October 2, 2007. Its a typical day at SEOhaus in the largest office located within the companys 1400sqft. space, employees sit in a semi-circle around a cordless speaker phone.

“We need to really focus on improving our PR,” a client says, his voice on speaker phone audible throughout the room.

“We can do that,” one of the employees says, glancing down at the yellow legal pad on her lap. “Lets come up with a solution.”

Ten minutes later, when the meeting ends, the employees disperse to their respective offices, and the companys owners, William Senn, 26, and William Canu, 25, take a short break from their hectic work schedules to share what its like being an entrepreneur under 30.

“Were growing so fast,” Canu says, leaning back in his office chair and glancing over his shoulder at the busy traffic below on Kettner Blvd. “Its amazing.”

The two Williams, who started SEOhaus from the proceeds of their last business venture’s mail-order DVD rental service, have seen their company grow from a single room with two employees (themselves) to a small business with approximately ten full-time employees and growing. Next week, the company will move to a much larger office suite down the hall.

“Were excited,” says Senn, a former Google employee.” The walls of the new office are being painted right now, and it (the move) is starting to feel official.”

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is all about the art of achieving increased traffic, presence, and page rankings (i.e. higher search results) for a website, and this is achieved by a variety of different methods, including, but not limited to: building links, writing and marketing SEO content articles, social bookmarking, and web design.

“SEOhaus is a boutique firm,” Senn explains, “We specialize in customized services, and our employees are very good at what they do.”

SEOhaus and its twenty-something owners, represent a growing trend in American business: young entrepreneurs making an impact in their respective industries and developing successful businesses before their 30th birthday.

Their generation, known as Generation Y (1981-1995) is a generation of young entrepreneurs. The online publication Inc.com recently released the list of the “thirty coolest entrepreneurs under thirty,” profiling individuals who began their own companies—some while still living in their parents houses, and have seen them grow exponentially in only a few short years.

Are you tired of the day-to-day grind of corporate environments? Are you thinking about starting your own small business but worried about where to get your start up capital? If so, consider how grant money for small business can help you along.

But first things first. Whats this youre hearing about free money scams? A lot of people are saying that theres no such thing as grant money for small business since government does not give away money so you can start your own for-profit business. In fact, government grants are often limited to community-based projects or those that would do the general public some good like research on a cure for cancer for instance, or something simpler like a street-paving project.

But to say that grant money for small business is nonexistent is a bit going over the top. Believe it or not, there are actually a lot of funders out there, besides the government, that are willing to provide you with funds so long as your project or your idea fits their funding objectives. The only problem is that while grant money for small business is out there, especially from the government, theres often a lot of red tape involved. The key, therefore, is to remain dogged in your quest for seed money.

When it comes to grants, the first place that people often turn to is the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance, which is where all listings of government grants approved by Congress are announced. But the problem with this resource is that there are only very few grant money for small business programs available. And we all know that to increase our chances of getting grant money for small business, we need to increase the number of our resources as well. So, we cant just depend on only one resource, the CFDA, for your grant.

A variety of local sources may provide you with the grant money for small business you need. Heres all you need to know:

Dig Deep

Grant money for small business is often buried within other programs used as incentives to attract, retain, or grow small businesses such as enterprise and empowerment zones. As good starting points, consider incubators, universities, small business development centers, and business information centers, as well as your local chamber of commerce and professional organizations.

Consider Contracts

Government money can sometimes come in the form of contracts. If you can demonstrate that your company can execute a budget line item, if you can shape part of your idea to what the government wants done for a particular project say something educational or construction-oriented if you can fill a need, you can compete, says Francie Ward, CEO of the Business Owners Idea Caf at BusinessOwnersIdeaCafe.com.

Competitions Can Yield Cash

If your application for grant money for small business and presentation pass muster, there are organizations that will give you the cash you need. While its true that there are many grant opportunities out there, it doesnt mean that all of that will just somehow miraculously fall on your lap without you having to lift a single finger. The truth is you will need to worka lot. And you will need to shine. If you compete with other grant seekers, your chances of getting that grant money for small business will increase.

Numerous times folks who are curious in opening their own business make the err of going in direction over their heads and the entire matter easily becomes a huge mistake. If you’ve ever wondered why a small business seems to just go over much better then you are definitely in the right place because in this article I am hoping to provide you with some of the answers to questions such as that. A small business does have some wonderful benefits, there is absolutely no doubt about that and I have seen on many different occasions that someone’s small business always seems to become much more of a success than any of the larger businesses in that same area. Many times when someone does choose to open a small business and it only turns out to be the biggest mistake of their life, it is simply because they chose to jump into something without first giving it a great deal of thought.

