Foursquare For Business App Launched

Foursquare has just released a new mobile app, Foursquare for Business, to serve as an extension to the existing merchant dashboard, giving businesses the ability to manage specials and view recent activity and analytics from their mobile devices.

Foursquare for Business promises to help businesses attract customers, drive traffic and learn more about customer habits and behavior. The app allows business owners to post Foursquare updates including photos to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, view recent check-ins, and manage Foursquare specials.

The photos above show the app dashboard, where business owners can view their location’s all time check-ins and check-ins for the day, as well as customer likes and top customers. The photo on the right shows how businesses can create updates for their Foursquare account and then automatically post them to Facebook and Twitter as well.

To use the app, you need to have already signed up for a Foursquare account and claimed your business’s location. Merchants can also use the app to manage businesses that have multiple locations. However, the app won’t allow you to post updates to more than one location at once.

Businesses using Foursquare online could already run specials, post updates to their local Foursquare followers, see recent customer check-ins, and do pretty much everything they can do on the new mobile apps. But even though the app doesn’t necessarily give business owners any brand new functions, the ability to manage your Foursquare account from a mobile app when the consumer experience on Foursquare mainly takes place in a mobile app may be beneficial for businesses.

It can also simply save time and make life a little bit easier for business owners who have a lot of tasks to manage already.

There are currently about one million business owners using Foursquare to reach out to customers. The app is free and available in the App Store and Google Play.

Posted by Annie Pilon on February 6, 2013.

Categories: Marketing Tips

About Small Business Trends

Small Business Trends is an award-winning online publication for small business owners, entrepreneurs and the people who interact with them.

Small Business Trends is the premier source of information, news and advice covering issues of key importance to the small business market.  Small Business Trends appears on countless “Top” and “Best of” lists of small business resources.

We offer a variety of newsletters and information feeds to help you stay informed about the small business market.  As we like to Read More

more â†'

Foursquare For Business App Launched

Foursquare has just released a new mobile app, Foursquare for Business, to serve as an extension to the existing merchant dashboard, giving businesses the ability to manage specials and view recent activity and analytics from their mobile devices.

Foursquare for Business promises to help businesses attract customers, drive traffic and learn more about customer habits and behavior. The app allows business owners to post Foursquare updates including photos to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, view recent check-ins, and manage Foursquare specials.

The photos above show the app dashboard, where business owners can view their location’s all time check-ins and check-ins for the day, as well as customer likes and top customers. The photo on the right shows how businesses can create updates for their Foursquare account and then automatically post them to Facebook and Twitter as well.

To use the app, you need to have already signed up for a Foursquare account and claimed your business’s location. Merchants can also use the app to manage businesses that have multiple locations. However, the app won’t allow you to post updates to more than one location at once.

Businesses using Foursquare online could already run specials, post updates to their local Foursquare followers, see recent customer check-ins, and do pretty much everything they can do on the new mobile apps. But even though the app doesn’t necessarily give business owners any brand new functions, the ability to manage your Foursquare account from a mobile app when the consumer experience on Foursquare mainly takes place in a mobile app may be beneficial for businesses.

It can also simply save time and make life a little bit easier for business owners who have a lot of tasks to manage already.

There are currently about one million business owners using Foursquare to reach out to customers. The app is free and available in the App Store and Google Play.

Posted by Annie Pilon on February 6, 2013.

Categories: Marketing Tips

About Small Business Trends

Small Business Trends is an award-winning online publication for small business owners, entrepreneurs and the people who interact with them.

Small Business Trends is the premier source of information, news and advice covering issues of key importance to the small business market.  Small Business Trends appears on countless “Top” and “Best of” lists of small business resources.

We offer a variety of newsletters and information feeds to help you stay informed about the small business market.  As we like to Read More

more â†'

IT Security Trends 2013: Mobile security concerns tops the list

2013 IT security trends reveal mobile device security tops the list of priorities for security pros this year.

New AdWords Enhanced Campaigns: 5 Things Small Businesses Need to Know

Google today announced a major change to the way AdWords PPC campaigns are structured, which will fundamentally alter how mobile PPC works. The change, dubbed AdWords Enhanced Campaigns, kills the former “best practice” of creating separate campaigns for desktop and mobile. Going forward, advertisers will be able to target different devices within the same campaigns.

Here are five things that small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) need to know about the new Enhanced Campaigns and how they’ll affect your PPC marketing efforts.

1. Mobile Campaign Management Will be Drastically Easier

The best news to come out of this announcement is that Enhanced Campaigns will be significantly easier to manage. Previously, only the most sophisticated advertisers were really taking advantage of mobile PPC. This is because it was far too complicated and time-consuming for the average advertiser to create separate campaigns for every possible device and location combination. At WordStream, we estimate that currently only 1 in 25 SMBs are running a mobile-specific campaign!

With Enhanced Campaigns, all that goes away. Now you can essentially mark a checkbox that says “I want this ad to run on mobile.” If you just have one ad in an ad group, and you check the box, then it’s going to run across all devices. But if you have an ad group that has the new universal ads and mobile ads in the same ad group, Google will always display your mobile ad to run on the mobile devices. Basically, mobile and desktop ads can now live together, in the same campaigns! It’s going to be a big improvement and time-saver.

2. Your PPC Ads Will be Smarter

Enhanced Campaigns give you the ability to adjust bids based on time of day, location, as well as device (mobile versus desktop). These bidding options mean that you can bid more or less when you ads appear on mobile. You will be able to specify a bid adjustment between -100% and +300% for mobile devices. If you want to opt out of mobile for some reason, you can bid it down by -100%, which effectively turns off mobile search.

Of course, optimizing for mobile is about more than just keyword bids, so Google is also rolling out new ad extension management features. These include checkboxes for various ad extensions, enabling you to specify that you only want your extension to run on mobile or desktop. This way, advertisers can continue to customize the ad experience for mobile versus desktop users. In addition, Google will automatically serve up the right ad based on user context, rather than you having to build out a mobile-specific campaign on your own.

3. Reporting on Mobile Search Got Way Easier and is Now Free

Google has introduced a new conversion type for mobile calls. Traditional conversion tracking, which depends on users reaching a designated web page after completing a goal, doesn’t work well for mobile because the goal completion so often involves placing an order over the phone. So Google is introducing a new mobile advertising conversion type, based on call duration.

As an added bonus, Google will no longer charge an extra fee to use advanced mobile call reporting features.

4. Mobile CPCs Will Go Up

In addition to increasing adoption of mobile advertising, Google wants to close the gap between the cost per click on mobile and the higher CPCs on desktop search. In the past, mobile CPCs have been significantly lower. This was a nice advantage for those larger advertisers and agencies that had the time and expertise to set up and manage mobile campaigns. Now that mobile advertising will be easier and more accessible, competition will increase and costs will inevitably go up. I predict that mobile CPCs will be similar to desktop CPCs by the end of the year.

