Are these keepers for our virtual business management tool boxes?

Lino - Wondering where to quickly store and retrieve your sticky notes whether you are in your office or at home? Or, in another town, state or country? A few weeks ago I found Lino, which I use for tracking general project tasks and all of those sticky notes that creep into your daily life. Easy of use is one reason I find myself using it more and more. Basically, Lino is a free sticky and canvas service that requires nothing but a web browser. Take a note right away wherever you are. Then, access your sticky notes stored on lino from your home, office, or while traveling.

The canvas is great for quickly keeping track of projects, reminders and deadlines. The interface allows you to set due dates for your stickies; you’ll even receive an email reminder if desired. In addition, you can create groups and share your ideas with business colleagues, friends and family. Additional features are offered including a premium version for heavy users. Check it out and let us know what you think.

Dropbox – Online file sharing is practically required in today’s business world. And, if you are still attaching files to emails you are definitely making your life more complicated then it needs to be. Dropbox is in some ways similar to Google Docs, but I’ve found one key advantage that Dropbox offers. You can store the files locally on your computer and sync them with the online version and across computers. As a result, Dropbox operates like a backup service as well as a file sharing service. Best of all, a 2 GB account is free!

Freshbooks – Another great tool and one you’ll find easy to use for project time tracking and invoicing. It is very easy to use – smooth interface and it helps with project estimates as well.

Any additional suggestions for new tools for small business owners? Drop us a comment – thanks.

Greg Magnus
AIM Custom Media

Follow me on Twitter – @gregmagnus.

Washington, D.C., April 7, 2010 /PRNewswire/ — SCORE “Counselors to America’s Small Business” is pleased to announce the formation of a public/private partnership to accelerate small business growth through access to broadband. SCORE, Fortune 500 Companies and leading technology firms launched a national initiative to accelerate broadband adoption. Learn more at www.score.org/broadband.html.

The consortium will help increase small business growth through the use of broadband technologies, as SCORE seeks to grow 1 million small businesses. SCORE, in consultation with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), will work to encourage small business success through the use of technology.

Leading technology firms in the United States and SCORE’s extensive network of 12,400 business mentors across the country are partnering to help level the playing field for small business through broadband access. SCORE supports the FCC’s Broadband Plan. The founding consortium partners are: AT&T, Best Buy, Cisco, Constant Contact, Google, HP, Intuit, Microsoft, Skype and Time Warner Cable Business Class. Supporters include DRT Strategies and Engage.

SCORE CEO Ken Yancey says, “Broadband connectivity is critical for business success in today’s marketplace. We want to make it easier for small businesses to access this technology to create efficiencies, leverage e-commerce, expand marketing, and increase social networking online.” Yancey adds, “This consortium will make it easier than ever for small businesses to learn about using technology to grow their businesses, using broadband to enable e-commerce and leveraging technology to meet the demands of today’s consumers.”

The new initiative will focus on increasing digital literacy, web skills, e-commerce capabilities and online communications tools usage for small businesses. Consortium founders are donating $1.125 million to The SCORE Foundation to support the SCORE Association’s local small business training, online training and resources to help small businesses adopt broadband technologies. SCORE will expand small business outreach by making new local workshops and online training and tools available through its 364 chapter offices and via www.score.org. These tools will help small businesses leverage technology and boost their productivity and growth.

Learn more at www.score.org/broadband.html.

Quantcast, with just 70-employees, is already the de facto standard for measuring Web audiences. They determine who’s clicking on ads, visiting websites, and buying products online. Subsequently, the information is used to help match consumer characteristics with the campaign goals of media buyers. According to Fast Company, 9 of the top 10 media buyers in the U.S. are customers; as are CBS, ABC, and MTV Networks.

Here’s a quote from the “About” page at Quantcast:

Ten years ago the Internet had 9.5 million websites and 150 million people online. Email was a relatively new phenomenon. Fast forward a decade and we’ve seen the most rapid adoption of a new technology in the history of the planet. Not only is everyone, including your grandmother, using email, chat, Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter, but 1.6 billion people, and growing, now engage with over 240 million web pages on the Internet.

