It’s important to recognize the early signs of burnout and mental health struggles. Ignoring them can have disastrous consequences for you and your business. It can lead to decreased productivity, poor decision-making, high employee turnover, and a toxic company culture. Moreover, mental health struggles can seep into personal relationships, further isolating you from the support you need.

Trust is the cornerstone of customer relationships, driving sales and fostering loyalty. Yet, building that trust swiftly, especially in a competitive landscape filled with countless options for consumers, can be hard. Establishing credibility and rapport takes time and effort. (It’s the one thing you can’t buy at Costco.) But strategic actions can accelerate trust building. By focusing on transparency, communication, and consistently exceeding expectations, you can cultivate trust quickly and effectively. If you want to build trust with current and potential customers, check out these important values.

For the past two years or so, it feels as if economists have been avoiding the words recession and inflation. No one wants to hear those terms. They’ve been pointing to economic equations and data to show we’re not “technically” in a recession because unemployment is low or the inflation rate is lower than it was this time last year.

But if you’re feeling the pinch in your business, an economic turn of words means little to you.

So, what can you do to combat this word no one wants to talk about?

As a business owner, you are well-served by collecting emails and running an email marketing campaign if for no other reason than to remain top-of-mind with your customers. When they’re getting emails from you with exciting news and great deals (who couldn’t use those these days?) they’ll get used to hearing from you and seeing your name.

But you want to do more than just be recognizable and remain top-of-mind. You want your emails to drive purchases. Even if you don’t sell online, emails are an excellent motivator and nurturer for in-person purchases—if you can get recipients to open them.

If you are in a client services business (especially one where your clients might return over and over), one of the best things you can do to set yourself up for success is to understand who you want to work with and who aligns with your skills and talent.

If you’re just starting off, or you’ve fallen on hard times, it’s tempting to work with anyone and everyone. But you’ll end up sabotaging yourself in the long run when you choose to work with the “wrong” clients.

After all, there are limited hours in the workday. If you’re plugging just anyone into those spots, there may not be room for the clients that you find the most desirable.

Summer is a season of change for many small businesses. School's out, vacations are in, and customer behavior shifts as people embrace the warmer weather and longer days. For some businesses, it’s a time of enormous revenue; for others, it can herald a long dry spell.

But with a bit of planning and creativity, summer can also be a season of growth and opportunity no matter what type of business you are in (except maybe snow plowing).

Here are a few ideas that you can start thinking about today.

It’s that time of year when businesses start thinking about summer help. Could you use an intern this summer? Here are several things you need to consider before bringing on your first intern.

There’s an untapped goldmine out there for your business—YouTube. Beyond the fact that it is the second-largest search engine globally (behind its parent Google), YouTube offers a unique space for businesses to connect with their audience, showcase expertise, and build lasting relationships. It’s time to get over your fear of video and embrace the world of YouTube because it can significantly impact your business growth and reach.

Whether you are a business or a nonprofit, operating in the public sector or the private one, serving businesses and organizations or serving individuals, established in your sector or just starting out, running an empire or “lone wolfing” it, your audience wants to get to know you better. In fact, they expect it.

So, what does that look like and how does that benefit you?

If you’re a woman who owns a business and you’d like to apply for federal contracts, getting officially certified as a woman-owned business is essential. The federal government’s goal is to award at least 5% of its contracts to women-owned small businesses each year. While the certification process may seem daunting, it’s not that difficult if you know the basic application rules and materials needed.

If you’re interested in ways to reach more people, and you’re ready to start maximizing technology, it’s time to look at these business solutions.

No matter what industry you're in, you can always learn from techniques used in other businesses. Particularly if those techniques lead you to ideas that help you connect with your audience. In this article, we're going to discuss an easy change that will transform your business's marketing and how people see your business. It's something you can do today regardless of your target market.

There are years to plant, years to sow, years to harvest, and years to lay fallow. And that applies to business too. That doesn’t mean you go dormant with nothing to do. There’s always growth to be had but the outward signs of that growth look different from year to year (or in the case of gardening, season to season.)

We are social creatures. We long for acceptance. We have a fear of missing out. And it’s those very social drives you can leverage to get more customers.

Your business story is a lasso that draws people in and holds them there. But it can also be a feel-good moment in a sea of dread. With the economic struggles most are enduring, now is the perfect time to cultivate and share your business story.

These days when we talk about the power of personalization, we’re not referring to using someone's name in an e-mail or letter. You should be doing that anyway. What your customers expect is a lot more complex but can drive a large number of sales when done well.

Have you ever attended a chamber event? If you’re not a member, you’re missing out. Before you think you don’t have the time to attend events, it’s important you know chamber life is not just mixers and ribbon cuttings. Chamber membership is one of the best-kept secrets for free or nearly free business resources like webinars, lunch & learns, and written collateral. Plus, a whole lot more. Chamber membership is one of the best business investments you can make for the money and return.

Ever notice how some offers are irresistible? You didn’t even know you needed the product or service. Then you saw the offer, and BANG!, you’re whipping out your credit card. This isn’t by accident. Someone down the line carefully created the offer that caused you to act with wild abandon. And you can do it too for your business. It just takes a little forethought.

While many businesses are launching diversity initiatives, there’s one area of diversity you may not have considered—neurodiversity. There are several ways to be designated a neurodiverse-friendly business, whether that’s creating a more inviting atmosphere for neurodiverse customers or creating a workplace where all employees are comfortable and valued.