The Business Pod's Blog

It’s a great time to be an entrepreneur—in the last decade, technology has leveled the playing field and propelled an entrepreneurial revolution. As an entrepreneur, you now have more access to information that enables you to make more intelligent choices more quickly. You have an advantage over big businesses in that you’re lighter, more flexible, and faster on your feet. You can target new markets more quickly, and you can turn on a dime. But being a successful entrepreneur requires that you look at the big picture and follow a plan through from beginning to end. Rieva Lesonsky, editor-in-chief of Entrepreneur Magazine gives some practical guidelines that can help you when beginning your own enterprise: 1.Don’t Quit Your Day Job. Consider starting your business part-time, especially if it’s online, while you’re working and have a steady income. It usually takes six months to a year to get a business going and you don’t want your ability to make your house payment to hinge upon...

Growing your small business using Facebook can be a very rewarding experience, but it can also be challenging and frustrating.  Here are 4 tips you need to know to grow your Facebook fans and likes.  #1 Make an Offer Promotions, discounts and free stuff are all very popular on Facebook. It is a way to offer your customers something of great value and they love it! You can offer a discount to anyone that mentions you on Facebook when they shop with you. You can build your reach (likes and fans) by making it simple for your visitors to distribute your message beyond your current fan base and then make it easy to redeem whatever you have offered them (discount or gift). #2 Boost The Posts That Are Important Use ‘Boosted Posts’ to help you increase your audience reach. Enter the amount you are going to set aside for your promotion and Facebook immediately tells you how many people that reach will generate. You can target your reach so that your message is getting to the ri...

Everyone has a desire to be rich, but actually only a few get there. Why is that? Many would like to believe it’s because others are luckier than they are, and while that might be the case for the minority that win the lottery or inherit a fortune, that’s not the case for most.  Getting rich requires desire, dedication, skill, and patience. You must be ready to take a risk and weather the storm that followers. Getting rich doesn’t happen overnight, but you can make it happen. You can have that life you dream of. 1. Dream big – It begins with having a dream. Write it down, create a mind map of what your life will look like when you are wealthy. Know what it is you want and how you think you’ll get there. It’s not good enough just to have wishful thinking. Your dream needs to resemble reality and that starts with your imagination. 2. Live within your means – One of the biggest mistakes people make is to live beyond what their true means are and credit has made that possible. T...

Can you think of any memorable talk or presentation you have ever attended? It is sad to know that most of the presentations are easy to forget, especially when the main reason behind the presentation was to communicate something to you. But if you remember these four basic things, then be assured that your verbal messages will be understood and remembered for long.  Though these things may sound somewhat obvious and deceptively simple, they are of immense importance. 1.     You should understand your presentation’s purpose. 2.     Don’t confuse things; keep your message clear and exact. 3.     Be prepared well to face the audience and their questions. 4.     Don’t be monotonous; instead be vivid while giving the speech. Always be clear about what you want to achieve. It is essential that you know and understand that before you start working on your presentation or speech.  You need to know what you w...

It is quite possible to easily cope with stress if you find the right activities to help you get your mind off the problem that's bothering you. Even if having fun does not directly get rid of the source of the problem entirely, diverting your mind from it for a short period of time will calm you down and regain your composure before taking it on again. You don’t have to go on an extended vacation just to get rid of stress. In fact, you can easily have fun while in the comforts of your own home to get your mind off it. You can indulge in word or board games, sports, music and art, and many others to fill up your time with something you like to do and forget your problems to help you relax. Let Your Mind Have Some Fun Since stress is centered on your mind, then it would only be plausible to divert it into something more productive and fun. Try to delve into games that require your mind to think. Chess is a great way to stop thinking about the problem and focus more on how...

You hear others talk about inbound marketing but at this point, you aren’t quite sure where you stand on it. Most will agree that video seems to be an excellent tool to help get new leads and then to connect with those new leads, eventually transforming them into happy customers. But most marketers would also agree that doing marketing video is completely different than any other marketing technique. If you are afraid to explore marketing videos, you aren’t alone. Most of us find ourselves so scared to death after hearing others describe it as ‘tough’ or ‘too hard for beginners.’ We’re here to tell you and convince you that those are nothing but mere fallacies and that you just like anyone who has created a video before you can do this. There’s a lot of negative talk around the marketing video, but think about this; if your competition can keep you away from doing, successful videos it’s better for them. The solution is to make it sound like videos are very difficult to do and they a...

Life has a way of interfering us while we are going after our dreams. It distracts us from pursuing things that really matter and even convinces us that nothing really matters. It can attract us to adopt a defeatist attitude – lacking on enthusiasm and interest – ultimately sapping out our sense of purpose. But there are ways to stay motivated, no matter how you feel about everything around you. These are not easy, far from that, but are nevertheless very helpful in keeping yourself fired with motivation. Develop the attitude of interest . Find the thing you are most passionate about. The happiest people, they say, are those people who do the things they love the most. It is not coincidental that they are the most motivated people as well. After all, passion and motivation go hand in hand. They are closely intertwined to create a person who is full of zest about everything. Nearly every successful people are very passionate about what they do. In most cases, this very th...

Should Small Businesses have a web presence? In one word, yes! The internet is the most effective marketing tools in existence  nowadays, have the capability of reaching far more people than any leaflet drop or advertisement in the local paper ever will.  Should you produce your own website? It all depends on your skills, if you have the ability to produce a site that looks good, then go ahead, it will save you money and will work wonders as a marketing tool. However if your skills are limited or non-existent then we'd say no. Why?because if your site doesn't have a professional look to it, then it is going to reflect badly on your company's image.  Do you need to spend lots of money? It really depends on the size of your website, if you're looking simply get a presence on the internet, then you can easily get something for around £350 if you take the time to look, if you're really getting into the idea of being online and effectively having your shop exist...

