Congratulations! You’ve decided to become an entrepreneur and start your own business! But now what? One of the first things you must do to achieve success is to build your brand. What’s a brand? Your brand is much more than a logo. Your brand is your customer’s overall perception of your business. Brand building is a process, but the ongoing effort will lead to long-term customer relationships, essential for a successful small business.

This past week, Facebook announced that they now have over TWO BILLION users. To put this enormous number in perspective, that’s about 27% of the entire world population. In the United States, 79% of American adult internet users have a Facebook account. Also impressive is how frequently social media sites are accessed by their users. 78% of Facebook users log on daily, and 55% of those daily users log in more than once a day. Usage of other social media sites is quickly growing as well. 32% of...

In each of the following scenarios, how likely are you to rely on an internet search, at least in part, to help find the right business for the job? Your hot water heater isn’t working. A new driver rear-ends you on the way home from work and you need a reputable body shop. You and your two pit-bulls are looking for a pet-friendly apartment complex. You want to take your new fiancée out for a nice dinner while on vacation. More than likely, for each of these situations, Google is a part of the ...

Direct sales businesses are a great way to sell products that you are passionate about to interested customers and earn extra money. One of the great advantages of this type of business is how easy it is to reach your potential customers online. But research increasingly shows that print media should be an essential part of your marketing strategy.