Fostering Innovation 101 for the Smart Business Owner

Eric Clapton is not the only person who wants to ‘change the world’ – entrepreneurs do this everyday as they put their passion into work, driving their vision to a mission with action by:

Thinking Without the Box

Who cares if you’re in or out the box; remove the box completely and what do you have? Thought leaders succeed because they took the risk of being different and not minding that they are ( or what people say they are ). It’s like being a five-year old where anything is possible.

Having Strong Values

And keeping them as well! What do you value about your work? Are you an optimist? Imagine yourself as Christopher Columbus getting ready to navigate the world. Master innovators are all leaders in their industries and what sets them apart from the crowd is the way they follow their vision… by heart.

Using the Power of the Team

There is indeed power in numbers and what’s better than tapping into the power of your crowd. Whether you are doing a market research on your customers, or just having another huddle with your team – always be receptive to new ideas that can help you level up your business. Encourage small talks and take time to have a creative time off. You can’t take all the work by yourself so share the load.

Failing

Don’t get me wrong here. But there are those we call ‘healthy failures’ which made us learn from our mistakes. If Thomas Edison took a thousand tries before he made the light bulb glow, so can you.. in your own special way. If you don’t take the risk and leap into the unknown, you’ll never know that a pot of gold is waiting for you on the other side of the rainbow. As Michael Malone used to say ” Failure is Silicon Valley’s No.1 Strength. ”

Following the 20-80 Rule

Don’t take your market for granted and try reaching out to them by simply asking them to think of a solution for your product or service. You’ve got to be spending 20% of your time reinventing your business… and try leaving the 80% for your crowd to participate in the quest for the next big thing. Life’s a gamble; why not take one this time?

Appreciate Your People

Don’t we all love to receive a token of appreciation – from a big, sincere smile to rewards that can change lives. GE’s Ecomagination Challenge just made everyone at Twitter crazy with tweets on what’s up for grabs: $200 million dollars! Your workers may come and go, but your brand will always stay with you and a little appreciation goes a long, long way ( or a major one! )

Innovation is a process, not just a fancy word inside your head. You have to be open to continuous improvement and encourage people to share your vision. What good is a state-of-the-art technology when you don’t even have the focus to bring your ideas into life?

” Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. ” – Harold R. McAlindon

Rethinking Work

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How to Be a Search Ninja

Love Your Eyes

Did you know that staring for hours at your PC can cause you an eye strain that may lead to serious conditions like Myopia? Be gentle on your eyes by improving the way you read texts on your PC. You can do this by simply adjusting the screen settings of your monitor and placing it 25-30 inches away from your eyes. If your CRT monitor is giving you a big headache, you may want to invest in an LCD monitor to avoid eye strain. Also, make sure that your work place is well-lit.

Improve Readability

There are plenty of cool browser add-ons that can make your browsing experience a breeze. You can try add-ons like Readability, Tidy Read, Reading Glasses or NoSquint to help you minimize clutter from a page and helps you become a fast reader. Some of these also lets you select a style that helps you read better.

Be Keyword-Savvy

Search engines like Google, Yahoo or Bing rely on what you type in to give you the closest match to your search. Like a genie in a lamp, your keywords are their command. Use your keywords well and be specific with the questions you ask. Don’t be lazy! Why type ‘smartphone’ when you can type ‘Apple iPhone 4′? Don’t be afraid to ask!

Get Down the Basics

Narrow down your searches by using lower case for your queries. One thing you would’ve noticed is that search engines love words typed in lowercase. As a general rule, try avoiding articles ( a, an, the ), pronouns ( he, she, it ), conjunctions ( and, or ) preposition ( to, from ). If you’re going to use phrases, keep it up to 8 keywords per search and mix them inside a quotation mark ” “. Your teacher may disagree, but sometimes, it helps to misspell a word. Three most commonly used Boolean basics in between words are AND (if you want to show documents containing a set of words ) OR ( if you like to show sites containing any of the words you typed ), or AND NOT ( when you want a site to contain the first word but not the other )

Be a Profiler

Helen might be the name that launched a thousand ships and in the World Wide Web – you need to check out not only the site’s name, but the URL. What type of domain does it have? You can always go for .edu, .org, or .gov.  Once  you’ve clicked on a site, check the About Us Page to get an idea of what that website is all about. You may scrutinize all the contents there and read between the lines, yet don’t miss the interaction from the readers. As a researcher, you need to get your facts straight from the horse’s mouth ( or keyboard, to be exact ).

