Business Tips

Taking notes? There’s an app for that. But I’m not interested.

It can be hard to receive negative feedback, especially in the workplace. It’s also difficult to give negative feedback in a manner where employees listen, understand and eventually grow from the experience. By using a few tactics, there are ways to improve the experience of criticism from both perspectives.

Between work, school, sporting activities and social activities, making sure that your family is where they need to be can be stressful.

Being in a management position means being a valued and respected leader for other members of your team, but respect does not usually come simultaneously with the title. So, how can you earn it?

An editorial calendar is a schedule of topics for your content. You may create an editorial calendar for owned content, such as media pitches, social media strategy, blogs and more.

Could you be benefitting from marketing your products and services on LinkedIn? Recently released reports from Microsoft suggest that you could be. The professional and business-based platform has shown increased levels of engagement recently.

Are your promotions going out to social media channels when customers are online? Don’t post and get lost in feed clutter. Research shows the best times and days to post on the various social platforms are:

We all know that networking is important to grow your business, but walking into a room full of strangers can be intimidating. So how can you overcome awkwardness at large networking events?

Almost everyone likes a person with a good sense of humor. Studies even show humorous people are more successful and are more likely to be in positions of influence.

Whether it’s a company presentation or a Sunday prayer, speaking to a crowd can be terrifying. Here are four helpful tools:

If you want people to engage and talk with you, ask better questions. We all know that the answer to “How was your day?” will typically be “fine.” Ask a more open question.

Do you get inundated with emails and often miss or completely lose important communications? Start cleaning up your emails today.

Business email inboxes are noisier than ever, so avoiding “opt-out status” with your colleagues is crucial. Here are three tips for email etiquette:

In the past, companies focused on hiring leaders based on charisma, drive and dependability. Now, many organizations are realizing the most important trait for a leader to possess is humility.

It started with passion. Then the idea. Now you even have the whole business plan with all the details addressed. What you likely do not have is the money. A business pitch competition might just be just the thing to get your startup truly started.

Procrastination: we’ve all dealt with it at some point. But did you know it goes deeper than just putting off a task? In our minds, each task falls into one of four categories: expectancy, value, time or impulsivity. Or in layman’s terms, we don’t care, we’re not getting the wanted results, our time is too valuable, or we’re just downright impulsive.

Cybersecurity threats are out there every single day for businesses, regardless of their size. That’s why business owners should lead by example and teach employees how to protect confidential information, like company finances.

According to Credit Suisse, the average age of an S&P 500 company today is under 20 years, down from 60 years in the 1950s. While mergers and acquisitions have played a role, analysts point to technological disruption as the driving force.

HR management is essential for running a successful business, but it is often overlooked by small-business owners. No matter the size of your business, proper HR strategies are a must. Here are some tips for small-business managers to help optimize employees’ performance and create a safe and professional work environment:

How many times have you clicked or read an email just to get that unread number to zero? You just wasted a microdecision on opening an email, reading it, and not doing anything with it.

Summertime is prime internship season for college students seeking real-world experience. Following are some general tips on how to provide honest but encouraging feedback:

How much does a seller want? How much has a seller invested in their business? How much does a seller need to put their daughter through college? These are all incorrect ways to value a business that sellers often use to calculate price.

Auto Remarketing editor Joe Overby attends lots of conferences and offers these eight must-have items on his packing list:

You’ve made the decision to hire a marketing agency. How do you know which agency to select? I spent more than 20 years on the client side as an in-house marketing director/VP and hired many marketing agencies.

According to “The Mind of a Strategist,” effectively negotiating requires practice, not to be left dormant and tapped at will. At 4, my granddaughter Emily gets it.

Corporate April Fool’s Day pranks are yet another example of brands becoming less “stuffy” by using humor, personality and even a bit of irreverence to connect with their customers. This strategy has proven successful for many companies, but it can backfire if not thought out properly.

Sharon Hill worked at IBM when a company-sponsored meeting on etiquette gave her a business idea. Hill started hosting seminars internally at IBM and outside the company.

Podcasts have risen in popularity. New to the idea? Thepodcast.com offers this definition: “A podcast is talk radio, but on demand. It’s a series of spoken, audio episodes, often focused on a particular topic or theme.”

Spring is in the air and that means it’s time to freshen up your office surroundings. Clutter-busting tips include: