 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||
Tim Knox Articles
|
| Tim Knox Articles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
How To Boost Your Bottom Line With Just Two Little Words - Click To Read Article Email marketing can be used as an effective tool for communicating with customers. Its is an effective medium of communication to boost sales by ensuring that your customers constantly remember you. Achievements Outweigh Education and Experience - Click To Read Article Even on the best of days running a business can be incredibly stressful, not to mention overwhelming and exhausting. It's only natural that there will be times when you wonder if it's really worth it. Asking yourself the "should I just get a real job" question simply means that your human side is showing. And as a human you have a limited tolerance for things you can not control. And that's really where the stress of being an entrepreneur comes from Don't Be Afraid To Give Problem Customers The Boot - Click To Read Article We have all had customers who expected far more than was their due: customers who were unreasonable, overly-demanding, condescending, hard to please and sometimes, even dishonest in their dealings with you. When a customer's reasonable expectations become unreasonable demands you must decide whether or not that customer is doing more harm to your business than good. Franchises Offer Shortcuts, But Not Control - Click To Read Article Franchising can be a great way to start a business career, but you should make sure you're not just trading one job for another. Unless you plan on being an absentee owner, which I highly discourage, you are going to be working in the business just as an employee would, so be sure the business you choose doesn't turn your lifelong dream into a never-ending nightmare. Do You Have What It Taks To Be An Entrepreneur - Click To Read Article There are a variety of skills you'll need to succeed as an entrepreneur and chances are do not possess them all. One of the great things about being an entrepreneur is that if you lack certain skills you can always hire people with those skills to help round out your company skill set. Are You Mentor Material? - Click To Read Article Typically, there are three things every good mentor should have: time, patience, and a genuine desire to help another person succeed without expecting anything in return. If you have an abundance of those things, then being a mentor can be a highly rewarding experience. If not, please see the rubber plant reference What’s Stopping You From Starting Your Own Small Business? - Click To Read Article Some people simply don't have what it takes to start your own business. Others just need a bit of kicking to jumpstart them. What Do Your Business Emails Reveal About You? - Click To Read Article Why should you worry about how your emails are reviewed by their recipients? Because in business, you are constantly being judged by your customers, your employees, your investors, your partners, and your peers. Women Entrepreneurs Prove It’s Not Just A Man’s World - Click To Read Article Women are increasingly more active in starting new businesses. Top growth of their businesses indicates skills that are noteworthy for other women and men. Dropship Your Way To eBay Success - Click To Read Article Dropshipping has been around since Sears first started selling goods from its mail order catalogs over a hundred years ago. However, the idea of dropshipping still confuses many people who don't understand exactly how the process works. The Business Failed But Did You - Click To Read Article Just to make sure we're in agreement, let me reiterate the standard warnings once again. Starting a business is incredibly hard work. It takes long hours and deep pockets. It demands unbridled passion and unquestioned commitment. It requires that you give of yourself until you often feel there is nothing left to give. And sometimes, even after you've done all that you can do and given all that you can give, the business fails. Period. Blood, sweat, and tears can only carry you so far in the business world. Good intentions and grand ideas won't pay the office rent. You can not make payroll with Monopoly money. How To Tell If Your Amazing New Product Idea Is Really Worth Gambling On - Click To Read Article I'm a lousy poker player, mainly because I can't help grinning like the village idiot when blessed with a winning hand or frowning like a sad clown when dealt a dud. I also never make odds on the success of "amazing new products" because more often than not the only thing that's amazing is the way the product is totally ignored by the buying public. Do You Want Fries With That Management Style - Click To Read Article The environment of any workplace is highly dependant on the type of manager and his/her management style. This article describes some of these management approaches. How To Make Big Money On eBay Selling Other People's Stuff - Click To Read Article Since eBay launched the Trading Assistant program last year, over 50,000 eBay sellers have registered as Trading Assistants to help other people sell their goods on eBay. As a result, eBay consignment businesses have sprung up all over the United States and are now starting to appear in Germany and the UK. This means opportunity for you... It’s Not All About Location, Location, Location - Click To Read Article Last time we met I brought you the tale of how I scouted