Practice makes perfect when it comes to being a successful internet researcher. With millions of content waiting to get clicked on, you just need a pint of patience to help you love researching online. Just imagine yourself inside a big virtual library, only this time, the librarian is you. Now it’s time to bring down the judge’s hammer on what’s worthy and what’s not.

Google Search Tricks and Tips Tutorial

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Wikipedia defines ‘crowdsourcing’ as the act of outsourcing tasks, traditionally performed by an employee or contractor, to a large group of people or community, through an open call.  In short, it’s calling people to do your dirty laundry.  From the word itself, you are calling on the power of a crowd to source useful information that can help you make your business better.  The idea is not really new.  Now that trends are becoming more customer-centric, it only makes sense to ask for their valuable opinions – since they will be the end users or target market of what you have to sell or offer.  It makes sense!

Crowdsourcing:  What’s In It for You?

If you are running a small business and you don’t have the budget to run an extensive market research, crowdsourcing can save you lots by asking people nicely for what’s on their heads.  Sounds simple? Not really.  With the collaborative innovation that crowdsourcing brings come the challenge of pushing that initiative to your crowd.  Will they participate in your efforts?

How to Run a Successful Crowdsourcing Campaign for Your Business

Like running an online ads for your product, your crowdsourcing campaign should be something fun, catchy and smart.  To make sure that people participate in your efforts, you need to ask these:

Know Thy Crowd

Who is your target crowd?
Where can you find them?
Are they members of your online community?  Social networking sites?
How can you reach them?

Give the Right Message

Is your call to action crystal clear?
Is there a possibility that your message gets misinterpreted?
Does your crowd understand what you are asking?
Do they understand the purpose of your call?

Be Clear with Instructions

What steps do your crowd need to take in contributing to your call?
How will you make your crowd choose or vote?
Where will your crowd make the selection, contribution or voting?

Set a Deadline

When is your target deadline in compiling results?
Does your crowd knows how much time is asked from them?
Do they feel the sense of urgency in your call?

Give Rewards

What’s in it for your crowd if they participate in your campaign?
How will you reward your participants for their time, ideas and efforts?
Will you consider other types of reward than money?
Will you give credit to the best ideas you get?

Get Involved

Are you joining in the conversation?
Do you give timely answers to questions that your crowd have?
Do you give feedback on ideas or suggestions, no matter how good or bad it is?
Are you transparent in your crowdsourcing efforts?

No matter what type of crowdsourcing you get into, from polls to surveys, keep in mind to give power to your crowd and respect their decisions – or you defeat the purpose of your campaign.  The results may not be something you want, but if you want your business to survive, you have to think what your customers really want.  The crowd has spoken… Listen!

What is Crowdsourcing?

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Top 10 Cloud Apps for Freelancers

While Ajeva is an online platform where experts and clients connect and collaborate on a project, there are plenty of cloud applications on the Web that can help you become a more productive freelancer, like:

1.  Gmail

When it comes to faster and easier way to store and send your data, Google’s Gmail is the email of choice in productivity apps.  It’s easier to track messages sent and received without losing another message.

2.  Google Docs

If you want to share a file with your coworkers or client, Google Docs is one of the best collaboration tools around where you can share files in popular formats.  It lets you email documents, spreadsheets, forms or presentations easily.

3.  Google Calendar

If time management is your worst nightmare, this online tool is highly recommended for you to have an easy way of tracking your schedule.  You may even share it or sync it with Outlook.

4.  Windows Live SkyDrive

Worried of losing another data?  Fret Not! This powerful online storage tool boasts of 25 GB free storage space for all users with a Windows Live ID.  All you have to do is sign in, drag and drop files, and protect your folders with passwords.  Like Google Docs, you can share files too.

5.  Toggl

Procrastinating?  If you want to get more things done in less time, you can use this online time tracking tool that tracks your time in a mouse click.  This tool also lets you work anywhere, collaborate your task with a team, gives your client access to your reports for easy invoicing, and sends you a detailed report on your real-time performance.  You can use it for free or pay for extra features.