5. You Don’t Have to Do Anything Now - by Mid-year This Will be Default

Google will make Enhanced Campaigns available as an upgrade later this month. That means you don’t need to do anything right now, if you don’t want to. However, Enhanced Campaigns will become the default around June. All your campaigns will be automatically upgraded at that time. So it’s important to be prepared for the change. If you’re like most small advertisers and you never created separate mobile campaigns in the first place, the upgrade path will be seamless and painless for you. You’ll basically just get a bunch of new options and features in your existing campaigns.

Editor’s Note: We found more about enhanced campaigns on the WordStream blog which has additional detail. You will also find a tutorial on how to create video and mobile ads in AdWords today, as well as a guide on AdWords ad extensions.

Three Reasons A Diverse Team Can Help Your Small Business Grow

For a small business to be successful, it’s important to have a team of people who are all dedicated to helping the business do well. There is definitely strength in numbers, but true strength lies not in the number of people but in the quality of those brilliant team members. (Please do note that I...

The post Three Reasons A Diverse Team Can Help Your Small Business Grow appeared first on Small Business Technology.

The body count is new, but UPnP security issues are embarrassingly old

HD Moore, chief security officer of Boston-based Rapid7 and creator of the penetration testing tool Metasploit, has one overarching piece of advice for anyone concerned about recently exposed UPnP security flaws: Disable UPnP.

Moore made news last week with the announcement that there were as many as 50 million devices on the Internet that were vulnerable to remote exploit due to various flaws in the Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) protocol, used to make communication between devices on a network easier. But Armijn Hemel, owner of Tjaldur Software Governance Solutions, found himself asking: "Why did it take 4 or 5 years before it actually blew up this big"

Moore and Rapid7 made news showing the scope of the problem, but the vulnerabilities in UPnP show an unfortunate, classic pattern in security: discovery, then silence.

Hemel is responsible for the UPnP hacks website, and he presented a paper at the SANE 2006 conference detailing UPnP security flaws. "When I first did my research back in the summer of 2005, my initial reaction to this stuff back then was, 'This cannot be possible.' I was shocked and outraged at the time."

As to why nothing much happened back at that time, Moore said, "I have two explanations for that. One is a negative one, and one is a really negative one. First, perhaps end-user devices like routers are not interesting at all. Maybe your data and your network activity is worth nothing."

And the really negative explanation "Maybe there were easier targets out there."

Rapid7's research report, Security Flaws in Universal Plug and Play, described a slew of UPnP security flaws that were uncovered by Moore's critical.io project, an attempt to identify security flaws by surveying the Internet for UPnP endpoints, open TCP ports, Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) system descriptions and more. The unusually high number of open UDP/1900 ports -- those used for the UPnP protocol -- discovered during the project prompted Moore to investigate the issue with startling results. It was also UPnP traffic that originally prompted Hemel's interest in UPnP security.

Moore described UPnP as a "usually harmless" protocol designed to make devices easier to use for consumers with not much thought given to security issues. This isn't a problem until a UPnP-enabled device is exposed to the outside world.

Over 81 million unique IP addresses responded to UPnP discovery requests, with 20% of those exposing the Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP). The exposure of SOAP could potentially give attackers the ability to, amongst other things, open holes through a firewall. Rapid7's findings indicated that over 1,500 vendors and 6,900 product models had products with the UPnP SOAP service exposed.

Amongst the most serious issues exposed by the critical.io project were found in MiniUPnP implementations prior to version 1.4. Most vendors were found to still be using version 1.0. Portable SDK implementations were plagued by the same issue of outdated firmware, as almost 25% of them were found to be running 10-year-old code.

Unfortunately for consumers with vulnerable devices, Moore indicated in a webinar that very little relief will be coming in the form of vendor patches. Rapid7 worked with CERT to disclose the UPnP vulnerabilities to as many vendors as they could identify, with most either not responding or indicating they don't plan to update older devices. And as Moore himself said, "A cost-sensitive customer won't go buy a new $100 router because of some security vulnerability they heard about on the Internet."

Hemel recommended that consumers facing an uncooperative vendor should vote with their wallets. "What I would definitely advise is: Find out the model of your router; find out if your vendor actually has a patch ready for it; if your device is vulnerable and your manufacture does not have a patch out for it, contact them; and if they refuse, never buy from that vendor again."

Left to the mercy of vendors, Moore pointed consumers to some free tools, including Rapid7's ScanNow UPnP, to determine whether their devices are affected, and if so, to either disable UPnP if possible or to contact their vendor. Though not as big a concern for enterprises, organizations should still utilize the ScanNow UPnP tool and Metasploit modules to detect any vulnerable devices, which could range from network printers to media servers.

How long will these flaws be a security issue Indefinitely, according to Moore, "It's going to be very tough for this vulnerability to go away any time soon." He emphasized that the only way consumers can ensure they are protected against these flaws is to disable UPnP.

Hemel is left convinced that using UPnP safely in the future will require an overhaul of the protocol. "I think the only way we could fix this problem is if UPnP was redesigned; that is the only choice."

Three Reasons A Diverse Team Can Help Your Small Business Grow

For a small business to be successful, it’s important to have a team of people who are all dedicated to helping the business do well. There is definitely strength in numbers, but true strength lies not in the number of people but in the quality of those brilliant team members.

(Please do note that I am blogging on behalf of Visa Business and received compensation for my time from Visa for sharing my views in this post, but the views expressed here are solely mine, not Visa’s. Visit http://facebook.com/visasmallbiz to take a look at the reinvented Facebook Page: Well Sourced by Visa Business. The Page serves as a space where small business owners can access educational resources, read success stories from other business owners, engage with peers, and find tips to help businesses run more efficiently. Every month, the Page will introduce a new theme that will focus on a topic important to a small business owner’s success. For additional tips and advice, and information about Visa’s small business solutions, follow @VisaSmallBiz and visit http://vis..com/business.)

In my years as a small business owner, I’ve found that if all of those minds share similar perspectives and backgrounds, a business owner can be limited in the ideas he or she gets. Imagine a brainstorming session where you’re looking for as many ideas as possible. You want a wide variety of ideas, right Hiring a diverse pool of talented workers to join your team ensures that you are surrounded by people who can broaden your own perspective.

What is Diversity

One mistake many business owners make is in assuming “diversity” solely refers to a person’s nationality or race. Quite the contrary. By its very definition, diversity simply means “variety.” Variety of backgrounds, variety of thoughts and ideas, and variety of interests. By including variety in your staffing choices, you can not only bring new ideas to staff meetings and brainstorming sessions, but you will also find your own mind broadened by regularly hearing these new perspectives.

Over the past hundred years, the workforce has gradually evolved. American businesses, once dominated by Caucasian males, are far more representative of the American population. Women and minorities, including large numbers of bright minds from India, China, and Mexico, now make up a much more substantial portion of the American workforce.

Reaching Out to Customers

Because the population is so diverse, it’s logical to assume a business’s customer base is also diverse. Can you imagine the brainstorming sessions for women’s hair care products back in the 50′s, when advertising agencies were largely male By adding females to those meetings, businesses were able to leverage a perspective that matched the customer base they were trying to attract.

