It’s tempting when setting up a home office to make do with office equipment and furniture that you already own. This reduces start-up costs and makes sense in many ways. But you’ll soon find the old, rickety desk and plastic chair that you start off with is draining your productivity, specially after long hours in your new “office”.
Similarly, the three-year-old computer that’s been used for everything from emails to downloading music and digital photographs will seem adequate initially, but will also start frustrating you as the business grows and you need to increase efficiency.
So, before too long it’ll become clear that there are valid reasons to upgrade your office furniture and equipment. Spending money on these items is not an indulgence, but a necessary business cost to ensure you become as productive as possible.
Find out more about this topic by reading the article Office Equipment - Essential Tips on Outfitting a Home Business on the Internet for Business website that also explores the benefits of the internet for business.
It’s amazing that many small businesses in the U.S. and other developed nations do not have their own websites. According to research firm IDC, nearly half of small businesses in the U.S. don’t have a site.
“The Internet is increasingly used by customers as an information source, so a firm that doesn’t have a Web presence will be at a disadvantage when prospects are conducting a search,” says Ray Boggs, vice president of SMB research at IDC.
Boggs’s statement is backed up by National Retail Federation research showing that over 92 percent of adults regularly or occasionally research products online before buying them in a store.
For any small business - even those that don’t provide products or services suitable for selling over the Internet - a website remains an invaluable marketing tool that will help:
- cut costs
- increase sales
- improve customer service
- enhance productivity
If you run a small business and don’t have your own website, then you should read How a Website Can Benefit Your Business, from Internet for Business.
The following free videos have been added to the Internet for Business website:
A collection of free videos covering various aspects of setting up and building a successful business website.
These free videos concentrate on website design, including website design tips and tutorials, recommended software, better navigation, using templates etc.
Once you have your business website built and ready for your visitors, it needs to be hosted on a server so the world can access it any time of day or night.
Site Build It! is one of the most successful website building and hosting packages available today. Using SBI, you not only build a website, but a long-term business.
The PC or Personal Computer is what most small businesses use to run a wide collection of tasks, from accounting to stock control.
Just as the PC can be confusing and frustrating, the Microsoft Windows operating system that virtually every PC has installed can be irritating and annoying, mainly because most of us don’t understand why certain things happen.
These videos concentrate on laptop (or notebook) computers that many small business owners will use because of their portability. If you’re in the market for a laptop, or simply want to know more about laptops, then it’s worth browsing through the videos in this section.
Way of the Future, or Just Another Internet fad?
Pay-per-play audio ads are being promoted as a new and “revolutionary” form of Internet advertising “set to take the Web by storm”.
When I see this sort of stuff, red flags pop up and I have to question whether this is merely more of the Internet hype we’ve come to expect from the Internet marketing crowd, or are PPP ads really going to change internet advertising as we know it?
Website publishers are being sought as pathfinders, not only to place ads on their pages, but also to get in on the ground floor by promoting the audio ads technology and earning long-term residual income.
If you’re intererested in finding out more and are keen to sign up, read my impressions on PPP ads then head for the Pay Per Play Advertising website.
Internet for Business.com, a website aimed at small business owners who are unsure of how they should be using the Internet to benefit their small or home businesses, now has a store specializing in business products, including computers, printers, and office furniture.
The store, set up in conjunction with eBay, offers a wide variety of business-related products at very affordable prices. Visit the Internet and Small Business Store today to see what’s on offer at bargain prices.
by Scotch Macaskill
Any small business that deals in physical products should be using a digital camera to take product pictures.
Using a fairly basic, inexpensive camera, it’s easy to quickly photograph a product and email the pictures to a customer.
A good, sharp photo of the product will invariably be more useful to an interested party than a verbal description over the phone. Read the full article, Product Pictures Made Easy
The Internet is a world-wide but informal network of computers connected by traditional phone lines, by cable, and also wirelessly via satellites and cell phones.Amazingly, it’s not owned by anyone. The giant telecoms might own the phone lines and mobile networks, but they don’t own or control the Net. Neither do Microsoft nor Google.
So, you’re probably thinking, isn’t that a recipe for anarchy?
Fortunately not. To avoid chaos, a set of protocols or conventions has evolved that define how all these millions of computers communicate with each other, much as there are conventions for using networks such as the phone or road system. Read the full article: How the Internet Works
If you run a small business, you should be using the Internet to improve your productivity and increase your profits.
This applies whether you sell things, your services, or your knowledge. Institutions and non-profit organisations should also be harnessing this potent business tool.
After all, you use a phone and fax to communicate, you list your business in directories, you have a business card and letterhead, and you use brochures, flyers and print ads to promote your organization and products.
The Internet can help you do all of these - communicating with customers, advertising your business, promoting your products - often more efficiently, and at substantially lower cost.
If you’re new to the Internet or unsure how this can be done, then it’s worth starting with this brief Internet Primer.
Small Business | scotch | 
February 4, 2009 2:57 pm | 
Comments Off 
Subscribe