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Write You - Does Your Business Really Need a Website?
There are many reasons why people decide to change jobs. Sometimes it's simply about moving forward on long-term goals -- about having choice and options. But sometimes an individual's desire to make a change springs from frustration and/or desperation and the need is immediate and high priority. With this second type of change a person may be looking to get away from such things as a difficult boss, an uncomfortable situation with co-workers, having been passed over for a promotion, an uncomfortable or bad review, etc. As much as we hope to avoid this type of pressure situation, it is often here that we find our greatest opportunity for personal expansion and new perspective. There is no changing anyone but ourselves and with a lack of other options, we are motivated to look more openly at who we are within the context of our work.In line with the Zen quote, "Wherever you go, there you are," a job offers each of us a canvas on which to display our perceptions, beliefs and habits. What we have is a mixture of thought patterns that sometimes work to support us in having what we want, and at other times can lead us into an unproductive, negative place. A snapshot, or scenario, of any given situation may look like the good, the bad or the ugly, depending on which buttons are being pushed and which patterns are at the helm.The Good, Bad, and the UglyThe "good" scenario shows up when we are on top of our game, such as when we feel good about our work, clear about our value and values, get the results that we want, and generally speaking, enjoy what we are doing. During these times the more positive patterns of supportive perceptions and beliefs about who we are and how the world works, lead our way. These patterns are our autopilot system and guide both our routine behavior, as well as how we approach challenges, conflict and even our goals.The "bad" scenario may be more about when we lack something such as patience, organization, understanding, connection to our strengths, etc., and generally speaking, we lack enjoyment. In these times we are sometimes led by patterns that are c
QUESTION 2: What is the cost involved?
Having a website involves three basic costs: The development of the site itself, hosting the site, and registering the domain name.
The development of the site is the actual "building" or putting the graphics, text, links and codes all together so you have web pages that look good and are informative when you see the site on the computer. This is the largest of the three costs and can ranch in price from $500 to $2000 typically. However, the cost of getting a functioning website is generally the same as putting a color ad insert into your local paper once or twice a year. That ad is seen and then gone. The cost of your website is a one-time investment for a tool you own
How much financing do you need for your company? What is the repayment period that you intend to work with? These questions need to be answered in order to determine the amount of financing to be obtained. In order to do this, you will need to know the costs incurred and the estimated revenue as well as your cash flow circumstances at least for the first few months of operations. Apart from that, you will also need to determine the amount that is needed to start your business. You will probably need to purchase assets such as equipment, furniture and remodeling costs, pay for your starting inventory, and have enough for rental and utility deposits. Furthermore, you will also need to pay for incorporation fees, insurance and licenses.The best way to determine your start-up costs would be to obtain an estimation of these costs from vendors providing that will be selling the equipment to you. This can be done by requesting for a list of quotations and specifications to get a good gauge on the amount that you will be spending for this. The same process goes in obtaining prices for your inventory supplies. As for rental and utility deposits, you can get the help of a realtor to advise you on the amount that is required for your new premises.It is good to know that the start-up costs for each business varies according to the nature of the business. A service-type business will naturally incur less or no inventory costs as opposed to a products-based business. Also, the business owner may decide to start on a shoestring budget and thus will just work on a low-cost basis, requiring only bare essentials during the first few months of operations.Apart from looking at the start-up costs, operating costs at least for the first 90 days should also be budgeted. This would include variable expenditure such as rentals, salaries, commissions, utilities and inventory replenishment. It would be good as well to make an estimate on the expected revenue and collections within this period of time, and develop a 90-day budget on the cash in-flow and out-flow. It is also best to keep the estimates conservative, j
- Does my company really need a web site?
- What is the cost involved?
- I already have a web page on someone else's website. Why do I need two?
- I don’t sell merchandise on-line. Why would I need a web site?
- I don’t even use a computer. I can't maintain a web site.
- Our customers like the personal touch and most aren’t computer users.
- I have a cousin who can make web sites. I’ve promised him that he can do ours.
- Our upcoming advertising commitments will use all our marketing money.
- A website seems so sterile and impersonal. It won’t add to “our kind" of customer base that was built on personal relationship.
