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Oct8
Choosing A Quality Web Host
Filed under: Email Marketing; Tagged as: Business, ecommerce, internet marketing, landing page, marketingComments OffIf you are individual enjoy me, you’d current love to have a website on the Internet but you fitting have no impression how to lick about it. All this introduction of net hosting, bandwidth, tape space, and other jargon can cause one to say, “This is too complicated and technical, I just wanted to have a place to put all of my favorite skateboarding photos, cool information on ramp designs, and the best places to skate!” To get a website on the Web you have to go through a web host. The question is how do you find the web host for you? If you type ‘web host’ into your search engine like Google you will get thousands of sites. Hit on one of these and like any product on the market you will see all sorts of persuasive propaganda to incite you to use their company; that is if you can decipher any of the technical jargon that only computer-heads can comprehend.
Some web hosts offer free business cards with an account; some probably offer free watches?like all consumer industries you the buyer must beware. I’m a writer so I’ll use the analogy of a writer’s journal. The journal I like must not be too big or small in book size. It also must have a good amount of space allocated to each day, again not a whole page but not just a few lines. Of course I also want it to be cheap but of a good quality that won’t fall apart while I’m using it, and I hope it would last for posterity. I just want the diary, some nice pictures in it are O.K. but unnecessary especially if it adds to the price. It’s the same with a web host and web site scenario. You want to get the right deal for you, enough space and enough access to the public that you wish to associate with. As a novice who doesn’t understand all the jargon this can pose a problem. Are you an individual, small business, blog, or a big time corporation? What do you need and how do you get it? As far as I can tell the web hosting business is a lot like the fast food business.
The big corporations have strict guidelines, will offer you special deals, and have monthly ‘cheeseburger specials’. But, I’ve always been more interested in the ‘Mom and Pop’ small time diners who have that real caring human approach. You know you are a customer and a person, not just a number on a sales receipt. I believe the hosting companies are the same. A smaller hosting company will probably treat its users with more honest integrity as well as having more flexibility in dealing with your individual situation. They can often tailor web site packages to accommodate exactly what you are looking for as well as the ability to update them quickly when your needs change. My advice is to contact a few of the smaller companies.
Look for ones with good reputations or just arbitrarily email them and compare results from different places. Which one do you feel most comfortable with? Go for it; ask as many questions as you can, see how the different hosts differ in their answers. Try one; if it doesn’t work out try another, it’s really easy to move around. Don’t be afraid, you’ve got nothing to lose except the fear itself!
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Oct8
SEO And The Gem Dealer
Filed under: Small Business Websites; Tagged as: Business, ecommerce, internet marketing, landing page, marketingComments OffSome people have a hard time understanding the concept of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). The notion of developing a website based on principles that involve certain words seems confusing and perhaps even a bit like hocus-pocus.
In its most simple form SEO is something like the brightest thread in a tapestry or the point leader in a basketball game. This method is something like finding your favorite sports drink in a store filled with similar bottles.
The use of Search Engine Optimization provides an intense level of satisfaction for search engines that have been looking specifically for the best use of virtually every keyword or phrase imaginable.
Let me suggest one more analogy related to this principle. Imagine a diamond buyer looking for the best overall selection of diamonds. This buyer investigates every possible seller in the world and makes the determination to buy from a seller that has proven they have the greatest number of gems to choose from.
When you approach website design you absolutely must have at least a primary understanding of SEO principles. This method is reminiscent of that diamond dealer and his search for the seller with the most diamonds. Your consistent use of the keyword or phrase you have chosen is like a growing collection of diamonds that search engines are looking for.
Search engines are on a never-ending search for the best sites. When they get to your online business site they subject it to complete scrutiny. They will scan every word searching for that common thread, highest scorer or sports drink. How does your site stack up against other sites that have also selected the keyword or phrase you are using?
There are a few things you should pay attention to when you develop your keyword-enriched site.
The Things to Do
Make sure you research keywords or phrases that may provide the best response from search engines.
Make sure you develop your website with the chosen keyword used in every section of the site. This includes sections such as ?About Us? as well as the knowledge-based content you will provide.
Make sure to add new content on a regular basis. Search engines pay attention to sites that are consistently updated.
The Things to Avoid
Make sure you do not stuff your site with the chose keyword or phrase. A percentage of 5% or less is about right. When you stuff your content with too many keywords it can be awkward to read and usually raises a red flag for search engines.
Make sure you do not fill portions of each page with invisible keywords. This is something that has been done primarily in the past to get a higher ranking, but virtually all of these sites have been caught and penalized for bad online behavior.
Make sure you do not treat the impact of SEO with contempt or disregard. This concept can have the greatest impact on future site-based traffic.
Search engines want to find your site and they want to reward you with improved site rankings, but they need your cooperation in helping them find your site so they can let others know you exist.
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Sep24
How To Gain Cash With CPA Assort Selling
Filed under: Email Marketing; Tagged as: affiliate marketing, Business, Home Business, internet marketing, make money onlineComments OffIndividuals often wonder how they could make good money on-line without really having to sell anything and if you are some of those people, then this strategy is for you. You can make money without marketings anything by using a pay per lead affiliate website to make money from. You may now be questioning what pay per lead means and what an assort site is.
An assort website is a site that you are affiliated with or connected with through certain affiliate platforms or through assort rank internet sites. When you got affiliated with these programs or sites, you make to choose from associates or on-line companies that are appendages too and need aid with either selling their products and helps or need people to perform certain tasks for them, like surveys and market place tests to determine potential product and business succeeder.
When you require to make money with what is called a pay per lead affiliate site, you are basically trying to get people to see a positive internet site that requires leads they can link for whatever functions they may have. A lead is someone who marks up on their internet site and can be contacted through e-mail, phone or home address. This lead and the lead’s information could be got by the affiliate site if and when the someone that got led to that website marks over and completes a pattern. The someone who then got that lead to go to that get per lead affiliate website then has a commission for the completed signup.
This variety of a business is in reality pretty easy to place up and could be over in as small as a hardly a hr. Full you would need to have is a legitimate e-mail deal, a rank on some of the many assort selling tools on-line and a get per lead assort site to initiate with and you are good to go. You can begin off with a web log that is related to what the internet site you are fighting is all about. You could also get people interested in signing up and completing a sign up form on these internet sites with an incentive, like the probability to earn money from it as well.
People who attempt these pay per lead affiliate site referral systems often make around two dollar per successful subscribe over and the good part most it is, they did not yet get to do lots, not yet to sell any product. Full they did was to put over a web log, get individuals to click the link to the affiliate site and subscribe up and that is good cash in the bank. You must study mafioso marketing for a major understanding of assort commercializing business.
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Sep17
Tips From Columbus Ohio Website Design: Effective Business Blogging For Newbees
Filed under: Web Design Services; Tagged as: blogging, Business, Columbus Ohio web design, marketing, website designComments OffHere is one of the secrets of Columbus Ohio website design: Blogging. You might be hesitant to make the leap, being not so sure where to start. Many CMOs are scared of blogging because they don?t know what they ?should? be doing.
