Communications are a cornerstone of any business, but sometimes your business communications can start growing out of control.

From mixed messages to a growing pile of emails, unchecked business communications can slow your business down and cause confusion for your team.

Why is regaining control of your business communications important, and what can you do to help facilitate that?

Have you embraced SMS marketing for your business?

SMS is a flexible and cost effective marketing method that can be used alone or alongside other marketing channels, with plenty of benefits for your business. 

Does your business need unified communications? The chances are the answer is "yes".

Unified communications (UC) means the seamless integration of all your regular business communications such as telephony, voicemail, instant messaging, conference calls, emails, faxes and SMS.

According to Business Weekly, there are more than 28 million small businesses in the United States. As a small business owner, you not only face steep competition from other small companies in your industry; but you also face a lot of competition when it comes to hiring the best talent.

At the height of the recession, employers were in the driver's seat when it came to hiring. However, as of December 2014, the U.S. unemployment rate had dropped to just 5.6 percent— the lowest it's been since June 2008. Therefore, the tables are turning.

There is a saying that you need to have money to make money. There are situations where that applies, but you should not allow that idea to prevent you from launching a business without capital. Here are six ways to launch without capital:

Do It Yourself

When you are first starting out, do all low-skill work, like cleaning the office, yourself. Do not hire out anything unless it is absolutely necessary. Furthermore, try your hand at any skilled work, such as graphic design of your first business cards—little things like that won't destroy the business if it is imperfect.

Launching a startup business is not for the faint of heart — nobody has to tell you that most entrepreneurs work long, hard hours, just trying to get their companies off the ground. With all that time spent in the office, talking on the phone and working on computers, it’s all too common to start feeling the effects of a thrown-together work environment that puts heavy strain on your neck and back, discourages collaboration and squelches creativity. That’s why, if you want to avoid burning out before your business even starts, you’ve got to put a little thought into your office design.

Data of all sorts is being gathered and collated on an unprecedented scale within organisations of all sizes and businesses quickly having their eyes opened to the potential benefits that an abundance of information might yield.

In this context, effective visualisation is emerging as a priority area for anyone involved in developing data strategies and an increasingly pertinent issue for enterprises in a huge variety of fields.

The financial health of your business is important to you, so naturally you have a desire to safeguard it. Having a risk management and/or loss-prevention strategy in place to protect your business' finances is one crucial first-step toward financial independence you can take. Employing any or all of the following five strategies will help you protect your business, its assets and its financial health.

According to the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP), the front desk should be considered the “profit center” of every business. The front desk can create a positive first impression, improve customer satisfaction, and increase profits as it gains loyal clients. Below explains different ways to ensure your customers receive a better first impression of your office.

It is often the case that employees who have been with a company for a long time become underpaid compared to similar roles within the industry. This is often a result of taking on additional responsibilities without an appropriate increase in salary. It is also possible that new employees have leapfrogged you with higher starting salaries and bigger pay rises. However the pay difference has come about you will need to negotiate with your employers for a bigger raise than they may be planning to give you.