Best Blogging Tips

A new breakthrough secret is all you now need in order to get your Google and trade AdWords pay-per-clicks FREE!

2012-02-10T10:23:00.000+08:00

A gentleman from New York discovered what he calls an "oversight" on the part of 99.9% of all marketers that allows him to get otherwise paid-for advertising at Google&trade ; as well as all other search engines that allow sponsored ads.

And no, nothing about his "secret" is illegal - nor does it require that you know someone on the "inside" at Google&trade,; Yahoo, MSN, Overture and others.

Instead, the New Yorker boasts proudly "...this is something that I caught onto just before 2000 when there was so much search engine craze running around, and started doing small just to test things at first ... but which I later expanded on after getting the hang of it."

This same fellow went on to start and operate sixteen separate online companies selling everything from pet food, DVDs, children's toys & games, books, software, and sold not only his own manufactured products but became an affiliate for other web businesses - all the while applying his mastermind secret.

Over the course of nearly eight years the New Englander confesses "I've actually gotten over $87 million in advertising that using my secret I never had to pay for ... and the largest share of which was more recently in Google trade ; pay-per-clicks as well as other forms of pad advertising at search engines ... all of which I got for free ..."

So powerful is his secret that he's able to monopolize any niche online, and can always secure the top premium spots just above the usual organic results featured at most search engines.

He still has to set up an account with the search engines - but after applying his secret he is removed from having to pay for all the costs otherwise involved.
Again, nothing about his secret is either illegal or robs from the search engines.
One spokesperson from one of the most popular search engines said chuckling after being made privy to this amazing secret "Wow! Ha! This is really unique ... and in my expert opinion it would only serve to enhance and bring more business to us at [name of search engine withheld for legal & confidentiality reasons] and not cause us to lose business in the slightest. Amazing!"

The northerner revealed that in this nearly eight years' period of time since applying his secret he's done well over $300 million in sales revenue with a most diverse line of products, and most recently in the last two years netted nearly $166 million after really "buckling down and pressing my secret to its fullest potential."

Now to everyone else's fortune, the city slicker is releasing his secret for getting an unlimited amount of pay-per-click ads to the general public. But he's not promising any of us for how long.

A bit of an eccentric, the gentleman says "We'll see just how long I can make it available before it saturates things."

One famous public web guru pointed out that although this man may gain economically more so as a result of the publication of his secret "he's already so amazingly rich that whether he continues or discontinues its sale will neither make nor break the man, but not grabbing it for yourself while it's still available could prove disastrous for you as you may only have one chance, and a very limited one at that, to get this."

It is currently available at:

http://tinyurl.com/7vsx9dk

...so you may want to head on over there now and get it.

It's in a very easily readable format and is quickly and readily understood and mastered by anyone with even a 4th grade reading level.

While you're there, why not scroll down and review for yourself the huge successes others are now having with this incredible breakthrough in targeted advertising now made freely available to the rest of us?

To your success,

Andy

Discover How You, Or Anyone, Can Instantly Create Your Own Stable Of Hot Bestsellers By 'Legally' Stealing Existing Content... FREE!

2012-02-10T10:16:00.000+08:00

How would you like to spawn an INFINITE series of potential bestsellers on your own - in any niche imaginable - without spending an ounce of effort in writing or doing your own research from scratch?

Gosh, I mean who wouldn't?

You already know that you cannot rip off just any content off whatever you find on Google because those web pages /web sites/online content are usually copyrighted. So yes, legally speaking you cannot rip them off for commercial gains or you can risk getting your online business shut down! And who would want that to happen to them?

In fact, I am totally against plagiarism. In my opinion, it's a lot easier to make money the honest way.

Well, guess what?

"There Are Dozens Of Top Marketers I KnowGenerating MILLIONS OF DOLLARS... Using Content They Didn't CreateThemselves!"

This has got to be one of the best kept secrets and in a real essence, an ironclad wealth-building weapon used by some of the Internet's TOP marketers and even Infopreneurs in the conventional brick-n-mortar business!

I'm not talking about hiring writers to ghostwrite for you and you take all the credit. Because unless you have the deep pockets and the right connection, this option may not be the most feasible.

You see, there's this thing called "Public Domain". Public Domain is basically work that includes anything - books, articles, music, films - in which their copyright has expired, and not been renewed. Any work that was published prior to 1923, work that is donated to the public domain, or any other work that has no laws that restrict its use by the public constitutes as Public Domain.

If you check out the Public Domain archive, there is untold potential in monetizing these content for profits! And I will show you exactly how to...

“Announcing Public DomainTreasures...”

Harvest the Untapped Goldmine of Public Domain Content For Massive Profits!

Is Google in Trouble & Facing Bankruptcy?

2012-02-10T09:06:00.000+08:00

[NEW YORK - Wednesday] - By Devon Melk. Rumors are now running amok that the 2nd most powerful website on the entire Worldwide-Web may file BANKRUPTCY, with the deadline set for this December; being the date of both discharge and dissolution in a Federal Court of Law.

This would come as a SHOCK to investors and "Googlers" alike who both profit and benefit from the use of the World's largest and most powerful search engine which receives far in excess of
100 MILLION unique daily visitors and well over 300 million individual searches daily - making it perhaps the single most valuable public data resource as an "information bank" online the world over.

But is the rumor true or false?

The origin of the rumor occurred when some savvy Internet marketers began making statements that they had heard "insiders' talk" that the company (now publicly traded since April 30, 2004, just over 3
years ago) may face financial disaster with the release of a "new system" that would allow advertisers to get their otherwise pay-per-click (PPC) advertising completely free.

This, of course, would naturally lead directly (like a domino-effect) to the collapse of Google's sibling program AdSense; as its only revenue comes from the direct sales of AdWords "clicks."

The "new system" in question and responsible for the controversy over getting AdWords pay-per-clicks free is that developed by Dr Jon Cohen of New York City, New York (now retired) who discovered a simple, yet effective means, for getting Google PPC ads without having to suffer the costs involved.

The retired New York doctor and native has a publicly disclosed net worth now in excess of $7O million [US], having generated well over $377 million in product sales from sixteen (16) separate online
businesses within just nine (9) years since first venturing online in 1998 (about the same time as Google was founded).

It is estimated by company insiders and leading financial analysts that the "good doctor" (as he's called by "all who know him") has purportedly saved well over $93 million (some estimates suggest closer to $136 million) in otherwise paid advertising at Google and the other major players in the PPC targeted-search arena online - including Yahoo, MSN, AskJeeves, AllTheWeb.com, HotBot, AltaVista, Lycos and Netscape, just to name a few.

The "secret" became available to the general masses last April, and its very release caused such a major sweeping stir among the community of Internet-marketers, affiliate-marketers, webmasters, ecommerce company owners and surfers alike that the site quickly rose to break the top most visited 1,000 websites on the entire planet briefly; and as can be seen here:

http://tinyurl.com/7vsx9dk (Alexa data on this!)

When asked if the "secret" would somehow ruin Google, Dr Cohen revealed almost cryptically that it actually would bring about just the opposite effect, and "stimulate" even more business volume for
the virtual giant.

Many people were dismayed to find that Google itself is deliberately allowing the purchase of 100,000's of PPC ads offering the secret system to the general public -- which indicates to most observers that either they [Google] haven't caught it, or they simply feel that it somehow is not a threat to their continued operation.

For anyone's inspection factual and hard evidence supporting this can be seen by simply looking to the right-hand column when doing a search for "get google ads free" (specifically in quotation marks) at Google.com under the "Sponsored Links" section.

Or take this direct and instant SHORTCUT:

http://tinyurl.com/7vsx9dk

You can also see nearly 100,000 specific results in the "organic" fields index located in the center and which occupies the bulk of the results pages.

One would think that if Google felt threatened by such a release as this earth-shaking "secret" is, they would hardly allow for either paid-ads or organic content to make the top searches regarding it.

However, evidence supports to the contrary - and this being the case now for a full six (6) months.

Mysteriously, within just two (2) hours of its initial release last April, Google itself actually did in fact 'pause' the parent firm's attempts at advertising the new system using PPCs on their search
engine - only, however, to release the hold after a Review Team consisting of some of Google's top executives completed performing an in-depth investigation and made the determination to ALLOW the
ads to run.

The secret system was recently revised however to include "major new content" and "more exhaustive instructions," and is now available at its Home Site:

http://andyvital.freegoogle.hop.clickbank.net

The most important addition is that of a so-called "string of code" (tech-talk for some HTML) that can be added to any webpage(s) that instantly causes the elimination of the page owner's AdWords costs
right away.

Even a "live" woman spokes-representative ("Rachel") has been added to the site, and who appears to literally walk out onto the webpage and talk to visitors and explain a bit more how the mysterious new
breakthrough system works.

Since the addition of this new "live" spokes-woman has now appeared at the site, company Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Mr Todd Coutrin states that "sales for the system have skyrocketed above 2,430% suddenly and with no limit in sight."

Coutrin continues: "With the newest revision now in place, plus all the additions added, affiliates for the new system can expect to earn even more than ever before!" (Note: Affiliates make up the bulk of the firm's sales generation.)

The refund rate for the new revised version of the secret (named V5.1) has dropped to less than half of what it was before the newer version's release; meaning it's now even more readily-received and put to use than ever before (perhaps in large part to the newer simplicity of application) - now making it the safest and one of the best resellers for the networks of affiliate marketers who earn their revenues from the reselling of other electronic publishers' stock and digital product lines.

When asked, Google company representatives stated matter-of-factly that the rumors of bankruptcy for the ecommerce giant are simply not true, and that the rumor millings are in fact simply the result of "panics" brought on by the usual hysteria associated with anything large, new or revolutionary - or in this case, all three.

Attempts to contact both Sergey Brin and Larry Page, the former Stanford University students who founded Google in 1998, to request comment were unsuccessful.

Again, Google itself seems to be the biggest supporter of the "new system" as it's allowing more and more advertisers to promote the new system on its search engine before over 100 million daily
searches and surfers.

Climate and aerosols: NASA's Glory satellite promises new view of perplexing particles

2011-02-25T05:37:00.003+08:00

Climatologists have known for decades that airborne particles called aerosols can have a powerful impact on the climate. However, pinpointing the magnitude of the effect has proven challenging because of difficulties associated with measuring the particles on a global scale. Soon a new NASA satellite -- Glory -- should help scientists collect the data needed to provide firmer answers about the important particles. In California, engineers and technicians at Vandenberg Air Force Base are currently prepping Glory for a Feb. 23 launch.
Read More... [Source: ScienceDaily: Aviation News - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Texas petrochemical emissions down, but still underestimated, says study

2011-02-25T05:37:00.001+08:00

A thick blanket of yellow haze hovering over Houston as a result of chemical pollution from petroleum products may be getting a little bit thinner, according to a new study. But the new findings -- which have implications for petrochemical-producing cities around the world -- come with a catch, says a team of scientists who participated in the research.
Read More... [Source: ScienceDaily: Aviation News - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Can You REALLY Make Money With a Membership Site?

2011-01-31T11:04:00.000+08:00

How Your Content Delivery Affects Your Profits

When most marketers decide to start selling information products online, they usually start selling ebooks. But did you know that you can offer the same information in a slightly different format and actually make more money? It’s true. And that’s exactly what you’ll learn how to do in this article.

Let’s consider for a moment the different ways you can deliver content. We’ll focus mainly on the online methods, although you certainly can deliver physical products such as books and home study courses and live events such as teleseminars.

Here are the main downloadable options:

* Ebooks and reports. Almost everyone who sells information online offers ebooks and reports. Usually, these are low-priced ($50 or less) and sometimes free. It’s a great choice for entry-level products to pull people into your sales funnel.

* Audios. Audio interviews and audio ebooks have a slightly higher perceived value. That means you can take the same information as an ebook, turn it into an audio and charge a higher price.

* Videos. Videos are the next step up, meaning you can take the same information as offered in an ebook or audio, turn it into a video and people will consider it to be worth more. Naturally, that means you can charge more.

* Membership sites. The perceived value of a membership site largely depends on what you’re offering in the site. For example, an ebook-only membership site is going to have a lower perceived value than a site that includes videos.

Now, you may want to incorporate all four of these products into your sales funnel. For example: You can use your ebooks as entry-level products, your audios and videos as intermediate products, and your membership sites for your expert-level products.

But here’s another idea…

Just skip all the other products and get people directly into your membership site. Indeed, you can use your membership site as a sales funnel. That means you can offer free “bronze” memberships and then upgrade your free members to paid memberships.

If you’ve spent any time studying membership site marketing before, then you already know just how profitable it can be. In fact, I bet you’ve even crunched the numbers before. For example, if you get just 1000 members paying you $20 a month, you pull in a cool $20,000 every month.

Well – close but not quite.

You’d pull in $20,000 every month only IF you can keep all 100 of those members… or if you can rapidly replace the members who are constantly quitting the site. Most marketers can’t do that. And so their sites eventually just make a couple hundred dollars a month.

You see, that’s because most membership site marketers don’t consider the churn rate (that’s the number of people who’ll drop out of your site every month). Truth is, most customers who are paying a monthly fee in a recurring membership site cancel after just three, four or maybe five months (if you’re lucky). And so you need to work hard all year around just to keep your membership numbers up.

Now before you toss out the idea of running a membership site, let me tell you that there is an easier and FAR more profitable way to do it. And best of all, it’s easy to get members because you don’t even have to sell anything on the front end.

Sound a little too good to be true? It’s not. And if you act right now, you can get all the details for free. Go to MembershipMarketers.com now to find out how you can triple YOUR membership site profits!

Small Business Trends

2011-01-07T18:06:00.001+08:00

Small Business Trends

Small Business News: Small Biz Funding Fundamentals
5 Steps to Help Your Small Business Save Money in 2011
How Fresh Are You?
A Peek Behind the Angel Curtain Reveals 3 Secrets to Attracting Money

Small Business News: Small Biz Funding Fundamentals

Posted: 06 Jan 2011 08:32 PM PST

Will raising capital your small business be easier in 2011 than it was in 2010? Well, some sources say that funding may be loosening up but be assured that challenges remain. We’ll review what’s happening on the funding front than move on to some tips to help you finance your small business venture in 2011.

In the News

Don’t worry, be happy.On the surface this article in the Wall Street Journal entitled “Banks Open Loan Spigot” may fill many with optimism about the return of easier financing. We’re enthusiastic about the future of small business here in the U.S. as well but some in the blogosphere have cautioned that this ”Uptick in Lending” may not be all it’s cracked up to be. WSJ

Challenges remain. In fact, this followup article demonstrates how even as businesses see some loosening in the credit market a new environment with customers conditioned to expecting more discounts and lower prices may make it difficult to return to business as usual. But this may actually be great news for some small businesses seeking new opportunities for growth in markets traditionally dominated by higher cost competitors. WSJ

Policy

The best thing government can do for small business.Whether in Washington D.C. or in a local provincial government like New Brunswick, Canada, controlling deficit and minimizing public debt is the best medicine for small business recovery. It’s disappointing to see public officials dismissing concerns about debt as simply “negative talk” but, of course, it’s nothing new. The Daily Gleaner

Could small business change the banking industry.Check out this article on large banks struggling for survival while new startup banks taking advantage of government funding directed at small business lending are on the rise. Could demand for funding in the small business market reshape the banking industry as a whole as incentives are created to serve this niche? Philadelphia Business Journal

New federal program aims at loans to underserved. A new pilot program will focus on loans to small businesses that have traditionally had difficulty obtaining financing. The new program to be tested in Prince George’s County, Maryland, will guarantee 85 percent of loans up to $250,000 and is backed the U.S. Small Business Administration. WashingtonPost.com

The Basics

Funding small business means building a capital base.One way to approach financing of your small business is to consider obtaining capital from a variety of sources. Possible investors for your new venture or existing small business may run the gamut so be sure you consider all the options at your disposal when considering who to approach for financial backing. BusinessBlogs

Exploding those small business financing myths.If you think most financing from an outside investor or a loan fro a bank is the best or only way to fund your small business, well, you’d be wrong…though certainly taking a loan is more likely than attracting those angel investors or venture capitalists you read about. In this post, Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies Scott Shane sheds light on where most small business financing really comes from. Small Business Trends

Fundraising Strategy

What’s your fundraising plan? Just like your small business idea, your approach to fundraising requires a plan, and it starts with asking a number of very clear questions about your business, your market prospects and your team. Just as your business will need to compete in the market for the attention of busy consumers, your business must compete among a huge number of other entrepreneurs all seeking funding as well. What’s your plan for winning out in the end? Small Business Finance Forum

Raising capital: a how-to guide.Even though finding the money for your next small business startup has always been challenging, there’s no need to throw up your hands or throw in the towel. The fact is that small business are still starting and that entrepreneurs are still finding the funding to fuel these startups. But raising money requires evaluating your options and adapting to the environment. Even with venture capital less approachable than perhaps they once were, there are options open. This article looks at a few. Inc.com

Closing Thoughts

Other ways to invest.Fred Wilson, principal behind Union Square Ventures, a VC firm responsible for financing Twitter and other high profile tech startups argues loans aren’t the only way to encourage a culture of entrepreneurship. In this post, Fred gives recommendations to the city of New York, where he works, about what is needed to encourage startups there. A VC

From Small Business Trends

Small Business News: Small Biz Funding Fundamentals

5 Steps to Help Your Small Business Save Money in 2011

Posted: 06 Jan 2011 11:30 AM PST

It's the New Year! Time to make all those resolutions about losing weight and walking the dog… but how about taking some quick steps early in January that might save your business money throughout the entire year?

