Tag: Business

How to Make a Business Plan Template

A good business plan template contains two main parts. A narrative followed by a series of financial worksheets. The narrative part of the business plan template embodies all the details and the strategy of the business plan and is further divided and subdivided into various sections. It is highly recommended that you work on creating a business plan template in a systematic way to avoid missing out on the inclusion of important facts and points.

Answering the question of how to make a business plan template begins by the realization that the first step is the creation of a rough draft, where you end up with a set of notes on each and every topic of the template. The next step is to work on these points and edit them to create a professional narrative that has a smooth flow. The purpose of creating the template is not to speed up the process of deriving the final business report but thinking about your business in an intelligent, smart and planning fashion. While going through the various facts and ideas, you gradually get involved in looking at ideas and business models in a more critical way. Though this process may initially appear to be a waste of time, the process of creating the template also has the power to prevent a poor decision that could prove to be a disaster in the long run, if not properly addressed upfront.

There is a generic template that is available for all types of businesses. To make a business plan template, you need to modify the standard template that is suitable for your industry and business. The style of writing, the overall organization and the presentation of the ideas is what makes a good business plan template. Creating a template involves a significant amount of research, re-thinking and planning. Detailed notes regarding the sources of information and the underlying assumptions that support the financial data and information must be kept carefully for quick and easy reference as and when needed.

To make a business plan template usually begins with the name and the details of the owners of the plan. This is followed by a table of contents that constitutes an executive summary, a general description of the company, the products and services the company offers, the marketing plan, the operational plan, and the management and organizational structures. These elements complete the narrative part of the business template. The financial part of the template should contain a financial statement, startup expenses and capitalization details, and a complete financial plan that encompasses the goals of the company.

The answer to how to make a business plan template is to create an organizational structure that will allow a company to present its assets, ideas, strategies and goals in document form so that a reader will be lead to the desired conclusion.

Why Use Content Marketing For Your Online Home Business?

First of all what is content marketing? Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing valuable content to your target audience. So why use content marketing in your online home business?

When advertising your online home business, there are thousands of ways to do this. There are paid versions and free versions. With paid versions, like pay-per-click, you will get tons of traffic, but the biggest percentage are just looking around. Pay-per-click can get very expensive, so you need to have an expense account just for it.

Google Slap?

One bad thing about using pay-per-click, if you happen to get shut down, there goes your advertising. It is either up or it is down, there is no in between when it comes to pay-per-click. Because of the Google Slap, many online markets have gone to content marketing.

If you have not heard about the Google slap, what happened was, the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) came down hard on Google. They made Google re-due all their ads which in-turn caused the shut down of accounts that had income claims. This hit a lot of internet marketers real hard and they had to find another advertising method.

Are All Your Eggs In One Basket?

Now when using content marketing, whatever article, video, blog post, or press release you put out there, it is there to stay for years. The saying goes, never have all your eggs in one basket. With all your valuable information content out there in different forms it will keep your adverting going for years to come.

If is very important to keep your content of good value. When writing an article, keep it keyword rich. Meaning, have your keyword in your title, at least three times in the body, and of course relevant tags. This will get Google to put it on their front page and give you more exposure. When people search for a certain term, and your article has that term in it, it will pop up.

Are You Giving?

The internet now days is all about giving. The more you give valuable content, and ask nothing in return, the more people will trust and like you. The more great information you share, the more you will be known as a leader and the more people will follow you.

People are searching on the internet for two things, education and entertainment. Either they want to learn something or the want to be entertained. Once you learn to incorporate the two, educating by entertaining, you have the best of both worlds. People will be falling all over themselves to find out what you are doing.

Are You An Authority In Your Niche?

When advertising with content marketing for your online business, you need to stay within your niche. The more you brand yourself in knowing what you are talking about, the more people will come find you. You need to make sure that all your articles, press releases, blog posts and videos, not only have great content, but make you look like an authority in your niche.

