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Friday, December 18, 2015

BENEFITS OF A WEBSITE

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Wednesday, December 9, 2015

9 Ideas to Make a Side Income While Growing Your Business

Here are nine examples of opportunities that might be the perfect side hustle for you as you continue to grow your company!

1. Invest in real estate.

There are a lot of methods for making money in real estate, many of which don’t require your full time effort. Josh Dorkin, CEO and founder of BiggerPockets says you should consider land lording, flipping houses or wholesaling. His company’s website will help you manage and understand all of the different state laws and regulations, as well as leverage the largest worldwide network of real estate investors who come to his site to ask questions and help one another.

He also recommends finding people in your area with skill sets and expertise that you don’t have, and to partner with them or use them as a place to park your investment cash. You can join BiggerPockets for free and he recommends reading its Ultimate Beginner’s Guide, a free eight-chapter book on real estate investing for novices.

2. Drive a taxi.

Most of us are familiar with Uber and Lyft, the companies that took limo and town car services and gave them riders in their down time, and then expanded into recruiting regular citizens to utilize their free time to become taxi drivers. Have you considered being one of them?

I’ll never forget one of my UberX rides where the driver told me that he uses his spare time to make money driving as well as to leverage the networking he can do with each of his passengers as he grows his new business -- genius!

"One of the greatest things about the Uber platform is that it offers economic opportunity for a variety of drivers -- full time, part time, teachers in summer, full-time students, military spouses, etc. -- in more than 260 cities around the world,” says Molly Spaeth, an Uber spokesperson.

So if you’re in one of the 260 cities, you could be making your car into a money-generating experience and a networking opportunity on wheels!

3. Host the next-gen of tupperware parties.

There are many companies that do at-home parties and trunk shows where you can utilize the company’s products, marketing and operations infrastructure to build a side income by plugging in your network.

One that has proven to be very successful is Stella and Dot, where you become a jewelry consultant and host parties at friend's homes, local boutiques or events. Other popular brands include Rodan + Fields andPure Romance.

4. Outsource your skills.

Can you do graphic design, data mining, website development, video editing, software development or customer service? Then you can parlay those skills by signing up on sites such as TaskRabbit or ODeskand get hired by their members to do jobs in any of these areas. You can pick and choose how often you want to work and what jobs you take!

5. Be a temp.

Long gone are the days of temp agencies and scouring the Internet for part-time or short-term work. Enter Wonolo, which helps people “work now locally.”

“Wonolo is a company that allows anyone to work for a few hours or a day at real companies doing real work," says AJ Brustein, the company's co-founder. "Want to help an ecommerce company fulfilling orders when they are busy, help out at a conference taking tickets, or assist in data entry at a wealth management firm? You can get numerous career experiences around the flexibility of your own schedule.”

You can get alerted of jobs available in your area immediately via Wonolo's app. Sounds perfect for a busy entrepreneur!

6. Rent out your pad.

Are you traveling for a business meeting and leaving your home empty? Do you have a spare room or guest house? It’s time to put them to work and list them on Airbnb or VRBO and make money on your property when you’re not using it!

7. Rent out your car.

If you can get on board with renting out your home, you’ll certainly understand the model created by companies such as RelayRides andFlightCar, which allow you to rent out your personal vehicle to their users.

I recently used RelayRides during a trip in San Francisco and had a great experience that didn’t require me to find a rental car center, and the cost was right. I even was able to get acquainted with the car’s owner, to whom I offered to help find a job.

It's another way to make money and network when you’re not using your car (like when you're parked at the airport thanks to FlightCar)!

8. Don’t just buy on eBay, sell there.

You can simply sell your own items, or you can make it into a side business.

“I run an eBay franchise in which I teach people how to run a re-sale business on eBay," says Garrett Brustein. "I do one-on-one training to show them where to get their inventory and how to list and ship items the same way I do so they can emulate the process and take all of the guess work out of the business. They are then able to do this as a part-time job in their free time."

Just think -- you can unload the stuff you don't want and go shopping to resell items all in the name of making money!

