Redbox Biz Blog

If you’re Malaysian, you would know that the latest buzz in the car industry is the newly launched Perodua Myvi which seems to be going head to head with the (also) newly launched Proton Savvy. The thing about cars is that I never go to the car showroom when the cars are just launched - there are just too many people around and you never really get a good look at the cars, inside and out. So I preferred to let the buzz die down a bit and head on over to the car showroom and take my time giving the car a once-over.

Last Saturday seemed the perfect day. The sun wasn’t too bright or hot, and I just had a nice breakfast. Strolling over to the Perodua showroom to sneak a peek at the Myvi was just right. I saw a couple of Perodua sales people milling around outside the showroom and the Myvi was not inside. Outside the showroom, a sales man was parking a silver Myvi, in front of a lime green Myvi. Continue reading »

You’ve thought about it and you’re ready to go. You’re ready to give your business an online presence. You want your own website. That’s great but unless you are doing it yourself, you would be shopping for a website designer. Some people would design their own websites but most people prefer to save themselves the time and money and hand the job over to the professionals.

But how do you choose a great website designer from the countless website designers in this world? How do you determine who is good and who is passable?

To read more of this article of mine which has been published on EzineArticles.com, please go to http://ezinearticles.com/?id=48815

by Nic Sim

People who dream of starting their own businesses are often lost when it comes down to actually starting the business. They feel negative and unconfident. They don’t know what they are supposed to do first. Which skill must they learn first? How do they market their products? Where to start?

Those were the same problems we were going through when we started our website designing business 8 years ago. It would be silly to think that we had it smooth and easy. It wasn’t. But that was 8 years ago. We’ve learnt the hard way.

But based on our experiences, we want to help you get a better head start, so here are some things which we feel any entrepreneur worth his salt should do or have done, at least.

Get Biz Logo
Find a good designer/graphic artist to design you a biz logo. Once that is done, get him/her to design you your name cards, biz stationery, fliers etc with your biz logo on them. This creates a professional image.

Get a Website
Get yourself a website, with your own domain. These days, it is imperative to have a website. Make sure the website has the same logo. Come up with a catchy tagline too. Don’t forget to get your email and website details onto your name card too.

Learn Bookkeeping
It may be boring if you hate math but it is essential. In the beginning, you will be handling your own accounts. So at least be familiar with how to keep your books in order. If unsure, find out from friends who are accountants or read up on it. You don’t want your accounts to be in a mess and not know if you made a profit or loss at the end of the financial year. Here’s a good site to begin learning: http://www.accountingforeveryone.com

Network
Start networking. It doesn’t matter if it is with the moms in your children’s playgroup, the neighbours, your weekly book club, etc. Get out and meet people. Talk to them. Take each opportunity to put yourself out there so people know what you do/sell. Don’t be shy either. If you are, you won’t sell anything. Networking online is another cool option. Try signing up at Ryze.com for a start.

Promote Creatively
Find ways to promote your business creatively. This means how to market and promote on a shoestring budget. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Instead get more creative. Think of ways you can promote without spending big money.

Give Back Generously
Be generous. If any non-profit needs your services, offer them at a lower price or if you can, give it FOC. It’s really win-win for you and your recipient. You get to give back to the community and the community gets to use your services.

Barter Trade
If you have the skills but no money and want something that another person has to offer, why not barter-trade your way through? We’ve done this many times in our biz so we can vouch that this works. But the first rule of barter has to apply: give something of value to the other person first. Don’t give something of lesser value. Give equal value if that’s the least you can do.

Join Forces
If you know another entrepreneur who offers complementary services, why not team up and be a stronger pair? You can tap into her clients and vice versa. You can market together and profit from the added energy and resources!

Read, Read, Read
Make books your best friends. Read business books and apply the ideas you learn. You don’t have to start with buying books. Ask friends or go to the nearest library. Start with business magazines too if books are too difficult. Read online too if you can’t find suitable magazines or books. There are plenty of great resources online. Here’s one to start you off http://entrepreneur.com/

Copyright 2005. Redbox Studio.com

Note: This article was also published on EzineArticles.com on 6 July 2005 and can be accessed by clicking this link http://ezinearticles.com/?id=48813

by Nic Sim

I read an interesting article today, and it was titled “Site Design Tips to Improve Your Sales”. The interviewee of the article is none other than Dr Jakob Nielsen. Nielsen is the guru of web usability.

While I don’t quite like his plain website (the text just goes on and on), he is one of the best people to refer to when you need plain, old advice for enhancing/improving your website. He’s more of the academic type and his web usability results are based on years of research, not something pulled out of a hat.

To make it fast for you, here’s what he says of e-commerce websites and why some do so well and why some are disastrous from the start.

The main finding is: if your website is designed well, your products sell better.

1) Run a user test. Get someone (not your employee or focus group) to sit in front of the PC, ask them to go buy something from your website. See how easy/hard it is.

2) Make your products easy to find (so that they can be bought easily!). Usually poor product categories leave buyers confused and they leave.

3) Offer information which helps to sell, not overwhelm the buyer. Nielsen suggests a middle path - give basic stuff first, the specifics later. Offer information which the buyer wants, not what the tech guy wants to write.

4) A thumbnail is a thumbnail. A larger picture/photo is a larger photo. Don’t skimp and show a slightly bigger enlargement than the thumbnail. If possible, fill the whole PC screen with the photo, advises Nielsen.

5) Be aware that your buyer is afraid that you will use their email and info for other purposes. Soothe and calm them by having a line or two of reassurance. E.g. “We will never give out your email.”

There’s a couple more sage advice in the article so my best recommendation is, go read it. It’s very helpful if you are starting an e-commerce website soon or already an e-tailer. A couple of tweaks here and there will improve the buying experience for your customers and improve your bottomline too!

The article is here .

When you’re done with the article, go over to Dr Jakob Nielsen’s site at http://www.useit.com to pick more of his brains!

Related Info: How to set up an online shop