mercredi 31 juillet 2013

Hello from Oregon

I hope to begin my time as a business owner in October of this year.



My husband and I have spent the last 3 months trying to buy an existing wine bar/bottle shop, but failed to acquire it.

So we are going to go with plan B and open our own.

Having never owned a business we sure did learn a lot on our journey through the ins and outs of ROI, APAs, multiples

and wine, of course!

Enough to gain the confidence to run our own place.



This sure is exciting! I'm know I will have lots of questions.



Thanks!





via Small-Business-Forum.net http://www.small-business-forum.net/introduce-yourself/9319-hello-oregon.html

Greetings from pbx|Pal - Your Business Phone's Best Friend

Hello all,



I'm Joey and I'm one of the co-founders of pbx|Pal. We offer telephony services such as toll-free / local numbers, call-fowarding, auto-attendants, unlimited extensions and more. We're hoping to have a full launch soon!



Hoping to learn and grow with everyone here. I love that I can ask any question without feeling embarrassed. I've been lurking around for a bit without posting but I'm going to start doing that now.





via Small-Business-Forum.net http://www.small-business-forum.net/introduce-yourself/9317-greetings-pbx-pal-your-business-phones-best-friend.html

What skills should I gain before starting a staffing agency?

I have an opportunity to work for a staffing agency as an HR Administrative Assistant. I'll be working on recruiting, interviews, payroll, unemployment, policies, and all kinds of records. I think that if I get this job it'll be a great opportunity if I ever want to start a staffing agency one day. Of course, over time I may feel differently but it's fun to dream for right now as I gain more experience.



I've always been interested in the administration/HR type roles. I come from a family of business owners. My parents own an Asian grocery store for over 30+ years, my uncle a successful Thai restaurant considered the best in the city, my sister and her day care and soon nail-shop, etc. So being around entrepreneurs is getting the best of me. I am fortunate to be around successful business owners that may be able to give me advice and help start one day. I help out at my family business so I have some insight on how a business runs but of course it could be entirely different.



As of right now I am just dreaming and seeing what skills I should really get in order to start it in the long term future. I feel like networking should be something I could work on starting soon too. Either way networking whether I work for someone else or not is always good.





via Small-Business-Forum.net http://www.small-business-forum.net/starting-your-business/9316-what-skills-should-i-gain-before-starting-staffing-agency.html

How are you doing in Bing?

People rarely talk about optimizing for Bing. I see Bing in my stats regularly now, not as much as Google, but obviously a lot of people use Bing.



I was wondering if anyone is even trying?



Do you have a Bing Webmaster account?

Submitted and Verified your site?

Submitted your URL's?



Now that Klout and Bing are working together to gauge your influence and use that as a determination of your overall SEO (for Bing) , does it make a difference to you?





via Small-Business-Forum.net http://www.small-business-forum.net/search-engine-optimization/9315-how-you-doing-bing.html

mardi 30 juillet 2013

Trying to open a clothing store but need to know how to get my inventory...?

So the details are: I am trying to get inventory for my store (shirts, pants, button-ups etc) from name brands like RVCA, OBEY, Diamond, Crooks and Castles... etc... I've reach out to them and they all have the same process, which I already knew, to submit an application to be an authorized retailer: Name of business, location, etc...

But the issue is, I havent opened up a store yet, obviously because I dont have any inventory. And I dont want to lease a place yet w/o inventory - but i can't apply with these companies till I have a name, a location etc... And I'm not going to open doors with hopes of being my application being approved or worse NOT being approved...

So what do I do???



It's like the chicken and egg dilemma!





via Small-Business-Forum.net http://www.small-business-forum.net/starting-your-business/9314-trying-open-clothing-store-but-need-know-how-get-my-inventory.html

Linked In Company Pages. Is anyone using them?

I like the fact that Linked In offers company pages. I don't like the fact that it's really late and I've added any professional contacts on my personal profile and now have to start all over again if I want to build up my Company page.



One the one hand, sure it's a nice move. On the other I feel like "Geez, another social media profile to keep up with, grow, and add content to?".

