Most of us can recall at least one great teacher who really made a difference in our lives. Bosses can be the same. There are the bosses who teach, mentor, guide and help you grow in your career, and then there are those who rule more like Genghis Khan and make life miserable. Where you fall as a leader makes a difference for morale, productivity, retention and hiring.  Consider these comparisons: - Great leaders respect and appreciate employees - and know an investment in employees has huge return on investment (ROI) potential.  - Bad leaders don't value every opinion and lack a big picture view of how every effort plays a role in ultimate success.  - Great leaders see employees as human beings, and invest in their professional development and overall well-being.  - Bad leaders hide faults, and often see employees only as resources to carry out an agenda.  - Great leaders get in trenches and provide support as a team player, and always take ultimate responsibility for failures.  You can have high expectations - and exceptional results - without running your company like a boot camp. Effective leaders inspire, encourage and set the bar high (for their team and themselves). So, what kind of boss are you? Blog Credit: Manta ...read more

Crowdfunding has been a buzzword for some time, and while the jargon may be getting old, the buzz continues to echo through small business America louder than ever. This avenue of accruing cash to make a business plan go from a vaporous dreamlike state to hardcore tangible goodness seems to be the best thing going for many entrepreneurs. And getting the word out to raise funds en masse with a tweet.  Some basic steps toward getting the green: - Don't just tweet a link - add a personal message. The goal is to appeal to their need so they want to invest in your solution.   - Add relevant hashtags to help spread the word to people who aren't following you.  - Do a Twitter search to see if there's anything similar to what you're doing and join the conversation.  - Shorten your link and add a photo. Images help increase engagement and tell your story.  - Don't be shy - ask followers for retweets. Although few brands do this, the ones that do see an increase in engagement.  Keep in mind that engagement matters more than the number of followers you have - so the better you tell your story, the more likely you are to increase followers, gain additional retweets and (hopefully) hit your financial goal.  Blog Credit: Manta ...read more

Hackers. It's a word that evokes fear in the mightiest and the tiniest of companies. Everyone is at risk. And everyone needs security that rivals Fort Knox, as well as crystal clear employee messaging about the dos and don'ts to ensure data is protected. According to an IBM study, 95 percent of business cyber attacks are caused by human error - and it's often the stuff we take for granted at the root:- Click cautiously: Hackers are creating more believable emails and landing pages, enticing you to click and give up credentials. Always hover over the button to see if the URL matches the site it's claiming to be before you click. - Take precautions: Web browsers have features (check the preferences) that flag fraudulent sites - use them. - Protect passwords: Seems obvious, but humans often get password-lazy. Don't re-use them. Don't share them. And make them challenging. Passwords are your first line of defense. Remember, even with security software and processes inplace, protecting data has to start with people. Make sure you're covered. Blog Credit: Manta ...read more