Owning and managing a small business is much easier than trying to control every single aspect of any larger type of business and your stress levels will definitely be much lower if you could begin teaching yourself more about what it takes to make any business work. Maintaining a small business is really something that anyone of us could do but if you have not had the proper information given to you or have not spent enough time learning about every aspect of the business, you really are only setting yourself up for a huge financial disaster, which it surely did not have to be. Nobody goes into any type of business venture assuming that it is just all going to fail but most people that go into owning and managing any small business definitely has some little concerns about being able to keep it afloat. A small business can provide you with enough income that you would never need to work a second job for fears of not being able to afford everything. This is only possible however, for those of you who are truly committed to making the small business a huge success.

For anybody out there that is maybe considering delving into some type of small business venture, please make sure that you first speak with other business owners in your area to find out some of the small details that could really make you or break you. Knowing the important key things that could set you up for success is really something very important and if you give others the opportunity to advise you on some of the aspects of your small business, chances are you will not have to stay up all night trying to figure out how in the world you could ever possibly make ends meet. It is up to you to really make this a success because it will not happen overnight, have patience and plenty of drive, with those two things you are more than likely going to be smiling all the way to the bank!

Everyone I have ever talked to that is an entrepreneur has had to come face to face with their fears. I have had to as well. I want to share with you some of the techniques that I have used to face them. The first step is not to be in denial. You have fears even if you dont readily acknowledge them. They sometimes take the form of that chatter in the back of your head that says you cant do it.

Fear is such a huge issue preventing people from becoming entrepreneurs. I have heard from the CEO of a real-estate based network marketing company that even though he has people packing out company seminars, that maybe 2-5% of people will actually go out and apply the knowledge by putting offers on real estate. He is convinced that the rest are paralyzed by fear.

Here are some of the techniques I have used as I learned them from the entrepreneurs I know:

Think about what you do want. When you find yourself spinning the wheels in your mind over and again about your worst case scenario, turn it around and focus on what you DO want. Visualize yourself getting what you do want. See the new house. See yourself talking to the interested person as they become a part of your business. You get what you focus on.

Change the voice. When you hear yourself telling you that youre not good enough youre going to fail. Just change the voice from yours to that of Mickey Mouse or Jim Cary or something that would hold little weight with you anyway! Who cares if Mickey Mouse thinks youre not good enough? Is Mickey Mouse an entrepreneur?

Voice them to a trusted friend or associate. Hopefully you have been able to find some level of support from at least one other entrepreneur. Ideally, you have a significant other that supports you. If not, then you should have some kind of support network from your team, upline, or corporate that you can talk to. Some people may tell you that it is silly you could even believe that youre not good enough. For me, my wife has been a constant source of support. However, dont go looking for support to all those people who doubted you and told you it was crazy to go out on your own. They will never understand the entrepreneur.

Have a personal development library. I draw tremendous support from my library. It is not just filled with how to resources, but also stories of others who conquered their fears. I couldnt begin to list the many sources I have, but if you email me I can recommend something based on your own description of your circumstances.

Go ahead and do it. Sometimes just making the smallest step will help get you going enough that the fear of not doing something can go away. An example would be neglecting to write an article such as this one out of fear of failure. Just starting it can create enough momentum to see it through.
Visualize the result, but make the action the goal. There is a subtle difference here for the entrepreneur. Of course you want the result, but maybe thats not in your direct control. Visualize the result in your mind, but make your goal the consistent and persistent action of the entrepreneur. The action will eventually produce the result and you can certainly achieve that goal.

Never, ever quit. I hate to even use that q word. If you do quit, you cease to be an entrepreneur otherwise youre not beaten, you are moving ahead!

Getting noticed on the Internet – Digital Marketing for Small Business

The Internet has grown from a small network of academics needing a way to trade research into a world-spanning, ubiquitous marketplace and repository for nearly every possible kind of information and knowledge. How does a small business avoid being washed away in the constant tide of buying, selling and marketers hawking every conceivable item (and some difficult to conceive…)?

