A U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report revealed nearly half of all small businesses fail within the first four years of their existence. While there are many proven causes, including owner incompetence, inexperience, fraud and neglect, one killer culprit often flies under the radar: stagnation. Indeed, losing momentum—with respect to revenues, market share and other mission critical indicators—is one sure fire sign that an entrepreneurial endeavor is in grave trouble. The good news is that a stagnated organization can take a number of proactive tactical measures—many fairly easily instituted—to turn the tide, spur change and, in doing so, kick the growth engine back into gear.

Every business owner asks for growth, but when it comes, few are prepared to receive it. The greatest gift you can give yourself, as a business owner is being willing to be aware of the future. Not by getting endless psychic readings, but by communicating closely with your business and being acutely aware of what it will require next. You will be the greatest bottleneck in your business if you aren’t willing to be curious, flexible and ahead of today’s challenges.

Is your business website as successful as you would like it to be?

If the answer to that question is no, what are you prepared to do about it?

Whether your business is large or small, you undoubtedly have a fair amount of competition out there. As a result, it behooves you to give as much attention to what consumers want. In today’s digital age, much of what they seek can be found on websites.

No matter what type of work you do, safety on the job site is something that should remain a top priority. Not only will this help prevent injuries but it may also lead to improved productivity. To get started with keeping yourself and your team safe, below you will find six tips to help you get started.

Donald Trump is the new President of the United States but oddly, everyone seems confused as to how it happened.

Pollsters, journalists, academics you name it were (almost) all calling for a Clinton victory with many believing it would not be that close.

No matter how good the idea or the product, there are a number of things that can quickly drive startups out of business. Those at the helm of startups, evened seasoned business leaders, should avoid these common missteps if they want to succeed.

Not Understanding the Market

There are a variety of confusing aspects to being a business owner and managing your finances; however, one of the most confusing elements is doing taxes as a small business owner. Whether you are scrambling to find receipts or worrying over filling out each form correctly, tax season probably has your stress levels at an all-time high, but it doesn’t have to. Use these six tips to get your small business taxes right the first time around.

Whether it is fulfilling orders from customers or distributing needed parts to employees, for any company that relies on material distribution, having control of the warehouse and shipping process is a crucial factor in its success. Fortunately for those companies, setting things up properly can make instituting processes and procedures for a better warehouse system a much simpler matter.

Cyber-attacks are at an all-time high; even just recently we’ve seen a host of attacks which caused a blackout of such services as PayPal, Twitter, and Reddit, many of which could have been protected through the better use of encryption technologies in email servers. This includes distributed networks to reduce data loads, sweeping changes to security policies, and the use of encrypted drives like those from SecureUSB, to prevent petty theft which results in felony-level privacy leaks.

According to BusinessInsider.com, natural disasters cost over $1.5 trillion between 2003 and 2013. Creating a business continuity plan with strong project management fundamentals can minimize your impact. Below are four steps to ensure smooth sailing, even during the roughest storms.

Identify Milestones