How much should you pay yourself?

How much should you pay yourself?: It’s easy for small business owners to compensate themselves too much or not enough

Reimagine Your Company as an Upstart

Reimagine Your Company as an Upstart: You can't stand out unless you do something different—or differently—than your competitors. Identify a breakthrough idea, put it in place, and then tell your customers

When should a firm allow employees to work from home?

When should a firm allow employees to work from home?: Small businesses need to take security, training and communications issues into account

Ramit Sethi's Secrets to Landing Your Dream Job

Ramit Sethi's Secrets to Landing Your Dream Job: I recently caught up with an old friend, Ramit Sethi. Ramit is the author of the New York Times bestselling book, I Will Teach You To Be Rich. He also owns a blog called I Will Teach You To Be Rich, which receives over 250,000 readers per month. He co-founded PBwiki, a venture-backed startup and graduated from Stanford. He's been featured in several media outlets, including an extensive profile in Fortune Magazine.

Business risk: Expert advice on reducing it for small companies

Business risk: Expert advice on reducing it for small companies: Profit's executive roundtable examines how to grow your business safely and protect all that you've built.

How to Succeed in Business - Without Alienating Your Family

How to Succeed in Business - Without Alienating Your Family: The pressures of work can strain any relationship. But the grinding toll is even worse when you’re an entrepreneur or high-level executive, working long hours and responsible for your company’s bottom line. “When you own a business, you have to be all in – otherwise, you won’t have a business very long to worry about,” says Meg Cadoux Hirshberg, author of the new For Better or For Work: A Survival Guide for Entrepreneurs and Their Families . Indeed, that intense level of commitment can be “a setup for failure in your personal life unless you go into it with eyes wide open.”

Surviving The Startup: 20 Simple Rules For Relationship Success

Surviving The Startup: 20 Simple Rules For Relationship Success: What happens when a reporter spends 20 years married to an entrepreneur?

Over 40 and out-of-work? Avoid these mistakes

Over 40 and out-of-work? Avoid these mistakes: Suddenly losing a job is a punch in the gut at any age, but when you're over 40 it tends to hit especially hard.

Does the Difficult Boss Always Deserve to Be Fired?

Does the Difficult Boss Always Deserve to Be Fired?: Is it possible that there is a place in the business world for difficult bosses?

Brainstorms On Brainstorming: How To Get Better Results

Brainstorms On Brainstorming: How To Get Better Results: Guest post written by Linda Stewart

Can't Code? How to Find a Technical Co-Founder (Video)

Can't Code? How to Find a Technical Co-Founder (Video): Philip Estrada Reichen wanted to start an iPhone app, but lacked the programming skills. Here's how he connected with Philipe Fatio, a coder who became his business partner.

Leadership Lessons From The 2012 Academy Awards

Leadership Lessons From The 2012 Academy Awards: By Betsy Massar

The Secret to Getting More Responsibility

The Secret to Getting More Responsibility: We?ve all been there: You see the larger potential in the project you?ve been assigned. You know that taking initiative to expand the scope will not only make it better, but it will showcase your ambition and creative thinking. You?re confident that you have what it takes to kick the project up a notch, and you?re ready to tackle it head-on.

Employees, Measure Yourselves

Employees, Measure Yourselves: Encouraging workers to keep track of what they're doing can make them healthier and more productive. New tools are making it easier for them to do that.

Ken Blanchard on How Great Leaders Grow

Ken Blanchard on How Great Leaders Grow: I recently caught up with Ken Blanchard, who is the Chief Spiritual Officer of The Ken Blanchard Companies. He is the author or coauthor of 50 books that have sold more than 20 million copies, including the iconic One Minute Manager®. His latest book is called Great Leaders Grow: Becoming a Leader for Life. In addition to being a renowned speaker and consultant, Ken also spends time as a visiting lecturer at his alma mater, Cornell University, where he is a trustee. In this interview, Ken talks about obstacles that slow a leaders growth, what some of his biggest challenges used to be, some tips for young leaders and more.

Career Experts' Advice: 'Just Resign and Move On'

Career Experts' Advice: 'Just Resign and Move On': The scathing opinion piece Greg Smith wrote announcing his resignation from Goldman Sachs in Wednesday's New York Times is a lesson in how not to quit, career experts say.

How small companies can instantly court Goliaths

How small companies can instantly court Goliaths: The expansion of business-to-business sites has, in recent years, offered an opening for smaller players to land big-company accounts.