for and eventually found what I considered to be the best retail location for my new retail gunshop in my hometown of Madison. The Great American Customer Service Unawareness Campaign - Click To Read Article I'm so sick of you so-called business experts always saying the customer is always right. This is my business, not the customer's, so I'm the one who's always right. Sure, they can have an opinion, but in the end it's up to me to decide who's right and who's not. And if the customer doesn't like it they can take their business elsewhere. How Good Is Your Big Idea - Click To Read Article Every business idea, no matter how good it sounds while bouncing around inside your head, should be put to the test before you invest time and money into its execution. Success lies not in what you think of your idea, but what the buying public will think. Many entrepreneurs find out too late that the public’s opinion of their idea differs greatly from their own. Taxing Your eBay Profits - Click To Read Article As a small business person-slash-advice columnist I dread the first quarter of the new year. Not because in my mind my own business fortunes start at zero again every January or because I have already dismissed every New Year’s resolution I made when the clock rang out the New Year. No, the reason I dread the first quarter of the new year is that my email box floods with questions about business taxes and the IRS, my two least favorite subjects on earth. Opportunity Does Not Knock - Click To Read Article I can tell you that as a breed, entrepreneurs are an impatient lot and many jump on the first business bandwagon that comes along just for the sake of being in business. That’s a big mistake that usually comes back to bite them in their entrepreneurial behinds. Do You Pay Taxes On eBay Income? - Click To Read Article Last week's column on whether you were required to report income earned from eBay sales to the IRS sparked a number of additional questions and comments from eBay sellers who were hoping that I could somehow validate that their eBay activities were mere hobbies instead of actual businesses and therefore not susceptible to IRS taxation The Process For Becoming An Entrepreneur - Click To Read Article Many people want to start a new business but know little about what they are in for. This article can be a great resource for such people. How To Create Your Own eBay About Me Page - Click To Read Article Regular readers of this newsletter and my newspaper column know that I am a big fan of eBay's About Me Page feature. This is a special page you can create as part of your eBay account that is linked from your eBay ID (with a little About Me icon). You can use your eBay About Me Page as a sales tool. Customers can click on your About Me icon to get to your About Me page, which you can set up to include information about you, your interests, and With a Lease The Devil Is In The Details - Click To Read Article This week we'll discuss the most important aspect of the process: signing a commercial lease (insert dramatic music here). One of the biggest mistakes many entrepreneurs make when leasing commercial space is not reading the lease. Forget reading the fine print. When it comes to a lease its ALL fine print Turnkey Dropship Websites Save You Time, Trouble and Money - Click To Read Article Lucky for you and me there are now a number of companies on the Web that can help folks like us set up a turnkey dropship website without ever breaking a sweat How To Profit Using eBay's Saved Search Feature - Click To Read Article Did you know that eBay will help you locate products you can buy cheap, then flip for a quick profit? No? Then listen up, because I am about to let you in on a little known feature of eBay that can literally stuff wads of cash in your wallet in less than 24 hours. Santa: The Consummate Entrepreneur - Click To Read Article You've probably never considered the fact that Santa is the CEO of a large organization that not only distributes a vast assortment of products throughout the world, but does so in a single night with just a sleigh and eight tiny reindeer. Sam Walton would have killed to have Santa's logistics manual. Taxing eBay Part Deux - Click To Read Article Several folks argued that just because their little eBay hobby generated a little cash, that didn’t make it a full blown business. It seems they consider the income from their little hobby to be financial manna from Heaven and thereby not taxable by earthly tax collectors. I’ve always been amused by folks who try to impress me with talk about their “little side business” but when the subject turns to taxes they suddenly refer to it as “my little hobby.” How To Make Money As A Self-Improvement Guru - Click To Read Article As you know, I'm always on the look out for new and exciting products that will make you and me money. That's partly what this newsletter is all about: when I find new opportunities that show tremendous promise, I feel obligated to share them with you. Franchising Pros and Cons - Click To Read Article Some folks offered helpful insights and suggestions on how to pick a franchise and a few things to watch out for, while other emails came from current franchise owners asking me to help them sell their operations to Anthony R. The Joy and Hazards Of Finding Your First Office - Click To Read Article Putting your name on a commercial lease is one of the first tangible commitments an entrepreneur makes to