About Melinda Emerson

Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading small business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. As CEO of Quintessence Multimedia, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine named her #1 woman for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also bestseller author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works.
Author Archive | Melinda Emerson

Do It Yourself SEO for Small Businesses

By on March 6, 2012 in Grow Your Business, Guest Articles, Social Media, Technology

SEO for small businessNo matter how you approach a search engine optimization or (SEO) project, the ultimate goal is to increase your brand’s online visibility in the search engines. This visibility will help increase traffic, conversions and sales.

Leveraging the possibilities of internet marketing can be overwhelming for small business owners who are already wearing many hats within their company.  Over the past few years I’ve seen SEO evolve into many shapes and forms.  On-site content optimization, link building, local search optimization, mobile search optimization, social media optimization are some of the forms it takes today. If hiring a professional SEO agency doesn’t fit into your company’s current budget, there are still some things you can do on your own to jumpstart your website’s online presence.

On-site optimization – the foundation of all things SEO

The foundation of any SEO effort should be your website’s content.  On-site SEO is the process of analyzing a combination of elements that affect your site’s search engine visibility, usability, navigation and content.  In its simplest form, this means focusing on the primary content types of your site such as:

  • URL filenames
  • Page title tags
  • Meta description and keyword tags
  • Header tags
  • Internal linking
  • Image alt and title tags
  • Videos and other rich media content types

Before you can get started with SEO you need to understand what words people are using in search engine to find your website content.  We call them keywords. It’s best to identify 3-5 keywords that will be used through your site to attract your best target customer.

Conduct keyword research

Keyword research is one of the most crucial tasks in any on-site optimization project.  Not only does it help build the foundation of on-site optimization, it helps you better understand the behavior of your customers and clients.  You need to identify your target audience and determine how they search for your site.  Finding the right keywords is a balance between search volume, competition and most importantly relevancy to your business.  Most of the time, you’ll be surprised by what you find when conducting proper keyword research. Usually, the keywords that you thought would be key traffic drivers to your site are not what prospective customers and clients are actually searching.

The most well-known keyword research tool is Google’s very own AdWords Keyword Tool. Google AdWords Keyword Tool gives the information you need to choose the right keywords for your website

Use this tool to gather valuable information needed in order to choose the best keywords for your site.  You can start off by simply typing in a few words that relate to your business’s services and see what keywords Google serves up.  Remember, you’re looking for keywords with high search volume (small businesses should focus on Local as opposed to Global) and low competition, but you really want to focus on the ones that make the most sense for your business.

Use your keywords to optimize your content

After spending several hours hunting down the right keywords for your SEO efforts, you will need to figure out which ones to use on each page of your site.  Avoid excessive “keyword stuffing” and focus on no more than 3-4 keywords per page.  You’ll want to designate a “primary” keyword, which should be used as the main focus of each page during your optimization efforts.

Now for the fun part!  Use the 3-5 keywords you’ve assigned to each page to re-write each pages’ tags and content.  Here are some quick tips to get you started:

  • URL filenames – When rewriting URLs to include your keywords, it’s a best practice to separate each word with a dash (or hyphen) to help the search engines clearly depict the separation.  An example of a properly written URL for a page showing “red tennis shoes” products would be http://www.example.com/shoes/red-tennis-shoes.
  • Page title tags – Page titles should always include the primary keyword as close to the beginning as possible.  You’ll also want to avoid writing page titles any longer than 65 characters, as any page titles longer than that will most likely get truncated in the SERPs (search engine page results).
  • Meta description tags – Although it’s crucial to plug your keywords into your Meta descriptions, make sure your descriptions read naturally and that there is a strong call-to-action that will draw searchers to visit your site.  Similar to page titles, be aware of the length of your descriptions and try to keep them under 165 characters.
  • Header tags – Use headers to better organize your site’s content.  Not only does this help give site visitors a better understanding of the content, but by plugging keywords into your header tags (H1, H2, H3) you give the search engines another element to analyze when determining what your site is all about.  It’s important to also point out that your header tags should follow a hierarchy similar to when writing an outline for an essay.  For example, the H1 tag should be used first, then the H2 tags, then the H3 tags under each H2 tag, and so on.
  • Internal linking – One of the biggest signals that search engines use when ranking webpages in their search results is the amount of links pointing to that page and the relevance of those links.  To help increase the relevancy of your site’s pages, be sure to include your keywords in the clickable text (called “anchor text”) of links pointing to any pages on your site.
  • Image alt and title tags – Search engines have a tough time crawling and identifying the content of an image.  Alt tags and title tags take care of this issue.  When writing the alt and title tags for an image include your keywords, keep it short and use the same text for both the alt tag and title tag of a given image.

Although keywords are an important piece of the puzzle, it’s not just about plugging them into your tags (page title, description, headers, etc.) and hoping for the best.  It’s about creating content that’s interesting and useful for your visitors.  It’s essential that your site’s copy content is optimized to include your keywords in a natural and understandable manner.

Ongoing SEO efforts

SEO is not a “set it and forget it” type of project.  As search engines constantly change their algorithm’s ranking factors (Google makes 500-600 changes a year) it’s important to keep your site up to par with best practices and any new ranking factors that may affect your site’s web presence.  It’s also essential to continue to grow your online reach by constantly expanding your keyword universe and adding resourceful content.  The more good content your site has, the better.

Measurement of your SEO efforts

Measuring your SEO efforts’ successes and failures is critical in building more efficient ongoing optimization strategies and processes.  Review and analyze key statistics such as:

  • Recognizing which URLs get the most traffic
  • Identifying which keywords are bringing in unqualified leads with high bounce rates
  • Keyword search result ranking increases and decreases

These are all valuable assets in identifying any missed opportunities and where further SEO work may be required.

Do you have any SEO tips?

Joe Douress is the SEO Manager for Teknicks, a well known SEO agency in New Jersey. He brings 5 years of search marketing and technology experience to provide valued service and consultation to both the client and agency side. With his expertise in on-site and off-site search engine optimization, local search, usability and analytics, Joe is involved with all aspects of search marketing, providing quality advisement and appreciated support.

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Getting Ready For Opening Day in Your Small Business

By on March 5, 2012 in How to Start, Social Media

Opening Your Business Now you are just about ready to get  business cards, mail out the flyers, turn on the phones, run those ads on Facebook and use whatever way possible to tell the world you are “Open for Business.” It is a moment of both joy and fear.  The hard work of the planning your business now transitions to the even harder work of running the business.  The opportunity to fail is always present. It is okay to look over your shoulder and pay attention to fundementals.

What do you need to do to have a great opening?  A sales strategy and an a marketing plan to support it!

