Posts Tagged ‘Small Business’
Description of ‘Small Business’ Tag:
Small Business
Friday, October 7th, 2011
Small businesses can often be overwhelmed with the amount of digital information that they have to retain for their business to operate correctly. Over time, the buildup of work documents, project files, client proposals, and employee information can often get out of hand. Which is why a few weeks back we wrote an article called “Organizing Your Office Equipment and Improving Your Work Environment”. This article proposed several solutions to maintain a file organization system for small businesses. However in the article we neglected to mention how digital data clutter can be just as hard on the stresses of our everyday job tasks. This is why to keep your office running proficiently it is important to perform routine digital housekeeping.
Digital housekeeping is the sorting, organizing, and discarding of old or unused electronic data. There are many elements to this type of cleaning. Although easy to do tasks like emptying your computers recycling bin are a good start there are many more layers that are often overlooked. Digital housekeeping isn’t only meant for your computer, it also covers mobile devices and other electronic office equipment. The following list is some suggestions to help you manage your office’s digital clutter.
Clearing Your Desktop:
- Remove unused shortcuts from your desktop and desktop toolbar.
- Keep only important and frequently used programs on your desktop or on the desktop toolbar.
- Put the programs that you use occasionally in a desktop folder.
- Empty the Recycling Bin.
Cleaning Your Hard Drive:
- Routinely perform the defragmentation process. (Start /Programs/ Accessories/ System Tools)
- Use Disk Cleanup to search out and remove unused files and folders. (Also in System Tools)
- Uninstall unused programs.
(To edit your programs enter the Control Panel, open the Add or Remove Programs function (Windows Vista and 7 “Programs and Features”). When the list of programs populates, select any program that you wish to amend. You can even sort by the last used date or installed date. Follow the uninstall procedures for each individual program and restart your computer if necessary.)
- Manager your Startup Folder.
(In order to fine-tune the startup folder you will need to access the system configuration folder. This can be done by expanding the Start menu, Clicking Run and then typing MSCONFIG. (Windows 7 uses the Search application instead of RUN.) Once the Configuration window appears click the Startup tab and carefully select the programs that you are positive that you do not need for startup.)
Updating and Using Malware:
- Use programs like McAfee Protection Software or Norton Security Essentials to identify and eliminate threats that can cause your equipment to run slower.
- Keep windows up-to-date using Windows Automatic Update.
Organizing Your Media Content:
- Delete duplicate file or files no longer being used.
- Keep the different types of media grouped together in separate folders.
- Create sub folders for extra organization and navigation.
Cleaning Your Internet Browser:
- Access your internet options to clear history and cache.
- Delete unused bookmarks.
- Add bookmark folders for easier navigation.
Organizing Email:
- Delete junk mail, outdated emails, sent mail, and old drafts.
- Create sub folders for emails so they don’t build up in your inbox.
- Establish rules in Microsoft Outlook so that emails are automatically delivered to the correct subfolder.
Managing Your Smartphone:
- Remove unused photos, movies, or music files.
- Delete unused applications.
- Clear out old notes in the text editor.
- Clear browsing history and map locations.
- Delete old and unneeded emails.
Cleaning and Disposing of Electronic Devices:
- Computers and external equipment should be cleaned routinely in order to prevent unnecessary problems caused by dust.
- Clean the area surrounding the device before cleaning it.
- Always spray the cleaning solutions on a rag first. Never apply directly to the electronic device.
- Avoid throwing out electronics with your everyday garbage.
- If you are getting an upgrade or newer model, donate or sell your old device.
- Shop with companies that use a “Take Back” program.
- Make it a priority to shop with companies with “Green Principals”
- Locate local e-waste recycling and disposal centers.
It is important to make a routine time to clean up your office’s digital clutter. Letting electronic data overwhelm your office will often only make it more difficult to focus, locate important information, and much more difficult clearing it away in the future.
Thanks for Reading!
Dustin
CDTek.com
Tags: digital, digital clutter, digital housekeeping, electronic clutter, electronic data, folder, program, Small Business
Posted in Business Tools, Computers, Productivity, Small Business Tips | No Comments »
Friday, September 30th, 2011
 from http://www.quora.com/, Oct 2011 In June 2009 a website known as Quora was founded by two former Facebook employees. This question and answer based social interaction site was initially launched as a private beta version in December 2009 and then later made public on June 21, 2010. Although it has only been two short years, since then Quora has quickly joined the ranks of the other social bookmarking and social networking websites like Reddit, Delicious, LinkedIn, Answers.com, and Stack Exchange.
Quora creates an interactive platform where users can ask questions and receive high quality answers from people with firsthand knowledge. Users can collaborate to create questions and identify the best answers. Although it works similar to a forum the information is regarded as more authoritative, knowledgeable, and respectable. The information on Quora is always improving and it is their goal to discover the highest quality answers to each of their question pages. Quora’s question pages can also be thought of as Wikipedia pages, only with more specific information straight from industry experts. Unlike Wikipedia, Quora answers can target the exact information that the user is seeking based on the initial question.
