So you’ve determined there’s a market for your business idea. How do you ensure you get your piece of the pie? Conduct a competitive analysis. A competitive analysis is a granular assessment of your competition: who they serve, how they operate, how they market themselves, how well they’re doing, and where they might be letting people down.

This word has been used a lot lately: unprecedented. However, it’s safe to say that increase in digital media consumption and the need for a digital marketing strategy is not. It’s been on the rise for decades. COVID-19 made us all acutely aware that businesses can not avoid going digital (at least partially) to survive the economic hardships we’re experiencing.

Lacking focus? Low on motivation? Too many distractions at home to be able to get anything done? Are your work-life boundaries getting blurrier by the day? You’re not alone. According to a survey by Thrive Global: “Ninety-six percent of companies now say their productivity has been affected during the pandemic.

We all know those amazing communicators who are able to get their colleagues to hear and support their ideas, motivate others to think or act differently, and inspire positive change. When they speak, others listen… and agree! How do they do it?

Alana Ridge has been elected to the board of directors of NCET, a member-supported nonprofit that produces educational and networking events to help people explore businesses and technology. Wes McQuillen and Kyle Robertson have been re-elected to the NCET board.

As more business owners work from home and ask their employees to work remotely as well, they’re wrestling with how to adapt their accounting software to meet their changing needs. Should they continue to use QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT) or should they instead adopt QuickBooks Online (QBO), the cloud-based version?