As a small business owner, I know it can sometimes be daunting to try and go up against the big boys, especially when it comes to hiring the right people.

I am constantly looking to other businesses for inspiration. Who better to learn from than companies which have faced the same challenges as you and overcome them to become real success stories?

Customer loyalty is something that’s always really interested me – as both a business owner and a consumer myself. We have so much choice now, where’s the incentive to stick with one brand or product?

Every year we see the publication of the Forbes list, ranking the wealthiest people in the world. I don’t know about you but I can’t resist indulging my curiosity by perusing the list to see who has made it.

Football, Basketball, Ice Hockey, you name it and I'll probably watch it. So it goes without saying that I'm a huge fan of the Olympics. The U.S. has a great record and I'm always proud to watch our Olympians battle for the ultimate glory of winning a gold medal. I know it must take some serious work and more than a little talent to get to the podium.

Cats. Enigmatic, aloof, contrary - affectionate, loving, loyal. There are so many adjectives that can be applied to our feline friends.  And with a little under half of U.S. households (43%) owning one or more cats (totaling almost 86 million)1, it’s clear they’ve got a place in our hearts. But what can entrepreneurs learn from the cat’s attitude to life? Well, quite a lot actually.

It’s very easy to get overwhelmed when you first start using social media as a business tool. I definitely struggled to get to grips with the sheer volume of platforms, terminology, best-practice advice and, of course, apps that all promise to help streamline and make the best use of your time.

Recently I’ve been feeling a little too self-satisfied with my efforts at social media marketing. My Twitter page has been going from strength-to-strength, I’m starting to get a handle on scaling content and scheduling across all the social platforms I run, and I’ve got big plans for Facebook. Truth be told I was starting to think I’d really cracked it.

We all know the importance of happy and engaged employees. They’re the lifeblood of my business and have propelled me from a struggling start-up to a growing, profitable company. But motivating employees can be hard – especially when you don’t have the capital to compete with large businesses on salary.

Stress can play a big role in a workplace’s productivity. When your employees are stressed, it impacts their health, possibly resulting in their needing to take time off. And while they’re at work, it’s likely on their minds – have you tried concentrating when your stress levels are high? I know I can’t. A stressed workforce can be an unproductive workforce.