Small Business CEO

Delegation in a Virtual World

2007-06-13T08:29:00.000-05:00

In today’s microenterprise world where many times there is only one person actually in the business, delegation takes on a whole new meaning.

Typically even a microenterprise has to perform the same functions as a larger business but they tend to use outside suppliers and partners to perform and manage those functions.

For example: Most of us don’t host our own websites or email or e-newsletter systems, we delegate that to an outside provider.

If we process credit cards we might use Paypal or another merchant account supplier along with our bank.

Almost all of us outsource our legal needs to a local firm or possibly even one of the new online legal firms that provides legal support for a fixed monthly subscription fee.

Many of us outsource various marketing functions, like public relations, offline communications like brochures and advertising or probably even some online items like banner design, web design and copywriting.

Ok, I just listed IT, Finance, Legal and Marketing as quick examples of the type of work we are already delegating to others. So we don’t have employees to delegate to we are still doing plenty of delegating.

So how do we insure that we can choose and use outside providers effectively?

I like to use what I call the 3 C’s, Capability, Credibility and Cost.

Credibility: Of course you have to make an effort to identify suppliers of external services, how most of us start is asking our friends and business associates if they know someone. We all tend to place higher value on those who we are referred to. Of course that doesn’t mean that the entity referred will work for you. After all if a lawyer of a big firm refers you to a marketing person how well does he understand your actual needs? He works in a big company his referral may not be very accurate, but most of us will at least have a conversation with the referred party

That takes me to another of my C’s, Capability: Regardless of how you find a supplier of course you want to understand their capability. After all you are literally going to place a piece of your business success in their hands. Because of this be sure to take the time to seriously evaluate their services, get references, ask for a trial use, in other words do some serious due diligence. You may be talking about what will turn out to be a pretty lengthy relationship. Finally, trust your gut, do you like the people, would you enjoy working with them, do they seem to be service oriented?

Finally the last C, Cost: Many times I have been penny wise and pound foolish. To save a dime I choose a supplier of some type that my gut tells me might be a problem but based on being frugal I decide to give the supplier a try only to have to start all over and spend the time to find a new one. The opportunity cost I incur is almost always much greater than the savings I might have achieved with the first supplier.

I hope this helps you in some small way, it is not an exhaustive lesson in how to do service provider delegation but I just wanted to help you add to your toolkit of effective delegation in our virtual world.

You’re Not After Clicks… You’re After Sales!

2007-06-04T11:20:00.000-05:00

My thanks to a special guest blogger, Caroline Melberg of SmallBusinessMavericks.com. This is a content and practical advice packed post, take your time and absorb.

It’s no secret that in today’s world, online success depends in large part on how much traffic you drive to your site. The amount of traffic you get depends on your search engine optimization. When your site is primed for search engine optimization, you get tons of traffic coming to you for free. Great, right?

Of course! You see, on the web you have a choice - you can pay Google or Yahoo tons of your hard earned cash for PPC clicks, or you can search engine optimize your site to drive new customers to you. And I’ll give you a hint – search engine optimization is much cheaper!

But many small businesses and web site owners make the mistake of just concentrating on traffic and search engine optimization. They get the traffic, but it doesn’t convert into buyers. What good is a ton of traffic coming to your site, if it doesn’t improve your website results?

You’ve ultimately got to look at your bottom line. If you’re spending tons of cash, hours of your time and all your energy on driving traffic to your site with SEO, but not making sure it converts into buying customers, you’re just chasing your tail.

Remember, you’re not after “clicks” – you’re after sales!

So how can you convert those clicks into sales? How can you get the maximum return on your investment, when it comes to converting those visitors into buyers? While there are many factors that go into Conversion Optimization for your site, here are 3 basics that you MUST ensure happen on your site in order to convert visitors into customers and increase your sales:

1. First, you need an effective sales message that grabs your surfer by the mouse, turns them upside down, and shakes their credit cards out of their pockets!

Your sales message has to grab attention and seductively hypnotize your prospect into buying your product or service. You’ve got less than 7 seconds to grab their attention, so “good enough” will not do. Remember, people don’t like to read ads. In fact, the average Internet surfer does not like to read much at all, so you’ve got to know how to capture their attention.

Your marketing message can only grab your surfer’s attention when it addresses their desires directly. For example, if your web site is a self-improvement web site, your marketing message will address things such as how to attain wealth, more health, a better job, weight loss, find a soul mate, or strengthen relationships.

You would not use headlines that talk about repairing your car for less than $100 or how to clip discount coupons. The key to converting your visitors is to find out what they want! The easiest way is to simply ask them. Email your list and ask them to email you their most important questions. Tell them to give you feedback and what kinds of changes they’d like to see happen. This will give you a gold mine of information on how to market and craft your sales message on your site in such a way that your target customers will be eager to buy.

2. Secondly, where your messages are placed on your site is critical. Important messages about what your company does, and the actions you want your customers to take must be strategically positioned on your website to ensure they aren’t overlooked by your customers. Make sure that all critical information appears “above the fold” so your customers don’t have to scroll down the page to figure out what your company does and whether you offer what they need.

Something many people forget when they design their site is that different computer monitor resolutions will display your site differently, making it important that you check what your website will look like in all common resolutions. An easy way to do this is to visit www.AnyBrowser.com and perform a screen size test. This way you can be certain that your site will look great, regardless of the computer monitor your customer is viewing it on.

3. Finally, the overall navigation of your site is critical to your conversion success. Is it easy for customers to find what they are looking for? If they have questions, is a phone number provided in an obvious location for them to be able to give you a call? Do you let your customers know the types of payment options you offer, your delivery policies and when they can expect to receive their order? By ensuring that your customers can easily find the information they need to do business with you, you’ll improve your conversion optimization and your sales.

Keep in mind that conversion optimization is a process – not an event. Just as you test your direct mail efforts and your PPC campaigns, you will want to test alternate messaging, placement and navigation options to continually try to improve your site’s conversion optimization. To help with this, our friends at Google have developed a free tool called the Google Website Optimizer where you can identify your “control” page and then test a variety of different headlines, messages and images to determine which performs best.

As with any type of testing – I recommend that you test one variable at a time so you can be sure which changes you make have the greatest impact on your conversion rate.

Another thing you want to do is to study your competition. Study your competitors that are several steps ahead of you. When you do this, you’ll have an outline of what already works. Don’t copy them, of course – but study their messaging and positioning as well as their site navigation to learn what is working well with the customers you aim to reach.

You don’t have to re-invent the wheel. When it comes to having a profitable online business, a combination of search engine optimization and crafting effective marketing messages that convert into buyers is important. Search engine optimization combined with Conversion Optimization is the most powerful duo you have in your Internet Marketing bag of tricks in terms of finding new customers, increasing your sales and improving your Website performance.

Want more help and knowledge from Caroline? Get her FREE E-Book on Small Business Internet Marketing.

NetFlix Style Rental of AV Equipment

2007-05-31T08:55:00.000-05:00

Boy I wish this service was available about 5 years ago. Sometimes you need a projector or other device in another city or for an event and you don't want to make a purchase or carry something via travel.

Excerpt:

Meeting Tomorrow offers business customers easy access to audio visual equipment. Hotels often charge extortionate prices for renting a projector or display screen, and other meeting venues don't always have the equipment needed for a presentation. On Meeting Tomorrow, you choose the equipment you need, order it online or by phone, and the equipment is delivered to your home, office, hotel or meeting location on time.

Learn more about NetFlix Style Rental of AV Equipment

Tip of the Hat to the Springwise for this story.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship - Hope for Our Future

2007-05-24T07:53:00.000-05:00

My daughters middle-school 6th grade recently held an innovation fair. Each student had 3 weeks to invent a product. They received guidance on how to find an idea, build a prototype and present to potential investors.

At the fair each adult (parent) had $25 to invest $5 each for five different product ideas. In total about 250 students participated.

The event was great and there were some great product ideas presented. Many of the kids were dressed in business attire, had a presentation ready and were even able to demonstrate a working prototype.

Here are some of the ideas:

This is my daughter Liz. She had the idea for an automatic hair detangler brush. She worked hard on the prototype and her presentation and did a great job. She is very competitive and really wanted to win the contest. (That meant many trips for last minute supplies)

Here is another great idea, a lighted toilet seat, great for those trips to the bathroom in the night when you don't want to turn on the light or to help us guys improve our aim.

Here is an idea I would have bought on the spot, a dog brush with a vacuum attachment. I have two dogs and they generate bushels of shedded fur regularly. Some vacuum cleaner company should take this idea and run with it.

Another great idea, a telephone-smoke detector combination device that in a worse case scenario can be powered by the phone line voltage if necessary. This seems so simple when you think about it but I have never seen such a device.

There were literally hundreds of similar great and innovative ideas in one middle-school in Ohio. The kids were excited to have a chance to participate. There are many, many bright kids, with great ideas that had a chance to be empowered to create and sell.

My congratulations to the kids and Clagget school for conducting such an event.

What is an Entrepreneur?

2007-05-23T19:21:00.000-05:00

I am involved in a new startup entrepreneurial club in Akron, Ohio, USA (www.akroneclub.com) and we are struggling a bit with what the definition of an entrepreneur is.

Is it a role, an attitude or a title?

Webster's Collegiate Dictionary defines it as: "On who assumes the risk and management of a business."

That is no help. If I am a functional manager in a business, say a Sales VP, I am surely managing a part of the business and I am taking a risk with my career, my employees and peers. Does that make me an entrepreneur?

Maybe it is all of the above, a role, an attitude and a title.

Entrepreneur seems to be the hottest buzzword going around, the hero, the savior of economies worldwide. How do we spot one when we see one? How do we spot youngsters and support them in their journey to business success?

Do Me a Favor: Don't Be My Customer

2007-05-21T06:11:00.000-05:00

Funny how some prospects think they are doing me a favor by giving me the honor of being one of three required bids.

I had a prospect lately who asked me to provide them a bid for some product and services even though they had just renewed with their past 4 year provider, he said they were happy with the support they provided as well.