Once you offer your free education to others without asking for anything in return, they will trust you and thank you. They will be much more apt to finding out about your online business this way, than if you tried to shove it down their throat.

When doing your advertising with content marketing, it is very labor driven. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication, but the benefits out way paid advertising in the long run. It does not cost you anything, but your time, and it stays on the world wide web for years.

Remember, never put all your eggs in one basket. Utilize all types of content marketing for your online home business and watch your business sore to new heights.

3 Online Marketing Strategies for Your Network Marketing Or MLM Business

Are you a network marketer? Then say hooray for the internet and internet marketing. The internet gives you the advantage of being able to get your information out in front of millions.

As we all know, warm leads are two things – usually a very short list and actually rather freezing. How many on your warm list actually sign up and do something with the business? My guess is not that many. Many old school network marketers will tell you to begin with your warm list. Let’s now waste everyone’s time with that when we have the advantage of the internet. The internet will enable us to find leads in other places.

Today the internet is making lead generation much easier. Here are three great ways to use the internet to generate your leads.

1. Article Writing

Use the keyboard as a marketing tool to get your income opportunity plan out. This is an obvious and easy tool to use. Article writing can generate leads as well as help you build relationships with others interested in your company. One well-written article can create an on-going stream of marketing leads. Once your article is published it is on the web for a lifetime. Think you can’t write? You can, give it a try. If you REALLY think you can’t write, you can find inexpensive ghost writers to do it for you.

2. Blogging

Blogging began as personal diaries and journals posted on the web, but have fast become the platform for many business owners, including network marketers. You can include information about the marketing plan, the products, training programs, updates from the company and many other resources, as well as testimonials. These testimonials can be from successful networkers in your group or from product users. You can also put an opt-in box on your blog or even create a squeeze page in order to create a list of more leads.

3. Video Marketing

Thanks to YouTube, videos have become a great resource for marketing on the web. You can easily record a video with a simple explanation of your business and then refer people to your blog site for more information. This starts your relationship building. When people can actually see who you are and experience your enthusiasm for your network marketing company, they are more likely to respond. And, if you use the right keywords, Google will find you quickly and put you on the first page, as Google loves videos!

Finding the Right IT Support Company for Your Business

It can be a daunting task trying to find the best IT support a company has to offer and the right IT support services for your needs. There are so many factors to take into account, and it can often feel like navigating a minefield.

The truth is that if you want your business to operate at its peak potential, it’s a minefield you must conquer. One of the key factors in running a successful business, and optimising your activities and processes, is finding the right IT support company.

Here’s a rundown of the process of choosing, and the essential steps to getting it right.

Step 1: Assess your requirements in terms of IT infrastructure

This can be quite an involved process, but it’s pivotal that you get it right! Assess your current IT requirements and identify what you need right now, and what you’re going to need moving forward.

Step 2: Do some research

Make a list of prospective IT support companies and do some research. Be sure to get several references and, if you can, speak to someone at a company they’re currently servicing. Check out their customer reviews and client testimonials -They should have dedicated sections on their website where you can freely view these. Google the company and see if they have a Google business account – this includes reviews!

Step 3: Get in touch

Once you are crystal clear on what you need (now and looking ahead) and you have your list of possible companies, get in touch with them and tell them your requirements. Ask for an obligation-free estimate. Gather responses, and see what they come back to you with. Don’t be afraid to meet them in person and discuss your needs. Think of it like any other interview – if you were hiring a new assistant or manager, you wouldn’t rely on email or even phone calls, you’d interview the candidates in person. You need to see how you get on, personally, and whether or not you’re compatible enough to form a good business relationship. Get them into your office. While they’re there, assess their attitude and perspectives, bring up a specific issue or two that you’re having, or have had in the past, and see how they react.

