October 23, 2016 / como / 0 Comments
A good business name is necessary to help you to build a strong brand and market your services successfully. A strong brand will give your business an identity in the market place, help you to make a good first impression on people and help to build a positive reputation among customers in the long run.
Below we have set out a number of tips and ideas for you to consider as you proceed to think suitable painting company names.
Don’t Limit Future Opportunities
Effective business names give potential customers a clear message about what products or services a company offers. This is one sensible approach but it is important not to pigeon hole your business too much as you may want to change direction, sell the business or introduce new services at a later date. Your name should indicate what you do while still being general enough to offer flexibility.
By all means include the word ‘painting’ in your name, but don’t be too specific about the market that you are targeting or the exact services that you offer. If you feel that you will branch out into other areas in the future then the word ‘contractor’ may be more suitable.
You should also think twice before including the owners name in the business name. This can offer a nice personal touch and give customers the impression that they are dealing with somebody who has a good reputation. However, this approach can make it hard for you to sell your business if you want to do so at some point in the future.
Including the name of the area or region where you are doing business is also an option that usually works well. However, if you ever want to offer services outside of this zone then such a name can become irrelevant or confusing.
Memorable and Unique
A great name for a business is one that can be easily remembered. People should be able to recall it after hearing it only once or twice and they should be able to pronounce it correctly. Once you have a short list you can run some tests on family and friends. See which ones they were able to hear clearly over the phone and which ones they were able to remember a week later. If you can think of a name that will stick in peoples minds then you will really have their attention.
A great name should be unique and professional at the same time. If you look in The Yellow Pages or online you will find plenty of clever, catchy and creative painting business names. While names that are funny can sometimes get more attention, you may find that some sectors of the market don’t relate to them, misunderstand them or even find them offensive. The best choice is often to go with a more conservative sounding name. This will come across as being much more professional and appeal to a wider market.
Originality and Usage Rights
While you can look to other industries for inspiration, dont imitate the names of other local businesses too closely or you will risk confusing consumers. You need something that is truly original if you want your business to stand out.
Make sure that no other companies are already using the name that you would like to use. Search The Yellow Pages, the Internet and the database at your county clerks office to make sure that you dont infringe on the intellectual property of other companies or individuals.
Domain Name Registration
Check that there is a suitable domain name available and register it at the same time as you finalize your business name. You will need to get a website up at some time and it is nice to have a domain that matches your name.
Preferential Listings
Many people name their business ‘A Plus Painting’ or something similar because they want to be among the first listings in The Yellow Pages. This is becoming less important these days though as popular search engines on the Internet don’t display search results alphabetically.
Acronyms
Give some thought to acronyms. If done right they can be an easy way for customers and business associates to refer to your business by using the first letter of each word. Just make sure that you stay away from embarrassing or weird acronyms.
Expert Advice
Many people underestimate the importance of a business name. It is one of the elements that will help your company to win the hearts and minds of the marketplace over many years. Some smart entrepreneurs are now starting to hire naming experts to help them make this crucial decision. While it is unlikely that a small painting startup would go to such expense it wouldn’t hurt to run your ideas past someone with a decent level of experience in business.
Avoid a Name Change at All Costs
Sometimes it becomes necessary for businesses to change their names because they have become old fashioned or irrelevant. This may become necessary for you at some point in the future but you should do your best to avoid this. The costs associated with such a change can be extensive so your selection should be able to stand the test of time.
A Name That You Like
Above all, you, as the owner of a painting business have to have a name that you like. There is no point in using a name that sounds embarrassing or makes you cringe every time you say it. Your business name should inspire you and make you feel proud to be a painting contractor.
Dont treat the selection of your painting company name too lightly. Give this important decision the time that it deserves and come up with something that can carry your painting business forward to future success.
October 23, 2016 / como / 0 Comments
The full advantages of forum marketing strategy are mostly enjoyed by forum veterans. This are people how have over a long period of time gained credibility and positive online image. They are individuals how have proved their savvy by sharing their experience and expertise in a tactful and consistent manner. It is for this reason that forum marketing is considered a crucial long term online marketing arsenal.