The bid was for some add-on work around the same application area and he needed to get three bids as a corporate requirement before purchasing. He stated over and over again how there was a real opportunity. I didn't believe him.

Preparing the bid would have taken about 8 person-hours of time, he would not let us do an accurate functional spec on the new functionality, this was an easy 'Thanks but No Thanks" response.

I know the buyer has power in today's market but not the power to waste my time.

I do know that he will get his 3 bidders, at least 3 organizations will have 'HOPE' as their strategy. (The secret is we had done several bids for him over the past years)

My suggestion in these scenarios is to listen to what your gut is telling you, it is usually accurate. Be authentic, tell the customer, "Thanks Maybe Next Time."

Leadership the Marine Way

2007-05-17T06:10:00.000-05:00

The Marine's have been developing leaders for centuries and much has been written and chronicled about the process and the successes.

But now you can access some of this knowledge via audio podcast as Wally Adamchik shares the essential universal leadership characteristics used by the U.S. Marines that will enable you to become the successful, natural born leader you are capable of becoming.

Listen to Leadership the Marine Way

Are You a CEO Dad?

2007-05-14T07:35:00.000-05:00

Are you a CEO and a Dad? Need a good laugh occasionally and a reality check, then you need to check out this great site CEO Dad.

Here is a sample:

RSS Reader and More - NetVibes

2007-05-10T08:05:00.000-05:00

I subscribe to a fairly large number of RSS feeds and have been using IE7 to subscribe and manage them and have grown frustrated with the time it takes to rapidly scan my feeds for pertinent information.

Then I found a service called NetVibes. NetVibes is a web based service that lets you creates pages of feeds that you can look at like a snapshot. You can even create multiple tabs based on topics or other categories.

In addition NetVibes has all kinds of little widgets you can put on a page like weather, calendar, to do lists and more. Another cool thing NetVibes provides is the ability to drag around your various feeds and widgets to the location or even the tab you want them in.

This has sped up my information scanning and targeting tremendously. Another site that offers a similar service is called Pageflakes.

Rallying the Troops - Will a Campaign Help?

2007-05-08T10:55:00.000-05:00

I am working with a company that is wants to grow from $3M to $10M over the next 5 years, the company has been flat for several years and has many long term employees.

I have suggested that one things we should implement is a branded internal campaign about the growth goal called 10X5 We Believe and use it for physical reminders of the journey we are on and how each employee is called upon to contribute to the journey to the goal.

I have been employed where such campaigns have existed to help fuel growth and they always seemed to work. Top management supported them and with repetition the culture embraced them as well and it did provide fuel to help growth.

If you experience with such culturally related internal branding campaigns leave a comment, I would appreciate it.

Incredible Story of a Successful Entrepreneur

2007-05-04T11:08:00.000-05:00

px;" src="http://www.smbtrendwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/taranelson.jpg" border="0" alt="" />Overcoming incredible odds, Tara Nelson got her degree including a masters of psychology. She was almost out of money but still she perservered and triumphed in the expensive real estate market and successfully purchased her first home.

Today, Tara is a successful attorney, real estate broker, and business owner. What an Incredible Story of a Successful Entrepreneur.

Selling to the Government, Public Sector

2007-05-01T18:36:00.000-05:00

This is a shout out for help.

I am looking for information, (books, consultants, classes, etc.) on how to sell and market to various U.S.Governmental entities, such as States, Counties, Cities and Schools. (Not Federal)

If you know of any such resources please leave me a comment or click on the upper left and send me an email, I would appreciate it.

Thanks.

Five Insurance Tips to Help Small Business Owners

2007-04-27T06:10:00.000-05:00

Are you one of the only 1 in 4 small-business owners that has a sufficient succession and continuation plan in place.

If you don't have a good plan, you are putting at risk the financial futures of your partners, your employees and your family.

The LIFE Foundation has put together this terrific article on Five Insurance Tips for Small Business Owners that you need to read today.

Digital Native or Digital Immigrant - Which are You?

2007-04-24T07:39:00.000-05:00

I heard a presentation at a tech vendor conference recently and the presenter used the terms Digital Native and Digital Immigrant. He used the terms in a discussion about how to prepare for the upcoming workforce.

A Digital Immigrant describes those of us to whom technology is not easy or native or intuitive, we have to work at it. I know I have been in the IT technology industry for 30+ years and am still an immigrant, Digital is still a second language to me. (Note: The computer in the picture is one of the first ones I worked with)

A Digitial native on the other hand has all things Digital as their first language, everything digital seems natural and easy for them.

Here are some questions to help you discover your status:

You are a Digital native if you:

- Never manually changed the channel on a TV
- You have a wireless network at home
- You have owned multiple cellphones, just in the last 2 years
- You can easily do a program search on a TIVO or DVR
- You can IM on a phone at over 30 words a minute
- You own and operate a blog, podcast and a social network page (myspace, etc.)
- You have a VOIP phone and conference call regularly on SKYPE
- You know what 'Ruby on Rails' is
- You know what a MMOG is and participate regularly
- You have e-friends around the world

Ok, that is enough. Anyway do you think these Digital natives are going to want to work in a paper driven, process intensive, slow to move and change business? I don't think so.

They are smart, talented and speak fluent Digital, how will YOU put them to work in your business?

Tradeshow Vultures

2007-04-18T11:09:00.000-05:00

I am attending the AIIM/OnDemand tradeshow in Boston this week. I haven't been to a monster tradeshow in a few years and have forgotten the expense that many companies invest in these tradeshows.

I am actually saddened by the little guys trying to compete against these large organizations and why a small business even invests in such an exercise. It is so obvious that they are out of their league. (Don't confuse tradeshow perception with value prop)

My observation is that most of the small guys get walked on by, by the participants.

Even worse, in my opinion are the large company displays, crowded with like branded golf shirt wearing sales vultures who are looking for something to kill, I mean someone to sell. I avoid those vendors like the plague, regardless of the product.

I find the small, professional presented vendor a joy to talk with, open about their strengths and weaknesses and willing to have a good, quick business discussion.

I would suggest if tradeshows are in your marketing strategy that you size up the other vendors and evaluate your positioning versus them as an element of your investment decision.

Top Ten Podcasts

2007-04-11T08:20:00.000-05:00

Over at my brother site Small Business Trends Radio we just put up our first quarter Top Ten Most Popular Podcasts.

In March we served up over 40 Gigabytes of Small Business audio content, available at no cost to you the listener.

We now have over 85 available shows for our listeners to take advantage of.

I like to think we are not only Podcast pioneers (started Nov 2004) but emerging Podcast legends. You will not find many other sites with so much Small Business focused content.

Thanks for reading my commercial but you should check out Small Business Trends Radio.

How to Market to Bloggers - Effectively

2007-04-04T21:48:00.000-05:00

To all of you who take advantage of my openly available email to contact me I thank you!

Please read the article linked to below on how to approach me regarding your potential wish for visibility on this blog. I would love to give you visibility but if you want FREE publicity you need to do the work.

I would be glad to craft a post and a strategy but I would like to be paid for that work.

So please approach me, I love helping, but let's be effective with each other.

From RainToday.com

Marketing to bloggers can do wonders for your search engine rankings and PR efforts. Inbound links from blogs improves your Google ranking, which increases traffic from search engines. Exposure from bloggers can land a company's website on a social bookmarking site like Digg or Del.icio.us, driving thousands of new visitors to the site. A newsletter, white paper, or book review by an influential blogger could generate new leads for your services.

Importantly, bloggers are a more fickle bunch than most traditional media people. Marketing to them appropriately can yield great results; however, approaching them the wrong way can backfire.Read more

How to Market to Bloggers - Effectively

Recharge: Take a Nap

2007-04-02T18:56:00.000-05:00

Do you ever feel drowsy in the middle of the day? Need a power nap? Want to stay on the edge of enlightened employers!

Meet the latest in napping, the Metronap. Improve your productivity, attract and retain your best employees and boost morale.

Is this a great idea or what? Recharge: Take a Nap

Raising the Expectations of Your Leaders

2007-03-28T18:25:00.000-05:00

The leader of a small business decides that the time is right to grow and grow aggressively. The problem is the business has been flat for a number of years and many of the management team are long term employees who sort of seem comfortable with the pace at which the business is operating and not highly motivated to self-raise their expectation and performance.

What is the leader to do?

My observation is this can be a serious problem if a growth strategy is defined but nobody is ready to step up, so to speak.

My gut tells me that the thing the leader needs to do is explain why they personally want to grow now and what is in it for them individually. Then they must help the other members of the management team identify what their personal return would be if such growth happens.

Once that return is identified and bought into it is time to define what individual behaviors and management improvements will be required of each individual.

If someone can't see the benefits of the vision personally and/or cannot personally commit to managerial self-improvement then they need to find a new bus, using the Good to Great book phrase.

Love to hear your thoughts?

The Web at Your Fingertips

2007-03-26T06:13:00.000-05:00

I love finding new online tools that help me better find and review information. I have tried almost every RSS reader there is and have never been quite satisfied with any of them.

I am trying a new RSS reader, widget thingy called Pageflake.com. It lets me add little widgets for various functions like maps, games, calendar, lists and most importantly RSS feeds. You can create different pages for different things, maybe a page on Small Business feeds another on Digital media and so on.

You can even setup a widget to pull in your email. Get the Web at Your Fingertips

We All Have the Same Amount - Time, How Do You Invest Yours?

2007-03-22T19:57:00.000-05:00

Environmental Scanning - Shift Happens

2007-03-20T19:47:00.000-05:00

One thing an entreprenuer must do is constantly scan the environment looking for threats to our existing businesses and scoping out new opportunities to grow our businesses.

Through one of my many RSS feed subscriptions (A great way to scan a volume of information) I came across this video slide show called 'Shift Happens' which does a great job at putting population and global cultural changes in perspective.

There are 2 reactions you might have to this, make that 3 reactions. You might not care, you might be afraid or you might be excited. Let me know your thoughts.

