T.A. McCann, formerly of GIST and now of Zoopa and Wishpot, is hosting a free online chat to discuss the future of work, with Eric Koester of Zaarly. The sure-to-be-compelling chat is at 9am PDT on 7/21, and you can rsvp HERE. To get you hungry, check the video below as a preview.
More and more students are graduating from business school and deciding to take a pit-stop at a corporate job before launching into business on their own, a BusinessWeek article discusses.
Mike Norelli, a 2010 MBA graduate from MIT, experienced a collegiate entrepreneur’s dream when an investor pledged seed capital for the startup he and a few classmates had founded to convert food waste into fuel. Just as the venture was to receive that financial boost, however, Norelli backed out to accept a job at GE Energy, whose recruiter met with him after Norelli arrived at MIT’s Sloan school of Management (Sloan Full-Time MBA Profile).“No matter what I do afterwards, I’ll be in a better position—and that includes doing a startup,” Norelli says of his GE experience.
It’s the bane of any small business owner’s existence: how do you handle bad customers? That’s the question MSNBC’s Your Business asked a group of small business owners, including members of the Sunshine NY office community, in this week’s “From the Floor”. Click to watch the video.
This is the first post in a series explaining how to optimize your website for maximum search engine exposure.Many small business owners struggle to receive traffic from the search engines due to the tremendous competition in most verticals. Let’s begin by evaluating the core fundamentals of search engine optimization.Basic web page structure includes a header tag called the “meta.” This area is where you specify to the search engines what your site is about. In years past, all you had to do to rank well for a search term was to stuff this tag with a lot of keywords that you wanted to be listed for. The problems with this primitive approach to search technology is pretty clear. Even if your site had absolutely nothing to do with what you indicated it did, you would still rank well for it because the search providers didn’t know any better. This lead to the first evolution of search technology.With the first major evolution, search providers would send what are known as “spiders” or “crawlers” to pages that existed on the web. Unlike in the past where these technologies were to read only the meta content of a page, they were now programed to actually read the text that was on the pages. This now meant that sites would rank well based on what the actual contents of their site was about instead of simply what they indicated their site was about. As you can imagine, this was a tremendous game changer for search engine optimization as a whole. Now, you would not only have to indicate what your site is about via the meta tag content, but also ensure that what was in that field was consistent with the text that was actually on your site. While this was a major improvement, it still had blatant flaws. People could still manipulate the content on their page and stuff it with irrelevant keywords to convince the search engines their site was about one thing, when in reality it was about a completely different topic.So the search engines proceeded to take their algorithm to the next level once again. If people couldn’t be trusted to be honest on their page about what their site was really about, how could sites be evaluated? The engines evolved their algorithm to now not only evaluate a site based on the content written on it, but also based on what other sites were linking to it. If prominent, authority sites are linking to a site, chances are it has some kind of authority. The algorithm is now programed to evaluate, not only the on page content for a site, but also who is linking to it and what types of phrases they are linking to it with. For example, you will notice in the header of this post there is a link that says “NY office space,” and links to the Sunshine Suites home page. This indicates to the search engines that the Sunshine Suites site is about NY office space. This principle is now applied all over the web with other sites, linking back to your main web property.In the continuation of this series, we’ll look at:
How to find target keywords that you will have the most success ranking for.
How to build quality links to your site, making the search engines see you as the authority that you are.
How to develop authoritative content to make crystal clear to the search engines what you’re all about.
Let’s face it; the online marketing industry is a booming one to be in. With just about everyone owning a computer and having internet access, the internet is becoming a popular tool for both sellers and consumers. The internet is a notorious tool for breaking down the traditional geographical barriers of the business world and has made it so small businesses can compete just as much as the larger ones. The one thing that brings those barriers down and gives small businesses a fighting chance against large corporations is the use of online marketing.
Investing in online marketing is something every business has to do in order to enhance their company image, increase their customer base and receive a return on their company investment in literally no time. The growing trend in companies hiring firms that conduct online marketing is on the rise, but so is the cost. With the growing popularity of online marketing services, these professionals can raise the rates and rake in the dollars. It is a win-win for both companies, right? Well that all depends on the overall outlook for the online marketing industry in general.
The New Trend
With online marketing paving the way to new online advertising trends, the use of text and image advertising is basically a thing of the past. Now companies are relying on things like rich text and media operations for their advertising campaigns rather than the use of billboards and print ads. Up-to-date technologies such as HTML, Java Script, and Adobe Flash are the new terms when it comes to advertising. It is the goal of online marketers to grasp the attention of online visitors of a particular site and even shape the way they think about it.
