Your Own Business - 7 Tips Before You Start

To have your own business often seems to be the ultimate. The grass is, however, not always greener on the other side. It is important not to be blinded by the potential rewards. Do you have what it takes? You need the right skills, determination, financial backing, etc. There are also several serious and potential fatal risks. The following tips act as a guideline before you start your own business:

1. Make sure that entrepreneurship is for you. Entrepreneurship is not for everyone. If you feel safer in your comfort-zone and are risk-averse the chances are that you are better off where you are - nothing wrong with that. Entrepreneurship needs passion, a certain amount of risk-taking and the motivation and dedication to succeed when everything seems to be against you.

2. Understand the risks. Financial risk, including potential bankruptcy, is a real threat if things go wrong. Less obvious risks include social-, career- and psychological risks.

3. Build a support structure. To have your own business can be quite tough at times. The more support you have the bigger the chances of surviving these times. It is worthwhile to make an effort to get your family and friends positive about the business.

4. Get the right partners. It is often not advisable to embark on a business on your own (or even impossible). Good synergy between partners can drastically increase the potential of a business. Unfortunately many business partnerships don't work and are often disastrous. Choose your partners very careful and ensure that legal contracts are in place for any potential "divorce" in the future.

5. Prepare diligently. To have your own business generally means a lot of hard work. This should start with a proper feasibility study and business planning. Is there a big enough gap in the market that your business can fill? How will you do it? How will it be funded?

6. Be realistic. A new business is never just moonshine and roses. It tends to take much longer than expected to breakeven and it needs much more resources (especially financially) than normally planned for. Reflect this in your cashflow planning.

7. Get expert advice. When you lack specific skills it is much cheaper to pay for it in the beginning rather than later when the business does not work. The advice of auditors, attorneys, bankers, consultants and other experts should be sought where applicable.

About the Author
Wim Venter is the CEO of Ventex Corporation, a business development consultancy. To receive more information on starting your own business and other business related topics (articles, case studies and tips) sign up for our free newsletters.

47 Simple Ways to Build Trust in Your Website or Blog

By Miles Galliford

If your website does not create a sense of trust in your visitors, all your efforts will be in vain. Your online business will not succeed. That's the bad news. The good news is that it is very easy to create and build trust in your online visitors. Below, I have listed all the techniques used by the hundreds of websites I have helped launch. If you have additional techniques, please add them to the líst.

As the old saying goes, you have only one chance to make a first impression. Building trust cannot be achieved by one single action. Trust is achieved by hundreds of little things you do throughout your website that, when taken together, give readers a sense of honesty, legitimacy and stability.

The other bit of good news is that few website owners focus on building trust in the minds of their visitors. If you do it well, it can become a real and sustainable competitive advantage.

Here are 47 simple actions you can take to get started.

1. Trust is built by lots of small actions on every page of your website.

2. Your website design is the first impression. Make sure it is professional and relevant to the subject matter.

3. Navigation must be intuitive. If visitors can't find what they are looking for easily, they will question your competence in providing what they want.

4. Make the website personal by giving it its own tone and voice. People buy people.

5. Follow the HEART rule of creating online content. (Reminder: HEART stands for Honest, Exclusive, Accurate, Relevant and Timely.)

6. Use language that is appropriate to the audience. It will build empathy.

7. Regularly add new content to your site. It shows that the business is alive and kicking.

8. Review all links. Doubts will quickly form in your visitors' minds if links don't work or, worse still, take them to error pages.

9. Good grammar and spelling matter. Errors give the impression of sloppiness and carelessness.

10. Don't make outrageous and unbelievable claims, like "Read this blog and you'll be a millionaire by the end of the week." People are used to scams, get-rich-quick schemes and rip-offs.

11. Publish REAL testimonials and third-party endorsements. Try to always use real names and link to websites where possible. Some sites show images of letters sent by happy customers.

12. Publish case studies about customers you have helped, who use your product, etc.

13. Don't put down, curse or insult competitors. It's unprofessional. It is better to offer an objective comparison of competitive services or products.

14. Focus on building your long-term reputation, not on making quick sales.

15. Write articles for humans, not search engines.

16. Make your 'About Us' page personal and comprehensive. It plays an important part in making visitors feel comfortable that real people are behind the site.

17. Publish your photo or the photos of the key people involved with the site. Again, this reinforces the fact that there are real people behind the screenshots.

18. Clearly identify who is behind the site. Nothing creates more suspicion than a site that tries to hide the identity of its publishers.

