Entrepreneurs Archives

7 Laws of Uncommon Success for Entrepreneurs

In order to be successful one must use wisdom. In order to be wise one must have or show experience, knowledge, and good judgment. Wisdom brings success. Without wisdom, the trustworthiness of an action or decision with regard to the application of experience, knowledge, and good judgment, you cannot experience success. Being successful depends on the time you use effectively. Have you ever wondered how the next person became successful? What did the person do specifically that made success come their way? I have and if you be honest so have you. Success has more to do with the state of the being who believes they can do what they choose.

I woke up early this morning because my TV was on and I hate sleeping with the TV on. However, what was on my screen captivated me. So I pulled out my note-book and pen and began to write what the man was saying on the screen. This man was Mike Murdock he is a world-renowned televangelist, and he wrote a book called The 7 laws to Uncommon Success. He began to talk about success and explain that success is governed by laws. Implementing this system of rules governs whether you will experience uncommon success or not.

Let me reiterate here that we are speaking about an unusual kind of success. These laws govern those who are courageous and will go above and beyond. Those who are willing to take the initiative themselves work hard and achieve greatness are the people who experience uncommon success. I want to share how we all can experience uncommon success as entrepreneurs, using these 7 laws of uncommon success.

1. The Law of Difference- Our differences brings our value and our value brings our reward.

All though we are all humans and basically the same there is something different about each and every one of us. We were all created to do something that the other person is unable or willing to do. IF you do not know your distinct differences, you will never know what value you bring to others. As an entrepreneur align your business idea with your passions. Your passions are those strong and barely controllable emotions that you have about subject matters, people, places, or things. You can find your passion in your pain, information, desires, and those you honor.

2. The Law of the Mind- Every battle in life begins as a mind battle.

You should always protect what goes into your mind. It is important to guard your mind because it is the breeding ground for everything you do. It either solves problems or creates problems for your future. In order for entrepreneurs to be successful they must be willing to invest in their mind. Fill it with knowledge by preparing it as an environment for learning. Your mind needs a goal or focus, pictures, conversation and meditation. Your mouth should tell your mind what to think about. It is the place where you can create and produce faith in your ability to be confident in your dreams and visions. The mind is a muscle that moves your imagination into reality. Your mind should inspire you into action.

3. The Law of Recognition- What you fail to recognize will exit your life.

There is always a life lesson to be learned. Every moment is a learning moment. Often times we can fail to see what has always been right there in front of us the entire time. Something we don’t know about that can be harmful to our future is near us. As entrepreneurs, we must ask ourselves what God is hiding in someone or something that I can’t see. If you don’t believe in God then you can start right there. Recognize that God is and he will always be!

As entrepreneurs we can take on more than we should too soon and then when it doesn’t work out we will consider it as not profitable or a scam, when many times it is as simple as doing too much too soon. We should focus on the one idea before moving to the next. Too many things going on at one time can be a distraction and distract you from recognizing the next step that could change your financial future.

4. The Law of Two- Two is necessary for multiplication.

Two is always better than one. Relationships with others matter. We all need each other. Yes! Sure you are great alone but you need others. The book of Ecclesiastes, which is a book filled with wisdom, states “Two are better than one… the threefold cord is not easily broken,” (Eccl 4:9, 12). When God wants to bless you he brings a person into your life.

Entrepreneurs must recognize who those people are. In order to experience financial freedom you will need to depend on others to buy your products and/or services. Your willingness to strengthen your relationship with your target audience or customer depends on your ability to become financially independent.

5. The Law of Place- Your geographical location matters.

Your assignment or purpose in life is always to a person or group of people. When you are where you are destined to be no one can compete with you. Never stay where God has not assigned you. You will not be honored for your differences if you are in the wrong place. As entrepreneurs we must know that our money is in the place of the problem God has given you to solve for others. Remember that money is anywhere God wants you to be.

6. The Law of Honor- Your future is determined by who you have chosen to honor.

Honor is your ability to highly esteem someone by recognizing their difference. Honor is the seed for access into any environment on earth. Adaptation is the proof of honor. It takes humility to honor another person for their differences. Honor is something that people should be taught who they should honor. Humbleness is a modest or low view of one’s own importance. What is important to know about honor is it is a choice.

Entrepreneurs can shorten their learning curve by learning from the best. This can be done by studying an individual, reading a book, doing online research, or connecting with someone you chose to celebrate their distinctive differences instead of weaknesses. Honor will decide who accepts you, desires you, and rewards you. Honor qualifies for a different kind of relationship one that is closer, growing and long-term.

If you succeed in life it can be tracked to those you chose to honor. If you fail, it can be tracked to those who you chose not to honor. Above all you must honor the God of the universe to be successful at anything. All blessings come through the chain of authority.

7. The Law of Seed- Give and it shall be given back to you.

Seeds are anything that has value. When you sow a seed rather it is words, honor, mercy, money, love, kindness, gratitude etc… Your seed must be wrapped in expectation. You must have a motive for why you are doing something. For entrepreneurs this law simply means something you have given will create for you the harvest you dreamed of having.

Remember that the seeds you sow can contain life or death. What you make happen for someone else God can make it happen for you. The future of your seed is hidden in you daily routine. Successful men do daily, what unsuccessful men do occasionally.

These 7 laws are guaranteed to create uncommon success in your life as an entrepreneur. It is important that we maximize the time given to us to solve other people problems and become the beacon of light in another person life or situation by providing the proper products and/or services. The ingredients for success are: creativity births your future, structure sustains your future, and habits create your future.

Be Inspired and Be Successful

The Online Entrepreneur

4 Daily Habits Of the Most Successful Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurship is hard. It needs unswerving discipline, and confidence in yourself and your business. Lots of people lack the opportunity to enjoy it. But for the few who are determined and ready to put in the hard work, entrepreneurship is the most fulfilling job, identity and lifestyle in the world.

Let’s look at 4 daily habits of successful entrepreneurs.

1. They stick to a routine

A day has 24 hours only and as an entrepreneur, time is the most valuable thing in the world. To get the maximum potential out of every day, successful entrepreneurs follow a strict schedule.

For instance, Elon Musk, the founder and CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, schedules his whole day in five-minute blocks and he breaks up his week, where on Mondays and Thursdays he focuses on SpaceX and on Tuesdays and Wednesdays he pays attention to Tesla. He splits Fridays between both companies.

2. They read a lot

Most successful entrepreneurs make learning a regular daily habit. For instance, Bill Gates, Microsoft co-founder, reads 50 books a year. As an entrepreneur, you need to learn as the world is continually changing, and the most impactful entrepreneurs create their profiles by improving their knowledge.