After a national survey conducted in December 2009 showed that over 74% of Americans utilize the internet on a daily basis and over 55% access that internet daily from the use of their smart phones. With this large trend, how does online marketing affect other industries?
Industry Effects
With so many consumers turning to the internet, other industries have to meet the demand as well. One industry for example would be banking. Once a face-to-face industry, banking has now become a virtual industry offering consumers online access and even the ability to open, close or transfer accounts from the comfort of a computer. Internet auctions and online retail stores have also become a popular snag into the internet world. With more consumers preferring to shop from the comfort of their own home and less in person, the online industry is teeming with retailers ready to take on the demand.
With these new industries meeting the demands of internet goers, online marketing has grown as well. These companies rely heavily on online marketing firms to bring their businesses to the top of Google searches and make them the most effective in a sea of similar companies.
Success at What Cost
Online marketing is a big industry and certainly not a free one. Though some companies attempt to conduct online marketing themselves, they quickly come to realize that it is more effective to hire an outside source. So what is the cost of doing such?
For a small business alone, they can be looking at costs such as:
$1,500 to $30,000 to create a web site, market that website, perform keyword research and create an effective domain.
$100 to $2,000 to host their site monthly, maintain their site and maintain Search Engine Optimization.
$100 to $1,000 in web site linking campaigns and article writing.
$100 to $400 per month in online advertising campaigns.
$100 to $500 in SEO directory submission.
These rates are expected to change drastically within the next year or so. With the demand for internet growing even further in popularity thanks to social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter, online marketing firms are jumping into new waters and tackling more ground than ever before. Though currently a small business is looking at a final tab of $3,000 to over $38,000 for online marketing campaigns today, those numbers are expected to almost double within the next five years.
As a business, you collect numerous amounts of personal data on your clients. Whether it is something as simple as a name and telephone number or as elaborate as credit card and bank account numbers, a business has mounds of personal data stored within their company. With the growing number of identity theft cases impacting consumers each year, businesses need to take the extra precautions to protect their customers from data breaches.Data Breach by DefinitionA data breach is an event in which a company’s server files or even their physical in-house files are stolen and contained information regarding customer credit cards, names or even social security numbers. This information can then be used for fraudulent purposes or even posted on black market websites where numerous identity thieves can take advantage of it. Not to mention, this poses a large risk of lawsuits to any business that falls victim to a data breach.Why Small Businesses are TargetsOften small businesses are the best target for these data breaches because they cannot afford the costs to fully protect themselves from a data breach. Items such as high-tech alarm systems, advanced firewalls and spyware protection all cost money. Many small business owners will assume that they are not a likely target for a data breach simply because of their overall client count. Unfortunately, small business data breaches are becoming more common than large corporation breaches. The only difference is the large corporation data breaches will make the evening news, whereas a small business data breach will be in the back of the newspaper.How to Protect Your BusinessAs a small business, you certainly have some form of personal information for your customers. No matter what that information is, you need to be able to protect your company and more importantly, your customers from any form of data breach. Some ways to protect your company could be:
Collect What You Need – Often companies will collect more information than they actually need from the customer. For example, when asking customers to sign up for an online newsletter you will only need their email address, but often companies will ask for an email address, full name, address and even a phone number in order to sign up. Instead of only gathering and storing information you actually need, you now have quadrupled the amount of personal information you have on these clients.
Use It and Dispose of It – Once you have finished a job with a client or utilized their personal information for what you need it for, dispose of it, but do so cautiously. Do not simply throw out client order sheets or information in the trash. Shred the documents prior to disposal and do a data sweep on your computer and servers to ensure all information has been removed.
If You Need It, Secure It – If for some reason you need to store a customer’s personal information for a specific amount of time, then it is your company’s duty to protect that information. Use locks on all physical file cabinets and look into secure file hosting online such as FileDen, MediaFire, or FireHost to store customer information on.
Don’t Broadcast – How often have other people been around as you pull up a customer file? Were they authorized to see that information? How many times have you asked a customer to give their credit card number over the phone only to have your line on speakerphone? Protect a customer’s personal information like you would expect a company to protect your own. Do not broadcast information you have.