Here are five steps my management team is taking to save us money in 2011:

1. Set the tone.

Your team will take their cues from you, so meet early with them and remind them of the importance of being frugal this year. Getting everyone focused on intelligent thriftiness at the beginning of the year can pay dividends as the year progresses. Remind the team of simple actions they can take to save money, like asking for discounts when purchasing goods and services for the business.

There is nothing wrong with asking; and if you don't ask you can't save!

Let them know they should turn off their computers when they leave the office at night to save money on electricity. Then solicit ideas on areas where the company can economize. It's all about setting the tone and getting your employees bought in.

2. Check subscriptions and recurring charges.

The beginning of a new year is a great time to review your monthly expenses. Small, recurring charges can add up over the course of 12 months. Make sure you are still using all of the subscriptions that you see billed on your corporate card – everything from magazines to cloud services to trade group memberships. If you are not using the product, cancel! And if you are planning on using the service for the entire year try to get an annual plan. Companies often offer discounted annual memberships.

I realized that I had signed up for a couple of services on a monthly basis so I could "test" them – and I had forgotten to buy the annual plan when I started using them regularly! Pull out a couple of your last few credit card statements and looks for savings.

3. Plan for taxes.

It's never too early to talk with your accountant about tax strategies for the new year. I know you'll be spending way too much time with your accountant come April, but why not make April 2012 a little better by making sure you are taking all the right steps from the first month of January?

4. Create an expenditure plan.

As a competent business owner, you probably already know a large percentage of the big expenditures you'll need to make in the coming year. And you likely also have a decent idea of when you'll need to make these purchases. Put all this down in a spreadsheet, and estimate the dollar amount and the purchase date. Getting all the items on paper will help you visualize your big cash outflows for the year, and will help you prepare to make more intelligent purchasing decisions.

I find that if I know I'm going to need to make an important expenditure in June, I start looking for deals in March – and can often find discounts, sales or items on eBay. Also, if you know what you are going to need, you will be more thoughtful in how you react to coupons and special offers you get from your vendors.

Finally, remember that the account managers who serve you are likely working on quarterly commissions. If you can pull forward your purchase by a few weeks to the end of a quarter, you may be in a much better negotiation position. But you can't do any of this unless you plan ahead!

5. Check out Anita's e-book on small business money saving tips!

She lists 75 ways your business can save money and prepare for growth. You'll find great ideas from saving money on stamps by using your bank's check payment feature to taking advantage of your kids' latent tech skills.

What steps are you taking this January to run a more economical business this year? Please share your thoughts below – let's help each other have a great 2011!

From Small Business Trends

5 Steps to Help Your Small Business Save Money in 2011

How Fresh Are You?

Posted: 06 Jan 2011 08:30 AM PST

Are you agile and flexible in delivering for your customers (and employees)?

There's a rule of thumb at LUSH cosmetics, and that's to fearlessly retire one-third of the product line every year. Change is the magic behind the suds at LUSH. Rather than waiting for customers to tire of products, LUSH imposes a rigorous process to get rid of the old to make way for the new. It is what keeps LUSH fresh, and it is what keeps pulling customers back. LUSH grows because customers fuel its growth.

Remember when you were a kid and couldn't walk by a candy store without going in, because of the lure and the scent of the candy? That's how LUSH lures people into their stores. It's hard to walk by without going in to see what's new, and it's hard to walk out of a LUSH store without a bag full of its fresh cosmetics.

Beloved companies offer the freshest products.

"If anything, as businesses mature, they get more dull," says LUSH founder Mark Constantine. A major product development guru in his previous ,life at The Body Shop, Constantine had developed products that, by the 1980s, made up about 80 percent of that chain's sales. As The Body Shop matured, Constantine felt the fizz leave the business, and so he departed with his concept of the "bath bomb" and eventually founded LUSH. Irreverently calling their bath bomb "A Giant Alka-Seltzer for Your Tub," LUSH has stayed true to its core of creating natural products with surprising ingredients and off-the-wall names.

To stay constantly fresh, LUSH brings together an annual meeting of senior managers for what it calls the "mafia meeting," during which they decide what products to kill. Their goal is to offer "the freshest products in the history of cosmetics." The company is making this happen by not sitting still. "Innovate like mad, then start over again" is the mantra LUSH lives.

Word of mouth grows beloved companies.

Every day, LUSH sells nearly 60,000 bath bombs, the concoction that created the LUSH fan base. LUSH spends little on advertising (customers spread the word) and packaging (they use less material in order to stay green). Because of this combination of customers' word of mouth growing the business and LUSH's enviable low margins resulting from minimal advertising and packaging, a new LUSH store can break even in as little as three months. In fiscal year 2007, 462 LUSH stores in 46 countries had a combined revenue of $292 million, up 28 percent over fiscal 2006. And LUSH has kept growing from there—reporting over $338.4 million in recent years.

What do you do to stay fresh for your customers? As customers' needs change, do you commit to understanding what they need? What should you consider retiring? A service, a practice, a product?

Are you fearless in dismissing the old and bringing in the new? How do you keep customers enticed and interested?

From Small Business Trends

How Fresh Are You?

A Peek Behind the Angel Curtain Reveals 3 Secrets to Attracting Money

Posted: 06 Jan 2011 05:30 AM PST

Finding startup capital has never been easy, and has become a more significant challenge over the past few years. Home equity, once the most popular form of startup and working capital, has almost disappeared with the collapse of housing prices. Bank lending has been almost nonexistent for small companies, and private investors (friends and family) have kept a tight grip on their funds. Even angel investors and private equity firms have become much more conservative regarding valuations, deal structure and investment amounts.

All of this has contributed to the slowing of our economy over the past two years, but is now finally showing signs of rejuvenation. With angel investing expected to pick up slightly in 2011, here is a "look behind the curtain" to see how one very successful angel investment group tracks and considers its investments.

This spreadsheet shows seven actual investment positions (PDF) of an angel investor friend of mine–and here are three critical insights that will help you be more effective at attracting angel investment in the coming year.

1) Pre Money Valuation

This is the value of your company before the addition of the funds you are seeking. For example, company number 4 is seeking $500,000 (current raise amount) at a $2 million valuation. This means the company will have a value of $2.5 million after the investment, and the new investors will own 20 percent of the company’s value ($2.0 million + $500,000 investment = $2.5 million/$500,000 invested).

It is worth considering the company's 2009 and 2010 revenue numbers and customer/partners to form a basis of comparison for the value of your company. Many angels tell me they will not even consider a new company with an initial valuation above $2 million, because such companies just do not exist.

2) Liquidation Preference

I covered this in an earlier post but investor preference is 1) almost always required, 2) flexible to fit almost any situation and 3) helps attract investors.

3) Market Perspective

It is always difficult for an entrepreneur to have a proper perspective on the marketplace, investment landscape or client reactions. Keep in mind that any angel investor (or even family/friend investor) is comparing your opportunity to other alternatives.

This spreadsheet, which gives you a peek at other company investments this angel has made, should serve as a measuring stick and allow you to see how valuable all your small successes are when building a successful company.

If you are building a company worth an angel investment, it has to be worth selling for a significant profit for you and your investors. Be sure you have a clear vision of how you will accomplish your exit plan and become a successful portfolio company if you are hunting for angel investment in 2011.

From Small Business Trends

A Peek Behind the Angel Curtain Reveals 3 Secrets to Attracting Money

PayBox Blog:Project Updates

2011-01-07T06:09:00.002+08:00

Project Updates

We have some very exciting news to share. With the start of the new year, PayBox is entering a new phase of our development. This new phase will bring changes to our website and the way our users participate and contribute.
Here is an overview of some of the coming changes…

No more ads on the website. The ads served their purpose in the very early stages of our growing service. However, the ads have been removed to give a clean look and feel to the website and prepare for the next stage of our growth.
Less focus on surveys. We have collected a lot of feedback from our users and will be developing features and targeting growth using that feedback. The surveys will still be available to users who want to submit feedback.
New features. The launch of the Digital Delivery Project is a primary focus. This project which will allow merchants who sell digital goods to begin accepting PayBox payments, and PayBox users to begin buying from these merchants.
Focus on growth and a drive to “Open the Box”. We will ask for more help from our users in “spreading the word”. Our growth is directly tied to our ability to “Open the Box” and begin allowing merchants to accept PayBox payments. The new cleaner look (no ads), along with the new value (Digital Delivery Project) will make it easier to invite friends and spread the word about PayBox.

This is just an early announcement of what we have coming. We are still in the process of cleaning up the website (where the ads were), and changing the focus away from surveys and into growth and expansion. These are exciting times for PayBox and our users. We are moving forward to the day we can “Open the Box”.
I’ll have more news in coming blog posts on the new changes, including how you can even earn big cash payments outside your PayBox balance as we shift our focus to growth and expansion.
Thanks for participating as we work to take PayBox to the next level!

Small Business Trends

2011-01-06T18:04:00.001+08:00

Small Business Trends

Small Business News: Recommitting To Social Media in 2011
Is Crowdfunding the Next Big Financing Thing?
Creating Better Business Goals in 2011

Small Business News: Recommitting To Social Media in 2011

Posted: 05 Jan 2011 08:07 PM PST

How important will social media be to small business in 2011? Likely even more important than it was in 2010. Let’s face it. Social media gives small business an unprecedented advantage in branding and global marketing that at one time was reserved for larger companies and bigger budgets. If you haven’t started using social media to its best effect, there’s no time like the present. Here’s why.

Our Two Cents

10 reasons you should use social media for your small business this year. In 2011, use of social media has become a valuable tool for many small businesses. But some have from time to time questioned the value or ROI of social media. How valuable is it really to your business? Here are some reasons you may want to reconsider your use of social media for your business. BizSugar Blog

Making Connections

Social media is about making and keeping connections. Social media is about making and keeping connections, so make sure you do that…really. Here are a bunch of tools outside the social media sphere to help you keep track and keep up. Streamlining and automating your sales and social media process shouldn’t mean loosing track of the very people you’ve spent your time reaching out to. Whether online or off, be sure you stay in touch. Chris Brogan

Latest Trends

8 predictions and 6 trends: social media yesterday and today. With another year begun, tech writer Aliza Sherman looks back at 2010 predictions and forward to 2011 trends to give a prediction of where social media is headed, particularly in the area of business. If you’re serious about transforming your business model to live in the social media space, this road map is essential. Bloomberg Businessweek

In The News

Traditional chambers getting into the act. If you think social media can’t do much for more traditional business models, think again. This chamber of commerce is jumping into social media in a big way and trying to motivate and educate its members about the significantly lower expense that can come with the use of the social media space for marketing and networking. Just have a look. KTIV.com

Strategy

The honeymoon is over. One San Antonio social media consultant insists that while social media is still fun and very useful as a marketing and networking tool, small businesses, indeed businesses of all kinds, will now need to focus more on the impact their social media campaigns have on their business. This means greater discipline, more planning and a better eye to growing the communities that can do the most for your business. San Antonio Business Journal

Don’t get too comfortable! Augie Ray writes that social media, including Facebook, will, like everything else, become harder in 2011. Logic ought to dictate that with more and more businesses trying to climb into the space this would be so, but Ray’s blog post mentions a couple of other things that should definitely give the social media marketer pause. Augie Ray’s Blog

Sales

We’ve come a long way baby! From social media gurus hemming and hawing about how social media shouldn’t be measured in terms of sales to a modern sales environment that naturally accepts the importance of social media to sales as a foregone conclusion, the function of social media as mot simply a PR or m,arketing but in fact a sales tool is now an accepted concept. And as with any other new paradigm, a basic set of rules has begun to evolve. SecurityInfoWatch.com

From Our Community

(Members of Small Business Trends’ own social media community, BizSugar.com, share these posts on the important social media issues for small business today.)

Welcome to the revolution! The move to a social media business model represents a shift of perspective more than anything else. Here is a brief overview of how social media specifically in the area of sales is forcing small business leaders to look at how they operate in a completely new way. Umberto’s Inside View

For online sales, social media is a must. In this post Jason Kienbaum talks about the “red flags” that can stop people from doing business with you online. Not surprisingly, blogging and social media are his first two points. Expecting sales without a social media element to your campaign is becoming more and more unrealistic. But notice Jason’s other great points about establishing trust and being accessible. How could social media help with these issues? Business Done Now

Blogging is social too. Remember that social media is not confined to Facebook or Twitter. As has been repeated often enough since the emergence of the big social media sites, blogs are the original social media. If you’ve got a blog and are neglecting it’s more social features, you are missing out on the most powerful part of blog marketing. Here are some steps to interject your blog with enough social media juice to create a little FB or Twitter all your own and branded just for your business. AriWriter

From Small Business Trends

Small Business News: Recommitting To Social Media in 2011

Is Crowdfunding the Next Big Financing Thing?

Posted: 05 Jan 2011 08:30 AM PST

Over the past few years, as the credit crunch tightened, we've all heard horror stories from successful entrepreneurs who had growing businesses but couldn't get working capital, or saw their business lines of credit cut or their loans called in for no reason. No wonder many small business owners have become leery of traditional financing sources.

For small business owners seeking capital in a tough economy, will crowdfunding prove to be the next big thing?

Crowdfunding has some similarities to the peer-to-peer lending sites, such as Prosper.com, that arose several years ago, but some important differences as well. Both types of sites allow individuals to solicit financing from others for any purpose. But while peer-to-peer lending typically focuses on one individual lending to another, crowdfunding—as its name implies—aims to reach a funding goal by getting many investors to put in small amounts.

The Wall Street Journal recently took a look at the crowdfunding phenomenon, and talked to some experts who believe it's about to take off. Using sites such as ProFounder.com, Peerbackers.com, Kickstarter.com and IndieGoGo.com, entrepreneurs can set up a profile that explains how much money they're seeking and what it will be used for. Investors pledge money toward the goal. The sites make their money by taking a percentage of the investment.

A crowdfunding site can be a great way to simplify the process of seeking financing from, say, family and friends. And until now, most business owners using the sites have been looking for very small amounts ($10,000 or less). However, according to the Journal, the sites are beginning to enable larger transactions as more business owners are turning to them.

Crowdfunding sites have their pros and cons. Like any other business tool, before you consider using one, you need to consider whether it's a fit for your target audience. If your business's target customer is younger and more tech-savvy—comfortable with the idea of "crowd"-anything—raising money from people who fit your target customer profile and can understand the profit potential of your business will be easier. On the other hand, if you're trying to raise capital to start or grow a business in a more conservative industry, or if you're pitching your elderly relatives to invest in your business, the crowdfunding concept is less likely to fly.

Crowdfunding sites differ in how they operate, but many do not release any funds unless the company's target amount is met. At RocketHub, about 25 percent of small businesses hit their targets; at IndieGoGo only about 10 percent of projects do. Also keep in mind that, although sites do a preliminary background check of businesses seeking financing, they don't take responsibility for the outcome or ensure that businesses deliver what they promise. This may make crowdfunding risky business for potential investors who are truly part of the "crowd" and don't have some connection to you.

Have you used crowdfunding? What do you think of its potential for powering business in the coming years?

From Small Business Trends

Is Crowdfunding the Next Big Financing Thing?

Creating Better Business Goals in 2011

Posted: 05 Jan 2011 06:00 AM PST

We're just about halfway through the first work week of the New Year. I hope it's treating you well and that you're on track for a great 2011. Many small business owners use the New Year as a time to take a look at the state of their business and list goals they want to accomplish over the next 12 months.

Having clear, defined goals is a great way to keep moving your business forward and ensure you're on the path to success. However, sometimes it's difficult to create solid goals for your business, and it can be even harder to actually attain them. Below are some tips for creating better business goals in 2011. You owe it to your business to do it right.

