In my line of work, a good part of my investment is associated with software, software upgrades and maintaining and expanding my skills set to be able to handle a wider range of jobs for a wider range of client base and let me tell you, certified training and buying licensed software programs/upgrades costs are no joke!  For example  Microsoft Small Business Office suite goes for about $500; Adobe’s Photoshop goes for about $700 etc.  At the end of the day, these can add up to a pretty healthy expense account balance – not good.

At the same time though, delivering quality work using the best possible tools is also very important to me and it can be difficult reaching the optimum balance.

With my constant drive to seek ways to keep my costs low, I have been using the following services and solutions to help me in reaching my optimal balance of cost vs quality:

1. Free software – I use free or very low cost open source software as much as possible – for example WordPress (for this blog) Mozilla Firefox browser, OpenOffice, PrimoPDF etc.  There are a lot of free or low cost versions of most software  a small business or start up may need with no adware or spyware and sometimes no download necessary.  Open Source Windows and Open Source Mac are good places to start looking.
2. Skills training and enhancement – as I mentioned in our last newsletter, we will soon be adding Bookkeeping and Grant Writing services to our offering and one of the ways I am financing my training is by using the barter system.  I was very fortunate one of my clients, who is an expert Grant Writer with over a decade of experience agreed to teach me the program in exchange for my working for him.  I also use free skills testing available at communities such as oDesk to sharpen and refresh my skills.
3. free marketing – since my budget for marketing is almost non-existent, I very much rely on word-of-mouth and referrals by family and friends but as one cannot afford to completely overlook marketing, I have been finding ways and means of getting my business profile out there for free using:

• Facebook and Facebook Pages – (see our most recent Newsletter)
• free classified ads – in addition to the usual local Yellow Pages etc, Yahoo Business etc. etc, I recently came across GuideStar, a non profit research resource which offers free basic membership and free classified ads on their website.  One of my business partners, Laura Wheeler of Firelight Web Studio has also put together a helpful free ebook on effective free marketing tips

If you have any tips or shortcuts you use that you’d like to share, we welcome your comments and contributions and please feel free to contact use with any questions.  We are always happy to help.

Until next time,

Sirra.

Naturally, I took the same approach when I created my Facebook Fan Page.  It was straightforward and pretty simple to set up and I did a good job – or so I thought until…

A few weeks later when I had the time to explore other business’s fan pages (checking out the competition so to speak) and found out that my page did not measure up to similar businesses.  They had additional information fields that no matter what I did, I just could not tweak my page to enhance it and yes, you guessed right, that’s when I hit the Facebook Pages FAQ section!

I came to find out that as of this moment, once you choose a category for your business fan page on Facebook, you cannot change it at all, you’ll have to delete the current page and create a new one.  Well, I’d already began having fans at the point and did not want to start all over again.  I also found out that the information fields available to users is determined by the category you chose to place your business page in.

I certainly could have saved myself some time and hassle if I had read the FAQs first like you are suppose to do but I did learn something.  I was very concern about loosing my fan base so I emailed the Facebook team about my situation.  They got back to me pretty quickly (with 48 hours) and confirmed that once a page category is selected it cannot be changed but added that once my new page is up, to contact the with the new URL and they will be happy to transfer my fans to the new page.  The experience also forced me to take “Explore Facebook Pages” off my To-Do list because I took the time then and there to go through all the FAQs and options.  All’s well that ends well I say!

As always, we welcome you comments and contributions.  Feel free to share your story.

Until next time,

Sirra.

While this is a great way to go in my opinion, it dawned on me the other day that no matter the economic situation there will always be things to do as a small business owner – you will either be running around trying to meet demand during boom time or running around trying to make the best during slow downs and still undertaking every aspect of the running and managing your business.

With so much to do, I find myself forgetting that I am the boss and therefore am in control of my workload and schedule and that I can take time off or reschedule things to do fun stuff with my family or just relaxing and do something else other than work and I am positive I am not alone.While business ownership can be very fulfilling, it can also be overwhelming at times to the point that the benefits can be lost – at least temporarily.

As always, we welcome you comments and contributions.  Feel free to share your story.

Until next time,

Sirra Ndow

From spouses listening to your ideas day-in-day-out; children/nephews/nieces stuffing envelops;  siblings/cousins proof reading your work to friends referring your services as well as providing free consulting services, the ways in which your inner circle can help is priceless.