If your background is in design and strategy, as an entrepreneur you must have engineering and computer science knowledge to contribute meaningfully to your ventures. Examine your future goals and establish what skills and capabilities may hinder you, then start learning today to be ready for those roadblocks. For engineers and designers, that obstacle may be management, finance or project planning. Yours may surprise you!

3. They exercise daily

Yes, exercise keeps your body fit and the mind sharp, and it has a great impact on an entrepreneur’s long-term achievement. The reason is that it relieves stress and helps maintain a healthy work-life balance. Many successful entrepreneurs attribute their success to exercising and keeping fit. Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Group, increases his productivity with daily exercise.

Don’t make excuses! Fitness and mental calmness are essential for a happy lifestyle. They’re the building blocks to your productivity for days, weeks and months. Find a sport, activity, or practice suitable for you and make it habitual by being responsible.

4. They stay positive

As an entrepreneur, you’ll face many challenges, but what makes you succeed is a positive and creative mindset. Every day. Being able to see things from a positive dimension means you can see interesting and unique opportunities others can’t see.

If you can’t remain positive, it’s time for a change. For instance, Steve Jobs started his mornings by repeating a simple mantra: “If today was the last day of my life, would I want to do what I’m about to do today?” If he answered this question with a “No,” then he knew it was time to make a change.

Female Entrepreneurs – Stop Negotiating Your True Value!

As conscious entrepreneurs, we artistically combine our expertise with a focus on service to humankind. In an attempt to “help” our clients, we can find ourselves in the position of negotiating our prices.

Let me ask you: How many $10K business events can you afford to attend right now? If you say, “None,” you’d be joining with the majority of entrepreneurs in the same position.

Do you think the speaker at one of these events is concerned that you cannot afford it? Nope. Enough can, and will pay the admittance fee because the content promised is worth every penny… and probably more.

Is your financial situation the concern of the speaker? Nope.

Should s/he even care that you perceive you’re being excluded? Nope.

There are tons of experiences you may not be able to afford. That’s simply not anyone else’s concern. And it shouldn’t be.

Let’s look at this from another angle: It’s very likely your products or services are not accessible to a portion of the worldwide population. Should you make special accommodations so they are accessible to everyone? Nope. Why not? Because that’s probably not the reason you started your business.

The bottom line is: You’re in business to make money.

When we provide a cost quote and our client says, “I just cannot afford it,” the natural thing to do – especially as female entrepreneurs – is respond by making accommodations. We reduce our prices, throw in additional hours or products, or offer payment options.

If we are willing to sell off and negotiate rates, we’re essentially saying,

“My (products or) services are worth the value YOU place on them.” Yikes and holy, moly. You will be back into corporate chaos in no time if that’s how you truly approach business.

I heard it said recently that negotiating does two things:

It reinforces my lack consciousness
It reinforces my clients’ lack consciousness

Whew! That’s harsh. Take a deep breath and read it again. If you see yourself in this discussion, it’s never too late to begin honoring your value.

Let’s explore each of these points.

How does negotiating reinforce my lack consciousness?

Entering into negotiations is an activity that places you in a disempowered position. It leaves you explaining your rates. It forces you to invest precious time for which you will not be able to bill. It dishonors the thousands of hours you’ve invested in becoming a professional who has a valuable service to offer.

When it comes to your value and your business, the last place you want to find yourself is tied up in the trunk! That’s where negotiating leaves you. Instead you need to be in the driver’s seat.

Lack consciousness is the perpetual lie you tell yourself with your words, thoughts and actions. It is you telling you – in the most subtle and damaging way – somehow you don’t deserve the rates you charge because you’re just not worth it.

Who determines our worth?

We do.

Before you sigh in resignation and think we have to delve into your childhood to find the answers of why you’re where you are in life and think the way you do, relax. We don’t have to dredge up anything. We are going to start right here, right now.

I’m going to share something with you that contains the secret to unlocking a completely new approach… one that leaves you newly empowered and clear on the FACT that you are worth every bit of your fee. As soon as you encompass this, I want you to expand this concept and double your rates!

Bold?

Yes, that’s why we’re here… to continually push the edge of self-comfort and familiarity to explore what lies beyond.

The secret? It’s so simple. Every time you find yourself hesitating when someone asks you your rates, wanting to make special accommodations because your client “cannot afford it,” or beginning to think of ways to make it work for your client, say aloud: “I destroy and uncreate everything I believe I was and am. I destroy and uncreate myself today.” How does this set you on a new path of declaring your worth?

Tell me yourself after you’ve said this AT LEAST twice daily (upon waking and upon retiring, and as circumstances arise during the day) for a mere 30 days.

You will not be the same person. You will sit up straighter. Your voice will not falter when you speak truth to your value in the form of your rates. You will be deeply empathetic when fellow entrepreneurs express their woes in not being able to afford you, but still, your rates stand as-is. Doesn’t that sound profoundly freeing and powerful? Isn’t it worth a try?

(A natural question surfaces: “When I destroy and uncreate, with what do I full the vacuum?” Answer: Nothing. Spiritually speaking, you cannot destroy or uncreate the truest essence of you, so you don’t have to worry about undoing and end up as nothing. This exercise can only deliver a more aligned version of you; a version that knows innately you’re worth even more than you’re currently charging! And when you’re ready, you”ll increase your rates yet again to match the ever-growing confidence to be compensated based on a value YOU assign.)

How does negotiating reinforce my clients’ lack consciousness?

As business owners, we are (hopefully) modeling good business practices. With our words, thoughts and actions, we must convey resolute confidence in our talents.. and service rates.

If I negotiate my rates, I enable, or reinforce, my clients’ false beliefs (that they cannot manifest adequate funds to hire me, as an example)… beliefs I don’t even hold to be true. I become the last link in a very long chain of life experiences that reinforces their “truths” – beliefs founded in limitation (the inability to manifest funds to pay for professional services).

I do them no favors by engaging or entertaining this notion. It is the essence of a co-dependent collaboration and in the words of one friend, “You will only see asses and elbows!” (Interpretation: I will run away as fast as I can from this scenario.)

There are plenty of writers who will negotiate rates. I’m not one of them. I know my value and it is my intent to show you yours.

Our clients need to know we are 100% confident in the value of our contribution to their success.

You see,

our confidence and silent resolve instills a level of confidence in our clients Perceived value is everything. If you are sure about your rates, it makes clients think, “Wow, Charlon must be really good if she charges $495 for an hour-long consultation. One way or another, I must find a way to work with her!”

Now, no single negotiation is inherently catastrophic to our businesses. But, over time these actions serve to erode our sense of self-value. Don’t even set this pattern in motion!

As appropriate and inspired, we can occasionally barter, negotiate or even donate our time, but these practices cannot be the foundation of our business.

