Posts Tagged ‘Strategy’

DIY Branding, Self-published Fame, and Romantic Trolls

Mike | January 30th, 2012

Amanda Hocking is a star of the publishing world. Last year she signed a 4-book, $2 million dollar deal with St. Martin’s Press, one of the largest publishing houses in the world. While in itself, this is not unusual – authors become best-sellers every day, and publishing houses announce contracts with authors just as often, [...]

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Crowdsourcing: a 7+7 Primer (Pt. 2)

Mike | January 23rd, 2012

Last week I posted the first part of this article on crowdsourcing strategies. In the post, I discussed some of the big-picture issues that I believe should be considered carefully when planning a crowdsourced project. Best practices for crowdsourcing require managers to first determine the best venue for their project, effective management of the process, [...]

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Crowdsourcing: a 7+7 Primer (Pt. 1)

Mike | January 16th, 2012

We write often about small businesses and startups and lean approaches to marketing and other business functions. Mid- to large-size companies can also benefit from the lean methodology and one way to do so is by actively leveraging crowds of workers: designers, software engineers, testers, writers, customer support people, customers, market researchers, and dozens of [...]

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10 New Years Resolutions For Small Businesses and Startups

Mike | December 19th, 2011

 The new year is fast upon us and it is time for that ritual known as resolution-time! I am not talking about a new resolve to eat lighter and get to the gym 4 days a week. I am talking about business resolutions – specific actions and efforts you should take over the course of [...]

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Small business and startup tips: 5 ways to tune out distractions!

Mike | November 28th, 2011

Distractions abound.  Every day we start work and spend a great part of the day battling the noise that surrounds any small business owner or entrepreneur. The email, the Facebook, the Twitter, the cell phone, the landline, the snail mail, the deliveries, the lunch orders, the radio,the text messages, the  television, the newspapers, the YouTube [...]

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Small Business Spotlight of the Week: Crowdegy

Amanda | November 16th, 2011

All of us are smarter than one of us. And those of us with “crowd” in the name are best. #notsohumblebrag. But in all seriousness, today we bring you another crowdsourcing site: Crowdegy. If you’ve ever wished you could troubleshoot problems your business is having with people who have something of value to say, you [...]

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Lean Marketing: Facebook advertising for newbies

Mike | November 14th, 2011

We write often of low-cost, high impact marketing tactics for small businesses and share tips for leveraging these. We believe that small business and startups should always be willing to experiment with marketing tactics and strategies as long as those serve a larger goal and contribute to a clear strategy. The key to this approach [...]

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Small business and startups: 5 great self-service HR resources

Mike | November 7th, 2011

The everyday grind of running a business can be tough. I am not talking about wooing potential partners at fancy lunches, or drinks with clients after work, or even the whiteboard sessions that can fill our days. I am talking about the nitty-gritty reality of operating a business, paying the bills, washing the dishes, and [...]

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Personal branding in a world of meat.

Mike | October 31st, 2011

Many small businesses are handed down from generation to generation, with each succeeding operator leaving their own stamp on the family business. Some do better and others do worse, but every so often an heir comes along who profoundly changes the way that business is operated and leaves a meaningful legacy for the family to [...]

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Small business and startups: great reads from the business press

Mike | October 24th, 2011

I have been spending some time recently with the online business press. Lots of great articles and information out there, so I thought it was time for another edition of the Business Press roundup! It is an incredibly dynamic time in the world of startups and small business: the economy continues to freak, but at [...]

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