BlogSmall business, Marketing, Promotion and Web Design

Starting a small business is not a simple business. Depending on whether entrepreneur is a refugee or a risk-taker, the choice of what kind of small business to start could be difficult. My personal choice even transformed. When I was starting a small web-hosting business I had no idea what I will be dealing with. Clients were the least of my concern, as frauds, spammers, scammers and other inventive people were trying to make money on my business. Mainly because of that I have decided to migrate to web design and web development - not even because I am a web developer myself.For people who are afraid to take a risk of an unknown venture there is an easier road to success - buying into franchise. As thousands of franchise opportunities exist on the market today the only problem that remains is that of a right choice. Fortunately, there are a lot of resources available both online and offline (Entrepreneur magazine is one of my offline favorites). Do your homework, research your franchisor, talk to franchisees and make a decision.

Oh, yeah, and Starbucks is not a franchise. Or I wouldn’t be doing web design.

Popularity: 7%

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• WordPress or Joomla? (January 4, 2008): When choosing a Content Management system for your web site it is usually a good idea to ask yourself - what is the problem you are trying to solve? Most people (as I noticed on several message boards) make same mistake - they try to figure out what software they need to make money online. "I [...]
• Why .COM domain name is important (December 30, 2007): (initially this was a reply to the discussion on WebHostingTalk in regards to the .ws domain name for web hosting business web site) Running your company's web site doesn't really require .com domain. However, for marketing purposes, .com domain is almost a necessity, since most people are so much used to all domain names ending in [...]
• Small Business Will Step Up… Later (September 15, 2008): There was an article in Sunday NYTimes - Economy to Entrepreneurs: Turn Back (link) discussing how small business owners and entrepreneurs seek refuge in corporate life at the harsh economic times. Given the high fuel cost and tight budgets it is no wonder the profits are shrinking. For small businesses, that operate on much thinner [...]
• Small business survival - 5 DON’Ts (January 2, 2008): During the course of creating e-Commerce web sites we get a lot of similar questions. This post contains five major DON'Ts for starting E-commerce entrepreneur. This is not, by any means, a concise guide, just answers to most commonly asked questions. Don't be afraid of Google, Yahoo and anyone else. It has been said numerous times [...]

Small businesses, especially those that are not geographically “challenged”, should not limit themselves to small-scale marketing tools. Coupons, flyers, business cards, comp cards - it all can work for geographical regions of a small scale. Sending out postcards or distribute flyers can get really expensive as your targeted location grows in size. These marketing tools can’t distinguish among prospective clients, regular clients or, so-called, premium clients. Yes, big news, you have to keep promoting yourself to your premium clients too. It’s like dating - guy is supposed to bring flowers to his girlfriend or wife even after they moved in or got married.

Really neat idea was suggested by some of our customers. They give out free magazine subscriptions to their premium clients. Obviously, it’s not just any magazine - it’s the magazine about the industry they engaged it, and the magazine where their advertising shows up quite often. It may sound like a cheap trick. In fact - it’s just indirect marketing to your existing clients. Just a little something to keep them happy.

Popularity: 12%

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• Small business survival - 5 DON’Ts (January 2, 2008): During the course of creating e-Commerce web sites we get a lot of similar questions. This post contains five major DON'Ts for starting E-commerce entrepreneur. This is not, by any means, a concise guide, just answers to most commonly asked questions. Don't be afraid of Google, Yahoo and anyone else. It has been said numerous times [...]
• Retail Online (January 21, 2008): These are the features ranked according to the number of top 500 retailers that are using them (as per Internet Retailer Magazine): keyword search daily/seasonal specials enlarged product view what's new affiliate program advanced search online gift certificates rich media outlet center email a friend coupons/rebates top sellers site personalization alternative payments store locator wish list customer reviews catalog quick order mapping product customization Interesting enough as well that most consumers (according to Forrester) are willing [...]
• Offline-Online Promotion For Small Businesses - Part 2 (January 15, 2008): Small business owners tend to make same mistakes, so it would be safe enough to assume that it wasn't my other client only who thought he can get away with home-printed business cards. After all - he had a very good ink color printer and original ink, so it should be just a matter of [...]
• Offline-Online Promotion For Small Businesses - Part 1 (January 11, 2008): 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 [...]

Start Ups (unless we’re talking about Silicon Valley creatures) usually financed through three main sources. They usually identified as triple-F: Friends, Family, Fools. However, when entrepreneur exhausts these sources, he may either go for debt (getting bank loan) or equity (inviting investors). Having debt is better for a small start, if the entrepreneur is sure that his venture will bring the money back. Equity means giving up part of the company, whereas even bad credit loans with high APR could be a better option for refugee entrepreneurs to retain 100% of ownership of the company.However, before agreeing to be hit with sky-high percentage rate on bank loans, make sure you get your credit history and score from three main credit bureaus. Personal or business credit cards may turn out to be a better option.

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