his or her business and searching for that first office or retail space can be a truly invigorating experience. Cut Start-Up Costs By Using a Dropshipper - Click To Read Article Dropshippers, as they're called --are an excellent way to start your e-business and, if done properly, don't have to be a costly endeavor. There are literally hundreds of companies out there that will dropship products for you, everything from gifts and housewares to power tools and furniture. Investing In Son's Business Could Cause A Real Family Feud - Click To Read Article It sounds like your wife wants to make a gift of the money, expecting nothing in return but the undying love of her last born son. You, on the other hand, don't know if you should offer the money as a loan (should I loan him the money) or as an investment (worried that my investment will be lost). Until you can make that distinction, your money should remain in the bank. What's The Customer Service Buzz About Your Business? - Click To Read Article If you're a regular reader of this column you know that my number one pet peeve is bad customer service. Nothing chaps my backside more than paying hard-earned money for a product or service only to have the provider of said product or service become apathetic, obnoxious or just downright rude after the transactional smoke has cleared. What's Your Company's Email Policy? - Click To Read Article Does your company have an email policy? Did you even know there was such a thing? Well, there is, and if your company doesn't have one you are not only risking the professional image of your firm, but also risking potential liability issues that may arise from the misuse of your company email system. What's The Best Product To Sell Online? - Click To Read Article I wish I had a dime for every time I've been asked, "Tim, what's the best product to sell online?" I also wish I had a nickel for every blank stare I received when I answered: "That's simple: information." I'd have enough money to finance another startup or two. Teaching Large Companies To Think Like The Little Guys - Click To Read Article The fact that innovation and entrepreneurship run rampant in smaller companies, but is often suppressed in larger companies is nothing new. Management guru Peter Drucker first addressed the issue in his 1985 book, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Drucker wrote that one of the most often-asked questions in many a 1985 boardroom was, “How can we overcome the resistance to innovation that plagues most organizations?” The 8 Things You Must Know To Build A Great Website - Click To Read Article Last week we talked about how a bad website can do your business more harm than good. That column brought several emails asking what is the key to building an effective business website. I replied with the same answer I always give: building an effective business website is a simple matter of definition 6 Ways To Fund Your New Business - Click To Read Article Here are a few of the most common ways to finance a new business. All methods have pros and cons and some (or most) may not work for a specific situation. In any case one must always thoroughly investigate the ups and downs of any new venture before jumping in it with both feet. Is Your Website Credit Card Friendly? - Click To Read Article If you think hooking up a brick-and-mortar location with a credit card system stymies most bankers, try asking them how to do it on your website. Time To Sign A Lease; Get Your First Born Ready - Click To Read Article We’ve been discussing the steps required to open a brick and mortar store. We’ve talked about startup plans and finding a location. This week we look at what comes next in the process: the negotiation and signing of one of the most dreaded legal document any entrepreneur will ever face: the commercial lease (insert scary music here). What Can American Idol Teach You About Business? - Click To Read Article Here are some tips for entrepreneur that can help them to achieve their dreams and be successful in business. Without Market Research You Could Find Yourself Fishing In An Empty Pond - Click To Read Article Market research is a key ingredient in today's business environment. In this article Tim Knox, an expert on business, gives some sound advice to entrepreneurs about market research that can help make better business decision and make the critical difference between business success and failure. What The Heck Is Podcasting And What Can It Do For Your Business? - Click To Read Article Podcasting is the new hype these days with many claiming it to be the future of internet and communication business. However, for many this is at best a vague term that is difficult to understand and even more frightening to use. This article will certainly help to develop a basic understanding of what podcasting actually is and how it can be used to promote your business. Business Lessons Learned At The Mall - Click To Read Article No offense to my mall merchant brothers and sisters, but a trip into the deepest jungle is more appealing to me than a trip to the mall. I get no joy out of trudging from store to store, attempting to communicate with salespeople from other planets, browsing discount racks of last season's dollar merchandise and peering into windows at mannequins that seem to be in some sort of inanimate pain (why can't they make a happy mannequin?). Never Dive Into Business Without A Startup Plan - Click To Read Article