9. Get paid to network.

I know this one from personal experience! After founding my first company, a credit card processing brokerage, I began to organize networking events in my city to help young professionals interact in an environment where they wouldn’t fear getting sold to or hit on. I quickly realized the events were not only helping those in attendance to make valuable connections, but that there was real money to be made, as well.

Over time, I packaged the operations of Network Under 40 to enable entrepreneurs in other markets to bring the events to their cities. By becoming the epicenter of the network, it naturally parlays into building their full-time businesses as well as creates a healthy side income.

If you’re looking to make some money on the side and/or find channels through which you can build your primary business, it’s time to look into some of these options.

10 Major Differences Between Rich and Poor People

I've been rich and I’ve been poor. I know both sides very well.

Growing up poor, I knew that I wanted to be rich. At the age of 24, I earned my first million dollars. I came a long way and studied the subject all of my life. Over time, I have discovered that if you're not living in prosperity, you're living in poverty.

Wealth is a choice that we must all make. Bill Gates once said, "It's not your fault if you were born poor, but it’s your fault if you die poor." There's no reason why you should live in poverty. Wealth is waiting for you, but you have to make up your mind if you want it in your life.

For a long time, I struggled to believe that I could eventually become rich. It wasn't until I observed the differences in thoughts and actions between the "haves" and the "have-nots."

Here are 10 major differences between rich and poor people:

1a. Poor people are skeptical

I distinctly remember a former coworker of mine saying, "Those mechanics are a rip-off! They're always looking for the weak people. They'll charge you when you're not looking!!" He thought that everyone unjustly wanted his money and that everyone is out there to get him.

1b. Rich people are trusting

Surprisingly, a great deal of rich people leave their car and house doors open. Conversely, in areas of poverty, you'll find that this behavior is highly unlikely to happen. Rich people have the tendency to trust those they meet (within reason) and give others the opportunity to be themselves.

2a. Poor people find fault

People who are poor are always looking for the problems instead of the solutions. They end up blaming their environment, circumstances, jobs, weather, government, and will make an extensive list of excuses as to why they cannot be successful.

2b. Rich people find success

Rich people understand that everything happens for a reason. Rather than letting life happen to them, they take direct action and make big things happen. They put aside all the excuses and eradicate their blame lists because they have to do what must be done.

3a. Poor people make assumptions

When it comes to knowing the truth, poor people often make assumptions. If they want to reach out to a celebrity, they might say, "They probably don't have time to talk to me." Instead of checking the facts or asking questions, they never make a true attempt when it comes to getting what they want.

3b. Rich people ask questions

Many rich people ask the question, "What if?" For instance, "What if I wrote an email to the president and he or she answers?" If you begin to ask questions, you will save yourself a lot of hassle. The power is in the hands of those who ask the right questions. They don't answer your questions, question your answers.

4a. Poor people say, "They" and "Them"

In the grocery store, the woman at the register said, "They never have enough cashiers. I don't know what's wrong with them." Obviously, this woman did not take any ownership and responsibility over her job. She certainly did separate herself from the job that was paying her.

4b. Rich people say, "We"

At one of my favorite restaurants, the server said, "We take great delight in cooking our steaks in real fire." His sense of pride and ownership stimulated me, which allowed me to give him an honorable tip. Surely, you will be rich when you invest more into what you believe in.

5a. Poor people want the cheapest way

I was once shopping with a friend who only wanted to buy if they could find the cheapest clothing. They would rush to the clearance rack and pick up clothes that they didn't even want, but ended up buying because of a "deal." Unfortunately, they ended up never wearing it since they only bought the price.

5b. Rich people want the best way

Rich people will go the extra mile to find quality material. They don't limit themselves to price and often seek service while they shop. Rich people want organized services and will never settle with items that are worthless and unusable.

6a. Poor people think money is more important than time

Millions of people all over the world are trading their precious time for money. You can always get $500 back, but you can't get 50 hours again. Nonetheless, the majority of people trade time for money and never realize their true potential because of it.