Luckily, blogging (and social media, for that matter) is a relatively powerful media, once you understand the fact that blogging is about building business relationships, as well as your company brand with marketing. Where should you get started?
1. Your inbox. What are clients talking about? Are there any questions you can answer? Are there conversations that you keep contemplating that might be compelling to your readers?
2. Comment on someone’s blog. What blogs are you reading? What blogs are shaping your line of business? Do you have an opinion about what they’re saying?
3. Give thoughtful advice. Most blog readers say they do so because they’re looking for ideas and advice to help solve their own situations. This is your chance to show what you know - Are there any services that you can offer to help solve these problems? What expertise can you lend?
4. What have you been doing lately? Can you offer behind-the-scenes stories or insights?
5. Comment on your field. As you might notice, ours is Columbus Ohio website design. Are there any new developments that your students would find enthralling? Can you write about real-world applications?
6. A picture is worth a few thousand words. It?s trite, but true - photgraphs and videos are absolutely priceless. Transparency builds relationships with your customers and clients because it?s genuine.
7. E-books, especially free ones, are incredibly valuable. Publish an e-book and offer something that your future customers can’t get anywhere else. This helps establish you as an expert in your industry.
8. Share presentations with your readers. Have a person record your latest presentation or upload your slides on slideshare. Again, this helps establish you as an expert in your business.
9. Be the News. A blog is a great outlet to put all of those press releases that your company issues when someone is hired, the company receives an award, etc.
10. Talk it up. Your blog should generate debate and/or talk with your readers, rather than being a one-sided conversation. This will help spark future topics, as well as generate reader loyalty and, eventually, brand loyalty.
However, sometimes, the best of intentions don?t always work. Why? Here are some reasons:
1. Your writing needs to come from a real human being, rather than sounding like it?s coming from a ?bot.?
2. Don?t ?set it and forget it.? You need to commit to blogging on a regular basis, not just when you have time to update.
3. Stay current, fresh, and relevant. Your content should not only be about your line of business and its services.
5. A blog is NOT advertising. It is a tool to be used in a comprehensive marketing strategy. If you need an ad, contact an agency. Use your blog to build workingrelationships.
6. Spread the word and drive traffic to your blog. You can write the most useful content in the world, but if no one reads your blog, it may as well not even exist.
7. If you build it, they will come. Eventually. Blogging and social media do not produce immediate results, nor do they ring cash registers in a noticeable way. Don?t give up on your blog until you know how effective it actually working as a small business website design.
We hope that you find these beneficial tips helpful and visit us at Columbus Ohio Website Design (www.mywebwow.com)
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Sep13Comments Off
Many business owners who opt to try email marketing form the identify of believing any typewrite of email marketing is healthful. This is simply not right; there are a confine of mistakes business owners can pee when they devise an email marketing movement. Examples of these types of mistakes may permit allowing promotional materials to be tagged as email, not following up with promotional emails, not beingness ready for an influx of customers after an email marketing sweat and not marketing specifically to the point interview.
We leave act our speech on email marketing mistakes with email. Email is a job which is motility enzootic proportions. Each day Internet users are bombarded with email from around the earth. This may permit an innkeeper of unsolicited emails which are promoting products or services the recipients may or may not be curious in purchase. A judicial nonachievement business owners can head in email marketing is to air emails which are liable to be construed to be spam. This may ensue in the emails never movement the recipient or the emails state deleted, without being see, by the recipient. Avoiding the possibility of descending into the spam accumulation is not very herculean. It fundamentally involves ensuring your promotional emails contain much utilizable repeat than open business. This present head it statesman Other email marketing misconception often prefabricated is failure to obey up on promotional emails. Sending out emails to interested parties can be very good but it is symmetrical much beneficial to conjunction these email recipients by additional methods much as assemblage or telephony to solvent any questions they may have and bid any additional assemblage they may expect. This write of take up can be much solon efficacious than just sending an email and allowing it to recede into the abyss of an overcrowded email inbox.
Business owners may also run into the misstatement of not preparing themselves for an influx of customers after an email marketing travail. The express firmness of email marketing is to make raised concern in your products or services. Thus it is grievous for business owners to anticipate a growth in business and be spread to reconcile this accumulated condition for products and services. This is important because latent customers who have to act for products or services may essay out your competitors who are punter prepared to furnish them with products or services forthwith.
Finally a dire mistake prefabricated by business owners is to not design an email marketing cause to their peculiar target opportunity. This can be a problem because it may lead in the email marketing being lower competent. Business owners typically represent this slip because they fall into the mouth of believing that it is much important to move a thumping interview than it is to movement a train interview. You may blindly publicize your email marketing materials to trillions of recipients and exclusive make a few leads. Nonetheless, you cou
powerfulness in your products and services and testament liable create more leads from this smaller email system tilt. It is not exclusive important to move your communication to members of your aim chance but to also design your message to check this audience. Creating an email substance which give invoke to a show of individuals is not as important as creating a communication which faculty collection to members of your train interview.You gift require an autoresponder system to market with email We reccomend www.Automatic-Responder.com for sending your email.
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Aug2No Comments
Article marketing is one of the best vehicles to improve traffic for your small business. Getting an online presence can make a big difference in the success of a small business marketing program today.
Here are five thoughts on how you can use article promotion more effectively to increase traffic to your small business website.
1. Know your readers. Local search is one of the key ways to do that today.
By local search I mean including cities, and states into your keywords when appropriate. Words like Denver Plumber, Colorado heating contractor and so on let the search engines know where you are located.
Writing articles is a great way to provide content that search engines love and rank high for a reader to find. You can use them to target the needs and demands of your customers and include keywords for local search too!
2. Impress your readers. You will need to do this as it is the only way to make sure that these people will click on your resource box.
Make them feel that you are really good on what you do and that you are an expert on your chosen niche by giving them information that are highly relevant to their needs and demands.
3. Be confident. One of your main goals in distributing your articles is to gain the trust of your potential clients. This will not happen if you sound unconvinced about the information that you are sharing.
That is why, it is very important that you always talk in an authoritative manner. But be careful not to alienate your readers. You must still write using friendly and conversational tone.
4. Volume is the key. If you want to speed up the process of realizing your promotion goals, I highly recommend that you consider multiplying the number of your articles.
This is not only to offer your readers with more information but also to significantly boost the number of your backlinks that can help you in securing a great page ranking on major search engines.
5. Keep it short and simple. Most online users are not willing to spend their precious time reading articles online.
They will be happy if you can offer them the information they need in as little time as possible. You?ll generate more attention online if you can make your articles relatively shorter but loaded with useful information.
Ensure that they are easy to understand so your readers will be able to grasp the message that you are trying to get across the first time that they read your content.
