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February 25, 2007
Small Business Loan Takes A Dive
Loans to small businesses backed by the government's flagship Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme (SFLG) almost halved during the past year, following controversial reforms.
Department of Trade and Industry figures, obtained by the Financial Times, showed that the government underwrote SFLG bank loans worth just £225m to enterprise during 2006, compared with £422 in 2005-06 and £418m in 2004-05.
A new rule preventing companies that are more than five years old from qualifying from SFLG support was among a number of changes introduced in December 2005 to make the SFLG easier to use.
Mike Cherry, chairman of the financial affairs committee at the Federation of Small Businesses, said the five year rule was a backward step.
David
Small Business Resource
Posted by David at 7:53 PM | TrackBack
February 24, 2007
These Five Essential Paid Online Survey Tips Will Help You Avoid The Survey Scrap Heap!
Have you joined the paid online survey game yet? Many have and are generating useful extra income however, taking part in a paid online survey isn't as cut and dried as it may sound. There are a number of factors you'll need to consider before completing your initial survey.
Getting paid to take a survey may be hard to comprehend for a lot of people and you may be wondering why marketing companies fork out thousands and thousands of dollars for people's opinions. It's simple. Data collected can save a company a fortune in marketing revenue and product production. Paying for consumer opinion literally guarantees honest answers as opposed to free surveys where people will often rush a survey with false answers just to get it out of the way.
Here is a checklist of questions you should consider before joining a survey provider. Remember, not all providers are created equal with some unscrupulous operators sole motive being to gain people's personal details.
Paid Online Survey Checklist
1. Be wary of application fees. In fact be wary of websites who ask for a fee to add your name to their data base.
2. Read carefully the terms and conditions and that your not signing over personal details.
3. Check the company's contact details and if there are none, give it a miss. You'll preferably want a phone contact number along with an email address.
4. Be clear about payment terms. Know exactly how much you are being paid and when. Avoid having to pay a percentage of your fees to the survey provider who in all probability is being well paid by the company which has requested the survey.
5. You need to be clear about disclosing personal information. If it looks or sounds suspicious then move on. Your details could be on sold to other companies with the result being an inbox full of spam.
6. You'll want to clarify how many surveys you'll receive each month and how payment will take place.
The above information is designed for inexperienced survey takers. A great place to get questions answered is via online forums. Those involved in forums are usually seasoned campaigners who have gone through a lot of trial and error. Just do a search online for survey forums. You will in all probability be required to join but there won't be a fee involved.
Another good starting point is to concentrate on established marketing research companies such as Greenfield Survey Online. Once you have gained some experience in the paid online survey business you'll be a lot more savvy about what to look for when you want to broaden your horizons.
Posted by David at 7:08 PM | TrackBack
An Essential Guide To The Best Home Theater System Set Up!
Choosing the best home theater system can be a daunting prospect for the uninitiated. The idea of home theater is an appealing thought but do you know where to start?
Did you know home theater is basically made up of a television and DVD player. That's the basic set-up. Taking it to the next step will involve a good speaker system, projection unit, chairs, wall memorabilia and even a projection screen. Starting to sound a little complicated isn't it?
Setting up a best home theater system should be a gradual process. If you have the budget then you are in a great position to go out and get what you want from the outset. This article is aimed at those people with a budget and the ability to get set up reasonably quickly, provided you have an area designated for your new project.
Best Home Theater
Naturally, you'll look at televisions firstly. Picture quality, color, sharpness and of course price. How will the television fit into the whole scheme of things? Will the area designated for your best home theater set up support a 32 inch screen or can it support something a little bigger, say in the 50 inch and over range?
You'll be presented with various styles of TVs. Flat screen, LCD, Plasma or rear projection. The choice is vast. Do some comparison shopping before you decide and look out for major storewide sales. For those ready to buy, consider Panasonic's range of plasmas. While they may be minus a couple of features they present excellent picture quality, which in the end is what it's all about. It's worth talking to a sales rep about them.
Speaker System
Your speaker set up is important. After all it's home theater and you want the best sound. Like televisions, shopping for speakers can be a little daunting for the inexperienced. You could initially settle for a cheaper set of speakers for about $200 and still enjoy great sound or if the budget allows, look at the more expensive surround sound units for a $1000 or over such as the Denon S-301. For those with really expensive taste then it's worth a look at the Bang and Olufsen range.
Dvd Player And Projector
Dvd players are an essential part of a home theater set up. Dvd's come in all shapes and sizes today and choosing one to suit your needs should be a relatively easy process. Whether you choose just a play function unit or one with recording capabilities is entirely your decision but price may ultimately dictate your decision.
