As a small business, it can be hard to set aside the budget necessary to do the marketing campaigns you want to do, especially with newer mediums like digital, it can be all too easy to feel overwhelmed. When you consider the fact that the U.S. SBA holds that a small business with revenue under $5 million (the average annual revenue of a small business with a website) should be spending about 8% of that revenue on marketing (roughly $400 thousand annually), it may surprise you than 83% of businesses with 50 people or less (i.e., truly small businesses, or about 90% of them) spend a mere $1,000 on marketing per month — this amount is only appropriate for businesses with revenue limited to $150 thousand annually, and digital is only a small portion of that budget.

It's undeniable that the workplace has changed, reflecting changes in market ideologies and generational shifts. With it, the roles and requirements have changed widely for job titles that haven't. In today's post, we'll take a peek at history to reflect and find new ways of understanding the 21st Century manager.

In an industry where sales can make or break your business, it's important that you (or your sales team) have good sales habits. However, there's more to it than just having good habits, it's about breaking bad sales habits, too. In this post we’re going to discuss how to break bad sales habits so you can improve your bottom line.

If you believe that whole, real, and nutrient-dense foods are medicine to the body and you have a passion for teaching others how to live healthy and active lives, then becoming a nutritionist may be the best career path for you. If so, it’s important to understand what nutrition programs offer and what things you should consider prior to applying.

Microsoft Excel is an essential program for office managers, marketers, and anyone who deals with finances. This program’s ability to quickly and efficiently organize data is a huge time saver. Today, almost 80% of intermediately-skilled positions post digital skills in the job requirements, knowing Microsoft Office tricks and shortcuts are a great way to boost your skills and value for employers.

Susan Bender Phelps is an instructor at CLIMB who teaches workshops and courses focused on thriving in the professional work.

Keeping your project running smoothly can take a lot of leadership, and it means a lot more than just ensuring you have the right team members on tap. It means knowing best practices and more importantly, having access to the right tools to help your team get the job done quickly, efficiently, and under budget. We recently created a project management guide that packages some of these together into a kit for you and your team to use.

In today’s post, we’ve included a few best practices that every good project manager should keep in mind. It’s just a taste of what our Project Management Charter Project Kit will go into more thoroughly:

There’s something special about the later years in life, including the freedom to do different things like travel, explore, and even start a business.

Those individuals who endeavor to create their own business at this stage in life are often referred to as  “encore entrepreneurs”. Individuals who start business after 50 accounted for nearly one-quarter of new businesses started last year. People in this age range actually start businesses at a higher rate than those in their 20s. If you consider full-time independent workers, baby boomers and seniors combined are actually the largest segment at 37 percent according to the MBO independent workforce study.

It goes without saying that customer service is vital. More than 75% of consumers see customer service as representative of how much a brand values them. Another 70% say their experience is defined by how they feel they're being treated. What you may not realize is that delighting your customers takes more than just standard customer service — it's not enough to give them a smile and a can-do attitude.

In today's post, we'll discuss three of the biggest factors in how to delight your customers.