Want to continue building your skills and those of your team?  What about networking with colleagues, peers and potential customers?

Alright, we know you want to get involved and not stay stagnant.  So we have created this handpicked list of upcoming small business events online and also in the real world as well as relevant awards programs.  

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Years of experience helping small businesses develop and market engaging brands have taught me some valuable lessons about which strategies are most successful.

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Discounting is a tried and true way to attract business, both satisfying your customers and increasing your profits. However, there is more of a science to discounting than one might initially think. Understanding this art is critical to offering the most successful discounts and obtaining optimal results.

Discounting Tips

Most of us are not that talented. We could use a little white space in our lives that we can fill with new ideas.

Lets talk about the 15 ways you could carve out more time to think, ideas suggested to me by some of the most successful entrepreneurs I know.

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While great leaders do a tremendous amount of thinking, that thinking happens behind the scenes. In the moment, in the trenches, when people look to them and need them most, they act: swiftly, decisively, and confidently.

Want to become a truly outstanding leader? Work hard to do these eight things naturally, automatically, and instinctively.

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The Small Business Administration or SBA is celebrating its 50th Anniversary!

But there are some smart things that small business owners should consider doing now. Here’s my top 3 tips:

1.  Access Capital Now
2.  Engage Rather Than Employ
3.  Have a Lean Start-Up

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Small businesses need to consider their tech purchases just as carefully as enterprises do. A single doctor medical practice must comply with the same stringent patient-privacy regulations as the largest hospital. Run a two-person bakery or a small auto repair shop? In addition to tending to bread and brakes, you still need a solution for managing your finances and customer information, just like a major retail chain does. Moonlight as a club DJ? You need to know the best tech for storing your jams, and what service will help you quickly recover your data if your storage hardware gets hosed, just like a Fortune 500 company does.

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Consumer education is something many small software companies tend to overlook. While the benefits of consumer education may not always be obvious, the fact of the matter is that educated customers are good customers, and happier customers. A customer who does not understand an applications capabilities or features is more likely to experience frustration with it, making them less satisfied with your product and also potentially draining your support time.

Consumer Education

The latest neuroscience suggests you can literally edit your memory. Here is what this big breakthrough means for you.

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Smartphones have become vital for on-the-go entrepreneurs. Apps aimed at small business owners allow them to pay bills, update websites, market their companies, reach out to customers and keep in touch with employees from anywhere. Some owners say their smartphones makes it easier for them to build a side business while keeping a full-time job or step away from the company when needed.

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Firing an employee is often a manager's most dreaded task.

It is not only uncomfortable, but if not handled right it could lead to more than just hard feelings if an employee decides to take legal action.

Having a solid termination policy in place and following a few careful steps could help stave off potential problems.

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The successes and failures of others, can provide extremely valuable information to guide you on your path. So from my own experience and from the common stories I hear from being involved with over 4000 small business clients, I have compiled what I see as the five biggest mistakes people make when running a small businesses.

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Unlike the CEOs of major public companies, whose personal financial situation has little effect on their companies borrowing, if you are a small business owner, your personal credit is a major factor influencing your companys access to capital. The power of personal credit scores to predict small business loan repayment, the legal structure of many small businesses, and small business owners’ use of personal guarantees and personal borrowing to finance business operations, all link small business owners personal credit to their companies’ access to capital.

Many, if not most, lenders will look at your personal credit score if you are a small business owner seeking a loan for your company. A 2006 report written for the U.S. Small Business Administration found that 71 percent of banks used small business owner credit scores when underwriting small business loans.

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Like anything in life, being an entrepreneur has its ups and downs, it has good and bad points. I happen to think the good far outweighs the bad, but not a few people disagree or learn about the bad the hard way.

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Facebook is on a mission to get Americas 25 million small businesses -- from plumbers to pizza parlors to boutiques -- to actively invest in Facebook ads. Modeling its efforts on how it is already courting big brands -- the Cokes, GEs, and Toyotas of the world -- Facebook aims to teach small businesses how to promote their products and services on its platform.

However, this plan could backfire if Facebook does not do one thing first: Teach small businesses how to define and develop their brand. This is true for small businesses as well as for large businesses, and it presents both an opportunity and a risk for Facebook.

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Much will be about the same. Only with Wifi-enabled neural dust. And probably the blind will be able to see.

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As human resources budgets have decreased, the number of job interviews that take place through video calls has increased. With that comes a whole new set of standards for interview etiquette. For instance, though it might not feel natural, it's important to maintain eye contact as well as lean forward toward your camera in order to make your candidate feel that you're interested in them.

