Many small businesses ignore essential office upgrades and concentrate on pinching pennies, and the reality, however, is that frugality can ultimately lead to a company’s downfall especially in regards to preparing for office fires. In a recent infographic published by Eastern Kentucky University, it is revealed that over 50% of office fires occur due to cooking, electrical, lighting and heating equipment. Additionally, the National Fire Protection Association reports that fire departments respond to an estimated 3,340 office building fires annually. This leads to an annual average an astounding $112 million in direct property damage. Investing in equipment upgrades and regular maintanence is an easy way to prevent office fires, and one of the many described in the graphic. Read more...

When it comes to shopping, each of us has our favorite small businesses that we enjoy supporting. At heart, we’re sympathetic to their struggle with the big retailers. Increasingly, however, technologies are giving small retailers an upper hand to outplay the Goliaths that they have to face every day. Take the rise in affordable cloud-based POS systems that give these small businesses an opportunity to ready some important ammunition (stones) to help them battle like “David” in this ongoing combat with Goliath to win over customers. Many SMBs have already armed themselves with important stones; they just need a way to quickly gather and use their ammunition to maximize returns. Read more...

No matter what your business, it’s wise to know the ABCs of SOPs. First things first. “SOP” is the acronym for Standard Operating Procedures, tantamount to a rulebook for running a company. There might be an SOP for something as simple as running the copy machine or an SOP for operating a heavy piece of machinery. Read more...

Insurance won’t guarantee your company’s success but it will certainly come in handy if some sort of mishap, theft or other unforeseen circumstance arises. That being said, it’s imperative to know how much insurance is enough. It’s equally as vital to know the kinds of losses your insurance will cover and what events, if any, won’t be covered under your policy. Read more...