CrunchBase reports that Quantcast received $27.5M in Series C funding (1/4/10), $20M in Series B funding (1/1/08) and $5.7M in Series A funding (3/1/07).

Another company on the Fast Company top 10 list is Slide. Through its branded Funspace, the company now serves some 10 million videos a month and is the largest video-distribution platform on Facebook. And Facebook, by the way, is number one on the most innovative list in the web category.

What do all of the companies on the list have in common with small business owners?
The ability to identify opportunities and react quickly – innovation. How does your company plan to innovate in 2010 and beyond?

The processes are confusing and complicated. The results are frustrating and it all seems like a colossal waste of time. If that’s you, let’s first dispel some of the myths of social media.

One: Social Media is Free

Yes, for next to nothing you can quickly create a presence on the top three social media sites – Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. And, you can create accounts on other sites such as Blogger, WordPress, YouTube, Flickr, StumpleUpon and Digg; all within a few hours. That too is almost free but incorporating the plethora of tools into a business marketing system that produces real results requires time, marketing savvy and money. Social media marketing is far from free.

Two: Social media profiles are just brief bios or short descriptions of your company

You don’t need to spend a lot of time creating your social media profiles or bios; right? Unfortunately, that’s far from the case. Those that understand the strategy and importance of social media profiles are obtaining far better results than those that don’t. Profiles are very important and very effective when they include a theme that matches your online business goals and objectives.

Three: Anyone can do it and you can do it in-house.

Ask yourself, do you have the experience? Are you using the most appropriate strategies and the right tools? Fact is, few businesses have in-house teams with the experience needed to launch an effective social media marketing campaign. And, many lack the resolve to allocate the necessary resources required to obtain meaningful results.

What do you need? First and foremost, a concise written strategy as well as numerous technical tools, a contact list manager, copy writer, graphic artists and, most importantly, knowledge and experience.

Social media marketing is a fundamental shift in the way individuals network, organize information and communicate. In essence, it is the child born from the evolution of technology during the past two decades. Today, businesses are leveraging technology in more ways than you can possibly imagine.

Each business has unique goals and objectives. Therefore, establishing a social media marketing budget depends on your industry, your competition and your expectations. But, creating a budget is similar to any other project. Here are four quick steps to get your started:

What “projects” and “resources” are required?

1. Social Media Strategy and Theme – generally developed by the business management team (or owner) with the marketing/communications manager. If you don’t have a full-time marketing manager, consider outsourcing this important starting point to an experienced marketing firm.
2. Tools – select the sites and tools you’ll focus on for your campaign. And, stay focused. The most appropriate sites are not necessarily the top three. Research the sites visited most frequently by your target market just like you would with any other marketing campaign. Stick with your plan long enough to collect meaning data to determine the effectiveness of the campaign.
3. Integration – plan out specifically how you intend to use other forms of advertising – such as marketing brochures, trade shows, local events, print ads, etc. Are you driving traffic to social media sites and capturing leads to build your contact list? Are you sponsoring an event supported by an email marketing campaign? For example, are you posting photos and copies of presentations you gave on your blog following an event? There are costs associated with this aspect of the project such as contact management software, email marketing software, blog maintenance, etc.
4. Define success – almost everything online can be measured. However, the more you intend to measure the more money you’ll spend collecting and analyzing data. It is very important to understand some of the costs are “branding” costs and some are “operational” costs (IT support). Understand the different aspects of your marketing campaign and appropriate the resources as well as the expenses accordingly.

Next week we’ll go into more detail on planning and budgeting for social media marketing. You can subscribe to our site here; it allows you to receive the updates when they are published. Also, please leave a comment below if you have specific questions about social media. Or, tell us what lessons you learned last year about social media marketing?

Today’s class includes tomorrows most successfully business owners.  And, we have already turned well beyond page 1. Have you?

The following includes a short-list of training modules available to you at no charge from SCORE:

Small Business Start Up and Planning Training Modules

Developing Efficient Business Systems

• Learn how business systems can give you greater control, add value, lower your costs, improve profits and free up your time.

