By Winmark Business Solutions

When purchasing office equipment, you’ll often have the option of purchasing a service contract on the new equipment. In fact, sellers will often go out of their way to try to get you to purchase a service contract. The main reason for this is that the profit margin on the service contract is often greater than the profit margin on the piece of equipment you’re purchasing. continue »

By Bill Platt

Everyday it seems, people are asking me about the optimum number of inbound links they need to acquire for their Web site in order to rank well in Google. continue »

By Jason O’Connor

If your business Web site doesn’t have a blog, get one. A blog, if done right, can act as a direct and indirect mechanism that brings large amounts of qualified visitors to your site, many of whom may become customers. continue »

By Winmark Business Solutions

Hiring someone is hard work — especially the first time. You’ll make mistakes. After you’ve made the hire and the employee has been oriented, it might be time to sit down and make some notes about what went right with your strategy and what went wrong. continue »

By Enzo F. Cesario

Advertising should be part of any growing business. Regardless of what your business does, customers have to know about your product or service in order for them to use it. As the Internet becomes a primary source for consumer knowledge and increasingly, purchasing, it’s imperative that your company gets its message out through this medium. However, advertising on the Internet works differently than traditional advertising in that the customer must find the business instead of a business coming to the customer. continue »

By Winmark Business Solutions

The Going Green movement has evolved into something more than reduce, reuse and recycle. Implementing environmental initiatives in your business can save money, increase efficiency, and may even qualify small business owners for tax credits. continue »

By Donna Gunter

About a year ago I fired Internet Explorer as my primary browser. Why? Because it crashed on me constantly and took forever at times to transition from one site to another. I’ve found the Firefox browser much more user friendly, especially given the number of plugins that have been developed for the browser. continue »

By Winmark Business Solutions

Every business owner should develop a written guideline that sets forth the business’s marketing strategy. This document is used to judge the appropriateness of each action that the business takes. If a company has to take an action that is off-strategy, it may indicate a temporary emergency action prompted by competition or other factors beyond normal management control. Or it may indicate the need to change or revise the company’s marketing strategy. continue »

By Meredith Liepelt

According to Mashable.com, a leading authority on social media, there are currently over 12 million users on Twitter. Another resource called istrategylabs.com reports that 46% of Twitter users are college grads, and another 17% have post graduate degrees. Furthermore, 47% are between age 18 and 34, and another 31% are between 35 and 49. Males and females are evenly ranked, with women accounting for 53% of users and men 47%. If your target market falls within these demographics, actively participating on Twitter is probably worth your while. continue »

By Winmark Business Solutions

If you’re starting a business for the first time, you’re facing a challenge because you don’t have an established track record on which to rely. You do not have a history of operations, profitable or otherwise, and searching for help can be exhausting. However, there are several resources and organizations dedicated to helping women-owned businesses get started and grow successfully. continue »