Step 4: Read the fine print

A tedious but completely necessary step is to look at the fine print that comes with each of the companies you’ve met with. How good is their confidentiality agreement? What are their terms? How long would you need to give notice if you needed to change to a new company? Are there any ‘hidden’ charges that might apply to you? There are a myriad of small details like this that can sway your final decision. Make a pros and cons list for each company based on their estimates, your experience while meeting them, and the benefits and downsides of working with them.

Step 5: Make a decision

It’s time to be decisive! Making the final decision really comes down to a combination of price comparison, the benefits on offer, and gut instinct. When all else is equal, go with your gut!

Step 6: Choose a person

The work doesn’t stop when you choose a company to work with. It’s your responsibility to keep on top of things, take care of all the basics and liaise with your new support company to ensure you are getting exactly what you need. You should appoint a single person to act as the point of contact between your business and your IT support. One person who always deals with them and knows the workings of your relationship backwards. Any problems, on either side, they deal with them – it will make everything run a lot more smoothly!

Step 7: Start a fault log

This is a simple but often overlooked process. Start a log of all faults in your system. It ensures you have a record if you need it and will aid your new support company in looking after you as best they possibly can.

Internet Marketing For Small Business – A Guide

Most small businesses don’t have huge marketing budgets, so they are looking for the most cost efficient way to get their marketing message to the most people possible. Only a few years ago, this would have been next to impossible. However, with the growth of the internet, what was recently impossible is not only possible, but is now quite easy for small business owners.

A popular internet marketing tool for small businesses wanting to start marketing online is Google AdWords. With the Google AdWords system, you can reach millions of people with your advertising message, while only paying for the people who show interest in your ads by clicking on them. This is in contrast to a more popular form of advertising which charges businesses based on how many people see their ad. The Google AdWords system of “cost per click” is much superior as it only costs the advertiser based on how many people are interested enough in their product or service to click.

One main way businesses can use Google AdWords is to advertise on the Google search engine and the rest of Google search network, which includes sites like Ask.com.

All you as an advertiser have to do to start seeing ads on these search sites is to follow these easy steps:

– Create a Google AdWords account: It is very easy to set up a Google AdWords account. All you need to do is create a Google account, or use an existing Google Account. It is very quick and easy to create your new Google AdWords account.
– The second step is to create a “campaign”. While creating your first campaign, just pick the option for showing your ads on the Google Search Network.
– Next, you’ll want to pick some keywords that searchers would use to find the product or service you offer. The closer the keywords are to what people will search, the better success you will have.
– Then write some ads that are related to your keywords and product. Make them very catchy and appealing, as you will want searchers to click on the ad and visit your site. However, make sure they are also accurate, because if your product or service doesn’t match what you advertised, the searcher won’t buy, and you’ll pay for their click without getting anything from it.
– You’ll also have to set your bid for how much you want to pay for clicks, and maybe a few other smaller settings.

Once you’ve completed these steps, you’ll soon see your ads on Google and their related search sites. This is a great way to reach millions of people, as Google has over 70% of the entire search volume on the web. If you want to reach even more people, check out Google’s display network, which allows you to advertise on other websites, even sites like the New York Times. You can start advertising on these sites within the same Google AdWords account you’ve already set up.

Within a few minutes, you could be set up to get your product or service in front of millions of people, while only paying for those that are interested in your product or service. This ability gives you a huge advantage over businesspeople of the past, who could only have dreamed about such a great opportunity!

Internet Marketing For Small Business – Part 2 of 5 Steps to Succeeding With Google AdWords

Continuing on from my last article ‘Internet Marketing For Small Business – Part 1 of 5 Steps to Succeeding With Google AdWords”, here are the final steps to ensuring a successful Google AdWords Campaign.

2. Understanding Quality Score:

Once you have added your keywords, Google will tell you your quality score. Its important that you have a good to great quality score in your keywords (usually rated out of 10), if you get a poor or OK quality score, it means you have done something wrong. It could be that you are bidding on the wrong keywords, that your landing page is not specific enough for those keywords or Google does not think your ad is related to your keywords or that the page you are sending people does not have those keywords in it.