Evaluate your business: Before you can go forward, do yourself a favor and take a minute to really look back. What did your 2010 look like? Where did your business succeed, and where did you struggle? What experiences did you have that you enjoyed, and which do you want to make sure you never repeat? Doing a quick audit of the prior year can help you make useful resolutions for the one coming. If you know you struggled in one area, are there steps you can take to improve? Or perhaps you want to double-invest in an area where you found success? Ultimately, you need to know where you want to go before you can plot the course.

Set goals that excite you: For the past few years I've had the same goal every January – to finally get my finances in order. I'm at the point in my life and career where I need to start making smarter decisions about my money and where I'm investing it. However, at the close of 2010, I still hadn't acted upon this goal. Why? Because it's not exactly exciting. I don't jump out of bed with anticipation of opening up that IRA. You want to be excited about the goals you set for your business. Sure, not every step in achieving the goal will be over-the-moon sexy, but the direction should be. You should be excited about where you're moving your business and what you're looking to accomplish over the next year. If you can't get excited about your business, why would anyone else? Why would you be moved to accomplish the goals you set out if they don't move you?

Make it specific: The trouble with many goals business owners set is that they're too vague. You vow to be more successful in 2011, to be more organized, or to be happier. That's great, but what does any of that mean? What does "being more successful" look like to you or your business? How are you defining happiness? The more specific your goal, the better you'll be able to see it, and the more likely you'll be to make it a reality.

Make it attainable: It's natural to have huge, long-term dreams for your business, but those are different from the goals you set each year (or quarter). Part of creating better business goals is focusing on things that are within your control. Picking attainable goals is important in helping business owners to remain motivated, confident and productive. You can't control whether or not you land that new client; however, you can make sure you're doing the things necessary to impress the prospect and earn the business. Focus on yourself, your own actions, and what you can do to change your fate.

Create milestone goals: If your ultimate goal is to create a new service offering for your business, create milestone goals to be worked in underneath it. Small steps will allow you to move closer and closer to your final end goal. For example, if you're planning to add catering to your cupcake business by March, then perhaps by January you'll need to have vendors in place and by February you’ll need to have your staff fully trained. Setting these milestone goals not only keeps you on track to ultimately reach your larger goal (which is important), but they also give you something tangible to celebrate in the interim to stay motivated and focused.

Create a plan for how you'll get there: While the goal of wanting to increase your team from three to 15 employees in a year is great, it's not totally helpful unless you also create a plan for how you'll do that. How will you achieve that kind of growth? What kinds of clients will you have to take on? How much money do you need bring in to support that level of staff? For every business goal you create, you should also be creating a plan for how you'll implement that goal in the coming year. More important than the goal itself are the steps you'll take to get there. That's where success is built – in the details.

It goes without saying that creating clear business goals is an important step in consistently moving your business forward and growing your brand. However, not all goals are created equal. The best goals are the ones that are specific, plotted and allow you to control the final outcome.

From Small Business Trends

Creating Better Business Goals in 2011

PayBox Blog: Wed, Jan 5 – Contributing

2011-01-06T00:07:00.001+08:00

PayBox Blog: Wed, Jan 5 – Contributing

Wed, Jan 5 – Contributing

Posted: 05 Jan 2011 07:30 AM PST

Contributing

As mentioned in yesterday’s post, one of the most important ways you can help us take PayBox to the next level is by sharing it with others. Today I’ll cover the other primary way you can help—by contributing.

Surveys and Tasks

As an EarlyBird user of PayBox, we will ask you to participate in surveys and to help test features of our service as they become available. There are links to several surveys within the log-in area of PayBox. Please complete these daily, or as applicable.

In October and November, our users participated in some early feature testing. We have new features under development that will be released in the coming weeks and months. We’ll let you know—both in this blog and in your account log-in area—when these new features are ready for testing.

Building a Better Service

As you contribute by completing surveys and testing features, you help us to build a better service while you earn rewards in your PayBox account. Each survey you complete helps us to better know what people want. Each feature you test helps us to find and fix problems before our service goes live.

Take Action!

Please take action by completing surveys, tasks, and inviting new people to join PayBox. We appreciate your participation as we work to take PayBox to the next level.

Thanks for all you do to help PayBox grow!

Small Business Trends

2011-01-05T18:08:00.001+08:00

Small Business Trends

Small Business News: Your Legal Brief
Top 10 Tax Trends for 2011
5 Reasons Your Website Isn’t Attracting Leads

Small Business News: Your Legal Brief

Posted: 04 Jan 2011 08:13 PM PST

A big part of running a small business these days involves understanding legal issues, both those that could impact your business directly and those that could affect your market or your brand. This roundup takes a look at a variety of these legal issues and asks how they the affect small business world today. Got something to add? Leave it in the comment section below and help us build a comprehensive guide to small business legal issues today!

Taxes

Plenty of small business challenges ahead with new Congress. Despite passage of a renewal of the Bush-era tax cuts, there are plenty of concerns about a new Congress coming into office this year and about the considerable amount of work yet to be done. As U.S. small business owners communicate with their representatives this year, here are a couple of small business issues you may wish to bring up. AllBusiness

Tips

10 tips for small business legal. Anytime is a good time for reviewing your small business’s legal position. Certainly there may be different considerations for a huge multi-national corporation than for a small business. But in the end, whether you do regular internal reviews or bring in outside advice, a regular legal tune-up will keep your business running smoothly. Lawyers ABC

Global

Legal brand protection spikes in India.Though legal issues connected to intellectual property and branding are hardly universal the world over, certain moves signify a unification of global business practice especially important to small businesses doing business across many national and cultural boundaries. The increase in India trademark application has many potential implications for the global market. Read one. Thompson Reuters

Hiring

How to hire legal counsel. Anita Campbell, founder and editor of Small Business Trendsputs her legal know-how as a former corporate attorney to work in this great post on how to hire and then manage the costs of an outside law firm. Whether you’re a big corporation or the smallest of startups, this primer will give you important tips about how to handle your legal representation in a variety of situations. Small Business Trends

Pitfalls

10 huge small business mistakes and how to avoid them. These errors, while simple to make for the inexperienced, than severely damage or destroy your small business if not carefully considered. You may wish to consult an attorney on some of these issues to be sure you haven’t crossed the line into behavior that could bring about litigation. crowdspring

Trends

5 big changes that could affect your small business.Small businesses face change everyday, changes in technology, the appearance of new competition in the marketplace and rising costs are only some of these. But five new legal requirements may spell difficulty for many small business owners depending upon their business model. FindLaw

More legal issues for small businesses owners.As fast as markets and technologies are changing opening opportunities hitherto unknown by small business owners leveraging the power of the Internet for marketing and networking, a number of legal changes may create significant changes for small businesses., You’ve heard some of these before but they remain crucial to your small business survival. BusinessNewsDaily

Legal Documentation

Pair of entrepreneurs seek to cut down on endless legal documents. Keeping necessary paperwork can be a challenge for legal firms and small businesses alike. One company has turned the solution for this problem into a business model. Now their only task is to demonstrate to the rest of the world that automated legal documents are the path to the future. BostonHerald.com

Indepependent contractor and work for hire agreements.Do you have these agreements in place for those doing work for your business? In a period when information and content have become the currency of much small business, especially small business on the Web, it has become imperative to understand the agreements you have in place. 365 Days of Startups

Tech

Why the Internet may make legal costs cheaper.A recent post on how technology is changing and lowering the cost of doing small business pointed to free online legal templates and Websites with legal ads. If this information is going to be free or significantly less expensive online. It means less cost on what used to be a huge expense for small business startup. NuWire

From Small Business Trends

Small Business News: Your Legal Brief

Top 10 Tax Trends for 2011

Posted: 04 Jan 2011 08:30 AM PST

Taxes, and taxes for small business in particular, were headline news for a good part of 2010. This is because of the pending expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts, the extension of those cuts, and legislation creating incentives for hiring and improving the economy. In 2011, taxes will continue to be an important subject for small business owners, who face a compendium of new rules and regulations. Here’s a look at the top 10 trends in taxes for the year.

1. More e-filing

In the 2010 income tax filing season (for 2009 returns), the number of returns filed electronically reached an all-time high. According to the IRS, 70.37 percent of individuals filed (or had their returns filed through paid preparers) electronically; e-filing should increase in 2011.

For businesses, electronic filing is required for large corporations (those with $10 million or more in total assets and that file 250 or more returns a year) and encouraged for small businesses. E-filing isn't limited to income tax returns. Businesses are encouraged to e-file information returns and excise tax returns with the IRS and e-file their W-2 forms with the Social Security Administration.

Also, tax return preparers are now required by federal law to e-file client returns if they prepare at least 100 returns. The threshold will decline to 11 or more returns in 2012.

2. Taxes as a political issue

Tea Party candidates helped to bring tax issues to the fore in 2010. Expect this trend to continue in 2011, as the need for more revenue to reduce deficits continues to dominate the political conversation.

Tea Party sympathizers argue that reducing tax rates will help the economy and ultimately increase tax revenues. Many Democrats have argued that "fairness" dictates higher taxes be imposed on wealthier taxpayers. A new Congress in 2011 will debate tax reform. One proposal likely to be introduced early on by some Republicans is the "Fair Tax," which would include abolishing the IRS and creating a national sales tax. A Fair Tax video explains what this tax would mean.

3. More IRS tax audits

As part of the government's fiscal year 2011, the IRS requested a 5.33 percent increase in enforcement activities—investigations, examinations and collections. Since the government continues to operate on a temporary basis, actual figures for allocations to the IRS for FY 2011 are not yet set.

4. Continued uncertainty about health-care rules

The fate of the massive health care package enacted last March remains in doubt.

Courts have entertained the argument that the mandate for all individuals to carry health coverage is unconstitutional; a federal district court in Virginia agreed that it is unconstitutional. Higher courts should weigh in during 2011.
Some Republicans have vowed to repeal the health-care package in total or "unfund" certain portions of it.

5. Push to make business provisions permanent

The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 extended a number of provisions that had expired at the end of 2009; the extensions end on December 31, 2011. Congress likely will take up the issue of additional extensions, at least of key provisions.

One key provision is the research credit. The credit was created as a temporary provision by the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981. Since then, it has been extended 14 times (including this new extension). Many business leaders want the credit to be made permanent.

6. No AMT reform

The alternative minimum tax (AMT) is a second income tax system that runs parallel to the regular tax system, but has different rates, different exemption amounts and other rules. Individuals figure their taxes under the regular tax rules and the AMT and pay the higher amount. The AMT has been "patched" for 2010 and 2011 by an increased exemption amount, which effectively will keep millions of taxpayers from owning this tax. However, what will happen after 2011? Expect this matter to come under debate in 2011.

The Obama Tax Commission's report has suggested complete repeal of this complex tax system, but unfortunately the cost of repeal ($1.4 trillion over 10 years) is just too high. Simplification to AMT rules is another of the Commission's options; this likely will receive greater attention, along with another "patch" for 2012.

7. Higher state and local taxes

Many states will continue to see budget shortfalls during 2011 and beyond. While there has been considerable spending cuts, revenues are still insufficient and federal subsidies are declining (about $60 billion remains from the funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to help with 2011 fiscal problems, but only $6 billion will remain for FY 2012).

To meet the budget shortfalls, over 30 states have raised taxes, and new tax hikes could be introduced in the next year.

8. Greater crackdown on return preparers

The IRS has taken a variety of steps to weed out uninformed and unscrupulous tax return preparers. It has initiated a new practitioner identification number, or PTIN program, for those who prepare returns for a fee.

In the spring or summer of 2011, it will announce new continuing education requirements and competency testing for preparers who are not accountants, attorneys or enrolled preparers who are already subject to such oversight.

Also, the IRS is continuing its efforts to pursue civil or criminal prosecutions of return preparers who use questionable practices. Clients of such preparers are vulnerable to examination, making a taxpayer's selection of a return preparer more critical than ever.

9. Taxes and social media

In an effort to make the subject of taxes more accessible, the IRS has launched a number of programs to expand its reach on the Web:

IRS twitter accounts @irsnews for taxpayers and @IRStaxpros for tax professionals
YouTube videos

These social media efforts should ramp up during the tax filing season.

10. More information reporting

The IRS uses information returns to make sure that taxpayers are reporting their income rather than relying on the honor system. In 2011, for the first time, banks and other financial institutions will have to report merchant transactions on a new Form 1099-K. The transactions include amounts processed on credit cards, debit cards, PayPal and other electronic transactions.

Additional information reporting scheduled to begin in 2012 requires all businesses to report payments of goods and services of $600 or more annually to other businesses. Most small businesses, along with the Obama Administration, want this measure repealed as soon as possible; it is simply an administrative nightmare.

Bottom line: Taxes will undoubtedly change in 2011 and in years to come. Stay alert to opportunities that could help you.

From Small Business Trends

Top 10 Tax Trends for 2011

5 Reasons Your Website Isn’t Attracting Leads

Posted: 04 Jan 2011 06:00 AM PST

So, what are your big Internet marketing plans for the New Year? Will you be investing more in social media? Will you start blogging? Will you take a more proactive stance with self-promotion? Whatever your online marketing plans, the end goal is likely to attract more people to your website in the hopes that the influx of new eyes will translate into new customers, new leads and new opportunities for your business. However, you won't be able to do any of that if your Web site is turning people off, instead of turning them on.

Below are some very common reasons SMB Web sites fail to attract customers and how to avoid falling prey to them.

1. There's no conversion path in place.

One criticism of many SMB sites is that they don't include a clear conversion path for their customers. If you want customers to take a certain action, you need to create a funnel intended to guide them to do that. Simply stringing together a number of content pages won't necessarily put someone on the path to buy. Your conversion path may be as simple as a solitary landing page paired with a call to action, or as complex as an entire microsite. Either way, you are in charge of designing the flow of your website. Creating a clear conversion path not only helps customers feel more comfortable on your site, it also gives you clear data to track so that you can see where people are abandoning, where they're engaging, etc. The more data you have to act on, the better you can design your site to attract new customers.

2. There's no sign of life.

Customers are discriminating. You can bet that when they land on your website they're going to kick the tires a little to see if they can trust you. They're going to check your copyright date to see if it lists 2011 or 2006. They're going to look for old statistics or other signs you haven't taken the time to update your content. They're going to check your company blog to see how often it's updated, if you reply to commenters, if people are talking back, etc. They're going to look for signs that you've created a dynamic website, instead of one lying around in stagnant water. Before your customers get there, take a look around yourself. Would you hang out with you?

3. It's all about you.

Customers don't head to your site to hear how awesome you are. They're there because they have a problem they need you to fix or a question they need you to answer. Your website should be designed to help them quickly achieve whatever it is they came for. Too many references to "I" in lieu of "you," too much sales talk instead of helpful information, and too much of you not addressing their fears/wants/desires will turn people away from your brand, not on to it. Your customers don't care about you–they care about how you can help them.

4. People can't find you.

If you're finding that customers aren't interacting with your website at all, there are a few questions you need to ask yourself.

Is it accessible? With more and more users searching via mobile devices and on the go – is your website mobile accessible? If it's not, users trying to find you may hit a dead end. There's nothing worse than trying to find your accountant's website while on the road and finding out his site only renders in Flash and won't load on your phone. Not that I'm talking from experience.
Is it properly SEO'd? Have you made it easy for users and search engines to find your content? That means using the right keywords, linking properly, making your site super crawlable for spiders, and staying away from common SMB SEO mistakes.

Sometimes before you can see more traffic, you have to break through the obstacles preventing you from seeing any.

5. There's no POD.

If you want to attract people, you have to give them more of you. You have to stand out from the crowd and show them something that they'll want to align themselves with. Take a look at your own site – what are you showing potential customers? I don't mean the graphics or the videos you choose to incorporate (don't forget to SEO those, too!), I mean the experience that you're creating. Are you using your site to set yourself apart, or do you come off like everyone else? Are you talking to customers in their own language or filling your pages up with buzzwords and jargon? The more powerful a POD (point of differentiation) you can create, the better you'll attract the right customers to your brand.

If you're finding it difficult to attract leads via your website, it may be time to ask yourself some hard questions. Before you can fix the problem, you first have to identify it. What are some struggles you've had attracting new leads? How have you fixed the problems?

From Small Business Trends

5 Reasons Your Website Isn't Attracting Leads

PayBox Blog: Tue, Jan 4 – Sharing PayBox

2011-01-05T00:07:00.001+08:00

PayBox Blog: Tue, Jan 4 – Sharing PayBox

Tue, Jan 4 – Sharing PayBox

Posted: 04 Jan 2011 07:30 AM PST

Sharing PayBox

Do you enjoy participating as we develop the PayBox service? Are you looking for ways to help us take our service to the next level? This blog post covers one of the most important ways you can help—by sharing PayBox.

Why Share?

