That’s what’s happening, according to recent testimony before the House Small Business Committee. John Dearie, executive VP of the Financial Services Forum, a trade organization in D.C., reported that only 8% of companies are in business less than one year, compared with the 15% rate in effect since the 1970s. And for the first time in 30 years, business deaths (closures, bankruptcies) are exceeding business births. What do you think the government can or should do?

Want to hear my favorite procrastination joke? "I’ll tell you later." Piers Steel, a psychologist at the University of Calgary, has saved up countless such lines while researching the nature of procrastination. Formerly a terrible procrastinator himself, he figures a dose of humor can’t hurt. It’s certainly better than continually building up anxiety about work you should do now but put off until later and later, as your chances of completing it grow ever slimmer, and the consequences loom ever larger. Start living your dream, your business plan, your work out regimen or anything you feel like you have to wait for the perfect moment before you start. Do not wait! Start NOW! Start TODAY! Its already the perfect day! 

Even if budgets for bonuses are tight, you can curb employee grumbling with a little recognition. Keeping them feeling good about what they bring to the table can be a huge motivator and create loyalty. Make a fuss over standout employees on social media to give them time in the spotlight. Spread the word that you have a great team and (more importantly) that you appreciate them.

When your team members go above and beyond the call of duty, it’s important to recognize them to help keep them motivated and on track. But if your small business is struggling, a cash reward or a raise might not be in the budget. That’s not to say your hands are tied. When your employees go the extra mile, recognize their efforts. Here are six ways to do so without killing your budget.

1. Use a Social Media Shout Out

Your social media accounts are good for a lot more than business marketing. The next time an employee performs well, craft a quick narrative about what he or she did, and how it positively affected business operations, then post it on social media. Give a hearty “Thank you!” at the end. Your other team members and customer base can see what a great job your staff member did.

2. Develop a Local Gift Card Exchange

If you run a restaurant and you've been rewarding your staff with gift cards for free food, you might want to re-think your approach. Your team probably eats food at the restaurant all the time, so free food may not seem that special. Instead, partner up with other local business owners and exchange gift cards, using their cards as your rewards. Your employees will appreciate the free goodies, and you can generate goodwill and more business by deepening local business relationships.

3. Offer a Better Title

Even if you can’t offer an official promotion, there are things you can do to show you respect your employees and the work they put in. For instance, you could make your top salesperson an Executive Sales Rep (with a modest bump in commission), or if you have a staff member who does a great job training other team members, you could promote him or her to Trainer, adding $1 per hour to his or her wage during training(s).

4. Implement Non-Financial Incentives

An extra week of vacation would be cherished by your staff, as would the ability to write their own schedules for a week. You could even set up a contest, so that the winning staff member gets to opt out of his or her least favorite job duties, assigning them to the rest of the team – it can be a great way to motivate other team members to take things to the next level.

5. Allow Telecommuting

How many of your employees are dying to work from home? Of course, not every position or business model lends itself to home-based work, but if your employees do most of their job online, considering offering telecommuting as your next incentive.

6.  Arrange a Team Building Event

Rather than organizing and planning your next team building event, give your high-performing team a budget to plan their own event. They can decide where to go, what to do, and how to enjoy celebrating their success.

When it comes to motivating your team, it’s important to get creative. Sticking to the same old incentives gets boring, making it hard to keep spirits high. If you’re struggling to come up with a good idea, ask your staff what they’d appreciate most – you may be surprised by what you learn.

Delegation doesn't come naturally for many small business owners. It's a complete change of pace from what most business owners do during the startup phase -- i.e., everything! But that doesn't mean it's not possible.

A big challenge that comes with delegation is avoiding micromanagement. If you have trouble letting go and compensate by trying to keep your fingers on every part of your business, you are undoing any good that can come from the delegation process.

Effective delegation starts with a desire to offload some of your work so you can focus on growing your business. Without delegation, your success as a small business owner is limited. Until a team is developed and daily business management responsibilities are delegated, the business can't grow and, as a business owner, you will likely be overextended and highly frustrated.

Running a business goes far beyond marketing, payroll and office supplies these days. As discussion intensifies and changes arise in the legalization of marijuana, business owners should stay on top of how it could affect company policies. Be proactive and reach out to your attorney to see what's best for your business in light of any new or possible legislation.

RELATED ARTICLE

Legalized Marijuana and Your Business

By Barbara Weltman

Two states have legalized the recreational use of marijuana and other states may follow suit. A number of other states permit the use of pot for medical purposes. Is it time to review your employee manual to account for this drug?