The Internet provides advantages for both customer and proprietor in that one can search for exactly what is desired, without the bother of endless phone calls, driving to malls, or poring over mail-order catalogs. A quick keyword or 3, and hundreds of results vie for attention on the screen. Making sure your company is one of those results near the top is a combination of factors: specificity in product offerings, Search Engine Optimization of web content and linking to and from related topics and sites.

The only way to get noticed on the Internet is to have a listing or presence, whether a dedicated website, ads on relevant sites, or by word-of-mouth. Oftentimes ads on online journals, informative sites, or e-zines (online magazines) are cheaper than space in a print publication, as well as being available to a wider audience than a dedicated website may be. Rates are often available for daily, weekly, or monthly terms, increasing flexibility and allowing a tight budget more leeway. Word-of-mouth advertising can be very cheap, but the returns may be difficult to quantify. Sponsoring web shows such as podcasts or webcasts can be a great and cheap way to gain word-of-mouth exposure. Many times, a podcaster will be so thrilled to gain sponsorship that rates can be negotiated for very little, but make sure to approach a podcaster that has a show related somehow to your business. Don’t overlook resources like Google’s Adwords either, as they can be slightly pricier than similar options like banner ads, but they are shown to be far more effective than pop-ups, banners, or pay-per-click ads due to their specific targeting.

When a potential customer decides to look up a product that you sell, is he or she going to find your site or listing? Being specific in the terms used on your site or listing is key, as keywords are what drive the search engines like Google and Yahoo. If your company sells shoes, it’s not enough to put the word “shoes” on your site–it has to be anticipatory to the searches that potential customers are doing. Most customers have an idea of what they are looking for when doing a search, so instead of “shoes,” a customer will search for “imported Italian leather shoes.” Specific focusing of terminology and product listings are involved in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), as SEO is driven by specific keywords and their repetition or location on a page. If the term “Italian Leather Shoes” is used 15 times on a website, it will pop up higher on the rating listings than one with the same words, but only as a page heading or title. It would be easy to go overboard on this if it were the only criteria, but it is only one of many different methods search engines use to list websites by relevance. Our article on Search Engine Optimization, located here, is a great reference to optimizing your site for maximum Search Engine Performance.

With a clear idea of where you want to go with Internet marketing, it can be a valuable tool to expand your business into the digital realm, but be careful not to go overboard, as all marketing eventually crosses into the zone of limited return. Customers are looking for what they want–it’s up to you to make sure they run into you, and the only way they will is for you to make sure your business is at the places they are going to go.

2005, Wholesale Pages UK. All rights reserved.

Factoring is becoming a popular yet not so well known tool in the arena of small business. It is an important way of keeping cash flowing through the business when invoices are delayed or accounts receivable are higher than the money in hand. Basically factoring helps you get cash for your business without having that time delay from the time you issue an invoice. They also provide you with collection services and sales ledgers that can be helpful as well. If you are a small business owner, then you should consider this guide to small business factoring as a way to fund your business month to month.

How does factoring work? It is easy and yet complicated all at the same time. The factor will generally manage your sales ledger for you while also providing you with colletion services for all outstanding invoices. Typically you will be loaned 80% to 90% of the total amount of the invoice. You will generally receive the money within 24 hours of agreeing to the services of the factor.

Factoring for a small business does cost money, though. Usually there are a couple of different costs you have to consider. A service chare will usually cover the management of your sales and collections. The other charge is a percentage of sales factored as well as an interest charge of some sort on the cash advance the factor is giving you. The interest rates, obviously, will depend on your companys credit, the credit of the invoiced companies, and the institution you factor through.

No guide to small business factoring would be complete without telling you want to look for in a factoring company. Obviously you should look for a stable financial institution that will be able to support the business. You should also look for good terms and a company you are comfortable working with since there will be plenty of interaction. Finally, you may want to consider a company that will give you internet access to your accounts. You can easily track the ledger, sales, collections, and your factored amounts that way.

It is also important to understand that no two factoring companies are completely alike. While much of what this guide to small business factoring has explained is typical, there are exceptions to most every situation. The best thing you can do for your business with regards to factoring is research the companies you are considering. Think about what you need and what you want and what everyone is offering you.

A guide to small business factoring can never be complete. There are too many ins and outs when it comes to almost any financial transaction. There are also a number of variables involved like current interest rates, your credit rating, reliability of your invoiced companies, and many other things as well. Before you ever agree to a factoring relationship, make sure you understand all terms as well as how long the contract is for and what renewal terms are. Protect yourself and do your homework and you can use factoring as a way to keep your cash flowing.