6b. Rich people know that time is more important than money

Rich people never trade time for money. Moreover, they seek fulfilling experiences that dramatically alter their lives. Their careers are more focused on doing what they love and helping others, instead of merely clocking in for a meager paycheck.

7a. Poor people compete

When a poor person sees an opportunity, they find out how others are doing it and emulates them. Most often, they never consider another way of doing it. Instead, they settle in the belief that doing what others are doing is the best thing they can do for themselves.

7b. Rich people create

My rich neighbors were disgruntled when they found that their Porsche did not come in a specific shade of green, which they deeply wanted. Because of this, they decided to custom build their green Porsche with unprecedented specifications. I've never seen such a thing!

8a. Poor people complain, condemn, and criticize

Most poor people have learned how to be poor from their predecessors. Their family members have conditioned them to believe that everything is "wrong" instead of right. If you're ever heard someone ask, "What's wrong?" you'll know what I mean.

8b. Rich people praise and enjoy their blessings

Rich people know that they have many privileges and they don't take it for granted. Because of their appreciation of gifts, love, and circumstances, they are able to generate more. Many times, what gets praised gets prospered.

9a. Poor people seek amateur advice

They often listen to the opinions of others and seek approval from acquaintances. They believe almost everything they hear without questioning authority. They accept opinions as facts and prohibit themselves from doing research once satisfied with an answer.

9b. Rich people seek expert advice

Those who are rich have learned to think for themselves. If they cannot figure out something, they seek expert advice. Usually, they pay for the advice and are given a wide variety of options. They learn the experts only make suggestions, which means that they aren't particularly confined to a specific action.

10a. Poor people have big television sets

Poor people take a lot of time to drift off to sporadic images of which they often have little to no control over. They use their free time to avoid the art of thinking (which is the most challenging task) and zone out to what many have conformed to believe is "entertainment."

10b. Rich people have big libraries

Wealthy people are educated and read a lot of books. They use their knowledge in a way that benefits them. Instead of drifting off in random activities, they seek to get within their minds to understand themselves, others, and the world in which they live. In fact, as your personal library increase over the years, so will your home. I can attest to this!

To get a true perspective on how to become rich, you must study rich people. After all, you become what you study. If you're currently surrounded by people who aren't yet rich, just do the opposite of what they do. Soon enough, you'll be able to reach your financial dreams!

TYPES OF EXERCISE

Sunday, December 6, 2015

Win sales through good website design

The design of your website has a direct impact on the number of sales conversions you achieve. But encouraging sales does not mean that you have to sacrifice good design, argues Tina Judic, MD of web marketing agency Spring Digital

In internet marketing, the conversion rate is the percentage of visitors who go from casual viewing to taking action — including registration or sales — prompted by subtle or direct requests.

So a conversion happens when you turn a website visitor into a lead and ultimately, perhaps, a sale. Without conversions, a website will not work for your business, cannot deliver any return on your investment and will kill any interest your expensive advertising generates.

A site that is built to convert can be as important as the difference between a business surviving or shutting up shop for good. Conversion should be the ultimate measure of website success — but many designers are graphic experts who prioritise the look and feel of a site over the requirement to turn visitors into customers.

Designing for conversions

To convert a visitor into a customer, a site must have clear visitor paths — the visitor must be channelled to your goal, whether that is towards a contact form, a download page or a shopping cart. Sometimes, aesthetically-pleasing design elements can get in the way of this essential process.

Sites that convert a large number of visitors into leads typically feature obvious and brightly coloured calls to action. The problem is that putting a larger than life and lime green "contact us now" button in a key place on every page of a site can be a designer's worst nightmare.

What does this mean for the design process? Aesthetic design is a very subjective process, but designing for conversion is scientific, driven by statistics and improved by testing, testing and testing.

Does pleasing design still count?

There was a time when website gurus told us that, to be easy to use, websites had to be brash and even ugly - dominated by clunky navigation systems and obvious hyperlinks. But it is possible — and obviously preferable — to create a website with a seamless blend of stunning aesthetic design and the ultimate in conversion tactics.

