“Who designed this convoluted process? A monkey could have done a better job.” “Why do I have to come in and talk to someone? This whole transaction could be handled online. Frustrating!” “I dread going there. The parking lot is impossible to navigate, you fill out what seems like eight thousand forms before you see anyone, and often the staff is confused by the … [More]
Buyers Are Seeing More Options as Housing Market Hits Its Late-Summer Slowdown
An expected end-of-summer slowdown in the housing market came with a pleasant surprise for home shoppers in August. The latest market report1 from Zillow® shows an uptick of new listings. Although sellers are still listing fewer houses than pre-pandemic norms, the monthly increase gave buyers a bit of relief in the midst of a long-standing drought of inventory. "Those … [More]
What’s Behind Your Procrastination Habit? Four Unmet Needs That May Be Keeping You Stalled and Stuck
Most leaders are all too familiar with procrastination and how it manifests. Instead of tackling that tedious spreadsheet, writing that shareholder report, or instigating that tough performance conversation, we stall by answering the easy emails, cleaning out desk drawers, or (worse) falling down a social media rabbit hole. A harmless habit? Not at all. Workforce management … [More]
Elevating Leadership: The Importance of Health and Wellness on Productivity
In today's fast-paced and demanding business world, the role of leadership is paramount. Leaders are not just responsible for guiding their teams but also for setting an example in all aspects of their lives, including health and wellness. Entrepreneur Greg Lindberg suggests that there is an undeniable connection between leaders' well-being and their ability to drive … [More]
Expert Strategies for Securing Small Business Loans: Go from Surviving to Thriving
As an expert in commercial financing and cash flow management, Ambro Blackwell knows what it takes to attract financing for a new small business. He distills decades of valuable insights in his book, Small Business Loans Made Simple: Revealing Insider Secrets and Strategies For Established Businesses. “Every business can use capital, but most small business owners struggle … [More]
Business Owner Optimism Soars to 21-Year Record High while Hiring Concerns Linger, Says Survey
PNC's latest semi-annual survey of small and mid-sized businesses, which concluded Aug. 9, shows that business owner optimism about the outlook for their own business in the next six months has reached a 21-year high amid strong expectations for sales, profits and demand. Despite PNC economists' predictions for a shallow recession starting in early 2024, business leaders' … [More]
Home Equity Increases from Winter to Spring, Arizona Down $37K
CoreLogic®, a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, today released the Homeowner Equity Report (HER) for the second quarter of 2023. The report shows that U.S. homeowners with mortgages (which account for roughly 63% of all properties) saw home equity decrease by 1.7% year over year, representing a collective loss of $287.6 billion, … [More]
Automated Lead Nurturing: An Essential Tool in Today’s Marketing Toolkit
The majority of high quality leads received through a company’s website never receive a response. Among the leads that do receive a response, 78 percent take more than an hour to respond to. Research suggests we will lose a customer’s attention unless they receive a response in 5 minutes or less. The need to respond to potential new customers and clients quickly, while you … [More]
More Than 80% of Home Shoppers Consider Climate Risks when Looking for a New Home, Says Survey
More than 4 out of 5 prospective home buyers consider climate risks as they shop, new Zillow research shows. Most say their major concern is flood risk, followed by wildfires, extreme temperatures, hurricanes and drought. "Climate risks impact where most prospective buyers shop for a home," said Zillow senior population scientist Manny Garcia. "While all generations … [More]
Don’t Get Distracted by Dazzle: Instead, Reliably and Repeatedly Deliver Good Customer Service
They’re hit or miss. Sometimes the service is marvelous. Other times it’s simply meh. I’m afraid to recommend their place because I can’t trust them to deliver. Maybe I’m just boring, but I don’t like surprises. They’re great one day and disappointing the next. I don’t need to be delighted. I just need what I need when I need it. What can I say, except every experience is … [More]
State Invests $5.4 Million in Nonprofit Arts Sector
A one-time investment of $5 million in support of Arizona’s arts sector is reaching communities throughout the state with today’s announcement of grants awarded to nonprofit organizations, festivals, and arts learning programs. On August 23, 2023, the Arizona Commission on the Arts, an agency of the State of Arizona, announced 367 grant awards totaling $5,425,146. Grants … [More]
Breaking Point: How Fixed Costs Menace Startup Ventures
As the post-pandemic boom recedes, venture-backed startups in the US tread unfamiliar territory. Inflation and fears of a recession have disrupted VC funding, leaving these small businesses scrambling for a silver bullet to scale their products and services. 1840 & Company, a pioneering talent solutions provider, revolutionizes startup success by blending business process … [More]
What Are Malicious Websites and How Can Businesses Identify Them?
As of January 2023, Google reported delivering 3.6 million malicious site warnings daily. In addition, research confirms that 39% of companies experienced phishing attacks last year, making phishing the most common type of cyberattack. A NordVPN domain study reveals that the two types of domains that have the most malware are sites offering adult content at 21% and cloud … [More]
AI for B2B: Friend or Foe?
We’ve been riding a year-long teeter-totter of AI stories in 2023. On one side, there is potential. We’ve seen what AI can offer by generating instant information and visual assets, eliminating redundant or tedious tasks and solving capacity issues. It can see unique trends and identify minute anomalies. On the other side, there is fear. Could AI lead to risky, unchecked … [More]
Optimizing Cloud Costs: 4 Keys to Ensuring the Most Value for Your Budget
Perhaps you are one of the business leaders considering moving your servers to “the cloud.” After doing due diligence, you choose a provider and consider the work complete. Right? Not quite. It’s not enough to handpick a provider. Whether it’s called cloud cost management, cloud optimization or a different term, it’s crucial to optimize costs by selecting the right products at … [More]
Why We Need Less Social Media and More Old-Fashioned Influence-Building
We live in an age where “influence” is quantified by superficial metrics like likes, shares, and retweets. But as PR professionals, we know there's more to it than social media numbers. True influence comes from making real connections, solving problems, and improving lives. Question is, in a world of short attention spans and seemingly shallow values, how do we build and … [More]
Bye-Bye Boss: Why Good Employees Leave and What to Do about It
“I can’t take it anymore! We’re short staffed, I’m killing myself to hold it together, nobody says thank you, so goodbye! Life is too short for this. I can work somewhere else.” “I was doing just fine working from home. Now they’re making us go back. Call me crazy, but spending three hours in the car doesn’t excite me. I’m updating my resume this afternoon.” “I’m not … [More]
Mastering Video Content Marketing: Preparation, Positioning, and Punch
Video content marketing is about story. The videos you create — live or recorded — must be in service of this story. Your video content marketing (in support of your digital content strategy) includes how you show up on video meetings, the video shorts you post, even the production value of your video e-learning modules. It addresses the question of whether you need to be on … [More]