PayBox is still in development and it’s a “closed box” system for now. That means all transactions stay within our system. In order to “Open the Box”, we need a bigger user base (as mentioned in Sunday’s blog post). That means more users. If you can see the seeds of a great new service in PayBox, if you’re excited by what you see, please spread the word.

How to Share

There are countless ways you can share PayBox. If you have a blog, you could blog about it. If you use Facebook, you could share it there. You could also email personal one-to-one invitations to people you know—people who you think may share your excitement for PayBox.

Be Considerate

Please don’t send a generic email to a lot of people. It’s impersonal and wouldn’t be received well. Also be sure you don’t use any method of sharing that would annoy people, such as emailing people who don’t know you, or by posting off-topic in a forum.

Take Action!

Please don’t wait, if you have an appropriate way to share PayBox, or if you know people who may be interested, please spread the word or send an invitation today.

Thanks for participating as we work to take PayBox to the next level.

Small Business Trends

2011-01-04T18:05:00.001+08:00

Small Business Trends

Small Business News: Starting Your New Business In A New Year
50 Places to Find Images for Every Small Business Need
What Does the Average American Business Look Like?

Small Business News: Starting Your New Business In A New Year

Posted: 03 Jan 2011 08:07 PM PST

Whether your starting a new business or rethinking an existing one, 2011 offers fresh possibilities and a new start. If you’re launching a new business, there have never been more resources available to start you on your way. If you have an existing business, look for resources and strategies to make the most of it for a new start in a new year. We hope the advice and resources below will help.

Funding

Tips for raising small business capital. Raising money to start your business may be among your most important steps in the process of getting your small business up and running and make no mistake, it isn’t easy. But with five easy steps you make the prospecting process much easier by establishing a business model, a product and an easily understandable picture of the value your company represents. lawag.com

Self-development

Can your small business change the world? More than simply turn a profit, does your business create true value in a way that changes the world in which we live? Social entrepreneurship is taking this philosophy to whole new level and as you consider your new or existing business in 2011, it may not be a bad idea to figure out where you fit in. YoungUpstarts

What do you want from your business in 2011? As crazy as it may sound, coming up with a set of New Year’s resolutions may be more than just a Holiday tradition. It could be a critical way for either starting a new venture or making important changes to an existing one. Entrepreneur Andre Taylor has some exciting ideas along these lines in this short video. Small Business Loan Blog

Inspiration

What are your small business ideas? Entrepreneur and blogger Ivan Widjaya has a few of his own to share. The business ideas in this list aren’t exactly specific but explore some brand new trends out there that could stand a second look. It’s a great idea to look at some new possibilities when considering starting a new business or branching into a new product or service. Here are some ideas to get the creative juices flowing. Noobpreneur

Survey Says

Some entrepreneurs far from frustrated. The optimism rate amongst entrepreneurs has fluctuated up and down during the tough economic times we’ve all experienced recently. But just how enthusiastic small business people are about the future kind of depends upon who you ask. Here’s one ray of sunshine amongst participants of a recent survey conducted by a blog targeted at solo entrepreneurs that suggests their outlook is far from gloomy. The Solopreneur Life

Community

Staying engaged with your customer base. Whether they’re the people that read your blog, follow you on Twitter and Facebook, buy your products and services or refer others to you, your network is a community that must be nurtured. If you’re just starting a business, this could involve building a network in the first place. If you have a business it means keeping that network energized. Epic Launch

Branding

By any other name. Yes, that new product, business or service name certainly can be important. Think of how much is riding on your choice! No, maybe it’s a better idea that you don’t go overboard fretting about this particular choice. Instead, get educated about the best way to identify a new business or revitalize an old one. Fast Company

Operations

Little changes can make the biggest difference. In his first post of the New Year, David Siteman Garland talks about the small alterations you can make in a new business or an existing business that lead to big differences down the road. Sure, it’s easy to look at what needs to change and get done in the coming year and to get overwhelmed and intimidated as a result. But sometimes smaller, simpler changes are what count. The Rise to the Top

What’s the hottest new business idea? It’s inevitable around this time of year. Heck, we just shared a list of small business prospects earlier in this roundup. And that overwhelming list gets longer when you add those “hot” new franchise opportunities. Do yourself a favor, suggests Joel Libava. Do some due diligence. No idea is hot for everyone. Find the business model that works for you. The Franchise King

The Bookshelf

Want to win in 2011? Read this book! Ivana Taylor reviews a book by Rick Kash and David Calhoun with lessons for companies large and small. As its title implies, Kash and Calhoun’s book rethinks the way that companies look at satisfying customers, something every business should be examining as a way to succeed bigger in 2011. Small Business Trends

From Small Business Trends

Small Business News: Starting Your New Business In A New Year

50 Places to Find Images for Every Small Business Need

Posted: 03 Jan 2011 12:30 PM PST

We are visual creatures. We love to take pictures; we love to look at pictures. We like pictures when they are still and when they are moving. A picture isn't just worth 1,000 words; it also speaks to us when there are no words possible.

Free Photo by PhotoRogue.com

Your blog posts, your marketing materials and your website all need images. As a small business owner, you probably think that photos come with an expensive price tag, but they don't have to. In this post, we highlight 50 image sites and services where you can get photographs and types of images for free or a low cost.

Kave Wall is a graphic design firm that also has a stock photo library. Many of the images appear to be free for the small sizes, but they also offer a full resolution catalog of 1,700-plus photos for $199.

Nations Illustrated has a unique niche — travel photographs, which are often popular and beautiful and can work well on a business site in many situations. The downside is the site doesn’t make it clear where the images come from; however, the user agreement states that you may use the images for personal, non-commercial purposes.

Historical Stock Photos has a great collection of historical photos. However, I could not determine details of copyright or ownership. I include them because the site also links to the parent company, Image Envision, which is a paid site that you might find interesting if you need historical photos for your business website.

Veer is a free and paid photo site. Each week they handpick images to put in their free gallery. (Veer is currently an advertiser at this site.) In addition, when you register at Veer they give you image credits you can use in the paid gallery. They have a terrific font gallery, too. They give you 10 free photo credits when you register.

Public-Domain-Photos offers 5,000 free photos and 8,000 free clip art items. All photos on this website are public domain. You may use these images for any purpose, including commercial. They advise you to be careful, though, if an image contains logos and products that are trademarked.

Free Digital Photos is a photographer community to help you sell your work. Most of the images are free, but you can purchase a high-resolution image, if you need it. The site states: "Download free photos and illustrations for corporate and personal use. Every image is free, with an option to buy high-resolution versions for use in print or graphic design."

I like Pixel Perfect Digital because they explain the “free” rules clearly on their terms of use page and they have tons of cool images. Most of the photos are from amateur and semi-pro photographers and have a genuine look about them, not models or fake scenes. If you need that natural look, Pixel Perfect Digital is worth studying.

Image After offers a simple search tool with drop-down choices. You can also search by term and as soon as you click the image you like, it brings up options to download. However, you have to be careful, as there are lots of ads on this site taking you to paid photo sites. But you can find a good range of free images in their catalog.

Design Packs is aimed at Web designers and offers free stock photo sets, already Zipped up, ready for download. There are 15 different design packs, such as money, bark, rock, light, and other categories. In each “pack” or bundle, there are 10 to 20 photos. There are links to other packs, with free downloads as well. Overall, this site offers more background-type images, but you may be able to use these for more abstract work. The one I liked the most is called Grunge Textures and offers all sorts of earth and element images you could use for free.

Free Foto is one of my favorites from this round of research. They offer a huge library of images, and state the rules right up front. “FreeFoto.com is the largest collection of free photographs on the Internet (linkback and attribution required).” They offer free online use, with higher quality images available for a fee. However, they do run a lot of advertisements, which can be a bit confusing.

Photo Rack offers a large catalog of free images. Their terms of use are simple: "All photos at PhotoRack are Free to use for personal and commercial projects. No limitations. No backlink required to use them; however, we really appreciate it if you post about us in your blog." The service is organized in a forum structure and photos are then subcategorized within each section. They mention a search box in their help file, but I could not find it, so you have to scroll through.

Deposit Photos is a fee-based service, but I mention them here because their 7-day free trial allows you to download five images per day for seven days. You have to enter a credit card, but their agreement on this page states that you can cancel at any time.

Free Pixels offers a smaller collection than some of the other providers here; however, they have millions of views in each category. This implies that they have a lot of quality images and people are spreading the word. I found a number of eye-catching images worth downloading. “Every Freepixels image or digital creation used must retain the domain name: freepixels.com when used on the Internet, in a Web page, in printed publications, or in any product, advertising, or packaging.” They seem reasonable and will allow you to remove the watermark on the image if you provide credit near the image itself. Read the terms.

Photo Rogue is incredibly unique. I would categorize them as a photo request site. You can submit a specific photo you’re looking for and a volunteer photographer will go out and try to create it for you. While they don’t have many requests in the service yet, this site could take off and provide an interesting model for both buyers and sellers of photography.

Free Range Stock is another of my favorites in the free stock world. It is a photographic community supported by ad revenue – photographers get paid when users click on the ads that appear next to their submissions. Images on the site are either shot by Freerange Stock, drawn from Freerange archives, or contributed by a talented community of photographers.

Geek Philosopher offers a free stock photo page and they request a detailed backlink for use of their free images.

Cepolina is a travel and nature focused site, but has over 16,000 images and also organizes by color for those who want to find a photo to match their website. I found some very good food images here, too. You can download by size, up to 1,600 x 1,200 pixels.

Abstract Influence is a photography community and reportedly allows members to download free photos, but I couldn't find evidence of that without joining. You can see and peruse different photo libraries and categories without joining, so if you're looking for an original photo this might be a good place to search. (No guarantee that it is free, however.)

Stock.XCHNG is now owned by Getty Images, but as far as I could tell it was still a free photo site. SXC has a long history, a great community, and tons of images on their unique site. How big is big? A huge gallery containing over 350,000 quality stock photos by more than 30,000 photographers.

Every Stock Photo is a search engine for free photos. The photos come from many sources and are license-specific. You can view a photo’s license by clicking on the license icon, below and left of photos. Membership is free and you need to become a member to download photos.

Imagebase by David Niblack appears to be a labor of love. David Niblack makes his images available for public use. The images are free and very few conditions are placed on them — read it here. There are not thousands of images here, but there are some good ones in the people, objects, city and nature categories.

Morguefile provides free images for personal and commercial work. Their tagline says it all: “Public Image Archive for Creatives by Creatives.” They also offer a way for you to add your own photos to morgueFile so that you can give back to the creative community.

Open Photo. This site has a range of photo categories with plenty of images in each one. Once you click on the photo you like, you can see the details about copyright, creative commons, and other rights and expectations (such as a link back) in a simple box to the right.

Stock Vault is a pretty slick site. When you pick a photo, it brings up the image and details about the photographer. Next to the image is a button that says, “Support this User,” and when you scroll over it, it says, “Buy Him a Coffee.” In the upper left portion, it simply says download and you can get the image immediately.

Unprofound is a photo site sorted by color. You pick one of six colors or white and peruse a range of photos. You can use a basic search engine on the site, but they advise you keep to simple terms. This is not a huge collection of photos (it is run by one person), but it offers truly free photos. “This collection of photos is for anyone to use in just about any way they’d like” is what the FAQ states.

Toasto is a simple free photo site by one photographer. You can browse photos by categories such as nature, technology, computing, food, and even by concept and idea. Photos are available on a creative commons license as long your use is non-commercial and attributed to the site.

Photoree is a photo search engine that searches creative commons licensed photos. In a simple dropdown menu, you can pick the license that is right for you. This image came from a simple search on “mobile device” and “creative commons, commercial use OK.”

Picapp is a widget that you can use on your website to manage your own images or to pull from other image sources (approved by Picapp in its terms of service). If your site uses images to keep people engaged, this might be a useful service to manage a photo gallery or provide dynamic photo streams on your website.

123RF is a fee-based royalty-free stock photo site, but they have a healthy collection of free images. Like others here, they have a subscription fee payment plan, or you can buy credits for just the images you need. They invite photographers to submit their work.

Dreamstime is a site offering paid and free images (over 100,000 free ones) after you register. Registration is free, too. You will often find Dreamstime mentioned or highlighted at some of the other sites here in this post because they are a frequent advertiser on photography sites.

Photodropper is a WordPress plugin that lets you add Flickr photos to your posts. It searches for Creative Commons licensed photos – images that are licensed for shared use – and lets you drop them into your posts right from your dashboard with just one click.

Rgb Stock is a free stock photo site, but built around a community of experienced and new photographers looking to build awareness for their work. The terms of use can vary for each photo, but you’ll see the details to the right of the image when you click to see the larger version.

Photl offers high-resolution images for commercial usage for free. You have to register to download, but it is a fast registration process. They have a tag cloud on the site that shows you photo categories — the bigger the size of the tag, the more photos in that category.

Images by Photl.com

Dougit Design is one man’s (Doug) design studio that provides breath-taking free photos, wallpapers and textures in high resolution. Worth a visit. Not a ton of images here, but still a good stop.

Photovaco is a good site, and they have lots of stuff to click on, including free templates, free CSS files and free photos, so just pay attention to the photo part and look to the categories in the right column if you want to explore.

Public Domain Image is a collection of images in the public domain. The site owner explains that he built this collection along with posting his own photographs. It is searchable and organized by category.

PD Photo – I like this site. Its catalog of free public domain images is solid. Plus, the owner clearly states that unless otherwise noted, the image is completely free. They would like you to link back to the site, but it is not mandatory. Just scroll through the category list on the right side.

Acobox provides free images, but they host them for you, so they take the risk of making sure the images are properly licensed or attributed. You pick the image, copy the code snippet, and paste it into your site or blog.

Freeimages expresses that they are a fully free site, but asks for linkbacks or other ways of supporting them on their Support page. You’ll find lots of images, simple and detailed, across all sorts of topics from medical to technology, animals to travel, making this site worth a look.

Free Stock Photos is a well organized site. Mixed in with the completely free results, however, are images from Shutterstock and maybe some other paid photo sites. When I clicked on the free images, I was taken to a larger version of the image and details of where it was from (for example, the open clip art library), whether it was in the public domain or its licensing terms. It is very clear what you are downloading.

High Resolution Textures is an awesome site. If you want a background or texture, such as stone or metal, or even pasta (yes, as in spaghetti), you should check this site out. Not just for digital use — think about packaging or other print media.

Flickr is the undisputed 800-pound gorilla in photo sites. While not all of their images are available for free, you can do an advanced search and find suitable creative commons licenses. Plus, if you found a great image, you could contact the photographer and get permission or purchase rights. In many cases, I’ve seen businesses build a Flickr gallery and make that available on their site because it links directly to the photographer’s site and helps both you and the photographer. Check into other creative options at Flickr and in their terms of service.

Photogen provides free, quality stock photography for both commercial and personal use. The aim is to create a valuable resource for designers, bloggers or anyone who needs an image to enhance their website, presentation, homework or print job.

Photo Everywhere has 3,000-plus travel-themed stock images available.

Like some of the free photo sites, FreeMediaGoo does not make it explicitly clear how they came by the images, but they claim you may use them for free.

Open Photo aims primarily at artists, developers, teachers and students, but through its search function or categories, you can find lots of great images. As you click on a thumbnail, you get a larger image with details about licensing/rights (often creative commons with some form of attribution).

Free Photos Bank is a solid site with lots of images, particularly for business users. They have ads, too, so don’t get distracted. They have a quick navigation button at the top right which can drop you into the section you want.

Fotolia is paid site, but has free images you can download. You have to register to complete a download, however.

Free Digital Photos. Images are free provided you publish a credit to the person who created the image. Instructions for publishing credits can be found to the right of every image – click the “Acknowledgement required” link. If you would rather not publish a credit you must purchase a licence, starting at just $5 per image.

PublicDomainPictures.net is a repository for free public domain photos. You can upload your own pictures and share your work with others. They do make statements that model and property releases are not standard, so be careful how you use these photos. However, they are all free for use.

iStockphoto is one of my regular stops when I’m looking for an image. They were one of the first to offer user-generated, royalty-free stock photos, including video, illustrations, vector images, and audio. They also offer flash-based images as well. You can buy a regular subscription plan or pay-as-you-go. There is a free photo of the week, too.

Important Caveat: Remember, just because a website has a collection of images does NOT give you the automatic right to use those images. The owner of any image or photograph has a legal copyright in that image. Make sure you purchase the right to use an image, or the image is in the public domain, or the image is under a creative commons license that gives you the right to use that image, or you receive written approval to use the image from the owner. Check the Terms of Service of any website. Never assume you have the right to use an image unless it’s clearly spelled out. Otherwise, you could someday get a letter demanding that you pay $1000 (or some other large amount) per image, or a lawsuit charging you with misappropriating someone else’s copyrighted material.