How do you maintain a sense of service to others AND a commitment to maintaining the value of your time?

Begin today. If this is an issue with which you struggle, it’s simply an unexercised muscle. The Marines have a saying, “Pain is weakness leaving the body.” There’s no need to be pained any longer by the subtle and ever-eroding impact of negotiating. You will never grow a solid business on a weak foundation of changing the rules every time a client cannot afford you.

If you’re willing to trade your vast and precious life knowledge as if it has no value, it won’t… for you or anyone else. Remember: We teach people how to treat us.

How do you respond when clients cannot afford your rates or want to negotiate?

The answer is obvious and simple. Without saying, “No,” you plant seeds of thought and leave the future client (I’m being highly optimistic here!) with several options. Here are sample responses to give you some ideas:

“My clients benefit from expert copywriting in too many ways to count. I know when you have the funds, you’ll make this a priority. Based on the experience of former clients, professional copywriting dramatically increases exposure and sales. In the mean time, here are some referrals to learn more about copywriting so when we begin working together, you’ll already have insider knowledge of the process.”
“I completely understand the challenges of delegating funds for copywriting. When I started my first company, I did everything myself. I thought I had to learn and know how to do it all and that left me frustrated and exhausted. It was such a key to learn to delegate tasks to professionals. When I did that, I noticed a huge energy boost and increased profits! I see so much potential in your vision and would love to help you with expert copywriting when the time is right. Until then, feel free to download my free report, Exclusively For Entrepreneurs: Expert Copywriter Reveals Easy 9-Facet Formula to Proof-Perfect Copy… Every Time”
“When you hire me, my efforts are laser-focused on achieving measurable results. If I negotiate rates, I would be doing a disservice to myself and those entrepreneurs who know the value of a wise business investment… like professional copywriting. I would love to work with you based on the original proposal amount emailed to you.”

As you can see, the details of this topic are manageable 100 different ways. The bottom line is: Stop negotiating. Your personal and professional values are at stake! Treat them as the treasures they are.

What Makes CoWorking Spaces Ideal for Entrepreneurs

How many new startups do you think India must have added in 2017?

You will be amazed to know that, according to the Nasscom Startup Report India saw an addition of over 1,000 startups last year. Yes, it means 1000 new companies or entrepreneurs. Today, India has the third largest startup ecosystem across the world, amidst mounting competition from countries like UK and Israel.

The new additions take the total number of technology startups to nearly 5,200, making tech-enables or technology startups as the hottest new companies. The country also witnessed a rapid rise in the business with these startups focusing on verticals like health tech, fintech, e-commerce and aggregators.

This comes to the next interesting question of how with restricted finance these new businesses, manage office spaces. With the whopping real estate prices, buying an office space means using funds that can otherwise be used to develop infrastructure, technology, operations, last mile delivery, etc. And if you thought the other option of renting a space was better, then a good location would mean higher rents and that in return, blocking not only a certain amount every month, but also pay an upfront security deposit of three to six months that is over and above the rent. This thus blocks huge funds that can otherwise be used wisely and for more important things.

Therefore, to keep that capital unblocked, we have an option for startups, professionals, small businesses, or any other business, and it is coworking. Welcome to era of coworking or in simple words, shared workspaces. These office spaces address the immediate needs of their customers by offering space options varying from pay-per-day to a limited period, thereby, making them affordable. Not only this, for meetings or a daily permanent space, some even offer conference rooms and fixed spaces for your workforce. These options give flexibility and helps save cost as you decide, what and how much you need.

Want to know more? We bet you do!

Unlike a rented space which comes unfurnished, coworking spaces are non-contractual and require no upfront investment. They come furnished, therefore, making them ready to move and ready to use. They also offer a cornucopia of services and benefits like private cabins, high-speed internet, cafeteria, lockers and much more, thereby, giving companies an atmosphere of a regular office and not of a rented office space.

That’s not all, these are only the basics checked, let’s look at more benefits.

Choose your location is one of the biggest benefits of a coworking space. As these places are located in more than one location, they give flexibility to companies to make their employees work from any of its convenient spaces. Also, the co-working spaces might be located in a prime area that gives solo entrepreneurs or small businesses an access to afford and work out of a prime location. Whereas, if you think of owning or renting an office space, it’s a fact that the rent is primarily of the location and the facilities only later.

One of the biggest advantages of a coworking is to add-on space as you grow. Coworking gives companies an option to keep adding workspaces as and when they increase the workforce and not on the basis of growth projection, which is the case in a rented office space. Also, in case of customer or investor meetings, a coworking area seems to be bigger, is professionally managed and includes basic amenities. Whereas, the latter is restricted to the office space that the company has paid for and service and amenities on its willingness to spend at that time.

Apart from startups, these spaces are a boon for independent workers such as designers, developers and writers, as they work along with several like-minded professionals.entrepreneurs and innovators. The work culture and networking events help people of different backgrounds collaborate on a single platform enabling knowledge sharing and best market practices, thus, making them a conducive work environment

So, thinking of buying or renting an office? Think again. When you have the convenience of a workplace that offer a quiet, professional and a hassle-free environment whenever you want it, why block funds. We say, try a co-working space now and let us know what you think about them on our blog, Facebook or Twitter
page.

– http://gohive.in

Could Celebrities Be Cutting-Edge Marketers – Leading Online Business Entrepreneurs?

“Where is The Future of Online Business –

Could Celebrities be showing mainstream business the way?”

Have Your Competitors ‘Caught On” and already Talking to Your Customers in this latest marketing evolution for Web Success? (And are they doing it Auto-matically and VERY Cheaply!) SO MANY Crucial Questions to answer… please read on.

The following Report is the Cover Story for “Australian Business Solutions” magazine“

YOU WILL DISCOVER HOW CELEBRITY MARKETING STYLES ONLINE LEAD ‘AUDIENCES’ TO WANT TO BUY RATHER THAN THE CONVENTIONAL BUSINESS APPROACH OF SELLING AND CLOSING. YOU WILL DISCOVER VALUABE, IN FACT ESSENTIAL INSIGHTS AND IDEAS THAT EVERY MARKETER, ENTREPRENEUR AND BUSINESS OWNER MUST NOW EMBRACE!”

(WARNING: THIS REPORT MAY FRIGHTEN YOU… IT WILL DEFINITELY ENLIGHTEN YOU!)

There is a buzz around on the television news, radio, in the print media, at business networking groups and meetings and especially on the internet right now. There seems to be a shift of focus for how people look for products and services and then decide how they spend their money.

In terms of influence and power, the new way people search for products and services and make their buying decisions online could even rival the search engines. And it’s been said that this buzz could be the single biggest thing to happen in business since the industrial revolution!

