Startups need funding to expand their new businesses. With a vast amount of funding opportunities online and within your community, you're on the road to acquiring a strong presence in your industry. Take care of the basic groundwork before you begin seeking funding and test your idea by getting clients now. Remember, part of your funding can come from your current sales. This article will review five steps to generate the rest of your funds to move your business forward. Focus on sales now to add the funds to your business bank account later and establish your accounting practices early. Soon your efforts will draw in success when you decide to pursue investors and other funds from creditors.

A new trend is spreading across corporate America - gamification.

But, what is gamification?

Gamification is where tools take parts of video game concepts and implement them into their company. That doesn’t mean that you’ll be playing Super Mario Brothers instead of making sales calls though. Gamification ties in concepts of completing tasks and earning badges for employees. It can help create a healthy culture of competition and push employees to a new height.

When it comes to maximizing your brand’s ability to grow, there are myriad of ways you can (and should) go about this.

For starters, never leave a stone unturned in your ability to try and bring more customers into the fold.

Part of doing this revolves around making sure you have selling opportunities on a number of fronts, especially if you do not have a physical storefront.

If you are planning on taking your company public, it is critical that you enlist the services of an attorney. An attorney will be helpful in crafting your IPO as well as making sure that you file all necessary paperwork with government regulators. What are some other good reasons to hire an attorney when going public?

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What kind of effort do you put into promoting your brand on a daily basis?

The answer to that question can of course depend on what kind of marketing/advertising budget you are dealing with.

If you are a sizable company that has a fair amount of financial capital, spending money promoting your brand can be rather easy.

As a new business owner, you may find it difficult to stay motivated at times. It is easy to feel motivated when you are making a lot of progress because then you will see how much all of your hard work is actually paying off for you. When it is taking a bit longer for you to see the outcome of all your hard work and effort, you may start to feel less motivated and even a bit frustrated. If you are lacking the motivation you need to run a successful business, there are several things you might want to start doing.

These days, many business owners are interested in surpassing their competitors and emerging as industry leaders within their chosen field. Unfortunately, many corporate leaders often lack the information necessary to realize this goal. One great way to ensure you can consistently outperform your competitors is by developing better marketable skills. Here are just four of many skills that can keep your company fresh and moving forward.  

We live in a digital world and, with the constant chatter taking place around us, now is the time to stand out and show your customers you’re there to enrich their experience with your brand. As social media and other digital platforms become a greater part of our lives, businesses are turning to new ways of marketing and connecting with their customers.

You may not think about making your website speed a priority, but when you realize it can (and will) impact your profits, you will want to begin doing so. Research shows time and time again that bounce and abandon rates for shopping carts increase as your website’s load time increases. Meaning conversion rates and profits will decline the longer your website takes to load. No good.

The solution? Implement some tools and tactics for speeding up your website.

Starting your own business may seem like a scary proposition. So many new small businesses fail after all. However, if you are successful, you could make millions as well as create something great as your legacy to pass onto your children. While the risks are high, there are certain things you can do to improve your chances of success. Below are a few small business recommendations to get you moving.