Executive Summary:

The spirit of American entrepreneurship is alive and well. It is that spirit that is the drive and determination of these visionaries who are responsible for some of the most successful and ubiquitous products on the market today. Case histories abound with stories of vast technology companies who had their beginnings in garages; of two or three individuals collaborating on the next breakthrough in medicine; of small companies working with other small companies to bring the next innovation in video entertainment to the market place - even a worldwide social network begun in a university dorm room.  While these stories are, for the most part, more accurate than allegorical, the products themselves did not come to market overnight. 

In fact, through trial and error, the process of attaining commercial viability can be a long process and can be a discouraging one – and it can prove to be expensive. It need not be. A solid manufacturing partner with a track record of working with small and start-up companies, as well as with individual entrepreneurs, can help make that journey from concept to marketplace a reality, with fewer stumbling blocks along the way. Small businesses are no exception and should be even more concerned about working with a good manufacturing partner.

Collaboration from the Start

It is important to develop a relationship with a manufacturing company that believes in conceptual collaboration. Working together, designers, engineers and visionaries can utilize that manufacturer’s expertise and industry contacts. From the very first steps, they can collaborate to ensure that all phases of product design, development and manufacture -- even marketing in some cases -- work together. Sometimes called “concurrent engineering ”, it’s an uncomplicated concept that reaps large benefits. Teaming with a company that has those capabilities as well as years of technical know-how, a dedicated staff who will work with you to find the right answers to the challenges along the way, and with a global presence, can make the trip from idea to commercial product as efficient and cost-effective as possible.

Occam’s Razor Meets the Conveyor Belt

The strategy behind conceptual collaboration is simple. The principle of Occam’s Razor states that one should not make more assumptions than the minimum necessary to achieve the correct results. Well, in conceptual collaboration, one should not make any more product design adjustments during the manufacturing process than necessary. First, it is critical to find a manufacturing outlet that  is not only willing to work with you or your designing/engineering team, but also has the experience, expertise and industry connections to guide you at each step of the way.

At each stage of your product’s development, it is important that a team of experienced technicians be available to make sure that each phase of the process is on track and in sync with all the other phases. Multidisciplinary teams should work in parallel from the start of the project to test and  make sure every detail in every phase is correct before moving on to the next. This saves unnecessary revisions and duplications in the process, cutting down on not only the time to market, but the expense of multiple design revisions. Initial input needs to be obtained from as many sources as will be involved in the project for the duration. Joining forces early in the workflow means that any necessary compromises can be made in areas such as design and incorporation of all features, availability of product, assembly requirements, material needs, and cost and time considerations. If potential pitfalls are recognized early, design and manufacturing reconciliations can be made with little workflow interruption. It is generally accepted that conceptual collaboration, or sequential development, can result in anywhere from 30 – 40 percent savings in overall project time and cost.

Go From “Can We Do It?” to “We CAN Do It!”

Early collaboration with a company is only part of the equation. Just as important is who that company is. A company with a successful track record in collaboration through to finished product is of prime importance. As an example, FLEXcon has worked successfully with a number of innovative engineers, designers and scientists in developing commercially viable products for a variety of industries. Most recently, an innovative surface application film was developed that decreases the need for bactericide in health care settings. 

This film, called Sharklet®, inhibits the growth of bacteria by not allowing it to grow on a specially designed surface similar to a shark’s skin. In collaboration with University of Florida’s Dr. Anthony Brennan, FLEXcon was chosen for this project because it is the only manufacturing company with the know-how and capability to transfer, microscopically, that pattern of shark skin design to a wide-web construction, allowing it to be commercially viable. The material is currently in use and being studied at the University of Colorado Hospital.

The progress in this field of microstructure research has shown that, with the appropriate collaboration and the experienced technical specialists, commercially viable products can be developed and brought to the marketplace in a timely manner. Constant communication and input is not only functional but feasible.

Other researchers and designer have contacted FLEXcon and our experts are working closely with them on products and designs such as the mapping of the topography of a moth’s eye in an effort to determine its effectiveness in an application for photovoltaic use. A moth’s eye has an unusual property: the surfaces are covered with a natural nano-structured film which eliminates reflections.

While also acting in that protective capacity as a natural defense, this lack of reflectivity also allows for greater light absorption. If successful, the application of this technology will increase the light-gathering capabilities of standard photovoltaic cells by some 15 to 20 percent, thus increasing their efficiency in gathering available light, and also amplifying their storage capacity.  This will potentially create a much more efficient solar cell, enhance the potential use of this alternative energy source and,   hopefully, decrease our dependence of fossil fuels.

Other capabilities include film casting, the production of very thin layers of polymeric films that can be used in a variety of unique applications in the aerospace and medical industries. Making use of the readily available expertise of polymer developers, FLEXcon is able to use its manufacturing assets and wide web roll to roll processing capabilities to create these unique film functions.

One of the stumbling blocks to exciting and innovative products has, in the past, been either the inability of companies to conceptually collaborate with those in the research fields, or the fact that many companies just don’t have the capabilities to carry projects through from start to finish. FLEXcon, which  has decades of experience, is a company that can offer a wide choice of options to meet whatever needs you may have during the production process.

Developing Now and for the Future

From the beginning, designers and engineers need to work closely with manufacturers in their efforts to bring a commercially viable product to market. It is expertise, curiosity and experience that have brought many of the concepts once relegated to academia, research labs or other ‘idea incubators’ to the manufacturing floor and, eventually, to commercialization. Requests range from the esoteric to the everyday. But regardless of the designs and engineering challenges,

conceptual collaboration works in all instances. During all phases of manufacture, it is imperative to involve cross-functional teams, from technical to quality assurance, purchasing, marketing and a large list of suppliers and service representatives.  Work with companies that provide a vast range of technical knowledge. At FLEXcon you can tap into our process engineers who understand our process capabilities to develop the product you need to create.

Summary

In today’s market, it is not necessarily those who build a better mousetrap, but those who can get it to market quickly who will reap the rewards. Concurrent engineering, conceptual collaboration, integrated product development – call it what you will, its benefits to designers, manufacturers and the marketplace in general, can be substantial. In addition to the project cost and time savings, working together with a company who has the technical know-how, a variety of ancillary products, solid relationships with suppliers and a  global presence can assure future products will be of the same quality and consistency as any prototype developed together.  Knowing that collaboration with a company you can trust and can rely on to provide the same type of service for any of your future projects is a relationship well worth cultivating.

 

William Sullivan is Vice President, Performance Products for Spencer, MA-based FLEXcon, Inc., and oversees a department responsible for, among other things, the development, marketing and commercialization of high performance adhesives, functional coatings, film castings and the creation of functional microstructures. Author of published articles primarily on FLEXcon’s success in helping in the creation of Sharklet, a functional microstructure which prevents the growth of bacteria through its microscopic design capabilities, his expertise is in assisting start-up companies and enterprises with bringing their concepts and ideas to commercial reality.

About FLEXcon

FLEXcon is an innovator in adhesive coating, laminating and finishing of durable materials used in graphics applications, electronics and new products.  Through a culture of curiosity, flexibility and a drive for excellence, FLEXcon is the trusted partner to a wide range of companies from printers and fabricators to engineers and designers developing products for existing and emerging markets. Headquartered in Spencer, MA the company has operations throughout North America and Europe with distribution worldwide. For more information, visit www.FLEXcon.com or call 1-508-885-8200. Follow us on Twitter @FLEXcon. 

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By Ari Rabban, CEO, Phone.com

Small and medium-sized business (SMB) spending on cloud solutions will grow almost 20 percent annually through 2018, IDC predicts. If your business doesn’t use hosted communications and IT services, here are five reasons why it should:

1 - Significantly lower costs compared to on-premise systems. The initial savings are in the form of CapEx because hosted services free businesses from the five-, six- or seven-figure upfront cost of hardware and software. The long-term savings are in the form of OpEx because small businesses don’t have to dedicate staff to managing that infrastructure. Another bottom-line benefit is that their staff now can focus on both their company’s core competencies and revenue-generating tasks.

Low or no upfront costs also enable small businesses to take advantage of telecom and IT solutions that they otherwise couldn’t afford. As a result, cloud services help level the playing field between small businesses and their larger rivals.

