10 Important Lessons for Businesses Old and New

No matter where you are in your business journey, it’s never too early or late to learn. From those just thinking about starting a business to seasoned veterans, there are always new lessons to be learned.

Members of the small business community have learned plenty of those lessons. Advice and insights for business owners new and old are included in this week’s Small Business Trends Community News and Information Roundup.

Check Out These Top Websites for Entrepreneurs

(Forbes)

To be the best, you need to learn from the best. In a recent column in Forbes, Emily Inverso provided her picks for 100 best website for entrepreneurs in 2015. And Small Business Trends is honored to be included in the list!

Use SMART Goals to Achieve Business Success

(Cate Costa)

Setting goals is an important part of any business. But to have a better chance at actually achieving those goals, you need to learn how to set them. Here Cate Costa includes some tips for setting structured goals so that you can actually achieve them. And BizSugar members share their thoughts on the post as well.

Give Back to Help Your Company Grow

(HourlyNerd)

Companies that give something back to their communities or to charitable causes may have a higher chance of appealing to potential customers. Here, David Rader explains how giving back can help your company grow, and how other socially conscious companies have used that strategy to succeed.

Read These Tips for First-Time Entrepreneurs

(Noobpreneur)

Starting your very first business can be a bit scary. A lot goes into building a successful business. And first-time entrepreneurs often don’t really know where to start. But this post by Ivan Widjaya includes some top tips to help brand new entrepreneurs succeed.

Use the 80/20 Rule for Building an Audience

(Turninbound)

Building an online audience, much like building a business, involves many different tasks. You can’t just create content and expect readers to click over in droves. For that reason, David Kovacs suggests using the 80/20 rule to balance content creation with promotion. And the BizSugar community discusses the idea further here.

Create Your First Product Demo Video as a Total Newbie

(Process Street)

Creating a video to demonstrate your product can be an extremely effective way of marketing it and explaining it to customers. But for a newbie, it can be difficult to even know where to start. This post by Benjamin Brandall explains how to create your first product demo video and offers some great examples.

Don’t Believe This Disruption Myth

(SmallBizDaily)

Many people think that the disruption of an entire industry by a new and unknown startup can just happen overnight. But that isn’t the case, according to this post by Robert Terek. He explains why it takes a lot more time and hard work than it may seem for a business to disrupt an industry.

Think About a New Plan for Your Startup

(Startup Professionals Musings)

It’s impossible to anticipate every change or obstacle your business will face. But you can be sure that at some point, you’ll encounter more than a few of those. In this post, Martin Zwilling shares some common situations where startups are often forced to create a new plan. You can also see discussion about the article on BizSugar.

Use These Automation and Outsourcing Tools for Your Website

(Basic Blog Tips)

Maintaining a website can be a time consuming process. So, finding ways to save time and automate some of the tasks involved can be a huge benefit. Here, Zac Johnson shares nine automation and outsourcing tools that you can use to save time and grow your online presence.

Know These Social Media Truths Relevant to Every Industry

(Strella Social Media)

Different businesses have different strategies when it comes to social media. But there are some social media truths that are relevant to every business, regardless of the industry. Rachel Strella shares some of those truths here. And BizSugar members chime in with their thoughts too.

You can help shape future community roundup posts by suggesting your favorite small business related content for inclusion. Just send post suggestions to sbtips@gmail.com or submit your content to the BizSugar community.

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This article, "10 Important Lessons for Businesses Old and New" was first published on Small Business Trends