Environmental Scanning - Shift Happens

Snack Attack - Snack Culture - Media and Business

2007-03-17T12:36:00.000-05:00

Wired Magazine has a great section in this months issue about our Snack Culture and its application to how we consume media.

You know video snippets, audio clips, ringtones, mini-games, blogs and more are coming in smaller chunks, like snacks.

It got me to thinking about how a small business needs to have this cultural awareness in order to leverage it for progress in our own businesses.

I guess the first step is awareness, so read the article. Second would be insuring that, if applicable, your marketing messages are packaged in a way that your audience wants them and bite size may be the way.

That may be one reason blogs are popular in business right now, bite size value and exposure to your prospects. Maybe your print collateral needs to adapt to this new bite sized world.

Maybe the heyday of 'white papers' and 'case studies' is past or at least they might need to be broken into smaller bites.

Obviously we are all fighting for attention in an attention span challenged world. Smaller just be better at cracking the 'see me' code.

Customer Service Recovery - Done Right

2007-03-14T18:41:00.000-05:00

Sometimes the chance to impress our customers is done via effective recovery from a problem.

This week I had the opportunity to fly into the Phoenix airport and I was renting a car for my visit. For those of you not aware this is the really busy season at the Phoenix airport, college spring breakers and baseball spring training visitors cause some real crowding at the airport.

Anyway, I get through the rental counter and head down to get the car, there are 20-30 people standing there waiting to get a car, it turns out that the returned cars weren't coming in as fast as the new renters were arriving, a tough problem to manage.

Luckily the supervisor downstairs did several things right, every five minutes he explained the problem to the assembled crowd, he apologized for the situation and explained what they were doing to get us our cars. Oh, I forgot, they also provided us all with free bottled water while we waited.

Once my name was called I then discovered they were offering all of us upgrades at no cost to a higher level car. This was great handling of a frustrating situation. Communicate, apologize, state your actions and compensate for the incovenience, all done sincerely.

My kudo's go out to Enterprise Rental Car in Phoenix. Does your business maximum your service recovery opportunities?

2% of Humanity

2007-03-11T18:40:00.000-05:00

I once had the responsibility to be the Customer Service responder for all calls to the CEO of a pretty big company, my job was to try and resolve the situation and make the customer happy.

The one thing I learned was that there is just no pleasing some people, I would even send them cash of more value than the product and their time was worth. Still they always found something new to complain about.

The CEO said something once and I have never forgotten it, "There is about 2% of humanity you never want to do business with, unfortunately you don't know who they are until you ARE doing business with them."

This article from Fortune Small Business brought these thoughts to my mind. In fact this topic would be a good one for a blog: Employees from Hell

Here is a taste of the article:

About a month into her new job, Normal started missing work. She seemed to have several sick relatives. Rule felt particularly sorry for her new employee when Normal said she had to take a long leave for a family funeral over the winter holidays.

Mysterious packages started arriving at the office, addressed to unknown recipients. That always seemed to happen on days that Normal was out, and Rule had them sent back. "At first, nobody made any connections," Rule says.

What Are Your Business Habits?

2007-03-08T17:58:00.000-06:00

"The individual who wants to reach the top in business must appreciate the might of the force of habit--and must understand that practices are what create habits that can break him--and hasten to adopt those practices that will become the habits that help him achieve the success he desires." -- J. Paul Getty

Our business habits will determine our business future.

What is a business habit you might ask? A business habit is something our business keeps repeating and if we persist, it eventually becomes automatic.

Just taking that statement as it is means our business is made up primarily of habits and of course we all work hard to develop good habits that we believe will bring the right results.

If you are not getting the business results you hope for maybe you need to examine your business habits and reengineer them, maybe even ask for help.

Successful Businesses Have Successful Habits...

Invoicing for Small Business

2007-03-07T06:07:00.000-06:00

*This is a sponsored post*

If you are solopreneur or a small business of course you want to project a professional image to your clients and add to the brand value of your business. One of the most important ways that this is done is through your invoices.

Think about it, what do you want your invoice's to do for your business. You want them to look professional, contain accurate billing information, go to the right person at the right time delivered via email or postal service.

If professional invoicing is important to you then you should check out this great service called BillMyClients.com.

For example the 'Free Agent' package includes all of this for only $7.99/month:
- unlimited invoicing via e-mail
- print unlimited invoices
- unlimited client tracking
- up to 10 stored logos
- payment tracking
- remittance slip creation
- set recurring invoices for dues or subscriptions
- tax and shipping calculations

The flexibility, availability and opportunity to professionalized your invoicing at this type of cost is really a no brainer in my opinion. You can even get a free trial.

Check out BillMyClients.com for Small Business Invoicing!

The Computer Bed

2007-03-05T06:08:00.000-06:00

One of the things I really like to do on this blog is share unique discoveries that I think will help small business ceo's. They could be new technologies, new tools, new websites or in this case new furniture.

If you are having long days and need to sleep in the office or maybe you are a software developer and foosball tables and espresso machines are not working to keep your employees around, then the Computer Bed may be for you.

Available in five different finishes and the ability to be customized even more to your exact requirements this could be a good investment for the hard working business leader.

"This model of European Murphy Bed is in the popular computer bed format. Now both are available here. Operation is from gas assisted pistons often referred to as intuitive in nature. In reality the gas piston dampens the natural action of weight transfer from bed to desk to bed."

Learn more about The Computer Bed

Backing Up Data

2007-03-03T08:49:00.000-06:00

*This is a sponsored post*

Twice in my career I have totally lost the hard drive in my computer and both times it was catastrophic to my business. All of my emails, files, presentations, sales proposals, contract forms, financial information, all gone.

When it happened I was so angry I boycotted technology for two weeks, all of this was over 10 years ago. Today I, and am sure you as well are so much more dependent on our personal technology. Do you have a data backup plan? Are you actually doing it?

If you don't have a plan and are not taking action to do backups of your information then I implore you to do so. I would also encourage you to check out IBackUp.

iBackup offers both online backup and online storage for a very attractive price. They even have a product for backing up your Quickbooks.

IBackup Professional online backup and storage solutions can also help you in meeting federal mandates such as HIPAA, Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX), GLBA and SEC/ NASD acts.

It’s best to plan for a disaster before it strikes check out IBackup

Truth, Trust and Respect

2007-03-01T08:06:00.000-06:00

I had an opportunity yesterday to attend a presentation by a company that had completed 2 mergers over the last 18 months and they were sharing the lessons learned from the experience.

The one take away that really stuck with me that they shared was boiled down to three simple words. Truth, Trust and Respect.

These three things have meaning in most business relationships (and personal) and transactions, not just mergers. Employee to employer, company to customer, company to investors, investors to company, partner to partner and so on.

What was pleasantly surprising to me was how conscious the company was of needing Truth, Trust and Respect to make the mergers work.

Think about your relationships, are these elements present, can they be obtained, what barriers does not having them put in the way of results?

Hackers Love Small Businesses

2007-02-24T09:39:00.000-06:00

As a small business owner, we may believe that hackers have no use for our small network. Think again!

Understanding what these hackers are truly after will help us to understand why we are at risk.

What do these hackers want? A hackers ultimate goal is to gain control of your system and possess the ability to be able to perform their desired tasks in stealth mode.

Learn more about the risks we face from hackers in this great podcast Why Hackers Love Small Business and be sure to check out the guest expert Thomas Raef's services at E-Based Security.

Spotting a Decision Maker

2007-02-21T19:12:00.000-06:00

Today, buyer spotting is a key for those selling professional services, and we have no high tech devices to assist us. There is no radar, sonar, metal detector, heat seeking, magnetic PDA gizmo that will light up and indicate: BUYER AT 20 FEET! BUYER AT 20 FEET! BEARING 120 DEGREES!

At the risk of being crass, no one can help you in organizational life except a true buyer, someone who can write (or approve) a check in return for your value. Gatekeepers, blockers, functionaries, advisors, colleagues, and assorted others can't do a thing for you (unless they immediately introduce you to a buyer).

More on Spotting a Decision Maker

The Unique Selling Proposition

2007-02-19T19:14:00.000-06:00

One of the key things that must be identified for effective marketing and sales is your USP or Unique Selling Proposition.

The USP is the thing that sets you, your products and services or your business apart from every other competitor in a favorable way.

Amazon.com has "The Earth's Biggest Bookstore" for example. A USP positions your offering as being different from, and consequently more valuable than, your competitors offering.

In a world that is flooded with marketing messages it gives your prospect specific and compelling reasons to buy from you instead of your competitors.

One way to develop a USP is by starting with the words, "Unlike most of our competitors...," then filling in the blanks about what differentiates you.

Another way to develop a USP is to highlight a feature or benefit that only your product or service contains or features.

The possibilities for crafting a USP are endless. The key is to adopt a USP that fills a void in the marketplace that you or your product can genuinely fill.

Are You Marketing Smartly?

2007-02-17T10:19:00.000-06:00

Polish your marketing smarts with this handy quiz. Just answer true or false to these eight questions, then read the answers for important insights that'll help you improve your marketing in the coming year.

1. On a small-business marketing budget, it's smarter to advertise a few times each in numerous print publications than to advertise often in just one or two.

2.When shopping for broadcast advertising on a tight budget, you should look for the media proposal that offers the greatest number of spots for your money.
3. Customers prefer to receive branded company information in editorial materials, both offline and online, rather than through ads.

Take the Quiz on Are You Marketing Smartly?

Do-It-Yourself or Hire a Pro?

2007-02-14T11:44:00.000-06:00

Advertising is not as easy as color by numbers.

Your company's message, and how it is delivered, can be one of the biggest factors in determining your level of success. Having the right communications firm can make a big difference. How do you decide whether to do it yourself “in-house” or bring in an agency? And if you decide to hire an agency, what should you be looking for?

More Advertising, Do It Yourself or Hire a Pro?

Offering A Guarantee

2007-02-07T07:54:00.000-06:00

You may be offering a guarantee, but nervously, or perhaps not offering one at all. What if a bunch of your clients ask for their money back?