Sounds over the top, but is there enough evidence (for you) to be a part of it too? And is this buzz a fad or could it be here to stay?

If you’ve watched TV news or listened to radio or brought a newspaper in the past 2-3 years, you will have noticed references to websites in both stories and advertising, where you can find out more – including how to get more information about a product or service and/or how to buy instructions. In more recent times nearly every news presenter, TV show host, journalist and celebrity are also promoting how you can ‘follow’ their lives, interests and activities online too – and it all seems to be centred around websites such as Facebook.com, Twitter.com, YouTube.com, Digg.com and more, collectively known as Social Engines.

Celebrities are using these sites to raise their profile, build their brand and most importantly, solidify their popularity and [hopefully] longevity in their profession and industry. AND, these sites enable their audience (loyal army of fans) to talk directly back to them. And this is at the heart of the buzz and current shift – and why it’s so very important you read on and learn more.

On the Social Engine Twitter.com, Ashton Kutcher and Ellen Degeneres have more followers (fans) than the entire populations of Ireland, Norway and Panama. Their brand awareness and popularity building is personal, although as that increases, so too does their value to corporations looking for product endorsements to drive their market penetration and increase their market share.

Sporting stars like celebrities have broadened their talent base too, becoming more entrepreneurial and business savvy, seeing their name, brand and product value increase, in many cases, to a higher income level than the actual core sporting talent. In other words, acting, playing a sport, being a comedienne or whatever is their core talent is no longer their only talent. They have embraced the concept of brand building (and protection), marketplace communications and conversations – opting for direct contact via sources like online Social Engines. Here they can touch far more people quicker and easier than say a traditional autograph signing exercise.

A true business woman, leader and entrepreneur, celebrity Oprah Winfrey instantly connects and updates a loyal army of over 2 million+ people that follow her on Twitter. Her power and influence is no surprise or revolution in itself, but her army of followers are able to directly provide instant feedback and ideas to her too -and marketplace feedback is a life blood to your business growth and long term sustainability. (Try ignoring it and see where your business goes.) Everyone wants to be heard and Social Engines give you, your business and your customers a voice.

A loyal army of followers can also provide a viral effect to disseminate information quickly too, meaning they can ‘spread the word for you’ if you ask them to – this can be particularly useful if you want to spread good news and conversely if your brand comes under attack via other mainstream media mechanisms or on the Social Engines themself.

Although it might be hard to fathom, could celebrity entrepreneurs like these be showing more traditional businesses how to connect, behave, build our brand, increase our marketplace value and build our business too using these Social Engines?

Is this a valid idea and model for mainstream business or not?

Firstly, the power of Social Engines extends far beyond Twitter.com alone. Some of the other leading Social Engine sites sprout some pretty impressive visitor and member statistics, as well as services.

Facebook.com – If it was a country rather than a website, it would be the world’s 3rd largest after China and India.

On Facebook there are more than 250 million active users and more than 120 million of them log on to Facebook at least once each day and more than 5 billion minutes are spent on Facebook each day (worldwide). The fastest growing demographic is 35 years old and older and within that, the fastest growing segment is 55-65 year-old females. Do people 35+ and women influence the buying decision for your products and services? This is worthy of your attention.

And there’s more… more than 1 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photos, etc.) are shared each week on Facebook alone and more than 2.5 million events are created and advertised each month. More than 45 million active user groups exist on the site and more than 50 language translations of that content are available on the site. The people supplying all this content include business owners and professionals, some of whom are surely in your industry and probably your competitors. And if you think because you’re a localised business that this doesn’t count, you’ll find this statistic most enlightening- 70% of Facebook users are outside the United States.

All of those statistics are just for Facebook alone (source Facebook.com/press/statistics).

You can also purchase Pay Per Click and Pay Per Impression advertising on Facebook (and other Social Engines). They take your spend to a whole new level of value and ROI with their member data allowing you to display your adverts for keywords AND additional, specific demographics of the member base. For example you can display your advertising message to women, 55+ in Melbourne who are single. You can even target people specifically on their birthday with a relevant offer.

YouTube.com – take a look at YouTube (which is owned by Google for good reason) – People are watching hundreds of millions of videos a day on YouTube and uploading hundreds of thousands of videos daily. In fact, every minute, ten hours of video is uploaded to YouTube -including promotional videos, education, product consumption/direction videos and client testimonials for business. Plus every video you add to YouTube includes a spot on the webpage where you can put a link back to your website. PLUS you can add these videos to your blog posts, making them more interesting to your blog readers on other Social Engines too (more about blogs in a moment).

YouTube’s user base is broad in age range, 18-55, evenly divided between males and females, and spanning all geographies. Fifty-one percent of users go to YouTube weekly or more often, and 52 percent of 18-34 year-olds share videos often with friends and colleagues.

And could this be the good reason Google brought YouTube? It’s the 2nd largest search engine in the world today, 2nd only to Google.com. If you want to connect with your marketplace on volume, this is worthy of your attention.

Twitter.com – let’s take a statistical look at that quickly too. Twitter’s footprint has expanded impressively in the first half of 2009, reaching 10.7 percent of all active Internet users in June with 83.1% of users over the age of 25. In July 2009, the Twitter website recorded 23,284,395 unique visitors – who else wants to be ‘front-of-mind’ to an audience of that size? Does your target market include people 25+? This is worthy of your attention.

Twitter has been described as the “Pulse of the Planet” given its instant, viral spread-the-word-to-the-world-instantly nature. It has boosted box office numbers and it’s killed them too, just ask the makers of the movie “Bruno” – overnight ticket sales dropped by more than half thanks to the frank and instant feedback from those that had just seen it. It was so quick too because 80% of Twitter usage is on mobile devices. People update anywhere, anytime – imagine what that means for bad customer experiences and you!

Do you let your customers walk away with a bad experience, only to stand out the front of your store or hang up the phone and blast their frustration and disappointment to hundreds, thousands maybe millions of people -in the ‘heat of the moment’?

The true power of Social Engines is not to be feared, it is to be embraced and when done well, you can influence large numbers of people in the ways you want them to know and represent you. This is worthy of your attention.

Understanding the nature of Social Engine participation is important and the question to answer is – What are people doing on these Social Engines? They are looking for ideas, insights, invites, offers, information, inspiration and conversation.

Savvy business owners, entrepreneurs and professionals are providing it all to them and at the same time, in a more passive or softer way than conventional advertising, promoting their business, building their reputation and ultimately getting more leads and customers to their web sites. These business owners, entrepreneurs and professionals are using resources within services like Facebook that include a Personal Profile Page, Business and Product Pages, Fan Clubs, Groups, Time-sensitive Events/Promotions, Classified Advertising (PPC) and more… and the really smart ones are sharing content direct from their website blog feed too (more about that in a moment).

