AnyMeeting: Web Conferencing That Scales With Small Businesses |  |
- AnyMeeting: Web Conferencing That Scales With Small Businesses
- Workplace Bullying Can Hurt Your Business
- Step Away from the Megaphone and Listen to Your Customers
- 4 Ways To Improve Your Business Networking
- Four More Years! President Obama Re-Elected
| AnyMeeting: Web Conferencing That Scales With Small Businesses Posted: 07 Nov 2012 01:00 PM PST For small businesses that need to use technology to host meetings, webinars, or chats, it can be difficult to find a program that is both affordable and able to scale with the company's needs, since free services may not have all the tools needed for certain functions, and enterprise solutions have an abundance of features but aren't always affordable.
That's why web conferencing service provider AnyMeeting has a unique pricing model that gives small businesses different options to work with as companies grow. AnyMeeting offers a free version that is supported by advertising for small businesses looking to keep costs low, but it also has paid versions available for both meetings and webinars where users don't have to deal with advertisements. AnyMeeting, which was designed specifically with small businesses in mind, enacted this pricing model in 2011 in order to give users more options and flexibility as businesses evolve and grow. Said David Gerkin, AnyMeeting's Vice President of Business Development:
AnyMeeting, which just announced a new integration with collaboration server Zimbra, is available as its own web conferencing service, but is also available within collaboration services used often by small businesses, including Google Apps, where AnyMeeting is currently the second most downloaded productivity app. Said Gerkin:
AnyMeeting, which was formed in 2009, currently has more than 200,000 small business users. The company is based in Huntington Beach, California and has a team of 14. The post AnyMeeting: Web Conferencing That Scales With Small Businesses appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Workplace Bullying Can Hurt Your Business Posted: 07 Nov 2012 11:00 AM PST How can workplace bullying hurt your business? Let me count the ways. If your employees are being bullied, they could quit, retaliate or even develop health problems as a result of the stress. All of these can cost your company time, money, hassles and more.
If you think workplace bullying can't happen at your business, then you may want to read the results of a CareerBuilder study conducted earlier this year that found bullying in the workplace is on the rise. More than one-third (35 percent) of employees report feeling bullied at work, compared to 27 percent last year. Bullying drove 17 percent of these workers to quit their jobs and 16 percent to develop health problems. You may think there's no workplace bullying in your business because no one's complained to you or your managers. Well, more than half (57 percent) of employees never report the problem to anyone. And of the 27 percent who have reported a bullying issue, more than half say nothing was ever done about it. Bullying doesn't always come from an employee's boss. Co-workers account for almost half of bullying incidents, and 31 percent of employees report they've been bullied by customers. Having managed employees for many years, I can attest that workplace bullying can be hard to spot. What seems like bullying to the victim may seem to you like nothing more than two employees joking around. Being yelled at by a boss or being insulted during a meeting are obvious incidents of bullying, but respondents in the survey were more likely to cite "not being acknowledged," "double standards" or "being left out" as examples of bullying. In other words, the guy who never gets invited to lunch may feel more upset about being "bullied" than the guy who just got dressed down at the sales meeting. Given that bullying is so subjective, you may feel there's no way to protect your business. In reality, there are several. First, develop a comprehensive grievance policy for your business that states what employees should do if they have a problem with a co-worker or supervisor. Second, if employees do come to you or a manager with a complaint, take it seriously. (I can't emphasize this enough.) Talk to the victim, then to the alleged bully, documenting both discussions. Don't be accusatory but do try to get to the facts of the situation. Then bring the two workers together to come up with ideas for how the problem can be solved. You'll find that the majority of workplace bullying incidents, when treated respectfully and positively, resolve very easily. If the problem escalates, continue documenting the situation while trying to resolve the problem. If necessary, get help from an attorney experienced in human resource issues. Hopefully, you won't have to go there. As a small business owner, you and your managers are the eyes and ears of your company. No matter how busy you are, make it a point to get out and walk around your business every day and find out what's going on. With a little sensitivity, you'll pick up on problems before they get out of hand. Have you ever had workplace bullying in your business and, if so, what did you do about it? Office Bully Photo via Shutterstock The post Workplace Bullying Can Hurt Your Business appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Step Away from the Megaphone and Listen to Your Customers Posted: 07 Nov 2012 08:00 AM PST One of the greatest questions in the age of the interactive web 2.0 is:
Certainly, there are enough widgets, applications, social buttons, and the like to allow your customers to interact with your business in many ways. However, some businesses make the mistake of throwing everything and the kitchen sink into a site with the intent of forming one amazing community that no one will ever want to leave.
What could possibly go wrong? For starters, such an approach is unoriginal and represents a failure to look beneath the surface to determine what a customer actually wants from a site. What you get instead is a Web presence that offers too much while catering to too few. However, it is easy for me to sit here and say you need to revamp the content on your site to perfectly match what your customers want. Obviously, that's impossible. Interests and tastes are far too varied to choose the perfect image, text, font or content for everyone. The truth is that you don't have to have those things. Businesses are in the habit of overloading their customers (and their sites) with fluff. Fluff can be defined as those things that are important to you, but that your customers care little about. In addition to being uninteresting, fluff is also static. People are looking for dynamic experiences, and human interactions are about as dynamic as it gets. There is a reason people play on social media all day. One of the best ways to facilitate interaction is to host a blog to initiate the exchange of ideas and comments. When it comes to blogs, the content is the initial draw, but the conversation is what keeps people coming back. Another woefully underused feature is forums. Sure, many sites have them, but I am amazed at the number of businesses that set them up and then never review them. Obviously, the integration of these contributes to a strong social presence. If you can listen even better than you can talk, you will have a leg up on 90% of the businesses out there. That's the key, really. When everyone has a gigantic megaphone to their mouth, the business with an ear to the ground, paying attention to what their customers have to say, will come out on top. Stop Talking, Listen Photo via Shutterstock The post Step Away from the Megaphone and Listen to Your Customers appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| 4 Ways To Improve Your Business Networking Posted: 07 Nov 2012 05:00 AM PST As small business owners and consultants, we understand the importance of networking. Your ability to schmooze, to meet people, and to create relationships will very often determine your success in business and how far you're able to take your company. However, that doesn't mean most of us are very good at it. We have a difficult time starting conversations and even keeping the relationships that we do start. We could all be a little better.
