Sunshine Suites » Small business mistakes http://sunshineny.com Where Start-ups Grow Up Thu, 17 May 2012 00:01:53 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Search Engine Optimization for Small Businesshttp://sunshineny.com/small-businesses/small-business-mistakes/search-engine-optimization-for-small-business http://sunshineny.com/small-businesses/small-business-mistakes/search-engine-optimization-for-small-business#comments Thu, 27 Jan 2011 22:22:06 +0000 Michael http://sunshineny.com/?p=1718 Sunshine Suites: NY Office Space 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.
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]]> http://sunshineny.com/small-businesses/small-business-mistakes/search-engine-optimization-for-small-business/feed 0 Protecting Your Small Business against Data Breacheshttp://sunshineny.com/small-businesses/small-business-mistakes/protecting-your-small-business-against-data-breaches http://sunshineny.com/small-businesses/small-business-mistakes/protecting-your-small-business-against-data-breaches#comments Tue, 30 Nov 2010 19:37:04 +0000 Michael http://sunshineny.com/?p=1640 Sunshine Suites — New York Shared Office Space 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.
]]> http://sunshineny.com/small-businesses/small-business-mistakes/protecting-your-small-business-against-data-breaches/feed 1 Spooking your customershttp://sunshineny.com/small-businesses/small-business-mistakes/spooking-your-customers http://sunshineny.com/small-businesses/small-business-mistakes/spooking-your-customers#comments Tue, 02 Nov 2010 13:18:12 +0000 Russ http://sunshineny.com/?p=1538 #9 on the 10 Ways To Spook Your Customers list
Avoid Accountability like the Plague Have you ever heard a staff member tell a customer that fixing a problem was outside the scope of his or her particular job? A lack of accountability can be a gruesome disease if left untreated. Customer calls are not promptly (if ever) returned. Commitments are not kept. Obligations are forgotten. Want to create a brand experience that outshines all others? Make sure everyone in your company is prepared to accept responsibility when something goes awry.
You can read the entire story here, and tell us what horrifying customer service (or customer no-service) tactics have scared you off in the comments, or on twitter @sunshineny.]]> http://sunshineny.com/small-businesses/small-business-mistakes/spooking-your-customers/feed 0 Expanding Your Small Business With the Help of Internshttp://sunshineny.com/small-businesses/small-business-mistakes/expanding-your-small-business-with-the-help-of-interns http://sunshineny.com/small-businesses/small-business-mistakes/expanding-your-small-business-with-the-help-of-interns#comments Tue, 28 Sep 2010 19:47:22 +0000 Michael http://sunshineny.com/?p=1495 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.
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]]> http://sunshineny.com/small-businesses/small-business-mistakes/expanding-your-small-business-with-the-help-of-interns/feed 1 How to Leverage Affordable (or Even Free) Labor to Grow Your Businesshttp://sunshineny.com/small-businesses/small-business-mistakes/how-to-leverage-affordable-or-even-free-labor-to-grow-your-business http://sunshineny.com/small-businesses/small-business-mistakes/how-to-leverage-affordable-or-even-free-labor-to-grow-your-business#comments Thu, 19 Aug 2010 18:56:02 +0000 Michael http://sunshineny.com/?p=1421 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.]]> http://sunshineny.com/small-businesses/small-business-mistakes/how-to-leverage-affordable-or-even-free-labor-to-grow-your-business/feed 0 Startup Errorshttp://sunshineny.com/small-businesses/startup-errors http://sunshineny.com/small-businesses/startup-errors#comments Tue, 06 Jul 2010 12:12:50 +0000 Russ http://sunshineny.com/?p=1283 1m/1m program, provided a few startup errors she commonly sees:
A good 25 percent of the entrepreneurs I talk to don’t bother validating their ideas. They build products without talking to prospective customers in their target market. If you engage seriously with your customers, there’s no way a business can fail. And if the business idea is not right, you would realize very early that you should give up.
The rest of the interview with Patterson is infinitely readable, entertaining and worth a glance for the quotes alone:
Entrepreneurship is not for everybody.
