Finding the right funding at the critical time can be a crucial factor in a firm’s success, and many developing businesses go through several different rounds of investment as the business develops. On some occasions an initial owner’s capital investment of perhaps just a few dollars to give birth to an idea will eventually lead to a listing on a stock exchange. Along the way, however, the business may need to source several different types of funding, with each type requiring its own unique approach. Finding any source of funding will be reliant on the owner having an accurate understanding of the finances, and being able to project these to potential investors. Thanks to a plethora of modern affordable apps and solutions on the Internet – such as new accounting software for small business that makes bookkeeping easy – what was once a huge stumbling block is no longer such a concern. Many businesses struggle due to receiving inappropriate or inadequate – Read the full article
If you’re thinking of starting your online business, then you’re part of a race where millions are striving for successful brand recognition on the Web. To win, you have to build an online brand that stands out in the competition – a brand that has a unique, likeable personality. Online brand building means thinking of ways you can make your Web identity more accessible to your potential customers, all while boosting your sales and building a reputation that engenders trust and credibility. Let me first raise some of the aspects of brand-building across the Internet: Quality Creatively built web identity Customer service Promotion and marketing Consistency Quality of products or services is your niche and is arguably most important. It’s better to have a single product that does well rather than having a hundred that perform really badly. Your product should be more innovative and superior than what the next guy has to offer. To make a product with distinction, – Read the full article
These days, Twitter is synonymous not only with communication and sharing but also with doing so while on the move. If you need an application to make your Twitter experience more mobile then you won’t have to look too far to find one. Here are 9 Twitter applications to make your life a little – and your business – easier and a lot more fun. Twitpic has become one of the most popular and downloaded apps for mobile phones. Just like the online version, the Twitpic app allows you to easily send images from your phone to Twitter. If that isn’t enough, Twitpic has a bunch of Twitter clients, too (for example, TweetDeck, which has TwitPic integration functionality). Just take a picture (or use your gallery images) and you can upload it to Twitter in an instant. Definitely worth the small cost to download. While of the subject of TweetDeck, what better application is there than this to maintain your Twitter stream? This app – Read the full article
Magento is, perhaps, today’s most evolved e-Commerce platform. If you’ve been reading this blog, then you’ll know by now how much we here at Lakeshore Branding love the solution. Magento e-Commerce’s flexibility, rich feature set, SEO-friendly capabilities, and comprehensive merchandising and marketing features make it an ideal platform of online stores and sellers (regardless of size) as well as for shoppers (regardless of demographic or budget). Looking to design, develop, implement, or fully customize your own Magento-powered store? Don’t worry yourself sick trying to figure it out by yourself. (Newbie-ness doesn’t have to be so awful.) There’s a bunch of Magento e-Commerce books – by Varien, the official developer, and by independent programmers and designers – that should help you every step of the way, no matter your level of skill and expertise in Magento. Yes, books: these are still as good an educational tool as any. We’ve compiled a list of the best of them. Take a look: Magento – Read the full article
Are you an e-commerce merchant looking for iPhone or iTouch apps to make your life easier, especially on the move? Look no further. There is a wealth of electronic evolution for Apple products that are geared to making your life easier and more fun. Here are my personal favorites. Social Media has taken the Web by storm but it also has a vital place in mobile technology. One of the best ways to keep in contact with your customers, and to maintain a valued relationship, is via social media and there are apps that help you do just that. Take the Meebo, Twitter and Facebook applications to start with. You can share views, news, images and even videos. Check out the Apple App site for a wealth of other social apps that allow all types of possible interaction and functionality. Anyone that cares for their business should care for their customers and using social media is one way to do so. – Read the full article
The process of establishing and enhancing your presence on the Web takes a lot of time – time that you, as a startup or small business owner, may not have. It also requires a full range of skills: content writing, online networking, search marketing, project management, web design, programming, etc. – things that you also might not have a lot of experience with. Sure, it’s convenient to hire dedicated full-time staff members to perform a bunch of Internet marketing jobs for you – but is it really always worth it? Wouldn’t that deplete your resources, as well as the money and the infrastructure you need to run your business? We’re still in the midst of recovering from the recession, after all. Surely, there must be a better and more cost-effective alternative. Like outsourcing. If you think that outsourcing – online – might be a worthwhile option for you, there’s a marketplace where you can find freelancers and hire them on – Read the full article
Often lost in all the talk about creating content in the world of social media is blogging. Specifically, guest blogging. Sure, we have all heard about how wonderful Twitter is, and how viral success on YouTube and Facebook can propel you and your business to greater heights. But guest blogging is right up there, too, as one of the best ways to enhance your presence on the Web. So guest blogging is basically writing content for a blog of which you are not the author. Usually you’d be invited by the owner of a blog to write content for him or her. Or it may come to happen that you know a blogger – a friend, business partner, colleague, etc. – who has agreed to exchange content with you, so that you can blog on each other’s sites. Of course, guest blogging opportunities can also come up by way of energetically reaching out to the blogging world. Like answering an – Read the full article
Earlier today, Google officially announced Google Instant- a real-time search experience that predicts search results as you type. As with most announcements, the long-term impacts are not yet known, but let’s look into the important parts.