In order to access Quora’s vast knowledge base a user must first register and provide either their Twitter or Facebook user name. Quora is successful because it exhibits 5 major elements that consist of being Collaborative, Organized, Specific, Continually Improving, and most importantly it focuses on the people.
Besides being an informative resource, Quora can also be used as a marketing tool for your small business. The following are some suggestions for using Quora as a part of your small business strategy.
- Asking Questions – Find in-depth information or solve a specific problem.
- Content Mining – Find new business, blog, and website ideas.
- Cultivate Existing Relationships – Open new lines of communications with your audience.
- Expanding Your Audience – Use questions and answer to establish new professional contacts and develop potential customer relationships.
- Growing as a Professional – Improve your communication and professional writing skills.
- Self-Promotion – Establish a presence by appearing as an industry expert or leading authority.
- Market Research – Monitor your competitor’s reputation as well as strengthen your own by setting up Google alerts for company mentions.
- Strengthen Customer Experience – Monitor your audience and join in the conversations.
- Lead Generation – Target specific questions from other users and reach out to them.
- Stay Informed – Follow other leading industry experts to stay in tune with the latest trends.
- Evaluating Merchants – Investigate potential business vendors, business tools, and business partners.
- Link Building – Develop relationships with other users and reach out to them about a potential link exchange.
Why wait for your audience to find you when you can target your audience. Quora allows you to find the people who are seeking your knowledge. More than just a Q & A website, Quora is a blend between forums, Wikipedia, Answers.com, Facebook, and LinkedIn. This is a great option whether it is to lend your expertise or gain knowledge from another expert. Quora is a high quality resource that provides some of the best information on the web and cuts through much of the spam that users typically encounter when seeking information.
Thanks for Reading!
Dustin
CDTek.com
Tags: answers, Marketing, Question, Quora, Small Business, social media, Social Networking
Posted in Business Tools, Small Business Tips, Social Networking | No Comments »
Friday, September 9th, 2011
According to PRWeb a new survey indicates that although the number of small businesses that have a website has increased from 50% to 80% over the past two years, more than 40% still do not know how to professionally market their site. The survey also provided the following statistics:
- 20% of small businesses don’t have a website, of that 16% do plan to have one in the future.
- 41% believes their websites bring exposure but 28% don’t know if the website helps.
- 40% report they need help with small business SEO on their website for better search rankings
- 37% say they need help using Facebook, Twitter and other social media.
- Nearly 35% need help with email marketing promotions.
- 33% need help building inbound links to their website.
Unless you are a big name brand just having a website will not bring in the amount of traffic that you want. It is very important that you not only have a website but that you also know how to market it as well. The following are 15 methods to market a small business online, we have covered many of these tips individually so be sure to visit the links provided to get a more in depth look at each.
Although it is possible to have an online presence without a website it is always advised that the following methods are used to compliment your website rather than replace it. Creating a website yourself or paying someone to create one for your small business should be your first step. Your website will act as a central hub and connect with the rest of your online marketing efforts.
Search engine optimization or SEO is performing on page and off page methods to improve the visibility and rank of a website. SEO aims to generate greater traffic by increasing a website rank and authority in the search engines. If you are unfamiliar with Search engine optimization then you should hire an SEO expert.
Having a blog can help market your website tremendously. A blog is an excellent way to reach out to your existing clients and gain more along the way. A blog is extremely easy to set up and manage. Blogs offer a quick way to supply news, promotions, ideas, or other information to your audience. A blog can also establish you as a professional and offers an effective way to provide customer support. Additionally a blog will help earn your company respect, increase the traffic to your website, allow you to gain feedback, and may help you rank better because search engines like Google really like websites with blogs.
- Participate in Social Media
Social media has become a major influence in the world of Internet marketing. Using social media is easy to do and the reach is global. Social media is a great resource for any business because it has the ability to quickly spread your message and target your potential customers. Participating in social media establishes a communications platform that can assist companies with proactively monitoring and controlling their customer communication and perception.
Like most social media sites YouTube is a great resource for free marketing. Anyone with an account can upload a YouTube video but the real goal is to increase your presence and offer valuable entertainment to the other users. YouTube will generate more visibility for your website and will help it rank better in Google.
Businesses can increase their local presence with sites like Google Places , Bing Business Portal, Yelp, YellowPages, Superpages, InsiderPages, Localeze, CitySearch, or InfoUSA. These types of websites provide local citations or web references. Local citations are when another website mentions a business and its contact information, this can occur with or without a link to the business’s website.
Keep current with the reviews that your customers are leaving about you on review websites like Yelp. If you find a negative review take the necessary actions to correct the situation and if you find positive reviews find a way to work them into your website or sales pitch.