19. On the 'Contact Us' page, provide an email form, telephone number, fax and address of the company. In Europe, it is a legal requirement for sites taking funds, but even sites driven by advertising will benefit from openness.

20. Provide a telephone number that people can call and talk to a person.

21. Provide Web addresses linked to the website domain, not addresses from free webmail services such as Hotmail and Gmail.

22. Don't lie to make money. The most common way is to write a glowing report about a product or service to earn affilíate revenues. It is very short-sighted to lie to visitors to sell them rubbish. They'll won't come back or, worse still, they'll actively condemn your site on forums and blogs.

23. Think carefully about reciprocal links. If your site is about organic food and you have links to Party Poker, people are going to question your integrity.

24. Think carefully about the adverts you display on your site. Ensure that they are relevant to your subject and audience.

25. Be explicit when you are being paid to endorse a product or service. An advertorial is fine as long as it is transparent. Paid-to-post is corrupting the Web and will experience a user backlash. I don't read websites that accept payment for posting.

26. Write and publish your privacy policy. Be clear about what you will and will not do with any personal data you collect. State that you adhere to all data protection laws. Make it easy to read and don't use legal gobbledygook.

27. Write and publish a security policy. State what measures you take to ensure that all transactions are secure.

28. Ensure that you have a security and privacy policy which is linked from the footer on every page. Make the link more prominent on all the order pages.

29. Clearly publish your guarantëe. I would recommend making it a 100% money-back guarantëe if possible.

30. Clearly state your refund and returns policy.

31. Piggyback off reputable brands. If you use PayPal, put the PayPal logo on your site. If you have a merchant services account with a major bank like Citibank or HSBC, put its logo on your site.

32. Use Google search on your site for two reasons. First, it is a great search solution which will help your visitors find what they are looking for. Second, having the Google name on your site instills trust.

33. If there are well-known industry associations for your subject, join up and put their logos on your site.

34. Have a forum on your site and respond quickly to questíons. Have the attitude that you are happy to help others without receiving immediate reward. As the old saying goes, 'Givers always gain.'

35. Allow people to comment on articles. Interactivity and an exchange of views build community and a sense of involvement.

36. If people provide constructive criticism or comments in the forum, don't delete them, but respond with your point of view.

37. Put photos on the website of the owners, publishers and/or team. Let visitors know there are real people behind the business.

38. Put images of the credít cards you accept on every page of the order process.

39. Use the words 'secure website' whenever you try to get any information from visitors, including newsletter sign-ups, forum input and payment.

40. On every page, state, "We take your privacy and security very seriously." Link the statement to the security and privacy policy.

41. Remember, reputations take years to build and seconds to destroy.

42. If you are selling a subscription, offer a low-cost, entry-level option. This could be a one-day taster, 'a week before billing starts' or a monthly tríal.

43. Use a high level of security when processing credít cards. Make sure you make your clients aware of all the steps you are taking.

44. Don't send credít card information or personal details over the Internet unencrypted. Tell your customers that their data will be encrypted.

45. Only ask for information from customers that you really need. For example, for an email newsletter sign-up, the only information you REALLY need is an email address, so that is all you should ask for.

46. If you have pricing on your website, make it transparent. I recently went to buy a book which was advertised for $10. When I checked out, they added tax, post and packaging, and the final bill was $19.50. I didn't buy it as I felt they had deliberately tried to mislead me.

47. Keep your SSL certificate up to date. Let people know you are using SSL encryption and who the provider is.

You can't do too much to build trust. Most of it comes down to common sense and good business practice. To ensure that you are continually improving your trustworthiness, every time you go to a website, ask yourself whether you trust it or not. Then ask yourself why you have formed the opinion you have. Continually try to learn what makes a site trustworthy or untrustworthy and implement the relevant changes to your site.

If people trust you, the revenue will follow!

About The Author

SubHub provides an all-in-one solution to enable you to rapidly design, build and run your own content website. Publish for profít on the web. Website: SubHub.com SubHubArticles Feed

Internet Marketing For Rookies

by Joe Terceira

Hello, my name is Joe Terceira Jr and I’m about to reveal a few methods of Internet Marketing. This article is great for everyone, but better suited for Internet Marketing Rookies. Now when I say this, I hope you as a rookie don’t take offense to that because I myself was once a rookie.

It takes a lot of trial & error before you can understand how these big time multi-millionaire Internet Marketers earn thousands and even millions of dollars selling products and or services over the Internet every single year. They don’t have a hundred million dollar secret that no one knows about. They just perfected a way to maximize there advertising efforts very quickly and efficiently.