Then there are sites like LinkedIn, a professional social network and directory of business owners and professionals who can communicate quickly and easily with one another. In a 2009 survey, 80% of businesses and companies who are members were using LinkedIn as a primary recruitment tool to find new employees. This is worthy of your attention.

On these Social Engines, people can say what they want about you and it’s uncensored. What do you do about it? Ignore it and hope the customers and prospects that really matter to you don’t see it? Should you take a proactive approach and start by monitoring what’s been said about you and then start providing your brand of information, insights, ideas and inspiration to your marketplace and control the information flow you want through them?

We are living in an era now where what happens in Vegas goes ON and STAYS ON YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, Facebook and more.

“Because of the speed in which social media enables communication, WORD of mouth has become WORLD of mouth.”

Love them or hate them, social engines are here to stay simply because ‘the people’ love them and trust others on them. Facebook and MySpace are among the most popular destinations on the web. And even though they can be extremely annoying, there is one inescapable fact: the most irritating thing about Facebook is the 200m-strong army of people who use it.

And here’s the final enlightening point- Social Engine participation has overtaken pornography as the #1 activity on the Web.

SO Do you get involved or not? And if so, how do you do it easily and cheaply but still ‘play the game’ like a Celebrity with a 2m+ loyal army of followers?

The reality is that even if you’re not involved, your customers and prospects AND competitors probably are – and they’re talking to one another, perhaps about you and without you so the sooner you start, the better chance you have to becoming both a part of the conversation and then lead it.

The answer for businesses, entrepreneurs and professionals is automation – this is the single biggest break-through strategy and tactic that very few people have worked out, including many larger corporations who are successfully using Social Engines but they are not leveraged with automation, also known as things happening ‘auto-magically‘.

In many cases, businesses are employing specialist online staff on top of web masters and advertising/SEO experts. With automation, you can do a whole lot for very little extra time and virtually no money.

HOW DOES IT ALL WORK?

At its essence or core are six words that will transform the way you generate leads and make repeat sales online – those words are YOUR WEBLOG FEED PLUS SOCIAL ENGINES.

A Weblog or blog as it’s more commonly known is a type of website or part of an existing website that allows you to add content as blog posts or articles and display them on your website – content like information, ideas, insights, offers, news, invites, images and more and you can create blog posts quickly and easily without ever needing to get a webmaster to do it for you.

There are over 200,000,000 Blogs online today and that number grows every day. Again, not all blogs and blog owners are equal, many are neglecting to include automation and leverage and integration with Social Engines so there are many nay-sayers about blogging, but that attitude is changing as more people are enlightened.

A Feed or RSS Feed as it’s more commonly known will distribute your blog posts well beyond just displaying them on your website. Feeds permit subscription to regular updates of your blog posts, delivered ‘auto-magically‘ via a web portal, news reader, or in some cases good old email. Feeds also make it possible for your content (information) to be packaged into “widgets,” “gadgets,” mobile devices, and other technologies as shortened or full length messages, which Social Engines happen to LOVE. Your Feed makes it possible to display blog posts just about anywhere on the web or web connected device and most importantly directly to the millions of people online every day.

That means a Blog with an RSS Feed can ‘auto-magically‘ distribute information you create about you, your business, your products and your services quickly and easily across thousands of sites on the web. And you only have to create your pieces of content once!

A blog is a powerful code (invisible to the human, non-techie eye) and every time you add content to an existing or new blog post, like you would add content to a word document, it is distributed around the web in seconds and is fed directly into the biggest marketplaces and communities of people online every day.

What makes a blog with a feed even more powerful is that it reaches the biggest sources of people (leads) online – who by the way are not just using Search Engines anymore to find out about products and services, they are also using the “Social Engines”. PLUS your Blog Feed can also ‘auto-magically‘ update Google and Yahoo about your site too, so you still stay connected with the Search Engines for no more extra work, or money.

Now if you’re anything like me, when I first heard about these Social Engines, I dismissed them as not being a viable business and marketing channel because they appeared to be for personal networking and friendship (and they are indeed used for those reasons). Whilst many businesses, entrepreneurs and professionals are using these engines and winning new business – only a handful are doing it easily and quickly, because most of them do not know about the power of connecting your Weblog RSS Feed and how it fits in with using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Digg and hundreds more Social Engines.

In my own experience, I was wrong to not get involved with Blogs and Social Engines sooner (like many business owners and professional managers still are) as my competitors began to build an edge I did not have with my marketplace, simply because I did not understand and connect these two key points about connecting your blog directly to Social Engines. If you want to find new customers quickly and easily and build better sales from existing customers:

Your website must be a Blog with a Feed and/or include one as part of your website
Your online marketing mix and strategy must include sharing your blog post information with people on Social Engines like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Digg etc.

And here’s why…

Your competitors have possibly already figured out that social engines are where they can connect with people who include your customers and potential customers because the Social Engines are where your customers and potential customers are going online – and they’re going to these Engines regularly and for long periods of time. And people are making buying decisions based on the conversation they are having and the feedback they are hearing.

Even if you [believe you] have no competition, you’re not connecting with your marketplace as directly and as easily as you can, if you are not using the true power of Social Engines. These online sources or marketplaces attract people 24/7/365, who stay for a while each time. How could you NOT promote you, your business and your products and services there?

Every time you add content to your blog, it is circulated out to many Social Engines, once you set up a FREE account with them… people at these Engines who have an interest in what your business offers then come to your website to find out more.

Here’s an example of how your website Blog, its Feed and these Social Engines work together. (Note this diagram also includes the two largest Search engines -let’s not forget them. Using your Blog and RSS Feed, you can ‘auto-magically’ update them too.)

At the centre of this relationship are your website blog and its RSS Feed. Every time you add content to your blog, the Feed distributes it out to the Social and Search Engines with a link back to your website. People on the Social Engines instantly see a summary of your blog post and a link back to your blog/website. If they are interested in you, they click on the link and follow it back to your website to find out more about you and move forward with you.

“Although we like to feed information to the Search Engines for free listings, the Social Engines outperform them in providing INSTANT, FREE traffic (people) to your website… meaning Social Engines host millions of people live online at any given time who are exposed to your blog post instantly… and not only will they follow your link back to your blog/website if they are interested, they also have the power to make your Feed ‘viral’ – voluntarily passing it on to their friends who in turn pass it on… and so on.

The Social Engines and the people on them help you grow your prospect and customer base quickly, easily and cheaply – you can’t get any cheaper than free!”

