Scope Creep:
The “thing” I want to talk about is a term called “Scope Creep“. Let me just say from my past experience it is not a wise idea to take on a project and give a price for an entire website without creating a contract or statement of work. Why, you ask? Because then it is easy for the client to want to add a bunch of features to the project that may not (and more then likely were not) talked about previously. The reason this happens is because the more your client thinks about their project the more ideas they come up with. Usually clients do not fully know what it is they want and are more or less looking to you for guidance.

This could also happen within your business. Marketers have been known to “scope creep” a lot. They have the best intentions though, all they want to do is make the client happy and make more money. But this can and WILL end up biting you in the ass. The results of scope creep are obvious. It will take you much longer then anticipated and it will cost you money out of your own pocket. Remember in web design time is money.

Dont be a fool like me, and better yet learn from my mistakes!

First of all let me explain what a QR Code is; for those that are not up to date. Oh and FYI they are not “new” they were created in Japan almost 10 years ago.

They are a 2 dimensional code that look similar to a bar code on products in a store (but they can hold way more information due to their design). The purpose is to allow mobile phone users the ability to simply scan the code and have it direct them to your website. They are intended to be placed on any kind of print graphics; such as business cards, fliers, magazine ads, etc. In fact they are very popular right now in the magazine world, I see them everywhere I look. You can also add them to sales receipts, on the side of work vehicles, and even sites on the web such as Facebook and Twitter.

All you need to be able to scan these codes is find the free app in the app store within your phone. Scanlife is one of the more popular apps to use for QR Codes, but there are dozens of other programs you can choose from.

So… how can they help your business??

The simple answer is that they can easily link to digital content on the web, email, IM and SMS; and connect the mobile device to the web. This means that consumers can now interact with your business easier and faster then ever. And people are getting lazy these days, lets just admit it. The best way to use the codes is to have them set to link to a custom landing page that provides business information as well as stating a “call to action”. You can create multiple codes that link to various places, depending on the campaign that you have in place.

Most QR Code generation programs offer an analytics system so you can track the traffic that the code brings in.

In conclusion QR Codes are going to bring people and technology closer together similar to the ways that social media is doing it….. but BETTER!

I was making a big mistake with the way I was running my business. That mistake would be getting too caught up in client work and not spending enough time networking myself and selling my business. I just one reason I have yet to do that, is my lack of self confidence. For some reason I always feel like I need to learn more or get more clients in my portfolio. SO I choose not to pursue any local business around town.

This creates two problems within itself. For one I was not getting enough work to sustain myself and also save money; so I guess you could say I was in idle. Another conflict it created was making me dislike my job. I’m not one for repetitiousness and busy work. I love designing and thinking about campaigns I can create for myself and my clients, but thats about it.

Another thing I am doing wrong is, as I said, not having the confidence I need to actually make a big time sale. For some reason I feel guilty when I try to push a big project on a business so I tend to short myself. Plus I need to remember that no one knows how much I actually know about my industry but me. And I actually know quite a bit about web design, development, and marketing. But for some reason I always doubt myself. So I plan on building up the confidence to start connecting with local businesses and selling them a stupendous web package that will help their business dramatically.

So those are the two areas of my business that I am going to really focus on and improve on… Hopefully some of you out there like me will benefit from this post:)

For one, the economy is about as low as it can get, and gas prices are the exact opposite (and raising). Not to mention inflation is quickly making its way towards us.

On top of that big corporations are earning big bucks daily and getting stronger and stronger. So what can we do to gain our ground against these monsters of commerce?

Team up and work together!! We cant make it on our own no matter what resources we have at your disposal.

There are an endless amount of ways to team up with like minded small businesses in our area or industry. The first thing I would suggest is participating in a meetup group for entrepreneurs. I would check out meetup.com or a chamber of commerce to find out more information on these meetups.

If your business doesnt rely on local clients then you can get involved in online community’s such as LinkedIn or The Small Business Web.