As you move closer to opening day of your business deciding the best way to let the world know about your new company is critical to your success. One way to decide the best strategy is to take a hard look at your competition.  Examine what they are doing, and how you can top it. Fortunately, there are many options for communicating with your target customers (Some are more expensive than others.) Many effective communications techniques include; social networking, internet advertising, community tabloids, sampling, and local newspapers. Regardless of the target customer selected to focus on, your marketing activities should do three things:

(1) Gain attention and interest,

(2) Inform and/or persuade,

(3) Eventually lead to a purchase or other desired action.

Consider these marketing tactics:

Claim Your Social Media Profiles 

  • Advantages

Mobile advertising is increasing significantly. The rise in geo-specific social networking is increasing in popularity.  You want to make  sure that you protect your brand on the big four social media sites (Google +,  Facebook Fan Page,  Twitter and LinkedIn)and claim all of the relevant geolocation profiles too such as Google Places, Facebook Places, Foursquare, etc.

  • Disadvantages

There are none. Social networking accounts are free. You pay with your time, so be strategic.

Consider internet  advertising  or pay per click ads (PPC).

  • Advantages

Facebook Ads and Google ad words are the most common internet advertising. These ads can be low cost or expensive, but you can give yourself a weekly budget and control what you are spending per click. The customer is typically looking for what you are selling. It can be fairly low cost to start and can be tailored to highly specialized products and services. You can reach people when they are actively looking for information about your products and services online, and send targeted visitors directly to what you are offering. Search engines like Google, BING, Yahoo and others can provide some in depth information on how to set up your ads and even how to open an online store.

  • Disadvantages

Costs can be related directly to the number of people who click on your ad. Competing with more established businesses can be frustrating and costly venture for small business too. With many businesses selling the same products and services, certain key words can be significantly more expensive.  Small business may not have the resources to pay for paid directory inclusion, pay per click ads often have to rely solely on search engine optimization or word of mouth to drive traffic to their sites.

Direct Mail: Direct mail is still an effective way to get more customers.

  • Advantages

If you send a bulky mailer,  an odd-shaped package, you will pique their curiosity and urge them to open it.  You can include a promotional gift in your bulky mailer that ties into your campaign. Be sure that your mail piece is relevant and include basic personalization: Make sure that the information in your contact management system is up to date and that you personalize every mailer.

  • Disadvantages

It’s expensive for postage and the printed materials and you must make sure that you have a quality mailing list.

Publish shopper ads in free tabloids. Many are distributed locally through mailings, or  in shopping malls and other outlets.

  • Advantages

Low cost, targeted geographic distribution.

  • Disadvantages

Ad clutter – because of the size and the number of ads, some of which will be your direct competitors, could make it difficult for your products/services to stand out in this type of publication. It is often discarded because it is free and considered “junk”. It may not be ideal for your target demographic – teenagers for example.

Consider donating your product or service to a community group of potential customers.

  • Advantages

Recently, a neighbor of mine who sells cosmetic products to women in their  homes, was featured in a local publication for donating products to veterans from Iraq. She appeared on the front page and was recognized by the publication for  her outstanding commitment to our troops. As a side benefit, she also got some serious recognition for her business and some new customers!

  • Disadvantages

Virtually, none if you can afford to donate products or services. Nothing prevents a business from earning PR, while doing good and doing well at the same time.

Place classified ads in local community newspapers or newsletters. 

  • Advantages

Its primary advantage is flexibility because advertising can vary from one locale to the next. In a typical location, a single local newspaper can reach up to 50% of all homes and apartments and unlike radio or TV, readers can go back and refer to an ad of interest.  Start your campaign with small test ads and gradually expand as they prove effective. If you have a line of items, feature the one or two that you think will have the most customer interest or show a big per cent off sale or significant dollar reduction off regular price. Just take a look at today’s paper to see what might make sense for your business.

  • Disadvantages

The readership of newspapers is going down. Newspapers have a short life-span, hasty reading, and relatively poor reproduction quality. Newspapers also have to struggle to get through the “clutter” of other advertising media like direct mail, magazines, the internet and others. Costs can also be an issue – shop carefully for the size ad that you need and see if any demographic information is available so that you can target your ad to the audience with the best chance for sales.

Finally, the most effective communication, especially if your business is retail or service based is word-of-mouth referrals. If you are known by reputation, for example, to be an excellent car mechanic and you decide to open your own shop, there is a pretty good chance that you have a “following.” Customers who will want your services just based on the quality of your work. This is something you often see with beauty and barber shops announcing a new operator in the local paper or sometimes a car dealership announcing a new salesperson who used to be at a competitors’ location.

The main focus of this article is to help you create public excitement around your enterprise. Building a better mousetrap is great but unless you tell someone, that mousetrap is available your product or service may lie in obscurity, unsold. Your message must convey the enthusiasm that you bring to the table – if you are fired up, always talking about your business, your enterprise is destined for success!

Do you have any opening day marketing tips to share?

Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading small business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. As CEO of Quintessence Multimedia, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine named her #1 woman for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also bestseller author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works. 

 

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Are You The Right President For Your Small Business?

By on February 20, 2012 in Grow Your Business




When I first started thinking about President’s Day this year, I thought it would be helpful to blog about being an effective business leader.

Whenever you start a company, you have the right to be the president. After all, it is your company.  It was your idea, your seed capital, your contacts that got the business off the ground, but is that the best idea for your business?  There may come a time in your business when you realize that perhaps you are not the right person to lead the charge anymore. It takes a true leader to recognize that, and more so to do something about it. Are you a big enough leader to put your ego aside and do what’s in the best interest of the business?  Here are five signs to look for when its time to bring in help to run the business.

Chronic burnout – If you are stressed out just thinking about going into the office, try going on a real vacation first. If the condition persists, start looking to see if anyone on your staff has the skills to be elevated to management.  If that is not an option, start searching for an appropriate manager to hire in your business.

Growing pains – If you started with one location and now you have four locations and 50 or more employees, you are now running a much bigger business than what you started. You have no time to be proactive or strategic about anything, because you always reacting to things and putting out fires. You feel breathless at the end of each day.  Your business has grown beyond your personal skill set.

Uneducated – Now, I’m certainly not one that believes everyone who starts a business needs to be an MBA (I’m not one), but knowledge is power. If the last time you took a class was high school or even 10 to 25 years in college, you need to update your business skills.  Since the beginning of the great recession in 2008, the nature of business has changed.  Your industry has probably changed, and technology has changed that way we all do business.  Get yourself some education and hire some educated managers to help you.  Professional development is a key element of business success.

Is selling an option? – If one day you want to sell your business, than you must get yourself in a position where your business runs without you.  You must have systems and managers in place who run the day-to-day operations.  When you accomplish this you will transition from being an entrepreneur to running a business, and that’s what you want.  Entrepreneurs work 14-16 hours days and can never can leave the office. People who run businesses can go on vacation, get the little league game, and sleep well at night.

