Best Cities For Small Businesses. Where Are They?

Even though the number of added jobs for the first quarter of 2017 was not what analysts were expecting, the fact that businesses — if not hiring yet-are compensating employees with higher wages or other type of incentives is good for the economy.

The optimism small business owners indicated were feeling at the beginning of this administration, has not translated completely to added jobs.  When the second quarter arrives, we hope to have a clearer view of added jobs that will boost the optimism of the small business owner for 2017.

To read more about this and other topics, follow the links below.


The best city for small business in America is not in Silicon Valley

New York City surpassed Silicon Valley to become the top city for small business, according to Biz2Credit’s annual study of the Top Small Business Cities in America. New York’s growth has been fueled by the booming real estate market and the construction industry, banking and finance (including fintech), and the city’s thriving technology sector.

New York City overtook last year’s small-business city leader, San Jose, the hub of Silicon Valley, which dropped to the No. 4 spot on the list. Technology companies in Silicon Valley are still thriving, but it’s the supplementary companies that are faced with challenges of growing. The skyrocketing cost of living in Silicon Valley impedes the profits of many firms. Commercial rents, housing and labor costs weigh down non-tech businesses dramatically. Furthermore, taxes are higher in California, in general. Lacking that economic balance in the area has prevented San Jose from reigning as the leader in top small-business cities this year.


Small businesses hired fewer workers in April but gave their employees raises, Paychex survey shows

Small business hiring fell in April, but wages continued to rise for workers, a report by human resources firm Paychex said Tuesday.

The Small Business Jobs Index decreased 0.22 percent from the previous month to 100.50. The pace of small business employment growth is down 0.27 percent from a year ago, the company said.

“The decline in the April index mirrors what was reported last month by (the Bureau of Labor Statistics), which showed deceleration of job growth,” said Martin Mucci, Paychex president and CEO. “At the same time, the wage report shows continued growth in both hourly earnings and hours worked over the past year.”

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last month that nonfarm payrolls grew less than expected, but average hourly earnings were up by 2.7 percent on an annualized basis.

Paychex said national hourly earnings for the month were $25.67, increasing 2.73 percent, or 68 cents, from last year. Weekly earnings were up 2.92 percent from last year.


These 4 tips will help small business owners drastically boost their earnings this year

Whether you’re running an established small business or just starting your journey toward entrepreneurship, it’s safe to assume most business owners are on the hunt for new ways to grow their enterprise and improve their bottom line.

And we should all want to help them do so. Why? According to the Small Business Administration (SBA), small businesses create nearly 70 percent of net new jobs nationally, and drive tremendous growth in our local economies. When small businesses flourish, everyone wins.

My father-in-law is a small business owner. As a result, I have seen first-hand the sacrifices they make on a daily basis, and am driven to design products and provide resources to help small businesses meet their goals and fulfill their dreams.

 In honor of National Small Business Week, here are four ways small business owners (SBOs) can drive business growth this year.


Does Your Small Business Need Financial Help?

Do you believe your small business can benefit from a small business loan this year? Do you know where to apply for one?  Small businesses in Michigan are getting workshops and small business loans for their business to help them grow.  The requirements to apply for such loans are minimal and depending on your business, the ROI when you apply for such loans can be monumental.  For more information about this, follow the links below.


Small business owners get help and inside tips in special workshop

Small Business Workshop in Detroit’s Tech Town.

DETROIT, Mich. (WXYZ) – Small business owners are getting ready for a special workshop designed to help them grow their companies. The event is loaded with information for current leaders and aspiring ones. CLICK THE VIDEO PLAYER TO FIND OUT WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE UNIQUE EVENT.

The month of May is considered “Small Business Month.”  The LEE Group, is teaming up with Fifth Third Bank and the Michigan Women’s Foundation, for the annual Small Business Workshop.

It’s set for Wednesday, May 3, 2017, 7:30am-1pm, at TechTown, located at 440 Burroughs, in Detroit.

