July 10, 2017: This Week's Best Business-Building Articles

July 10, 2017—To better assist shop owners with their production management, marketing tactics and leadership styles, FenderBender has compiled a short list of essential business-building material from some of its favorite sources.

Productivity vs Presence. Which One is Driving You? - Inc.

The common overwhelming fear is that if you are too present, you might lose out on being productive and that you won't have enough momentum to achieve all your day's goals. Presence can actually lead to increased productivity. When you're working and engaged, you will make better decisions, produce better quality work and engage with people more meaningfully when you're present.

The internet has broadened the options for new businesses hoping to reach more customers. In addition, it’s made it easier and more affordable. A simple Google search will reveal numerous case studies of successful startups. Many prospered by driving thousands of sales on a shoestring budget. However, the success stories don’t reveal what goes on behind the scenes—how innovators used their creativity to attract customers. From high-tech (online videos) to no-tech (flyers and cold-calling), leave no stone unturned in your search for customers.

Dropbox CEO: How I Built a $10 Billion Company in My 20s - Success! How I Did It

Drew Houston is the founder and CEO of DropBox, an online file storage and sharing service that just turned ten years old. DropBox has grown to over 500 million users, has been valued at about $10 billion, and generates over a billion dollars in annualized revenue. The company is probably planning to go public soon. In this episode of the podcast Success! How I Did It, Houston and Business Insider’s U.S. editor-in-chief, Alyson Shontell, discuss the creation of DropBox on a bus, meeting Steve Jobs and the advice he would give to young entrepreneurs.

Why Isn't My Business Worth As Much As I Think It Is? - Small Business Monthly

More than 40 percent of businesses don’t sell because of idealistic expectations of the business value coupled with demands driven by seller emotions. Owner emotion is a huge factor in the sale of a business, but if you let that emotion rule the day, you will end up losing—possibility forever—your opportunity to sell your business and fund your next life phase or retirement. So, how do you overcome emotion when selling your business?

A Common Sense Approach to IT Security for Small Businesses - Small Business BC

Forty-three percent of cyber-attacks target small business; only 14 percent of small businesses rate their ability to mitigate cyber risks, vulnerabilities and attacks as highly effective; 60 percent of small companies go out of business within six months of a cyber-attack. Yesterday’s prevailing advice for staying safe online, such as avoiding known nasty websites or only interact with people you know, is no longer valid. Here are some practical tips and advice on how to protect you and your company.