The pandemic, social unrest and natural disasters like wildfires have battered the small business landscape in 2020. And America’s small businesses are fighting back with digital tools to steer them through uncertain times. That was the big takeaway from “The State of SMBs: Lessons from 2020 and Outlook for 2021.” The virtual fireside chat featured Bill.com CEO and Founder René Lacerte and Dean Henry of American Express. Stephen Markwell of JP Morgan Chase and Rodney Fong of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce were the other panelists. Gene Marks, Author, Small Business Expert and President of digital tools moderated. Business Leaders Agree Hybrid Model Here to Stay Lacerte started the discussion with a roundup of the year just passed. “It was not a good year… [Read More...]

Scaling content sounds easy, doesn’t it? Just write more content more frequently. If only it was as straightforward as that. The art of scaling content isn’t to simply increase the amount of content, but to scale the impact of that content — more visitors, more clicks, more conversions. Like a snowball rolling down a hill gathering snow, you want to attract as much attention as possible. But if your snowball is rolling too fast, nothing sticks. To build brand awareness and increase your customer base by scaling content, you need to strategically plan your efforts. Otherwise, you’ll spend hours creating reams of content that doesn’t hit the mark. So, how do you create more content without compromising value? Check out these tips on… [Read More...]

Sponsored Post Tax deadlines may not roll around until Feb. 1, 2021. But it’s never too soon to brush up on what you need to know for filing. That’s especially true if you’re a small business owner. What’s new for the 2020 tax year? For one thing, form 1099-NEC replaces form 1099-MISC for reporting non-employee compensation. Actually, it’s a new version of an older form that’s been out of use since the 80’s. Of course, the standard 1099-MISC remains but will serve a somewhat different purpose. But figuring out which information belongs on which form will definitely be a major challenge during this tax season. Fortunately, efile4Biz has a resource to help you learn more and start filing online. So brush … [Read More...]

Many successful entrepreneurs, including founders of multi-billion dollar companies, got to where they are through a combination of unique idea generation and hard work. Naturally, most of us aspire to achieve something similar—even if we can’t hope to replicate that scale. That’s one reason why I like to read and discover some of the unique productivity hacks, habits, and behaviors that helped those successful entrepreneurs achieve their status. I’ve listed some of my favorites below. Productivity Hacks from Top Entrepreneurs Try these interesting productivity hacks from some of the most successful entrepreneurs of our era: 1. Elon Musk: Schedule your day in 5-minute intervals Elon Musk, founder of Tesla and SpaceX, uses time blocking to schedule his day in intervals as small as… [Read More...]

There’s no way around it — 2020 was tough for businesses. But if your company has made it through this crazy year, there are certainly lessons to be taken away. Below, members of the online small business community shared their biggest takeaways. And you may even learn some important lessons heading into 2021. Consider Niche and Hybrid Events This year has certainly changed the landscape for the events industry. Even after the pandemic, it’s likely that in-person events won’t go completely back to normal. So it’s up to businesses to adapt. In this Marketing Land post, Kimberly Dutcher discusses the possibility of niche and hybrid events gaining traction. Learn from These 2021 Content Marketing Predictions Though much has changed in 2020, it’s likely that content… [Read More...]

Cybercrime is evolving rapidly thanks to the pace at which technology is improving. Ransomware is one of the most common forms of attack businesses face. Many large businesses have fallen victim to ransomware attacks, and unfortunately, this perpetuates the impression that small and medium-sized companies aren’t on an attacker’s radar. This is not the case. In October 2019, an IT consulting firm based in Wisconsin paid an undisclosed sum to an attacker who had blocked client access to patient medical records. While just 20% of ransomware victims are small businesses, over 85% of security service providers report that ransomware is one of the most common threats a small business faces. To create a plan to protect yourself from a ransomware attack, you need to execute… [Read More...]