The next step I would recommend is getting into the Social Media aspect. Facebook and Twitter are great places to meet small business owners and create either formal of informal relationships that create a win win scenario. I have personally meet dozens of individuals, that I have helped and in return gotten help from, through Facebook.

“What if I cant find a meetup in my area?” Create one! With Meetup.com they give you everything you will need to start a meetup, so dont wait around for one to be created!

I cant stress enough the importance of working together to successfully achieve your business goals, whatever they may be.

Last year wages were pretty pathetic, if you were to break it down hourly its about a buck an hour or so. But this year I have already (or am on the way to) made as much as I did ALL last year! Its the biggest weight off my back, but at the same time it adds more wight, kinda hard to explain. But I would rather have to stress about having too much work to do, rather than being worried and stressed about getting work and wondering how im going to pay this months bills.

So this post is just some motivation to say don’t give up! I have had the thought of throwing in the towel many times. But something inside said it would work out, and IT IS! Im glad I made the choices I have made so far and I feel that im on the right path to achieving whatever it is that I want. Oh and did I mention that you can do it too. Anyone can, with a little effort and a lot of dedication…

Google places is a platform created by Google specifically for small business. It is constructed around a location based search. It uses a map view to inform viewers of your business location. It also allows for you (the business owner) to add additional information, such as operating hours, a brief description, categories, photos, special offers, etc. It also allows your customers to write reviews about your business and products/services.

How Does it Work?
When you create your listing, it will ask for the address of the business (state, city, street). Your business will only show up for searches that deal with your category in your area. So, if you are listing a cleaning business in Boise Idaho; when someone types in “cleaning in Boise Idaho” your listing should appear. Now it probably wont be in the number one spot, or close to it, even if you have a website listed in a number one spot for a regular Google search. The reason is because Google’s process for placement is different in Google Places. They go off of the most up to date, most complete business profile. They also rank you depending on the traffic your listing gets. If people are always viewing your listing of coarse it will improve.

How do I Improve my Listing?
Easy, all you need to do is make sure that your profile is completely filled out. This means that you have filled out every bit of the form they provide. It also means you have uploaded several photos, videos, and even special offers (which is new). Also if you get your previous clients to write a good review on your listing that will help.

Be sure that you are always updating your profile; changing out the special offers, adding and removing images of your products/services. The more up to date your listing is the higher it will rank in the search results.

*just a small tip; it doesn’t hurt to have multiple listings in surrounding areas, cities, or states. The more the merrier!:)

For starters, everyone knows and loves how Facebook will get you in touch with that long lost classmate or childhood sweetheart, but what about connect you with that ever so important business connection? Well if you know what you are doing, then absolutely. Facebook is now the number one most visited site in America (recently surpassing Google), to me this is an amazing accomplishment.

It has something crazy like 500 million users today, which means that there are a lot of “future customers” that you can connect with. Not to mention all the great demographics you can acquire about any certain area. One aspect that I like is that you can link to a landing page. So all you have to do is get people to your Facebook page (which isn’t too hard cause most people tend to roam) then you can lead them towards your landing page where you make the sale. Facebook Markup Language pages are great too. You can upload images and add text so come up with a very impressing sales page (like mine). What else… oh you can add lead captures with Facebook apps, sell products, and some apps will auto post pop culture (things people are interested in) to try and get your audience involved with your business on a personal level. REMEMBER THIS: its not about selling at first, so get that out of your head. Its about connecting personally and getting your foot in the door, so to speak, cause its not what but who you know that will lead you to success.

And if making a fan page and connecting by posting about your business and products/services isn’t enough, they have pay per click ads! But you will notice that the rate is very high for Facebook’s PPC ads. So the smart thing to do is ask yourself, “is this something that people trying to waste time on farmville and talking to friends are going to be interested in?” If not, then don’t do it. It doesn’t hurt however, to try out a test campaign with a low budget just to see what happens.

