• A recap of Obama's meeting with small-business owners
  President Barack Obama was willing to listen to business owners' ideas during a recent meeting to discuss the impending "fiscal cliff," according to Chris Yura, one of the people in attendance. "For small-business leaders like myself, it was very encouraging," said Yura, who is the founder of an apparel company called SustainU. "The president sees how critically important small business is for our county and the [importance of] continuing to grow entrepreneurship in our country." Entrepreneur online/The Daily Dose blog (11/30)      

• Make sure your online brand is representing you well
  It's important to regularly update your online presence to make sure the content is timely, Deborah Shane writes. Online materials can be used to create an illusion of success, so you should check referrals when working with others and represent yourself accurately, she writes. Small Business Trends (11/28)      

• Creating an effective brand sensory package
  Your brand's sensory package -- which may be defined by the look, feel, sound, smell and taste of your company's products -- creates an emotional response in your customers, writes DJ Heckes. "If an overall brand sensory package is created that communicates the wrong signal, then great products and services, great location, and the impeccable customer service your company delivers will be undermined," she warns. SCORE Small Business Success Blog (11/30)      

• Why business owners have to face their fears
  Being successful in the current business climate requires a willingness to work hard and take action even though it might seem scary to do so, writes Emily Griebel of McKee Wallwork Cleveland. "If your company is unsure and afraid to move forward, don't be. Instead, use fear as motivation to take action," she advises. B2C Marketing Insider (11/28)      

• Legal advice on selling office space
  If it's time to sell your business' office space, you should determine the tax implications of your decision and find a fair way to value the property, Deanne Katz writes. "Unfair pricing won't help a sale, so make sure you really know what the listing price should be," Katz writes. You should also inspect the property to identify any defects that it has. FindLaw/Free Enterprise blog (11/30)      

• How to reduce your expenses and free up more cash
  If your business is experiencing a cash-flow crunch, it's a good idea to evaluate the amount you are spending on marketing, equipment and insurance, Rachel Hartman writes. "Although reducing the amount of [insurance] coverage you carry may not be an option, you may be able to save money on the overall price of your policies by shopping around," she writes. Intuit Small Business Blog (11/29)      

• How to use, not abuse, Twitter for business communications
  Businesses using Twitter should think of it as a conversational medium, not one for one-way promotion, too much retweeting and for retweeting yourself out of misplaced pride, Ilana Bercovitz writes. Appreciating brand mentions appropriately, keeping hashtags to a minimum, and avoiding robot posts and generic questions are among the other tips offered in this article. Small Business Trends (11/30)      

• 5 tips for responding to disgruntled customers on social media
  If a dissatisfied customer is slamming your brand on social media, you should react quickly, try to resolve the issue and avoid showing your frustration, Scott Levy of Fuel Online writes. "Taking the high road and not replying with negativity sets you up for the win in the eyes of anyone who's following along," he writes. Entrepreneur online/The Daily Dose blog (11/28)      

• Small-business owners might be done with daily deals
  Only a small percentage of business owners have been able to generate repeat business by partnering with daily-deal sites such as Groupon and LivingSocial, according to a recent survey by Manta. "The average net loss per order was significant, and the average customer we gain through our own marketing initiatives repeats business with us at a significantly higher rate," said Josh Neblett, co-founder of GreenCupboards, describing his company's experience with daily deals. Bloomberg Businessweek (11/29)      

• Health care law draws concern about hiring, costs
  Many small businesses and employers that rely on low-income workers say they are rethinking their business models in light of how the Affordable Care Act might affect business. Some say it might reduce their hiring or force them to move to more part-time workers, while others have begun to implement the benefits as a way to hang on to top talent. The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (11/30)      

Featured Content

Top five news stories selected by SmartBrief on Main Street readers in the past week.

• How to handle freeloading family members (Entrepreneur online)

• 6 ways to curb employee theft (The Globe and Mail (Toronto))

• Use strategy, not price, to close big deals (Inc. online)

• Tax-planning strategies for the end of the year (Inc. online)

• What's true and what's not about the Affordable Care Act (NetworkSolutions.com)

• Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.

Even when you're using Twitter in a professional capacity, your followers want to know there is a person behind the tweets." --Ilana Bercovitz, social media and marketing professional at ReTargeter, writing at Small Business Trends