Focus

Connect with the world's leading business experts.

Get instant access to their expertise via world–class Q&A, Research, and Events.

Alyssa Gregory

Follow Following Unfollow

Founder, Small Business Bonfire

100 points

Alyssa Gregory is a small business collaborator. She consults small business owners, writes about small business topics, brings entrepreneurs together, and speaks to groups about starting, managing and growing small businesses.

Alyssa recently created an online community for entrepreneurs, the ...

Alyssa Gregory is a small business collaborator. She consults small business owners, writes about small business topics, brings entrepreneurs together, and speaks to groups about starting, managing and growing small businesses.

Alyssa recently created an online community for entrepreneurs, the Small Business Bonfire, that provides an environment for entrepreneurs in all stages of development to network, make connections, learn from their peers and embrace new ideas.

Alyssa's "in-the-trenches" small business journey started in 1999 and continues today through avertua, a business she created to provide small business owners with all-around support and business consulting to make their lives easier and their businesses more productive.

» read more » read less

WEB: AlyssaGregory.com

Sept. 27, 2011

Alyssa Gregory and 8 other people answered this question

Should you DM your Twitter followers with promotional messaging?

I agree with Derek -- I am not a fan of automatic DMs.
Even if you think they have merit, you have to consider how many people are turned off by them and factor that into your decision on whether or not to send them. ... more

Buyer Engagement

Demand Generation

Direct Marketing

Sept. 27, 2011

Alyssa Gregory asked a question

How do you fight procrastination?

Procrastination

Time Management

Sept. 27, 2011

Alyssa Gregory asked a question

What is your favorite productivity tool that you use in your business?

Information Technology

Sept. 27, 2011

Alyssa Gregory and 5 other people answered this question

Does automating your social media efforts subsequently cause you to lose the 'human touch'?

Automation is certainly okay (and necessary in most cases), but if you are using social media to build relationships, you can't let automation replace personal interaction. more

Aug. 12, 2011

Alyssa Gregory and 6 other people answered this question

What tools do you use to 'listen' in on the social web?

I use HootSuite for "light" monitoring and all of my activity. I also use NutshellMail (http://nutshellmail.com) to catch any activity on my accounts, pages and for my specific keywords that I may have missed in HootSuite. more

Social Business

Social Media Monitoring

Aug. 12, 2011

Alyssa Gregory and 4 other people answered this question

Does asking people to retweet you really work? What's your success rate?

Retweets aren't a stand-alone event on Twitter; they are usually part of a larger connection between two people. That's why you'll see some people retweeting the same people regularly, and conversations happening between them on a regular basis.
It's not really about asking or not ... more

Aug. 12, 2011

Alyssa Gregory and 6 other people answered this question

What concerns should businesses have about having a social media presence?

Some excellent answers here! I'd add consistency to the list. Once a business makes an appearance in social media, users and potentially consumers will expect that the account will be kept current and be relatively active.
The foundation for being consistent is creating goals for ... more

July 28, 2011

Alyssa Gregory asked a question

What do you do to encourage readers to subscribe to the RSS feed for your blog?

Business Blogging

July 28, 2011

Alyssa Gregory and 16 other people answered this question

Is it better to back up my business's data on a traditional external HD or in the cloud? Pros? Cons?

I agree with Andrew that it may make sense to use both. I do.
Dennis also wisely pointed out that however you back up your data, you MUST periodically test it to make sure it has maintained its integrity and you're not just backing up ... more

Information Technology

Cloud Computing

June 29, 2011

Alyssa Gregory recommends this answer by Andrew Baker

Give one good reason why customers of any size should move into The Cloud?

Why do we say, "move into the cloud" like it's an all or nothing venture?
Any organization should evaluate all of the sourcing options available to it, to ensure that they add value to the business without excessive risk (i.e. risk that cannot be managed).
Using cloud ... more

Information Technology

Cloud Computing

June 29, 2011

Alyssa Gregory and 6 other people answered this question

What are some examples of the best Wordpress business websites?

My site is a bit different because it's a blog/business site that moves users to our membership-based small business community (which is also built in WordPress/BuddyPress), but I think it's another good business-focused WordPress example: http://www.smallbusinessbonfire.com more

Information Technology

Content Management

June 28, 2011

Alyssa Gregory recommends this answer by Donato Diorio

If you could change 1 thing about LinkedIn, what would it be and why?

