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San Francisco May Expand Plastic Bag Ban
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) –Legislation in San Francisco to ban all retailers and restaurants from using plastic bags and mandating a charge for each recycled bag is moving forward, after the measure got a...
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San Jose Plastic Bag Ban Starts On Sunday
SAN JOSE (KCBS) – The ban on single-use plastic shopping bags that takes effect in San Jose on Jan. 1 applies to all retailers, not just grocery stores. The city will also require stores to charge 10...
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Thank You Uncle Sam: Top Government Resources For Small Businesses
Small businesses are always looking for ways to reduce costs. Put your tax dollars to work by using government resources to grow your small business. There is an overwhelming number of free services...
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Create A Strong Brand By Considering Customer Touchpoints
Consumer experience and engagement is an area of marketing every company should consider and cultivate. Improving the brand experience at every touchpoint is one way to create and retain a strong brand...
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Breakrooms: Keeping Your Employees Caffeinated & Content
While businesses often renovate work areas, many breakrooms remain basic, with only vending machines of soda and junk food. Other times, the break area shares space with stacked boxes. The tips below...
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Client Referrals: The Key To Growing A Small Business
Selling is an important part of a small business. But the best way to grow a business is by getting new business without the hard sell. Your business can accomplish growth without a hard sale through...
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Digital Essentials: Giving Your Home Office A 21st Century Makeover
A home office is the secret weapon that keeps many households running, whether it’s keeping track of bills or running a small business. However, many people make due with home office equipment that can...
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Home Offices: Design Advice For Creating A Functioning Space
A home office doesn’t have to be a traditional room set up solely for working. It can be a built-in table in the breakfast nook, a small desk underneath the stairway, a section of the garage or a...
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Tips For Improving Small Business Websites
Maintaining a website for your small business is a necessary step in today’s increasingly online world. However, even if your business has a website, you may not be fully taking advantage of it. Below...
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Small Business Saturday: A Government Initiative Gaining Momentum
During November and December, businesses historically enjoy a boost in revenue as people begin shopping for the holidays. In fact, holiday shopping on average can account for about 40 percent of a...
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Tips For Conducting Market Research (Without Spending A Fortune)
Nearly every business, large and small, requires effective marketing campaigns in some form in order to be financially viable. Depending on the size and demand of your business, conducting the market...
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Using Social Media To Grow A Small Business
It’s no secret that social media has had a meteoric rise over the last decade. Even just ten years ago, relatively few businesses invested time and money into building websites. Today, social media has...
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Business Security: 5 Simple Ways To Keep Files Safe
As hackers make it their mission to find sensitive data, and large companies like Target are recovering from costly data breaches, it’s more important than ever to keep your digital files safe. But...
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Best Ways To Market A Small Business Effectively
To the world, yours may be a small business, but to you, it’s the culmination of a very big dream. In today’s competitive marketplace, your ability to attract and keep customers is just as important as...
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Tips For Designing A Dynamic Business Card
A key element of the elevator pitch and integral to on-the-ground networking, a simple business card is key to increasing both the revenue and reputation of a small business. That 3.5-by-2-inch card...
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Creating A Business Website From The Ground Up
In today’s web-based world, it is a must for every business to have an online presence. The heart of this presence is your business’s website, where customers or clients will look first to find out...
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Buyer’s Guide: What To Look For In An All-In-One Printer
If you run a small business, an all-in-one printer is often the way to go. Not only does it save valuable space, but it also makes many tasks much more convenient. In turn, you may even discover that...
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Hiring: How To Find Candidates Without An HR Department
Even the smallest business requires more than just an entrepreneurial leader to make it thrive and grow. Finding motivated, hands-on employees who jive with the company’s vision, and corporate culture,...
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The Pros & Cons Of Opening A Franchise
Franchises are a booming business. As such, they’re appealing to entrepreneurs who want to operate a storefront without investing too much in the traditional costs of starting a business. These...
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How To Create A Basic Business Plan
Unless you want your new business’s future to be nothing more than a crapshoot, you will have to create a business plan that maps out the salient goals, strategies and financial needs your business...