Pitching Your Business vs. Planning Your Business

Pitching Your Business vs. Planning Your Business: I feel like recently, as the Lean Startup movement gains more and more traction (I love the Lean Startup principles) and there are more incubators, accelerators, innovation centers, etc. helping startups get off the ground, that I'm hearing more and more this idea:

"you don't need a business plan, you need a great pitch"

While I absolutely agree that a great pitch is critical for any high growth startup thinking of pitching Angel Investors or Venture Capital firms, I am puzzled by this idea that you need a pitch but not a plan. When I talk to people  who run incubators and accelerators, they all give me the same song and dance. Full disclosure: as the CEO of Palo Alto Software, the developers behind LivePlan, a Software as a Service online planning solution, it is in my benefit to have every small business and every startup write a business plan. But nonetheless, I run this business because I truly do believe in the tools that we produce and truly feel that planning will make startups and small businesses more successful. So, back to this idea of a plan vs. a pitch and what a startup really needs to be successful in today's landscape. Let's make the assumption that you don't need a plan. That what you need is a fantastic pitch. A pitch where you presumably need to talk about:

How effective is customer satisfaction measurement for B2B companies?

How effective is customer satisfaction measurement for B2B companies?: Customer satisfaction isn't easy for B2B companies to measure. Here are some ways to get the feedback you want.

Ethinic Marketing: How to reach the growing but elusive customer demographic

Ethinic Marketing: How to reach the growing but elusive customer demographic: As Canada’s population becomes increasingly diverse, how should entrepreneurial companies be changing their marketing approach? Our experts weigh in.

Is Your City Holding Back Your Career?

Is Your City Holding Back Your Career?: Fifteen years ago, there were glorious predictions about the ?end of geography.? Email and video chats would render cities obsolete, and we?d all be telecommuting from tropical islands (or at least our comfortable suburban homes). That hasn?t happened, of course ? and Jonah Lehrer, author of the new Imagine: How Creativity Works, argued in a recent interview that cities are more important than ever. ?You still need to meet in person,? he says. ?Something intangible happens when people come together in person and share the same zip code. I think we?ve learned the limits of electronic tools.?

Apps business: Allowing companies to target customers and connect

Apps business: Allowing companies to target customers and connect: Developing your own mobile application offers an affordable way to connect with customers. Here are five ways to give them an app worth their while.

The Six Surprising Habits of Today's Highly Effective Leaders

The Six Surprising Habits of Today's Highly Effective Leaders: If you were to rewrite the seven habits of highly effective leaders today what would you say? As social business becomes more important, and social media more pervasive, leaders need to adapt. In fact leaders need to learn fast about what motivates large ecosystems of free agents to rally to them, not to their competitors.

What to do when your corporate culture sucks

What to do when your corporate culture sucks: Commitment and follow-through among the top bosses is key

5 Lessons Marketers Can Learn from "The Hunger Games"

5 Lessons Marketers Can Learn from "The Hunger Games": The Hunger Games hits theaters this month, and based on the popularity of the book series and the marketing strategy that Lionsgate is using leading up to the movie launch, you can bet it's going to be successful.

Podcast 115 Financing Your Exit

Podcast 115 Financing Your Exit: On the latest Business Coach Podcast, Ian Portsmouth speaks with Larry Klar, a partner in a succession fund.

The Best Career Advice You'll Ever Get

The Best Career Advice You'll Ever Get: Not sure what to do with your career? Try this.

Three Steps to a Compelling Message

Three Steps to a Compelling Message: Compelling messages rarely appear out of thin air. Messages that make a real impact are the result of a lot of hard work, even though some business leaders and politicians seem to be able to create messages like magic.  For the rest of us:

Five Simple Ways to Fire Someone Without Losing Sleep Over It

Five Simple Ways to Fire Someone Without Losing Sleep Over It: Sometimes, after you fire someone, they stay with you. You know the ones -- the guy who worked hard but just didn't have the strategic expertise you needed. Or the person who was a kind, decent, C-player you simply couldn't afford to carry. Not to mention the one who was hired to do one job, but as market conditions necessitated the position to change, the person couldn't make the jump.

Three new rules for innovation teams

Three new rules for innovation teams: Harry West, CEO of Continuum, has some great ideas on building an innovative workplace.

Five Leadership Lessons From James T. Kirk

Five Leadership Lessons From James T. Kirk: Through his example, Starfleet's finest Captain has something to teach us about leadership. Here are five lessons to take on your own voyages.

Using Design Noise To Amp Up Your Creative Thinking

Using Design Noise To Amp Up Your Creative Thinking: This is a guest post written by my colleague Glenn Roby, AIA, team leader for the Business Environments Team at Kahler Slater, a global architecture and design enterprise.  He is a skilled award-winning architect specializing in providing solutions to various design challenges for businesses ranging from budding entrepreneurs to Fortune 500 companies.  Glenn?s clients appreciate his attention to detail, his affable style and his creative problem solving abilities.