Every small business promotion program should incorporate article marketing to promote their business on the Internet today. Using these tips you can maximize your article more successfully way to satisfy your readers demands and drive traffic to your small business website.
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Jul7
Difference Between Solicitors And Barristers
Filed under: Small Business Websites; Tagged as: Business, Business Opportunity, Home Business, Online Business, Small Business1 CommentEvery country has its own regulation with regards to legal profession. The legal profession in England, New Zealand, Wales Australia and Canada is composed of two different groups which are the Solicitor and the Barrister.
The Solicitors are British lawyers who give legal advice and prepare legal documents and is considered Office Lawyers. Solicitors have served for two years under the management of a practicing Solicitor and meet other demands of the Law Society, which includes educational requirements, and must be admitted to practice. Several common law jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand excluding US call this type of Lawyers as Solicitors. They are involved in commercial work relating to business such as dealing with commercial transactions, corporate matters, land, share, other property dealings and also litigation.
The Barristers on the other hand are the Courtroom Lawyers who speak in the higher courts of law and who are reserved by Solicitors to advocate in a legal hearing or to render a legal opinion. Barristers are the lawyers who practice out of an office and are often referred to as Chambers. They provide opinions to Solicitors on difficult points of law and appear on court. But Barristers must pass the bar final exams and be admitted to “plead at the bar”, meaning they have been called to the bar and is allowed to appear in court to argue a client’s case. It is required in England that the Barrister has to be taken on by a practicing Barrister for a one-year pupilage which is same as internship. It allows the new Barrister to observe and assist his master in the execution and learn from the experience. The Barristers are easily recognized by their robe and wig which is referred to as the working garb.
What is a Commercial Law Solicitor?
Commercial Law Solicitors are lawyers that engage and specializing in handling cases affecting different business legal issues. Questions involving Tax law, Business Law and Labor Law are some of the issues that may arise out of this daily business activity.
When a person is interested to establish a new business, a Commercial Solicitor will help in determining the validity as well as the procedures one must observe. They can execute the necessary contracts to effectively carry out the business. They can also check the company organization if it complies with the basic rules and regulations and give the list of the necessary license requirements in putting up the business.
On decisions involving business name the Commercial Law Solicitor can discuss the implication of using one?s name in the business. The benefits of having trade name or business name can also be explain by the Solicitor including the conformity requirements that must be observed.
Even in securing the business location, Commercial Solicitor could be the best person around. They can review and draft the contract involving lease agreement, sub-lease agreement or any other agreement a client may want to engage in leasing any business premises.
Information with regard to financial matters like obtaining a bank loan, a mortgage loan or transaction to another company can be explained by the Commercial Law Solicitors. They will help the client to understand the benefits and the legal issue that may arise out of these transactions.
With respect to taxes, Commercial Solicitors will give advice on how to keep taxes to a minimum level. An advice on the insurance requirement to protect the business including the employees may also be explained by the Commercial Solicitor.
Legal obligations in giving products and services are also important matter that Commercial Solicitor can counsel a businessman on the right procedure to observe in compliance with the existing rules and regulations.
On dispute arising from employee-employer relationship the solicitor can also check all the validity of the claims arising from illegal dismissal or any other claims involving work-related problems. Generally a Commercial Law Solicitor acts for business of all trades and sizes.
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Jul6
Accident Claim With A Specialist Solicitor
Filed under: Small Business Websites; Tagged as: Business, Business Opportunity, Home Business, Online Business, Small BusinessNo CommentsEveryone has heard of an accident claim, but few people know how to deal with the traumatising experience when it comes. Life quickly becomes confusing and frustrating as you deal with physical pain and the bureaucratic red tape.
While there is no shortage of accident solicitors that deal with injury or accident claims, there is definitely a shortage of actual efficient and reliable ones. Choosing the wrong legal advice team for your claim can cost you money as well as in the final result, zero compensation.
Accident Injury Is Unpredictable!
Accidents can happen anywhere, so feel protected at all times. Whether at work, out socially, on business or just having some fun, accidents can quickly turn your life upside down and turn everyday chores and pleasures into frustrating tasks. Thus possibly requiring the help and pity of others.
Work becomes impossible, and you feel like a burden on everyone around you. You think back to life before the injury and wonder why it happened to you.
Don’t Blame Yourself
The first thing many people feel after an accident is the embarrassment and somehow personally become responsible for their injury. Such a mind-frame can quickly lead to depression, which can affect all those around you. It can also help to slow down the recovery process, preventing the possibility of an injury claim.
Don’t feel that somehow you don’t deserve compensation for your injury. If someone is responsible for your suffering then, you should seriously consider talking to a competent, experienced and reliable accident solicitor who has the power to earn you an impressive compensation settlement.
People are injured everyday due to negligence of others; don’t allow yourself to become just another statistic that’s left to recover without the financial aid you deserve.
Living With A Serious Injury
For many, the pain and debilitation after an injury is almost too much to handle. Life takes an unexpected turn as you spend your days, bed-ridden, stuck at home, or in physiotherapy, trying to regain your lost mobility and freedom.
You feel that you can no longer provide for your family, and simple things like playing in the back yard with your kids and going on vacation are no longer a viable options.
An accident injury claim is not a mere slap in the face and, through the haze of suffering, frustration and confusion, you want to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Ready For Some Action?
The first step is to find a personal injury solicitor who can be relied upon to produce a successful victory for your compensation claim.
There are all sorts of solicitors advertising their credentials and claiming to be the ‘hard-hitters’, but this is merely fiction.
The most critical step in an injury claim is choosing a competent and reliable solicitor to manage your case. When coming to this decision, there are several questions that must be addressed. You must be sure that the solicitor is experienced and has produced ‘good’ results for their previous clients.
You need to be comfortable with your accident solicitor and be able to speak freely and comfortably with them. With a comfortable, professional relationship established, a successful accident claim settlement will be within your reach.
Balls In Your Court
Always remember that there is a reason why you are reading this today to make an accident compensation claim for your accident injury. Don’t allow your situation to get the better of you.
Without proper consultation, an injured victim’s life may never get back on track. Taking the crucial steps of filing an accident injury can be the first step in turning everything around and getting back behind the steering wheel of life.
Don’t let your injury get the better of you; make those responsible, responsible! If someone else’s negligence is behind your pain, then take the necessary action and get what you deserve.
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Jul5
Increased Consulting Fees Through Self-Confidence
Filed under: Small Business Websites; Tagged as: Business, Business Opportunity, Home Business, Online Business, Small BusinessNo CommentsSometimes consultants and other service providers are hesitant to charge a fair rate for their services.
Maybe they feel that the services they provide are so basic that you really can’t justify charging much or anything for them.
Perhaps they feel that they don’t have the knowledge or experience that other consultants have.
Thus, they hesitate to charge fair rates because of a lack of self-confidence. This is natural (especially for new consultants). However, what you know and do has real value.
