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Posts Tagged ‘e-commerce’

Web Presence Is A Must For Small Business Owners

Thursday, November 26th, 2009

It is considered that small business companies adapt web technologies very slowly. The reason is both money and the conviction! There is nothing wrong with the point. While considering creating a company’s web page, one would be impressed by the number of benefits it grants. Distinguish yourself from thousands of small companies being online. The benefits and growth of your company will refund all expenses related to creating web site and SEO web design as well. About 60% of small businesses don’t have a web site and you should stand on the side of remaining 60% – with the side of development and prosperity. Get more exposure in your branch and attract new clients – all of that is possible with a professional company website. If you are not a professional in the area of computer science, it’s recommended to find the best web design company that would create you an impressive web site for you.

Nowadays almost every company has a web page. If you still advertise your small business only in the newspapers, you are just out of the game. A professional web presence is just a must for a small business.

Your company’s web page should be clear, professional and useful. Remember about containing all the most important information about company profile and the offers your company grants! With the help of a reliable web design company it would not be hard to accomplish this factor. They would advise you not only on the graphic design and the structure of a web site but also advise which information will add credit to your domain. Another thing that would help your business to prosper is being active on social networking like LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook. You can create a positive image of your company without big efforts.

With your company’s web page you would certainly improve your chances to develop, but still it isn’t enough. There is no point of having a web page if no one knows about it. That is why you should consider SEO web design. Promoting your website means promoting your business, so it’s worth both effort and money. The highest traffic on your company’s page will result with more clients and more money. That is why SEO web design is just a must nowadays. Ask your web design company if they offer such services and do not hesitate. Improve the traffic of your web page and gain incredible popularity in the World Wide Web. If your company web displays top on the list of search engines results, you have better chances of being noticed.

The last but not least advice – always remembers to keep your web page fresh and dynamic with up-to-date information. There is nothing worse than out of date price list or previous address of the company on your web page. That makes you unreliable and unprofessional too. With fresh and full of resourceful up-to-date web page, you have better chances to make impression on potential clients without even talking with them. Ethos 360 offers these services and more.  Click on this link for more info- www.Ethos360.com/branding/.

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Entrepreneurs Can Still Thrive Online Despite the Economic Downturn

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

Remember- Fortunes are built during the bad times and cashed in during the good. If you think a recession is a bad time to start a business, think again. An entrepreneur is adaptable and is always looking for opportunities. There are many logical reasons why this is a good time to start your own online venture. Your capital maybe limited and you feel the pressure of a recession that looks like it’s not going away anytime soon so let’s get serious and look at your options.

An online business, done correctly, can be your ticket to not merely surviving tough times but thriving. They can actually provide more income than a regular 9 to 5 job allowing you to escape being a wage slave or if you’re a little older and that early retirement may have to wait a few more years this may be perfect for you.

Think about it. Now more than ever, people and companies are more conscious of their spending habits and are turning to the internet to save cash and get value for their hard earned money. This doesn’t mean that any online business will make you rich. You’ll still need to learn how to set yourself apart from the competition and determine ways to streamline your operations just like any other business.

One huge plus, especially if your 401k has taken a beating and there’s no equity in your home to borrow against an online businesses normally doesn’t need as much start-up capital compared to a traditional brick-and-mortar business, but usually requires a steep learning curve. If your currently unemployed this should present no problem but if you are hanging onto your job it might take a little longer to get up to speed. There are no shortcuts and like any business, certain skills are required to make it worth your time.

Just like any other entrepreneurial endeavor a half hearted attempt at being an online entrepreneur will get you nowhere. Before you decide to delve into this avenue of business, consider how much time you can devote to your online business. Also consider what type of business suits you best. Your personality and skill set are great tools to use in making this assessment. Look deep within yourself. Take a long hard, objective look. Keep in mind you’ll be putting a whole lot of time and effort into the new venture.

Eventually, you’ll have to decide which online business is best for you and for most people that usually means deciding which business will generate the most income.

Now let’s take a quick look at some of the top online business opportunities that await you online…

Blogging – A blog (short for web log) is a website maintained by an individual with content (text, pictures, art, videos, music, podcasts, etc). Consider it your particular take on anything and everything. Be warned. The internet is already supersaturated with blogs, so if you’re thinking of adding another, try to do some sort of business blog to help attract interested advertisers. A well constructed, well written, popular blog can attract advertisers or become part of an affiliate marketing network.

Affiliate Marketing – Basically, affiliate marketing is a marketing technique where revenue sharing occurs between advertisers/merchants and online publishers (you). Choose a search engine optimization friendly domain name, and create a website around it. Add content, drive traffic to it, and look for merchants with affiliate programs or try joining an affiliate marketing network that will link your site to related merchant sites. Create more websites. This is probably the most labor-intensive and technical online business opportunity out there but there’s considerable income for those with the technical skills to make it worth their efforts.

Online Auction / E-commerce- One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, especially in the online marketplace. You might begin by auctioning personal items online from your attic or garage. When you’ve depleted these items, you may want to sell merchandise that you have obtained cheaply from local sources, for example, to interested buyers from around the world. You could also manufacture your own uniquely marketable items like handcrafted jewelry and other arts and crafts projects. Then again, be sure you stand out from the crowd because, as many people have discovered, there are a LOT of people selling the same type of products and merchandise online.

VA (Virtual Assistant) – As more companies downsize, support services begin to shift from the real world to the virtual world. Providing administrative and business support to other business owners might not make you rich but it might be worth doing if you’re unemployed or a stay at home parent.

