What’s in a name? Success or failure. Public figures and organizations spend a lot of time and money building up a name, and protecting that name. A name does more than identify you. It tells people who you are, what you do, and more than a little about how you do it. Your name differentiates you from your peers, peaks the interest of others, and invites inquiry — if you do it right. … Read Full Post

Famed author Mark Twain said, “Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising.” But advertising can be expensive. And in a tight economy, many small businesses cut their marketing budgets first because of cash flow concerns. However, when times are tough, it is even more important to keep your business brand front and center.

The best compliment I ever receive about my blog is that my posts are short, simple, and actionable. Any time I get that response, I feel that I’ve hit the mark. When I get a lot of comments about uncertainty or when people seek clarity, or when I find myself defending parts of the post that didn’t mean anything, or when I get comments about the analogy…

The top 5 tips weekly post is always full of hints and tips for small, home & micro business owners. 1. You should never put a family member on the payroll unless they are actively contributing to your business in a visible manner. 2. Don’t just hand out supply contracts to relatives without competition. Make sure you consider every offer you receive. 3. Avoid giving  family employees any special treatment as this will only serve to annoy your other employees. 4. Make…

Most of us are aware of common business licensing laws – whether it’s a license to sell alcohol and food, or a permit to expand your business premises. But business licensing is a lot more complex and broad than it first appears. For example, did you know that if you choose to quit your day job and set up a home-based business you will need a permit from your local government to do so?

Almost every time I use the word “secret” when writing a blog post, I really mean “common sense that most people don’t do.” Shhhh.

In this short video (hat tip to Presentation Zen ), John Cleese shares some of his ideas about the creative process. Even though this video is only 10 minutes of his presentation, it contains some great lessons. Here are a few of the lessons I took away: We don’t know where creative ideas come from, but we know they don’t come from our laptops. Interruptions are the enemy of creativity. We need to create boundaries of time and space – what Cleese calls a “tortoise enclosure” or oasis. Not thinking about a particular problem (consciously) can be a great way to solve it.   [If you can’t see the video above, click this link ] …

There’s a lot to be said about packaging. Have you seen Field Notes ? (I wrote about them before , I admit.) They’re notebooks (and stuff). And yet, they’re so cool! Have you seen Artisanal Pencil Sharpening ? He’s not kidding. Well, he might have started out kidding, but it’s a full on business. In both cases, it’s …

Beyond the content, there are a lot of things I like about Jason Falls’s Social Media Explorer . First, I like his very thin header bar. It gives me lots more “top of the fold” for his site. I like his choice of navigation at the top. (That’s number one.) The Top Right I like the top right area where Jason makes it…

Weekend Favs September Four This content from: Duct Tape Marketing My weekend blog post routine includes posting links to a handful of tools or great content I ran across during the week. I don’t go into depth about the finds, but encourage you check them out if they sound interesting. The photo in the post is a favorite for the week from Flickr. Good stuff I found this week: Paper.li – organizes links shared on Twitter into an easy to read newspaper-style format. Newspapers can be created for any Twitter user, list or #tag 12 Breeds…