- I wouldn’t know what to do with a web site if I had one.
The answer to this question could be “yes” or could be “no.” Only the business owner can answer it.
Recently I went to a popular restaurant in a tiny Virginia town to try and sell the owners a website. The restaurant was located right on the waterfront overlooking Chincoteague Bay. I went just before lunchtime in the dead of winter on a weekday. I figured business would be slow and I could chat briefly with the owner.
The owner was gracious and allowed me to run through the basic benefits giving me her full attention – even taking a few notes. I figured I had a good chance of closing this deal. I finally said, “Do you think a website is something you’d be interested in hearing more about?”
This was her reply: “We opened this place as a bait and tackle shop. Then people wanted coffee so we provided that. Then some asked for sandwiches, so we provided that. Later they wanted a few tables where they could sit and chat while they ate their sandwiches, so we got tables and chairs and began doing lunches. That led to dinners. Then we didn’t have enough room so we added the screened in porch for the summer. People loved the porch so much that we winterized for the colder months. Now that it’s January, we thought we might be able to close one day a week and get some time off. But we can’t. We’re too busy. We’ve never advertised and we’re tired. If a website is going to bring more people in here – no thanks!”
This business does not need a website.
Only you can determine if your company needs a web site. While making the determination, you want to consider that a web site is multi-functional, and is a communication tool – not an advertisement. If your business is organized, all of your clientele is local, and you have a back-log of customers waiting to be serviced –and you can handle that service effectively – you may not need a website.
If you often wish you could communicate effectively with a broader range of clients / customers, publicly post answers to frequently asked questions, attract new customers, break in to new markets and take the market share from your competitors – then a website is a MUST!
A web site is like your giant public bulletin board where people can get information on how to find you, where you are located, what you have to offer, why your service is unique, and what’s new in your company. It also is easily updated and changed frequently, and is a communication forum through which your customers can communicate back to you with questions, concerns and feedback on their needs.
QUESTION 2: What is the cost involved?
Having a website involves three basic costs: The development of the site itself, hosting the site, and registering the domain name.
The development of the site is the actual "building" or putting the graphics, text, links and codes all together so you have web pages that look good and are informative when you see the site on the computer. This is the largest of the three costs and can ranch in price from $500 to $2000 typically. However, the cost of getting a functioning website is generally the same as putting a color ad insert into your local paper once or twice a year. That ad is seen and then gone. The cost of your website is a one-time investment for a tool you own a
Good marketing positioning is like good lying. No, we’re not suggesting that you lie when creating your company and product positioning. Anything but, in fact. But, it’s remarkable how much the properties of good positioning resemble the properties of a good lie.Like an effective lie, an effective positioning statement should be:1. Believable. A lie that no one believes is rather pointless, isn’t it? Well, the same is true of your company or product’s positioning. If it’s not believable, then it’s useless. Ensure that the key elements of your positioning statement are rooted in truth, and that the assertions that you’re making about your company’s or product’s capabilities will pass the sniff test of a jaded observer who has seen it all before when it comes to the outlandish statements that a lot of software and information technology companies insist on making.2. Consistent. A weak lie won’t stand up to scrutiny when judged on its consistency. Internal consistency – that is, ensuring that the various elements of the lie, or positioning statement, are not in direct conflict with one another - is very important to making sure that the listener won’t just turn off their eyes and ears to your message.3. Simple. Remember being a kid and trying to tell a lie your Mom? You’d concocted a story so convoluted and complex that it was impossible to remember as you recounted it. A positioning statement is the same way. If it’s so complicated that even you and your sales reps can’t remember it, you’re guaranteed that your customers won’t either.4. Compelling. What’s the point in telling someone something that isn’t interesting and doesn’t apply to them? If you’re taking the risk of lying, tell a lie that is at least somewhat captivating to the listener. In the case of your company or product’s positioning, it should mean something to your target audience. Which means you better have done your homework into their hot buttons beforehand. What’s important to them? What’s not? What benefits can they not do without? Find out, and ensure that your positioning hits t
The answer to this question could be “yes” or could be “no.” Only the business owner can answer it.