The same goes for businesses trying to attract new clients. A diverse staff helps small businesses reach out to clients who may be better able to relate to them. Using the above example of the hair care company, an advertising agency today might land a shampoo contract if women are on staff who have used the product and know how important its benefits are.

There’s a reason businesses that engage in active diversity recruitment are more successful overall than those who don’t. Thanks to technology, businesses are no longer limited to attracting customers in their small regional area. A small-town business can place products online and receive orders from across the world. It only makes sense that those businesses would be interested in strategizing ways to reach potential customers across the world and one of the best ways to do this is to have workers who can think of ways to reach out to those customers.

If a small business owner looks around and realizes he’s staffed his business with replicas of himself, he’ll probably realize he’s not doing himself any favors. To truly succeed, a business owner needs to surround him (or her) self with brilliant minds that can come up with completely different ideas, contributing to the business’s corporate culture in a way that ensures long-term success.

Three Reasons A Diverse Team Can Help Your Small Business Grow

For a small business to be successful, it’s important to have a team of people who are all dedicated to helping the business do well. There is definitely strength in numbers, but true strength lies not in the number of people but in the quality of those brilliant team members.

(Please do note that I am blogging on behalf of Visa Business and received compensation for my time from Visa for sharing my views in this post, but the views expressed here are solely mine, not Visa’s. Visit http://facebook.com/visasmallbiz to take a look at the reinvented Facebook Page: Well Sourced by Visa Business. The Page serves as a space where small business owners can access educational resources, read success stories from other business owners, engage with peers, and find tips to help businesses run more efficiently. Every month, the Page will introduce a new theme that will focus on a topic important to a small business owner’s success. For additional tips and advice, and information about Visa’s small business solutions, follow @VisaSmallBiz and visit http://vis..com/business.)

In my years as a small business owner, I’ve found that if all of those minds share similar perspectives and backgrounds, a business owner can be limited in the ideas he or she gets. Imagine a brainstorming session where you’re looking for as many ideas as possible. You want a wide variety of ideas, right Hiring a diverse pool of talented workers to join your team ensures that you are surrounded by people who can broaden your own perspective.

What is Diversity

One mistake many business owners make is in assuming “diversity” solely refers to a person’s nationality or race. Quite the contrary. By its very definition, diversity simply means “variety.” Variety of backgrounds, variety of thoughts and ideas, and variety of interests. By including variety in your staffing choices, you can not only bring new ideas to staff meetings and brainstorming sessions, but you will also find your own mind broadened by regularly hearing these new perspectives.

Over the past hundred years, the workforce has gradually evolved. American businesses, once dominated by Caucasian males, are far more representative of the American population. Women and minorities, including large numbers of bright minds from India, China, and Mexico, now make up a much more substantial portion of the American workforce.

Reaching Out to Customers

Because the population is so diverse, it’s logical to assume a business’s customer base is also diverse. Can you imagine the brainstorming sessions for women’s hair care products back in the 50′s, when advertising agencies were largely male By adding females to those meetings, businesses were able to leverage a perspective that matched the customer base they were trying to attract.

The same goes for businesses trying to attract new clients. A diverse staff helps small businesses reach out to clients who may be better able to relate to them. Using the above example of the hair care company, an advertising agency today might land a shampoo contract if women are on staff who have used the product and know how important its benefits are.

There’s a reason businesses that engage in active diversity recruitment are more successful overall than those who don’t. Thanks to technology, businesses are no longer limited to attracting customers in their small regional area. A small-town business can place products online and receive orders from across the world. It only makes sense that those businesses would be interested in strategizing ways to reach potential customers across the world and one of the best ways to do this is to have workers who can think of ways to reach out to those customers.

If a small business owner looks around and realizes he’s staffed his business with replicas of himself, he’ll probably realize he’s not doing himself any favors. To truly succeed, a business owner needs to surround him (or her) self with brilliant minds that can come up with completely different ideas, contributing to the business’s corporate culture in a way that ensures long-term success.

2013: The Year Small Business E-commerce Sites Strike Gold

Technologies from the 1990’s are nearing extinction. Just think, how often do you see people using pagers, flip phones and dial-up modems

Regardless, many businesses still handle transactions with point-of-sale systems that look no different than they did over a decade ago. Payments are one of the last core business technologies that’s still begging for the mainstream adoption of a more mobile and user friendly alternative, and e-commerce has swooped in to alleviate the cashier’s pain.

Early returns from the 2012 holiday season indicate that e-commerce’s demand and potential is going exponentially. Cyber Monday pulled in a hefty $1.46 billion last year - more than any other year in history.

A reality where our nation does the vast majority of its shopping on screens is not far off, and we’re seeing systematic industry shifts that prove e-commerce will soon be ubiquitous. Almost all major corporations are already on board, but 2013 is teed up to be the year small businesses untether themselves from dated POS systems and bring their businesses to where their customers are most - online.

And here’s why:

Mobile Payments Open a New Realm for E-commerce

2012 yielded an explosion in the mobile payments services. This busy space is pioneered by Square, but apps like Google Wallet and ISIS are also popularizing the idea of ditching cash and plastic in droves of paying by screen. Many have speculated that the mobile payments space is fragmented and cluttered (and we can’t say we disagree), but there’s no denying that this new avenue for displaced purchasing has brought e-commerce further into the mainstream.

As major brands like Starbucks and Walgreens continue to push their remote payments solutions, the sheer prevalence of online purchasing will eclipse small businesses relying solely on the cash register. Customers are more comfortable than ever paying remotely, increasing the demand for e-commerce options across all businesses selling goods and services.

Sophisticated - Yet Simple - Web Tools

Developing a money-maker site is now easier and cheaper than ever. A host of online marketing technologies now offer freemium versions, and thanks to advancements in tag management, adding a ‘Pay Now’ button to your website is as easy as adding an app to your smartphone.

With simple website applications available at little to no cost, small businesses are running low on excuses for dated, stagnant sites that don’t serve their businesses. A few tools that make implementing e-commerce options fast and easy include:

• Shopify: With monthly fees starting at $30, Shopify provides the features needed to build your own complete online store, including beautiful design templates, hosting and marketing and SEO.
• Volusion: $15 a month gets you Volusion’s basic set of services, including e-commerce software for those starting an online business or already actively selling online, mobile compatibility and built in social media tools.

A Leveled Playing Field

We are now entering our third decade of the Web, and it continues to evolve at a neck-breaking pace, generally set by enterprises like Amazon. These companies continue to set the standard for the consumer online experience by enlisting strategies that not only drive traffic, but conversions.

This year will be the year that the small business takes advantage of these strategies in order to stay competitive. Website personalization, which includes tailoring the website based on things like age, location and interests; loyalty programs and unique offers will be easier and cheaper to implement than it ever has before. All of these strategies are important to a strong Web presence, and in unison, help you build a brand as professional and compelling as the giants in your space.

