Why your small business need to be more responsive

The Internet has changed the way we play marketing. It has turned one-way talks to dynamic conversations. Before, businesses bombard customers with messages from printed, radio and TV ads. But with the explosion of company blogs and social networking sites, customers can easily talk back if they don’t like what you’re doing.
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Do you have a selling script?

Every entrepreneur should learn how to maximize every conversation or interaction with customers and prospects. It is quite easy to forget this objective particularly if we enjoy chatting with them. Don’t forget that the purpose of these relationship building efforts is to promote your business or your brand.
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Mouse pointer issues on Windows Vista

After the most recent updates on my Windows Vista Business, I started noticing an issue with the way the mouse pointer aligns with elements on the screen. For example to close a window I would have to hover the mouse pointer in an area a little outside the “X” icon or to double click on an entry in a list, I would have hover the pointer on an entry on top of the one I actually wanted.

I searched for a solution for this and found several possible solutions online including updating the mouse drivers, reinstalling the wireless mouse and so on, but none of them really helped.

But one solution that actually worked was quite simple. I went into the mouse setting dialog box via the control panel and changed the mouse pointer scheme from Windows Aero to None. That worked like a charm.

Branding is for the Brave

Being different is quite frightening. You don’t know if other people will like you or hate you. No wonder, many prefer to be average Joe or Jane. The same is true for branding. Though every business owner’s dream is to stand out from the crowd, many are still afraid to be truly unique. Instead, they fall to the fatal follow-the-leader strategy.

Courage is the backbone of branding. Having the guts to think and do things differently is a risky proposition, particularly if you have limited capital. It’s better to play safe and generate mediocre profits than to go down the drain. This mindset will limit your growth.
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My blog redesign at last!

Back in September 2008 I decided to redesign and update my blog. Lack of inspiration and time meant that it took me more than 5 months to do it!
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Turning Customer Complaints to Conversations

Complaint is one of the most dreaded words in the business world.
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Do You Use NDA in Your Business?

Information is power. In some businesses, information can be a competitive advantage (example Google). That’s why you have to make sure that you guard this information from leaking out to the public and worse to your direct competitors.

Without ample protection, I guarantee you that information will leak out primarily because we’re dealing with different people from suppliers to contractors and we don’t have control over their mouths.

An NDA or non-disclosure agreement is one of the legal remedies you can resort to. It sounds really intimidating since it’s a legal jargon but trust me it will save your business in the long run.

Basically, an NDA will prohibit a person from revealing confidential information he obtained in a business transaction. Confidential info varies from business to business. It can be financial information, business process or even recipe (in the case of the KFC and Coca-Cola). Violation of NDA can lead to penalties and legal suit.
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How much is Your Small Business Worth?

Unlike established corporations, many entrepreneurs are having a hard time setting the price tag when selling their businesses. Inexperience in business valuation might force you to settle for less or overprice your business to a point where no one is willing to pay. Either way, it’s a loss.
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