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Your Web Presence Is Important Part 2

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 05:20:50 +0000

Now that you understand where the Internet came from, lets discuss the effective way to use the net to develop a presence for your SOHO business.

First of all, DONT HAVE ANY FEAR! To many business owners, the Internet is a scary proposition because they are worried about data being stolen and some man looking through their computer at them. This is paranoia and nonsense! Any system create by man has to evolve over a certain period of time and the internet is evolving into a system that is creating opportunities for people while at the same time enhancing security measures to protect such transactions as e-commerce.

First of all, you need to write down the goals of your site. Make a determination of what you want your site to look like. Its okay to view other sites (which cool geeks call biting) and get some ideas for your own site. Look at the tone of the sites that you have visited to get an idea of how their site is structure.

Now you could develop a web page yourself, but lets just say youre programmer challenged. You can still develop your site in some cases for free but you dont want to go that route. The best choice is to hire a web developer. Web developers can plan a site for you and translate your vision to the Internet so that your organization has a professional look. Many web developers are also graphic designers, so they can also do the other things, such as logos, business cards, etc.

A good web developer will draw you a visual picture of what your site will look like. Ask the web developer for a mock up drawing or a flowchart of what the site will look like. Now some developers may charge for this service but its well worth it. Ask key questions that discuss the content of your site.

The web developer will work with you to get the right content and tone for your site. With web-sites these days, less is better. People read a web-page from left to right so you dont want to develop a page that reads like Tolstoys War and Peace novel!

So now, youve got a little bit of ammo and youre armed and dangerous. Competing with that bully down the street that has a web site that has bells and whistles doesnt seem far fetched after all. Even though you are a SOHO business owner, its time to make your presence felt on the web so lets go to the next topic, part 3, which will address certain questions that you will ask a web developer.

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Web-Site Image Means Everything

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 13:20:50 +0000

Your web site image means everything. Here are some tips you need to know about getting the right web-site image.

- Beauty vs. simplicity.

In a business web site, we can always find some beautiful background image or eye-catching background color. In some company websites, they also use some company photo, factory photo or product photo as the website background. Actually, it is not the right way to do. The right way is “Make it simple”.

You will never find a background image in Yahoo, Google. People visit your website is looking for information not the beautiful background. Moreover, the background image has disadvantages: loading time will be longer and distract the visitor attention. Think again what information the background image can bring to your customer?

- Only use images if you need to

Use images only if image can present more clearly than text. For example, you can use image to present the order process. Size of those images should be small.

- Page Frames are a no-no

Many websites use frames to make the navigation easier. However, more and more website designers dont use frames anymore in web design. It is because frames alter the whole design and also makes the visitor confused and makes it difficult to find. Using CSS or JavaScript can provides similar effect but can keep the design consistency.

- Under construction signs leads to detours

Have you see those “Road Construction” image? Or those “Under construction, please come back later”? Dont waste your visitors time. If your webpage isnt finished, dont put it up. Its just best to have a 404 page.

If you really need to put this “Under Construction”, here are some suggestions

- Raise the visitor curiosity; tell them what surprise they may get once the webpage open.
- Make it like a fiction. Everyday you put some additional information on it, make the visitor re-visit. This can greatly encourage the visitor to visit again.

Remember, no one like those boring “Under Construction”. Turn it into a marketing event.

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Using Correct SEO Keywords

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 05:20:50 +0000

Your web presence should be dynamic and have the feel of a million dollar corporation. As a SOHO business, you dont have to be average on the internet in terms of look, feel or marketing your web-site. Finding your web-site is just as important.

Keywords can assist your site in becoming more prominent. Keywords can assist in giving you a higher search engine ranking and help your site become easier to find. Keywords are very, very important in the grand scheme of marketing your business on the internet.

Lets look at how keywords are traditionally used outside of the internet. The phone book or an alphabetical index is a great way to look at the effectiveness of keywords. Phone books are formatted from A to Z, alphabetically. The main keywords, which makes the directory, are listed in the phone book with its sub-directory under it.

