Inside Small Business | Small Business & Home Business Marketing

I’m really struggling with my time management. I feel like there just aren’t enough hours in the day. Any tips?

As a small business owner you wear many hats and it is a never ending challenge to prioritize and manage your time more effectively. One of the first suggestions is to identify what your monthly sales target is, not your annual goal. Then build your day upon three activities of high value from a business development perspective. These activities are usually selected from your marketing plan. Consider these activities baby steps or baby business development steps. When you can complete two or three of them on a daily basis, then you can get on to the other important and urgent tasks. Most professionals focus on the urgent and operational issues hoping they will have time at the end of the day for business development, and then become so consumed and exhausted that the day runs out before doing anything to grow their business or practice. A high value activity can be as simple as making a phone call to a prospect you have been putting off, spending thirty minutes writing an article, or calling a preferred client to coordinate a lunch meeting. It’s that simple. Look to your marketing strategies and the creation of your marketing tools to help you identify these little baby steps. When you create a level of consistency in marketing yourself, you tend to feel better, and as a result create more momentum.You actually become more productive every day because you are focusing on the right things and doing them in the right order. Trust this process and work your plan. The benefits are cumulative and will help you get into shape for success!

Mark LeBlanc
Author of Growing Your Business!
www.SmallBusinessSuccess.com
2007-2008 President, National Speakers Association

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Announcing Blog Design by Logoworks

New Blog Design Offerings and Free Templates from Logoworks by HP!

According to a recent survey by Forrester, 24% of companies have considered implementing Web 2.0 initiatives as a priority in 2008 – and 27% of companies are specifically considering creating blogs.⁽¹⁾ As communication has gotten easier and faster with the Internet, it’s no wonder businesses are increasingly looking to become even more interactive with their customers online. Interactive mediums such as blogs provide a great opportunity to keep potential customers informed and engaged on the latest news or hot product while also allowing direct feedback (or public praise!) on ways to improve business.

However, many small businesses and even marketing teams within larger companies face several challenges. They often don’t have the technical knowledge to develop their own blogs and other Web 2.0 programs or aren’t sure where to go for help.

Keeping this in mind, Logoworks by HP has introduced several new affordable and versatile blog design offerings to help businesses ride the Web 2.0 wave and start building customer interactivity and perhaps, even communities. With the new custom blog design packages, businesses can now communicate directly with customers in a more open yet still highly, professionally branded forum that adds a personal touch to any commercial website regardless of the business’ size. Small businesses can now work with Logoworks’ expert graphic designers to affordably create a custom blog that’s as unique as their business. With four different offerings to choose from starting at just $449, businesses on any budget can enjoy a customized blog design that coordinates with their website.

Logoworks by HP also introduced free blog templates allowing companies on shoestring budgets to get in the game and start interacting with their audiences right away. Developed by award-winning designers, the templates run the gamut from fun and whimsical to contemporary and elegantly simple. With such a wide variety of styles, folks will undoubtedly find a template to suit their personality or business.

Additionally, we’ve updated the Logomaker design tool for a dramatically improved logo design experience. Logomaker 2.0, which will be available the week of May 12, delivers an enhanced design experience with a new and improved user interface and updated design choices for the DIY small business owner. Improvements to the user experience include the ability to save favorite icons, enhanced help functionality and stronger search technology to help users find the icon that is right for their business. Also, this enhanced functionality allows small businesses to create a free logo for their website in mere minutes.

For small businesses eager for an introduction into blogging, Logoworks by HP is also hosting a free webinar about business-related blogging on Wednesday, May 7. Chris Baggott, small business expert and successful business blogger and founder of Compendium Blogware, will share his insights about blogging for business purposes. The session will touch on a variety of issues from the basics such as what a business blog is (and can do for businesses) to how to setup and maintain a successful blog.

Through this expanded range of blog design offerings, HP continues to provide small businesses with tools and expertise to help ease the stress and technical knowledge necessary to participate in the rapidly growing Web 2.0 arena and ultimately, better connect with their customers.

For more information about our new blog design offerings, visit www.logoworks.com/free-blog-design. To register for the free Logoworks by HP Blogging Webinar on Wednesday, May 7, visit http://logoworks.com/webinar2/.

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