On-the-job versus off-the-job use

You may have heard of the Washington man who was first in line to purchase marijuana the day it became legal in that state. (The employer had seen him in the local media and was unaware that he had taken the day off.) When the test showed him to be positive for pot use, he was fired. He was later reinstated when it was clear that he was not on the job the day he used the drug.

This is only the first instance of any repercussions for legal marijuana use as it relates to the workplace. It won’t be long before there are terminations that come before the Department of Labor for review.

What to do

If you are in a state that has legalized marijuana, it may be worthwhile to review your company’s employee manual and set guidelines with respect to marijuana use. You can restrict use for safety reasons, but you can’t put a blanket ban on it if marijuana is legal in your state. You may not need to make any changes if you have a substance abuse policy that is broad enough to cover marijuana’s new legal status.

If you don’t have a policy in place that is suitable, consider rules that parallel those for alcohol use in the workplace. For example, there should be an explicit ban on driving for company business—or driving a company-owned vehicle for any reason—while under the influence. Be sure to check with your attorney before putting anything in writing.

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 So you've got a little something to share, do you? Don't underestimate the power of a well-written press release, and how this can help feed other communication channels, such as your website and social media. A press release is a simple tool to communicate important information using a basic formula, but it also boosts your search engine optimization (SEO) and creates opportunities to start conversations through social media. When developing your release, remember to use consistent style, write in the third person, and be sure to include your contact info.

Why do we need them? The alert the media and they help with SEO.

So, how can you make them more effective? Use AP style, Use Third Person, Include Contact Information. 

• Make sure they are interesting. 
• Use free PR distribution sites. 
• Manually distribute the Press Release. 
• Use Social Media. 
• Publish them on your own website.
• Or Hire MNMMediaGroup to write a professional low-cost PR for you.

Press releases are very helpful.

Contact Marie to request a write up about whats happening next in your company!

2201 Seacrest Blvd

Delray Beach, FL

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561-572-8901

                                    

"When you're running your own business and dependent on clients to pay on schedule, there can sometimes be gaps in cash flow. But instead of begging customers to pay or praying you're able to stretch your dollars, there's the option of a short-term loan to ease the stress. By skipping the big banks and their even bigger interest rates, you can breathe a sigh of relief with a 12-week loan to help get through a dry spell."

Overcome Cash-Flow Gaps. Get Paid Instantly.

One of the first things that Eyal Shinar, the CEO of Fundbox, said to me during a recent  interview was “businesses don’t like invoice factoring.”  While invoice factoring comes in many different varieties, a common variant includes a company selling their invoices to a factoring company in exchange for a certain amount of cash upfront. The factoring company then proceeds to collect the money from the company’s customers listed on the invoices.

Many businesses don’t like a third party having a direct relationship with their customers. The actions of the factoring company, which is “eager” to collect money, could affect their relationship with the client.

However, factoring serves a very important function. It enables companies to overcome short-term gaps in their cash flow. While expenses can be consistent or need to be paid in advance for a big job, payment for work can often arrive 30, 60, or 90 days after work is done.  Eyal cited research which estimates you should have about two months of “normal” operating expenses on hand to function smoothly.

While traditional factoring may cause customer relationship problems, the traditional lenders (banks) typically don’t want to lend small amounts for short-periods of time to small businesses.  When they do, through a traditional working capital loan, they typically charge a business for the right to borrow money, regardless of whether they actually borrow money.

Fundbox is a solution to the the problem of short-term working capital. What is Fundbox?

1) Fundbox offers 12 week loans to small businesses. (The CEO would call it a cash advance.)

2) Payment for these loans (including principal, interest, and fees) is deducted from a company’s bank account in 12 equal amounts on a weekly basis.

3) There is no penalty for early payment. In fact, the interest rate on the loan is reduced if the loan is paid early.

Point 3 is very important. There are a number of companies that charge calculated interest on short-term small business loans. In other words, the business is responsible for paying interest for the entire term of the loan, regardless of when it’s paid off.  With Fundbox, the borrower only pays interest for the time that the money is actually borrowed. For example, if a company has a big invoice coming due in 4 weeks, and pays off Fundbox when the invoice comes in, the company has effectively taken a 4 week loan.

There are two other ways in which Fundbox loans are connected with invoices:

1) The amount of the loans are tied to specific invoices which are scheduled for payment in the near future. When a company uses FundBox, they pick specific invoices to get up front payments from Fundbox. The loan is effectively matched with future receivables, which should prevent the re-payment of the loan from creating a new cash flow issue for the borrower.

