Wow, September already. The year is in its final throes as we race towards the magical 25th of December.

For many business owners Twitter is often placed in the “too hard” box, which is understandable, as 75% of all Twitter accounts used for business have been abandoned.

Website design is in the same ‘boat’ as logo design; with both you have to ensure that the image you are portraying to your prospects and customers is one of professionalism and high quality.

Working for myself one of the biggest challenges I seem to face is not understanding when I have done a good job. Why do I find this a challenge?

From 6am NZST today a new domain name extension that is designed for businesses will become available. .CO is recognised globally as an abbreviation for Company, Corporation or Commerce, and is the long awaited credible alternative to the .com extension.

This post is to provide an update on the suspension by Twitter of one of our business profiles. We finally received a response from Twitter regarding the reason for suspension and the response is clearly a worry for any business.

In today’s economy business owners focus on operational expenditure and ensuring they maximise profits. We live in a competitive environment and strive to be the best we can be.

The only motivation book I will recommend to others is Self-made in America, by John McClintock. John introduced me to an obscure English word that I now use as a cornerstone of my daily activity – conation.

I recently listened to a business leader say that customer service is not and should not be considered as a distinguishing factor between businesses, even when comparing successful and not so successful ventures.

When I first engage with a client and see their company I am looking for one key ingredient and that is; momentum!

Last week I was talking to the manager of a communications company about the trials and tribulations of sales staff and their lack of ability to look after their customers. I asked the manager whether he had sales reps or account managers to which he replied “they are the same thing …. aren’t they?”

Within a few weeks of the birth of our first child, Diane and I were already imagining and anticipating how it would be when he was all grown up, had graduated from college and was out on his own.

I asked some of our contributors to provide us with their best tip on how a business can survive especially while we are in this recession.

Most people go into a venture capital raise thinking that all they need is their accounts complete, a basic business plan and a great company.

As one of the biggest expenses a small business will regularly incur will be the cost of it’s employees, namely in wages but also in ACC payments and down time for staff sick days; these costs can get as high as 40% …

Centuries of academic emphasis on “teaching” (which fills our heads) instead of on learning (which fills our lives) has left us more proud of our ability to reason than of our ability to know.

We love to know exactly what the near-term process is we’re supposed to be doing, we’re almost obsessed with it, to the point that at least in business, we’re too often okay …

The Four Cornerstones of Success and Significance are A Big Motivator and Three Bosses.

To build a business that provides you the lifestyle you want, you need a vision that motivates you. And guess what? Making money is not an empowering vision. I know plenty of people who’ve tried it including me.

Whether you’re running a business selling products to customers or delivering services to clients there will be a number of aspects of the way you operate that are key to your ability to function.