Have an honest conversation with yourself.  Are you still the right person to be calling all the shots in your business? Hiring a business manager is not a dirty word. It is exhausting to make all the decisions in a small business. Hire smart people and empower them to make decisions and help you run your business.

Did this piece hit a pain point for you? Please tell him if this issue is affecting your business.

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading small business experts. As a seasoned Melinda Emerson "SmallBizLady"entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. As CEO of Quintessence Multimedia, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine named her #1 woman for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also bestseller author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works. 

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What Whitney Houston Can Teach Us All About Business

By on February 13, 2012 in Business Inspiration

Whitney Houston dead at age 48

Over the last few days the world has been reeling over the untimely death of pop icon Whitney Houston.  As a teenager I grew up on a steady diet the late singer’s hits.  My favorites  among them are Greatest Love of All, Saving All My Love For You, I Have Nothing and I Will Always Love You from the iconic Bodyguard movie soundtrack.

I can remember singing Greatest Love of All as a solo in a school program.  I also competed in a regional talent show singing One Moment in Time. I even wanted hair extensions like hers after I saw the Wanna Dance With Somebody music video. This woman had model good looks and became the voice of our time. She clearly had a God-given talent.

While we all mourn her tragic death, buy all of her seven albums from itunes and amazon.com, and share our favorite Whitney songs on Twitter, two things occurred to me.  First of all, we all need to pray for Houston’s family, particularly for Bobbi Kristina.  That little girl has lost her #1 fan, and she is at a critical stage in her development. Secondly, I can’t help but think about how Whitney lived and what she always sang about and how that could help us all be better business owners.

The theme in all of Whitney’s music was LOVE.  She sang about finding love, searching for love, treasuring love, being every woman, losing love and looking to the Lord for love. From saving all my love for you, to how loving yourself is the greatest love of all and how she wanted to dance with somebody who loved her, how she had nothing if she did have her love, and how she will always love.  The constant thread in her music was a need and want for Love.

As entrepreneurs there are some common characteristics we share that cause us to kill our love relationships. I wanted to encourage all entrepreneurs to prioritize the loves in your life, your friends, children and your sweeties or spouses.  Work hard to make sure that these people know that they are loved and appreciated by you.

As a group, we tend to be tough and opinionated. We are often workaholics, and at times can take out our day on the people we love. Here are some techniques that will help you protect and strengthen those you love.

1) Be Patient: Regular people  with jobs do not understand people like us. Be patient with your spouse and family.

whitney houstonThey could not envision going into business, but that doesn’t mean you get to be an irritating know-it-all jerk. Explain stuff so they understand what you do and why you work so hard. Keep in mind that as small business owners, we are typically over achievers, so regular people do not run as fast or jump as high as we do.

2) Find a way to relax: Work hard, but play hard. Part of the reason why so many entrepreneurs are divorced is because we do not know how to relax.  I use Yoga to calm down.  It’s easy to blame everyone but yourself for your problems.  Work hard not to take out your day on your husband, wife or your children.  Show your  appreciation often and be spontaneous.

3) Go out to non-work stuff : Work events are different from business events.  It’s important to keep dating your spouse.  Try to attend a non-work related events once a month, invite your spouse and or the boyfriend or girlfriend to come along. Or allow him or her to pick an event or restaurant to go to.  As entrepreneurs sometimes we can make it all about us, make it about them too.

4) Ask for a referral: Get help with your search for love. If you want to start focusing on your love life, start asking your business contacts, friends and family for a quality referrals for a blind date.  Let someone who knows you introduce you to someone great.

Whitney Houston will be remembered as the best female solo artist of all time. Goodbye sweet angel, I pray that you are enjoying heaven’s choir and that your daughter will find her way.  Thank you for reminding us all about the power of LOVE.

Do you have any other relationship tips that you learned from Whitney Houston’s music?

Melinda F. Emerson, SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading small business experts. As a seasonedMelinda Emerson "SmallBizLady" entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. Forbes Magazine named her the No. 1 woman for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter from 8 to 9 p.m. ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource  blog  http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com. Melinda is also bestselling author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works.

 

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Public Speaking: The Original Social Media

By on January 31, 2012 in Branding & Marketing

You’re blogging. You’re tweeting. You’re facebooking. You’re creating videos and articles and ezines.

All of that is great but let’s not forget that social media is – first and foremost – social! It’s personal. And that person is YOU.

The ultimate test of a thought-leader is the answer to one simple question: When you open your mouth, do people listen? Online, offline, in person, via email, via Skype, on Slideshare, on YouTube. The media doesn’t matter. The messenger (aka YOU) matters a whole lot more.

If Benjamin Franklin had social media, would he use it? You bet. Would it work for him? Absolutely. How can we be sure? Because when old Ben opened his mouth back in the 1770′s and 1780′s – people listened. The same could be said for Plato, Socrates, Shakespeare, Einstein, King, Jobs and Obama.

Long before social media – people rose to prominence using the influence of the spoken word. Articulation of powerful ideas – useful ideas – crazy ideas – revolutionary ideas – is what made people remarkable.

Whether you stood up to speak to an audience of Roman senators, a rowdy bunch of war protesters, a roomful of hostile reporters, or a boardroom filled with naysayers – the people who made a difference did so because of the power of public speaking to spread their ideas and change the course of events.

Public speaking – the original social media – is based on the same principles as today’s electronic social media. The key factors to your success are:
1. Have something worth saying
2. Say it in a powerful, simple and intriguing way
3. Deliver your messages with consistency, clarity and passion
4. Change the game – don’t blend in – very simply: stand out when you speak up

Let’s explore each of these in a bit more depth:

1. Have something worth saying. Craft your message by speaking to both the heart and the head. People are emotional creatures – tap into emotion to back up your facts, opinions, and recommendations. As business author Harvey Mackay likes to point out, “There are no business relationships – all relationships are personal relationships.”

2. Say it in a powerful, simple and intriguing way. Don’t mince words. Short sentences rule. People’s attention spans are shrinking daily. Keep it short, snappy and memorable. For example, when I speak on marketing I use the power of alliteration by sharing my philosophy that marketing needs to be easy, effortless and enjoyable. I call it the “3 E’s” and people remember it. Include hooks, tag lines, and memory devices when you speak and you will increase your influence and impact.

3. Deliver your messages with consistency, clarity and passion. Americans hate wafflers. Every political season, the worst you can call your opponent in a hotly-contested election is a “waffler.” It’s considered even worse than lying! Don’t be wishy-washy. Have a clear, strong point of view and hammer it home over and over – boldly, passionately and fearlessly.

4. Change the game – don’t blend in – very simply: stand out when you speak up. Boring doesn’t sell. Boring ideas die. Boring people lose. In short – you want to be the opposite of boring. You want to stand out from the crowd. As Steve Jobs encouraged us, “Think Different.” Where can you zig where everyone else zags? Where can you break the mold – or create a new mold that you (and you alone) are perfectly designed to fit in?

