(Add to Favorites | View All Articles | Resource Directory)
|
|
|
Small Business Essentials: Start Here
Thinking of starting a business on line? If so there are two things you absolutely must commit to before ever opening shop on the web. Any one who refuses to realistically consider these two factors should not be in business. That may sound a bit rough, but the glut of businesses on line that ignore these factors will soon come to an end as customers demand service in return for their dollars. The first factor in determining whether you should even be doing business on line is your ability to develop a site that addresses the needs of prospective customers. Is your site intuitive? That is, is it sensitive to the needs and abilities of the average person using the site? After all, what makes sense to you might be as clear as mud to the next guy. One inexpensive way to test is to ask acquaintances of varying abilities to test drive your site. Observe their interactions with your website and ask for feedback throughout the process. You must be open to receiving honest critiques and be willing to use that information to make improvements. The easier your site is to use, the wider audience appeal it will have. The other essential consideration, and the most important, is your willingness to commit to providing good customer service. If you are a novice to business, take the time to educate yourself. Furthermore, if you want to make money but don't want to deal with people, you should get a factory job or something that doesn't involve the general public, because business ownership is not for you. One of the first rules of doing business is that word of mouth advertising will make or break your business and bad news travels fast. If you doubt this, just ask one of the millions of people in network marketing. Their primary form of advertising is word of mouth. If you don't want to answer the phone, either hire someone or outsource the job. Again, if neither one of these are an option you are willing to consider, you should not be in business, especially on line. There is nothing more frustrating to customers than trying to navigate a difficult website, except encountering nonexistent or worse, unresponsive customer service when trying to repair problems encountered maneuvering through a difficult site. Talk about adding insult to injury! If you are willing to take the time and effort required to build a good site while providing quality customer service, your chances of succeeding in the world of on line business long term are better than most. Remember, word of mouth advertising is essential to your success, and good word of mouth comes from satisfied customers. Karen Walker is a wellness consultant and author. She works from her home in western Montana. She and her husband, Lynn McCormick, maintain websites to help those whose lives have been upset by catastrophic health events. http://www.newamericanfamily.com
MORE RESOURCES: News provided by Yahoo! News and Google News Kagen Holds Roundtable To Hear From Small Biz Owners - Sheboygan News (blog) US Admin Offls: Export Initiative to Help Small Biz Efforts - Market News International Loan tap tight for small biz, especially startups - New York Daily News Go big-time with small biz - The Newark Advocate Tories pat small biz heads in open source IT procurement pledge - Register |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
How to Profile a Client At first glance, this topic may seem a little repetitive, but you will find that although you have done homework before getting a contract and already know a fair amount about your client, you, however, do not know everything that is pertinent to the job. Once you have the project underway you will be adding to your knowledge of the client. Pressure Washing at Golf Courses There are many potential niches for pressure washing companies that often go unchecked. Some are quite lucrative and are worth investigation if you own a pressure washing business. Asphalt Paving: Striping Your Parking Lot As you may already know, asphalt paved parking lots do need maintenance from time to time. One known asphalt paving maintenance technique is to have your parking lot re-striped to add a nicer look to existing asphalt paving properties. How To Cut Expenses And Manage Your Business If you own a small business, you should know that often times it can be the little things, rather than the large expenses, that can eat away at your budget. But many times, small business owners will try and increase their profits by looking around at what larger expenses they can cut. The Franchisors Heavy Load Why are we over regulation the franchising industry, what purpose does it serve? Rules and laws are fine, level playing fields are nice, but the customer votes with their dollar and the entrepreneur and companies can only sell what people are willing to give up that unit of trade we call a dollar for.The FTC, Federal Trade Commission is going to pile on more regulation and minutia to the rules of franchising, but what purpose does it serve? The free market should decide and the right to free contract will determine which businesses succeed and which fail. From Birth to Death Your product is dying. With the same inevitability that we humans move ever closer to death, so does every software application move towards its eventual demise. Is Brick and Mortar A Passing Fad? Q: Is the online world the best place to sell a product or service these days? My friends seem to think that brick and mortar stores will totally disappear in the future. I debate this all the time with them, but it seems to be heading that way. Starting a Business in New Hampshire Hew Hampshire car wash market. Well we have visited every city in New Hampshire over the population of 10,000 at least twice, the larger ones four and five times talking to many people in various industries. Do You Need Accounting Software for Your Small Business? If you're anything like me then you dislike with a vengeance doing your accounts and taxes.So how can you make this process easier, less painful and cut your accountancy fees?Well buying an accounting software package is one way. Bringing Home the Bacon In general, all of us know how to accomplish the task and get the work done. The problem is in how to actually 'get paid' for what we do. Hone Your Edge, Stay Focused A common hazard faced by new entrepreneurs is a lack of faith in the power of their offer. Many business people lose focus because they are worried they wont generate enough cash flow from their core product. Staying afloat until your business turns a profit How many "get rich schemes" have you joined? Or have you invested in numerous legitimate business endeavors only to have them not work for you? Have you started you business and now facing a complete shut down? Do you consider yourself a failure? Are your loved ones pressing you to give up?Risk-taking is a large part of entrepreneurship, in fact it is what drives it, and it's why so many people avoid small business, despite its many potential rewards. Those of us who have tried it only to have failed may find ourselves right back where we started, which could leave us feeling like total failures. Secrets to Washing Fleets of Trucks from a Nationwide Fleet Washing Service Washing the exterior of a truck. Sounds easy right? Well, it's not really. Carwash Franchisor Case Study There are only a handful of car wash franchises in the world. This might offer some insight on how car wash franchises come into existence. You Are Invited Business card size works well for invitations to special events.What do you visualize when you think about invitations? More than likely you are thinking about a wedding or a party. Will that be cash, or accrual? When starting a business, you have to determine the method you are going to use for accounting and paying taxes. The two choices are the cash method and the accrual method. The Hidden Treasure in Your Business I started working with another new client last week. He has been in business for about a year and a half. (P)Refer to Grow Your Business (Although this article is geared towards small business owners, the information is just as applicable to a similar personal situation, only the action is slightly different.)Here is the scenario. Personal Success - Take a Break from Business Have Some Time to Yourself One of the most important things you can have when running a successful business, is to have time for yourself. Every small business owner needs to make time to be quiet. Reaching the decision makers As a solo entrepreneur or small business owner, one of our key challenges can be reaching key decision makers in larger companies. Getting to the right person who can seal the deal can be a frustrating experience, especially if you don't have a game plan.
|
| home | site map | articles |
| © 2006 |