What happens mostly is that these forum veterans, with the express permission of business community moderators are allowed to initiate intensive advertising campaigns. Proper forum marketing strategy advocates that, you seize this opportunity to add value to the forum business community. A good approach would be to offer community members special price cuts on products, free sampling of products and services or start fun promotion contests.
When it comes to forum marketing strategy, it is imperative to avoid spamming. Outsourcing for online marketing firms can lead to them using inexperienced staff to send spam to online forums. Therefore, if you have to outsource for this service do your research well and only work with credible organizations with a proven track record.
Some may argue that spamming business communities helps generate traffic. This may be true to some extent but in the long run it will only contribute to you seriously denting your online image thus people shunning your marketing campaigns. It is undeniable that forum marketing strategy is more about building a good online reputation which in turn results to generating free business sales leads.
The best approach to online marketing is building a good online image thus gain credibility. This will sure take time before to begining cashing in but it is worth you effort in the long run. Getting online business sales leads is not a one day affair but a continues process until you become an expert.
To study more insightful forum internet marketing strategies click the links below.
October 15, 2016 / como / 0 Comments
A business success dashboard is a computer based reporting application that displays your key business metrics in gorgeous colourful graphs that all but smack you in the face with startlingly practical insights about how to boost your business success.
No longer do we need to rely on black and white printed sales reports choking with numbers arranged in columns and rows. Ick! You can’t get powerful insights from looking at numbers arranged in tables – it’s scientifically proven, so don’t bother arguing! 😉
The really exciting and cool thing about business success dashboards is that they take the guesswork out of your decision making.
Dashboards put right in front of you the bare facts about show-stopping results like how well your marketing is attracting profitable leads, how easily you can convert a lead into a customer, what your customers like and don’t like, where you’re wasting time in your business and how healthy your cash flow is.
But as a small business owner or entreprenuer, you’ll only give your time to setting up your business success dashboard if it’s fun, fast and profit-building. So here are 7 dos and don’ts to make sure your dashboard is:
1. DO start with just a few business metrics, like profit, revenue, cash flow, new leads, website visitors – whatever you’re measuring and tracking now. DON’T wait until you have worked out all the measures that matter for your business: it will take forever, you’ll get bored with it and you’ll be missing profit pumping opportunities from the measures you already use.
2. DO use basic tools you already have – like Microsoft Excel – until you get into the groove of dashboarding and using your business metrics to manage your business. DON’T invest in flashy software until you know how you want your dashboard to serve you.
3. DO use simple line charts to display your measures so you can see trends over time – the trends are more important than the points. DON’T compare this month to last month, or do any other two-point comparisons like this – you never see the real trends or get any real insights this way.
4. DO include Pareto charts to dig into your data, such as to show you the 20% of marketing campaigns that bring 80% of your customers, or the 20% of sales that bring 80% of the revenue. DON’T ever use pie charts – they absolutely suck when it comes to giving you any kind of useful information from your data.
5. DO let form follow function, and only include the measures that matter to your business, and the graphs that best reveal those measures’ trends and insights. DON’T go all Picasso on it – limit your creativity to choice of colours, not to find out how many forms of bling you can build into it.
6. DO use your dashboard weekly, to look for clues about the best ways to ramp up your business results. DON’T lose the discipline of regularly tracking, testing and tuning your business – sure, the dashboard will only be one input to managing your business but it’s an essential input.
7. DO get help from someone who’s really ofay with Excel and graphs, or someone who is experienced with measuring and tracking. DON’T rely on dashboard software people who can’t demonstrate skills in choosing meaningful measures and displaying them appropriately (they usually get carried away with pretty but useless guages and dials). DON’T freak out trying to do it yourself either – the difference that a business dashboard will make to your success and sanity is too valuable.