The quality score will be determined from a number of things:

  • You need to have a high CTR: A high quality score must be over 1% and this will also depend on how your ads are showing up. If your ad is appearing on the 2nd or 3rd page, then this will mean your quality score is lower but if you are in the top 5 or 6 positions, your CTR should be over 1%. Therefore you need to work on getting that CTR as high as you with a baseline of 1% as the CTR. You should always get a CTR of over 1%, even as high as 15% and the way you get a high CTR is by testing. You write 2 different ads and see which ones performs better. Usually after 30 to a 100 clicks, you pick the ad that gets a higher click rate and write a variation on it. You then go on and write another ad that is different to that one and see which one performs better again (beating the control). When you have found a theme that performs very well, you can tweak your ads by adding a question mark, quotations around it, switch the descriptions lines or even change your url. You can do any of these things to tweak your ad so that you can get a higher CTR, thus a higher quality score.
  • Its Not A Bidding War….Most people when starting out with Google AdWords usually say “I want to be in the top position, at number 1 and I am willing to pay more than anyone else to be there”. This is the wrong way to go about it. It should not be a bidding war, it should be a fight over who is the better advertiser, that is what Google really wants. Google wants you to write an ad that gets the highest CTR so that they make more money ie. the more clicks, the more money you pay them. So if you can write a better ad than your competitors, Google will be very willing to reward you for that. They reward you by charging you less per click and putting you in a higher position on the page. Lets say your ad gets a 2% CTR and your competitor gets a 1% CTR, it probably means you are going to pay half as much per click and be ranked higher than your competitor because Google will know the user is having a better searching experience. Hence you should always have two ads running and check which ad is performing better. If one is performing badly, pause it, write a better ad and see if you can beat your better performing ad.

3. Tracking:

AdWords is probably the best system for tracking that exists. It is very easy with Google AdWords to set up your keywords and track how well they are performing ( i.e. by making you money). What is most important is to track whether the clicks are making you sales or converting into leads or sales. If your clicks are not converting, you are obviously just wasting money so it is very important that you track down at a keyword level which ones are making money for you. This is called keyword conversion tracking and there are a couple ways of doing it. The best way is to have Google do it for you. Google has some keyword conversion tracking code which they will allow you put it on your thank you or finished page and they will let you track a sale or a conversion.

The other way you can track conversions is by assigning a specific URL to every keyword (help can be found at the Google AdWords Tutorial). The better you understand how to track conversions, the better your results will be with AdWords. You will find that as you get more clicks on your campaign and by tracking everything, different keywords will perform very differently even though they may seem very similar. For example ‘dog training’ maybe very different to ‘train my dog’, you may find that one of them may convert much higher than the other one.

On another level, you can track conversions through the success of your ad campaigns. Some ads may perform better than other ads, for example one ad may have a price and the other may not, this means anyone that clicks on the ad with a price knows that they have to buy something when they go to that page – that ad will convert at a higher percentage than if you did not have the price on the ad. It will probably have a much lower CTR but also a higher conversion rate. This is really something that needs to be tested on every campaign to see if you are getting a return on investment because in the end the goal is to make the greatest amount of money. Track everything!

4. Bidding:

Over the years bidding has changed, it use to be bid low and then raise your bid and to see what the lowest point was. That is probably not the wisest thing to do anymore – at least not right now. Right now what I suggest is start by bidding high, what this does is allow you to get a good position on AdWords and a good CTR. As you establish the CTR, Google will recognize that you are a good advertiser and then you can lower your bid everyday to what Google is actually charging you (whilst maintaining your high CTR). What you need to figure out is whether you are getting a good returns for the money you are actually spending so if you are spending a $1 and getting $2 back – you know its worth continuing the campaign.

5. Last words:

Please don’t get emotional attached to a keyword because you ‘like’ the keyword or believe it should work. Do not expect to learn everything upfront and then go implementing a Google AdWords campaign effectively. If you have your own full time business and love what you are doing – then get a professional in to run your own PPC campaigns.