Gone: Customers, sales, profits. Following is a simple little tale about how it happens.

“Jones was a typical entrepreneur who worked long hours and wore many hats.

“The problem was that all the hats screamed for attention. Jones solved the problem by wearing the hat that screamed the loudest.

“Unfortunately, this was only a temporary solution since all the hats kept screaming until they were worn.

“There was, however, one hat that never screamed. It never complained, whined or whimpered, even though it was lonely. It knew it was important, whether or not it was worn. That hat was right.

“One day the customers quit coming. The other hats became quiet; they no longer were needed. It was then that Jones noticed the hat named Marketing and how little it had been worn.

“‘Why didn’t I wear the Marketing hat?’ thought Jones.

“For one thing, Marketing hadn’t screamed for attention like the other hats. The other reason was that Jones was afraid the Marketing hat was too expensive to wear and would drain profits.

“But now there were no profits; the customers were gone.

“Jones put on the Marketing hat. It was time to get the old customers back, and to get new customers, too. It was time to wear the Marketing hat regularly.

“Even the other hats perked up.”

(c) 2005 Neil Sagebiel

Sounds easy, well it is. First, get to know who your investors are going to be. If you are looking for a small business loan you are most probably going to borrow the money from a bank. A bank will look at you and your business and ascertain if it is a sound investment. They examine your risk potential and make a verdict on whether or not to move forward with approving your loan request.

Being aware of what the bank is looking for is very important. Every lending establishments have their own unique method for determining the terms and conditions of a loan agreement. In most instances you will require a good personal credit score, and a least 2 years in business. You can lower your risk profile as an investment for the bank the longer you have owned your small business, the higher your credit score is and the more positive information you have on your credit report.

When applying for finance you will find some banks accept a lower personal credit score than others. The banks have a choice of three Credit Agencies to purchase your credit statement from. Each Credit Agencies will have a different formula to decide your credit score, so you actually have three different business credit scores.

Most Credit Agencies will look favourably on your Small Business loan request if you are a property owner. However you must be aware that defaulting on loan payments can put your property at risk.

Before speaking to the bank about a loan request produce a business plan, the plan should explains in detail how you intend to spend the loan and what advantages these plans will have on your small business.

http:www.bizseller4u.com

Getting noticed on the Internet – Digital Marketing for Small Business

The Internet has grown from a small network of academics needing a way to trade research into a world-spanning, ubiquitous marketplace and repository for nearly every possible kind of information and knowledge. How does a small business avoid being washed away in the constant tide of buying, selling and marketers hawking every conceivable item (and some difficult to conceive…)?

The Internet provides advantages for both customer and proprietor in that one can search for exactly what is desired, without the bother of endless phone calls, driving to malls, or poring over mail-order catalogs. A quick keyword or 3, and hundreds of results vie for attention on the screen. Making sure your company is one of those results near the top is a combination of factors: specificity in product offerings, Search Engine Optimization of web content and linking to and from related topics and sites.

The only way to get noticed on the Internet is to have a listing or presence, whether a dedicated website, ads on relevant sites, or by word-of-mouth. Oftentimes ads on online journals, informative sites, or e-zines (online magazines) are cheaper than space in a print publication, as well as being available to a wider audience than a dedicated website may be. Rates are often available for daily, weekly, or monthly terms, increasing flexibility and allowing a tight budget more leeway. Word-of-mouth advertising can be very cheap, but the returns may be difficult to quantify. Sponsoring web shows such as podcasts or webcasts can be a great and cheap way to gain word-of-mouth exposure. Many times, a podcaster will be so thrilled to gain sponsorship that rates can be negotiated for very little, but make sure to approach a podcaster that has a show related somehow to your business. Don’t overlook resources like Google’s Adwords either, as they can be slightly pricier than similar options like banner ads, but they are shown to be far more effective than pop-ups, banners, or pay-per-click ads due to their specific targeting.