Email campaigns can be a great way for a business to generate an increase in traffic and sales. Many companies employing email campaigns often fall short of accomplishing their goals because their emails appear too spammy, lack customer value, or fail to project any personality. When sending out emails try to give your customers something to care about and appreciate, rather than just bothering them with useless information. Only relevant and appropriate information should be included such as promotions, events, product updates, business changes, and other information worthwhile for your consumers
A Fairly new method of internet marketing is using QR codes. These are two-dimensional icons that can be scanned by smartphone cameras to automatically pull up text, photos, videos, music, URLs, and even make phone calls or send emails. This form of brand marketing is on the rise and is providing businesses with many new, creative, and effective marketing opportunities.
- Read and Comment on Blogs
Commenting on blogs and participating in online discussions will build a credible reputation for you and your business. Online discussion will expand your network and open your website up to new customers. Some blogs even allow you to link your website to your comment which can provide a valuable backlink to your website.
- Join an Online Community and Participate in Forums
Joining online communities and participating in online forums is similar to commenting on other website’s. Forums provide an outlet for you to reach new customers and increase your visibility. Joining an online community specific to your industry is great for learning, networking, sharing experiences, locating job opportunities, meeting experts, and finding solutions to problems.
Submitting a press release or article to a directory works similar to a posting on your blog except that it is on another website where it can be seen by a different audience. If you submit unique and high quality content it has the potential to attract visitors to your website.
- Create Online Contest and Promotions
Create and advertise free stuff or promotions. Special promotions for online customers will most likely attract visitors. Holding an online contest is another great way to get your customers involved and even attract new ones in the process.
- Create Infographics or High Quality Content
An infographic is a pictorial representation of specific data or knowledge. Infographics can be a great way to showcase information on a particular subject area and can prove to be a good source of link value. Infographics have the ability to transform the plain material into interesting and exciting web content. Infographics have a reputation of being able to quickly spread across the internet which is why they are great for SEO.
A Link exchange or Reciprocal Link is one of the many ways for a website to gain backlinks. Backlinks are crucial to increase the link value and rank of your website. Reciprocal links are when two websites agree to exchange links with each other. Google looks at both the quantity and quality of a website’s backlinks which is why it is important to build your website’s backlink portfolio.
These are just some basic tips on marketing your small business or company website. These should provide a good starting point to get your company name out there and allow you to start attracting more visitors.
Thanks for Reading!
Dustin
CDTek.com
Tags: internet marketing, link, marketing tips, seo, site, Small Business, social media, website
Posted in Marketing, Small Business Tips, Website | No Comments »
Friday, July 15th, 2011
Despite its unconventional name Squidoo can be an extremely beneficial Internet Marketing tool for small businesses. Squidoo is a community website platform that has been around for more than five years. During that time they have accumulated over 1.5 million lenses which are mini topical webpages that users create directly on the Squidoo platform. Squidoo calls these mini pages “lenses” because they draw attention to specific niches similar to how a camera lens focuses on a certain object or experience. During Squidoo’s first six months in operation more than 100,000 lenses were created, setting the tone for its future achievements.
from http://www.squidoo.com/, July 2011
Squidoo is completely free, easy to use, fast, and fun. The creation of Squidoo lenses can be a great way to showcase your area of expertise and reach new customers. Typically lenses compile information on a specific topic or business but they have also been known to be used for hobbies, passions, and personal profiles. Their original tagline “Everyone’s an Expert (on something)” explains Squidoo’s main principle, everyone has something to contribute and it’s their goal is to provide an outlet for that sharing.
Why Use Squidoo:
Besides the fact that it’s a free high quality social media platform, Squidoo offers users the chance to reach an expansive online community and potentially build a larger customer base. Squidoo lenses are niche focused and offer some of the best content and advice on the Internet. With the help of Squidoo a small business could effectively spread their message and company awareness to millions of users.
This free promotional resource can attract potential clients and may encourage them to visit your company’s website. Squidoo marketing allows you to provide users with a ton of useful information and provide unlimited links your website, blog, and products. The lens owners even have the chance to generate revenue using Squidoo Profit Modules and Widgets. Most importantly, Google likes Squidoo and your lenses have a good chance of being indexed. The bottom line is that like most social networks, Squidoo provides an opportunity to find more potential customers and offers many more paths to you website.
Getting Started With Squidoo:
When using Squidoo for the first time you will be required to create a username and password. After establishing an account you can begin filling in your main profile, this profile will be similar to your home page and will be connected to each of the lenses that you create. Also the profile is a great opportunity to earn link value by linking to your company website. Your profile consists of your name, username, bio, picture, feature lenses, links to external sites, and your account settings.