Sluuurrrrrpppp... there goes your business, down the drain. What makes a guarantee safe for you?

It helps to understand that very few people ever call in a guarantee. Why don't they?

The first and best reason is that you are putting your heart and soul into doing the best you can possibly do for your customers.

And your client is actually rooting for you-- they want your offer to work. They want to believe in you.

This means that your customers are cheerleading your efforts. They paid money, they've committed themselves, so they're actually on your team.

More Offering a Guarantee

What Do Your Words Say?

2007-02-05T18:23:00.000-06:00

Props to SlowLeadership.org

Earlier this week, I came across a mention of a supposed "law" of blogging: the 1/9/90 Law [link] . This states that of every 100 people, just one will write a blog and create content, putting forward their ideas and starting a dialog. Another nine will post comments on that blog and thus contribute to the dialog by sharing their responses to the original idea. They enrich the content created. The other 90 will read the bog . . . and do nothing else. They simply consume the content.

I have no idea whether any of this is true, but it seems plausible. If I contrast the number of people who are recorded as looking at this blog with the number who leave comments, a ratio of 9:1 seems overly generous. My own guess would be that far fewer than 9% of readers ever post any kind of comment.

However, this post is not about blogging, and my reason for mentioning the 1/9/90 Law is that it seems to me to apply really well to the topic of people's reactions to change and whatever serves as the prevailing culture and established norms in their place of work.

Maybe just one in 100 people will come up with ideas for change and decide to try to see them implemented.

More on What Do Your Words Say?

Meeting in Person Makes a Powerful Impact

2007-02-04T07:29:00.000-06:00

The world moves fast. We often rely on technology to help us keep up.

When making a connection with another person is critical, nothing tops an in-person meeting. Sitting in a room with someone face-to-face allows the other party to completely experience your personal brand.

This experience takes place on many levels. The expression on your face, the tone of your voice, the look in your eyes all helps represent who you are and the nature of your visit.

Many people take this idea lightly.

More Meeting in Person Makes a Powerful Impact

Sales are Sales

2007-02-01T07:31:00.000-06:00

Are your online and offline channels working together in order to maximize overall sales? As the 2006 Holiday E-commerce Watch comes out, one of the most striking points it brings up is the fact that while many online stores give numerous reasons to visit their offline stores, few offline send it back the other way. Why is it so important to send consumers online?

More Sales are Sales

Help Employees Speak Up

2007-02-01T07:29:00.000-06:00

As an owner or manager, you want to know when employees feel bullied or stressed out by their workload or have knowledge of problems in your company. You also want them to speak up with any ideas they have to help you grow your business.

A recent Harvard University study found that one out of six employees is fearful of speaking up. In another study by the Association of Professional Office Managers Foundation, 40.4% of respondents said there was no company appointed person they could direct complaints to.

Here are some tips to help employees communicate better with you or their supervisors:

Get the tips for Helping Employees Speak Up

Top Ten Podcasts of 2007

2007-01-29T06:13:00.000-06:00

Over at The Small Business Trends Radio Show we had a great year and we wanted to share the Top 10 Small Business Podcasts for 2006 with you.

Congratulations to the small business experts listed below -- they had the most requested podcasts for 2006.

Here are the Top 10 Small Business Podcasts for 2006 (in no particular order):

SEO Success for Small Business
Guest: Steve Kinney, Founder of Search Optimizers
Search engine optimization (SEO) can help your business beat your biggest competitors.

How to Start a Business With No Money
Guest: Gary Schoeniger, Founder of GarySchoeniger.com
Gary Schoeniger started a business dead broke with a borrowed ladder. Soon he had a multi-million dollar business.

Entrepreneurial Terror: How to Get Through the Dark Days and Into the Light
Guest: Ruth King, CEO Business TV Channel
Uplifting true-life stories of entrepreneurs who overcame crises.

Building a Successful Online Forum -- a Case Study
Guest: Lee Dodd, Zydeca Media
Do you know what an online forum is? How would you use one for your business? Learn this and more.

Protect Your Intellectual Property Assets
Guest: Michael Dees, President of Esecurity-Direct
Michael, a seasoned technology professional, explains how to protect your intellectual property from theft.

Stage a Business Coup
Guest: Barry Moltz, Author of "You Need to Be A Little Crazy"
Barry does a reading of an article he wrote and gives the backstory on his real-life experiences behind it.

Avoiding the Top 10 Online Marketing Mistakes
Guest: Jim Kukral, Publisher of ReveNews
Jim says "Tell me you didn't buy that $99 offer to get a top Google listing -- it does not work!" Listen and learn.

What's All This Buzz About Buzz Marketing?
Guest: Ron McDaniel, CEO of Buzzoodle
The trend toward buzz marketing and word of mouth marketing -- and why they are so important today.

Voice over IP (VoIP) in plain English
Guest: Dan Hoffman, CEO of M5 Networks
Dan Hoffman of M5 Networks explains how VOIP technology can transform your business.

Search Engine Marketing is Not Voodoo
Guest: Jennifer Laycock, Editor-in-Chief of Search Engine Guide
Search engine marketing really isn't voodoo, it is something you can do.

We would also like to make a special mention of Warren Carter, CEO of MyOnlyOne, along with Andy Birol, Founder of Birol Growth Consulting, both of whom have achieved emeritus status as perennial favorites.

Our special thanks to our listeners and our informative small-business experts for your loyalty and support and for making the year 2006 such a success for Small Business Trends Radio!

Skype Means Business

2007-01-25T19:21:00.000-06:00

Skype, the global Internet communications company, today announced that it has extended its Skype for Business offering in response to continued demand among businesses around the world that use Skype™ to communicate with customers and colleagues.

Business users have always been part of the Skype family and make up more than 30 percent of Skype’s global community of users. In a recent survey of 250 businesses using Skype, 95 percent claimed to have saved on their telecommunications costs and 80 percent shared that using Skype had increased employee productivity.

The survey also revealed that 62 percent of the companies using Skype communicate better with customers and 76 percent said they work more closely with colleagues because Skype is so easy to use.

Skype for Business builds upon Skype’s rich calling features including Skype-to-Skype, Video Calling, SkypeOut™, SkypeIn™, conference calling, file transfer and chat. Skype for Business adds additional options to assist business users, which includes enterprise controls and functionality, Skype Extras, and the Skype for Business destination page.

Skype Means Business check it out...

How to Gain Productivity, While Helping Students Gain Practical Experience

2007-01-24T18:31:00.000-06:00

Z University.org (ZU) has established an online "Internship Knowledge Center" featuring the contents of its newest version of Intern Toolkit™ and its program management methodology, called "The Blueprint of Internship Success." The Internship Knowledge Center enables users to download and...

Read more How to Gain Productivity, While Helping Students Gain Practical Experience

Why Survey Your Customers?

2007-01-22T19:34:00.000-06:00

Your customers will appreciate it. They will see that you are trying to improve your service.

You can have customers score you in different areas, then publicize your high scores in your marketing materials. It gives credibility to your statements about service quality.

It gives you an opportunity to sell something or to make an offer.

It lets you learn from your mistakes.

It helps you flag possible problem areas and clients.

It keeps you from coasting.

It keeps you form wondering what you are doing wrong.

It tells you what business you are in, and what people are buying.

Survey, Survey, Survey.

Caffeine and Small Business

2007-01-16T19:12:00.000-06:00

ePrize, the worldwide leader in interactive promotions, today announced the launch of a new technology specifically designed for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that delivers interactive promotions to enterprises of any size. ePrize’s Caffeine Promotions Platform™, available at www.caffeinenow.com, offers smaller businesses the power to build and deploy advanced and fully customized online sweepstakes, instant-win, and coupon-based promotions in fewer than 10 minutes, anywhere in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom.

Caffeine’s unique technology makes it easy, fast, and efficient for small businesses to develop and deploy an end-to-end interactive promotion campaign without the burden and risk of development, prizes, security and compliance. Businesses launch the promotions with no up-front costs or commitments and pay only for performance.

Caffeine puts the business in total control. Using the High Performance Dashboard™, Caffeine customers can adjust prizing, style, budget, and many other variables at any time. The tool also offers a robust email engine, providing smaller companies and startups the same sophisticated communication tools that previously were the exclusive domain of big budget marketers.

With interactive promotions, SMBs establish a direct, one-to-one relationship with their customers and prospects, and are able to motivate specific consumer behavior. Until now, smaller companies could not afford the cost, time, and liability associated with launching a similar high-performance campaign.

“What makes Caffeine work so well is that my company can determine the exact geographic area from which we want our leads to come,” said Aaron Chestnut, vice president of marketing for Fathead, a small business that participated in Caffeine beta testing that began November 2006. “We are receiving a significant number of leads per day from our Caffeine promotion. Whether the leads are from specific localities or a national market, we pay only for those leads that fit our objectives.”

Learn more at Caffeine Now about Caffeine and Small Business

Learning Entrepreneurship

2007-01-16T06:16:00.000-06:00

Business Lessons I Learned In 2006 from the Digerati Life

Even the best laid personal/household financial plans can be upturned by sudden events.Life changing events are just waiting to creep up and bite you, or are sitting on the sidelines ready to pounce. Divorce, disaster or deciding to strike it out on your own can force you to rethink your future. So be prepared.

There’s a time to quit and there’s a time to hang on.
You’ll just have to figure out what you’re comfortable with. Some stubborn people hang on for so long to a failing idea that they throw good money after bad. Also, it may sound like quitting is a bad thing, but it isn’t if you really need to cut your losses or can apply your time to more profitable ventures. It’s a judgment call and many times, an instinctive decision that needs to be made.

More Learning Entrepreneurship

New Price Structure for 2007?

2007-01-15T06:04:00.000-06:00

Two of my computers went on the fritz this week and so I called a friend, Stacy Jones, who started a computer repair business called LanFellas to come fix my problems. "I charge $75 per hour," he told me. I...

New Pricing in 2007?

Budgeting Basics

2007-01-15T05:59:00.000-06:00

Just about every business--including many of the smallest, even one-person businesses--needs some kind of spending plan or some means of looking in advance at the money that must go out relative to the money projected to come in.