By the way, I’m sure that most people find it more appealing to deal with someone who is humble enough to admit their limitations than someone who is arrogant and cocky and not as great as they think they are.
To stay in business, though, you need to charge a fair price for all of your services. Fair means fair to the client but also fair to you.
You can enjoy increased consulting fees by developing more self-confidence.
1. Don’t Take Your Skills for Granted
First of all, we tend to take our assets for granted. If you are an expert bookkeeper and good with numbers, you may feel it’s easy to do the work you do. Yes, it’s easy for you but not for others.
You may actually have an aptitude for what do. You may have a gift that others don’t have. Perhaps, through hard work and applying yourself, you have developed a marketable skill.
Second, even if someone were fairly good with numbers, it might not be a good use of time for that person to do the bookkeeping. By outsourcing this work, time can be more productively spent on other activities crucial to the business.
Bookkeeping may seem pretty basic but if you ask your accountant to do it for you, he’s going to charge you extra. Why? It takes his (or his staff’s) time.
Your services may also improve your client’s bottom line. That being the case, your client is profiting from your services.
Thus, by realistically evaluating the value of your skills and other assets, you can boost your self-confidence for increased consulting fees.
2. Increased Consulting Fees Despite Inexperience
Just because there are people more knowledgeable and experienced than you doesn’t mean that you can’t charge for what you can do.
The top tax lawyers in the country may be more expert than other lawyers but who can afford them? For most clients, hiring them would be overkill.
Sometimes you might feel inadequate because you know you are still learning. You realize that you don’t know everything there is to know about your field.
Who does? We’re all learning! Get paid for your on-the-job training.
If you know some things that your client doesn’t and you can help him improve his business, then you can offer a valuable service.
Don’t under-estimate the value of your services.
Again, self-confidence can lead you to enjoy increased consulting fees.
3. Increased Consulting Fees for Additional Services
Many feel that their clients wouldn’t pay extra for certain additional services offered.
How do they know? Have they asked their clients?
Make your case for the extra fees. How could the services offered help improve the profitability of your client’s business?
Replace unappreciative clients (who undermine your self-confidence) with appreciative ones.
Selling value-added services is one way to obtain an edge over your competitors. For example, a web designer who is knowledgeable about search engine optimization could help increase their client’s targeted web traffic which could result in increased sales and profits.
Premium services deserve premium rates.
In summary: Don’t take your skills for granted. Lack of experience doesn’t mean that you have nothing to offer. Charge for all your services. Yes, your self-confidence can result in increased consulting fees for you.
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Jun30
How To Build A Print Business Without Owning A Print Shop
Filed under: Small Business Websites; Tagged as: Business, Business Opportunity, Home Business, Online Business, Small Business3 CommentsYou can own a legitimate business and make top dollars by becoming a print broker or print specialist. This is a person who sells on behalf of an actual printer or a middle man who locates and serves customers. Print brokers are independent, as they’re not directly employed by the printing companies they represent. Your number one arsenal to being successful as a print broker is customer service. See, you will need repeat customers to grow and build up your business even greater than any single printer who prints for you.
Look at it as printers working for you at their various locations. You hire a printer to print what your customers request, e.g. booklets, catalogs, brochures, business cards, flyers, etc. You may want to focus on specific items as there are so many different products out there to print. With the power of the internet, now you can hire a printer anywhere and sell to customers everywhere.
Ok, here are the basics for becoming a Print Broker:
1. Set up Shop
You will need to set up an office area to operate from. It should include a phone, fax, computer, and a file cabinet. Keep your work area as detailed as possible, this will keep you mind clear and allow you to be on top of your business. Make sure you have a good answering machine to take messages when you are not in office. You can use your same phone line for fax if you can?t afford a fax line right now.2. Find Printers who are willing to sell to you at Wholesale Prices
The easiest way to find these printers may be to search your local phone directory or just search the internet. Call them up and ask if they have a print broker program or if they would be willing to sell their print services to you at a wholesale price ? it must be at a 15% discount or more. Most printers who already have a print broker program will have a contract ready for you to sign.3. Choose the products that you are going to offer for printing and set your own prices.
The most popular products that businesses use are things like business cards, letterheads, envelopes, brochures, flyers, presentation folders, labels, inserts, postcards, etc. You could even get into printing promotional items like bags and pens, but that?s a whole new area that you could explore. Remember I told you that customer service will be your number one arsenal in this business. So you don?t have to marginalize your profits, just stress value and offer customer service second to none.4. Promote your Print Broker Business
(a) Print and distribute business cards, flyers and postcards to places that people visit frequently (like restaurants, barber shop and salons, clubs etc.).
(b) Mail postcards to new businesses ? you can get the new business listings at your local county court house or search online
(c) Word of mouth ? tell everyone you know about your new business venture, friends and families. Give them one of your business cards.
(d) Website ? put your website address on everything you use like business cards etc. You can get good advice on how to promote your website at http://www.AboutCityBusiness.com5. Maintain and keep in touch with your customer base
One of the most effective methods that will build your business is word of mouth ? when your satisfied customers tell others about you. So you will want to send your customers holiday cards, specials by mail or e-mail, call them by phone or whatever it takes to remind them about your great service. You could also invite your top customers out for lunch.It?s not unheard of to make 5000 to 20,000 dollars a month just being the middle man or woman. Just remember that you must be dedicated and have a willingness to act. Read, keep up to date with trends and increase your marketing skills.
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Jun30
Awareness And Mastery ? Two Essential Keys To A Successful Small Business
Filed under: Small Business Websites; Tagged as: Business, Business Opportunity, Home Business, Online Business, Small BusinessNo CommentsAt the heart of it, mastery is practice. Mastery is staying on the path.”
~ George Leonard
US pioneer in human potentialWe often hear managers complaining that their employees aren?t productive, don?t listen and just can?t consistently get the job done. As a youth sports coach, I hear coaches with similar complaints?the kids don?t listen, don?t know where to go and don?t try very hard. I can?t relate. The boys on my team are usually focused, do what I ask of them, and work hard. As a business owner, my employees are focused, do what I ask of them and work hard. What am I doing that is different from the rest? And what can this teach you about running a successful small business?
As a coach, I make my boys? jobs very simple. I ask only two things of them. I ask them to master one shot and I ask them to be aware of what is going on around them. Of course we work on defensive and offensive strategy, but both of those revolve around the two keys that I gave them for success?awareness and mastery.
I teach awareness by constantly asking them to be aware of where the ball is and at the same time to be aware of their teammates are and where their opponents are. I teach them how to see the ball and their opponent when he doesn?t have the ball. Sounds simple, but for ten year olds this is work.
I teach mastery by assigning homework to each boy. The second week of practice, they have to show me a spot on the court from which they can make a shot every time. I don?t care if it is from just two feet under the basket. I want them to know they can make it every single time. As the season progresses, they may gradually move their spot further and further out, but I still ask that they be able to make their shot every time unguarded in practice.