Once you are finished you can click on the Create a lens button on the Squidoo Dashboard to begin your first Squidoo lens. When building a lens keep in my mind that there are key elements that every lens needs to have to be an effective marketing tool. The following is a list of what users look for and appreciate when surfing Squidoo lenses.
Make sure that your content is engaging and your enthusiasm for the subject is apparent.
- Easy to digest amounts of content
Be careful with the amount of text that you include. Try delivering small bite size amounts of information so visitors can easily scan your content. Most users do not want to read a book when searching for specific information so instead try to take the PowerPoint approach by adding bulleted information.
In order to drive appropriate attention to your website stay focused on what your lens is about. Users who visit your site mostly arrive there by searching for your topic and probably don’t want to be presented with unrelated information.
The modules on Squidoo provide a great opportunity to link to external sites. Users can link their other social networking accounts like Twitter and Facebook directly on their lens. The Twitter module will allow a user to display their user name, amount of followers, and recent post. Additionally a user can link RSS feeds to their lens which provides a great way to link to their company blog. Squidoo also provides a number of other modules that allow users to link to any website on the Internet.
In addition to useful content eye candy is another major part of retaining visitors. Users want to be presented with exciting design and content not something that appears dull. Pictures are a great way to add to the user experience and provoke more positive reaction.
Again the purpose is to entice visitors and avoid being boring. Using the same module over and over again will tire quickly unless of course you have some amazing content. Change up your lens structure by alternating between the hundreds of available modules.
Squidoo allows users to associate forty tags with their lens. It’s advised that you use all forty keywords because each one acts as another way for other users to locate your lens. It is important to use tags that are relevant to the topic to ensure that the correct audience is being targeted. In addition to the forty lens tags, users can also add tags in their pictures and other link modules.
Squidoo and other social network users like to be able to communicate and interact with other users. On a Squidoo lens, users can engage their visitors by can creating comment modules, polls, surveys, guest books, sharing modules, user spotlights, videos, pictures, and links to other social media websites.
How to Maintain Your Squidoo:
Although it only takes a short time to put together a lens in order for it to stand out amongst others it will require more time and effort. Once the initial lens is created you should still perform regular updates and continue to provide useful information. Putting in the extra time to progress your lens and maintain its quality is well worth the chance of it appearing on the search engine results page. Continuous updates and optimization will most likely lead to an increase in Squidoo page visits, traffic to your business website, PageRank, and hopefully conversion rate.
For more information check out the following links
Thanks for Reading have a Great Day!
Dustin
CDTek.com
Tags: content, internet marketing, lens, lenses, module, Small Business, Squidoo, Squidoo lens
Posted in Marketing, Small Business Tips, Social Networking | No Comments »
Friday, June 10th, 2011
Over the past couple of years the number of resources available for small businesses has grown tremendously with the growth of new technology. With innovative technology like Smartphones and tablet PC’s, businesses now have access to a number of applications that are designed for a variety of professions. Cutting costs are important for most businesses but it is also important that they retain their quality which is why many companies have begun to utilize the free or low cost applications to assist with day to day operations. When using these applications, business professionals are able to elevate their service and productivity to a whole new level.
from http://www.apple.com/ipad/, June 2011
The Apple iPad is a great example of how mobile technology has revolutionized the manner in which both large and small businesses can operate. A recent commercial from Apple showcases the iPad in use in different work and social environments. The commercial really speaks to how we can successfully integrate technology into our daily lives and expand on all our experiences. The iPad commercial sets a positive tone for the future of our technology as it advertises that this is only the beginning and this type of technology is “just getting started”.
The following applications are completely free and cover a wide range of uses. These innovative developments cover activities like business development, communication, marketing, payment and sales, customer management, and much more. Many of the mobile applications listed below work across different devices and platforms like the BlackBerry, iPhone, iPad, and Android devices.
Email Marketing: Communicate with your customers. Don’t wait for them to come to you, go to them.
- Tiny Letter– This is an easy to use service that lets a user type and design email newsletters. The service will send them out according to the specifications set by the customer.
- MailChimp- With MailChimp you can Design, send, share on social networks, and track your email campaigns. This service lets you send up to 20,000 emails and have 2,000 subscribers completely free.
Professional Development: Add, follow, and manage professional relationships with clients, co-workers, and associates.
- NoteLeaf– After scheduling a meeting on your Google calendar this phone app will send out an alert prior to the meeting. The alert provides the user with important meeting information like who you’re meeting, a picture of who you’re meeting, where you’re meeting them, directions how to get there, the time of the meeting, a link to quick contact in case you’re running late, and other specified information.
- Card Munch– With this service you can take a picture of a business card and it will be transcribed into a contact format. The actual transcription is reviewed by real team of individuals to ensure accuracy. Card Munch not only places the new contact in your phones primary contact folder but also adds the contact in its own in app contact folder. This app also backs up all scanned contacts for an easy sync process and uses the logos on the business cards as the person’s picture.