We hope you enjoy this massive list of free photo and royalty-free photo sites. Let us know which ones you use or any that we missed.

From Small Business Trends

50 Places to Find Images for Every Small Business Need

What Does the Average American Business Look Like?

Posted: 03 Jan 2011 07:58 AM PST

The Census Bureau recently released the results of the 2007 Survey of Business Owners, the government's effort to examine American businesses every five years. The survey paints an interesting picture of what the average American business looks like.

The largest share of American companies is in the professional, scientific, and technical services sector, which accounts for 14.0 percent of U.S. companies. Construction accounts for the next highest portion at 12.6 percent. Manufacturing and agriculture, once the mainstays of American business, now account for 2.3 and 1.0 percent of U.S. companies, respectively.

The vast majority (78.8 percent) of U.S. businesses have no employees. And the share of businesses without employees now exceeds 90 percent in agriculture and arts, entertainment and recreation. The only sector of the economy where the majority of businesses has employees is accommodation and food services, in which 61.5 percent of businesses still have workers.

The average business generates over $1.1 million in sales, has more than 4 employees and pays an average compensation of over $41,000. However, when firms without employees, which have an average of only a little more $45,000 in sales and no employees (by definition) are excluded, average sales per firm rises to over $5 million, and average number of employees per business exceeds 20.

Wide industry variation exists in average sales and average employment. Average sales range from a little more than $96,000 in other services to over $25.1 million in utilities. Average employment varies from 0.7 employees per business in agriculture to over 107 in the management of companies.

One final point about the data is worth noting. The difference in economic impact of employer and non-employer firms is extraordinary. The 78.8 percent of businesses without employees only account for 3.2 percent of sales and none of the employment of U.S. companies. Employer firms are clearly much more economically important than non-employer firms.

Click here to see a table showing the numbers in greater detail (Excel -
.XLS file).

From Small Business Trends

What Does the Average American Business Look Like?

PayBox Blog: Mon, Jan 3 – The Week Ahead

2011-01-04T00:13:00.001+08:00

PayBox Blog: Mon, Jan 3 – The Week Ahead

Mon, Jan 3 – The Week Ahead

Posted: 03 Jan 2011 07:30 AM PST

The Week Ahead

Each day of the week we blog about important issues in order to help both new and existing users stay up-to-date. Here’s an overview of the blog posts we’re planning for this week…

Tuesday: Sharing PayBox. Learn more about why and how to spread the word.
Wednesday: Contributing. Learn more about the surveys. An introduction for new users and reminder for existing users.
Thursday: Project Updates. More news on the Growth Project.
Friday: Project Updates. News about our new Digital Delivery Project.
Saturday: Contests and Prizes. An update on the contests we have launched.

Remember to take action this week! Please participate in the surveys and invite people to join PayBox. We’re depending on our users for feedback, participation and to spread the word, inviting others to join.

Thanks for helping us take PayBox to the next level!

Small Business Trends

2011-01-03T18:02:00.001+08:00

Small Business Trends

2011 Trends Driving Rural Small Business

Posted: 02 Jan 2011 01:42 PM PST

Local, government and economic development are the three key factors shaping rural small business in the coming year. Within each of these factors are smaller subtrends. Here’s a closer look at what to expect for rural businesses in 2011.

Local Movement

Local foods, shop local, local business. Local, local, local. This collision of trends into an entire movement is reshaping small town economics. It must be big, because big businesses are trying to get in on it. Here are the subtrends that smart small town businesses can use this year.

1. Local Foods: Farmers are the next food stars.
Local foods made up five out of the 20 top food trends in a National Restaurant Association survey of chefs. Clearly, people are thinking more about where their food comes from than any time in recent history. More farmers and producers are using social networking tools to connect directly with customers. More restaurants will be featuring celebrity suppliers and treating farmers like food stars. Opportunities are here for producers, value added processors and even simple things like farm visits.

2. Shop Local: A focus on building better businesses.
A “Shop Local” slogan is not enough anymore. In the next evolution, shop local projects will work to improve local businesses to better meet people’s needs, because more competitive local businesses are a natural draw for customers. One good model: the Main Street Four Point Approach(R). Look into the Economic Restructuring point for more on improving business competitiveness.

3. Local Travel: Meaningful tourism is more engaging.
Travel is expected to be up, reaching record levels in 2011. Visitors to small towns want to do more than watch an event. They want to be part of it, and they want their spending to make them a part of something larger. This represents a progression of engagement in tourism. Visitors pay a premium when they think their purchase is doing good, whether that is a renewal of the environment, of an area’s history, or of a particular culture. Smart small town tourism businesses will build more engagement with visitors and move towards renewal.

4. Mobile = Local: Connecting is good for business.
Small town people are carrying smartphones, playing location based games, and using Facebook even while out of the house. Visitors and travelers are using Google Local to find businesses in even the smallest of towns. Travelers and locals review small town businesses on sites like Yelp and Urban Spoon. All of this is happening now. Smart small town businesses are taking advantage of this, and 2011 should see more businesses in small towns offering coupons and deals through the established players like Google and Facebook. Mobile-friendly information and QR Codes will pop up, even in remote locations.

GOVERNMENT

Government is always a big driver of small town trends, partly because more small town people work in government jobs as compared to urban areas. This year there are two major subtrends.

5. Government Budget Crunches: Small towns take a big hit.
States were hit hard with reduced revenues in fiscal years 2009, 2010and 2011. Looking ahead, 40 states are projecting another shortfall in FY 2012. Local businesses are likely to feel a pinch as their customers are affected. When states consider trimming services, outlying areas are likely to be targeted. School consolidation is likely to come up as well. One key federal indicator: post office closures and suspensions are way up.

6. Health Care Reform: Some support for rural access.
Provisions of the new law are kicking in, but what will they mean? With court rulings and discussions of repealing provisions, health care is a real wild card right now. A 35 percent tax credit for small employers providing health insurance will be felt soon, as small businesses file 2010 tax returns in early 2011. Increased payments to rural health care providers should also provide some benefit during 2011 as rural areas continue to struggle to maintain health care services. For more information about which provisions start when, review the Implementation Timeline from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS

Each small town’s economy is driven by a specific mix of local factors. No one economic forecast can cover all small towns and their unique economies. There are a few economic factors that cross regional boundaries, though.

7. Economic Outlook: Strong ag prices boost rural prospects.
The Rural Mainstreet Index is at its highest level in almost three years, carried up by strong agricultural markets. That is also supporting a positive outlook for more rural jobs. One worry is the recent run-up in farmland prices in many areas. No one wants to see yet another real estate bubble burst, dragging down the rural economy. For now, though, rural entrepreneurs have a better economic climate than many of their urban counterparts.

8. Rural Sourcing: Small towns capture jobs from outsourcing.
The wave of global outsourcing may have crested, and small town business can benefit by capturing more of these jobs through ruralsourcing. Rural service firms claim a number of advantages over global firms: shorter supply chains, better data security, intellectual property protection, cultural compatibility, and convenient time zones. Costs are lower than traditional urban firms, reflecting the lower rural cost of living. Those small town companies capable of partnering with large corporate clients stand to gain new business throughout 2011.

9. Ag Exports: Global trade is a rural issue.
Far from being disconnected from the wider world, rural areas have a direct link to world trade: agricultural exports. The U.S. trade deficit increased to $46.3 billion in August, while the agricultural industry managed a $1.8 billion trade surplus. Many ag-related small businesses go into that total, and this is an area with big opportunity for small business.

10. Entrepreneurship: A rural boom in sole proprietors.
More folks are starting small town businesses. New numbers out of South Dakota show a boom in sole proprietors. Sole proprietor numbers increased faster than jobs in most rural counties. Look for opportunities in supporting these new business owners and in partnering among rural business owners.

OVERALL

This is a big year for small town business:
Local is cool.
The rural economy is strong.
More small businesses are springing up.

Certainly, there are tough spots, but the overall rural business outlook is good, with many new opportunities out there.

From Small Business Trends

2011 Trends Driving Rural Small Business

PayBox Blog: Sun, Jan 2 – The Big Picture

2011-01-03T00:05:00.001+08:00

PayBox Blog: Sun, Jan 2 – The Big Picture

Sun, Jan 2 – The Big Picture

Posted: 02 Jan 2011 07:30 AM PST

It’s time again to bring our focus back to the “Big Picture”. The purpose of this blog post is to help new users get oriented and learn what PayBox is all about—and also to help our existing users stay up-to-date and focused on our goals as we continue to develop the PayBox service.

The Big Picture

PayBox is developing an online currency and payment processing service to make buying and selling online easier, more secure and available to everyone. We’re designing our service with the help of a dedicated group of EarlyBird users who are contributing ideas and feedback.

What has been developed?

Person-to-Person transactions are working. Any user can transfer funds from their PayBox account to another user’s account. Currently PayBox is a “closed box” system, that means all transactions are within our system only. Users cannot deposit or withdraw funds at this time.

What is being developed?

We currently have several exciting projects in development. Thursday and Friday are the days scheduled for posting updates and announcements about current projects. So, you’ll learn more about our current projects in a few days.

What is planned?

In time, we plan to “Open the Box”, inviting merchants to accept PayBox. This will allow our users to pay any merchant who has registered to accept PayBox payments. We also plan to offer debit cards linked to user accounts.

What needs to happen?

In order to form the essential working relationships with large merchants and payment networks, we need a bigger user base. What does that mean? More users! We must grow our user base to 2-5 million users (our Stage 2 growth goal) before we can really begin work to “Open the Box”.

When will it happen?

We currently have about 272,000 active users. At our current growth rate, we expect to begin work to “Open the Box” in April of 2011. That’s just an estimate, it could be sooner or later if our growth rate changes.

What can you do to help?

Just follow the instructions on the first page when you log in. Also, please invite friends to use PayBox. Tuesday and Wednesday’s blog posts will include more specific instructions on how you can help. To everyone who has been contributing to our growth and giving feedback in our surveys, we want to say—Thanks! Keep up the good work!

Small Business Trends

2011-01-02T18:05:00.001+08:00

Small Business Trends

How Companies Win: Transforming How You Look at Supply and Demand

Posted: 01 Jan 2011 08:30 AM PST

If business owners stopped wringing their hands about how things have changed and started looking at how things are, they just might see growth and opportunity beyond what they could ever have imagined.

Rick Kash and David Calhoun, the authors of How Companies Win: Profiting From Demand-Driven Business Models No Matter What Business You're In, see opportunity instead of doom for companies of all shapes and sizes. They give examples of familiar companies like McDonald’s, Best Buy and Hershey's. But there are lessons in there for small business as well.

It's All About Demand

"Demand is what customers possess in terms of the needs and desires – emotional, psychological, and physical – they want satisfied, and have the purchasing power to satisfy. For companies, demand is ultimately about profit. At the end of the day, whoever satisfies demand the best, profits the most."

For decades companies have invested millions in optimizing the supply chain. And somewhere along the line, what the customer wanted or what was important to customers got lost along the way. When the economy faltered and customers cut their spending, some companies noticed.

How Companies Win offers several case studies of familiar companies and brands to illustrate the before, during and after of their customer demand pool analysis and how it affected their businesses. Here are a couple of examples:

- McDonald’s transformed its business model. When sales faltered, they finally noticed that adults wanted healthier choices. And when they provided them, profits improved.

- Best Buy dug deeper within an already strong customer-centric strategy. They targeted their highest-profit customers and looked for ways that they could enrich those customers’ lives with the products they carried.

One of my favorite aspects of this book is the guidance that Kash and Calhoun offer readers in the form of questions you should be asking yourself. In my opinion, this is where small businesses will really be able to take advantage of big business strategies and tools. I say this because big companies have so much complexity in their organizations that for them, answering these questions would be a big and unwieldy prospect. But small businesses that aren't as diversified will find these analytical tools really helpful and insightful.

Kash and Calhoun Are Masters With Data and Consumer Behavior

David Calhoun has been chairman and CEO of the Nielsen Company since 2006. Prior to that, he was the vice chairman of GE. Rick Kash is the founder of The Cambridge Group and the author of The New Law of Demand and Supply. Both of these gentlemen have the breadth and depth of experience with consumer behavior, economics and corporate management to guide you through this transformational topic.

Questions to Ask Yourself and Your Business

Like all good consultants and executives, Kash and Calhoun start with broad questions that will make you shift around in your seat because it feels like they are poking you in the ribs — or in the sore spots of your business. These questions highlight how quickly and easily we get pulled into the daily running of our businesses and servicing customers' immediate needs, while not being as clear as we need to be on strategic issues.

- How precise is your customer targeting across your brands, products, services?

- Will customer targeting based on demographics or industry verticals be enough for you to win?

- Which of your customer targets creates the most profit?

- How precise is your understanding of which media deliver what results and what's the right mix of media to deliver the best results?

There are many, many more questions — and one element they all share is the need to get more precise about the "who,” the "how much" and the "why" behind your customers’ purchases.

More Lessons from How Companies Win

There are so many lessons in this book that I couldn't possibly list even a fraction of them here. Here are a few of the overriding lessons and themes that you'll get out of How Companies Win:

- In a world where supply is efficient and demand is flat or contracting, understanding demand is the new imperative.

- Find your most profitable customers and get to know more about what they demand. Dig deeper into what they haven't said that they want.

- Too much traditional segmentation is done based on past behaviors. This is a waste of time and money.

Is This Book for You?

You don't have to be a multibillion-dollar organization to benefit from this book. In fact, small businesses are in a better position to use the lessons of How Companies Win, because they can more easily do the analysis that the authors propose. It will be much easier for a small business with several hundred or a few thousand customers to implement the concepts in this book than it will for any of the mega-corporations that are used as examples.

Marketers will rejoice at this book because it will open up a whole new world of segmentation possibilities and ideas for new product offerings. And managers and owners will get their fill of analytical questions and charts that they can use to mine their existing data.

Overall, How Companies Win (book’s website here) is an essential read for 2011.

From Small Business Trends

How Companies Win: Transforming How You Look at Supply and Demand

Small Business Conferences, Events and Webinars for the New Year

Posted: 01 Jan 2011 05:00 AM PST

A happy, healthy and successful New Year from Small Business Trends and Smallbiztechnology.com!

This bi-weekly list of small business events is brought to you as a community service by Small Business Trends and Smallbiztechnology.com.

******

Digital Marketing World: Social Media
January 5, 2011, Online

This social media conference includes three 60-minute presentations on:

Facebook for Business—Discover how to conquer Facebook in 30 minutes a day, in just 30 days.
Taming the Twitter Beast—Learn social CRM best practices as well as the must-have tools to manage your corporate Twitter account.
Profitable Business Blogging—Improve your blogging strategy to better meet your business goals and learn how to gauge your success.

In addition, you’ll get plenty of live Q&A time with the speakers, guidance on the latest social media marketing tools and strategies, and a fully-featured virtual conference environment with networking lounge, exhibit hall and social media resource center.

Tax Planning 2011: Get a Head Start on the New Year By Getting Your 2010 Taxes Right
January 5, 2011, Webinar

Now that 2010 is over, it's time to think about your taxes – making sure your 2010 tax bill is as low as it can legally be, and planning to make sure your 2011 tax bill is even lower than it was last year. In this popular NFIB webinar, small business attorney and columnist Cliff Ennico will walk you through what you need to know about our complicated tax system, the deductions you can take (including some you probably don't know about), how to avoid being audited, and the books and records you need to keep in order to make your life as easy as possible.

Create a "Get Moving" Marketing and Sales Plan for 2011
January 6, 2010, 1:00-2:00 PM EST, Webinar

Want a marketing plan that focuses your time and money? Rather than complex, time-consuming, dust-collecting volumes, you need a plan that gives you structure and flexibility. You need a live guide that you can look to for direction, and also for options. In this webinar, speaker Jeanne Rossomme of Roadmap Marketing will help you focus on the key actions and key measures that can help you guide your business in the New Year.

Affiliate Summit West 2011
January 9-11, 2011, Las Vegas

This three-day conference includes an exhibit hall with affiliate merchants, vendors and networks, as well as multiple tracks of educational sessions covering the latest trends and information from affiliate marketing experts. Keynote speakers include Drew Eric Whitman, internationally renowned advertising trainer who specializes in teaching the psychology behind the response, and Brian Solis, Principal of FutureWorks, an award-winning New Media marketing and branding agency in Silicon Valley.

When, Why and How to Use Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter
January 11, 2011, New York City

When considering social media, many small businesses are often confused about which applications will be the best for them – do you choose Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or a combination? Each channel has its own standard for use, different audiences and different messaging strategies. This seminar will help to clarify the differences between each application so that you can choose the one that is best for you.

