Entrepreneurship & Innovation

If you’re running a small business, you probably wear too many hats. You’re the CEO, the HR department, the trainer, the problem-solver, and sometimes even the janitor. And while you love leading your business, the endless people problems can drain your energy fast. The hiring, the paperwork, the compliance rules, the conversations you didn’t plan to have — it’s all a lot. The good news? HR doesn’t have to be complicated to be effective. You can reduce stress — for you and yo

Every business owner wants employees who take ownership, perform well, and keep growing. But when it comes to managing performance — setting goals, giving feedback, and tracking progress — most small businesses either skip it entirely or rely on outdated “once-a-year” reviews that everyone dreads. You know the drill. The forms are long. The conversations are awkward. Nothing changes afterward. It feels more like a box to check than a system that drives improvement. No wonder

For small and mid-sized business owners, compensation often feels like a tug-of-war between what you want  to offer and what you can  afford. You want to reward your team. You want to compete with bigger companies. But when you see what large employers are paying, it can feel impossible to keep up without stretching your budget too far. Here’s the truth: you don’t have to outspend to attract great people — you just have to outthink. Attractive compensation isn’t about having

You finally get a full team. Everyone’s trained, working well together, and things are finally starting to run smoothly. Then someone leaves. You scramble to cover their work, post the job again, interview, hire, train — and just when things start to settle, someone else quits. It’s a frustrating cycle that feels never-ending: hire, train, lose, repeat. You start to wonder if this is just the reality of small business life. But it’s not. Turnover isn’t just about people leavi

You finally made the hire. The interviews are over, the paperwork’s done, and you can finally get back to business — or so you hope. Then reality hits. Your new hire needs guidance, direction, and reassurance. Your team has to stop what they’re doing to train them. Weeks later, they’re still asking basic questions, and you’re wondering if you made the right choice. It’s easy to assume that great employees will “figure it out,” but even the best hires can’t succeed without a s

You start the week ready to focus on customers, strategy, and growth — but instead, you’re buried under résumés, interview scheduling,...

Every open role feels like a ticking clock. The longer it stays empty, the more hours you spend covering shifts, juggling extra work, and...

You post a new job listing, cross your fingers, and wait. Days pass. A few résumés trickle in — none quite right. Then you see it: the...

The launch of SkillUp Workforce to bridge gaps in career coaching and small business consulting, enhancing workforce development in Memphis