Archive for August, 2007
Using the Internet to Establish Your Business Image
by Tony Baker
August 24, 2007
Are you projecting a consistent image to your potential customers? Do they even know your name? Wal-mart, Windows, Apple: each of those names conjures an image, a logo or a product line at just the mention of their name.
You, too, want to get your name out there as a certified, reliable business. A cohesive identity allows people to associate your company with quality, speed, reliability, or your unique selling points. The Internet is a great place to get started. New technologies and growing online audiences make online marketing a very effective way to reach your customers. Here are six ways to build a powerful image for your brand online and off.
1) Consider social media
Sites like MySpace and Facebook are just two of the numerous social media sites out there. Starbucks has an excellent Myspace profile that represents their company well. Their site hosts photo contests of Starbucks locations or products, and offers an easy way to forward the site to other Myspace friends. These features encourage and reward audience participation, a key ingredient of social media.
Don’t try to hit up all social media sites, though. The point of social media is to get involved in it. Don’t just make a profile and throw up a couple of articles and hope for the best. Read and respond to other people’s blog posts and articles. Start thought-provoking discussions in forums. Find a good niche and stick with it. Become a member of the community, and the community will see you that way. If people are intrigued by what you have to say, then they’ll be searching your profile for more information.
2) Give your company a voice and an image
Audio and video can become two of your best friends. With YouTube and podcasting, it’s become easier than ever to promote your company with multimedia. Don’t splash them all over your site, but do some research into your target audience and find out what kind of audio and video performs well. Once you have an idea of what could work for you, start creating and distributing your own content. You’d be surprised at how a few entertaining videos on YouTube or another video-sharing site can boost your publicity.
3) Stop the presses
You can draw traffic to your website with well-timed press releases and articles. Press releases can even show up in Google News or Yahoo News if you use the right distribution service. Contact local or industry reporters to expand the reach of your news through traditional and online media outlets as well.
A well-written article can gain exposure for your website as well. You can include a link to your website in the author bio information to draw readers to your site when they finish the article. Directories like EzineArticles.com are always looking for new content. You can also contact online news websites and various online magazines and newsletters to see if they are interested in running your piece.
4) Put your website on all your marketing materials
Your offline marketing efforts should include your website information. Every online profile, every brochure, every banner ad and every business card should have your website URL on it. URLs should be easy to remember and easy to visit. If somebody wants to get a better idea of what your company’s about, they should be able to tell with a five-second visit to your site.
5) Keep your website updated
If you want to build your brand online, you’ll need to make sure your website is working for you. And that means keeping it updated regularly. Few things will kill your brand faster than having a website or blog that hasn’t been updated in months. That gives the impression that your company and brand are tired, or old, or even out of business and nobody’s told the guys running the site just yet.
6) Keep your message consistent
Whether you’re going online or offline for your marketing and advertising, the message you send should be consistent across all your materials. If you have mixed messages, you’ll risk alienating the customers you have and won’t be able to convert potential clients.
Online marketing is one of the best options for building a name for your business, and there are a number of ways to do it. Explore as many avenues as you can, and find the ones that have the best return for you. You may not be able to become the next Starbucks, but you can establish a trustworthy name for your business.
Source: SBInformer
Technorati : Facebook, MySpace, Press Releases, online marketing, urls, website
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Summer is winding down and your customers will be shopping for Fall Fashion Accessories. Sunglasses are not just for summer but it’s important to transition with your clients as well into the changing seasons. With that comes new weather and new activities - but of course the sun is always there! Be sure to stock your shelves with the latest in fashion eyewear so your customers are ready to accessorize their new wardrobe with stylish looking shades.
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By Shari Davis, a SmartAge contributing writer
During the last three years on the Web, Terry Clark has seen online sales at Bunny Graphics, Inc., “increase exponentially.”
Clark is director of marketing for the company, which specializes in printing and promotional products. He attributes its success on the Web to an active marketing plan, a solid Web site design and a good mix of advertising and promotion.
“The Internet has opened our potential customer base from our local community to the United States and even internationally,” said Clark.
In fact, his company’s SmartClicks banner was chosen as one of the best performing banners on the network. During the first week in April alone, his banner received more than 1,000 hits.
