Home office or office-office?

For many small business owners, home is where it’s at: the commute and dress code are a cinch and the tax write-offs can save startups a lot of money.

Still, for some like Toronto-based Marija Main, owner of Currant Art Direction and Design Solutions, having an offsite office can become a necessity over time.

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Marija Main

 “I worked from home for three years but as my business grew, I sometimes needed to hire a production artist during busy times. It felt unprofessional having someone work from my dining room table.”

Marija recently bit the bullet and opened a studio near her home where three people can work comfortably – and where she can even do her painting on quiet days. It’s also close to where her children go to school and to her gym. 

Home office expert, Lisa Kanarek, says there are three big reasons entrepreneurs like Marija decide to relocate:

1. Interruptions: If you live alone, a home office can be the ideal place to focus and get your work done. But if you have a family, the once dreamy idea of being able to work near your family can turn into a nightmare if demands from your spouse and kids begin interfering with your assignments and client relationships.

2. Loneliness: We often take the office environment for granted and don’t appreciate the interaction and inspiration it can provide. While many people work well in isolation, for a lot of us, the impromptu visit from a coworker can provide a timeout when we need it most.

3. Growth: As Marija can attest, once you begin hiring employees – even part-time ones – working together on a regular basis in a small home office space may become a hindrance.

Marija’s expansion has had great perks:

“An important benefit for me is to provide my clients with a private space to discuss business… instead of hosting a meeting at my house or in a public coffee shop,” she says. “Plus, getting up from the office chair and brainstorming a client’s job in another environment really works!”

Some things to consider if you decide to get an office-office:

· Share a space – plus office equipment and a receptionist – with other small businesses. It can make the added expense more manageable.

· Negotiate a short-term lease – if the arrangement doesn’t work out, you won’t have that long to wait, or if your business continues to grow you’ll have more leverage when you renew with your landlord.

Here are more great tips from Lisa to help you decide if it’s time to move out of your home office.

Are you thinking of making the move? We’d love to hear why.

Posted by Lynnette in Growing Your Biz on February 8th, 2010

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How have you marked your territory?

By Donna Marrin

We spend so much time at our desks. It’s no wonder that most of us like to ‘leave our mark’ by personalizing our workspaces in ways that will make our surroundings feel… ‘homey.’ If we were like most animals, we’d simply pee on our cubicle walls. Thankfully, our species marks its territory in a much more civilized manner.

Steven Schiavo, a professor of psychology at Wellesley College, says, “People decorate their offices because it makes them feel more comfortable and satisfied, and that can make them more productive. It is also a way to mark territory. Some research even shows that people who are more territorial about their offices have more influence within them and feel surer of themselves when presenting ideas there.”

A big ol’ computer monitor is the focal point of my desk. It typifies exactly why I can be found at my desk all day—every day—rather than lying in a chaise lounge with a box of bonbons and a James Patterson novel.

But the personal items on and around my desk are the ones that represent what lives in my heart. They add a bit of ‘warm and fuzzy’ to my day, no matter how crazy things become… The small wall-hanging I stitched—an expression of my passion for creative needlework. The little vial of powder-white sand and seashells filling a glass bowl—one glance takes me back to my last vacation in Curaçao. A couple of awards I won—great morale boost. The aloe plant that banishes the sting of a paper cut in minutes. And my all-time, personal favourite desktop memento that makes the announcement, “You are now entering Donna Marrin territory!”: a framed photo of my beautiful daughter.

How have you marked your territory? Send me a photo of your favourite office-space memento and I’ll post all submissions next month!

 

Donna Marrin is a freelance Senior Writer/Editor specializing in corporate communications and advertising. She also founded and runs the Markham Village Writers. You can visit their website at www.markhamvillagewriters.com

Posted by Lynnette in Uncategorized on February 5th, 2010

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7 Simple steps for rounding up new customers

By Donna Marrinclip_image002

No matter how many tasks there are on your to-do list, if you want to maintain a successful business, you can never be too busy to seek out new customers on a routine basis. It’s like running a ranch—if you want the cattle to come home, you have to get ready to round them up.

Need some tips? Get on your chaps and grab the reins…

1. Offer incentives to your current customers as a reward for word-of-mouth referrals.

For example: a percentage off the next purchase; a complimentary service; one week/month fee-free; a free gadget.

2. Direct marketing—Hit your target market with a ‘time-sensitive, limited offer’ announcement. Distribute eye-catching flyers or postcards that feature an appealing offer: a percentage-off coupon that undercuts your competitor’s price or a complimentary first visit; or partner with another business that complements your own and present a hard-to-refuse combined offer.

