Barry Moltz shares his 20 plus years of entrepreneurial experience to help business owners get unstuck and moving forward in a new BizTalk Webinar Series.

Technology Hacks: How to Make Your Small Business Grow in Less Time will be held on Wednesday, June 20, 2018 at 1 p.m. EST.

Moltz is going to cover Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Text and Email Marketing, Business Automation and other technologies so you can grow your business more easily.

With the lessons and tools Barry will provide, you will be able to compete more effectively and deliver the best customer experience.

Join Barry at the Webinar

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Featured Events, Contests and Awards

FREE Webinar: Tech Hacks to Grow Your Business in Less Time
June 20, 2018, Online

Join us on Wednesday, June 20, 2018, at 1 p.m. EST as speaker Barry Moltz discusses the technology available to make it easy to grow your business, enable you to compete with larger companies, and deliver the optimal customer experience. Topics include: Customer relationship management (CRM), text and email marketing, business automation and more. Register today!

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Growth & Success Con
September 17, 2018, Online

This small business virtual conference is dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs at all stages who are stuck in the daily grind of building their businesses and struggle to get solid advice and guidance. An amazing panel of experts in various disciplines and business coaches will share tips & tricks on topics including Growth, Marketing, Management & Business Building for Success. Register today!

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More Events

• Digital Summit Portland
  June 12, 2018, Portland, Oregon
• TECHSPO LA 2018
  June 13, 2018, Santa Monica, California
• DigiMarCon West 2018 – Digital Marketing Conference
  June 13, 2018, Santa Monica, CA
• “6th International Conference on Computer Graphics, Animation & Computer-Aided Design”
  June 18, 2018, London, UK, London, UK
• Buy-Side Risk USA 2018, New York
  June 19, 2018, New York, NY
• Supply Chain Leadership Forum USA
  June 19, 2018, Dallas, Texas
• VR Franchise Seminar – Experience the only VR platform for Franchising 2018
  June 20, 2018, San Jose, CA
• DigiMarCon Chicago 2018 – Digital Marketing Conference
  June 20, 2018, Chicago, Illinois
• TECHSPO Chicago 2018
  June 20, 2018, Chicago, ILLINOIS
• DigiMarCon Midwest 2018 – Digital Marketing Conference
  June 20, 2018, Chicago, Illinois
• Tech Fair Seattle
  June 21, 2018, Seattle, United States
• American Express Summit for Success
  June 26, 2018, Washington D.C., DC
• Nexus 2018
  June 26, 2018, San Francisco, California
• Insurance AI and Analytics USA 2018, June, Chicago
  June 27, 2018, Online
• Get Out Of Debt Before Starting A Business
  July 01, 2018, San Diego, CA
• 5th International Conference on Technological Advances in Electrical, Electronics and Computer Engineering (TAEECE2018)
  July 05, 2018, Trabzon, Turkey
• WASHINGTON DC BLOCKCHAIN CONFERENCE 2018
  July 26, 2018, Washington, United States
• NEW YORK FINTECH WEEK 2018
  July 31, 2018, New York, United States
• 2018 #FlipMyFunnel B2B Marketing and Sales Conference
  August 08, 2018, Online
• Small Business Expo 2018 – SAN FRANCISCO
  August 09, 2018, San Mateo, United States

More Contests

• Public Vote to Crown America’s Most Unique Small Business Underway
  November 08, 2018, http://www.paychex.com/vote?utm_source=contest&utm_medium=press%20release&utm_term=americas-most-unique

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.

Image: BizTalk Webinar Series

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Every business owner wants to increase website traffic and engage audiences. Graphic design helps businesses achieve both these goals.

An intuitive and user-friendly design boosts your brand’s identity and entices visitors to keep checking out your site.

But what are some of the new trends in graphic design you should know about? Logo design company Logo Orbit has come up with the top 15 trends in graphic design that will make a splash.

Let’s take a look.

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Trends in Graphic Design

Multiple Color Themes

Many brands are experimenting with multiple color themes — a trend expected to gain more popularity this year.

More Social Media Images

Social media has made a huge impact on how customers connect with brands today. Social media images, in particular, are expected to make a big splash in graphic design.

Cropped Typography

For visually stunning effects, cropped typography, or the little sideshow in a graphic design can be the perfect tool.

