Archive for September, 2009

Promoting Your Small Business Offline

September 21st, 2009 admin
Although web advertising is an essential component of promoting any small business, it is not the only method, and not necessarily always the most effective one. Don’t make the mistake of ignoring offline advertising by spending too long on your internet marketing and search engine optimization. There are other ways to promote your business that can be done offline though, an effective strategic planning and management must be observed to keep your business running.

After all, a banner advertisement can often be forgotten within seconds of leaving the web page or closing down the web browser, but a leaflet that drops through the door, a billboard advert passed every day on the way to work, or a business card on someone’s wall can help to get the message across in a different and physical way.

The exact nature of your business will help to dictate the best form of advertising and promotion to take, whether web based or in the real world. The audience you are trying to reach and the sort of message you want to get across will necessarily open up some possibilities whilst closing others.

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The Effect Of The Economy On Small Business

September 21st, 2009 admin

No matter where you stand on the fence …. pessimist, optomist, or somewhere in the middle …. no one can argue that the current state of the economy is having an effect on your small business.

Some are finding opportunity.

Some are hurting or even failing.

Some are simply surviving …. hoping to make it through.

Recession, depression, inflation, cap and trade, stimulus package(s), bank bailouts, company bailouts, health care reform, credit crunch, job loss, energy prices, tax proposals, consumer confidence, stock market fluctuations, investment / funding decline, business debt, consumer debt, declining consumer spending, going “green”, construction slow down, real estate depreciation, and much more …. it all seems to be coming at you from every direction. That’s alot of pressures to deal with … if it applies to you at all (somewhat depends on your business niche of course).

So what is the effect on YOUR business? (Positive, painful, not much, making changes to get through it, etc.)

What opportunities are YOU finding? (there are some … believe it or not)

What problems are YOU having? (please be specific …

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Transportation Solutions For Small Businesses

September 18th, 2009 admin

Mercury Business Services is a value added reseller in the transportation industry. They are headquartered in Boston but also have offices in New York and Chicago.

Twenty-five years ago their founder saw some holes in the transportation solutions of the major carriers. Many of the “small” businesses were ignored for the larger more glamorous accounts. With that he set off to fill those holes and Mercury Business Services was founded.

In a nutshell, Mercury offers great transportation services at competitive rates. In addition, they back that service up with exceptional customer service. For example, they proactively track each shipment and notify the client of any issues. They work with the major carrier to address these issues and keep the client informed.

Resources, both cash and personnel, are scarce for small businesses and start ups. Each person wears a number of hats. Mercury helps by becoming an extension of the clients customer service and operations saving a lot of time and money. They do the tracking. They work with the carriers should there be an issue. They fill out the international paperwork at no additional cost, etc. This saves the clients money and countless hours of additional work.

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Ten Mistakes to Avoid When Starting a Small Business

September 18th, 2009 admin
While we all make mistakes, in small business , there are a variety of mistakes that are common. Learning from other people’s mistakes can enable you to avoid many of them. These are 10 mistakes that you should work to avoid when starting a small business:

1. Not Doing Market Research – When selecting a small business to start, it is vital to research the industry and the current market for the products or services to be offered. Search online, research at your local library and talk with your local small business organizations to put together a full market research report to evaluate the opportunity for this business to become successful.

2. Choose a Strong Personal Match – When starting a small business, evaluate accurately what your personal strengths are. For example, don’t go into selling insurance if you have never worked in that industry before.

3. Lack of Capital - The top reason for small business failure is not failure to plan or choosing the wrong business concept, but is lack of capital.

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3 Tips for Getting Your Articles Approved on the First Submission

September 17th, 2009 admin
  1. Don’t Get Promotional in Your Title or Article Body – Putting your name, product’s name, or website name/URL in either of these fields makes the article promotional. Instead, use these areas to provide quality content that draws your readers in. If the reader finds value in your article, chances are better they’ll consider visiting the links provided in your Resource Box.
  2. Sort Your Links – Self Serving links (SS links) are links that you own, or have a vested interest in. Non-Self Serving links (NSS links) are links that you do not own, but you provide in your article as examples or references. Use these link guidelines to increase your chances of article publication:
    • All links should be “Below the Fold,” meaning no links can appear in the top half, or first 3 paragraphs, of your Article Body.
    • Your article can contain no more than 4 links – 2 SS links, and 2 NSS links.
    • Place one SS link in the Resource Box and one in the Article Body or place both in the Resource Box.
    • Use appropriate anchor text with SS links to make them non-promotional.
    • Place NSS links wherever you like in the Resource Box or below the fold in your Article Body.
  3. Use Good Grammar – Good grammar leads to a positive reader experience.

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Help The Public With Travel Business Opportunity

September 17th, 2009 admin

When you are about to start any business there are a few things which you need to be ready with. However, when it comes to a business at home, it may appear easy at first, but it does entail some of the same criteria mentioned. All businesses would not succeed in a home environment. Some businesses require stocking products and unless you have space in your home to do so, it can present problems for you. Since there is no stocking of any product involved, travel business opportunity is a good idea which you do from home.