PR for Startups
January 13, 2011, New York City, Boston & Online

Topics include:

How to get influential bloggers, reporters and journalists to cover your startup
Determining which blogs, magazines, newspapers and TV shows to target for your PR efforts
Developing relationships with journalists
Best practices on pitching your story
Handling interviews – how to prepare, what to say, what to avoid
Maximizing the business value of your press

And much more…

Swap the Biz NYC
January 13, 2011, New York City

This business networking event for NYC includes free product from sponsors as well as free sales training from speakers. The group facilitates qualified interactions among members and is geared toward entrepreneurs, professionals, CEOs, attorneys and small business owners. Featured speaker is Carol McManus.

SCORE QuickSTART Series Workshops
January 15, 2011 (first of six weekly sessions) Port Charlotte, FL

The six-session QuickSTART Series of workshops for the nascent entrepreneur (zero to 18 months in business) will be presented on six consecutive Saturdays beginning January 15, 2011, 9:30 a.m. to noon, at the Mid County Library in Port Charlotte. Attendees will receive an overview of how to launch a new business in Florida. Details here.

SBIC & SBIR: What would you like to know? Come ask the SBA
January 18, 2011, Webinar

The Small Business Administration (SBA) has a number of programs dedicated to assisting new technology companies. In 1958, Congress created the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program to help small U.S. businesses meet their requirements for growth and operating capital not available through banks or other private capital sources. The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program funds research and development projects that propose a sound approach to the investigation of an important education or assistive technology, science or engineering question under topics identified each year in the solicitation. This webinar presentation will address such questions as:
- How can technology entrepreneurs get funding from SBIC?
- How to deal with financial institutions when there are no real assets as collateral for a loan (particularly when there is intellectual property or customer commitments to a product)?
- Is there a path that an entrepreneur can take at the SBA when he or she is getting no traction at a financial institution?

Smart Marketing for Small Business Webinar
January 18, 2011, Webinar

The Smart Marketing for Small Business webinar is based on the experience and expertise of Leslie Wolff, CEO, Smart Marketing Group. His five decades in all facets of the sales, marketing and management spectrum has created an approach and focus on providing practical, pragmatic (not theoretical) creative tactics that can be used immediately.

Entrepreneur Magazine’s Growth 2011 Conference
January 20, 2011, Atlanta

* Nearly a dozen hands-on seminars to help your business soar to your highest vision
* Growth strategies from top business authors, radicals and visionaries
* Meet and tweet with host Amy Cosper, editor in chief of Entrepreneur
* Networking throughout the day to build partnerships and connections
* Business growth perspectives from the Entrepreneur of 2010 winners

Women in Denim Conference
January 21-22, 2011, Storm Lake, IA

For women in agriculture from Iowa and the surrounding states, the event offers opportunities for fun, networking, learning and inspiration led by entertaining and knowledgeable speakers. Workshop sessions cover topics such as grain and livestock marketing, starting a small business, entertaining and cooking, digital photography, farm financials, new technology in agronomy, staying healthy, Iowa travel gems, sewing and gardening.

Vertical Response 2011 Take Action User Seminar Series
Multiple Cities and Dates

January 21, 2011 – San Francisco
March 23, 2011 – Boston
March 25, 2011 – New York City
June 23, 2011 – Chicago
September 30, 2011 – Denver

The Vertical Response 2011 Take Action User Seminar is designed to educate you about e-mail marketing in the age of social media. Complement your attendance with a one-on-one e-mail consultation and get the chance to take what you learn and immediately put it into action!

Blogging Success Summit 2011
February 1-22, 2011, Online

Blogging Success Summit 2011 is a live online conference designed to help you master blogging, empowering you to quickly attract and connect with customers (and prospects) via your very own platform—a blog. The industry’s leading blogging pros will show you how.

Join 23 experts, including Technorati CEO Richard Jalichandra, Scott Monty (head of social media, Ford), Darren Rowse (co-author, ProBlogger), Brian Clark (Copyblogger), Debbie Weil (author, The Corporate Blogging Book), Douglas Karr (co-author, Corporate Blogging for Dummies); experts from McDonald’s, Cisco, Southwest Airlines, Sony, and Procter & Gamble; plus Joe Pulizzi (co-author, Get Content Get Customers), Mari Smith (co-author, Facebook Marketing), Jay Baer (co-author, The Now Revolution), Chris Garrett (co-author, ProBlogger), Dave Garland (author, Smarter, Faster, Cheaper), Mike Volpe (VP of marketing, HubSpot), Rick Calvert (CEO, BlogWorld) and Michael Stelzner (Social Media Examiner)—and more.

Tory Johnson’s 2011 Spark & Hustle National Tour
Multiple Dates & Cities Feb-July 2011

Whether you’re just getting your feet wet with this “business thing,” barely keeping your head above water, or finally ready to swim with the sharks, Spark & Hustle is the place to learn (exactly) how to transform your fledgling (or floundering) business into a wildly profitable venture.

NAVSEA Small Business Conference
February 1, 2011, Miami

Small business owners are invited to attend the NAVSEA Small Business Conference, sponsored by the Program Executive Offices (PEOs) for Aircraft Carriers, Integrated Warfare Systems (IWS), Littoral and Mine Warfare (LMW), Ships, and Submarines. This conference will provide a forum for small business owners to connect with senior Navy and industry leaders to learn, collaborate and explore ways in which they can offer their products and services in support of Navy warfare programs.

For more information regarding this exciting event, please contact the Small Business Conference Planning Team at (703) 941-0600, or by e-mail at mandi.jackson@sbconference.org.

BlogWell: How Big Brands Use Social Media
February 2, 2011, Austin, TX

Toyota, REI, Texas Instruments, Kellogg Company and more will share case studies in corporate social media at BlogWell Austin: How Big Brands Use Social Media. You'll learn how to get started, get past roadblocks, and make your social media program phenomenal — in one afternoon, for just $250. Get practical, how-to advice on creating great content, getting management buy-in, educating employees, keeping lawyers and regulators happy, simple and ethical disclosure, and engaging fans. Presented by GasPedal and SocialMedia.org.

Social Media Week
February 7-11, 2011, New York, San Francisco, Rome, Paris, Toronto, Sao Paulo, London, Hong Kong, Istanbul

Social Media Week is a global platform that connects people, content, and conversation around emerging trends in social and mobile media.

Delivered primarily through a network of internationally hosted biannual conferences and online through social and mobile media, Social Media Week brings hundreds of thousands of people together every year through learning experiences that aim to advance our understanding of social media's role in society.

Digital Marketing Forum 2011
February 2-4, 2011, Austin, TX

Digital Marketing Forum Austin will feature:

Keynote sessions from provocative thinkers—get inspired by new perspectives on digital marketing
Case studies from leading brand-side marketers—see what’s working NOW and apply those best practices to your own campaigns
Actionable advice and how-to’s—leave the event and start immediately improving your e-mail, search, social media, and digital marketing results
Day-long, pre-conference workshops—choose in-depth training on social media measurement or content marketing/development
Plenty of networking opportunities—learn from other marketers in our unique Peer-to-Peer sessions, and mingle with speakers, thought leaders, and digital marketing enthusiasts during the conference

How to Conduct Market Research for Business Plans, Launching New Ventures
February 28, 2011, New York City

Fordham Marketing Professor Hooman Estelami, in this interactive seminar, discusses techniques for conducting market research for evaluating new products, new markets and competitive landscapes. This seminar will help you address the questions: Is your new product/service idea a good one? Is there a market for the product? How big is the market? How do I learn about the competition? How do I make forecasts?

Disney Institute’s Business Owner & Management Conferences: Quality Service and Brand Loyalty
February 28-March 2, 2011, Lake Buena Vista, FL

Presented in partnership with Disney Institute and Northpoint Services. “Benchmark your Business to Disney’s" and discover the strategies and practices that contribute to Disney's world-renowned success at this conference that includes an exclusive "Business Excellence: Behind-The-Scenes" tour.

Sixth Annual Small Business Summit 2011
March 8, 2011, New York City & Online

Produced by Prime Strategies and SmallBizTechnology.com, this event is an informative, inspiring and productive day. Headline speakers include Chris McCann of 1-800-Flowers and Jim Fowler of Jigsaw, which was acquired by Salesforce.com in early 2010.

At this year's Summit you will network with your peers, gain insight from business leaders who have built successful businesses – including 1-800-Flowers, Jigsaw, 888 Red Light, ColderICE and more – see demos by the hottest technology companies for small businesses, and hear the success story of this year's Small Business Strategy Award winner.

Geek Girl Boot Camp
March 19, 2011, Cape Cod, MA

At this full-day technology "unconference" for women, workshops include PC and Mac, Social Media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.), Location (Foursquare, Gowalla, Yelp) Photoshop, QuickBooks, Blogging, Podcasting, WordPress, Google Tools, Dreamweaver, Video, Inbound Marketing, digital photography and more. The workshops are designed for Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. There are Discussion Groups and an all-day Help Desk. The Mission of Geek Girl Camp is to educate and empower every girl and woman at every age level, on every skill level, at every income level on computer technology with fun and provide a legacy by giving back and paying it forward.

12th Annual U.S. Department of Energy Small Business Conference & Expo
May 10-12, 2011, Kansas City, MO

This event will feature plenaries, educational workshops, an Exhibit Hall with over 200 exhibitors/sponsors, as well as business matchmaking sessions. Over 1,600 attendees will represent all levels of federal, state and local government agencies, the small business community, large/prime contractors, minority educational institutions and many more!

The largest civilian contracting agency within the federal government, DOE spent over $25 billion in contracts in FY 2010. The 12th Annual DOE Small Business Conference & Expo is a great opportunity for small business owners, large companies and universities alike to network and partner.

The Art of Angel Investing: What Investors Look for, and Look Out for, When Investing in Startups
May 24, 2011, New York City

This event is a must-attend for anyone interested in learning more about pitching business ideas, venture capital/angel investing and starting their own business. And for those who are Fordham Students or Alumni, come cheer on your peers in the final round of the Fordham Business Plan Competition!

140 Characters Conference
June 15-16, 2011, New York City

This event is expected to be the largest worldwide gathering of people interested in the effects of the real-time Internet on both business and "we" the people. It seems like everyone is talking about Facebook and Twitter but so what? Why do they really matter?

#140conf exposes you to the power the Internet has to disrupt businesses, change lives and create serendipity. You will leave with a fresh outlook on how the real-time Web can be used in your business or personal life to actually do something meaningful.

FAA Small Business Opportunities Training Conference and Trade Show
June 28-July 1, 2011, Oklahoma City, OK

The FAA will host its Annual National Small Business Procurement Opportunities Training Conference and Trade Show on June 28 – July 1, 2010. The conference provides a forum for small businesses (including service-disabled and veteran-owned small businesses and 8(a) certified firms) to participate in technical and procurement opportunities workshops. Sessions will link small businesses with program managers, address business issues and concerns, and provide information that will benefit small businesses seeking to do business with the agency.

To find more small business events, contests and awards, visit our Small Business Events Calendar.

If you are putting on a small business contest, award or competition, and want to get the word out to the community, please submit it through our Events & Contests Submission Form (We do not charge a fee to be included in this listing — it is completely free to list your event.) Only events of interest to small business people, freelancers and entrepreneurs will be considered and included.

From Small Business Trends

Small Business Conferences, Events and Webinars for the New Year

PayBox Blog: Sat, Jan 1 – Contest Updates

2011-01-02T00:06:00.001+08:00

PayBox Blog: Sat, Jan 1 – Contest Updates

Sat, Jan 1 – Contest Updates

Posted: 01 Jan 2011 07:30 AM PST

Amazon Shopping Spree

The deadline to enter to win the Amazon Shopping Spree is March 31. We will be giving away a $1,000 Shopping Spree to Amazon.com. If you haven’t already taken the simple steps to participate, please take a minute and do it!

The rules for this giveaway can be found within your PayBox account. Just log in and scroll down to the Amazon Shopping Spree link to learn more.

Debit Card Survey (Contest #2)

The Debit Card Survey is currently open. In this survey we re-opened voting on the card designs which were submitted in the first contest. Our goal with this survey is to find the best debit card designs, based on popular vote. We will award a prize for the top design and smaller prizes will be randomly assigned among people who participated in the survey. Each time you vote, you get another “entry” and increase your chance of winning.

The current Debit Card Survey will remain open until we are ready to begin issuing debit cards. At that time this contest will be closed and the prizes awarded.

Debit Card Design (Contest #1)

The original Debit Card Design Contest is closed. The winners of this contest will be announced and prize payments will be sent this month.

In this contest we will award a grand prize of US $1,000 to the designer of the top-voted card design and several smaller prizes of US $100. The smaller prizes will go to people who voted in Contest #1 and winners will be randomly selected among all entries. Each time a user voted in this contest, they received another entry.

Take Action!

If you would like to win the $1,000 Amazon.com Shopping Spree or a prize in the Debit Card Survey, be sure to log-in to your account and follow the links to participate.

Thanks for helping us take PayBox to the next level—keep up the good work!

Small Business Trends

2011-01-01T18:14:00.001+08:00

Small Business Trends

New Awards and Competitions for SMBs
Small Business News: Our Outlook for 2011
4 Key Lessons in Entrepreneurial Finance
How Goes The Merger?
Top 5 Microbusiness Opportunities for 2011

New Awards and Competitions for SMBs

Posted: 31 Dec 2010 03:30 PM PST

This list of contests, competitions and awards for small businesses is brought to you every other week as a community service by Small Business Trends and Smallbiztechnology.com.

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Love a Local Business Hiring Grant Competition
Enter through December 2010

Enter by submitting a few sentences about why you love serving your customers and community. Each month between October and December 2010, winners of a $25,000 Intuit Hiring Grant will be chosen by popular vote on http://lovealocalbusiness.com. Judges will review the three monthly winners and choose a grand prize winner of an Intuit Hiring Grant worth $50,000.

SoftCity Battle of the Blogs
Enter by December 31, 2010

The Battle of the Blogs is a contest designed to discover expert blogs for each one of the categories on SoftCity. SMB Bloggers looking to get some Internet recognition can nominate themselves for the Battle of the Blogs – SoftCity provides a free banner and will help via social media channels to promote each nomination
- Best blogger (blogs) in each of the 6 categories wins an iPad, online recognition badge for their site, plus a targeted audience of new potential users, followers.

DREAM BIG Small Business of the Year Award
Enter by January 7, 2011

The DREAM BIG Small Business of the Year Award, sponsored by Sam's Club, is designed to honor U.S. job creators and recognize their significant contributions as drivers of economic growth. View the eligibility and criteria at the website to learn more and check out the Application Process FAQs for tips on filling out the application.

Top Small Company Workplaces Award
Enter by January 14, 2011

Winning Workplaces and Inc. Magazine are seeking compelling examples of successful organizations with outstanding work cultures for their 2011 Top Small Company Workplaces (TSCW) competition.

Intuit Collaboratory Challenges
Multiple competitions and entry deadlines

Intuit is running two challenges that award cash prizes for the winning solutions.

Making it easy for consumers to get receipts online
Enter by January 14, 2011
Intuit has a solution called QuickReceipts that enables consumers to get receipts online automatically. It currently requires retailer integration, and they looking for other ways to automatically get receipts online (both paper and electronic receipts). How might consumers be enabled to have their receipts accessible online with as little effort as possible?

If a winning idea is selected, the winner will receive $5,000 and potentially a follow-up meeting with Intuit product management executives.

Collection and organization of data by accountants
Enter by February 15, 2011
Submit a solution that will maximize the number of inputs accountants receive upfront, simplify subsequent interactions and data collection, and keep all inputs for a given client engagement neatly organized so accountants can provide the best client service most efficiently.

If a winning idea is selected, the winner will receive $10,000 and potentially a follow-up meeting with Intuit product management executives.

Minority Business Leader Nomination 2011
Enter by January 28, 2011

This program recognizes the Washington region’s top 25 minority business leaders based on demonstrated business success over the past 12 to 18 months. The Washington Business Journal will recognize the Minority Business Leaders at a luncheon in March 2011. All honorees will also be profiled in the Washington Business Journal.

Eligible minority groups include: American Indian, Native of Alaska, Hawaii or Pacific Islands, Asian, African-American, Hispanic or Latino. Nominations will be judged based on professional accomplishments, community leadership, awards and milestones.

CoolCalifornia Small Business Award
Enter by January 24, 2011

The annual CoolCalifornia Small Business Award Program is administered by the California Air Resources Board. The program recognizes small California businesses (under 100 employees) that have demonstrated exceptional leadership and taken action to reduce their energy bills and greenhouse gas emissions and made notable, voluntary achievements towards reducing their climate impact. The awards ceremony and reception will be held in early May 2011 in Sacramento.