Follow these four principles and you will have mastered the original social media – no computer required!

Please share your comments, reactions, and questions in the COMMENTS area below.

As the founder of Do It! Marketing, David Newman works with professionals who want to establish their position as a thought-leaders and win more business, more easily and more often.http://www.doitmarketing.com

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SmallBizLady Q&A How to Build a Powerful Online Brand

By on January 30, 2012 in Branding & Marketing

 

How to become a powerful social media brand is a major factor in small business success these days. Beyond having a website, you need to make sure that you are out there demonstrating your expertise at every opportunity. There are those who believe that if they can’t find you or your business online, you do not exist. That may seem harsh, but think about how we all buy things now. We do not call 411, or look in the yellow pages, we all go look for information in search engines such as google.

As someone who has a powerful brand on the internet, I have recently been interviewed a few times about building an online brand and more specifically how I built the SmallBizLady brand and I thought the information might be helpful to all of you. So here’s the full interview.

1) Why does everyone whether they are in a career or business for themselves need to be aware of their online image? 

Every 30 days people should Google themselves to see what is being said about them on the internet.  If they Google themselves and nothing comes up that is a problem too.  Everyone with a business or a job should at least have a LinkedIn profile, and if you run a business you should have a website.  If you are really trying to build an online brand, I would also add Google profile, and Facebook Fan page to that as well.

 

2) How does one go about developing a strategy to build a brand online? 

 

To build an online brand you must use the HELP mantra: Help Others, Engage People, Listen Carefully and Promote Yourself With Care. Traditional selling is dead.  Your valuable content and helpful sharing will do the selling for you. No one wants to hear or read “Buy my stuff, buy my stuff,” they want to read about how you can solve their most pressing issue.

 

3) What is your advice for one trying to build their brand online?

 

Before you do anything online, you need to identify your niche target customer.  Then you should employ a listening strategy to figure out where your target customer spends time online. Research the keywords people use most to search for your topic, service or product. Then develop your content strategy for how you will stand out in the marketplace.

 

4) How important is it to choose the right social networks? Which ones work best for what, ie. LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr etc.? 

 

In order to build an online brand you must first figure out where your target client spends time online, and become a part of the conversation.  Everyone does not have to be doing everything. LinkedIn is perfect for people who need to network with senior executives and decision makers.  Facebook personal accounts are great of keep in contact with family and friends.  Facebook groups and fan pages are great for engaging with retail customers. Google+ is also becoming a major factor in communicating with your entire social rolodex, particularly if you are blogging.

 

Twitter is terrific for establishing thought-leadership and building community online.  I convene my #Smallbizchat community live each week on Twitter, which has been a major factor in growing my online community. Tumblr lets you effortlessly share anything. You can post text messages, photos, quotes, links, music and video from email and from any devices. I chose Twitter and LinkedIn to build my brand when I got started.  I also used blogging as a key strategy to demonstrate my expertise and keep my website updated.

 

5) How important is messaging in social media? Should one stay on message at all times? When is it OK to go off message and be ‘social’?

 

It is critical to stay on message. It should be obvious who your customer is by what you share online and what you write on your blog.  You can not write a blog about being an expert image consultant and the next day blog about a cat caught in a tree in your backyard.  You will confuse people.  I think it is important share personal things about yourself, so that people know that you are a real person but be strategic. Nobody cares what you had for breakfast.

 

6) Are there any special tools or apps on any social media sites that you would recommend? why?

 

I like www.Hootsuite.com to manage all my social media accounts. You can have up to 5 social accounts. I also have a virtual assistant that helps me manage my blog and some social media updating.

 

7) How does one go about earning a community of subscribers, followers, friends, etc?  

 

Content is currency online.  In order to attract subscribers, followers, likes and connections you need to add value to the conversation, create valuable blog content and engage the people who like your content.

 

8) How important is it to be discreet or cautious online? Any tips on what should be put online and what shouldn’t be? 

 

You should not post anything online that you wouldn’t want to read in the newspaper.  Everything on the internet can be found forever. Watch the loose talk on Facebook especially. 

 

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

 

Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading small businessMelinda Emerson "SmallBizLady" experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. As CEO of Quintessence Multimedia, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine named her #1 woman for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also bestseller author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works.

 

 

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How to Simplify Your Life in 2012- Q/A with Allyson Lewis

By on January 5, 2012 in Become Your Own Boss Tips, Women in Business

Every week as SmallBizLady, I conduct interviews with experts on my Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat. The show takes place every Wednesday on Twitter from 8-9pm ET. This is excerpted from my recent interview with Allyson Lewis @Allyson7Minutes Allyson has spent the last 29 years developing and teaching concrete, actionable business ideas all over the country. As a successful wife, mom, business owner and time management expert, this wasn’t pie in the sky talk, it was survival as she learned to juggle priorities. In her latest book, The 7 Minute Solution: Creating a Life with Meaning 7 Minutes at a Time, Allyson Lewis shares strategies to help you Prioritize, Organize and Simplify® your life for greater meaning and productivity. Enjoy the worksheets, webinars, and more – subscribe to the downloads for Member Tools area of her website www.The7MinuteLife.com 

Smallbizlady:  Why is understanding the power of 7 Minutes important for Small businesses? 

To experience a more meaningful life, you must consciously choose what you will pay attention to each moment. In business, what you focus on determines your level of fulfillment, productivity, and success. Most of the actions that consistently empower businesses are micro actions, actions that take less than 7 minutes to accomplish, yet in their simplicity, they are often overlooked. When we as business owners, become very focused on microactions, they get us moving. They are the starting point, and the difference between being stuck (doing nothing) and taking action and moving forward.  Making small changes, microactions, in your thoughts, expectations, and actions can compound to make monumental changes in your business life. If you focus on microactions, deliberate small steps, tiny steps, because they are doable, achievable, they do not overwhelm you and your business moves forward. Prioritize, Organize, Simplify ™ is the first concept The 7 Minute Solution focuses. Setting in motion microactions each day such as:

  • Outline a daily plan of action for specific business tasks to engage forward progress
  • Thank a co-worker or customer for their service or efforts
  • Build time each day to catch up or finish a task that may have been waiting for attention
  • Eating your meals, and drinking water, with time for short breaks for snacks…choosing health

Microactions add up, they compound in business and in your personal life. They train your brain to succeed by repetitive awareness of paths to success.

Smallbizlady:  How can getting control of your time & your MORE meaningful life improve business success?
Neuroplasticity is the capability of your brain to create new neural connections, to rewire itself for success or failure. When we strategize, organize, and simplify what we expect of ourselves each day in time management, we teach ourselves literally how to succeed in business. When we set small actionable microactions in our daily routines, we focus on five values based microactions before eleven o’clock. Those five focused actions literally in ninety days give us the opportunity to have 450 small changes towards goals we specifically identify. How many of us would find tremendous value in 450 consistent steps towards success every 90 days. Business success can be learned, business success is dependent upon hundreds of microactions that allow for customer service, sales, follow ups, accounting, etc. The majority of problems that hinder small business success are solvable, inactivity or lack of consistent action on the tasks you do know how to do, often are more destructive than the challenges business owners face that they are unsure how to accomplish.