Business opportunities are often within a company, not outside

Business opportunities are often within a company, not outside: What impedes businesses isn’t so much the outside world but internal biases and blind spots.

7 Ways to Build Accountable Organizations

7 Ways to Build Accountable Organizations: By Henry Browning

A 5 Step Plan for Achieving Your Vision

A 5 Step Plan for Achieving Your Vision: Forming a perfectly clear strategic vision for your company is a difficult undertaking for any entrepreneur. Whether you want to double revenue, create a new product, change the world, make people happy, or do anything worth dedicating a large portion of your life to, you need to find a path.

Top tips for staying organized and productive at work

Top tips for staying organized and productive at work: Disorganization can sap productivity in small businesses, so stay on top with these top tips

Best Practices: From First To Worst - Continental In A Post United World, Lessons In Next Gen Customer Experience

Best Practices: From First To Worst - Continental In A Post United World, Lessons In Next Gen Customer Experience:

Multiple Respected Research Survey Results Confirm Frequent Flyer Observations It's official. In multiple respected customer experience research reports that cover the airline industry, the results are in.  Despite the numerous attempts by CEO Jeff Smisek to gloss over the issue with increasingly slicked up, feel good,

Your Inner Circle: Beware of Suck-Ups and Yes-Men

Your Inner Circle: Beware of Suck-Ups and Yes-Men: Suck-ups always tell us that we?re right. They make us feel smart. They make us feel safe. We trust them. Although they make us feel good, they?re not always good for us. In fact, surrounding ourselves these kinds of people can be a fatal leadership mistake.

How To Ace Your Job Interview

How To Ace Your Job Interview: Do not curb your enthusiasm. Win Sheffield, 57, a coach for the last eight  years with the career counseling firm The Five O'Clock Club, says a lot of job seekers forget that one of the most crucial parts of interviewing is convincing the hiring manager that you truly desire the job. Interviewers don't just look for applicants who have the requisite skills and will fit in with a company. Now more than ever, they want candidates who want them.

How can getting embarrassed help get you ahead?

How can getting embarrassed help get you ahead?: Psychologist Dacher Keltner of UC Berkeley has recently co-authored a study suggesting that many people who are easily embarrassed are both more trustworthy and more generous than those who do not experience embarrassment so easily.

The Risk-Averse Entrepreneur's Guide to Startup Success

The Risk-Averse Entrepreneur's Guide to Startup Success: Thinking about starting a small business? Here's a step-by-step guide for how to launch your business in a low-risk way.

7 Lessons From an Out-of-Whack Entrepreneur

7 Lessons From an Out-of-Whack Entrepreneur:

32 years.  Been nose to the grindstone -- chasing the dream.  What dream?  Well, the dream of an entrepreneur.  You see, I really started when I was 14 years old.  Hauling a bunch of glassware down to the swapmeet, all purchased at a discount.  Going to resell it and double

How To Work A Room Like You Own The Place

How To Work A Room Like You Own The Place: For all the benefits of social media, sometimes there really is no substitute for being there. On those occasions knowing how to work the room can make the difference between a boring waste of time, and an exhilarating event that expands your circle.

How to Protect Your Company's Data

How to Protect Your Company's Data: Most small businesses do not adequately plan for data loss. Experts offer advice on putting a system in place

New Super-Consumers Define Tomorrow's Brands And Diversity Strategies

New Super-Consumers Define Tomorrow's Brands And Diversity Strategies: It’s time for corporations to start changing the conversation about diversity. It’s not enough to just talk about how to get more representation of women and minority groups in the C-suite. Corporations need to be talking about why they need the leadership of these underrepresented groups that are today’s new super-consumers and that are redefining brands from the bottom-up.

Leap Year Gift For Yourself: How To Do More Work In Less Time

Leap Year Gift For Yourself: How To Do More Work In Less Time: Early in my career, I worked for a tyrant. One day he stopped by my desk and asked me how things were going. "I'm working so hard I don't have time to think," I replied.

Three Ways to Get a Niche Product into Retailers (Video)

Three Ways to Get a Niche Product into Retailers (Video): After inventing a wallet that keeps people's credit-card data safe, Michael Aiello of DIFRWear faced a dual challenge: Educating customers about his unusual product, then getting retailers to sell it.

How To Follow Up On A Job Interview

How To Follow Up On A Job Interview

10 Leadership Lessons from the IBM Executive School

10 Leadership Lessons from the IBM Executive School: But failure was not an option for Mobley, and after many a dark night of the soul he hit upon the answer that turned IBM into the fastest growing and most admired corporation in the world…

How can I turn this situation into my advantage?

