Recently, I read the article “Beyond Banks: Alternative Funding for Startups” in the Business Owner's Playbook. I love this piece! It is a valuable resource and primer on source financing when banks are not the way to go. If you’re looking to start a new business or expand the small business you already own, read this, then read it again, then bookmark it for future reference! Here are just a few alternative funding options covered by the article: Crowdfunding: raising small amounts of startup money from a very large number of people (the “crowd”) Peer-to-Peer Lending: (a.k.a. P2P) borrowing money from unrelated individuals (“peers”) without having to go through a … [Read more...]
Archives for November 2014
3 Steps to Happier Customers
As a small business owner, you already know that keeping your customers happy is key to your success. The thing is, it’s not always straightforward how to do this, and can get confusing and frustrating. It can be particularly tricky when you own a digital company because there are few face-to-face interactions. So what do you do? There’s a great article in Entrepreneur Magazine that outlines 3 steps to happier customers. Don’t just be friendly, be a friend. There’s nothing worse than a stiff, “reading off the script” tone when it comes to customer service responses. Have a personality and keep it light. Think about how you’d approach helping a friend, and apply that to how you … [Read more...]