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Explore our collection of articles to discover valuable insights on business management, public relations, and digital marketing—all designed to elevate your business to the next level. You can subscribe to ELEVATED NEWS to stay ahead with updates on our latest content!
Overcoming Enshittification
Digital platforms that once helped small businesses thrive have become cluttered, noisy, and profit-driven — or what Cory Doctorow calls ‘enshittified.’ But small business owners who give a damn aren’t powerless. Discover practical digital strategies to cut through the noise and keep your marketing authentic, sustainable, and human.
Disagreeing Well: Structure a Debate That Builds, Not Breaks
Preparation, awareness of logical fallacies, and respectful discourse are essential foundations of a debate that builds instead of breaks. Without these elements, disagreements rarely lead to productive outcomes.
Elevating Labor Day: Rest, Recognize, and Rethink the Future of Work
Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer, symbolized by backyard barbecues and beach trips. Beyond the holiday sales and seasonal farewells on the beach, the federal holiday holds a deeper significance: it serves as a day to honor the invaluable contributions and rights of American workers.
Running a Business Like a Dive Boat: Lessons From the Red Sea
Diving in the Red Sea aboard the Aggressor IV was more than a bucket-list experience—it became a masterclass in operational excellence, teamwork, and customer experience.
The Community Advantage: How Brands That Connect Win
Building an online community transforms one-time buyers into loyal advocates, creating a ripple effect of engagement, trust, and increased visibility.
Small Budget, Big Impact: How the Right Website Pays for Itself
A great website is an investment—but it doesn’t have to be made all at once. For smaller organizations, building a site in stages is a smart, scalable strategy that helps manage costs and delivers a quicker return on investment.
Times of Tariffs: Weathering Trade Turbulence
Tariffs are barriers to international trade. Paid by the importer, tariffs are fees assessed on the value of imported products, including freight and insurance, which increases the cost of importing goods. We provide five strategies businesses can employ to weather tariff policy uncertainty in the U.S.
Website Design for Podcasting Smarter
Podcasting is a powerful tool for building brand authority, connecting with audiences, and generating new business opportunities. To maximize its benefits, small business owners and podcasters must start by choosing the best host, which has strategic implications for a brand’s website design.
Why Content Marketing Matters for Your Business
If you’re a business owner or marketer, you’ve probably heard the phrase “Content is King” (or, in our case, Queen 👑). And it’s true—now more than ever. We provide six ways well-crafted content marketing can elevate your business.
Define Your Ideal Customer Persona
For marketers and business owners with an innate sense of their target market and audience, pinpointing their ideal customer isn’t always straightforward. To simplify the process, they should examine their existing customer base and answer the basic questions: who, what, when, where, why, and how.
Trust Your Instincts
Any customer-facing role is at risk of landing a toxic client. Business leaders and marketers must evaluate prospective customers as they would prospective employees during the hiring process. They should assess the individual for cultural fit and identify undesirable personality traits and mannerisms that contradict their organization’s values and growth objectives.
Change Your Mindset
Our experiences shape and inform our perspectives, opinions, and strategies. Adaptability and willingness to embrace change are essential for individual and enterprise growth. Humility in learning can also give you an edge and reveal opportunities before others recognize one exists.
To Build or Buy: The Software Dilemma Businesses Face
When equipping your business with the right software, the decision to build a custom solution or buy an off-the-shelf product can feel like a high-stakes choice. Owners must evaluate critical factors — budget, timelines, technical expertise, and long-term goals — to navigate this pivotal decision and ensure their software strategy aligns with business objectives.
The Mighty Matilda
Remembering heroes from our childhood stories can provide a sense of continuity in uncertain times and remind us that we have the power to overcome challenges and achieve our goals. One such character is Roald Dahl’s Matilda, whose determination and resilience remind us that it’s critically important to believe in yourself.
Push-To-Talk
On a liveaboard scuba diving trip in the Bahamas, Captain Tim explained the standard two-way radio protocols he encouraged his crew to utilize. Radio communication etiquette has application in any professional land- or sea-based setting.
Grow Like a Lobster
Sub-par performance chasing spiny lobster for dinner in the Florida Keys prompted further introspection on growth and strategy. Lobsters are a salient reminder that growth happens when you leave your comfort zone.
Transition Your Startup into a Thriving Business: Practical Steps to Success
For most entrepreneurs, few things are as exciting as taking a great product or service idea and turning it into a profitable business. But while it can be exciting to conceptualize starting a new company, there are necessary steps to achieve sustainable success.
Improve Local Search Visibility with a Google Business Profile
Establishing a Google Business Profile is critical to your company website’s local search engine optimization (SEO) strategy. An up-to-date Business Profile with a steady stream of highly rated reviews delivers a boost to your website’s ranking in local search results.
Keep Your Mind in the Boat
Inspired by Daniel James Brown’s true story about “The Boys in the Boat” and the leadership traits required for a team to exceed all expectations, I interviewed a former competitive crew coxswain to compare her experience with that of the 1936 Olympic team.
Marketing to Make Your Audience Happier
Who knew that paid advertising could make us unhappy? Or that only 50% of the people surveyed trusted the advertisements they saw, read, or heard? Business owners should focus on earned and shared media as a cost-effective, long-term marketing strategy that builds trust and makes their audience happier.