6.  Aviary

If you’re a designer who’s into image manipulation, this powerful image editing tool is great for photo editing, making logos, building web templates, or using filters and color palettes.  It comes with an image editor, screen capture, vector editor, effects editor, music creator, audio editor, image markup, and color editor – all in one site.

7.  Meebo

Lost? If you like to connect instantly with your clients in just one place, this free tool makes it easy for you.  Instant messaging is now simpler, where you can see all your contacts from your Yahoo, Windows live, Facebook to Aim – so long as you have an internet connection without any firewall issues.  You can grab a toolbar for sharing live updates and chat.

8.  CoTweet

Whether you’re tweetin’ for personal or professional reasons, CoTweet makes it easy for you to manage, reach and engage people at Twitter.  This tool also comes in handy when you have multiple Twitter accounts.

9. DimDim

This free Web conferencing tool lets you chat, talk, broadcast, share your desktop, show slides, collaborate or do a conference call – without any download.  You can broadcast using your Web cam.  You can even mash up with stuff from Twitter, Facebook or YouTube.  ( Free up to 5 Participants )

10.  Vimeo

Love videos? Vimeo lets you use their services free so you can store high definition videos and share it to anyone, anywhere.  You can also create fun projects and share great content with active communities.  For an extra fee, you can get faster uploading, better video resolution, stats, a 5GB/week upload space, and many more.

Know any other cool tools?  Please feel free to share!

Basic Cloud Computing

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Can you tweet your way to success?

Five Ways to Grow Your Business on Twitter

1.  Don’t Look Like an Expert… Be One!

If you’re in a party and you shout to everyone that you are the king of the world, you’ll just get ignored.  People love value – so start tweeting helpful info, tips and news related to your industry.  This can help build trust and credibility over time.  Ask yourself before posting, “  Is this a tweet someone would be interested in? “  Tweet Smart and Witty!

2.  Fix Your Stuff

When Twitter limits your bio in 160 characters, you need to make every word count.  Use your real business name, add your brand logo, place the URL to your business or blog site, and customize your twitter page design.   Your profile must be a clear reflection of what your business is all about, without looking like a con.  Make it easy for others to reach you by showing your location.  You can also import your contacts or make a list of your favorites.  Less clutter, the better – just be sure your site has a link to your Twitter profile and ask your readers to follow you as well.

3.   Love the Superstars

It’s not only in the real world that you need to have a list of everyone worth knowing;  Same goes for Twitter.  Connect with top users or those with thousands to millions of followers on Twitter, those related to your business or interests.  This will open up a channel for you to reach their network of followers as well.

4.  Listen Before You Speak

It’s so tempting to shout stuff about your business but be savvy about it.  Listen First!  Try not to tweet every five minutes as it can really annoy.  Don’t over promote your brand, like “Great X for Sale.  Only $9.99.  Hurry!” Instead, reply often or retweet a certain post you like.  Engage your readers and limit direct messages to ‘thank you’s’.  There are many useful tools to manage your psots like HootSuite, CoTweet, or TweetDeck.

5.  Grow Steady and Slow

Don’t follow everyone on Twitterdom in a hope that they follow you back.  It’s all about balance.  You have to balance the ratio of people who follows you ( followers ) and those you follow ( following ).  A nice way to check this is by using tools like Friend or Follow.  As a rule of the thumb, the number of your followers should be more than the number of people you follow.  If you’re into posting comments on other people’s blogs, make sure they allow you to include your Twitter name.

Your top priority is to grow your audience.  Try to target not only quantity, but quality, when it comes to your followers.  The golden rule of karma still applies when you give people something useful:   Don’t expect anything in return.  Just try observing those with several hundred followers and learn.  What is it that they do that makes them worthy of being followed?

Twitter Search in Plain English

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Using SEO to Hunt for Your Next Freelance Gig

Hiring managers are guilty of ‘googling’ their candidates all the time in their quest to get to know them more.  This is why it is important to build your online presence and personal brand so you can have your own digital footprint for clients to follow.  Here’s how:

1.  Get a Website

It may take a lot to build a website from scratch, but having a site of your own to showcase your work is a major plus when applying for a job.  Not a coder? There are plenty of services that offer free customizable templates that come with your own domain name – for a small fee.