New England Innovation Awards
Enter by February 28, 2011

This award recognizes the intrinsic value that innovation possesses in driving the New England economy. SBANE utilizes its highly competitive Innovation awards program to showcase technology-driven enterprises that are potentially "game changers" in their marketplace niche. Application here.

FinTech Innovation Lab
Enter by January 31, 2010

Entrepreneurs developing mobile, data management and data analytics, security, social media and other tools can apply for a spot in the FinTech Innovation Lab, expected to open in May 2011. Six companies will each get $25,000, which will convert into their next round of equity financing. They’ll also receive workspace, access to users within financial services firms to test their products, and mentoring.

Launch Lewiston-Auburn Maine Contest
Enter by January 2011

The Lewiston-Auburn Economic Growth Council (LAEGC) and the Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce have launched an entrepreneurial contest that has an ambitious goal of connecting with youth who have roots in the local community, and encouraging them to consider starting a business in Lewiston-Auburn, Maine. The program, called Launch L-A!, features a contest inviting young entrepreneurs to submit a proposal to start a business in L-A.

The winning entrepreneur will receive an equity infusion of $10,000 to $20,000 in seed money, along with a number of in-kind services for a year, including business consulting, accounting services, legal fees, advertising agency services, rent and more — all provided by Chamber members. Runners-up may also receive in-kind services. See website for entry rules.

The CITI Foundation Business Plan Contest
Enter by February 1, 2011

For startup and existing businesses. Put your ideas on paper to find out if you have a viable business and compete to win cash prizes. Eligible candidates must attend at least one of the following workshops by February 1, 2011: How to Write a Business Plan; Understanding Your Small Business Financial Report Card; or Boot Camp – CORE Four Business Planning Course.

All registration forms and business plans must be received by February 1, 2011. Please review the checklist on the website for all required information. Call (312) 673-3462 or e-mail sbdcduman@jvschicago.org.

Rhode Island Business Plan Competition 2011
Enter by April 4. 2011

The Rhode Island Business Plan Competition, open to everyone, seeks to promote entrepreneurship and development of start-up and early stage companies. Winners and finalists in the 2010 Competition shared more than $195,000 in prizes.

To find more small business events, contests and awards, visit our Small Business Events Calendar. In addition, we also have a giveaways page; click to learn more about our small business giveaways section.

If you are putting on a small business contest, award or competition, and want to get the word out to the community, please submit it through our Small Business Event and Contests Form. (We do not charge a fee to be included in this listing — it is completely free to submit your award or contest for our review. )

Please note: The descriptions provided here are for convenience only and are NOT the official rules. ALWAYS read official rules carefully at the site holding the competition, contest or award.

From Small Business Trends

New Awards and Competitions for SMBs

Small Business News: Our Outlook for 2011

Posted: 31 Dec 2010 01:14 PM PST

Don’t worry about the future outlook of small business as 2011 dawns. Sure there are some challenges but just look at the opportunities. We’ve cobbled together an end of the year roundup with some tips to inspire you. Happy New Year!

What’s Really New?

First a questionaire.OK, this is a weird way to start a small business news roundup, but here’s a post that caught our eye from Jackie Purnell on her great business and branding blog. Instead of waxing philosophic about what we’ve learned and gazing into her crystal ball, Jackie turns the question on her readers. What have you learned from your business and what are your goals. Take a minute and give your own answers below. Building Businesses Creating Brands

Nine major things to watch for in SEO this year? They’re really some of the same things you’ve been hearing really: content, site speed, link building and maybe some new stuff thrown in. Only more so and with some new twists. Mostly, small businesses that rely on online marketing and networking for any part of what they do will need to focus on their online presence more than ever. What’s your online media plan? B2C Marketing Insider

Online

Website design trends for 2011. We’re going to assume you no longer have one of those old fashioned static Websites thrown up as your only online presence. If that’s the case, you’ve got a lot more problems than we can possibly cover here. However, we can talk about some of the important new trends you should already be thinking about. Rest assured, your competition is thinking about their Website. What do you need to do differently in the coming year? Small Business Trends

Small business advertising: Some future predictions. The Internet has made it easier to measure data on advertising effectiveness than ever before. This post looks at what that data tells us about online advertising thus far, but also a bit more about what all of this could mean for the future. How will all of this impact the way your small business advertises? Read on and see. Small Business Advertising Strategies

Finance

More money for small business financing after New Year? Well, we’ve heard this one before and, while you probably shouldn’t hang your hopes on this particular prediction, the fact is that small business financing continues to evolve. Want to know more about how money could or should be flowing toward small businesses in the New Year? Than have a look. Avenue B Blog

For 2011, diversify!Though Miranda Marquit’s post may be about boosting personal supplemental income in the New Year, the fact is that whether you are self-employed in a small business of your own or own a small business with employees and assets to consider as well, it’s always a good time to think about diversifying your income. A key to surviving hard times for small business owners is to learn how to make the necessary financial adjustments and not rely on only one core revenue model for their business. We hope this post will get you thinking on lots of levels! MoneyedUp

Social Media

Social media sites to watch for in the New Year.Of course, Facebook is on small business advisor Jason Kienbaum’s list as are some other less familiar sites. And, hey, we were surprised and pleased to see Small Business Trends’own BizSugar.com mentioned in the list. Surprised, however, not see Twitter which many small businesses continue to see as a viable tool. Who do you think will be the big players in 2011? Business Done Now

What is social media value and why will it be even more important in 2011? You’ve probably heard this question more than once in small business circles recently. Does social media really work as a tool. Hey, we’ve heard the question too but it may be the wrong one entirely. Perhaps a better question would be how much is the social media you’re doing worth to your brand? But how can that be measured? B2C Marketing Insider

New Directions

New year/new business model.Mike Clough tells us about a new kind of chamber of commerce offering free membership and services to its small business members. Read about the new business model for a new era. (Full disclosure: Mike is currently a representative for the Minnesota chapter of the organization.) Read more and get inspired about what other small business services may represent important business models and tools for the New Year. America’s Best Business Practices

How to make a New Year’s resolution that sticks. You could make a New Year’s resolution to change just about anything in your life. Inclusion of this post here assumes one of the big things you may want to improve in 2011 is your business, though the specifics of what shape that change should take vary. Regardless what kind of change you wish to make in the New Year, these steps should help you accomplish it. Thanks Chris, and to all our small business friends, Happy 2011! Corporate Group Coach

From Small Business Trends

Small Business News: Our Outlook for 2011

4 Key Lessons in Entrepreneurial Finance

Posted: 31 Dec 2010 08:30 AM PST

As part of my entrepreneurship classes, I teach my students to raise capital. When people find this out, they often ask one question: What's the most important thing I need to know about raising money? For entrepreneurs, four lessons are especially important.

1. For most entrepreneurs, seeking outside financing isn't worth your time. Only a small fraction of new businesses obtain money from someone who is not a founder of the business. Therefore, unless your business has a lot of hard assets that can be used as collateral for a loan, or one of a handful of startups that has the super-high growth potential and exit plan to attract accredited angel investors and venture capitalists, seeking outside money is unlikely to be fruitful. You are better off developing a less capital-intensive business model and financing the startup yourself than you are spending your time trying to raise money.

2. Your personal credit and personal collateral matter a great deal when financing a startup. Data from the Federal Reserve's Survey of Small Business Finances shows that the owners of one quarter of corporations less than five years old, and nearly half of sole proprietorships that age, personally guarantee the debts of their businesses. Given that only a minority of businesses borrows externally at all, this means that most of the capital that entrepreneurs borrow is personally borrowed or personally guaranteed.

With personal debt, the lender's decision depends less on the potential of the business than on the entrepreneur's credit and collateral. If you don't have great personal credit and you have few assets to pledge against a loan, you will have a hard time borrowing to finance your new business, no matter how great your business idea is. So if you want to start a business, be careful about your personal credit.

3. You are more likely to get a loan than an equity investment from an outsider. Because venture capital and angel investments are sexier than bank loans and trade credit, the former gets the lion's share of attention in books and articles about entrepreneurial finance. However, most of the companies that get outside financing obtain debt, not equity.

Only a tiny percentage of startups are financed by selling equity to accredited angels or venture capitalists. The statistics show that around 1 percent of companies get their financing from these two sources combined. Other informal investors – like friends, family and unaccredited angels – add a few percentage points to the share of businesses that get outside equity, but research shows that these sources are actually more likely to lend money than to take an equity stake. Therefore, unless your business is the type that angels and venture capitalists look for, you shouldn't waste your time seeking equity investors.

4. Tapping trade creditors is where your odds of obtaining financing for the business itself are highest. According to analysis of the Federal Reserve's Survey of Small Business Finance, next to having a checking account, trade credit is the most common financial tool used by small businesses. Because trade credit is offered by suppliers to help you buy their products, even the newest businesses can obtain it.

In short, unless you have a rare, super-high-growth business with plans to exit through an initial public offering or acquisition within five to seven years, your best bet is to minimize your capital needs and finance your start-up with your own money, money that you borrow personally, and trade credit.

Editor's Note: This article was previously published at OPENForum.com under the title: “4 Important Lessons About Entrepreneurial Finance.” It is republished here with permission.

From Small Business Trends

4 Key Lessons in Entrepreneurial Finance

How Goes The Merger?

Posted: 31 Dec 2010 03:00 AM PST

Well, tomorrow’s a new year.

Just think of all the possibilities. A fresh start. A clean slate.

I guess all these new opportunities and snow got me thinking - and the cartoon above is the result.

See you next year!

From Small Business Trends

How Goes The Merger?

Top 5 Microbusiness Opportunities for 2011

Posted: 31 Dec 2010 03:00 AM PST

How can you tell a real business opportunity, one with staying power, from last year’s opportunity?

Some fields might seem hot right now but, for many, there’s a good chance that the real opportunity was over five months ago and the field will be totally glutted by February.

Then, too, the opportunities that shine like a beacon for larger firms might not work so well for microbusinesses.

So, how do you find microbusiness opportunities with staying power?

Microbusiness opportunities often build from everybody else’s opportunities. If one of the big trends to watch in 2011 is travel and tourism (at least, according to Entrepreneur.com), then the microbusiness opportunity lies in providing the personal touch–for example, via a B&B or by supplying the handcrafted soaps used by the local Big Tourist Hotel.

As I look over that Entrepreneur article, I see a lot of the same trends I’ve been seeing over the last couple of years. There continue to be business opportunities attached to Baby Boomers, social media, health care and clean energy, among other things. The big difference in 2011, though, will be not what you do but how you do it.

So, let’s start at the top.

1. Experiential products and services. This overarching trend will impact everything else in the consumer economy. This is not necessarily about changing what you sell, just changing how you sell it. People have, experts say, entered a new period of austerity … but not really. What it means is that people don’t want to collect stuff anymore. On the other hand, they will pay for experiences because they last longer — a lifetime, in fact. From a marketing point of view, that means you need to go beyond the features vs. benefits meme and focus on experience (emotional) over benefits (material).

2. For the technically inclined, mobile apps (and especially phone apps) for business are very hot. Added benefit: This opportunity is not anywhere near glutted yet. Microbusiness programmers might consider developing low-cost phone apps for their fellow microbusiness owners; that fortune at the bottom of the pyramid is not to be sneezed at.

3. Another technical B-to-B niche that’s very hot right now is Web apps for business, especially small business. Once again, if you can develop a product that is affordable for microbusinesses and will save them time or money, you’ll have that niche almost all to yourself. Too many developers chase the small business market but run from the microbusiness market, so the field is wide open.

4. Marketing services, believe it or not, are back and big but, once again, it’s all about the specifics. Social media is gathering momentum, and some creative people (like the folks behind Swipely.com) are combining it with e-commerce in interesting and profitable ways. The same goes for mobile marketing, which is still pretty leading-edge and has a bright future ahead of it.

5. This one is a bit of a blast from the past: fitness products and services are making a comeback. (I’m reminded of Huey Lewis’ Hip To Be Square.) People are still busy and always on the go, so the challenge here is to develop fitness products that can be used anytime, anywhere. Promising variations include small group training and home fitness products. Above all else, find a way to connect to your customers and make it an experience!

From Small Business Trends

Top 5 Microbusiness Opportunities for 2011

PayBox Blog: Fri, Dec 31 – Project Updates

2011-01-01T00:09:00.001+08:00

PayBox Blog: Fri, Dec 31 – Project Updates

Fri, Dec 31 – Project Updates

Posted: 31 Dec 2010 07:30 AM PST

Digital Delivery Project

The next project we have scheduled to go live after the Growth Project (mentioned yesterday) is the Digital Delivery Project. This project will allow merchants who sell digitally delivered goods to begin accepting PayBox payments.

What does this mean for you, our EarlyBird users?

Once our Digital Delivery Project goes live, it will open our developing payment service to merchants who sell digital goods. This will allow you to begin spending your PayBox balance on digital goods offered by these merchants.

The digital goods offered could include things such as:

Computer software
Digital images
Electronic books
Information products
MP3s (including music and audio books)
Tutorials
Videos
Wallpapers
Web hosting
Website memberships
and anything else that can be delivered online

Why start with digital delivery?

We are not yet ready to handle the sale of physical products and services. However, by starting out with digitally delivered goods, we can begin to “Open the Box” sooner than originally planned.

This project will allow us to accept a select group of merchants while our service is still under development. We will avoid the potential problems associated with shipping and receiving physical goods while expanding and testing our growing service. It’s a win-win-win situation for PayBox, our EarlyBird users, and the digital goods merchants.

How long until it’s ready?

We plan to have this project ready after the Growth Project goes live. The Digital Delivery Project does not have a target “go live” date yet. I’ll post updates and new details on this project as more information becomes available.

Thanks for helping us take PayBox to the next level—keep up the good work!

Small Business Trends

2010-12-31T18:08:00.001+08:00

Small Business Trends

Small Business News: The State Of Business 2010
Are Venture Capitalists Making Money?
Small Business Owners Report Less Satisfaction With Banks
Top Website and Website Design Trends for 2011

Small Business News: The State Of Business 2010

Posted: 30 Dec 2010 08:00 PM PST

As we come to the end of 2010, we find that many things about small business of changed. In some ways, the road has never been more perplexing, but then again the choices have never been so broad. From raising money to leveraging a flexible workforce to confronting long help beliefs about everything from outsourcing to goal setting, just about everything about small business has changed. Here are some of the highlights and stay tuned tomorrow as we look ahead to 2011!

Stratup

Raising money for your business is an art form. But it doesn’t have to be one confined only to the offices of venture capital firms and big time angel investors. In fact, as Nicole Fende observes, there are probably as many ways to raise funds to start your business as there are individual entrepreneurs with a drive to succeed. How do you plan to raise the funding to get your business up and running? 365 Days of Startups

Six mistakes to avoid in online business. Online businesses may be amongst the lowest in overhead cost. But be aware that starting an online business, like beginning any other venture, requires a clear plan of action and a plan that can realistically lead to success. Famous Bloggers

Customer Service

How customer service seperates you from the pack. Sherryl Perry shares this awesome story of customer service that pretty much shows why and how smaller companies can stay ahead of larger chains. Small businesses do things differently and that’s the nature of Sherryl’s story here…and an object lesson for small businesses everywhere! Keep Up With The Web

Do you have a purple goldfish to share. Here is the post that indirectly inspired Sherryl’s article on customer service. Stan Phelps is seeking 1,001 examples of what he calls “marketing lagniappe” , defined as anytime a business goes above and beyond to provide an experience that is Relevant, Unexpected, Limited, Expression and Sticky. Read more about it and share your examples for his book. Marketing Lagniappe

Self-development

Become a better entrepreneur spending one hour a day. Zack Shapiro has a method for acquiring new skills that could be a missing chapter from Tim Ferriss’s 4-Hour Work Week.(Hey, Zack! When is the book coming out?) Learning is a big part of what the small business owner/entrepreneur has got to do to get ahead and stay there. Consider this day one of a class stretching on for the rest of your life. The Startup Student

Outsourcing

The flexible workforce. Though outsourcing has been a thorny issue in recent years and something once only thought of in connection to large multinationals, today the concept of a “flexible workforce” presents opportunities for the smallest of businesses as well, creating a way to leverage talent in a variety of fields outside your core business. What could you offer with a flexible workforce at your disposal? Allied Worldwide

Why manufacturing may be making a comeback in the U.S. While talking about outsourcing often conjures ideas here in the U.S. of doing business with firms that are not domestic, the fact is that the U.S. as well will sometimes be the source of specialty service including manufacturing including this interesting post from Mark Harbeke. Mark’s post is also a rallying call for anyone interested in manufacturing as a viable U.S. small business. Winning Workplaces

Goals

Travis Campbell has a problem with goal setting. Well, not really. Actually he’s got a problem with unrealistic goal setting. Or, to put it another way, he’s got a problem with setting goals that are out of reach, unrealistic, a source of stress for you and your business and so rigid they are not adaptable to a rapidly changing marketplace…like the Internet. In short, the value of goals lies in having the right kind. Marketing Professor

So, what’s your real goal? To hear Kelley Robertson tell it, you should have at least two. The more conservative goal, should be the one that will stretch you but is ultimately achievable and doesn’t take you out of your comfort zone. And then there’s the other one…Let Kelley explain. Fearless Selling

Green Business

Going green can also save you money. Though green businesses and environmentally conscious products continue to be popular with customers, it turns out that, as the sun sets on 2010, being green has become very good business as well. In this piece, small business expert and writer Rieva Lesonsky looks at ways your business can save the planet and the bottom line all in one fell swoop. Grow Smart Biz

From Small Business Trends

Small Business News: The State Of Business 2010

Are Venture Capitalists Making Money?

