Help with Blogging

This posting is totally off topic for what we are currently discussing which is organizing your business but I just had to share this. It's business based and if you are running a home business, you should be blogging to promote that business.

The problem is many of us are running out of ideas to blog about. Well, I came across a great way to help those who are having difficulty coming up with blogging ideas. Check out What should I blog about? 50 Ideas to You Started

There's also a Free e-course and Blogger's cheat sheet here

Private Label Rights

I've been reading this complimentary 50 page ebook about using Private Label Rights (PLR) for my business and blog. This is a great ebook because when it comes to being successful at business, you need as many high quality resources as you can get your hands on!

This ebook has so many great tips. I'll be implementing some of them right away. The authors of this ebook have allowed me to give away this report on my blog so you can enjoy it too. Just click here to download.

I hope you get a lot out of it.

You and Your Website

Every business should have a website. It doesn't matter if you are a large corporation or a small mom and pop shop. A website provides you with the ability to reach customers far beyond your local boundaries.

As a small business owner myself, I have found that most of my customers come from areas far beyond my local surroundings. I have customers from right here in the East and from way out West. Without a website I could not have accomplished that.

When considering the type of website you will have, keep the following in mind:

• Hosting - I would stay away from free hosting sites. You've heard the old saying, "you get what you pay for." Most free hosting sites only offer you limited bandwidth and their uptime of your website is not adequate. Your website's uptime needs to be at least 98% of the time. You lose potential customers if your website can not be accessed.
• Necessary pages of your website include: Privacy page, Terms and Conditions page, Shipping & Returns page, Links page, About Us page, Contact Us page, FAQ (frequently asked questions) page
  
• Consider your colors. While you may like certain colors, your potential customers may be turned off by them. Do your research based on the type of products you are selling. See what your competitors are doing and if you see a common thread. If everybody else is doing something, there must be success in that area.
  
• Your website should embody a part of your personality. Give your website personality by designing with a little flair based on who you are. Of course, keep it professional

While your website is an important tool to help you grow your business, don't forget that you are more than just selling a product and service. Interact with your customers by offering newsletters and following up via emails. Your website is only as successful as your ability to interact with people

Bartering for Business

When you first begin your business chances are you have very little money to move your business forward. The exception is that you already have a ton of money already at your disposal or you have taken out a loan. If that's the case you can still benefit from what I'm about to share to help you to save the money you already have.

There's a cool thing called bartering your services for that of another. There's no money exchanged but make sure to get a written contract drawn up so that there are no misunderstandings about the bartering services.

If you view the chart above you will see an example of bartering among different industries. To further explain bartering let's say for example you have started a website design business and you need advertising to give your business some exposure. You could reach out to an advertising business and "exchange" services with them. You would design or offer to enhance their website and in turn they would provide you with some free advertising on their website or other form of media.

The important thing to know about bartering is that while it can be a successful relationship with another business, make sure that the services they are offering you are of equal value to you. Once you have come to a mutual agreement on the type of services bartered, length of time etc, with the other company, bartering can be very successful for you both.

Count the Cost

Before becoming an entrepreneur in action, there is one thing you must do if you are going to succeed. Before you go out and rent office space, before you go shopping for supplies and buying advertising, you MUST count the cost.

Any venture that is entered into should always begin with counting the cost. Now when I say counting the cost, I am not necessarily talking about the monetary cost. While ensuring that you have the proper financing in place is very important, BEFORE you even do that, you need to count the cost of how much time you are going to need to work on your business, how much time are you going to have to take away from your family and other things you need to and want to do. You also need to count the cost of how much sleep you may need to lose.

When starting your own business working from home or even outside of the home, you will need time to plan your business (create a business plan or have one done for you). What are your goals, short term and long term? You will need time to educate yourself and familiarize yourself with your market and your competitors.

The Bible says in Luke 14:28, "For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it" This is very wise advice that can be applied to anything you do in life but especially with respect to starting a business.

Until next time...