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Reputation Management Tips and Tricks for Small Businesses

If you’re running a small business or just starting one from the ground up, you might not think it’s necessary to invest time and/or money into reputation management. What you’re failing to see is that reputation management is even more crucial for small businesses and brand new startups.

Maybe you’re wondering, “But how is this possible if we have yet to establish our reputation?” That’s just it… you have no reputation, which is just as harmful as having a bad reputation. You need to put some serious effort into building your reputation so that your target audience actually knows you exist on planet Earth.

Hiring a service to help out with this task is never a bad idea, but not many small business owners have room for this in the company budget. If this is the case, there are plenty of ways to start working on building your brand reputation from scratch.

Before Anything Else, Google Yourself

In order to get a better idea of what your reputation actually is, there’s a simple way to find out: Google yourself. Just type your full company name into the search engine and let it rip. Check out the first 2 pages of results to see what comes up – anything after that is not extremely relevant since studies show that internet users stop after the first 2 pages.

This is a great way to get insight on how people perceive you, and if they do at all. If you don’t even show up on these results, you have an even bigger problem than if you have negative feedback. At least with negative feedback, people know you exist. With no results whatsoever, you won’t be getting much business from Google searches (which is the number resource for consumers).

Start Monitoring by Setting Alerts

There’s an easy way to keep tabs on your company – just set alerts to that you’ll be notified when anything is said about you and your company. Literally anything. It doesn’t matter if it’s something as big as a New York Times article mentioning your name or something as small as a customer review, you’ll be notified. Most alerts will be in regards to reviews on platforms like Google and Yelp, so if you get any negative feedback you’ll be able to act on it ASAP.

Positivity is Key

If there’s not a negative word said about you, that’s great and all, but it means nothing if there is also no positivity pointing in your direction. It is up to you to create positive content relating to your brand. This won’t just paint a picture of positivity for your potential customers, it will also help you to rank higher on search engines. The more that is said about you (hopefully positive things) the better Google will like you, ultimately resulting in better search results.

If You Can’t Remove the Negative, Make it Irrelevant

Some things just can’t be removed from the internet. This doesn’t mean you’re s*** outta luck, though. You can still do your best to get those negative articles, reviews, and feedback pushed further down on Google, which essentially deems them nonexistent.

Is it Possible to Build Your Own Loft Ladder? Absolutely, Here’s How to Do It in 5 Steps

If you have a loft space within your home, it is time to put it to good use. Lofts are often small and dimly lit, so these spaces tend to go underestimated. Try not to let the fact that your loft space is minimal or the lack of natural light stop you from using your loft to its fullest potential.

Utilizing your loft as storage space is an amazing idea, or perhaps you could turn it into your own personal oasis away from the craziness experienced by the rest of the house. First thing’s first though, you must first invest in a safe, durable, and aesthetically pleasing loft ladder.

When shopping around for loft ladders, you’ll see tons of options all ranging in materials used, price, size, and overall look. If nothing suits your fancy, it is entirely possible to build a loft ladder all on your own. Here you can read up on the steps involved in building your very own wooden loft ladder so that you can start using that loft space that has been ignored up until now.

Step 1: Take measurements

Before you can even start thinking about building your wooden loft ladder, you’ll need to take some measurements. Use a measuring tape to determine the distance from the floor to the top of the loft. Add one foot on top of this measurement so that the ladder extends 12” past the loft floor. Then acquire two 2×4’s of this length.

Step 2: Angle the bottom legs of the ladder

You’ll need a radial-arm saw to trim down one side of each of the 2×4 pieces of wood. Hunker says that you’ll need to “swing the blade of a radial-arm saw to the right side and lock it down at 15 degrees.” The trimmed ends will serve as the bottom of the ladder.

Step 3: Make holes for the ladder rungs

Each rung of your ladder should be 12” from the next, but you’ll also need to take into account the thickness of each rung (1.5”). This means that each rung will actually be spaced 10.5” apart from the top of the rung to the bottom of the next one. You’ll then cut the notches for the rungs using a dado blade. Do this on each 2×4.

Step 4: Create the rungs

With another 2×4, cut 18” segments for the number of rungs you’ll need. Then, with one 2×4 ladder leg laying on its side, start placing each rung within a notch. You’ll first need to apply glue to the notches so that the rungs stay in place.

Step 5: Secure everything with screws

Once the rungs have been placed in the appropriate notches with the help of glue, you’ll need to do the final securing. You’ll want a drill for this as well as 3” screws. Each rung should receive a screw on both sides of the ladder. It is an even better ideal to use 2 screws per side, so 4 screws in total for each ladder rung.

Straight Men Can Learn a Thing or Two from Gay Mens Underwear Choices

We can all admit that gay men just know how to do a few things better than straight men. Perhaps this is a bit politically incorrect, but let’s face it, it’s 100% true. We’re not necessarily saying that gay men are always in the loop about the latest fashion trends and interior design fads, but generally speaking gay men have much better fashion sense than the straight guys.

This becomes especially apparent when you compare gay mens underwear to the underwear worn by straight men. If you’re a straight guy reading this and want to learn a thing or two about how to boost your underwear game, it’s time to take a few plays from this gay man’s underwear rule book.

Think About the Fit Before Anything Else

It doesn’t matter if you prefer a snug pair of tighty whities or you’re more of a boxer briefs fan, the first thing to focus on is the fit of your underwear. No matter how expensive those Calvin Kleins or Dolce and Gabbanas are, your underwear won’t look good if they don’t fit properly.

Gay men know that it is important to not just look at the size (like small, medium, or large) but also look at the specifications for each size depending on the manufacturer. One company’s small might be more similar to another company’s medium, so it is important to read into the actual measurements in order to get the best fit possible.

Gotwords.org talks about the importance of fit in relation to comfort and sex appeal: “Find ones that are comfortable for you. Comfort is important but also find ones that accentuate those three features (legs, ass, and junk).  Be sure they are comfortable, but also that they accentuate what you got going on and that stimulate you a little sexuality.”

Next, Consider Making a Statement

Just because your underwear isn’t as exposed as your shirt or pair of slacks does not mean it has to lack style or originality. Don’t be afraid to try something funky with your underwear choices. Go for a pattern or color you wouldn’t normally wear, like a nautical pattern or hot pink.

Or instead of your normal breezy boxers, a pair of sleek boxer briefs a try. There are plenty of designer and department store brands that go all out in terms of color and pattern. You can find everything from bright beachy briefs to flashy jockstraps. Trying something new and out of your comfort zone is a great way to get an unexpected boost in confidence.

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask Your Partner

It doesn’t matter if you are gay, straight, bisexual, or transexual, you should always feel comfortable asking your partner or partners for opinions. For some reason, a lot of straight men don’t believe in chatting about things like undergarments with their lady friends, but that way of thinking needs to stop ASAP. You should feel completely comfortable going to your partner for any type of life advice, including advice on underwear choices.