I know you don't have to have everything just because it's there, but I find that I do a lot of Social Media stuff for clients now, so I don't feel like I have a choice but to have it.



Is anyone using Linked In Company pages? And does it matter for you if you ARE the company?





via Small-Business-Forum.net http://www.small-business-forum.net/social-media/9313-linked-company-pages-anyone-using-them.html

Any other sites to help us?

I'm on here quite often, but would like to see what other sites you all use to just learn some useful info or general things that might help anyone at the very beginning of a business venture. There's just so much to learn out there when it comes to starting a business from the ground up.:)





via Small-Business-Forum.net http://www.small-business-forum.net/starting-your-business/9309-any-other-sites-help-us.html

lundi 29 juillet 2013

I don't like traveling to local clients. Is that wrong?

I don't do any marketing, advertising or solicitation of local clients at all. Any place where I'm listed my service area is Nationwide. I don't even use a local area code.



The reason is...that every time I have traveled across town to meet with a local client it wastes the day, nothing gets accomplished other than a meeting because I obviously need to be on my computer to do any work or show them anything, and I've gotten so used to dealing with clients all over the country and some parts of the world that I'm just not into interviewing in person for web work.



It just sets a precendent that you will have to go to that office a couple more times during the project and it just drags the whole thing out and costs me extra time and money.



Some people say that's short sighted of me, but I barely loose 1 possible lead a year because of it.



I was wondering if anyone else refrains from running all over town to meet people, when so much more can be accomplished by actually NOT meeting in person?





via Small-Business-Forum.net http://www.small-business-forum.net/managing-your-business/9306-i-dont-like-traveling-local-clients-wrong.html

Could listing sites (paid) bring graphic design clients?

Hi everyone..



We're graphic design company.

Recently we saw a feature listing site..

Core77 Design Directory - Where Business Finds Design

It's 85 us dollars / mo..



Just wondering if this site could bring clients to us or not?

(higher listing fee than others.)



Any advice will be glad..

Or tell us any paid listing site is better...



Thanks for the help.

Blake Branding.





via Small-Business-Forum.net http://www.small-business-forum.net/internet-marketing/9300-could-listing-sites-paid-bring-graphic-design-clients.html

dimanche 28 juillet 2013

I hate critics....but need it...

erm...what do you think of the logo, and the website.



Road and Rock RC



be gentle ... please :D





via Small-Business-Forum.net http://www.small-business-forum.net/website-reviews/9303-i-hate-critics-but-need.html

What changed things for you?

Hi everyone. Steve here. I started a business in hobbies a few years ago while keeping my FT job in IT. About a year ago, I left IT after having enough of the corporate life. After I left, things went well for a short while but started rolling downhill. Now, I'm really struggling. I've thought a lot about my business and have been trying to pin point what is going wrong. Honestly, I feel like working on my business has become a bit of a grudge. I really don't have a stronger purpose other than making money and I think that's sad. The condition of my business equipment is degraded so that I find it demotivating. Has anyone felt like this about their own business? Were you able to turn things around? If you were, and you survived, what change did you make first if you remember? tons of thanks for any help!





via Small-Business-Forum.net http://www.small-business-forum.net/managing-your-business/9301-what-changed-things-you.html

Starting a New Online Service Business

Hello,



I am in the early stages of beginning a new business that will exist solely web based. I need to know what bases that I need covered as far as the legality of it. I have the web development, hosting, domain, etc. covered, but I am getting mixed information as far as what permits and/or licenses I may need. There will be no actual merchandise bought or sold through my business. Do I still need to go the LLC route, and does my business need to be registered through the state?



I am sure that I have left vital information out, and I welcome any and all questions and answers that will assist me. Thank you ahead of time, I appreciate everyone's time!





via Small-Business-Forum.net http://www.small-business-forum.net/starting-your-business/9299-starting-new-online-service-business.html

Tips and advice for Online Retailers

I'm currently in the process of starting on online store so I spend a lot of time online researching looking for tips, advice and just some experience and success stories. So I figured why not make a post on the forum and this share tips here.