A wise man once told me that in order to succeed at something, you had to learn what doesn’t work before you can understand what does. By knowing what doesn’t work, you shave countless hours off of your Internet Marketing practices. It took me a long time to understand this theory but I did figure it out. I started to make mental notes of the things I had done that went unsuccessful, and made sure those things never happened again. I realized I had to start paying attention to all the small things that I thought were irrelevant, and implement those things into my day to day operations. Before I knew it, I had almost tripled the visitors I had in 1 month in an incredible 24 hours. That was a huge eye opener. So let’s get into a few things that I have learned just don’t work or how they do work.

Free Advertising:

Some people say this is the easiest way to advertise especially for Internet Marketing newbie’s, but I say that is a load of bull. Free advertising has proved time and time again to be a waste of time especially when your advertising your main products. Let me explain how it does work and how you can turn this secret into a huge advertising machine. What you should be doing is advertising a free service or product on these free advertising sites. Everyone who visits these sites won’t click on anything unless it has the word free attached to it. That’s why you’re not getting visitors. The product I have found to work the best is giving away a free eBook. I have developed one that you can use for your advertising efforts. Just visit my website below to pick up a free copy. I currently generate over 5000 leads per week using this method and some of my business associates average about the same. I simply advertise this free eBook on all free advertising sites and the response is overwhelming. Then I turn these free customers into paying customers. That is how I get this method to work. Do not advertise your main products or services or you will suffer dearly.

Banner Exchanges:

Banner Exchanges is another ineffective way to advertise unless you have a huge developed downline. When you join these banner exchanges you simply add there banner to your website and they add your banner to there website. Whenever a new banner appears on your site, you gain credits for your banner to appear on one of there network sites. Now until you build your banner affiliate network you will be wasting time opening and closing your browsers. Refer 10 people who each refer 10 and so and before you know it your banner is appearing in thousands of websites. Now again, don’t attach your banners to your main product websites. These people who are viewing them are also people who are interested in free advertising so they won’t click on your banner unless it attracts is says free! Attach your banners to your free products or my free eBook and then follow up and make the sale once you have there information.

Ezine Ads:

Advertising in an ezine or newsletter is an effective way to gain website visitors. If you have not been exposed to this yet, it is time to get exposed. Type ezine or newsletter into any major search engine and you will come up with hundreds of thousands of listings. To put it in terms that you’ll understand, basically someone owns a list of email addresses and provides them with great quality content. They also include ads with the content. Some charge a fee for this and others allow free postings. But like the 2 above advertising methods, the best way is once again advertising your free products or eBooks. This is truly an effective advertising method and you will see massive results instantly if you follow these guidelines.

Is Your Business Under Fire?

by Bea Fields and Carol Dickson Carr

As a business owner, is your enterprise truly thriving, or are you feeling the pressure from your competitors who are breathing down your neck? If your business is not what you want it to be, what do you think is really going on? Being self employed is probably one of the most challenging and rewarding aspects of life, and as business owners, we all need a quick business reality check.
This article will provide you with a quick assessment of the business behaviors which are contributing to your success or those which might be triggering failure. As you are reading each statement, perform a quick self assessment. Can you answer “yes” to each statement? If not, your business might be under fire, and it’s time to turn it around.

1) I know exactly why I’m in this business to begin with.

Whether it’s a sense of freedom that’s driving you or a need to connect to your customers in a special way with what you have to offer, your business “why” needs to be clear. By knowing the why, your business can gain momentum by having a clear direction and specific measurable outcomes.

2) I understand and have implemented the fundamental principles of business.

This means you have a good working knowledge of business strategy (business planning and marketing) and the systems necessary for business success such as bookkeeping/accounting, legal issues, database management, and entity structuring. Once you have educated yourself about these fundamental principles, the next step is to implement and carefully monitor the systems that will keep your business moving forward.

3) I am taking reasonable risks.

Contrary to popular belief, savvy entrepreneurs do not take wild risks. They balance their sense of adventure and out-of-the-box thinking with common sense, due diligence and research. Taking ongoing reasonable risks will infuse energy and life into your business and will actually challenge you to stretch and grow as both a business owner and a person.

4) I know how to mitigate risk.

Do you have liability insurance, a back-up system for your paper and electronic documents, proper contracts and agreements? If not, you may be setting yourself up for risky business. Get your business in order, and make sure that your goals, methods and protocol are clearly spelled out and that your team is aligned with where you are going.

5) I know how to make decisions quickly.

