Recently in Business Operations Category

The sad story of a chef killed over a meal raises an important issue for small business owners: How should you deal with disgruntled customers? Or more to the point, how should you not deal with them?

Japanese chef Miki Nozawa died from injuries that resulted from a fight with two customers in Germany who apparently thought their meal was poorly prepared, UPI reports. No one has yet been arrested.

As a business owner, dealing effectively with unsatisfied customers -- unpleasant as it may be -- is a crucial and necessary part of keeping your business afloat. It can also help fend off potential lawsuits.

Here are some tips you may want to consider:

To snoop or not to snoop, that is the question. Employers might feel hesitant about spying on employees. It can give employees the impression that they aren't trusted.

Yet when employers find themselves in the midst of an embarrassing legal nightmare, monitoring employees may seem like a useful preventative measure.

But is it legal to spy on your employees? The answer may depend on how you're spying on them, and where your business is located.

The digital currency Bitcoin has taken the interest of small businesses again, as a New Mexico legal startup, Law 4 Small Business (L4SB), has announced it will start accepting bitcoins in exchange for legal services. Should your business do the same?

L4SB attributes much of its recent success to offering their customers flexible payment methods and options, and adding Bitcoin to this list will appeal to their tech-savvy small business clients, according to a company press release.

Bitcoin is by no means a new option for businesses. But business owners should consider these risks before offering payments in digital cash:

You've heard of employees tampering with their timesheets, but a New York McDonald's employee claims his employer was fraudulently altering his time cards in order to cut his pay.

Frustrated ex-employee Jeff Schuyler claims his bosses at the Syracuse-area McDonald's modified his timesheets in order to avoid paying him overtime, reports The Huffington Post. His lawsuit seeks class-action status.

As wage theft continues across the country, employers should take a careful look at the laws relating to time and wage requirements.

As reality TV shows featuring small businesses become increasingly popular, other entrepreneurs may be wondering how they can get a piece of the reality TV pie.

However, a better question may be how to deal with some of the legal issues that often accompany a business owner's 15 (or more) minutes of fame.

Before you sign up to be the next "Pawn Stars" or "Duck Dynasty," or even just to be featured in a commercial TV segment, consider these tips about protecting yourself and your business once you're in the limelight:

While many of us couldn't imagine life, much less business, without a mobile device, some business owners are choosing not to go mobile.

Despite the proliferation of iPhones and BlackBerrys in the workplace, a staggering 34% of companies use no mobile devices in their business, according to a new study by Constant Contact Inc. and reported by Daily Deal Media.

With a healthy one-third of businesses no using mobile technology whatsoever, maybe the old-fashioned methods are worth a second look.

Sure you're a mom, but you're also an entrepreneur running a successful business. And although those skill sets often overlap, there may be some pitfalls to treating your employees like your children.

The following tips will help keep mothers, and the businesses they own, on top:

On eBay, ratings equal social currency: They can make or break a seller's reputation. That's why Med Express, an eBay seller, sued a buyer who wouldn't take down her negative review. It was the only piece of negative feedback against the company.

Med Express eventually backed down, but the buyer's lawyer is pursuing a countersuit because of the company's troubling pattern of suing buyers over bad reviews.

But are Med Express' eBay lawsuits "completely frivolous," as the eBay buyer's lawyer claims?

Ending a business contract isn't always pleasant experience, but getting out of one shouldn't be the end of the world.

Situations often change, and business owners may have to break contracts in order to protect their interests. Being prepared can help make the process easier.

Knowing that the life of your business will contain more than a few curveballs, here are three potential ways to get out of a business contract:

With services like Twitter, Facebook and Yelp, every smartphone-carrying customer has the power to shout your business mistakes to the world. While large corporations have the advertising power to influence public opinion, a small company may need to protect themselves if a customer goes too far and defames the business. However, if you sue over a legitimate, non-defamatory comment, you may be using what is known as a SLAPP suit.

A savvy business-owner can navigate the world of SLAPP suits and anti-SLAPP motions by remembering these three things.