I was just taking a look around some local contruction companies in Colchester, Essex, UK and I was shocked to realise that many excellent small businesses who actually have a website are not making the most of it. It's often a poorly thought out "business card" page - a couple of snapshots of work done and a phone number and address.
Given that the customers who are still out there are being more careful with their money, don't you want to be top of their choice of businesses?
If you're trying to sell a professional service, do you think that your potential customers will choose you based on your website?
Some more questions you may like to think about:
Do you know how many of the calls you receive are as a result of your website?
Could you get more offers of work if you marketed yourself better?
Would you like enough approaches from customers that you can afford to choose your customers and not the other way around?
If this has got you thinking, then you may like to contact Kat to discuss how much more business you'd like and how you could go about achieving it.
Saturday 24 July 2010
Friday 19 June 2009
New Web Design Site Launched
Yes, it has taken me a while to get this far, but I'm now in a position to be able to offer full website design and build services. Check out my new site for my service offering on Web Design, Content Writing and Web Hosting Packages.
Tuesday 14 October 2008
This is a test post to check out how easy it would be to use Blog This! with Picasa. As you can see by the image above - it works - and it works well!!! Very impressive Google. Well done.
If you're wondering what ACT! is - it's a piece of 'CRM' Software made by the company that brought you Sage Line 50 and Line 100 and Sage Payroll. CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. It means taking all the information in your business and, combined with information it collects on your customers, you can spot trends and patterns, making it much easier to plan for your business future.
Rounds of applause for the clever software houses!
Saturday 17 May 2008
Web Editing
Are you looking to add a menu to your website? DON'T use Java as Google won't see the links! Google only reads HTML. Use this instead! I've had a play and I think it's great!
http://www.opencube.com/
I'll have a play and put a page together so you can actually see what it's like, but I think it's fab.
http://www.opencube.com/
I'll have a play and put a page together so you can actually see what it's like, but I think it's fab.
Redundancy, Job Centre, Job Seeking and Interviews
I've not done an update for a little while now. That's not because I couldn't be bothered, but because I have been otherwise occupied. About a month ago, I was made redundant. The credit crunch has hit harder than the Government would like us to believe. There are lots of businesses just about keeping their heads above water. I was working in recruitment for a while when my boss sold his Pitman franchise and transferred me to his Recruitment firm.
Because businesses are reluctant to employ new staff at a time when they're trying to cut costs and also because Recruitment Agencies charge between 10 and 20 % of the annual salary for introducing new staff members, the recruitment business has taken a sharp downturn. Larger, more well-established companies aren't feeling the pinch so much right now, but there are lots of self-employed people setting up recruitment firms, so the competition has become even greater.
The long and the short of it is that I got made redundant. This prompted me to contact the Job Centre and register as unemployed. What a joke! I understand the need to have processes, but whoever designed these processes should be taken out at dawn and shot! Whilst going through the laborious processes, I asked whether there was an improvement group I could join to help better the customer experience, however there is no such thing.
Whilst signing on, I was lucky enough to be offered a week's temp work, which I duly accepted, as a good little unemployed person. The hassle I had to go through as a result of doing a week's paid work was ridiculous. I had to fill in the same information three times, on different forms. The computer system is a joke, and I've not even bothered to claim housing benefit council tax relief because I'd probably end up having a breakdown.
Luckily enough, last week I found a job (actually advertised on www.JobCentrePlus.gov.uk, which, if you know how to use it, is okay). I'm now editing web pages for a plumbing company, but I'll tell you more about that another day. For now, I'm just having an opinionated blast.
So, what should you do if you are advised you are being made redundant? First-off, don't panic. Secondly, expect some hassles. Thirdly, just keep trying. Consider things outside your usual sphere of comfort. Reduce your costs wherever you can. For advice on how to do this, go to www.MoneySavingExpert.com.
Download and print as many shopping vouchers as you can and use them wherever they save you money. Even if you haven't bought the product, ask the supermarket if they are willing to accept the coupon. If you ask officially, the answer is no, but many do it unofficially. Not that I'd try and pass vouchers for things I haven't bought. ;-)
Whatever else you do money-saving-wise, keep your internet connection. Without this, your chances of getting a new job are greatly reduced.