2 - Fast access to patches, upgrades and innovations.Small businesses typically have small IT staffs, when they have them at all. Either way, implementing patches and upgrades often gets pushed to the back burner. That creates problems such as security risks in the case of patches and lost productivity because an upgrade isn’t in place to eliminate bugs or add features. With hosted solutions, the provider automatically pushes out patches and upgrades.

Also, providers of hosted telecom and IT services often make their latest and greatest products available to their cloud customers six months or more before they’re released to customers with premise-based systems. That gives cloud customers a competitive advantage.

3 - An extensive, growing selection of services and prices. Hosted offerings no longer are limited to PBXes and basic IT services such as storage and backup. In fact, it’s getting difficult to find a business application – even highly specialized ones – that isn’t now available on a hosted basis. If you passed on cloud services because what you needed wasn’t available, it’s worth taking a fresh look.

If you already have cloud services, consider what else is available. For example, does your hosted PBX provider offer value-added services such as transcription, caller analytics and call recording? If not, hopping to another cloud could get features that make your employees more productive and responsive to customers.

The bottom line is that the choice of features and pricing will continue to grow, thanks to competition among cloud providers. They know that SMB cloud spending is increasing at a healthy clip, and they also know that one-upmanship is key to staying relevant and profitable. 

4 - The world is your office. Small businesses often have employees scattered around a city, country or the world. They also often have a lot of road warriors, especially in the case of startups that are constantly running around lining up customers and making a name for themselves.

The cloud extends communications and IT services to those employees anywhere in the world where there’s a decent Internet connection: a home office, an airport lounge, a hotel, a customer’s facility, to name just a few. In fact, Ericsson predicts that by 2016, 70 percent of cloud access will be over cellular broadband. Whether it’s over a wired or wireless connection, cloud-based services enable employees to be more productive and responsive.

5 -Peace of mind. On-premise solutions are only a reliable as the premises they’re on. If your business’ ability to communicate and work is riding on a rack of gear in a closet, what happens if there’s a tornado, flood, fire or terrorist attack?

The best hosted services have their infrastructure spread over a wide geographic area, such as both ends of the country or around the world. That redundancy makes it highly unlikely that a single event will affect their customers – or their customers’ customers. Cloud providers also have hardened facilities with round-the-clock security, which are additional layers of protection. All of that adds up to one thing: business continuity.

This morning, Metalogix announced the launch of Content Matrix Migration Express to make SharePoint migrations simple and fast. The new Migration Express edition is highly suited for SharePoint customers with focused migrations or Office 365 deployment projects. The new product is available as a free offering for 25 GBs along with additional small and departmental editions opportunistically priced and purchased online via credit card from Metalogix.com.

Metalogix Launches Content Matrix Migration Expressto Simplify and Speed Up SharePoint Migrations On-Premises or in the Cloud

Download the Free Edition or Purchase Online from Metalogix.com to Rapidly and Cost-Effectively Migrate Content and Files to SharePoint 2013 or Office 365

Washington, DC –May 15, 2013 – Metalogix, the leading provider of content infrastructure software to improve the use and performance of enterprise content on Microsoft SharePoint, Exchange and Cloud platforms, today announced the launch of Content Matrix Migration Express to make SharePoint migrations simple and fast. The new Migration Express edition is highly suited for SharePoint customers with focused migrations or Office 365 deployment projects. The new product is available as a free offering for 25 GBs along with additional small and departmental editions opportunistically priced and purchased online via credit card from Metalogix.com.

More than a decade of SharePoint migration experience, 7,500 customers and 50,000 terabytes successfully migrated has made Metalogix the established market-leader for SharePoint migrations. The new Content Matrix Migration Express provides SharePoint administrators fast, easy and affordable access to the industry’s most trusted and widely-used migration technology with the market’s most attractive pricing and packaging. The new edition includes a comprehensive range of features required for fast and focused migrations and upgrades to SharePoint 2010, 2013 and to Office 365 from SharePoint 2003, 2007 and 2010. It also includes capabilities to migrate content from File Shares and Exchange Public Folders. Customers can securely purchase Content Matrix Migration Express Edition via Metalogix.com starting with a free version for up to 25 GBs and upgradable editions starting at $1,995. All purchases include Metalogix’s award-winning, live 24/7 product support.

“The proliferation of SharePoint has created sites large and small that could improve collaboration and knowledge sharing by migrating to SharePoint 2013 or Office 365,” said Steven Murphy, CEO, Metalogix. “Content Matrix Migration Express was designed to make the migration process simple, fast and accessible for SharePoint implementations of all sizes. Robust migration capabilities combined with affordable pricing, online purchasing, live 24/7 customer support and a wealth of resources allow customers to quickly and confidently begin their SharePoint migration projects on-premises or the cloud at the most attractive pricing and packaging options available in the market.”

Content Matrix Migration Express is easy to use because it downloads and installs in mere minutes and requires only a simple, one-time connection to get started. Content Matrix Migration Express requires no server side install, which is ideal for moving to Office 365 or SharePoint Online as organizations can connect and migrate using Microsoft’s API. This ability is highly beneficial and tactical for departments within organizations that want to move only a small portion of content to the cloud.

Migrating content is simply a matter of selecting and copying content from the source and pasting it onto the target SharePoint environment. Powerful site collection migration features allow migration of entire site collections at once. The product’s reorganization capabilities help clean up existing structure prior to a migration as well as create a new structure in the target destination during the migration.

Metalogix is offering Content Matrix Migration Express for free for migrating up to 25 GBs so customers can experience the benefits risk-free and immediately get started on their SharePoint 2010, 2013, or Office 365 migration projects.

The full edition of Metalogix Content Matrix is also now available to purchase directly from Metalogix.com. This edition supports migration from additional content sources including website content, blogs and wiki products, and eRoom. It includes advanced features such as the ability to offload migrated BLOBs with the Metalogix RBS product StoragePoint, migrate Nintex workflows or MySite Collections and more advanced filtering options for migrated content. Organization tools available directly within the SharePoint UI allow administrators to offload significant portions of pre-migration, post-migration, and Continuous Improvement organization work to Site Collection Owners and Site Owners.

Customers with larger amounts of content, advanced migration needs or a large number of sites and users should consider the full Content Matrix product for their SharePoint upgrade and reorganization needs. For more information, please visit the product page.

About Metalogix
Metalogix provides content infrastructure software to improve the use and performance of enterprise content. For over a decade, Metalogix has transformed the way commercial and government organizations manage terabytes of content to improve knowledge sharing and collaboration. Today, more than 7,500 customers rely on the company’s products to upgrade, migrate, organize, store, archive and replicate content on Microsoft SharePoint, Exchange and Cloud platforms. Metalogix has moved more than 50,000 terabytes of content – more than every other ISV in the marketplace combined.

Metalogix is recognized as the fastest growing software company in the Washington D.C.-area by the Washington Business Journal and was named to the 2012 Inc. 500 list of fastest growing companies. Metalogix is a Microsoft Gold Partner, a managed partner in Microsoft’s High Potential ISV Group and GSA provider. Metalogix is a privately held company backed by Insight Venture Partners and Bessemer Venture Partners. Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

By Matt Ramage, Advanced American Telephones

If you’re like most small businesses, return on investment (ROI) is the North Star that guides your success. Faced with a tight budget, limited staff and lean resources, you’re careful about allocating funds only to those investments that will enhance operational efficiency, customer service and sales. That may or may not include telecommunications. If it currently doesn’t, here are a few reasons why it should:

• The right phone system can help you and your staff project more of a “big-business” image—but still allow you to stay true to your roots.
   
• Looking for more ways to trim the fat? If you’ve been running your business with cellphones, a small office phone system can save you a lot of money. You won’t have to compromise on features either.
   
• Despite—or because of—the proliferation of electronic communication like automated emails and recorded messages, your customers may actually prefer more personal communication. Another plus for the trusty telephone.
   

How do you make sure your investment provides the return you want? First, you can learn from the mistakes of others. For example:

• Avoid investing for the short-term. You don’t want to get locked into a system that’s inflexible and obsolete within a couple years.
   
• Don’t forget to factor in maintenance and service contract fees. If you’re really diligent, you’ll opt for a system that you can install and manage yourself.
   
