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There are a lot of negatives in the news about the big social media companies.

While those headlines tend to focus on the leadership at those companies, the sites themselves continue to be a boon for small business owners. They’re one centralized location to reach a large group of potential customers and followers.

This week, we learned about two recent developments on social media that can definitely help small business.

The first comes from Facebook and its expansion of the Stories feature that’s become more and more popular. Now, according to our reporting, you can share Facebook Stories in Facebook Groups. Is your business using either of these feature on Facebook, Groups and/or Stories?

And then, we heard from Square. They’ve just added a new feature to Square Appointments that allows you to reach customers and schedule appointments on Instagram and Google. It seems like a nifty automation and inter-connectivity tool that would benefit service businesses, especially.

It was a light week overall, being the last of 2018 and first of 2019. But check out the rest of the week in small business headlines in our news roundup below.

Management

10 Ways to Update Your Small Business for 2019

You don’t need to wait for a new year to update your business’s processes. But when the calendar changes, it serves as a good reminder to evaluate some of the tech and platforms you use so you can modernize your business and become even more effective.

Marketing Tips

Year End Report Looks at Email Marketing on the Biggest Shopping Days of 2018

The one marketing channel which has been delivering consistently for years is email. And with a record-breaking $7.9 billion in sales for Cyber Monday 2018, SendGrid wanted to know just how marketers were using email. SendGrid analyzed the data from the record 2.9 billion emails sent on Cyber Monday alone.

Research

94% of Consumers Say Your Website Must Be Easy to Navigate

The issue of Internet addiction is grabbing headlines, which is presenting businesses with a new set of challenges as people spend less time online. And when they do spend time online, 94% of consumers say they want an easy to navigate website. This is according to a new survey by Clutch which looked to identify the top website features people value most.

Small Business Loans

Lenders Look at Personal and Business Credit Scores, Both

According to US Bank’s Jessie Hagen, 82% of business failures are due to poor cash flow management skills. Failure to understand and manage cash flow effectively can lead to poor personal and business credit scores. Small business lenders look at both your personal and business credit histories which means personal credit affects small business borrowing.

Small Business Operations

Customer Experience Lessons Retailers Can Learn From the World’s Best Companies

How can your retail store deliver a best-in-class customer experience? Learn from the best, that’s how. Global customer agency C Space recently released its report on the best customer experiences of 2018, and retailers dominated the top companies on the list. Nine of the top 25 companies were retailers: Trader Joe’s, L.L.

Social Media

Top 2018 YouTube Trends for Small Business

Since its launch back in 2005, YouTube has become the premier online destination for video content. For small businesses, YouTube provides a number of unique opportunities, from video marketing for a specific product or service to earning an income through the YouTube Partner Program.

Startup

10 Amazing Tech Acquisitions in 2018 – and What Entrepreneurs can Learn from Them

In the tech world, companies change hands constantly — it’s hard to keep up! I’m proud to say that my first company, WordStream, was on the list of tech acquisitions in 2018. After growing it into a full-fledged unicorn, I sold WordStream to Gannett for $150 million (here’s the exact story of how I built and sold that business).

Technology Trends

New Catchpoint SaaS Performance Tool Addresses Small Business Tech Challenges

Catchpoint recently announced new SaaS Monitoring products specifically geared to Office 365 and Salesforce. The new products are designed to smooth over the issues for small business SaaS application users during outages and slowdowns. Small Business Trends got in touch with Vandan Desai, Senior Product Manager at Catchpoint, to learn more.

Image: Shutterstock

This article, “New Features from Facebook and Square Benefit Small Business” was first published on Small Business Trends

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Running a business can be very fulfilling. On one end, you’re making money doing something you love. On the other, you get to positively impact other people’s lives with your products and services.

Sure, it feels good to make money with your business. But it feels even better to know you’re making a difference to others by providing them with convenience and value.

Identifying Customer Needs

Good business owners are desperate to find a way to serve others, as they should be. When you focus on serving first, the money will come. So how do you find out what your target audience wants so you can better market to them and serve value? Here are 3 ways to achieve this.