More Budgeting Basics

The Blog Chain Letter Craze

2007-01-09T20:13:00.000-06:00

I have been tagged by Anita Campbell at SmallBizTrends in the chain-letter blogging craze.

Here is the way it is supposed to work. I have to answer five questions. Then I get to tag five other people to answer the questions. They in turn can tag five others. (That’s where it resembles a chain letter.) And so on.

So what’s in it for you, you ask? Reading the answers is a good way to get to know me and other people online.

Here are the five questions and my answers:

1. What have you learned so far from visitors to your blog?

How loyal, smart and appreciative they are of my efforts. They give me way to much credit.

2. If someone would offer to pay for a course (or more) for you, what would that course be?

I think a course in acting, that would be a big stretch but I love to learn new things and explore new directions. In junior high I loved drama but never pursued it.

3. Are you satisfied with what you’ve achieved in 2006, in general?

I am never 100% satisfied, I am an impatient, patient person. I did learn many things about myself, the world around me and the value of persistence and relationships. I also drew closer to God in 2006 and that means the most to me.

4. Has blogging changed your life or your personality in any way?

The real value beside a small monetary reward is the incredible number of new relationships I have developed with many people around the world. It amazes me how similar we are in our interest in helping one another.

5. If you had the opportunity to meet one person that you admire the most in the world, who would that person be?

Tough question. Business wise Rupert Murdoch, I would love to learn from his media empire stories. Personally, Brett Favre to tell him how much I appreciate his dedication to his profession and personal perseverance.

Ok here are my five tags: Michael Sutyak, Gary Schoeniger, Barbara Payne, Deb Brown and Rob Felber.

Improve Your Service...Use Text-Link-Ads

2007-01-09T06:15:00.000-06:00

This is a sponsored Post.

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Want to use a service that is professional, time-tested and easy to use?

Then do me and yourself a favor, check out Text-Link-Ads. Located in Cincinnati, Text Link Ads is the premier targeted traffic and link popularity ad firm.

Text Link Ads was co-founded by Patrick Gavin. He is a search marketing expert and speaker at industry leading conferences including Search Engine Strategies and Webmasterworld Conferences.

Improve your service performance today, Check out Text-Link-Ads, it is so easy!

Young People are Looking for Startup Success

2007-01-07T08:31:00.000-06:00

2,100 colleges and universities are offering courses in entrepreneurship across the U.S. That's a major change from the early 1990s, when fewer than 400 schools offered such courses.

Generation Y'ers are seeing upstart companies worth big bucks for the second time in their lives and are increasingly willing to gamble that their startups will fly.

Read more Young People are Looking for Startup Success

Rough year for Fortune 100 CEOs: 14% LOST Their JOBS

2007-01-04T18:58:00.000-06:00

Christian & Timbers today released its 2006 CEO Stick Rate Report in the continuing glare of investigation that originated with Sarbanes-Oxley legislation in 2002. "Stick Rate" is defined as the percentage of CEO'S who retain their positions in any given...

Read more Rough Year for CEO's

Cold Calling...It Just Works

2007-01-04T18:48:00.000-06:00

Many anti-cold-calling folks say, "There are so many powerful ways to build your client base, why even bother trying cold calling? You can give speeches. Publish articles and books. Work your network: it's more extensive than you probably think." Answer...

Read more Cold Calling it Just Works

Decision Making: Give it a Rest...Literally

2007-01-03T12:57:00.000-06:00

When you run a small business or you work in teams, you have a lot of decisions to make. Reaching conclusions can be really challenging sometimes and exchanges can get heated.

More on Decision Making: Sleep on It

Stiffing an Employee...What would your company do?

2006-12-28T18:45:00.000-06:00

Ok, here is the scenario. You are a good size retailer and you have dozens of part-time employees (minimum wage) with pretty high turnover. It is the Saturday before Christmas, you provide all of the employees with a personal greeting...

Stiffing an Employee...Read More

Building a Great Company

2006-12-27T08:47:00.001-06:00

Large or small the principles and truths in this post still apply.

All good-to-great companies began the process of finding a path to greatness by confronting the brutal facts of their current reality.

More on Building a Great Company

Improve Your Selling...Think Differently...Serve

2006-12-21T10:31:00.000-06:00

How You Sell is a Free Sample of How You Solve...

It is difficult, if not impossible, to meet the needs of people you've never talked to. And for clients, how you 'sell' is a free sample of how you solve.

If they don't get to see how you analyze a problem and how you work with them in person, it is hardeer to decide between you and other service providers.

In an ideal world, it is better for us to talk, and yet the world is not ideal. Buyers often feel abused by either manipulative or incompetent sales people.

You are a buyer -- have you felt that way?

As a result dysfunctional buying practices have arisen to combat dystfunctional selling practices.

You are guilty until proven innocent.

Is your selling a GOOD example of how you solve?

This is inspired by my all-time favorite sale book, Helping Clients Succeed by Mahan Khalsa.

6 Steps to Establishing High Standards of Employee Performance

2006-12-18T08:46:00.000-06:00

As a manager, it is important you clearly define performance standards for employees. Employees need to know what performance level is expected, what performance is below standards, and what it takes to achieve high standards of performance.

The most convenient time to set performance expectations is during a performance review or at the time of hire or the start of your business planning cycle.

Here are the 6 Steps to High Employee Performance:

1. Identify what you would consider 'stretch goals' for the employee, that is, the goals for performance that exceed the job requirements and are challenging, yet attainable.

2. Consider also the requirements for satisfactory performance relative to the employee's tenure, experience and expertise.

3. Discuss your expectations with your employee, taking into acount his or her perspective and any information you may have overlooked that would affect standards of performance.

4. With your employee, come to consensus on performance standards that meet and exceed expectattions. Document your decisions.

5. Clarify the rewards for performance with the employee.

6. Meet periodically to discuss progress. If appropriate, revise expectations while keeping goals challenging.

If you start with doing just these 6 Steps to High Standards of Employee Performance you will see, over time, improved business results.

Global Business - 8 Ways to Challenge Yourself

2006-12-11T07:31:00.000-06:00

A global small business owner cannot allow him or herself to become trapped by what currently exists or is currently possible. Challenge yourself and your team to do or discuss the following to stretch your thinking and imagination.

1) Think of the current constraints within which your team or business operates. If those constraints were gone, what could you do?

2) Identify your current greatest business challenge. What could happen if this were eliminated?

3) Consider and entirely different way in which the organization could be structured. What would be the consequences?

4) If your present distribution channels disappeared, what would you do?

5) If your current sources of material disappeared, what would you do?

6) Suppose your staff members were all from different parts of the world. How would your staff be different?

7) If you could increase sales by 250 percent in one year, what would be the consequences?

8) What would happen if you could reduce the time it takes to do your work by 50 percent? What would you do with the time?

Making a New Hire in 30 Days (or less)

2006-12-04T07:38:00.000-06:00

This is the transript from my podcast contribution at the Great Big Small Business Show.

I have worked for and with so many businesses that seem to take forever to move through the hiring process. I believe that once you commit to adding a new employee you should move with expediency.

Your business will benefit from the injection of new talent and your candidates will certainly appreciate (and share with others) how effective your company is at the hiring process.

I am making a couple of assumptions here I want to share before I suggest some improved process steps to you.

The assumptions are:

You have a job description, you have competency descriptions for the position and the compensation is defined and you are using a web based job posting service like Monster.com or Careerboard.com and you have a defined process for what you want to do during the interviews.

Ok, on with my process suggestions.

Step 1: place your job listing in the online service of your choosing.

Step 2: after one week gather the resumes you have received and narrow them down to the 6-12 that you want to explore further.

Step 3: during week two have a conference call with these 6-12 candidates, that is right, a conference call.

During this call you explain more about the company and answer all of the questions you can and share the common information you would normally share in an in-person interview. This sharing of further information serves the candidates well, some will self-eliminate themselves from further consideration and it saves you calendar and interview time.

Step 4: Block out enough half-day’s of calendar time to give each remaining semi-finalist 60 minutes of in person, interview time and ask them to email you their preferred interview date and time. Conduct these interviews during week 3.

Step 5: After the 4-8 semi-finalist interviews you should be down to 1-3 finalists, during week 4 bring the finalists in for further interview time or group interviews or maybe just further open discussion.

Step 6: Ok, the 30 days is almost up, you should be ready to hire, make an offer.

If you need help using this process feel free to send an email to steve-at-smbtrendwire.com, I would be glad to help, no charge.

Invoice Factoring - Many Benefits

2006-12-03T14:51:00.000-06:00

In times of tight credit, factoring becomes even more attractive. Why? Because factoring is not about getting credit. It's about selling an asset you own -- a receivable.

The end result may appear the same -- you get needed operating cash. But the way you get that cash is very different.

Learn more about Invoice Factoring

What Do You Stand For?

2006-11-30T15:28:00.000-06:00

Seth Godin's book The Big Moo, Stop Trying to be Perfect & Start Being Remarkable, is a compilation of 33 professionals offering advice on how to stand out from the crowd. If you read the Purple Cow by Seth, you'll...

What Do You Stand For?

Online Rival to Quickbooks

2006-11-27T05:56:00.000-06:00

FreshBooks surpassed 100,000 “happy” business users since its initial release in 2004. FreshBooks is a painless online invoicing and time tracking service designed for small businesses and independent professionals that makes them look “Fortune 500” professional. Packages range from free to $39 per month.

FreshBooks changes the way small businesses manage their books, saving them time, improving their cash flow, enhancing client communications and streamlining their business processes. The 100k customer mix includes web designers, graphic artists, consultants, and service and home-based businesses.
100k users is an important milestone because it not only signifies the traction that FreshBooks quickly gained, it also spotlights the rapid adoption of online services by the SMB market,” said Michael McDerment, FreshBooks CEO. “FreshBooks helps customers better manage their critical business activities such as collecting receivables, tracking time, and managing customer support, which allows them to focus on growing their business.”