Recently I went to a popular restaurant in a tiny Virginia town to try and sell the owners a website. The restaurant was located right on the waterfront overlooking Chincoteague Bay. I went just before lunchtime in the dead of winter on a weekday. I figured business would be slow and I could chat briefly with the owner.
The owner was gracious and allowed me to run through the basic benefits giving me her full attention – even taking a few notes. I figured I had a good chance of closing this deal. I finally said, “Do you think a website is something you’d be interested in hearing more about?”
This was her reply: “We opened this place as a bait and tackle shop. Then people wanted coffee so we provided that. Then some asked for sandwiches, so we provided that. Later they wanted a few tables where they could sit and chat while they ate their sandwiches, so we got tables and chairs and began doing lunches. That led to dinners. Then we didn’t have enough room so we added the screened in porch for the summer. People loved the porch so much that we winterized for the colder months. Now that it’s January, we thought we might be able to close one day a week and get some time off. But we can’t. We’re too busy. We’ve never advertised and we’re tired. If a website is going to bring more people in here – no thanks!”
This business does not need a website.
Only you can determine if your company needs a web site. While making the determination, you want to consider that a web site is multi-functional, and is a communication tool – not an advertisement. If your business is organized, all of your clientele is local, and you have a back-log of customers waiting to be serviced –and you can handle that service effectively – you may not need a website.
If you often wish you could communicate effectively with a broader range of clients / customers, publicly post answers to frequently asked questions, attract new customers, break in to new markets and take the market share from your competitors – then a website is a MUST!
A web site is like your giant public bulletin board where people can get information on how to find you, where you are located, what you have to offer, why your service is unique, and what’s new in your company. It also is easily updated and changed frequently, and is a communication forum through which your customers can communicate back to you with questions, concerns and feedback on their needs.
QUESTION 2: What is the cost involved?
Having a website involves three basic costs: The development of the site itself, hosting the site, and registering the domain name.
The development of the site is the actual "building" or putting the graphics, text, links and codes all together so you have web pages that look good and are informative when you see the site on the computer. This is the largest of the three costs and can ranch in price from $500 to $2000 typically. However, the cost of getting a functioning website is generally the same as putting a color ad insert into your local paper once or twice a year. That ad is seen and then gone. The cost of your website is a one-time investment for a tool you own
In part one of this series of articles we discussed the growth in the marketability of antique brand images and how the apparent extinction of the brand itself can lead to the rapid rise of the marketability of the antique value of the packaging itself.Posters were very much in the vanguard of this market and it is quote ironic that when you look back from the experience of hindsight to see such names that have been involved in this type of commercial enterprise it would appear to be quite amusing.The genre of Posters was effectively born and can be traced back to the late 1880’s when Pears Soap took the portrait “Bubbles” by Sir John Everett Millais, a portrait of his grandson and added a bar of soap to the image. This act of commerciality caused havoc within artistic circles of the day but in effect lead the way for art to be used in all future forms of advertising and posters especially.Since the early days of advertising, artists have been involved in a number of different ways producing all kinds of commercial materials. The artist John Hassal is perhaps (within these circles) best recognised for his powerful images used for Colman’s Mustard, Capstan Tobacco and Lux Soap. In 1919, the artist Will Owen was retained to create the legendary Bisto Kids for the Gravy Salt Company. Esteemed artists of their day have always been commissioned to provide examples of their work for commercial endeavour, a practice that has not always been looked upon favourable though with the Publics fondness for this type of work, the practice has at last been recognised for what it actually is and that is a living embodiment of art itself.It effectively took the endorsement and patronage of major institutions of the day to promote this as a credible form of acceptable art. Institutions such as London Underground led the way with this when they commissioned Edward McKnight Kauffer for their various campaigns and the Oil Company Shell too commissioned work by many famous contemporary British Artists on a wide variety of subjects ranging from the surreal imagery of Hans Shleger to the cartoon style of J
This was her reply: “We opened this place as a bait and tackle shop. Then people wanted coffee so we provided that. Then some asked for sandwiches, so we provided that. Later they wanted a few tables where they could sit and chat while they ate their sandwiches, so we got tables and chairs and began doing lunches. That led to dinners. Then we didn’t have enough room so we added the screened in porch for the summer. People loved the porch so much that we winterized for the colder months. Now that it’s January, we thought we might be able to close one day a week and get some time off. But we can’t. We’re too busy. We’ve never advertised and we’re tired. If a website is going to bring more people in here – no thanks!”