1. Survey Them

One of the easiest ways to find out what your audience wants is to survey them. It’s best to start by surveying the people on your email list. Ask them why they joined your list and how your business can help them overcome an obstacle or meet a goal.

When building your email list, it’s important to be as specific as possible when it comes to setting expectations. You want people to know what they’re getting when they join your list and how you can help. It makes no sense to have a huge list of subscribers filled with people who aren’t your target audience and aren’t interested in your help.

By being specific, setting expectations from the start, and surveying your audience as soon as they sign up, you’ll learn more about their current situation and how you can help them. You can create free surveys using Typeform or SurveyMonkey and even offer a giveaway item as an incentive.

Analyze the survey results once people start taking it and pay attention to common answers, themes, or questions so you can use those topics to create content, products, services, etc.

2. Do a Discovery Call

If you’re looking for more in-depth feedback and ideas from your target audience, you should consider doing one-on-one discovery calls with a few people. This short call will only take a few minutes but it will allow you to ask several questions and get valuable feedback from people in your target audience. Think of it as your own mini focus group.

Think of it as your own focus group I did this last year and set up calls with around 15 email subscribers. I asked them about their biggest obstacles were along with how my business could help.

Their response allowed me to come up with more tools and resources to use in my business.

3. Use Social Media

It’s likely that your target audience is using social media in some capacity. It’s easy to find out more about them and what their interests are by using these platforms.

You can use your Facebook page to get insights on followers and your audience by using several of their analytics features. If you sign up for a Twitter ads account, you can use the follower’s dashboard to connect to your target audience.

Don’t forget about social media groups and public conversations. You can join Facebook groups that your target audience are in and ask them questions or simply take notes on their own questions.

I actually host a free Facebook group for my followers and it’s a great way to find out what my target audience wants.

Summary

Don’t try to reinvent the wheel when it comes to determining what your target audience wants so you can market better to them. Simply start by narrowing down who your ideal customer/client is and asking them.

Being straightforward will eliminate a lot of guesswork and trial and error. Plus, it will help you improve your reach when it comes to serving others and building a business you can be proud of.

Republished by permission. Original here

Image: Due.com

This article, “Apply These 3 Simple Techniques to Identify Your Customer’s Needs” was first published on Small Business Trends

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We don’t aim to read the tea leaves here, but it’s hard not to speculate.

This week, we reported on the most recent employment numbers from ADP. In the small business sector, 46,000 jobs were added in November 2018. Franchise businesses added 11,500 jobs in the same time.

Those are both healthy figures. And any new job added to the economy is a victory on its own.

But check out this other data from the 2018 Bank Of America Small Business Owner Report. It says 82% of small businesses are struggling to find the right talent for open jobs.

So, if you think about that alongside that new jobs data, you start to wonder: how long will it be before many of those new hires are replaced?

That’s just some of the news this holiday week. In the new year, let’s hope those jobs numbers keep going up and that small business owners get better at making hiring decisions.

Until then, check out the rest of the week in small business news in our weekly roundup below.

Technology Trends

Google Announces Shutdown of Allo App, Makes New Plans for Business Messaging

When it comes to search, Google has no equal, but the company just doesn’t seem to get messaging right. The shutting down of Allo two years after it was announced at I/O 2016 is the latest example. Allo App is Shutting Down Google officially announced it is shutting down Allo after pausing further investment in the app earlier this year.

Marketing Tips

Top 5 Small Business Marketing Automation Trends of 2019

In 2019, the top performing content marketing teams will have expert knowledge in marketing technology. That’s not a bold prediction – it’s the results of CMI’s latest benchmark report surveying the content marketing industry. But it’s important to also note that those top performing marketers aren’t using technology to simply put their marketing on autopilot.

Small Business Loans

Better Credit Gets Your Business Up to 20 Times the Loan Money, Report Says

Small and big banks, institutional and alternative lenders, and credit unions have been approving more small business loans in the past couple of years. However, your credit score will greatly determine the terms on which you will be getting the loan, this according to a new report by Fundera. This can mean getting up to 20 times more funding if you have a creditworthy business.

