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Dealing with Your Pending PC Disaster: A Guide for Small Business
It isn't a matter of if it will happen to you but -- when. PC users may be divided into two groups -- those who have had a disaster and those who will have to deal with a PC disaster. For you, more to the point is how you will react to it! Will it...
Small Business Server Business Tips
Top 3 Ways to Maximize Your Small Business Server Consulting Profits
Over the past 7 years, Microsoft Small Business Server (SBS) has gained traction as a widely-respected Small Business Server networking suite.
As a result, many small...
Story Telling As A Tool For Trainers
Story telling as a tool for trainers - Imagery at its best
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Once upon a time…………."Yeah right, don't tell us a story, we are not kids".
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"If...
The Seven Essential Elements To Successful Business Communication
The seven essentials of business communication
There are seven essential elements to successful business communication:
Structure
Clarity
Consistency
Medium
Relevancy
Primacy/Recency
Psychological Rule of 7±2
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The Steps from Product Idea to Product Success
Michelangelo once said that his statue of David was embedded in the block of marble and he merely chipped away the edges to reveal it. Is your product idea inside your mind just waiting to come alive? Or, is your product already formed and you...
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Start an Internet Business in 5 Easy Steps!
Want to start an Internet business? Great! Let’s get started quickly by looking at five simple and necessary steps to getting your Internet business off the ground.
1. Select Your Domain Name - It is very important to select the proper domain name for your business. Why? It’s how customers will find you online. A couple of simple pointers: shorter is usually better, I’d stick with a .com name - not one of the other top level domains. It can also help search engines to list you higher if your domain name contains some of the keywords you want to be found for.
Believe it or not, there are still a huge number of domain names that have never been registered. Sure, the so-called ‘dictionary’ and common single word domains have all be registered long ago, but there are strategies to circumvent this issue.
Why not simply add a modifier to a word in order to create a compelling domain name? For example: let’s say that you sell bicycles and bicycle parts online - here are some domain names that come to mind that are almost certainly taken:
bike.com bikes.com bicycle.com bicycles.com bikeparts.com bicycleparts.com
So how can we modify these common names to create names that are available? Let’s try adding some simple descriptive terms either before, or after the main word. For example:
Deluxe Premium Best Superior Cheap Discount Online Universal
I’m sure you can think of many others that apply to your products and business. If you simply add this short list of modifiers in front of the original short names, you can create multiple new names that are available right now!
You can search to see if your domain name is available here: www.dotster.com.
2. Hire a Web Designer - Ask around to locate a great designer that someone else has used. The design of your site can make you look professional, or like an amateur - it’s clear which way you will want to look.
An alternative that can be very cost effective when compared to a custom designed web site is to use pre-formatted templates - either put together by another company, or filled in with data yourself. For example, Affinity Internet, Inc. offers a professional web design product through it’s ValueWeb brand that is billed out at a low flat monthly fee. According to the ValueWeb website the ReadyWeb product offers the following advantages: “A professional web designer will set up a consultation with you to better understand your business and online goals to ensure your web site is not only impressive but successful.Our web site professionals will make updates to your website on a monthly basis as needed. ReadyWeb includes two hours of maintenance and updates each month at no additional charge.” You can learn more about the ReadyWeb product at: www.valueweb.com/readyweb/readyweb_learn_more.htm.
Alternatively there are do-it-yourself templates available at sites such as www.templatemonster.com.
3. Choose Your Web Hosting - Every small business that sets up a web site online will need to host it somewhere. According to industry expert Tamara Field, President of Apollo Hosting (www.apollohosting.com) these are the top three things to consider when selecting your web hosting company.
* REAL Live Support - Call their tech support number NOT their sales number, and see if you can talk directly to a technician. Or go on their live chat and see if you are able to talk to a technician. How long did it take for you to get someone on the phone or live chat? That's very important. Just because they say they offer live support, doesn't mean they really have people there when you need them.
* Guarantees - Money back guarantee, price freeze, uptime, and a guarantee of a refund on unused portions. There are so many hosting companies that don't offer money back on unused months if you cancel early! If you sign up for 1 year, believe it or not, many hosting companies won't give you ANY money back if you cancel 3 months later. A money back guarantee is
important as is a prize freeze guarantee. But these days, look for the refund on unused hosting. Many companies don't mention it because they don't offer it.
* Upgrade Path - If you see your business growing, and you might want more products/services in the future, then you will need an upgrade path. It is a real hassle changing hosting companies. Just getting lots of bandwidth and storage is not the answer. Many customers don't use near the amount of bandwidth and storage that many hosting companies are offering. This is really just a marketing technique for a lot of hosting companies. Look for extra products that they offer. What about ecommerce? Do they offer the best ecommerce products, SPAM/Virus filtering, marketing tools etc. Remember that these days hosting is not just about storage and bandwidth. It's about a whole lot more. Don't settle for just space on a box.
You can easily compare web hosting options by looking through web hosting directory sites as well. These sites offer information about multiple hosting providers, and special offers and product information. Several of the more useful directories are: www.websitehostdirectory.com, www.cheaphostingdirectory.com, and www.tophosts.com.
4. Set Up Your Email - It may seem like a no-brainer to some, but you simply cannot adequately conduct business on the Internet without an email address. Your email address will let your customers and potential customers communicate with you, and give you valuable feedback on your web site, products, services, and ordering processes.