For example, if your were looking for plumbing, then you would go to the directory that starts alphabetically with the letter P. You would find plumbing and then you would look for the sub-category which could be Plumbing Services, Plumbing Supplies, Plumbing Technicians, etc.

Depending on what product or service you sell, your keywords could be sub categories of your service or product. If you were in the plumbing field and you had a web-site, your keywords would look like this so that people could have a greater chance of finding you:

Plumbing Supplies in Miami Florida, Plumbing Accessories, Plumbing Pipes, Plumbing Accessories, Plumbing Emergencies, Free Estimate Plumbing, Certified Plumbers

Thats the magic of using keywords! You can put anything that remotely identifies with your business or service. If someone was looking for plumbing Supplies in Miami Florida they would most likely find you and your service.

If you are having a site developed, talk to your web developer about the proper use of keywords to enhance and optimize your web-site.

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Starting A Home Based Business

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 21:20:50 +0000

Home based businesses are forms of employment which are increasing in number annually. Individuals favor this type of employment as they are able to work out of their home and make a living by doing so. There are many beneficial factors which make engaging in serious home based business opportunity a wise decision. Some of these include being able to stay home with the kids, eliminate a work commute and be your own boss. There are various factors which equal a serious home based business opportunity and some of these will be discussed below.

A great home based business opportunity is one which allows individuals to make a good living from their self-employment. As opposed to part time jobs from home, one who engages in a serious venture will be able to pay the bills and have money left over to spend on other items as well. Some may even find a home based business that they can pass down from generation to generation.

Individuals who have constructed a business plan for their home based business will find that this in and of itself equates with a serious home based business opportunity. Those who take the time and effort to establish a business plan for their business truly show that they wish to make their business a complete success.

It is important to ensure that a home based business, or any business for that matter, offers items which will sell and make a good profit for the home based business owner. They should look for products or services that are in more than one market segment.

Many individuals take part in home based businesses. Some do on a part time basis whereas others operate on a full time schedule. For those individuals who are interested in engaging in a serious home based business opportunity, they must ensure that certain factors are addressed. One should be able to make a living from their business, have a set business plan, offer great goods and services and be open to the public at hours most convenient to individuals who need assistance. By keeping these factors in mind, a business owner will be more likely to operate a serious home based business opportunity.

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Start Your Home Business Right Away!

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 13:20:50 +0000

Home employment opportunities for working class Americans are getting better every day. In fact, if you are looking for real work at home jobs, all you have to do is log on to your computer at home and type in three words. If you enjoy using your computer or typing, then home employment opportunities are calling your name. You can make a full time income from home doing things that you enjoy doing and may be doing already.

For instance, do you like assembling craft products? If so, there are hundreds of companies that will pay you good money for assembling their crafts for them. You can do it right in your own living room. Pretend you are one of Santa’s elves assembling play toys by your fireplace this Christmas.

Most people dream of owning their own business and never act on their dreams. You can be different. You can dream big and take that dream to heights never before imagined, just by taking one big step that most people never take. All you have to do is step out of your comfort zone and start a business.

The best part about most home employment businesses is that you can start them part time while you work your day job. Then, when you start making more money from your business part time, you quit your day job and say good bye to that nagging boss. Why would you stay? For the love of it? Please. It’s a day job, for crying out loud. If you can make more money part time from your own home employment business, then you don’t need that nagging boss. Kiss him good bye and take a half a day off for the next month.

Ever work while you travel? You can with your own home business. Home employment allows you to take your work with you when you take that road trip to California. It’s the perfect vacation for people who can’t afford to take off work. Make your money while you vacation and you can enjoy a vacation and still get paid. It’s a stepping stone to residual income. Get paid while you travel.

Today is your day. Start your part-time home employment business and reap the benefits that other people have been taking advantage of behind your back. Then, you too, can join the ranks of the upwardly mobile self employed.