2) The interest rate of the loan is tied not only to the creditworthiness of the borrower, but to a lesser degree the company which received the invoice. On one level this doesn’t make sense, as the borrower must pay Fundbox back regardless of if the invoice is paid. However, this practice encourages companies  to borrow money with invoices that they have a degree of confidence will be paid. If the invoice gets paid, the company will have the cash on hand to pay Fundbox back.

I should point out that the CEO of Fundbox strongly took issue with my description of the company’s product as a short-term business loan. It’s very, very different from everything else out there in the small business loan space.

There were a few questions that I was eager to ask Eyal about Fundbox.

What is the typical interest rate?

Borrowers pay between 0.7% and 3.0% of the loan amount in interest per month, however, the typical borrower would be closer to 2.0% (Editor’s note: The Fundbox site has a calculator which allows one to see the approximate amount that would be paid. On a $5,000 loan paid back over the full 12 weeks, the borrower would pay back  a total of  between $5,243 and $5,343

Can any business be approved for using Fundbox?

Around 40% of businesses that apply are accepted. However, this number includes both fraudulent applications and those that don’t meet the financial criteria. Typically, we approve companies to get advances on up to $10,000 invoices at a time, however, this varies from company to company.

Does Fundbox report to the credit reporting agencies?

Not at this time.

Eyal Shinar, Fundbox CEO

Eyal is an expert in financial services and technology management. As a Vice President in Battery Ventures, Eyal led many projects and investments in the areas of finance, machine learning, SMBs and SaaS. Notable examples are IDI Direct Insurance, Istra Research (algorithmic trading), Cortera (online risk solutions for credit professionals), cVidya (revenue assurance and fraud prevention), Leadspace (semantic prospecting) Champions Oncology (big data analysis), Sportority (FTBpro) and others. Prior to his work at Battery Ventures, Eyal was one of the first employees of Old Lane, a $5.5B NY-based global hedge fund (later acquired by Citigroup) where he focused on complex options structuring and risk and financial engineering, and has also worked for Castle Harlan, a leading $6B NYC-based buyout firm. He attended the top percentile program for outstanding students at the Hebrew University (LLB) and later was the recipient of the prestigious Orion Scholarship in Exact Sciences. Eyal earned his MBA at The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

For more information about Fundbox, click here.

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When it comes to retail, it goes without saying that the Internet has brought a lot of opportunities. However, while opportunities are plentiful, buying via faceless machines has also caused a breakdown in the personal experience for shoppers. When shopping in traditional brick-and-mortar stores customers are presented with items that might compliment their purchase, be given advice on the products they are purchasing and be greeted with a sense of familiarity. When shopping online, this sense of personalization can be lost.

Whether your customer is shopping via their smartphone, their tablet or their computer, personalization should be a key consideration for the multi-channeled solution strategy. Personalized retail will help you understand your customers and optimize messages you’re sending to them, which can increase customer loyalty.

We’ve put together the following tips to help you personalize online shopping:

Utilize any data you have

Collecting data doesn't just mean dropping web cookies but, rather, looking deeper into customer interactions on your website.The data you hold could include customer service email logs, website behavior, product reviews, social media interactions and purchasing habits. Once you delve deeper into this data and piece it together you will see the bigger picture that will help develop a personal shopping experience.

Engage in targeted marketing

Armed with your data, engage in targeted marketing. Why blanket market your products when not everyone will be interested? Doing this will only cause people to switch off, unsubscribe and become bored with your company. Market your products to those who you know will be interested with things like targeted emails or Facebook ads based on users’ interests.

Utilize your knowledge and experience

If you are engaging in multi-channel retail, and have experience owning or running a physical store, be sure to make use of this expertise. Being hands on with a product and seeing it every day can really assist with giving your customers a personal experience. You can gain a leg up over larger competitors by offering personalized service, which is often something they often cannot provide.

Translate the experience you offer in-store to your social media channels and show customers that you are prepared to go the extra mile. This means emailing or calling online customers when something comes back into stock, providing specific answers to customer queries (rather than stock answers), giving recommendations and just generally making customers feel like they are dealing with a knowledgeable human being rather than a machine.

Also consider writing regular blog posts and hands-on product guides that can be targeted toward specific audiences.

Add a sense of personalization to your website

Who doesn’t love the feeling of walking into a shop and being recognized? Sadly, it’s often lost through online shopping experiences, but there are steps you can take to create something similar via the web. Whether it is a simple “Welcome back John” when John has visited your website again or product recommendations that show you know your customer. One thing to consider is sending out emails when you know a customer may be low on a particular product. This works well for foodstuffs, supplements and office supplies.

