Author: Deb Van Batenburg

The Millennial Dilemma

With the average age of a shop owner in America at 55, they’ve been through many generations of customers. But when considering marketing to millennials, many shop owners say, “I’m not sure who they are, and I’m not sure anyone…

Feeling the Burn?

Has one of your customers gone negative online? Don’t get mad. Also, don’t get even. Try these tips for turning a negative into a positive. The biggest fear many small businesses have about social media is how to handle negative…

Small Shop, Big Ideas

The essential questions you must ask, and answer, before spending a penny on marketing your services and yourself. “Marketing” is such a broad term. It includes everything from a billboard to a tweet. How do you deal with your marketing…

To Go Big or Go Slow?

How innovative necessity and conservative thinking can work together to change your business and achieve future success. We’re still in the first few months of 2016. Each new year brings with it an arbitrary clean slate, a period of time…

When New Hires Go South

What you need to say and do to minimize the impact on your business. We all appreciate the hopeful feeling a new staff member brings to the organization. A burst of optimistic energy floats around the shop as all the…

Fear Factor

What are you afraid of as a business owner? When I started to work on this topic, a wealth of resources opened up, along with an abundance of shop owners who contributed to this article. The evolution was exciting, and…