Small Business Operations

Anchor  Bookkeeping Offers Digital Accounting with Added Services for Small Businesses

With the 2019 tax season fast approaching, you may be looking for an easier way to file your small business tax return. Anchor Bookkeeping looks to solve this problem by offering a new digital accounting service with personalized features including in-house bookkeepers and CPA-approved financial statements.

Social Media

The Best 2018 Facebook Trends for Small Business

Facebook is the world’s most popular social network. So businesses should pay constant attention to the platform and its changing features. This year, the social media giant saw many updates that could impact small business users. 2018 Facebook Trends Here are the statistics and headlines that you should be aware of. Facebook Popularity Facebook has more than 2.

Photo via Shutterstock

This article, “Small Businesses Add Jobs, Google Announces New Direction for Business Messaging” was first published on Small Business Trends

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An SLA, or service level agreement, is an essential part of entering into any new service contract, especially for IT businesses. Whenever you gain a new client or vendor, this agreement is there to make sure all parties involved know exactly what to expect out of the relationship and what will happen if those expectations are not met. Negotiating this agreement is an important is vital for keeping terms as favorable as possible for your small IT business, while also protecting your other stakeholders.

Service Level Agreement Best Practices

Start with a Standard SLA

Though each SLA for your business may end up a bit different, you need a basic starting point. You can work with a legal representative to craft a basic template for find a template to start with online.

Alter Agreements for Different Situations

From there, you should change up the specific verbiage so it’s applicable to different situations. If you offer different levels of service, then you should craft a few different SLA templates to use for those specific situations. If not, you can simply update your basic SLA for each new opportunity so that it’s most applicable to that particular stakeholder.

Speak with All Stakeholders

It’s important to get input from anyone throughout your organization who may be impacted by your new agreement. Consult with your customer support or technical team to make sure you’re able to deliver on promises made in the agreement. Talk to investors or bookkeepers about rates. Be sure to get a comfortable range from each relevant party so you know what is possible during the negotiation period.

Seek Legal Advice

It’s also a good idea to consult with an attorney to make sure your agreement actually covers you in the case of any incident. It should be a solid contract that protects all parties involved. So an experienced professional can make sure you don’t leave any holes that leave your IT business vulnerable.

Leave a Safe Margin

It’s also important to consider your vendor contracts in context with your client contracts. Clearly, you cannot sell a product or service at cost and expect to sustain your business. So you need to leave some kind of margin to protect your business and support your operations.

Dan Goldstein, director of marketing for GMS Live Expert, a 24/7 Outsourced Help Desk and NOC for MSPs, said in an email interview with Small Business Trends, “When reselling services (help desk, NOC, SOC) or products with support contracts in place it is best to leverage your suppliers SLAs with a built in margin of safety.”

Pay Attention to Details

But SLAs aren’t just about the rates and the big picture stuff. They can also include smaller details that have the potential to impact your business. So if you’re provided with an SLA or yours is amended, you need to read through the entire thing carefully.

Include Incentives for Surpassing Expectations

SLAs shouldn’t just be about specifying what happens if something goes wrong. They can also include incentives or details that reward exceptional performance. These details can help to ensure that there’s always a reason for the service provider to continue delivering the best possible service even if the basic terms of the agreement have been met.

Don’t Be Afraid to Move On

SLAs are there to protect all parties involved. If the other party insists on terms that don’t leave you any margin or that you’re not comfortable with, then they’re probably not right for your business. Don’t force agreements into existence if it’s not a good fit.

Goldstein says, “If an opportunity requires you to stretch an SLA beyond your comfort zone, it’s likely best to move on.”

Monitor Performance

Once an SLA is signed, it’s important that you actually track your metrics so you can be sure you’re receiving and delivering what was promised. For instance, if you promise a very small amount of downtime for your service, then you need to carefully monitor that downtime and have alerts set when you get close to the limit so that you don’t go over.

Update SLAs Regularly

Throughout the years, your vendors, services and other aspects of your business are likely to change. So it’s important that your SLA can be amended from time to time. Leave room for updates and then set periodic reminders to review your standard agreements to make sure they’re up to date with your current practices.