Stay social

In order to provide customers with a personalized experience the use of social media is a must. As previously stated, translate the experience you offer in-store to the experience you offer through social channels. If a customer asks a question via Facebook, reply to them personally. Don’t make the mistake of some larger retailers and reply to each query with a stock answer. This looks like you don’t have time for your customers.

The same goes for anything customers share with you via social media or any comments that are made. Reply to each one with a personal response. If used right, social media is all about creating a community for your business. It can be used to give your customers a sense of belonging, show them that they mean more to you than the money they are spending and how they are representative of your brand.

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To get high search engine rankings, you should be providing quality inbound links to related, quality page contents. Make sure to always build links--the various types are discussed below--and the more you can get without spamming, the better. Use the competition in your niche to figure out which links is high-quality and where they link to and from. Studying the competition will help you get a higher ranking faster, and you won't be doing it blindly. Make sure to look at page structure, content, and so on.

Be sure to follow the top directories. Here are some to start with:

• dmoz
• Yahoo! Directory
• Business.com
• JoeAnt
• Gimpsy
• Best of the Web

Quality directories that include editors or fees are likely something to invest in. Many free sites are switching to paid submission only or have closed free submissions. The list above is simply a guideline to get you started. If a directory (and especially one you've never heard of) offers special incentives that seem spammy, don't do it. Google has come down hard on the directory addition strategy for search. If you think it helps your audience and is relevant within the directory, it may warrant a deeper look. The results in Google will show a slightly different display after installing the SEO for Firefox plugin. You may see listings that have a lower page rank but is shown before a page rank 6, for example. It's important to know that other metrics, like overall traffic, user behavior, domain age, recent cache date, total links to site and individual pages, help weigh the ordering of results.

Some paid directories are created not only to make money for their creators but also to provide a firewall to protect them from spam. Google and others also value these directories as providing better-quality links, and if you can afford it, it's wise to belong to them.

Quality directory links can be good for your traffic and ranking, and strongly elevate your brand. The assumption is, if somebody has the money and is willing to pay, then it's not likely a spammy site. Some of these sites insist on you using company names, not keywords, but don't try to trick the system. You can establish unique domains with keywords to it with a redirect, but it's considered tricking the system. Better to do it right.

In your marketing efforts, it's important to take advantage of the social web to build links and your brand. The list below is by no means comprehensive, but it offers a sample of social media sites to consider in your marketing efforts:

• delicious.com
• Digg
• Facebook
• Flickr
• 43Things
• LinkedIn
• MySpace (still)
• Newsvine
• Ning
• Reddit
• Squidoo
• StumbleUpon
• Technorati
• Twitter
• Wetpaint
• WikiHow
• Wikipedia
• Yahoo! Answers
• YouTube

Yahoo! is one of the most complicated. Go to yahoo.com, select the "More Y! Sites" link, then click on the "All Products" link. You'll see everything in the Yahoo! world. Then select the "Directory" option. You're now in the directory (dir.yahoo.com).

To locate the best place for you to list in the directory:

Locate a competitor, and type in their name.

Click on it, and you'll see the breadcrumbs link to where it's located.

Yahoo! search has nothing to do with the directory. You have to enter the directory to see your listing. Think in terms of alphabetical listings. If you're deeply nested in the tree, it may not be the best place for you. Once you've typed in the competitor's name and found your place, click "Suggest a Link" to sign up for Yahoo!. Directory submission is $299 annually and does not guarantee inclusion. Your next step is to accept the terms of service--print, read and understand them.

Once you're in, there are four steps to update your listing:

Understand the cost.

Submit the site. You don't need to get the keywords in each link, don't sell in the description and be factual--no sales pitch. Look at some existing listings for examples of what to do.

Submit your credit card info, such as your Visa/MasterCard and billing address.

Submit the actual content via a review and confirm.

Wait at least seven business days for a response--it's not immediate. Don't forget that many people do a local search for businesses and services in their area. You should also build local and regional links from sites such as Yahoo! Local and Google Local, and through local organizations such as your chamber of commerce.

Storenvy is an e-commerce platform which consists of an online store builder and social marketplace, with over 65,000 merchants and millions of products listed. Since launching the Marketplace in December 2012, there have been over $23 million in sales of products ranging from handmade goods to men’s and women’s apparel, jewelry, art, music, and home decor.

My favorite Storeenvy store is Everythng Fetch.

What's your favorite Store Envy Store.  Check them out here and see for yourself.

Marie The Marketer wearing #Everything Fetch

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People often cringe when they hear you're in marketing.  Why?  Well, if we're honest (and we are) many companies airbrush their way to making millions of dollars, using smoke and mirrors to sell something they cant back up.  Good marketing starts with creating relationships, being as transparent as possible, and telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. 