This business does not need a website.
Only you can determine if your company needs a web site. While making the determination, you want to consider that a web site is multi-functional, and is a communication tool – not an advertisement. If your business is organized, all of your clientele is local, and you have a back-log of customers waiting to be serviced –and you can handle that service effectively – you may not need a website.
If you often wish you could communicate effectively with a broader range of clients / customers, publicly post answers to frequently asked questions, attract new customers, break in to new markets and take the market share from your competitors – then a website is a MUST!
A web site is like your giant public bulletin board where people can get information on how to find you, where you are located, what you have to offer, why your service is unique, and what’s new in your company. It also is easily updated and changed frequently, and is a communication forum through which your customers can communicate back to you with questions, concerns and feedback on their needs.
QUESTION 2: What is the cost involved?
Having a website involves three basic costs: The development of the site itself, hosting the site, and registering the domain name.
The development of the site is the actual "building" or putting the graphics, text, links and codes all together so you have web pages that look good and are informative when you see the site on the computer. This is the largest of the three costs and can ranch in price from $500 to $2000 typically. However, the cost of getting a functioning website is generally the same as putting a color ad insert into your local paper once or twice a year. That ad is seen and then gone. The cost of your website is a one-time investment for a tool you own
To succeed in setting up your online business, you need focus and direction. You can't afford to get sidetracked. Use these Marketing Tips and start going forward in the right path. Hope this helps.Marketing Strategies1 Tell people the point or focus of your web site. Explain to them what things they can do or which goals they can accomplish while visiting your site. For example, you could say, "Read 250 Free Net Marketing Tips So You Can Increase Your Sales! Plus Check Our Wide Selection Of Online Marketing E-books!"2 Educate yourself with new strategies to increase your sales. You could take classes, subscribe to e-zines and magazines, read books or e-books, etc. Internet business and technology move at lightning speed. You need to keep up so you don't get left behind.3 End your slow sales periods by planning ahead. Plan to add extra bonuses, hold a sale or package your product with other products. For example, you could say, "Buy one, get one free!" Another example would be, "Buy over $20 worth of products and get 5 free bonuses!"4 Make more commissions from the affiliate programs you join by giving your own endorsements for the products. They usually pull more sales than ads. For example, you could say, "This e-book sent chills up my spine! I highly recommend buying it!" Another example, "All I have to say is, 'Wow! It's that good!'"5 Take advantage of popular fads. If something is popular at the current time, put up a web site about it. Just promote your main site on the fad web site. You could also send off a quick article or press release about it to get free publicity. You could also do this with popular search engine keywords and phrases.6 Increase the perceived value of your free things or bonuses by including the retail dollar amount the freebies would normally sell for. For example, you could say, "Bonus 1# Marketing Tips Newsletter (a value of $120)." Another example, "Get 7 Bonuses With A Retail Value Of $345! That more than pays for your purchase!"7 Create your own web ring. You will gain highly targeted traffic to your web site a
If you often wish you could communicate effectively with a broader range of clients / customers, publicly post answers to frequently asked questions, attract new customers, break in to new markets and take the market share from your competitors – then a website is a MUST!
A web site is like your giant public bulletin board where people can get information on how to find you, where you are located, what you have to offer, why your service is unique, and what’s new in your company. It also is easily updated and changed frequently, and is a communication forum through which your customers can communicate back to you with questions, concerns and feedback on their needs.
QUESTION 2: What is the cost involved?
Having a website involves three basic costs: The development of the site itself, hosting the site, and registering the domain name.