The Social Engines are places where people go to and stay at; whereas Search Engines are places people only pass through ‘in search of’ a final site destination. This is the major difference and the significant extra power you’re missing out on if you are not involving your business in the Social Engines. Remember though, the Blog Feed is vital to ensuring your participation is mostly ‘auto-magic’ otherwise participating in them could over run your day, your week and your life!

The Blog Feed allows you to ‘auto-magically‘ update the Social Engines, minimizing the ‘air time’ you personally allocate to this.

So, who’s already taking this seriously and using Social Engines as a powerful, quick, cheap and easy tool and media to generate free leads quickly too?

Firstly, no matter your business, products and services, you’ll find prospects and possibly existing clients already participating in these sites on a regular basis. You are bound to find your competitors there too, it makes good business sense to be present on an Engine where millions of people congregate, converse and seek out people with the products and services they require – someone in your industry is probably joining them and being ‘front-of-mind’ and it should be you.

Everyone that gets it commits to it. These world-wide companies, brands and industry leaders have dedicated resources to connect and cultivate relationships with prospects and clients on the Social Engines with reportable, measurable results:

Motor Vehicle Industry: Chevrolet, Ford, General Motors, Honda

Travel and Tourism Industry: JetBlue, Southwest Airlines, Luxor Las Vegas, Marriott International Hotels and Resorts, Carnival Cruise Lines, Hertz Car Hire

Sporting Teams: Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, Portland Trail Blazers, San Diego Chargers

Entertainment: 92Y, The Travel Channel, ComCast, Marvel Entertainment, Direct TV, Pop Caps, TV Guide

Finance: Wachovia, H&R Block, Intuit

Retail: Best Buy, The Home Depot, American Apparel, Rubbermaid, Whole Foods, Zappos.com

Food and Beverage: Starbucks, Burger King, Dunkin Donuts, Popeye’s Chicken, Tastidlite, Kraft Foods (see Vegemite Case Study below)

Other Global brands: Dell Computers, EMC and Kodak – all benefitting by directly connecting with their target marketplace – whether that’s existing customers and/or potential customers.

Case Study:

Kraft Foods have taken an interesting Corporation-Consumer collaborative approach to product promotion and development using Social Engines. Here’s what they say about their social engine strategy:

For many of our strong brands such as Vegemite – we acknowledged that we are simply (proud) brand custodians and that the brand is owned by ‘the people’. We focused our first two years of social engine participation on simply listening and asking questions.

Two of these questions were:

How do you individually like your Vegemite?
If there ever was to be a Vegemite variation what would this be?

Recently Kraft launched their latest product “Name me” a vegemite plus cream cheese experience. Here’s how they are using Social Engines to develop it.

“This is a work in progress; we spent two years listening and now with the product on shelves the Kraft Communications team is engaging with Vegemite loyalists and cynics alike on the 12 top social engines. They are engaging and getting samples out on and off line- and encouraging debate on the new products. There are a number of Facebook groups sitting in the following camps: pro original, pro new flavour and anti new flavour.”

This is just one way Social Engines are helping businesses already to grow brand, product and corporate awareness. There are many other ways to use it too that can and do lead to direct and immediate sales. No matter the size of your business and marketplace, Social Engines, like the internet at large give you a level playing field with industry leaders like Kraft Foods and the others mentioned here.

Your website with a blog and feed will provide regular content to the Social Engines ‘auto-magically’. You need to support that by also visiting the main Social Engines and engaging people on a weekly basis, as it forms part of your marketing, CRM and all the other pay-offs mentioned previously.

Adding content regularly to your Blog Feed, ‘auto-magically‘ keeps you in touch and front of mind to millions of people around the world, on the Social Engines (and Search Engines) so they can access your business, products and services quickly and easily.

The buzz appears to be more than a fad so for your business it becomes not a question of ‘if’ these Social Engines are going to be a valuable marketing tool for business. Rather, the question now is:

“How quickly will you get your business on the Social Engines

… to Capture Your Competitors Clients too?”

HOW TO GET STARTED

Here’s a checklist to help you get started with your new, exciting and FREE Social Engine Strategy:

1) Get a Blog website with a domain name of your choice OR if you already have a website, get a new sub domain or folder added called blog

2) Open an account with at Google, Feedburner, Yahoo, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Digg, and LinkedIn.

3) Install an RSS Blog Feed and set up a Pinging list on it then add your Blog feed to the Search and Social Engine accounts you created in the step above.

4) Create content-rich education videos that can be added to your YouTube account and your Blog – that is then ‘auto-magically‘ added to your Search and Social Engine accounts.

5) Actively participate in or create new Facebook Groups, Events and Pages.

6) Make promotional videos about you, your business, your products, how you help and support people and upload them to your YouTube Channel then add them to your blog posts.

To really make this all work well for you, you need to know there is a big secret in succeeding with growing your business using Social Engines. You’ve read this far, so here it is: Social Engine success rest largely with you getting to grips with:

Being a ‘face’ of your business and allowing people to connect with your ‘authenticity’ as a person ahead of a product, and
the need to ‘listen’ to your marketplace, innovate with change to meet their ever-changing needs and then share information that will help them, rather than push product.

Millions of dollars are spent monthly with pay per click advertising on these sites and more millions are paid to ‘search engine specialists’ who supposedly help you reach number 1 ranking on keywords relevant to your business. It’s a fierce fight between serious players for top spots on search engines, both free and paid listings. An entire industry is built on it and around it. But you now know how to become a leader in your industry on the most powerful Social (and Search) Engines online today and how to do it Quickly, Cheaply, Easily and Auto-Magically.

In some cases, target market demographics may not be using Social Engines; therefore it would not be worthwhile. Consider these statistics when making your evaluation:

78% of consumers trust peer recommendations. Do you rely on 3rd party endorsements to build buyer confidence? If this is not a necessary part of your marketing and sale process, you may be able to ignore Social Engine Marketing.

Successful companies in social media act more like Dale Carnegie and less like David Ogilvy – Listening first, selling second. Would your competitors be prepared to connect and listen to your prospects and customers directly to discover what they want, and then give it to them? If not, then you may be able to ignore Social Engine Marketing… and least for a little while.

The worst part is the first part. When you start, your ‘following’ could be small but that is far better than not monitoring what’s been said about you at all! The only way to change that is to get in the game!

Get started right now, before your competitors do -it’s the future of marketing your business online, because that is where the people you want as your customers are going online. It’s only a matter of time before someone in your industry emerges as the leader on the Social Engines – get you and your business front-of-mind first. Enjoy the experience and I’ll ‘meet and tweet you’ on the Social Engines of the World!