Deter Thieves – Often just the sight of an alarm or advanced lock on the door will deter thieves from even attempting to break into your business. Though these are added costs, it is essential that a small business protect themselves and their customers at all costs.
Social Security Numbers are Not Account Numbers – Often companies will use specific identifiers such as social security numbers, phone numbers or dates of birth as their customer identification and account numbers. Though you can use this information to verify a customer, never use this type of personal information as an account number for your customers.
If you are unsure on how you can protect your small business against data breaches or how to protect customer information, the Better Business Bureau has extensive information to assist small businesses and even large corporations in protecting their clients’ personal information.
Sunshine NY — The Best Office Space in New York City
When it comes to small business, it is all about having the funds to start it up. Since most small businesses are run out of a small office or even a home, it usually means the owner is investing their own money into the business to get it running. Though this is usually the easiest route to take, there are a lot of other ways a small business owner can find funding without sacrificing their hard earned savings. If you are looking for ways to fund your business, consider the following:Government GrantsThere are a lot of government grants available for small businesses. In today’s economy, the government wants to see businesses succeed, rather than fail. Therefore the availability of government grants for small businesses has never been higher. All government grants are funded by the tax payer’s dollars; therefore to earn a grant, you have to prove your business worthiness. This includes a detailed business plan and the ability to comply with the reporting process as to where the money is going after you receive it. One thing to realize is that grants from the federal government are not meant for commercial businesses. Therefore your business needs to be part of the following to qualify:
Non-Profit Organization
Educational Institution
Medical
Scientific Research
Technological Development
Child-Care Industry
Another thing to consider about government grants is the majority of them will require the owner to match the funds they are receiving. Therefore to qualify for a $5,000.00 grant, you must also put in $5,000.00 in order to receive it. To see if your small business will qualify for a government grant, visit www.grants.gov for a complete list of available grants by industry and their requirements.Small Business LoansOne of the most common types of funding used for small businesses is the use of a small business loan. Small business loans (also known as SBA Loans), can be obtained from any local participating financial institution. Though small business loans are available to just about any type of business, there is a detailed checklist that needs to be followed in order to qualify. In order to ensure your business complies with the requirements for an SBA loan, visit www.business.gov and visit the “SBA Loan Application Checklist”.There are a lot of options for SBA loans when it comes to a small business owner. The Small Business Association offers loans for:
Disaster Assistance Victims
Energy Efficient Companies
Farm and Agricultural
Exporting Companies
Rural Businesses
Veteran SBA Loans
Veteran owned businesses are growing in number. Therefore the SBA offers specific funding for any Veteran owned business. It is important to note that government and state agencies do not offer the funding directly, but the SBA loans are provided through low-interest financial institution loans instead. If you are a veteran looking for small business funding, visit www.VetBiz.gov to see what loans your business may qualify for.Even though it can be difficult to get the funding for a small business, there are numerous options available if you know where to look. Just remember that no matter what type of funding you are searching for, you will need to ensure that you have a completed business plan in order to qualify.
Regardless of what your business is, let’s face it: your customers are everything. They are bread, butter and the knife that’s used to spread the butter on the bread. Your ultimate desire should be to make them fiercely loyal to your company, your product, your brand. With Halloween having just passed, Inc Magazine has run a story that’s like a haunted house for the small business: how to scare your customer away.#9 on the 10 Ways To Spook Your Customers list(more…)
Internships have recently become the topic of controversy. The concept of an “unpaid internship” is unfortunately seen by some companies as an opportunity to bring in 100% free labor. Since the students being employed may not have a background in the field that your company specializes in, they are commonly discarded and treated as servants for company employees. While this has unfortunately become the stereotype of what an intern does. In a perfect situation, this could not be further from the truth. Interns can bring a lot of new perspective to a company, and also have the opportunity to acquire a tremendous amount of priceless experience in the process. Let’s look at just what the cause of the controversy is, how an intern can benefit your small business and how an intern can receive a fair amount of knowledge in return for their investment of time.The big controversy at the moment with unpaid internships is companies taking advantage of this opportunity to obtain free labor. Moreover, the stereotype of interns being brought in to conduct menial tasks such as getting people coffee and washing windows, is an all too common practice. What is so frustrating to most small business owners is that most small businesses are not looking to engage in these unfortunate practices. Instead, they are looking to be a mentor for the student and be there to answer questions about the relevant industry and provide hands-on experience. For small business owners, this source of affordable labor can really help to take pressure off of the owner.Now that we’ve