• Don’t be swayed by a deal. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
   
• Don’t let all the frills blind you. If you don’t need them, don’t pay extra for them.
   
• Take it seriously. Purchasing a phone system for your business is just as important as any other infrastructure decision. Make sure you involve the right people in the process.

Now that you know what to avoid, let’s look at what to consider. The market is awash with options—far too many to delve into here. These broad strokes should help you start evaluating traditional phone systems:

• Size matters.  You may be working out of your home today, but what are your plans for the future? How many employees do you think you may add in the next one to three years? You’ll want a system that can grow with your business.
   
• Do it yourself. Are you prepared to set up and maintain the system yourself? If you are, you’ll save a lot of money. On the flip side, your time may be worth more than the cost of having a consultant handle it. Add it up to see what makes most sense financially. My money is on the former.
   
• Your customers count. Do your customers expect you to be available after hours? Even if you can’t offer a live point of contact, there are options you can provide that will placate your callers temporarily. For example, an auto attendant will let you customize how calls are handled when they come in at off-hours. An answering system and voicemail are additional considerations. How many minutes of recording time can the system accommodate? Does each desk -set or extension have its own system or voicemail?
   
• Take your work with you. If your business requires you or your employees to be away from their desks a lot, you’ll want to make sure the system integrates with cordless headsets and/or handsets. Ask about the range these cordless devices permit. Is it far enough to accommodate frequent trips out to your store room or back office?
   
• Seize the sales opportunities. Besides helping you be more responsive to callers, a business phone system can help you market to your customers. For example, with music on hold, you can record messages that promote new products, sales, tech tips, etc.

Overall, the best advice I can impart is to keep your ROI compass front and center. It will steer you right.

Matt Ramage is the Senior Vice President of Product Management & Marketing at Advanced American Telephones, where he drives product management, channel marketing and customer support services for Advanced American Telephones and the company’s AT&T-licensed brands in North America.

Symantec Internet Security Threat Report Helps Online Music Store Keep Rocking

By Thomas Beohm, IT Manager at CD Baby

When I read this year's Internet Security Threat Report by Symantec (ISTR), it confirmed how dangerous it is to underestimate cybercriminals. As an online business, CD Baby is completely dependent on our eCommerce site, and any threat poses a serious risk to our business. Cybercriminals are creating new tactics such as watering hole attacks that compromise legitimate business websites, using them as a springboard to attack other organizations. This is especially a risk for smaller businesses.

In fact, I was surprised to see how much of an emphasis cybercriminals are placing on SMBs, with 31 percent of all targeted attacks directed at us. The ISTR called out the overall increase in targeted attacks in 2012, and we've seen some very sophisticated attacks in our company over the past few months, even spoofing our own internal addresses. While we thought this meant a compromise of our accounts, the report showed that this can indeed be a targeted attack as well, and knowing that helps us with our security moving forward.

For a long time, I have been emphasizing the need in the company for multiple layers of security that can mitigate the impact of a security incident on any element in our IT architecture including desktops, laptops, servers and critical business applications like our website. As IT staff we also know that each layer of security has to incorporate multiple protection technologies in order to defend against today's sophisticated threats. And, because our website is absolutely essential for our business to keep running, we know that it's vital to apply consistent practices at every layer of security, rather than just flipping the switch on a security solution and hoping for the best. Closely related to this is the need to manage vulnerabilities in browser plugins like Java and Flash. This has been a challenge for us, managing the constant updates needed for the apps our employees are using, but the report underscores the importance. 

While in the past our Mac users have not seen the need to run antivirus software, the ISTR shows that the trend in Mac-based threats is rising. The more mainstream Apple computers and mobile devices get, the more cybercriminals will be targeting them, as well as developing new threats that work independently of device or operating system. We've decided that our Mac users need to be protected as well as our PC users are, so we've rolled out endpoint security to all our Mac machines, and we're working to educate all of our employees on the sophisticated ever-evolving threat landscape.

As the IT manager of an SMB, security is never far from my mind. And while I work hard to understand and defend against all of today's threats, it's helpful to have information as comprehensive as the ISTR to supplement that knowledge. It's always a challenge for IT in a small business to get the funding needed for security if there hasn't been a crisis, and the ISTR helps strengthen our position as we work with management. I know I can rely on the report to provide direction as I work to keep our business safe.

By Michael Lee, Director of Global Marketing, Alibaba.com

Online storefronts are a wonderful way to sell goods and services, but presentation is key: too many businesses fail to market their storefronts successfully.

Online storefronts have proven to be a cost-effective way to ring up more sales because they provide customers with self-service and self-ordering capabilities, which saves money and manpower. Those who don’t want to build their own online storefronts can join one of the many Web-based business directories—digital era versions of the Yellow Pages—which are great for boosting exposure and reach.

Unfortunately, B2B directories usually offer their members the same fixed-format template for their online storefronts, making it difficult to send a unique message or stand apart from the competition. So, while directories allow small businesses to set up shop on the Internet with minimal investment and no specialized Web knowledge, companies tend to settle for uninformative, unattractive storefronts that they fail to keep up to date. 

To get an idea of the latest thinking in e-commerce marketing—and common pitfalls to avoid—we asked several international suppliers on Alibaba.com for some tips on how they maximize the marketing of their online storefronts.

Answer common customer questions upfront. If you’ve been in business for any length of time, you probably know what most buyers want to know before they ask it. Save time and e-mails by using the home page of your online storefront as a FAQ machine.

Be transparent. Some suppliers are reluctant to disclose corporate information prominently on their online storefront because they don't want to tip their hand to the competition. But in conducting product searches, your potential customers must sift through a mountain of information from many companies. The more you disclose about your company up front, the better your chances of surviving the selection process.

“We recently took advantage of Alibaba.com’s new feature ‘minisite’ which allows a more customizable storefront template, complete with rotating top-of-page banners, photos and videos. A mini-site is more than an online storefront or a display window,” explains Tommy Zhou, international trade manager for Guangdong Yichao Biological, a China-based maker of chewable vitamins, capsules and candies. Putting that kind of useful information on the homepage “can help shorten the time required for initial communication and encourage buyers to send us inquiries more quickly,” Zhou says. “This way we can move to the order negotiation stage faster.”

Accentuate expertise. HDSafe Technologies, a Chinese maker of hands-free electronic faucets and flushing valves, is using its storefront to distinguish itself from competitors by highlighting the installation guidance and after-sales support the company offers to every customer.

Don’t set and forget. As with a brick-and-mortar shop, first impressions matter, and potential customers draw immediate conclusions when they visit your online storefront for the first time. If your online shelves are dusty and the messages are stale, customers are likely to move on to your competition. Don’t neglect routine page maintenance and updating. Merchandise featured in your digital shop window should be rotated regularly. Pay attention to the seasons and holidays, too. For example, don't feature air conditioners in the winter unless they're part of a clearance sale.

Details, Details. It is important to be detail-oriented in product descriptions. Make a pitch that plays to emotions—then tell customers what they need to know, including product functionalities, payment terms, minimum orders, packing options, etc. Pay attention to the keywords you use.

Keep it clean. When building a modern homepage, suppliers should communicate important points while at the same time avoiding information overload. Clean, pleasing page layouts and good design connotes professionalism. Cluttered presentations are more likely to confuse customers and drive them away. 

As you can see, these international suppliers have “learned on the fly” how to build ecommerce sites that generate sales and help to recruit new customers. If you can avoid the common marketing pitfalls, you will be on your way to having a website that is an important driver of revenue for your business. 

In a tough economic climate, it's more important than ever for small business owners to create a website that stands out and engages new customers in order to gain a competitive edge in the marketplace and shine. 

Although a great design and catchy colors are important, it takes a little more in order really grab your audience's attention. The visual language used on a website must represent the company's values and connect with its customers. To help guide small business owners on how to create the most relevant and compelling website with strong visuals that drives business and is copyright compliant is iStockphoto's Head of Creative Planning, Rebecca Swift.

As the Web's original source for royalty-free stock images, media and design elements, iStockphoto is an expert resource for small business owners looking for quality, compelling imagery at an affordable price.