Difficulty of Funding for India’s Entrepreneurs

Today India appears to be poised for phenomenal growth and this could be well

observed at the start of the new millennium. India is becoming a priority destination for different foreign investors and venture capitalists. Today’s knowledge-based economy of India is considered as a fertile ground for the upcoming entrepreneurs. As a result, the Indian businesses are now adapting the

global competitive environment. But previously, this was not the case; most of the early entrepreneurs had to face hindrances in the path of their success due to

various reasons such as inadequate opportunities, scarcity of capital, lack of technology and many other factors.

India is a conservative nation and most of the people prefer regular monthly pay

rather than embarking on any business venture on their own. In India, people do

have innovative ideas but translating these ideas into business enterprises involves many risks which they find difficult to tackle. This has led to an overall

cautious mindset amongst the upcoming entrepreneurs. Even if an individual makes up his mind to start up an enterprise, he fails to get proper motivation, financial backup as well as proper sources for funding. The most common difficulties faced by Indian entrepreneurs are non-availability of good credit schemes and complexities in acquiring long or short-term loans. Also the Indian banks show lack of interest in entrepreneurial projects and put hindrances in processing the funding request applications. These constraints make an entrepreneur feel handicapped in initiating any kind of business venture.

The reasons behind the difficulties of funding comprise of the communication gap

between venture capitalists or finance agencies and entrepreneurs. Absence of good credit schemes as well as improper presentation skills also contribute to the

difficulties of funding faced by Indian entrepreneurs. Many banks also fail to offer

enduring loans for start up units. Most of the time, investors and finance companies do not thoroughly understand the entrepreneurs’ newly introduced concepts. It would help if the funding agencies and venture capitalists kept themselves abreast with newly developing technologies and their possible profitable uses.

However, the difficulties of funding can be solved by different entrepreneurship practices. The important aspect for entrepreneurship is the attitude to make the entrepreneur-investor partnership based on mutual trust. In this, one partner possesses the innovative idea and skills necessary for implementing an enterprise, whereas the other partner has capital required for execution. This kind of partnership can contribute to paramount success of an enterprise. The finance companies, funding agencies as well as banks should develop certain processes to asses the feasibility of any new business venture and based on this they should facilitate loans for good proposals. These investors, funding agencies and banks should also try and introduce credit schemes that are favorable for entrepreneurs and add to the economic development of the country.

The Five Best iPhone Apps For Business Owners and Entrepreneurs

There are three things that business owners can use more of – time, money and sanity. If you are a business owner, and an iPhone enthusiast, you may be interested in the following five iPhone apps.

1. Calendar – for your sanity.

This one comes standard with every iPhone. For the busy entrepreneur, with meetings, deadlines, and calls, it is a life saver. Need to remember an appointment? Plug it in to your calendar and set a reminder. I like to set two – one five minutes before, and another that gives me enough time to prepare.

2. Safari “Add to Home Screen” – to save time.

This is not an actual app, but a function within Safari. If you have a website that you frequent, it can be a hassle to open Safari and type its address in the browser address bar – or even to search for the bookmark. Log on to the website and click on the plus sign on the bottom of the screen. Then, select “Add to Home Screen.” Safari will place a shortcut to your website on your phone. Next time you need to pull up the website, simply click on the “app” for it and you’re there.

3. 1Password if you’re a Mac user, RoboForm if you use a PC – another time saver.

1Password and RoboForm are applications that securely save passwords for you. They can also generate strong passwords. Both apps require you to install the program on your mac or PC, and both are well worth it. They keep your information safe, and keep you from spending ten minutes looking for that lost password.

4. CC Terminal – for more money.

Ever thought you landed a new client – only to find him backing out of the deal when you call and ask for payment? Close the deal, take the credit card, and THEN go back to your office. This app takes a little bit of setup, but is WELL worth it.

5. Relax – another one for your sanity.

Sometimes, the best way to get more done is to take five minutes to clear your mind. “Relax” helps you to meditate by giving a nice variety of relaxing scenes, sounds included. My personal favorites are “Breezy Meadow” and “Under the Sea.” Take five minutes – or even just one minute before making an important decision to breathe and relax using this fantastic app.

The lure of the iPhone is the number of apps that are available to it. Often, it’s the simple application that can help you move forward, save time, save your sanity, and make more money.

Entrepreneurs: How To Make Your Blog Unique

Thousands of businesses and millions of individuals have their own blog. These numbers increase every day. With so many blogs, how can you create a unique blog? Many are of the opinion that it simply isn’t possible. Some actually say there are no new ideas or even unique approaches to a topic. The one thing these two groups have in common is they are completely wrong. There will always be different perspectives and original ideas. The key is ensuring your blog reflects this.

Why Stand Out

If you, as an entrepreneur, use the same keywords and same designs as all your competitors, how can you expect to stand out from all the other entrepreneurs out there? Blogging is a great way to market your business, but only if you create a unique blog. This ensures your blog is the one searchers see first, the one they remember. It also ensures readers want to keep coming back to read your latest posts.

Create Niche Blogs

General topics are great, and since there are a plethora of general topics that exist, it is an easy way to come up with new topics for your blog. However, general has been done to death. Even with the most unique voice, your blog needs to focus around a niche topic. For instance, a blog on blogging tips may not do so well, but a blog focused on optimizing blog posts will do better. Start by thinking of at least five smaller topic areas for your blog, which relate to your business. Remember, you can always create more than one blog if necessary. Perform a search for those topics to see your competition. The one with the least competition is likely the winner. A niche blog provides more relevant, highly focused content making it more valuable and popular for readers.

Show Off Your Personality

Yes, your blog should be professional. No, it shouldn’t be boring. Your blog is the place to show off your personality. You’re an entrepreneur. Don’t be afraid to let your personality show in the words you write. Every person has their own unique style. Simply write your blogs as if you were giving a talk or just simply, talking to a client. Be relaxed and confident. Let your expertise and unique perspectives shine through.

Create A Killer Design

A reader notices two things about your blog to begin with – the name and the design. Create a catchy, yet descriptive name for your blog. Your business name is perfectly acceptable. Next, focus on creating a design and color scheme, which isn’t used by everyone else. If you use free templates, tweak them so they are unique. Not only should your blogging content stand out, but, the blog itself should be unique. Remember to keep your blog name and design congruent with your brand, while portraying the image of your business you want the world to see.

For more tips on marketing your entrepreneurial dream and how to create a unique blog, visit Elite Entrepreneur. Find out what you need, to take your business from an idea to a booming success.

Top 10 Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make When Choosing a Business Name

In this rapidly growing economy, it is commonplace to see businesses in every nooks and crannies of the world. Sole proprietorship is having the highest number of registration. From the home-based entrepreneur to the shop owner, and then the small office consultant, people are taking advantage of the freedom enjoyed in becoming their own boss.