If you're offered free re-training, or CV advice, take it!!! Anything and everything you do will help you become more employable.
If you've been in a job for a number of years, you'll need to write down everything you do, and identify readily-transferable skills. Dig out your old CV and dust it off.
Rather than start from the original, use the information, but type out a fresh one. If you're saving your CV, make sure you save it in a Word format, as many recruiters can't open Microsoft Works documents (that free pared-down version of Office that is often shipped free with budget PCs).
Sign up to every online CV company that doesn't charge you money. For example: www.monster.co.uk, www.totaljobs.co.uk, www.jobsite.co.uk, www.reed.co.uk, www.hays.co.uk, www.cv-library.co.uk There are more, but many of the job search engines just take feeds from these sites, so try not to waste your time, if at all possible.
Also, print your CV and go on a high-street agency crawl. Make sure you look presentable when you go there, as this will greatly affect whether the agency is willing to put you forward for a position. They're out to make money. They service their clients, not the applicants. They get hundreds of CVs a week and aren't likely to remember you.
Be willing to go do temp work as this keeps your CV fresh.
There's loads more advice to come on this subject, so keep watching this space. If you're out of work at the moment, best of luck to you. Ask me questions using the comment box and I'll happily answer your questions.
Because businesses are reluctant to employ new staff at a time when they're trying to cut costs and also because Recruitment Agencies charge between 10 and 20 % of the annual salary for introducing new staff members, the recruitment business has taken a sharp downturn. Larger, more well-established companies aren't feeling the pinch so much right now, but there are lots of self-employed people setting up recruitment firms, so the competition has become even greater.
The long and the short of it is that I got made redundant. This prompted me to contact the Job Centre and register as unemployed. What a joke! I understand the need to have processes, but whoever designed these processes should be taken out at dawn and shot! Whilst going through the laborious processes, I asked whether there was an improvement group I could join to help better the customer experience, however there is no such thing.
Whilst signing on, I was lucky enough to be offered a week's temp work, which I duly accepted, as a good little unemployed person. The hassle I had to go through as a result of doing a week's paid work was ridiculous. I had to fill in the same information three times, on different forms. The computer system is a joke, and I've not even bothered to claim housing benefit council tax relief because I'd probably end up having a breakdown.
Luckily enough, last week I found a job (actually advertised on www.JobCentrePlus.gov.uk, which, if you know how to use it, is okay). I'm now editing web pages for a plumbing company, but I'll tell you more about that another day. For now, I'm just having an opinionated blast.
So, what should you do if you are advised you are being made redundant? First-off, don't panic. Secondly, expect some hassles. Thirdly, just keep trying. Consider things outside your usual sphere of comfort. Reduce your costs wherever you can. For advice on how to do this, go to www.MoneySavingExpert.com.
Download and print as many shopping vouchers as you can and use them wherever they save you money. Even if you haven't bought the product, ask the supermarket if they are willing to accept the coupon. If you ask officially, the answer is no, but many do it unofficially. Not that I'd try and pass vouchers for things I haven't bought. ;-)
Whatever else you do money-saving-wise, keep your internet connection. Without this, your chances of getting a new job are greatly reduced.
If you're offered free re-training, or CV advice, take it!!! Anything and everything you do will help you become more employable.
If you've been in a job for a number of years, you'll need to write down everything you do, and identify readily-transferable skills. Dig out your old CV and dust it off.
Rather than start from the original, use the information, but type out a fresh one. If you're saving your CV, make sure you save it in a Word format, as many recruiters can't open Microsoft Works documents (that free pared-down version of Office that is often shipped free with budget PCs).
Sign up to every online CV company that doesn't charge you money. For example: www.monster.co.uk, www.totaljobs.co.uk, www.jobsite.co.uk, www.reed.co.uk, www.hays.co.uk, www.cv-library.co.uk There are more, but many of the job search engines just take feeds from these sites, so try not to waste your time, if at all possible.
Also, print your CV and go on a high-street agency crawl. Make sure you look presentable when you go there, as this will greatly affect whether the agency is willing to put you forward for a position. They're out to make money. They service their clients, not the applicants. They get hundreds of CVs a week and aren't likely to remember you.
Be willing to go do temp work as this keeps your CV fresh.
