Hiring For Small Business — Overcoming Challenges And Tips For Success

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By Jason Whitman (Huffington Post)

According to the most recent ADP employment report, small businesses added 82,000 jobs to the U.S. economy in April. Also, according to the Small Business Administration, small businesses provide more than half of all jobs in the U.S. But, as every small business owner knows, each and every one of these individuals within your business makes a difference and has the opportunity to move the needle depending on whether that individual is the right fit for the business.

We interact with small business owners every day to help make that right hire that is so essential to the bottom line. It’s clear that not having the right person in an open role can make or break the future success of your small business. But hiring that perfect talent for an opening is not always something that small businesses feel well-equipped to tackle.

Often, small business owners feel a lot of similar pain points, which typically fall within three major areas:

Time is of the essence for a small business owner looking to hire talent. In contrast with a larger company, where hiring managers do workforce planning, have some flexibility and often can afford to be patient when hiring, small business owners can’t. Typically, if they don’t fill an “empty seat” quickly, the work to be done accelerates in a ripple effect, seriously increasing the workload of the rest of the employees.

Read more of this ‘Huffington Post’ article here…

Working on the Go? 5 Ways to Protect Your Mobile Device

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Published Tuesday, May 13th, 2014, by Jo Disney – News and Features Editor, U.K. (Officing Today)

With mobile working and BYOD becoming the norm, the question of security is nudging its way ever higher up the priority list.

We live in a world where there are more mobile devices than people. Research suggests that soon, the average person will carry 1.5 mobile devices (although, you’re probably already on 2 or 3 yourself).

The question is, in a world obsessed by mobile technology, how do you keep your devices safe and secure?

We’re not just talking viruses. Shoulder-to-shoulder working in coffee shops, walking to the station or leaving your laptop in the car can leave you open to the risk of theft. How do you protect against theft? And if your device is stolen, how do you keep sensitive data locked away?

Read more of this ‘Officing Today’ article here…

5 Tips for Launching a Successful Product

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GroundReport | Author: KM123
Filed Under: Health, Lifestyle | Posted: 05/13/2014 at 6:28PM
Region: Colorado | United States

According to the Small Business Association,small businesses have provided 55 percent of all jobs and 66 percent of all net new jobs since the 1970s. In today’s economy, small businesses are struggling; although many people have great product ideas, few of them follow the fundamental steps necessary to successfully bring those products to market. A success story, Peter Champe’s idea for a new kind of nasal aspirator started with a personal need—his infant son was chronically congested and he discovered that the standard bulb and battery-powered aspirators didn’t work. From this problem grew the Baby Comfy Nose, a nasal aspirator that uses the parent’s own suction, now sold at 7800 Walgreens retail stores nationwide, and he is sharing his five tips for launching a successful product.

“In the process of creating and marketing my first invention Baby Comfy Nose and then founding the larger company Baby Comfy Care, I have some advice that could be useful for others developing their own products” explains Peter Champe, engineer and owner of Baby Comfy Care. “I’ve condensed these ideas down to 5 principles to make them easier to apply.”

 

Read more of this ‘Ground Report’ article here…

 

Can you use Pinterest to build your Small Business?

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By Janel Martinez (Madame Noir)

Sure, Twitter and Facebook are great for marketing your small business online, but have you considered Pinterest? Many people think Pinterest is only for home décor collages and party-planning tips. Not true! Small business owners have the potential to take their brand marketing to the next level if they use the social media site wisely.

Last week, Pinterest unveiled its new business site where entrepreneurs can check out Pinterest buttons and widgets to add to their website, sign up for the business newsletter and read how brands such as Nordstrom have grown using the visual discovery tool. Pinterest announced last week that the company is working with a small group of brands across various industries, including Kraft, Target and ABC Family, to help the company test out its Promoted Pins feature. “We hope Promoted Pins give businesses of all sizes a chance to connect with more Pinners,” said Joanne Bradford, head of partnerships, in the company’s blog.

