BlogSmall business, Marketing, Promotion and Web Design

After numerous confirmations of scam-like business practices, Network Solution is now looking into implementing a feature that will allow users to “lock” domain for 4 days, instead of doing this for them automatically. Ironically, this feature look just awfully familiar - just like “domain tasting”. With difference being that now anyone can lock the domain without even providing their contact info. Don’t even need to set up various fake registrars to grab and drop domains for tasting, just keep searching for it.

Another bad trick here is that since domain name would appear registered - there is a very good chance squatters may snipe it right the moment it will be released. And it is already very well known what it means. Some of my clients paid pretty large sums for their trademarked name - just to get it faster then through the lawsuit.

Interesting facts:

• In 2000 Network Solutions was purchased by Verisign for $21 billion.
• In 2007 they were purchased for $800 million.

My take? If you have domain names at Network Solutions - move them to someone not so dangerous. GoDaddy, Moniker or NameCheap (we use all three of them) look much better.

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Small businesses identified by the number of employees they have. The following are criteria of a small business:

• financing for the business provided by one individual or only a few individuals;
• business’s operations are geographically localized, except for its marketing function (may not hold true for online businesses, but nevertheless);
• the number of employees in the business is usually fewer then hundred.

Small businesses in USA, according to Small Business Administration:

• represent more then 99.7 percent of all employers;
• employ more then half of all private-sector employees;
• pay 44.5 percent of total US private payrolls;
• generate between 60 and 80 percent of net new jobs annually;
• produce 14 times more patents per employee then do large patenting firms.

Nevertheless, small businesses have very limited means of self-promotion, comparing to the big guys in the industry. However, just like big guys, they can promote themselves in fashions that are both affordable and efficient. For example, for local retailers an online promotion of their web site would not do any good.

Most of our clients are small businesses. They often share some insights on how offline promotion helps them save or make money. One of the ideas they came up with was to print address labels and mail remainders of their dealer promotion packages to the potential customers instead of dealers. Receiving an attractive custom-printed brochure, booklet or wall calendar can make all the difference for some. Printing of cheap address labels was made very affordable by online merchants and local print shops and company has already invested in printing those promotional packages anyway. Idea was a huge success, and such mailings became one of the favorite promotional tools of this company.

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Last issue of Fortune magazine features Melinda Gates (yes, wife of most richest American businessman) on its cover. The article is very interesting reading, as it uncovers not only how she became his wife, but also how and why the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has emerged. It is a very interesting reading available here and it made me ponder on a lot of things.

For example - how such decisions are made. It isn’t easy for a person who still remembers what’s it like to live from paycheck to paycheck to understand how people can throw billions of dollars away. Or on some process, the results of which they may never see. Generally speaking, it allows you to see (just a little, though) how rich people feel towards their richness. And that is indeed a good reading.

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