3D Still Life

Still life has made 3D a more interesting and in-depth concept.

Single Color 3D Elements

Want to make an object stand out from the rest? Try single color 3D, which helps avoid the distraction of contrasting background colors.

Responsive Logos

With mobile becoming the most popular medium for accessing websites, responsive logos are gaining more attention.

Fonts in Handwritten Styles

Fonts in handwritten styles are coming back in style. Not only do they look quirky, they also make the text easy to read.

Two-Toned Images

Many designers are combining halftone printing with a contrasting hue for a greater visual impact.

Retro Color Palettes

Stand out from the crowd with retro hues and combinations that are making a comeback of sorts.

GIFs

GIFs and animation are some of the quirky trends that are becoming popular in graphic design.

Huge Typefaces

Go bold with big typefaces and draw attention to your headlines.

Custom Graphics

Custom graphics are helping businesses look unique and differentiated from competition.

Real Life Photos

Candid shots are appealing because they look more authentic and less glitzy.

Classic Design Styles

With contemporary designs done to death, classic design styles are making a strong comeback.

Atypical Colors

To break the monotony, many designers are experimenting with atypical colors.

To learn more about emerging graphic design trends, check out the infographic below.

Image: LogoOrbit

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If you want to keep up with the latest technology trends for your business,  TECHSPO Houston 2018 is the place to do it.

Leading global companies will be showcasing next generation technology and innovation. Meanwhile exhibitors will hold seminars on a wide range of topics demonstrating their latest products and services.

TECHSPO Houston 2018 is an opportunity to learn from the very manufacturers and educators who are developing the latest technology and trends.

You will witness the latest technology for the internet, mobile, AdTech, MarTech and SaaS demonstrated by experts and exhibitors from around the world.

 

Attend TECHSPO 2018

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Featured Events, Contests and Awards

TECHSPO Houston 2018
June 06, 2018, Houston, Texas

TECHSPO Houston 2018 is a 2-day technology expo which takes place JUNE 6 – 7, 2018 at the luxurious Houston Marriott Eaton Centre Hotel in Houston, Ontario. TECHSPO Houston brings together developers, brands, marketers, technology providers, designers, innovators and evangelists looking to set the pace in our advanced world of technology. TECHSPO Houston 2018 promises to be better than ever and we’re excited to see all the amazing tech companies and talent that will join us. Register today!

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Growth & Success Con
September 17, 2018, Online

This small business virtual conference is dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs at all stages who are stuck in the daily grind of building their businesses and struggle to get solid advice and guidance. An amazing panel of experts in various disciplines and business coaches will share tips & tricks on topics including Growth, Marketing, Management & Business Building for Success. Register today!

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More Events

• BORDERLESS SUMMIT
  June 05, 2018, Online
• DigiMarCon South 2018 – Digital Marketing Conference
  June 06, 2018, Online
• Innovation Summit 2018
  June 07, 2018, NYC, New York
• Customer Service Summit West
  June 07, 2018, San Diego, California
• Small Business Expo 2018 – DENVER
  June 07, 2018, Denver, United States
• Consumer Insights for Innovation Workshop
  June 08, 2018, New York, NY
• Digital Summit Portland
  June 12, 2018, Portland, Oregon
• TECHSPO LA 2018
  June 13, 2018, Santa Monica, California
• DigiMarCon West 2018 – Digital Marketing Conference
  June 13, 2018, Santa Monica, CA
• “6th International Conference on Computer Graphics, Animation & Computer-Aided Design”
  June 18, 2018, London, UK, London, UK
• Buy-Side Risk USA 2018, New York
  June 19, 2018, New York, NY
• Supply Chain Leadership Forum USA
  June 19, 2018, Dallas, Texas
• VR Franchise Seminar – Experience the only VR platform for Franchising 2018
  June 20, 2018, San Jose, CA
• DigiMarCon Chicago 2018 – Digital Marketing Conference
  June 20, 2018, Chicago, Illinois
• TECHSPO Chicago 2018
  June 20, 2018, Chicago, ILLINOIS
• DigiMarCon Midwest 2018 – Digital Marketing Conference
  June 20, 2018, Chicago, Illinois
• Tech Fair Seattle
  June 21, 2018, Seattle, United States
• American Express Summit for Success
  June 26, 2018, Washington D.C., DC
• Nexus 2018
  June 26, 2018, San Francisco, California
• Insurance AI and Analytics USA 2018, June, Chicago
  June 27, 2018, Online

More Contests

• Public Vote to Crown America’s Most Unique Small Business Underway
  November 08, 2018, http://www.paychex.com/vote?utm_source=contest&utm_medium=press%20release&utm_term=americas-most-unique

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.