Read the full piece here, and be sure to visit our own Sunshine NY Managing Partner Joe Raby‘s top 5 small business mistakes. ]]> http://sunshineny.com/small-businesses/startup-errors/feed 0 Back to Basics: 3 Incredibly Obvious Ways to Keep Connections Stronghttp://sunshineny.com/small-businesses/small-business-mistakes/back-to-basics-3-incredibly-obvious-ways-to-keep-connections-strong http://sunshineny.com/small-businesses/small-business-mistakes/back-to-basics-3-incredibly-obvious-ways-to-keep-connections-strong#comments Fri, 02 Jul 2010 21:10:53 +0000 Michael http://sunshineny.com/?p=1297 http://sunshineny.com/small-businesses/small-business-mistakes/back-to-basics-3-incredibly-obvious-ways-to-keep-connections-strong/feed 0 7 Deadly Demo Sinshttp://sunshineny.com/small-businesses/small-business-mistakes/7-deadly-demo-sins http://sunshineny.com/small-businesses/small-business-mistakes/7-deadly-demo-sins#comments Fri, 12 Feb 2010 14:15:36 +0000 Russ http://sunshineny.com/?p=722 The 7 Deadly Demo Sins, by Nate WestheimerI see a lot of presentations. Every month at the NY Tech Meetup I see at least 7 or 8 presentations, in the other community events I attend I see more, and as a VC, first at Rose Tech Ventures and now at Flybridge Capital Partners, I see even more.Last month, while I was attending another meetup, I saw almost every “demo sin” imaginable… so I took notes.Let me say, I’ve been guilty of most of these sins at one point or another. I present this list less to make fun of people, but more to remind everyone — including myself — what breaks an otherwise great demo. (Feel free to add to this list in the comments!) Powerpoint.Seriously, you have an web company. Need a few slides? No you don’t. Demo your effing product. Really, really, really need a few slides? Put them on a website somewhere. You’re an effing web company. Winging it.Oh you’re sooo comfortable with your product and that crowd, to you, that crowd was born naked — who needs to imagine them so?! Well, no matter how comfortable and confident you are, you should still practice and plan your demo. It’s not about your confidence, it’s about a good show for your audience. (Disclaimer: I am most guilty of this sin. Correcting this is my resolution of 2010.) Using your time on stage to try and save a buggy demo. Bugs happen. If you use your time well and explain what you do, roll with it because people trust you it works. If you spend 4 of your 5 minutes trying to “save” your demo, people don’t trust you actually know what to do in time of crisis. Out of all of your clients or content, demoing the scantily clad cheerleaders. That’s just lame. Maybe that was okay with your colleagues in the Mad Men era, but today we just think you’re a anachronistic asshole. Going over allotted time.There are two main reasons this is bad: 1) it pisses off the organizer, who is your best friend for putting you on stage; 2) it pisses off your fellow demoers, who are your potential evangelists and business partners. Turning down the opportunity to use a microphone because you think you have a loud enough voice.You don’t — and especially not to that person sitting anywhere but directly in front of you. Keeping video volume up while you’re talking about your product. Everyone knows video has sound in 2009. Nobody heard you say what your company does.]]> http://sunshineny.com/small-businesses/small-business-mistakes/7-deadly-demo-sins/feed 1 Joe’s Top 5 Small Business Mistakeshttp://sunshineny.com/small-businesses/joes-top-5-small-business-mistakes http://sunshineny.com/small-businesses/joes-top-5-small-business-mistakes#comments Wed, 09 Sep 2009 18:32:28 +0000 Russ http://blog.sunshineny.com/?p=432 Small Business Mistakes by Sunshine Suites Managing Partner Joe RabyAt Sunshine Suites we’re in the business of small businesses. Over the past eight years we’ve had hundreds if not thousands of startup companies come through our doors. Having met so many first-time entrepreneurs, and as a small business owner myself, I’ve observed almost identical mistakes made by all of them. Falling into one or two of these traps doesn’t automatically mean your business is doomed, but make enough of them and your business might become a statistic.Joe’s Top 5 Mistakes Small Business Owners Make1. Not keeping accurate books. Without this information, business owners can’t tell what their biggest expense is, how much money they made last month, if sales are growing, if their marketing is working, etc. It is absolutely crucial. If you can’t do the books yourself, hire a good bookkeeper to come in biweekly and make sure your books are up-to-date and that you know how to look at a basic financial statement.2. Not marketing your business, or using the same marketing techniques over and over. Marketing is the lifeline of a small business. Without marketing, your business will grow much slower than it has the potential to, if it survives at all. The key to marketing is to continually test several different ideas, then use the best results, and then continue testing. But while doing this is important, it is even more important to quantitatively look at the average value of a new sale, and to make sure your marketing is bringing in more business than it costs. For example, let’s say you run a hair salon. Through good surveys and record-keeping, you know that the average customer will stay for 18 months and gets a haircut every month and a half. You charge $100 per haircut, and give an average of twelve per customer, which means that your average customer is worth $1,200 (not including referrals, which we’ll consider a bonus). Therefore, you should make sure you’re never spending more than that (or even some percentage of that amount, like 25%) on a new customer.3. Trying to do everything yourself. This is a common mistake, and is not necessarily the worst thing in the world, at first. It’s great to get your feet wet in Quickbooks,to clean the bathrooms, to work with advertising companies, etc. There comes a point, though, as the business owner, where you can’t do everything effectively. If you are doing everything, you are not using your time well. Other people can do various tasks much more effectively than you – find those people and hire them. That leaves you time to do the jobs you are good at and what you enjoy.4. Going at it alone. A lot of people start businesses on their couch and their laptop, and end up spending a tremendous amount of time by themselves or with one or two business partners. While I’m all for saving money, particularly as a startup, generally if you surround yourself with other business owners and entrepreneurs you’ll get ideas and new business out of it that vastly offset any costs. For example, a lot of people will pay $500 to go to a conference for a weekend to network, while you can put yourself in an office environment like Sunshine’s for $275/month and network every single day, making very valuable relationships. There are a lot of free or really inexpensive options, such as meetup groups (meetup.com) or networking groups like BNI (bni.com) that are really inexpensive but can be tremendously helpful. The last thing you want is to be working from home all day, with barely a reason to put your pants on in the morning. Hook up with some connectors and let them show you the ropes. Entering into a small circle (like the one at the office) is guaranteed to beget larger ones so long as you make yourself available and keep an open mind.5. Overextending yourself (with credit). While credit is the lifeline of a small business or startup, its tempting to continue to grow using credit. While this may be an effective strategy at first, it really adds an exponential amount of risk to the success and survival of your company-one that you won’t notice until times get tough…and then it’s too late. As Warren Buffett once said, “Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.” Splurging on top-of-the-line equipment or an executive office with a view is really tempting when you’ve got money to burn, but just remember eventually you’ll have to pay that money back. You’ll want more to show for it than just some nice toys.]]> http://sunshineny.com/small-businesses/joes-top-5-small-business-mistakes/feed 3