A few great options for getting started include LevelUp and Belly, great loyalty program apps, and personalization / optimization solutions Optimizely and Visual Website Optimizer.

While taking your business online was once a complicated process, we’ve reached a tipping point in website technology where it’s easier than ever for small businesses to have a robust, personalized online presence. These industry developments and the democratization of e-commerce tools have poised 2013 to be the year the emerging businesses meet their customers on the screen with a digital presence as dynamic as their storefront.

Gold Photo via Shutterstock

2013: The Year Small Business E-commerce Sites Strike Gold

Technologies from the 1990’s are nearing extinction. Just think, how often do you see people using pagers, flip phones and dial-up modems

Regardless, many businesses still handle transactions with point-of-sale systems that look no different than they did over a decade ago. Payments are one of the last core business technologies that’s still begging for the mainstream adoption of a more mobile and user friendly alternative, and e-commerce has swooped in to alleviate the cashier’s pain.

Early returns from the 2012 holiday season indicate that e-commerce’s demand and potential is going exponentially. Cyber Monday pulled in a hefty $1.46 billion last year - more than any other year in history.

A reality where our nation does the vast majority of its shopping on screens is not far off, and we’re seeing systematic industry shifts that prove e-commerce will soon be ubiquitous. Almost all major corporations are already on board, but 2013 is teed up to be the year small businesses untether themselves from dated POS systems and bring their businesses to where their customers are most - online.

And here’s why:

Mobile Payments Open a New Realm for E-commerce

2012 yielded an explosion in the mobile payments services. This busy space is pioneered by Square, but apps like Google Wallet and ISIS are also popularizing the idea of ditching cash and plastic in droves of paying by screen. Many have speculated that the mobile payments space is fragmented and cluttered (and we can’t say we disagree), but there’s no denying that this new avenue for displaced purchasing has brought e-commerce further into the mainstream.

As major brands like Starbucks and Walgreens continue to push their remote payments solutions, the sheer prevalence of online purchasing will eclipse small businesses relying solely on the cash register. Customers are more comfortable than ever paying remotely, increasing the demand for e-commerce options across all businesses selling goods and services.

Sophisticated - Yet Simple - Web Tools

Developing a money-maker site is now easier and cheaper than ever. A host of online marketing technologies now offer freemium versions, and thanks to advancements in tag management, adding a ‘Pay Now’ button to your website is as easy as adding an app to your smartphone.

With simple website applications available at little to no cost, small businesses are running low on excuses for dated, stagnant sites that don’t serve their businesses. A few tools that make implementing e-commerce options fast and easy include:

• Shopify: With monthly fees starting at $30, Shopify provides the features needed to build your own complete online store, including beautiful design templates, hosting and marketing and SEO.
• Volusion: $15 a month gets you Volusion’s basic set of services, including e-commerce software for those starting an online business or already actively selling online, mobile compatibility and built in social media tools.

A Leveled Playing Field

We are now entering our third decade of the Web, and it continues to evolve at a neck-breaking pace, generally set by enterprises like Amazon. These companies continue to set the standard for the consumer online experience by enlisting strategies that not only drive traffic, but conversions.

This year will be the year that the small business takes advantage of these strategies in order to stay competitive. Website personalization, which includes tailoring the website based on things like age, location and interests; loyalty programs and unique offers will be easier and cheaper to implement than it ever has before. All of these strategies are important to a strong Web presence, and in unison, help you build a brand as professional and compelling as the giants in your space.

A few great options for getting started include LevelUp and Belly, great loyalty program apps, and personalization / optimization solutions Optimizely and Visual Website Optimizer.

While taking your business online was once a complicated process, we’ve reached a tipping point in website technology where it’s easier than ever for small businesses to have a robust, personalized online presence. These industry developments and the democratization of e-commerce tools have poised 2013 to be the year the emerging businesses meet their customers on the screen with a digital presence as dynamic as their storefront.

Gold Photo via Shutterstock

Use A Virtual 360-Degree Tour Of Your Business To Increase Foot Traffic and Sales

I truly like to support my local small businesses and whenever possible, I do.  Of course, I do my due diligence before getting in the car and driving by researching a store or restaurant online to see if it will be fitting for what I’m looking for.  Unfortunately, many websites only offer general information, with maybe a few still photo shots of product or location (if that), but that’s about it.  Because of this, I have many times arrived at a location and wondered to myself “At what angle did they take that photo”, wondering if I was at the correct location because it looked NOTHING like what was in the photos online. This is when I wish there had been a way to do a virtual 360-degree tour of the place before I wasted all that valuable time!

Has this ever happened to you While the ‘craftiness’ of those particular locations to create an appealing appearance may pay off and get folks to the door, it certainly doesn’t translate into sales, as people will often just walk away, as I have many times done.  Beyond that, it leaves the consumer with a level of hesitancy and skepticism on future searches, which may further deter foot traffic to locations only using still shots and general information on their site.

So the question becomes, how does a retail location overcome this and give people a view into their store, virtually, to encourage and entice them to visit  Well, the new answer is to actually provide a 360-Degree Virtual tour that can be viewed on Google Maps, the business website and business Google Places page. This is exactly what Carlo’s Bakery in Hoboken, NJ and 100,000 other businesses are doing! 

These virtual tours, officially named ‘Google Business Photos‘ are the newest marketing tool to showcase your physical location to potential customers and for those businesses who have already employed these tours, they think it’s an absolute must! Restaurants, bars, event halls, cafes, spas, hair salons, art galleries, fitness centers, retail outlets and so many more have discovered that giving customers the ability to come in and see your location, virtually, is a definite plus and huge opportunity to showcase your product, service and location.  Check out this great video on exactly how it works, or view below:

Virtual Properti.es, a New York based immersive panoramic imagery studio with several offices across the country, shot the Carlo’s Bakery virtual 360-degree tour.

“We are so pleased with how the shoot came out for Carlo’s Bakery.  It’s a great business and now it’s so easy for anyone, anywhere to tour the famous bakery without leaving their computer.”, said Jimmy Miño, founder and CEO of Virtual Properti.es. “We’ve created virtual tours for numerous other businesses in the New York City area, as well, and everyone has been thrilled. These images aren’t just for Google search results and Google+ Pages, either.  You can use them right on your own website where potential customers are able to explore your business before they even arrive.  It’s relatively inexpensive and only takes a few hours on location to complete, but the results are extremely powerful and polished.”

Photo shoot packages start at $350, but final pricing will depend on the size of the location and how many locations the business may have. Most photo shoots take about an hour, but again that will vary based on the size of the location and number of locations and because the photographers don’t need any special equipment, your business location can remain open during the photo shoot, just like any normal business day.

Virtual Properti.es uses only ‘Google Trusted Photographers’, meaning they are trained to take high quality photos of building interiors, accommodating for common challenges such as low lighting and tight spaces. The photographers are also certified to take pictures using fish-eye lenses and rotating camera turrets (mounted on tripods) that, once uploaded to Google’s processing pipelines by photographers, will be transformed into 360-degree panoramic imagery and a walk through of your business.  Google has certified these photographers because they meet Google’s standards of quality for taking the feature pictures and panoramic pictures, uploading them, moderating them and eventually publishing them on Google properties.