Freelance Services- Provide professional services like copywriting, web design, photography and illustration. These jobs are truly skill based. Therefore, learn and exceed in the necessary skills to attract and maintain your client base. An impressive portfolio will take you much farther than an impressive resume in this line of online business. So be sure to make your published work speak volumes about your skills. This online business requires a considerable amount of talent and knowledge to make it feasible as a significant source of income.

Financial Solutions Marketing and Training – Of all the online business opportunities available, the most lucrative and most rewarding appears to be that involved with internet marketing and financial education and wealth management. This business allows one to make a substantial amount of money, and allows one to teach other people how to make money. Helping other people achieve their fondest dreams of obtaining a wealthy lifestyle can be a truly rewarding experience in more ways than one. You too can learn to create wealth by using the right mindset, the proper tools and a fair amount of initiative.

In summary, do some soul searching and prepare yourself to make a big commitment. Don’t do it “half-way”; go the distance and give it your best shot possible. Whether you succeed or fail you always know you did your best and that’s what counts. If you require additional professional guidance you may want to review the mentoring and business coaching services of Ethos Mentor (www.ethos360.com).

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Entrepreneurs- How to Start-Up an E-Commerce Business on a Budget

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009
Many entrepreneurs start e-commerce businesses due to the low initial costs involved. No store lease to pay for, good quality web designers will work for very reasonable fees and you can target your specific demographic will relative ease. Most e-commerce start-up entrepreneurs still need a steady income, but they lack start-up funds, and have little to no retail experience or technical expertise.

Many types of merchant services are available now also for very reasonable costs. Set up and operation has also been simplified. The traditional route of utilizing your banks merchant services has gotten much easier. PayPal, the leader in online merchant transactions has automated checkout systems along many newly added merchant services, all with reasonable fees, a solution for every situation along with general acceptance with online shoppers. Being able to offer PayPal on your site even gives entrepreneurs additional credibility further enhancing their online reputations and consumer confidence. Visit http://www.paypal.com/ to explore the available custom tailored merchant payment solutions.

To summarize, if you’re considering coming online, but know nothing about e-commerce and can’t afford to lose any money, here are several tips to help alleviate the stress in your transition into online sales:

1. Consider starting out with a storefront on a reputable selling venue, such as Yahoo! or eBay. They’re easy to set up, even without a proficiency in coding. You can easily get started selling without hiring a web designer, programmer, or SEO consultant – much more easily than with an independent web site.

2. Drop shipping is an ideal product sourcing model when you begin retailing online. Whenever your customers place their orders with you, you turn around and place those orders with your drop ship supplier. Your supplier then sends those products from their warehouse directly to your customers’ homes. You only pay your drop shipper when your customers pay you, so you don’t have to invest money you don’t have into inventory that might not sell. Thus lowering the barrier to entry and allowing the entrepreneur a vast array of products to sell.

3. You may not have a great deal of money to spend on search engine optimization, but you can still do well in the natural rankings if you concentrate on giving the search engines what they really want: original, quality content. If writing content is not your forte a professional firm can be hired or to save even more put an ad on craigslist, www.craigslist.com, to find a free lancer. Make sure to request samples of their work and check references.

4. New e-commerce entrepreneurs often make the mistake of posting the template product descriptions their suppliers provide. But if a hundred sellers use the same product description, the search engines will see a hundred identical listings and only bring back one of those stores in the results. That’s why each of your products needs its own unique copy.

5. Even if you have hundreds of products, you can work on a set number a day until you’ve written a fresh, unique description for every item. All this requires is time on your part or start with a select few products and add more along the way as customer demand dictates.

6. While you wait for your SEO efforts to pay off, you may have to invest in some Pay Per Click ads to bring customers into your store. We recommend advertising on a shopping search engine, rather than a traditional search engine. Typically, the cost is lower, and the conversion is higher.

7. Your Google ad may bring in ten times more clicks per day than your ad on a shopping search engine, but you’re going to see about the same number of sales resulting from those clicks. And with the shopping engine, you’re only paying for one-tenth of the clicks. Your return on investment (ROI) may be more substantial than with just using Google.

Walking the walk. Opening an E-Biz isn’t a magic bullet, or a quick fix for all your financial woes, but it is a low-risk, low-investment opportunity for anyone willing to do the work. The key is to set realistic goals and take practical steps to make them happen. 

Don’t forget customer service. Customer service is just as important, if not more so as with a bricks and mortar retail store. Friendly, prompt responses to customer inquires along with addressing the concerns of your clientele will go a long way to creating a positive online reputation for your business.

I’ve seen many e-commerce entrepreneurs do everything right only to drop the ball with customer services to not only lose customers but to than have those same dissatisfied customers post their poor experience online further hurting a company’s reputation.

Years ago an unhappy customer might share their poor experience with a few friends and family member. Now, with the proliferation of consumer centric forums, message boards and company review websites an unhappy customer can share their poor experience with hundreds if not thousands of online shoppers. The old adage: “the customer is always right”, applies now more than ever.

In summary, as with any start-up or growth stage business seek out an affordable reputable business mentor, who has the applicable experience, to offer guidance and steer you around any potential pit falls you may encounter. A great example of a company that can help is Ethos 360, http://www.ethos360.com/. Most professional mentors and business consultants can also draw from their own rolodex of trusted service providers to assist you thus saving you time, headaches and frustration along with valuable capital in the process.

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