Posts by Ed Fox
The Pros and Cons of Asking Background-Related Questions in an Interview
One of the age-old questions that small business owners must answer when deciding on questions to ask their applicants is whether or not those questions should broach personal background information. We aren’t talking about questions pertaining to work or educational history. Rather, we are referring to questions that ask applicants to explain the black marks…
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How to Craft Standout Job Content
Small businesses represent 99.7% of all U.S. businesses and employ about 56 million members of the nation’s private-sector workforce, according to the Statistics of U.S. Businesses and the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy. Even with this impressive presence, small businesses have one major challenge: How do you reach the right candidates to grow…
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Technology for Businesses with Tight Budgets
Technology is constantly making business operate more and more efficiently. And more and more developments are being targeted right at small businesses, operating on a much tighter budget than the top manufacturers of previous generations. What can these new technologies do for your small business? Here is some insight. Virtualization Businesses are virtualizing as much…
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10 Quotes on Leadership and Character for Memorial Day
To those who gave their lives in the service of our country; to those who continue to serve; and to those whom have returned safely—thank you. You are the single-most reason we have the freedom to enjoy and prosper from free enterprise, entrepreneurship, and innovation. In your memory and honor, here is some memorable and…
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5 Motivating 2015 Commencement Speeches
College graduation season is in full swing, and with it comes a slew of commencement speeches, some boring, some profound, some outright entertaining. Here are 5 of the best so far: Apple CEO Tim Cook, at George Washington University: “Your values matter; they are your North Star. Work takes on new meaning when you feel…
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Business Lessons from Top Female Entrepreneurs
Female business ownership in the U.S. surged to over 9 million companies last year, but you don’t have to be a woman to learn from the unique traits that make them successful entrepreneurs. Anyone with a streak of independence and a flair for problem-solving can duplicate the business-savviness that has pushed women to the forefront…
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4 Big Lessons for Small Businesses from Harley Davidson’s Stock Plunge
What can your small business learn from Harley Davidson’s recent stock plunge? Even when you’re not a big, publicly-traded company, there are four, important take-aways from Harley’s experience: 1. Sometimes Sales Matter More Than Earnings Sure, we all want to make money. But whether you’re building a small company or you’re an established icon like…
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Google AdWords 102: Campaign Goal, Strategy and Cost
In last week’s post, I talked about the basics of Google AdWords and its uses for a small business owner. This week, we’ll discuss setting campaign goals and the strategies you may use to meet those goals as well as the costs that may be involved. Setting A Campaign Goal Before you start any advertising…
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5 Tips to Keep Your Background Checks Compliant
Putting together a pre-employment background check process that is thorough, effective, and efficient would be a challenge under any circumstances. Figuring out which types of criminal checks to use, whether or not to go after driving records and credit information, and which background check firm to work with can take many hours of research from…
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Google Analytics 101: 3 Sources of Website Traffic
Knowing your customer is an important part of successful marketing. To this end, Google Analytics is an incredibly powerful tool for business owners. This free tool from Google provides business owners with information on the people who visit their websites. However, if you don’t know where to look or understand what you’re looking at, then…
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