As a service to our members, the Small Business Association of Michigan (SBAM) presents a regular series of free “Business Next” audio seminars. The seminars, hosted by SBAM’s Vice President Communications Michael Rogers, are streamed Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on MichiganBusinessNetwork.com and archived at sbam.org/radio.

Here are some interesting highlights from recent shows:

Toni Talbot of Human Resource Management Services in Williamston says avoiding sexual harassment problems is a key personnel management issue for small business owners. “People do not recognize what is and is not sexual harassment, and the potential problems and liability that can arise from sexual harassment claims. Actually, the bigger issue is retaliation claims, which is a claim that can be made by an employee who has made or could have made a claim of sexual harassment but now is claiming retaliation for making that claim.”

Listen to the entire audio seminar discussion with Talbot by going to http://tinyurl.com/bntalbot

Randy Dean, the nationally known “Totally Obsessed” Time Management Guy and “E-mail Sanity Expert” from East Lansing, urges small business owners to start the year right by reducing desk and office clutter. “Get caught up, buttoned up and cleaned up. First thing, prepare. Have the stuff you need before you start the job: empty manila folders; empty hanging folders, markers, labels, file cabinet space. Have all of your prep stuff put together first, because that makes it easy to put stuff away. Then grab every single available loose paper in your office and build the grandmother of all piles. And what people tend to find is that 80 percent of that pile is just stuff that either needs to be put away, recycled, shredded or tossed.”

Listen to the entire audio seminar discussion with Dean by going to http://tinyurl.com/bndean.

Mark Clevey of the Michigan Energy Office says that small businesses should take a close look at whether solar energy might make sense for their operation. “Economics should drive the reasons for using solar. For example, if you own a store with a large flat roof, you could rent that roof to a solar company that would put an array on your roof. You in turn could sell that solar-generated electricity to people who want to charge their electric vehicles while they are buying things in your store. Apply the same economic logic to using solar that you would use in deciding to buy a truck or upgrade a building.”

Listen to the entire audio seminar discussion with Clevey by going to http://tinyurl.com/bnclevey.

Matt Schoenherr, owner of Dreamscape Multimedia in Lansing, talks about the importance of branding to small business success. “Branding is a phenomenon that happens in the hearts and minds of consumers. Branding, if you do it right, resonates with consumers. The reason for paying any attention to your brand is to build the bond of loyalty and trust that you can establish with anyone in the marketplace who might be a customer. To neglect the brand is one of the chief sins you can commit when you are in business for yourself.”

Listen to the entire audio seminar discussion with Schoenherr by going to http://tinyurl.com/bnschoenherr.

Linda Daichendt, executive director of the Mobile Technology Association of Michigan, suggests where small business owners should begin when trying to figure out which mobile carrier they should use. “Consider how you use your phone. Graphics? Video? Are you using it strictly for communications like texting and voice? Are you traveling a lot? There’s a lot to really think about. We put a section on the website called Wireless Carrier Data Usage Calculators (http://www.gomobilemichigan.org/resources/data-usage-calculators.html) for each carrier as well as an independent one so that you can actually go in and input information about how you use your phone. That will help you calculate how many gigabits you’re using and help you to figure out what pricing plan you want to sign up for with carriers. As you know, the more data you use, the higher the price is going to be. I think people are making the mistake of thinking they are using an exorbitant amount of data, so they’re buying these really high priced plans when they may not be using as much data as they think.”

Listen to the entire audio seminar discussion with Daichendt by going to http://tinyurl.com/sbammobiletech.

Gary Kushner, a nationally known small business benefits expert and owner of Kushner & Company, explains why good benefits programs can give you the vital edge you need to compete for the best workers. “In today’s world and global economy, you are, as a small business owner, competing for the talent that is going to make your business successful. Among the things you need is a good rewards-based benefits program that is competitive. You don’t want to just have a revolving door of people coming through your business. You want to attract and retain the top talent that is going to change and differentiate your business and make it successful. So I’m going to look at my performance management strategies. How do I differentiate between my top performers, my mid-level performers and my low-level, or non-performers? I’m going to look at training and development and link it to those other HR strategies, and of course I’m going to look at my total rewards strategies. They all work together.”

Listen to the entire audio seminar discussion with Kushner by going to http://tinyurl.com/kushnerco.

Hear experts like these every Monday, Wednesday and Friday on the “Business Next” audio seminars at the Michigan Business Network (www.michiganbusinessnetwork.com). Get details on upcoming guests and topics at the “Business Next” show page: www.sbam.org/radio. And remember to like “Business Next” on Facebook: www.facebook.com/BusinessNext.

		Michael Rogers is vice president communications for the Small Business Association of Michigan and host of the “Business Next” audio seminars on the Michigan Business Network. Have an idea for a show topic or guest? Contact Rogers at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .