If you run a small business, your 2018 taxes were probably far higher than expected. The reason: The 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act significantly modified the tax code. These changes didn’t become evident until Americans filed their 2018 taxes. At their heart, the changes aimed to lower taxes for corporations. While this mostly means bigger companies, forming or modifying an LLC can help reduce your tax burden.…
Imagine spending decades building a team, turning it into a national brand, moving it to another city — and then a hurricane blowing the whole thing to pieces. That’s exactly what happened to George Shinn, the former owner of the Hornets basketball team, when he moved it from Charlottesville to New Orleans. “Growth means change and change involves risk, stepping from the known to the unknown,” Shinn famously…
Every business partnership has ups and downs. Usually, the lowlands and peaks balance each other out. When the valleys become the status quo, however, it may be time to dissolve the partnership. The good news for partners in this predicament is that there are always other entrepreneurial fish in the sea; you can even use a dating app to find them. In the meantime, though, you have to…
When your co-worker underperforms, you have the option of looking the other way. But when you’re the team leader, you’re in a different position. As a manager, you’re expected to deal effectively with underperformers — either by letting them go or helping them improve. Easier said than done, right? However, with the proper mix of patience, guidance, and tact, you can manage your direct reports to success and…
Are good business leaders born or made in the trenches? Early work experience forges how a person will lead. For many successful CEOs, starting out on the company’s bottom rung has been an invaluable opportunity for learning. For example, David Cote started out at General Electric as an hourly employee when he was 21. By age 33, he’d worked his way up to a midlevel financial planner role…
Top Collision Speaker’s We’re Looking Forward to Seeing and Hearing This Week! The Collision Tech Conference is one of the leading tech conferences of its kind. In fact, the Toronto-based event is the fastest-growing tech conference in all of North America — now with over 25,000 attendees. Each year, Collision features some of the top faces in technology, allowing attendees to engage with industry leaders. Plan to…
Today I had the opportunity to Arie Tom today on the impact of lead generation in the eyewear industry. How did you get into the industry? My experience with online marketing began 11 years ago while working at what was at the time a traditional advertising firm, McCann. That is when I first started to notice the shift of customers and budgets towards new emerging online channels, and…
Whether you’re looking to engage your audience, employees, customers, or family and friends, it boils down to communication. When you can effectively speak with others, you’re aligning your objectives, goals, and values with theirs. You’re also letting them know why and how they’re important within the bigger picture. Needless to say, this is an important area everyone should strengthen. One of the best ways to achieve this is…
For small businesses, a local customer base can be extremely lucrative. But to reach customers in your immediate area, you’ll have to develop a concrete strategy that addresses their specific wants, needs, and expectations. Try These 5 Local Marketing Tactics In a business world where large, sweeping marketing strategies dominate the landscape, there’s something to be said for adopting a simple, focused approach that prioritizes customers in your…
Common wisdom says businesses can either provide personal service or create scalable systems. In the old days, that was true. Small businesses couldn’t scale without becoming impersonal — and big companies couldn’t keep up with the volume if they wanted to improve service. Fortunately, times have changed. Today’s businesses can get the best of both worlds by using better tools to improve service in scalable ways. Customers get…