If you are looking for a new way to market your business in 2013, a virtual 360-degree virtual tour addition to your website and Google Places page may be just the thing to spark additional interest and visits.

If you give it a try, or a business that is currently using the virtual 360-degree tour, share with us your experience and how it’s worked for your business.

Use A Virtual 360-Degree Tour Of Your Business To Increase Foot Traffic and Sales

I truly like to support my local small businesses and whenever possible, I do.  Of course, I do my due diligence before getting in the car and driving by researching a store or restaurant online to see if it will be fitting for what I’m looking for.  Unfortunately, many websites only offer general information, with maybe a few still photo shots of product or location (if that), but that’s about it.  Because of this, I have many times arrived at a location and wondered to myself “At what angle did they take that photo”, wondering if I was at the correct location because it looked NOTHING like what was in the photos online. This is when I wish there had been a way to do a virtual 360-degree tour of the place before I wasted all that valuable time!

Has this ever happened to you While the ‘craftiness’ of those particular locations to create an appealing appearance may pay off and get folks to the door, it certainly doesn’t translate into sales, as people will often just walk away, as I have many times done.  Beyond that, it leaves the consumer with a level of hesitancy and skepticism on future searches, which may further deter foot traffic to locations only using still shots and general information on their site.

So the question becomes, how does a retail location overcome this and give people a view into their store, virtually, to encourage and entice them to visit  Well, the new answer is to actually provide a 360-Degree Virtual tour that can be viewed on Google Maps, the business website and business Google Places page. This is exactly what Carlo’s Bakery in Hoboken, NJ and 100,000 other businesses are doing! 

These virtual tours, officially named ‘Google Business Photos‘ are the newest marketing tool to showcase your physical location to potential customers and for those businesses who have already employed these tours, they think it’s an absolute must! Restaurants, bars, event halls, cafes, spas, hair salons, art galleries, fitness centers, retail outlets and so many more have discovered that giving customers the ability to come in and see your location, virtually, is a definite plus and huge opportunity to showcase your product, service and location.  Check out this great video on exactly how it works, or view below:

Virtual Properti.es, a New York based immersive panoramic imagery studio with several offices across the country, shot the Carlo’s Bakery virtual 360-degree tour.

“We are so pleased with how the shoot came out for Carlo’s Bakery.  It’s a great business and now it’s so easy for anyone, anywhere to tour the famous bakery without leaving their computer.”, said Jimmy Miño, founder and CEO of Virtual Properti.es. “We’ve created virtual tours for numerous other businesses in the New York City area, as well, and everyone has been thrilled. These images aren’t just for Google search results and Google+ Pages, either.  You can use them right on your own website where potential customers are able to explore your business before they even arrive.  It’s relatively inexpensive and only takes a few hours on location to complete, but the results are extremely powerful and polished.”

Photo shoot packages start at $350, but final pricing will depend on the size of the location and how many locations the business may have. Most photo shoots take about an hour, but again that will vary based on the size of the location and number of locations and because the photographers don’t need any special equipment, your business location can remain open during the photo shoot, just like any normal business day.

Virtual Properti.es uses only ‘Google Trusted Photographers’, meaning they are trained to take high quality photos of building interiors, accommodating for common challenges such as low lighting and tight spaces. The photographers are also certified to take pictures using fish-eye lenses and rotating camera turrets (mounted on tripods) that, once uploaded to Google’s processing pipelines by photographers, will be transformed into 360-degree panoramic imagery and a walk through of your business.  Google has certified these photographers because they meet Google’s standards of quality for taking the feature pictures and panoramic pictures, uploading them, moderating them and eventually publishing them on Google properties.

If you are looking for a new way to market your business in 2013, a virtual 360-degree virtual tour addition to your website and Google Places page may be just the thing to spark additional interest and visits.

If you give it a try, or a business that is currently using the virtual 360-degree tour, share with us your experience and how it’s worked for your business.

10 Local Marketing Tips You Can Implement Today

Have you ever wondered why some local businesses seem to be thriving by marketing themselves only on the Internet So did we.  And we discovered that you must start with Google.

However, you have to go above and beyond it to make the Web a real game changer for your small local business.

There are thousands of different ways to market your business on the Internet. But we know you’re very busy so today, we chose these 10 tips listed below:

1. Google+ Local

Even if your business was founded under a cave and you only started it last year, it is likely that it will have a presence on Google+ Local. Your mission is to make sure that the information on your page is accurate.

To do that, you just need to claim it and make sure that you build a great listing. Google can guide you through the verification process. They will even help you make your listing great.

2. Check Business Data Aggregators For Accuracy And Consistency

Google, as well as almost every local search platform and a directory, uses business data from one or more of these data aggregators:

Don’t forget to check for any mistakes as they would be duplicated across the Internet.

3. Merge Your Google+ Business Page With Your Local Page

Unless you are a business that operates within a service area, you should merge your Google+ Business Page with your Local Page.  If you do operate within a certain service area, then you can use the old Google Places Dashboard to manage your listing.

4. Remember That Bing And Yahoo! Have Their Own Local Search Platforms

Bing Local and Yahoo! Local might not be as big as Google’s local search platform, but they can still drive business your way. Check out Lisa Barone’s post about how to verify a Bing listing.

5. Spread The Word On Other Local Directories

You might think that you will not get any business from YellowPages.com or Local.com, but you are probably wrong. There are dozens of sites like these with hundreds of thousands of visitors - some of them, like InsiderPages.com, have millions of visitors per month.

As an added bonus, accurate and consistent presence will strengthen your rankings in Google+ Local.

6. Get Reviewed In As Many Websites As Possible

You can’t openly solicit reviews and you can’t fake them either. What you can do is integrate the “review process” into your daily business operations.

Include a message that asks for public feedback in your email signature. You can also make sure you get reviewed in websites other than Google. This will provide you with additional credibility and a ranking boost in Google+ Local.

7. Seize The Day On Twitter

It’s possible to build a following on Twitter even if you got your business license only a month ago. Your goal on Twitter should be to connect with other local business and people in your local market.

Don’t sell anything to your Twitter followers - help them instead. They will remember you when they need help with something you do or sell. Just make sure you don’t sound like a broken record.

8. Your Business Needs Friends On Facebook

You can start by making an awesome Facebook Business Page. However, don’t stop there.

Offer exclusive discounts and deals on your Facebook Page (be sure to follow the terms and guidelines), and promote them in your everyday business operations. Engage your Facebook community, but don’t suffocate them with dozens of daily updates.

9. Make Friends With Local Journalists

I apologize for misleading you. You can’t implement this tip today. But you can start your journey by commenting on a story that your future journalist friend wrote.