So, how do you know if your business is ready to sell on the Web? Take our quick self-test below:
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Am I willing to invest the time and money needed?
If you think you can just put up a site, submit to the search engines and the money will start rolling in, think again. You need to examine what your needs are, and how you will attract new customers. Find out how others have done it, seek advice, and learn from the mistakes others have made. Also, be sure and read everything you can find about e-commerce because its methods change and improve constantly. Some advice from a pro: “Unless you are a very good do-it-yourselfer, you may want to consider outsourcing. Creating a professional site is much harder than it was two to three years ago,” said Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, founder of Wilson Internet Services, a Web site design and consulting company. Building and maintaining a web site is not just a one-shot deal. You have to keep updating the site and refreshing the content regularly-outsourcing can help here. But, if you choose to outsource, keep in mind it can be costly.
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Am I organized?
Do you have the time to run your site or do you need help? Who will take the orders and update it? And, are you equipped to handle large-volume sales? Advice: “Make sure it [your company’s site] is organized to handle your capacity and that it’s streamlined,” recommends John Masiz, president of MediVet Pharmaceuticals, a company which sells pet healthcare products.
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Do I have compelling and relevant content?
Even if you are able to attract potential customers to your site initially, how do you get them to come back? One way to do it is to keep your site fresh and offer a little more perspective on your product or a related topic than your competitors. For example: The “hook” for MediVet is getting customers actively involved in the healthcare of their pets. Pet owners can actually identify simple medical problems and find solutions by using the site. “We have probably the most complete source of emergency medical information for dogs and cats-in one area-on the Web,” said Masiz.
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Do I have a means of distribution and customer service?
How are you going to get your products to the potential national or international customer quickly? “With e-commerce, you will get inquiries and make sales all over the United States,” said Clark. “So, it is best if your business sells a product that can be easily shipped.” And, don’t forget about customer service, it is as important or more important to have strong customer service support on the Web customer issues.
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Getting a virtual URL
Be sure you get your own identity. It is much easier for customers to remember yourcompany.com versus hosting company/directory/anyname.com. And, you’ll have more control over your site. “If an ISP goes out of business or changes rates, you’re stuck . . . you’re at their mercy,” said Wilson, who added that if you have your own identity “you are free to move around without disruption.”
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Get an email account
E-mail is a good way for you to build relationships with your customers. Not only is it a means for them to contact you, but you can let them know about specials and sales on your site. “Prospective customers will inquire about your product via email,” said Clark. “A response to each inquiry within 24 hours is recommended.”
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Are you able to offer payment options?
One of “selling points” for the Internet is immediacy. People want to be able to order and get your product quickly. That means you may want to think about a secure way of accepting credit cards, or perhaps offering a toll-free telephone number.
Source: SCORE.org
Technorati : email account, invest, money, organized, payment options, time, virtual URL
According to the Small Business Administration, small businesses account for about 99 percent of U.S. employers, employ about half of the private-sector workforce, and generate somewhere between two-thirds and three-quarters of the country’s net new jobs.
(article continues below useful links)
Do you have what it takes to join those thousands of people who start their own businesses every year? Do you have the determination, persistence and thorough research? If you can answer the following questions-or when you can answer them-you’ll know you have the right stuff to run your own company. Welcome to Entrepreneur Boot Camp!
1. Have you spent enough time researching your new business and its market?
Many new businesses fail because the business owner (that’s you) didn’t do enough research. Make sure that your business idea can work. Investigate the market carefully to see who the primary players are and how your new company fits in.
2. Do you have enough money to get your company up and running?
Don’t underestimate how much it will cost to get your company through its start-up phase. If you didn’t do enough research or were too optimistic about your product, you could find yourself under-funded. Don’t believe even your own projections and make sure that you have money stashed away for unforeseen events.
3. Are you wasting money on facilities?
While it might be nice to have your own office with a fancy desk in a nice, new building, such comforts can eat into your start-up budget. Begin as simply and as cheaply as you can. Start the business in your garage if you have to, and don’t spend too much on offices until you’ve actually sold some products or services.