The development of the site is the actual "building" or putting the graphics, text, links and codes all together so you have web pages that look good and are informative when you see the site on the computer. This is the largest of the three costs and can ranch in price from $500 to $2000 typically. However, the cost of getting a functioning website is generally the same as putting a color ad insert into your local paper once or twice a year. That ad is seen and then gone. The cost of your website is a one-time investment for a tool you own
Whether you are a high flying executive or an office junior, it is hard for relationship breakdown at home not to affect performance at work. Indeed many career-minded people find themselves in the sudden and unenviable position of being home alone. Something which most men, in my experience as a coach and matchmaker, are not very good at.Preferring to spend as little time at home as possible, some seek solace by working long hours and avoiding the pain of coming back to an empty flat or house. It might have been the long hours that broke up the marriage; but there was choice then. Now there is very little. It comes down to work, golf (which is great, but you still come home alone) and the extra bottle or three in the Waitrose trolley.Other times, many a divorced executive can be found at Thorpe Park, dressed in jeans and bomber jacket, with their young children in tow, fulfilling their part of the alternate weekends agreement.So who do successful professionals turn to when they are seeking help with their personal lives? They don’t usually ask; proactively that is, there being little room for emotional vulnerability in the corporate environment.And the professionals whose help they might seek come in the guise of executive coaches whose skills often extend to dealing with the personal relationships of their clients.There is no getting away from it. Discord at home, or abject loneliness, can get in the way of productivity at work and, like it or not, that’s when coaching can often come into its own.The adage of having a life in balance is something many divorced professionals struggle to maintain. They may want a relationship but they don’t have one for several reasons:• They don’t have enough space in their lives to look for one • They don’t create enough space in their lives to actually have one • Their wives went off with the social ‘rolodex’ therefore they only know other men, in similar situations to themselves • They don’t want to admit their vulnerability including the fact that they are scared that life might be passing them by
QUESTION 2: What is the cost involved?
Having a website involves three basic costs: The development of the site itself, hosting the site, and registering the domain name.
The development of the site is the actual "building" or putting the graphics, text, links and codes all together so you have web pages that look good and are informative when you see the site on the computer. This is the largest of the three costs and can ranch in price from $500 to $2000 typically. However, the cost of getting a functioning website is generally the same as putting a color ad insert into your local paper once or twice a year. That ad is seen and then gone. The cost of your website is a one-time investment for a tool you own and can continue to use for communication and marketing indefinitely. It is always up - and always accessible.
Hosting the site means the website files are put on a large server so the general public can access your site by clicking through the Internet. Hosting costs vary but average around $20 to $50 per month, based on the website functionality and the hosting provider. Service varies widely as well. The ideal host will offer several services bundled together for one affordable price. Look for these services in a hosting package:
- The space provided for your site on the server should have ample room for high traffic (bandwidth). When a site doesn’t have enough bandwidth, the web visitor finds the site slow loading and difficult to access.
- The hosting package should have at least one email address that can be accessed through the web.
- The Hosting package should have a reliable track record of maintaining high dependability. When your server goes down, your web site and associated email is unavailable. Registering the domain name involves reserving a unique web address where users find your web site - such as www.writingthevision.com. This is done through a public registry service and the cost is typically $35 per year.
- Email services with multiple email accounts.
- Internet marketing services – researching how best to promote your site and get the maximum visibility, drawing more visitors to your site.
- Maintenance services – updating the site continually, making changes, adding pages, delivering web statistic reports, and more.
If you have a web page with your Chamber of Commerce or with a listing service in your industry or parent company, that is a GOOD thing! However, that is not a web site. It more than likely only offers contact information and a brief description of what your offer. It lumps you into a wide category that generally includes your competitors, and in many cases, it doesn’t offer the interaction with the public that your own website would offer. Finally – you don’t own the site or have control over it.
Your web site brands you as unique and reveals your identity. The good news is that having that page with the Chamber or other listing service will enhance and empower your new website. It will drive more traffic to your site and put you one step ahead of the marketing game.
Think about it. If a visitor is looking for a florist on Teleflora and finds five listings close to home – and one of the listings has a link to its own website – that visitor is going to go “one click further” and click on that florist’s website. When scanning a list, people always want to know more. Your link gives them that opportunity.
QUESTION 4: I don’t sell merchandise on-line. Why would I need a web site?
You may not
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