You’ve heard the cliché “time is money”. There’s definitely some truth to that. As a savvy business owner, you will be called to combine your knowledge and your intuition to make decisions that are quick and smart. In today’s fast-moving, high tech world, the name of the game is “speed to market”, and your ability to make good choices without dragging your feet is critical to your ability to create the momentum necessary to pull your business forward and to create a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

6) I am developing networks and strong working relationships both inside and outside my industry.

Collaboration is powerful and synergistic, and the possibilities and solutions for your business increase exponentially by having a strong network. Building a network inside your industry will strengthen your expertise, but the real juice in networking happens when you begin to reach out beyond the bound aires of your profession to people who can bring fresh ideas and creative perspectives to your business.

7) I understand that implementing a great strategy is critical to my success.

Having a great strategy is key to creating a sustainable competitive advantage in your industry, and knowing which strategies to implement can be a formidable task. Choosing a strategy is simple, yet the execution of the strategy is where most business owners fall short. With a careful, planned approach to execution, your strategic goals can be attained. Working with a coach who specializes in strategy and execution can support you in moving through the obstacles which will pop up along the way.

8) I effectively implement sales, marketing and customer service strategies which are contributing to my growth and bottom line profits.

You have the avenues in place to let everyone know you’re open. You know your target market inside and out, and you are dedicated to finding new ways to reach them and provide ongoing value each and every day. You fully understand that if you are a business owner, you are not just a technician, you are now fully committed to the business of sales, marketing and delivering outstanding customer service.

9) I stay current with technologies, trends and developments in business.

If your thinking is back in the 70s or 80s, you’re going to get left behind, and you better keep up, or you’re going to get thumped by the competition. Keeping up with technology—particularly as it ties to the information age--is not optional…in today’s fast forward world, it’s a requirement to stay in the game of business.

10) I foster an environment that encourages creativity and development of new ideas.

This means that you’re open to “coincidences”, you listen to feedback, you’re patient and collaborative and you embrace change… Fresh ... dynamic is what it’s all about! You are someone who welcomes all ideas—the radical, off-the-beaten-path, the controversial, and the seemingly benign. You suspend all judgment and allow your playful side to participate. Solo or in groups, this is important. Break the rules! Start with a multitude of ideas and then focus on the best solutions for your business.


About The Author

So how did you do? If you didn't get 100%, there is a way to get you there by joining the Business Under Fire Program for 2007. For more information, visit us today online at http://www.beafields.com

Part Time Business Ideas that Work

By: Nazir Daud

A couple of friends of mine needed to generate a little extra income on top of their wages. They were both into keep fit and enjoyed working out. They decided to supplement their income by becoming part time fitness instructors.

They had to do a course which lasted less then six months and taught them the basics of keep fit. They both enjoyed doing the course and made some great friends along the way.

The money is good and they keep fit at the same time! One teaches spinning on the stationary bikes whilst the other does aerobics classes. They both benefit from free membership in the gym they teach in…

If you are good with your hands and into DIY then why not become a part time handy man? Busy people now a days just never get round to fixing that faulty cupboard… and the money that they are willing to pay for odd jobs is not that bad either for a couple of hours work.

Start up costs are very low as long as you have the full range of basic tools. Most people who start out working part time find that this can easily turn into a full time occupation!

Do you enjoy gardening? This is a great little earner if you do not mind getting your hands dirty… especially enjoyable if you find someone rich with a beautiful garden! The only problem with this business is that work dies away in the winter months.

A mobile car wash can be a nice earner and if you buy all the equipment it can be very easy to clean a large number of cars in a short time. Pick one or two street and whiz around a couple of times a week.

You will need to buy a van with some specialist tools and carry your own water on board. Starts up costs are higher than other part time businesses and therefore this business demands a lot more careful planning.

A photography business can be run from home and it is easy to make a decent income. Digital cameras are so good now that you do not even need a dark room to process your pictures. Start of with the usual weddings and birthday parties. Take pictures of all the landmarks in your city.

More websites are being created every day and all of them need some images. Speak to web designers and take pictures to their specifications. Online networks are expanding rapidly and people need portrait pictures. Demand for head and shoulders shots is massive.

The great thing about the photography business is that you can take pictures all the time. You do not have to be in work mode to snap away! It is easy to build a huge collection of images and showcase your work on a website. Start up costs are now very low and this business can become extremely lucrative once you have built up a collection of images.

Do you have any ideas for a part time business that can help to provide additional cash flow for people struggling to pay the bills?