Quick Start Business Plan

• If you intend to start a business, first you’ll need to write your business plan. It will help you evaluate your ideas. And, it is required by your bank and other lenders if you intend to access growth and operating capital.

Creating a Cash Reserve

• This modules outlines practical ideas and specific tactics you can use to create a cash reserve for your business. Plan ahead for cash crunches by focusing on the things you can do to save or generate reserves.

Marketing and Advertising – Planning

• How do you plan and implement your advertising to increase your chances of gaining new customers? This lesson provides insight.

Creating Customer Loyalty

• This lesson explains why customer loyalty is so important and covers a range of practical ideas you can implement in your business immediately to build loyalty.

How to Establish an  Advisory Board

• Preparing a business plan before you start your business reduces risk. This quick business plan outlines the main points and will give a clear snapshot of your business idea and its feasibility.

During the first quarter of 2010, we’ll publish a few in-depth articles covering several “start-up” topics to help you grow. Something in particular you would like? Please leave your comments below, thanks.

Greg Magnus
AIM Custom Media

Why create a standard mentoring methodology?

SCORE believes that a standard mentoring methodology, offered nationally and built on evidence-based interventions, can increase the number of successful businesses being started each year and significantly boost business survivability rates, particularly in the first six quarters of their business life cycle.

This project is important because the mentoring SCORE provides meets a vital community need of helping entrepreneurs develop business plans; map strategies to overcome challenges and meet opportunities; and offer troubleshooting advice on a myriad of business issues. Communities today need these services continued and expanded to help build healthy economies.

There are several corporate and individual sponsors participating such as:

The Deluxe Corporation Foundation, SCORE and The SCORE Foundation will be working together to develop a new program, the DELUXE/SCORE Success Advantage business mentoring methodology. The Deluxe Corporation Foundation will underwrite funding for the creation and implementation of this initiative which will support SCORE’s new business model. The standard mentoring methodology can significantly increase business survival rates and help small businesses create new jobs. The program will provide specific training, templates and processes that SCORE mentors can use to help aspiring entrepreneurs start new businesses.

PartnerUp, a Deluxe Corporation Company, is the first and largest online community geared solely toward small business owners and entrepreneurs. They are the leading provider of enterprise solutions software for companies looking to target the small business market. PartnerUp was founded in February 2005 and acquired by Deluxe Corporation in July 2008. PartnerUp is headquartered in Minneapolis.

Jones Day and Andrew Sherman – Thank you to Jones Day and Andrew Sherman for hosting our December 22, 2009, panel meeting. Mr. Sherman is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Jones Day with over 2,400 lawyers worldwide. He is the author of 18 books on business growth, capital formation and the leveraging of intellectual property. He has served as a top-rated Adjunct Professor in the Masters of Business Administration (MBA) programs at the University of Maryland for 22 years and at Georgetown University for 14 years where he teaches courses on business growth strategy. He has served as General Counsel to the Young Entrepreneurs’ Organization (YEO) since 1987. In 2003, Fortune magazine named him one of the Top Ten Minds in Entrepreneurship and in February of 2006, Inc. magazine named him one of the all-time champions and supporters of entrepreneurship.

Stay tuned – more to come as the project progresses.

To begin with, website marketing requires a lot more than a website. What’s essential?