Below are four tips to help increase your networking A-game: 1. Ask Better Questions When you attend a conference, seminar or networking event, you're not there for small talk. You're there to learn more about the people who are attending the event and to uncover potential business opportunities. That means those vague questions designed to fill the silence but that don't actually reveal any information? They need to go. What types of questions should you be asking? Ones that dig deeper. Get a handle on your new contact's story – when did they start their business, why did they start it, what is their business mentality/how do they see things? Ask about the tools they use, the pain points they have, what they're working on, and what they're excited about. These types of questions are going to move you beyond the "Hi, my name is John" phase and they're going to get you closer inside their business and their mind. This is important for getting to know people, but it's also important down the road when you're looking to maintain the relationships you've created. 2. Share a Memorable Fact At some point the conversation will turn to you. Someone will ask you what you do, what brings you here, or about your hobbies. Instead of using this opportunity to be boring and sound like everyone else, share something that is unique and memorable about you. Maybe you have a passion for collecting coins. Or you sky dive on the weekends. Or you're an advocate for a particular cause. Share something that will help that person to not only remember you, but to learn a little bit more about who you really are. Networking is not about learning everyone's name in the room. It's about forming relationships. The more you reveal about yourself, the better the relationship you'll create. 3. Keep Notes Immediately after you return home from the event, while your adrenaline is still pumping, jot down information about everything that happened while you were out:
Getting this all down on paper while it's still fresh in your mind will leave you better prepared for follow up conversations, will help you remember important information, and can assist in cataloging your new contacts. 4. Create a Reason For Follow Ups Maybe it's that you'll give the person a call to discuss X. Or that you're going to look up Y and back to them. Or that you heard they were having a problem with Z and you have the solution. Whatever it is, have a reason for a follow up conversation in the near future. If you've asked the right questions, you should have an idea of how you can be of value to that person – whether it's a tool recommendation, an introduction, or the opportunity for a deeper conversation. Find a way to take action on it to keep the momentum and the relationship going. If you return home from networking events without a list of things to do or no plans for how you'll reconnect with the people you had conversations with, you're missing out on potentially huge business opportunities. Those are some of the tips that help me in my business networking? Any pointers you're willing to share with the class? I'm sure we could all benefit. The post 4 Ways To Improve Your Business Networking appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Four More Years! President Obama Re-Elected Posted: 07 Nov 2012 02:30 AM PST President Barack Obama won a second term in office Tuesday night, defeating challenger GOP candidate Mitt Romney. No matter who you supported in the 2012 U.S. election, we know small business owners have an important role to play in building our future here in the U.S. and abroad, and you’ll want to remain optimistic looking ahead. We’ve gathered some of the key quotes from both candidates as they spoke on the last days of the campaign, expressing the hopes and aspirations of both leaders. President Barack Obama“No matter how bad the storm gets, no matter how tough times are, we’re all in this together.” “Our work isn’t done. Our fight for change goes on, because we know this nation cannot succeed without a growing, thriving middle class and sturdy ladders for everybody who’s willing to work to get into that middle class.” “We know what real change looks like because we fought for it. We’ve got the scars to prove it.” “After all we’ve been through together, after all that we’ve fought through together, we cannot give up on change now.” “Change comes when we live up to this country’s legacy of innovation by investing in the next generation of technology and manufacturing.” “The restaurant owner who needs a loan to expand—he’s got great food, but the bank turned him down. He needs help. He needs a champion.” “We’ve come too far to let our hearts grow faint. Now’s the time to keep pushing forward.” —President Obama, Des Moines, Iowa, 11/5/12 Mitt Romney“Your voices…are being heard all over the nation, and they’re being heard loud and clear.” “This campaign is about America and about the future we’re going to leave to our children.” “Change is not measured in words and speeches. Change is measured in achievements.” “The question of this election comes down to this. Do you want four more years of the same, or do you want real change?” “I actually started and built a business and I turned around another one. I helped put the Olympics on track when they got off track. And with a Democrat legislation, I helped turn my state from deficit to surplus, and from job losses to job growth, and from higher taxes to higher take home pay. That’s why I’m running for President. I know how to change the course the nation is on.” “…I’m not just going to take office on Jan. 20th. I’m going to take responsibility for the office of the Presidency.” “I’m going to act to boost small business and all business. I’m going to issue executive orders aimed at the problems that have been holding our economy back. The first executive order will be to grant state waivers from Obamacare to begin its repeal. The second will launch a sweeping review of all the Obama era regulations with an eye to eliminating or repairing any that are killing jobs. And for the first time in four years, every entrepreneur, every small business person, every job creator will know that the President and government of the United States likes them and loves the jobs they can create.” —Mitt Romney, Cleveland, Ohio 11/4/12 Tell us your opinion of the U.S. Presidential election results. We’d like to hear your thoughts. The post Four More Years! President Obama Re-Elected appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
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