The Thriving Small Business

FLSA Law – Is Your Business In Compliance?

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If you are a small business owner you understand the many hats you need to wear as you get your company off the ground. One hat needs to be understanding FLSA law requirements.

As your business grows, there comes a time that you need to hire employees.

This first hire is always challenging because there are still so many unknowns. Read the Full Article →

Nepotism At Work – 8 Things to Consider

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In the movie “Tommy Boy,” the owner of an auto parts factory gives his dim-witted son (played by Chris Farley) a plush job even though he just graduated college–barely.

The owner’s right-hand man (played by David Spade) doesn’t approve.

When Spade’s character sees Tommy’s new office, he sarcastically quips: “You have a window. Read the Full Article →

5 Common Business Organizational Structures

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Businesses use organizational structures to show a picture of the the chain-of-command and to help employees understand reporting relationships.

Large or small, every organization should operate with a defined organizational structure.

A well thought out and strategic business configuration clarifies reporting relationships and supports good communication. This can result in efficient and effective work process flow and can foster team development. Read the Full Article →

Tips For Conducting Focus Group Interviews

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I was recently asked to provide the definition of a focus group, how to conduct a focus group interview and what is the purpose of focus group interviews.

Focus groups are forums used to gather qualitative data on the customer experience.

This  is a widely used marketing tool which helps organizations develop products and services that are influenced by participating customers.

Read the Full Article →

13 Tips For Improving Job Satisfaction

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According to a Employee Job Satisfaction and Engagement Report by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), 88% of US employees reported overall satisfaction with their current job in 2015.

This number is the highest level of satisfaction in 10 years. The purpose of the survey was to identify those factors that contribute to employee satisfaction in the workplace. Read the Full Article →

3 Ways to Use Data Analytics To Build Your Business

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In recent years, it’s becoming increasingly common for data to be used in every sector to assist business people in cutting costs, creating wares, managing inventory, innovating, streamlining processes, marketing to consumers and even disrupting whole industries.

While once the “magic” of data was limited to huge corporations because of the cost of getting and analyzing it. Read the Full Article →

Wage Garnishments: A Sensitive Legal Requirement

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Early in my career I worked in the payroll office of a large hospital. I was young and naive when I was first exposed to wage garnishments.

I was exposed to wage garnishments at this early age and was required to submit paperwork to have money withheld from an employee’s paycheck when the organization got notice of a garnishment demand. Read the Full Article →

Read This Before Donating to That Charity

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It seems that there is a natural disaster happening all the time. The most recent has been Hurricane Florence that hit the east coast pretty hard. Disaster victims rely on the help from all of us. However, if you want to help, make sure your charity donation goes to a credible organization. Read the Full Article →

Employee Referral Program – It May Be Worth Considering

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As a small business owner, recruiting talented employees is as important as acquiring loyal customers. This is where a successful employee referral program can help.

In fact, without a high performing team, it’s nearly impossible to run a successful business. Luckily, you can rely on your existing employees to recruit new staff members! Read the Full Article →

5 Tips To Eliminate The Gender Pay Gap

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When I entered the work force, decades ago 😊 people didn’t talk about their pay. We simply didn’t realize there was a gender pay gap.

In fact it was one of those unwritten rules that you knew you should not ask other people how much they were making – and compare it to yourself. Read the Full Article →

Business Growth Slowed? 3 Tips to Rev Things up Again

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When you launch a business, you typically see a lot of growth happen quickly.

This is because you’re starting from zero and are usually working hard to put yourself and your business out there, to generate interest in the brand and corresponding sales.

However, after a time, it’s common for this growth to slow down or sometimes stop altogether. Read the Full Article →

5 Ways To Improve The Internal Customer Experience

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The term customer is most commonly associated with consumers who purchases goods or services. However, Joseph Juran, the famous management consultant, taught that organizations have both external and internal customers.

The external customer is the person who purchases the goods or services, while the internal customer is defined as anyone within an organization, who at any time is dependent on anyone else within the organization. Read the Full Article →