2.  Own a Domain Name

Your domain name uniquely identifies you as the owner of a web site or a blog on the Web.  You may use popular services like GoDaddy.com to register your site or your blog.

3.  Write a Blog

I hate to bring this news to you, but you really need to write even once a week on your blog for people to find you on the Web.  If you are a writer, this is a perfect way to show how good you are in what you do.  If not, you can choose to write topics that are related to your skills.

4.  Research for Keywords

Imagine you are an employer and you are searching for experts in your field.  What would you type?  This is where you need to research keywords that are relevant to what you offer.  For example, if you are a graphics designer, you may want try keywords such as design, graphics design, or creative design.    A nice place to start searching for keywords is Google Adwords.

5.  Maximize Your Keywords

As a rule, don’t use too much of a good thing and never hide these keywords from plain sight – or you run the risk of getting banned from the search engines.  For titles, you can use at least one keyword that is not longer than 60 characters ( spaces included ).  For descriptions, 1-2 sentences with 2-4 keywords are fine, so long as it doesn’t exceed 150 characters ( spaces included ).  If you are a member of any freelancing site, try to use keywords in your title and add descriptive words like savvy, smart, creative, innovative, etc.

SEO can be more technical than that and if you are interested in learning great tips, you can visit this blog.  When freelancing is the future of work, you need to be web-savvy and use all channels available to you.  Connect with people in social networking sites, submit your website to online directories, or you may simply build your profile on a quality freelancing site.

Do you have other SEO tips to share?  Please feel free to add your suggestions below.

What is SEO?

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Can you imagine a Web without Google?

1.  Google Analytics

If you own a website, it only makes sense to know which trends attract what customers.  This tool can help you maximize your marketing strategy and helps you measure the ROI of your social media campaign.  Tagged as the crème de la crème of Google’s marketing tools, it helps you track just where traffic is coming from and where exactly it goes to your site.

2.  Google Docs

Although it can definitely not replace Microsoft Office or Open Office (yet) in helping you produce professional-looking documents, Google Docs can be one of the best free online collaboration tool you can use.  You can upload, edit, and share documents anytime.  You can even set who can access which and do changes in real-time.

3.  Google Sitemaps

If you are a Web master, you know that having a Google Sitemap on your website will help Google crawl the pages of your site.  Google lets you upload an XML file as you add new pages to your website.  If you want to spread the updates on your site quickly, this tool is perfect for you.

4.  Google Website Optimizer

This free tool helps you increase the value of your existing websites and traffic, minus the cost of subscribing to other costly website optimizer services you can find online.  All you need to do is login using your Gmail address and password.  You can pick a page you want to improve conversions or test new content.  This tool can also help you know if your website is effective or not by measuring your site visitors and conversion rates.

5.  Google Adsense

If you like to monetize your website, you can use this tool by simply placing an Adsense code on your site.  Call it passive income on the Web.   You can also use this tool to send out the right ad for your mobile users.  Just make sure you don’t abuse and click on your own ad.  Also, you cannot have Google ads on web pages with contents that are protected by copyright laws, unless you have legal rights over those.

6.  Google Webmaster Tool

Is your site easy to find on the Web?  Is your blog under attack?  Does your site recently returned a 404 page?  Google Webmaster Tool is your all-in-one tool box where you can have all the help you need about crawling and indexing, so that people will find you easily on the Web.

7.  Google Ad Planner

Ever wonder which websites attract your target market?  This wonderful tool from Google helps you identify your customer by interest and demographic.  You can have access to unique visitors, page views, and page ranks.  You may also set filters to show specific results.  If you’re an advertiser, this tool can help you know your reach, relevance and insights – getting you that list of websites where you want to advertise.

8.  Google Calendar

Why spend for expensive time-keeping tool when you can use a free online calendar?  With this tool, you can share your schedule with family, friends or team members.  You can even access your calendar from any phone with a mobile browser, or get an sms reminder.  Call it the holy grail of scheduling tools, this app lets you merge everyone’s time into one calendar.

9.  Google Alert

Trend spotting?  If you want to receive email updates of the latest buzz on Google based on your choice of topic, this tool is right for you.  All you have to do is enter the word you’d like monitored, and specify how and where you want the info sent.  This tool is also great for those running a social media campaign.