There's loads more advice to come on this subject, so keep watching this space. If you're out of work at the moment, best of luck to you. Ask me questions using the comment box and I'll happily answer your questions.
Friday 11 April 2008
Fax Machines for Under £100
Although fax machines are less popular than they once were, they still have a use in today's world of business. Use them to convert paper to electronic format. You don't need to have e-mail.
ColchesterVirtualSecretary@googlemail.com requires a traditional fax machine to send documents, letters and invoices to be typed.
Take a look at the kind of Fax Machine you can get for under £100. Bargain!
ColchesterVirtualSecretary@googlemail.com requires a traditional fax machine to send documents, letters and invoices to be typed.
Take a look at the kind of Fax Machine you can get for under £100. Bargain!
Monday 7 April 2008
Are you licensed and legal? - Software Licensing
This is a real tricky area when it comes to business. Many businesses knowingly, or unwittingly, disregard the terms of their software user licenses. The main license types are:
Free License
There is no fee charged for downloading or installing the software. At no further stage is there a charge to continue using the software. You must be careful as there can be specific terms in the license such as prohibiting the use of the software for commercial purposes. What this means in real-world-speak is that if you were going to use some free software, such as a word processor to type all your business documents or a database to manage your customers, the software author may require you to either credit him (or her), or pay a fee for commercial use.
A Word of Warning: There is lots of free software out there and it rarely comes with any support. Commercially-minded software houses use this as an opportunity to sell support, rather than the software.
Single-user License
This is where you pay for a single license for either a user, or a computer. The same software (with the same license key) must not be installed on any other machine. You need to make sure that you buy enough licenses for your staff. If you are buying 5 or more licenses, you may be able to take up bulk-purchase deals.
Bulk License
This type of license is where you buy the media (the install disk) with the ability to load the software on a number of machines. The license limits the total number of machines you can install it on.
Site License
This type of license is available for major corporations with hundreds or thousands of users. They are given a license key which will be accepted on any number of installations. This licence is very expensive, but is worthwhile for high user bases.
Educational License
This type of license is offered at a reduced price in order to enable educational establishments such as schools and colleges to teach people the skills to use this commercial software. This excludes private colleges and institutions not offering government-accredited learning.
A Word of Warning: This type of license is being sold on Ebay. Disclaimers tell people to make sure that they are purchasing the correct software, but don't make this very clear. Be careful, as if you buy this type of license for your business, you are contravening the terms of your license.
Open Source
This is a type of software that allows people to see the programming (or 'source code') for the software. This then allows people to develop add-ons and extra goodies specific to their requirements. This isn't all, but to go through it all now would just make the mind boggle.
Free License
There is no fee charged for downloading or installing the software. At no further stage is there a charge to continue using the software. You must be careful as there can be specific terms in the license such as prohibiting the use of the software for commercial purposes. What this means in real-world-speak is that if you were going to use some free software, such as a word processor to type all your business documents or a database to manage your customers, the software author may require you to either credit him (or her), or pay a fee for commercial use.
A Word of Warning: There is lots of free software out there and it rarely comes with any support. Commercially-minded software houses use this as an opportunity to sell support, rather than the software.
Single-user License
This is where you pay for a single license for either a user, or a computer. The same software (with the same license key) must not be installed on any other machine. You need to make sure that you buy enough licenses for your staff. If you are buying 5 or more licenses, you may be able to take up bulk-purchase deals.
Bulk License
This type of license is where you buy the media (the install disk) with the ability to load the software on a number of machines. The license limits the total number of machines you can install it on.
Site License
This type of license is available for major corporations with hundreds or thousands of users. They are given a license key which will be accepted on any number of installations. This licence is very expensive, but is worthwhile for high user bases.
Educational License
This type of license is offered at a reduced price in order to enable educational establishments such as schools and colleges to teach people the skills to use this commercial software. This excludes private colleges and institutions not offering government-accredited learning.
A Word of Warning: This type of license is being sold on Ebay. Disclaimers tell people to make sure that they are purchasing the correct software, but don't make this very clear. Be careful, as if you buy this type of license for your business, you are contravening the terms of your license.
Open Source
This is a type of software that allows people to see the programming (or 'source code') for the software. This then allows people to develop add-ons and extra goodies specific to their requirements. This isn't all, but to go through it all now would just make the mind boggle.
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