Smallbizlady:  What would you advise entrepreneurs and small business owners to do to simplify 2012?

The requirements of small business can be overwhelming if a lack of focused attention on the priorities of your business are not engaged.  There are literally hundreds of things you can list that are a part of your success in business, but if most of us are focused, it boils down to five things:

  1. I think the first priority for every small business person should be to take the 50,000 foot view and it begins with thinking.
  2. Taking time to think without distraction or taking time to think with FULL attention will allow you to clarify your strategic plan.
  3. With your strategic plan, you can set boundaries for a clear path that leads to a meaningful destination.
  4. Next, prioritize your plan into high value activities to achieve your objective, take seven minutes each day to create a written daily plan of action so you will be much more likely on what is most important to your success.
  5. Finally, you cannot do 100 activities a day. Commit to accomplishing 5 high value activities before 11 am each day. We call these completing these your 5 before 11.

There are hundreds of microactions to support those five steps, but until the first sale is paid for, business is about finding out what you do, connecting clients who need what you do, and how to deliver that product, service, or consultation for a profitable payment.  It is very easy to spend an inordinate amount of time wishing you had clients, but when you shift into a specific, measureable, actionable expectation goals each day such as  “I will greet each person with smile and “How can I assist you?” or “I will call 10 of our clients to see if they need assistance and to make them aware of our current offer” we move from overwhelmed to on target for success. Imagine how doing 5 of these actions before 11 a.m. each day. How many of you have actually called, or checked up on 900 of your clients or potentials in the last 90 days? Could you see the value of consistent achievable microactions for your business?

Smallbizlady:  What is the biggest mistake you see small business owners making about their time usage?

The mistake I believe most of us make until we are aware of the issue is to over-schedule and over estimate what we can accomplish in a day. Just as we cannot play 24/7, we also cannot plan to work effectively without time for life as well as work. We need time for meaningful relationships, health, fun, play, etc.  So many business owners are beginning from the position of a side job or second job as they build their new business. My own career as an author, speaker, and facilitator is on the side of another full time role. I had to learn to truly become aware of the high value activities I could engage with my authoring.  There were many overwhelming things that could simply keep me making circles with no result until I learned that by focusing on what the high value activities are for the outcomes I desired, I could truly simplify how much time effective actions take.  It may take you all month long to worry about how a website should look, but it may only take visiting 6 websites of business websites you enjoy using, or ones that are like your business to know what you do and don’t won’t as you design your own. In my own experience, after 7 minutes of looking, browsing, and thinking about it, I was prepared to find out how to engage those qualities into my own. Did I complete a new website in 7 minutes? No. The website took longer, but I didn’t spend weeks and weeks thinking about needing it, I began where I was and we went forward in small, incremental steps until it was where it functioned in a way that was supportive.


Smallbizlady:  The favorite thing I learned from your book, is your 5 before 11 rule? Can you explain that?

The five before eleven process engages five meaningful high value activities into your day before eleven a.m. Those microactions are focused on  supporting the life you seek to live. By making them a priority, you are actively seeking to support the MORE life you identify as your goals to living and supporting a MORE life.

Smallbizlady:  How did The 7 Minute Solution come to be?

The 7 Minute Solution became the roadmap of my journey to create more meaning in my life. The Seven Minute Difference, the first book in this trilogy of tools, focused on how to make time for life.  After six years of focusing on how to get more into my day and helping businesses function effectively, I realized I wanted more than just more things done, I wanted MORE purpose, MORE joy, MORE family time, MORE meaning, MORE focused life goals, not just more done.  I wanted to learn how to bring more sustained attention to the values and life engagements I have identified as important to me. Completing a project, task, or goal using sustained attention carries an emotional reward. When you complete those tasks your body rewards you with chemicals called endorphins that give you a sense of well-being. I wanted that sense of well-being to exist in my daily life in many areas of my life.

Smallbizlady:  Why isn’t simple time management enough?

Each of us have passion driven purposes and we are empowered and happier when we engage them daily . Meaning and purpose are different for each person. Knowing what is most important to you is the beginning of the MORE life. You probably already know what you truly think is important, but you may not have approached your to-do list with activities that support those values in mind. As we learn to focus on those values, and provide supportive systems to engage those values in our daily life activities, we begin to live our values. When we live our values in our daily existence, our lives reflect more joy, more fulfillment, more success, more of the things and activities that we appreciate…a MORE meaningful life.

Smallbizlady: Why is it important to use a daily planner in business?

When you work in microactions that identify measurable, doable goals, you can improve your income, business, and enjoyment of life. We become what we repetitively do, think, act on. If we focus on the lack of clients without making microactions to create a new customer list or base, we continue to be in lack. If we use a system planner to help us focus, stay on priorities, and review success actions daily, we move our business forward and our life begins to support our desire for success.  When we choose high value activities and write them down, we hold ourselves more accountable to measuring the microactions that lead to progress on our goals.

Smallbizlady: How can the 7 minute solution help with goal setting?

What would it be like to step back for a time and THINK? How different would your business and personal life be if you could consciously plan what to pay attention to consistently? Goal setting  is about focusing your attention to success in business and in life. Knowing why you do what you choose to do will give you a harness to unlock the power of intention.  If your intention is to increase customer repeat business, setting micro action goals such as verbal appreciation to each transaction, a followup call, email, or thank you postcard, and/or customer reward based surveys to check how you are doing may be appropriate goals to support the desire to have more repeat interactions. By knowing the macro goals, the micro actions become very easy to focus and move forward with as you engage the 7 minute solutions.

Smallbizlady: How does your first book The 7 minute Difference compare to this new book the 7 Minute Solution?

The first book was about the “what” actions for time management, new book shares how and why to do those actions. The 7 Minute Difference was about what time efficiency would look like in business. After several years of training and the changes in real time media 24/7, I realized that a new path would have to include choosing value based activities with the understanding that a MORE life for me was more than simply performing in business. I wanted MORE meaning, MORE fun, MORE time with family, MORE giving and other activities that have a high emotional payoff for a meaningful life. This book gives you the “HOW” and “WHY” of how to implement that learning.
Smallbizlady: Do you have tools, free materials or a planner to review for small businesses?

