FastUpFront Small Business Blog

If you are like most small business owners, then chances are your ’08 holiday sales were a bit lackluster. But don’t despair. By introducing a few changes in the way you operate your business, you can brighten your outlook for the new year. As a follow-up to my previous post on creative marketing techniques, here [...]

In the face of a glooming recession, much of the business world has adopted a hang on mentality when it comes to their employees. Rather then having to go through the process of loosing and later replacing productive, experienced workers, many companies are doing whatever they can to keep their workforces intact. Currently, the most [...]

With holiday sales slumping across the board and consumer confidence holding at all-time lows, some small businesses are finding creative ways to keep customers coming and buying. If you are looking for ways to revamp your marketing strategy without straining your budget here are five techniques that work. And as you can see from the [...]

As our economy sputters along, the issue of health care has become a real headache. With the cost of health insurance on the rise amid a general push towards bootstrapping and business restructuring, businesses big and small are struggling to provide a decent plan for their employees, and those who have recently lost their jobs [...]

As I scan the media these days, I often come across the personal accounts of people who were drowning in debt yet were able to pull themselves out and make their way towards financial stability. Since these people tend to be representative of the “average Joe,” the display of resilience and discipline is particularly inspiring. [...]

Want to take a mental health day but are having trouble coming up with a good excuse? I scoured the web in search of the best excuses for not coming to work, and here are my top 30 finds. If by the end of this list you still need more inspiration, check out this site. [...]

It is common among small businesses that employees learn to become expert jugglers who must successfully manage numerous, often unrelated positions and responsibilities. And as the current economic downturn continues to hinder sales and cut into profit margins, this trend is only getting stronger. While combining positions may be a necessary step towards conserving capital and riding [...]

Does the daily grind of running a small business leave you feeling like you need a little inspiration? Here is a star-studded line-up of the most influential celebrities in business. Some of these pop icons basking in the limelight have used their personalities and business acumen to become successful business tycoons; others are savvy entrepreneurs who [...]

In about two months, the responsibility of running our country will be put into the hands of President-Elect Barack Obama. For me, as a small business owner, the thought of a new administration in the White House automatically conjures up a funny mixture of hope, anxiety, and nervous anticipation. Rarely in history has a new [...]

At a time when the American economy is reeling from the effects of unfettered credit card debt, housing foreclosures, and price increases on everything from a gallon of gas to a can of tuna, bank loans are fast becoming a shrinking commodity. According to a recent Federal Reserve survey, the banking world is responding to [...]