Accelerate Your Home Business With RSS

What is RSS and how do you use it to grow your home business?

Many people ask this question, hopefully I can shed some light on this topic.

RSS or Rich Site Summary (also called Really Simple Syndication) is a format for delivering updates and changes to a website or blog. It allows readers or visitors to your site to stay up to date and informed on any changes or additions you have made.

RSS replaces the days when we would simply bookmark a specific site and go in from time to time to see any new postings or website information. The downside with bookmarks is the time spent going from every site to identify if changes or additions have been made.

RSS is a technology that gives you a way of getting the most up to date information from your favorite sites as soon as the new information is posted on the site.

This tool is one of the easiest to use and absolutely free with web based Google Reader. Google Reader will help you find and keep track of various blogs and websites. As new content comes to your Google Reader, you can read it immediately or go to the actual site. When you finish reading a post or article, the document will be marked as read and you can move on to the next post.

How Will RSS Help My Home Business Grow?

Getting feedback from your customers or visitors is essential to build your home business. Ask yourself, how you are getting feedback from your customers and/or visitors. Feedbacks can be in the form of comments to your articles, surveys and testimonials to name a few.

Knowing what your customers are saying about your products or services within your home business is extremely important. You need to know if there are issues that should be addressed either through making changes or being able to explain misunderstood information. If you are not getting feedback, you are flying blind.

Positive feedback is wonderful because it reinforces your topic direction and makes you realize you are providing useful information. On a personal note, it leaves you feeling really good knowing the needs of your home business prospects were met. Reading comments on your site as well as others’ sites will give you a little insight helping you make your home business more appealing. Using RSS to stay up on other sites is a great way to give you new ideas to incorporate into your home business.

The bottom line is RSS allows people to track your site and visit regularly to learn more about your home business opportunities and products.

Most word press themes offer RSS on blog sites to increase traffic and boost the blogs’ notoriety. If you do not have an RSS Icon on your site, it’s time to add one.

Keeping your articles and posts current will engage viewers and customers. It is important to keep them active with your home business opportunities and stay fresh in their minds. Continue to post questions on your site to encourage viewers to be participate. As a home business leader, stay on top of what people are buying or looking for. Your site reinforces information that will help with marketing ideas, campaigns and provides benefits of your home business and why they should sign-up with you or buy your particular product.

Expert Tips To Optimize Your Google My Business Listing

So do you want to optimize your Google My Business listing? Do you know what it is, how does it actually work for your business and why do you need it? Well, if you are a master in SEO, probably you are aware of the term but if you are new to it and don’t have sufficient knowledge about it, so, this article is for you. Basically, Google My Business Listing is submitting the website within Google’s search engine to improve ranking and it is very much important in all manners. This directory displays your business working hours and provides directions to reach you through Google Map and allowed the clients to give reviews about your products, services and their overall experience with you.

It is extremely helpful for your business as it allowed the visitor to read your reviews, so, they can make their decision whether to work with you or not. And now when you understand its importance and benefits for your business, so, it’s high-time to start optimizing it to get the great outcomes. The following expert tips and tricks help to boost up your profile, which drives a huge traffic and increase your conversion. So, what are you waiting for? Let’s get started.

  • Fill In Your Complete Information: In an order to make it more attractive for the searchers, it is highly recommended to fill in the complete details about your company. And make sure you keep it updated if there is some change in the future. To guide the right direction for the visitor, you should provide complete details, including your company name, website URL, hours of operations, contact numbers, address and a short description of your company.
  • Pick A Proper Business Category: Moving to the next tip that helps you optimize My Google Business Listing is the right niche for your business to enable a search engine to understand on what products and services you deal in. It clarifies the search results and helps you get the right traffic locally to your page or website.
  • Write A Meaningful Description: Your customers will come to know about your products and services through your bio. So, make sure you write a meaningful and detailed description about your company, which pull in visitor and turn them to be your customer.
  • Encourage Customer Reviews: No doubt, people look for the reviews before getting connected with your company. So, make sure you encourage your existing customers to give their feedback about their experience with your company, which further help to win the faith of the new customer.

