News

6 Law Changes That May Affect Your Business in 2020   Ahhh 2020. A year in which the futuristic movies Blade Runner and Back to the Future are both now set in the past. If that doesn't blow your mind, you’re either under 25 or not one for movies. Not impressed? Then how about some of the big changes that are taking effect for small business this year? Many of these were signed into law a ...read more

Western Sullivan Public Library Announces Children’s Story Hour in January Storytime: We'll read together, sing songs, learn age-old rhymes, participate in felt board type activities, craft and play with our friends! This program is intended for ages 3-5, but all are welcome. We’ll meet at 10:30 am on Tuesdays (January 7th & 14th) at the Tusten-Cochecton Branch of the Western Sullivan Public ...read more

Johnny the Bagger: a Customer Service StorySeveral years ago,  a motivational speaker at a convention shared the story of “Johnny the Bagger.” The presenter was hired by a large supermarket chain to lead a customer service program, and she shared that experience with us.In her presentation to the employees of this supermarket she said, “Every one of you can make a difference,” and she challenged ...read more

Help Your Customers Fall in Love Even If Your Brand Isn't George Clooney Customers want to do business with companies they know, like, and trust. You've likely seen extremely dedicated fans of the Fortune 100 brands. They wait in ridiculously long lines for product roll-outs; they refuse to buy from a competitor; and they think every other brand in that category is inferior.  But how can you ...read more

Chamber Membership: Getting Out What You Put InThere’s a saying in chamber circles that a chamber membership is like a gym membership. You get out what you put in. You can’t join a gym, never go, and expect to have abs like Ryan Gosling. But is a chamber membership really like going to the gym? That depends on whether you like going to the gym or not.Getting Out What You Put in to ...read more

Experience Is the New Marketing Gimmick I've worked with many businesses in creating content for their website. When I do, one of the questions I ask is what makes them different from their competition. Almost always they answer their customer service and their willingness to stand behind their product or service. Perfect. Except…   Every business thinks they have these things. And even if they ...read more

31+ Social Media Posts to Improve Your Holiday Marketing The fall and early winter are a treasure trove of holidays.  It seems like we go from one to the next. That's why it's incredibly important to make sure you're using these momentous occasions in your marketing.     Have you ever noticed how retail goes straight from one holiday to the next? One of the reasons for that is because holidays ...read more

4 Ways a Chamber Membership Can Balance Out Seasonal Business If your business is seasonal, it probably feels a lot like feast or famine. You may love your seasonal crowds but hate the fear you won’t last long enough to see your next one. Seasonal businesses or businesses in towns with a seasonal draw struggle with year-round consistent revenue. While you might not ever achieve revenue equality ...read more

Do you track the number of sales you make along with the revenue? Of course you do. How do your numbers look? Are you increasing or remaining the same? Hopefully you’re not down this year but if you are, these may be some of the reasons why and what you can do to fix them: You Can’t Compete on PriceI’m making a broad generalization here, but as a small business you can’t compete on price with the ...read more

In a recent survey by Daysmart Software, 54% of small business owners admitted to being worried about making enough money. Making money is a common concern because not only does it factor in bringing in enough clients or customers but also ensuring your products or services are priced right and negotiating any cash flow problems.   Small business owners have lots of stressors as they follow ...read more