Photo via Shutterstock

This article, “How to Negotiate a Service Level Agreement for Your IT Business” was first published on Small Business Trends

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Merry Christmas to all our Small Business Trends readers.

At this time of year, we reflect on the many people who regularly visit this site or who follow our updates on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Thank you for your support. You make it all worthwhile.

A big thank you from our Small Business Trends team — Staci, Leland, Shawn, Joshua, Matt, Amanda and Val.  And thanks to the small business experts who devote so much of their time and expertise to this community.  You’re outstanding!

Happy Holidays From Small Business Trends

A special greeting goes out to our readers from non-English language countries as well — at least the countries that I know of who visit our site.

We wish you Feliz Navidad; Buon Natale; Froehliche Weihnachten; God Jul; Boas Festas; Craciun Fericit; Joyeux Noel; Nollaig Shona Dhuit; Mele Kalikimaka; Nadolig LLawen; Kung His Hsin Nien; Glaedelig Jul; Kung Ho Hsin His; Vrolijk Kerstfeest; Pozdravlyau s prazdnikom Rozhdestva!

Those are holiday greetings in Spanish, Italian, German, Swedish/Norwegian, Brazilian Portuguese, Romanian, French, Irish Gaelic, Hawaiian, Welsh, Mandarin Chinese, Danish, Hong Kong Chinese, Dutch and Russian respectively.

And to all our readers who do not celebrate Christian holidays, we extend a warm winter greeting:

Shalom; Namaste; Salaam; Pleasant Winter Solstice.

We’ll be back tomorrow bright and early with more small business news, advice and tips for you.

Until then:

Peace on Earth, Goodwill to All

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This article, “Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Small Business Trends” was first published on Small Business Trends

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Most businesses have or are about ready to close for the holiday.

But not everyone. According to research, about 95% of employers observe Christmas and give workers the day off.

Still, that leaves 5% still open, working on Christmas.

And as we get ready to join with family and friends, let’s take a minute to think about where we’d be without them and thank the people working on Christmas.

After all, so many working on Christmas are working for a small business or are self-employed professionals.

Thanks to Small Businesses Working on Christmas

Here are the types of businesses open on Christmas:

Restaurants: Some families have made traditions out of visiting their favorite restaurants for a sit-down dinner. Don’t forget the thousands of Chinese restaurants that often stay open on Christmas, too.

Convenience stores and grocery stores: Run out of milk? Forget the butter? These stores have the staples to save your holiday dinners and often sell last-minute gifts for Christmas Day travelers.

Hotels: The staff at hotels open across the country deserve an extra token of appreciation on Christmas.

Gas stations: Where would you be without these businesses staying open on Christmas? Probably on the side of the road.

Medical Professionals: Not only are most doctors on call on Christmas, there are thousands of nurses, home health care workers, and all their support staffs and pharmacies who tend to those in need this day and every day.

Security Businesses: Your property may be closed and locked up tight on Christmas but there’s likely a small business security force responsible for its safety while you’re away.

Delivery and Transportation Services: Delivery drivers and couriers are likely working very late on Christmas Eve and starting very early the day after Christmas.

Movie theaters: It’s become a tradition to go to the movies on Christmas and that’s all thanks to theater employees working the holiday.

News Organizations: The news knows no holidays. From the print room to the news room, there’s always a light on at a news office near you.

IT businesses: If you depend on your site or network staying up while you’re away, these pros are there in case of emergency.

Service pros: If disaster strikes at your home or business, these professionals are only a phone call away. Thanks to all plumbers, electricians, HVAC pros, and more.

If you run into one of these people working on Christmas this year, be sure to thank them and tip accordingly.

Of course, there’s a good chance you’ll be working on Christmas, too. Remember a survey last year found a third of all small business owners will work on major holidays?

And we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention all the first responders, paramedics, fire fighters and police officers who work every day of the year.

Think of doing something nice for these invaluable members of the community.

Jim Sherman, owner of Firehouse Subs, will be delivering meals to first responders in Alabama for the 12th year in a row this Christmas.

Thank you to all these hard-working business owners and their employees from everyone at Small Business Trends!