Personally, my family and friends have been there for me to sound out my ideas, offer encouragement and moral support, proof reading my contents, reviewing and testing my website and referring my services to people they know.  In fact, I got my first ever client through a friend’s referral!

Even if you are veteran business owner, it makes sense to revisit your friends and family and reintroduce your business to them if you have lost touch along the way, especially in this economic environment where business is slow and clients are few and far between.

Always keep them close and in the know.  I have family and friends on my email list to not only share every piece of news, tips and advice I may have, but also to take comfort in the knowledge that I have people who have my back, always.

Sirra Ndow

In the corporate world I came from, there was always someone to discuss ideas with, help review my work, help with proof reading, offer reassurance etc. etc. and I guess I had taken this for granted.  Fortunately for me, I have a very supportive network of family and friends to turn to for savior.  I was also very lucky when I contacted a couple of micro entrepreneurs online, Lisa Wells and Laura Wheeler.  They opened their doors to me and have been very helpful and supportive with advice and recommendations.  My associate with Laura actually lead to my becoming a member of the Micro Webmaster Alliance Trade Association and now as they say, I am in business for myself but not by myself.
This lesson was again re-affirmed for me last week when I volunteered to facilitate a business networking session organized by Women’s Initiative for Self Employment for their graduates in Concord, CA.  In addition to the honor of being able to help, I had the opportunity to network and forge relations with other new and seasoned entrepreneurs from all sectors, discussing common (and uncommon) issues and concerns.  Most importantly, it was highly motivating and I was left all pumped up and re-energized, ready to take on anything and everything, credit crunch or not!
If you are an entrepreneur or expert in any business related industry and live or work in the San Francisco area, I invite you join our family of Business Connectors or sign up for our other great volunteering opportunities.

Sirra Ndow

While this is totally do-able, what I did not do was think through what was going to be involved and I ended up boxing myself in both in terms of the time frame and the possible number of best options that this particular product offers my client.

The good news is that I did deliver on time and with the multiple options as promised but:

1. I did not have sufficient time to do the complete research that was necessary and consequently, I don’t think my proposal was not as strong as it could have been
2. for this client, multiple options just complicated things and may not really benefit the them
3. it was done at the expense of over-stretching my resources
4. and because I was so focused on impressing, it did not occur to me go back and ask for more time or find a way to best articulate that multiple options may not be very helpful to them

When I talked to an associate and trainer, Laura Wheeler of Firelight Web Studio about this (after the fact), she said that in the same situation, she has often gone back and said. “I know I said I’d give you… options, but after assessing your needs, I wrote it up with one package option, plus additional services which you can add if you want.” “Present it in their best interest, and they not only accept it, they like it.” she added.  Great advice which is going to my next post “Don’t be in business by yourself”

Until next time,

Sirra Ndow

Actually, I did not quit my day job before starting my business per say.  I was laid off a few months ago and decided to actualize one of my many business ideas tucked away in a folder somewhere.  My main motivation was not to replace or exceed my previous income,  (although that would be more than nice) but to make my family situation work better i.e spend more time with the kids, be more involved with their education, etc. etc.  So, I jumped right in before I lost my nerves and four months this week, I am still wondering if I made the right choice by not getting another regular 9-5 job as before.

First and foremost, it is a lot of sacrifice financially.  Even though the industry I am in has a relatively low start-up cost and overheads, the fact that I have to delve into my own pockets for these expenses and with very little streaming in makes it even harder.  I now truly believe what all the books say – have 6-12 months of income tucked away before venturing into full time self-employment!

Secondly, you have to have staying power and believe in yourself and the choices you have made to stick around and make it work.  I find myself looking at the classified sections all too often but I always sit down again to revisit the efforts I am making to try and identify opportunities that I am missing and explore them.

Thirdly, be resourceful and open minded.  I found a couple of part time jobs that though not directly related to my industry, brings home the bacon as well as affords me the flexibility I need for my family situation while still building my business.  This has also given me the opportunity learnt new skills,  network and meet some of the most wonderful people ever and guess what?  A quite lucrative prospect popped up through one of my now very dear friends I met at these jobs and I am “absopositively” excited and super charged again!

So, have you or anyone one you know had some experiences in this area.  Please share with us.

Sirra Ndow