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Does every business have to grow to survive? There are 2 answers to this question. Growth when it means expansion, is not necessary for every business; indeed, it may be the downfall of the business, especially if the growth is mismanaged. But growth, when it means adaptation or rejuvenation, is essential for the ongoing health of any small business. No one can afford to simply rest on previous successes.

Ask yourself this question. "What kind of growth do I want to aim for at this time in the life of my business, knowing that I can shift this aim later?"  Your answer will depend upon a careful examination of your present circumstances and your motivation for seeking change.

Growing your business can be hazardous to your health and your wealth. It's a good idea to examine your fears about what could go wrong.

Fear of Failure: Are you afraid that you aren't up to the challenge? Will growth keep you awake at night, anxious about losing everything you have gained? Are you worried what others will think if you fail?
Fear of Success: Are you scared that success will change you and turn you into a different person? Are you worried about the impact of success on your family? Do you believe you don't really deserve success?
Fear of  Responsibility:  Are you anxious about taking on more employees and being responsible for their livelihood? Do you have the courage to make tough decisions about hiring and firing?
Fear of Losing Control: Are you frightened by the thought of delegating tasks to other staff or outsourcing, handing over equity to finance expansion or leaving quality control in the hands of others?

Also consider what will happen if you do not grow. Will other opportunities be available again? Will opportunities be better in the future than they are now?  Will your competitors grow even if you do not?
If you opt for growth, you can expand your business without a plan, making changes piecemeal using trial and error, but this approach is laden with dangers. Small business owners all too frequently abandon the practice of planning once they are through their start-up phase.  They forget to update their business plan, ignoring the need to review the fundamentals of their business performance regularly and to set new goals. But, if your business is truly to thrive, you will need to work strategically as it is the single most important managerial task of any company that wants to influence its future. 
                                                                                  
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#business growth, business performance, strategic planning, delegating tasks, business fundamentals, success, #responsibility, business expansion

Building and running your own business can be lonely and challenging. There is nobody to share ideas with or to help you plan how to reach your goals. For many entrepreneurs, this is very important. Having weekly chats or meetings your goals and what you have achieved, helps you to stay on track and take note of the areas that you are struggling with. If for some reason you didn't achieve your goals for that week, then you have a partner to try and figure out how to get over the hurdle. You can also brainstorm with your buddy on marketing ideas and business strategies. Here are some tips to help make this business buddy system work:

• Be clear about what you want in a buddy and about your goals
• Don't choose a friend; rather, find a buddy through your chamber of commerce, a service club meeting or at other networking events
• Choose someone in a different sector to avoid competition, and with different skill sets that will complement your own
• Set a schedule of how often you will meet and for how long
• If the relationship is not working, fire your buddy and find a new one.

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#accountability, #business strategies, marketing ideas, skill set, business relationship, chamber of commerce, networking events,

The rubber band was invented 172 years ago by William Spencer. Even though the rubber band was developed and patented in the 19th century, at this point it was mainly used in factories and warehouses, rather than within the common household. This improved thanks to William Spencer of Alliance, Ohio. The story goes, according the Cincinnati Examiner, that in 1923, Spencer noticed the pages of the Akron Beacon Journal, his local newspaper, were constantly being blown across his and his neighbors' lawns. Consequently, he came up with a simple solution for this. As an employee of the Pennsylvania Railroad, he realized where to acquire free rubber pieces and discarded inner tubes – from The Goodyear Rubber Company also established in Akron. He cut these pieces into round strips and started to wrap the newspapers with these bands. They were the perfect solution and worked so well that the Akron Beacon Journal bought Spencer's rubbers bands to do the deed themselves. He then proceeded to sell his rubber bands to office supply, newspaper goods, and twine stores across the region, all the while continuing to work at Pennsylvania Railroad (for more than a decade more) while he built his business up.
 
Spencer also opened the first rubber band factory in Alliance and, then, in 1944 the second one in Hot Springs, Arkansas. In 1957, he designed and patented the Alliance rubber band, which actually set the world rubber band standard. Today, Alliance Rubber is largest rubber band manufacturer in the world, churning out more than 14 million pounds of rubber bands every year.
 
Therefore, next time you are shooting a friend with this little elastic device, you can thank William Spencer for the simple, yet amazingly useful rubber band. 

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 #invented, Goodyear, patented, elastic, #manufacturer, business, decade, newspaper,                                                       

1. The Eileen-Fisher Women-Owned Business Grant
Female #entrepreneurs who are in need of capital to expand a business can apply for the Eileen-Fisher Women-Owned Business Grant. Eileen-Fisher awards five women with grants up to $120,000. To be considered for this grant, yours must be a woman-owned company that promotes social and environmental change. Your business must have existed for at least three years, and you cannot have earned more than $1 million in annual #profits. 
14 more grants you can apply for..read more here

Technology - Those old monitors, PC cases and dot matrix printers belong in a museum, not your office. Many city-run recycling centres will take them at no charge to you, letting you free up valuable space. One of my personal favorites that I have dealt with on several occasions is reBoot Canada and ERS (Electronic Recycling Services)

**End of this series**

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Hello, I hope you enjoyed this series and found the content valuable. Do you need help writing content or creating graphics for your blog?  I can write content, schedule posts for you and manage your social media platforms to drastically optimize your online presence. Presto can help you take your business to the next level. Let's chat today. Your freedom is waiting!

Social Media accounts -Do you have that Flicker business account someone told you to create? Assess what social sites are working best for you and that you enjoy using. Close accounts you no longer use and perhaps open a new account with a service that you feel is a better fit for your business.
**Visit again tomorrow for Tip#4**

Contact lists. Go through your contact lists to make sure they are organized and up-to-date.  This is a great opportunity to re-establish communication with those you haven't heard from in a while.  Don't be afraid to delete those you have no intention of working with again.
**Visit again tomorrow for Tip #3**

With spring just around the corner, you're probably already making plans to clean out your basement or garage. But did you know the place that might need to biggest cleaning could be your business?  Here are a five tips to help you become more efficient and organized by removing the clutter that can bog down your business.

#1 -Email and files. If you use an email client such as Outlook, check your Spam, Sent and Deleted folders. They may contain hundreds of emails dating back years. These can take up valuable disk space ad slow down your system. Organize them by date, subject or sender, then highlight and delete the ones you no longer need  Also look through your computer's folders for files or programs you no longer need or use. There are plenty of commercial applications that can easily do this for you.
**Visit again tomorrow for Tip #2**