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A Good First Impression
Here's something I learned early on in my sales career—first impressions matter! If there's one thing to always be mindful of, it’s to pay attention on how you're coming across to the people that you're communicating with. It's even more important when you're...
How to Drive Traffic to Your Amazon Business with Instagram
Are you looking to give the presence of your Amazon store a jumpstart on social media? Are you tired of relying on Amazon search for new sales and want to establish a presence outside of the platform? Instagram is the perfect social media platform for eCommerce...
Big Changes Come for Business Users as Google Plus Shutdown Looms
If you use it for your small business, you probably know the end of Google Plus is near. The consumer side of Google Plus will shut down in April 2019, but the company started implementing changes starting on February 4, 2019. The shutdown comes months before the...
Refining Matters: Focus on the Pawn Industry
The pawn industry enjoys a unique relationship with United PMR. As the largest US-owned primary refiner in the country, United exclusively services the jewelry industry. A major source of jewelry for recycling and refining is the pawn industry. Dating back to ancient...
Amazon to start collecting state sales taxes everywhere
On Saturday Amazon (AMZN) will start collecting sales taxes on purchases in the last four states where it wasn't doing so: Hawaii, Idaho, Maine and New Mexico. Four other states -- Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon -- have no sales tax, while a fifth,...
Small Businesses Take Center Stage at Facebook Summit
Facebook has introduced a new way for Pages to connect with Instagram and another to widen or create new small business communities. The announcements came at a Facebook Communities Summit that took place on February 7 at the company’s Menlo Park HQ that hosted 400+...
Behind the Counter: Qualifying Customers
When it comes to running a successful pawn business, one of the most important skills for a broker to have is the ability to qualify their customers. Qualifying your customers is like vetting a new hire; you need to see if it's going to be a good fit. We've all had...
What is WiFi Marketing and How Can it Help Your Small Business?
WiFi marketing is being touted as the latest must-have for your small business toolbox. There’s good evidence to support this when you consider recent reports stating WiFi is airborne in more ways than one with 82 airlines now offering it inflight. WiFi is everywhere...
Bill Proposes $15 Federal Minimum Wage by 2024, How Will Your Business Cope?
House Democrats introduced a bill Wednesday that raises the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2024. Small business owners have “grave concerns” over the economic impact of the bill, Job Creators Network President and CEO Alfredo Ortiz says. A $15 minimum wage...
The DIXIE Pawnbrokers Trade Show 2019
Every year, the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama get together to share ideas among pawnbrokers and get up to date info concerning the industry and what we all need to concentrate on for the coming months. This year, South Georgia and the Florida...
10 Small Steps You Can Take to Make a Big Impact on Your Business in 2019
Not every step you take to move your business forward will be a big one. But sometimes, even small steps can make a large impact on your future. Here are some recent tips and insights from members of the online small business community about big and small steps you...
Thinking about a Customer Review Strategy? Here are 9 Ways to Make the Most of One
When customers speak, brands listen. That’s the baseline for doing business in a customer-centric economy. That’s why you just can’t emphasize the importance of customer reviews! Customer reviews have come a long way from simple word-of-mouth recommendations to...
What is a Good Profit Margin for Your Business?
Like the name suggests, a profit margin is the money you make in your small business after you’ve divided sales by all your costs. Small Business Trends got in touch with some experts in different industries who narrowed down what the numbers might look like for your...
Behind the Counter: Disgruntled Customers
I've been in the pawn business for over 20 years and you better believe that I've seen my fair share of unhappy clients. The first time you're faced with an upset customer, it's a lot to take in. Even the most experienced brokers will have their hands full when it...
The government shutdown has some furloughed federal employees turning to pawn shops for cash
It's been 25 days since the longest government shutdown in US history started and some of the 800,000 furloughed federal workers are being forced to find new ways of making ends meet as they remain without paychecks. One of the ways some employees are raising extra...
How to Calculate Markup for Your Business
Markup is defined as the selling price for goods and services as opposed to how much it costs to make them. Small businesses need to keep in mind that the markup is different from some other terms like margin and profit.
10 Payroll Changes for 2019
According to the SBA, small businesses employ nearly half (47.5%) of all workers in the U.S. If you have employees, your payroll likely is different for 2019. Here are 10 changes to note:
How the Latest Government Shutdown May Impact Your Small Business
We are now on the third government shutdown of the last 13 months, with the two previous instances taking place in January 2018 lasting two days and February 2018 for just nine hours. The impact of both shutdowns was minimal. This time around President Trump is...