CEO, Owners

When asked, most small leaders say they want to lead ethical companies.
In fact, a recent Small Business Digest survey indicated 73% of respondents voted for ethical leadership as a key component of success.

Juggling many responsibilities often takes the focus of small business leaders away from growing their companies.
According to Erin Shea, North America Manager at Vistaprint, her company recently surveyed 400 SBOs to understand what is keeping them busy and how this impacts their business and personal lives.

It’s no secret that small business owners (SBOs), juggle many responsibilities -- from business planning and strategy to answering phones and ordering supplies.
According to Erin Shea, North America Manager at Vistaprint, the compan recently surveyed 400 SBOs to understand what is keeping them busy and how this impacts their business and personal lives.

What’s the difference between a boss and a leader?
According to Barry Kaplan and Jeff Manchester, authors of  The Power of Vulnerability, “The boss is the person who owns the ultimate decision.”
They add, “He or she is accountable for a particular decision.

Using bottom-up Inductive Reasoning can create a strong case for a sale when Deductive Reasoning won’t. Put it another way. Selling a business is essentially telling a story that is substantiated by the facts. 

It is always interesting to learn more about what drives the success of business owners and entrepreneurs.
A recent survey of 248 such high-net-worth business owners and entrepreneurs by Bank of America, U.S. Trust explored their experiences from start-up to expansion to exit.
According to Karen Reynolds Sharkey, National Business Owner Strategy Executive at U.S. Trust the survey was designed to gain insight into the mindset and challenges at each stage of business ownership. 

The decision of timing on when to hire a CFO is a challenge – do it too early, and you’re wasting resources. Wait too long, and opportunities for growth and scale may have gone unrealized due to lack of financial expertise and experience.

Ellen Wood, CEO, vcfo offers these thoughts on the need for strategic planning and more sophisticated accounting and reporting:

Lessons learned from exporting goods and services abroad can also help companies improve their domestic business

Ironically, the recent attempted nationwide boycott of restaurants and other businesses by workers to demonstrate their importance to the economy actually highlighted vulnerability of many smaller businesses.
As one expert recently told an audience of small business leaders: “If your business can’t survive without low paying immigrant labor, your business model is wrong.”
His challenge came as the nascent stirrings of a fundamental change in American business practices starts to gain steam.