Picking up the right business book could help businesspeople stay ahead of the curve. It could advance their career, make them a better manager and keep them on top of new business trends. But with thousands of business books published each year, how can a person know which one to pick up? Try one of these Barnes & Noble Top Picks in Business books. The ONE Thing: … [More]
The Courage to Thrive
Once a frontier state specific to mining and agriculture, Arizona has since thrived over the decades, now home to more than 400,000 registered small businesses in industries such as technology, medicine, finance and real estate. With Phoenix ranked as 14th in start-up companies1 we are seeing more and more small-business owners relocate to Arizona to get their small businesses … [More]
Hot Stuff
It’s never a good day when your vehicle breaks down. When it’s 100-plus degrees, however, the inconvenience becomes a possible danger. As an automotive resource, AAA encourages motorists to stow a breakdown kit in their vehicles and have a breakdown plan so they’re prepared for many things that might go wrong. “Think of it as your own preventive maintenance,” said John … [More]
Make Banking Part of Your Business Strategy
Optimism is on the rise among business owners and, as the economic recovery continues, businesses are ready to grow by expanding operations, hiring new talent and purchasing new equipment. They are also searching for new strategies, financing options and ideas for better market penetration. As part of a growth plan, one of the best advantages a business can have is … [More]
Are you focused on ‘Base Hits’?
Baseball season is in “full swing,” and there are some great comparisons to the sales world. Baseball coaches will consistently tell you that base hits win baseball games. Home runs are nice when they happen, and they look great on sports highlight shows. However, statistically speaking, they are much harder to hit. If you’re trying to hit a home run, you have a greater … [More]
Hiring, Retention and Development: Staffing Your Organization
The discourse in the workplace continues to suggest that the economy is improving. We see evidence of this because of the increase in hiring in all sectors — public, private and healthcare. We know this is a challenging experience. Hiring people is time consuming and expensive. Managers believe that this activity takes them away from their responsibility of getting out … [More]
The IT Challenges of Business Success
Congratulations! You’ve worked hard and have now moved from a “startup, small business” to a “medium-sized business” (100–999 employees). You’ve been able to outsource your IT needs to a small service provider that has adequately fulfilled your IT requirements, and you expect that your supporting technology will keep pace with your business goals. The “mom and pop” IT … [More]
Hacking Small Business Has Become Big Business
Large, well-fortified organizations and enterprises may not be as attractive to data thieves as they once were. You can thank better training, bigger IT budgets and more effective security measures for this welcome bit of news. Things are less rosy for small companies, however. Shrinking budgets, limited resources, and lax or outdated security practices have now made SMBs … [More]
Looking Beyond to Find Your Customers
Global is the new buzz word in business. For most of us, the idea of going global seems like a lot of effort and time — both of which are in short supply. Add to it the risk of doing business with someone who speaks a different language and uses different currency, and going global doesn’t look like a very good business opportunity. But it doesn’t have to be that way. The … [More]
How to Improve Your SEO Score and Why You Need to Do It
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a philosophy of the strategy, the technique and the method used to increase traffic to a website. It is achieved mostly by receiving high-ranking results in popular search engines on the Internet; websites that rank higher, obviously, have more authenticity and are reliable for posting organic results. Here are the main factors that can … [More]
Shopping for Health Insurance Made Easy
ASBA has partnered with Connected Health to create Connect2CoverageAZ.com, bringing individuals the only Arizona off-exchange marketplace to shop for health insurance. The online platform created a simple solution for individuals to be able to shop all available health insurance carriers based on personal options and financial goals. Buyers of individual health insurance … [More]
Top Tips for Small-Business Owners Implementing a High-Deductible Health Plan with an HSA
Over the years, we have seen that many business owners have similar challenges in understanding Health Savings Account (HSA) funding, plan design and contribution strategies. As HSA use continues to grow, there are no shortage of questions that will need to be answered. We’ve outlined four tips for effectively designing a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) with an HSA. A … [More]
Tips for Managing Generation Z Employees in the Workplace
While employers have been working hard to understand and appreciate their Generation Y workers for years, now they have an entirely new generation to engage with: Generation Z employees. Generation Z, much like the Millennials, aren’t always easy to figure out. And if you aren’t doing what you can to tap into and leverage their unique contributions, you may find it difficult … [More]
Networking Should Be Worthwhile, Not Work
Many people tell me, “You make it look so easy.” My response back is, “networking” is not always easy; however, it should be worthwhile. I have found over the 20-plus years I have been interacting in the business to business social scene that very little has changed, given the prevalent changes in technology and the social media surge. The formula to successful networking is to … [More]
ASBA Members Benefit Through Walmart Foundation Community Grant
Small Business mentoring and educational programming has always been an important focus for ASBA. Now, through the generous support of the Walmart Foundation, ASBA is able to offer more programs to help small-business owners grow and prosper. ASBA is a proud recipient of a $22,000-grant through the Community Grant Program, provided by The Walmart Foundation awarded by Sam’s … [More]
Why DIY Estate Planning is a Bad Idea for the People You Love
How-tos are everywhere these days! Step-by-step guides to home improvement projects are just a YouTube search away. My son will even search YouTube for a tutorial on how to win the level of Lego Star Wars that he’s stuck on, and voila! Success. Estate planning, however, is one of those things that you should never attempt yourself or via DIY kits. This week’s article … [More]
At the End of the Day, It’s All About Jobs
Economic development is a phrase we hear a lot. Everything we do here at the Arizona Small Business Association has an impact on economic development for Arizona, directly or indirectly. Economic development is about creating new business opportunities and thus creating jobs. It shapes what we do on a daily basis. It is no secret that Arizona has had a tough road to … [More]
Rising from the Communication Abyss
How we communicate and collaborate in business is rapidly changing. And it’s about time! Most of us are in what I call “Email Chaos.” It’s not uncommon for workers to receive more than 200 emails a day with an additional 1,000 emails that haven’t even been opened. McKenzie tells us the productivity loss in time wasted is estimated to be as much as 25 percent. That means we’re … [More]