The cost is $75 and includes a continental breakfast.  For more information and to register, please visit: http://leegroupinnovation.com/small-business-workshop/


Small business sales hit record in first quarter

Small businesses remain hot commodities, with first-quarter sales of companies reaching the highest point recorded by BizBuySell.com.

The internet marketplace tallied the number of transactions reported by business brokers nationwide.

BizBuySell.com counted 2,368 closed transactions, up nearly 29 percent from 1,840 in the first quarter of 2016. The improving economy is encouraging current owners to put their companies on the market and spurring buyers to look for businesses, BizBuySell.com says.

Companies that are being sold are healthier than a year ago, with an average $518,159 in annual revenue, up more than 8 percent from $478,000 a year earlier. And sellers are getting better prices; the median sale price was $237,000, up nearly 8 percent from $220,000.


NEIdeas offers $400,000 in grants to help small businesses grow

Small businesses in Detroit, Hamtramck and Highland Park can apply for $400,000 in grants to help them grow.The New Economy Initiative program targets companies that are at least 3 years old.

Applications for the NEIdeas: Rewarding Ideas for Business Growth challenge will be accepted from May 1 through June 1. Information sessions begin Tuesday.
The applications will be reviewed by a jury of local small business owners and past NEIdeas winners.Twenty businesses that gross less than $750,000 annually will be selected for $10,000 awards.
Two business that gross more than $750,000 and less than $5 million annually will be selected for $100,000 awards.NEIdeas has awarded $1.5 million to 96 local businesses since 2014 and connected others to technical assistance opportunities.


 

Healthcare and Small Business Borrowing

Businesses in the United States  are still waiting to see what happens with healthcare, and other policy changes in the new administration before they commit to investing or hiring, or any other change that can affect their business.  The euphoria of the Election is passing, and with it the high optimism businesses felt.  Numbers are not as promising as analyst predicted, jobs felt short by more than 100K, and the business community is waiting.

For more about this and other stories, follow the links below.


Small-business sentiment declines as post-election euphoria runs out of steam

Small-business owner optimism declined in March as sales expectations and earnings came back to earth after a post-election surge.

The National Federation of Independent Business said its monthly sentiment gauge fell 0.6 point to 104.7, a slightly larger decline than the 0.5-point dip forecast by economists surveyed by Econoday.

The post-election surge was the biggest in the four decades NFIB has been conducting its survey. The gauge rose again in January but then receded in February.

In March, some warning signs appeared. The uncertainty index rose to 93, its second-highest reading on record. “More small business owners are having a difficult time anticipating the factors that affect their businesses, especially government policy,” noted Bill Dunkelberg, the groups’ chief economist.
But pessimism was widespread in March. Of 10 survey components, only three notched an increase.


Trump just said small businesses were ‘unable to borrow from banks’ — but small-business owners disagree

In a meeting with some of the most powerful CEOs in the world on Tuesday, President Donald Trump argued that small businesses were struggling to find financing.

“So many people come to see me — I see them all the time — small businesses that are unable to borrow from banks,” Trump said. “They never had a problem five, six, seven, 10 years ago. They had great bankers, great relationships, now they can’t borrow.”

The president blamed the post-financial-crisis Dodd-Frank banking regulations, which were enacted in July 2010, and higher capital requirements for the largest financial institutions. Trump said he planned to “streamline” or “eliminate” Dodd-Frank to allow small businesses to borrow again.

Trump’s narrative, however, is the opposite of what small-business owners are saying.


How small businesses are dealing with health care limbo

Republicans have called it quits for now on any plans to do away with Obamacare.

But while it may remain the law of the land, President Trump and GOP leaders in Congress don’t want it to stay that way.

That’s a lot of uncertainty for small business owners like Dr. Vicki Bralow and her husband Dr. Scott Bralow to handle. The couple is less than a month out from opening up their joint primary care office in Philadelphia. Until now, Vicki co-owned a practice downtown where she voluntarily offered her employees insurance.

