BizOp Blogs

Michigan Business Review – MLive.com: It’s always hunting season for the next great idea. The Edsel and the smartphone have vastly opposite records of success, but they both came from the same source: an idea. In their book “The Idea Hunter,” Andy Boynton and Bill Fischer observe... More

Small Business: 1. Have a induction policy for welcoming and training new employees. Don’t just leave it to whoever is available. Human resources should cover the HR side of the induction with a trainer (if you have one) or a senior manager or supervisor covering the more hands on part of the... More

HispanicBusiness.com: Falling consumer demand, tight credit, and problems with cash flow are forcing many small- and medium-sized businesses to operate proactively and tighten their belts. Firms are targeting labor costs and increasing employee productivity, but are layoffs the only answer? Certainly... More

Search Engine Watch: Designing a Web site can be a daunting task. Where do you start after your business plan is worked out and you’re secure in what you’re going to place on your Web site? Whether you plan to hire a designer or figure it out for yourself, there are definitely some best... More

ITWeb: Once you have raised the necessary venture capital to launch your innovative new technological concept or service into the market, you’re set for success, right? Wrong! A study that has recently been concluded at a world-class university showed that start-up businesses with no venture capital... More

OpenForum: The smartest investment you’ll make in this economy is your investment in your employees. Companies that plan to survive, even thrive, in this economy should increase their investments in their employees. That’s right. Companies should invest more in their employees during this challenging... More

The Wall Street Journal: It’s not the nicest thing to do. But for small-business owners who are having difficulty collecting receivables from their customers, especially in this tight business climate, this is an extreme option that just might work. They’re turning to a complaint-and-resolution... More

U.S. News & World Report: Running a small business can be a life-consuming process, so sometimes small-business owners miss the forest for the trees. Maybe that’s why only about 16 percent of businesses with fewer than 50 employees in the United States have 401(k) plans. Small-business owners... More

Women Entrepreneur: Delinquent clients are like an acid drip: They eat away at your profit margin and corrode your cash flow. And once a client moves from late-paying to delinquent, it’s usually too late to expect a quick and happy ending. Just as in sports (and war), “the best defense is... More

Emediawire: Direct sales company Abunza, a pioneer in creating a fully bilingual (English – Spanish) marketing opportunity for its entrepreneurial sales force, is adding Chinese. “Abunza allows mono-lingual entrepreneurs to do business in a language they don’t speak,” said Albert... More

Entrepreneur: Padgett Connect is an accounting software program from Padgett Business Services geared toward the average user who doesn’t have in-depth knowledge of accounting. It’s customized by Padgett for each client’s business, and user support is free. The program can handle... More

American Chronicle: The following 7 Principles of Business Integrity are the basics of integrity and a good starting off place to consider. By integrating each of these principles within a company environment, the result will be nothing short of a major rebirth of the enterprise. Principle #1 –... More

Work.com: Until recently, iPhone’s suitability for businesses was a raging debate. But by now the verdict is near unanimous – it is too beautiful, user friendly and powerful a device to be merely the end consumers’ baby. Apple, iPhone’s creators, too has woken up to this fact, and the... More

EastOregonian.info: A recent trade show in Houston filled the Astrodome, Reliant Center, adjacent halls, and exhibit tents in the surrounding parking lots. There were 2,400 exhibitors and over 50,000 visitors. Ironically, that was a “medium size” show by industry standards. Every year, tens... More