- Bump– Lets two individuals exchange contact info, pictures, videos, music, and other information just by bumping their phones together.
Presentations: Prepare notes, design, and execute presentations flawlessly without spending.
- Slideshare- With Slideshare customers can create, upload, and access a presentation from anywhere with an Internet connection.
- 280 Slides- Allows users to create or upload existing presentation directly in the browser. These presentations are stored on a server and can be accessed from any location at any time. Customers can upload images or videos and include them in their presentations. They can also export the created slideshow as a PowerPoint presentation.
Backup and File Sharing: Backup your information on cloud storage and easily share files with other users.
- Amazon Cloud Drive- Amazon offers 5GB free of online storage. Users can store, share, and access their data from anywhere.
- Dropbox- Dropbox Lets users places up to 2GB of content into their drop box and automatically syncs their drop box contents to their other devices. The content is also stored on the Drop Box site so that it is never lost and can be shared easily with other users.
- Box.net- Box.net offers 5BG free data so that users can upload, manage, and share business resources online.
Customer Relationship Management: Acquire and keep your customers satisfied.
- SalesForce Mobile– Keeps your customer records and information at your fingertips where ever you are. The mobile version of this is free but users will need to pay a minimum of $2 to be an actual Sales Force web customer.
Video Production: Create and Share marketing videos with your audience.
- Ustream.tv– Easily stream live events, build an audience, and express your message to your customers.
- Live Stream– This is a broadcasting platform that lets you connect and engage your audiences as you share your message across the web and mobile devices.
Social Media Monitoring: Stay connected with your following and monitor your social media impact.
- Postling- This service helps customers create content, stay organized, and reach out to their customers.
- Crowdbooster – Measures your social performance on Twitter and Facebook and helps customers optimize for social media marketing.
Time Management and Note Taking: Increase your efficiency by knowing what is going on and when it is happening.
- Workflowy- Organize all of your thoughts in one place, categorize them, and review them easily. Workflowy is as easy to use as a simple text editor and can increase productivity and organization.
- Evernote- This web app allows users to save or make note of virtually anything imaginable. It also offers several compatible mobile apps that expand on the experience. With Evernote users can save anything, organize it, and access it anywhere.
Legal Advice: Get your Legal questions and find out the latest new on legal cases.
- Law Pivot- U sers can find answers to all their confidential legal questions at Law Pivot. After a user submits their questions the Law Pivot team identifies qualified lawyers to answer the question. They then send back multiple answers to the user.
Communications: Don’t limit your business to expensive phone services that lack options and important features.
- Google Voice- This service works with any existing phone service plan and offers some great features like one number, this option lets users choose one number for multiple phones. The Google Voice number will control which ever phone(s) the user selects. The service can be customized for specific callers or calling times, also the service transcribes voice mail to a written and organized communication record.
- Skype– Is an Internet phone company that offers free Skype to Skype calls, one to one video calls, instant messaging, and screen sharing. Skype also offers a ton of other features with their payment plans.
Customer and Employee Training : Teach your customers and employees through online courses and videos.
- Mindflash- Create employee training courses from scratch or existing material. Mindflash enables employers to track the progress of their trainees and also includes tests and quizzes.
- Udemy- Lets users create online teaching videos for any subject matter. These videos can be used as promotional tools to generate customer awareness or as an educational resource for customers and employees.
Customer Support: Connect with your clients
- Zopim- Provides a live chat widget where the business can perform live sales and provide customer support. The widget works across multiple browser and even works across mobile devices.
Group Building and Collaboration: Create an effective and collaborative environment where people enjoy communicating with each other.
- Teamly– Connect and share with co-workers. This online communication platform lets workers prioritize their daily task and communicate any problems or progress.
- Yammer– Provides a private internal corporate communication system for employees to develop group communication and organization. The network works similar to the social networking site Facebook.
These are only some of the many online and mobile applications available to you and your business. Free alternatives are always a good option especially if they are able to provide the same value and benefit as those with expensive price tags.
Thanks for Reading have a Great Day!
Dustin
CDTek.com
Tags: Android, Apple, Mobile, mobile app, Productivity, Small Business, Small Business Tools, web apps, web services
Posted in Business Software, Mobile Applications, Productivity, Small Business Tips | No Comments »
Friday, March 25th, 2011
Small businesses are always looking for new ways to increase efficiency and promote productivity. Whether it is through the implementation of new processes or using new and exciting gadgets, the main goals of a business are to find a way to maximize effort, limit costs, and achieve a higher return on their investment (ROI). 
Technology has changed the way many businesses go about their day to day tasks for the better. Not only is technology changing the approach of small businesses but it is making it easier by opening the door to many new opportunities. Taking a look at all the technological gadgets released over the past couple years we have compiled a short list of tools that could potentially benefit a small business.