Marketing tactics can be extremely complex or quite simple. Ironically, the simple tactics are the ones that are most effective and successful. Value-added headlines, informative content, and visual appeal are simple tactics that can drive conversions and sales. For example, one simple tactic is to make it quick and easy for web visitors and customers to view information on your website. Allowing adequate white space, creating short sentences, and keeping enough space between words, sentences, and paragraphs will make your site more appealing. In addition, the strategic use of keywords and keyword phrases will attract search engines and keep site visitors scanning your content. Words that demonstrate how your product adds value will capture attention and focus the reader on “what’s in it for them”. And these are also valuable search engine optimisation techniques that will drive visitors to your website. Simple marketing tactics A very important tactic is to make eve...

Starting a business and becoming successful is often part of the Dream. But there is a difference between starting a business and building a successful business. Many businesses fail within the first few years of existence due to the lack of planning for the long-term. There is not enough vision and there is not enough done to strengthen the business properly from the ground up. If you want to start a business there is an easy way to get a better understanding of why some businesses fail and others don't. When starting a business think about it similar to building a house. If done right it is protecting you against any kind of storm or danger of the outside world and will last for a long time. It offers shelter and protection. For you and your business that could be translated to that you want to have a business that is able to weather economical ups and downs (=storm) and that will provide income to pay the bills (shelter and protection). When building a house there are seve...

One of the hardest presentations to make is the entrepreneurial pitch. You have a great idea for a business and you want someone to give you money to make it happen. The problem is that venture capitalists, angel investors, and even rich uncles are heavily predisposed against you. Why? Because 99% of the pitches they hear sound like sure-fire prescriptions to lose money! If you are pitching investors to give you money for a new venture, you should subscribe to the following rules: 1. Explain exactly what your business is within the first thirty seconds. Many entrepreneurs waste valuable time giving loads of data, background and other info—all the while investors are left scratching their heads thinking “What does this business actually DO?” 2. Tell your audience who your customers will be. Paint a vivid, specific picture of these people. 3.  Explain why your customers going to give you there hard-earned money. 4. Explain who your competitors are. (And if you say you hav...

Are you thinking about setting up your own business? Have you an idea for a new business but are unsure about how to proceed? If you have answered yes to either of these questions, this article could be of benefit to you. I am going to write about how to plan and create a successful small business. Many people are looking at ways in which they can become self-employed as they have had enough of being dictated to and fed up of long and frustrating commutes to work. They want the freedom of being their own boss and to be able to choose their own hours of work. Leaving a full time career can be quite a scary prospect however. The security of having a regular income and other benefits such as a pension and a share save scheme can seem hard to let go. I am sure many people whether rightly or wrongly have opted to stick with this security and to merely keep their business plan as an idea, which they never see through or use. Other people are willing and happy to take the risk and se...

If you’ve been researching keyword phrases and popular keywords you’ve likely found that many popular potential markets are quite broad.  When you brainstorm and research to come up with ideas for your new business, it’s likely that the first ideas you identify are likely to be broad markets. It’s generally better to try to identify market niches (or sub-markets of the broader market) on which to build your business. Trying to compete with other business at a broad market level would likely require a substantial amount of time and effort, and probably financial resources as well. Instead, you can increase our chances of success by identifying a market niche.  Using a weight loss market example, you might focus on keyword terms such as “fat burning foods” or “low carb diets”?  By targeting a market niche, there would likely be much less competition from other businesses, so you’ll have a greater chance of bringing targeted prospects to you.  And this, of course,...

Successful marketing tactics begin with the end in mind. After all, if you don’t know where you’re going, how do you expect to know how to get there? That makes it essential to understand exactly what the customer wants and anticipate their needs long before they begin a search for a product or service. But how do you really know how to visualise the future?  What can you do to turn your small business into a huge business with high profits, high conversions, and high profits ? Start by knowing your customer This is the #1 marketing tactic that every marketer must know, believe, and understand. It’s not enough to have a general knowledge of the market and the customer. It’s vital to know the audience and relate directly to their needs. It’s about anticipating their next move and then their next move after that. And it’s about appealing to their emotional needs. Understanding the customer begins with a clear picture of who they are and what key characteristics th...

v   State your goal in very specific terms that you can accept v   Plan backwards from your goal for the best results v   Confront your fears and expectations immediately and progressively v   Put your plan on paper and into action as soon as possible             Your goal If you don't know where you are going, you can't decide how to get there, but if you do know where you are going, you’ll get there faster. Goals like “Go back to school” are too general and not specific enough. You have to translate these goals into specific statements such as "Enter a college accounting program by next fall" or "For the next two months, search for work in the computer securities field.” You have to know exactly what you want to do and when to go about it.             Plan Backwards One of the best ways to move forward is to plan backwards. Start by asking...

Those who spend more time with their works tend to suffer from stress more than the other. The mental and emotional burden that is often attributed to the demands of work can affect our productivity and efficiency with our task that would often lead us to troubles than not. This is one reason why it is very important for workaholics to undertake stress management to avoid compromising their career. You don’t have to be in a special place to apply stress management. In fact, you can do it anytime and anywhere if you feel like it. You can do it while at your work desk, in the comfort room, or even out in the lobby. The idea here is to control your mind to relax so that you can continue fresh with your task - emotionally, physically, and mentally. Here are some tips that will surely help you out. Tip # 1: Understand The Cause Of Your Stress You will never be able to get rid of stress if you don’t know what's causing it. The first stress management tip you might want to a...