Small Business
Spam, Not The Ham. How Do You Recognize It?
Do you always know if and when you’re being spammed? Sometimes, it’s hard to tell. It has become so prevalent in our daily lives that I am writing a 4-part series, starting this week on spam, what it is, how do you recognize it and what are the best ways to manage it. First, what…
Read MoreMake People See Your ‘It’, A 5-Step Approach
Here’s a short story on innovation from Seth Godin that I’d like to share. It brings home what we do and why it matters. The sad, true tale of Otto Rohwedder Otto Rohwedder invented sliced bread. He focused, like most inventers did, on the patent part and the making part. The thing about the invention…
Read MoreThe Dark Side Of The Cloud
I am often asked what cloud computing is. Most people know the buzzwords: working in the cloud, move to the cloud, life in the cloud, etc. Technically speaking, Wikipedia says cloud-computing means using multiple server computers via a digital network, as though they were one computer. Cloud computing, like regular computing, can be broken up…
Read More5 Social Media Must Haves
Here are the 5 things every business must do to build a community online and bring in clients via social media. 1. Website It’s your web basecamp, start here. photo © 2006 Grant Kwok | more info (via: Wylio) 2. Blog, forum, or some way of delivering active audience-focused content. I have a few clients…
Read MoreThe Pluses and Pitfalls of Partnerships
Many entrepreneurs and startups would never have been formed if it weren’t for partnerships –as in dual ownership of a business entity. Many depend on one partner contributing capital, while the other contributes intellectual capital; some depend on complementary skill sets, some depend on sharing time spent working on the business and multiplying what working…
Read MoreSmall and Medium-Sized Business Tips On Raising Your Brand
I posted this article late last fall and today I think it needs repeating. Since posting, I’ve come to realize that small and medium-sized businesses have difficulty understanding the need of developing a recognizable brand. Why would Harry’s Garage in Green Bay or The Little Doz’ Inn in Appleton, WI need a brand? Because it…
Read MoreVanity Suffixes For Your Domain, Small Businesses Need Not Apply
This week in Singapore, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which is the Internet body that oversees domain names, voted to open the control of domain suffixes a.k.a. gTLD (generic top-level domains) like .com, .net, .biz, etc. In the past they have allowed a total of only 22 suffixes. Going forward, companies…
Read MoreWho Should Be Your Next ‘Go To’ Employee?
“So I have a website –now what?” That is the question I often get when a client is asking why the website they either made themselves or ‘had a friend’ design isn’t getting any results. And I mean it –ANY RESULTS. So many small business owners are not getting the point. A website is only…
Read MoreThe Secret is in Breaking the Chicken and Egg Problem
I found this BNET blog article interesting. BNET interviewed Ceriac Roeding of Shopkick and he discussed the ‘Catch 22’ facing many entrepreneurs. How do you establish that first base of business? Credibility struggles with success. You have to make someone actually BELIEVE. He cited examples he learned through his startup, Shopkick. These examples are transferable to many small…
Read More10 Things You Could Do Instead Of Going To Work Today
photo © 2009 Marcy Kellar | more info (via: Wylio) I’m on vacation at the beautiful boutique hotel of Posada Yum Kin in Tulum, Mexico. So while I’m whiling away my time walking the pristine beaches or snorkeling in one of the numerous cenotes in the area, I think you should take it easy, too.…
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