Advancement is necessary for any business to survive in today’s work environment and remaining stationary for too long will only ensure that they will fall behind their competition. It is best to stay informed with the latest tools and techniques and continually work towards being able to incorporate them in the business to remain productive. Although smart phones and tablet PC’s can be very beneficial we decided to avoid mentioning any on our list of gadgets and tried to focus on gadgets that compliment devices already found in most workplaces. Take a look below at some of the tools we think can boost a company’s performance and see which ones you could benefit from.
iGo Portable Projector:
The iGo Portable Projector is a great tool whether you have to give a presentation to a client, supervisor, or even an in-house team. This projector is pocket sized, making it ideal for an offsite presentation. It works with input A/V, HDMI, USB, and has a 70” display that can be projected on any flat surface. Regular projectors can sell for anywhere between $400 upwards to $2,000 and do not offer the same portability of the iGO Projector. Offered at $299, the iGo Portable Projector is a great way for a business to save money while still being able to keep up with the competition and perform flawless presentations.
VuPoint Solutions Magic Wand Portable Scanner:
The Magic Wand Portable Scanner is just one of the many portable scanners available today and is another great portable resource for small businesses. The portable option allows individuals to scan documents in almost every environment. The Magic Wand scanner has been around for some time now, however coming in June 2011 they plan to release a model that will be able to transfer scans via Bluetooth. The Bluetooth model will allow scans to be sent to a computer or wireless printer. Currently their models only save the scans using a MicroSD card and needs a user to access the provided software in order to interface with the scans. This tool is a great way to conserve paper resources and is available for $99. (No price is currently set for Bluetooth model coming in June)
Belkin In-Desk USB Hub:
Ever run out of USB ports and find yourself unplugging important devices, the In-Desk USB Hub adds four additional USB ports to a user’s computer. Most computers now come equipped with plenty of USB ports however some businesses still have employees that are working with older computer models. Whether it’s because the computer only came with limited ports or if you already have a lot of devices plugged in, the Belkin USB hub adds room for additional resources. The USB Hub fits into the 3” round opening that most desks come equipped which reduces the clutter on your desk while still allowing your computer cords to pass through.
HP PhotoSmart eStation:
The HP PhotoSmart eStation Printer is taking printers to a whole new level. This device offers full web browsing through a detachable 7” handheld monitor that can act as a printer remote or a stand alone portable companion. This great tool incorporates high performance printing, scanning, and copying as well as faxing without a phone line. This unit is completely wireless, conserves less energy and resources through double side printing, and allows web printing without accessing your computer. The eStation offers a unique tablet PC experience plus all of the printing capability at about $299.
DYMO Label and Postage Printer:
With the LabelWriter 450 Twin Turbo Dual Roll Label and Postage Printer you can print up to 71 labels per minute and it a great option for any business that has to do a lot of mailing. The software service used for the postage printer is provided by Endicia which is a licensed USPS Postage provider. This gadget is a great way to save time as well as money for ink and toner.
These are just some of the many devices out there that can potentially greatly benefit your company. Some of the other devices we considered were the APC SmartUPS Uninterruptable Power Supply, Staples 15-Sheet Micro-Cut Shredder, Xerox Business Card Scanner, Square Mobile Credit Card Reader, and the Logitech Webcam C905.
Thanks for Reading have a Great Day!
Dustin
CDTek.com
Tags: business, Computer, device, gadgets, portable, promote productivity, Small Business, tech, tools
Posted in Business Tools, Small Business Tips | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011
A primary function of a server is hosting shared resources for your business. A server is a centralized, robust computer that allows other computers in your office to quickly retrieve shared files or run shared software.
 from lenovo.com March 2011 As your small business grows, accumulates data, and employs more staff, the strain put on a simple workgroup networked computer may become to great making the server inefficient. At this point the need to share data is crucial and it may be a good time to consider purchasing a server.
What do you look for in a server?
Which server is best for your small business?
Below are some elements to contemplate when purchasing a server:
Price:
What can your small business afford? Buy a server that fits your current needs and when considering server specifications allow some room for growth. Keeping long term growth in mind is wise because although at the time you may not need it you might eventually need to expand. Prices for entry level servers typically range from $500 to $5,000 depending on the brand, model and features.
Size and Shape:
Contrary to what you might imagine, servers come in two primary formats, tower and rackable. A basic, entry level server in a tower format (upright as opposed to rackable) might be best for your small business because it has essentially the same footprint as desktop. A rackable server would work best if you currently have one or more server racks or are soon considering adding a server rack and adding more equipment.
Processor and Memory:
A processor directly affects the speed and performance of the machine. Choosing the best processor for the server you are considering, will ensure that your server can perform the necessary tasks at an efficient and productive speed. Similarly, the more memory available in the server will also affect the speed because it will have more room for the server to store temporary data and process information. Processors with 2GHz or more are usually suitable entry level servers for small businesses. Most entry level servers come equipped with a minimum of 1GB or 2 GB of memory and have the option for expansion depending on the needs of your business. It would be wise, if in your budget permits to purchase a minimum of 4GB of memory for optimal performance.
