1. Use 100% post-consumer wrapping paper.

If you wrap gifts for customers or clients, use 100% post-consumer wrapping paper imprinted with soy-based or other organic inks. Post-consumer paper is recycled waste paper, meaning trees weren’t cut down to make the wrapping paper. Another idea for small retailers: put customers’ purchases in decorative recycled-paper gift bags that can be reused.

2. Decorate with LED lights.

If you deck out your store or office for the holidays with lights, make sure they’re LED (light-emitting diodes). Major retailers now sell LED holiday lights and other LED ornaments. You’ll use significantly less energy than with regular lights, so you’ll save on the environment and your electric bill.

3. Buy real holiday trees and wreaths.

If you can deal with the extra maintenance, real trees and wreaths are more eco-friendly than buying fake ones made from plastic or vinyl, and which contain pollutants. Real trees come from local farms, support the local economy and are compostable once you’re done with them. Or, consider purchasing a live tree that can be replanted.

4. Pay attention to waste.

If you don’t already have a recycling program, the holiday season is a prime time to get one underway. Make sure any wrapping paper, tissue paper and other plastic or paper waste gets recycled and make it a point to use recyclable goods. Pay attention to little things like the cups you serve hot cocoa or coffee in at an event or in the office; encourage people to bring their own ceramic mugs.

5. Support local restaurants, who also buy local.

Rather than purchasing prepackaged food trays from big box stores that have likely come from far away, purchase food for your business parties or events from restaurants that buy and serve local food. It may be a little more expensive, but the quality of food will be much higher, and supporting your local economy is good business.

6. Buy eco-friendly gifts.

If you buy gifts, make sure they aren’t creating needless waste. Food gifts rarely go to waste. Also consider buying locally from merchants that sell eco-friendly gifts made by local suppliers, or giving gift cards. Buying from local sources is truly a “green” practics and supports our local merchants and economy as well.

7. Conserve fuel.

If you are planning a Christmas party for your staff, rather than having everyone drive their cars to the restaurant or hotel, arrange for a small bus or van to take everyone there and back. Not only will you save the environment from all the vehicle traffic, but you’ll ensure everyone gets home safe after they’ve enjoyed some holiday cheer!

8. Give to a good cause.

The holidays are a feel-good time. It’s a good opportunity to show your goodwill and give to an environmental or other good cause, whether a local one or a national or international one. It's also a great opportunity to support your favorite charity, organization or cause.

This year when you see the colour green throughout the holiday season, remember this challenge to be a greener business. Who knows, you might even develop some good habits that will carry on into the new year and beyond!

Understand what you need.

Before you hire, outline the needs of your business and of this specific position. Decide what area of expertise the candidate should have as well as the level of education and experience needed. Do you need someone with skill selling your specific product or with specific industry knowledge, or can you hire someone with excellent sales skills and teach them how to sell your product and learn about your industry? Where can you compris? Where should you not?

Advertise in the right places.

Attracting the right talent requires fishing in the right pond. Using online networks that gather sales resumes specifically will generate more qualified candidates than a general website. There are several sales/marketing organizations that have local chapters – check if there’s one in your town and post your ad with them. Decide if you want to keep your job open to local candidates only, or whether you want to open it up nationally. Targeted advertising will get you a better fit than casting a wide net.

Know your compensation limits.

Decide on a compensation package before you interview. Include things like salary or commission or a combination of the two, compensated time off, hours per week, health insurance, pension plan, and bonus incentive. Other perks to consider are reimbursement for further education or a company vehicle. Sales people are accustomed to negotiating, and they’ll likely want to bargain over compensation. Know how far you are willing to stretch. Too many business owners have been sweet-talked into hiring someone who promised the world and asked for compensation to match their claims, only to be stuck paying too much for someone who didn’t deliver.

Take the time to properly evaluate applications and resumes.

Separate your applications into three categories. Those that meet all the qualifications (the yes pile), those that meet most of the qualifications but may have potential (the maybe pile) and candidates who meet few or none of the qualifications (the no pile). It’s obvious you get rid of the “no” pile. If you have enough applications in the “yes” pile, get on with the interview process and come back to the “maybe” pile only if none of your “yes’s” turn into a hire. If you don’t have enough “yes’s”, go to the “maybe” pile and review them again. Which ones are really close but are only missing one or two things? Are the things missing, things that can be easily taught? Select some from this pile to add to your interview list.

Be strategic in your interview.

It can be helpful to have an interview team or panel consisting of the owner or manager and the person they will work with or under. Try to stay away from the standard, expected interview questions (what are your strengths and weaknesses, what do you feel you have to contribute to our company, etc.). Take time to come up with questions that will provide answers to the things you really care about. How will they fit in with your current culture and team? Do they fit with the company’s ethics and values? What sales experiences have they enjoyed in the past, and what sales experiences have been difficult for them, and why? How have past experiences prepared them for this role? What do they still need to learn? Get your interview team involved - have them contribute some questions as well. Be creative as this is your opportunity to find a good fit. Be sure to check references carefully.

Give it a day.

Try not to make a decision the day of the interview. Often, sleeping on that decision brings about greater clarity the next day. Also, consult with others on the panel and make sure you’ve taken everything in to consideration. Meeting the following day means everyone’s had a chance to think about and reflect on their interview experiences, and they may in fact come to different conclusions.

Make a clean, concise offer.