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Obtaining a small business loan is not as easy as you might think. Small business owners looking for capital to take their business to the next level can face issues with eligibility, and the process of both applying for and receiving a loan is lengthy and time-consuming.

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A recent report conducted by AT&T and the Small Business & Entrepreneurship  Council, a nonprofit group that promotes entrepreneurship and small business, small business owners have netted $67.5 billion a year from implementing smart phones and tablets in their day to day business activities.

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One persons perspective on whether you should hire a friend!

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The House voted Thursday to make permanent a tax break allowing small businesses to write off up to $500,000 in new equipment purchases.

While the move adds to momentum for congressional efforts to extend a range of now-temporary tax breaks, it also sharpens a conflict between the House and Senate over whether to extend the breaks permanently or temporarily.

Thursdays vote was 272-144, with several dozen Democrats joining Republicans to support the measure.

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All else being equal, would-be entrepreneurs should consider moving to Idaho, Texas, Utah, or Virginia, and fleeing California, Illinois, and Rhode Island. The first four states received A+ grades for small-business friendliness in a study published this week by local services startup Thumbtack and the Kauffman Foundation. The last three states got Fs.

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If you are launching a new business, you may want to consider forming a separate entity such as a corporation or LLC, to protect your personal financial life.

The legal form of your business brings different tax implications. When forming an LLC, you receive the benefits of creating a separate entity and thus protecting your personal assets.

When it comes to taxes, however, the IRS has no tax return for an LLC per se. You may treat the LLC as a C or S corporation, partnership or sole proprietorship and file accordingly. Your state taxing agency may have a special set of LLC tax forms for your entity to file.

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What is a small business?

It is getting harder and harder to tell. Last week, the SBA adjusted its size standards that determine if a company is a small business. The definition varies by industry and is derived by annual revenue or by number of employees.

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Two recent news clips caught my attention. One involved a company trying to avoid the IRS. The other involved the IRS trying to avoid trouble. Taken together, I can see how a small business owner might cynically ask if a small business has a fighting chance as far as taxes.

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Have you ever used a technique for years, only to find out that it blows people away? For SEO purposes I use a very quick and simple system to find the right keywords, that factors in how popular a keyword is with the level of competition. It only takes a few minutes and helps you tap into the gold that lies buried  in the rubble that Google give you.

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Under the new guidelines, for instance, a travel agency with annual revenues of $20.5 million qualifies as a small business, and so does a family clothing store that brings in $38.5 million a year. In some industries, a business is still considered small if it employs as many as 1,500 people. Companies classified as small businesses can compete for government contracts, and can access SBA loans, which are often cheaper than private alternatives.

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• Embrace Perspective: No matter how much you love your company, there will be days when balancing the books creates anxiety. Remind yourself what fueled you to launch your business.

• Find Balance: Sometimes it might seem impossible to relax, but devoting even 60 minutes weekly to non-business related activities will help you recharge.

• Become Resourceful: Find ways to save money, time and energy. Try multitasking, such as purchasing business supplies while waiting for a prescription to be filled or patronizing retailers with special early shopping hours for business owners. Consider streamlining home expenses by eliminating cable or cooking more at home.

• Make Changes: Stay motivated by experimenting with new methods and tools. Attending trainings or online webinars about your industry can help re-ignite your creativity and even lead to business growth.

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In July 1776, our founding fathers joined together and signed this countrys Declaration of Independence, declaring every American citizens access to certain inalienable rights. The document was adopted by the Continental Congress on the fourth.

The spirit of that message and the rights to which we are all entitled seem particularly embodied by entrepreneurship. While the landscape of America has changed in ways those men could never have imagined, they still had at their core the same principles that mark the entrepreneur of today.

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Life Is Good CEO Bert Jacobs reveals the most effective interview questions he uses to select ideal candidates for his company.

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Even experienced managers can suffer from this tendency, so don't beat yourself up if this is your first time managing people and you find yourself slipping into these bad habits. Just like anything else, the first step is recognizing that you have a problem.

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1. Manage your energy, not your time.
If you take a moment to think about it, you will probably realize that you are better at doing certain tasks at certain times. For example, my creative energy is highest in the morning, so that is when I do my writing each day.

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Need a reason to start your own business? Here are 20 of them.

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Forget about David vs. Goliath. Marketing mavens say small companies can and do learn valuable lessons from their muscular, deep-pocketed rivals. In conversations with Mashable, several executives pointed to experiential marketing, real-time marketing, brand building, storytelling and social sharing as tactics that startups are cribbing successfully from the big guys. Those that aren’t yet mimicking the A-list marketers like Apple, Nike, Starbucks and Mercedes might want to take note of some best, most adaptable practices.