Billions of corporate monies are invested yearly in starting new businesses. A visit to the Lagos office of the nation’s registrar of business names buttresses this fact.

While it is true that anybody can start up a business of their own, many entrepreneurs have fallen short of the leveraging that accrues from this experience. This, to a large extent, has to do with the disadvantaged names worn by these businesses.

A business does not actually begin by formulating a business plan or opening a bank account. It starts from choosing a name. There’s more to business names than just identity. The right name is an advertising tool. If the name doesn’t describe the nature of your business, potential clients may not realize that you offer something they need.

Let’s take a look at the top 10 mistakes to avoid when choosing a business name:

1. NOT KNOWING WHAT KIND OF BUSINESS YOU ARE IN. It is surprising that some entrepreneurs choose a name with little or no indication of what type of work the organization actually does. Including a descriptive word in your business name can be useful when marketing your products or company. This may be made possible if you have identified what differentiates you from competitors. Take the following examples:

Adenix and Sons

One Love Enterprises

Just You Shop

Can you tell me what any of these companies do? No! They’re relying on customers already knowing who they are (a tricky proposition for new businesses).

2. USING A NAME THAT IS TOO LONG, DIFFICULT TO REMEMBER, SPELL OR PRONOUNCE. A good name is something that can be mentioned on radio or over the phone without explanation. People will make a quick decision based on their first impression of your business name. Put the name through a spelling test and ask others to spell it. So, choosing a name such as “Lolitoesy” is not a good one.

3. NOT SPENDING QUALITY TIME BRAINSTORMING. Business names are not “spur of the moment” creations. It is the result of possibly long days and nights of brainstorming, digging the Thesaurus for synonyms and antonyms, interrelated words and words that have some kind of relationship with the proposed business activity. The big companies even hire expensive consultants to help them choose the right name for their businesses or products.

4. PROMOTING A NAME WITHOUT TESTING AND CHECKING ITS AVAILABILITY. Once you have chosen a few names, test them out on friends and family, potential clients and everyone you know. Ask them what kind of service they feel you provide and feeling they get about the name. You’ll be surprised at how honestly they give you suggestions. Then you can proceed to check availability at the name registry nearest to you after being convinced it’s best. Don’t waste money on letter heads and complimentary cards trying out a business name already chosen by someone else.

5. CHOOSING WORDS WITH NEGATIVE OR NEUTRAL CONNOTATION. A word’s connotation can be positive, negative or neutral, depending on the emotional associations that people generally make. If you are starting a transport business for instance, you don’t want it to have a weak sounding or negative name, such as “Willow Twig Trucking” or “Kitten Transport”. You want a business name that conveys strength and reliability. A choice such as “Stone Creek Transport” would be much better. Remember: Words are powerful.

6. NAMING A BUSINESS AFTER THE FOUNDER OR ANY OTHER PERSON. It is a common tendency for a business to be named after the original founder. This approach can make customers expect the personal attention and care of the owner. Using your name, followed by the type of service works well if you have an already established reputation in your specialty. But, if you are planning to one day sell your company, a company-owner named business is less attractive.

7. NOT CONSIDERING THE FUTURE. Robert Dilenschneider wrote about a public relations person who broadened her services from just writing to media relations and had to change the name of her business from Miller’s Writing Services to Miller’s Communications. Aside brainstorming for ideas, you need foresight in choosing a name. Even if you are operating a highly-niched product, select names that would represent a broader category of your product line.

8. FAILURE TO GET THE RIGHT DOMAIN NAME FOR YOUR BUSINESS. If your business activity is almost 100% online or will do better having an online presence, you may need to consider starting your search by getting a suitable domain name for your website first. In the modern world of the internet, where people automatically turn to the web for information, it pays to have a domain name that reflects your site or business.

9. NOT AVOIDING LAWSUIT. Be unique. The best you can be trying to be someone else is second best. Avoid being a copycat. Using a name similar or identical to that of another business can get you into problems including legal issues. If you call your line of equestrian apparel “Polo Sporting Designs”, the holder of the trademark “Polo” – the giant Ralph Lauren – may slap you with a lawsuit.

10. NOT CONSULTING A BUSINESS NAMING EXPERT. While the services of lawyers, chartered accountants and chartered secretaries can be invaluable in the registration of a business name and company, these categories of professionals might not understand the selling and marketing principles that copywriters can use to your advantage. A good copywriter is always looking for ways to help you communicate more effectively to more people.

An Online Business Directory Is an Entrepreneur’s Best Friend

For many Australian entrepreneurs, an online business directory is becoming an effective tool to grow one’s business or company. If you are own a small or medium business with a target audience at the regional level, you have the most to gain from advertising in an online web directory that also features a range of products and services.

Having your company included in online business directory listings is a form of advertisement, one that is highly recommended by search engine optimization (SEO) practitioners to help drive traffic to your business website and increase the popularity of your website in online searches on Google, MSN, Yahoo and the like.

Kinds of Directories

As late as 20 years ago, your choices for home business directory listings are very limited. The most popular ones are:

* Yellow Pages

* General Business Directories or Regional Directories

* Industry-Specific Directories

The Yellow Pages used to be a very popular advertising medium, similar to an online business directory nowadays. The main requirement was to have a business phone number. Nowadays, the Yellow Pages has been eclipsed by other advertising media, notably the Internet. Fewer people are now using Yellow Pages and the already expensive rates are increasing every year. Nowadays, the online store directory is one of the popular searches made. The readership for general business directories or regional directories is mostly people looking for new suppliers. A common example of this kind of directory is the business list provided by the local Chamber of Commerce. To be listed in industry-specific directories, you need to be a member of the industry association publishing it. Currently, all of these three types of directories have web or Internet versions, like an online business listings. There are literally millions of each kind of directory out there, such as home based business directory listings-a far cry from the days when only paper versions are available.

The cost for being listed in an online business directory ranges from a several hundreds of dollars for a year to a few dollars to virtually nothing. Some directories, such as an online store directory, allow business to be listed totally free of charge while others require a reciprocal link. For small business owners, it is advisable to look for home based business listings.

Follow these tips to make the most of your submissions:

* Make sure that your website is working before you submit the necessary information to an online business guide. People do not want to see pages that are still under construction.

* Make sure the links on your website are working.

* For best results, present your website content in English to an online business list.

Do not expect instant results when you submit a link to a home business listings online. Your submission will be reviewed before the listing goes live on the Internet. Expect a few weeks to several months. Free online business listing guide may take longer because the review is manually done. Submitting links without using a service takes time and effort, but considering the benefits of being listed in a business directory, it is worth it.