When a potential customer decides to look up a product that you sell, is he or she going to find your site or listing? Being specific in the terms used on your site or listing is key, as keywords are what drive the search engines like Google and Yahoo. If your company sells shoes, it’s not enough to put the word “shoes” on your site–it has to be anticipatory to the searches that potential customers are doing. Most customers have an idea of what they are looking for when doing a search, so instead of “shoes,” a customer will search for “imported Italian leather shoes.” Specific focusing of terminology and product listings are involved in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), as SEO is driven by specific keywords and their repetition or location on a page. If the term “Italian Leather Shoes” is used 15 times on a website, it will pop up higher on the rating listings than one with the same words, but only as a page heading or title. It would be easy to go overboard on this if it were the only criteria, but it is only one of many different methods search engines use to list websites by relevance. Our article on Search Engine Optimization, located here, is a great reference to optimizing your site for maximum Search Engine Performance.

With a clear idea of where you want to go with Internet marketing, it can be a valuable tool to expand your business into the digital realm, but be careful not to go overboard, as all marketing eventually crosses into the zone of limited return. Customers are looking for what they want–it’s up to you to make sure they run into you, and the only way they will is for you to make sure your business is at the places they are going to go.

2005, Wholesale Pages UK. All rights reserved.

Know one of those brilliant brains that can’t have a sustained human conversation because their mind races too fast? They may suffer from a not-so-rare disorder. And you hold the cure – if you print out the following article and hand them a copy.

Entrepreneur SASS
(With permission from Utah Valley Business Q)

We may have an epidemic among us. At the next networking meeting you attend, wash your hands immediately afterward – maybe five times for good measure. Despite medical evidence to the contrary, a previously thought incommunicable disease is spreading faster than copies of Who Moved My Cheese?

The disease is Short Attention Span Syndrome, or SASS.

Perhaps someone you know and love is affected. Perhaps you yourself have noticed some of the following symptoms.

-Shifting in your seat and coughing just a little too loudly during a boring meeting.
-Saying to your significant other, I’m sorry, honey, could you repeat that? I wasn’t paying attention.
-Going to sleep while mentally rifling through a mile-long to-do list

Many with these symptoms joke, “I must have ADD!” However, only 4 to 8 percent have the genetic condition referred to as ADD – more correctly termed ADHD, – which is present from birth and, while treatable, is permanent. The dreaded disease of SASS, on the other hand, develops over time.

Symptoms begin to appear around the teenage years and slowly accelerate until they become a frenzy of activity and mental noise. SASS is viral. It passes from manager to employee, from spouse to spouse, from parents to children and from children to parents.

Most common is the passing of SASS from entrepreneurial types: business owners, risk-tasking executives, sales professionals, visionaries. Entrepreneurs develop SASS themselves, typically in the incubator of their own ever-changing minds. While most everyone has a lot to do, entrepreneurs have the tendency to pick up a lot more “To-Dos” than the average person. They then pass the virus on to those around them.

Entrepreneurs pass SASS to their employees in the form of altered objectives, multi-tasking, bold initiatives, training meetings, revised agendas, organizational restructuring, innovation after innovation, and of course, more meetings. They pass it on, unable to listen to the comments of others as they continue to create more to-dos in their mind.

Then they return to the quiet of their own homes and continue to think about more changes and more To-Do’s deep into the night. They are often oblivious to the peas and carrots on their plate and the 8-year-old wanting to play Bob the Builder.

There is hope. SASS is a curable condition. Those afflicted by SASS usually have developed an altered sense of reality. Recommended therapy is as follows.

First, have the subject look in a mirror. Ask them, How many of you are there? Sometimes, the SASSy individual thinks outside the box to the point that they insist there are two of them. In this case, have them repeat 50 times the phrase, “There is only one of me. There is only one of me.”

Second, have the subject look at a clock. At the beginning of a minute, ask the subject to count each second as it passes. At the end of the minute, as them how many seconds there were. If the number is anything other than 60, repeat this exercise 59 times. At the end of the hour, ask them how many minutes there were. If necessary, repeat this exercise another 23 times and ask them about hours in the day.

Finally, find the subjects calendar. They may have more than one calendar. Explain to them that, since there is only one timeline in the real world, they can only have only one calendar. Next, look for double-bookings. Again, explain to them in a firm but loving tone that, since there is only one of them, they can only be in one place at a time. If travel time is not properly scheduled, explain to them that, since faxing one’s self has yet to be invented, they will be unable to magically teleport from location to location.

As therapy continues, SASSy entrepreneurs will gradually overcome their delusion that their disease makes them more productive. They will come to learn the truth of the proverb, “man who chases two chickens catches none.”

There is hope for the SASSy entrepreneur. With your help and the help of professionals, they can and most often do come back to reality.