Hard Drive Redundancy:
It is important to consider the data requirements of your business. How much down time due to server problems an acceptable? The server technology known as RAID allows different levels of data redundancy and fault tolerance. The most common forms of RAID are RAID with a level 0 which does not provide fault tolerance and RAID level 1 which mirrors data, or writes data to two drives at the same time. If one drive were to fail, your data is still available on the other drive, you simply swap in a new drive and the mirror is recreated. Less common on entry level servers are RAID 5 and RAID 10 which have a much higher fault tolerance though it may be overkill for most small businesses when contemplating needs versus return on investment (ROI). While speaking of drives, some entry level servers have hot swappable drives, a very convenient function, which allows hard drives to be sapped while the server is still powered on.
Additional factors to consider include the server’s Operating System, Expansion Options, and Server Maintenance.
In an upcoming article we will be looking at some recommended small business servers: HP ProLiant MicroServer, Lenovo ThinkServer TS200v, and Dell PowerEdge T310.
More information about When and Why to Consider a Server.
Thanks for Reading have a Great Day!
Dustin
CDTek.com
Tags: entry level, Server, Small Business
Posted in Business Tools, Computers, Small Business Tips | No Comments »
Friday, February 25th, 2011
Customer relationship management software like Infusionsoft can be great a way to manage the expectations of your clients. The Infusionsoft application is much more than just email and provides a fully integrated customer documentation center. CRM software creates an interface where you are able to store all the details concerning customer interactions including but not limited to their contact information, personal notes, and recorded conversations.  Among the other well known customer relationship management companies are Salesforce, Constant Contact, and ONContact.
Going beyond the role of a traditional email account, CRM software not only compiles your company contacts but makes it possible for you to keep track of any information that could play a key role in your customer relationships. Almost working as a high powered client cheat sheet this type of software contains everything you need to know about your client, greatly benefiting your customer communication skills. When utilizing customer relationship managers there are three important phases acquiring, enhancing, and retaining. Infusionsoft and software like it are designed strictly to achieve success in all three stages. These types of programs attempt to acquire new customers, enhance the customer service experience, and generate a lasting impression on the customer in order to retain their customer loyalty.
With CRM software you are able to fully integrate your business’s website to gain leads, maintain contacts, and grow your client list. By using a built in form builder you can quickly establish submission forms for your website that automatically links potential client data to your Infusionsoft client database. The Infusionsoft application can play a powerful role in your email marketing campaign. In an attempt to increase the effectiveness of an email marketing campaign Infusionsoft facilitates the creation of professional emails, selection of targeted consumers, and the monitoring and tracking of all your business to client transmissions.
In addition Infusionsoft comes fully equipped with Smart automation that allows automated marketing, automated follow-ups, automated sales-cycles, and automated fulfillment. Not only does Smart automation enable you to save time but it also maintains contact with current as well as potential future clients. The automation is fully customizable for each individual client thus building a better relationship and establishing standards for each or your interactions. Auto responding prevents users of Infusionsoft software from missing important dates or losing key leads. By establishing the built in triggers you are able to follow the leads that are the hottest and remove the guessing aspect of your customer interactions.
All in all, businesses can certainly exist without using CRM Software as long as they find other methods of meeting the expectations and needs of their customers. However with CRM applications the basic groundwork is already provided and makes it that much easier to keep your customers happy and your relationships growing strong. So, why not utilize a customer relationship management program or an application like it to make your job a little easier and your business a lot better!
Among the advantages that Customer Relationship Management Software provides are:
- Increase in quality
- Increase in efficiency
- Decrease in cost
- Better customer support
- Swift business actions
To learn about additional features that Infusionsoft offers visit Infusionsoft Additional Features!
Thanks for Reading have a Great Day!
Dustin
CDTek.com
Tags: client, customer, Customer Relationship Management, customer service, infusionsoft, relationship, Small Business, software
Posted in Communication, Customer Relationship Management, Productivity | 1 Comment »
Friday, February 11th, 2011
So if you haven’t heard of LinkedIn, it is a social networking site similar to Facebook. The major difference between the two sites is that LinkedIn is geared more for professional networking and development. LinkedIn allows individuals from any career to establish and build their professional profile and provides users with the ability to connect, share, learn, and explore opportunities with one another.
Remaining in touch with career contacts can make the difference in today’s professional environment. LinkedIn can keep you front and center and can prevent you from possibly missing out on valuable career opportunities. In today’s world it is easy to lose track of business contacts as people change jobs often and/or move more frequently than in the past. This impediment is reduced or eliminated with a professional social networking site like LinkedIn.