It is my goal to provide as many tools in as many modalities of learning for people who want to find their MORE life as a service to our readers. Our online version and applications for ipad and for smart phones are underway.  We are constantly developing, updating, improving and providing new resources for those who seek them at absolutely a “no strings attached” model.  You can download the first chapter of the book, use tools to support your desired changes and even download the planner with no expectation of purchase. Of course, we believe once you learn The 7 Minute Solution concepts and tools, you’ll never want to be without them! Our team members are as diverse as this audience in age, background, and culture, we know the value of developing the tools so that each person finds one designed for their learning style and experiences.

What would your final advice be for small business owners such as yourself?

Take the time to truly think through what it is that is the MORE life for you. Set goals, talk about what matters with those who matter to you.  Work through the steps to finding your purpose with the tools we provide for free in Member tools.  Take time to Prioritize, Organize, and Simplify your life goals and activities.  Your life is truly worth taking the time to consider.

FREE OFFER: Would you like to receive a download of Chapter 1 and the free member tools such as our Daily Progress Report Planner? The 7 Minute Life materials are at http://www.the7minutelife.com . We would love to you’re your MORE life goals personally and professionally for 2012 on our Facebook wall.  www.facebook.com/the7minutelife (and know that one of MY goals is to give MORE away this year, so keep checking back with us for MORE gifts we’re giving away!)

If you found this interview helpful, join us on Wednesdays 8-9pm ET follow @SmallBizChat on Twitter. Here’s how to participate in #SmallBizChat: http://bit.ly/S797e

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading small business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure.  As CEO of MFE Consulting LLC, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine recently named her one of the Top 20 women for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also the author of the national bestseller Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works. (Adams Media 2010)

 

 

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How to optimize search engine traffic on a time budget

By on November 22, 2011 in Branding & Marketing, Grow Your Business

Websites can require a considerable amount of time to be optimized. The inclusion of social media into search results means a website will probably go unnoticed without a marketing or social media campaign.  Creating a marketing effort is easy if you have a team. It can be daunting for small business owners that do not have a lot of time.  But with patience, a small business can gather some keyword ideas quickly, then decide how to implement them over time.

Audit and compare your keyword terms

Go into your web analytics account and examine visits and time-on-site data of your keywords. You are gaining a sense for what has (and hasn’t) attracted visits.   Note trends for increasing visits, a reasonable time on page/site (1-2 minutes is pretty good for a page), or a repeated appearance of a keyword.  Trends are preferable to sudden spikes.  Download the keywords you have gained over a past period. 90 days of data is a great starting point (but not an absolute). If you are not sure how to get started using Google Analytics, here’s an interview I did with Melinda Emerson earlier this year.

Now go into Google Adwords Manager or Microsoft Adcenter Manager.  Both platforms can scan your site and return a query list of words based on the site content.

Next compare this generated list to the keyword report you have examined – you are now looking for scanned words that appear on your analytic list but really did not generate significant search traffic.  These identified words are now the keywords on which you can focus your improvement efforts.  A keyword density check can give further refinement, useful for a very long list.

An additional check is a site search, applicable if your site has a search window.  Site search reports differ from search engine reports.  The keywords in a search report are the content phrases used in a search engine; In short, a visitor saw the phrase and arrived on the site.

A site search report differs by showing keywords searched by visitors in the search box on your site.  A site search analysis can reveal terms repeatedly sought but never found, leading to visitor loss.  Site search reports are particularly useful for blogs, e-commerce, and sites with a considerable amount of content.

You can compare the site search reports against your search keywords results. Are there words or phrases that draw people initially the exit the site?  Do these words appear consistently month after month? Repeated appearance means that your site is overlooking a topic or time that visitors expect. In short you are leaving money on the table.

Make a plan to put those words to work

With these overviews compiled into one list, you now have a set of words on which to focus your traffic building strategy. This makes the effort a bit daunting if the list is long. But the good news compared to years past is that social media has added to the ways you can go about increasing the discovery of your site. Here are a few ideas:

  • Create a paid search campaign (or PPC) that includes your target words.  You can review competitiveness and plan a trial budget in your ad manager.   Using paid campaigns can increase click through in many cases when a word appears on a search result in the organic and paid search results.
  • Are some words beyond your paid search budget? See if any of the words are used as a Twitter hashtag, then use these words in a Twitter strategy.  You can try a specialty search engine such as 48ers to see Twitter-related query results.  If the target word is a broad topic, consider joining a twitterchat based on that word.
  • Does the list spark a few ideas for new articles?  Try writing new blog posts that incorporate these words in the title and text (Note: make sure your blog is hosted at the same service as your website to gain search benefits).
  • Consider if the title, meta description, H1 tags, and anchor text in your webpage code can be updated with the words you have selected.  You can use the word in image descriptions as well.

Optimization takes time, but using a working plan, you can keep your website up to date until the next redesign.

Pierre DeBois is the founder of Zimana (www.zimana.com), a consultancy providing strategic analysis to small and midsize businesses that rely on Web analytics data.

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Are You on the Path to Reinventing Your Small Business?

By on November 15, 2011 in Branding & Marketing, Business Inspiration, Grow Your Business, Women in Business

Small biz owners are reinventing their businesses all the time, especially in this economy. Old ways of doing business just aren’t working anymore. I’d love to be able to tell you that there are set of linear phases that every small business owner goes through while you’re reinventing your business and marketing models…

…but if I told you that, it would be a lie.

But there are some well-known phases that you might go through, sometimes circling back to one you thought you already finished, and skipping others completely. All these phases require you to put on your CEO hat and take a step back from daily busyness to look at the big picture.

Here is a short list of some of the signposts you’ll encounter on the road to reinvention:

  • I know/feel/sense/think something needs to change – You find yourself pausing in the middle of the day and asking, “What’s next for me and my business?” People report feeling restless or frustrated, knowing deep in their heart and mind that the business needs a fresh new approach.
  • Finding clarity on goals – If you spend time tapping into your goals for your business (and for yourself personally), you’ll find that it’s easier in the next phases to explore and choose the right business model for you. Is there a particular problem you need to solve? A particular dream you’d like to achieve? Values you’d like to express into the world?
  • Exploring the possibilities – In this idea-generation phase you explore every aspect of your existing business model, looking for places to add, modify and discard. Since there are 9 areas to explore, you’ll have plenty of space to be creative. Even the craziest of ideas can be a springboard to a new business and marketing model.
  • Making a road map – This is where you design your new business and marketing model, keeping what still fits from your old model and mixing in the new ideas you’ve generated. This is also where you create your transition plan and map out where and when changes will take place, and what resources you’ll need to make it happen. Now you’re thinking like a business owner and not just a worker-bee!
  • Taking the journey – Implementing your business model changes can happen in a week or it can be a two-year process, depending on how complex the changes are and how many resources you have at your disposal. This is often a journey through the weeds and can be rough going. Why? Because you have to continue to run your existing business (unless you’re independently wealthy!) while creating your new business at the same time. Managing change can feel like a juggling act.

You’ll know when it’s time to start thinking about transforming your business. And now you know you’re not alone in thinking that way: people before you have been down this path and emerged victorious!