10.  Google Places

Fact:  Millions of people are searching Google Maps everyday.  You may not have an SEO-friendly business name and it only makes sense to help people find your business by getting listed.  Now, it will be easy for them to find your business address, operation hours, or even photos of your products or place.  You don’t even have to own a website to get listed.

So, what’s the catch with these free tools?  Google lets you do more with less.  Still, you must read the fine print and ask yourself if you are willing to hand over your brand for a free use of these tools.  Know that any info you provide may be used to collect data for research.  As they say, with freedom comes great responsibility and you need to be careful who you trust on the Web.

Do you know other free, useful Google tools?  Please feel free to share on the comments below.

Google Tools

Google Tools from Megan Shea on Vimeo.

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Is Freelancing Right for You?

Ask yourself this question before you venture into freelancing. With the freedom to work anywhere and thousands of opportunities come freelancing pet peeves. Do you have what it takes to face the challenges of being a freelancer?

The Art of Personal Branding

To be a freelancer means you are competing against everybody on a global scale. Sometimes, it takes only seven habits to be an effective freelancer.

Writing a Cover Letter Spells the Big Difference

Making first impressions last, which takes more than just a copy and paste job. If you want to snag a deal, you have to write a killer copy.

Budgeting for the Clueless Freelancer

Managing your finances is a MUST when you are working as a freelancer. You are not sure when your freelance gig will last and it is wise to save for the unexpected. You also need to track your expenses and get smart with taxes.

Know Your Customers

Being a freelancer, you need to know what makes your customers tick, and if possible, reward them for their loyalty. You can also use social media, blogging, or online marketing tools to help you succeed in attracting more clients to hire your services.

Manage Your Time Well

There are plenty of reasons not to succeed at freelancing and you can beat the deadlines by using time management tools. If all else fails, try your hands at guerilla time management.

Know Your Limits

Being a freelancer also means protecting yourself by setting your work boundaries, as well as staying a healthy freelancer. You simply can’t afford to get sick when you freelance.

Learn New Tricks

In the fast pace world of freelancing, learning new things helps. Maximize your skills when times are slow. There are plenty of free online resources that can help you be your best.

What’s Hot?

Always be on the lookout for the hottest jobs in the freelance market and do trend spotting. What’s in demand these days? Nothing will be fixed when it comes to freelancing so you need to learn how to stay ahead of the game.

Go for the Golden Q

Short for Quality. Don’t just go for bulk and apply for jobs all over the Web. Go for a different marketplace that is built in trust and quality, a place you can be at your prime, a site that will nurture your growth as an expert.

We have given you the basics in freelancing survival 101. The next step is up to you. Let your passion lead you the way to your dream freelance project. Good Luck!

The last thing you want is to have a mess of a job and disputing for work done by the person you hired. Can you avoid this worst-case scenario? Yes. You can ask freelancers:

1. Who will be working on the project?

This is a no-brainer question that many forget to ask. Many freelancers subcontract work to third parties so they can handle their work loads and earn more.

2. Who will be leading the project?

If you are going to assign a task to a team of experts, make sure you know who the team lead is.

3. How long will it take to do the project?

After giving an overview of the project, you need to know just how much time will it take for the work to be done. Keep in mind that these are estimates, as changes can happen in between. Whether you are charged fixed rate or by the hour, it is important to know when you will get results.

4. Have you done similar jobs to this project?

The work delivered will always reflect a freelancer’s experience. Ask to see samples, portfolio, or any testimonials. Although you may shortlist seasoned freelancers, don’t close your doors yet to talented newbies who can be the next freelancing rockstar.

5. What is your availability?

You don’t own a freelancer’s full attention as there are plenty of freelance projects to work on. Some freelancers love sending weekly email updates and some want to talk it over an instant messenger. Whatever the preference is, make sure you get constant communication – daily or weekly.

6. Do you work with contracts?

Trust is easier said than done. When working with someone you haven’t even met in person, it is only smart to have a safety net when you are sharing sensitive data. A professional contract can strengthen your work relationship in the long run.

7. How will you work on the project?

Getting a glimpse of how a freelancer plans to handle your project will help you gage their enthusiasm for the work to be done. Each project requires collaboration and make sure the freelancer knows just what exactly they are agreeing to. Provide an overview of the project’s milestones and check if the contractor can really commit to the task.

