Posted by Chad Gardner

Regardless of the economic climate, finding and retaining great employees is essential for a small business, even more so than for large companies. Most small businesses have limited resources and thus talent becomes one of the most important assets they have.

So the good news for 2009, according to a press release by TriNet, is that two-thirds of small businesses will be looking to hire. With the recent splash in the unemployment pool this year, there are undoubtedly top prospects available to help your company’s productivity and profitability moving into the New Year.

Looking at the projections going into 2009 might leave some skeptical, but small business hiring is up 3.3% in 2008, and 80% of respondents in the TriNet survey said they tried to hire this year. This is just point-in-hand that small businesses are able to run leaner than companies we see in the news on a daily basis.

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Popularity: 94% [?]

Posted by Chad Gardner

It is difficult to turn on the television or browse through most publications without finding analysts and professionals of all types declaring a gloomy outlook for the economy.  When coming across an article or post that may be negative, it’s important to remember that this is an opportunity to find solutions for the problems at hand.

For instance, there was a recent post on Small Business Trends discussing industries feeling the crunch the most that starts off:

“The year 2008 is turning out to be a tough one for small florist businesses. Sales are down nearly 15%.”

True, there are less consumers going out and purchasing flowers. But are these small businesses giving consumers more reasons to buy from them? According to research, online sales could increase up to 12% from last year — which is a market that needs to be tapped into if in-store sales are lagging.

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Popularity: 66% [?]

Posted by Lisa Hephner

Sale season has arrived and bargain hunters abound. It seems everywhere you look prices are slashed 70%, yellow clearance signs scream out deal, and consumers are carefully considering every penny spent.

On top of the holiday spending, this is the time of year when many gift subscriptions, club memberships, and service contracts come up for renewal, and consumers are thinking about the value of each one and whether they plan to continue it, or whether they can get a better deal elsewhere.

The result is price wars that can bring an increase in sales, in conjunction with a decrease in profits because of the deep discounts. In the case of rates for year-long service contracts, the profits lost from holiday price cutting reverberate throughout the entire next year. While large businesses can absorb the declining profits, small business often cannot.

The key to winning the holiday discount game is to develop offers that provide real savings as well as real value to both your customers and to your business. The following three discount offers do just that.

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Popularity: 57% [?]