With a 22% unemployment rate and the second-highest foreclosure rate in the country, Merced County is pinning its hopes on small business

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[Source: BusinessWeek.com -- Small Business]

Hi,
I am looking for an inventory s/w which will satisfy the following requirements ...

1) Not too costly ...

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[Source: CNET Forums : Thread List - Small business]

I'd like to point out a business owner who is living much of the advice I'm writing in this column relating to sales and marketing. Tina Hill of Kidzsack is a mom-preneur and inventor, and she's using many different ways to connect with customers as well as buyers. Previously Hill was a fashion designer, and after time out of the workforce, she was inspired to create Kidzsack because her kids needed a product like it. She also wanted an outlet for her creativity. Hill created Kidzsack, an "eco-friendly backpack and a craft project for kids." In order to sell her product, Tina has to reach business owners and merchandisers. She's taken to doing much of her own promotion and marketing herself in different ways from online to the phone to in-person networking. Using Tina as a model, here are 5 ways (plus a bonus way) you can promote your start up business more effectively - and obtain sales in the process. Connect online

One of Hill's key tools is LinkedIn. When she got an order from a Zoo, she went on LinkedIn and connected to the rep, and then worked creating a relationship. Recently she sent him a message, and he bought a new order of products. Hill also sells to resorts, so she joined several resort professionals discussion groups. There she found and connected to resort buyers, which directly led to sales. When DrToy.com gave Kidzsack a "Best Vacation Product Award" Hill put up a press release under the news topic in several of her groups. Buyers got right back to her. Her advice: "Use Groups and reach out to members as a way to find buyers who wouldn't know the product otherwise." Find Writers and Bloggers interested in Your Industry

To help promote her product to end customers, Hill often reaches out directly to Bloggers who cover kid products. Hill told me "A lot of people read blogs and they shouldnt be underestimatedone person reads it and then tells two people who then tell threeand so on." Clearly she understands the power of social sharing, and how blogs and other online platforms encourage readers to share content, which can lead to sales.

Another good place to find writers? Watch the "Help a Reporter" list. I sourced this article via that list. Pick up the phone

Tina said "Cold Calling is old fashioned but its still the No. 1 way Ive been getting my sales. People still like dealing with people directly and developing a relationship on the phone and not just by e-mail. E-mail is great for follow ups but I always make an initial first call." I ran that by the "Queen of Cold Calling" Wendy Weiss and she agreed. "Cold calling works. The number one mistake that most cold callers make is to not prepare effectively for their calls. It's a myth to say that cold calling is a numbers game--it's not. Cold calling is a preparation, strategy and skills game." Find people in person

So often, we know someone who knows someone who can help us, but we don't work our network effectively. Tina sent an email to hundreds of friends and contacts asking for help getting her on TV. "Talk with your friends because everyone knows someone. I reached out to friends and asked 'Who knows someone on TV'? A really good friend knew an anchor on CBS, and they used Kidzsack for their'EcoFriendly must-have products.' " Have an Effective Website

Hill's website has everything that's needed to find out more about her product, and she says people look at it first, before they contact her. While it is a good site, I'll take a writer's prerogative to suggest a few improvements. The "Where to Find Us" tab on the site is trying to be 3 pages in one. It is acting as the "News" page for the site, the "Where to Buy" for retail, and the "How to Contact a Sales Rep" page, and in doing so it is too busy. Tina would be better off having a "Where to Find Us" page that is for consumers, segmented by State and then Town so it is a bit easier to find the product. The other items deserve their own pages too, so News could show on the "About" page. There also should be a clear link on the home page for wholesale buyers to contact Kidzsack. Use Online Sites to get Business Support

In addition to reading this column (Thanks) Tina uses small business owner communities www.mommymillionaire.com and www.mominventors.com because "they give tips, have discussions, and help in every way possible. I have made friends on these social networks that have helped me with leads as well as product liability insurance advice (reducing my costs significantly)." Mommy Millionaire got her four or five good friends from the website, and they've helped her shape her business. There are community sites like these for many industries. Use your search engine to find one and become involved. What are some of the suggestions you have? Please leave comments below.

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[Source: Inc.com]

Debating between a WAF from Barracuda Networks or this new Web Application Software called XyberShield (www.xybershie...

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[Source: CNET Forums : Thread List - Small business]

A year ago, I was receiving the same inquiry at least one a week: How would I dramatically improve sales in an ever more challenging marketplace? Over the past few months, the number of inquires have skyrocketed to once or twice a day. Upon reflection, I've noticed that people are looking for some secret formula, some "new" way of magically getting more business, some way of accessing their clients in this new and dynamic marketplace. So here then is the new secret: research. Too simplistic you say? In order to sell at a higher level, to separate yourself from the pack, you must employ tactics that get you more and better information on the buying behavior of your customer. Armed with this new incisive, time-sensitive information, you can change your selling strategies to meet the needs of your client's spending habits NOW, and help to create new patterns of buying behavior. For example, there are two recent research pieces I looked at recently. One was by the Luxury Marketing Council, which interviewed 405 companies in New York and Boston. One of the more startling findings was the high number of companies that are cutting expenses. Fifty-two percent of the companies cut advertising and marketing expenses. And the future looks even bleaker as the same group predicts a 69 percent reduction in marketing expenses for the upcoming year. Next, I looked at a report from arguably the most credible researcher in the luxury market, Pam Danziger of Unity Marketing. Pam conducted a series of focus groups (or discussion groups) with highly-engaged luxury shoppers in Beverly Hills -- ground zero for the conspicuous consumption lifestyle -- followed by an in-depth nationwide survey among 1,041 affluent consumers. Her report, titled "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" offers even more enlightenment into the mindset of the luxury buyer now: The Good -- A great many consumers feel that NOW is "a great time to get more for less." The Bad -- The recession has brought widespread changes in peoples' willingness to spend and even in their willingness to display what they have spent. The Ugly -- Once the recession is over, the luxury market will be the same, so you need to know NOW where it is going before it gets ahead of your strategies. As a consultant, I automatically think of ways to help clients who cut the expense of attracting clients through marketing. Knowing this kind of information about how my clients are thinking gives me a distinct planning and selling advantage. If you are a retailer, what was your first thought in capturing more market share when you heard the findings of "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly?" The key here is that we must use sophisticated, real-time target market research to create strategic plans for our drastically changed markets. We must embrace the change and step in front of it. We must embrace the change. Next, we must train our people to exemplify these new behaviors, reframe your marketing plan, be lean, but highly informed and effective in order to capture the imagination and pocketbook of ever fewer elite, highly informed customers. But it all begins with research and our ability to be ahead of the market adjustments -- to lead the change, to be the change, to be past relevant, and to be wanted for the change you represent.

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[Source: Inc.com]