Be insightful. You don’t have to flatter them. Make them think. Add value. Send them a story idea that has nothing to do with your business. Have coffee with them. Write a blog post about something they covered and reference their writing.

Oh yeah - don’t stop doing newsworthy things that journalists care about the most.

10. Join Your Local Chamber of Commerce

I know. This one comes with a price tag. Before you dismiss this tip completely, consider that there are only a few marketing decisions you can make today that have the potential to get you more business, save you money and provide a solid benefit in local search - joining your local Chamber of Commerce would be one of those decisions.

If you implement even just half of these tips, your local business is likely to grow. Remember to take care of your customers and engage with them.

Local Photo via Shutterstock

10 Local Marketing Tips You Can Implement Today

Have you ever wondered why some local businesses seem to be thriving by marketing themselves only on the Internet So did we.  And we discovered that you must start with Google.

However, you have to go above and beyond it to make the Web a real game changer for your small local business.

There are thousands of different ways to market your business on the Internet. But we know you’re very busy so today, we chose these 10 tips listed below:

1. Google+ Local

Even if your business was founded under a cave and you only started it last year, it is likely that it will have a presence on Google+ Local. Your mission is to make sure that the information on your page is accurate.

To do that, you just need to claim it and make sure that you build a great listing. Google can guide you through the verification process. They will even help you make your listing great.

2. Check Business Data Aggregators For Accuracy And Consistency

Google, as well as almost every local search platform and a directory, uses business data from one or more of these data aggregators:

Don’t forget to check for any mistakes as they would be duplicated across the Internet.

3. Merge Your Google+ Business Page With Your Local Page

Unless you are a business that operates within a service area, you should merge your Google+ Business Page with your Local Page.  If you do operate within a certain service area, then you can use the old Google Places Dashboard to manage your listing.

4. Remember That Bing And Yahoo! Have Their Own Local Search Platforms

Bing Local and Yahoo! Local might not be as big as Google’s local search platform, but they can still drive business your way. Check out Lisa Barone’s post about how to verify a Bing listing.

5. Spread The Word On Other Local Directories

You might think that you will not get any business from YellowPages.com or Local.com, but you are probably wrong. There are dozens of sites like these with hundreds of thousands of visitors - some of them, like InsiderPages.com, have millions of visitors per month.

As an added bonus, accurate and consistent presence will strengthen your rankings in Google+ Local.

6. Get Reviewed In As Many Websites As Possible

You can’t openly solicit reviews and you can’t fake them either. What you can do is integrate the “review process” into your daily business operations.

Include a message that asks for public feedback in your email signature. You can also make sure you get reviewed in websites other than Google. This will provide you with additional credibility and a ranking boost in Google+ Local.

7. Seize The Day On Twitter

It’s possible to build a following on Twitter even if you got your business license only a month ago. Your goal on Twitter should be to connect with other local business and people in your local market.

Don’t sell anything to your Twitter followers - help them instead. They will remember you when they need help with something you do or sell. Just make sure you don’t sound like a broken record.

8. Your Business Needs Friends On Facebook

You can start by making an awesome Facebook Business Page. However, don’t stop there.

Offer exclusive discounts and deals on your Facebook Page (be sure to follow the terms and guidelines), and promote them in your everyday business operations. Engage your Facebook community, but don’t suffocate them with dozens of daily updates.

9. Make Friends With Local Journalists

I apologize for misleading you. You can’t implement this tip today. But you can start your journey by commenting on a story that your future journalist friend wrote.

Be insightful. You don’t have to flatter them. Make them think. Add value. Send them a story idea that has nothing to do with your business. Have coffee with them. Write a blog post about something they covered and reference their writing.

Oh yeah - don’t stop doing newsworthy things that journalists care about the most.

10. Join Your Local Chamber of Commerce

I know. This one comes with a price tag. Before you dismiss this tip completely, consider that there are only a few marketing decisions you can make today that have the potential to get you more business, save you money and provide a solid benefit in local search - joining your local Chamber of Commerce would be one of those decisions.

If you implement even just half of these tips, your local business is likely to grow. Remember to take care of your customers and engage with them.

Local Photo via Shutterstock

10 Tips To Help You Make It Big In Small Business

As a small business owner, every day is a challenge.  Regardless of the type of business, our days are filled with being pulled in hundreds of directions while keeping our eye on the ball.  It requires being able to keep our cool under all situations, being able to multi-task and delegate, but mostly it requires being SMART!  Smart about where you spend your time and money and how you spend your time and money.

No one knows all of this better than Robin Wilson.  Robin is an eco-friendly designer and the president and CEO of Robin Wilson Home.  She was named one of New York’s Top 50 Power Women by The New York Post, all while managing her business and a new family, which doesn’t happen unless you are truly on top of your game.  Wonder how she does it  Here are 10 tips she offers to help you make it big in small business.

• Use Technology. Consider a smartphone, Skype, tablet computer or programs that let you file share while on the run.
• Hire Outside Experts as Consultants. Don’t keep a heavy payroll, which can increase operational costs.  Consider hiring consultants for bookkeeping, social media, IT support and graphic design.
• Manage Cash Flow. Watch your income on a daily basis until you fully understand your revenue and expenses. Make sure your bookkeeper is your partner and never settle for being told ‘everything is handled’.
• Delegate. Assign a task and don’t micromanage.  Allow your team to rise to the highest potential and if they can’t, then take time to figure out why or make a transition.
• Communicate. Make sure that you have conversations with your team on a regular basis that outlines your goals and ensures that you have buy-in and dialogue to ensure your ideas are refined and can be executed without micro-management.
• Organize. Have a plan, coordinate a  schedule, ensure you know the budget and outline details before you start a project so that you can allocate your time properly.
• Review Email Only 3 Times a Day. Do NOT make email redirect your day unless it is a crisis in progress.  Check your email at 9 am, when you arrive, noon time and at 3pm.  Respond immediately to those things that are easy and save the more time consuming / deep though items. Delete ads / spam immediately and unsubscribe to any non-essential emails.
• Manage the Supply Closet. Put a lock on your supply closet or you’ll quickly find that you are spending three times the amount you need to on office supplies.  This is an easy way to save thousands of dollars each year!
• Manage Your Meetings and Calls. Always give yourself a chance to breathe between calls and meetings - at least 15 to 30 minutes.
• Dress Comfortably. Comfort helps you maintain focus, so dress comfortably, but appropriately.

Employ some or all of these tips and you may see a big difference in your business, your life and your stress level…all of which can lead to big things in 2013!

How do you manage your day  What tips do you have to share

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Committee describes Communications Data Bill as \"a serious problem that requires action\"

While communications data is integral to the work of the intelligence and security agencies, a cross-party intelligence and security committee has deemed that a lot more work is required for the proposed Communications Data Bill to work.

In the report, it deemed that "whilst there are other investigatory tools available, communications data is less resource-intensive, quicker and less intrusive than these alternative approaches". In the case of communications data, it accepted "that there is a serious problem that requires action".

