RECENT ARTICLES
How To Create A Better Pitch Deck
Business owners pitch all the time. We pitch our employees on our ideas. We pitch our future customers and "sell them" work hire us. We even pitch our 3-year-olds to encourage them to eat their veggies. Keane Angle, founder of Story Pitch Decks shared his insights for small business owners and startups. Story Pitch Decks is...
Introverts Can Be Great Speakers. Engagement Is a Must, Not Loud.
Yes, Ramon is loud. An "extrovert". Often the first to raise his hand. Rarely embarrassed. He's NOT an introvert. Audiences around the world talk about how "high-energy" he is. One of the questions I'm often asked by introverts is, "How can I be a great speaker and still be an introvert". Great question. You can't be me, Ramon. I...
Small Innovations Can Make Big Results New Book from Square Execs
The book, Self-Made Boss is your roadmap to help you start, grow and eventually if you wish, sell your business. Lauren Weinberg, CMO of Square, and Jackie Reses, Luna Financial Group and former Square excec, teamed up to put together a book which is a "soup to nuts" guide for aspiring and existing small business...
Improve Your Online Reputation -5 Ways To Build Credibility and Trust
As much as 82% of internet users come across fake negative business reviews online. Seeing as almost 34% of the total market value of the world’s biggest companies depends on their reputation, you can begin to realize the importance of online reputation damage control. Improving and maintaining your digital prestige boils down to a strategic and...
Customer Relationship Management for Small Businesses: The Benefits of a CRM
What is CRM and why do you need it? CRM is a customer database to help you keep track of customer interactions with your business so you can serve them better. CRM stands for "customer relationship management" CRM helps you follow up with potential customers. The lack of follow up is one of the biggest reasons...
Learn to Tell Your Stories, to Help Your Influence Grow
Digital evangelist and and author Vala Afshar, a former key executive for Salesforce, recently noted: “Read to improve your writing. Write to improve your thinking. Speak to improve your storytelling.” His remark is profound, and should resonate highly with the readers of Smart Hustle. Think about the many headlines competing for our time and attention...
8 Tips to Help You Improve SEO and Attract More Customers
If you're a small business with an online presence, then you know that SEO is essential in order to be found by potential customers. In this post, we will discuss five ways that you can improve your SEO and see better rankings in search engines. These eight tips are easy to implement and can...
Zoho Marketing Plus Is A Powerful Solution for Total Marketing
Marketing is not easy. So many companies use a variety of tools, apps, sticky notes and Excel to manage their marketing. You've got the copywriter, the designer, the brand manager and other people all involved. The challenge? How do they communicate, follow up, keep track of deadlines and so much more. Thankfully there's a better solution than trying...
How Business Owners Can Prepare for a Powerful Podcast Interview
For any business owner looking to amplify their exposure, make connections to a larger audience, and create meaningful conversation, podcasts are a great avenue to do so. A relatively new idea for getting a company’s name out there, podcasts require someone’s attention for longer than a thirty-second commercial could ever do. Luckily, they’re usually...
Learning from Lululemon – When Should You Expand Your Offerings?
The WSJ reports that Lululemon, the activewear clothier for women's yoga apparel is expanding beyond its roots. There's a lesson in this for business owners. Often times we're advised to go niche and that is GOOD advice. However, as you grow and you gain expertise in one market, it's ok to TEST and CONSIDER extending that...
How to Get Your Next Publicity Opportunity
The media can be an incredibly useful resource for your business — providing opportunities to gain exposure, get in front of your target audience, drive traffic to your website, and connect with potential customers. Yet taking advantage of publicity opportunities often seems more easily said than done when you’re first starting a business. True, getting...
What Makes Social Media Posts Captivating? 5 Key Things.
According to research, over 3.6 billion people use social media worldwide, a number projected to increase to almost 4.41 billion in 2025. With such a massive presence of people on social media channels, businesses can’t afford to miss the huge opportunity of reaching wider audiences through social media marketing. It doesn’t matter whether you...