Where are you on the path to reinventing your business?

Karyn Greenstreet is a self-employment expert and business reinvention strategist. She shares techniques, skills and strategies about the 9 areas in your business where you can reinvent and transform. Visit her business reinvention website at www.RoadmapToReinvention.com

 

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Do you have an idea for the next great tech start-up?

By on November 14, 2011 in How to Start, Social Media, Starting A Small Business, Technology

Last night, CNN debuted Black in America 4 with Soledad O’Brien, which featured 8 African-American tech entrepreneurs who went out to Silicon Valley this summer to participate in a business incubator with the hopes of landing seed capital to catapult their entrepreneurial dreams.  It was an amazing mix between MTV’s the Real World and Donald Trump’s Apprentice.  These business owners had the opportunity to sit at the feet of tech masters in Silicon Valley and learn the art of “the pitch.”  The whole goal of the program is position participants to secure venture capital or angel investment for their consumer driven app or websites to launch their businesses.

I had the opportunity last week to interview Wayne Sutton, North Carolina based tech entrepreneur, publisher of the tech blog SocialWayne.Com, one of the founders of the New Media Accelerator . He along with co-founder Angela Benton,CEO of BlackWeb20.com the leading online publication for African-Americans interested in Technology and New Media.

Here’s to my three minute video interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=153x4QxP8LQ

Applications to be in the second class of the New Media Accelerator are due by Dec 16, 2011 so not delay.  If you are a minority or women tech entrepreneur this could be the opportunity of a life time.

After the documentary aired last night CNN’s Tech guru Mario Armstrong host a live panel discussion on the web with seasoned veterans of the innovation space to further discuss how a pipeline of minority techpreneurs could be cultivated.  The panel included Terry Jones, Syncom Venture Partners, Christian S. Johnansson, Serial entrepreneur & Secretary of Business & Economic Development State of Maryland, Dave Troy, Venture capitalist & 410Labs.com, Hank Williams, Tech entrepreneur, founder Kloudco.com,  Wayne Sutton, Newmeaccelator.com , Ellen Hammerly, Exec Director UMBC Research and Technology Park.  You can watch a replay of the webcast of the panel discussion on http://www.marioarmstrong.com

Some of the key takeaways from the webcast:

  • You do not need to go to Silicon Valley to hit it big as a tech start-up.
  • Use the tools of technology to build the relationships to learn what you need to know for your business.
  • Build a PLN, a Personal Learning Network
  • Look at the state you are in to see if there is any seed money for tech start-ups. Maryland has a great program check out www.ChooseMaryland.org.
  • Learn on someone else’s dime
  • Check out the book The Lean Startup by Eric Ries and I would highly recommend my own book too Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months by Melinda F. Emerson.
  • We should all seek inclusive excellence. Everyone can live their entrepreneurial dreams.

Additional resources to launch your technology start-up:

Codeacademy.com They provide expert instruction, mentorship, and an immersive environment to learn how to code.

Startupdigest.com Kauffman foundation’s tech website.

Namde.org National Association of Multicultural Digital Entrepreneurs (NAMDE), a one-of-a-kind Washington-DC based trade association

Activateprogram.org  ACTiVATE is an applied tech entrepreneurship program for experienced women.

Alice.org Free scripting and prototyping environment program for 3D object behavior.

Scratch.mit.edu Scratch is a programming language for everyone. Create interactive stories, games, music and art – and share them online.

Do you have any suggestions for helping minority and women tech entrepreneurs?

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading smallMelinda Emerson "SmallBizLady" business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. As CEO of Quintessence Multimedia, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine named her #1 woman for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also bestseller author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works.

 

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3 New Ways to Network Your Small Business

By on November 8, 2011 in Branding & Marketing, Grow Your Business, Social Media

Recently, I’ve noticed a couple of interesting details about the e-mails I receive inviting me to connect online.

First off, I’ve been receiving more invitations than usual. Don’t get be wrong; this is just fine by me, but I started to get curious about why the number was growing at such a fast rate.

It was the second detail however, that really caught my eye: I was receiving invitations to connect on 3 sites that I had never heard about before the e-mails arrived.

This may not seem like a big deal, but it’s part of my job to keep up on all the ways a business can use the web. Because of that, I’m always looking at new solutions, tools and methods for marketing and managing a business online.

Given that, this upsurge in new business networking sites made me very curious about the new ways businesses are networking using the web so I decided to spend some time digging into the 3 new sites.

Not LinkedIn

When it comes to business networking online, LinkedIn is at the top of the heap. I am an avid LinkedIn user and have enjoyed seeing how the site has evolved from launch up to now.

Often, new online business networking solutions are “LinkedIn Wannabees”; sites that offer the same functionality and features. Sure some of them focus on smaller regions, specific industries and even other countries, but at the core they are the same solution in a different package.

In this case however, it became immediately clear that each of the 3 new business networking sites were not “LinkedIn Wannabees”. Each one brought something unique and different to the table and below, I’m going to dish on the details.

3 New Business Networking Sites to Try

Branch Out

Out of all three sites, BranchOut is the most like LinkedIn. The primary difference is that BranchOut is actually an app built on top of the Facebook platform and that means it’s completely integrated with everything Facebook.

That integration offers some handy features such as the ability to:

  1. Invite and connect with Facebook friends on a professional level as well;
  2. Post jobs to your company’s Facebook page; and
  3. Easier that LinkedIn search capabilities that allow you to find folks in your network who work at specific companies (handy if you’d like to learn more about, or get a job at, that company).

Bottom-line: BranchOut allows you to leverage your personal connections in a professional way, opening up a huge world of opportunities.

Referral Key

With Referral Key, you get just what the name promises: a platform for sending and receiving referrals to and from your professional network.

One of the cooler features on this site is the ability to reward referrers for successful referrals. You set up your reward in your profile and then, when a successful referral occurs, you click the “Reward” button. After that, your referrer can select a reward from the options you choose to offer. Best of all, it’s all hands-off once it’s set up.

There’s also a handy search feature here that allows you to find professionals with many types of expertise. You can even use this to grow your local network by searching locally and connecting online.

Bottom-line: Referral Key is a focused system that greatly facilitates the time-honored tradition of giving, and receiving, referrals.

Commonred

Commonred is a young offering with a very interesting take on, and some really cool ideas for, business networking.

To start with, they take “common” to heart, offering you tons of data points you can enter in order to find people with whom you have something in common. Nothing is off the plate here with spots to record things such as companies where you’ve worked, places where you’ve lived, your favorite sports teams and even your hobbies and personal preferences.

With all that data, it’s easy, and fun, to search for other like-minded professionals. However, the data they collect is more than just functional; it forms the basis for starting conversations and building relationships both on and offline. In other words, it’s an “ice-breaker” and a pretty powerful one at that.