TAKE ACTION:
If the Dashboard Fairy granted you a wish to instantly dashboard 3 measures of your business success, which 3 measures would you choose? What are the 3 most important results that have the most leverage to increase your profits, and improve your work-life balance? Now set up the world’s simplest dashboard using Excel, to start tracking those measures. And finally, commit to taking at least one action to improve the results those measures reveal to you.
October 14, 2016 / como / 0 Comments
What’s so important about how I sign my name?”
I get asked that question all of the time from my business consulting clients.
I tell them that a better question to ask me is this:
“Who cares about how I sign my name?”
The answer is a simple one.
NOBODY.
FINE PRINT: Except… your customers and clients, your creditors, your bank, your mortgage company, your landlord, the I.R.S… oh yes… and anyone else that wants to SUE YOU (and don’t forget ALL their lawyers!).
As in many areas of the law, the exception to the rule swallows up the rule!
What do I mean by this?
Well, let’s start with some basics. For instance, if you’ve already formed a corporation or limited liability company (LLC), you may think that you’re already protected from personal liability in the event of a lawsuit against your business.
In general, the rule is that a corporation or LLC, if formed correctly, and if all of the formalities required under the law of the State where the entity was formed are followed, does protect you from personal liability for business debts and lawsuits.
FINE PRINT: Except… when you choose to do business as an individual, and not as the corporation or LLC that you initially formed.
You see, whenever you sign documents like contracts, purchase orders, contractual agreements, leases, loans, mortgages, promissory notes, and most other legal documents involving your business, you need to make sure that you sign your name only in your business capacity.
You MUST avoid signing your name in your individual capacity.
And how do you do that? It’s pretty simple. You see, the format that you use to sign your name is the controlling factor.
In many cases, you as the business owner, sign your name without knowing how to properly sign your name to business documents. In fact, most business owners of corporations and LLC’s still sign legally binding agreements in their individual capacity…and not as the business.
SIGN AS AN AGENT OF YOUR BUSINESS
If you have formed a corporation or an LLC, you must remember to sign all contracts, agreements, invoices, etc… as an agent of the business.
For example… Many business owners haphazardly, or perhaps inadvertently, sign legal documents like the format shown in
EXAMPLE 1 below:
EXAMPLE 1
(signature)
————————
John Doe
“But what is the consequence of signing my name like in EXAMPLE 1 above to invoices, agreements, or documents?”
EXAMPLE 1 and the above signature format legally establishes that YOU have signed the contract, invoice, loan, or agreement as an individual.
And not as an agent on behalf of your business.
If you sign your name to agreements in the form depicted in EXAMPLE 1 above, YOU could very well be liable personally to meet all of the terms of the agreement.
And you likely don’t want to do this!
Why Simply out, because you’re therefore subjecting all of your business assets and personal assets as well to the risk of a lawsuit.
If you sign agreements as depicted in EXAMPLE 1 above, YOU will very likely be named personally, as well as your business, in any lawsuit filed against the business.
Remember then:
Signing your name like in EXAMPLE 1 above DOES NOT establish that you have signed the agreement as an agent on behalf of your business.
“Okay. So how should I sign my name to my invoices, contracts, leases, loans, or any other business agreements?
What simple step can I take to protect my business, and my personal assets as well?
SIGN DOCUMENTS ONLY AS AN AGENT OF YOUR BUSINESS
Make sure that you only sign legal documents, letters, memos, invoices, loans, leases, etc… as an agent of your business.
How must I sign my name to any legal document or agreement to show that I am signing only as an agent of my business?
Follow EXAMPLE 2 below:
EXAMPLE 2
ABC CORPORATION, INC.
(signature)
———————————–
BY: John Doe
President (Company Title)
If you sign your name on the dotted line following the exact format depicted in Example 2 above, you legally establish that you are only signing as an agent on behalf of the business…and not in your individual capacity.
But you MUST follow the Example 2 precisely.
CAVEAT: Another very important point on this topic.
AVOID SIGNING documents that state “PERSONAL GUARANTY” on them.