Image: Shutterstock

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While there undoubtedly are several factors impacting revenue, most experts say that business sites loading within 5 seconds earn almost double those doing it in 19, the average site loading time.

The study has further found that sites loading within 5 seconds have:

• 25% higher ad visibility,
• 35% lower bounce rate, and
• 70% longer user sessions.

That’s precisely why we need to be focused on mobile-first solutions to help our businesses succeed. After all, mobile speed has never been more important.

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Slow Loading Speed Can Really Be A Problem

According to Google,

• 1 out of 2 people expect a page to load within less than 2 seconds.
• 53% of visits are more likely to be abandoned if the page takes longer than 3 seconds to load on a mobile device.
• 46% of people have shown displeasure in waiting for pages to load while browsing the web on a mobile device.

The 3 main factors slowing down sites on the mobile internet are the number of server requests, file size and the sequential order of page loading elements. So now we have highlighted the causes; let’s get to the solution.

How to Increase Mobile Site Speed

Measure And Minimize Your Server Response Time

Your mobile page speed is not only dependent on your code but is also reliant on an important tech tool called the server.

The longer your server waits to respond to a browser request, the slower your page loads on the device. Most experts at Google recommend that your server starts transmitting the 1^st byte of resources within two hundred milliseconds of a request for a more optimal result.

Typically, there are 3 major methods involved in the elevation of your server response time:

• Improving your web server configuration or software.
• Enhancing the scope and quality of your hosting service, particularly ensuring you have adequate memory and CPU resources.
• Reducing the number of resources required by your web pages.

Use CSS to Load Images

If you want to hide your content images for mobile users, load them as background images through CSS and use media queries to hide them conditionally.

A variation of this technique is used by Amazon to conditionally load device-specific images.

Minimize the Number of Redirections to Boost your Mobile Page Speed

Redirects are nothing but instructions capable of automatically taking website visitors from one page to another.

Each redirect can eat up valuable milliseconds, resulting in a slower page load. This is particularly problematic for mobile devices because they are often dependent on unreliable networks than desktop users.

The first step to fixing this issue is to survey the number of redirections on your site by using tools like redirect mapper. If the number is too large, minimize it, or ideally, bring it down to zero for the best results.

Minify JS and CSS Files

More data means excess page weight. This will take your pages longer to load on a mobile device.

That is why most web developers worth their mettle know the need of optimizing and minimizing assets to increase the page loading speed.

“Minification” eliminates redundancy without affecting the display of a page. A wide array of Google tools can help you eliminate such redundancies including the likes of:

• CSSNano (for CSS)
• UglifyJS (for JS)

Instead of Images, Use CSS3

Drop shadows, rounded corners, and gradient fills – all of these features can be done through CSS, instead of images.

This can greatly help in reducing the number of HTTP requests thus, speeding up the loading time at one and the same time.

Use Inline SVGs Instead of JPEGs

Like data URIs, SVGs (scalable vector graphics) can be embedded on a page to decrease the number of HTTP requests.

These files can be created on a vector graphics editor such as Inkscape, Adobe Illustrator, etc. Once it’s created, you can open it up in a text editor and drop it into your code.

Note: To embed a SVG in your style sheet, you must convert it to data URI first and then proceed to the next step. 

So that more or less sums things up. Hope you had a good and enlightening read.

Photo via Shutterstock

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Women are more likely than men to launch businesses in healthcare and education related industries, the third in SCORE’s”The Megaphone of Main Street” report series reveals.

2018 Women-Owned Business Trends

Only 5% of men are likely to start a business in either the healthcare or education fields, while 10% of women are likely to start a business in healthcare and 9% are inclined to start a business in education, the report says.

