Small Business

One of the most frequently asked questions we get from new clients is: Why are you estimating/billing so many hours? The client will then go on to say that it's a "quick project" that should only take a few hours. This is a perfectly reasonable question for a new client to ask, and each client deserves a clear answer.

Since my focus is copywriting, I'll give you a writer's perspective on the process I go through when writing copy for a client. Writing copy, even for a simple website, is not as easy as sitting down and starting to write (although I wish it was that easy).

Imagine a website that has tens of millions of users that you can access for free. This is the idea behind the social networking site Facebook. The site isn't just for giddy teens and college students looking for a good time either. Facebook is also a great way for small businesses to reach out to their customers and potential customers.

Chris Anderson says in his new book Free: The future of a radical price (page 163) says:

One of my favorite eye candy blogs, Design*Sponge, is running a great series of posts on various aspects of running a small business "to connect and create local support systems" for women. Every Tuesday a new expert chimes in on various ways to start, grow, and run your small business.

No, you didn't read that wrong. Apparently even bad products reviews can help increase online sales.

You have started a blog for your business's website to share your expertise, be part of a larger online community and to help market your business. Now what? Your blog is up and running and maybe you have written a few posts. How do you get people to visit your blog?

For many small business owners, a website can be a double-edged sword. On one hand, a website provides a business with a great way to market their products/services to people far beyond the company's geographical location.

On the other hand, a website either means paying a lot of money for someone to maintain it and make even small content updates, or the owner must learn HTML, graphic design, coding and a lot of other skills to keep the website going. And there's still no guarantee that the site will draw in visitors and convert them into customers.

You started a website and/or blog and now you want to make a little extra cash off of it. Adsense is leading ad program for publishers and advertisers alike. That doesn't mean it's the best, but it's probably the largest and the most well known.

Adsense is not for every website. There are a lot of sites out there that make plenty of money without ever showing a single Adsense ad. But if you think Adsense is right for you, then here are a few tips to help you out:

Being a small business owner means you are busy and you frequently have to wear many hats. If you're an iPhone owner, then you can relax, because there is relief.

When Apple opened up the iPhone and iPod Touch to third-party developers, the utility of the device went off the charts (let's face it, the iPhone was useful even before the app store became available). Now there are thousands of tools available to help you manage your business.

The only problem is, with so many choices, how do you decide which apps to take a chance on?