A place for SO-HO entrepreneurs

Wish you all A Merry Christmas
May the Joys of the season fill your heart with goodwill & cheer
May the chimes of Christmas glory add up more shine and spread

New Year is the time to unfold new horizons & realize new dreams.
To rediscover the strength & faith within you.
To rejoice in simple pleasures and gear up for new challenges.
Wishing you all a truly fulfilling 2012.

Happy holidays to you all.

This thanksgiving let us spend a moment in silence to pray for the souls of all the poor turkeys who volunteered to be our dinner for so many years. Have a Happy Thanksgiving day!

Wish you all a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday

What is CRM and do I really need it?

A customer relationship management is a program that allows you to keep your contacts, inquiries and communication open with your prospects and customers.

Think of it as a database of all pertinent contact, history, tracking manager for your company’s customers, prospects, a system that automates your PR, campaigns and data management and provides a clear picture of your ROI (return on investment)

Many online companies offer for a membership/ user fee comprehensive and easy to use solutions.

You as a small business owner, can benefit by using a turn key solution with step by step instruction on how to use, manage and track your customers, but also as a small business owner you are constrained by your budget and time to learn to use these solutions.

Salesforce,com, Zoho.CRM.com, are some of the leaders in CRM solutions, but did you know that you can create your own CRM tracking with just a good e-mail program.

Let’s analyze the use of Outlook Express and MS Outlook as a CRM program to integrate with your SO-HO.

If you only have a few customers and prospects, and do not have the budget, consider these options before you dive into a yearly contract.

How can I set up and use these programs (already on your computer and paid for) to implement my own CRM.

Before you start creating your CRM, have e-mail accounts created for each marketing need (ex:info@yourdomain.com; help@yourdomain.com) also please create our own website along with your domain name which you can can create here: Ipower to present a professional image to customers.

First, add a new folder to your contacts and name it CRM (for this example).

Next, create a new “Rules and alerts” from “Tools” , the wizard will help set up the rules, and how to manage these alerts. Example: Set a rule that all e-mails coming from a specific e-mail address, subject line, or from people in your contact list to be moved (deleted, copied, added-) to a specific folder (in the example above, Folder called “CRM”) and apply how to manage these.

Next create a distribution list and select all e-mails that come from the specified rule that you just created. Name this list CRM inquiries (example only)

Create an e-mail template with subject and information regarding the inquiry you would like to respond to.

Set up folders, distribution list and rules for all type of inquiries and e-mail responders to these.
As you will receive these inquiries, from Web site, from blog, from where you have set your e-mails to contact from, will be automatically added to the folder assigned and you can now send out to these lists the response to inquiry in a timely and professional way.

You can use settings to send newsletter subscriptions, trade show info, product information, news, alerts you can also set these messages to leave at certain dates, times by marking the e-mail responders with recurring and options set for time and date, also tracking receipt for those.

Apply this system only if you have a small database you work with. If you expect 1,000′s of inquiries, best to use the professional versions online, or outsource this service.

With a little effort and imagination you can create your own CRM at no extra cost.

          Today’s advanced technologies allow us to tap into the www for a fraction of the cost of any other advertizing medium.

Individuals, small businesses and entrepreneurs can see this as the best avenue to grab hold and embrace this opportunity.

Internet connection is available virtually everywhere and the marketing of any size of business, service or product at a fraction of the cost is at your fingertips.

As a small business owner or start up entrepreneur don’t have an extensive budget for any other advertisement options, you need to get your web site on the Internet.- TODAY!

Why loose an opportunity to sit at the table side by side with the big companies, when you can be competing with them.

Grab your domain name and hosting today, and start developing your marketing plan for you new web site.

Copyright ©2011 Ramona Szilagyi, places4us.com. Article material is copyright. Reproduction in whole or in part without advance written permission is prohibited.

“Only 22 percent of those of online in the U.S. visit a branded social networking page, while 62 percent of us regularly visit branded websites, according to the latest Global Web Index report.”

5 reasons why you shouldn’t ignore your web site presence:

1)   There’s no competition on your website, you own flexibility to optimize the user experience in ways that directly support your business.

2)  When you own your site, you have complete control over its code, hosting environment, page count, content, plug-ins and more.

3)  You can create compelling and useful content that speaks to why someone is visiting your site and you stand a higher chance of that visitor taking action with respect to your products or services. opportunity to add additional content you deem most appropriate. Web site is not competing with visitors.

4)  When properly coded and managed, your site delivers natural and sustaining search results that drive qualified traffic to the pages on your site where you want visitors to be.

5)  Your website analytic tools go much deeper. They can provide you with the type of business reports you need to determine in real-time how your online marketing performs and stacks up against the competition.

Create your web site and put yourself ahead of competition. Visit places4us today for an affordable web presence package.

Copyright ©2011 Ramona Szilagyi, places4us.com. Article material is copyright. Reproduction in whole or in part without advance written permission is prohibited.

Great customer service will bring satisfied and returning customers.  

“Customer service is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase.
According to Turban et al. (2002), “Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction - that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer expectation.”   -on Wikipedia.  