Read more of  this ‘Madame Noir’ article here…

 

Book your meeting online with one click! The Rostie Group is Toronto’s premier mid-sized meetings and conference centre and boutique provider of fully furnished personal and shared workspaces including virtual offices, team rooms, workstations, coworking spaces and event spaces. Situated at Bay and Queen’s Quay in the city’s thriving south core, our experienced and professional staff are always on hand and dedicated to your business success.

Essential Tips for Small Business Data Security

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FIVE ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR SMALL BUSINESS DATA SECURITY – BY GUY CHIARELLO (Huffington Post)

Given the increasing frequency and sophistication of cyber attacks in today’s world, it is more important than ever for small businesses to understand the costly effects of a data breach and develop an approach to mitigate the risks. The cost of a data breach for a small merchant can be catastrophic. The lost business and resulting liability from such an event can create significant financial losses, but the damaged reputation could be even more difficult, if not impossible, to recover from at all.

A recent study from Ponemon Institute shows that 90 percent of data breaches impact small merchants. Given that payment data is the target for 65 percent of breaches, small business owners should be concerned by the potential vulnerability of sensitive payment data used to process transactions every day, in multiple ways — in person, online and even via mobile device.

Small businesses can protect their customers and themselves, even though there is no guarantee of complete immunity to the threat. By staying educated and understanding solutions and best practices that are available, small businesses can reduce the risk of a data breach with cost-effective options.

Read more of this ‘Huffington Post’ article here…

Book your meeting online with one click! The Rostie Group is Toronto’s premier mid-sized meetings and conference centre and boutique provider of fully furnished personal and shared workspaces including virtual offices, team rooms, workstations, coworking spaces and event spaces. Situated at Bay and Queen’s Quay in the city’s thriving south core, our experienced and professional staff are always on hand and dedicated to your business success.

Business Tips To Build Lasting Relationships With Your Client

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By Deborah Asseraf | Social Pulse | May 12, 2014

It’s not about me – it’s all about YOU!

May 12-16 is National Small Business Week. This annual spotlight on small businesses began in 1963. It recognizes the essential contributions of America’s entrepreneurs and small business owners. Every day, they’re working to grow small businesses, drive innovation, increase America’s global competitiveness, and jobs. More than half of Americans either own or work for a small business, and they create about two out of every three new jobs in the U.S. each year.

A small business owner must have hundreds maybe even thousands of sales conversations over the course of a year in order grow their business. So there are plenty of opportunities for authentic connections, shared insights and the occasional foot-in-mouth moment.  Here are a few ways to ensure you’re connecting and putting your best foot forward – instead of in your mouth.

Make the conversation about the other person

The need to be heard is one of the most powerful motivating forces in human nature. The first instinct is to share what we know, think or care about instead of putting the focus on the person we’re talking to.

Read the rest of this ‘The Epoch Times’ article, click here …

 

Book your meeting online with one click! The Rostie Group is Toronto’s premier mid-sized meetings and conference centre and boutique provider of fully furnished personal and shared workspaces including virtual offices, team rooms, workstations, coworking spaces and event spaces. Situated at Bay and Queen’s Quay in the city’s thriving south core, our experienced and professional staff are always on hand and dedicated to your business success.

Check out our new office tower that is opening in a few months!

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RBC WaterPark Place: http://t.co/rIyFNxUaqT

RBC WaterPark Place, at 933,000 SF and 30 storeys, is where the modern Toronto workplace is headed. The property offers an inspiring work experience, with the city’s only PATH connection to the waterfront, 360-degree lake and skyline views, intelligent amenities, and a vital and refreshing waterfront location. It is the third, and final, tower in the WaterPark Place complex. And as the city’s first LEED Platinum office tower, it is the evolution of efficient, sustainable building design. The project has been designed by WZMH and developed by Oxford Properties.

Could Your Business Use 131 million YouTube views?

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Tom Dickson, Founder and CEO of BlendTec tests his blender on everyday items to see if they will… well, blend. The Will It Blend series was a huge success with total video views exceeding 131 million. Could your business use 131 million YouTube views?

