Uncertainty breeds fear, stress, and anger—and right now, there’s plenty of uncertainty to go around. The good news is that even a small sense of control can go a long way toward easing those feelings. Here are five practical methods to help you regain your footing and move forward with more confidence.
Furloughing employees instead of laying them off sounds like the responsible middle ground, but it isn’t without its own risks—including the chance of losing your best people for good. At the same time, it can save on labor costs and make reopening far smoother than starting from scratch. Here’s a closer look at the upsides and downsides before you decide.
Shifting your team to remote work sounds simple in theory, but it almost always comes with unexpected growing pains. Between coordinating communication, clarifying roles, and keeping everyone accountable, managing a teleworking staff takes a different playbook than running an in-person office. Here’s what you need to put in place to make the transition work.
The coronavirus pandemic has taught businesses of every size one hard lesson: always expect the unexpected. While most of the focus has been on telecommuting logistics, keeping open lines of communication with your customers, vendors, and employees matters just as much. Here are a few practical ways to stay connected with everyone who matters to your business during a crisis.
Networking anxiety is far more common than most business owners let on, and it can make even seasoned professionals want to hide in a corner at every conference. Avoiding the room entirely defeats the purpose of showing up in the first place. Here are three practical strategies to help you push past the nerves and start building the connections your business needs.
As coronavirus headlines dominate the news, it’s easy to forget that the common cold and flu already take a serious toll on small businesses every year. Sick employees mean lost productivity, contagion risk, and quality that suffers across the board. Here’s what the CDC recommends to keep illness from spreading through your workplace.
Social media marketing seems straightforward until you realize how many businesses are quietly sabotaging their own results. Two of the biggest mistakes are almost complete opposites of each other, which is exactly why they’re so easy to overlook. Here’s what they are, along with a third common misstep costing small businesses reach and sales.
Every entrepreneur has heard the advice to build a solid work routine, and for good reason—it keeps you focused and on task. But there’s a downside nobody talks about enough: routines can quietly turn into ruts that drain your energy and stifle your passion. Here’s how to recognize when that’s happening and break free before it costs you.
Microsoft just undercut the launch of its own Edge browser by shoving it in front of users who never asked for it—and people are furious. It’s a mistake the tech giant has made before, and it’s a lesson small business owners can learn from without repeating it themselves. Here’s why the hard sell backfires, and three better ways to sell without being pushy.
A new competitor just opened down the street, and you’re watching your sales start to slip. It’s an unsettling feeling, but panic is exactly the wrong response—new competition can actually be a sign of opportunity, not doom. Here are three practical steps to take stock of the situation and protect the customer base you’ve already built.