If you believe you’ve found the right person, invite them back to make them an offer outlining all the elements of employment. Be clear about all aspects – hours, expectations, compensation, etc. Make sure the person understands the terms to which they are agreeing. Always include a probation period. Have a clear outline of what this looks like: timeline, how the person will be evaluated, and what conditions must be met in order for employment to continue. Have these terms in writing in the form of an employment agreement, and have the person sign it. Allow them some time to think about the offer if they need to, but make sure you give them a deadline so that you can move on if they turn you down.

Hiring a sales person is an important part of your business plan, and hiring the right person can make or break your ability to meet your business goals. Be smart, be creative, be patient, and you’ll find the best fit for your business.

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The most common ways that malware affects your computer are:

1. Stealing your personal information and address book (identity theft and keystroke-logging).
2. Flooding your browser with pop-up advertising.
3. Spamming your inbox with advertising email.
4. Slowing down your connection.
5. Hijacking your browser and redirecting you to an advertising or a phishing-con web page.
6. Using your computer as a secret server to broadcast pornography files.
7. Slowing down or crashing your computer.

According to Gil, spyware/malware programs are authored by clever programmers, and then delivered to your computer through covert Internet installs. “Usually, malware will piggyback on innocent-looking web page components and otherwise-benign software such as game demos, MP3 players, search toolbars, software, free subscriptions, and other things you download from the web.” says Gil. Subscribing to online services is especially bad for getting malware. In particular, whenever you sign up for a so-called "free" service or install new software, you must accept an "end user license agreement" (EULA). The fine print of the EULA will often include the phrase "the vendor is allowed to install third-party software on your computer". Since most users don't bother to read this EULA fine print, they naively click "accept", and install malware.

Gill offers the following advice for getting rid of spyware from your computer.

Install two or three different anti-spyware programs ("spyware cleaners") on your computer, andupdate their definition lists regularly.

Because every anti-spyware cleaner is imperfect, it is necessary to use combinations of these programs to catch the greatest breadth of malware. Also, the anti-spyware manufacturers regularly add new entries to their "definition" lists, just like anti-virus software. Make sure to keep your spyware cleaners updated with these lists.

Build a weekly habit of "scan and detect".

Like cleaning house, this should be done every few days. At the very least, this should be done whenever you install new software. Many anti-spyware programs can be set to automatically perform scan-and-detect nightly.

Carefully read every EULA (end user license agreement) before clicking "accept".

If you see the phrase "3rd-party software may be installed", make sure to follow the software install with a spyware cleaning.

Educate yourself on the latest strains of malware.

In particular, start visiting anti-spyware sites, and update yourself on the latest malicious programs. Also, educate your staff on how spyware is contracted and create policies around what they can and cannot download on workplace computers.

As a business owner, the result of not understanding and being vigilant against spyware could be disastrous. Use these strategies to protect your business from a painful and costly computer failure.

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If you haven’t already done so, you should be keeping an email database of your customers. Email is still an effective way to get messages out to customers. Send out an email letting your customers know they can find valuable tips and tools on your website. They’ll likely visit the first time just out of curiosity, but if they like what they see, they’ll come back again. Think you have nothing to say? Here are some ideas.

• Retail hot tub store: 10 Tips to Keeping Your Hot Tub in Tip Top Shape
• Cabinet shop: 5 Ways to Increase Your Cupboard Storage Space
• Landscaping service: How to Keep Your Lawn Healthy Over the Winter
• Accounting services: 7 Things You Should Do to Decrease Your Accounting Costs
• Day care: 3 Ways To Prevent Colds and Flus for Your Kids
• Septic service: 5 Tips to Staying Out of Septic Trouble
• Financial advisor: Top 10 Things You Should Know When Choosing a Financial Advisor
• Chiropractor: How to Keep Your Back Healthy Between Appointments
• Retail jewelry store: How to Safely Clean Your Jewelry at Home
  

You get the gist. You can probably come up with dozens of topics. The keys to success are making the information practical and useful to your customers, keeping it short enough to read in just a few minutes, and keeping your product or service top of mind. Also, archive the articles so people can go back and find older ones, or send their friends to your website, so that when Joe is talking to Bruce three months from now about his septic tank woes, Bruce can tell him about the great article on your website.

Now that you’ve enticed them to visit your website, make sure you have some kind of call to action that they can respond to. A special deal, an event you’d like them to attend, a two-for-one offer, etc. Make it big and noticeable so they can’t miss it when they go to your website. Make it easy for them to respond.

Work with a web designer to ensure the articles are presented in a way that’s easy for customers to access and that is pleasing to the eye. Often an introductory sentence or paragraph and link to the rest of the article can be an effective way to present your information without taking up too much space on your web page.

Some additional ways to create value for your customers . . .

• Put links at the end of your article to other interesting and related sites
• Provide an incentive at the end of the article that will encourage customers to take advantage of the offer on your website (e.g. 10% off if you order today, bring in this coupon to get 2 for 1)
• Put a teaser for next week’s or month’s article (Visit us next Friday for 5 Tips to……)
  

You don’t need an English degree to write a simple article like this, however, if writing isn’t your strong suit, don’t hesitate to enlist the help of others who find writing easy. Perhaps your admin assistant is great with words, or one of your sales people has writing experience. Get them to read your efforts and offer suggestions, or even ask them to write the article for you. Don’t let a lack of expertise in this area prevent you from using this great marketing tool.

Do a bit of research and find some websites that use articles to attract traffic to their site and learn from them. This is a relatively easy way to make your website more interactive and get people to engage with your business.

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