How can I turn this situation into my advantage?: Here are some creative solutions from none other than Winston Churchill.

4 Steps to Fast, Effective Meetings

4 Steps to Fast, Effective Meetings:
How is your company’s communication? Is it tight and efficient and aimed at driving results or increasing connection? Or do team members talk a lot without saying anything meaningful? Of the hundreds of companies I’ve worked with over the past 30 years, I repeatedly see only five types of communication… Info Sharing Sharing

The Fear of Missing Out

The Fear of Missing Out: When I was in the fourth grade, I had a bad case of FOMO.

Steve Blank on the Era of the Lean Startup

Steve Blank on the Era of the Lean Startup: People are starting to realize that startups are not merely small versions of large corporations. And that's exciting, Steve Blank says.

Great Ideas: How to handle data with care

Great Ideas: How to handle data with care: Today’s consumer has more power to find, review and purchase products and services than ever before—but that power has come at a price.

10 Things Customers Want on a Website

10 Things Customers Want on a Website: By Monte Enbysk So you want your website to make you look big. More power to you.

Presentation Tip: Communicating Bad News

Presentation Tip: Communicating Bad News: I?ve never done an exact count, but I believe it is safe to say that nearly every single one of the corporate presentations that we design and advise on for our clients is to communicate good news, or more specifically, ?hopeful? and forward-looking positive statements.  Sales presentations outline the virtues of a product or service.  Marketing presentations persuade their audience to act.  Investor presentations win over their investors to fund promising ventures.  The goal is that everyone walks away from the meeting with a positive impression and is influenced to carry out the designated ?calls-to-action.?

Five Business Tools To Protect Your Online Assets While Travelling

Five Business Tools To Protect Your Online Assets While Travelling: When you're planning your next vacation or romantic getaway for Valentine's Day, the last thing on your mind should be protecting your business. Yet there are people working away right now trying to hack into your online business and steal your assets.

Linkedin's Reid Hoffman Offers Advice to Entrepreneurs

Linkedin's Reid Hoffman Offers Advice to Entrepreneurs: Reid Hoffman, co-founder and chairman of LinkedIn, on his new book "The Start-Up of You"

How To Do More Work In Less Time

How To Do More Work In Less Time: Early in my career, I worked for a tyrant. One day he stopped by my desk and asked me how things were going. "I'm working so hard I don't have time to think," I replied.

Three steps for converting new customers to engaged customers

Three steps for converting new customers to engaged customers: Have you considered a reward system to engage new customers?

6 Tips for Getting Paid What You're Truly Worth

6 Tips for Getting Paid What You're Truly Worth: Want to make more money? Well, I’ve got the secret. And I’ll bet it’s not what you think.
It sure wasn’t what I expected when I interviewed hundreds of high earners for my books Secrets of Six-Figure Women and Overcoming Underearning.
Very few of these successful women were driven by money. Yet they still demanded to be well-compensated because—and here’s the Big Secret— they felt they were worth it!!
Negotiation techniques and assertiveness skills can easily be learned by taking courses or reading books.
But the truth is, if you're going to command more, you have to truly believe you’re worth it. Without that conviction, you lack the chutzpah to take a strong stand and the confidence to convince others.
Sadly, too many women tend to devalue themselves.  They give away their time and skills for free or bargain prices because they don’t believe that they’re worth more. This self-depreciation goes right to the heart of underearning.
Here’s the hopeful news. Many high earners admitted questioning their own value, yet—this is important—they didn’t let that stop them. These women developed their confidence by continually pushing themselves to ask for more, demand what they're worth and say no when appropriate—despite their fear, self doubt, pounding heart and weak knees.
Here are six tips for pumping up your self-worth while boosting your net worth. •
1. Think Big, Then Think Even Bigger What most of us do is unwittingly limit our earnings by lowering our expectations. Especially women. The idea is to think in terms of what your services are really worth, not just what you assume the market will bear.
2. Do Your Homework One of the worst negotiating mistakes women make is picking a number out of the air that’s way too low. The smarter ones find out their market value by researching the going rates, then ask for more than is offered so they’ll have room to maneuver.

When to Quit Your Job and Start a Business

When to Quit Your Job and Start a Business: One camp recommends easing in gradually. The other says a strong commitment is crucial from the start

Top Skills You Need On Your Resume

Top Skills You Need On Your Resume: The job market has improved, but is still very tight and highly competitive. Because of this, it is imperative that you do all you can to set yourself above and apart from the competition, by honing and highlighting your skills that are in high demand by employers. To help you on this path, we covered the six skills and qualities most desired by employers.