Posted: 30 Dec 2010 10:30 AM PST

Venture capital (VC) companies have performed poorly in recent years, according to Cambridge Associates’ recently released statistics. Analysis by the consulting firm revealed that rates of return have dwindled substantially from the double-digit annual numbers they enjoyed in the 1990s. As of June 30, 2010, five-year returns to limited partners (LP) were merely 4.27 percent; 10-year returns were negative 4.15 percent.

Because most venture capitalists are wealthy, you shouldn't worry that poor financial returns are imposing true hardship on them. But you should be concerned that their poor earnings are harming the ecosystem for developing high growth startup companies in the United States.

The Fundraising Side

Venture capitalists' money doesn't generally come from the VCs themselves, but from LPs who invest with the goal of earning greater returns than alternative investments provide. Because returns from venture capital investments have lagged returns from other classes of investments in recent years, LPs have been reallocating their money away from venture capital. As a result, VCs aren't able to raise as much money as they used to.

The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) reported that last year the fewest venture capital funds brought in new money since 1993, and that the industry raised only $15.4 billion in 2009, the smallest amount in real dollar terms since 2003. As a result of declining fund raising, last year the venture capital industry had $179 billion in capital under management, the least in real dollar terms since 1999.

Because returns to venture capital investments have been low, many of those working in the industry have decided to exit. The NVCA reports that in 2009 the number of venture capital funds declined to 1188, the lowest number since 1999, and down 37 percent from the peak in 2001. From 2007 to 2009 alone, the number of principals at venture capital firms shrank 23.2 percent.

The Investment Side

The decline in fund raising pushes down the number of investments venture capitalists make. Although the data through the first three quarters of 2010 suggest an uptick in activity this year, the NVCA reported that venture capitalists invested only $18 billion in start-ups in 2009, the smallest amount in real terms since 1996. Similarly, the NVCA found that venture capitalists made 2,802 deals in 2009, also the lowest number since 1996.

Fewer brand new companies are getting venture capital. The 728 companies that the NVCA reported received financing for the first time in 2009 were the lowest since 1994.

Similarly weak numbers are seen in follow-on funding. The 1,721 companies that the NVCA reports received follow-on financing in 2009 were the lowest since 1997.

As a result of the weak initial and follow-on funding, NVCA data show that the total number of companies receiving financing (2,372) last year and the real dollar value of the investments ($17.7 billion) were the lowest they've been since 1996.

Implications

Clearly, the venture capital industry is shrinking, at least in part because of its poor financial performance in recent years. Because venture capitalists invest in start-ups, the declining venture capital industry means that fewer entrepreneurs with high potential businesses are getting money from these investors.

That's a problem because venture capital-backed start-ups are disproportionately likely to be job- and wealth-creating companies. Research shows that venture capital backed companies are about 150 times as likely as the average start-up to create jobs.

It's unlikely that some other source of capital will replace the missing VC money. Angels are not a good candidate because their investments are very small compared to those made by VCs. Individual angels rarely invest more than $100,000 in a start-up and, as I have written elsewhere, the average investment by an angel group is less than $250,000. These numbers are far below the $6.3 million invested in the average venture capital deal in 2009 PricewaterhouseCoopers Money Tree data.

Moreover, as I pointed out in an earlier column, angel groups are also cutting back on the number of companies they finance.

Banks and other debt providers aren't a substitute either. They will run afoul of usury laws if they charge the interest rates necessary to generate the rate of return expected for investments in the risky young companies that venture capitalists put their money in.

Unless the types of high growth entrepreneurs who got venture capital financing in a previous era, but won't in today's market, figure out a way to grow fast without venture capital, the shrinking venture capital industry is a problem for the future of high growth entrepreneurship in the United States.

Editor's Note: This article was previously published at OPENForum.com under the title: “Venture Capitalists Failure to Make Money is a Problem for Entrepreneurs.” It is republished here with permission.

From Small Business Trends

Are Venture Capitalists Making Money?

Small Business Owners Report Less Satisfaction With Banks

Posted: 30 Dec 2010 05:30 AM PST

Small business owners desire certain things from a business bank — specifically, collaboration, openness and a good working relationship. However, a recent study from consumer satisfaction research firm J.D. Power and Associates reveals those needs are going unmet.

The U.S. Small Business Banking Satisfaction Study showed that small businesses’ overall satisfaction with their banks has dropped to 711 on a 1,000-point scale, down from 718 last year. The survey measured customer satisfaction with the overall banking experience by examining eight factors: product offerings, account manager, facility, account information, problem resolution, credit services, fees and account activities.

According to the study, here's what small business owners value in a business bank:

An account manager who understands their business well.
Open communication with the account manager.
Easy accessibility to the bank both offline and online.
Having fees disclosed in advance so there are no surprises.
A collaborative relationship or partnership with their bank.
Error-free banking.

While small business owners' perceptions of the financial stability of their banking institution, their personal financial outlook and the economic outlook have all improved this year compared to 2009, this is the second consecutive year that overall customer satisfaction among small business banking customers has declined.

"Despite a sense of optimism in the industry among small business owners, it appears that their financial institutions are failing to keep up with their expectations," Michael Beird, director of banking services at J.D. Power, said in announcing the results.

As a result of their less-than-stellar customer service experiences, small businesses are more willing to switch banks. Only 19 percent said they “definitely will” stay with their current bank, down from 34 percent in 2008.

"Banks that are able to deliver on key practices and partner with their small business customers have an opportunity to differentiate themselves," said Beird. He theorized that one reason for the dissatisfaction is that small businesses have fewer sources of capital available than do big companies, and so must rely more heavily on their banks.

The survey of more than 6,000 small business owners also rated specific banks' customer service. Overall, big banks fared worse than smaller regional banks in the survey. You can download the full survey results at the J.D. Power website.

Editor's Note: This article was previously published at OPENForum.com under the title: “Small Business Owners' Satisfaction With Banks is Declining.” It is republished here with permission.

From Small Business Trends

Small Business Owners Report Less Satisfaction With Banks

Top Website and Website Design Trends for 2011

Posted: 30 Dec 2010 03:00 AM PST

Last year we published the Top Web Design Trends For Small Business in 2010 and as I reflect on the Top Website and Website Design Trends for 2011, I know for certain that technology is moving so fast that many new technologies will probably be introduced by the time I finish this article!

Websites as business tools will continue to be important. In 2011, shared content will become more significant, as people read it and then share it with their networks. Social optimization of websites coupled with integration of all marketing activities – e-mail, websites and social networks — will be the key to success.

Websites are making an interesting shift in 2011. A traditional website will no longer be sufficient as more and more individuals are accessing the Internet from their mobile devices. This will not only affect small business websites, but ecommerce tactics as well. I've collaborated with a few of my colleagues at Network Solutions to take a deeper dive into mobile and online trends for 2011.

I want to start with a very simple observation: Have you noticed that when sharing URLs more people are using the non-www version of their domain names as their main URL address? Rick Wilhelm, VP of Engineering at Network Solutions, says "Given the ubiquity of the Web in today’s media landscape, writers no longer need to lean on the “www” prefix to let readers know that the URL is actually a URL. If we went back in time, we would find a time when a 10-digit number with dashes needed to be identified as a telephone number. Now, URLs have made that a similar transition." Most Web servers can be configured to send both requests (www and non-www) to the same place.

Top Website and Website Design Trends For 2011

Flexible Websites
This trend came from my long-time friend and Chief Web Designer at Network Solutions, Bob Kohute. Bob stresses the importance of the ability for a single website to serve several media purposes successfully (traditional browser, iPad, iPhone). The hot trend right now is utilizing CSS media queries to serve multiple layouts based on device and screen dimensions so that the website is flexible enough to display properly and cleanly.

Flexible websites are very beneficial fpr small businesses as there is no longer a need to build separate, custom websites for mobile-specific purposes. Small business owners are able to build one website that properly uses media queries and can serve up business content successfully across several browsing platforms.

Here is an example. Resize your browser to see the benefits of a scalable and flexible website.

The Emergence of HTML 5
You may be familiar with HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) that is used for Web pages. HTML5 is the next major revision of HTML that will see wider adoption in 2011, both by Web designers and browsers. Many Web giants like Microsoft, Google and Facebook have already started implementing it, with increased implementation for HTML5 in 2011.

Lynne Brehmer, Principal Design Services at Network Solutions, says "Although it won’t be fully available across all browsers in 2011, according to Smashing Magazine, more and more people should start experimenting with the new HTML5. YouTube is already offering enhanced video feature for browsers that support it. In addition, HTML5 offers an integration tool with social media, which will be a major focus in 2011."

Simon Mackie wrote in a GigaOm article, "As technologies like HTML5, CSS3, SVG and WebGL start to become more mainstream, not only will the Web apps we already use become more useful, but we should also see developers building Web apps that do things that previously could have been done only by desktop applications.”

Also, take a look at this note from Davin Recordon on Facebook on his team's HTML5 projects.

Moving to the Online Newsroom
Every website craves the attention of Web visitors, but the average attention span is about 8 to 10 seconds. In that short time your website has to grab the attention of the visitor and if you succeed, you probably have another 2 to 3 minutes to present the relevant information to the visitor. In 2011 website designers will reward visitors with a new trend—the "editorial layout."

Lynne Brehmer also shared her thoughts on the editorial layout, stating, "The editorial layout will be another big trend in Web design in 2011. This style allows Web designers to provide readers with a better layout, enabling them to find information much more easily. These websites are simple to navigate and cater to succinct messages that are easy to follow. As a result, websites will contain brief articles with subheadings and large images. "

Staying Secure in 2011
Before people trust your website with their money or information, they want reassurance that they are at the right website and the site is secure. With increasing awareness of online security, websites with trust seals will have a better chance of retaining visitors and shoppers.

According to Roy Dykes, Product Manager at Network Solutions, consumers are becoming better educated when seeking key trust indicators while shopping online. Online businesses that successfully convey trust and assurance to their customers through the use of Extended Validation or EV SSL Certificates will benefit from increased customer conversion and lower abandonment rates. Extended Validation SSL Certificates which provide a green “good-to-go” browser indicator to online visitors provide reassurance that the website they are visiting has been thoroughly vetted by a commercial Certification Authority (CA) and that it is safe to interact with.

Mobile E-Commerce: Shopping on the Go
John Steedman, Principal, E-Commerce Products, at Network Solutions, provides additional insight into mobile trends. Beyond developing their mobile strategy for Web design, small businesses will need to consider mobile e-commerce. Mobile sales have grown 143 percent, from $1.4 billion in 2009 to $3.4 billion in 2010, according to ABI Research. Shoppers are increasingly using smartphones for price comparisons, participating in loyalty programs, finding local inventory and making online purchases. This has led to a power shift toward the buyer, and as a result, retailers are challenged to find innovative ways to attract and retain the mobile shopper. In 2011, at a minimum, retailers will need a mobile-friendly presence to remain relevant to the mobile shopper.

Social Sharing and Shopping
Social networks are a fantastic way to share content. Websites that "wow" visitors will be shared more often, so small businesses should consider shareability in their design. Visitors who stop by your website should be able to use their browser plug-ins or widgets like Addthis, Sharethis, Facebook Like ,Bizsugar, Tweet button for Twitter or Linkedin Share to easily share a good summary of your content with their networks.

John Steedman also notes that mobile e-commerce is only the beginning. Merchants will need to leverage their customers’ social connections to get share of mind in 2011. More and more customers are on social networks. According to Morgan Stanley Technology Research, Facebook's user base grew more than 50 percent in 2010 to more than 600 million users. Twitter’s user base grew 74 percent to more than 100 million users. As customers spend more time engaging with their social networks, e-commerce merchants will need to leverage their customers' networks to promote their brands and products through share and like features and social storefronts.

Year of Website Measurement
"If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there,” Avinash Kaushik quoted Lewis Caroll’s Alice in Wonderland in his article, Leverage Custom Reports for Better Insights. Avinash is Analytics Evangelist at Google. If website owners are not already paying attention to their analytics, this will be the year to do so. While you may look at your data-rich analytics report and pat yourself on your back, admiring the scores of Web visitors, this year may be the time to look at them to see what is actually working. "Don't be data rich [and] insight poor,” said Jim Sterne in his book Social Media Metrics: How to Measure and Optimize Your Marketing Investment.

Set your goals. Agree on your KPIs (key performance indicators). Find where your best visitors came from and which campaigns worked for you, and invest more money and resources there.

Consider Mobile First and Foremost for Your New Online Strategy
As a small business owner, you are probably using a mobile device to check e-mail, receive calls from customers and use productivity apps. Your audience is doing the same, and smartphone adoption and the usage of data on mobile devices are increasing. According to Mobile Marketer, one out of four consumers today has a smartphone with Web browsing and application download capability. This figure is expected to jump to one out of three in 2011. This is an important year to consider or reconsider your mobile strategy.

Lynne Brehmer also weighs in on this trend. It's not all about the PC anymore. According to a ComputerWorld article, in the next 18 months, shipments of smartphones, tablets and other app-enabled devices are projected to overtake PC shipments. As a result, it won’t be enough for your business to merely have a traditional website. Now it will be important to implement a mobile strategy first and foremost when designing content. Your audience will be mobile—so you need to be too.

See these additional resources for more information on mobile website trends: Paul Graham, Nielsen, Business Insider and Zurb.

Short Is the New Content Trend
Twitter and Facebook status updates are getting more eyeballs, and you have to get better at crafting your message in 140 characters. As IH Hudson said, "It's not the 140-character limit but the character of the message that counts." How does your website article heading translate into a 140-character tweet? How can your URL be shortened to fit the 140-character limit? These are some of the questions website owners need to work to answer.

URL shorteners Bit.ly and Hootsuite offer the option of custom domain URL shortening, which means you have the option of having your brand as part of the URL. For example, Twitter has t.co as a shortener and New York Times has nyti.ms, Washington Post Wapo.st. The possibilities are enormous. Google has its own URL shortening service called goo.gl. Did I mmention many of them offer analytics on clicks using the short urls?

Locate, Check In and Review
This year, there was a proliferation of location-based services, which allow users to search for nearby business, check in to any business and share the info with their social networks. Location-based services continue to evolve, with businesses rewarding frequent customers and customers leaving virtual tips about the business. Some of these sites include Yelp, Gowalla, Foursquare and Facebook Places. Most, if not all, target mobile devices.

Encouraging your customers by adding badges to your website urging them to check in to your business on these sites will give you exposure with this check-in crowd. Consider having a feed from these sites on your website to serve as useful, real-time testimonials.

As the small business experts who spoke at the GrowSmartBusiness Conference 2010 said, "Technology for technology's sake is not a good strategy. Use technology to solve a business problem and make your services more efficient." We look forward to a great 2011!

From Small Business Trends

Top Website and Website Design Trends for 2011

PayBox Blog: Thu, Dec 30 – Project Updates

2010-12-31T00:11:00.001+08:00

PayBox Blog: Thu, Dec 30 – Project Updates

Thu, Dec 30 – Project Updates

Posted: 30 Dec 2010 07:30 AM PST

Growth Project Update

Our developers are currently working on a project we have code-named the Growth Project. This project is designed to help PayBox reach our growth goals and begin work to “Open the Box” within a matter of months. Once ready for use, this project will allow you, our EarlyBird users, to receive direct cash payments—outside your PayBox account.

How long until it’s ready?

We are planning to have this project ready to go live by the end of January.

How much could I earn?

The payments you receive from this project will be directly linked to your referrals and their actions. So, your earnings are only limited by how many people you refer and the actions they take.

There is no maximum or limit on how much you can earn with this project. In reality, it’s likely that most people could easily earn $100-$200 per month without much effort. With more effort and some applied knowledge, the earnings could quite possibly grow into thousands of dollars per month.

More details…

I will post updates on this project as it progresses. Blog post updates on our current projects are scheduled for Thursday and Friday every week.

Thanks for helping us take PayBox to the next level—keep up the good work!