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I'm sure the title of this post is going to make a few folks upset. Don't worry, the content is going to really make you mad. Not at me, but maybe at yourself, and especially at whoever taught you how to split test. That's because, for most Adwords advertisers, the title of this post is very accurate. Most advertisers are doing split testing Read More

Too many companies I've worked with are unable to articulate just exactly who it it they are and what they do. But now Internet technology is forcing companies to form a new kind of shorthand for their company strategy. The newest version of the "elevator pitch" is a "Twitpitch," so named in an article in Business Week Small Biz because i Read More

Not just retailers are in trouble in today's economy. Companies that manufacture consumer goods, building material and the many other industries are also reporting difficulties. Why should the average business owner care? Because another business that sells to one of these troubled companies may also be heading for disaster and that business mi Read More

At a single trade show, you can expect to receive a stack of business cards in the double digits. And while a good networker is enthusiastic about receiving them, no one looks forward to reviewing an indiscriminate pile of contacts. (Most probably don't bother.) Here are tips for a card worth keeping. Read More

THE Rooz Cafe, a restaurant and coffee shop in Oakland, Calif., signals its distaste for patrons who post reviews on Yelp.com with a small sign: No Yelpers. Rooz's owner, Steve Ranjbin, said he put the sticker up as a joke, but added that he had a complaint about Yelp. “Yelp does not respect us as business owners,” Mr. Ranjbin said. “They d Read More

Bulbstorm.com enables its clients to air their ideas and get precious feedback not only from other inventors, but also from marketers, designers and even manufacturers. Posting your project to the Bulbstorm site is like leaving the isolation of the outside for a lively community inside. Bulbstorm documents your idea the moment you enter the sit Read More

Be wary if some of your clients are getting slow on payments. More businesses filed for bankruptcy in April, 2008, than in any month since new bankruptcy laws took effect in 2005, according to a company that tracks federal court filings. The numbers show a 49% increase in commercial bankruptcies over last year, with an average of 235 daily fil Read More

Your salespeople are some of your most valuable investments. You recruit them, train them and trust them with your valued customers. You depend on them to keep your business growing. So what happens if they leave? Even worse, what if they're lured away by one of your competitors, along with your accounts? That would be a real blow to your busi Read More

Imagine a country of 146 million workers, where a massive database maintained by hapless bureaucrats determines who can hold a job. It's a place where simple statistical error alone can annually deny work to half a million of these workers, and those lucky enough to appeal the error must wait months, even years, to reenter the labor pool. Suc Read More

Though fashion still accounts for 41% of the total teen budget, total teen spending in the category declined nearly 20% year over year, pointing to a “discretionary recession,” according to the 15th semi-annual “Taking Stock With Teens” study by Piper Jaffray. Compared with last year's study, young men spent 15% less on discretionary items (fa Read More