1. Conduct a data-breach risk assessment. Does your company handle sensitive information, such as credit cards and Social Security numbers? If so, make sure the most vulnerable data is secure from the attacks of would-be hackers. (From "5 Ways To Prevent A Target-Like Data Breach At Your Business," by Kelly Spors)
2. Harness the power of the hashtag. Joining Twitter chats can help build brand recognition among users engaged in the live Q&A. (From "The Power Of The Hashtag," by Juan Pablo Bravo)
3. Search for your next hire at an unexpected place. Potential job candidates picked from volunteer organizations often have a strong moral compass that will go a long way at your company. (From "Why Hiring Based On Experience Could Damage Your Business," by Alexandra Levit)
4. Ask for repeat business. It's a simple, but rarely used way to keep repeat customers coming back for your services, as well as a great way to turn customers into your biggest referral engine. (From "6 Ways To Woo Repeat Clients," by Dawn Papandrea)
5. Edit down the copy on your site. A site with too much text can be a big turn off for customers. "If they aren’t sold within 15 seconds of doing a quick scroll down your site, you’re missing out on a great first impression and very likely an easy conversion," writes social strategist Brendan Mangus. (From "4 Website Content Fails (And How To Avoid Them)," by Brendan Mangus)
6. Engage your mobile customers. Make your mobile sales process fast and efficient—you're less likely to seal the deal if on-the-go customers have to deal with a drawn-out sales transaction on their phone. (From "5 Ways To Make More Sales To Mobile Customers," by Grant Cardone)
7. Encourage the "creative pause" at the office. Allowing your staff to take a step back from work in order to play can be cost-effective, improving your employees' health and productivity. (From "3 Reasons Why Goofing Off At Work Is A Good Thing," by Vivian Wagner)
8. Think about mobile marketing for your business. Though it's where customers are spending the most of their time, only 14 percent of small business owners polled said they planned to focus on mobile marketing in 2014. (From "Why Are Small Businesses So Slow To Adopt Mobile Marketing?", by James O'Brien)
9. Rethink what it means to let go. Controlling business owners worry that letting go will lead to more errors, ignoring the bigger problem: the stress and pain of doing it all. "To reframe your view, write down all the costs associated with not giving up control," such as lost creativity and burnout, writes expert Stephen Shapiro. (From "The Danger Of Being Too Controlling," by Stephen Shapiro)
10. Be more open with your staff. It goes a long way in ensuring long-term employee retention, and is proven to make your employees a lot happier at the office. (From "What Employees Really Want For Christmas," by David Niu)