“One year I’m paying $650 for a family policy and then the following year I’m paying $1,150 a month for a policy,” she said. “That’s a really, really big deal.”

Vicki’s old business is one of nearly 2 million nationwide that employs three to nine workers, by far the group of companies most vulnerable to Obamacare premium spikes.


 

The State of Small Business

After last November’s election, many small business owners expressed high optimism about the business outlook for their business.  They were expectant and seemed eager to hire new employees, and invest in their new business. Small business hiring has decreased slightly from the previous quarter, and although the decreased is very small, small business owners do not feel confident enough to hire and trained new employees.

To read more about this topic, follow the links below.


Small business hiring falls slightly in March after 3 months of gains: Paychex

The Small Business Jobs Index decreased 0.05 percent from the previous month to 100.73. Year-over-year, the pace of small business employment growth is essentially unchanged, the human resources solution firm said.

The national index averaged 100.71 during the first quarters of 2016 and 2017.

“This month’s jobs index once again reflects consistent small business job growth, far above pre-recession levels,” Martin Mucci, Paychex president and CEO, said in a release.

Tennessee remains the top-ranked state, the report said. Dallas became the country’s new top metro area for small business jobs, following a 1.45 percent one-month decrease in Atlanta, which had held the top position.

Last month, Mucci attributed the growth to President Donald Trump‘s pro-business agenda, including tax reform, regulation rollback and the potential for health care reform


American Entrepreneurs Aren’t Hopeful Enough to Hire

Small business owners say they’re confident about their financial future, but aren’t translating that confidence into investments.

Evan Hakalir, a self described optimist, feels good about the future of his 12-person company, which manufactures children’s clothing. Still, the uncertain political climate nags at him.

“People are so caught up in politics and just waiting with bated breath as to what’s going to happen next, waiting for the next shoe to drop,” Hakalir said. He’s trying not to let his concerns get in the way of operating Andy & Evan, which had retail sales of around $12 million last year.

A new report shows many small business owners are in a similar boat: trying to be optimistic but holding off on bold decisions in an ever-shifting political and social landscape.


‘Embrace adversity’ – Confessions of a Small Business

If you don’t experience tough times, you’re not putting yourself out there enough. That was the verdict of the entrepreneurs at our first Confessions of a Small Business seminar. Catch up with what you missed

Subscribe and review on iTunesSoundcloud & Mixcloud and join the discussion on Facebook and Twitter.

On 6 February, 50 entrepreneurs attended a seminar run by the Guardian Small Business Network about overcoming adversity in business.

Our keynote speaker was John Stapleton, founder of New Covent Garden Soup Company, who said: “If you don’t experience adversity, you’re not putting yourself out there enough.” Stapleton’s efforts to take the soup concept to the American market failed but, undeterred, he returned to Europe to launch Little Dish, the children’s food brand.

On the panel was Joanna Montgomery from Little Riot; Nick Edwards, owner of Papaya Resources; and Arpana Gandhi from Disarmco. All had faced setbacks that could have ended their businesses.


 

A Small Idea That Can Become A Big Business

A business idea doesn’t have to be all that new for you to start exploring your options.  Thinking about a different way to approach and solve a problem, or to offer a new service to a niche market can be the start of a new business for you. A new business doesn’t have to be original, it just has to provide a product or service to an existing market, or a new emerging market. If you are thinking about starting a new business and don’t know where to start, read the following article to find out more.


 Sexy small-business startup ideas

Looking for a small-business startup idea? You might want to look to the bedroom. Because, and I know this might shock you, sex sells.

Romance has been around since, well, Adam and Eve. Businesses related to romance continue to do well and are increasingly mainstream. This past Valentine’s Day, even Burger King got in the act. For a very limited time and only in Israel, the fast food chain included a sex toy in an “Adult Meal.” The story spread like wildfire on social media because who can resist anything to do with sex?

