The most important goals you set for yourself will take time to achieve. That’s a fact.
At some point, though, I can pretty much guarantee that you’re going to feel frustrated things aren’t moving faster. But, the truth is, hurrying won’t help you. It can be hard to stay motivated when times are tough. You may even feel like you want to quit. But if you are patient, your persistence will pay off.
Here are five tips I use to remind myself of the big picture — and to not give up too easily.
Toyota announced five recalls on Wednesday, affecting a total of 6.39 million vehicles globally.
The recalls cover 27 Toyota (TM) models — including Camry, Corolla, Matrix and Highlander. Two of those models were made by joint manufacturing ventures and sold under other brands: the Pontiac Vibe and the Subaru Trezia. Some of the vehicles were made as early as 2004.
March 2014 has proven to be another busy month for the world of social media. Whilst there hasn’t been a specific event to dominate headlines, several stories emerged which hint at the future of the industry. The implications for the business world are intriguing, and suggest creativity, and a degree of restraint, may form marketing campaigns of the future. What’s clear from certain stories is many businesses are attempting to quell growing fears of privacy concerns. For companies who rely heavily on online interaction, it’s a crucial stage to maintain customer faith.
Here are eight of the most intriguing moments, and how they could shape the future of the business world.
Does your business accept credit card payments online? Doing so is a great way for small businesses to simplify sales in addition to or instead of face-to-face transactions.
Even though the customer isn’t standing in front of you, you’re still required to protect his or her credit information, says the PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). It’s also important to safeguard your own business against security risks: When it comes to accepting online credit card payments, fraud is on the rise. According to the 2013 LexisNexis True Cost of Fraud Study, merchants who accept online payments attributed 42 percent of fraudulent transactions to the online channel this year, compared with 31 percent in 2012.
Here’s the sneaky thing about mental blocks — they usually make their presence known through sabotage (your business, your relationships, your life, etc.) rather than let you know through more civilized means.
Wouldn’t it be so much nicer if they simply tapped you on the shoulder and said “hey — this is an issue for you, maybe you should take care of it?”
Alas, they prefer to communicate with you by wreaking havoc in your business and your life.
And, when it comes to your business, one of their favorite ways of messing with you is through marketing.
So, how do you know if this is something you’re doing? Below are the 3 Danger Signs:
The convergence of a number of economic conditions and consumer trends has hatched a business environment in the U.S. that embraces small business, and we are on the verge of revitalized small business communities across the country. To determine which U.S. cities are the most amenable to the wave of small business owners that will establish local roots in the upcoming year, we have developed a unique set of criteria based on data available within Radius.
The business benefits of video for brand discovery, web traffic and customer engagement have been widely documented over the years. But do people really find videos helpful in making purchasing decisions? In a recent survey of more than 1,000 U.S. adults, we learned that videos created by businesses really do help people make more confident shopping decisions and feel more connected to a brand. A whopping 96 percent of all respondents said they find video helpful when making purchase decisions online, and 73 percent said they are more likely to purchase a product after watching a marketing video. These are pretty convincing reasons to invest in video!
As always, while they’re free now, we can’t guarantee how long they’ll last–so don’t wait too long.
Papyrus (Android)
A simple stylus app that’s a decent alternative to Evernote’s new Handwriting feature. Draw, write, select, and move parts of the note around pages. Premium features include PDF editing, which could be worth the extra cost.
I’ve been having disagreements for years about the usefulness of college degrees as a measure of someone’s ability to be an outstanding employee. Now, don’t get me wrong – I don’t think it’s ever a bad thing to have a degree. I just think people make an assumption about formal education that’s often untrue. They assume that if two people are exactly the same in terms of age, life and job experience and demographics, and one has a college degree and the other doesn’t – that the one who has the degree will be a better employee and have a more successful career.
Are you still advertising and marketing your small business based on how customers used to find your business years ago? Then wake up and smell the coffee: The way customers buy has changed in the last few years, and if the way you’re marketing your business isn’t keeping up, you’re going to be left behind.
