starting a small business

Hiring Help and – if you can – avoid hiring the VA from hell

June 24, 2009

I recently wrote about how your Your Two Most Important Business Assets are time and money. When you’re starting a small business, it’s almost a given that you’re going to be short on money and often, you’ll find you’re short on time as well. In the course of building a business – every business owner [...]

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Is this a scam? Technically no… it’s great marketing.

June 8, 2009

There’s a new email scam hitting the streets this morning.  I’ve gotten TWO emails in the past hour about this particular email scam, so I’ll share this here as well. I’ll begin with this:  TECHNICALLY this is not an ” email scam”. Technically, this is a masterful marketing campaign. However, I would tend to classify [...]

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Everything’s relative… setting your life thermostat

January 16, 2009

Today in my little corner of south eastern Florida – it’s 60 degrees today. BRRR!!! I don’t expect you to cry me a river – especially if you’re living in the path of the bitter cold that is blanketing much of the northern United States. However let me assure  you that temperatures in the 60′s [...]

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How Familiarity Breeds Business a.k.a. the power of word of mouth

January 14, 2009

When you talk about marketing your small business, what you’re really talking about is communicating what it is your small business does for prospective customers or clients. However, marketing is MORE than just communication – it’s communication that inspires action. Marketing = Communication that moves people to action In my book, Beyond the Niche: Essential [...]

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Small Business Marketing Strategy & Tactics

December 1, 2008

Most of the posts Steps to Starting a Small Business series focus upon the marketing of your small business.  If you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, the focus on marketing as an essential part of starting a small business may come as a huge disappointment to you.  If you were hoping to start a small business without [...]

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When You Hear Hemp, Do you Think “Rope” or “Dope”?

November 24, 2008

A rose by any other name would still smell as sweet – or would it? I’ve written before about how important choosing the right name is for your business, well here’s another example of how powerful the right name can be. I made a visit to the health food store the other day.  As I [...]

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Steps to Starting a Small Business: #7 Your USP – Unique Selling Proposition

November 20, 2008

No list which proclaims itself the key to “steps to starting your own business” can avoid addressing the topic of the USP – the Unique Selling Proposition. While the definition of the USP is often draped in “mystery”,  quite simply your USP is the reason people choose to do business with you. It sounds simple [...]

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Steps to Starting a Small Business: #6 Setting Your Rates

November 17, 2008

A fast easy way to start a small business is to sell your services.  If you’re good at writing, you can become a freelance writer.  Have a knack for selling, you can freelance your services as a sales person or a telemarketer.  Think you know a thing or two about selling without meeting people in [...]

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Steps to Starting a Small Business: #5 Marketing Strategies – AGAIN

November 14, 2008

This is the fifth installment of the Steps to Starting a Small Business and it’s really an extension of the previous Steps to Starting a Small Business: #3 Promotion. However, I’ve addressed this twice via email and phone over the past seven days, which is always a sign that I need to blog about a [...]

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Steps to Starting a Small Business: #4 Naming Your Business

November 12, 2008

When you’re starting a business, one of the steps to starting a small business is naming your business.  While a rose by any other name may indeed smell just as sweet, the name you choose for your business is one of the most critical decisions you will make. Your business name is the foundation of [...]

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