Verizon Small Biz Blog

This post is by the Verizon Small Business team.

To the many “mompreneurs” who visit our blog, we hope you are still enjoying your weekend.  We mulled around on what to say to honor you and fortunately, one of us stumbled upon a website called Cafemom.  A contributor to the site, Kim Conte, posted three funny poems honoring moms and we thought it’s per...

To all of the moms out there—and especially those of you who just happen to be small business owners too—we salute your enthusiasm, your drive and how you juggle a family and a business. 

Happy Mother’s Day!

Friday is here. And so are the following articles to help you run your small business better.

Whether you are already traveling globally for business or considering growing your business in new countries, international business travel can be stressful.  The big and little things all add up.  Whether it is obtaining a Visa, meeting planning, airport security and other – yet surely – unexpected events, you need to have the appropriate technology that will keep your business running across many borders.  

According to a recent article I found on isnare.com on “The Do’s and Don’ts of International Business Travel”, planning is key to reducing stress associated with global business travel.

Verizon Wireless is familiar with the needs of the on-the-go business person.  Being able to conduct business in the U.S. is crucial while traveling global and can reduce your stress level.  Verizon Wireless recently introduced the Verizon Jetpack’™” developed by Novatel Wireless.  This 4G LTE MiFi 4620L  Mobile Hotspot gives customers blazing fast internet connectivity on the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network on up to 10 Wi-Fi-enabled devices simultaneously.

This post is from members of Verizon’s small business team.

Whether it’s your friends sharing pictures on Facebook or watching that new viral hit on YouTube, it seems like you can’t go a day without hearing about some sort of social media. As a small business owner, you probably wonder how you can utilize these sites to improve your business. Fortunately, Twitter has become an extremely beneficial tool for small business owners. Businesses like The Coffee Groundz in Houston saw their sales double after three months of strong user engagement on Twitter. Even with all the potential benefits, as of last November only 10% of small businesses have made the micro-blogging platform a part of their social media marketing strategy. So if you follow these tips, you’ll be way ahead of the curve.

Happy Friday! So you don’t have to, we found the following articles to help you run your small business better.

Are you setting your business apart from the competition?

TGIF! Before you think about retiring for the weekend, take a look at the following articles (and a short video) that will help your small business run better.

Guest post from Shirley Chun in California, small business marketing manager for Verizon.  To get news specific to California, follow @VZCABiz (www.twitter.com/vzcabiz).

To continue our work to assist small businesses in southern California, my local team sponsored the Verizon Small Business Makeover contest earlier this year. Small business owners entered for a chance to win a $5,000 technology makeover. 

I’m happy to announce that Raquel and John Anthony from Temecula, CA are the grand prize winners! Read about their business and how my team will help get their store the technology they need to run their business more efficiently and productively.

Your business may be running smoothly, but do you have the right security measures in place to prevent cyber-criminals from stealing your customers’ information or diverting your hard earned cash to their offshore bank account?

According to Verizon’s fifth annual Data Breach Investigation Report (DBIR) many hacking attacks are directed against small companies.  The good news is that most of these attacks can be prevented with a few small and relatively easy steps.  Click here to read more about the DBIR.

Tomorrow at 2 p.m. ET, the Verizon Small Business Center will present another free webinar, this time a discussion with three security industry experts who will offer additional insights from the DBIR as well as offer low cost tips to protect your business from cyber-hacks.

Our guests tomorrow will feature Quinton Jones, SMB Solutions Architect with McAfee, the world’s largest dedicated security technology company; Robby Gulri, Vice President of products with Echoworx, offering managed encryption services; and Marc Spitler, Senior Analyst with Verizon’s Research Investigations Solutions Knowledge (RISK) team.

It’s Friday – and that means we have some great articles to help you run your business better.

Guest post by Albe Zakes, goblal vice president of public relations for Terracycle, the world’s leading recycling and ‘upcycling’ company, which turns waste materials into eco-friendly, affordable products available at big box retailers nationwide.  

Money is a concern for small businesses whether they’re just starting out, trying to stay afloat, or ‘swimming in the black’. There’s no way around it: money makes the world go ‘round, especially for small businesses. It makes sense when executives or owners try to cut the budget or keep it under control, but the question of what is best to cut remains.

Marketing and advertising are key components of a company’s outreach and growth because without them, it is difficult for potential customers to learn about a company’s service and offerings. Still, it’s hard for small businesses to compete with the marketing spend of larger corporations and brands. This is where creativity comes in as a key asset in building and maintaining a small business.