Get rid of the canned invite messages. It reinforces bad outreach. Example:
"Since you are a person I trust...." That one is real bad, when people I don't know send me that, I reply "Send me $50".
Force people to write a real intro and do not ... more

June 28, 2011

Alyssa Gregory asked a question

What tactics have you used to increase likes (and engagement) on your business Facebook page?

Facebook Advertising

June 15, 2011

Alyssa Gregory and 20 other people answered this question

What is the best back-office software for SMBs?

This is such a timely and relevant question! I use many of the tools already listed here -- great compilation. And I have a few more:
For CRM, two great tools are BatchBook (http://batchblue.com/) and ContactMe (http://www.contactme.com/). The features of each are very specific to the ... more

Information Technology

May 31, 2011

Alyssa Gregory and 25 other people answered this question

How much time do you spend on social media each day?

My own social media activity averages about 45 minutes to an hour a day, usually in smaller increments during the day. But there is no right or wrong answer to this question, as far as I'm concerned.
It really depends on how you are using ... more

May 31, 2011

Alyssa Gregory and 4 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Smart or Lucky - What Differentiates Successful Technology Companies? [5/24 @ 1:30 pm]

When should an entrepreneur give up on a business idea that they are passionate about?

It depends on the objective of the business idea (success for every business isn't always measured in financial gain alone) and how long the resources (time, money, personnel, etc.) you've allotted to the opportunity will sustain you. Once one of the necessary resources dwindles and ... more

Information Technology

Entrepeneurship

May 24, 2011

Alyssa Gregory and 8 other people answered this question

What's the most stressful thing you have to deal with at work?

Time management! For me, the biggest challenge is managing my workload and goals, and fitting in everything. Being very busy isn't a bad problem to have, but it can certainly bring about a bit of stress from time-to-time. more

Customer Service

General Management

Human Resources

May 24, 2011

Alyssa Gregory and 3 other people answered this question

How would an individual increase his sales volume when his item is not a product but a service?

In my experience, service-based businesses can increase sales in three ways (partially covered by the responses above): 1) Increasing your client base and providing more services through subcontracting arrangements or building a team to support the expanded clientele, 2) Raising your fees so you are ... more

Sales Productivity

May 4, 2011

Alyssa Gregory asked a question

What do you look for in a local networking group and/or online community before you join?

Information Technology

Online Communities

April 28, 2011

Alyssa Gregory and 9 other people answered this question

How do you know who to connect with on the social web? How do you filter?

Tools and indexes can be a useful way to identify the right people to interact with in social media, but the most important factor, at least to me, is the relationship. The value of a personal connection can't always be measured by a tool.
Barbara touched ... more

Online Marketing

April 28, 2011

Alyssa Gregory and 41 other people answered this question

Assuming a blog is important to your business, how often do you write articles & post them?

I don't think there are hard-and-fast rules about how often you should post on your blog. It really depends on your topic, your audience and the type of posts you publish (short blurbs, long tutorials, daily thoughts, etc.). The key is figuring out the magic ... more

April 28, 2011

Alyssa Gregory and 13 other people answered this question

Would you rather work from home or at the office?

I do not work best in an office; I never have. One of the biggest benefits of being an entrepreneur for me is being able to work from home, the car, the beach, or wherever I am. more

April 11, 2011

Alyssa Gregory and 13 other people answered this question

Other than business cards, what one thing do you consider a must-have for in-person networking?

Interesting, John. I like the way you use technology for on-the-spot sharing of contact info. I can see that as being a very memorable approach! more

Information Technology

Following 2 Topics

Following 0 People

Followed by 50 People

Knowledgeable in 18 Topics

#246 of 1982

#147 of 1411

#555 of 2755

Information Technology

#438 of 2263

Business Intelligence

#64 of 236

#172 of 619

Human Resources

#357 of 1382

#20 of 154

#56 of 257

#175 of 813

#23 of 132

Customer Service

#307 of 741

#283 of 703

General Management

#426 of 1194

Work Life Balance

#37 of 51

#12 of 20

#124 of 211

#59 of 128