5 Negotiating tactics you should know

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Maya Pillai
5 Negotiating tactics you should know

If you are planning on doing business with someone again, don’t be too tough in the negotiations. If you’re going to skin a cat, don’t keep it as a house cat. – Marvin S. Levin (American Author) In today’s competitive world, negotiation is one of the skills that everyone, including a small business owner, should possess. A question that is commonly asked by everybody is “What’s in it for me?” Therefore, if you want to get a good deal out of your negotiation, you must be very clear about what you want. You may not always get what you ask … Read more

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Your Email Signature is All Wrong

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Maya Pillai
Your Email Signature is All Wrong

The world has become a global village thanks to the Internet. Today, writing emails has become a large part of modern business communication. We no longer use snail mail to send and receive letters and other important documents. We’re at a stage where email communication is used to promote your small business. We have started exchanging virtual business cards using email signature. What is an Email Signature? An email signature is a virtual card that is added at the end of the outgoing mail. The signature can be set up in your email settings and when you send your emails, … Read more

Posted in Developer Guide, Featured, Guerilla Marketing, Management, Small Business University
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You Aren’t a Strong Leader, Time to Fix That

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Maya Pillai
You Aren’t a Strong Leader, Time to Fix That

“Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision and relentlessly drive it to completion.” – Jack Welch (former chairman and CEO of General Electric Co.) Leadership styles of small business owners are different from that of the large corporations. The approach for running a small business is different from that of running a large organization. A recent study conducted by Inc.com tells that small business owners perform better under pressure than CEOs of large companies. Despite that, many small businesses fail within the first five years due to poor leadership qualities of the SMB owners. … Read more

Posted in Know your Business, Leadership, Small Business University
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Boost Your Employee Morale

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Maya Pillai
Boost Your Employee Morale

“Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside them was superior to circumstance.” – Bruce Barton (American Author and Politician) If you want to put in place an effective retention strategy, it is mandatory that you do something to boost your employee’s morale. It is a fact that if the morale is poor and if your employees dread coming to work, they are unlikely to stick around for long. This in turn will reduce the productivity and the profits of your organization. With the economic slowdown, many small business owners are not able … Read more

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Strong Financial Planning a Must for Start-ups

Posted on November 9, 2011 by Usha Prasad
Strong Financial Planning a Must for Start-ups

Financial planning is a must for every individual – be it to run your day-to-day life or your business. When we say business, financial planning should be accorded top priority to weather uncertain times and also to survive times of recession. A proper business plan, a detailed research about your potential investors, having contingency plans in place in the event things go wrong will surely help you in your financial planning. For an entrepreneur planning to launch a start-up, it is very important to develop a strong and realistic business plan. “You should take time to really do the homework … Read more

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Data Security, a Growing Concern among SMEs

Posted on November 5, 2011 by Maya Pillai
Data Security, a Growing Concern among SMEs

“Be paranoid about data. You can buy new boxes, rebuild the systems, reinstall software etc., but you cannot rebuild lost data” – Steve Burrows, IT director of Vanilla Group state in a column for Computer Weekly. Any small to medium enterprise that is not willing to invest in data backup is at risk of losing their data. Losing important information can be catastrophic for your business.  Remember that data is the second important asset after the employees and it is the lifeline of any organization. It is a myth that SMEs do not generate the same amount of data as … Read more

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SMBs embrace social media to grow their business

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Maya Pillai
SMBs embrace social media to grow their business

“The Internet is an important tool for business growth, and it is savvy SMEs who understand its potential beyond e-commerce,” – Katie Ledger, a Professional Branding Expert. A global survey conducted by Regus shows that seven percent more SMEs have found new clients through business social networks as compared to the second quarter in 2010. The report also states that globally, more companies are using social networks to diversify their businesses, attract new customers and also to increase their profits. As reported, 39 percent of the SMEs around the globe use 20 percent of their marketing budget for social networking. … Read more

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Top 20 Project Management Experts to Follow on Twitter

Posted on November 1, 2011 by Maggy
Top 20 Project Management Experts to Follow on Twitter

In light of International Project Management Day (IMP day) coming up on November 3rd, 2011, we have gathered a list of Project Management Experts on Twitter for your viewing pleasure. Learn more about IPM day at http://www.internationalpmday.org/. Want a FREE Project Management tool? Check out Apptivo’s Project Management Top 20 Project Management Experts On Twitter View more presentations from Puneet Yamparala Get your badge here. Kick back your feet and learn from these great project managers: Storm Cunningham Thomas Kennedy Bernardo Tirado Jeanne Bradford Project Management Institute Anne Samoilov ProjectManager.com Susanne Madsen Bas de Baar Steve Maul Sean Hull Nelson … Read more

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Doing Business on the Cloud is Lowering the Barrier for Business women

Posted on October 30, 2011 by Maya Pillai
Doing Business on the Cloud is Lowering the Barrier for Business women

Traditionally, the word “entrepreneur” is associated with men. Times have changed and there are many women entrepreneurs today. With the advent of the Internet and its technology, there are equal opportunities for both men and women who have entrepreneurial skills. However, it is up to you to tap the power of the Internet. Whatever may be the nature of your business (online or offline), if you are ready to tap the essence of the Internet it will not only boost your business, but also will prove to be very cost effective. In the present scenario, a technologically focused approach to … Read more

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Blog Carnival on ‘Web-based Project Management’

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Usha Prasad
Blog Carnival on ‘Web-based Project Management’

Hello friends, welcome to the Apptivo Blog Carnival — the first edition of this exercise. Here, we will introduce topics each fortnight, and invite blogs on the subject. The best blog posts would be taken online by Apptivo. The first carnival is on the topic Web-based Project Management. The focus is on – How can you efficiently manage your projects virtually? By doing so, you can eliminate idle time, provide live notifications, time track, and much more! So, let’s hear it from you! The first carnival will be taken live on the first Thursday in November (Nov 3, 2011), celebrated … Read more

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