And How To Answer Them

Peggy McKee Sometimes, you’re in a job interview and out of left field comes a question so bizarre that you have no idea how it could possibly apply to this job. Why do interviewers ask oddball interview questions? Almost always, it’s because they are trying to get at your true personality. They’re trying to surprise you into an answer that comes straight from the heart, because you haven’t...

Read More

8 Reasons Why You Should Start Eating Asparagus!

by Brian Wu One of the earliest signs of a new growing season is the presence of asparagus at the supermarket. Asparagus is a tall plant from the lily family whose shoots are edible and considered a health vegetable that is perfect for almost any diet. There are many reasons why everyone should be eating asparagus. Let’s take a look at exactly why you should make this tasty vegetable...

Read More

5 Tips For Teaching Leadership Skills

By Nicole Fallon Taylor It's often said that it takes a certain type of person to be a great leader. These individuals exhibit qualities like passion, integrity, a take-charge attitude and the ability to inspire others. Employers and executives recognize this, and these "born leaders" are often first in line for promotions to leadership roles.But people with leadership potential don't simply...

Read More

Why Sending a Deck to an Investor Before a First Meeting Is a Bad Idea

Alex Iskold Contributor Here's a typical exchange between a founder and an investor: Founder: Hi! Would LOVE to meet you and talk to you about what we are doing.Investor: Do you have a deck?Founder: Sure, here it is. When can we meet? Then, after about a week or two: Investor: Sorry, doesn't look like I could help. (Or even worse: I am pretty busy now, let's...

Read More

5 Tips to Prepare You and Your Business for the Holidays

by Joshua Sophy The holiday season often brings the busiest time of the year for small businesses and increasing demands from the owners’ family and friends. By being well prepared, owners and their families increase their chances for a happy holiday season — and a happy and prosperous new year. Staying Ahead of the Competition Let’s face it. Yours isn’t the only business out there...

Read More

You Made It Yourself: Now What? 29 Places to Sell Your Handmade Creations

by TJ McCue The word “handmade” evokes feelings of warmth, of comfort, of craftsmanship. Earlier this summer, I mentioned some cool niche sites serving the artisan community in my 19 new additions to a large ecommerce list.  Amazon and eBay are certainly well known marketplaces among those looking to sell just about anything, but niche marketplaces and communities are growing quickly....

Read More

4 Common Leadership Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them)

By Nicole Fallon By Nicole Fallon As a leader, you've got a lot of responsibility on your shoulders. Despite your best efforts and intentions, mistakes can happen, and when they do, it's important to deal with them in an open, professional manner. Here are some of the most common mistakes people in leadership positions make — and how to avoid them in the future.Hiring too quicklyIn a startup...

Read More

3 Ways to Use the Green-Eyed Monster to Your Advantage

Marc Mawhinney Contributor People seem to share everything on social media nowadays: their political opinions, cat videos and even pictures of what they had for breakfast. So it’s not surprising that they also share the big wins in their businesses -- the victories that they’re excited about. When you see others celebrating their successes, how...

Read More

6 Things Successful Leaders Do Differently

Travis Bradberry Contributor Great leadership can be a difficult thing to pin down and understand. You know a great leader when you’re working for one, but even they can have a hard time articulating what it is that makes their leadership so effective. It was recently rumored that Starbucks’ CEO Howard Schultz would run for president, but Schultz shut the idea down...

Read More

Are Assessments Good For Your Career?

Jim Schreier Assessments, from heavily researched personality tests to the scores of instruments that measure “personal styles” in some manner, are praised by publishers and criticized by a variety of sources including academics. In addition, I’ve recently seen an article providing “tips” on how to take these types of tests. I will first admit that I am a firm supporter of testing if done...

Read More

Best Practices for CRM Marketing Integration

by Megan Totka If your business is considering investing in a customer relationship management (CRM) platform to create synergy between your sales and marketing teams, the way you implement it into the workflow matters. Using these best practices, your business can successfully integrate CRM marketing to get the most out of the CRM and the data it offers. Train Employees on How to Use...

Read More