FreshBooks is browser-based to make invoicing easy, always accessible, and fast; so much so that businesses are changing their behavior thanks to the service. Before FreshBooks, businesses used to wait until the end of the month to do their billing, using a combination of complicated spreadsheets or software-based accounting software.

Using FreshBooks the same businesses bill their clients as they complete projects – allowing them to get paid faster.

John Lasiter of Qfolio.com reports, "For us, it’s much easier to create invoices. I found I used to put off creating invoices at the end of jobs, but now it’s easy so I do it right away."

You might want to checkout this Web 2.0 Online Rival to Quickbooks

Nick and Jessica Replace God

2006-11-15T10:25:00.000-06:00

I just had to post this.

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS
Sunday Morning Commentary.

Herewith at this happy time of year, a few confessions from my beating heart: I have no freaking clue who Nick and Jessica are. I see them on the cover of People and Us constantly when I am buying my dog biscuits and kitty litter. I often ask the checkers at the grocery stores. They never know who Nick and Jessica are either. Who are they? Will it change my life if I know who they are and why they have broken up? Why are they so important?

I don't know who Lindsay Lohan is either, and I do not care at all about Tom Cruise's wife.

Am I going to be called before a Senate committee and asked if I am a subversive? Maybe, but I just have no clue who Nick and Jessica are. If this is what it means to be no longer young. It's not so bad.

Next confession: I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it
does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, "Merry Christmas" to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution, and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship Nick and Jessica and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where Nick and Jessica came from and where the America we knew went to. In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking. Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her "How could God let something like this Happen?" (regarding Katrina) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, “I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?"

In light of recent events...terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK.
Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide).

We said an expert should know what he's talking about and we said OK. Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW." Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell.

Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it. Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it...
no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process,
don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.

Making a New Hire in 30 Days (or less)

2006-11-10T16:55:00.000-06:00

I have worked for and with so many businesses that seem to take forever to move through the hiring process. I believe that once you commit to adding a new employee you should move with expediency. Your business will benefit from the injection of new talent and your candidates will certainly appreciate (and share with others) how effective your company is at the hiring process.

I am making a couple of assumptions here I want to share before I suggest some improved process steps to you.

The assumptions are:

You have a job description, you have competency descriptions for the position and the compensation is defined and you are using a web based job posting service like Monster.com or Careerboard.com and you have a defined process for what you want to do during the interviews.

Ok, on with my process suggestions.

Step 1: place your job listing in the online service of your choosing.

Step 2: after one week gather the resumes you have received and narrow them down to the 6-12 that you want to explore further.

Step 3: during week two have a conference call with these 6-12 candidates, that is right, a conference call.

During this call you explain more about the company and answer all of the questions you can and share the common information you would normally share in an in-person interview. This sharing of further information serves the candidates well, some will self-eliminate themselves from further consideration and it saves you calendar and interview time.

Step 4: Block out enough half-day’s of calendar time to give each remaining semi-finalist 60 minutes of in person, interview time and ask them to email you their preferred interview date and time. Conduct these interviews during week 3.

Step 5: After the 4-8 semi-finalist interviews you should be down to 1-3 finalists, during week 4 bring the finalists in for further interview time or group interviews or maybe just further open discussion.

Step 6: Ok, the 30 days is almost up, you should be ready to hire, make an offer.

If you need help using this process feel free to send an email to steve-at-smbtrendwire.com, I would be glad to help, no charge.

90 Second Elevator Pitch for Investors

2006-11-09T17:10:00.001-06:00

Ok, you have 90 seconds to pitch an investor, what do you do?

This is a good article with some real world, practical advice.

Excerpt: You have 90 seconds to explain, starting now.

That's the premise of the Elevator Pitch Olympics, a yearly event at the Wisconsin Early-Stage Symposium. This year, a panel of eight investors dished out advice and a few hard knocks to hopeful entrepreneurs who presented their businesses in front of an audience.

Most people speak at between 100 and 200 words per minute. Think about the blurb on a book jacket – that's about how much information the pitches should convey. The better presenters used their time well to persuade the judges that it would be a good idea to take a meeting or read their business plan in more detail.

More of 90 Second Elevator Pitch for Investors

Did You Put The Lid Down?

2006-11-08T10:52:00.000-06:00

Most blogs are about voting today and hopefully you have done your civic duty. I thought I'd change up the conversation and talk about toilets. Not to imply that all the political back-stabbing, muck-rakers should be flushed....unless of course you...

Did you put the lid down?

Peer Advisory Groups

2006-11-08T10:32:00.000-06:00

More and more business owners and executives are turning to Peer Advisory Groups to help them build, manage and grow their businesses.

I have been a member of Tec which is now called Vistage, probably one of the oldest and largest Peer Advisory organizations.

There are are also the new breed of these organizations like PeerSightOnline that provides the same structure but uses new internet tools to do so.

The New York Enterprise Report has a very good article on the subject in their newsletter this month. Here is an excerpt:

Peer advisory groups are typically geared toward executive-level management and entrepreneurs.

Unlike networking groups, their primary purpose is to provide a “safe,” non-competitive forum for problem solving, sharing best practices and, ultimately, contributing to the success of members’ businesses. Although networking and lead generation may be a side benefit of involvement in these groups, it is not their primary purpose.

Typically, these groups involve a membership fee (either annual or quarterly) and have specific requirements for membership and tenure. Robert Catanese, president and owner of Renaissance Executive Forums in White Plains, N.Y., also looks for a particular set of personal characteristics in prospective members. “They should be success-oriented — driven to reaching the next level in their personal and professional lives. They should be willing to change how they lead or how they run their business and be curious about what others are doing.” Also of utmost important to Catanese is how the group “fits.” Because respect and trust are key components of these groups, personalities and business skills must complement each other.

Career Books for Schools - Free

2006-10-31T09:17:00.000-06:00

David Lorenzo author of Career Intensity: Business Strategy for Workplace Warriors and Entrepreneurs is giving away 100 of his books to the best entry submitted via email.

Here's what you need to do:

- Write him (dave-at-careerintesity.com) an e-mail of 750 words or less describing your favorite part of the book - Career Intensity: Business Strategy for Workplace Warriors and Entrepreneurs. The topic of the letter must be specific (mention the concept and why the concept was meaningful to you).

- Give him permission to use your e-mail on the web and on his blog. You can do this by including a sentence at the end that says "you have my permission to publish this email as you see fit".

- Give him the contact name, address, e-mail and phone number of the person at the school where you want your 100 books shipped.

He will send 100 books to the school class submitted by the first ten people who send me the e-mail testimonial.

Visit David's website Career Intensity

Government Regulation - What Can a Small Business Do?

2006-10-26T08:18:00.000-05:00

Momentum can be good thing if your business is really rocking and clicking on all cylinders. Growth is occurring, customers are happy, employees are happy, life is good.

On the other hand momentum can be a negative if things are going the wrong way, it is very hard to change old ways of being as a person and operating as a business.

Yesterday I had a chance to interview Andrew Langer of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB.com) about the momentum in government regulation requirements for small business. Trust me the momentum is going in the wrong direction in this regard.

Did you know that the cost to a small business to meet government compliance is $7,700 per employee for a firm with less than 20 employees?

He highlighted two new websites that small businesses can use to help them manage this challenge. Business.gov and Regulation.gov, each of which is designed to help the small business owner learn and manage their way through the governement regulation challenge.

Listen to my conversation with Andrew Langer of the NFIB

Premium Conference Calling for Skype

2006-10-24T08:35:00.000-05:00

More than 136 million registered Skype™ users will now be able to purchase premium Internet conference calling services through Highspeedconferencing.com. The service will offer unique features such as recording and downloading, moderated question and answer services, and hand raising for people using conference calling on Skype.

“Conference calling through Skype has proven to be a very popular feature, especially among our business users,” said Michael Jackson, general manager, paid services, Skype. “In fact, a third of our users use it for their business needs. The addition of premium services makes Skype for Business even more robust and allows Skype customers to improve productivity.”

Premium services through Highspeedconferencing.com will be available for a fee of $4.99 per month and will include options such as recording and downloading, moderated question and answer services, and hand raising. These functions are unique to the conference calling industry and will offer Skype users the ability to conduct professional conference calls over the internet for a fraction of the cost.

Learn more about Premium Conference Calling for Skype

Start a Business After 50

2006-10-23T10:43:00.000-05:00

7 ideas to help you start the right company, without risking your financial security.

I am over 50 and find these tips to be right on the money. If you are considering starting your own company take a minute and read this brief article. There is even a test at the end to determine your readiness for entrepreneurship.

Read Start a Business After 50

The how’s and why’s of bootstrapping (Part 1)

2006-10-19T13:22:00.000-05:00

Far from a pep talk for entrepreneurs on how they can accomplish their goals even without big outside investment dollars, Ed Zimmer of The Entrepreneur Network actually recommends avoiding those investments…like the plague! Here, at ZeroMillion.com, are his reasons...

Read Bootstrapping 101

Get Your Business Famous - with JumpUp.com

2006-10-18T10:09:00.000-05:00

Free marketing for your business, you can't beat that.

JumpUp.com (owned and operated by Intuit) is one of the latest iterations of Social Networking websites designed exclusively for business.

Want to make the front of their website and have your business featured?

Then complete the application by November 15th and you may be featured on the home page. Or get this flyer to learn more.

The site is great the service is cool and it is a FREE opportunity to give your business incredible exposure on a highly trafficed web site. Don't delay, go today!

Is This a Healthy Business Climate?

2006-10-17T12:16:00.000-05:00

I live in Northeast Ohio of the USA. This area of the country is really struggling to remake itself to compete in the economic world of today.

There are many, many efforts underway to support, develop and encourage economic development, including recruiting businesses to move here and working hard to retain the existing businesses.