Not only do you need to promote your business to make connections and sales, but you (on your personal account) needs to be getting in contact with other business men in your area. Then you work your way in on a very personal level. Chances are if you don’t get them in as a customer, they will at least connect you with people that will be. Thats the great thing, if you are nice and try to help people they will do the same, aka karma. And lets face it, sitting at home connecting this way is way more legitimate than physically going from business to business (& more effective).

It was a great year for me, especially for my online business. I don’t have the amount of savings that I thought I would but I did make a lot more money than I figured. If I wouldn’t have been so caught up in making my site perfect, I might have even made more and hit my savings mark. But non the less I learned sooo much about what I do, in fact I just got done learning a few things that I would like to share with you. I have been watching to see what to look for in the next year to come and this is what I found.

The mobile world is basically growing way too fast. With the I phone and now the Android it seems that mobile applications and development will be the most needed web service in 2011. For me that means I need to do some research and learn as much as I can and also acquire a staff that is mobile savvy. I see a lot of money to be made in the mobile app world.

Not only is there going to be a need for mobile development but also mobile optimization to make sure that everything functions correctly on both mobile and non mobile platforms. Although some people are not happy with converting the entire internet into an app based experience for mobile users, the consumers seem to be pleased. The reason is because the apps are easier to navigate and read as opposed to the original web page (remember that the screen size has a lot to do with this).

In conclusion, mobile world here I come:)

So I am now trying to create a more interactive interface for LeeWai, so that I can connect with my clients and my programmers better. It seems like something is always going wrong at the worst time, and it is very frustrating to me. So for starters, I created a form that I will send to every client after I have created the first mock up of their site/project. Along with the form are a set of very particular instructions on what it is that I need and a timeline of when I need it. Hopefully this will allow for my clients to be more descriptive and more detailed in their edits.

This is the problem I am running into right now that lead me to create this form…
I ask my clients to give feedback on the design, and make edits (quickly). So they take their sweet time getting back to me, and usually don’t give me it all at once. It comes in little bits and pieces, so of coarse it is going to make the entire process take longer. Well they don’t seem to understand this fact and demand their finished project only days after they finally got ALL of the edits to me. This is not a good way of doing business because when I tell my clients that it is going to take more time, they become irritated and when I tell my programmers to hustle they also get angry with me. So here I am stuck in the middle drowning in sorrow. Haha okay maybe not that intense but it is still very stressful and it can be avoided if I can set up more interactive applications to my site.

I also want to create a back end on my site that will allow for direct client to programmer contact without the need of my middle-manning. But since I outsource all my work, I have to do it in a way that will allow all info of both parties to be subtracted, so that I don’t not have any problems and more or less, don’t get ripped off.

So thats what I’m up to for now. Figuring out how I can make the customers’ process very easy and very efficient. Because a wise man once told me that efficiency is what makes the money.

It consists of some of the basic fundamentals that search marketing has, such as keyword research, that is the biggest and most important step for either form of marketing. If you do not have good keywords then you basically have nothing. The only big difference that I noticed was that you will be using a lot more keywords and keyword groups with the content network. basically you can either choose between a keyword group a website URL list, or a list of negative sites or (sites that you do not want your site to appear e.g. Myspace). You can use tools such as textant to help you configure these big keyword groups.

One great benefit that the Content Network has is that the links are cheaper than they are for PPC. As far as what I have heard they are just about as profitable if not more in some cases (every niche is different completely).

You have two choices as far as how your add can appear, either as a text add or as an image banner. It is said that most people now days are “banner blind” as they call it or just simply pay no attention to a banner whatsoever. You can also get sneaky and make your image banner appear to be a text link but that will take some creativity on your part.

All in all it seems like a legitimate way to market your business with Google, cant wait to give it a whirl. Sorry if this post isn’t the best , I know I’m forgetting a lot, feel free to add to it.