These two simple concepts have a tremendous effect on the boys during their games. They have incredible confidence in their ability to make shots because they ?know? that they will always make it. I don?t need to yell at them like other coaches about where they should be on the court because they have developed awareness of what they are doing and seeing. Now let?s see how you can use this in your successful small business.
As a business owner, I put these two key principles to work in training my employees. From the first day on the job, I work with them to be aware of what tasks are needed, what I expect of them, how I want customers treated, etc. And I ask them to master tasks and customer scripts. Once they are mastered, I open it up for them to adlib just like with my players. When correction is needed, it is usually in one of these two areas. They are either unaware of what is needed or they haven?t mastered the task at hand.
Not only does following these two concepts make it easy for me to get results with my players and employees, it also brings incredible results. My first team lost only one game all season and my employees rarely lose a sale. My businesses and products win awards earned by my employees. And, as a bonus, everyone enjoys themselves with this simple structure. I knew I was doing it right when the father of one of my boys told me that his boy enjoyed practice so much that he chose to come to practice instead of going to see our professional basketball team play one night. And I know it works with my employees because they show up on time happy, focused and ready to work. Remember, awareness and mastery are two essential keys to a successful small business.
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Jun30
Keys To A Successful Small Business
Filed under: Small Business Websites; Tagged as: Business, Business Opportunity, Home Business, Online Business, Small BusinessNo CommentsSmall-business owners who think preparing for a disaster is expensive should think again. Being unprepared-and losing everything-can mean paying a much higher price.
For example, in July 1996, the president and owner of Brookville Mining Equipment Corporation, Dalph McNeil, faced every business owner’s nightmare when the nearby creek crested at eight feet after a 24-hour downpour.
Expensive new machinery was covered in mud and a powerful current of water had swept away inventory and collapsed a 30-foot section of wall. The flood caused nearly $1.6 million in damages and losses.
After receiving a Small Business Administration (SBA) disaster loan, McNeil relocated his plant away from the floodplain and asked one of his employees to take on the additional responsibility of “safety coordinator.”
Besides doing quality assurance and control, the safety coordinator, according to McNeil, “runs monthly meetings with representatives of the company, making sure all the employees understand the early warning and evacuation plans, and the emergency procedures.”
“You can never be too prepared, as a small-business owner, for disaster,” McNeil remarked. “It’s something you don’t want to think about. How do you carry on business as usual, as quickly as possible, after a disaster? You have to be a bit of a fatalist, thinking in terms of the worst-case scenario for your business.” And while he hopes he never has to use the emergency plans he has in place, McNeil says he is now ready for anything.
Experts say preparedness starts with developing such an emergency action plan that is tailored to the company’s needs and addresses several disaster scenarios. The plan should include a timetable, budget, assignment of responsibility, prevention and mitigation steps to be completed, and a list of risks and hazards to the business. It’s also a good idea to encourage employee involvement in the process.
A communications strategy is a key post-disaster recovery strategy. Phone numbers and e-mail addresses for your insurance carrier, suppliers, creditors, employees and customers, the local media, utility companies, and the appropriate emergency response and recovery agencies should be updated regularly.
This list should be maintained by a key employee and a backup person. Appoint a spokesperson to get the word out that your business is still open to dispel rumors of business failure.
Making sure your insurance coverage is adequate is another issue. According to the Insurance Information Institute, a recently released survey conducted for the National Hurricane Survival Initiative (done by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research) reports that one in three residents in hurricane-vulnerable states said it had been three years or more since they reviewed their insurance coverage.
When shopping for insurance, think about property damage and the loss of revenue and extra expenses that occur when business is halted by a disaster. Business interruption insurance covers necessary expenses that occur while the business is shut down. Many business owners don’t realize that basic hazard insurance does not cover flood damage. Additional purchased flood insurance is essential; most of the over $10 billion in disaster loans made by the SBA after last year’s Gulf Coast hurricanes were for flood damages.
The National Flood Insurance program provides coverage to property owners. For more information, visit the Web site at www.floodsmart.gov. Flood insurance must be purchased 30 days before the disaster hits to be in effect.
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Jun30
Franchising Is Not For Everyone
Filed under: Small Business Websites; Tagged as: Business, Business Opportunity, Home Business, Online Business, Small BusinessNo CommentsHaving your own business is the American dream and, increasingly, international interest in owning a business has been building as well. There are many questions that must be answered before you consider owning a franchise or starting any business at all. Franchising is not for everyone!
The first question to ask yourself is: “Do I really have the right mindset that is required to work for myself”? The reason this question is first is because without the attitude, drive, and ability to focus on long term goals, you will not be happy owning your own business whether it be a franchise or anything else.
This is not a “get rid of the boss” and live happily ever after situation. It will require many hours hard work, much dedication, always tough decisions and, most likely, many times where you must put the business first over your own needs.
If you do not have the stomach or the drive to do this, then continue getting a regular paycheck and forget a business of your own or consider looking for more easy money making ideas here:
http://www.sites-plus.com/cb/easymoneymakingideas.html
You will find your customers to be much more demanding than any boss could ever be! Along with this introspection, is the question: “How have I worked own my own in previous situations?” Is this a new or untried product or service, Do I enjoy the experience of working for myself?
The second question to ask yourself is: “Have I researched the market or field regarding the area I plan to purchase a franchise”? This must be very extensive as you want to have a good mix of the business fit being right or correct for you and a market that will support your decision.
After you have researched your desires and needs and attitudes, the next step is to address your financing issues. What amount can you comfortably afford to put down on a franchise? What will the operating expenses be? Within this thought process there are many pitfalls including employee salary, benefits, replacement training, recruiting ads, possible temporary help, government regulations for employment, accounting fees, local licensing fees, and many more costs that will need to be addressed within a start-up package plan.
You will want to check the Internet for lists and types of franchise licensors that are willing to take on new franchisees. Check the business publications such as Inc. magazine, Franchise Today or Entrepreneur to see what franchises are up and coming or those that are solid and gaining ground.
Once you have narrowed down the field you want to be in it is time to talk to the franchisor that grants the license.
The first thing to remember with a franchisor is that they are there to sell you a franchise. Even the best franchisor out there will attempt to market their product and downplay other franchises. What you want to realize here is that their goal and game is to have successful franchisees but that does not prevent them from possibly making a wrong fit with you. You are your best advocate. Keep your head and do not let their enthusiasm become overwhelming to you.
The best thing you can do for yourself after you have selected a franchisor, is to have a business attorney of your choice go over all the papers, suggest items that might need some changing to benefit you more, and general advice on whether this licensing agreement is standard in the industry. You want to avoid being locked into a franchise that offers their licensees little resources should a problem occur.
The conclusion is franchising can be a wonderful method of jumping into being into business for yourself but not by yourself. The licensor can offer many resources it might be hard to afford by yourself. They are a good source of encouragement and hand-holding when you are starting out and things seem overwhelming. Being in business for yourself can be exhilarating and franchising can be your ticket if researched thoroughly and properly.