What’s Better For My Business, QuickBooks Online Plus Or QuickBooks Pro Using Remote Access?

The purpose of this article is to help a typical small business owner understand the differences between using the remote access capabilities with QuickBooks Pro and QuickBooks Online Plus. A less expensive QuickBooks Online version is also available, however that software is not considered for this analysis. I did consider a more robust version called, QuickBooks Online Plus. Before we address the differences, its first important to understand the term remote access. The term remote access has been with us for a long time and has emerged to mean, according to Wikipedia, a form of communication with a data processing facility from a remote location or facility through a data link. One of the more common methods of providing this type of remote access is using a virtual private network(VPN). The definition is further enhanced by the term remote desktop, which also according to Wikipedia refers to a software or an operating system feature allowing graphical applications to be run remotely on a server, while being displayed locally. Remote desktop applications have varying features. Some allow attaching to an existing user’s session (i.e. a running desktop) and “remote controlling” it in front of the user’s eyes. Whereas, according to a Google definition, online accounting relates to accounting that can be done on the World Wide Web. I agree with both definitions, however there are important differences that an owner or accountant for a small business or even a midsize business needs to consider and they are addressed below.

Generally speaking, QuickBooks Pro with remote access gives you access to your desktop QuickBooks Pro accounting program and data while the QuickBooks Pro and data resides on your server in your office or your local hard drive. Whereas QuickBooks Online Plus is a web enabled accounting package with some advantages and some disadvantages, specifically less functionality for one of the most important parts of a business namely, no inventory capabilities. To some of you this could be important and to others not so important. Simply said, the benefits and drawbacks with a general ranking of each benefit or limitation of “online accounting” with QuickBooks Online Plus as compared to QuickBooks Pro is analyzed below.

Some of the major benefits are summarized and ranked by level of importance as follows:

1. No wired network required – you can connect with WIFI from anywhere in the world that has internet access and you can connect different department or offices in multiple locations.

2. Includes up to 3 simultaneous users plus your accountant. The cost to add another 25 users is a little more than $3 per month per user.

3. Offsite daily backup at Intuit servers

4. Automatic software updates and support included in cost

5. Quicker and simpler sign in – Just press your Web shortcut key

Some of the major drawbacks are summarized and ranked by level of importance as follows:

1. Does not handle inventory and purchase orders, this rules out retail, manufacturing and distribution type companies

2. Lacks multi-currency functionality

3. Unable to open multiple QuickBooks windows in QuickBooks

4. No Company snapshot/dashboard in one desktop view

In summary, the importance of having simultaneous access from any location, allows employers, employees, owners, investors to collaborate, share and make informed and timely decisions because everyone gets the same information in real time, by simply using a typical web based sign-on. There is no time learning the remote access interface for sign on, for use with the remote software. Furthermore, your accountants can review your financials, journals, general ledgers, from their own office and answer your questions or even correct mistakes in real time. Further, you can easily outsource some of your accounting functions with QuickBooks Online Plus, as long as you set up a system to review the work product of the outsourced employee.

I am very impressed with the above mentioned benefits and for these reasons if there is not a need to account for inventories or multi-currencies then my inclination is for QuickBooks Online Plus to handle a typical small businesses accounting needs. A more detailed analysis of the functionality and data entry capabilities and performance processing will be the subject of another blog topic. Even if such analysis existed, I would recommend that you consult with an accounting professional who can best evaluate whether the QuickBooks Online Plus or remote access platform is best suited for your particular situation. When evaluating this software, its also important to determine how your employees will use the software in their to day to day activities and during a test period you should evaluate the speed in which the employees are able to enter the data and the computer/web processing(performance) speed of each relevant accounting process i.e. paying vendor bills, customer invoicing, record deposits, etc.

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