The Hottest and Most Brilliant Business Tips for YOU – Tell Us, What’s Your Epic Business Story – and More

Our researchers at Credit Suite found these great business tips for you! Be fierce and score in business with the best tips around the web. You can use them today and see fast results. Your epic business story matters!

Stop making stupid decisions and start powering up your business. Demolish your business nightmares and start celebrating as your business fulfills its promise. Write a brand-new, exciting plot for your epic business story.

And these brilliant business tips are all here for free! So settle in and scoop up these tantalizing goodies before your competition does!

And by the way, if you’ll notice, we’re starting with some hard situations first. Together, we can sweep away the negativity. Here’s how.

#10. The Holidays Can Bring Stress, and So Can Business Deadlines – Here’s How to Convert that Stress into Success

Our first tip is all about managing stress, and turning it into success! At Success, this terrific article caught our eye. The article showcases three excellent best practices when it comes to stress.

A. Identify Your Stress Factors

When you know what’s stressing you out, you’re that much closer to solving your problem. Maybe you need to hire more people, or get more sleep. And hey, a vacation sounds pretty good, too.

B. Break Your Stress into Smaller Tidbits

You can’t eat an elephant whole. You’ve got to break the pachyderm into smaller pieces. And the same is true of stress. Yes, the XYZ Project is due in a week. So how can you manage that time better? Who can help? When you break the task down into chunks, it’s also easier to visualize success.

C. Convert Vague Stress into Actionable Facts

If your stress comes from not having enough people on the job, then how do you fix that? It’s more than just a vague, oh, go hire somebody! It’s also – identify your needs, look internally, and also (maybe) taking out an ad.

You cannot possibly do it all at once. Do it in pieces, and work on what’s defined and actionable – and you’ll see results.

#9. Danger: Critical!

The next tip is about nine warning signs your company is in trouble. We covered something similar a while back, and are so pleased to see Business Achievers tackling the same difficult subject.

It’s All Interconnected

If you spotted how these nine warning signs are similar to the issues coming up in tip #5, then give yourself a Christmas cookie or a sufganiyah if you like. Because one of the warning signs is a discouraging of company culture.

And if you spotted the relationship between the warning sign of a high amount of bureaucracy and our tip #10 about stress, then chug some eggnog if you’re so inclined.

Plus, did you notice how the warning sign of no initiative dovetails with our tip #8 about mistakes? Maybe switch to hot cocoa for your celebratory drink.

And did you see how fuzzy vision works with our tip #6 on problems with giveaways? Toss a peppermint stick in that cocoa; you’ve earned it.

Maybe switch to something healthy if you noticed how the warning sign of poor vertical communication fits perfectly with our tip #4.

Zig Instead of Zag

The article is terrific and very comprehensive, so check out how Business Achievers has imminent business trouble pegged. If you’re seeing these signs, then it’s time to change course.

#8. You’re Only Human

Our following tip concerns how making mistakes is—no lie—good for business. Leadership Thoughts turns the idea of errors at work on its head in this thought-provoking article. The article offers three keys to handling errors.

A. The Good

What’s a ‘good’ mistake? It’s one which happens when you try hard but… it doesn’t all go according to plan. Mistakes that come from sloppiness and carelessness aren’t such good mistakes.

B. The Original

Repeated errors are a cause for concern. But the first time around should be a learning experience. And learning should be supported.

C. The Rescue

Can you catch the mistake before it does a lot of damage? Then that’s a great mistake – because it comes with a great reaction and an even greater result. There should be someone whose job it is to take one last look, and give things a once-over, and a sanity check.

Because when that step is missed, the rescue doesn’t happen. It’s like removing the safety net from under a trapeze artist. That net is there for a good reason. Don’t ditch it.

#7. Dollar, Dollar Bills

For our next tip, we looked at how to spread the budget love around in your marketing department. Thrive Hive put together a wonderful way to make decisions about where to spend the bucks.

We are particularly thrilled with the emphasis on clear, measurable objectives, and on checking how everything is going. In short, save the tux and the wedding gown for the person you love, and don’t get married to your marketing budget. If something isn’t working, then you’ll need to figure out what that is, and make a change.

The easiest way to do this, of course, is to be continually measuring ROI (return on investment), and reassessing every quarter. Toss the bad ideas in the trash, and promote the good ones. And decide how long you want to wait and see on the ideas that are in the middle of the road.