The Women’s Entrepreneurship Report, the last of the series, focused on women-owned businesses, which make up 39% of the 28 million small businesses in the US. And although these businesses employ close to 9 million people and generate more than $1.6 trillion in revenue, they account for only 4% of the nation’s business returns. When you take into account this number hasn’t really budged in the past 20 years, challenges still remain with encouraging women entrepreneurs.

The Goal of the Research

The goal of the research was to find data to answer the following questions:

• Are women-owned businesses as successful as male-owned businesses?
• Do women-owned businesses face greater obstacles when it comes to financing?
• Is mentoring linked to increased business success?
• Does mentoring look different for female entrepreneurs than male entrepreneurs?

Key Takeaways

Among takeaways from the report, 47% of the women surveyed started a business in 2017 while only 44 percent of men reported doing so.

Once women start their business, they are 62% more likely to count on them to support them financially and less likely to seek funding at a 34 to 25 percent rate differential than men.

SCORE is a network of expert business mentors, with more than 10,000 volunteers in 300 chapters.

The report came from qualitative and quantitative data gathered by PricewaterhouseCoopers as part of SCORE’s ninth annual Client Engagement Survey. The survey was carried out from October 30 to December 1, 2017  with responses collected from 25,117 small business owners. Responses from 12,091 female and 8,416 male entrepreneurs were analyzed for the final report.

The businesses were composed of a broad segment of industries and geographical locations representing all 50 states and Washington, D.C. The vast majority or 93% percent of the businesses had revenue of less than $1 million.

You can take a look at some of the data in part one and two in the infographics below, and read the full SCORE Megaphone of Main Street: Women’s Entrepreneurship, Spring 2018 report here.

Images: SCORE

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When companies are awash in cash, as many U.S. companies are following the US$1.5 trillion tax cut in December 2017, their tendency is to stick with the comfortable and reliable shareholder dividends and share buybacks, with perhaps some M&A thrown in. And although these conventions keep investors happy, they do little to address the barrage of other pressing issues companies currently face.

Corporate leaders must now navigate a landscape in which consumers, shareholders, and activist investors are putting good corporate citizenship on par with providing excellent products and services. Skilled talent is increasingly hard to recruit and retain. Amid the clutter on social media, it’s getting harder to control brand image. And firms are looking for new ways to stimulate innovative thinking and attract a diverse workforce.

What if, to help address these issues, companies put some of that newfound cash toward something less conventional, yet effective? What if they invested in the arts?

Whether displaying a corporate art collection in the workplace, providing free museum access to employees and their families, or sponsoring a gallery event in the community, investments in the arts can work to assuage some of the concerns keeping CEOs up at night.

There is some evidence that business is prepared to step up their arts-related philanthropy. Total spending on arts sponsorship in North America was $993 million in 2017 and is expected to increase 3.7 percent to $1.03 billion in 2018 — the first year the amount would break the $1 billion mark. That’s according to ESP, a consultancy that collects and analyzes sponsorship information. Yet ESP expects sports sponsorships to account for 70 percent of the global corporate sponsorship budget, with 4 percent going to the arts.

It’s true that putting money into the arts may not provide the direct and measurable return on investment for a company that, say, sponsoring a football game might. But evidence shows that arts investment provides solid advantages for both the business itself and the community in which the company and its employees live and work.

Draw Talent

Company leaders are worried about being able to attract the workers they need in an age in which both technical and soft skills are required to succeed. According to PwC’s 21st CEO Survey, when asked to consider threats to their organizations’ growth prospects, 79 percent of the more than 1,200 global CEOs surveyed reported being somewhat or extremely concerned about having access to needed skills. Further, 42 percent of CEOs said they would consider relocating their operations closer to available pools of digital talent in order to have a better shot at attracting tech-savvy workers.

But what if the community in which a company was already based was a draw for that talent? Investing in local art programs and artists contributes to the well-being and culture of the community overall, making it a more attractive place for talent to live and work.

A 2017 study from the Conference Board and Americans for the Arts, “Business Contributions to the Arts (PDF),” found that 54 percent of the corporate leaders responding said the arts improve the quality of life in a community. Almost half, 49 percent, said the arts create a vibrant community and society. Furthermore, according to the Americans for the Arts 2016 survey “Americans Speak Out about the Arts (PDF),” 87 percent of respondents said that “arts institutions add value to our communities,” regardless of whether people engage with art or not.