Projection units for those planning to establish their home theater systems over time may be put on the "back burner" until funds allow however, they will form the basis of any . Again, prices vary but for good quality you may be asked to part with any amount over $1500.
We mentioned comparison shopping earlier. That's a good way to tackle your best home theater project. Electronics can vary significantly in price from one outlet to another as stock issues come into play and deals need to be done in a hurry.
Posted by David at 6:56 PM | TrackBack
February 7, 2007
What Is The Purpose of a Business Continuity Plan?
Owners of small to medium size businesses tend to sit on the fence when it comes to evaluating business risk. Often because they consider the risk of loss to their business from a disaster as remote. If this applies to you and your bbusiness then I'll summarise the purpose of a business continuity and disaster recovery plan. A robust plan:
Should categorize systems and business functions into groups according to priority to the continuity of the business.
Outline responsibilities related to Business Continuity Planning.
Provide guidelines for ensuring the development, testing and maintenance of the BCP Plan and proces.
Provides evidence to reassure key stakeholders of the business’s ability to continue operations in the light of unforeseen circumstances.
Provide documentation and a process which meets the requirements of relevant legislation and standards relating to business continuity planning.
The above are just a few of the purposes of a business continuity and disaster recovery plan documented in the business continuity and disaster recovery tool kit and given away as free chapters.
If you're at all interested in develping a busines continuity plan get the free chapters to the business continuityand disaster recovery toolkit
Posted by David at 2:29 PM | TrackBack
February 5, 2007
How To Market A Book : The Power of Marketing
How To Publish A Book : What do you know about marketing and selling?
One of the greatest challenges of any writer or business person comes after the product or book has been created. Most people, however, don't consider this aspect until well after the fact, and that's usually too late. Really, when you want to know how to sell a book, sales and marketing are the first things you should be considering, not the last.
Tom Nixon on his SmallPress Bloc (http://smallpress.typepad.com) said that, "We are not in the business of selling books. We are in the business of selling information that people need. If you want to sell a book, you need to talk about what the benefit is to the reader."
When you think about it, doesn't his advice also apply to fiction? What, for example, is the benefit of the Harry Potter series? One benefit, of course, is that the books are entertaining. They stir the imagination. Another benefit has been to involve a whole new generation in the pleasures of reading a good book. The middle-school book market is booming as a result.
Mystery novels might provide a benefit of engaging the reader in using both sides of their brains, something most of us rarely do in our day jobs. It's an exercise for both the creative mind and the analytical mind. Romance novels stir the emotions and inspire dreaming and perhaps passion.
Selling a Book... or Marketing a Book?
This is the big question, but most people don't know the difference. Here's where you can learn more about how to publish a book.
Posted by David at 3:57 AM | TrackBack
February 2, 2007
Online survey tool: Survey Software
Survey software is something you can use to build a survey from the ground up. This type of software can help you as a business owner find ways to see what your consumers are wanting and thinking. It can be a questionnaire given to customers to see how well your business is doing and what can be done, if there are certain areas to focus in on. It is used to get basic knowledge and it is your job to gather it all in and use it to your advantage. It is a cost saving tool that can help you analyze the way you do business.
Read more about the online survey tool...
Posted by David at 8:33 PM | TrackBack
February 1, 2007
Internet Marketing Tip: Identifying Your Target Market
Internet Marketing Tip: Identifying Your Target Market
Who are the people out looking for you? What do you know about them? What are they doing to find you? What are they looking for? What problems do they have that they are willing to spend money to solve? These are the questions that should consume you.
Marketing is about people. The health of your business depends on how well you know the people who are looking for you and how well you capture their attention once you find them.
So who are they? How can you get to know them? How do you easily find them? This is a process about questions. And here we will ask a whole bunch of good ones.
Create a profile of your ideal customer. The best way to start is to imagine a favorite customer that you have right now. Use what you know about this great person to answer the following questions:
* What is the age range of your target market?
* What do they do for a living?
* How much money do they make?
* What are their interests and hobbies?
* How does your ideal customer see themselves?
* Where do they eat?
* What do they wear?
* Married or not?
* What are their problems and frustrations?
* Now for the most critical question: Where can you find them easily online?
On the internet we have an amazing opportunity to get to answers very quickly.
You can go to the various online groups, blogs and forums to find your people. Once you are there, you can actually ask the experts on your business: Your target market.
Make a point of getting to know these people. They have something important for you -- the keys to your business success! These are the people who are out looking for you. What are they looking for? How are they frustrated? What are they spending money on?
By hanging out in forums, groups and blogs you can not only find the answers to these questions, you can learn the language to use when you go to market to them. This language becomes the backbone of your sales letters, emails and marketing pieces when you go to offer a solution in the form of a product.