Of a number of points that the committee said "must be addressed in advance of the bill being introduced", were for: legislation to update the current arrangements governing retention of communications data; more thought to be given to the level of detail that is included in the bill, in particular in relation to the order-making power; and more consultation with service providers on practical implementation, as well as a lack of coherent communication about the way in which communications data is used and the safeguards that will be in place.

After questioning agencies on how they accessed communications data, the committee found that the security service was the greatest user by far, with British Security Service director general Sir Jonathan Evans saying that access to communications data "of one sort or another is very important indeed".

“It's part of the backbone of the way in which we would approach investigations. I think I would be accurate in saying there are no significant investigations that we undertake across the service that don't use communications data because of its ability to tell you the who and the when and the where of your target's activities,” he was quoted as saying in the report.

“It tends to be relatively reliable. It's relatively accessible at the moment in a number of areas, and from our point of view it's a very, very important capability. Obviously what we try to do is to use the tools available to us to identify the activities of people who are putting us at risk and then to act to disrupt that threat.”

Also questioned was GCHQ, who said that "communications data is integral to the work of the intelligence and security agencies" and is "particularly useful in the early stages when the agencies have to be able to determine whether those associating with the target are connected to the plot or are innocent bystanders".

In terms of the provisions of the bill, government agencies will be named on the face of the bill as one of only four bodies having access to the data. Meanwhile the Information Commissioner will review the security of the data against accidental loss, unlawful destruction, unlawful retention and unauthorised disclosure, among others.

With regard to the security of the bill, it said: “However, the complete absence of any detail about the data to be covered by the bill is giving rise to considerable concern in Parliament and from the general public. We have been given detailed evidence as to which areas will and will not be covered and, moreover, which particular types of communications are currently causing the greatest problems. This is highly classified material and could not be made public without damaging the operational capabilities of the agencies.”

The draft bill, named by critics as the ‘Snoopers Charter', was announced last year and was further detailed in the Queen's Speech. More details were confirmed by the Home Secretary Theresa May, while criticisms of the security of data by internet inventor Tim Berners-Lee have not helped its case.

Speaking about the proposed bill last year, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales said: “The argument is that they don't want content, they only want communications data, but the problem is one of the more difficult security portions of the bill is that it contemplates mandating service providers' data that they wouldn't keep for business purposes.

“Already people are quite concerned and the public is quite uneasy about how much data Facebook and Google keep and [they are] keeping more data; and they don't want a centralised database and as far as security goes there will be breaches and mistakes and hackers have a desire to get access to this kind of information.

“It was part of the coalition agreement, to stop the unnecessary storage of personal data, this shows very little concept of it.”

10 Tips To Help You Make It Big In Small Business

As a small business owner, every day is a challenge.  Regardless of the type of business, our days are filled with being pulled in hundreds of directions while keeping our eye on the ball.  It requires being able to keep our cool under all situations, being able to multi-task and delegate, but mostly it requires being SMART!  Smart about where you spend your time and money and how you spend your time and money.

No one knows all of this better than Robin Wilson.  Robin is an eco-friendly designer and the president and CEO of Robin Wilson Home.  She was named one of New York’s Top 50 Power Women by The New York Post, all while managing her business and a new family, which doesn’t happen unless you are truly on top of your game.  Wonder how she does it  Here are 10 tips she offers to help you make it big in small business.

• Use Technology. Consider a smartphone, Skype, tablet computer or programs that let you file share while on the run.
• Hire Outside Experts as Consultants. Don’t keep a heavy payroll, which can increase operational costs.  Consider hiring consultants for bookkeeping, social media, IT support and graphic design.
• Manage Cash Flow. Watch your income on a daily basis until you fully understand your revenue and expenses. Make sure your bookkeeper is your partner and never settle for being told ‘everything is handled’.
• Delegate. Assign a task and don’t micromanage.  Allow your team to rise to the highest potential and if they can’t, then take time to figure out why or make a transition.
• Communicate. Make sure that you have conversations with your team on a regular basis that outlines your goals and ensures that you have buy-in and dialogue to ensure your ideas are refined and can be executed without micro-management.
• Organize. Have a plan, coordinate a  schedule, ensure you know the budget and outline details before you start a project so that you can allocate your time properly.
• Review Email Only 3 Times a Day. Do NOT make email redirect your day unless it is a crisis in progress.  Check your email at 9 am, when you arrive, noon time and at 3pm.  Respond immediately to those things that are easy and save the more time consuming / deep though items. Delete ads / spam immediately and unsubscribe to any non-essential emails.
• Manage the Supply Closet. Put a lock on your supply closet or you’ll quickly find that you are spending three times the amount you need to on office supplies.  This is an easy way to save thousands of dollars each year!
• Manage Your Meetings and Calls. Always give yourself a chance to breathe between calls and meetings - at least 15 to 30 minutes.
• Dress Comfortably. Comfort helps you maintain focus, so dress comfortably, but appropriately.

Employ some or all of these tips and you may see a big difference in your business, your life and your stress level…all of which can lead to big things in 2013!

How do you manage your day  What tips do you have to share

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Startups and Investors Can Find Trending Startups on AngelList

AngelList, the online service that matches startups with investors, just announced a new feature that shows customer counts and startups that are “trending” by gaining the most customers over the course of the month.

The photo below on the left shows the current list of trending startups, including the startup name, a short description, investors, past funding rounds, and how many new customers they’ve gained so far this month. Users can also choose to view how many new followers each startup has received on AngelList over the week.

In addition to seeing how many customers have been added throughout the month, you can also view who those customers are. And the customers can confirm that they are in fact using the startups products or services and even leave feedback about their experience.

Once you click on a startup in the Trending section, you can view its entire profile page, which includes a customer list, shown in the photo on the right. You can also see the reviews of the products or services that confirmed customers have received from the startup.

This new feature simply gives potential investors even more ways to browse and find startups on AngelList. Those startups that are doing well and gaining customers have a way to leverage that progress into even more potential funding and contacts.

It can also give investors more relevant data about their potential investments, since they might want to know about the startup’s reputation and success with its current customer base.

This isn’t the only new tool that AngelList has added recently. The site also added Docs that allow seed-stage startups to close their investment rounds online, Valuations, and an investing platform that gives smaller accredited investors the ability to support AngelList startups.

AngelList is a mix between a crowdsourcing platform and a social network that gives startups an avenue to reach investors and vice versa. The site was launched in 2010 by the team from Venture Hacks, an advice site for startups.

Twitter seeks 2FA engineers for stronger access

Following the attack at the weekend, which saw 250,000 user details accessed, Twitter has announced plans to implement two-factor authentication as an option to help users better protect their accounts.

According to news site Ars Technica, a job listing posted by Twitter this week claimed the company is seeking software engineers to develop "user-facing security features, such as multi-factor authentication and fraudulent login detection".

Although Twitter has not commented on its plans, it currently uses the OAuth protocol via applications for authentication and secure socket layer (SSL) encryption to pass user credentials from web browsers and other Twitter clients.

