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As a small business, you know that the process of finding the right team members is costly and time consuming. Job postings, recruiting, interviewing, hiring and onboarding add up quickly. In addition, you know that keeping your employees around is vital to the survival of your startup because going through the hiring process over and over zaps your budget and your energy. One way to boost both your business and employee morale is with learning opportunities. In this article, we look at the bene...

Did you know that more than 30% of new hires quit a job within the first six months? This is a pretty staggering number considering that you run a startup. The hiring budget is tight, and you've spent a lot of time hiring the best available talent. The last thing you want is to lose them. So, how do you increase your chances of keeping the top talent you hired? The answer is onboarding. What is onboarding? For many business owners it means giving new employees a tour of the facilities, showing t...

What you should look for when embedding Instagram It pays to think about embedding Instagram feeds on your website or linking them to other sites because this social media platform is very popular. Use this fact for your SEO and other campaigns, it can be very helpful to do it. It's worth knowing how to embed an Instagram profile on your own platform and how to do it right. Obviously, the first question is how to do this. If you want to embed Instagram feeds into web pages and the like, you'll f...

According to the Harvard Business Review , nearly 90% of American workers would take a lower paying job if they had the option for a flexible work schedule. Those numbers are sure to be similar across the globe. Why? In today's digital age, employees understand that for many jobs, they are able to work remotely. It provides a certain freedom not traditionally found in the workplace. What's more, when they work remotely, they are happier, and their productivity soars. Flexible work schedules are ...

Whether you are about to launch your startup, or you already have, you've probably had many ideas about what your office would look like and feel like. After all, it's quite common to think of the startup office as the cool place with the ultra-hip and chic vibe, and you might want that feel for your own space. So, how do you create the perfect office where people have the freedom to move around, the flexibility to work where they are most productive, with design elements that are attractive to ...

According to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics , three million people have voluntarily left their jobs every month since June 2017. If you're an employer, that is worrisome news. As a startup, you're going to spend some money and a whole lot of time hiring new staff and onboarding them. You want employees who stick around. To help you with employee retention, we look at five tips to help you reduce employee turnover. #1: Analyze turnover rates If you've been in business long enough, yo...

Of all the marketing methods for your startup, email is one of the most powerful. What's more 59% of marketers say it is the number one ROI-generating marketing method. Many companies, in fact, are increasing their spend on email marketing because it simply works. Because email marketing is a great tool for you, let's look at how startups can use newsletters to accelerate growth.   Build your list One of the hardest parts of email marketing in the beginning is growing your list. You can do ...

When looking for new employees, you want to set your company up for success. This may mean several things for your business when crafting your job posting ads. It turns out that according to Career Builder nearly 75% of job seekers begin their search online. What does this mean for your hiring potential? It means you want a clean, respectable online reputation. What's being said about your business online is vital not only to your revenue stream but to your well-being as an appropriately staffed...

Global executives gained inspiration to Get Future Ready Now during the Executive Growth Alliance Summit.   Future-readiness means having the confidence, peers support, collaborating partners and commitment to: Explore new ideas Take Action and drive change Empower others to explore, learn, fail and innovate Listen openly to customers, employees, partners Take risks Seek and embrace diversity Rapid advances in technology, changing customer buying patterns, increasing global competition and ...

As a new company in the early stages, you may not have an excess budget for recruiting and hiring employees. Yet, like any other company, you want the best talent. So, how do you compete for the most competent new hires without a big budget? Let's look at how startups can maximize their recruiting budgets so they can compete with established, larger companies. Focus on the web It's a given that before anyone submits a resume to work for your startup, they've done a bit of internet research . The...

When you write a resume, highlighting your most relevant skills is crucial if you want to impress the hiring manager. Listing all of your skills without honing in on the most applicable ones to the job you're applying to is a mistake. To make sure you're on the right track, check the job posting if you're unsure what skills are relevant to a role, and then find ones that match your own skill-set to use on your resume. There are two types of skills for a resume: hard skills and soft skills . Hard...

As a startup, you face different challenges than more established companies face. Many of these challenges have to do with staffing and human resources. Let's look at some unique HR issues faced by startups. Lack of management buy-in Sometimes startup management teams don't care enough about HR policies and ignore them. They go so far as to think HR is only about hiring when it's about so much more. Make sure your leadership team buys in to your policies. Your human resources team will set your ...