Some of the things I want to discuss are:



Legal paperwork

Webhosting

Shipping solutions

Shipping carriers

Business supplies

bookkeeping

custom packaging

drop shipping

product photography

Wholesale vendors

Online marketing

PPC advertising

Tradeshows

customer service

etc.

just any and everything you can think of and share about starting and running an online retail business.





So with that said I'm going to share some of the information I've learned during my researching process prior to launching my online business so my post is just mainly about all the things I needed just to start out.



Getting a web designer was never really an option for me. With my start up budget being $10,000.00 it would seem to eat out a pretty large chuck of it and I felt with so many web hosting options available I'd be better off taking that route. And the idea of having to contact a web designer anytime I needed to change something just seemed like it'd be a pain in the butt. The thing I love about web hosts are that you can do editing on your own. They are relativity easier to use once you get the hang of it and come with great features!! I plan on using Big Commerce it seems to have features that would go well with my business good prices and GREAT add on options. They even have their own shopping cart solution that combines a payment gateway and a merchant account. Which I love because it save me a lot of time and frustration trying to find both and then integrate them. I like the idea of having everything I need in one place.



So once I figured out the web host I would use. Now I had to figure out the shipping process. AT first I didn't think shipping would be such a task but the more I read the more I realized its a lot of work! You have to decide what postal service you want to use and how you effectively mail them. AT first I thought well I'd get an order write the name and address on the package being it to the post office get the necessary stamps pay and that would be that. But I started to see that a lot of people complained about the process. Not wanting to use hand written labeling for a more professional look, the surprise payments once you reached the post office because that didn't know before hand how much it'd cost, not to mention the LONG LINES at the post office which even without being on online retailer yet I already hate post office lines so I could only imagine going there on a regular bases would be a nightmare. And so I started the hunt of how people create labels and estimate prices etc. I found out there was a lot more to mailing than I thought! After a bunch of research I'm deciding to use ShipStation its a shipping solution that seems to completely take the headache out of the process. It integrates with my big commerce store to automatically retrieve the customer and mailing information (no human error),send out tracking and conformation to your customers, prints packing slips, labels (all which can be customized), fills out customs forms for international orders along with so many other great benefits. I'm purchasing a mailing scale to weigh my own packages so I can enter the info in my shipping solution and get my estimate and pay right then and there, I'm buying a labelwriter to print shipping labels (no more post office lines)! By the end of this process all I have to do is drop off my packages or if you have a pick up agreement wait for the mail man to come!



As for bookkeeping I decided I just wanted something simple in the beginning to get my feet wet. I'm already a little overwhelmed by the thought of quarterly and sales taxes etc. For awhile I never even really thought about bookkeeping I was just focused on getting my store up and running that I wasn't even thinking about the aftermath of tracking the money and making sure the government gets their cut. Hiring an accountant didn't seem like something I wanted to do right away. Starting out I really want to keep my overhead as low and possible and do as many things myself as I can so I don't have to hire anyone. After some research I decided to go with a cloud bookkeeping solution named Outright. It has all the basic needs I wanted and it gives estimated quarterly taxes and allows you to pay right from there. SCORE! That's all I really wanted. I looked into QuickBooks for awhile but it just seemed a little to much for me especially for just starting out I didn't really need all those features and having to deal with the huge learning curve.



As for customer service I'm deciding to just go with contact my email as of now. I'm considering using my other line as a business line but I'm going to wait and see how many people actually need to contact me before I do that. I plan on having an in-depth FAQ page to possibly help cut back on that need. But for some people that have that demand I've been hearing a lot about Virtual Assistants. I haven't done to much research on them seeing as how its not something I'm interested in right now but if anyone uses VAs please do share your experience.



