Small Business

Chances are, you’ve experienced this scenario before: Your team is all set up and ready to hop on a conference call with a large audience such as a new client. Nerves are high as you begin the call, but your team is prepared for anything. That is until the connection is poor and communication proves to be difficult. Or, you …

In PGi’s recent Global Telework Survey, we gathered responses from around the globe about the state of teleworking. Approximately 79 percent of those surveyed stated they worked remotely at least one day per week. The survey also found that more than ever before, companies are embracing flexible working, with 66 percent of respondents saying telecommuting is more positively viewed in …

“PGi provides collaboration solutions and support for businesses of all sizes, from start-ups and SMBs to some of the largest companies in the world. We’re committed to helping your business thrive in all aspects, and in that spirit, we’ve partnered with AllState for a series of tips and advice on running and protecting your business.” Everyone knows it’s a good …

Technology continues to evolve and shows no signs of slowing down. Every time you turn around, a new software or tool is being released into the market. Trying to find the right solution that will help increase effectiveness throughout your company without blowing budget can be overwhelming. Large corporations are able to have select individuals who can dedicate large amounts of …

I’m proud to announce the next trend in SMB collaboration and content creation, powered by the newest generation of iMeet®. The latest iMeet release brings a variety of improvements and new features to PGi’s disruptive web conferencing software, offering small and medium businesses an intuitive, cloud-based collaboration solution with multi-media content creation built-in—all available in a single app at price …

Entrepreneurship is very near and dear to my heart. While my title and responsibilities may have changed over the years, I still picture myself as the young kid paving driveways at sixteen, passionate about having a business of my own. I’ve said many times over the years that the entrepreneurial spirit can be summed up in two words: risk and …

How do telecommuting and workations work together to help employees and small business owners in particular find a healthier work-life balance? As smart phones and other mobile devices have rooted themselves in our lives, we have become tethered to work. Undeniably, it has become almost impossible to separate work life from home life the way generations before us lived. Now …

HR departments and recruiting firms are under pressure to quickly fill positions, cut total cost per hire and select qualified candidates from a global talent pool. This can prove difficult when the talent pool continues to grow increasingly large while funds and time constraints grow smaller. Here are four simple tips that will help you optimize your HR budget and …

If you’re a small business owner with employees working from home across the country or the world, you can significantly reduce your operating expenses by scheduling virtual meetings. Putting that concept into practice, however, can present a challenge. Virtual meetings have their benefits, but only if you know how to pull them off effectively. If you’ve struggled in the past, …

Vying for space with kids and kid-related clutter is a daily struggle. Stay-at-home “mompreneurs” and telecommuting moms battle sinks full of dishes, laundry piles, sticky counters and toys in every nook and cranny—not great for our sanity or work productivity! The kitchen nook is a great way to move one step closer to our goal of obtaining work-life balance when …

As a small business owner, remaining competitive is essential. New companies are constantly entering the market in every industry, and with higher tax rates and more regulation, if you’re not cutting-edge, you could find yourself at the back of the pack before long. One of the best ways to improve your business and keep up with the competition is through …

Adding more structure to meetings is a way to make them more productive, new research shows. Employees improve their performance when their business meetings are conducted in a structured environment where everyone reflects on his or her role and how it relates to the overall performance of the team, the study indicates. The researchers believe communication is essential in this …

Entrepreneurs are often out-of-the-box thinkers but a new study reveals that they use both sides of their brain in the decision-making process. When you look at an entrepreneur like Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, it would be safe to assume that he thinks differently. It would also be safe to assume that most entrepreneurs, especially the successful ones, also think differently. …

With job growth accelerating, many small businesses are hunting for talented, experienced and affordable hires. And, increasingly, many are finding this skill set among retired Baby Boomers, who want to head back to work—either full-time or part-time—in a second or “encore” career. In fact, Encore.org, a nonprofit that provides resources to make it easier for people to pursue jobs with meaning and continued income …

It’s round two of our Laptop vs Tablet battle, in which we help you decide which is the best device for you and the way you work. Last time, it was app-to-app action, as we pitted laptop software against tablet software. Despite iPad-maker Apple’s claims that there’s “an app for that”, it was laptops that came out top, winning the …

Just in time to wrap up Telework Week, a topic many of us are discussing and want to learn more about: telecommuting. More than 100,000 people pledged to telecommute for at least part of this week, and last year, according to Mobile Work Exchange, 71% of the participating organizations and 75% of participating telecommuters saw an increase in productivity while …

Telecommuting isn’t just about working at home, it’s also about making different choices in the way you spend your time. A rapidly growing approach to the 9-to-5 office grind, telecommuting offers a spectrum of flexible work alternatives that allow employees to realize increased productivity while enjoying a better quality of life. The drawbacks of driving your car back and forth …

When I think back to my adolescent days, dreaming of what I would be when I grow up, I distinctly remember the Melanie Griffith and Harrison Ford movie Working Girl. In the 1988 film, Griffith’s spunky secretary pretends she has her boss’ (Signourney Weaver) job and proves that—despite foibles and gender bias—regular girls can rise to corporate greatness. At the …

According to YouTube’s latest press statistics, 500 years of YouTube video is watched every day on Facebook and over a third of the platform’s total monetized views come from Content ID, its advanced content management solution. Suffice it to say, YouTube is a testament to what I’ve always believed about the power of video and to the truth about never …

Did you know that Belgium is the most globally connected country in the world? And that Afghanistan relies primarily on its own resources to exist? Jonathan Farrington, esteemed sales expert of Jonathan Farrington & Associates and award-winning blog Top Sales World, shares astounding statistics on the power of globalization and culture in the infographic “The World is Shrinking” from the …