The below quick and inexpensive tips from Rebecca Swift -  iStockphoto's leading voice when it comes to creative content - are designed to help small business owners create and maintain a stellar online presence and standout from the online crowd.

iStockphoto Expert Tips For SMB Websites

By Rebecca Swift - iStockphoto's Head of Creative Planning

Know your brand before you begin

Before attempting to design a website, businesses must first identify their core brand values. It is essential that these values are reflected in their online presence while ensuring they are meeting the demands of their target audience. As a business, everything you do or say must send the correct message to your audience.

One way to achieve results is to invest in market research where you can ask your target audience what they like to look at. Also, by viewing your competitors' pictures and their visual language you can start to improve your own, and see what works and what doesn't.

Sourcing the best images (and ensuring copyright compliance!)

It is understandably difficult to select an image from a collection of thousands. To make it simpler, consider these five aspects when making your selection:

·        Purpose - what is the image for?

·        Tone - how do you say it?

·        Relevance - is the image relevant to the audience?

·        Timeliness - how new is the image?

·        Uniqueness - is your image one of a kind?

Think carefully if you are visually representing your business or the people you do business with on your site. Are the models in the images representative of your company or client base? Do they look real and believable? Do they represent a good cultural mix? If your business is young and lively, are the models full of vitality or if your business offers a confidential service, do the models look approachable and reliable?

All too often, the person choosing the images is not in the target audience for the website, so images should be on brand as much as everything and everyone else that you communicate with.

However, with choosing images, comes the misconception of image copyright. Though the majority of internet users understand the rules when it comes to downloading music and video, the issue of image copyright is a cloudy matter and yet an important area for small businesses to understand and adhere to, otherwise they risk being over-charged.

A common misconception is the tendency to believe that once an image has been published online, it becomes part of the public domain. This however is not true and images remain bound by copyright. Anyone wanting to use the image further needs to have consent from either the author of the image or - when the license agreement of the social network allows it - the administrator of the website.

However by buying royalty free images from sites such as istockphoto.com, small businesses can be sure that they are not breaching copyright. More information on this can be found at www.stockphotorights.com. Image users may also find the PicScout ImageExchange application very useful - a free, downloadable tool which helps content users find out where they may properly license images they find on the internet.  

Simplicity is the key

Simplicity in design is key to engaging customers on websites, so images need to be kept clear and simple and highlight exactly want you want to say. For example, the simplest design on the web today is also the most used: Google.com.

The imagery is often the last element that is considered - it is seen as "content" to fill a space - but choosing imagery that is impactful because it is interesting, surprising or amusing will engage the customer that little bit longer.

Once more if the website is cluttered it can reflect badly on the company so you need to prioritize messages accordingly. They key points - whether in text, image or video format - should be made prominent on the page, while at the same time you should look at creating room between elements and scattering images throughout. Despite sounding obvious, you'd be surprised how many websites are hard to navigate because the owner has tried to communicate too heavily on one page.

Updating the site regularly to show that the brand is active

In the online world, content is key. Creating quality content on a regular basis is the most effective way to attract and retain web traffic. Consistency in visual branding can be attained through using images that have similar conceptual value or have a theme in their composition, color palette, lighting technique or choice of models/location.

One of the best ways to bring more content to your site is to have a blog. Sharing your expertise can be a great way to add content and provide additional value on your website. Other ways could be simply changing some of the featured images and graphics throughout your site to make it feel fresh and revived. Doing this every few weeks can peek interest and allow returning visitors to investigate other parts of your website they may not have explored before.

By Crystal Wells, Product Marketing, Vendio

Controlling inventory is the ongoing process of identifying and managing the constant flow of items into and out of an existing inventory. When you don't know exactly what inventory you have available, where it is located, or where it is for sale, it's going to be difficult to manage your inventory effectively and can lead to an ever-increasing number of problem areas.

Inventory Tips:

1. Make sure all your items are for sale. Items that are on hand but not listed for sale can't be sold. Thus, if you have boxes of items that are not listed for sale, they are not inventory (they are storage).

2. Understand your lead time. Lead time is the amount of time between order and arrival. While most sellers would love to run their business using "just in time inventory", uncertain lead times can cause a seller to run out of inventory. Lead time varies by supplier, seasonality, and even by item.

3. Know how much inventory you need. If you can't know exactly how much inventory you need, it's a good idea to have some "buffer stock" on hand to mitigate shortfalls. Buffer stock is extra inventory a seller maintains to ensure that they do not run out of an item.

4. Sell on Multiple Channels. If your in-stock items are not on multiple markets, you are missing opportunities for sales. Gain access to different customers from each of the big three (Amazon, eBay, and your own website). The pre-built marketplaces are a reliable source of customers, but keep in mind you may end up competing with the marketplace itself for certain types of inventory.

5. Automate your inventory system. Don't kill your business by juggling spreadsheets in order to manage selling across channels. Use a third-party inventory management solution to share and track your inventory across channels and eliminate the need for maintaining separate spreadsheets.

6. Know your inventory costs. The cost of inventory is more than just the price you pay for an item. Here are typical costs associated with maintaining an inventory:

• 6-12% Opportunity: What you could have made if you put the money you have tied up in inventory elsewhere (i.e. putting the money in the bank, mutual fund or other investment.)
• 6-12% Obsolete Inventory: Excess inventory that doesn't sell before it goes out of fashion, or is no longer in demand.
  • For example: Beta/VHS/DVD/Blue Ray
• 3-10% Taxes and Insurance: This applies not only to inventory, but also to employees.
• 2-5% Warehouse/Storage: The cost of your warehouse, utilities and storage.
• 2-4% Handling: Your time and employee time spent handling inventory. This could include physically counting inventory, keeping inventory clean and organized, tagging and labeling, etc.
• 2-4% Breakage and Theft: Inventory that is broken, damaged, or stolen and thus unable to be sold.
• 1-4% Clerical: Purchasing, keeping records, and any other associated work.

7. Measure your inventory turn. Inventory turn is a way to measure of the number of times inventory sold in a time period (such as a year). It is equal to the cost of goods sold divided by the average inventory. (Inventory Turnover = Cost of Goods Sold÷Average Inventory). Once you have the metrics, you can make improvements and measure results.

8. Don't hold onto the past. If you inventory is obsolete or is just not selling, don't feel guilty about disposing of it. All merchants have made bad purchasing decisions at one time or another. Give yourself permission to forgive your mistakes and let it go. There are many channels and methods of disposing of obsolete inventory.

9. Beware of the "long tail". Long tail cost is the cost of inventory storage and distribution. When inventory storage and distribution costs are low, it becomes viable to sell relatively unpopular products with long sales cycles; conversely, when storage and distribution costs are high, only the most popular products are sold quickly enough to make a profit. Most of eBay's and Amazon's fees are collected after the sale, so long-tail items can seem attractive as distribution cost is very low. However, if long tail items creep from being a small portion of your inventory to being a large portion, you'll continually struggle to equal "last month's sales" vs. being in a growth mode.

by John Donahoe

Congress is considering online sales tax legislation that is wrongheaded and unfair, and I am writing to ask for your help in telling Congress "No!" to new sales taxes and burdens for small businesses.

Whether you're a consumer who loves the incredible selection and value that small businesses provide online, or a small-business seller who relies on the Internet for your livelihood, this legislation potentially affects you. For consumers, it means more money out of your pocket when you shop online from your favorite seller or small business shop owner. For small business sellers, it means you would be required to collect sales taxes nationwide from the more than 9,600 tax jurisdictions across the U.S. You also would face the prospect of being audited by out-of-state tax collectors. That's just wrong, and an unnecessary burden on you.

Big national retailers are aggressively lobbying Congress to pass online sales tax legislation to "level the playing field" with Amazon. And, as they compete with big retail, Amazon is advocating for this legislation too, while at the same time they are seeking local tax exemptions across the country to build warehouses. This is a "big retail battle" in which small businesses and consumers have a lot to lose. But eBay is fighting, as we have for more than 15 years, to protect small online businesses and sellers and ensure healthy competition, value, and selection that benefit consumers online.