Other than your family friends you must identify your future customers. You ought to look beyond your usual circle of people, otherwise your business would shrink. You could get valuable guidance from the internet in matters like travel pattern and where the frequent travelers are located. If you are trying to find more about the market needs, and find prospective customers, visit the several online travel forums. Travel review sites are also a good place to start your investigation. These sites offer good information on what people are seeking and where they go to hang out.

You also have to consider your availability to your customers.

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Search Engine Marketing Advice

September 17th, 2009 admin

Many people are already aware of the benefits of search engine marketing and how it can help their online business. While the benefits can be considerable, the challenge lies in avoiding search engine marketing services that can actually be detrimental to your SEO efforts. These can range from SEO firms that give you dubious search engine marketing advice that can be risky to your operations, to small companies that do not really know what they are doing.

In your decision to go with one particular search engine marketing service, you will want to consider one that can back up its claims by way of their reputation in the industry, the references they can provide or preferably a combination of the two. It is also important that they explain to you in great detail exactly what it is they will do for you. Remember, you are the one who is footing the bill, so it is important that they work with you if there is something that you do not understand.

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Last Call! International Trade Certificate Program

September 16th, 2009 admin





The International Trade Certificate Program - Export Series introduces companies to every aspect of exporting. It’s designed for small businesses that are new to international ex porting as well as growth-oriented businesses that want a better understanding of the op portunities and resources available.

Attendees will learn about available resources when pursuing exporting opportunities, get the “nuts and bolts” information about export transactions, receive the Global Entrepreneur text, learn how to prepare for the “Certified Business Global Professional” exam and designation offered through the National Association of Small Business International Trade Educators, and network with other professionals involved in international trade.

Topics include:

  • Identifying markets: sources of information
  • Finding partners: direct vs.

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Bootstrapping For Small Business Entrepreneurs

September 16th, 2009 admin

There’s an ebook on the topic of Bootstrapping that literally walks readers through steps they can take immediately. It’s called “13 Bootstrap Strategies to Build your Business on a Shoestring Budget”.

You’ll find it here:

Bootstrap Strategies

As you may know, over 99% of all business owners begin through bootstrapping! But many new entrepreneurs feel they are held back because they have no money. So not true! Author Marjorie Geiser has grown a successful business, as have many of her clients, through the efforts of successful bootstrapping.

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Common Grammatical Errors That Make Authors Look Dumb

September 15th, 2009 admin

Here are some common errors that are guaranteed to make you look unprofessional:

  1. Lose and Loose

    2. – These are not the same word! “You can lose your car keys if you put them in your very loose pants.” They are not interchangeable!

  2. Affect and Effect

    3. – If something affects you, it has an effect on you. For example: I am affected by the wind. The effect is that my hair gets messy.

  3. Semi-colons

    4. – Semi-colons are not commas. They’re also not colons. A semi-colon is used between closely related independent clauses not conjoined with a coordinating conjunction.
    Which means something like this:
    “I went to see a movie; I was told it was sold out.”

    Or between items in a series or a list that has its own punctuation:
    “I have three friends: Maddie, who is my aunt’s daughter; Jane, who is my sister’s teammate; and Nancy, who is my father’s sister.

  4. It’s for Its – and vice versa

    5. – “It’s” is short for “it is.” “Its” is the possessive form of “It.”

    So…you have then:
    Yes: “It’s a good day for going to the beach.”
    No: “Its a good day for going to the beach.”

    And: Yes: “This is a really cool gadget. Just look at all of its features.”
    No: “This is a really cool gadget.

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How to Get Small Business Loans

September 15th, 2009 admin
If you want a small business loan the major question you will face is how to get a small business loan? To answer these question several banks offers the small business loan to the people who desire to have their own small scale business. Before getting into any kind of small business loan one must get plenty information about the small business loans. However you should know answer to some question before receiving into any kind of loan deal. Some of those questions are:

What Is Small Business Loan

Small business loans are the loans which are approved by the bank to the person who wish for to start a small business. Small business loan provide the basic constancy to the person’s business by providing starting capital.

How to Get a Small Business Loan

The fundamental and the mainly important question that arise in the mind of the loan taker is that how can he get a small business loan, the reply to this question is very simple you have to apply for it to a normal bank similar to you do for an normal bank loan. Then the bank will work out on your details and also need your documents confirm your residence and other queries.

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Health Care Reform …. It’s Really Not That Hard

September 14th, 2009 admin

How have large corporations been driving out cost, increasing transparency and competitiveness within their global sourcing models? Not many use one service provider for all of their IT or BPO requirements – they create a competitive ecosystem and multi-source to competitive providers who fight for new projects and new contracts. It keeps the suppliers on their toes, keeps prices competitive, and (should) help improve productivity as providers also compete on quality and outcome-based goals. The key caveat is to ensure this ecosystem is managed effectively to ensure service providers are meeting quality standards, service levels etc. A healthy ecosystem of service providers, eager to compete for business is creating downward pressure on prices, increased customer choice, and also a quality dimension where providers need to create more innovative customer offerings in order to differentiate themselves.

Seems to me the answer with the US health insurance providers, is to create a similar ecosystem where there are more providers in play, where they are held to certain standards, and are regulated with how they price their services. The caveat is to ensure this ecosystem is managed effectively. If the government can help kick-start this ecosystem, them I’m all for reform.

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