In an email to SC Magazine, security researcher Robin Wood said that he welcomed the move, as two-factor authentication would add a lot of extra security.

“Celebrities, politicians and companies are regularly getting their Twitter accounts taken over, most of the time this is done by simple password guessing or finding a password on another system which is reused on Twitter,” he said.

“The second factor would remove both of these vulnerabilities as even if the attacker got the password they wouldn't have the second factor. It won't completely remove the ability for a determined attacker to get in but it will stop a large number of the attacks.”

Javvad Malik, senior analyst in the 451 Enterprise Security Group, said that it is the provider's responsibility to protect users.

He said: “The fundamental purpose of adding 2FA is to introduce a measure of randomness to an otherwise static password. So yes, it should protect against keyboard loggers or guessed passwords etc, but it all depends on what they do with the session once it's been established.

“It will only really be useful if you force users to sign in every time they want to use the application, possibly also sign them out after a certain period of inactivity. Judging by how people actually use Twitter, I think this will become an overly laborious process that would cause more problems in the long term.

“In my opinion, it's not a Twitter problem; it ties into the wider internet authentication problem we're witnessing. How do you securely but conveniently authenticate users and how do web developers securely design apps so their password databases can't be breached OAuth type technology is pretty good but much like mobile phone apps, users don't really pay attention to what permissions that app is asking for, they just want to fling birds across the screen.”

With regard to the use of OAuth, Wood said that he was not sure how that would be affected by adding a second factor, as the way it works is for the user to authorise the app that then gets a token.

He said: “When the app wants to talk to Twitter it uses that token. You would need to be logged in to the main website to authorise the app in the first place, which is where the second factor would come in.”

5 Small Business Tips To Help Save Money, Work Smarter And Succeed In 2013

Each passing year is a milestone for small businesses because running and sustainable business is no small task. While businesses flounder and vanish each year, the spirit of entrepreneurship does not. Economists predict that more businesses will take birth in 2013. More entrepreneurs will join the global community of spirited rainmakers. Whether you are running a business already, or if you are planning to start your own projects this year, these small business tips are sure to help you sustain your entrepreneurial journey by saving you money and increasing your efficiency.

Forget traveling for meetings. Get Smart.

According to an American Express Global Business Travel Report released in November 2012, the travel spend for businesses is set to grow by 2.6% overall by the beginning of 2013. Rising fuel costs, economic uncertainty, and worldwide trend of increasing prices for travel overall are already a burden for the roving business traveler. All of that, and the sheer wastage of travel, is evident given that you can conduct meetings online using tools such as WebEx and GoToMeeting and sign off on documents virtually using Adobe Echosign, RightSignature, or many other tools available.

People are expensive. Try online services where you can.

Frank Addante of Inc.com explains why it makes sense to Hire Fewer, More Expensive People. He does have a point.

For most small businesses though, anything expensive is out of question, which invalidates the expensive hire. Fortunately, there are online services that can take the place of expensive hires. For instance, LegalZoom obviates the need to find an attorney for your business. Online accounting tools such as Xero and QuickBooks allow non-financial business owners to keep books, track expenses, and do their own accounting.

Go Mobile.

Parmy Olsen writes for Forbes and she helpfully lists some eye-popping statistics to show that the world has gone mobile. She reports that global mobile traffic now makes up for 13% of Internet traffic. At least 33% of all American adults own a tablet, and there are over 1 billion smartphone users growing at 42% per year globally. For businesses, mobile phones are the new kiosks. Get a responsive design for your website so your site can be viewed and transactions completed on mobile devices.  You’ll also want to accept transactions via your mobile phone using products like Square and GoPayment, so you never miss a sale.

Cheap isn’t always good.

If possible, run a business with a virtual office. We know that not all businesses render themselves to a virtual setup, though. If you have to invest, get the best your money can buy. Substandard equipment, furniture, computers, etc., are enticingly cheap but often incur recurring expenses for repairs. Offers.com has great deals on quality merchandise that you can buy while saving money.

Get Active on Social media and online communities.

Inbound customers are a result of smart marketing. Give, and you’ll get it all back in spades. Fire up accounts and engage with your social media networks. Participate in online forums, Q & A sites, groups and online communities. Solve problems, motivate, inspire, help, and support. Your business, in turn, can benefit from others’ expertise and a constant flow of inbound customers who trust you.

What are you going to do about your business in 2013

5 Small Business Tips To Help Save Money, Work Smarter And Succeed In 2013

Each passing year is a milestone for small businesses because running and sustainable business is no small task. While businesses flounder and vanish each year, the spirit of entrepreneurship does not. Economists predict that more businesses will take birth in 2013. More entrepreneurs will join the global community of spirited rainmakers. Whether you are running a business already, or if you are planning to start your own projects this year, these small business tips are sure to help you sustain your entrepreneurial journey by saving you money and increasing your efficiency.

Forget traveling for meetings. Get Smart.

According to an American Express Global Business Travel Report released in November 2012, the travel spend for businesses is set to grow by 2.6% overall by the beginning of 2013. Rising fuel costs, economic uncertainty, and worldwide trend of increasing prices for travel overall are already a burden for the roving business traveler. All of that, and the sheer wastage of travel, is evident given that you can conduct meetings online using tools such as WebEx and GoToMeeting and sign off on documents virtually using Adobe Echosign, RightSignature, or many other tools available.

People are expensive. Try online services where you can.

Frank Addante of Inc.com explains why it makes sense to Hire Fewer, More Expensive People. He does have a point.

For most small businesses though, anything expensive is out of question, which invalidates the expensive hire. Fortunately, there are online services that can take the place of expensive hires. For instance, LegalZoom obviates the need to find an attorney for your business. Online accounting tools such as Xero and QuickBooks allow non-financial business owners to keep books, track expenses, and do their own accounting.

Go Mobile.

Parmy Olsen writes for Forbes and she helpfully lists some eye-popping statistics to show that the world has gone mobile. She reports that global mobile traffic now makes up for 13% of Internet traffic. At least 33% of all American adults own a tablet, and there are over 1 billion smartphone users growing at 42% per year globally. For businesses, mobile phones are the new kiosks. Get a responsive design for your website so your site can be viewed and transactions completed on mobile devices.  You’ll also want to accept transactions via your mobile phone using products like Square and GoPayment, so you never miss a sale.

Cheap isn’t always good.

If possible, run a business with a virtual office. We know that not all businesses render themselves to a virtual setup, though. If you have to invest, get the best your money can buy. Substandard equipment, furniture, computers, etc., are enticingly cheap but often incur recurring expenses for repairs. Offers.com has great deals on quality merchandise that you can buy while saving money.

Get Active on Social media and online communities.

Inbound customers are a result of smart marketing. Give, and you’ll get it all back in spades. Fire up accounts and engage with your social media networks. Participate in online forums, Q & A sites, groups and online communities. Solve problems, motivate, inspire, help, and support. Your business, in turn, can benefit from others’ expertise and a constant flow of inbound customers who trust you.

What are you going to do about your business in 2013