With the competition for skilled talent so intense, it is important for employers to create unique experiences for workers. Providing free museum access to employees and their families is one perk that can help companies differentiate themselves. And there is evidence that exposing kids to the arts is indeed of value: In the “Business Contributions to the Arts” survey, 47 percent of respondents said the arts improve academic performance for students (a plus for employees’ families). Along the same lines, investing in a corporate art collection — one that is displayed throughout the office and not just in the C-suite — also helps a company stand out.

As people increasingly seek employment with firms that act as good corporate citizens, being known as a company that supports the arts financially, has an art collection it shares with employees, or is a part of bringing arts to children can set a firm apart from its competitors.

Elevate Brand

Such engagement with the arts, of course, also adds to the corporate brand and is a useful marketing tool to both potential employees and customers, says Vadim Grigorian, a marketer specializing in corporate art projects. Grigorian lectures on brands and art at his MBA alma mater, INSEAD, in addition to helping businesses with cultural engagements. He is perhaps best known for his project in which artists were asked to present their interpretation of the Absolut Vodka bottle when he was marketing director of luxury and creativity at spirits company Pernod Ricard.

But beyond the cachet of being associated with the art world, today’s investors want the companies they support to have a conscience. And that means acting philanthropically throughout the community, including the art community.

“Increasingly, companies are noted by rating agencies or investment analysts on elements beyond P&L: social responsibility, ethics, sustainability,” says Grigorian. “This puts pressure on even the most cynical managers. But for visionary business leaders, deep corporate cultural engagement is an opportunity to stand out in the eyes of investors and other stakeholders.”

Spark Creativity

Creativity is among the top skills sought by businesses, according to the Conference Board’s “CEO Challenge 2017” survey, with 72 percent of business leader respondents saying creativity is of high importance when hiring. And although there hasn’t been much work done on the psychological process responsible for the connection, studies have shown that being exposed to art allows a person to feel more creative and open to innovation.

“To understand the force of art, try imagining for a moment a business world devoid of any visual creative stimulus,” says Kai Kuklinski, CEO of AXA Art, the world’s largest specialist art insurer. AXA has its own art collection of some 12,180 works, many of which are on display globally in its offices.

Recent studies show that when companies buy art and give employees access to the works throughout the office, that exposure can help spur creativity and innovation. Similarly, giving employees free museum access also allows them to enjoy the creative benefits of taking in art.

“Most modern offices in today’s global commercial districts appear entirely interchangeable,” says Kuklinski. “This is where a company has the chance to impress its personality onto its clients, and stimulate its own employees into a mind-set of heightened creativity and productivity.”

He adds, “This is what art does — sometimes to brilliant and startling effect…Giving access to art so that paintings, sculptures, and photography are not hidden behind closed doors means culture and creativity are part of the employees’ and clients’ work life.”

Promote Diversity

A diverse workforce is also proving to be an increasingly important factor for leaders as employees, customers, and shareholders begin to emphasize inclusion. More good news for CEOs on diversity: It has also been shown to be an important factor in fostering innovation and creativity.

When asked to what extent their organization was building trust with its workforce by creating transparency in diversity and inclusion policies, 89 percent of those responding to the PwC CEO survey said they were doing so at least to some extent, and 88 percent said they were using diversity and inclusion to build trust with customers.

According to the “Americans Speak Out about the Arts” survey, 67 percent of Americans believe “the arts unify our communities regardless of age, race, and ethnicity” and 62 percent agree that the arts “helps me understand other cultures better.”

“Corporate art collections have increasingly become a global culture currency, helping to realize and overcome differences and to relate to cultural background, symbolic language, and philosophies,” AXA’s Kuklinski says.

Art invites us to see things from other points of view. When companies display art or give employees access to museums, it can prove eye-opening, brining employees of different backgrounds to work together more closely. And while art can help us understand other cultures better, there is also evidence that it attracts diversity, according to the Martin Prosperity Institute at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. The group publishes the “Bohemian Index,” which tracks the correlation between a vibrant arts scene and an influx of cultural diversity.

Artists and their work can help give meaning to the complex period in which we live, and propose new ways of thinking. And corporate leaders can use that to their advantage. Supporting art and artists adds a dimension to public and employee life, and that philanthropy, in turn, can enhance a company’s image — and bottom line.