So for just a minute assume you were in Cleveland for some type of event and you picked up a local paper to get a feel for what is going on in the area. Of course you look at the Business page and the bolded headlines are:

Steel Lobby Pushes to Keep Tariffs

Kucinich Uges U.S.: Probe Tops Grocery Store Sale

Alcoa Negotiations to Resume Today

Tops Distributor Cuts Management

Mayflower Systems Plans to Layoff 75

Pet Insurer Joins Lloyd's of London

Parker Buys Tecknit Division

AK Steel Workers Weigh "Final" Offer

With those headlines what do they say about the local business climate and this papers orientation to it? Good, bad or hard to say?

My Note: Personally if I have to read about one more union, steel company, auto manufacturer or 7 day delayed Wall Street Journal article it will be too soon.

Creating Trade Show Press Kits

2006-10-16T18:35:00.000-05:00

I was recently discussing trade show press kits with one of my clients. She was wondering about "extra stuff" to put in the kits -- the press release is covered, but should other documents also be included?

My response:

You can include other documents, but usually the media is so pressed for time they'll only have time to glance at it. Mostly, they just want to know what's new for this show. So if you have other documents like a corporate history/backgrounder, executive profiles, service/product listing, previous press clippings, fact sheets, or FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) -- post those on your company website in a "Press Room" section, and direct the media there by including a link in your press release or cover letter.

Read Creating Trade Show Press Kits

Integrating a Blog with Your Website

2006-10-16T18:24:00.000-05:00

Great article by Mark White.

Following up on my post earlier this week which tried to weigh up the relative benefits of having a blog as a separate entity or as part of your website, I thought that I would put a short addendum here to just give an overview of the three main ways (as I see them) of combining a blog and a website.

There is no “one right way” to do this and the best method will vary according to the situation of the individual organizations.

Read Integrating a Blog with Your Website

Back to Basics

2006-10-14T12:18:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I read an article about Wendy's International - the square burger that made Dave Thomas famous. They've decided to go back to the basic burger. Over the years Wendy's has purchased other restaurants, expanded their menu and moved away...

Read more

Hiring Workers Over Age 50

2006-10-11T15:33:00.000-05:00

Being over 50 years of age I am very sensitive to some of the subtle and not so subtle age discrimination that happens to us 'seniors' even though we are in the prime of our work careers and accumulated knowledge....

Read more

Presentation Skills for Entrepreneurs

2006-10-10T14:14:00.000-05:00

Presentation Skills for Entrepreneurs is now available at The Great Big Small Business Show.

This week is a mashup of 6 different podcasters discussing various aspects of Presentation Skills for Entrepreneurs.

(Below is the transcript from my portion of this weeks Great Big Small Business Show)

This is one of my favorite topics, I have been giving presentations for just about 25 years and I have learned many lessons along the way. Today I want to share with you what I think are the Top 3 keys to Delivering an Effective Presentation.

Key Number 1: Focus on your audience.

The purpose of any presentation, (including this podcast) is to serve an audience. Do some research; learn all you can in as much detail as possible about the presentation attendees.

Do your best to learn and understand their expectations BEFORE hand so in your content and delivery you can come as close to possible to meeting those expectations. In some situations it may be appropriate to ask the audience what their expectations are, take the time to list them on a flip chart so you can keep them in mind as you move into your presentation. At the end, check with attendees to see what you might have missed or could add to meet expectations.

Remember; focus on the needs of your audience.

Key Number 2: Know Your Venue

Learn all you can about the location of the presentation, visit it before hand if possible. How big is the room, how many people will it hold, are there chairs, tables and where will you be presenting from in the room.

Are there light controls, is it a warm or cold room, where is the door? If you are using a projector, does it have one for you; does it have a screen or place to project an image? Will you have a podium, a microphone, room to move around?

Key Number 3: Know Your Content, Practice

I am assuming you know your subject matter but a couple of thoughts on presentation. Organize around an outline and remember the old, tell what you are going to tell em, tell em and then tell em what you told em.

A couple of thoughts if you are using Powerpoint. Do not paste a word document into a slide and then read it to the audience from the slide. In fact you should be able to do the presentation without ever looking at the screen. This takes practice, present to a friend, your family, a recorder, anything just practice. Nothing is worse in a presentation than repetitive fillers from the presenter, what I mean is um, ok, huh, alright and more. There should be no fillers, they signal lack of preparation and disrespect for your audience. Ok, I have one additional,*

Bonus Thought: Calming Your Nerves

It is natural to be nervous, not scared but excited. Here is how I overcame my nervousness over 20 years ago. I took a Dale Carnegie Sales Course my employer at the time paid for. I think this one was about 8 weeks long. In the 3rd week we were asked to do an impromptu presentation on something personal about our lives.

I chose to talk about my Dad dying when I was a teenager. I had never done so with a group before and not too many individuals either. To be honest I did cry at the end of my 5 minutes. What’s the point you say?

What I learned was, if I can get up in front of a total group of strangers and tell something intensely personal and even cry, why would I ever be afraid of presenting a business topic to anyone. There is no comparison. Every presentation after that I have enjoyed doing, I still have to prepare as I briefly outlined above but I am never afraid.

Social Shopping Websites

2006-10-08T08:44:00.000-05:00

Think Digg meets E-Commerce. Crowdstorm is a new way for consumers to find what to buy by measuring the buzz around products. Users recommend products, and the crowd defines the best products by recommending what they know and like. Good...

Read more about Social Shopping Sites

Do You Look Through the Windshield or Rearview Mirror of Your Business?

2006-10-08T08:42:00.000-05:00

Have you ever contemplated the mathematical equation of what percentage of vision the rearview mirror is compared to the windshield? Both are important, we need to know what is behind us to help determine how we view the scene in...

Read more of Looking Forward or Looking Back

Emails Not Getting Through - Black Lists and White Lists Explained

2006-10-04T15:33:00.000-05:00

Over 40% of all emails within your marketing campaign are not being delivered. You may not even be aware of this, as many ISPs will not send back a bounce message. In fact if you are sending messages to AOL customers, AOL is now blocking over 80% of the messages that come into their servers.

One of the main reasons that this is occurring is that your IP or Domain may be Black Listed.

Read more Black Lists and White Lists Explained

Building Client Relationships

2006-10-03T15:50:00.000-05:00

Episode 8 - Building Client Relationships in Small Business is now available at The Great Big Small Business Show. This week is a mashup of 4 different podcasters discussing various aspects of Building Client Relationships.

(This is the transcript from my portion of this weeks Great Big Small Business Show)

A few years ago before I started my own business a friend and I set out on a research project. We wanted to know why some people could make an effective relationship with someone very rapidly and others would take much more time and sometimes they would never get to the point of having a good relationship.

We were doing this study in the context of selling, why would some people get to a trusting relationship quickly and therefore have a higher likelihood of sales success.

Of course we felt that trust was the key to a successful sale of anything that is complex and expensive. We felt if trust could be developed quickly we could shorten our sales cycle and achieve success for our business.

We read at least 20 books on selling, from Tom Hopkins to Selling with Soul. The book that really turned on the light bulb for us was a book by a man called Mahan Khalsa called Let’s Get Real, The Demise of Dysfunctional Selling and the Advent of Helping Clients Succeed.

This book was a real eye opener, it didn’t focus much on tactics or tricks or manipulation or mind control. It focused on serving others FIRST. Letting go of your EGO and focus on what you want and instead focusing on what the client wants and serving them. Easy to say but tough to do, we all have ego’s and we all need to pay the bills.

We then spent some time with some of the successful sales people we knew and sure enough, every one of them had a pretty low ego and a very strong service orientation. They were passionate about doing anything to help clients. In fact they were just passionate about helping others, client or not. They just had a natural service orientation.

Prospects can smell your intent, just saying it is a sales call outlines the intent that you are there to do something to them, at least that is how most prospects feel. Your intent to serve must be true or prospects will know it. Think about how you feel when someone is trying to sell you, or even become a friend, you can sense when they are being self serving, that sense is built into us. When we sense selfishness on the part of someone else we close off, we certainly don’t TRUST that person.

Ego is an important thing though, it helps us do things to get our needs met. How do we convince our ego that our needs will be better met by serving the needs of others? It is not easy to check our ego’s at the door. The key point I am making is that just being aware that our ego is there provides us the chance to set it aside and focus on the other person. If you can do that you can then be fearless and totally other person oriented. But it takes practice and focus.

This is not to say that technique and process is not important in sales or any relationship but it won’t matter if your ego gets in the way and removes your ability to have true service intent.

So we set out to put this principle to work, of course we thought we were naturally service oriented and this just confirmed our belief. Sure enough we started have some great success. We had senior executives giving us 2-3 hour appointments that we didn’t even know, off a cold call no less.

I could go on and on but I won’t, I would just urge you to get the book and check out the website, the audio chapters narrated by Mahan are free and well worth listening to.

Go to http://www.franklincovey.com/letsgetreal/media.html to learn more about improving your business relationships by controlling your ego and focusing on helping others succeed.

How to Fire Someone - The Right Way

2006-09-28T17:59:00.000-05:00

I think the article referenced below is very good. It describes all of the important steps to effective performance management. The first company I managed in believed strongly in a consistent process whose real aime is to CORRECT the performance problem, not to hurt employees. It has worked well for me over the last 25 years.

Firing an employee--looking someone straight in the eye and telling them they no longer have a source of income--is one of the toughest things you'll ever have to do as a business owner. It’s often as hard on the person giving the bad news as it is on the person receiving it. And yet it still needs to be done, especially if you have someone who's "poisoning the well" and bringing the entire business down with them.

Assuming this person is an “at will” employee--someone who doesn’t have an employment contract that guarantees employment for a specified time period--here are ten tips to help you remove the bad apple cancer from your business with a “zero to low” risk of being sued for wrongful termination.

Read the 10 Steps to Firing Someone

Improve Your Sales Effectiveness

2006-09-26T18:30:00.000-05:00

I think individual sales rep performance is the single biggest opportunity area for major productivity improvements. Productivity has been addresseed aggressively in every other area of business except sales. (IMHO, having managed hundreds of sales professionals)

So of course tools are a major source of help but they need to have the right orientation, I think the blurb and link below to SalesQB is right on track by targeting the sales individual themselves.

