Author Archives: Anita Campbell

Anita Campbell is a guest blogger with the Small Business Administration. She runs online communities and information websites reaching more than million small business owners, stakeholders and entrepreneurs annually, including Small Business Trends, a daily publication about small business issues, and BizSugar.com, a small business social media site.

Five Ways to Start Selling Online

e-commerce

The U.S. e-commerce market brought in more than $504 billion in revenue in 2018. It’s expected to grow to more than $735 billion by 2023. With so much potential in the market, it’s the perfect time for entrepreneurs to get started selling products online. Today’s sellers have a ton of options to make this happen. Here are five of the most popular. Your own e-commerce store Building an e-commerce store…

Read More

10 Small Business Functions to Outsource

outsource

More than a third of small businesses currently outsource at least some of their operations. And even more plan on exploring this option. Outsourcing describes when a business obtains a product or service from an outside provider, rather than handling it in-house. As a small business, outsourcing allows you to get more done and trust important tasks and processes to professionals, without having to actually grow your full-time team in a…

Read More

Pros and Cons of Data Storage Solutions

data storage

Today’s businesses need to store more data than ever before. In fact, data storage requirements are growing by about 40 percent each year. However, you need to make sure that the storage solutions you choose are going to keep your data secure. In fact, there were an average of 62 cyberattacks each day in 2018, with many of those affecting businesses and their sensitive data. In order to keep all of the data you…

Read More

Considerations When Choosing Business Hardware

business hardware

Your small business’s hardware includes your desktop and laptop computers, servers, printers, portable storage devices, video cards and telephone systems. Basically, any type of physical tech product falls into this category. Since these items can take up a significant portion of your IT budget, it’s important to consider new purchases carefully. Each item will have its own specific set of features and options. But there are some considerations that apply…

Read More

A Virtual Assistant Can Make You More Productive

virtual assistant

A virtual assistant is an employee who supports various business operations from a remote location. Startups can use VAs to help with inbox management, social media content, online customer support and basically any task that doesn’t require them to show up in person. Some VAs specialize in a specific task or industry. For example, there are VAs that focus specifically on marketing, and others that work only in the tech…

Read More

Considering Multiple Computer Monitors

monitors

Are you looking to increase productivity in your small business? Some entrepreneurs and professionals find it helpful to have access to multiple computer monitors. This type of setup can potentially improve collaboration, productivity and even location flexibility. But there are also some potential drawbacks, from money and space constraints to the potential for distractions. If you’re considering investing in dual monitors for your own office, here are some of the…

Read More

Chatbots for Customer Service:

Chatbots are computer programs that are able to converse with people online using human-like speech. They’re common within messaging apps and live chat features to help businesses answer customer queries, increase sales and save time. And they’re getting more popular by the day. In fact, 80 percent of businesses plan on using chatbots by 2020, according to a study from Oracle. Not sure how a chatbot could benefit your organization? Here are…

Read More

20 Things You Can Sell Online

attract first customers

You already know that you can build a business selling collectibles on eBay or ebooks on Amazon, but those are just a couple of the options out there for selling products and services online. From virtual services to physical products that use your own unique designs, check out these suggestions for things to sell online that you may not have considered before. Website Domain When you purchase the domain for…

Read More

Artificial Intelligence Can Help Save Time

artificial intelligence

When you think of artificial intelligence, your mind might conjure images of futuristic robots or computers that are able to act as humans do. But AI isn’t just an idea for the future. It’s making a real impact on businesses today and could factor even larger in the years to come. An Accenture Research study found that AI has the potential to boost profitability by an average of 38 percent across select…

Read More

Checklist for Choosing Business Software

Good software can enable your small business to increase sales by saving time and money while expanding capacity. But you must choose wisely — because the wrong software can be an expensive mistake. Here is my tried-and-true checklist for choosing software to support your business operations: Testimonials from Businesses Like Mine Find vendors with a meaningful number of testimonials from other small business owners. Look for testimonials from businesses like…

Read More