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Small Business News and Opinion
So, you just uploaded some great content to your blog post and shared it across you social accounts
expecting a signal back from the universe. But nothing: a ping with no echo.
Lee Traupel
Founder & Digital Strategist with Linked Media Group.
In 2007, I opened a makeup studio in New York City. By 2009, because of a failed economy I had to
close my doors. Since then I've been doing a variety of activities to generate income such as writing,
consulting, social media marketing and other newly developed skills.
Karim Orange
Emmy nominated Eco-beauty advocate. Supports sustainable lifestyles, culture and music.
Most employers would agree that financial education programs for employees are a good idea, but
many may find it hard to justify enacting such a program in the workplace. After all, how do you
determine ROI on this type of initiative?
Julie Stich
Director of Research, International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
The upcoming holiday season is extremely important for small business owners. It's the biggest
revenue driver of the year, and can keep a business afloat or sink it. However, the increase in
potential shoppers, brings an increase in potential theft.
Mark Bomber
Director of Commercial Marketing, Tyco Integrated Security
As a designer, designing and developing a product is the most crucial part of your business. Many
designers struggle to create products that establish a sustainable demand among their customers.
Sumeera Rasul
Founder, Madesmith & Madesmith Academy. Named by GOOD 100 as a thought leader & social
innovator. Experienced in creating impactful brands.
Consumers are becoming immune to email marketing and most emails get deleted without even
being looked at. The following 13 email marketing tips can be used to create emails that capture
your customers' attention, receive a high open-rate and result in holiday sales for your business.

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Chelsea Matthews is a cultural brand maven. As the CEO & Founder of Matte Black, a culture-marketing
firm based in Los Angeles, she spends her days moving the needle forward in everything
she does.
You'll never know what you're capable of until you take yourself not just to the edge, but jump off of
it entirely. Take a risk on yourself: go after your dream and dream big while you're at. Go big or go
home.
Your business is an extension of you. It started with an idea and a hope and problem you were
itching to solve. A vision of how you could improve someone's life, work, relationships, self-esteem or
home.
Maria Ross
Storyteller, brand strategist, author, speaker, actress. I write about branding, small business, health
+ happiness, inspiration, motivation and occasionally wine, dogs, pop culture, and sports. What's
your irresistible story?
The subject of generosity in business is often dismissed as impractical, pie in the sky, impossibly
idealistic. I argue quite the opposite. Generosity is most certainly a virtue. But it also makes life
better, makes people happier, enhances outcomes and inspires.
Results--what entrepreneurs are driving their businesses towards. The result of a project, initiative
or even team member is what allows us to measure if our business is moving forward. Without those
results, we are just spinning our wheels not knowing if our actions actually impact our goal.
With high-profile security breaches continuing to hit major national retailers, affecting tens of
millions of shoppers since the 2013 holiday season, it's no surprise to see the that these events are
influencing consumers to shop small businesses this year.
A lot of businesses think they need to bring in equity investors as soon as possible. Every business is
different, but building your customer base and revenue stream is going to help you get a better
equity deal.
Gary Groff
Senior Vice President of Commercial Banking, New Resource Bank
On National Entrepreneurs' Day, we have a responsibility to ensure that our policies help give every
would-be business owner a fair shot in this economy. That means supporting two key bipartisan
priorities: comprehensive tax reform and common-sense regulatory reform.
It's not uncommon to work extended hours when you first launch your small business. Your passion
and excitement for what's to come removes all sense of time.
Whether you realize it or not, you have a personal brand. As branding expert Chris Ducker says,
"Your personal brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room."
Funny how limitations can expand your horizons. Nathan Resnick was a college sophomore when he

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started his first Kickstarter campaign. He wanted to make watches, but he had no way of meeting
the minimum order quantities set by manufacturers.
Lee Schneider
Creative director at Red Cup Agency. Founder of Digital Fundraising School. Writing on the
intersection of culture and technology
Though the need for sleep has been a constant throughout human history, how we feel about it has
gone through dramatic changes over the years. We're now in the process of renewing our estranged
relationship, especially as science, in the last two decades or so, has validated much of the ancient
wisdom about the importance of sleep. Now that we have the means to get, relative to most of
human history, the most unprecedentedly blissful sleep ever, we should allow ourselves to enjoy it.
We live in a time in which we're plugged in and hyperconnected, often from the moment we wake up
until the instant we drift off. Let's savor and safeguard sleep, not just for its performance benefits
but for the special way it allows us to connect with ourselves. During the daytime technology allows
us to travel across distance and space, but during the nighttime our dreams allow us to travel across
time, spanning and connecting different parts of ourselves, allowing our senses of intuition and
wisdom to flourish.