5 Negotiating tactics you should know

Posted by Maya Pillai

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 … Continue reading


Your Email Signature is All Wrong

Posted by Maya Pillai

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 … Continue reading


You Aren’t a Strong Leader, Time to Fix That

Posted by Maya Pillai

“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. … Continue reading


Boost Your Employee Morale

Posted by Maya Pillai

“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 … Continue reading


Strong Financial Planning a Must for Start-ups

Posted by Usha Prasad

Financial management business 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 … Continue reading


Data Security, a Growing Concern among SMEs

Posted by Maya Pillai

“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 … Continue reading


SMBs embrace social media to grow their business

Posted by Maya Pillai

“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 … Continue reading


Top 20 Project Management Experts to Follow on Twitter

Posted by Maggy

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 … Continue reading


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

Posted by Maya Pillai

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 … Continue reading


Blog Carnival on ‘Web-based Project Management’

Posted by Usha Prasad

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 … Continue reading