And, finally a very special thanks to soldiers and military personnel stationed overseas and away from their families at Christmas. Without their service working on Christmas and every day, we would not be able to enjoy our holiday.

Image: Shutterstock

This article, “Thanks to Small Businesses Working on Christmas to Make Holiday Brighter” was first published on Small Business Trends

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When it comes to search, Google has no equal, but the company just doesn’t seem to get messaging right. The shutting down of Allo two years after it was announced at I/O 2016 is the latest example.

Allo App is Shutting Down

Google officially announced it is shutting down Allo after pausing further investment in the app earlier this year. The decision came about because Google wasn’t achieving the right numbers in terms of downloads and Allo just wasn’t getting the necessary traction to warrant additional investment.

For businesses and individuals who were using Allo, Google says it will continue to work until March 2019. In the meantime, the company is recommending users download their conversation for safe keeping.

Here is an instruction page on how to download your conversation history from Allo.

Google and Messaging

On the same blog announcing the demise of Allo, Google also revealed what is ahead for Messages, Duo, and Hangouts. The company said it wants to share the effort it is putting in developing a simpler communication experience.

For Google, this means having a capable default messaging experience for Android users the way Apple has managed to do with iMessage for iOS. But Google’s plan seems to involve upgrading different services to address consumer and business needs.

For Consumers

On the consumer side, Google is refocusing on Messages and Duo. Google will add some of the best-used features in Allo to Messages including Smart Reply, GIFs and desktop support.

It will also integrate Rich Communication Services (RCS) Chat with Google Photos and other services to make Messages a comprehensive communication app for Android users.

Duo is a video calling app which can be used on Android and iOS devices. On this front, Google is going to increase support for Duo on iPad, Android Tablet, Chromebook and Smart Displays this year.

The latest development for the app allows leaving a video message. Google also says it is adding more features based on machine learning to improve the quality and simplify the video calling process.

For Businesses

Consumer communication grabs the headlines, but the technology is even more important in the workplace.

Google is upgrading its Hangouts platform so businesses can collaborate more efficiently and with greater ease. Hangouts Chat and Hangouts Meet will allow teams to come together without worrying about compatibility issues.

According to Google, Hangouts will allow organizations to come together with their clients, vendors, partners, and others on a single platform.

As of right now, Hangouts Chat and Meet are available for G Suite customers, but in its “Keyword” blog, Google says at some point it will offer these features to existing Hangouts users.

One thing is for sure. Google is not giving up on its endeavor to create a robust messaging platform. It remains to be seen whether this latest restructuring — involving four apps and two categories — will do the trick.

Image: Allo

This article, “Google Announces Shutdown of Allo App, Makes New Plans for Business Messaging” was first published on Small Business Trends

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Managing the software behind the daily operation of your small business can get complicated and expensive.

The Zoho One Seminars which will be held across the country from January through March of 2019 will look to solve this problem.

The first seminar is going to be held in San Francisco on January 8, 2019. The one-day event will cover the Zoho One platform and the suite of business apps to help you run your business.

The free seminar is designed to give you a working understanding of Zoho One covering everything from an intro to marketing, accounting and HR, collaboration and productivity and more.

Register now by clicking the red button.

Register Now

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Featured Events, Contests and Awards

Zoho One Seminar
January 09, 2019, San Diego, CA

Joinour Zoho One seminar at The Point to learn how our complete suite of business apps can help you market, sell, support, account, collaborate, and analyze so you can spend more time on your business. Our free seminar will cover the basics of the Zoho One suite plus tips, tricks, and best practices to help optimize your business.

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Zoho One Seminar
January 08, 2019, San Francisco, CA

Join our Zoho One seminar at the Mission Bay Conference Center to learn how our complete suite of business apps can help you market, sell, support, account, collaborate, and analyze so you can spend more time on your business. Our free seminar will cover the basics of the Zoho One suite plus tips, tricks, and best practices to help optimize your business.

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Twitter Chat: How to Find a Business Mentor
January 10, 2019, Twitter, Online

Did you know that small businesses that receive three or more hours of mentoring achieve higher revenues and increased business growth? In recognition of National Mentoring Month, join us for a Twitter chat on how to find a business mentor hosted by the U.S. Small Business Administration (@SBAgov). Whether you’re an established small business owner or just getting started, we’ll be sharing tips and resources to help you succeed. Follow along with the hashtag #SBAchat.

