California Small Business Blog

Skype for Phone Service?

This is an interesting way to keep your phone costs down: use Skype. Skype is an internet based phone service that lets you make free calls from one PC to another. Sounds great!

But, as with everything, you have to be cautious. BusinessWeek is reporting that Skype may make your system more vulnerable to attack by hackers. Apparently, Skype opens up a hole in your computer that may allow hackers in. Some IT folks are concerned, and some are not.

If you are a small business, saving money is important. Skype may provide that opportunity to you, but you should check with an IT expert on the security risks first.

How to use a Webinar

A what? A webinar. A webinar is a seminar that you put on through the internet. Most businesses that use webinars use them to market their product or put on a sales presentation. Its a great use of technology to sell your product. But, there are other uses to webinars as well.

Here are 7 things you can do with a webinar besides selling:

1. Positioning your company
2. Focus group
3. Infomercials
4. Database building
5. Training
6. Test seminars
7. Partner/strategic alliance recruitment

Webinars are, like blogs and podcasts, a way to use technology to help your small business grow. If you are using a webinar, blog or podcast, I would love to hear from you!

Blogging for Dollars

There used to be a television show called "Bowling for Dollars." According to a BusinessWeek article, you can now Blog for Dollars. Small businesses, especially in the tech and marketing areas, need to have blogs to get business.

Blogging has a lot of possibilities. Some blogs take advertisements. Some blogs just tell you about a businesses services. Some blogs just provide information. Determine what you want to do with your blog and getting blogging. It might be a new source of revenue for your small business.

Google updated their Page Rank Tool

I admit to not being smart enough to figure out how Google updates its page rank tools. Thats why I love ProBloggers information on page ranking and the tools that are listed. If you have a website, and you should (if you dont, go to www.palmcatdesign.com and let April design your website), then its important to keep track of your page rank. Use these tools to help you get the most bang for your buck!

Blogging for business

Lawyer and law firm marketing guru Kevin O'Keefe wrote an interesting piece for his blog. Here may be a new way for you to make money for your small business: selling ads on your blog. While Kevin is against ads on marketing blogs, if you can attract advertisers to your blog, it may make the time you spend blogging a little more profitable.

So, who might advertise on your blog? Just some random thoughts: ask your suppliers to advertise their products (Say you sell computers, have one of the manufacturers place an ad. Someone sees the ad, reads the product specs, and then buys it from you. You make money on the ad and on the sale.), ask local reciprocal businesses to ad (A real estate agent could have a lender advertise on his/her blog.), or ask another small business to ad (Just dont ask a competitor, but maybe someone who is not as technically advanced would pay for access to your blog and your audience.).

Top 10 Legal Oversights with your Website

Brett Trout at www.businesknowhow.com wrote a great piece on the top 10 legal oversights that can shut down your website. Go read the article for the full details. But, here are the top 10:

1. No website disclaimer
2. Privacy breaches
3. Intellectual Property Infringement
4. Security Breaches
5. Failure to protect intellectual property
6. Breaking the law
7. No coordination
8. Bad contracts
9. Losing the farm
10. No formal policies

Everyone's website should be kept up to date. Make sure your website gets you business - and that it does not cost you your business.

California's SPAM law

In prior posts, I have discussed the ability to send out emails to clients. The magic number being 7 times that a client usually has to see your name/website to remember it. The trick is to send out your emails or newsletters so you dont violate California's SPAM laws.

SPAM is unsolicited email. We all receive it. Its almost impossible to avoid. (Although I do know some attorneys who change email addresses on a monthly basis. This seems to be overkill to me, but it does work.)

In September 2003, legislation was approved in California that made it the second state (after Delaware) to adopt an opt-in rule for e-mail advertising. Under this legislation, it is illegal to send unsolicited commercial e-mail from California or to a California e-mail address. The law applies to senders as well as to advertisers on whose behalf messages are sent. It also includes less restrictive rules from which the broad prohibition may be severed in the event that it is struck as unconstitutional. (California's prior law, approved in September 1998, required opt-out disclosures and subject-line labels.)

For the detailed laws, there is a great website, but be prepared to read California's oftentimes difficult statutes.