Is Your SEO Strategy Ready for Google's New Algorithm?

Last fall, Google rolled out one of its largest changes of the past decade - an entirely new search algorithm, nicknamed "Hummingbird." In contrast to the past updates, Panda and Penguin, which modified existing search algorithms and affected roughly 2 to 5 percent of search queries, Hummingbird is believed to have affected nearly 90 percent of all queries and dramatically changed the way the engine processes user requests.

The Easy Way You Can Stop Procrastinating and Stick to Good Habits -- Now

Recently, I've been following a simple rule that is helping me crush procrastination and is making it easier for me to stick to good habits at the same time.

I want to share it with you today so that you can try it out and see how it works in your life. It's a simple strategy that couldn't be easier to use.

Here's what you need to know:

What's the Top Benefit of Co-Working Spaces?

Co-working spaces have become popular worldwide, affording startups instant networking opportunities and camaraderie, as well as the intangible benefit of what I call "assisted serendipity:" a multitude of unexpected encounters that are difficult to recreate in traditional office settings and provide nearly immeasurable amounts of value for new businesses.

A great co-working space is a collection of minds inspired by the brand that brought them together. As a member, you benefit from the brand that creates the space, the ethos it aspires to, and the people it attracts. Not only can a great space provide great ideas, but the association could also lend credibility to your otherwise unknown startup.

3 Ways to Make More Cash in 2014

For small businesses, the ending of another year presents a great opportunity to take stock and set goals for the year ahead. If increasing revenue in 2014 is one of your goals, there are a few business practice adjustments that will go a long way to creating big returns.

Here are three simple tips to earn more money in the New Year:

Too Busy to Get Busy? 3 Tips for a Better Sex Life

Entrepreneurs are people, just like everyone else. A good sex life is as important as a lot of other things we focus on. What keeps us healthy and happy can make us better in business.

Whether you're in a relationship, enjoying the single life or looking to meet someone special, it's important to set yourself up for success by paying attention to the little things that drive big results in your sex life.

Here are three things you can do to make your dating life fit seamlessly with your entrepreneurial pursuits:

Finding the Right Mentor to Help Grow Your Business

People go into business for themselves for a lot of reasons, including freedom, control, and, of course, the potential to make more money. But few entrepreneurs truly appreciate how much potential lies dormant in their companies.

The best way to tap into this potential is to learn as much as possible about sales and marketing, conventional -- and unconventional -- ways to generate cash flow, and strategies to develop low-cost, but high-quality leads.

5 Simple Ways to Stand Out Among Your Business Competitors

Who would have thought that entrepreneurship could be learned through your dating life? That's been the story of my life, as founder of a social strategy consultancy, where we help people improve their social skills to enhance their quality of life, romantically, socially and even professionally.
Entrepreneurs can get a bad rap for being "introverted" and anti-social (see: The Social Network). But if you take a look at some of the most successful companies, they are either led by someone with great social skills or employ someone who embodies that attitude to represent the brand. It's not a coincidence.

Meeting in the Middle: Networking With the Opposite Sex

The following is an excerpt from Business Networking and Sex (Not What You Think) (Entrepreneur Press, 2012) by Ivan Misner, Hazel M. Walker and Frank J. De Raffele Jr. The book parses data from a survey of more than 12,000 businesspeople that focused on gender differences in networking to understand communication roadblocks between women and men and to provide breakthroughs that can help improve results.

6 Inexpensive Ways to Help Employees Escape the Cubicle Crush

Cubicle culture could be killing worker satisfaction, and in turn, productivity, new evidence suggests.

Open plan cubicle-centric offices don't improve communication or productivity between colleagues -- and reduces overall workplace satisfaction, according to Jungsoo Kim and Richard de Dear, researchers at the University of Sydney. The argument that an open office set-up boosts morale and productivity "appears to have no basis," they wrote. This can have a deleterious effect on innovation and idea generation.

How to Create a Productive Office Space

Think about the way you and your employees work. Does the job require focus or collaboration? Most likely, it's a mixture of both.

Focus, for most, means quiet. It's hard to concentrate amid conversations about last night's football game or what happened at the office Christmas party. Collaboration, on the other hand, requires a very different environment: a space where employees can freely brainstorm, bounce ideas off one another, and go on conference calls without worrying about disturbing those around them.

5 Mentors Every Entrepreneur Should Have

Entrepreneur. It's a tough word -- both to spell and to call yourself. Being an entrepreneur brings with it a love of leaping head first into the unknown. Life-long entrepreneurs love new challenges, and live their lives in a constant growth phase. One of the common resources an entrepreneur turns to is a mentor. Asking for advice and bouncing ideas off of others is essential to the success of an entrepreneur's journey.

3 Time Management Tips That Will Improve Your Health and Productivity

Time management can be difficult. What is urgent in your life and what is important to your life are often very different things.

This is especially true with your health, where the important issues almost never seem urgent even though your life ultimately hangs in the balance.

Is It Ever OK for Founders to Sell Off Their Company Shares?

One of the strangest things about being a startup founder is that I'm running a multimillion-dollar company but earning a salary far below my market value. My company may be worth a lot, but the vast majority of my personal net worth is tied up in an illiquid asset (company stock), which is no help to me as a mom with two small kids, a mortgage, medical bills and day-to-day expenses.

3 Ways to Boost Your 'Executive Presence' While Pitching for Business Funding

Having "presence" and a personal brand are must-have attributes in our noisy me-too world of neck-and-neck competition. Alas, it's often not enough to clinch the deal or make the sale.

Even with a proven track record and a well-established reputation, an entrepreneur has precious little time to convince anyone -- not just the skeptics -- that they and their ideas are the real deal.

8 Tasks You Should Delegate Today

When Matthew Levey launched his all-natural beef-jerky company in 2010, he and his two co-founders rode their bikes to as many New York City grocery stores as they could to conduct in-store demos and sign up new accounts. After signing up 60 stores in the first month, the three realized that the strategy was neither sustainable nor scalable.

Trash to Treasure: Hidden Business Opportunities

Marty Metro, chief executive officer of Used Cardboard Boxes
Image credit: Used Cardboard Boxes

Where some see the misshapen, the blemished or the unfinished, savvy entrepreneurs sense opportunity. It isn't easy, but some have created successful brands by repurposing imperfect products or services. Some have even carved out a sideline business with misshapen manufactured goods instead of ditching them with a piece of their profit margin. Here are four businesses that can help inspire you to rethink where your next revenues could come from.