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Zoho One Seminar
January 11, 2019, Austin, TX

Join our Zoho One seminar at the AT&T Conference Center to learn how our complete suite of business apps can help you market, sell, support, account, collaborate, and analyze so you can spend more time on your business. Our free seminar will cover the basics of the Zoho One suite plus tips, tricks, and best practices to help optimize your business.

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Zoho One Seminar
January 15, 2019, Miami, FL

Join our Zoho One seminar at The Confidante Hotel to learn how our complete suite of business apps can help you market, sell, support, account, collaborate, and analyze so you can spend more time on your business. Our free seminar will cover the basics of the Zoho One suite plus tips, tricks, and best practices to help optimize your business.

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Zoho One Seminar
January 17, 2019, New York, NY

Join our Zoho One seminar at MEET in SoHo to learn how our complete suite of business apps can help you market, sell, support, account, collaborate, and analyze so you can spend more time on your business. Our free seminar will cover the basics of the Zoho One suite plus tips, tricks, and best practices to help optimize your business.

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Zoho One Seminar
January 18, 2019, Chicago, IL

Join our Zoho One seminar at Gleacher Center to learn how our complete suite of business apps can help you market, sell, support, account, collaborate, and analyze so you can spend more time on your business. Our free seminar will cover the basics of the Zoho One suite plus tips, tricks, and best practices to help optimize your business.

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NorCal Franchise Business Expo 2019
January 22, 2019, Palo Alto , CA/USA

Have you ever wanted to be your own boss or add another growing business to your portfolio? This event is for you. Meet face-to-face with franchisors, gov’t non-profit agencies and funding specialists to determine if franchising is right for you.

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Women In Cloud Annual Summit 2019
January 26, 2019, Redmond, WA

This Summit will connect you, cloud industry leaders, women-led cloud companies and allies of all types. The 2019 Summit will explore providing ways to leverage and adopt cloud technologies to innovate, giving women access to personal and cloud-related skills development, accelerating ideas and access to resources including strategic partnerships, and identifying new ways to acquire customers & drive customer obsession. Join us Sat, January 26, 2019, 9:00 AM – 7:30 PM PST. Register today!

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Social Media Marketing World
March 20, 2019, San Diego, CA

Discover the best social media marketing techniques from the world’s top experts. Experience three phenomenal days with the best social marketers, discover the latest tactics, and master social media in 2019. Join 7,000 fellow marketers and influencers at the mega-conference designed to empower you with business-building ideas — brought to you by Social Media Examiner.

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Beachpreneurs Beach Camp 5
April 26, 2019, Daytona Beach, Florida/USA

For starters, we’re for Women Entrepreneurs only. During Beach Camp, you’ll have plenty of opportunity to learn, apply and mastermind with warm successful women.
You’ll also have time to sleep in and you’ll get long breaks to relax and walk the beach or go for a swim. We didn’t create a conference at the beach just to lock you away in a conference room from dawn til dusk. Beach Camp is a lifestyle focused event so you’ll be spending as much time enjoying your life as you will be focusing on your business. Join us today!

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More Events

• QuickBooks for Business – Live English Course
  January 09, 2019, Doral, Florida
• Recruiting Trends and Talent Tech LIVE! 2019
  February 20, 2019, Las Vegas, United States
• LEAP Tech Talent
  March 12, 2019, San Francisco, United States
• Transformational CISO Assembly in Nashville – April 2019
  April 23, 2019, Nashville, United States
• Predictive Analytics World Industry 4.0
  June 16, 2019, Las Vegas, United States
• World Blockchain Roadshow
  August 26, 2019, Multiple Cities

More Contests

This weekly listing of small business events, contests and awards is provided as a community service by Small Business Trends.

You can see a full list of events, contest and award listings or post your own events by visiting the Small Business Events Calendar.

This article, “Attend One of the Free Seminars on Zoho One Business Software Beginning in January” was first published on Small Business Trends

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