15 Ways to Vet a Smart Investor

15 Ways to Vet a Smart Investor

 

 Talk to a Previous Company That Had A Period of Failure

The true test of a great investor is how they react when times are tough. Do they disengage? Provide helpful guidance and introductions? Do they redouble their efforts? Every investor has had struggling investments. Find out who in their portfolio went through tough times and get the skinny about what it’s going to be like for you when you face your most important challenges.

Read the full post on the Verge.

9 Things True Leaders Never Do When Their Business Hits a Bump in the Road

9 Things True Leaders Never Do When Their Business Hits a Bump in the Road

Getting emotional will not help you solve your issue. Always be dispassionate and analytical to find the best path forward at this critical time. What's more, everyone will be looking at you to set the tone. Getting emotional can yield untold organizational costs down the line, from productivity to employee retention, etc. Keep cool. This too shall pass.--Trevor SumnerLocalVox

Read the full post on Inc.

3 Tips to Help Small Businesses Get More Customers in a Post-Google Search World

3 Tips to Help Small Businesses Get More Customers in a Post-Google Search World

Because of the explosion of social media and mobile as the primary, go-to consumer device for local information, Google is increasingly losing search share to local directories, social media sites and maps apps. In the local space, about 50%1 of searches are done on directories and map apps – further fragmenting an already dizzying number of ways customers find out and select small businesses.

Read more at Young Upstarts.

15 Top Tech Jobs of 2016

15 Top Tech Jobs of 2016

Five to ten years from now we will be amazed by how uninformed our business decisions are by available data. Internal and third party data sources are more accessible than ever and smart IT leaders are being proactive in how to take advantage of opportunities to gain visibility, predict insight and provide greater client value. But the challenge is that a clean data architecture has to be built into the system to get the benefits. Trying to clean data going backwards is onerous, expensive and often fails to answers the questions you really want to ask.— Trevor Sumner

Read the full post on Mashable.

Don't Make These Common Mistakes When Raising Business Funding

Don't Make These Common Mistakes When Raising Business Funding

Not Having a Strong Second Option

Investors are very good at their job: maximizing their return. When you only have one option, you will get squeezed because you have no leverage. Another funding option, a no-funding operating plan, or a M&A option is critical to getting the terms you need in the timing you want. Create urgency by ensuring competition on both sides of the deal. – Trevor Sumner, LocalVox

Read the full post on Bplans.

6 Ways Local Merchants Can Compete in Organic Search Results

6 Ways Local Merchants Can Compete in Organic Search Results

Type in a generic search term for nearly any local service and you’re likely to see listings for national brands and retail chains. Local businesses have largely been pushed out of the first page of organic results for generic product/service keywords. Although Google displays a higher percentage of local search results for generic search terms than Bing or Yahoo, non-local, non-SMB websites still take up roughly 50% to 65% of the page-one space, according to a study by BrightLocal.

Read more on Streetfight.