With advances in technology, an increasing number of small businesses are moving away from a culture where employees commute to the workplace and allowing employees to work from home at least part of the time. For this to happen, companies are working at making internal changes. These include going paperless, which helps businesses to reduce clutter as well as save time and money. Additionally, becoming more environmentally friendly sends a great PR message to clients.

"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man."—George Bernard Shaw

“If you think you can, you can, if you think you can’t, you can’t.” Believing that we will fail will unconsciously sabotage opportunities for success. We are our own greatest enemy and are responsible for our success and failures in business and life. It’s never too late for developing a blueprint to embrace a positive mind frame for our businesses/ourselves. Becoming positive involves working on our skills and internalizing what it is that we want. We are able to draw a clear picture of how we can grow/start our businesses.

Networking is the most important tool used by any small business looking to grow. It is the “linking” together of individuals/community who through trust and building relationships promote each other. Networking in today’s competitive market can open new doors of opportunity through new connections and can educate us as we absorb knowledge from more experienced entrepreneurs we meet. It is more important than ever to know the "dos and don’ts" of networking effectively and to properly put them into action.

What makes you different from your competition is your “differentiator.” This is a characteristic that separates you from your competition and gives your market/target audience a perceived advantage. To do so, it should meet three important
criteria:

1. It must be something that is true.
2. It must meet a need and be important to your potential market
3. Your business must be able to demonstrate that it can do it.