700,000 apps reside in both the Apple and Android app store – but are any of them yours?

Businesses develop mobile apps to directly generate income (through sales of the app, or the app facilitating product sales) or for the purposes of marketing, branding, and customer service. If your business is interested in utilizing a mobile app in order to increase customer loyalty, you have two options: to build a custom app, or to make use of existing apps through a third-party provider. Read the full entry

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Flattening business hierarchies and removing layers of management is a hot topic in the business sphere, with staunch proponents on either side of the debate. In an article from LinkedIn, the issue is clearly defined:

“Too many employees work for their boss rather than their company or their clients. Businesses these days are filled with multiple layers of management, and employees often find themselves playing politics and focusing on tasks to make their boss happy.

At the end of the day, the company quickly forgets what their goals are and what they are in business to do — and everyone is focusing on the task at hand with little sense of how it fits into the bigger picture.” Read the full entry

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Entrepreneur is defined as, “A person who organizes and operates a business or businesses, taking on financial risk to do so.”

Being an entrepreneur requires you to take risks in your personal and professional life by creating your own path. However, there are a number of resources that you should keep in your backpack as you travel into the wide blue yonder of online entrepreneurship. Read the full entry

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Southwest Airlines serves 10.8 million passengers a month, provides service to 42 states, and hasn’t seen a red balance sheet since the Nixon presidency.

In addition to its commercial and financial success, Southwest Airlines also takes the #10 place on the 2012 Customer Service Hall of Fame. To put that in perspective: the next airline on the list, United Airlines, holds spot #82.

How does Southwest manage to be so successful both as a company and a customer service provider? Read the full entry

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Having employees contribute to your social media profiles can help you expand your outreach, increase your followers, and attract new employees through the positive engagement of your current workforce.

However, this contribution can backfire if you do not have policies and training in place that guide how your employees participate on your pages. SmallBusiness.Chron.com suggests, “A proactive approach to starting official company accounts and managing the content helps you maintain a positive online presence.” Consider these tips before letting employees loose on your social accounts. Read the full entry

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Branding is often something that comes naturally as you discover your customer base, product, and strengths. However, eventually you need to find tune this into what will become your brand.

Creating this strong business essence helps inspire loyalty and trust in your customers, and provides a level of familiarity to engage potential customers.

If you’re not sure where to start, let us guide you with these 3 simple steps. Read the full entry

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Amazon is the largest ecommerce retailer in the world, and no, it doesn’t come down to pure luck and excellent timing. Their web sales are 5x those of Walmart, Target and BUY.com – combined.

After years in the making, they’ve become the model for ecommerce. And, like any great business, there were a variety of pieces that went into their success puzzle – in particular, these six genius strategy decisions. Read the full entry

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2012 was an enormous year for cloud computing. Gartner research estimates that the public cloud market grew to a total of $109 billion worldwide, a nearly 20% increase over the previous year. Many businesses have jumped on the cloud computing bandwagon as it emerged last year, and yours may have been one of them.

From time tracking to payroll software, there are many ways your business can benefit from the cloud. And though we’re a few months into 2013, it’s never too late to assess and improve. It’s important to consider your current cloud usage and future. Read the full entry

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According to a survey released by CareerBuilder, 35% of companies were predicted to hire temporary workers in 2012, an increase of 8% from three years ago. Hiring temporary workers can help your business fill gaps in staffing, complete special short-term projects, and save money on payroll and benefits.

Utilize the power of social media, networking, and skilled staffing agencies to find the right temporary employees for your business. Read the full entry

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Thanks to modern technology, more and more business owners are running their business on the go. StartupDonut says, “Communications and computing technology mean many businesses can operate wherever there is a reliable internet connection.”

And, even if you work from a base office, it’s unavoidable that you will have to leave your office and hit the road – to meet with clients, run sales at a trade show, or inspect a vendor.

If you’re working on the go, you need to have everything in order – consider these 5 tips the next time you head out. Read the full entry

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