About Author

Naz Daud Business Franchises and UK Business Directory Franchise Opportunity & Business Opportunity Ireland Business Directory & Franchises

Building Small Business Issue: Backup (LAST ISSUE)

By Dan Evans

Points Of Interest.
1 Should we back up or archive?
2 Use tapes or discs?
3 What about network-attached storage?


Storage is the cheapest it's ever been. The software is easier than ever. And there are several quality hosted options if you don't want to keep it on-site. There's simply no excuse for a business not to have a data backup plan. Heck, backup even may be mandated by the federal government, depending on the industry you're in—health care and finance are good examples. So a good backup system may not only keep you out of trouble, it might keep you out of jail.

When you back up your data, it's usually for short-term reasons, and you'll overwrite this data with updates very soon. There are three types of backup:

1.Full: Backs up everything regardless of whether it's changed.
2. Differential: Backs up only what has been changed since the last full backup.
3. Incremental: Backs up individual files that have been modified since the last backup.

Archives, on the other hand, contain static data, such as tax returns and old e-mails, which won't be overwritten.

Traditionally, IT managers archived data using tape systems, but recently businesses have been using discs for both archiving and backup. It takes much less time to recover data from a disc than from a tape. Software such as Symantec Backup Exec ($500 street, www.symantec.com/backupexec), which walks you through both archiving and recovery, is worth the money. For burning backup discs, we like the Sony DRU-710A (sony.storagesupport.com); it's only $110 (street) and will burn dual-layer discs.

Another popular backup option is network-attached storage, or NAS. NAS devices attach easily to your existing network. We like the Buffalo TeraStation Pro II ($850 street) for its ease of use and its terabyte of disc space.

Above all, no matter what system you chose, you must have some form of off-site backup, even if it involves mailing a complete backup disc once a month to your mother in Idaho.

Building Small Business Issue: Networking

By Dan Evans

Point Of Interest
1 Does a small business need Gigabit Ethernet?

Small companies can get big networking for little money these days. Wired, wireless, and Internet connection speeds come faster and cheaper than ever.

It makes good sense for you to pay a little extra to purchase Gigabit Ethernet rather than Fast Ethernet switches. Smaller companies will find Web-managed switches from companies such as Belkin, D-Link, Linksys, and Netgear for around $10 per port. Even small companies are moving around bigger and bigger files (video, graphics, and more), and Gigabit will really help also when you are performing over-the-network backups.

For wireless, 802.11g is the standard, but the time has come to consider draft 802.11n products, which offer five to ten times the performance and better coverage in a building. You'll find the routers and access points available for $100 to $150 from the same companies, and many new laptops have the option of including a draft 802.11n ExpressCard or PC Card. Make sure you run a secure wireless network by choosing WPA2 rather than the less-secure WEP option.

Using DSL or a cable modem typically provides enough bandwidth for most small businesses. Today's prices are impressively modest, but you might want to explore replacing the standard modem that comes with your service with product that supports VPNs for remote access. Ask your carrier about upgrade options.

Finally, although Wi-Fi can be found in many airports and cafés, mobile broadband provides connectivity almost anywhere you are. For $100 to $150 for the card and about $60 per month with preexisting voice service from AT&T or Verizon, you won't have to hunt around for a Wi-Fi hot spot.

Building Small Business Issue: Office Printers

By Dan Evans

Points Of Interest
1 How many pages do we print?
2 Do we need an AIO or a regular printer? The trick to buying printers? Figuring out how much you actually print, rather than basing your decision on how many people you have on your staff. For instance, an insurance firm or law office will print significantly more pages daily than a much larger office group. If you are printing out e-mails, contracts, and the occasional memo, you may be better off with an office AIO (all-in-one printer, for scanning, faxing, copying, and printing) instead of a heavy-duty workhorse that can handle thousands of pages a month.

If you choose an AIO for a small office, there are two key features you need to make sure the printer has. Look for a network connection for sharing it around the office and an automatic document feeder for the scanning and copying functions. Also keep in mind that the scanners you usually find in AIO printers are suited more to documents, so don't expect to make high-quality scans of your vacation pictures.

For a good-size small biz, go with two Brother MFC-8860DNs ($480 each). These monochrome AIOs are great for a small office workgroup, and a pair of them will prevent a backlog of print jobs from bogging down your network. The Brother is extremely fast and has a long list of features. Unlike other AIOs, the MFC-8860DN seamlessly integrates into a small-business environment once it's behind your firewall, and it becomes the hub of all your document needs—printing, e-mailing, and copying.

Printer Buying Guide