The solution is simple: if Congress passes online sales tax legislation, we believe small businesses with less than 50 employees or less than $10 million in annual out-of-state sales should be exempt from the burden of collecting sales taxes nationwide. To put that in perspective, Amazon does more than $10 million in sales every 90 minutes. So we believe this is a reasonable exemption to protect small online businesses. That's what we're fighting for, and what big companies such as Amazon are fighting against.

I hope you agree that imposing unnecessary tax burdens on small online businesses is a bad idea. Join us in letting your Members of Congress know they should protect small online businesses, not potentially put them out of business. Together, I believe our voices can make a difference.

San Diego-based Northrop Grumman Corp., Genoptix Inc., Scripps Memorial Hospital and 10 Southern California Scripps Health Clinics are a handful of companies to join the list of those choosing to provide healthy meal options for employees by using FITzee Foods, a health food company offering corporate wellness solutions. Specializing in creating nutritionally balanced, packaged meals, one of FITzee Foods’ main initiatives is to be integrated into corporate wellness programs as a nutrition component.

FITzee Foods offers two options to introduce healthy lunch options to employees. FITzee Foods can send a mobile store on location during lunchtime for employees to purchase meals, or can install a healthy vending kiosk at the company and stock the kiosk with items every week. The companies listed above have installed FITzee Foods’ kiosk option or have opted for the FITzee mobile store and have seen positive results with employees’ health.

Particularly with Scripps Health, management found its employees were costing too much in preventive health care due to poor eating habits. FITzee Foods provides a solution and has placed healthy options straight into the hands of employees seeking healthier meal options.

“As a health care organization, Scripps recognizes the important role that nutrition plays in an individual’s wellbeing,” said Vic Buzachero, senior vice president of Scripps Health. “Our partnership with FITzee Foods allows us to provide delicious, fresh, healthful meals to employees at a discounted rate from the convenience of a vending machine. Investing in the health of our employees is an important strategy for providing the best patient care to the community.” Scripps subsidizes the meal cost of $3 per meal for their employees to offer discounted meals to the employee. 

In January 2012, two Southern California Scripps locations installed FITzee Foods self-checkout kiosks and purchased just $3,000 of food per month from FITzee Foods. Today, 11 Scripps locations offer FITzee Foods kiosks and purchase more than $50,000 of food per month. Scripps employees are seeing dramatic changes in their health and weight loss, and three more Scripps locations are slated to install the kiosks in 2013.

This is an example of a major employer investing in its employees' health and wellness, as shown by the increase in food purchased and number of Scripps Health locations that offer the vending kiosks. As such, this also demonstrates that an increase in available healthy food correlates with an increase in pounds lost and overall health and wellness.

"If you can't provide the end solution, nothing will change," said Founder and President of FITzee Foods, Michelle Weinstein. "The FITzee kiosks provide the nutritional food support for corporate wellness programs that is often overlooked. We provide the last piece of the equation for a company that is looking to really change what their employees eat."

FITzee Foods will continue to expand within the corporate wellness arena, and hopes to sway unhealthy eating habits one meal at a time. For more information, visit www.FITzeeFoods.com.

About FITzee Foods

FITzee Foods makes and prepares meals daily from local, organic and all-natural products. Menus change seasonally and offer a wide variety of breakfast, lunch and dinner options to suit any diner's preference. All products are available in four specifically portioned sizes to fit each client's unique lifestyle. FITzee Foods also offers a variety of quick snacks and meal replacement bars to keep customers fueled and focused.

Those with sensitivity to gluten and other food allergies are offered a myriad of foods to suit their needs and delight their taste buds, as FITzee Foods offers gluten-free, vegetarian and dairy-free options in store and online. FITzee Foods' aim is to make healthy eating accessible to everyone with great tasting, quality ingredients at fair prices.

San Diego-based Northrop Grumman Corp., Genoptix Inc., Scripps Memorial Hospital and 10 Southern California Scripps Health Clinics are a handful of companies to join the list of those choosing to provide healthy meal options for employees by using FITzee Foods, a health food company offering corporate wellness solutions. Specializing in creating nutritionally balanced, packaged meals, one of FITzee Foods’ main initiatives is to be integrated into corporate wellness programs as a nutrition component.

FITzee Foods offers two options to introduce healthy lunch options to employees. FITzee Foods can send a mobile store on location during lunchtime for employees to purchase meals, or can install a healthy vending kiosk at the company and stock the kiosk with items every week. The companies listed above have installed FITzee Foods’ kiosk option or have opted for the FITzee mobile store and have seen positive results with employees’ health.

Particularly with Scripps Health, management found its employees were costing too much in preventive health care due to poor eating habits. FITzee Foods provides a solution and has placed healthy options straight into the hands of employees seeking healthier meal options.

“As a health care organization, Scripps recognizes the important role that nutrition plays in an individual’s wellbeing,” said Vic Buzachero, senior vice president of Scripps Health. “Our partnership with FITzee Foods allows us to provide delicious, fresh, healthful meals to employees at a discounted rate from the convenience of a vending machine. Investing in the health of our employees is an important strategy for providing the best patient care to the community.” Scripps subsidizes the meal cost of $3 per meal for their employees to offer discounted meals to the employee. 

In January 2012, two Southern California Scripps locations installed FITzee Foods self-checkout kiosks and purchased just $3,000 of food per month from FITzee Foods. Today, 11 Scripps locations offer FITzee Foods kiosks and purchase more than $50,000 of food per month. Scripps employees are seeing dramatic changes in their health and weight loss, and three more Scripps locations are slated to install the kiosks in 2013.

This is an example of a major employer investing in its employees' health and wellness, as shown by the increase in food purchased and number of Scripps Health locations that offer the vending kiosks. As such, this also demonstrates that an increase in available healthy food correlates with an increase in pounds lost and overall health and wellness.

"If you can't provide the end solution, nothing will change," said Founder and President of FITzee Foods, Michelle Weinstein. "The FITzee kiosks provide the nutritional food support for corporate wellness programs that is often overlooked. We provide the last piece of the equation for a company that is looking to really change what their employees eat."

FITzee Foods will continue to expand within the corporate wellness arena, and hopes to sway unhealthy eating habits one meal at a time. For more information, visit www.FITzeeFoods.com.

About FITzee Foods

FITzee Foods makes and prepares meals daily from local, organic and all-natural products. Menus change seasonally and offer a wide variety of breakfast, lunch and dinner options to suit any diner's preference. All products are available in four specifically portioned sizes to fit each client's unique lifestyle. FITzee Foods also offers a variety of quick snacks and meal replacement bars to keep customers fueled and focused.

Those with sensitivity to gluten and other food allergies are offered a myriad of foods to suit their needs and delight their taste buds, as FITzee Foods offers gluten-free, vegetarian and dairy-free options in store and online. FITzee Foods' aim is to make healthy eating accessible to everyone with great tasting, quality ingredients at fair prices.

San Diego-based Northrop Grumman Corp., Genoptix Inc., Scripps Memorial Hospital and 10 Southern California Scripps Health Clinics are a handful of companies to join the list of those choosing to provide healthy meal options for employees by using FITzee Foods, a health food company offering corporate wellness solutions. Specializing in creating nutritionally balanced, packaged meals, one of FITzee Foods’ main initiatives is to be integrated into corporate wellness programs as a nutrition component.

FITzee Foods offers two options to introduce healthy lunch options to employees. FITzee Foods can send a mobile store on location during lunchtime for employees to purchase meals, or can install a healthy vending kiosk at the company and stock the kiosk with items every week. The companies listed above have installed FITzee Foods’ kiosk option or have opted for the FITzee mobile store and have seen positive results with employees’ health.

Particularly with Scripps Health, management found its employees were costing too much in preventive health care due to poor eating habits. FITzee Foods provides a solution and has placed healthy options straight into the hands of employees seeking healthier meal options.

“As a health care organization, Scripps recognizes the important role that nutrition plays in an individual’s wellbeing,” said Vic Buzachero, senior vice president of Scripps Health. “Our partnership with FITzee Foods allows us to provide delicious, fresh, healthful meals to employees at a discounted rate from the convenience of a vending machine. Investing in the health of our employees is an important strategy for providing the best patient care to the community.” Scripps subsidizes the meal cost of $3 per meal for their employees to offer discounted meals to the employee. 