While most sex-based businesses are small businesses, they typically seem seedy and are, often, exploitative. But here are some sex and romance-related small-business ideas you that can still tell your grandma about and that won’t land you in jail:

  • Online dating site profile writer. Ask people how they met their partner, and the most frequent response you’ll hear is “online.” But few people know how to write appealing dating site profiles. My senior editor, however, met the man of her dreams on OKCupid. “Before we write anything at work, we research,” she said. “I thought I better do the same thing.” So she figured out how to write a witty, quirky profile, which attracted her perfect match. Friends then started asking her to write their profiles. “This could be a full-time business.” If your customers break up, they need to update their profiles, which means repeat business.

More Than Obamacare Repeal, Small Businesses Want Congress to Rein In Costs

LaRonda Hunter, a business owner in Fort Worth, Tex., views the Affordable Care Act as a literal job killer. Fearful of triggering the law’s employer mandate, which requires businesses with 50 or more workers to offer health insurance or pay penalties, Ms. Hunter has held off on expanding her small chain of hair salons.

She voted for President Trump with the hope that he would quickly make good on his promise to strike down the health care law. On Friday, she watched in despair as the Republicans’ replacement plan unraveled — leaving the law, commonly known as Obamacare, in place “for the foreseeable future,” according to Paul D. Ryan, the House speaker.

“I’m disappointed,” Ms. Hunter, 57, said. “I’m mostly mad at my party for being so disorganized. I’m hoping Trump has learned something about how the government works.”

In Brooklyn, however, another business owner, Leisah Swenson, was ecstatic about the news that Obamacare would be sticking around.


Small businesses looking to Legislature for policy solutions to foster job growth

Small business owners are accustomed to doing a lot with little.

For the vast majority of small businesses across California, owners also serve as the human resources department, the compliance department, the legal department, the payroll department, and so on. In a state where we add thousands of new laws, regulations and associated penalties and fees to the books every year, it is painfully clear that small businesses, the engine of the California economy, are being suffocated.
As members of the National Federation of Independent Business in California gather in Sacramento this week to meet with legislators about issues impacting their small businesses, we urge policymakers to listen to their stories and struggles of running a business in California.

There should be nothing partisan about finding commonsense policy solutions to help foster job growth. While each small business has their own challenges, employers tell us they are looking for solutions to excessive regulation and taxation, and burdensome mandates.


 

Is Online Advertising Working For You?

For some small business owners, online advertising seems to be a no brainer.  You can use Facebook ads to advertise your business or products, you pay the fees, and you wait for the results to start coming. Unfortunately, that is not always the case.  Facebook advertising takes work.  You must consistently test what is working for your particular business, before you can actually get any results.  It is true that for some businesses you do not have to do too much for the ads to work, but for the majority of small businesses, testing your ads to see if they are reaching the right audience, seems to be the only way to go. 


62 Percent of Small Business Owners Say Facebook Ads Don’t Work

Are Facebook ads ineffective, or is the problem user error?

In January 2017, Small Business Trends released the results of a survey of over 2,600 small-business owners, revealing that 62 percent of them believe Facebook ads are ineffective. With complaints of little-to-no ROI, these entrepreneurs say they will not use Facebook advertising again. Some experts, however, challenge this viewpoint, saying that properly targeted Facebook ads do indeed provide results.

“When businesses don’t see the results they hope for, it’s usually because they haven’t done enough testing on their ad copy, visuals, and the ideal combination of information to target the right audience,” says Vitruvian Digital Advertising founder Kristie McDonald.

Jeanine Blackwell, founder of The Launch Lab, agrees, saying that marketers aren’t asking themselves the right questions to determine an effective target market for their ad campaigns. “The problem is that most advertisers only use the simplest of criteria to let Facebook know who they want to see their ads, such as gender, age, and income,” says Blackwell.


The Best Accountability For Small Business Owners

When Beth Savage became the owner of PQ Systems, the first thing she did was put together an outside board. “Why not have a board that is there for the sole reason of helping you and your team succeed?” says Beth.