3. Offer gift certificates. Did you know that approximately 20% of all gift certificates are never redeemed, 80% are redeemed for more than their value and 40% are redeemed for more than twice their value! You just can’t lose with gift certificates.

4. Throw an Open House event. Come up with a fun theme to celebrate. Advertise your event in the local media. Send out “bring a friend” invitations to all the customers in your database. Set up demos of interest to your visitors and have information ready for them to take away to read later. Set up a ballot box where visitors can drop their business cards to enter a draw to win one of your products, as well as be added to your mailing list. Offer simple refreshments and make sure every person leaves with your brochure/business card.

5. List your business in the Yellow Pages. Even in this electronic age, a lot of people still turn to the Yellow Pages when they’re looking for a particular local business, a phone number, or just more information about what exists in their area. Cover all your bases by listing your business in both the print and electronic versions.

6. Build a website and get the word out about it. Having a website is one of your best advertising tools. Draw attention to it: through the various social media channels discussed in previous posts; by spreading the word at networking events; by linking your site with other sites frequented by your target market; by going viral—telling anyone and everyone about it, and telling them to tell their friends.

7. Arrange to be interviewed by a local newspaper or magazine. Many community papers like to feature people in the community. What better way to advertise your business than to chat it up in a vehicle that circulates throughout all the neighborhoods in your region.

There are tons of new customers are out there. Just grab a lasso and round ‘em up!

Can you add any tips to the list? Let us know.

  

Donna Marrin is a freelance Senior Writer/Editor specializing in corporate communications and advertising. She also founded and runs the Markham Village Writers. You can visit their website at www.markhamvillagewriters.com

Posted by Lynnette in Growing Your Biz on February 4th, 2010

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Security and the Small Business

By Jeff Williams

I get asked a lot about Security.  Every day we hear stories about viruses, stolen data and private info getting in the wrong hands. All this tech-talk can make our new world seem like a very unsafe place….and in fact it is.  Your security is a very big topic, but I broke some of it down to help simplify it and provide you with a quick overview.

Most people have an anti-virus program on their computer.  McAfee Antivirus or Symantec/Norton Antivirus are two popular options.  If you don’t have an antivirus program on your computer it is most likely already infected.  (A typical warning sign that you have a virus is if your computer suddenly becomes very slow, or starts interrupting your work with pleas to purchase software – this most surely means you are infected.) Don’t worry about it, just bring it in to be cleaned.  Staples Easy Tech services can help you. If you are tech savvy you can find free anti-virus software on the internet, but beware, because if you don’t know what you are doing you could download an infection by mistake. This leads me to an important point: if you are browsing on the internet, and are asked to download anything, be very, very careful. If you have any doubt, just play it safe and don’t do it.

Use a firewall.  A firewall is a program that stops bad software from interacting with your computer.  Most anti-virus programs (and later version of Windows) include one but make sure it is enabled.

Use a Spam filter and don’t click on links in Spam. Everyone gets Spam (80% of all e-mail on the internet is now Spam.) Asking to be removed from a Spammer’s distribution list only confirms that your e-mail address is valid, and you will get more Spam. If your e-mail reader doesn’t have a Spam filter built in then get one.  Spam filters are included with most commercial anti-virus packages.

If you have a laptop there is a good chance you may lose it, or someone will steal it. If you have any sensitive data on that laptop then encrypt it (I use PGP desktop with full-disk encryption. If you have any data that you can’t afford to lose then back it up. A great product to make this easy is called ClickFree.

If you use wireless at home, then encrypt your connection. It is unlikely that someone is going to hack into your network to try to steal your data (unless you are a very big company) but protecting your wireless connection will stop your neighbors from freeloading and slowing down your connection.

I hope these tips and advice help you ensure safe business and computing practices. Feel free to comment or ask me questions. I am happy to respond.

 

 Jeff Williams is VP of Information Systems at STAPLES Canada. Jeff has been with STAPLES for over 9 years and leads an IS team of over 50 people. From his history with Indigo, Nortel and IBM, Jeff brings STAPLES extensive experience in the high-tech field.

Posted by Lynnette in Getting Started on February 3rd, 2010

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Business Plan 202: Advice for startups

clip_image002Happy Groundhog Day – have you written your business plan yet?

For years, my dental hygienist nudged me about the importance of flossing. It was just like Groundhog Day every time I visited. For years I nodded, flossed for the next couple of days then forgot again until just before the next visit. (BTW, after years of embarrassment, I finally learned my lesson and floss every day.)

