A business that makes nothing but money is a poor kind of business

~ Henry Ford

A new year, a new beginning. A time for contemplation. What did you accomplish last year? Did you evolve your business, your team, yourself? Where did you miss the mark? How can you improve this year?

Communication is central to just about everything we do, every day. This we all know and are constantly reminded of when we find ourselves in or witnessing common misunderstandings or failed conversations. Nowhere is it more essential to have clear communication though than in correspondence with clients regarding SEO, reputation management, or other campaigns that a firm is managing. Given the nature of reputation management, however, mutual understanding here is paramount. Reputation management deals with the most important stock a company or individual has being their brand image and public-held perception, making it perhaps the most deserving campaign of quality communication.

Personalization is becoming an even bigger part of SEO strategies at the start of 2012.  The search giant, Google, in its attempt to gain some of Facebook's social networking market share, is rolling out its Search Plus Your World feature presently.  This feature is entirely designed to incorporate personalized, social media elements even further into Google's algorithms than ever before and SEOs now have another powerful tool at their disposal.

As a business owner, I have always looked up to Donald Trump.  He is a very successful business man and I love his straight forward personality.  Recently I came across a short video he shared from his desk about the worst employee and boy could I relate!

For anyone who is in the process of starting up a new small business, the thought of office equipment may be secondary with all that is needed to get things up and running.

That being said, having the right office equipment in place from day one and making sure you are saving wherever possible with utilities, etc. should be a primary focus, especially in these challenging economic times.

In as tough an economy as the one we currently find ourselves in, rare is the small business which can safely say they aren't going out of business anytime soon. Just about all of us are watching our backs, but most of all we're hankering for ways to cut the amount we spend on overheard without making the tough calls when it comes to laying off workers. For companies that are strictly service, and even more so for companies that are strictly digital, making the move toward a virtual office is probably the smartest decision they could make when it comes to saving money.

Companies lose an average of 10 to 30 percent of their customers each year. Much of this loss can be attributed to poor service. Companies that focus on customer retention tend to see profits grow anywhere from 25 to 100 percent annually. Nonprofits that focus on customer retention often see reductions in turnover and better results. In business, we all strive to provide outstanding customer service. Unfortunately, we don't always live up to those ideals. Here are four keys to unlocking richer, more meaningful relationships with your customers:

Sales Training STEP #1: Build a Relationship Consensus

Before you partner with another rep, be sure to conduct a pre-opportunity meeting with your potential partner. Hash out a working agreement of who is going to do what and when. Build a plan of action to address the opportunity, spreading the work appropriately among the partners who will be contributing (and benefiting) from the successful sale.

So many important things have been learned and are still to be learned when starting a new business such as Custom Flipz. Many people have good ideas and some even go as far as putting those ideas on paper but yet never take the time to actually follow through and make them a reality. What good is a dream or a goal if you are not motivated and dedicated to see it to the finish? This is what sets Custom Flipz apart from other dreamers; we follow up and follow through. We  know from experience that there will be many ups and many more let downs but having a positive attitude and a strong support team on your side is often then encouragement you need to make it to the next step to succeed.

QR codes, or quick-response codes, have been around for nearly two decades, but it has not been until recently that companies are beginning to embrace these mysterious black and white squares. If you are still a bit in the dark, feel free to get up to speed on QR Codes by reading our short post.