1. Website Marketing Plan
   • Development of a small business website marketing plan requires: industry knowledge (current trends, marketing research), strategic planning, financial management (budget), team management (human resources) and a clear understanding of what it will take to implement your plan (basic, if not advanced, technical skills).
2. Things to consider:
   • MARKETING EVENTS CALENDAR (2010): Prepare a schedule of major industry events such as trade shows (local/national), PR events, seminars, speaking engagements, etc. Determine in order of priority the most important half dozen or so for your business (certain businesses will have a few dozen).
   • LEAD CAPTURE: What online resources do you plan to use to capture leads before and after each event? Do you intend to create specific website content for each event? You said yes, right?
   • MARKETING CAMPAIGNS: Have you planned out the resources required to implement your marketing campaigns for each event? Consider what it really takes to implement email marketing, social networking, press releases and similar tactics such as blogging and article marketing. Website marketing requires IT support, graphic designers, and copy writers for each event as well as post event follow-up marketing.
   • SEGMENTATION – TARGET MARKETING: Have you created a contact and prospect list for each event identified? Known as list segmentation and target marketing, it is key to successful website marketing. List development and management is often neglected by small business owners new to online marketing.
   • LIST MANAGEMENT: Review your customer list as well as your social network connections and determine if the majority are within your target market. If not, grow your list as well as your network by specifically targeting key players that have the ability to drive new business and referrals. Also, determine how you’ll manage your list? Your email client, such as MS Outlook, is probably the wrong answer.
   • CONTENT MANAGEMENT: Over stated but not something you want to forget, “Content is King.” Regular website updates are mandatory for marketing online. And, it almost always requires technical resources that often overwhelm the average small business marketing department.
   • TECHNICAL SUPPORT (IT): Understand the need for IT support and graphic designers as well as the usual marketing copy writers. Also, understand your sales people are not website managers. Asking them to do so is a misuse of their talents so make sure you have the right people doing the right job when it comes to website marketing.
   • SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION (SEO): The most important thing to understand about SEO is “you must be persistent.” SEO is an ongoing process, not an event. There are numerous SEO strategies and the costs can range from a few hundred a month (limited expectations for growth) to tens of thousands (shopping cart sites with high ticket items that require lots of website traffic). Search engine optimization is often beyond the technical skills of most small business owners; get help when you need it. Sure, you can “do it yourself” but in most cases the skills require an expert to be truly successful. Think of website traffic like putting gas in your car – stop adding gas and you’ll sit on the side of the road where you’ll watch the traffic go by.
3. Financial Management:
   • BUDGET: Does $3,000 or $5,000 per month sound like a lot to you for website marketing? If so, think about it. That figure is equivalent to $36 – $60,000 per year, which probably isn’t enough to hire the appropriate staff with the skills needed to successfully grow your business online. And remember, everyone it seems is planning to grow their business online in 2010.
   • VENDORS – OUTSOURCE: To rise above the competition, you’ll need to get the appropriate help or spend a lot of your time each day as a “website marketer” instead of as a business owner. Do what you do best with your time. If it isn’t website marketing, then consider outsourcing.
   • Online marketing budgets vary greatly depending on the industry and business revenues. Contact us for assistance with the budgeting process if you don’t already have specific numbers in mind for your plan.

A few quick tips:

1. You can use most any magazine editorial calendar appropriate for your industry as a planning guide. I’ve owned and worked for a few publishing companies. The major publishers put a lot of time and energy into their editorial calendars – no need to recreate the wheel. For local events, check with the chamber of commerce and city magazines as well as last years blog posts; many publishers have maintained blogs for several years now and you can review their archives. Also, ask your mentors, vendors and business colleagues as well as your competitors websites.
2. Learn from others that are already successful. A business colleague and personal friend publishes the “Rich Niche Group” blog. A significant portion of his blog posts are interviews of successful entrepreneurs; learn from their experiences. Here’s an example and a link for you: “We originally had visions of building a little bit of a client base, selling to AOL, and retiring in the Caribbean. Well, we were a little late for that, so we had to opt for Plan B which was to buckle down and build the business.“ Dale Coyner, Serial Entrepreneur, Founder of Communicast and Open Road Outfitters.
3. Email marketing software that is hosted online can be used to cost-effectively manage a small business contact list. Use a software program that allows you to add custom fields to the database. Also, you can easily add new prospects to your list just by opening up a website browser and accessing your list and/or your newsletter subscription form.

Are you preparing your 2010 Website Marketing Plan? Share your ideas in the comment section – thanks.

By Greg Magnus
AIM Custom Media
www.aimcustom.com

Workshop Topics

• How to Write an Effective Business Plan
• Step-by-Step Guide to Starting a Business
• Website Basics and Strategies
• Choosing the Legal Structure That’s Right For You
• Purchasing the Proper Business Insurance
• Sources of Business Loans
• How to Negotiate a Commercial Lease
• Building Successful Marketing & Sales Plans

My 45 minute presentation covered “Website Basics and Strategies for Small Business  Owners.”

