Most companies today have some sort of presence on social media as part of their marketing efforts. If you’ve spent any time online as a business owner, you’d probably agree that building a following and getting meaningful reactions to your posts isn’t easy.

One way that some companies rise above the din is to not only promote themselves on social media, but also engage someone else to do it — someone who already has a huge following and gets copious views and “likes” a day. These individuals are commonly known as “social media influencers.”

If you’ve been in business a while, you might assume that you know exactly who your customers are. But, as the saying goes, “life comes at you fast.” Customer desires, preferences and demographics can all shift before you know it.

One way to avoid getting caught off guard is to regularly conduct a targeted marketing campaign. This is an analytical approach to studying a company’s market, breaking it up into segments and focusing marketing efforts on the most potentially profitable ones.

Many small businesses start out as “lean enterprises,” with costs kept to a minimum to lower risks and maximize cash flow. But there comes a point in the evolution of many companies — particularly in a tight job market — when investing money in employee benefits becomes advisable, if not downright mandatory.

The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) was signed into law to fight crimes commonly associated with illegal business activities such as terrorist financing and money laundering. If your business can be defined as a “reporting company” under the CTA, you may need to comply with new beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting rules that take effect on January 1, 2024.

The job market remains relatively tight for businesses looking to fill open positions or simply add top talent when the fit is right. That means it’s still important for companies to continuously reassess where they’re looking for applicants and which job candidates they’re focusing on.

Let’s say you have an unincorporated sideline activity that you consider a business. Perhaps you offer photography services, create custom artwork or sell handmade items online. Will the IRS agree that your venture is a business, not a hobby? It’s an essential question for tax purposes.

Few, if any, companies can operate successfully today without the right information technology (IT) strategy. And as businesses grow, their IT needs and infrastructures become even more complex and costly.

This push and pull of managing growth while grappling with tech has brought two broad approaches to IT strategy to the forefront: enterprise architecture and Agile. Let’s look at both so you can contemplate where your company stands and whether an adjustment may be warranted.

Following a blueprint

As its name implies, enterprise architecture is a strategic philosophy that focuses on mindfully designing or adapting a companywide framework for choosing, implementing, operating and supporting technology.

Think of an architect drawing up a blueprint for a commercial building — every aspect of that structure will be thought through ahead of time to suit the size, operational needs and mission of the company. So it goes with enterprise architecture, which seeks to ensure every IT decision and move:

Aligns with the goals of the business. Everything done technologically flows from the company’s current goals as established through ongoing strategic planning. So, for example, no new software acquisitions or upgrades can occur without approval from the enterprise architecture unit, which can be a dedicated department or a special committee.

Complies with standardization and organization protocols. Businesses using enterprise architecture construct their IT systems to integrate seamlessly and follow stated rules for access, use, upgrades, cybersecurity and so forth. They also organize their systems to support digital transformation (digitalizing all areas of the business) and adapt relatively quickly to technological changes.

In some cases, complies with an established framework. There are various widely accepted enterprise architecture frameworks for companies that don’t wish to do it all themselves or would like a starting point. These include The Open Group Architecture Framework, the Zachman Framework and ArchiMate.

Everyone is on social media these days, including businesses and their customers. This creates a natural — or shall we say virtual — nexus for companies to field questions, comments and complaints from buyers or those interested in their products or services.

Occupational fraud can be defined as crimes committed by employees against the organizations that they work for. Perhaps its most dangerous variation is executive fraud — that is, wrongdoings by those in the C-Suite. Senior-level execs are in a prime position to not only inflict substantial amounts of financial damage, but also severely impair the reputation of the business in question.

An impressive 432,834 new business applications for tax identification numbers were submitted during October 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Indeed, despite the relatively higher costs of doing business these days, plenty of start-ups are still launching.

One thing that every new company needs, along with a business plan, is a sensible budget. And that holds true for well-established entities as well. Let’s review some fundamentals of budgeting for start-ups, which can also apply in some shape or form to companies that have been around for a while.

Businesses of all stripes are about to embark upon a new calendar year. Whether you’ve done a lot of strategic planning or just a little, a good way to double-check your objectives and expectations is to revisit your business plan.

Remember your business plan? If you created one recently, or keep yours updated, it might be fresh in your mind. But many business owners file theirs away and bust them out only when asked to by lenders or other interested parties.

Reviewing and revising your business plan can enable you and your leadership team to ensure everyone is on the same page strategically as you move forward into the new year.

Many business owners spend most of their time developing strategic plans, overseeing day-to-day operations and, of course, putting out fires. Yet an underlying source of both opportunity and trouble can be human resources (HR).

Think about it: The performance of your HR department determines who works for you, how well employees are supported, and to what extent the business complies with laws and regulations pertaining to employment and benefits.

One way to ensure that your strategic HR decisions are likely to yield positive, cost-effective results is to apply a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis.

Information technology (IT) is constantly evolving. As the owner of a small to midsize business, you’ve probably been told this so often that you’re tired of hearing it. Yet technology’s ceaseless march into the future continues and, apparently, many companies aren’t so sure they can keep up.

Once you file your 2022 tax return, you may wonder what personal tax papers you can throw away and how long you should retain certain records. You may have to produce those records if the IRS audits your return or seeks to assess tax.

Once you file your 2022 tax return, you may wonder what personal tax papers you can throw away and how long you should retain certain records. You may have to produce those records if the IRS audits your return or seeks to assess tax.

In the wide, wide world of mergers and acquisitions (M&A), most business buyers conduct thorough due diligence before closing their deals. This usually involves carefully investigating the target company’s financial, legal and operational positions.

When it’s time to consider your business’s future, succession planning can protect your legacy and successfully set up the next generation of leaders or owners. Whether you’re ready to retire, you wish to step back your involvement or you want a solid contingency plan should you unexpectedly be unable to run the business, exploring different succession strategies is key. Here are five options to consider, along with some of the tax implications.

Absenteeism has typically been a thorn in the side of many companies. But there’s a flip side to employees failing to show up to work: “presenteeism.” This is when employees come in to work unwell or put in excessive overtime.

Now you probably appreciate and respect workers who are team players and go the extra mile. But employees who come to work when they aren’t operating at full physical or mental capacity may make mistakes, cause accidents, create confusion and ultimately hurt productivity. In other words, presenteeism can slowly and silently erode your bottom line unless you recognize and deal with it.

Address mental health

A common response to presenteeism is, “But we offer paid sick days.” Although paid sick days do generally help resolve incidences of a physical ailment or injury, they may not adequately address struggles with mental illness or extreme personal stress (such as a divorce or financial crisis). Some managers may raise an eyebrow at those taking a “mental health day,” so sufferers end up coming in to work when they really may need the day off.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a business that doesn’t value its customers, but tough times put many things into perspective. As companies have adjusted to operating during the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic fallout, prioritizing customer service has become more important than ever.

Without a strong base of loyal buyers, and a concerted effort to win over more market share, your business could very well see diminished profit margins and an escalated risk of being surpassed by competitors. Here are some foundational ways to strengthen customer service during these difficult and uncertain times.

Get management involved

As is the case for many things in business, success starts at the top. Encourage your management team and fellow owners (if any) to regularly interact with customers. Doing so cements customer relationships and communicates to employees that cultivating these contacts is part of your company culture and a foundation of its profitability.

Under tax law, businesses can generally deduct advertising and marketing expenses that help keep existing customers and bring in new ones. This valuable tax deduction can help businesses cut their taxes.