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A stunning 96 percent of businesses fail within the first ten years.

For a new business owner or someone who has been dreaming of starting their own business, this statistic can be terrifying.

But these businesses aren’t failing because there isn’t a market for what they are selling. Instead, most businesses that fail do so because of poor business practices.

If you’re a business owner or are thinking about starting your own business, there are plenty of entrepreneurial resources available that can help you avoid some of the pitfalls that unsuccessful businesses succumb to.

Use these resources to build your business skills and continue your education, keep your finances organized, plan for the future, and communicate with clients.

No matter what type of business you have these entrepreneurial resources can help you. Keep reading to check out a few of the best resources available to small business owners!

Do you hear the term SEO and feel your heart sink?

Do you pretend to know what SEO means while secretly feeling baffled?

Are you embarrassed by your pitiful SEO knowledge?

Don’t worry – we’re here to help.

We’ll be sharing the answers to some of the most common SEO questions, using simple language and zero complicated jargon.

By the end of this post, you’ll be armed with all the information you need to start developing an SEO strategy for your own site. With 93% of all online experiences starting with a search engine, you simply can’t afford to ignore SEO.

Ready to shed some light on the confusing world of search engine optimization?

Let’s do this.

When you’re just starting your business, you want to fill your staff with people you can count on. You want the best employees who are dependable, great at what they do, and eager to learn.

So just how do you find these candidates? It starts with knowing which traits to look for, and which aren’t a great fit for your company.

In this article, we will walk you through the traits of a good employee, making the hiring process as efficient and rewarding as possible.

Ready to learn? Let’s go!

Starting a new business is exciting, but being your own boss comes with a lot of responsibilities. Sometimes you have to think worst-case scenario when planning for the future.

What’s a great example of a worst-case scenario situation? Losing all your data.

Online marketing, social media, SEO, and owning a website are crucial factors to attracting customers or an audience. Chances are, you have saved data that’s specific to your business.

If all of this data is lost, your marketing efforts could go down the drain. 

You don’t want to risk losing this important data. Here are a few good reasons why having a backup and disaster recovery plan is vital for every business.

There are 3.7 billion internet users worldwide – and it’s growing. That’s a lot of potential customers for your business.

The importance of building your online presence cannot be overstated. The changes to business and marketing due to the development of the internet, search engines and social media cannot be ignored by any business.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a small, medium or large business. For many customers, if you’re not online, you simply don’t exist.

In order to connect with your customers you need to have an effective online strategy to survive and flourish in the modern business world. Let’s take a closer look at why an online presence matters.

As of 2015, up to 59 percent of Canadian small businesses didn't own a business website. However, this is gradually changing as businesses are starting to embrace online marketing techniques. Small businesses want a share of the online gold mine, too. They're pushing...

If you’re a first-time business owner, you’re likely feeling some growing pains.

But unlike actual growing pains, these can be hard to predict — and may last longer than expected. How do you move your business forward while making room for all of that first time growth?

You can begin by understanding the stages of business growth.

Although every business is different, each is likely to have similar stages of growth. It’s important to understand each step of this growth in order to plan wisely and maximize business success.

Even if you’re just thinking about starting a business, take a close look at these key stages of business growth to help you prepare for the journey.

Congratulations, business owner!

You’ve registered your business in Ontario. Which means now you can start building a team of seasoned professionals who will help you build your business into the empire you always dreamt it could be.

But first, you need to be able to pay those employees. Which means setting up payroll. Like registering your business, there are a number of steps you need to take to step up Payroll in Ontario.

Which is why we’re giving you step-by-step instructions on how to get set up. As a new business owner, you have a lot of other work to focus on. So let’s get you payroll challenges out of the way.

The world of social media can seem overwhelming at first. It’s a topic that has developed as a marketing strategy for business owners. And the process of using social media for your business can seem a bit complicated at first.

You may be asking yourself, how often should you send out a tweet?

Or, what is the best time of day to post a new product onto your company’s Instagram page?

As a new business owner, you need to realize the value of your company’s social pages.

Statistics show that over 30% of small business fail within the first two years. Let’s prevent that from ever happening to yours. With successful campaigns across social media platforms, your clients will be drawn to the types of products or service you can offer them.

Starting your own business can be more than a little intimidating.

You’re about to invest loads of time and your own hard earned money into a project that is going to become a huge part of your life.