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#6. Freebie Failures

This tip is so counterintuitive, but it works!

We have all heard about how giving away free stuff can help you with marketing, yes? UpViral took a look at just how companies can screw up free giveaways.

What impressed us the most is how the article shows how even a free giveaway can go south if it’s meant to do too much. And the relationship to tip #7 is just plain irresistible for us. Your budget needs definition. Well, so do your giveaways.

Tell people what they can win, and how long they have to enter. Make is painfully obvious how to enter the giveaway. And promote the hell out of it.

#5. So, What’s YOUR Epic Business Story?

Grab this tip while it’s hot!

The kind folks over at LLR Partners put out a stellar article, all about using internal storytelling to motivate your employees and improve the company culture.

Essentially, the idea is that when your employees are particularly far-flung, they might need a little extra oomph to really feel the company’s mission and culture are in alignment with their own. This is also the case when employees are far-removed from your customers. When asked, what do employees say you do? A shrug is not a good answer.

The suggestion is to tell the story of an employee – someone not at the managerial level – so other employees can get to know them a bit better.

A further suggestion is to tell customer stories. Show your employees that what they do matters, that it makes a difference.

Case in point.

A Story Within a Story, If You Will

Have you ever watched lawyers in a courtroom work? Real lawyers, as in, you’re in a courtroom and not watching them on TV. You might be a spectator, or a witness, or a juror. Or you might just be in the big jury panel, checking your watch and hoping you’ll be released in time for lunch.

For a plaintiff suing a big corporation for negligence causing injuries, which statement carries more weight?

My client has a medial meniscus tear in her right knee. Doctors say she has a 20% range of motion.

Or

My client has trouble walking. Her injury has made it hard for her to go up and down stairs all at once. So because she is in so much pain, she has to rest in the middle of going up or down.

They both say pretty much the same thing. But the second statement is far more compelling, because the jury can picture just how this woman’s life has been affected. The example given is a common, easy to understand one, whereas the phrase ‘range of motion’ might sound a little odd to non-lawyers.

Back to You

So, what to do?

Don’t just tell your employees that they’re doing great things – show them, with testimonials and the thank-you notes and pictures you get. And don’t just tell them their coworkers are terrific to work with. Show them. They’ll learn that Bob is an avid fisherman, and Sue is looking forward to singing in a local musical production.

Humanizing customers and colleagues can go a long way, and a story is the perfect format for just that.

#4. Hello? Is There Anybody Out There?

Check out this tip, all about increasing communication within your small business. The fine folks at Constant Contact says exploring alternatives to emails and meetings can get and keep communications on track. But we particularly loved two tips!

One is to keeping your listening at 70% of the time when receiving feedback. And the other is to check your ego at the door, and watch your ratio of ‘you’ to ‘me’. Psst – it’s not all about you!

#3. Hey, You!

It’s not your imagination: this tip can help you attract customers in ways you’ve probably never been told about before. Beyond Execute tackles just why you should maintain contact with your customers and prospects – and how.

And they even suggest offers and contests – but we think you should reread tip #6 to really get the nuances right and not spin your wheels.

#2. Luke and Leia. Peanut Butter and Jelly. Left and Right. Purpose and Mission.

Our second to last tip can give you a new perspective on how company purpose and mission can work together. And, synergistically, how one can make the other better, and vice versa.

Mission is the what. Purpose is the why. Forbes has the details.

And, surprise, surprise, company culture is a big part of both. Sounds a bit like tip #5, eh?

#1. Pine Needles. So Many Pine Needles.

We saved the best for last. For our favorite remarkable tip, we focused on getting together a last-minute holiday campaign, with the help of Awario.

Our favorite? Their first suggestion – to send a thank-you card with a seasonal greeting on it. You know, a bit of colored paper and cardboard. An actual excuse to visit the mailbox!

All kidding aside, there are so few occasions that any of us get anything in the mail that isn’t junk or bills, that your card in your customers’ mailboxes can make a splash just by being there. Pretty cool, huh?

So which one of our brilliant business tips was your favorite? And which one will you be implementing now?

Oh, and if you think we’ve been too holiday-centric this week—we might be even more next week. So keep your Santa hat away from those lit Kwaanzaa and Chanukah candles, and stay tuned!