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Jun30
Warning: Objects Within Your Browser Window Are Smaller Than They Appear!
Filed under: Small Business Websites; Tagged as: Business, Business Opportunity, Home Business, Online Business, Small BusinessNo CommentsIs your internet window showing objects (companies) that seem larger than they appear? I think so. The Internet not only has allowed us to market to the world but it also has allowed many companies to hide their true nature and size.
Some Consumers Want To Work With Large Companies:
Many companies out there try to make themselves seem larger than they appear and sometimes they do this on purpose. There are consumers out there that feel more comfortable going with established companies that have a team of employees and (apparently) have more responsibilities to their employees and clients.
Other Consumers Would Rather Work With Smaller Companies:
Then there are other consumers out there that can’t stand working with big companies and would rather work with the little guys who treat every customer like they’re family.
The problem lies with the misconception about how large or how small your company really is. See, if you give an appearance online that you’re a massive company when you’re not, this might actually backfire on you once people call for your products or services. People don’t like to be misled in any way, shape, or form.
Smartads has 5 people involved with us on a daily basis. We are not a team of 1 but at the same time, we aren’t a monster company either. Our contact pages reflect this as well.
Do You Have 10 Email Accounts Online That All Go To One?
It’s when you go through a companies contact page and they have an entire directory of emails listed for different departments that ALL, and I mean all go to the same person. It would look something like this….
For customer support email: support@bogussite.dumb
For technical support email: techies@bogussite.dumb
For advertising email: ads@youknowwhat.com
For general inquiries, don’t even bother!See where I am going with this? I can understand if you like to separate your email accounts because of the volume coming in but, ironically, if you list over 5 “live” email accounts on your contact page, I’ll bet you’re getting a ton of spam as well!
Exploit Your Size To Appeal To The Right Clients:
Don’t try to hide your company?s size just because you’re a small business enterprise; exploit it to those who are looking to do business with specifically smaller companies. I can understand if you have the need to separate your email accounts, try having an online form that responds to a drop down menu which in turn sends the emails to different accounts on it’s own.
If you don’t like the fact that your business is a one-man band, hire someone to answer your calls for you. In fact, try out someone at home (family or roommate). They are a lot cheaper anyway. At least you can free up some time, and seem more professional from a client?s point of view.
The whole Point Is This…
Just because we can hide behind our computer’s to attract better, larger fish, it doesn’t really mean we actually need to. You might hurt your business more if you try to “act as if” or promise to make something work which you know you don’t have the resources for.
Raise Your Prices To Make More Money, Don’t Raise Your Curb Appeal:
You don’t need to look big in order to attract more money, sometimes the simpler answer works better. Try raising your prices to see whether or not this will actually deter consumers (Yes, there is a risk) but, if you try to appear larger than you actually are, you’re already risking a great deal.
Be true to your business and you will attract clients that are true to you. “Thoughts are things” really takes affect online because consumers can’t relate on an emotional level, they can only compute what they read and what they see. If your website gives consumers a false statement, your business will not profit from this method of promotion, but will only be hindered from your mistakes.
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Jun30
Getting Noticed On The Internet - Digital Marketing For Small Business
Filed under: Small Business Websites; Tagged as: Business, Business Opportunity, Home Business, Online Business, Small BusinessNo CommentsThe Internet has grown from a small network of academics needing a way to trade research into a world-spanning, ubiquitous marketplace and repository for nearly every possible kind of information and knowledge. How does a small business avoid being washed away in the constant tide of buying, selling and marketers hawking every conceivable item (and some difficult to conceive…)?
The Internet provides advantages for both customer and proprietor in that one can search for exactly what is desired, without the bother of endless phone calls, driving to malls, or poring over mail-order catalogs. A quick keyword or 3, and hundreds of results vie for attention on the screen. Making sure your company is one of those results near the top is a combination of factors: specificity in product offerings, Search Engine Optimization of web content and linking to and from related topics and sites.
The only way to get noticed on the Internet is to have a listing or presence, whether a dedicated website, ads on relevant sites, or by word-of-mouth. Oftentimes ads on online journals, informative sites, or e-zines (online magazines) are cheaper than space in a print publication, as well as being available to a wider audience than a dedicated website may be. Rates are often available for daily, weekly, or monthly terms, increasing flexibility and allowing a tight budget more leeway. Word-of-mouth advertising can be very cheap, but the returns may be difficult to quantify. Sponsoring web shows such as podcasts or webcasts can be a great and cheap way to gain word-of-mouth exposure. Many times, a podcaster will be so thrilled to gain sponsorship that rates can be negotiated for very little, but make sure to approach a podcaster that has a show related somehow to your business. Don’t overlook resources like Google’s Adwords either, as they can be slightly pricier than similar options like banner ads, but they are shown to be far more effective than pop-ups, banners, or pay-per-click ads due to their specific targeting.
When a potential customer decides to look up a product that you sell, is he or she going to find your site or listing? Being specific in the terms used on your site or listing is key, as keywords are what drive the search engines like Google and Yahoo. If your company sells shoes, it’s not enough to put the word “shoes” on your site–it has to be anticipatory to the searches that potential customers are doing. Most customers have an idea of what they are looking for when doing a search, so instead of “shoes,” a customer will search for “imported Italian leather shoes.” Specific focusing of terminology and product listings are involved in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), as SEO is driven by specific keywords and their repetition or location on a page. If the term “Italian Leather Shoes” is used 15 times on a website, it will pop up higher on the rating listings than one with the same words, but only as a page heading or title. It would be easy to go overboard on this if it were the only criteria, but it is only one of many different methods search engines use to list websites by relevance. Our article on Search Engine Optimization, located here, is a great reference to optimizing your site for maximum Search Engine Performance.
With a clear idea of where you want to go with Internet marketing, it can be a valuable tool to expand your business into the digital realm, but be careful not to go overboard, as all marketing eventually crosses into the zone of limited return. Customers are looking for what they want–it’s up to you to make sure they run into you, and the only way they will is for you to make sure your business is at the places they are going to go.
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Jun30
An Easy Way To Make Your Small Business More Visible-For Free
Filed under: Small Business Websites; Tagged as: Business, Business Opportunity, Home Business, Online Business, Small BusinessNo CommentsNo two small businesses are alike, but most want to be like their larger counterparts in some key respects. For example, even if you own a company with only a few really great customers, you want to be visible enough to attract new customers, boost your odds of securing repeat business and do all you can to improve customer satisfaction.
The key, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), is having a business Web site. The SBA’s own Web site notes that the Web “levels the playing field between small business and big business” because it is such a dynamic, inexpensive medium for advertising and customer service. “The Internet is making it possible for small- to medium-sized businesses to compete with the big guys,” the SBA said.