4. Do you have a back-up plan?
Murphy’s Law states that if anything can go wrong, it will. Believe it. Nothing ever goes according to plan, and for that reason, you must always develop a back-up plan. Even if your research was perfect, something or someone will certainly throw a wrench-even if just a small one-in the works. But if you have done your homework and created a back-up plan, you’ll be able to stop, make adjustments and move forward more efficiently.
5. Do you have partners you don’t need?
Before you take on a partner, think the decision over carefully. Have you chosen someone who will work as hard as you do? Partners should earn the privilege of owning a portion of the business. If they bring money to your operation, that’s a convincing reason to keep them. If you’re just lonely and want to have a friend to keep you company, though, re-think the partnership decision.
6. Are you hiring the right people?
When you hire people, you want to choose those with the right skills and the right attitude to help your business grow. Especially with a small business, you can’t afford to employ someone who won’t be a good fit.
As a general rule, don’t bring friends or family into the business-unless, maybe, your nephew just graduated with an MBA from Stanford, your niece is a graduate of Harvard Law and both of them are at the top of their respective classes. Of course, if it’s a family business, exceptions to the rule can be made.
7. Can you see the big picture?
Too often new business owners get caught up in the day-to-day running of the business and don’t look at the big picture. You need to have both long- and short-term goals and you should review them every month to make sure that you and your company are on track. No matter what stage your business is in, you must have an idea of where you and the company are going.
8. Do you take “no” for an answer?
Successful entrepreneurs don’t take no for an answer. When others tell them that “it can’t be done” or “nobody’s ever tried it that way before,” entrepreneurs set out to prove those people wrong. As an enterprising business person, you must achieve a comfortable balance between stubbornly sticking to your ideas no matter what and accepting limitations that others would like to put on you. That is, if people declare that “it’s not possible,” don’t accept their word for it. Do your own research and come to your own conclusions. After all, it’s your company.
9. Are you looking for validation or are you looking for the truth?
Even wildly successful business owners can occasionally be uncertain about what to do next. In those cases, the ones who continue down the path of success aren’t interested in simply having their ideas validated by people they turn to. They want the truth. So if you are going to run your own business and go it alone, find an impartial third party-an executive coach, a mentor or a trust advisor-to talk to about your concerns and your plans. Family members, employees and even your spouse may only tell you what they think you want to hear.
10. Do you know what you want out of the business?
Why are you starting a business in the first place and what do you want out of it? You have to know these answers before you can do long- and short-term planning. What is your exit strategy? It may seem an odd question to ask at the beginning of your start-up process, but you need to know how you are going to want to get out of the business. Do want to sell it and retire to the Greek Islands? Do you want to spin your first business off into another one?
Whether you want to work fewer hours, create a family legacy or do what you love to do, you need to know what you want out of the business before you can create goals and track them to fruition.
If you honestly-and thoroughly-answered all 10 questions, you should know now if you’ve got what it takes to start your own small business. But if you’re still in an introspective, questioning mode, ponder these statements. Do they describe you?
- I am persistent.
- When I’m interested in a project, I need less sleep.
- When there’s something I want, I keep that goal clearly in mind.
- I examine mistakes and I learn from them.
- I keep New Year’s resolutions.
- I have a strong personal need to succeed.
- I have new and different ideas.
- I am adaptable.
- I am curious.
- I am intuitive.
- If something can’t be done, I find a way.
- I see problems as challenges.
- I take chances.
- I’ll gamble on a good idea even if it isn’t a sure thing.
- I like to learn something new and to explore unfamiliar subjects.
- I can recover from emotional setbacks.
- I feel sure of myself.
- I’m a positive person.
- I experiment with new ways to do things.
- I’m willing to undergo sacrifices for potential long-term rewards.
- I usually do things my own way.
- I tend to rebel against authority.
- I often enjoy being alone.
- I like to be in control.
- I have a reputation for being stubborn.
If you answered, “yes, that describes me” to most of the questions, chances are good you’ve got the makings of a successful entrepreneur. (The Small Business Administration provides an interactive version of this quiz.) If you answered “maybe” or “no” to any of the questions, those may be areas of weakness that you can work on.
But remember, these kinds of questions cannot truly divine who will succeed in starting a business and who will not. That determination is in your hands and in your control.