You probably know your employees dread performance reviews, but did you know that most managers are uncomfortable with them, too? If you fall into this category as well, it's good to know you aren't alone. Performance reviews are difficult to do, but they are the basis of a happy, well-trained staff. That is, if they are done right. In this article, let's look at performance review options for startups. Ditch the annual review ​ Who really wants this hanging over their head all year long? Plus, ...

You've thrown everything you have into your startup. You've been the one in charge from the start, making things happen, and gradually leading your startup to growth. In the beginning, you probably had your hand in a little bit of everything – you were product developer, human resources manager, marketer, fundraiser, and several other jobs in-between. At some point during this time and now, you might be thinking about transitioning your role into something more specific. In this article, we look...

Scaling your startup in the right way and with the right people is certainly key to your success. When you begin building a startup team , it's about finding people with the right skills. But you also want to find people who will work well together and complement one another. You have the unique opportunity of creating your team from the ground up. You get to choose the skillsets, the personalities, and the right mix of people who can work as a true team, collaborating to scale your startup. To ...

Do you like working with people who are sick? Probably not. Would your employees like sharing space with someone coughing and sneezing? Of course not. Do you like it when employees call in sick when they really aren't? That's an easy one – we're sure your answer is no. If there was a ripple effect, and everyone called in sick in the same week, what would happen to your startup? Because of these scenarios, we look at why your startup needs a sick leave policy from day one.  Policies are vita...

Most people who are working a 9-5 job every day of the week get tired of it at some point. Even if you love your job it can be hard to feel satisfied with doing the same thing over and over again each day. However, if you are feeling a bit burnt out and you are looking to explore something new, there are a number of things that you can do to make money that are not boring and tiresome. 1. Become a care worker If you want to find a way to give back to the community that gives you a little bit of ...

Understanding employee engagement, what drives it and how it can be nurtured to boost productivity, performance, and loyalty, is an essential part of your job as a leader. Employees who involved in, enthusiastic about, and committed to their work are happy and productive employees who seek to achieve successful outcomes for themselves, their team, and the company. While there are numerous factors involved in keeping employees happy, engaged and motivated, it's up to leaders to create a positive ...

​Expanding your network can open doors to new opportunities for business, career advancement or personal growth. And since the aim of networking is to build authentic, long-lasting, and mutually beneficial relationships, you should be prepared to pay it forward by offering to share your own knowledge, skills and experience before asking others for help or advice. A great way to establish your credibility while providing value to others is to organise your own networking event. To help you make i...

When it comes to growing your business, figuring out ways to be more organised, efficient and cost-effective is the best place to start. By saving time, effort and expense on the day-to-day running of the business, you'll free up valuable resources that you can invest in further growth. Based on "real-life ideas from successful businesses," Elizabeth Walker and Ken Burgin share here some top tips for growing your business that you can put into action "right away, without having to research, test...

You're ready to launch your startup, and you know you need employees. Does the task seem overwhelming? Recruiting, hiring and training employees is an intimidating task for even the most seasoned businesses. What's more, you may not have the finances you need in the beginning to provide a salary, benefits and even office space and equipment for an entire team. This is where outsourcing comes in. Outsourcing is a terrific way for startups to take care of essential functions when your budget is sm...

There are many aspiring entrepreneurs who dream of quitting their regular 9-5 job to start their own business and work on their own terms. Yet it remains just a dream for most, because abandoning the financial security of a regular salary is a risk they can't afford to take. However, there is an alternative to taking the leap without a safety net—and that's to start building your business while still working at your job. To help you succeed in turning a side hustle into a thriving business, Shan...

Webinars offer one of the best ways to reach, engage, and share valuable content with a wide audience. Short for 'web-based seminar', a webinar can be any presentation, lecture, workshop or seminar transmitted online. And while a key feature is being able to host a live event with interactive elements such as live chat, you can also publish a recording later to reach an even wider audience. Running a successful webinar requires considerable planning and careful execution. Here, Kristen...

There are plenty of entrepreneurs who experience multiple—and sometimes spectacular—failures before accomplishing their dreams. And very few startups achieve success without experiencing at least some failure along the way. This is where entrepreneurial resilience comes in. Your ability to bounce back depends on how you respond to failure. And your future success depends on what you learn from failure that you can take forward to your next venture. Here, John Boitnott shares "a simple and effect...

Entrepreneurship is inherently risky and having a great idea for a new business, product or service, isn't a guarantee of success. It's widely reported that most startups fail within the first two years and that running out of cash is one of the most common causes of startup failure. No matter how well prepared you are, there are always going to be unforeseen challenges that create unexpected costs. That's why every entrepreneur needs some form of safety net. To help you choose the best fit for ...