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Use Slow Weeks to Set Your Goals
Posted on December 27, 2007 | Filed Under Business Image, Smart Business
As a business owner, there’s no better time than a slow week to establish your goals.
I always make two lists-Short Term Goals and Long Term Goals. By having two, you allow yourself to achieve smaller goals on a regular basis…thus giving yourself that boost of confidence needed to achieve the larger goals!
Some things to consider for your goals:
~Revamping a website-Is your site getting you the business you want and deserve? Maybe it’s the navigation, maybe it’s the content…or it could be the graphics and/or color scheme. Remember to think like a customer…not like the owner!
~Creating a brochure-what better way to sum up your products or services? It’s a great tool for when you’re out and about, or to put in shipments!
~Joining a networking group…offline-Many Chambers of Commerce have local networking groups that you can join. Typically they only allow one of each type of business. Thus allowing you to not only learn from other business owners, but to market to them as well.
~Take some classes-it never hurts to increase your knowledge! You can learn about everything from web design to business ethics. Classes are most likely available for free (or a small fee) at your local community college. Or if it works better for your schedule, take some online courses.
~If you’re a seasoned business owner, consider becoming a mentor….nothing makes a person feel better than to be able to help another!
Writing your goals down on paper, seems to solidify them…it makes them “real”. A great way to remind yourself of them, is to put a small “wipe off” board in your office. List your goals, and then erase them as you acheive them.
No matter what you decide to do, having goals for your business of any kind, will help it to be more successful!
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Your Customer's First Impressions
Posted on December 26, 2007 | Filed Under Business Image, Print Media
Trustworthy and Confident. Two very important traits in a successful business owner.
Definitions:
Trustworthy: worthy of one’s trust, belief, or confidence.
Confident: persuaded of; assured of.
What’s the easiest way to project yourself in this fashion? Use these six basic guidelines:
1-Eye contact (don’t look up, down, or all around. If you have trouble with “eyes” use the eyebrows or the bridge of the nose as a focal point).
2-Cleanliness (never meet a customer face to face unless you’ve showered, shaved and dress appropriately-remember, if your hair is permed, it should be DRY-wet hair looks lazy)
3-Dress (today’s business climate allows for some casual attire, just remember that a comfortable old tshirt and jeans does not present you as a professional person.)
4-Speech (while it’s easy to fall into “slang” in every day conversation, it’s important not to use it when speaking with customers, also remember to speak at a volume that’s loud enough to clearly hear in the current situation) Read more
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Images and Tags
Posted on December 20, 2007 | Filed Under Business Image, SEO
It seems that through the years the advice about image alt tags has drastically changed. I can remember several years ago, being told that the importance was because many people were surfing with “images” turned off in their browsers. These days, with faster internet connections, that’s not so much the case. Now Image Alt Tags have taken on a different role in a website.
Not only should you find appealing photos and images to include in your website, but each one should be as relevant as possible to the content of the page. Make sure that the size of the image has been optimized (large files are still a pain in the “you know what” when it comes to page load time), but not so far that it no longer looks clean. NOW-Be sure that every image on your site (except background images) has an Alt Tag, that not only includes a short description of the image, but also a few of your keywords. Yes, using keywords and keyword phrases in your Alt Tags is acceptable, and is very good for Search Engine Optimization!
It can be a tedious task, but it will be well worth it in the end. After all, unless your name precedes you (like Apple.com or Microsoft.com) and you know folks are going to find you anyway, you should use every step available to increase your rankings….and help others to find you!
What is an image alt tag? It’s a simple line of code added to your img tag, that looks like this: alt=”Website Design-Domain Registration, Graphics,Ecommerce” Taking a few extra minutes to add these tags to all of the images on your site CAN make a world of difference!
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The Foundation of Your Business Image
Posted on December 20, 2007 | Filed Under Business Image, Logo Design, Print Media
Choosing Your Business Name
You’ve taken a very important first step…you’ve decided to become a small business owner and start your very own business. The very first thing on your “to do” list is to name your new business. By taking your time in this step, you will increase your chances of having a successful business.
Choosing a name for your business is a very big deal. It takes some thought, and a bit of creativity. When selecting your name, here are some guidelines to set the process in motion (make sure you have some time on your hands, this step-as it is an important one-is time consuming):
On a separate piece of paper, make a list of any words that describe or pertain to your new business, keep the list to the left of the page.
One of the greatest tools a writer can own is a Thesaurus. In it, you can look up almost any word and find MORE words that have the same meaning! If you have a Thesaurus, then you can use it, if not you can very easily use the online version: http://thesaurus.reference.com
Next, type in (or look up) each word on the list that you made. As you read through the words in the Thesaurus, that have the same meaning, if any of them are appealing to you, write them down next to your original word on the right of the page.
Once you have finished, read through the words on the page. Circle each word that really stands out and seems “inviting”. Move these words to a new piece of paper.
For this exercise, it’s important to think like your potential customer…..pretending not to know exactly what your new business provides. Using these words, create combinations that describe your business. If new words come to mind, use them, too. Sometimes, it takes a process such as this to really get your creative juices flowing! Read more
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