This week begins the tale of my recent foray into the world of brick and mortar and the startup the lessons learned there from. Build A High Profit Business With Online Affiliate Programs - Click To Read Article An affiliate program simply means that you sign on as an affiliate marketer for someone else's product. It's your job to market the product, send the company customers, and get a cut each time a sale is made from your efforts. Affiliate program commissions can range from as little as 2% for high ticket items up to 50% for ebooks and informational type products. As an example, let's say you sign up with Amazon.com's affiliate program. Which Affiliate Programs Do I Personally Recommend? - Click To Read Article I personally receive over a dozen checks and commission payments every month from various affiliate programs that I promote. Last month, those checks totaled more than $10,000 and some months they have been as high as $25,000. Given my success as an affiliate marketer, I'm often asked what affiliate programs I personally recommend. The answer is easy because it's actually a pretty short list. Credit Cards, Merchant Accounts, and Your Bottomline - Click To Read Article The decision to accept credit cards is a wise one for any retailer. I agree with financial guru Dave Ramsey's teachings regarding the use and abuse of credit cards. Many people dig deep holes with credit cards that are hard to climb out of. But, from a practical business point of view, any retail business that does not accept credit cards is leaving money on the table. Managing Employees Is A Little Like Herding Cats - Click To Read Article I hope you have a full head of hair now, because depending on how quickly you get a grip on this situation, you could end up bald in a very short time. And if you're starting out bald all you can do is put on a cap and read on. Veteran Entrepreneurs Are Growing In Ranks - Click To Read Article What my eldest offspring doesn’t understand is I have a great life. In fact, I am living the life I have always dreamed of living. My life just happens to revolve around Planet Business. I am an entrepreneurial addict, a business junkie. Business is my chocolate, my Krispy Kreme donut, my nicotine, my caffeine, my crack. Maybe I’ll start a 12 step program for entrepreneurs who want to kick the habit and charge a cover to get in. Hi, my name is Tim, and I’m an entrepreneur. When It Comes To eBay, Don't Follow The Herd - Click To Read Article While it's true that selling products on eBay can be a quick, low cost way to launch an online business, following the herd by selling the "hot product" of the moment, is not a great idea. To the contrary, chances are you will be stomped in the ground by the herd and left lying in the dust with your unsold inventory in hand. Do I Really Need A Business License and Tax ID? - Click To Read Article I've gotten quite a few emails recently from ebusiness owners who seem to think that just because their business is conducted online or from the comfort of home that the rules and regulations that govern brick and mortar businesses do not apply to them. The ebusiness questions I get most often do not involve building websites or conducting ecommerce SBA's 8(a) Program Can Help Some Companies Compete - Click To Read Article The 8(a) Program (named after the section of the Small Business Act from which it comes) is an SBA program created to help small disadvantaged businesses better compete in the U.S. marketplace and within the arena of government procurement. The SBA provides business development, technical assistance and other services to the small businesses that are accepted into the 8(a) program. Boy, What Were You Thinking? - Click To Read Article When I was a kid there were five words I heard more than all others combined. Usually coming from my father, they were, "Boy, what were you thinking?" Be Careful What You Wish For - Click To Read Article Well, my friends, like the Terminator, politicians named Clinton, the ghosts from the movie Poltergeist, and that corn on the side of your big toe: I’m back. There are just some things that won’t go away. Sorry. The Entrepreneur's Checklist - Click To Read Article I was asked the other day what personality traits I thought were important to entrepreneurial success. I immediately gave my preprogrammed reply about passion and dedication and hard work. After taking some time later to ponder the question a little deeper (I normally operate in shallow waters), I came up with a more detailed checklist for entrepreneurial success. Don’t Let Stress Run You Out Of Business - Click To Read Article Stress is business is a common phenomenon and every entrepreneur must know how to handle it and grow with it. What Makes A Good Leader Ask Uncle Sam - Click To Read Article What do the major generals who are leading the war efforts in Iraq have in common with executives and entrepreneurs who are conducting business back home? When it comes to leadership, the answer is probably a lot more than you think. Navigating The Internet Sales Tax Laws - Click To Read Article Internet sales taxation has always been a hot topic for those of us who make our living selling goods and services online. One of the more controversial points is that no one, including our own government, has a clue how to implement a fair and logical Internet taxation process. If It Was Easy Everybody Would Do It - Click To Read Article Even on the best of days