February 2014 Features

  • The Benefits of Giving Your Staff a Raise

    February 28, 2014

    Are you trying to keep your key employees happy by offering them perks like work-at-home days, cross-training and flexible hours? That’s great and I encourage you to keep offering those extras, but a new study shows that they may not be enough to retain workers.

  • The Tax Price of Success

    February 27, 2014

    It’s commonly understood that the better you do in business, the more taxes you’ll pay. As Scottish whiskey distiller, Thomas Robert Dewar, said: “Nothing hurts more than having to pay an income tax, unless it is not having to pay an income tax.”

  • Language of Leadership: Constructive Versus Destructive

    February 26, 2014

    While many people are given the title of leader, a lot of them don’t elicit results because they don’t communicate in a way that inspires action and results. Having studied leaders for several years there are three distinct behaviors that I see real, impactful leaders engage in.

  • How the Affordable Care Act Will Reduce Small Business Employment

    February 25, 2014

    The Congressional Budget Office reported that the Affordable Care Act will mean that two million fewer people will be employed full-time in 2017 than would be working in the absence of the law.

  • What Helped Drive Amazon’s Success From the Beginning

    February 24, 2014

    By now we all know how Amazon has changed the way we shop, read, and even create businesses with its Amazon Web Services arm. But in the early days of eCommerce, it was far from a sure success. As I’m in the process of writing a book on how Amazon has changed the rules of the game for customer engagement, I recently had the distinct pleasure of speaking with one of the people responsible for leading the design of Amazon’s first site.

  • Be The Best “Business Of One” You Can Be

    February 21, 2014

    Having your own business is still one of the most dreamed about career goals most people have, but one of the hardest to sustain. The entrepreneurial mindset is characterized by initiative, adventure, risk and perseverance. Taking leadership of your company if you do own it and ownership of your career if you run it are “musts” in today’s competitive business world.

  • What to Expect & Not to Expect From a Business Mentor

    February 20, 2014

    Businesses that receive mentoring are 20% more likely to grow than businesses that don’t, according to research from the UPS Store. Business mentors are usually more experienced business owners or industry professionals who can provide advice and guidance.

  • Top 10 Interview Questions to Ask Prospective Employees

    February 19, 2014

    While unemployment is the lowest in 5 years, it is still challenging to find the best employees for your company. Not only do they need the skills to perform their job well, but they also have to fit within the company’s culture.

  • Georgia Experiences Fourth Record Year in International Trade

    February 18, 2014

    Georgia experienced its fourth record year in a row for international trade, exceeding last year’s milestones in both imports and exports. The total value of goods exported from Georgia totaled $37.6 billion, the most the state has ever exported within a single year.

  • SBA Nominee Talks Marketing to Banks, Businesses at Confirmation Hearing

    February 14, 2014

    If finally confirmed, the newly nominated chief of the U.S. Small Business Administration promised to do more to promote the agency’s services. Maria Contreras-Sweet said at her confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship that more must be done to brand the SBA.

  • The Gift of Margin - 3 Ways to Get You Some

    February 13, 2014

    Margin in life is truly a gift and most of us have so little these days. Margin in our calendar gives us time to listen to a friend. Margin in our finances allows us to help a friend, or help ourselves. It is also keeps us out of debt and reduces stress.

  • Yet Another Delay for Obamacare, Until January 2016

    February 12, 2014

    We’re at the point where we’ll soon need a spreadsheet to keep track of all the changes to Obamacare. On Monday the Obama Administration once again delayed a provision of the Affordable Care Act.

  • Buying is a Sensual Activity

    February 11, 2014

    I once heard Ken Blanchard (the One Minute Manager author) tell a story about Sheldon Bowles, a Canadian entrepreneur who decided to go against the self service gas trend back in 1970 by creating a full service franchise in western Canada called Domo Gas.

  • Your Employees Are Your Most Valuable Recruiting Tools

    February 10, 2014

    The most obvious and glaring trend for recruiting is the use of social media for outreach to active and passive candidates. Most recruiters, staffing firms and other companies will tell you that their job opportunities need to be readily available, easily accessible and mobile friendly. One vital asset that recruiters often overlook are the people sitting right around them in the office. Current employees can provide valuable help in the recruiting process.

  • Small Businesses Once Again Create More Jobs Than Big Businesses

    February 07, 2014

    Small businesses created almost double the new jobs in January 2014, compared with large businesses. And when you add growth among medium-sized businesses to the employment growth in small businesses, the numbers swamp the job growth of large corporations.

  • UGA Study Finds Volunteering Increases Workers’ Job Performance

    February 05, 2014

    Volunteerism is on the rise in the U.S., with more than a quarter of Americans engaging in charitable work. But how do all the hours spent working for free affect workers’ on-the-job performance?

  • Georgia Manufacturing Activity Drops for Second Consecutive Month

    February 04, 2014

    Georgia manufacturing activity dropped slightly for January, while the nation experienced a greater decline for the same month, closing the gap between manufacturing activity in the state and the nation.

  • Fewer Small Businesses Paying Late in 2013

    February 03, 2014

    Small businesses were prompter at paying their loans and bills in 2013 than in 2012, data from several sources reveals. Moody’s Analytics and Experian reported substantial declines in both 30 and 90 day small business credit delinquency rates during the past year, part of an improving trend since the summer of 2011 when those rates peaked.