8. What are the payment terms?

After asking questions 1 to 7, you now have a clearer idea just what you will be paying for. No matter how experienced the freelancer or not, you have to spell out the payment terms and make sure both parties agree on it. You can put this in fine print.

9. How many revisions do you allow?

A good freelancer will meet your expectations and goals right at the first try. However, nobody’s perfect. In case there will be issues, you need to ask if the freelancer is open for revisions and how many will be allowed. As quality is always an issue with outsourcing work, allowing room for revisions will help you decide whether to continue or cut your losses early.

10. What do you need from me to start this project?

After asking all of the nine questions above, now is time for you to allow your freelancers to ask you questions. Know what they will need from you for them to start working on the task, like photos, files, etc.

When it comes to hiring freelancers, you need to stay smart in making that deal. Just keep in mind that you know what you want. Communicate this well with your prospects. Freelance disasters can be avoided by sharing a solution, not just a problem. At the end of an interview, a simple Thank You for taking the time being interviewed can be a start of something… wonderful.

Do you have any question to add on the list? Share Your Thoughts.

Interview Questions – Employers’ Perspectives

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General Questions

1. What is your website’s name?
2. What is your website’s address?
3. What is your business name?
4. What is your business contact information?
5. What are the hours of your business operation?
6. If you don’t own a website yet, what domain name you have in mind and which web hosting service would you prefer?
7. What is your budget for this project?
8. Do you have a target launch date in mind?

Branding

1. What image do you want your website to portray?
2. Do you have a particular color and font preference?
3. Do you already have a logo or graphics to be used to represent your business? If not, would you want this created too?
4. Do you already have a tagline for your website? ( For example, Nike’s tagline ‘Just Do It’ )
5. How is your brand currently perceived by your target market?
6. Who are your top competitors?
7. Which websites are similar to what you have in mind?
8. What are your brand values?
9. What is your business mission statement?
10. Do you want a new look or new identity for your brand?

Marketing

1. What are your products and services?
2. Who is your target audience or market?
3. What is the main goal of your website? To create sales? To get more leads? Please specify.
4. What unique features do your business have that will draw visitors to your website?
5. How do you plan to market your site?
6. What keywords would you like to use on your site so the search engines will find it quickly?
7. Will you require a space for advertising? ( header, sidebar or content )
8. Will your site include a Call-to-Action or a sales page?
9. What are your goals for your website in terms of popularity on the World Wide Web?
10. How would you like to engage with your visitors? ( email, live chat, forum, blog, mailing list, online brochure )

Content

1. What are the main categories you want on your website?
2. Will you require a CMS or content management system?
3. What features do you want your website to have? ( calendar, forum, blog, polls, etc. )
4. Do you have any source material for the content? ( photos / electronic file )
5. Do you require advance functions like database or scripting? ( shopping carts, contact forms, newsletters, etc. )
6. Do you plan to put a blog on your website?
7. Do you have any text, graphics, logos, music, or videos you want used for your website?
8. How many people will update your website’s content?
9. Will you require various levels of publishing rights?

Layout

1. Are we designing from scratch? Or, are we going to do a makeover of your existing website?
2. Which websites do you like? Please list five.
3. Which websites don’t you like? Please list five.
4. Do you have a preference on the website screen size? ( for example: 800 x 600 )
5. Do you prefer a static site or a flash site?
6. Do you want to include multimedia and collateral marketing materials in your website?
7. Do you allow a credit link on your website to link to his/her home page or email address?
8. If the site doesn’t fit the width of the screen, will you prefer a left or center alignment?
9. Do you have business materials that can be matched to the website’s design? ( business card, etc. )
10. Do you prefer using royalty free materials on the web for the graphics? Or, would you want it custom-made?

Sensitive Data

This information will be kept in strictest confidence.

1. What is the username and password for FTP access?
2. Who is your hosting company? What is their tech support hotline number?
3. Who is the key person managing the project? What is his or her contact information?

These questions are created to help you during an interview with a prospect. You may alter it or add on it for you to get a crystal clear picture of what must be done. It may be a tedious task, but any smart client will appreciate your efforts. If you feel you have missed something, just try asking if there’s anything else you need to know.

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