Article provided by Socrates![]()
. Socrates is the leading source of do-it-yourself books, kits, forms and software that help small business and real estate property owners take care of legal and related matters themselves. Each Socrates solution is relevant, compliant, comprehensive and a lower cost alternative to traditional legal and professional services.
Source: Gaebler
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Technorati : Small Business Administration, back-up plan, business, partnership
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Create a brand. Spend a little money to create a professional logo, business card and stationery. Present a professional image.
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Ramp up Online. Make creating a Web site a top priority. A Web site is today’s calling card. You really shouldn’t do without one. Give people a place to go to learn about your business.
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Make Your First Sale. This is key. Get that first sale even if it’s friends or family at a discounted rate. This counts as getting started, so go for it.
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Promote Testimonials. Get testimonials from your first sales. Start building credibility for your business from day one.
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Build Buzz. Be creative. Look for a special promotion, big event, email campaign or something out of the norm for your business to get people talking about you, your product or service.
Brought to you by SCORE “Counselors to America’s Small Business.”
Source: SCORE
Technorati : SCORE, new business, promotion, sale, start, testimonials, website
For many of us, running a successful business is part of the American dream. That’s especially true in South Florida, where small businesses are integral to the local economy.
If you’re thinking about starting your own business, you should know the tax implications. Among other considerations, the business structure and accounting methods you choose can dramatically affect how much tax you pay.
Begin by learning the basics at www.irs.gov. Click the Business tab, then ‘’Starting a Business'’ for links on record-keeping, choosing a business structure, accounting information, a checklist and more. It will save time and money when you consult your accountant or tax advisor.
Alternatively, call 800-829-3676, toll-free, and request Publication 4591, Small Business Federal Tax Responsibilities; Publication 334, Tax Guide for Small Business; and Publication 1066C, A Virtual Small Business Tax Workshop DVD.
Source: Miami Herald
Technorati : accounting methods, business structure, irs, irs.gov, starting a business, taxes
Starting a small business requires determination, motivation, and know-how. Here’s a list of available resources to provide you with the know-how to have a successful small business startup.
Identify Your Business Opportunity: Choosing what kind of business to start can be an immobilizing task when confronted with the multitude of opportunities. Here at About, we have identified the hottest business opportunities to give you a few ideas. It’s important to determine where your passions lie and to understand your entrepreneurial personality type. So you think you have found the one business opportunity that will bring you freedom, fame, and plenty of profits? Does it meet the 8 simple rules?
Build a Business Plan: For the majority of start-ups, a business plan allows you to gain a better understanding of your industry structure, competitive landscape, and the capital requirements of starting a small business.
Name Your Business: What’s in a business name? Everything and nothing. The right business name will help distinguish you from a sea of bland competitors, provide your customers with a reason to hire you, and aid in the branding of your company. Apply these 10 commandments when choosing a name for your business.
Choose a Business Structure: Find the best ownership structure for your small business. The most basic of all business legal structures is the sole proprietorship. Other possible structures include the popular limited liability company, a partnership, or an S corporation.
Register Your Business: Starting a small business requires the usual paperwork and regulations. Secretary of State offices register corporations, LLC’s, partnerships, and articles of dissolution. Setting up your small business may require an employer identification number. The EIN is also used by state taxing authorities to identify businesses.
Find Start-up Money: Contrary to popular belief, most small business start-ups aren’t funded by grants, venture capitalists, or banks. Your seed money will come from your personal savings, friends, family, and any other creative means such as bartering.
Determine Your Business Location: A 2001 Inc 500 survey revealed over 56% of the fastest growing companies were started at home. Discover what you need to make your home office design more productive. If home business isn’t for you, learn how sharing office space can aid your startup. Don’t forget to review the pros and cons of office space leasing vs. buying.
Get Business Insurance: As a new small business owner, you have the responsibility to manage the risks associated with your business. Don’t put your new start-up at risk without getting the proper small business insurance to protect your company in the event of disaster or litigation.
Create an Accounting System: Unless you’re a number person, the accounting and bookkeeping aspect of running your business can’t be avoided. Setting up your accounting will help you understand the financials of running a business.
Source: About.com
Technorati : accounting system, business insurance, business plan, small business, start-up money
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