Many business owners are reluctant to create an outside board. Some believe that their company is unique, and a board of outsiders wouldn’t work for their company.

Others rationalize that they already get enough advice from employees, family members, and paid advisors—such as their attorney, accountant or bankers. Still others can’t see the purpose, and they want to hold on to what they see as their autonomy.


Abrams: Sexy small business start-ups

Looking for a small business start-up idea? You might want to look to the bedroom. Because, and I know this may shock you, sex sells.

Romance has been around since, well, Adam and Eve. Businesses related to romance continue to do well and are increasingly mainstream. This past Valentine’s Day, even Burger King got in the act. For a very limited time and only in Israel, the fast food chain included a sex toy in an “Adult Meal.” The story spread like wildfire on social media because who can resist anything to do with sex?

While most sex-based businesses are small businesses, they typically seem seedy and are, often, exploitative. But here are some sex and romance-related small business ideas you that can still tell your grandma about and that won’t land you in jail:

1. Online dating site profile writer. Ask people how they met their partner, and the most frequent response you’ll hear is “online.” But few people know how to write appealing dating site profiles. My senior editor, however, met the man of her dreams on OKCupid. “Before we write anything at work, we research,” she said. “I thought I better do the same thing.” So she figured out how to write a witty, quirky profile, which attracted her perfect match. Friends then started asking her to write their profiles. “This could be a full-time business.” If your customers break up, they need to update their profiles, which means repeat business.


 

Small Business News

News about the high optimism of small business owners  regarding the economy across the US, seem to be a hot topic of conversation. Despite the incertitude of many of the issues affecting the small business community, the optimism according to media outlets seems to be high. The promise of a quick repeal to Obamacare has some small business owners wondering whether this is going to be a good move for them.  For more about this and other stories affecting the small business community, follow the links below.


Small-business owners are full of questions and regrets about the end of Obamacare

With the repeal of the Affordable Care Act likely but its replacement uncertain, small-business owners are weighing their options for the future.

More details may come Tuesday evening when President Trump makes his first address to both houses of Congress as commander-in-chief.

Trump took executive action on January 20 to “ease the burden” of the Affordable Care Act and formally announced the administration’s policy to “seek the prompt repeal” of the law. However, doing so with any speed has proven difficult. The president told a meeting of the nation’s governors on Monday, “Nobody knew that healthcare could be so complicated.”

Dirk Bak is simply hoping for cost controls. His business, SDQ Janitorial in Minnetonka, Minn., has been family-owned for 34 years and had been offering its nearly 200 full-time workers coverage even before the ACA became law.

A great majority of our nation’s small business owners are old, white men

Two weeks ago the Kauffman Foundation, a well-regarded nonprofit group that specializes in entrepreneurism, released its annual State of Entrepreneurship report — and at least in one respect, the news is encouraging. The report found that, despite still being below the peak that preceded the Great Recession, private enterprise is rebounding and entrepreneurs are driving a resurgence of business activity in America.

However, most of those entrepreneurs are still mostly old, white men.

Even as the U.S. population is becoming more diverse, the changes in the composition of our entrepreneurs is not reflecting these changes: 80.2 percent are white and 64.5 percent are male (other reports have put the average age of a small business owner at around 50 years old). The Kauffman report found that minorities own half as many businesses as non-minorities and their businesses start smaller and stay smaller mostly due to capital challenges. Women are also half as likely as men to own employer businesses.


79 Percent of Small Business Owners Remain Confident, Xero Report Says

With unprecedented economic uncertainty in the US and UK, you would expect small businesses would be more pessimistic about the future. Yet, according to the second annual Make or Break 2017 report from Xero (NZE:XRO), small business owners are irrepressibly optimistic going into 2017. Both small business owners (79 percent) and accountants (84 percent) feel more confident about 2017 than 2016.

