Small business owners are often too busy to see the woods through the tress - especially when it comes to measuring their own success. But these 7 signs will give you a quick guide as to how well your business is actually doing and if you're on the much fabled road to success.

For companies battling through tough economic times, effective internal communications may not sound like a top priority. But clear and effective communication within a company, no matter what size, is a big deal. Get it wrong and you’ll soon have a workforce that is unsure, inefficient and struggling with motivation.

Since a good event takes time to pull off, the time to start planning is now. If you’ve not done an event before, it does take some planning, but the rewards – new customers, customer loyalty and great new contacts – can definitely be worth the man hours.

According to James Cameron’s Terminator franchise, 19 years ago to the day (August 29 1997), the computer system Skynet became sentient and triggered the nuclear holocaust known as Judgement Day. Two decades on, we’re thankfully still some way from computers having the technological know-how to wipe out humanity unaided.

So you’ve had the idea that you hope is going to make your fortune - what next? However excited you may be, before you rush into choosing office space and chasing clients you need to put together a business plan – something that sets out your business goals, and helps you assess whether they are actually attainable.

It’s a busy world these days. As a small business owner, it perhaps goes without saying that I’m switched on to work even when I’m at home. But juggling work with all the other things we have to think about - childcare, eldercare and the domestic problems that go hand-in-hand with everyday life – isn’t easy. Even when my business is running smoothly, I feel like I’m failing in other areas of my life and vice versa.

The HR industry’s been telling us for a while that money alone isn’t enough to motivate and engage employees. What works, then? In my experience, it’s about giving your employees a challenge, engaging and empowering them.

Fail faster; succeed sooner, as they say in Silicon Valley. Learning from those who hit the hard times so you can avoid expensive mistakes before they happen is also a good idea when it comes to succeeding in business. Here are four examples of businesses that made it through hardship and came back stronger than ever.

In our increasingly digital world, social media is an important business tool. The far-reaching power of sites such a Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, allows brands to interact with their customers, attract new ones and increase their exposure. However, as much as these sites have the power to build and make a brand, if not used properly, they also have the potential to break a brand. That’s why we’ve created our new infographic, which explores the dos and don’ts of using social media for business.

When you’re running your business on a daily basis, it doesn’t leave much time for finding out about the latest gaming app sweeping the world, right? But that’s where us small business owners (and larger businesses) could be missing a trick.