If you’ve been reading this blog regularly, you may have noticed a lot of nudging from us about putting together a business plan. The reason is, like flossing, even if it might seem like a bother, developing a plan is one of the most important things you can do for your enterprise’s long-term health – especially if you’re a startup.

Says Michael Eisenberg, an accountant who’s worked with small business owners for more than 30 years:

“When you’re building a business from the ground up, you’re taking a bigger risk than if you were buying an existing business or a franchise with some operating history… And if you’re trying to raise money from others, they’re going to want to see your business plan…”

But while everyone agrees about the importance of a plan, it turns out there are a lot of ways to write one. In fact, BusinessWeek’s David E Gumpert says there are five common ones to consider:

1. Executive summary: A cohesive and engaging two-page mini business plan that covers your business’s strategy, management team, market, product or service, sales plan and finances. (I’ll talk more in depth about an executive summary in an upcoming post.)

2. Synopsis: Gumpert calls this an executive summary on steroids – “the emphasis here is less on the particulars of the idea and more on why the idea is especially relevant to the investor.”

3. Summary business plan: 10 pages or less, it will include an executive summary plus a page each on components such as your product, market, competition, marketing and finances. Gumpert says this is the most common type of plan requested by prospective investors.

4. Full business plan: A traditional 25- to 35-page document with full marketing data, financial projects and more.

5. Operational business plan: The Godzilla of business plans, this type of plan can be 50 pages or more and is usually developed not just to raise money, but to plan how your business will operate.

Here is a fantastic resource on writing your business plan – you’ll want to check it out.

And, of course, speak to your accountant, possibly the best person to turn to before you get started.

Any questions about writing your startup’s business plan? We’d love to help if we can.

Posted by Lynnette in Getting Started on February 2nd, 2010

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Let’s make a deal

Every dollar you save in running your business is a dollar that can be re-invested in building it. After all, isn’t that truly the bottom line?

Before you can begin cost saving, however; you need to understand how much you’re actually spending. In Get Growing,  Dale Wilton and Kyle McNamara suggest you start by building a cost-management system:

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 “It can be as simple as a tally sheet or as complex as sophisticated, automated information-management systems.”

By tracking what you’re spending – from your time to gas, meals, supplies, Internet service or rent – you can begin to plan, analyze and make decisions that can save you money. 

Once you have a better idea of where your money is going, Wilton and McNamara offer up six ways to save:

1. Request for quotes: Competition is the lifeblood of capitalism, so why not make your suppliers compete? Create a request-for-quote process that outlines the goods or services you need, send it out via mail, fax or email. From the responses, narrow down your choices to the top two or three but don’t make a decision solely on price – make sure the supplier you choose is also reputable.

2. Increasing buying power: Big suppliers often give discounts to big clients, but what if you’re small? Team up with other small businesses that offer non-competitive products or services similar to your own – for example, share advertising space, mailing costs or promotions with other local entrepreneurs.

3. Bartering: It’s one of the oldest ways of doing business – trade your product or service with other businesses whose products or services you need.

4. Discounts: Again, teaming up with other businesses, associations or buying groups can help you save. And surf the Web for cheaper alternatives elsewhere.

5. Outsourcing: If your business is seasonal, you may want to consider hiring staff or leasing equipment only when you’re at your busiest.

6. Dare to compare: Always ask questions – your advisors may be able to give you a sense of whether you’re paying more than the going rate. And ask industry associations for benchmarks to help you gauge costs.

What successes have you had negotiating with suppliers? Do you have your own tips to share?

Posted by Lynnette in Uncategorized on February 1st, 2010

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Today’s candidates for the Messy Desk Hall of Fame

By Donna Marrin

(Or, should I say… Hall of Shame?) clip_image002

Well, well, well. I’m feeling rather chipper these days. Why? Because I thought my desk was the messiest ever and I was feeling a bit ashamed.

Then I got a photo last week that showed the horrendous state of my accountant’s desk and the sight of it caused my chin to lift a little off my chest. 

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clip_image004This week, after receiving some more very competitive photos, I now have a bounce in my step and am able to maintain eye contact for an indefinite length of time.

It’s kind of hard to see, but here the desk of STAPLES’ $200 gift card winner, Pam T, from Belleville, Ontario. That money would be well spent on some packing cartons!

clip_image006And this workspace of xxx repute belongs to STAPLES’ $100 gift card winner, Steve B of Guelph. P.S. Is that a baseball bat leaning up against the file drawers? I don’t think I speak for myself alone when I say, NOT A GOOD IDEA, Steve—especially if it’s within easy reach of your computer monitor on one of those days!

