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]
Here’s How to Protect Your Reputation When You’ve Done Something Wrong
In our hyper-connected world, the shadows of our past actions can loom large. Whether you had a much-regretted moment of infidelity or were arrested for (or worse, charged with) a crime many years ago, trust us: the internet knows. Heck, even that speeding ticket you got as a teenager can be pulled up from the digital depths within seconds. And if you’re a company, your past … [More]
The Science Behind a Winning Marketing Plan: Harnessing Data for Results
Big data has changed the way the world works. This has been true for years, of course, but the speed at which unprecedented volumes of information are being collected and analyzed requires organizations to constantly evolve their best practices. Consider that as of 2012, 2.5 exabytes of data were being created daily ― more data every second than the entire internet contained … [More]
IT Is the Best Sector to Invest In, New Study Reveals
IT is the best sector to invest in based on average returns, a new study reveals. The study, conducted by InvestinGoal.com, analysed the consistency, reliability, and average returns of all sectors that the companies within the S&P 500 index are divided into to identify the most lucrative investment opportunities. The IT sector comes in first place with an average return … [More]
Why Diversity Efforts Are Crucial: Seven Considerations for Business Leaders
You've no doubt likely heard the term diversity, equity and inclusion (or DEI), given such an increased and intense focus on the subject in the last few years. DEI programs, often led by human resources departments, are seen as offering valuable education and interactions and adding to an organization’s moral and ethical “compass.” But DEI efforts are also viewed as measures … [More]
