If you’ve ever felt like now is the time to start your own business, you’re not alone. Even if it feels like you’ve done all your homework and are on solid financial footing, it’s tough to know when you’re ready to make the leap.

Leveraging social media as a marketing channel has become unavoidable, but they also require business owners and marketers to utilize them in the best way possible. That means much more than ensuring you have the best content and add value with images and video. Hashtags in social media marketing are critical for topic discovery, audience engagement, and much more. In today’s post, we’ll take a quick look at how to leverage hashtags for business, starting with answering the question, “What are hashtags?”

Differentiating your brand is imperative to thrive as a business in the long term. This tasks can seem impossible for a small business, especially if you’re in competition with a larger global brand or your product or service is available online. Globalization and the Internet have certainly made it harder to stand out from the competition, but there are still many ways to differentiate your brand.  

You’ve taken the time (and money) to post the job position, interview some great candidates, and pick the perfect person for the job, but the onboarding process of the new employee doesn’t stop there. A new employee needs to feel welcome and like they belong. Everyone is busy, but no one should be too busy to train a new employee and make them feel like they’re part of the team.

Retail stores often struggle to get the customer traffic necessary to thrive in an increasingly digital world.  It’s even more difficult for stores that aren’t located in a high-traffic area. While a good location definitely helps, it’s not the only way to drive traffic to retail stores.

Entrepreneurs often want to start their own business because they have a passion for a certain product or service and have some expertise in how to deliver it. However, there are many facets of running a business that are equally important to its growth..

If you own a small business, or you’re thinking of starting one, you may believe the best way to market your business is to get your message out to everyone. The more people you can reach, the more sales you can achieve, right? The problem with that approach is it’s a bit like trying to catch all the fish in the sea. If you try to do that, you’re going to waste time and resources. That’s why you need to identify your target market. The most effective and efficient way to market your business is by focusing on the group of consumers that is the best fit for your product or service — the ones most likely to buy what you’re selling. The Small Business Development Center has put together a list of 5 questions you should ask to help you identify your target market.

Starting your own business can be exciting and it takes a great deal of time and energy. At first, most small business owners wear many hats, taking on the work of multiple functional areas (operations, sales, accounting, marketing, and HR etc.) all by themselves or with just a very small team. As you grow your business,  through the early days, the challenges of taking on all the work will slowly be lifted as your team expands.  Unfortunately, many small business owners struggle with this transition from worker to manager and leader. When you’re used to doing everything your way it can be difficult to give up some of the control you’ve had for so many years. Michael Gerber, author of the E-Myth refers to this transitions as moving from “working in the business, to working on the business.” There are many things you can do to make the transition from worker to leader smoother, and position your business for success.

Each May is World Trade Month, which makes now the perfect time to explore the role global trade plays in the economy. Given 95% of the world’s population and 75% of consumers reside outside the US, global trade is responsible for a significant number of jobs as well as business stability and growth. This isn’t restricted to major corporations either; small businesses actually have a lot to gain from exporting. Today’s post will highlight some of the reasons and the ways Oregon small businesses can get involved.

Digital marketing is a fact of life in the business world today. The term refers to any type of marketing done online, including your website and social media, and brings with it the advantage of enabling marketers to track and analyze the success of campaigns to understand what’s working and what isn’t. Before you invest in digital marketing for your business, however, consider these 10 questions.