News

Smart business leaders know they have to have someone set up who can sub in or replace them in the event of emergency or opportunity. But sometimes it generally does not appear to be there’s anyone who’s appropriate or ready. Here are several actions you can take.

Many articles and books have already been discussed succession planning and how important it really is for company longevity and shareholder protection. But a lot of the advice focuses on selecting and transition between CEOs and assumes things such as a completely functional board and a reasonably robust organizational structure.

Where do you see yourself in five years? Are you considering a workaholic on Wall Street, living the easy life in America’s heartland or are you considering an effective entrepreneur with a million-dollar business? If you’re scanning this article, I am guessing your answer may be the latter.

While trendy strategies come and go, there is absolutely no substitute for classic goal setting techniques. Here are some tried-and-true tactics to propel your business to success.

Goal setting techniques is similar to getting on the scale — you’ll see greater success in the event that you do it each morning. As entrepreneurs, dreaming big is standard practice. The distinguishing factor between your big dreamers and the big doers is that the doers do something.

Among the big challenges facing businesses today is maintaining a keenly motivated workforce that’s raring to accomplish bigger and better targets each day. Companies resort to many different measures to keep morale up and their teams motivated. Included in these are flexible work hours, encouraging good work-life balance, offering perks like free meals, gym memberships, laundry services and more. A comparatively new approach that appears to actually work is making work play. Hello, gamification.

Ho, ho, ho — wait, another greeting card?

Those that know me well know I’ve a disdain for handmade cards. The preordained notion that people must send handmade cards to everyone during every holidays or birthday has sanitized the complete gesture and, for me, the joy of giving and receiving them.

Which time of year may be the apex of greeting-card prodigality.

INFORM THEM You Care With any occasion Card. Use These 5 Ideas to STILL DO IT.

If you are self-employed, you can reserve a substantial part of your earnings tax-deferred.

Get game-changing answers to your enterprise questions.

Q: What business retirement plan do you recommend for those who are self-employed?

A: I would recommend you check out a KEOGH retirement plan. This might give you the capability to make significant contributions to the plan–upwards of $165,000 each year (it rises to $170,000 for 2005).

I JUST was sharing some concerns with a reliable mentor. I was stressed and anxious. As I rambled on, I realized I was talking in circles.

I was jumping backwards and forwards between your backstory and current story, sidestepping and swinging back around to complete a thought. I QUICKLY stopped narrating.

"I’m sorry. I’m making no sense," I said.

"Natalie. I’m tracking you," my mentor said. "You’re painting an image. I can’t let you know which strokes to use, but I start to see the picture.”