We are all familiar with how can customer service can affect our business, but is customer service related or enhanced just by meeting the expectations on products and services. Or does it go beyond?   Working from home is great and it allows you to choose your own hours, be your own boss and give you the freedom to decide which customer to take on board.

As SO-HO owner, we wear many hats and are constantly dealing with keeping the business afloat. While keeping the business running and juggling between marketing, servicing and producing to the customers, we overlook important routines and forget to pay attention to the overall outcome.
Sure, the product is good, and services in demand, but is there anything that could be done to boost the customer service?   Are you paying attention to the noises around the house, when picking up the phone?

Are you organized and ready to answer the questions?
Do you need to fumble to find that price list, or spec sheet?
Are the kids running in and out of the house, or is the dog barking.?  

What happens when your customer calls and they get you on the phone under these circumstances? Maybe you didn’t get to answer the call, or you forgot to return the e-mail or information that was requested, maybe you didn’t call the customer with details that needed to be ironed out before the service was performed. Customer service will reflect in all areas of your business and professional life. Will reflect and affect on how you conduct your business, how well you know your product the value you add, the attention you pay, the knowledge you share, the way you present yourself professionally.
Customer service starts the second you make the contact with your customer/ prospect and will and should continue as long as your service or product is in use by your customer.
It is said that a customer will form an opinion about the business and owner the first 10 seconds into a meeting or phone call.

                                            Make your first 10 seconds count.

I found that standing up while taking customers calls and looking into a mirror across from where I stand, helps me see how the customer perceives me.   Key things to remember:

• Make a good first impression
• Listen to the customer needs
• Understand and act upon their needs
• Create trust
• Treat them as friends
• Ask for feedback
• Follow up with thank you letter or a note
• Offer incentives: discounts, referrals or rewards

Tell them why they should spend their money rather than with a competitor. 
Tell them how you provide better or faster service and why your quality is higher than the leading competition.
What will the customer’s benefit be after doing business with you that they won’t get elsewhere?

Don’t forget to smile and handle the service call professionally.  

Next time you connect with a customer or prospect, use your customer service “mode” to conduct your business.    

Copyright ©2011 Ramona Szilagyi, places4us.com. Article material is copyright. Reproduction in whole or in part without advance written permission is prohibited.

Outline responsibilities and expectations early on, conduct your SO-HO in a professional way to keep your personal relation with your business partner intact.

It is wonderful to start a SO-HO business and even more so when you are starting out with someone you like to share your time, your ideas and your income with.
What better way to share your dreams and your knowledge, or to brain storm new ideas, then with someone who shares the same goals and has a vested interest.But beware, a wonderful idea, plan or relationship can go sour real fast if you do not lay ground rules before you dive into your new endeavor.

Let me give you an example.

Two brothers came up with a new start up plan to have a small business that provided design services to individuals.
They decided, after being laid off, to start a business together.

A plan was drawn, the research showed demand and their experience was a match to the market that they decided to opt for. They started advertizing their new business working from their own home virtually.

They never meet to set ground rules or a plan how to handle calls or provide services. They did not agree on set up, on a web site, or a common database, CRM or bookkeeping process. Each used their private e-mails and phones to contact prospects. They had no visibility of what was going on with their business. 

Because the lack of communication and rules, and working independently where they should have worked as a team, they ended up dissolving the small business even before they started making any profits or enjoying their new venture.

In a joint business regardless if you’re in business with your better half, your relatives or friends, make sure before starting the business, that you set the ground rules and spell them out.
Have a binding contract and an outlined business proposal where the operations are described in detail and agreed upon. (i.e the flow of information, meeting points, communication times, hours of operation)

Each person should be aware of what part of the business they will conduct and what responsibilities/ liabilities are involved, which way they will communicate when taking on new customers, how to collaborate and share the workload, or when and how to meet in order to set new mile stones for the business. 
To be fair to all partners, you might choose to form an LLC or LLP and share liabilities and profits equally to the positions the partners are holding.

Be professional, communicate and act as if you are an employee of the business and not just the “boss”.

Copyright ©2011 Ramona Szilagyi, places4us.com. Article material is copyright. Reproduction in whole or in part without advance written permission is prohibited.

Be environmental friendly, GO GREEN today!

Congratulations SO-HO owner, by running a home office you already taken some steps towards minimizing your carbon footprint.
Working from home automatically eliminates the use of car to commute and you are your own boss when it comes to decide how to become environmental friendly.
Going green is not hard to accomplish also helps with your budget and enhances your personal well being.