In January 2012, two Southern California Scripps locations installed FITzee Foods self-checkout kiosks and purchased just $3,000 of food per month from FITzee Foods. Today, 11 Scripps locations offer FITzee Foods kiosks and purchase more than $50,000 of food per month. Scripps employees are seeing dramatic changes in their health and weight loss, and three more Scripps locations are slated to install the kiosks in 2013.

This is an example of a major employer investing in its employees' health and wellness, as shown by the increase in food purchased and number of Scripps Health locations that offer the vending kiosks. As such, this also demonstrates that an increase in available healthy food correlates with an increase in pounds lost and overall health and wellness.

"If you can't provide the end solution, nothing will change," said Founder and President of FITzee Foods, Michelle Weinstein. "The FITzee kiosks provide the nutritional food support for corporate wellness programs that is often overlooked. We provide the last piece of the equation for a company that is looking to really change what their employees eat."

FITzee Foods will continue to expand within the corporate wellness arena, and hopes to sway unhealthy eating habits one meal at a time. For more information, visit www.FITzeeFoods.com.

About FITzee Foods

FITzee Foods makes and prepares meals daily from local, organic and all-natural products. Menus change seasonally and offer a wide variety of breakfast, lunch and dinner options to suit any diner's preference. All products are available in four specifically portioned sizes to fit each client's unique lifestyle. FITzee Foods also offers a variety of quick snacks and meal replacement bars to keep customers fueled and focused.

Those with sensitivity to gluten and other food allergies are offered a myriad of foods to suit their needs and delight their taste buds, as FITzee Foods offers gluten-free, vegetarian and dairy-free options in store and online. FITzee Foods' aim is to make healthy eating accessible to everyone with great tasting, quality ingredients at fair prices.

As Fast Company reported in January, 2013--, “Disengaged workers cost the US economy $350 billion a year in lost productivity.”—that is why engagement matters!

But, in addition to the huge financial costs associated with disengaged workers, small and medium size business employers know that a worker’s commitment to the company is an indicator of how long the person plans to stay with that employer! As the economy improves, your employees may have more options available to them and the last thing you want is to have your most valued employees thinking about leaving you—you want them engaged in their work and your organization! Engagement and employee retention are linked!

In The Big Book of HR, we share some ideas of how to engage your employees.

· “Let employees know where the organization is headed and where they fit into the future plans.”  People want to know where they fit into your future plans and how they can make a contribution. Most employees really do want to add value to their organization.

· “Ensure pay and benefits are competitive and focused on what your workforce needs/wants at this time.”  Participate in salary and benefits surveys in your market to be sure you are paying fairly and that your benefits package is as good as it can be.

· “Be open and transparent to your employees.  Let them know when times are tough and what plans the organization has for moving ahead. Also, when things are good, let them know that as well.”  Most employees are genuinely interested in how the organization is doing financially.  You will be amazed at how many good ideas you will get from hour staff if you just let them in.

· “Focus on career growth and development—even in difficult times.  Many development opportunities don’t cost anything (such as mentoring).”  This is critical, especially to your Millennials and other younger workers—they thrive on career development so don’t disappoint them or they will most likely leave and find it elsewhere. 

· “Recognize and reward top performers openly. Re-recruit your good people constantly by telling them how important they are to the organization.”  There are probably some of your employees that you know you can’t afford to lose.  Do they know how valuable they are to your organization?  Think about when and how you recognize good performance. Is it only at annual review time or are your managers giving performance feedback every day? 

· "Make your employees proud of your organization—be a good corporate citizen.”  What does your organization do to give back to your community?  Today’s workers, especially Millennials, are very interested in volunteer opportunities and giving back. This is a great way to build your team by involving them in community activities. Is there a charity that is especially significant to your business that you could support and get your staff involved?

· “Provide management training to anyone who supervises people—strong line supervisors are the key to maximizing employee engagement.”  We are well aware that employees don’t leave organizations, the leave managers.  A well trained manager can make a huge difference in employee engagement and retention a good individual contributor; they will necessarily be a good manager!

· “Ensure your employees have what they need to be successful.”  Do your employees have the skills to do their job? Do they have the materials, space, and/or support to really succeed?  If not, here is an area to work on to really improve employee engagement.

· “Review your hiring practices to ensure new hires know a lot about the organization—what it does—so that they will come in with a recognized connection to the organization.”  Ask your new hires what could have been done differently in the hiring and on-boarding processes and then revise your procedures to maximize effectiveness.

Your organization’s culture is a huge driver of employee engagement.  Are your managers good listeners?  Do you celebrate successes?  Do you have fun at work?  Do you allow your employees to have a life outside work or do you expect full devotion 24/7?  Do you value diversity and what it brings to the organization?  Are your managers friendly and approachable to all?

So, what are you doing to engage your employees?  Odds are there is more you could do so start today and see what a difference engaged workers can make to your bottom line!

For more information on employee engagement, see The Big Book of HR by Barbara Mitchell and Cornelia Gamlem, published by Career Press in 2012 (www.bigbookofhr.com)

By Liam Supple

Comparison shopping engines (CSEs),like Google Shopping, Shopzilla, NexTag and Bing, are filled with millions of potential customers who are looking for the product they want.

As an online merchant who sells physical products, you can use your product data to increase the number of customers visiting your website by listing your products on CSEs via a data feed. You only pay the shopping engine for the traffic (or clicks) that come back to your site.

Here are 13 tips to make your product search marketing a success.

1. Use descriptive, high-resolution images.

Your customers want the physical products that you're selling, but they need to be able to see the details before they buy.

If you limit your customers to low-resolution pictures that lack finer details, they will be less likely to purchase that product from you. The CSEs will scale your image to thumbnail size so a quality image is essential.

2. Create rich descriptions for your products that are search engine friendly.

Many online retailers overlook the most essential element used in CSEs: the product description.

Optimize your product titles, and create detailed product descriptions to see more results from CSEs. Make sure you include keywords in those descriptions that match what shoppers are likely using in their searches.

3.  Develop a strategy and a budget.

The typical CSE will rank products based largely on how much you're willing to pay per each click your listing receives from a visitor.

You'll be successful with CSEs if you take the time to understand how to create a bidding strategy that evolves and stays within your budget.

4. Take it slowly.

Avoid mistakes and surprises by bidding slowly on CSEs when starting out.

You can scale up your bids as you become confident that everything performs within your target budget range.

5. Keep your products up-to-date.

CSEs will pull listing information, like price and shipping, from your product data feed, which means your product feed should be updated frequently especially if you update prices often.  Updating your data feed once a day usually is enough to keep it fresh.

Bear in mind that nothing ruins a potential sale like a customer who goes to buy a product on your website that was listed at a different price in the search results.

6. Best-selling products drive the most traffic.

Over time you'll see which of your products outperform the rest. These are products to leverage to increase your site traffic.  Bid higher on these items if you can.

Focus on promoting your best sellers with your limited advertising budget rather than trying to increase the sales of under-performers.  You’ll get more shoppers (clicks) who will ultimately add more items to their cart.

7. Include shipping costs in your listings.

Customers like to know their Total Cost upfront.

Including the shipping cost of products in your CSE listing will make it easier for customers to choose your products knowing that there’ll be no surprises checking out.

8. Target your high-margin or low-cost products.

Your high-margin products give you more room to experiment with your CSE bidding, and low-cost products can give you a price leg-up over your competition.

Bidding higher on these items can help you win the sale and more traffic.

9. Save time by having a professional handle your data feeds.

Taking the time to format and categorize  product feeds by hand so they follow the different guidelines each CSE sets forth is time-consuming.

Your time is valuable, so use a reputable data feed service provider to do this for you.

10. List on multiple shopping engines.

Test your products and strategies on several CSEs to see which ones work best for your items.

It doesn’t matter where a click comes from, so long as it converts into a sale.  Also, there are a couple CSEs where listings and clicks are free.

11. Make full use of the top CSE: Google Shopping.

Of all the CSEs out there, Google Shopping is the one with the highest rates of conversion and traffic.

Try a combination of Product Listing Ads (Google Shopping) and Google text AdWords (Google Search).

12. Enhance your customer's entire shopping experience.

Getting your CSE listings right is the first part of product search marketing, but it's your website that will ultimately need to turn visitors into customers.

