bizthreads.net: Business Information for Entrepreneurs by an Entrepreneur

Blogging for Business

You have likely heard of blogs or even read a blog or two in your online time. But have you ever considered just how much a blog can do for your small business?

Think about the goal of your website. If you run a completely online business, you are relying on people to find your website in order to make sales.

While you may have taken some traditional marketing steps to get hits to your site, if you want to keep the hits coming, you need to create other inbound links to your page.

A blog will do just that.

Business Blogging

The idea of a blog is like an online diary or journal. Business blogs generally include topics of the type of business owned by the writer. A blog is not another page to advertise your website; rather, it’s a place to be a goodwill ambassador to those interested in your field.

You can share your expertise, tips, ideas and thoughts on anything relating to your business industry on your blog.

Now, you may be wondering just how that equates to sales. While you won’t directly advertise on your blog, it will have a link to your company for people who are interested in who you are and what you have to offer.

Essentially, those who are looking for the information contained in your blog will find your business through the blog, and then click through to your website to see what else you may have to offer.

Now, not only have they come to your website, but have come knowing you are the person who helped them answer a question or made a comment they respected.

This means you already have their trust, and they believe that you are an expert in your field. That makes them more likely to buy from you than another company with just a website.

Choosing and Registering a Domain Name

Ready to put your business online? Do you know what it takes?

Here’s a quick look at the down and dirty of choosing and registering a domain name.

Name Selection

1. Make it simple – The easier name you can use, the better. Potential customers are less likely to remember a long domain name.
   
   Use simple spelling. Names that are hyphenated are also problematic because many people forget the hyphen and end up somewhere else.
2. Make it legal – While you may have a fun name, if it’s too close to another company’s name, it may be trademarked - meaning you could lose it down the road.
   
   Do research on the name you are thinking of using.
3. Make sure it’s available – Use a domain registry check (such as godaddy.com or networksolutions.com) to see if the name you are considering is available.

Registering Your Domain

One you’ve selected a name, it’s time to register it. Choose a reputable domain registrar (companies like networksolutions.com and godaddy.com have been around for some time and are well trusted).

Compare prices. Domain names range from a few dollars to $40 or so annually; so find out what is offered for the money you will pay.

If you let someone register your domain name for you, and they put it in their name, you may be locked out of your own site down the road if something goes wrong in your relationship.

In online business, that’s like changing the locks on the storefront and not letting the owner into their own store.

4 Keys to a Great Website

Once you have your domain name and web hosting service, you may think the trip to a wonderful website is almost over. Think again – it’s really just beginning.

As your website is designed and brought to life, there are a lot of things you need to manage what it’s doing - and not doing - to keep your customers happy.

Focus

One major mistake made by many business owners on their website is to try and tell the customers EVERYTHING about their company.

Keep in mind the average potential customer is going to pop onto your site and may decide in 30 seconds or so if they are going to stay - and if you are going to get their business.

If they have to read through pages of information to decide if you are the right company to work with, they are going to move on.

Make sure your site focuses on what you want to sell, why people should come to you, and anything else that makes you stand out in your market.

Load Speed

How long will it take someone to get your website to load?

If you have a site filled with pictures, graphics, videos, audio and other additions, people with slower connections may have a tough time getting your page to load, and may go elsewhere.

Streamline where you can.

Ease of Navigation

If a buyer has to go through various pages on your website, don’t make it difficult. Have obvious, easy to use navigation buttons to avoid frustrating them.

Contact Information

Make sure there are easy and obvious ways for customers to contact you. Not only is this good for customer service, but it also helps to build trust with potential customers. You are letting them know you are willing to talk to them.

In addition to these tips, make sure you have a central and consistent theme on your website. This way, you will begin to create your own brand and style that is visible on every page.

Do I Need a Business Attorney?

As you venture into the creation of a new small business, you may have a lot of questions. Many of these questions can be easily answered by doing research on the Internet.

Other parts of this information may well be a little touchier. You should consult with a business attorney so you know what to do and how to deal with various situations you may encounter, such as:

• Business Name – Want to use a fictitious name to run your business? A business attorney may well be your best friend in this venture.
  
