I cannot emphasize the importance of planning enough. From the conception of your business idea to its implementation to other fine details – planning should be a part of everything. When it comes to marketing, planning is even more important. You might say that it is just you – and maybe another person or two – who is involved in the marketing anyway. Why would you need to have a plan?
Planning indicates that you are organized, that you have organization built in into your processes. With organization, it is easy to pinpoint problems and successes. It is easy to figure out what you can do better and what you can stop doing. That is why, even if there are only two people involved in your marketing activities, it is vital that you have a clear concept as to how things are organized. At the end of the day, a clear marketing plan will provide much needed accountability.
One way by which you can organize your marketing activities is by creating a clear organizational structure. Again, never mind if you are only two people working on marketing. If you have a clear structure – such as can be visually seen in a flowchart – then you can go about your activities more efficiently.
John Jantsch at Duct Tape Marketing proposes this structure.

It is a very useful chart that can help you create specific processes for all the items that you need to achieve. And with defined processes, you will get more concrete results.
Posted in Business, Marketing by Frank+ on January 31, 2011 at 1:37 pm | Leave a reply
Man has created many powerful instruments but none like the book. We know books as to contain knowledge and ideas that are preserved over time which can be used not only for pleasure and entertainment but as tools of learning. In the context of learning in today’s world, business books always form part of any successful endeavor, whether it be personal or for business.
A business book seeks to put forward an idea or ideas that would lead to successful and profitable business operation including systems that would enable career enhancement opportunities for employees. Contents are not merely confined to purely academic thinking. Most business books enjoying extreme popularity have been patronized mainly because they are able to offer practical entrepreneurship advice that are doable and can be implemented within the shortest possible time.
Books in whatever form propose to deliver something to the readers. In the same manner that children’s books propose to ignite a child’s imagination to inspire learning, business books propose to offer solutions to challenges faced by businesses. These offered solutions may be products of scientific investigations or personal experiences. A book is said to have done its job if it meets the reader’s expectations.
Many people have discovered the art of writing business books but not all have found success in it. A basic rule in writing a book of this nature is to write on something which the author has extensive knowledge of, backed up by comprehensive research work. It is not enough to say to the readers that one has a brilliant idea. The proposition has to be supported by business plans, marketing plans, sales plans, legal procedures, accounting procedures and troubleshooting procedures for a book to truly sell its idea.
Authors of business books need to be aware of what specific audience they are writing for. There is also a need for the material to be presented in a logical sequence. In the end, a business book’s value is measured in terms of its capability to produce the information which the reader needs to know.
Posted in Advertising, Books, Business by dave+ on January 25, 2011 at 7:42 am | Leave a reply
Accounting is one of the most important activities that you have to engage in when running a small business. For some people, the tasks involved are second nature. They don’t have problems with the numbers and making them bend to their will. For others, accounting is one of the most daunting tasks.
No matter how you view accounting, it has to be done. For small business owners, it can be a bit difficult if accounting isn’t their forte. While large companies can hire teams of accountants to do the job, many small business owners would be better off doing their own accounting. If you are not too keen on accounting, you should get started on trying to learn its ins and outs.
I found a very informative article on the basics of accounting for small businesses over at Small Biz Survival. There are actually a lot of resources which you can find online but I chose this particular article due to its simplicity. It says that first, you have to start with income and expenses:
Income:
Sales Receipts
Fees
Commissions
Expenses:
Supplies
Utilities
Payroll
Taxes
Then you have to look at assets, liability, and equity. This group might be a little more complicated. The idea is to take into account the things that your business owns. These can include vehicles, cash in the bank, money people owe you, and office equipment.
When doing accounting, you take into consideration all of the above to come up with you Chart of Accounts. That’s the outline – if you want to go into the details, I suggest heading over to Small Biz Survival and get started on accounting.
Posted in Business, Tips by Frank+ on January 24, 2011 at 11:55 pm | 4 opinions voiced

Every business requires change and progress. The business which is at a standstill is going to get finished – and no businessperson would like that for sure. Here some useful tips are given which will help you for the development of your business and continuation of growth of your company.
Always be on the lookout for new customers.
Only because you have stable customers, you shouldn’t sit back and watch. It is good that you have a stable customer support – providing you a steady source of income. However, you can not be sure about the period of time that customer is going to stay with you. After all, stable does not mean permanent. So, you should always be searching to get potential steady customers.
Keep watch on the change in needs and expectations of your present customers.
A steady customer support does not ensure that your customers will not have changing needs. According to the saying, change is the only permanent thing in the universe. As such, it is your duty towards your customers to always have knowledge about their expectations and how to provide cheap web hosting to fulfill their needs. Of course, before change your products and services, spending money, ensure that your customers can afford to pay for these extra services as well.
Keep watch on your competitors.
You should always have the knowledge about what your competitors are doing such as if they are offering cheap web hosting services than you. Otherwise, you might lose your customers. Knowledge gives you power and having knowledge about the competitors will help you to promote your business.
Posted in Business, General, Monetization, Strategy by dave+ on January 20, 2011 at 11:35 pm | Leave a reply
Ever been bored at the top, well then you are not alone for many of the world’s executives who are located just below the radar aren’t as visible as they should be. Being the people behind the scenes of the world’s richest and most famous people isn’t easy and you know it. Sometimes you feel as if you are not rewarded enough and all the glory goes to your boss who is always the one who ends up presenting your report.
Have good credit yet shun using credit cards? Then now might be the time to try for they are being offered at so minimal requirements as is you get them free. Being a top executive means you have been working hard and doing your job for a long time. It also shows you have principle and then why not prestigious credit cards to reflect your standing in business like Amex Platinum Cards. Pamper yourself and get something back from all your hard work by getting some of the best credit card deals on the planet that allows you to manage your cash properly, credit cards are safe and easy to use, you also lose the risk of theft wherever you go. Keep safe and be safe.
Posted in Advertising, Business, General by JW18+ on January 20, 2011 at 11:39 am | Leave a reply