Remember to register and acquire your small business license in the particular industry of your business. This step is important to ensuring that you're running your business legally and according to industry regulations. Be sure to register for permits related to particular services you offer, like home repair or tax preparation, which could require registration and certification. You will not be able to hire effective employees if your business is not operating with the appropriate licenses and permits. Not all businesses require licenses. Be sure to check with your local small business administration to see what your business requires. Employ individuals with certification in your business' field, like certified public accounting or electrical repair technician. Having certifications for all employees will ensure that your employees are skilled at the highest level and will increase your client's confidence in your business. Organization of your time, employees, finances and inventory is one of the keys to successfully run a small business. Develop a spreadsheet that helps you keep track of all the important details so you don't have to keep them straight in your head, and make time -- at least once a week -- to review everything. Organizing weekly, bi-weekly or monthly meetings between you and your staff can help ensure that everyone is on the same page and will help you avoid wasted time or overlap in the various responsibilities of your team members. Meetings can also help you analyze who is and who is not adequately performing the duties assigned to them. You can't do everything yourself, so delegate the various jobs and responsibilities to qualified employees. Small businesses often require employees to take on many tasks and responsibilities that may not fall firmly in their areas of expertise. It is often helpful to break your business' overall operations down into specific functions and delegate those functions to various employees or members of your team. Also, when delegating responsibilities, make sure you are assigning oversight of a specific function to a qualified individual. For example, you would not want an accountant representing you in a legal matter or a lawyer balancing your financial books. Thinking of your business functions in this way should also help you identify your needs when you are in the process of hiring employees. Once you have decided who should be responsible for the duties in your business, you need to remain involved to make sure all of your employees are following through with the tasks that have been assigned to them. Also, you need to be responsive to the needs of your customers. Make sure you are aware of customer needs and feedback and don't back away from engaging with your customer base, even if that duty has been assigned to an employee. From time to time you will need to hire or fire an employee. Make sure you are aware of all state and federal laws that deal with employment equality and anti-discrimination laws in your area as they pertain to the hiring, firing, disciplining and treatment of employees. Leaving customer feedback strictly in the hands of your employees is a dangerous managerial tactic. Employees may benefit from presenting you with skewed information about customer satisfaction or product usefulness, which, in turn, will lead you to make bad managerial decisions for the company as a whole. As such, do not simply accept what your employees tell you about your business without seeing evidence of their claims. It is your company and you have put yourself in a position of risk, so be proactive in overseeing business results.

Summary: Get your license. Certify employees. Stay organized. Delegate responsibilities. Be involved.

What are you gaining in your sexually harassing behaviors? Better understanding why you feel sexual harassment is necessary will help you find a solution for your behavior and refocus your energy in a more productive way. Examine your reasons for sexually harassing women. Do you want to look good in front of your buddies? Perhaps you need new friends, or give your old friends a heads-up about why sexual harassment is wrong. Does it make you feel strong, powerful, in control? Your insecurity is no excuse for sexual harassment. Talk to a therapist if you struggle with the need to feel "manly" or "tough." Do you feel entitled to touch or talk about a woman's body without her permission? This is a symptom of male privilege, the ability of men to do and say things that women cannot because society judges people of different genders with different yardsticks. Consider how you would feel if someone touched and tried to coerce you into something you did not want to do. Whatever your reason, ask why you think it's acceptable and find a way to undermine the assumptions upon which you've justified sexual harassment. There are consequences for you and consequences for her. There can be emotional, physical, or legal repercussions for sexual harassment depending on the severity and specific circumstances of the situation. Some of these consequences include: You may later feel embarrassed when you realize how rude you've been. In addition to negative feelings, you may open yourself up to legal action, especially in the case of ongoing sexual harassment of one individual. Women who experience sexual harassment feel angry, trapped, and frustrated. Victims of sexual harassment will feel less safe and often have to adjust their travel routes and schedules in order to avoid certain times of the day (especially late at night) or certain places (near bars, colleges, and restaurants) where sexual harassment is a frequent occurrence. Cultural acceptance of sexual harassment leads to rape, domestic violence, and other forms of female disempowerment which women around the world have to confront daily. Imagine you are one of the one in four women who experience sexual harassment in the street before the age of 12 (or one of the one in two women harassed on the street by age 17). How would you feel? Victims of sexual harassment often describe the experience as one in which they feel powerless, afraid, angry, and alone. Stop believing the lie that women enjoy harassment. Just because she smiles doesn't mean she likes it; in fact, a smile is most likely a fear response in the hopes that the situation won't escalate into threats, violence, stalking, rape, or murder. Sexual harassment threatens a woman's sense of safety, and it is never okay. Use the following guiding questions to think carefully about life as a woman under the constant threat of sexual harassment: Would you like to worry about what you are wearing before going out because you might be "asking for it?" What would it feel like to live according to a "rape schedule" leaving bars and other venues early to ensure you are not alone in the parking lot after dark? Do you think your sister, mother, or female friends would appreciate catcalls, staring, or unwanted groping? Would you? Changing habits is hard. Motivate yourself to stop the harassment. Wear a rubber band around your wrist and lightly snap it against your wrist when you feel the urge to harass. Have a stress ball in your pocket to distract yourself when you're feeling the urge to touch someone inappropriately. Conversely, when you go for a week without making a sexual comment or joke which might make women feel awkward or uncomfortable, give yourself a pat on the back and a little reward. As time goes on and you become more sensitive to the reality of sexual harassment, elongate the period of time you wait to reward yourself for speaking and acting free of sexual harassment. Give a detailed verbal apology to any woman you realize you were harassing. Explain that you now realize the error of your ways, and have learned that women deserve respect. A display of penitence will make the women you harassed feel somewhat better, and after a big apology, you will think twice about making lewd comments, gestures, or touches.
Summary: Question your motives. Understand the consequences of sexual harassment. Empathize. Discipline yourself. Make amends.