Conventional wisdom says that any business without a Web presence these days is at a distinct disadvantage, but the latest International Data Corporation (IDC) small-business research exposes a surprising gap. The IDC research found that of the 6.8 million businesses in the United States with fewer than 10 employees, only 3.8 million have a Web site. “That means 3 million U.S. small businesses-or 44 percent of the total-aren’t using the Internet to promote themselves online or engage customers and prospects,” said Ray Boggs, vice president of Small/ Medium Business and Home Office Research at IDC. “In today’s connected world, companies that take that step generally find that having their own Web site can deliver a significant opportunity to grow their business, especially if the site is updated regularly.”
Clearly, small businesses (and many of their customers) are online, yet more than half aren’t exploiting the full power of what the Internet can do to help build their business. That power includes creating a dynamic Web site to attract and retain customers, taking advantage of search engines to heighten awareness of a company in today’s global marketplace, and communicating with customers around the clock or at their convenience.
What stops small businesses from stepping up to this level? For many, the barriers are cost, complexity and inconvenience. By its nature, a small business typically has a small budget and an equally small staff. Unlike the larger companies it competes with, a small business generally can’t afford to spend thousands of dollars to buy a server, create a complicated infrastructure and hire an IT technician to keep it all running smoothly.
The good news is that some new offerings are cropping up that allow you to establish a Web presence without heavy-duty in-house technical resources and a big cash outlay. For example, Microsoft Corp. has a new Internet-based service called Microsoft Office Live, which at the most basic level provides a small business with a domain name, e-mail accounts and a Web site for free.* It’s one of the quickest and easiest ways today to get your business on the Internet. And, because it’s supported by advertising revenue, and the advertising is designed to be unobtrusive and not appear in the customer’s public-facing Web sites, the basic offering is free. Yes, it’s free, and you can sign up to test-drive the service at http://www.officelive.com.
“I need an attractive, easy-to-navigate Web site that I can update frequently and efficiently. With Office Live, I can create a slide show of a sailboat race and have it online before the boats even get back to the dock,” said Elizabeth T. Becker, a freelance writer and photographer and owner of Seaport Photography. “That means I get to spend less time in front of my computer and more time behind my camera. It’s smooth sailing.” Becker’s Web site can be seen at http://www.seaport photo.com.
With such an all-in-one solution, a small-business Web site really is a no-brainer. Look at it this way: In a day and age when the majority of Americans use the Internet regularly, it’s highly likely that a large percentage of your customers do, too.
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Jun29
Incorporating Tips ? Capitalization
Filed under: Small Business Websites; Tagged as: Business, Business Opportunity, Home Business, Online Business, Small BusinessNo CommentsCapitalizing a new business entity is a critical step of the formation process. Failing to take the step can lead to serious legal problems if the entity is ever sued. So, what is capitalization and what steps must be taken?
Capitalizing Your Corporation
?Capitalization? essentially refers to funding your corporation. In essence, you are providing substance to the entity in the form of money or property. Typically, the funding process works in two ways.
Corporate Stock
You must own stock in a corporation to be considered a shareholder. You are already familiar with this concept if you trade on the stock market. For instance, assume you bought stock in Sirius Radio in anticipation of Howard Stern moving to the station. You purchased stock through a brokerage or retirement vehicle by exchanging money for shares. Technically, you are a shareholder in the corporation. Your own corporation is no different.
The fact that you paid money to have a corporation formed does not make you a shareholder. You must exchange property, cash or services to obtain stock from the entity. Only then are you a shareholder in the entity. This is more easily explained with an example.
Assume I start a corporation for the purpose of providing consulting services to other businesses. The corporation is formed with 10,000 shares and I am going to be the sole shareholder. I have cash and certain assets that I am going to use as part of the business. I decide to exchange $3,000, a copier, fax machine and computer equipment for stock in the entity. This exchange should be reduced to writing, but will constitute the capitalization of the corporation.
Corporate Loan
You can also loan money to a corporate entity for start-up costs. There is no prohibition against a shareholder providing money to a corporation. The loan process should not completely replace the purchase of stock. From a tax perspective, however, dividing your initial capitalization into a partial loan can have distinct advantages.
Inadequate Capitalization
State laws govern the formation of a corporation. Inevitably, these laws set forth amounts or formulas for determining the minimum capitalization amount required for a corporation. You must review the laws in your state to determine the amount and make sure you meet the contribution minimums.
Failure to properly capitalize you corporation can result in disaster if the entity is ever sued. Simply put, the suing party may argue that the lack of capitalization means the corporation was never a viable entity because it had insufficient funds to back debt obligations. The argument gets complicated, but suffice to say you are in serious trouble if a court agrees with the argument. Typically, the court will ?set aside? the corporate entity, exposing each shareholder, director and officer to the risk of personal liability. Obviously, such a scenario would be a disaster.
In Closing
If you?ve purchased a corporation from online service, you have work to do. Make sure you determine the minimum capitalization requirements in your state and comply with them.
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Jun29
Top 5 Reasons Why Your Small Business Needs A Custom Website
Filed under: Small Business Websites; Tagged as: Business, Business Opportunity, Home Business, Online Business, Small BusinessNo CommentsToday, in North America, almost 70% of households have access to the Internet. It has evolved to the point where the Internet has become an integral element in the way business is conducted, and is shaping the way business will be conducted in the future. Most consumers these days research a product or service on the Internet before making their purchase. So, in this day and age, it could cost you not to have a website. Listed below are 5 reasons why you should employ an experienced web designer to construct a custom website for your small business.
Credibility & Identity Building
Like it or not, your potential customers are going to judge the quality of your products and/or services based on presentation and image. Therefore, an aesthetically pleasing web site will give you and your company more credibility in the eyes of you customers or clients.Lower Your Expenses
Why spend thousands of dollars on static traditional media such as brochures? If there was ever a change in your business, such as an expansion or additional products/services, it would require printing all new corporate brochures. A web site is dynamic and can be changed or updated in a very cost effective manner. Best of all, your clients can access this information from anywhere in the world, without the delay of snail-mail. A properly constructed web site can also reduce the time that you and your employees spend answering redundant customer questions.Complement Your Existing Marketing Efforts
Most people think of a web site as advertising. Unfortunately, they would be wrong - A web site is a medium which complements and enhances your existing marketing efforts. Your potential customers or clients can easily gain access to information that isn’t suitable to include in other traditional advertising mediums. In less than a decade, a web site will be just as common as having a listing in the Yellow Pages. What would your potential customers or clients think of your business if you didn’t have a web site?Customer Service
A web site allows potential customers or clients to get to know more about your company, increasing the personal side of doing business. Your business will be open 24hrs per day, 365 days per year, and if someone has a question concerning your product or service, an answer is only an e-mail away. Some people may feel uncomfortable on the phone or in your office / store, and, to these people, e-mail is their preferred method of communication.Get a Jump on the Competition
A professionally designed web site will make your business appear larger than it actually is, and therefore challenge larger competitors. When it comes to getting listed in the search engines (Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc.), the longer your web site has been active, the higher ranking you will receive, and therefore more traffic will be directed to your web site. It is for this reason that you can’t afford delay this important decision any longer.Distributed by:
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Jun29
Best Small Business Idea — It’s All About You
Filed under: Small Business Websites; Tagged as: Business, Business Opportunity, Home Business, Online Business, Small BusinessNo CommentsGetting More Focused — It?s All About You
Jeanna Pool from Catalyst Creative writes a great ezine on marketing each month. In January she shared 5 Great Marketing Tips for 2006. Number 1 was ?Stop Focusing on You?. She declares 2006 the year of the client and exhorts you to focus totally on your clients and their needs. I think she?s right on. And I think she?s completely wrong. Why right and wrong?
