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Find useful resources here on various business management, public relations, and digital marketing topics that will ELEVATE your business to the NEXT level. You can also sign-up for ELEVATED NEWS to be the first to receive news of our latest articles.
Change Your Mindset
Our experiences shape and inform our perspectives, opinions, and strategies. Adaptability and willingness to embrace change are essential for individual and enterprise growth. Humility in learning can also give you an edge and reveal opportunities before others recognize one exists.
To Build or Buy: The Software Dilemma Businesses Face
When equipping your business with the right software, the decision to build a custom solution or buy an off-the-shelf product can feel like a high-stakes choice. Owners must evaluate critical factors — budget, timelines, technical expertise, and long-term goals — to navigate this pivotal decision and ensure their software strategy aligns with business objectives.
The Mighty Matilda
Remembering heroes from our childhood stories can provide a sense of continuity in uncertain times and remind us that we have the power to overcome challenges and achieve our goals. One such character is Roald Dahl’s Matilda, whose determination and resilience remind us that it’s critically important to believe in yourself.
Push-To-Talk
On a liveaboard scuba diving trip to the Bahamas, Captain Tim explained the standard two-way radio protocols he encouraged his crew to utilize. Radio communication etiquette has application in any professional land- or sea-based setting.
Grow Like a Lobster
Sub-par performance chasing spiny lobster for dinner in the Florida Keys prompted further introspection on growth and strategy. Lobsters are a salient reminder that growth happens when you leave your comfort zone.
Transition Your Startup into a Thriving Business: Practical Steps to Success
For most entrepreneurs, few things are as exciting as taking a great product or service idea and turning it into a profitable business. But while it can be exciting to conceptualize starting a new company, there are many necessary steps to achieve sustainable success.
Improve Local Search Visibility with a Google Business Profile
Establishing a Google Business Profile is critical to your company website’s local search engine optimization (SEO) strategy. An up-to-date Business Profile with a steady stream of highly rated reviews delivers a boost to your website’s ranking in local search results.
Keep Your Mind in the Boat
Inspired by Daniel James Brown’s true story about “The Boys in the Boat” and the leadership traits required for a team to exceed all expectations, I interviewed a former competitive crew coxswain, Briana Gallo, to compare her experience with that of the Olympic team in 1936.
Marketing to Make Your Audience Happier
Who knew that paid advertising could make us unhappy? Or that only 50% of the people surveyed trusted the advertisements they saw, read, or heard? Business owners should focus on earned and shared media as a cost-effective, long-term marketing strategy that builds trust and makes their audience happier.
Should You Let AI Bots Crawl Your Website?
Business owners are faced with a decision whether to allow ‘AI bots’ to crawl their website data. Because websites are a valuable digital asset that can enhance company value, businesses should carefully consider the opportunities and risks of exposing their data to AI bots.
Failure is an Opportunity
Making reversible, "two-way" door decisions with quick outcomes increases the likelihood of any failure providing opportunities for personal growth, creativity, and innovation.
Get SMARTER
We’re approaching that often daunting time of year for setting annual goals. Whether it’s a financial forecast or a New Year’s resolution, it is important to set achievable, yet challenging, goals and milestones. Get SMARTER in your goal-setting process by anticipating roadblocks and detours on your path to achievement.
The Art of Win-Win Negotiation
Negotiation is an activity that everyone performs, sometimes daily. Two or more parties negotiate because there is a conflict of interest (or interdependent goals) - and the parties believe they can get a better deal negotiating than by simply taking what the other side will give them. We provide five strategies to achieve a win-win outcome in any negotiation.
When Humor is an Effective Tool in Crisis Communications
Humor can be useful in crisis communications - but only in certain situations. In the Journal of Interactive Marketing, researchers defined two types of negative events: defensible and indefensible. The researchers found that humor is only an effective tool in the context of defensible crises.
Monetize Your Squarespace Website
Both small businesses and nonprofits alike should be leveraging their websites as a passive source of income. Your website represents one of your less costly annual expenses - and it provides an opportunity to generate a high return on investment. Learn how your retail-based business can optimize your Squarespace e-store - and keep your inventory in sync with your physical storefront.
Six Reasons to Blog
Developing a quality blog, or a collection of articles that are relevant to your brand and create value for your audience, can offer an organization six opportunities to grow.
Why Outsourcing Your Marketing Makes Sense
Many agencies provide several types of marketing services, which could be as broad in scope as redefining a company’s overall marketing strategy or as narrowly focused as the review of a set of marketing analytics. Learn why outsourced marketing is a strategic advantage and how to structure an ideal partnership with a marketing agency.
Sustainable Procurement: An Ethical Business Practice
Sustainable procurement, as an ethical business practice, supports human rights, reduces carbon footprints, and benefits local communities. Learn more about the role of procurement professionals in driving sustainability initiatives, real-life case studies, and the importance of transparent reporting.
Secrets to a Sustainable Website: Keep it Evergreen
Websites are ecosystems that need continual updates in order to remain relevant and convey the right messaging that supports an evolving brand. To keep a website evergreen, organizations should consistently focus on two key areas: content and design.
Failure Builds Resilience and Antifragility
True resilience means being able to persevere, despite experiencing failure, volatility, or periods of uncertainty. Demonstrating flexibility, optimism, emotional agility, and strong problem-solving skills, truly resilient individuals survive and learn from their setbacks. The antifragile, however, not only survive but thrive because of failure and adversity.
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