The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau wants you to see the full appraisal report on the house you’re buying or refinancing as early in the mortgage process as possible, and without your having to ask the lender for it. more

For many small businesses, survival depends increasingly on finding the ever-elusive “right price” for whatever goods or services are being sold. But there’s no magic formula. No matter what you’re selling, the “right” price to ask is never clearly defined. more

If you run a business and still think of Google only for search and AdWords, you may be missing something that could help your business work smarter and cheaper. The search giant is really a softy when it comes to small business, and has been working to woo biz owners and startups into its Google Apps for Business bundle. more

The digital world is changing rapidly with profound implications for how small businesses are found online, in search, on mobile devices and in social media. Here’s my list of some of today’s key digital trends with the greatest potential impact: more

Salespeople (not you, of course) are known for asking poor questions – questions that are not only embarrassing, questions that are also rude. And I would be remiss if I didn’t add: questions that make them appear desperate and pressing for a sale. more

Do you ever get the feeling that your credit score doesn’t adequately portray your true risk as an applicant for a home mortgage? more

Slowly but surely, many business owners are realizing that Twitter is a terrific (and free) tool for a variety of business purposes, including marketing, customer service, branding and PR and generating leads. Those who use it effectively are generating traffic for their websites, building networks and getting closer to their customers. more

It’s no surprise the late Steve Jobs’ favorite music was written and performed by Bob Dylan and The Beatles. I just finished his biography and it was as compelling a book as “Atlas Shrugged.” more

No doubt about it. Business owners and startups are piling into social media marketing like never before. But the most successful businesses don’t go naked. They deploy a variety of digital tools to amplify and monitor their efforts. more

Customer-service expert Ron Kaufman has a radical notion that great service shouldn’t be as hard as it seems to be for so many businesses to deliver. “Service is everywhere,” said Kaufman. “But there’s a disconnect between the volume of service we need and the quality of service we are giving and receiving. Businesses have turned a simple concept into a catastrophic cliché. They remain blind to the fact that true service comes not from demands and dashboards, but from a basic desire to take care of other people.” more