No logo? Find one at the morgue…
Filed Under Look The Part | 6 Comments
“The first thing you do when you start an organization is get a logo.”
~ Colin Powell, former US Secretary of State
To be creditable as a business you absolutely, positively have to have a logo. Corporate giants are so enamored with logos they spend millions on the perfect visual for their product or service.
And they’re right to do so: it’s important to have a symbol that distills your business concept, uniquely represents your business, and communicates your personal style.
Note that not all logos are images, like the Nike swoosh. A logo can also be text, like Coca-Cola’s recognizable script. However you work it, a logo is a critical part of your business identity. If you have one, great! If you don’t have one, you gotta get one. Start it today… Read more
Logo Design: Links and Books
Filed Under Links & Books, Look The Part | 1 Comment
« No Logo? Find one at the morgue
Logo Ideas On The Web
IdeaBook
Chuck Green’s site has instructions on creating a distinctive logo from clipart and a visual guide to the logo design process.
Books With And About Logos
Letterhead & Logo Design 10
by Top Design Studio
Logo Design That Works
by Lisa Silver and Cheryl Cullen
Got a favorite website or book on logo design? Lemme know down below!
It doesn’t matter how big you are…
Filed Under Quotations | Leave a Comment
It doesn’t matter how big you are,
it’s how big you behave.
Nirav Tolia
Co-founder and CEO of Epinions, Inc.
How Small is Small?
Filed Under In General | 7 Comments
Well, the Small Business Administration (SBA) considers most retail and service businesses in the USA as “small” if they make less than $6.5 million a year. So raise your hand if your business brings in less than that?
A count of hands (including mine and likely yours) shows there are 27 million businesses that don’t make that much. Which is pretty much every business in the US—99.7%.
But earnings aside, many SBA-defined “small businesses” can have up to 500 employees. Seriously? That’s not small. By my definition, the business is small if I can have the team over for dinner.
And most small business teams actually could fit in my apartment, if not around my microscopic IKEA dining table. There are 20 million small businesses that employ fewer than 10 people, putting them in a different league. Those small shops are considered micro-businesses. Now that’s what I call small!
And then there are the millions of folks like me who are a Business of One. Whether you call us sole proprietors or solopreneurs, a business can’t get any smaller than that 
Which is all to say, when you feel like you’re the only one struggling to stay profitable with a handful of people—be assured that you’re not.
In fact, you’re one in 20 million…and you’re in excellent company.
Online lawyers, where art thou?
Filed Under Build a Team | 2 Comments
It looks like my favorite online source for legal representation, MyCounsel.com, is out of business. MyCounsel.com was a nationwide pool of lawyers that managed your case for a predetermined flat fee, completely online. This kind of service is super handy for solving interstate legal problems—a distinct possibility for remote workers.
Like the time I was working for a client in California, 3000 miles away. They were always slow to pay, but near the end of the contract they flat out ignored my emails and calls about their unpaid invoices. Weeks crept by without a penny, and it wasn’t like I could go knock on their door.
So I searched the listings at MyCounsel.com for a lawyer based near my client so they could knock on their door. My attorney and I connected through a private, secure message board at MyCounsel.com, and discussed the problem, option, and whatnot.
A mere twelve days after I faxed him a glut of contracts, invoices, phone logs and reminder notices, I got a big fat check from my far-away client. I can only imagine their surprise when they got a letter from an attorney—around the corner—about paying up. Well worth the $125 legal fee.
It was truly fab. No hidden costs, no haggling over fees or lengthy long distance phone calls, no time zone dilemmas or scheduled meetings or telephone tag. Best that I can tell, there’s nothing out there like it anymore.
But hey, the Web is a big place and maybe I’m just missing it. If you know a company offering this service online, leave a comment…
“He who chatters with you will chatter about you.”
~ Egyptian Proverb
If you live in a remote location or seek clients from a wide geographical area, you can inspire new customers to call you with a toll-free number. Distant customers may not be interested in paying up to place an order or ask a question, but many will eagerly reach for the phone if you offer a convenient, no-cost method of reaching you.
Connect Outside the Internet
E-mail has become the best way for many customers to place, confirm and inquire about orders, ask questions about a service, or seek support about a product. But there are still plenty of people without access to the Internet.
Despite big leaps with technology, only 71% of Americans use the Internet—and not all of them are comfortable with providing credit card information online. But pretty much every American household has a phone (95%), and they don’t need computer skills to use it!Customers love toll-free numbers
Big Impact with a Vanity Number
Also, a toll-free number that relates to your business or spells your company name will increase recognition and add credibility. If you doubt the value of a vanity toll-free number as a promotional tool, look at the success of 1-800-Flowers!
The Response Marketing Group found that 1-800 number ads performs six times better than local phone number ads. Also, radio ads with a vanity 800 phone number drew fourteen times more calls than those with a numeric 800 phone number.
Cheaper than a pizza + pennies per minute
So a toll-free number can be a simple way to make yourself available to almost everyone, present yourself as top-notch, and draw more business. Customers can call from anywhere in the country and place orders for free, while you pay pennies for this profitable contact.
And don’t let the big phone companies fool you: Web and telecom technology make it possible for any small business to have a dedicated toll-free number for $12/month and only 10c per minute—without extra phone lines. uReach provides a service called u800 Plus that:
- Rings to your existing phone line
- Includes voice mail that you can access by phone or the Internet
- Works with your existing voice mail or answering machine
- Includes talking caller ID, telling you the number of the caller
- Routes incoming calls to your business, home or wireless numbers
- Automatically directs calls to voice mail outside of business hours that you select
For a few dollars more…
uReach provides a toll-free number when you sign up, but click “select your uNumber” for dozens of other numbers and some fee-based options. For a few extra dollars, you can have a number that starts with 800 instead of the new 877 or 888. There are also memorable and easy-to-dial Preferred numbers and a vanity number selection service for an extra fee.
TIP: You may not need to pay extra for a vanity number. Type the fee-free suggested numbers into PhoneSpell to see if they spell something interesting.
Got a toll-free number for your micro-business? Leave a comment with your number and a bit about what you offer!
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