running a business can be incredibly stressful, not to mention overwhelming and exhausting. It's only natural that there will be times when you wonder if it's really worth it. Business Is No Guarantee of Riches - Click To Read Article We have all had customers who expected far more than was their due: customers who were unreasonable, overly-demanding, condescending, hard to please and sometimes, even dishonest in their dealings with you. When a customer's reasonable expectations become unreasonable demands you must decide whether or not that customer is doing more harm to your business than good. Is Brick and Mortar A Passing Fad? - Click To Read Article During the dot-com boom the mantra was “Brick and mortar is dead!” Then when most of the dot-com’s crashed like an elephant sitting on a wicker chair, the mantra suddenly changed back to “The Internet is dead! Long live brick and mortar!” SWOT Analysis Is No Magic 8 Ball - Click To Read Article Q: A key investor in my business has suggested that I hire a consultant to do a SWOT Analysis to help plan for the future. I try not to argue with my investors, but I'm not so sure I need to have this done. What do you think? -- Laurie B. A: Laurie, before you call in the SWOT team to deal with this investor (sorry, couldn't resist that one), let me tell you exactly what a SWOT Analysis is and how it can not only help you plan for The Business of Identity Theft - Click To Read Article The allure of PayPal is that it does not require the seller to have a bank merchant account through which to process credit cards. Anyone with a verifiable email address and bank account can use PayPal and the service can be implemented almost immediately after registering. Operator Error Is Why Most Businesses Fail - Click To Read Article This is the column that probably gets me kicked out of the entrepreneurial chapter of the Priory of Scion. I look silly in those long robes anyway, so here goes. A thousand apologies to my entrepreneurial brothers and sisters, but. I think the more important question is: do businesses fail or does the entrepreneur in charge of them fail? I have to be honest and tell you that I think most business failures must be laid at the feet of the person in charge. Teaching The Big Boys To Think Small - Click To Read Article Last week I told you about a recent report from The Conference Board that has a lot of big company CEOs concerned about competition from smaller, more innovative and entrepreneurially-minded companies. To refresh your memory, The Conference Board's CEO Challenge 2004 reported that 87% of the 540 global businesses surveyed cited innovation and enabling entrepreneurship as priorities for their companies, and 31% considered these issues of "greatest concern.” How To Handle Customer Billing Snafus - Click To Read Article Seriously, whether the client owes you the money or not is a moot point. Yes, you made an accounting mistake, but if the client agreed to pay you a certain amount each month in exchange for certain services rendered, and you have been under-billing that client for delivering those certain services, the client owes you the money, period. Entrepreneurs Just Get Better With Age - Click To Read Article According to recent studies 22 percent of men and 14 percent of women over 65 are self-employed. That's compared to just 7 percent for other age groups. According to a Vanderbilt University study the number of entrepreneurs age 45 to 64 will grow by 15 million by 2006. Please Dont Buy Anything From Me - Click To Read Article This week I had one customer threaten to "hunt me down and shoot me like a dog." Another said that if she could get her hands around my neck she'd strangle the life out of me. And still another sincerely hoped that I "burn in Hell for all eternity." What did I do to deserve these threats? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Conducting Market Research From The Back Of A Boat - Click To Read Article Market research is one of the most important but often overlooked part of business management. This article highlights many real life analogies to this important business function and provides some excellent advice to entrepreneurs. How To Handle The Occasional Oop-See! - Click To Read Article First off, it's important that you understand that the magnitude of your mistake will determine the course of action you take to make amends. If your company's error was such that it caused your customer a significant amount of lost time or revenue, embarrassed them publicly, caused damage to their reputation, or otherwise negatively affected their bottom line, you may face legal repercussions that saying "I'm sorry" will not deter. Taking Your Business International - Click To Read Article I called on Jose Rodriguez, President of RISMED Oncology Systems, a Huntsville company that provides high medical technology to radiotherapy professionals around the globe, to get his input on the subject. Jose is an old friend and client and if anyone can give pointers on doing business internationally, Jose is the man Starting Your Business By The Book - Click To Read Article To begin, here's the best legal advice I can give you as a new business person: find yourself a good lawyer and make him or her your very best friend. Granted, your new best friend will charge you an hourly fee for chatting on the phone or talking business over lunch, but you'll find it to be money well spent. A good attorney can save you far