Make or Break 2017 Report from Xero: Highlights

The optimism was especially true for young businesses with 94 percent of one-year-old and 84 percent of two-year-old businesses saying that they felt more confident going into 2017 than they did in 2016. Over three quarters (79 percent) of small business owners professed confidence in their businesses’ survival in 2017. While nearly a fifth of businesses going through a tougher time said they expected 2017 to be a turnaround year for their business.


 

Tax Deductions and Small Business Surging Optimism in The Economy

Receipts during this time of year become increasingly more important as small business owners prepare for tax filing.  If you have no receipts that prove your expenses then, you may be out of luck.  But, some of the tax deductions for your small business will be at the hands of your accountant.  Make sure your accountant knows and has all the documentation to give your small business the deductions it deserves.

For more about  this and other news, follow the links below.


5 overlooked small-business tax deductions

Failing to claim all the small-business tax deductions you’re entitled to is like flushing money down the toilet. Deductions are a legal way to reduce the amount of business income that is subject to tax.

Failing to claim all the small-business tax deductions you’re entitled to is like flushing money down the toilet. Deductions are a legal way to reduce the amount of business income that is subject to tax.Keeping good records is key to backing up the deductions, says Barbara Weltman, author of “J.K. Lasser’s Small Business Taxes 2017.”

“Keep receipts, invoices and other documentation,” she says. “If you don’t have the proof, you could be out of luck.”

 


Small business owners are excited about the US economy – and they’re giving Trump the credit

Small business leaders say they’re more enthusiastic about the US economy, according to a new survey from JPMorgan.

The 2017 Business Leaders Outlook found that small business executives from across the US are more optimistic about the global and national economies and think that the Trump administration will be a positive for the country.

The bank surveyed roughly 1,400 executives, and 80% said they were optimistic about the national economy. That’s up nearly 41 points from the 2016 edition of the survey.

About 68% said they were encouraged about the outlook for their local economies, an 18 point increase from the year before. Only 3% and 5% of these executives were pessimistic about the national and local economies respectively, according to JPMorgan.


Small-business optimism surging, surveys show

Small business owners’ view of the economy is surging and giving them an incentive to hire.

That’s the finding of surveys released last week by two advocacy groups, the National Small Business Association and the National Federation of Independent Business.

The number of owners who believe the economy is doing better than it was six months ago has virtually doubled from a survey released during the summer, according to the NSBA survey. Forty-three percent of the 1,426 owners questioned had a more upbeat assessment, compared to 22 percent in the summer.

The survey is in line with others showing owners more upbeat after the election and at the start of 2017.

Looking ahead, 54 percent expect the economy to grow during the next year, up from 29 percent.

The more upbeat view is a reason for owners to add jobs, a shift from the recession and its aftermath, when owners said hiring was too much of a risk. Forty-three percent of the owners surveyed by the NSBA said they expect to hire in the next 12 months, up from 33 percent.


 

From Retirement Accounts to the Federal Rate Hike Affecting the Small Business Owner

Are you thinking about  filing your taxes already?  While there is still time to do so, re-evaluating your current retirement plan, health plan or other benefit plans you currently have for your employees with your accountant, financial advisor, or human resources person might be a good idea.  While changing plans may carry a small increase in prices, some of the benefits with a new plan do make up for the small price difference.  Retirement accounts you may want to set up this year for your employees, or for yourself can be done with the help of a financial advisor.  Before making any changes that affects your business, talk to your accountant or financial advisor.

For more about this and other small business news, follow the links below.


Inexpensive retirement plans for small-business owners

You’ve built your own company from the ground up, and now it’s time to start thinking about a retirement plan for yourself and your employees.

Does Your Small Business Need a Whistleblower Policy?

As business owners, we hope to never have need of a whistleblowing policy. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t incredibly important for protecting ourselves, our businesses and our employees.

Whistleblowing policies are put in place to ensure employees they are protected if they feel there is a topic or problem that needs to be discussed. It also helps you as a company identify what complaints actually constitute whistleblowing and to put guidelines or consequences in place if false allegations are made against the company.