A PDF copy of the my presentation is here: Website Basics for Small Business Owners. Visit the Richmond SCORE website to learn more about the workshops or to sign up for the next monthly small business workshop, which will be held in January 2010.

Are you planning to start a new business? Or, are you a small business owner looking for assistance with business planning, marketing and finance? Richmond SCORE is holding a small business workshop on December 11, 2009, just for you.

During the Richmond SCORE Workshop, local business professionals provide workshop participants with valuable information and ideas on better ways to start or grow a business. The presenters include accountants, lawyers, bankers, commercial real estate brokers, and business managers from diverse businesses and industries. Other facilitators are SCORE counselors who have years of industry and business experience.

Workshop Topics

• How to Write an Effective Business Plan
• Step-by-Step Guide to Starting a Business
• Website Design Strategies
• Choosing the Legal Structure That’s Right For You
• Purchasing the Proper Business Insurance
• Sources of Business Loans
• How to Negotiate a Commercial Lease
• Building Successful Marketing & Sales Plans

To sign up for the workshop, visit the Richmond SCORE website for more information. Hurry, seating is limited and advanced registration is required. The workshop is held from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Capital One Town Center, which is located at West Creek.

About SCORE

The Richmond, Virginia Chapter of SCORE is part of a national nonprofit association dedicated to entrepreneur education and the formation, growth and success of the nation’s small businesses. Richmond SCORE provides free and confidential business counseling tailored to meet the needs of your small business and your personal objectives.

SCORE was founded in 1964. It is a nonprofit association dedicated to entrepreneur education and the formation, growth and success of small business nationwide. SCORE is a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and a premier source of free and confidential small business advice for entrepreneurs. SCORE is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Herndon, Virginia and Washington, D.C. With 389 chapters in locations throughout the United States and its territories, and 10,500 volunteers, made up of both working and retired executives and business owners who donate time and expertise as business counselors nationwide.

• National SCORE website
• SCORE’s “Ask an Expert” blog
• SCORE’s Women’s Success blog

Posted by Greg Magnus, owner of AIM Custom Media and one of many local professionals serving Richmond SCORE as a volunteer.

November 17, 2009 (9:30 am to 12:30 pm)

Location: The Richmond Marriott Hotel

Free Online Registration

An official press release follows:

SBA and the Commonwealth of Virginia to Host Small Business Resource/Networking Workshop

RICHMOND –Entrepreneurs can get free information on state and federal resources to help their businesses weather the economic downturn, as well as tips on expansion during a discussion on “Small Business Survival and Growth in Virginia” on Nov. 17, 2009 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Richmond Marriott hotel.

Sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration/Office of the National Ombudsman and the Commonwealth of Virginia/Department of Business Assistance and Department of Minority Business Enterprise, the event will focus on sharing information about SBA Recovery Act programs, access to capital, contracting and other forms of federal and state assistance for small business owners. Free online registration is available at the VA Dept. of Business Assistance website..

“This is a gathering of diverse organizations and it’s a great opportunity for small business owners to network, get practical ideas on how to overcome the very real challenges of this economy, and take advantage of the many resources available to help their companies thrive and grow,” said SBA Richmond District Director Ronald E. Bew.

Other event participants include the Virginia Department of Transportation, the Richmond Economic Development Corporation, the Virginia Retail Federation, SBA’s Richmond District office, the Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade, the Virginia Secretary of Administration and the Virginia Bankers Association.

“Collaborative workshops like this one, connecting small businesses to resources, help maintain Virginia’s high rankings as the best state for business,” said Patrick O. Gottschalk, Secretary of Commerce and Trade for the Commonwealth of Virginia.

The Richmond Marriott is located at 500 E. Broad Street, Richmond, Va., 23219. For more information contact Will Vehrs of the Virginia Department of Business Assistance at (804) 371-0058 (will.vehrs@vdba.virginia.gov), or Martin Gold at SBA’s Office of the National Ombudsman (202) 205-7549 (martin.gold@sba.gov).