Come on, folks—make my Friday! Send me more icky photos!

 

Donna Marrin is a freelance Senior Writer/Editor specializing in corporate communications and advertising. She also founded and runs the Markham Village Writers. You can visit their website at www.markhamvillagewriters.com

Posted by Lynnette in Uncategorized on January 29th, 2010

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5 Myths Of Online Marketing – Part 2

By: Ryan Freeman

We’re back for part two of the list I began yesterday [link to first post], talking about our Top 5 Online Marketing Myths.

3. Search Engines Are Your Friend

clip_image002Myth: Search engines are the best thing to happen to business owners – cancel all other advertising!

Background: Many business owners think that search engines exist to promote the interests of website owners by providing a steady stream of traffic. They view search engines as the saviour of small businesses – a reliable source of endless free business leads.

Fact: A search engine’s only responsibility is to the user – not the website owner. As above, search engines live and die on their ability to provide the most relevant results to a user, thereby creating loyalty and trust in the user. If the results are not relevant, the user might switch to a different engine (just ask Yahoo! how that works).

Best Practice: Enjoy the traffic you get from the search engines, and keep working to maintain or increase the flow of leads. Seek to diversify your traffic sources. Remember that a search engine has no loyalty or responsibility to you, so the moment your competitors position themselves as being more relevant, they will get your traffic. Don’t become complacent or you will lose market share – and the search engines will offer no sympathy or comfort.

4. Meta Tags Are The Secret Sauce

Myth: If I cram the right keywords into meta tags often enough into the pages of my site, I will rank higher in the search results.clip_image004

Background: Like keyword density, this fable keeps hanging around, likely because it, too, offers a simple and easy solution to the complex problem of search rankings. A decade or more ago, search engines placed some weight on the values in the “keywords” and “description” meta tags on a Web page. The meta tags are not visible to users of the website, but provided some contextual information for the robots crawling the site. As you can imagine, this was quickly exploited – and quickly devalued.

Fact: Search engines ignore the “keywords” tag. So should you. Stuffing it full of off-topic, repeated permutations of your generic keywords won’t help you, but it might hurt if you’re flagged as a spammer. The “description” tag won’t help with rankings, but can certainly help attract clicks as this descriptive text is often used to form your listing in the search results.

Best Practice: Write short, inviting descriptions of two or three sentences, including the key phrases targeted so that your listing will appear more attractive to a search engine user. As with keyword density, if your software or search marketing consultant focus is on meta tags, it’s time to cut your losses and run.

5. A No. 1 Ranking Is The Key To Riches & Success 

clip_image006Myth: If I can rank number one for “lawyer,” my law firm will have customers lined up for eternity.

Background: It’s true that having a number-one ranking on a search engine will drive much more traffic than a lower ranking, but as search terms become increasingly longer, it’s more and more important to focus on ranking for specific and relevant terms, not just one-word generic queries. If you’re practicing real estate law, it won’t do you any good to have a stream of traffic looking for a good DUI attorney. Additionally, ranking for obscure terms is vanity if no one is searching for those phrases.

Fact: Keyword research is an essential first step in building a website. Before the design, before the content, you need to know what phrases are best for you to target. There are several free keyword research tools available online to help you build a suitable list.

Bonus Fact: No ethical search marketing firm will guarantee search engine rankings, simply because no one can guarantee the behaviour of a third party – in this case, the search engine. Often the firms that promote guaranteed rankings will also mandate that they get to select the keywords. This leads to money being wasted on irrelevant, low-competition keywords where ranking is more easily achieved but is of little value.

Best Practice: Research your targeted keyword phrases at the beginning of your project and continually expand and revise your list. Target more generic (but relevant!) terms on the top-level pages and more specific terms on sub-pages of your site. By siloing your content, you will paint a thematic picture for the search engines, rank for the appropriate terms and provide a better experience for the user – which leads to more conversions and a profitable business.

Truth be told, this topic could easily be expanded into a twenty-post series dealing with myth and misinformation, but it’s my hope that the points I’ve outlined here will help you avoid costly mistakes and the occasional snake oil salesman.

Got questions or disagreements? What are your favourite SEO myths? Post your responses in the comments below.

 

 

Ryan Freeman is a fifth-generation small business owner and the founder of Strider Inc., an online marketing firm providing SEO consulting and online marketing strategies for businesses and non-profit groups. You can contact Ryan through the Strider Inc. website, email or by phone at 800-314-8895.

Posted by Lynnette in Promoting Your Biz on January 28th, 2010

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