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Obamacare: What Every Small Business Owner Needs To Know
Change, even when positive, can create confusion and anxiety. Just ask any small business owner trying to figure out the Affordable Care Act. The Act, also called Obamacare, refers to mandated health...
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America’s Top 10 Home-Based Franchises
Working from home is no longer just in the purview of freelancers. For the past few decades, companies have grown by franchising their business through home-based employees. This model has worked so...
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Buyer’s Guide: What To Look For In A New Laptop
Laptop computers may be a staple for doing business, but if you want a new one, you’ll need to do more than just click and ship. Not all models are the same, and different computers are made for...
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Tax Advice: Common Small Business Tax Filing Mistakes
It’s easy to make a mistake, but saying your sorry is rarely enough to satisfy the IRS. Small businesses can innocently make tax mistakes that wind up racking up steep penalties, able to bruise or even...
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Buyer’s Guide: What To Look For In A New Digital Camera
The sheer amount of digital cameras available on the market can be overwhelming. From the camera’s zoom capabilities to video options, there are so many different bells and whistles from which to...
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Advice For Successfully Getting A Small Business Loan
Even during challenging times, a small business with a sound strategy can obtain a loan. If you’re looking to start or expand your business, here are strategies that may help you acquire the financing...
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Top Ways To Make An Office Green (And Save Money)
In many cities, taking advantage of steals on older office spaces can be a great way to save money. Unfortunately, those offices aren’t always as environmentally efficient as newer ones. However, there...
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Comparing CRMs: Customer Relationship Management Systems
Maintaining good customer and industry partner relations is key when operating any business. A good Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system can make managing these relationships easier while also...
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Payday: A Comparison Of Three Popular Payroll Systems
Doing your company payroll is a necessary task, but it doesn’t have to be a cumbersome or costly one. As a small business, you can streamline the process in-house, even if you don’t have a background...
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Schwag: Top 5 Promotional Gift Ideas
If you are trying to get more recognition for your business, build your brand or stay in the minds of customers you have, promotional items are an effective tool. But all schwag is not created equally....
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Tips To Get Your Website To The Top Of A Google Search
Even brick and mortar businesses that rely primarily on walk-in traffic require a web presence. A web presence can help a business solidify their brand and increase sales. A static homepage will not...
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Plastic Bag Ban At Walnut Creek Stores Takes Effect Thursday
WALNUT CREEK (CBS SF) — Starting Thursday, customers at Walnut Creek retailers will have to bring a reusable bag or pay 10 cents for a paper bag to carry their purchases as the city’s plastic bag ban...
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California Faces Shortage Of Paper For Birth, Death, Marriage Certificates
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) — If you need extra birth, death, or marriage certificates, you may have to wait. California is facing a shortage of official certificate paper because the only place that makes...
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Paper Bicycle Helmet May Be Future Of Bike Safety
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) — Paper may be part of the future of bike safety. Industrial designer Isis Shiffer was traveling overseas and taking advantage of the bike sharing systems in other countries when...
View ArticleStarbucks Phasing Out Its Signature Green Plastic Straws
PLEASANTON (KPIX) – Starbucks customers will have to figure how to consume their favorite java drink without a straw. The mega-giant coffee franchise announced it is planning to phase out use of their...
View ArticleBay Area Lawmaker Seeks Elimination Of Paper Receipts
SACRAMENTO (CBS SF) – Calling paper receipts a waste, a Bay Area lawmaker has introduced a measure that would require California businesses to issue receipts to consumers electronically. Assemblymember...
View ArticleBay Area Recycling Plant Scrambles To Adapt As Overseas Market For America’s...
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) – It has been more than a year since China stopped taking most recycling from other countries. That’s left Bay Area cities scrambling to find someone to take what others throw out...
View ArticleBART No Longer Issuing Paper Tickets At SFO As Of June 1
SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (CBS SF) – The sale of paper BART tickets will be discontinued at the system’s San Francisco International Airport station as of June 1, the transit agency...
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