If you don’t have a whistleblowing policy for your company, here are a few of the main reasons why you need to consider creating one, and what you should have in mind while creating your policy.

What Is Whistleblowing?

Whistleblowing happens when an employee — the whistleblower, or “relator” (the technical term used for a whistleblower) — brings a concern, misconduct or questionable act within the company to the public’s attention. When a whistleblower decides to speak out about a certain instance of misconduct within the company, they are doing so because they believe it should be public knowledge.


Will Fed Rate Hike Mean Easier Access to Small Business Loans?

The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate Wednesday for only the second time since the 2008 recession, citing falling unemployment and low inflation as key factors in its decision.

According to Fed Chairwoman Janet L. Yellen, the country has seen sustained economic growth over the past few years, including nearly 2.3 million net new jobs (PDF) in the previous four quarters alone, and an inflation rate running at a low two percent.

The rate increase is nominal — 0.5 to 0.75 percent — a number that the Fed feels will support sustained growth by encouraging borrowing.

Rohit Arora, CEO of Biz2Credit, an online marketplace for small business funding, and an expert on small business finance, said in a phone interview with Small Business Trends that the rate hike could be a good thing for small companies if it spurs financial institutions to make more loans.

He expressed concern, however, that banks, reluctant to lend to small businesses since the recession, may continue to keep their pocketbooks closed.


 

Social Media For Your Small Business

By now, millions of small businesses have been using social media to boost their sales, their recognition, or their brand awareness.  Many of those businesses are very successful and continue to promote their business and engage their customer base using social media platforms to accomplish their goals.  Are you using social media to your liking?  Are you comfortable engaging and answering questions from customers using Facebook or other media outlets?  For more about this topic, follow the links below.


How to Use Facebook Live for Your Small Business

Should you be using Facebook Live for your business? Is it worth your time and effort? According to Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), videos (live and otherwise) are viewed more than four billion times per day. And with Facebook giving priority to live videos in the news feed, you certainly may want to consider this service for getting your business message out.

So how can you make use of Facebook Live to engage with the platform’s over 1.1 billion active daily users, or at least those users who are likely to be customers? Here are a few tips.

Ways to Use Facebook Live for Your Small Business

Give an Inside Look at Your Business

As with Instagram Live or Periscope, you can use Facebook Live to give your customers a behind-the-scenes look at your business and how it works.

You can also use the service to focus on an aspect of your business that your audience would be interested in.


Small Business: How do you become a ‘Social Media Maven’?

Stephanie Boyette Nelson, owner of SBN Marketing, calls herself a “Social Media Maven.” She is highly skilled in social media and search engine optimization (SEO). We met at Earl’s Grocery to talk about how keyword-rich contents help match people to a business. SBN Marketing capitalizes on the algorithms used by Google and other search engines to rank websites.

Nelson, 41, has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication from UNC Chapel Hill. After graduation in 1997, she started in a sales position with Philip Morris tobacco company, but quickly realized that it was not for her. She moved through several positions in corporate America, all the while developing her marketing skills through seminars and hands-on experience. Nelson noticed how the marketing world was changing from the traditional hard copy mailers to online platforms.


2 Ways Small Business Owners Can Reclaim Time Through Technology

It’s common knowledge that small business owners wear multiple hats. It’s part of the excitement and challenge of building your own business. But while it’s fun and rewarding to develop a strategy, work with clients, carry out marketing plans, improve your offerings, and track finances, it’s also time-consuming. Sure, most entrepreneurs can move mountains, but the last time I checked, there were still only 24 hours in a day.

Finding enough time in the day to check off important tasks is a huge challenge for small business owners. Prioritizing and trusting your intuition to determine what needs to be done (and when) is a constant juggling act. Still, even the most intrepid, energetic entrepreneurs can’t keep all those balls in the air forever. Sooner or later, they realize that there’s too much work to be done and not enough time to complete it.