Creating an aesthetically-pleasing design that gives users a clear path to conversion is relatively easy (see the Skype homepage for a great example of simple conversion-friendly design).

Find the right designer

A good web designer ought to practise "aesthetic conversion" to create visually stunning websites that mix your conversion goals with strong design. They should design with a clear user path in mind, create appealing visuals that actually help you to meet your conversion goals and will religiously test every aspect of the design, from headlines to buttons.

Not every web designer is a master at aesthetic conversion. When it's a matter of keeping your business healthy, you should not settle for less.

Ten ways to develop your website to help your business grow

Whatever the size of your organisation, a website is an essential business tool. However, having a good-looking site is no longer enough — it needs to actively work for you by attracting new business and driving your company forward. Greg Poulson explains how to create a hard-working website in ten simple steps

Few small businesses have huge budgets to spend on their website, but the good news is that focusing on certain key principles when developing and managing your website will almost certainly yield a healthy return on investment. Here are ten steps to ensure your website works hard for your business.

Be business driven. Remember that your website is a business tool, and whilst good design is important, first and foremost it should be business-led. Increasingly, current and potential customers engage with a company via their website, so think of it as your showcase. Consistent branding and developing a defined identity starts with your website — and is then carried on through marketing, stationery, brochures and other activity.
Review and reflect. You may be perfectly happy with your website, but like any practice or procedure it’s important to review it regularly to ensure that it still meets your needs and that of your customers. Does your site reflect changes in the marketplace? Does it still address your target market? Are the design, content and graphics still relevant? Does it accurately showcase your business? If your website has been up and running for several years it’s difficult to remain objective, so it can be helpful to get an opinion from an outside source who can bring a new perspective.
Differentiation through design. People have such short attention spans and they will quickly leave a site that doesn’t capture their attention — and that’s where great design comes in. Thanks to faster broadband speeds and improved software, website design has evolved hugely. Graphics and images can now be bigger and better, and are a key part of establishing and reinforcing your branding and identity. Great design is also another way that you can really differentiate yourself from the competition, so ensure your site looks attractive and professional, as well as being functional. Ultimately, this will help to increase visitors, page view rates — and new business.
Work in progress. A website should be continually developing. Unfortunately, many people tend to think of their website as a finished project, similar to sending a brochure to the printer, failing to take advantage of the fact that a website can and should be regularly updated by changing and adding relevant content. This can be done by writing blogs, adding to news sections and creating links to and from your site. This is important because clients, visitors and search engines are attracted by active sites. For example, if Google sees that content is being updated, it will visit a site more often, revising listings which is likely to improve both Google and page rankings. However, there is a specific skill to writing relevant content that features the most popular key search phrases on Google. These may refer to specific products or services, geographical areas or a particular customer need.
Getting to number one. When people look for products or services online, the chances are that they will use a search engine, so it’s crucial that your site is picked up by them. Smaller companies might think that only larger businesses can achieve page one of Google’s listings, but actually any company can rank highly if they use the right techniques and are prepared to put in the time and effort that is required to both get and stay there. However, the process is complicated by the fact that search engines are constantly changing, which means that SEO needs to be ongoing. It also requires off-site optimisation which involves linking to and from other sites, carrying out social media marketing and creating blogs and current content to enhance your site’s overall online influence.
Get your priorities right. It’s always best to have a clear strategy when marketing any aspect of your business — and marketing your website is no different. Set short, medium and long-term goals but be aware that your web designer may not be the best person to help you achieve them. Designers often lack experience in SEO, which means that any optimisation of title and meta tags will be at a basic level and unlikely to generate the traffic that an active marketing strategy devised with an SEO/web marketing specialist will achieve.
The value of online marketing. The internet is essentially demand-led, with SEO and some other forms of web marketing such as Google Adwords more highly targeted than offline advertising. This means that people who are actively searching for your product or service will be directed towards your site — so you get more bang for your buck on the internet than advertising in a magazine, for example.
New marketing methods. In addition, companies are faced with relatively new strategies for web marketing including social media, YouTube and pay-per-click, some of which they may be uncomfortable or unfamiliar with. Whilst it would be great to do everything, financial and time constraints inevitably mean that you will have to choose the media and tactics that work best for your business.
Be mobile friendly. The popularity of smartphones and tablets as a way of accessing the internet has risen rapidly and will only increase in the foreseeable future — so it’s important to bear this in mind when setting up or reviewing a site. Having a mobile-friendly site is increasingly important and (as long as you follow tips 1-8) a site that is easily accessible for mobile users is highly likely to increase sales and raise your profile, particularly if your business is primarily B to C. This is a whole topic in itself but in a nutshell, a mobile site should be built around the existing website, carrying through the brand identity. From a user point of view, it needs to capture the key elements of your main site, offering a point and click functionality that allows the user to access the aspects that interest them.
Encourage your customers to take action. You have done the hard part, creating an attractive, functional website that can be found and stands out from the competition, so make sure you take the final step and encourage the visitors to act. Include and highlight plenty of calls to action throughout your site. Adding a reminder to “phone us” or “email us” or “click here to buy” is simple — and amazingly effective.