established what NOT to have your interns doing, let’s look at some reasonable jobs that they should be able to handle. Consider the simple, yet redundant tasks that can be delegated. If this task directly relates to your industry, it can become a solid candidate to be handled by an intern. However, keep in mind that interns are not machines. If they are doing the same repetitive task over and over, day in and day out it will begin to take a toll on their level of motivation. Consider switching it up every so often to keep them feeling fresh and motivated. Another great tactic is to play to your interns strengths. Consider starting them with a variety of different tasks. A week or so in, discuss with them which they felt most comfortable doing and let them run with what they are feeling they excel at. When they are honestly enjoying what they do, and feel they are learning something beneficial in the process, chances are they will do much higher quality work since they will be driven to perform the tasks.Keep in mind that at the end of the day, an internship is designed to be an educational experience for the student. Don’t delegate tasks to the student if you don’t feel they will be taking something worthwhile out of the experience.In terms of compensation, most schools will provide the student credit as if the experience is a class. While payment really isn’t required for these types of internships, be considerate as possible for the students situation. If they have to shell out money to work for you on things like transit expenses and things along those lines, this can potentially be seen as a losing situation. Chances are that the value of the labor they will provide you can justify helping the student with some expenses. Simple gestures like providing compensation for their transportation to and from the workplace and even a daily meal can make a world of difference to the student.Another thing to consider is the basic motivation factor. A few weeks into a successful internship, if you feel the student is really doing fantastic work, reward them for it! An envelope with an explanation and letter of gratitude can go a very long way. As an added bonus, putting something additional into the envelope can really leave an impact.One final factor to keep in mind is to encourage open communication with the student. If they aren’t comfortable with a task, try to change it to something they feel better outfitted to handle. Also communicate to them what you like or dislike about their work to date. Simply communicating some of these things can often resolve the issue.Final thoughts: be fair. You know what you have to offer the student and you also know how that labor can impact your company. That being said, do what you can to be as fair as possible and chances are that your intern will really be pleased with how the experience turned out.
Owning a small business is far from easy, especially when you are a one-man-show. The cost of taking on a new hire is often the prohibiting factor. However, this does not mean that you have to disregard the idea of expansion altogether. There are numerous other options to take on hired help that is more affordable. Let’s look over some of your options.Looking for more sales?There are a few different ways to take on people that will generate sales for your company. One of the easiest, and most obvious ways to do this is to hire people on a commission-only basis. However, keep in mind that people who will have the ability to close sales for your company are going to demand two things: high commission and a product that can be sold. While the latter sounds obvious, if your product has a limited target audience, even the best sales person won’t be sticking around for too long if they can’t keep selling it.Another way to help you generate more sales is with an affiliate (or referral) program. This is where you pay affiliates to advertise your site and you only have to pay them a small percentage of every sale they send. You can also use this type of payment structure to generate sales leads that you can have your sales person close.Looking for an Assistant?Paying a full time assistant can be expensive, but there are numerous options that can get your cost down lower than you can expect. One option is to recruit an intern from a college in your area. Offer it to students who are studying business management. You can sometimes get students who need to complete internships for class credit. These interns do not need to be paid, but must be working on something relevant to their field of study. If this is something that your business can implement, it is often well worth it.Another option is to work with virtual assistants. Virtual assistants can be domestic, or overseas, and exist to help you manage your business tasks. Obviously, hiring one from the US will be more expensive, but if your business needs someone who will be able to communicate well it is worth it. Note that while US virtual assistants may not come cheap, they are using all of their own resources. You won’t need office space for them, supplies, a computer, etc.Looking for Skilled Labor?As small business owners, sometimes we need a skilled worker to help with tasks like graphic design. You can get very talented labor using outsourcing sites such as Elance, Guru, and Freelancer. The trick is to do the best you can to determine the quality of the labor as quickly as possible. Ideally, always start a new freelancer out with a small chunk of work to gauge the quality before letting them handle anything larger. This helps ensure you are not out an abundance of money and left with low quality work.
I am unable to wrap my head around the fact as to why any
entrepreneur in NYC would not be in this building
considering the price and networking opportunities.
Alex van Klaveran Founder, LifeStageMedia Inc.
We will certainly never find a better price and I would be surprised if we will ever find the same service we get at Sunshine.
More and more students are graduating from business school and deciding to take a pit-stop at a corporate job before launching into business on their own, a BusinessWeek article discusses.
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