Ensure that everything from the moment they search for your product to when they finally check out and make a payment is as customer-friendly as possible.

13. Put your search marketing plan into effect.

You can typically achieve 10-25% of your total online revenue coming from CSEs but you must be listed on them first!

For any online retailer, the biggest step is always the first one when it comes to setting up a new marketing strategy. Don’t be intimidated by CSEs - you’ll quickly learn the ropes. More often than not, your peers and friendly data service providers will be willing to give you any advice you need to get started.

Liam Supple is Product Marketing Manager at SingleFeed, an eCommerce data feed service provider in San Mateo, CA. He assists online merchants to reach the millions of prospective customers on Comparison Shopping Engines — like Google Shopping, Bing, and NexTag.

By Jason Harter   Finally gathering up enough courage to start your own small business is a feat of which you should be proud. Many individuals never feel quite that brave, and they miss out on some excellent opportunities as a result. What are seven steps you should take to start out?
Sources of Funding
While thinking about the financial matters right away is not the most fun way to approach the situation, it is one of the most practical. If you do not have enough money to start your small business by yourself, then you are going to have to qualify for some sort of loan to get things going.

Defining Target Audience
One of the steps you'll need to take is to advertise your business; however, before you can do that, you need to define your target audience. Look at the demographics of the people for whom your product or service is created. Decide what they want to see in advertisements and in the products or services themselves.

Marketing Strategies
You don't want to open the doors to your business on the first day only to discover that no one is there to go shopping or for a consultation. Once you have that target audience figured out, you can start to post advertisements in places where these people will see them.

Social Media Presence
Another way to generate excitement about the start of your business is to start a social media page. With a Facebook page or another type of site, you can create some hype for the day that you open. Furthermore, you will be able to connect with fans and share your page with people who might be interested.

Building a Team
Unless you are planning to work by yourself and for yourself alone, you need to work on putting together a team of people. Putting together a team means hiring employees who are going to work on specific jobs. For example, you might have a graphic design team and a marketing team.

Final Product Tests
Of course, when you were putting together the products and starting to make a name for yourself, you were certainly testing the problems. Now is your last chance to make any improvements on these first models. It might be wise to release a few of them to the public to get feedback from real customers before they actually go on sale.

Continuous Evaluation
You do not want to think that a one-time evaluation is enough for the success of your business. You always want to be considering new ways that you could improve the products and you want to think about to better the company as a whole for the future. It's a big responsibility that you have taken on, and using a critical eye will help to enhance your business ventures.

Starting a small business truly is quite exciting, and you are probably so thrilled to have this opportunity. Now, it's going to be about making sure the business continues to be successful.   Author Jason Harter is an experienced entrepreneur who obtained his degree from one of the Best Business Degrees Online

Every year around April, tens of thousands of people fly across the globe to Guangzhou, China for the Canton Fair, one of the largest trade shows in the world. It’s big, overwhelming, and can come with an expensive price tag. The good news is that in the age of e-commerce, you can find the suppliers you need without boarding an airplane or paying any entrance fee.

Alibaba.com’s Michael Lee, Director of Global Marketing, offers the following five tips for businesses wanting to trade globally:  

 

1.    Exploit the power of the web and find the right platform. E-commerce opens up the entire world as your potential source of products or supplies. It’s convenient, cost- and time-efficient. You can find suppliers working in your field and drill down to identify highly qualified manufacturers whose factories will work with you to produce top-quality products.

2.    Trust your gut: first impressions count. Make sure the manufacturer’s website is updated regularly and rich in information. This usually means they are more serious about doing business with professional customers, and have stronger capabilities.

3.    Visit virtual trade shows. Rather than traveling half way across the world, peruse different potential suppliers from the comfort of your desk. Alibaba.com’s Expo-Center– a platform that is effectively a showcase of some of the best-performing suppliers with new, unique products– is a good place to start. Buyers can rest assured that they will receive a response within 24 hours after contacting a supplier featured there. They can also “visit” the different seasonal Virtual Trade Shows held within the Expo-Center through out the year to explore other high-quality suppliers recommended by Alibaba.com.

4.    Verify suppliers’ manufacturing and trading capabilities. Do your due diligence. Ask for detailed third-party reports on a supplier you are considering using. You can also request photos and even videos of the plant’s production line.

5.    Establish good communication. Talk to your manufacturer via email, Skype and IM. Double check that your requests have been clearly understood. There is no such thing as over-communicating when it comes to making sure everyone is on the same page.

Small companies, or individuals running start-ups, can and should leverage the online resources and tools available to them.With care and very little money, they can find, and do successful business with, quality manufacturers around the world.

By Susan Vitale

Susan Vitale joined iCIMS in 2005 and serves as the organization's Chief Marketing Officer. In this role, Susan directs iCIMS' business strategy to drive corporate growth. Her responsibilities include developing new business opportunities for iCIMS via new product lines, exploring expansion into new international markets and developing additional revenue streams through channels. Susan works closely with linking iCIMS' business vision to the product roadmap to ultimately help bring valuable new functionality to market through iCIMS' Talent Platform.
Prior to overseeing corporate strategy, Susan was iCIMS' Director of Marketing for two years, leading all strategic marketing initiatives including demand generation, brand management, promotions, and public relations. Susan holds a BS in Marketing from Lehigh University.

The generation that came of age around the turn of the century has some unique characteristics, including an unprecedented comfort level with digital communications. Members of "Generation Y" - 75 million-plus strong - tend to use social media and mobile technology almost exclusively to communicate. This has small businesses that are seeking the best and brightest Millennials rethinking the way they reach out to the group. Here are three tips to consider when building a recruiting strategy to target Generation Y:

 

1. Create an employment brand:Many larger companies have already incorporated mobile technology and social media outreach into their recruiting efforts, communicating a brand message within familiar venues to make sure they reach Millennials. Small businesses that haven't yet done so should consider getting on board too, using multiple touch points - including text messaging and social media - to promote open positions to the next generation. Select recruitment advertising technologies can enable small businesses to affordably leverage their employees' social media profiles to promote their open positions, improve employee referrals, and increase reach for their employment brand. To communicate with Millennial candidates, companies are establishing employment profiles on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter to give candidates who use these platforms an easy way to learn more about the company. Some organizations are putting a social media-savvy employee in charge of their company "voice."

 

2. Offer opportunity and flexibility:Millennials tend to value entrepreneurial environments that reward calculated risk-taking and offer flexibility. Luckily for many smaller companies, this describes their work environment, giving them a leg up on their larger peers. As a group, Millennials are also more likely to expect open, frequent communication and ongoing feedback, so smaller companies looking to attract the best and brightest Millennials should take these generational attributes into consideration while building and communicating their brand.

 

3. Consider an integrated applicant tracking system: Managing multiple touch-points during the recruiting process can be a challenge for smaller companies that have limited time and resources to handle manual job postings and responses on a variety of platforms. An integrated applicant tracking system (ATS) may be the answer, allowing those in charge of recruiting to promote positions on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and other sites and enabling them to schedule post frequency and manage responses with automated tools.

Because they grew up with instant communication tools and continuous access to the Internet, communication styles more than anything else set Millennials apart from previous generations, and potential employers who are targeting Generation Y will get the best results if they foster an open communication policy - before, during, and after the recruiting process.

By creating an appealing employment brand, offering working conditions that are in line with Generation Y values, and using recruiting technologies to manage applicant touch-points, maintain constant contact, and extend the employment brand reach, small businesses can compete with their larger counterparts for the best Millennial workers - and win.

By Cara Aley

If you work for or run a small to medium business (SMB), then with a small group of coworkers, chances are decent that you spend a good amount of time on the phone talking to customers and/or colleagues. While many people prefer email as their primary form of communication, talking on the phone is still a necessary evil in making an even more personal connection with someone. 

Here, we’ll provide some tips for sounding great on the phone, even if it the last thing you want to be doing and you’re just not feeling that great.

Think positively before making that call .Listen to some upbeat or soothing musicto get your head in the right space before making the phone call. Make a mental list of all of the good things in your life. Look at a photo of a cute puppy, or think about that next promotion and how going the extra mile, even when you’re not feeling your best, can really be worthwhile. Whatever it takes to make you smile and get your head in the game.

