There we were, my brother and our parents and I, laying waste to an Everest-sized pile of carefully wrapped presents one Christmas morning in the early 1980s, when the phone rang. We paused and looked at each other. It was about 8 a.m., too early for a grandparent or uncle calling to ask who was supposed to be where, when, and with what side dish. My dad ran to answer it.

“OK … OK… Well, I’m sorry to hear that.” Even then, at age 10 or so, I could sense that my father’s polite tone masked annoyance. “You know, I’m having Christmas with my kids right now. But I can meet you at the store at 10.”

Source: The Huffington Post

Times are tough—no one is going to argue that. Unfortunately, this often means that small business owners will reduce their marketing efforts to cut business costs. After all, there are fixed expenses that can’t be negotiated, right? You have to pay employees, rent, taxes, and all operating expenses. If you don’t, your doors won’t be open for long.

However, reducing your marketing efforts will only make matters worse: The less you broadcast your offerings, the fewer customers you’ll have. In other words, if you don’t remind your existing customers about your services and products, they are less likely to patronize your business.

Source: Resource Nation

In celebration of National Small Business Month, Web.com Group, Inc. today announced the results of its Small Business Mobile Survey, which indicates that while 69% of small businesses consider mobile marketing crucial to their growth in the next five years, a majority of them are yet to fully leverage mobile marketing. Last year comScore reported that out of 234 million U.S. mobile consumers, 82.2 million use a smartphone. Today’s mobile consumers are seamlessly searching, processing and making a purchase decision via smartphone devices. But are U.S. small businesses ready to attract the mobile consumer or are they missing out on a golden opportunity?

Source: MarketWatch

ou may have heard that acquiring a new customer can cost up to five times more than keeping the customers you already have. Yet poor customer service continues to irritate many consumers.

More than half of U.S. consumers (55 percent) polled for the 2012 American Express Global Customer Service Barometer (PDF) say they’ve turned their backs on at least one potential purchase in the past year as a result of what they saw as poor service. And while only 17 percent of those surveyed say they’ve used social media to seek a resolution to their customer service query, this savvy group carries a lot of weight in how companies should respond.

Source: American Express OPEN Forum

In today’s article, I’m going to discuss the most important elements of mobile website design. One of the hardest parts of designing a mobile optimized website is that the screen is so darn tiny. In most cases, you have as little as one-tenth of the screen real estate compared to that of a desktop or a laptop, yet you still need to convey the same level of information to your potential customers.

Source: MyWifeQuitHerJob.com

If you haven’t been bombarded by sub-par résumés, you surely will now. The floodgates have been opened, as job-thirsty college graduates are free from being tethered to a textbook. So how do you and your small business handle this influx of résumés, and weed out only the best? Today, we’ve listed a few of our tips for what you should look for when recent grads come knocking.

Source: Buzz Small Business Magazine

Networking goes hand in hand with running a successful business.

But many of us dread walking into a room and introducing ourselves to a bunch of strangers.

I’ve been asked to share my best networking tips at a meeting today of the National Association of Women Business Owners in Philadelphia. Here are the most valuable tips I’ve come across – and put to work myself – over the years…

Source: Entrepreneur

Lenovo announced the availability of products featuring Intel Small Business Advantage, a software tool that helps simplify security and PC maintenance.

The Intel software will power a Lenovo Solutions for Small Business (LSSB) package, featured in the recently launched ThinkPad Edge E430 and E530 laptops. LSSB is designed to enhance security and productivity by automating routine security and maintenance tasks.

Source: eWeek.com

A critical element in today’s job search environment is a customized cover letter for the resume. Beth Ross joins Jim Blasingame to discuss how the new normal of job searches, including resumes and cover letters that fit the position.

Source: The Small Business Advocate (audio)

In today’s business world, working in a location independent manner is possible – thanks to the enabling technologies, such as mobile technology, the Internet, and such. You are now enabled to, say, live in Bali, Indonesia while having your business operates in, say, Canberra, Australia; all can be made possible by the availability of Virtual Offices in Canberra. Now, you might be wondering: “Is virtual office for me?” If you are looking for some easy-to-discern answers to that question, you are reading the right article!

Now, first of all, you need to know some basics about virtual offices: What are they and do you really need them? Let’s explore those two intriguing question one by one.

Source: Noobpreneur Business Blog