Two other interesting features of Commonred are:

  1. Board of Directors – you can create a board of directors out of those people who “have your back”. These are folks who advise you, refer business to you and more. You can also be a member of a board for someone else. Though loosely structured right now, this can become a solid system for the mentoring that many business folks crave.
  2. “Get a Meeting With” Contests – on a regular basis, Commonred holds a contest where the winner gets a meeting with industry bigwigs. To win, you need to enter the reasons why you specifically should get that meeting and then all members can vote on the entries. The entry with the most votes wins.

Bottom-line: Commonred is just ramping-up, but there is a lot of potential there for robust community building, practical mentoring and business networking. It needs to grow so give it a shot and invite your friends.

Matt Mansfield is the Head Tour Guide at Matt About Business where he helps entrepreneurs and Fortune 500

companies figure out what their business SHOULD be doing online. From providing global leadership as the head of e-business for a $1 billion manufacturer to designing the functionality and look-and-feel of an award-winning online student-learning environment, Matt has mastered the art of using the web to manage and market a business by connecting online strategies and tactics with real-world results.

 

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7 Golden Rules for Home-Based Businesses

By on October 18, 2011 in Guest Articles, How to Start

Starting a new home-based business can seem like a daunting task.  The transition from working in corporate America to working inside  your home

can often lead to the downfall of your business before it has even begun.  The first thing you need to do is get organized.  It’s important because you need to put yourself in the best position to be successful.

To ensure that you make this switch to spare room tycoon successfully, try to follow the 7 golden rules for a new home-based business.

Designate an area

When you work from home, it’s often hard to stop work activities taking over your personal space and home life. To prevent this from happening, try to designate an area of your home that’s specifically for your work. This could be a spare room, garden office or even a section of another room. Try to keep this space solely for work activities and materials. This should help you to keep a healthy work/home life balance as you can ‘shut the door’ on your work at the end of the day.

Invest in the right insurance

When you first start working from home, there are some insurance considerations to think about. Firstly, if you’ve started a business from your home, be careful that you’re not invalidating your home insurance. Most standard home insurance will not cover you if you’re using the property for business purposes (which usually refers to having stock or clients at the property).

In addition, you could require some business insurance for your home-based business. For example, if you provide a professional service to paying clients (such as accounting, legal or marketing consultant) it could be wise to think about professional indemnity insurance. This could help you cover costs if you ever faced a negligence claim. If customers or clients visit your home business, you may also need to put public liability insurance in place too.

Get dressed

Sitting about in PJs and slippers in not conducive to a work mind-set. If you feel like you’re dressed for bed or lounging on the sofa– that’s probably what you’ll do. Get washed and dressed as if heading out to the office – it will make you feel more alert and ready to get started in the morning

Watch your posture

In professional organisations, particularly larger companies, they’ll be obliged to provide a workstation that is not detrimental to your posture. Adjustable chairs and monitors, adequate desk space and hand supports are common elements of most offices. When starting work from home, ensure you have a comfortable work area that supports good posture and doesn’t put regular strain on your body or eyesight.

Set a start and finish point

Are you fit to work from home? When you work for an employer, you’ll have set working hours and structure to your day. Having a set start time and finish time for your day can give you more focus and ensure that the work doesn’t spill over into your domestic life. Try to stick to the start and end times you assign yourself. Make sure you switch off the computer and turn off your email alerts at the end of the day.

Eat a proper lunch

Without a designated lunch hour written into your contract, it can be quite easy to forget about eating altogether when at home, or you could find you end up snacking your way through the day. Make sure you dedicate a full hour for lunch and have enough food in to make a healthy, filling meal. It will give your eyes a rest from the computer (if you use one) and will make sure you have enough sustenance for the afternoon’s tasks.

Check your car use

If you’re running a business from your home, you might also use your car for business purposes. For example, you may move stock or make deliveries to clients. If this is the case, make sure these activities are not invalidating your car insurance. A standard policy may not cover your vehicle for business use – so it’s worth checking with your provider.

Do you have any more tips for home-based business success?

This article was written by Policy Expert who are insurance specialists, providing house insurance to homeowners in the UK.  You can use their website to compare quotes and buy online.

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5 Things Every Entrepreneur Must Do Each Day

By on October 17, 2011 in Business Inspiration, Cash Flow & Finance, Featured Post, Grow Your Business, My Recommendations

Meditate— The worst thing you can do for your business is start each day in a race. I am strong believer in thinking about your day before you jump into it. I start each day in prayer before I leave my bed. I find that I am able to keep a positive disposition throughout my day regardless of what happens as a result. Years ago, Oprah Winfrey featured a book on her show called Simple Abundance; A Daybook of Comfort and Joy by Sarah Ban Breathnach. In it, she provides daily lessons about the concept of peace, joy and gratitude. This is a great book that I have used over 10 years to stay centered. If you start your day thinking about what you are grateful for it’s much easier to keep perspective when things go wrong. Running a small business involves 10 or more jobs at one time. Do yourself a favor, slow down and mediate on something before each day starts.

Know your cash flow situation– Cash is King! You have to know what your cash flow is, every single day, or you could lose your business. You should run your business based on a 30-day cash flow projection. You need to know how much money is coming in and what money needs to go out daily. You also need to stay on top of what invoices need to go out, and what the payment procedure is for each of your clients. Start collections procedures the first day after your money is past due. Never hesitate to call your client or the bank to get clarity about your cash flow situation. No matter what accounting software you use or what bookkeeper you hire, as the owner of the business you must know your cash flow situation every day.

Set aside 1 hour a day for business development– Work on getting in front of someone who may buy your product or service every day. Sales is the life’s blood of your business. Each day you must conduct business development activities in order to stay ahead of the competition. You can make calls, write emails, send thank you notes, Connect with new connections on LinkedIn, search for conferences and trade shows to attend, develop signature content, use social media to build relationships as lead generating activities. You need to make it a priority each day to spend at least one hour generating new business.

Follow-up with 3 three existing connections– People do business with people they like, know and trust, but you must nurture those relationships. Reach out to existing customers you haven’t spoken too in a while. Give three recommendations on LinkedIn. Send a lengthy personal note on Facebook.  Make three calls or send follow-up notes with an article your read in the New York Times or Washington Post over the weekend. You will spend a longer time on these contacts, but they are further down your sales funnel, so they are worth it.  

Get your plan together for the next day– One of my other favorite books is the 7 Minute Difference by Allyson Lewis. In this book, she says you need to do 5 things before 11am each day and anything else is a bonus. I love this and I do this every day. I make my list of the five things at the end of each day so I have a game plan for my day each morning. This, by the way, is also how I sleep well at night.

Do you have any suggestions for the daily priorities of a small business owner?

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading small business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. As CEO of Quintessence Multimedia, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine named her #1 woman for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also bestselling author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works. 

 

 

 

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