Your website should always be a work in progress. As search engines continue to evolve, content and SEO need to be regularly revisited. Our experience has taught us that it is the sites that are proactively managed and updated that contribute most to business growth. The best web developers will work in a partnership with the website owner to help them “make their website happen”, with constant review, dialogue and improvement.

The good news is that, no matter what your size, you can create a well-optimised, visible and effective website with a relatively limited budget if you follow these key principles.

Written by Greg Poulson of web developers, online marketing and SEO specialists

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How can a website help your small business?

Six years ago, the thought of owning a website seemed unimportant to me. My best friend had set up a free site through angelfire.com. I remember thinking to myself, what can a website do that a telephone or the yellow pages can’t? It seemed like a waste of time to put his information online, especially since the only people who visited his site were in our group of friends, and knew the extremely long web address needed to even find it. I had discussed with my best friend whether or not a website was a good idea, and the only answer he could give me was, ‘shut up, it’s cool’. This didn’t really answer the question, but got us into one of many fights in our younger days.

I’m sure many small business owners ask themselves the same question. What can a website do that the telephone or the yellow pages can’t? Being old fashioned, it may seem hard to realize that besides the television, the internet is now the second largest form of advertising. It has become the new yellow pages. (In fact, the Yellow Pages even has a website now) Some small businesses may not be able to keep up with more business, being booked solid off of a few calls a month from people who saw them in their local yellow pages. But this shouldn’t matter.

There are a number of advantages to putting your business online, even if you have no desire to grow as a company. As more and more people look to the internet for their information, the phone calls to your small business will dwindle off to an occasional ring. Why call a number and a name to fire off ten questions about the business, when you can read one or two pages online and in less time come to a conclusion about the company. As a small business owner, do you have the time to sit there answering phones, answering repetitive questions about yourself? Below, I’ve detailed the six major reasons how having a website can benefit your small business, no matter how small your company is.

Get more business! Use your website as a 24 hour marketing tool. It’s fast, easy, and doesn’t require an employee to sit and answer phones.
Who we are. Use your website to tell people who you are, and what you do. People form their own conclusions about you, so why not give them some solid information to base this conclusion on.
Show off. Whether you sell a product or a service, no one is going to pay you money without first seeing what you are capable of. The old saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words” never fit better.
Professionals. Having an attractive website helps to convey to customers that you are a professional business, and gives them more confidence in your capabilities.
Contact us! Answering phones, although direct, takes time. Having a contact us form on your website allows interested people to inquire about your services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can get as descriptive as you want with a contact us form, ensuring that required fields are filled in before they can submit any requests.

INTERESTED

LET'S GO DIGITAL AND CONNECT GLOBALLY

BK-226, Sector – II
Salt Lake City
Kolkata – 700 091
INDIA

Email: anindya@pixelsolutionz.com