Prepare your agenda prior to the call. Think through exactly what you want to accomplish on the call, perhaps making a bulleted list of the items you want to cover. This will help the call to be relatively painless, and to happen more efficiently. Chances are good that the person on the other end of the phone wants to be on the phone as little as you do, so they will likely appreciate your efficiency as much as you will!

Quench your thirst first. Whatever suits your fancy—a Diet Coke to pep you up, or a nice cup of tea to soothe your throat. Hydrating yourself is key to being on your game, especially if you aren’t feeling so great.

Stand while talking. Sometimes when we’re not feeling so great at work, just getting up and getting the blood flowing can really help. In fact, studies show that it’s far better for us to stand for part of the day anyway in order to improve life expectancy—did you know that those who sit for 11 hours or more each day (ahem, SMB folks!) increase their risk of death by 40%? If that isn’t enough to get you standing, we’re not sure what is!

Focus on enunciation. It’s hard to hear a mumbler. Make sure the person on the other end of the phone doesn’t have to strain too much to hear what you are saying. Consider using helpful enunciation excercises prior to the call to get your tongue trained to tangle! Unique New York, Unique New York, Unique New York.

With any luck, you are feeling a little more inspired for that next phone call. In a digital age, talking on the phone is somehow still unavoidable, as much as we like our emails and texts. It adds a level of personalization to communication that the written word can’t always accomplish. So utilize these tips on that next call, and you really will sound your best even when you’re feeling your worst.

Cara Aley is a freelance writer who writes about everything from matters of online reputation protection for Reputation.com to business strategies for entrepreneurs. She is currently VP of Operations for the SMB Two Degrees, a one-for-one food company.  

By Jeanne Bliss, CustomerBLISS

It’s an everyday charge uphill for small businesses to be there for customers in ways that are important to them. Beloved companies (one’s built on an energy and spirit that draws customers to them) gladly decide to do the hard work. They’re in the scrimmage every day to earn the right for their customers to return.

Being there for customers fuels the prosperity engine of beloved companies. Small business The Container Store encourages employees to bend over backwards for customers, and with fellow employees.  By encouraging flexibility and “gut” in its employees, The Container Store excels not only in customer service, but in employee retention.  A full-time salesperson at The Container Store receives about 263 hours of training, compared to an average of 8 hours for most retail businesses. By preparing people through training and throwing away the rule book, the company created an environment where people are encouraged to do whatever it takes to assist coworkers and customers and find the right solution for each situation.

Beloved companies think and rethink how to conduct themselves, so they earn the right to their customers’ continued business because they understand that we naturally gravitate to companies and people with whom we connect in a human and sincere manner.  Beloved companies leave customers thinking, “Who else would have done this?” “Where else could I get this?” “I want to do this again.” By creating reliability in the way they do business, and fusing that with moments of contact delivered from the customer’s point of view, beloved companies earn the right to grow.

This will not only grow repeat business but also referrals, both essential to the prosperity of a small business.  When you make decisions that respect and honor customers, you will earn their admiration; eventually even love. Then customers will begin to grow your business for you through word of mouth. When customers love you, they will:

• Turn to you when a particular product or service is needed.
• Turn to you first, regardless of the competition.
• Tell your story, forming an army of cheerleaders and publicists urging friends, neighbors, colleagues, even strangers to experience your company.

A great example of a beloved company who has earned the right to grow is Amazon.com.  The company sold its first book in July 1995. Their success and ability to build a strong customer base earned the company the right to add a music store in 1998, and consumer electronics and toys and games in 1999. Since then, the addition of nearly every category has been met with customer acceptance: a kitchen store, a camera and photo store, office products, apparel, sporting goods, gourmet foods, even health and personal are and high-end jewelry.

If Amazon.com had not executed the delivery of books well during its foundational years, its expansion into these other lines could not have occurred. Amazon.com continues to operate with the understanding that customer loyalty is a right - not an entitlement - that must be earned. Giving customers peace of mind for what to expect fueled their business growth. 

Companies that earn customers’ trust and peace of mind with a company often create the emotion of desire for their experience and look forward to repeating their experience with that company. While buying books over the Internet is old hat to us now, when Amazon.com was first introduced to us, our lives changed. They delivered the joy of receiving books in the comfort of our living rooms. And not just with their operational finesse, but also with the thoughtfulness with which they delivered what was in our shopping carts. We wanted to repeat the experience again and again and that is apparent in the company’s astronomical growth over the years.

About Jeanne Bliss

Jeanne Bliss began her career at Lands’ End where she reported to founder Gary Comer, ensuring that in the formative years of the organization, the company stayed focused on its core principles of customer and employee focus.  She was the first leader of the Lands’ End Customer Experience.  In addition to Lands’ End, she has served Allstate, Microsoft, Coldwell Banker Corporation and Mazda Corporations as its executive leading customer focus and customer experience.  Jeanne has helped achieve 95% retention rates across 50,000 person organizations, harnessing businesses to work across their silos to deliver a united and deliberate experience customers (and employees) want to repeat.

Jeanne now runs CustomerBliss (www.customerbliss.com), an international consulting business where she coaches executive leadership teams and customer leadership executives on how to put customer profitability at the center of their business, by getting past lip service; to operationally relevant, operationally executable plans and processes.   Her clients include Johnson & Johnson, TD Ameritrade, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospitals, Bombardier Aircraft and many others.  She is also the author of two best-selling books Chief Customer Officer: Getting Past Lip Service to Passionate Action and I Love You More than My Dog: Five Decisions that Drive Extreme Customer Loyalty in Good Times and Bad.

When you're in charge of business management for a small to medium business (SMB), managing your budget effectively is one of the most important factors to consider. Day-to-day business expenses can stack up if one is not carefully monitoring them—it’s also helpful to know where to look for deals on the everyday expenses as everything counts at the end of the day! The more you save, the more margin your business has left. 

Here, we provide five tips for saving money on the more common business expenses you will face.

Office product deals. Sites like RapidBuyr provide deals on over 30,000 office products, including printer paper, toner, pens…the list goes on. The deals tend to be between 10% and 30% off of the cost of the same products at big box suppliers, so are well worth the visit. 

They also have a unique referral  program called Friends with Benefits, which allows you to earn 5% back on all products your friends buy when you refer them. You can spend that 5% on everything from office supplies to an AmEx gift card.

Marketing material design. Consider hiring a freelance designer to handle your marketing materials. Things like business cards, posters, fliers, brochures, and even your website can be handled by a great freelancer. 

Don’t overpay and agency or design firm to handle your collateral when all they are really doing is marking up the value of someone you can pay on a freelance basis. Ask other SMBs whom they use to handle their collateral, as you can often get great referrals that way. 

Buy in volume. It’s the old Costco mentality. In the case of office products, paper coffee cups, and marketing materials, buying in higher volumes enables lower prices. In addition to getting lower product pricing at higher volumes, you may also save on shipping costs depending on the volume you order. Just be sure not to overbuy if a product is not something you’ll be using long-term.

Buy things like toilet paper and printer paper at volume for improved pricing.

Share costs with neighboring SMBs. If you have neighbors, share costs like those of trash and recycling. There is no need for each of you to be paying for the same service separately. You can also combine efforts in ordering office supplies to get the better rates at higher volumes.

Buy used office furniture. Visit websites like Arnolds Office Furniture or Craigslist to get great deals on used office furniture. There is absolutely no need to pay full price for things like tables and chairs, and even things like printers and faxes.

You can find really nice, gently worn office furniture online.

There are many ways you can (and should try to!) save money as an SMB. There’s no reason to pay full price when so many businesses truly exist to provide great deals for businesses like your own. Absolutely take advantage of the benefit of buying office products at volume, whether on your own or in concert with other SMBs. There is also no reason to pay full price for things like office furniture, printers, and faxes when there are so many used products that are still in great shape and available for purchase. Why spend needlessly when there are so many great resources for SMBs?

Have a great tip for saving money as an SMB? Share your idea with us! 

Cara Aley is a freelance writer who writesabout everything from matters of small business managementto digital marketing strategies. She is currently VP of Operations for Two Degrees, a one-for-one food bar company, and is formerly President and COO of American MoJo, a social venture in the apparel manufacturing sector.