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SOHO Freelance Writing Getting Business From The Internet

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 05:20:50 +0000

When it comes to marketing yourself as a freelance copywriter, its important to bear in mind that virtually everything related to copywriting has gone online! Any copywriter who has been around for longer than five years or so will know that new copywriting business used to come from mail-shots, small ads and the dreaded cold calling. Nowadays, the only realistic way to raise your copywriting profile is via the Internet.

Most copywriters would be in total agreement with that. The question is: have they done anything about it? And the same question goes to new and wannabe freelance copywriters.

So what CAN you do about it? If the phones stopped ringing and your e-mail Inbox is full of nothing but unopened spam its time to take stock. The first question is (and it seems almost quaint in the year 2006): Do you have a website?

If not, you need one. Your website is you, your business, your life-blood and your copywriting DNA all rolled into one! Without a website, youre dead meat. As a copywriter, your first step is to write your own website. Make it as comprehensive as possible. Become a website copywriter!

And if youre a relative newcomer, read round the subject, look at other copywriters websites and create the best website content you can that will reflect well on you as a professional freelance copywriter ready to take on the world. There are endless articles on the Internet about website content. Thats for later. To begin with, you must look at the work youve done as a copywriter and then attempt to classify it. This is a personal matter that will be made public very soon so make sure that what you say is credible.

Make sure you get a good designer and establish some kind of visual concept at the outset that looks professional without getting in the way of your copywriting message.
Your website needs to be visible to search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN. That means your website content must have substance. The pages should be long enough to contain the keywords of your business in such quantity and density that the search engine robots will salivate. Youve also got to look at the so-called meta tags that will apply to each of the pages on your website. As well as keywords, youll need a title for every page and a pithy description, both of which should contain the keywords that are relevant to that page.

Make no mistake, it will be a big day when you launch your freelance copywriting website!

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Setting Up SOHO Operations Part 2

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 21:20:50 +0000

Depending on what state that you are in, you must pay attention to certain laws in establishing a SOHO and those laws apply to zoning requirements of the city that you live in.

Some zoning laws a very flexible when it comes to the operation of SOHOs . If it is an administrative based SOHO business, then usually, everything is okay. There is nothing being manufactured or openly sold, such as food or other items that require certifications from your local and county government.

Usually, the grey area in SOHO operations is in the area of manufacturing and customer visitation. If you are manufacturing a certain product with chemicals, then you may have to get special privileges depending on the zoning requirements of the neighborhood that you are living in.

Lets say that you are a manufacturer of soap. Youve set up a small plant in your basement. You have certain chemicals that you use to mix the soap together and then certain chemicals to form the final product. Zoning laws may say that the chemicals are harmless and allow you to make the soap or certain laws may say that you cannot manufacture the soap from your basement and therefore you may have to manufacture at another location but be able to ship from your home.

Another problem could be establishing a storefront out of your home in which people will frequent constantly. Laws may say that its okay depending on what zoning code that you have or the law may state that you cant do it. Again, it depends on the zoning laws of where you are.

Parking and fire code restrictions could also be a problem when you are selling items out of your SOHO. If you dont have adequate parking and live in a home, neighbors could start complaining about cars in front of their homes, etc.

But there is an alternative way, if you are selling or manufacturing items from your home, to get your product to the market and that is through the internet. We will cover the internet in a later article.

Finding out what the zoning requirements are in your city when it applies to selling items to customers visiting your SOHO or manufacturing items from your SOHO.

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Setting Up SOHO Operations Part 1

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:20:50 +0000

Now that you have defined your executive responsibilities and created your mission statement, its time to concentrate on the operational goals and objectives of your business.

This part is simple because it plainly states how you are going to operate and what systems are you going to use to enhance your operations. This includes the best hours to operate your SOHO. Since the majority of SOHOs are small home based businesses, more discipline is needed to separate home from business.

If you had a storefront and you posted a sign that it would open at 9:00am, you would be there at 9:00am. With most SOHOs, you can roll out of bed, go into the next room and start doing work but you still need the discipline to ignite yourself daily to get your responsibilities and tasks accomplished.