more than the cost of his services. I rarely make any decision that has the potential to impact my business without first consulting my attorney. When It Comes To Marketing Your Business, Think Creatively - Click To Read Article If your business doesn’t stand out in today’s hyper-competitive market place there’s a good chance that you won’t be in business very long. There are countless others vying for the same slice of the pie that you are. There are dozens of competitors just up the road doing all they can to get the attention of your customers and take money out of your pockets. It’s called “marketing,” and some are probably doing a better job of it than you are and some probably worse. For Entrepreneurs A SIMPLE Plan May Be Best - Click To Read Article Let me give you a quick overview of a few of the retirement plans available to small businesses so you at least have an idea of what’s out there before you start your search for a good financial advisor. To Go or No Go, That Is The Question - Click To Read Article Many entrepreneurs would rather have their front teeth pulled without anesthetic than go to the time and trouble of creating a feasibility plan; often because they are afraid of what it will reveal Writing The Book On Great Customer Service - Click To Read Article You probably can't compete with the superstore on volume of inventory or on price, but there are other things you can do to help keep the customers coming in your door. One of the best ways to ensure customer loyalty is to offer superior customer service. Dealing With Contractors Teaches Valuable Lessons About Business - Click To Read Article The experience of dealing with contractors and other entrepreneurs is an interesting one as it highlights some key business issues. Planning, scheduling, customer satisfaction and accurate budgeting are just some of the things that play an important role in ensuring a successful business. The Internet Tax Man Cometh - Click To Read Article If your small business is like most, the majority of your large purchases are made locally from companies that already collect sales tax. Furniture and computer equipment are typically the largest ticket items a small business buys, so unless you bought your desks and computers off of Ebay (which is highly possible these days) you should be OK. It's A Booming Time For Business - Click To Read Article If you were a man you expected to retire at 65 and die at 75; and if you were smart you banked enough dough to see you comfortably through that stretch. We figured we'd get at least 10 good leisurely years before the grim reaper shows up without having to worry about money. Turns out, we were wrong. What Is The Best Selling eBay Book Of All Time? - Click To Read Article I really can't say which one is the best selling eBay book of all time, but I can tell you there is one book in particular that I have been recommending for over a year now and the reason is that it is, quite simply, packed full of useful information that will not only increase your eBay sales, but bring more customers to your website, as well Use Noncompete Agreements To Help Protect Your Business From - Click To Read Article Renegade former employees riding the free enterprise wave is one reason noncompete agreements are gaining in popularity among employers who hope to use them to help protect their business from competitive threats launched by former employees. Many employers are now demanding that key employees sign noncompetes as a stipulation of employment. Expert Strategies For Hiring The Best Employees - Click To Read Article Hiring employees who can contribute to your business positively is a challenge for every entrepreneur. Here are some tips on how to go about this difficult and challenging task. Why A Good Credit Score Is Important To Your Business - Click To Read Article Whether you're in business or an individual, you should have an idea of what your credit score is, even if you're not currently applying for credit. Knowing your credit score and occasionally checking your credit reports also helps you protect yourself from identity theft and credit fraud. An Entrepreneur and a Life To Be Remembered - Click To Read Article Most of you who read this column probably have no idea who Corey Rudl was or what he accomplished during his short life, and that’s OK. You also have no idea of the imprint he made on me and millions of others who make our living (at least in part) as online marketers. Again, that’s OK. For all his accomplishments, those who knew him well have said that Corey was more concerned about building his businesses than being a public figure. The Latest Email Scam Is Nothing New - Click To Read Article The eBay scam is just the latest in a long line of sophisticated attempts to steal personal information through online means. Customers of PayPal, Amazon, Dell Computer, eTrade, Bank One, and many other online merchants have been the target of such scams in recent years What's In A Name? When It Comes To Your Business, Plenty! - Click To Read Article In fact, deciding on a business name is one of the most important decisions you will ever make. The right business name can help you rise above the crowd while the wrong business name can leave you trampled in the rush. Online Payments Make It Easy For Your Customers To Buy - Click To Read Article I have helped many clients set up online credit card processing systems and more than once I've had to sit down with