Sat. Sep 26th, 2020

Finance

Which One Do I Need?

By Diane 21 hours ago

Discover the pros and cons of hiring a freelancer and learn when it really does make more sense to bring on an employee instead.

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5 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.


You need help, but you’re trying to figure out whether it can be on a contract basis or whether you need to payroll someone. This question comes up a lot and it has important implications for working relationships. Do you need an arrangement with a contractor or do you need to hire a regular employee? With millions of freelancers in the U.S. alone, you have your pick of qualified candidates. Take a step back and do some homework to figure out whether you truly need an employee or an independent contractor.

When you have an employee on payroll,

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The Treat Method

By Diane 2 days ago

Make your customers feel so good about their decision to give you their business that they do it over and over again.

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3 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.


The Tall One, aka my husband, is so embarrassed by me. I am a grown woman saying loudly multiple times a day as I go out the door, “Wanna go potty? Go potty! Go potty!” with pure excitement and joy in my voice.

And to be honest, I kind of love being a cheerleader for my puppy (like I was born for this) but that’s not why I do it.

I do it because I am encouraging Daisy’s positive behavior with positive reinforcement. You use my lawn for your potty instead of my office, you will be met with

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Google’s Big Move to Disrupt and Upend Higher Education

By Diane 3 days ago


5 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.


Bob Dylan sang, “For the times they are a-changin’” That’s what I thought of when I read that Google announced they were going to start offering six-months courses to give people the skills needed to acquire jobs that are in-demand. The cost? An astonishing $300. All I can say is “About time.”

Like the CEO of Alibaba, Jack Ma, I started out my career as an English teacher. In 2008, I saw the writing on the wall with the shift in the market and reinvented myself. I read, listened to, watched, attended, and absorbed every book, CD and seminar I could get my hands on to prepare for the second half of my career.

What frustrated me about the educational process was how slow it was to adapt to our fast-changing world. Outside

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Are You Experiencing Mentor Whiplash? Here’s How to Manage Too Many Opinions.

By Diane 4 days ago

Seeking advice is great, but conflicting opinions can leave a founder’s head spinning. Here’s how to manage mentors.


5 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.


At Blue Startups, a venture accelerator in Hawaii, we are about to enter into our 12th cohort, and as such we have seen a lot of founders (over 300) and a lot of mentors (over 150) interact over the years.  So, how can you get the most out of these relationships?  Seeking advice is an important part of the entrepreneurial journey, but you have to know how to take it.

Let’s say you have back-to-back meetings with mentors on the topic of sales. One advises you to build a sales team and tackle direct sales, the other advises you to sell through distribution partners. You come out of these meetings reeling — which direction do you go? 

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How Law Firms and Professional Services Have Adapted to Survive Covid-19

By Diane 5 days ago


5 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.


Corporate law firms have ridden out the Covid-19 shutdown relatively well so far. For every area of law that’s seen a fall in demand — such as litigation and financial accounting cases — it seems like others have presented new opportunities.

Law firm leaders we work with are reporting a jump in activity in employment and labor cases, steady work on intellectual property, and are expecting opportunities to pick up in the M&A and bankruptcy arenas as the economic fallout of the pandemic settles in. 

What has been disruptive for the sector — and other professional services — is the sudden inability to carry out business development in the usual ways. Traditionally, business development has relied heavily on business conferences, wine-and-dine events, and travel for in-person meetings and networking.

Related: 3 Strategies to Improve Your Customer 

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10 Mistakes People Make When Starting a Digital Marketing Agency

By Diane 6 days ago


5 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.


Starting a new business comes with unique challenges, and those first years are essential to your long-term success and growth. If you’re starting a digital marketing agency, you will run into specific challenges and may make some of these common mistakes. Here’s what they are and how you can avoid them.

Mistake 1: Not setting the right expectations

Like in any other type of business, setting the right expectations for your clients is a must. Don’t overpromise, especially when you’re not sure if you’ll deliver those results. It’s better to let go of a lead with unrealistic expectations rather than closing the sale and having to deal with an upset client along the way. Be honest with yourself and with them.

Mistake 2: Going into debt

Don’t go into debt. Debt can often represent a problem

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