So operational goals should consist of what you will do daily to make your business a success. It includes setting time frames for business maintenance, accounting and administrative paperwork, and important people that you should keep contact with (contracting officials, new and old customers, marketing channels). All this is a part of daily operations that will help make your business a success.

The operational goals can be listed on a sheet of paper when you start your SOHO and as you get into the swing of things, you can start doing those things automatically. Youll find that your business will start humming and rolling at a smooth pace.

A major problem that most SOHOs have is managing time. Your operations action plan should have certain time frames established so that there is a balance in completing tasks. For some owners, its hard not to work seven days a week because of the urge to get things done.

Theory shows that if you cant get things done in eight hours, it will be certainly hard to get things done in twelve hours.

Establishing an operations plan will assist you in planning daily activities within your SOHO so that your time is balanced and effective.

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Planning Relieves Stress in Your Business

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 05:20:50 +0000

One of the great things about being an employee and working for someone else is that when the clock hits five you are basically done for the day and you jump in your car and you are gone. You do not have to worry about anything until the next day when work starts again. Your mind is free and you own it.
When you own a small business it really owns you and there is always some aspect of your business on your mind. But sometimes this can cause stress. Is there something about your small business that keeps you up that night? If there is there are ways to deal with this and ignoring it will not help you, as it only will make things worse.
The easiest way to the alleviate stress in your small business is to get back to basics. Re-read your mission statement and business plan. Does it say all you want to say? Maybe it is time to revise it? Write down all the things that you want to accomplish and your goals for this month and the following month. Write down anything that you believe might be keeping you towards achieving these results.
Now compare your mission statement and your business plan to what you expect to accomplish next month. You must decide how you are going to get from where you are today while maintaining the integrity of your strategic plan and mission statement with where you want to be in the near future. Is it doable?
Then you must write down all the things that you must do in order to achieve those goals. Turn that stress energy into action and do it right now. Please consider all this in 2007. Planning your business is the first step to a successful business!

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Network Marketing Success

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 21:20:50 +0000

Many of us have the aspirations to become a success in the network marketing industry; it’s why we joined the business. What is the difference between you and someone who is a raging success? Probably the daily habits and goal setting has a big thing to do with it. I don’t know of one successful person that success just happened to them by accident. This is especially true in the network marketing industry.

The biggest success stories begin with a dream and a goal. That goal is usually to make a lot of money and be able to work from your home. This is a wonderful goal to have, however, don’t become disappointed too soon if your dream isn’t becoming a reality. Rome wasn’t changed in over a night and neither will your life be. The first thing you need to do is to set goals. Where do you want to be in a month? A year? Five years? Set that goal for yourself and benchmarks you have to surpass in order to reach those goals.
When you pass each one, mark it off your list.

When they are all marked off, start with a new set of goals. Another program that can help you reach your goal faster is the association of network affiliates programs. A network affiliate program is a program that uses a form of advertisement. This type of advertisement relies upon a number of affiliates (or advertisers) that help to drive traffic to your sites. These types of programs use the multi-level marketing theory in order to help bring in potential business to your association or internet/network marketing program. While some marketing businesses are multi-tiered and this means even more traffic, some are not. It’s best to check before hand before you sign a contract with an affiliate. Some marketers develop their own in-house marketing program or they can use a third party marketing team.

Look at some of the leaders in the network marketing business. Some of them have created training programs that will show you how they did it. Read through their material and if it doesnt work for you, then leave it and move on.
Some marketers use programs such as Bee Free and Link share in order to accomplish their goals. Many wouldn’t recommend that you jump right into using affiliates with your networking business, it’s better to build your business a step at a time. Know your market audience and keep setting your goals one at a time.

And when you believe you’re ready to take that next step in building your business, then you can contact a networking affiliate program and help drive up your business. Always check with the government regulations in your state and with federal business regulations and the Better Business Bureau before associating your company with an affiliate. Remember, slow and steady wins the race. But when talking about your goals, work at a pace you’re comfortable with and you have your business growth in mind.

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