Holiday sales 2020 prospects remain high for the most prepared small businesses despite COVID-19, a recent Visa study reveals. The Visa Back to Business Study: Holiday Edition finds that despite the pandemic, 88% of consumers plan to go holiday shopping this year. For the report, Visa surveyed people in eight markets, including the US, Canada, and Germany. A majority of consumers plan to still go on holiday shopping That is in line with the sentiment from small businesses. Visa finds that 68% of them consider the winter holiday season as a major sales opportunity for their business. What’s more, Visa […]

Investing in the digitization of your finance team is a great way to boost the efficiency and growth of your small business. Thanks to machine learning, artificial intelligence, the cloud, and other technological advances in recent years, digitization is now a realistic goal.   In fact, the McKinsey Global Institute estimates that today 40 percent of finance activities can be fully automated. Also, another 17 percent can be mostly automated. This represents an opportunity for small- and medium-sized businesses to streamline operations. This is more important than ever with the onset of COVID-19 and the realities of virtual work. If […]

Have you ever had a passion that gave you a business idea? Most people go through life trying to figure out how to create a business from a passion. Unfortunately, it’s not that easy. A lot goes into creating a successful business, and just because you love something doesn’t mean it will make you money. Alan Davis started Blue Ridge Chair Works out of an idea and now his products are sold around the globe. They’ve even been featured on sites such as Men’s Journal, Urban Outfitters, Canoe and Kayak Magazine, and dozens of prominent outdoor specialty magazines. So yes, […]

The year 2020 being full of trials and tribulations may be an understatement. As we know, small businesses have experienced major challenges and setbacks while others closed their doors forever. At the same time, brand new businesses have opened their doors in faith. With some of us – ok all of us – ready for 2020 to be over, there’s still some time left to be productive. As the days chip away towards the end of the year, we need to equip ourselves and prepare for what’s ahead. One such opportunity is right around the corner. In just a few […]

Is it time to hire a publicist to help spread the insights you have? Over the past over 20 years, I’ve been blessed and honored to be featured in a variety of media, including Inc, NY Times, Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, Small Business Trends, and many other podcasts and publications. In an effort to reach even more people with my inspiration and insights, I recently hired a publicist to help connect me to reporters, podcasters, bloggers and producers. To help give them the insights and angles they need to share with their audiences. Maybe you’re looking for a publicist […]

If you’re a new business owner during COVID-19, then you know your original business strategy has had to change. Janie Burkett is one of those business owners. Her business, TheBiscuit Bar, had to go through new phases of growth during the pandemic. And she even had a new baby to take care of as well. Can you relate to all these changes happening at once? Whether your changes were professional, personal, or a mix, you’re not alone.  Business Strategy and Family Strategy Janie and her husband own and operate TheBiscuit.Bar together. And surprisingly, they don’t have a background in restaurants. […]

The challenging events of 2020 have disrupted the lives of countless small business owners, their employees, and their families. Yet, small businesses are resilient, and their stories of innovation and perseverance during these trying times can provide inspiration for others to keep going.   Barclays US Consumer Bank wants to inspire small businesses through its Small Business Big Wins promotion. To help business owners bounce back from the challenging events of 2020, Barclays is giving away a cash prize of $50,000 to one small business owner. Several additional cash prizes will be awarded as well!   Contestants in the Small […]

Businesses of all sizes have had to shift their marketing efforts because of COVID-19. Small businesses in particular have had an especially hard time due to limited resources. We were lucky enough to sit down with a small business marketing expert, and hear her advice first-hand. So if you’ve been wondering what marketing tips for small businesses are available, you’ve come to the right place. The Expert from Power Move Marketing Hailey Brooke Mcfadden is the owner and founder of Power Move Marketing. She graduated from The Wake Forest School of Business where she received a Masters of Science in […]

Being a woman and owning your business means there’s a good chance you’re facing an uphill battle. And this was before COVID-19 hit the world by storm. Which means it has only added to your list of things to conquer. Now, we aren’t saying that women aren’t successful in business. We are just recognizing that diverse and women entrepreneurs have to fight harder and longer to be as successful as their male counterparts. “Getting behind the empowerment of women stimulates societies, entrepreneurship, job creation, accelerates revenue growth and develops inspiring and motivated leaders.” – Ingrid Vanderveldt But there’s a light […]

Boosting sales can be done by using CRM for sales teams. But Raj Sabhlok also says it can be achieved by salespeople implementing three clear-cut best practices. The new Pipedrive chief executive shares his experience with Ramon Ray in an interview for Smart Hustle. In their discussion, the pair talk about: Raj’s decades of experience and his journey to Pipedrive What a good CRM for sales teams looks like Clear principles to boost sales What sales teams and small businesses must do amid COVID-19 Journey to Pipedrive Born in Silicon Valley, Raj jokes that he never really had a say […]