Each week, the Verizon Small Business team may select a small business “fan” to feature on our Facebook page.  This means your business can be prominently displayed on the Verizon Small Biz Facebook page: www.facebook.com/VerizonSmallBiz.

If you would like an opportunity to have your small business featured, just post a photo and share some information about your business on our Facebook wall.  If you are not already a fan, please be sure to “like” us! 

Don’t forget to include the best method for others to contact your business: address, telephone, email and/or the URL to your company’s website.  Just be sure to post a clear photo of your business’s logo or of you working with your business.  For more information about Verizon’s small business “Fan of the Week” please click here.

We can’t wait to highlight small businesses across the country by promoting your business on our Facebook page.

TGIF! We found the following articles to help run your business better.

Guest post by Mario Acosta-Velez, director, State Government Affairs for Verizon.   Mario manages external relations with key stakeholders, business organizations, and diverse communities in the Mid-Atlantic region. 

Last month, while attending the Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s 3^rd Annual Hispanic Business Expo at the Washington, DC Convention Center, I talked with many small business owners who visited Verizon’s exhibit to learn about the latest communications technology for small businesses, such as 4G and FiOS.  Some of the common questions asked by small business owners were: 

-          how do I develop an effective communications and marketing strategy?

-          does my business have the right communications tools in place to maximize its potential?

-          how can I effectively use voice and internet services to better reach customers? 

-          how can I ensure my business comes up first in a Google search? 

Think about these three key topics below and ask if you have addressed these within your business:

This post is from members of Verizon’s small business team.

Facebook is an incredibly useful tool that allows small businesses to reach new customers and build strong relationships with the customers you already have. Recently, Facebook introduced a new format called Timeline that will change the way your page looks and some of the ways you use it to interact with customers.

As we just changed the Verizon Small Biz Facebook page, we share the following overview of the changes you need to know about to make sure your Facebook page is the best possible representation of your business.

Guest post from Brad McCarty, a music and tech junkie, managing editor of The Next Web, one of the world’s largest online publications that delivers an international perspective on the latest news about Internet technology, business and culture.

For the past few years, businesses have been hearing all about Facebook when it comes to having an online presence where they can meet their customers. But a few months ago, Google came into the picture with Google+ and there's plenty of evidence to suggest that perhaps it's the better way to go for companies looking to establish themselves online.

I took a closer look at the numerous aspects of Google+ for small business in my free webinar, presented by the Verizon Small Business Center. I spent about an hour discussing them and took questions throughout the webinar. So watch this webinar when you have some time to learn what Google+ can do for small businesses.  Click here to watch the replay or go to http://www.brighttalk.com/r/rxD. 

It’s Friday, and we found the following interesting articles to help you run your business better.

This guest post is provided on behalf of the faculty and staff of the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza School of Business Executive Online Education.  Notre Dame Online provides professional courses and masters certificates in the areas of Negotiations, Business Administration, Leadership & Management and Advanced Intercultural Management for the current and aspiring business professional. “

In part 1 of this series, we covered several items that small business owners can negotiate as they are starting up a new business. We want to continue now by discussing negotiations to consider after the grand opening.  Items one through five covered a number of overhead items that can be more helpful if they are considered prior to opening, but steps six through ten are also applicable to owners who are currently in the midst of their success stories. To really succeed in business, it is important to regularly take a break from your daily work and take a look around for business opportunities to capitalize on in your community.

TGIF! We found the following interesting articles to help you run your business better.

Guest post by Ashli Norton creator of HappyOfficePranks.com, the site that helps you email funny workpranks to your boss, coworkers, and employees.

Even though April Fools’ Day is on a Sunday this year, the time is just about right when everyone begins to think of funny office prank ideas. Beat them to the punch with clever work pranks that won’t put your job at risk.

Guest post provided on behalf of the faculty and staff of the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza School of Business Executive Online Education.  Notre Dame Online provides professional courses and masters certificates in the areas of Negotiations, Business Administration, Leadership & Management and Advanced Intercultural Management for the current and aspiring business professional.

A major concern for new small business owners is the overhead that they are required to pay before they can clear their first dollar of profit.  Most prospective business owners suffer with the doubt of opening their own businesses because of the initial investments and the business development period that is inevitable in every new venture.  Fortunately, with a few intelligent guidelines and some effective negotiation training, you can leave your doubts behind and get creative. Below you will find the first five ways to get your negotiating skills flowing to help tame the beast of excessive operating costs.

