The people-based approach to choosing a business location

  Q:  I’m looking at a couple of different locations for my new retail storefront.  It’s important that I have good walk-in traffic, but I’m having a hard time making the best choice?   Everyone’s heard that the key to real estate is location.  But what makes one location better than another?  I believe the real three things that are important are people, people, and people.   People Factor #1 – Cu...

How mompreneurs get their groove back

  Q:  It took me a long time to get my small business running smoothly and at a profit.  I gave up time spent with family, friends, and for myself.  Now that the business is doing well, I'm having a hard time breaking old habits and getting some of that work/life balance I hear so much about.  How can I let go and live a little?   The funny thing is, the same techniques you used to become successful in your professional life will serve you well ...

3 secrets to employee engagement

  This week’s “Ask the Mompreneur” features an interview with Beverly Crowell, Vice President of Strategic Client Services for Career Systems International .   Ask the Mompreneur:   As a practicing mompreneur, I own a business with just a handful of employees.  Since I can only offer so many promotions due to my size, other than raises and bonuses, what are some ways I can keep my employees engaged?   Bever...

Building Your Business

3 steps to perfect hiring

Fortune 500 companies can afford recruiters and HR consultants to assist them in the process of finding and hiring the right people. But what about you, the small-business owner?

Buying a small business? Remember the key person discount!

  Q: Due to personal reasons, my boss is selling the small service business I work in and I’m interested in possibly buying it.  How can I make sure I’m getting a fair price?   There are three common approaches to valuing a business – income-based, asset-based, and market-based.  Income-based approaches primarily use earnings (such as EBIT) or cash flow calculations, asset-based approaches primarily use asset values, liabilities, and liq...

3 ways to make your website work harder

  This week’s “Ask the Mompreneur” features an interview with Justin Cutroni, a website Analytics Advocate for Google.   Ask the Mompreneur:   Once you have your company website for up and running, how can you tweak it to bring in more business?   Justin Cutroni:   The key to any successful business is measuring what's working and what's not. The same holds true for your website. It's importan...

Are you raising an Adultescent?

  This week’s “Ask the Mompreneur” features an interview with Sally Koslow, the author of the new book on boomerang kids , “ Slouching Toward Adulthood : Observations from the Not-So-Empty Nest.”   Ask the Mompreneur:   I’ve heard a lot about this phenomenon of 20-somethings taking much longer to establish themselves than in the past.  What is causing all of this extended adolescence and moving back home, a...

What the heck is a Mompreneur anyway?

  This week I’m celebrating 52 weeks of Ask the Mompreneur by taking a moment to reflect on the word “Mompreneur.”   The Wikipedia entry for mompreneur (which I wrote) says it’s “a neologism defined as a female business owner who is actively balancing the role of mom and the role of entrepreneur.”  It’s a mash-up of two words, similar to “e-mail” or “spork,” also known as a portmanteau. &n...

Top 3 dinner shortcuts

  Q:  My biggest struggle with balancing family and work is meal planning.  After a long day, I just want to have fun with my kids and not be stuck in the kitchen making dinner.  How can I minimize my time at the stove?   I think every working parent (and every busy person in general) has given in to the siren song of what Anthony Bourdain calls “The King, The Clown and The Colonel.”  Sometimes it’s on your way home, sometimes ...

The #1 way to track your marketing results

  Q: I do a variety of things to market my business – public events, email campaigns, social media, etc.  The problem is I don’t have a good sense of what’s working and what’s not.  How can I keep better track of my results?   There are a myriad of ways to track advertising and marketing results, but the single most important thing you can do is make sure you know how every prospective, new, and current customer found you. &n...