SalesQB™ develops sales effectiveness solutions that improve the deal-closing stats for aspiring sales MVPs. SalesQB has spent nearly five years of research and development creating the world’s first sales effectiveness community.

By utilizing cutting-edge industry research and next generation Web-based applications and services, SalesQB has transformed the way sales reps can do their jobs.

The founders of SalesQB realized that sales reps spend too much time preparing for sales opportunities, when their time is best spent on selling to prospects. SalesQB has automated all the routine and administrative tasks that sap valuable selling time into a powerful set of sales effectiveness solutions; built by sales reps, for sales reps.

SalesQB has a laser-focus on helping sales reps sell more, so they can help their organizations grow, but also so they can put more money in their pockets. There is no excuse for falling short of quota. SalesQB is dedicated to making every sales rep an all-star.

Improve Your Sales Effectiveness

Gain Insight at PeerSight

2006-09-26T17:54:00.000-05:00

Small business owners often have to wear many hats to make it in today's competitive environment. Unlike large corporations, they don't have teams of top-level executives on call to provide sound business advice or help during a crisis. Or, do...

Read more

Weird but Marketable

2006-09-25T19:04:00.000-05:00

This is a great article for all of us business creative types who can't stop thinking up ideas for new products and services.

Your business idea is so bad that it's good. Very good. Sure, getting it from your brain to store shelves might be tough, but well...what if?

For Paul Stremple, inventor of the Banana Bunker, that "what if" has become a reality. Fruit lovers are clamoring for his plastic prophylactic that expands or contracts to fit a banana of any size, protecting the delicate fruit from nicks and bruises. The idea came to him by chance, after his sister complained that her midday snack kept getting smooshed in her briefcase. Granted, eyeing the banana-shaped container may bring a blush to your cheek. But that hasn't stopped the bunker (retail price: $4.99) from becoming a popular item at the Museum of Modern Art's gift store. "It's a little suggestive, and that's probably helped in my marketing," Stremple concedes.

Check out these weird but great ideas:

Paul Stremple — Banana Bunker: A plastic container that keeps your fruit safe until you are ready to snack.

Curt and Sue Todd — MailWraps: A magnetic mailbox cover that features colorful artwork.

Carl Goldberg — Roadie by RuffRider: An automobile safety harness for dogs.

Bill Bradford — Johnny-Light: A toilet bowl night light.

Patty Brisben and son, Chris Cicchinelli — Pure Romance: A company that sells "relationship enhancement" products such as bedroom toys and lotions to women via gatherings similar to Tupperware parties.

Read the rest of Weird but Marketable

50+ Ways a CEO can get Employees to Quit

2006-09-23T10:50:00.000-05:00

A month ago I shared some specific ways to get ahead at work. For me it worked, I got promoted within my IT group and was actually bumped up 2 spots. As I mentioned in that post, I was promoted directly by a VP (my boss' boss), which was unusual. Since then my boss was let go basically because anarchy broke out in the group and people were quitting daily. However, it got me thinking. What if I didn't have a VP that recognized my efforts?

Read more 50+ Ways a CEO can get Employees to Quit

Worst Home Business Myth Busted

2006-09-23T10:46:00.000-05:00

One of the worst fallacies is that "Having a Home Business is Easy." No way Jose. Even without a family or kids around, when one decides to put up a home business, his or her time management skills will...

Read more

Does Your Business Card Pass the Trash Test?

2006-09-22T14:08:00.000-05:00

Tip of the hat to Deb Brown for this article.

Your business card is often the first impression a potential client has with your company. The business card design and message will ultimately determine whether it gets thrown in the trash or filed for contact later.

Reach in your wallet and pull out your business card...

Does Your Business Card Pass the Crash Test?

Thank You - It Must Be Mandatory

2006-09-21T17:58:00.000-05:00

Are you a small business with employees? Do your employees deal with customers?

If so PLEASE teach them to say 'Thank You." In fact when hiring if the person doesn't say it or seems uncomfortable being polite then DON'T hire them.

I just finished writing a rant post about Thank You, which is rare for me.

It justs seems that saying getting a Thank You from someone shouldn't be so hard. In fact I so appreciate getting a Thank You that I will be incredibly loyal to those companies that say it to me, even if there service has problems or their prices are higher.

I want to know you value my business. Learn, teach, say and mean 'Thank You.'

Thank You!

Target Stores are Like Google

2006-09-20T14:52:00.000-05:00

I have been reading the recent book by Chris Anderson called The Long Tail and it is a fascinating read. I now find myself taking the Long Tail concept and trying to apply it to everything. Ok, so how is...

Read more of how Target is Like Google

PayPal: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

2006-09-19T15:44:00.000-05:00

This is a great piece on PayPal by Rich Brooks at Flyte New Media.

Many small businesses and entrepreneurs want to take credit cards online, but are put off by the time and capital investment required by a Merchant account, a gateway processor, secure server space, and a security certificate...all tools you need to succeed with e-commerce.

For many of these people I suggest "dipping their toe in the e-commerce ocean" by starting with PayPal. However, there are both good and bad aspects to this popular online payment system.

Read PayPal: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Nick Carr on Innovation

2006-09-18T10:50:00.000-05:00

StartupJournal has an interesting interview with Nick Carr about innovation. Carr took a shot at I.T. with his "I.T. Doesn't Matter" article a few years ago. Now he is saying similar things about innovation. Mr. Carr, 47 years old, also...

Read more from Nick Carr on Innovation

Marriages and Mergers

2006-09-18T10:47:00.000-05:00

Most mergers end up as disasters. Studies shows that as many as 75 per cent fail to deliver value for shareholders.So why are so many mergers like Groundhog Day? Why the same mistakes over and over again?Carter Utzig from...

Read more marriages and mergers

eBible : Share His Word

2006-09-18T10:44:00.000-05:00

eBible is what you could call Social Networking of the religious kind. The site opened a couple of days back :We're open! After more than a year of planning, alpha and beta releases, late night cravings for Chinese food, the...

Read more about eBible

Why Google Analytics? What's the big deal?

2006-09-15T09:49:00.000-05:00

Everyone has a web site these days: big business, small business, home-based business, entrepreneurs. But does anyone know how effective their web site is? Not back of the napkin, sales-grew-2%-last-year working, but day to day, month to month, site revision to site revision, is-this-really-working-hard-numbers working?

If it sounds difficult to understand--STOP--it's not. If it sounds expensive--nope--it's free. If small business thinks only big business can benefit from a tool this powerful--listen and learn.

In September 2006, Mary Tyler along with Jerri Ledford, came out with a book about Google Analytics--a free web service from search giant Google that helps web site owners assess how well their web site is working.

Thiers is the first and only book on Google Analytics and the first book on analytics to put how-to and why-to into plain English. This isn't a book for geeks. It's a business book about using Google Analytics to see how well a business' public face on the web performs.

Learn more Why Google Analytics?

It's No Sale, Are You Clueless

2006-09-14T18:47:00.001-05:00

By: Mark Dembo Losing a prospect leads to a lot of stress and lost opportunities - but it doesn't have to be that way. By improving our sensitivity to the important signals that our prospects give us, we can waste...

Read more

Small Business CEO

Delegation in a Virtual World

You’re Not After Clicks… You’re After Sales!

NetFlix Style Rental of AV Equipment

Innovation and Entrepreneurship - Hope for Our Future

What is an Entrepreneur?

Do Me a Favor: Don't Be My Customer

Leadership the Marine Way

Are You a CEO Dad?

RSS Reader and More - NetVibes

Rallying the Troops - Will a Campaign Help?

Incredible Story of a Successful Entrepreneur

Selling to the Government, Public Sector

Five Insurance Tips to Help Small Business Owners

Digital Native or Digital Immigrant - Which are You?

Tradeshow Vultures

Top Ten Podcasts

How to Market to Bloggers - Effectively

Recharge: Take a Nap

Raising the Expectations of Your Leaders

The Web at Your Fingertips

We All Have the Same Amount - Time, How Do You Invest Yours?

Environmental Scanning - Shift Happens

Snack Attack - Snack Culture - Media and Business

Customer Service Recovery - Done Right

2% of Humanity

What Are Your Business Habits?

Invoicing for Small Business

The Computer Bed

Backing Up Data

Truth, Trust and Respect

Hackers Love Small Businesses

Spotting a Decision Maker

The Unique Selling Proposition

Are You Marketing Smartly?

Do-It-Yourself or Hire a Pro?

Offering A Guarantee

What Do Your Words Say?

Meeting in Person Makes a Powerful Impact

Sales are Sales

Help Employees Speak Up

Top Ten Podcasts of 2007

Skype Means Business

How to Gain Productivity, While Helping Students Gain Practical Experience

Why Survey Your Customers?

Caffeine and Small Business

Learning Entrepreneurship

New Price Structure for 2007?

Budgeting Basics

The Blog Chain Letter Craze

Improve Your Service...Use Text-Link-Ads

Young People are Looking for Startup Success

Rough year for Fortune 100 CEOs: 14% LOST Their JOBS

Cold Calling...It Just Works

Decision Making: Give it a Rest...Literally

Stiffing an Employee...What would your company do?

Building a Great Company

Improve Your Selling...Think Differently...Serve

6 Steps to Establishing High Standards of Employee Performance

Global Business - 8 Ways to Challenge Yourself

Making a New Hire in 30 Days (or less)

Invoice Factoring - Many Benefits

What Do You Stand For?

Online Rival to Quickbooks

Nick and Jessica Replace God

Making a New Hire in 30 Days (or less)

90 Second Elevator Pitch for Investors

Did You Put The Lid Down?

Peer Advisory Groups

Sponsored Post: Holding Yourself Accountable

Career Books for Schools - Free

Government Regulation - What Can a Small Business Do?

Premium Conference Calling for Skype

Start a Business After 50

The how’s and why’s of bootstrapping (Part 1)

Get Your Business Famous - with JumpUp.com

Is This a Healthy Business Climate?

Creating Trade Show Press Kits

Integrating a Blog with Your Website

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