Because if you?ve been in business for awhile and have great products and great services and aren?t getting the results you want, you may be too focused on your clients and not focused enough on yourself. Last week, I encouraged your to revisit your vision of your business and ask yourself why you started your business in the first place. Now I want you to focus even more on what you want. What exactly do you want out of your business? Do you want more money? If so, how much? Write down a number. Do you want more flexible hours? If so, write out exactly the schedule you?d like. Do you want to change the world? If so, write out specifically how that would look.
Why all this focus on you? Because if you aren?t absolutely clear on what you want, how are you going to know if you are successful? How are you going help your clients if you aren?t taking care of yourself as well. Maybe you need to be making $150,000 a year to provide your family with the life that you wanted. You want to send your kids to college. You want to retire while you are still in active and in good health. Or maybe you want to just make an extra $20,000 a year working part-time while you take care of your children until they are in school. Or perhaps your goal is to make a million dollars a year and live a really incredible life. Defining this is very important. Why?
Because what you want will shape your business. It will determine who your customers are and how you will help them. If you want $5,000,000 in sales, your products and methods are going to be a whole lot different than if you want $50,000 in sales. If you want to work only afternoons, that is going to shape your business as well. If you want to sell your business and retire in five years, that?s going to affect your decisions as well. So right now, get out a paper and pen and get ready to write.
Did you get your pen and paper out? Answer the question, ?What do I want out of my business?? Write in as much detail exactly what you want your business to give you. Be as specific as possible. Write as much as you can. Think income, lifestyle, schedule, partners, travel, location, employees. What exactly do you want? Throughout the week, add to this and revise it. Compare where you are right now to what you really want. How large is the gap? Next week, I?ll help you create a plan to narrow the gap with: Why Business Plans Don?t Work — How to Create an Effective Action Plan
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Jun26
Your Small Business Web Site
Filed under: Small Business Websites; Tagged as: Business, Business Opportunity, Home Business, Online Business, Small BusinessNo CommentsA web site is a crucial ingredient of your marketing strategy because it can widen your target market to include anyone who has access to a computer and the internet. Almost 60% of Canadians had access to the internet at home in 2003, and around 8 million had regular access to the internet from somewhere, either at home, at work or at school.
And that?s just in Canada. Ecommerce sales from Canada were $7.2 billion, and we only captured 4% of the global ecommerce market! So, how can you reach some of those internet surfers, and how can you capture some of that $7.2 billion spent in ecommerce?
First, you build it
The first step is designing your website. If your company already has business cards and letterhead, it?s best to design your website around them. A matching corporate identity and website helps with branding.I like uncomplicated websites, with a simple layout and easy navigation. A nice, simple layout, with good graphics, balanced look and good color combinations is my #1 goal when designing a small business web site. Remember to use graphics sparingly and to optimize them for your website because internet surfers are impatient. If your page loads too slowly, they?ll leave.
Navigation should be easy to find and to use, and it should be consistent from page to page. I?ve left more than one site frustrated because I couldn?t easily find their navigation.
Small business web sites aren?t static. They evolve. You need to start somewhere, and starting with an introductory web site is probably easiest. All you really need to start is five pages. You can always add pages later. The important thing is to just do it?take the plunge and get it out there.
Your five pages could include an index, or home page, about us, services, contact and a sitemap. The index page is your landing page. Typically its design is a little more detailed than the others, but it doesn?t have to be that way.
I like to use CSS (cascading style sheets) for designing because it?s simply easier to build a web site and to edit its layout with CSS rather than just HTML (hypertext markup language) alone. A change on a CSS sheet changes all the pages on your site at once.
Content is king
Once your site is designed, you?ll want to start thinking about content. Design is very important, but it does little good to have a beautiful site without high-quality content.Your small business home page introduces you and your company?who you are and what you do. The about us page is usually used to give more detail than the home page about who you are, and your services page gives more detail about what you do. You might wonder why you?d ?waste? a page on a sitemap since you only have 5 pages, but sitemaps help search engines find all the pages in your site.
As far as content goes, more is better, up to a point. Your pages should be content rich and informative, but they also need to be relevant to your small business. If your visitor can?t figure out what your web site is about in just a few seconds, they may leave.
The internet was at first strictly informational, and that?s how it remains today. Several times people have tried experiments using copywriting similar to direct mail sales letters, but they?ve all failed. It seems as if people surf the internet more for information than anything else. Knowing this will help you write pages people will want to read.
Attracting visitors
You could follow your instinct and just start writing, but wait. There?s research you must do first, or your web site simply won?t be high enough in searches to be found. Search engine optimization is far too big a subject to cover in this short article, but among other things, search engines find your pages based on keywords.So, pretend for a moment that you?re on the other side of the desk. If you were a customer of your own business, what words or phrases would you use to search for your product or service? Ask friends and neighbors how they?d search for your product or services.
When you?ve come up with a few, check them out on a keyword suggestions tool. You can also use that tool to suggest similar words and phrases. Then find out how many results there would be if you searched for that term. What you want to do next is narrow down your choices to the words or phrases that are searched for the most, but have the fewest results.
Remember that people generally don?t look beyond the first three pages for any search term, so if you?re not in the top three pages, your business is not likely to be found at all. If there are millions of results for your phrase, you might simply need to make it more specific.
For example, let?s say you have a small business consulting company that specializes in communication for small business. Using ?communication? as a search term is nearly pointless because there are almost 2 billion results for that word. But, there are only 974 results for ?small business communication?.
Much better, but how often is that searched for? According to WordTracker, it?s searched for 10 times a day. Not bad, but I think we can do better. How about ?small business consulting?? That?s searched for 261 times a day, and there are 373,000 results. That could be the best primary phrase for a small business communication consulting company.
What you want to do, is write your content around those words and phrases. You don?t want or need very many?three or four are plenty.
Getting them to come back again and again
Getting visitors to come back to your site again and again is relatively simple. Keep your content fresh and lively, make sure it?s informative, and add to it often.I hope you decide your small business needs a web site. It?s the best way I know how to reach a wider target audience with a relatively small investment.
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