Last month we held a contest for you to name our eNewsletter.  We have a winner and it’s Taniedra M. for her entry: Small Business Connections.  Congratulations, Taniedra!

It is safe to say that whether you own a business or work for a company, you will find yourself engrossed in the business app world.  This phenomena all started with companies touting they have hundreds of thousands of consumer related apps, and then it quickly moved on to business apps which now boasts apps in many verticals across all business functionalities.

As a small business owner time is a limited resource and managing that time with the core business and finding the right tools can be a challenge.  One question many Small Businesses ask is how do you find the appropriate app to meet their specific business needs?  At Verizon Wireless, we recommend that you initially develop a business app strategy. 

Once you have developed your Business App strategy, the next step is to find the apps.  Recently, Verizon Wireless launched the Small Business Advisor.  This is an easy to use self serve web tool designed to locate mobile business apps that fit your specific business needs.  In three steps, this interactive wizard format will recommend the right apps for your business, saving you the time from sifting through hundreds – maybe even thousands – of apps

Small Business Solutions Made Easy.

Verizon’s fifth annual Data Breach Investigations Report reviewed 855 confirmed security breaches accounting for a combined 174 million compromised records. Verizon’s Research Investigations Solutions Knowledge (RISK) team analyzed the data and attempt to explain what happened, who did it and who was affected.  The 2012 DBIR again includes data provided by  the United States Secret Service and the Dutch National High Tech Crime Unit.

Many hacking attacks are directed against small companies and most can be prevented with a few small and relatively easy steps.

Did you miss our weekly roundup?  It’s back and we found some interesting articles and hope they will provide some insights to help you run your business better.  Happy reading!

Guest post from Phil Santoro, Verizon’s media relations guy in MA. 

In case you have not heard about the MassChallenge, it is the largest-ever startup program/competition that offers high-impact, early-stage entrepreneurs the opportunity to accelerate their business.  Once an entrepreneur is selected into this challenge, s/he will have access to key resources, mentorship, and office space during the accelerator program and the opportunity to win part of the $1.1 million.

Continue reading to learn how one of the world’s largest companies with one of the most recognized brands is looking to team up with the next “two guys in a garage,” hoping to put another dent in the universe.

It started in July 2010 when Verizon Wireless’ HopeLine Program launched an innovative program to provide Domestic Violence Entrepreneurship Grants to domestic violence survivors to help them start or expand a small or home-based business. 

One of the first to receive a grant is Ebony Fletcher who almost lost her life to an abusive ex-boyfriend after he sat on her back and shot her in the head. The $5,000 grant she received from the Verizon Wireless’ HopeLine Program in 2011, allowed Ebony to grow her business by purchasing new equipment and expand her line of hair products.

Over the years the program expanded and even more survivors were offered a grant to start-up or expand a business. 

Last week Verizon launched entrepreneur training programs in New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Albany to continue to support domestic violence survivors and help them rebuild their lives.

Verizon’s $500,000 in grants to five workforce development organizations across New York State will fund the development of training programs to help survivors start or expand their own small or home-based businesses, which can lead to greater financial stability and independence, crucial factors in breaking the cycle of violence.

So your business is more organized and you have a focused business strategy; now it may be time to develop a disaster recovery plan.

Yes, we’ve done a couple of these posts on having a disaster recovery plan in place, but that’s because this is important. Great plans include making the most of your resources and opportunities for growth while being acutely aware of the risks and challenges so you can minimize trouble by having a well thought-out recovery approach.

According to research by the University of Texas, only 6% of companies survive a catastrophic data loss, while 43% never reopen and 51% close within two years. In spite of those shocking statistics, Gartner Research estimates that only 35% of small and medium businesses have a comprehensive disaster recovery plan in place.

It might feel like focusing on the negative, but it’s just good business to be prepared.

Happy Friday!  We found some interesting articles and hope they’ll provide some insights to help you run your business better.  Happy reading...

Guest post from Shirley Chun in California, small business marketing manager for Verizon.  To get news specific to California, follow @VZCABiz (www.twitter.com/vzcabiz).

A hearty shout-out to Great American Funding Corporation in Westlake Village, CA owned by  Steve Marche who has been a business owner for the past 30 years with extensive experience in the mortgage loan business.  He has been through all the ups and downs of our economy and has much experience in securing loans for residential and commercial properties.

He found that running a business is thrilling, challenging, and there's never a dull moment. He is a knowledgeable resource in the mortgage business and has found Verizon to be a key resource in his business’ success.