A Personal Guaranty is usually a separate legal document attached to the main agreement. You generally see a Personal Guaranty in a loan, mortgage, or lease. However, sometimes a Personal Guaranty can be established just by the way you sign the legal document, invoice, lease, or agreement.
How?
Simple. If the agreement merely has a signature line that has your individual name on it without any reference to your business name, you are signing the document as a Personal Guaranty. You are therefore personally liable for that agreement if you sign the agreement with such a signature line.
But, what do I do if I am being required to sign a Personal Guaranty, like for a business loan or commercial lease for example?
If a Personal Guaranty is required, you or your lawyer should negotiate a limited period of time (the shortest possible) that the Personal Guaranty will bind you as an individual.
Remember, if you formed a corporation or LLC in the first place, you did it to avoid personal liability and to protect your personal assets. Anyone who does business with your company should, and usually does, know this. So, be careful. Other possibilities can be negotiated too. Just do your best not to sign in your personal capacity by signing a Personal Guaranty.
It’s important to remember to only sign legal documents, invoices, and even letters as an agent of your business. (Follow the format found in EXAMPLE 2 above).
How else can I make sure that I am signing my name properly to all of my business documents?
Call your attorney to review all of your agreements, invoices, leases, and legal documents BEFORE you sign them. Your attorney will offer sound advice that protects YOU, your loved ones, and your business.
Now, let’s review.
What’s in a name?
Well… besides your business…
…it could be all of YOUR personal and family assets!
The best advicve especially in the midst of tough economic times or a Recession, is to have any document you sign first reviewed by your lawyer or business consultant.
Copyright (c) 2008. Miguel Mendez, Jr. All rights reserved.
October 9, 2016 / como / 0 Comments
E-Commerce and E-Business are two completely different terms but unfortunately they are always used interchangeably by many of us. The reason behind this lies in the meanings of business and commerce in English language. But there is a difference between e-commerce and e-business. There are many people who understand the subtle differences between the two and there had always been a debate among these two groups about the differences and similarities between e-commerce and e-business. The aim of writing this article is to clearly bring out the differences between the two as both of them are completely different phenomenon.
The differences between the two are as follows:
1. E-Commerce is the subset of E-Business. If you remember the Venn diagram you studied in school then you can very well understand what I am trying to convey. The later one is a very broad concept while the former one is just a small part of it. This relationship will be cleared in the subsequent points.
2. Those activities which essentially involve monetary transactions are termed as e-commerce. However, e-business is a much broader term. There are many other things besides selling including but not limited to marketing, procurement of raw materials or goods, customer education, looking for suppliers etc.
3. To sell online is e-commerce but to bring and retain customers and educate them online about the product or service is e-business. Having a website to do it is not sufficient. But, having a professionally built website loaded with latest technologies to capture the attention of the visitor and win his/her appreciation is required. When money is involved then the first thing which user looks for is safety and security of his/her money. Having a website laden with such qualities is important.
4. When Dell sell computers, laptops, monitors, printers, accessories etc online then it is not engaged in e-commerce but e-business. Let me tell you how. When a visitor comes on the website, the first thing he see is website design and navigation as well as those things which are going to help him find what he is looking for and if he directly lands on the page he was looking for, he looks for the information related to it. The information provided should be appealing and clear maximum doubts of the visitor so as to convert him in a client. Till now no money has been exchanged nor been talked about. So, was this e-commerce? No, it is e-business which guides the visitor.
5. E-commerce has also been defined as a process covering outward processes that touch customers, suppliers and external partners while e-business covers internal processes such as production, inventory management, product development, risk management, finance etc.
In all, e-commerce can be described as the use of the Internet and the web to transact business. More formally, digitally enabled commercial transactions between and among organizations and individuals. On the other hand, e-business can be described as the digital enablement of transactions and process within a firm, involving information systems under the control of the firm. Moreover, e-business applications turn into e-commerce precisely when an exchange of value occurs.