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Many of us dream of starting a small business. Whether it s the romantic ideal of being your own boss, or the desire to build something from nothing, having a dream is different than actualizing it. Often, it is the fear of failure or the daunting amount of work that keeps us from being bold enough to launch that next brilliant startup.

START SMALL

An effective way to build confidence and remove the fear of failure is to break down the basics of starting a small business into smaller tasks. By completing these tasks one at a time, you may soon find you’re well on your way to laying a solid foundation for your bold, lean startup to thrive.

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Ever look up and see one of your employees texting or chatting on his cellphone when he should be working?

If the answers yes, you are certainly not alone.

One in five workers admitted that during a typical workday he or she spends at least an hour on personal calls, emails or texts, according to a recent CareerBuilder survey on the top productivity killers at work.

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Here are some tips to discuss with your tax pro to improve your tax situation and hopefully keep working capital in your bank account rather than in Uncle Sams pocket:

Start a retirement plan. If you are finally a few bucks ahead and don’t have a retirement fund, now is the time to start one. Here is the bonus: it is deductible!

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To succeed in todays world, one must adapt to todays developments, including the ever-expanding implementation of technology. One small way to do this is to modernize your business card; because the means by which businesses communicate have expanded, you may want to rethink what is included on your business cards. By doing this, you can unite your offline marketing with your online marketing efforts. Below are a number of tips for updating your card.

Is it Time to Update You Business Card

Whether your business is just getting off the ground or you are a well-established small and growing company, managing employee performance is a key ingredient to a productive and happy workforce.

Managing Employee Performance
And yet without a formal human resources department, many small business owners lack a formalized way to manage employee performance. The good news is there are simple practices a small business owner can start to successfully manage employee performance.

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Have a killer business idea? A killer business plan can help you turn it into a successful business. Creating a well-crafted business plan is no easy task, however. You will need to not only flesh out your idea, but also have a deep understanding of the different aspects of running a business — before you even start one. Figuring out how to do this correctly is hard enough, but there are several tools available to make this arduous task a little bit easier for would-be entrepreneurs.

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Facebook. Pinterest. Google+. Instagram. Twitter. LinkedIn. YouTube. So many social networks, and so little time!

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Sadly, the resume is often full of fluff that really does not tell you very much. Do you really care where the candidate went to school, or how many years he or she spent at the last job? Do those qualities really help you predict this candidate's potential to succeed at your company? Or do they only tell you whether or not this person was capable of warming a seat in relatively inoffensive fashion for the past 5 years?

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We all know someone who divulges a little too much information on the Internet. Whether it is the friend who Instagrams every meal or the relative who constantly posts updates on how Fidos doing, this phenomenon seems well on its way to pervading all the social media we use. Maybe you have even caught yourself posting a bit too much. While something that everyone seems to be doing may appear harmless enough, oversharing can have some negative consequences of which all social media users should take note.

Why Over Sharing Might Be Hurting You

Perhaps you have a Facebook page to keep up with your college friends, cousins and golf buddies. But do you need Facebook for your small business?

Well, here is a fact to help you decide: 20 percent of all time spent on mobile devices – smartphones and tablets – is spent on Facebook, according to market research firm comScore.

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Small-business owners often are so busy working that they do not take time to plan for their retirements.

But that is clearly a mistake, financial advisers say.

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Pope Francis has approval ratings any leader could envy: 88 percent of American Catholics think he's doing a good job, and nearly three quarters of Americans in general view him with favor. What is he doing right?

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When it comes to advertising on Facebook FB -0.15%  these days, small-business owners are competing for more limited ad space—and paying more for ads even if they do not result in sales.

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The cloud can save you time and money, but it also has the potential to change the way you do business.

The percentage of U.S. small businesses using cloud computing is expected to more than double during the next six years, from 37 percent to nearly 80 percent, according to a study from consulting firm Emergent Research and financial software company Intuit.

While use of the cloud today is generally associated with the ability to reduce costs and improve efficiency, widespread adoption of this technology is projected to have a transformative effect on small businesses, but also on large companies and government organizations.

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We usually learn more from our work for smaller clients and that’s counterintuitive, is not it? When I was very young, I thought that knowledge and business experience flowed downhill from the lofty heights of executive boardrooms to home offices. I have since learned that just as often, the knowledge flow is uphill from the small to the huge. I should have known that, anyway.

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