Tag: Business Tips

Businesses and nonprofits organizations should always be thinking outside of the box to better serve and engage their customers and target audiences. A great way to do that is by using holidays – Mardi Gras, St. Patrick’s Day, etc. – to say thank you. Here are some tips:

• Offer a special or a discount for customers who visit in holiday colors.

• Share a social media post sending good wishes to your followers.

• When appropriate, host a holiday party or happy hour for your supporters.

Holidays are always a great time to thank your customers and supporters. Don’t miss out on that opportunity!

– Mariah Weinand, The New Orleans 100

Do you get inundated with emails and often miss or completely lose important communications? Start cleaning up your emails today.

1. Create folders by client or by project. Put emails that you have responded to but might need to refer back to in a labeled folder.

2. Cut down your inbox to 0 messages each day. Delete, archive or put emails in an appropriate labeled folder. Doing this will ensure that you do not miss any emails and that your inbox won’t get clogged.

By keeping a clean inbox, your ability to find things and respond to clients will flourish.

– Katie Armes, The SWFL 100

Business email inboxes are noisier than ever, so avoiding “opt-out status” with your colleagues is crucial. Here are three tips for email etiquette:

1. Ditch the “reply all” if only one or two people need to pay attention to your email.

2. Use caution with emojis. What’s acceptable at a trendy startup may not be appropriate at a corporate office.

3. Think before you follow up. “Not sure if you saw my last email” ranked as the most annoying email phrase in a recent survey.

And, let’s be honest, there’s no place for Comic Sans in the business world.

– Beth Meccariello, The Tampa Bay 100

You don’t always have to sit in a conference room when you meet with co-workers: Take a walk instead.

Before or after lunch are the ideal times of day for these meetings. But before you lace up your sneakers, consider these three steps:

1. Tell co-workers in advance so they can bring proper attire. Avoid telling them the day of the meeting.

2. Map your route to allow enough time to cover all your topics.

3. Designate one person to send out a brief recap after the walk. Walking meetings are not the place for pen and paper.

– Missy Barnett, Corporate Fitness Works

In the past, companies focused on hiring leaders based on charisma, drive and dependability. Now, many organizations are realizing the most important trait for a leader to possess is humility.

Humility is an important characteristic for leaders because it inspires harmony, quick learning and high performance. Humble people are aware of their personal weaknesses, are eager to improve and focus on goals beyond their self-interest. These qualities are linked to lower employee turnover and absenteeism.

Humble leaders avoid the spotlight but are still highly competitive and ambitious. They give credit to employees, providing a more successful and satisfied workplace.

– Katelin W. Davis, The North Carolina 100

It started with passion. Then the idea. Now you even have the whole business plan with all the details addressed. What you likely do not have is the money. A business pitch competition could possibly be just the thing to get your startup truly started.

Made popular by the television program “Shark Tank,” business pitching for funds has taken off. There are a surprising number of pitch competitions with funding and exposure opportunities.

Maybe one of these is right for you:

• Huggies MomInspired Grant Program

• MIT $100,000 Entrepreneurial Challenge

• HATCH Pitch

Check out businessgrants.org for more information.

– Deneen Bloom, The North Carolina 100

Most of us spend lots of time with our co-workers. What could you do differently to be a better one? Sources from human resource blogs to Reader’s Digest offer tips on how to be a better co-worker.

A few favorites:

– Recognize people’s contributions. Everyone likes compliments.

– Get to know each other.

– Be on time for meetings; it shows respect for other people’s time.

– Don’t jump to conclusions. When an issue arises, take the time to gather all of the information and avoid jumping to a negative, blaming conclusion.

– Pitch in. A great co-worker is a team player.

– Deneen Bloom, The North Carolina 100

According to RevGen CEO John Rosar, hiring service industry alums can be great for business. Rosar’s top reasons include:

• Waiting tables is difficult. Enduring long hours on your feet is the mark of a hard worker.

• A server’s ability to read many different types of people and communicate with them effectively is beneficial in nearly every field of work.

• Service industry workers must manage many different tasks at once, and ensure quality service for each guest by staying organized.

• Servers hustle. They’re required to keep up in a fast-paced environment and connect with customers in the midst of chaos.

– Katelin W. Davis, The North Carolina 100

HR Management is essential for running a successful business, but it is often overlooked by small-business owners. No matter the size of your business, proper HR strategies are a must. Here are some tips for small-business managers to help optimize employees’ performance and create a safe and professional work environment:

• Always praise employees in public, but scold in private.

• Document everything, even if it does not seem important.

• Provide and maintain written job descriptions, an employee handbook, workplace rules and regulations, etc.

• Consider using personality tests as part of the hiring process.

• Continuously encourage honest feedback from employees.

– Haley Pegg, New Orleans Chamber