Ok so I know that was kind of long but I jus wanted to share a little bit of my planning and start up research I think this thread can be really helpful having more information directed to just online retailers in one place and talking with people that are already living it to share their advice and experiences. I will continue to write and discuss my experience and research on this post hope you all join in!





via Small-Business-Forum.net http://www.small-business-forum.net/managing-your-business/9298-tips-advice-online-retailers.html

Important: Franchise Info from a Franchisee

As a former franchisee (retail) I have written a very comprehensive article (epic actually) detailing just about everything you've ever wondered about franchises. I am NOT selling anything. This is just something to share. Look for the post "Franchises by a Franchisee" below (in the How to Start Your Own Business section). Details about the UFOC, disclosing earnings, mandatory waiting period, franchise agreement, training, etc. Hope you find it helpful.





via Small-Business-Forum.net http://www.small-business-forum.net/franchising/9297-important-franchise-info-franchisee.html

samedi 27 juillet 2013

Real estate associate website copy, bio, services, experience, areas etc

Hi all,



I was wondering if anyone here specializes in this type copywriting.

We are looking for an idea of what this type of job would cost.





via Small-Business-Forum.net http://www.small-business-forum.net/copywriting/9293-real-estate-associate-website-copy-bio-services-experience-areas-etc.html

Where do you go for market research?

Hi All,



My name is Chris and I am one of the co-founders of Athena Analytics. We specialize in providing local market reports that help small business owners make better decisions and grow their business through data analytics.



We have just launched and are looking forward to contributing to many discussions on the forum.



We cut our teeth in "big business", where market research budgets are plentiful and analytics are used to support major decisions. I know this is a relative luxury in the "small business" world.



So, where do you get market data for your businesses? Do you even consider market research when making big decisions?



Thanks for responding!



Chris





via Small-Business-Forum.net http://www.small-business-forum.net/starting-your-business/9292-where-do-you-go-market-research.html

How to manage success

Regardless of how old you are, where you live, or what your career goals are, everybody's ultimate goal in life is to be happy and successful.Before you can achieve success, you will have to define what success means to you. While it may take years to realize what you want to do with your life, identifying your passions, interests, and values will help you set goals and give your life a sense of meaning.







HOW TO ACHIEVE EXTERNAL SUCCESS



1. Identify your passions. Before you can achieve success, you will have to define what success means to you. While it may take years to realize what you want to do with your life, identifying your passions, interests, and values will help you set goals and give your life a sense of meaning. Ask yourself the following questions:



What do you want your legacy to be?

How would you like to be remembered by others?

How do you want to make your community a better place?

What are your subjects of interest?



2. Make a list of your goals, and what you might do to achieve them. Be sure to address both short-term and long-term goals; try to think beyond financial/career goals.



3. Live purposefully. In order to achieve your dreams and be the person you want to be. You will have to start paying attention to your actions. Ask yourself, is what I'm doing going to lead me to where I want to be in life?

If you find yourself constantly bored, daydreaming about the future or past or counting down the minutes until the day ends, it is probably because you feel disconnected from what you're doing. Consider changing careers or majors to a field that you care about but remember that it could mean changes you are not thinking of. Does that job pay enough to support yourself? Is it something you might get bored of eventually? Do I really want to commit to that job?

Remember that the concept of "wasted time" is relative. Not everything you do has to be productive in the conventional sense, but it should be engaging and enjoyable.



4. Manage your time. Putting off important tasks until the last minute can cause you unnecessary stress, and increases the likelihood of errors. Manage your time so that you have enough time to complete a task effectively.Make a list of all the things you need to do in a given day, and check off each task as you complete it. This will help you stay organized and motivated.





HOW TO ACHIEVE INTERNAL SUCCESS



1. Enjoy the present moment. If you are constantly dwelling on the past or daydreaming about the future, you are missing out on the present moment. Remember that the past and the future are simply illusions, and that real life takes place here and now.



2. Don't compare your own life to other peoples' lives. Unfortunately, many people measure their own success by comparing it to the success of those around them. If you want to feel accomplished and happy, you will have to stop comparing your life to other peoples' lives.



3. Count your blessings. No matter how much you achieve in life, you will always feel unhappy if you constantly focus on what you don't have. Instead, devote time every day to appreciating the things you do have. Think beyond material items; appreciate your loved ones, and remember happy memories.





via Small-Business-Forum.net http://www.small-business-forum.net/managing-your-business/9291-how-manage-success.html