  When you are choosing a name, it is important that you select one that is not being used elsewhere. It should also not be trademarked or copyrighted, to save you from legal trouble down the road.

• Taxes – A business attorney can tell you how best to structure your business for tax purposes.

• Liability – Making sure you are protected, should something go wrong with your company, is vital.
  
  Depending on the business structure you have selected, you may be personally liable for any legal actions or debts incurred by your company.

• Licensing and Registering – Whether it’s permits, licenses or business registration, there is a lot of legal paperwork that goes along with being in business.
  
  While you can do most of this yourself, making mistakes can mean big trouble from local, state and federal regulators.

• Contracts – Probably the most popular use of a business attorney is the job of checking over contracts to make sure they are in your best interest before you sign.

These are just a few of the roles a business attorney can serve for your small business. If you think you have all of these under control, you may not need an attorney’s help.

If not, you may want to consider looking for an attorney to keep an eye out for your small business’ best interests.

Home Based Business Ideas

Once you are ready to work for yourself, you may have a lot of energy to get going but not know what kind of business to put that energy into.

Here’s a look at some home business ideas that you can get up and running quickly:

• Virtual Assistant – If you have worked in an office all your life and know how to keep things running and organized, why not put that skill to use for your own profit?
  
  Virtual assistants do everything from setting up meeting and travel plans to basic bookkeeping and organizing presentations.
  
  If you have the skills, you can do this from your own home for clients all over the country or around the world.

• Gift Baskets – If you are creative and like to make things to sell, you may want to get into the gift basket business.
  
  This is a very popular business, as people always need gifts and are always looking for something different.
  
  Original ideas for gift baskets that are both useful and unique can translate to big money in a home-based business.

• Secret Shopping – Like to shop? Why not get paid for it?
  
  Companies are always looking for secret shoppers to go to their stores to make sure the business is running as smoothly as they would like it to be.
  
  You will be asked to make a purchase and take notes of the transaction. In addition to getting paid for your time, you will often be reimbursed for the purchase and able to keep the item or items you bought.

Working from home can be very rewarding. By considering some of the ideas above, it can be very lucrative as well.

Different Types of Online Businesses to Start

So - you know you want to have your own business, but you are having a tough time deciding just what kind of business to start.

Let’s take a look at the options out there, so you can narrow down your choices.

• Developing a Business from Scratch – This type of business is where you do it all. From developing a product to creating it and then selling it, this is a business that is all you.
  
  While this is a high-risk, high-responsibility venture, you also have the best chance of being rewarded for your work with higher profit margins.

• Affiliate Program Business – Even if you don’t have your own product to sell, you can still have a business that you believe in and that is successful.
  
  Affiliate programs are those where you refer customers to products you want to sell. Every time a sale is made from your referral, you get a small commission.
  
  Companies like Amazon.com offer affiliate business opportunities.

• Direct Sales Business – From Mary Kay to candle companies, you have likely seen or heard of direct sales businesses in the past.
  
  These are companies where you sell products from another company. You show the items for sale to potential customers on your website and take their orders. The company ships the items, with you getting a cut of the purchase price.

• Resell Business – In this type of business, you are in charge of the product line and purchase items to sell at wholesale pricing.
  
  This means you get the markup percentage as a profit, not just a commission. But you will also be responsible for keeping inventory warehoused and shipping items to customers when they are purchased.

Select the type of business you want to run, and you will take your first step towards you new life as an online business owner.

Finding a Host for Your Website

Getting a domain name registered for your website is only one part of the puzzle to getting your site up and running. Your next job is to find a web host.

A web host is the person or company where your website will be supported. This is usually a company with a number of large servers that can hold all the files necessary for your website to be operational.

There is no shortage of choices when it comes to selecting a web host. The problem is in making sure you get a host that will do what you need.

Today, many hosts are either free or very cheap.

Do Your Homework

But before you go the money-saving route, make sure it is worth it. If the host has slow or non-existent technical support, you could find yourself needing help to get your website online, or back online if there is a problem.