How to accomplish this in 10 easy steps

1) Go paperless.
Digitalize your files, this not only helps the environment but also helps you access your files easier and keep the office clean of clutter.
2) Use recycled
If there is a need to use printed files, consider buying recycled paper, use double print settings on your printer to half your paper consumption.
Set up all your statements, invoices, subscriptions to send and receive online, and think twice before you print any documents that do not require printing. Remember RECYCLE and REUSE.
3) Replace your charger and use rechargeable battery with solar power
Some gadgets run on batteries, and need replenished. Recycle the old type ones, buy rechargeable and use a solar/ power battery charger instead.
4) Energy saving appliances
If you purchase new appliances, equipment for your home office, consider buying the Energy saving kinds and replace all bulbs with high efficiency lights.
5) Work outdoors
Being your own boss, you can work anyplace you please. Grab that laptop or notebook and head outdoors- your patio, balcony, your favorite café shop, on the beach or in the park. You have plenty of sunshine and air and an enjoyable atmosphere, helps save on your utility bills.
6) Surround yourself with plants
House plants are known to no only benefit to environment, but also to your health. Create a green office by placing oxygen producing plants around your desk.
“Did you know that house plants can actually benefit our lives and help keep it ‘green’? A NASA research document found that “house plants can purify and rejuvenate the air within our houses and workplaces, safeguarding us all from any side effects connected with prevalent toxins such as formaldehyde, ammonia and also benzene.” 
7) Avoid VOC
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are bad for your health. Paints, carpets, flooring building materials can emit VOC .
8) Work from home - NO commute
You can save on commute time, gas and CO2 emission by working from home. Schedule your office trips along with other errands to minimize using a car. Hop on the bike to go shopping or exercising- both good for health and the environment.
9) Use timer and unplug
Did you know that by unplugging your appliance from the wall socket you virtually stop using energy. It is said that is the only and most efficient way to stop power usage.
Use your old appliances with a timer or thermo cube plugs to minimize usage of your heather, window air conditioner, or automate your whole house (office) with X10 gadgets and security items.
10) Use virtual conferencing
You can save lots of money and time by using virtual conferences, virtual meetings. By using virtual means, you can also record, generate leads, stay in contact and contact virtually around the globe without burning a hole in your pocket, or commute time.

It only takes a little effort and the desire to accomplish a green environment. As a SO-HO owner you have the power to make a significant impact on mother Earth.
GO GREEN today!

Please extend a warm welcome to Lilian Robertson with the new web presence at:
http://www.virtual-office-assist.com

Lilian Robertson opens her virtual office assistant services to individuals or small business and helps them organize their busy days.

She has background in Office administration, support and sales.
Services that you can outsource with Lilian are:

Desktop Publishing
Word Processing
Presentations
Administrative Help

A personalized one-on -one service for your small business needs.

I was asked to give information to SO-HO entrepreneur on what would be the most needed and cost efficient home office set up to conduct a successful business.Some people are familiar with and have a personal computer and tools, others, used to work with these tools at their place of business, and not familiar with specifications or set ups.

Regardless if you are selling product or services or both, a phone system, computer, fax, printer are vital to run your business.

With the various choices and prices, it is hard for the non technical connoisseur to make a decision.

Keeping in mind that the SO-HO owner does not have a big budget, here is a list of equipment and tools that would benefit specially at start up.

A business computer (registered as an asset and for business use only) with plenty of storage (hard drive capacity to store all the programs and files)

You should look for systems that have at least 80-120 GB HD capacity, 4GB RAM (random access memory speed up monitor refresh rate), DVD-R (DVD player and recorder), high resolution monitor and plenty of USB ports. High speed internet access, web camera and a back up drive.

This system can be a PC or netbook depending on what type of business and where you are conducting your business. Look for Energy saving equipment to save on utilities as well.

If you go for a netbook, buy an external monitor that you can use when at office to be easier on your eyes while working on files, design, or just surf the web.

Programs that you should have on your computer depend on the type of business, however here are the basic ones to have in order to run your business efficiently.

Virus protection, Word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, calendar, e-mail, bookkeeping or accounting.

Most computers come with preloaded software, some included with the purchase of the computer, other with offers to purchase the license.

If you work with a small budget, consider using an open source, free package including word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, similar feel and look to MS office suite. Open Office This package can read and open all type of files.

These E-mail programs are easy to manage and have plenty of great features to run your e-mail campaigns, keep in touch with customers or prospects. If you are a Windows user, use Outlook Express which comes as a free program with Windows XP and earlier versions, in WIN 7 use Windows Live Mail from Windows Essentials. If you already own MS Outlook use this to keep your calendar and notes as well.

Windows Essentials has a great virus protection program, a blog writer and the Messenger for free, that allows you to connect and video conference online.

A great bookkeeping program, easy to use and affordable to SO-HO owner is QuickBooks by Intuit. Set up your customers, vendors, reports in minutes and ready to customize to your own company needs. If your business requires to build product and need a program that will allow you to create BOM (bill of materials) then check out Peachtree by Sage. Both programs are easy to learn and both have options for payroll module if you have employees.

Invest in a good backup system and keep your computer up to date with your virus protection program and an automated back up plan.

If you foresee using fax, copy and print in your daily work, consider buying an All in one color printer, fax, copier, cost around $100.00 and create professional looking output.

Automate your office by adding a VoIP phone (800#, with VM, e-fax- optional service) and a fast internet connection to handle all your processing needs.

And remember, an efficient office is a successful office.

Copyright ©2011 Ramona Szilagyi, places4us.com. Article material is copyright. Reproduction in whole or in part without advance written permission is prohibited.