the bank issuing the merchant account and educate them on how online payment systems work. Don't believe me? This is a direct quote (here's the Bible, here's my hand) from the manager who was in charge of processing Internet merchant account applications at a local bank, "When someone pays online how do they swipe the credit card in their computer If You Build It, Will They Come? - Click To Read Article Assuming that a website will automatically attract customers is the single biggest mistake that many business owners make. It is this mistake that eventually leads them to dismiss their website as a failure and abandon their online sales efforts. The Secrets Of Starting A Successful Ebay Business - Click To Read Article If Fred Sanford were alive today, Alex, I'm sure he'd be earning his ripple money by selling quality junk on eBay. While it's also true that one man's junk is another man's treasure (I have a garage full of treasure to prove this point), your chances of building a profitable business selling "junk" on eBay (or anywhere else, for that matter) are slim to none. There Are No Dumb Business Questions, Not! - Click To Read Article I've gotten a few head-scratchers in response to this column. You know who you are, but don't worry, your secret is safe with me. I have a confession to make. Writing an advice column, whether it be advice for love or money or business, is often hard to do with a straight face. Occasionally a question comes over the digital transom that just makes me go, "Huh?" The Thick Line Between Buddy and Boss - Click To Read Article I have made just about every business blunder you can imagine. I am like the Evel Knievel of the small business world, if Evel Knievel wrote a weekly column on motorcycle safety. One of the more unpleasant things I've had to do is fire a good friend who was not doing the job I hired him to do. He needed a job, I needed an employee, so I thought I would give him a shot The Business Autopsy: A Fact Of Life - Click To Read Article Last week we discussed the importance of performing an autopsy on a dead business. No, I haven't been watching too many of those wonderfully graphic, TV forensic investigation shows. The reason I recommend you do a business autopsy is to uncover the exact reasons why the business died The "Other" New Year's Resolution - Click To Read Article "This year I will start my own business!" I call it "The American Dream Resolution," and like most New Year's resolutions it is a proclamation of intent that is often made, but seldom carried out (at least in an effective manner). Perceived Value Is In The Eye Of The Beholder - Click To Read Article Pricing is an important aspect of every business because price is used to create financial projections, establish a break even point, and calculate profit and loss. It's also important to establish a good price point from the beginning because it is much easier to lower prices than to raise them. Does Your Website Induce Seizures? - Click To Read Article If visitor's are not clicking past your fancy Flash intro page, you don't have to be a genius to figure out that therein lies your problem. Remove the Flash intro page for a few weeks to see if your website's click-through rate improves and the number of page views increase. "Click-through rate" refers to the number of visitors who click links on your homepage to go deeper into your site. How To Create Your Own Info Product - Click To Read Article In the last article we talked about why informational products are the best type of products to sell online. An informational product can be a digital book (known as an e-book), a digital report or a white paper, a piece of software, audio or video files, a web site, an ezine (electronic magazine), or a newsletter. Is The eBay Fee Increase Actually Good For Business? - Click To Read Article This will be the fifth rate hike in as many years for the auction giant and should really come as no surprise. Price hikes are a normal course of business. It was the size of the hike that has many sellers upset. Choosing A Business That's Right For You - Click To Read Article Many successful businesses have been built by taking a traditional business and making it better. Domino's Pizza was certainly not the first to offer home delivery of pizza, but they were the first to guarantee it would be delivered piping hot to your door in 30 minutes or less. Amazon.com was not the first company to sell books, but they were one of the first that would let you buy books from the comfort of your own home while sitting in your underwear Protect Your Ideas With Copyrights and Patents - Click To Read Article A wise man once said, "The biggest difference between a copyright and a patent is the number of lawyers it takes to do the paperwork." There is a point to be made there, mainly that if this wise man had paid his attorney to copyright that tidbit of wisdom I probably would have had to pay him five bucks to use the quote. Beware Of Spam Withdrawals - Click To Read Article I am so sick of all the spam that is sent to my business email address. I spend an hour every morning just trying to sort out the good email from the bad. I know I could just delete it all, but I'm afraid I'll accidentally delete email that might be important to my business. Short of unplugging my computer, what's the best solution for dealing with spam? Is Bad Customer Service Killing Your Business - Click To Read Article It’s time to beat the