Small Business Articles

As 2020 winds down, now is a good time to assess your marketing practices and what you want to accomplish in that area in 2021

It’s important to carefully track your cost variance on jobs since even small tweaks can have a big effect on profit margins

Here’s a look at assessing the first two items when conducting a thorough SWOT analysis of your company’s operations

Consistently highlighting your company’s expertise will gradually build your reputation over time, helping to keep you in the public eye and leading to more customers coming on board

Establishing a solid strategy for passing on your business — whether it’s staying within the family or transitioning to a different owner — can only be accomplished by doing some planning well ahead of time

You’re likely already competing against enough legitimate companies in your service area for visibility on internet business listings and don’t want your ranking position further hurt by spam. Here’s what you can do about it.

Rather than use exit interviews to glean insights from departing employees, consider taking a more proactive approach with ‘stay’ interviews

Don’t get caught up in these counterproductive practices that will hurt your company in the long term

Strategies targeted at improving the customer experience don’t have to equate to higher expenses

Even if your work is superior to a competitor’s, consumers will view you as equals if you don’t put effort into differentiating yourself with your branding. Be sure you’re putting some time into studying the competition, so that you know where you can stand out.

Linda Hudek was last featured in Plumber magazine two years ago. In the time since, she has made some improvements to her business while still staying true to what has consistently brought her success the past decade.

2020 has been a year of survival rather than long-term planning. While we’re not yet beyond the pandemic, now can still be a good time to start thinking about how to best position your business for the future.

Growth is a goal for many companies, but there is no single way to achieve it. A few business owners talk about their personal experiences growing their companies.