Worse, you could get no answer at all.

Research on any company you are considering to find out what other consumers think about their experiences with them.

Your needs may also partially dictate who you can work with. If you are going to have a complicated shopping website as part of your online business, you will need shopping carts and other special programs.

You should look for a host that offers these types of services.

Before you make a final decision make sure you compare and contrast companies.

Ask:

• What is the monthly cost?
• What’s included in the monthly cost?
• How much is the setup cost?
• How much space you get for the price?
• How much bandwidth do you get?
• What happens if you go over your allotted space?
• Is there technical support if you have problems?

Once you have taken a close look at all the options, choose the host company that offers the best service for your small business - and your money.

Developing a Viable Marketing Plan

Once you have a business plan in place for your company, you may think you are done with the paperwork. Not so.

If you want your small business to succeed, you need a marketing plan to figure out how to get your company to the top of the market.

The first things you are going to need in your marketing plan are an analysis of your competition and your customers.

Customers

Know who these people are (gender, age group, specialty field, etc), how to attract these customers, and what they need.

Competition

You need to know who else is trying to take the business you want. Many small business owners think they can ignore their competition and succeed just by doing their job.

While this may work from time to time, it is best to know your competition and what they may be offering to your customers so you can have a plan to counter them.

Attract More Customers

The next part of your marketing plan should be ways to get more customers to come to you.

You will need to come up with a strategy to get the attention of potential customers and convince them to give your small business a try.

Anticipate Changes

The business world is always changing. Those who do the best in times of change are those who were ready for it. Knowing the types of changes that could come in your field and how you will deal with them is key.

Making a list of ‘what if’ scenarios is a great way to consider possible changes in your market and how your company will react. By planning this in advance, you will have a plan, instead of panic, when the time comes.

There are plenty of online resources and software programs that will help you create an in-depth marketing plan to get your small business on the right path

Record Keeping 101

It is one of the least liked but most essential parts of running a business – record keeping. Unless you are an accountant, no one likes keeping the financial books in order.

For some, it may border on torture. But if you don’t do it properly, you will likely regret it down the road.

The best way to make your way through the maze of recordkeeping is to set up a plan before your start running your business, so you know what to records keep and where they go.

Here are some of the records you should be keeping:

• Invoices
• Receipts
• Contracts
• Important Correspondence

These all need to be kept separately to avoid a jumbled mess at the end of the year.

Make it a Regular Routine

If you’re smart, you will also make record keeping an ongoing part of your business, instead of stacking things up until the end of the year and trying to sort it all out in a frenzied panic.

If you have a small business, you likely don’t need an accountant, but you may want to enlist the help of accounting software. There are plenty of programs that will let you set up a small business account within them, such as MYOB or Quick Books, which will help you sort and separate all those papers into their appropriate categories.

If you do this as you go, instead of worrying at the end of the year, you will have a perfect print out of all expenses, payments and other financial information you need.

It is important to note that financial rules and requirements differ by state and region, so you may want to check with a CPA in your area when you are first setting up your financial record keeping program to make sure you haven’t missed anything.

Startup Money for Your Online Business

While you may be raring to jumpstart your new online business venture, there is one thing you can’t get around…start up money.

From where are you going to get the money to begin this great business of yours?

Save Your Cash

The first way to have the money you need to start up your own online business is to save up for it.

Many people know they are business-minded and start putting every extra penny they have away until it’s time to start their company.

This offers them complete independence, as they only have to answer to themselves when it comes down to how the money is spent.

Borrow

If you must, you may want to consider borrowing from your friends or family.

If they believe in you, they may also believe in your venture and be willing to help you out as you get your feet on the ground.

Start Small

Don’t try to make your company too big, at least at first. Most online businesses start small and are run out of a home office or part of a garage.

This is a smart way to start a business, as it keeps overhead costs low. As your profits grow, so can your small business.

Be Realistic and Be All Business

It’s easy to be ‘on the job’ all day and not get anything done.

Many people work on their business day in and day out, but are not necessarily doing things that will make money for the business.

Make sure the things you are doing are for a purpose, to increase your profit making potential.