old bad customer service drum again. I know, I’m sick of beating the drum, too, but as long as bad customer service runs rampant through so many businesses I feel it is my entrepreneurial duty to bring it to your attention. So grab a pew and prepare to listen to the sermon I’ve preached before: 11 Ways To Find Products To Sell On eBay - Click To Read Article I was part of an eBay Roundtable discussion recently with six other experts and we all agreed that the number one question most new (and even old) eBay sellers ask is: "Where do I find things to sell on eBay??" To help answer that question I have compiled 10 ways that anyone can use to find products to sell on eBay. Companies Stifle Intrapreneurs At Their Own Risk - Click To Read Article I've noticed an interesting trend lately. Usually the e-mail I receive in response to this column comes from rookie entrepreneurs or established business owners seeking my input on startup matters, financing, employee relations, general management and leadership issues, policy matters, etc. Lately, however, many of the messages are coming from employees of medium-size and large companies who are interested in starting a business of their own. We're All Entrepreneurs On The Inside - Click To Read Article This article highlights the core capabilities and features that are indicative of successful entrepreneurs. Knowledgeable, friendly, professional and supportive of customer needs are just some of the features of entrepreneurship that this article explores. Are You Willing To Do Whatever It Takes To Succeed In Business? - Click To Read Article There is a very simple reason some entrepreneurs do amazingly well in business while others do not. It has nothing to do with product or location or backing or education or street smarts or dumb luck. It has more to do with people willing to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to succeed in business. Mastermind Your Way To Business Success - Click To Read Article While I’m a firm believer in goals, I’m not a big believer in New Year’s resolutions; mainly because it has been my experience that most resolutions are repeated year after year and forgotten by the time we sober up on January 2nd. Learn To Focus On What’s Important and Farm Out The Rest - Click To Read Article Outsourcing your mundane tasks to focus only on the essential tasks is the best way to organize your business. The results are great not just for you but also for your business. Never Say It Can’t Be Done - Click To Read Article In business one must never say or assume that something can't be done. With a little help from ingenuity and creativity any problem can be easily solved. Is Business Ownership In Your Future? - Click To Read Article Anyone who wishes to start a business must first do a lot of self assessment and planning otherwise the business venture may flounder easily. What Would You Do With A Second Chance? - Click To Read Article You could avoid the mistakes you previously made and build on the successes you previously enjoyed. You could nurture the positive relationships and avoid the bad. You could tap into your wealth of experience during times of indecision and always know where and when your time and money would be best spent. How To Really Get The Competitive Advantage Over Your Competition - Click To Read Article One of the hot catchphrases being bounced around a lot in business these days is “competitive advantage.”One of the cool things about being an entrepreneur and business author and speaker is that I get to use all kinds of big words and phrases that make me sound much smarter than I am. Do Your Homework To Find The Best Location For Your Business - Click To Read Article This week our discussion on starting a brick and mortar business continues. We’ve already talked about creating a Startup Plan to manage the process and conducting market research to gauge the viability of your idea. If you missed those entries visit TimKnox.com and click the "Columns" tab. Learn To Avoid Ugly Baby Syndrome - Click To Read Article Last week we talked about creating a "Startup Plan" for your new business idea. To catch you up, a Startup Plan is a detailed list of tasks and subtasks that must be completed in order to get you from the initial idea stage to opening day and beyond. Its All Up To YOU - Click To Read Article If you're waiting for Ed McMahon to show up on your doorstep and proclaim, "This is your lucky day!" you are going to have a long, miserable wait. Ed can't make you a success. I can't make you a success. It is all up to YOU. Maintaining Your Business Website - Click To Read Article If you want to be a web designer, be a web designer. However, if the key focus of your business is building widgets, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that your time would be better spent building widgets, not Web sites The Reasons Why Most People Will Never Find Online Success - Click To Read Article There is no such thing as a real get rich quick opportunity. If someone tells you that you can start with no money and no experience and make hundreds of thousands of dollars overnight they are lying to you and you are a fool for believing them. Yes, you can make lots of money in a short period of time as an Internet marketer, but you're not going to get rich this week unless you hit the lottery or your rich uncle dies. Like this article? Share it with your friends
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