LinkedIn enables users to confidently create and update their professional portfolio, thus giving the individuals the ability to choose how they are seen by others in the professional community. A bonus of LinkedIn is that when someone Google’s you the first result will likely be your LinkedIn profile page, therefore providing an advantage for you to show yourself off.
Having a network of professional contacts is a great resource to have! LinkedIn constructs an environment where you can search experts, careers, companies, locations, and keywords. After establishing a profile you can seek out and collaborate with other users and gain significant knowledge along the way.
LinkedIn provides a tremendous opportunity for you as a professional as well as your small business. It is a great tool to generate awareness about you and all that you can do!
Major benefits of being LinkedIn include:
- Access to your colleagues’ network
- Access to your colleagues’ resumes
- Self promotion
- Event promotion
- Expression of your ideas
- Access to knowledge
- Joining forces with other professionals
- Job searching
- Tracking and Following of your career
- Professional Development
For everything LinkedIn, visit the LinkedIn Learning Center through the links below:
Get LinkedIn!
Getting Started!
10 Ways to use LinkedIn!
Thanks for Reading have a Great Day!
Dustin
CDTek.com
Tags: career portfolio, contacts, Linkedin, network, professional, professional community, Small Business, social
Posted in Business Tools, Communication, Small Business Tips | No Comments »
Thursday, January 27th, 2011
Creating professional email with the proper business etiquette is an easy enough concept but with a lack of face to face communication it is not uncommon for businesses to neglect to be professional. Often email serves as a quick method of corresponding between two or more individuals but due to social networking and methods such as texting, the written language has taken a hit. Although texting and social media are beneficial and respectable ways to communicate, they frequently convey slang or shorthand which of course can carry over to the other forms of communication like email.
A majority of the time we may find ourselves typing or writing “u” instead of “you”  or some other shortened version of a word. This type of shorthand is fine in some cases or if you have a good relationship with the correspondent, but with professional writing, it is important that we follow certain guidelines when it comes to conveying our messages. If we’re unable to communicate in a professional manner it is very easy for the reader to not take us seriously, as they normally would. The following are a few tips on how properly construct business emails.
- Establish a professional email account:
The name says it all and no one is going to take us seriously if our email address is inappropriate or juvenile. Use one that has your name or company name on it, or better yet use your company’s email account with your company’s domain name.
- Address the recipients using their full name and title:
Give the recipient that you are communicating with the proper respect and recognition that they deserve (Hello Dr. Smith,).
- Fill in the subject line:
Provide a summary of the topic you plan to discuss in the email so people know what the email is about. Letting the recipient know what they will be reading about draws more attention to the email as well as the emails level of importance.
- Proper greeting:
Although it is a business email it is polite to ask how someone is doing with brief chit chat. Be personable and move forward onto the core reason for the email. This helps to establish a good relationship with the person you are contacting, shows that you are caring, and can break up some of the heaviness of the message.
- Watch the tone of the email:
Often when writing tone can easily be misunderstood and could cause confusion or misunderstandings. Keep your tone in mind throughout the email and if you think that the phrasing has the potential to be misconstrued, rephrase the sentence more appropriately.
- Be concise:
Make sure that you are making your point without getting too wordy or confusing. Re-check to ensure that you have made your point and have covered all the necessary components that you needed to include (bullet points may be helpful).
- Don’t get fancy:
Try to stick with one text font and color. Use a font color that is easy to read, like black, and try to only use a color if you need to draw the recipient’s attention to something that is important. Using multiple fonts can make email harder to read.
- Proof read:
Proofing your email cannot be stressed enough. Nothing is worse than having misspellings and sentences that do not make any sense. Read your email out loud, find any problems and make any needed adjustments. Just because the spelling and grammar checker may not have found an error doesn’t mean that you are off the hook, it is still possible for your email to have mistakes (to, two, too).
- Avoid abbreviating:
Avoid using slang and phrases that you may use outside of a professional environment.
- Polish the email:
After correcting any mistakes polish off the email with a nice conclusion. Wrap up any loose topics and conclude your message appropriately.
- Signature:
Sign the email with a personal electronic signature and footer. Create a permanent footer for all your emails that include your name, signature, position, company, and any other elements you find necessary. For an example of email sign off check out the link email footer.
These tips are here to help you make a good impression of being professional, polite, and concise so utilize them when necessary. The reasons to have better email etiquette are clear. Suitable email practices convey that you are professional, respectful; they build better working relationships, leaving a good impression, and can generate future business.
For more tips on creating effective business emails visit:
Business Email Etiquette
32 Important Email Tips
Thanks for Reading have a Great Day!
Dustin
CDTek.com
We are an information technology firm providing Internet Marketing and Technical Support to businesses.
Tags: business, email, etiquette, internet, professional, Small Business
Posted in Communication, Etiquette, Small Business Tips | 1 Comment »
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