Small Business News

Some U.S. businesses are putting capital projects on hold due to the uncertainty over the Trump administration’s tariffs, according to the Federal Reserve.

Despite bullish stock markets and strong labor markets, the uncertainty around trade policy “eventually could have negative effects,” the Federal Reserve Bank’s Board of Governors said in the minutes for its June 14 meeting.

In some areas, the Fed found that “plans for capital spending had been scaled back or postponed as a result of uncertainty over trade policy,” indicating that businesses are not investing in growing their production capacity.

In the steel and aluminum industries particularly — two of the first sectors President Donald Trump targeted with tariffs on foreign imports — businesses “expected higher prices as a result of the tariffs on these products but had not planned any new investments to increase capacity.”

Trump is far from the first president to try to revive the steel and aluminum industries in t

Read more: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SmallBusinessTrends/~3/Yw9OEw2sBzo/small-business-impact-of-a-trade-war-with-china.html

No one’s doubting the power of a good customer testimonial. They’re among the most trusted forms of advertising your business can offer; they cost nothing on your part; and customers who write them for you are all the more likely to remain loyal to your business for having done so.

Of course, what makes testimonials so powerful is the fact that they’re written by people who have no financial stake whatsoever in your business. And the lack of bias that presumes is refreshing. It’s why we all turn to platforms like Yelp or read online reviews before we head to that restaurant for lunch or purchase that next gadget.

But what about the testimonials on your company’s website?

Those testimonials are only going to serve you if they meet certain criteria and are skillfully placed on your site. If they do and are, they’ll make a world of difference to your site’s conversions.

Here’s how to make that happen:

Stellar testimonials contain these

Read more: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SmallBusinessTrends/~3/yB7KDcHGRps/website-testimonials.html

Getting paid commission for selling products or services can be attractive to many sales representatives, particularly those who are experienced and successful in the art of selling. Offering generous commission-based salaries and incentives can help small businesses attract and retain selling talent.

Here are the top five small business industries where companies have sales teams in place that receive traditional commissions.

Sales people in financial advice businesses advise clients on how to invest their money wisely. Such sales advisors need to be well-informed and up-to-date about financial trends and investment vehicles to help clients make lucrative returns.

Statistics show that the lowest compensation for a financial advisor with up to two years’ experience is $50k and the highest compensation is $75k. Junior advisors with three to five years’ experience can expect to earn between $100k and $150.

It might be clothes, sunglasses or high-e

Read more: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SmallBusinessTrends/~3/rAEBx4re0Zw/2018-average-sales-commission-rates-by-industry.html

Online marketing is attractive for its cost-efficiency and sheer potential reach, but sometimes, it’s outclassed by traditional marketing strategies. Though mistakenly seen as a dying industry, trade shows are as popular as ever, and they have the potential to be even more valuable than their online marketing counterpart strategies — so long as you know what you’re doing.

If you’re wondering why trade shows are still valuable, we get it. trade shows can be expensive — usually a hundred to a few hundred dollars per square foot of space, depending on your industry and the nature of the event.

But consider the distinct advantages:

Read more: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SmallBusinessTrends/~3/ZRj6oTMGes4/first-trade-show.html