Creating video for web is very low cost, cost effective and the potential ROI greatly exceeds that of traditional media. Here are a few tips to creating effect videos for the web.

Catchy titles – make your title catchy. With the right keywords (don’t forget Google owns Youtube) you will make your video easier to find with the right searches by the right people.  “How To…” videos are great because the title communicates what should be in the video and it implicitly positions you, the uploader as an expert in the topic.

Short & Sweet – Provide great compact, content and get to the point. Studies show that the average attention span of internet users has decreased from a few minutes to a few seconds over the past five years. Some video bloggers use special editing techniques to keep their audience engaged by having regular, abrupt transitions. Your video doesn’t have to go to this extreme but bearing this in mind will be critical to the success of your video.

FAQ & A – A good place to start if it’s your first video is answering FAQs’ (Frequently Asked Questions) about your service category or something related to the problem you solve for customers. Answering questions sets you up as an expert in the eyes of your prospects and gives you a competitive edge by taking a step towards the trust necessary to have your product or service chosen.

Myth Busting – Listing commonly held misconceptions about your industry can be effective because this content not only demonstrates knowledge but potential clients will most likely find this information educational and memorable. For added effect explain away these myths by using a story about how you solved a related problem for a client.

If you want to learn more about creating effective video for the web that will dramatically increase the visibility of your business, watch this FREE webinar on Monday, April 9, 12-1 pm EDT with Sofia Stefou of Sofina Media.

Register here.

The Rostie Group is the premier boutique provider of executive office spaces, virtual offices and meeting rooms in Toronto. 

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Could Dickens’ 200-year-old desk improve your Office Space’s productivity?

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A 200-year-old desk may have, in part, inspired the works of great novelist Charles Dickens according to its current owner, 80-year-old Desmond Zwar. The sloping desk which was with the famous novelist from early youth to adulthood appears to have been a definite favourite of Dickens’ for writing. Today marks the 200th anniversary of Dickens’ birth and many events are taking place to celebrate his life and his great literary contributions which include A Christmas Carol and Oliver Twist.

What can you do about your desk or office space to be as productive as the greatest English novelist of the Victorian Period?

There’s a semi-popular acronym, T.R.A.F. that stands for “Toss, Refer, Act and File”, a simple but powerful tool to use when you come across papers on your desk that sets up action items for every piece of paper you find. There are only four things you can do with documents: You can Toss them, Refer them to someone else, Act on them immediately or File them away for later.

Here are 6 tips to make your office space in Toronto more organised and productive.

1. Keep stationery to a minimum.
2. Designate one place for items you empty out of your pocket.
3. The more frequently you use things the nearer they should be to you.
4. Keep wires, routers, cords etc out of sight.
5. Use a system like TRAF to make files easily accessible
6. Scan documents to maximise space. Check out apps like Evernote for this purpose

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Garner some Superbowl ‘Star Power’ with a Prime Office Space or Virtual Office in Toronto

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Indianapolis, the host of Superbowl XLVI won’t have the club or luxury hotel clout of former host cities but will celebs and the media clamour to the city this weekend?

Yes.

Whether you’re the ‘Indianapolis’ or the New York Giants of your industry, the way to get clients making a bee-line to your home office or office space is to unify clients around what they’re passionate about, i.e. quality service and products. How do you communicate quality to prospective and current clients? Firstly, a professional business image is critical to what your prospect feels compelled to do once they’ve come into contact with your business and have heard your call to action.

A central business address in downtown Toronto, professional reception service and an impressive business environment, meeting rooms space and office space speak volumes before you even meet face to face with clients. A professional image increases prospects’ expectations about how you conduct business.

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What does Indianapolis teach us about image and impressions? Impressions are, simply put, implied promises. Superbowl implies delivery of great sporting entertainment, great half-time commercials and live performances. Regardless of the name of the city, the Superbowl’s promise trumps the lack lustre celeb roll call of Indianapolis. Even if a business is a young start-up or a small local operation there is no reason why smaller operations like these can’t make a great professional promise to clients and a promise that rivals that of more established players in your industry.