Katie Fowler Hawkins was unable to find a subscription-box service that delivered the kind of bath-and-body items she wanted, so she started her own in 2016. Since then, Lavish Bath Box has grown to nearly 350 monthly subscribers, and Fowler Hawkins is moving the business to a new space that will include a retail storefront.

Gathering customer data makes it easier to target marketing efforts, but a recent study from Deloitte & Touche found that 61% of shoppers want discounts or other incentives in exchange for providing their personal information. One entrepreneur who is putting that into practice is Marilyn Schulman, co-owner of Willy Nilly Trading, who offers coupons to encourage customers to share their email addresses.

Successful representatives are likely to focus on building relationships with customers early in the sales process instead of rushing to close, writes Falon Fatemi. Also, top sales reps understand the value of in-person interactions and using data to adapt to customer needs, Fatemi writes.

Reflecting on Netflix's famous culture deck, Bretton Putter, CEO of CultureGene, explains why every business should create their own. Writing down a description of your company's culture can give "people insight into the company's mission, values, vision and purpose," he notes.

A business may discover hidden revenue potential by adding complementary products or services, writes Bob Sherlock. "Whether you charge for this package, or just get prospects and customers to see the value and say yes, you can grow sales," he writes.

Small businesses with cash flow problems can often benefit more from ramping up collection efforts than by trying to increase sales, writes David Finkel. Adjusting prices and reducing overhead costs should also be considered before sales volume, Finkel writes.

Research suggests setting difficult goals leads to greater job satisfaction, compared with setting and meeting easy goals. "As a manager, these findings should encourage you to set your team at least modest improvement goals rather than status quo goals," write Amitava Chattopadhyay, Antonios Stamatogiannakis and Dipankar Chakravarti.

Businesses can take several steps to build a stronger local presence on social media, writes Marisa Sanfilippo. For example, they can use location-targeted ads on Facebook and Instagram.