If you have ever watched Friends, you know that Joey loved to say How YOU Doin’? On the sitcom, it was always a funny question with no real repercussions if the answer was not positive but in the every day life of small business owners across America, the question takes on a much more serious tone! How ARE you ‘doin’? Is your business performing the way you imagined? Is your entrepreneurial plan working out as planned? Do you still wake up each day EXCITED about the opportunity to live the American Dream by owning your own business? Businesses tend to take on a life of their own and if we are not careful, they can turn into something entirely different than we anticipated. The answer to Joey’s question

What did we do before EVERYTHING had a password? How in the world did we stay safe from hackers and all the ‘bad guys’ trying to get into our stuff? Today, it seems that we have passwords for everything so many in fact, that we often suffer from password paralysis! According to The Telegraph, the average person uses 10 passwords a day! Personally, I have a hard enough time remembering my daily agenda- let alone 10 passwords! No matter how hard it is, we simply MUST find new and creative ways to protect our information and whether we like it or not, we are stuck with passwords! Here are a few ideas to help you minimize password paralysis and still keep your information secure! Do not use preset

When I was growing up, it was very common for our parents to take us to their work- in fact, we spent lots of time there and we learned how to do lots of cool and interesting things. Thinking back, I really loved the times my Dad would take us on trips to his suppliers. Just a week or two ago, I spoke to an older gentleman who gave me notepads, pencils and rubberbands when I was just a young girl- oh what memories! Working with our kids can be such a rewarding experience for all involved! On the 4th Thursday every April, nearly 3.5 Million businesses participate in Bring Your Child to Work Day with the goal of helping our kids explore their career opportunities. This week,

GUEST BLOGGER: BY LAURA HALE BROCKWAY (Printed in Entrepreneur Magazine) There’s no easy way to admit this, but I am horrible with names. I shake hands with someone I’ve just met, the person says his or her name, and within 10 seconds I’ve forgotten the name. And since I’ve just started a new job, I am beyond frustrated with my memory problem. Grrrrr. As PR professionals, we all know the importance of building rapport and maintaining relationship with clients. That can be difficult when you can’t remember the name of the guy sitting next to you at lunch. Never fear. There are plenty of techniques and tricks from business pros and memory experts to help you remember names. Below is a brief description of some of the most

Every day we make decisions that shape our lives; when you are a business owner, you ‘get’ the opportunity to make even more. Making strong, empowered decisions will lead you in the direction of your goals and aspirations. On the other hand, poorly made or rushed decisions can have devastating effects. Take something seemingly simple like selecting a merchant account for your business: The wrong choice comes with many challenges: Cheri PerryMonday, March 17, 2014

You don’t need a law degree to navigate the fine print of most contracts however, you can certainly get yourself into hot water if you don’t treat contracts with care! Whether you are entering a contractual obligation for things like; rent, building leases and vehicle purchases or you are doing what many brave business owners before you have done: signed a Merchant Services Contract (Careful!!!)- there are a few action steps that you can take to Remove the Conflict & Confusion from Contracts. READ THE CONTRACT – it may seem like a ‘no brainer’ however many of us would be embarrased to share how many times we have scribbled our name at the bottom of the page without actually taking the time to really read what we have