Sure, you'd love to be the business to end all businesses.  The reality is, however, you can't.  Nor should you try.  Like your mom said, be your own person and don't follow the crowd.  Find or create a niche market by identifying your target audience and work to fill a gap in the marketplace that other brand are missing.  If you're unsure where to start, as around to see what people are looking for and evaluate how you can make an impact.

My past 30 years of life has taught me one lesson if no other, and that is that life is difficult. This a my greatest truth, one of the greatest truths ever realized to man. It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it. Once we truly know that life is difficult, once we truly understand and accept it, then life is no longer difficult. Once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters. Most do not fully see this truth that life is difficult. Instead they moan more or less incessantly, noisily or subtly about the enormity of their problems, their burdens, and their difficulties as if life were generally easy, as if life should be easy. They voice their belief, noisily or subtly, that their difficulties represent a unique kind of affliction that should not be and that has somehow been especially visited upon them, or else upon their families, their tribe, their class, their nation, their race or even their species, and not upon others. I know about this moaning because I have done my share. I have learned throughout my tumultuous life that we live a series of problems while on this journey. Are we to moan about them or solve them? Do we want to teach our children and future generations to moan about their problems or to overcome them? How do you overcome your problems? Do you exercise, go to therapy, practice yoga? What do you do? Everyone wants to know the secret to successfully being happy and overcoming every obstacle with grace and ease.

 I believe Discipline is the basic set of tools we require to solve life's problems. Without discipline we can solve nothing. With only some disciple, we can solve only some problems. With total disciple we can solve all problems. Problems are the cutting edge that distinguishes between success and failure. Problems call forth our courage and our wisdom; indeed, they create our courage and our wisdom. It is only because of problems that we grow mentally and spiritually. When we desire to encourage the growth of the human spirit we challenge and encourage the human capacity to solve problems, just as in school we deliberately set problems for our children to solve. It is through the pain of confronting and resolving problems that we learn. As Benjamin Franklin once said, "Those things that hurt, instruct." It is for this reason that wise people learn not to dread but actually to welcome problems and actually to welcome the pain of problems. Many are not as wise and they have mastered avoiding the pain, they fear the pain. All most all of us to a less or greater degree, attempt to avoid the pain sometimes. We procrastinate, hoping that the problem will go away. We ignore them, forget them, pretend they do not exist. We attempt to skirt around problems rather than meet them head on. We attend to get out of them rather than suffer through them. This tendency to avoid problems and the emotional inherent in them is the primary basis of all human mental illness. "Neurosis is always a substitute for legitimate suffering" says Carl Jung. But the substitute itself ultimately becomes more painful than the legitimate suffering it was designed to avoid.

As mentioned previously, I believe discipline is the basic set of tools needed to solve life's problems. It will become clear that these tools are techniques of suffering, means by which we experience the pain of problems in such a way as to work them through and solve them successfully. Work through your problems, push through your pain.

I am always, well almost always, anxiously aggravated! I await stupid people's actions like the next scene in a poorly directed thriller. I dont even anticipate someone worth conversing with crossing my path unless I am in an environment that is evidently bright to a somewhat enlightened individual like myself. This sense of superiority has separated me. It has frustrated me. However, I have learned via my frustrations that MY finest moments occur during times of mere confusion. They happen when I am extremely uncomfortable, unhappy or under-fulfilled. For it is ONLY in such moments, propelled by my discomfort, my pain and unhappiness I find the courage to step out of my rut & start looking for different ways or truer answers. So if you think you are irritated TODAY. If you feel yourself getting bitter and not better, remember this: "There is no worse bitterness than to reach the end of your life and learn your last truth....you never LIVED" 

-DMarieB

I am, Who I say I am. 

Therefore there is no need to provide further explanation or truth. 

Either you wait around to see or you believe what I tell you. 

Either way, I am still me. 

I am, Who I say I am.

 -dMarieb

Welcome back? That is what they are saying to me now...! I find that hilarious, as I was born transcribing ideas and desires on the walls of my heart. I was reared memorizing colorful verses of parables untold and deciphering ideologies and concepts of deep thinkers before Christ. I am a blogger, a writer an enthusiast of love and life and everything it has to offer. I do not journal or blog, share or publish my hearts inner most requests or fears with you for no reason. I do so to invite you into my world. To share my light, my love.

They call me DMarie, my skill-set is international transmedia communications & marketing analyst. I am a professional writer, eclectic artist and an adamant rebellious soul at my worst yet as loving as your bestest friend when I am at my best.

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 #NoMoreBoundaries #RestInPeace #MayaAngelou #May28 #2014