You’ll also need a way for you to communicate with vendors and others who can help you market your web site. Each hosting provider has different protocols for setting up your email account, so you’ll have to look to your provider for help with your specific account. One other important note: be sure to include a signature line at the bottom of every email that includes your business name, URL, and a brief description of your products and services. This idea alone can increase your business.
5. Promote Your Site - There are so many ways to get traffic to your web site that it would require several separate articles to cover the topic. Here are a couple of basic ideas. Try to educate yourself about, and get listed on search engines. A few basic steps can go a long way towards traffic driving in this way. A great step-by-step manual is at www.searchenginewatch.com.
If you have a budget to advertise, you may want to try Google AdWords as a method of reaching the search engine keyword market. Information is available at: www.google.com/ads. Alternatively, if you simply want to pay someone else to manage your online search engine advertising campaign for a flat monthly fee, you could check out ValueWeb’s ValueTraffic program. ValueTraffic costs $100 per month, and guarantees traffic and impressions to your website. You can see further details at: www.valueweb.com/online-marketing.htm.
Of course, you should print your web address on all of your existing marketing materials such as: business cards, stationary, brochures, newsletters, product sheets, etc. You may find that driving qualified traffic to your website is as easy as releasing information on where to find it in your company promotional materials. Customers are always eager to utilize faster and more convenient forms of communications with companies.
Good luck with your new site, and remember - it takes a while for any great project to get real traction - the same holds true for your website.
About the Author
Derek Vaughan has been actively marketing on the Internet since 1995. His extensive online marketing experience includes serving at the Walt Disney Company as the online marketing manager for ecommerce at ESPN.com. In web hosting, Mr. Vaughan served for over 4 years as Senior Director of Marketing for Affinity Internet, Inc. and Vice President of Marketing for Aplus.Net. He now consults for www.cheaphostingdirectory.com, and runs www.webmastersales.com.
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United States Small Business Administration |
An electronic gateway of procurement information for and about small businesses. Search engine for contracting officers, marketing tool for small firms, ... |
www.sba.gov |
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SBA |
The Small Business Planner includes information and resources that will help you at any stage of the business lifecycle. ... |
www.sba.gov |
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Main Page - SmallBusiness.com - Small Business Resources |
Find Small Business plans, advice, tutorials about organization, corporations, entrepreneurship, and smallbusiness. |
www.smallbusiness.com |
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Yahoo! Small Business: Domain Names, Web Hosting, E-commerce ... |
Yahoo! Small Business provides products and services that enable you to establish and grow your business on the Internet. Services include domain name ... |
smallbusiness.yahoo.com |
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Small business advice business start up small business finance ... |
business start up small business finance start up advice. |
www.smallbusiness.co.uk |
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Smallbusiness.gov.au redirect to business.gov.au |
Business Entry Point - Helping small business in big ways. An Australian Government initiative. The content from this website has now been consolidated into ... |
www.smallbusiness.gov.au |
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Business & Small Business |
Online and print small business publication. Information to help start, grow or manage a small business. |
www.entrepreneur.com |
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Microsoft Small Business Center |
Your home for information about Microsoft's small-business products and services, tailored business advice, technology tools, and more. |
www.microsoft.com |
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The Small Business Advisor - advice for starting and operating a ... |
Advice and assistance for starting and operating a small or home based business. |
www.isquare.com |
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SCORE "Counselors to America's Small Business" |
A nonprofit association dedicated to encouraging the formation, growth, and success of small business nationwide through counseling and mentor programs. |
www.score.org |
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Small Business and Self-Employed One-Stop Resource |
IR-2006-2, January 3, 2006 - Temporary and proposed regulations will significantly reduce tax filing burden for nearly 950000 small business owners. ... |
www.irs.gov |
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Welcome to Small Business BC your business resource in British ... |
BC Business Services offers assistance and resources for those running or starting a business in British Columbia and Vancouver. |
www.smallbusinessbc.ca |
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Small Business Service | Home |
Provides information and advice to help small businesses realise their potential. |
www.sbs.gov.uk |
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NSW Small Business |
A site developed by the NSW Department of State and Regional Development for small businesses. Topics include management, resources, current issues and ... |
www.smallbiz.nsw.gov.au |
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Business Management & Advice: Small Business Resources & Information |
Looking for business management and advice? Our website includes small business resources and information that can help you. Visit the small business ... |
www.businessweek.com |
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Small Business Lawyer, Attorney, Law, Legal Help - FindLaw for ... |
Information and legal sites relevant to small business. |
smallbusiness.findlaw.com |
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Small Business Funding Opportunities (SBIR and STTR) |
Links to Small Business Funding Opportunities and SBIR / STTR Applications. |
grants.nih.gov |
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Microsoft bCentral Small Business Directory |
Directory categorized by industry with company business card feature. |
sbd.bcentral.com |
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Our site has moved! Please update your bookmarks! |
Facilitates the sharing and exchange of information among small business development centers, the small business administration and other business-oriented ... |
sbdcnet.utsa.edu |
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Small Business Development Corporation |
Our business information services provides guidance to improve business skills and knowledge on advice on starting, buying, selling and expanding a small ... |
www.sbdc.com.au |
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