There are likely going to be many times during the early days of starting your business when you’re going to wonder what you were thinking, and worrying that you might fail.

But when you do succeed, all of that worry and work will have been worth it.

For now though, you’re likely wondering what you can do to help ensure that your business finds that success.

Learning the steps you need to follow and strategies that you can implement when starting a new business, before you actually start a new business, will help you create a solid foundation on which to grow.

To help you start building that foundation and creating a business that is sure to succeed, check out these seven tips!

Are your employees engaged?
Happy, engaged employees don’t just make the office a more pleasant place to be, they also improve your bottom line.
Keep reading to learn about how employee engagement boosts profitability. In this post, we’re also sharing some great tips for improving employee engagement.

Well, you’ve just started your new business. As expected, there are lots of tasks that you need to complete every day.

The truth is, that can be quite a challenge if you lack the right tools.

Getting the right tools can help with everything from organizing your projects, managing time, and keeping track of the important things. The result is proper time management and improved productivity. In the long run, you’re able to improve your revenues and grow your business.

In this article, we’re going to highlight some of the ideal tools small businesses can use to stay on top of their operations. Some of these tools are for marketing, document storage, project management, communication, accounting, and security.

Have you ever heard the expression, “It’s not about what you know, but who you know?”

If you’re a business owner, you undoubtedly understand the importance of business connections.

As the saying indicates, the relationships you form contribute greatly to your success. After all, your employees, partners, and customers are the backbone of your business.

Securing and nurturing that network is critical to your company’s performance.

Yet it’s the value these relationships hold that makes it challenging to refuse a proposition you’re not interested in pursuing.

Today, we’re discussing tactful and professional ways to say “no”. We’ll tell you how to do this even with someone whose opinion and respect you hold in high regard.

Social media isn’t just for kicks and giggles anymore.
In fact, it is one of the biggest advertising tools available to a company now. While display ads and paid search ads will always have a prominent place in the advertising world, social media advertising is on the rise.
Online advertising is a logical choice for any modern business. Social media ads help companies find new clients and consumers by using shared information from the user to identify exactly what it is they are seeking.
Before you even begin to create your ad campaign, you can find out exactly where your targeted school of fish will be swimming in the online world. With a fantastic social media strategist, you’ll be able to broaden your horizons and your audience.

Today, too many digital marketing teams throw their cash in the air and hope it lands where their customers are.

In other words, they’re more likely to chase down the next big thing than hone in on what really works for them.

Following this so-called method of advertising management isn’t going to get you a decent ROI. It’s more akin to driving your car at night without your headlights on. You can tell you’re on the road, but you’re not sure where you’re going.

In this article, we’ll break down what you need to know.

In business, you need a well-defined plan in order to succeed. Without an organizational strategy, it’s impossible to set up milestones and know when you’re achieving your goals. 

Whether you’re a brand new business, you’re looking to start a business, or you’ve been in business for some time, it’s imperative that you develop an organizational strategy.

Read on to learn why it’s so important, and how you can implement an organizational strategy into your business this year.

Attention all business owners!

Talent acquisition can be tricky for even the most seasoned pros. If that wasn’t the case, recruiters and head hunters would be out of work. Most of the time, busy professionals in small businesses can only devote minimal time and resources to finding the right talent.

But that strategy could backfire leaving a business gutted without its best resource, its people.

Small business owners are known for their drive and perseverance.  They are known for their innovation and creative thinking. That’s why they run a business and aren’t working for someone else.

But we also recognize that if you are being everything to everyone, you often sacrifice the quality of the things you naturally do best. It’s important to have the best people in place to make your business soar.

So, how do you do that? How can you focus your energy on the things you do best and ensure that you have the best talent working for you in other areas?

The answer is simpler than you think.

In today’s competitive economy it’s more important than ever to build a brand rather than settling for a product line or service. 

The key to a lasting business, and growing your market share, is to offer more than something consumers can find lower price options for. With megastores like Sears closing 59 stores and laying off 2,900 employees in 2017, no company is impervious to the changes in consumer spending. 

Brand positioning allows your business to show continuous value to your clients. With all the promising business opportunities in Canada, small business owners and entrepreneurs have a unique opportunity to succeed. As long as they understand the importance of brand positioning.

Here’s what you need to know: