You have probably been forced to slash your advertising budget. Business people are discovering that social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter will bring new customers. Just think of it as a new and inexpensive way to advertise.

Many of you have probably heard of the sites, but don’t know where to start. There are new companies forming to meet your needs. Just make them prove the results! The Internet is full of scams. Don’t fall for the, “we’ll keep doing it until it works” line.

Unlike traditional advertising, there is no need to spend thousands of dollars and wait months to measure the results. The typical investment is less then $700 and the good ones will offer a money back guarantee.

You can see marked results in as little time as a week. You can measure the additional traffic to your website by viewing your sites analytical reports. Examine the report to see how long people are staying on your site and the number of pages they view.

If your web traffic has increased, but the phone is still isn’t ringing, it’s time to re-evaluate the content on your website. Most websites will allow you to make changes yourself, rather then needing to pay your hosting company. Remember, it’s your website. You should be able to make content adjustments.

If you need help sifting through the information, get help from those you know and trust. That is part of the mission of this site.

Ken Cole

All of us are struggling with the economy. Business is down, hundreds of thousands of people in Oregon are looking for work and bills are piling up… You may need some extra cash, especially if your spouse or significant other is one of those recent pink slip recipients.

Yahoo news published 7 Great Side Jobs for Extra Cash, written by Cherie Berkley with PayScale.com; but I felt we could expand on that list for those of us in the beautiful Pacific Northwest!

In the tradition of the great depression, setting up a doughnut and coffee snack cart and walking around downtown could generate some income. Not sure if the City of Portland would like it, but I bet so long as you keep moving, pushing a cart around the streets of downtown is no worse than setting up a long term trailer in a parking lot?

Personal assistant is a great opportunity for the not so busy house mom/dad. Running errands than busy people no longer have time to do has value. The same type of errands you would do for a busy home owner, you could offer to a busy small business owner.

Along the save vanes, a downtown courier is another opportunity. Picking up and delivering things for downtown business can not only put dollars in your pocket, but maybe open some networking doors.

What other ideas can the community come up with? Add your comments to this blog article and be sure to include a link to your website so visitors can see how creative you are!

Ed Bejarana
BusinessBlogging.net
a division of Zenith Exhibits, Inc.

With business slowing during this recession, it is critical to keep up with current trends. Twenty years ago, it only took a business card and a listing with Better Business for you to seem credible. Today customers expect you to have a website. For many businesses today, working out of your house is just smart. Previously it may have caused and concern.

Your website should be the storefront window to your business. If your current or potential customers feel that it is unorganized, messy or ugly, they may keep looking. It only takes a click to find your competition. If their site looks better, they will probably shop there for a while.

So, it’s time to redefine how you are doing things. Your website must be a living and breathing thing, which requires changes. Without updating, your website will look like the person who shows up to a business appointment wearing a 1970′s polyester leisure suit.

A good website will draw customers from areas you never thought to service. That is, if they can find you. Sometimes cyberspace seems larger then the Galaxy on Stat Trek and just as weird. A few years ago, the trend was to hire a SEO company to drive traffic to your website. Too often they took your $5,000, but the results faded like a bouquet of freshly cut flowers.

Today with services like Twitter, Twellow, Cli.ngs and others, you can see positive results in a matter of weeks rather then months or years. There are new companies forming who require modest investments of $500 or less to prove this method can work. The good ones will even offer a money back guarantee.

So don’t be caught in your underwear when Publisher’s Clearing House shows up with a big check. You can learn to compete in the ever, changing business cycle.

Ken Bear Cole
Fishing with Bear LLC

Today businesses are going through a major paradigm shift. Major industries are loosing substantial market shares because of the changes. Technology is advancing so fast that traditional educational systems can’t keep up. Students are graduating with outdated knowledge. Here are some examples:

In the past both large and small businesses have depended on Newspapers, Radio, Direct Mail, Yellow Pages and TV for advertising. All of these methods are seeing huge reductions in revenues. There is currently a move requiring customers to “opt-in” to receive a phone directory. Many major newspapers are going broke throughout the country. Most direct mail pieces are seldom read. Radio stations have been replaced by recorded music stored on an ipod.

So what’s happening? It’s the Internet. People are relying on the web for information rather then traditional sources. Television Network news is loosing viewers because they have already seen the news stories on their web browser.

Websites like Facebook, Digg and Twitter are revolutionizing how we connect and keep in touch with each other. Social networking used to mean a party. Now it is an essential marketing tool for business.

Too often business people are lost in cyberspace. We don’t know how to engage in the new technology. And where will we find the time? Many business owners already work 50-60 hour workweeks. Even the videos take too long to learn the material. So what do we do?

Look for companies who can do the work for you, or will instruct you how to stay abreast of the new tools. Guess where you will find them? That’s right, they are listed on the Internet.

Some of the new cyber guru’s could be living in your own home. Your pimple-faced teenagers have the time to play with all of the new toys, and they will be impressed when you ask them for help.

Another source could be colleges and technical schools. No matter where you find them, you need their help. If you don’t respond, you will watch your market share fade away.

Ken Bear Cole
Fishing with Bear LLC

When Joe’s Sports started the liquidation sale, the company had already been purchased by a liquidation company. They purchased all of the inventory and fixtures at a huge reduction in price. Then they raised some of the prices in the store almost 50 %, so I told you to wait.

They are now getting serious and offering some real values,  but you still need to be careful. I almost purchased a broken display product, which had parts missing. All sales will be final, with no returns. All warrantees will be by the manufacture. Few manufactures will cover missing parts on opened items.

But if you know what a product should sell for, you can find some amazing deals. If the boxes are not factory sealed, open then up and inspect the product. If you are not sure it is all there, walk away. That’s better then buying defective merchandise.

So get your credit card out and stimulate the economy.

Ken Bear Cole

Fishing with Bear LLC

It seems like the news is worse with each passing day…More layoffs, plants going idol for three or more months, unemployment hitting all time highs in our state–what is a small business owner to do?  To quote the great philosopher, Bobby McFerrin, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.”

Bobby said, “In every life we have some trouble, when you worry you make it double.”

Time to focus on tomorrow and assume ALL responsibility for your success (or failure).  Relying on Uncle Sam is not a good business strategy.  If you are unemployed, consider starting your own business.  If your business is slacking, increase your marketing effort.  If you are under staffed, accept reality (for a while) and work more hours.

The message is work smarter AND harder.  There are many FREE or low cost opportunities for you to market yourself and your business.  Twitter, does not cost a dime and (with a large enough following) does help bring more traffic to your website.

If you are a job seeker, being on Twitter or writing a blog can get your name higher on the search engines and when a prospective employer does a search for what you’ve written or done online, your unique ideas and positive attitude shows up HIGH on the list.

If you are over worked, then bring in a consultant or personal assistant.  Freeing your time from less productive tasks allows you to focus on more profitable activities.

Remove the following words from your vocabulary:  Can’t and Impossible

Stop watching the daily news.  Spend time each week with someone who has a positive attitude.  The cost of coffee and time with such a person will pay off in spades!

Ed Bejarana
BusinessBlogging.net
a division of Zenith Exhibits, Inc.

The TV show The Walton’s was based upon a real family surviving the depression. They all decided to live together in a large home. They pooled resources to survive and prosper.

My family has done the same. There are 4 generations living in our 2460 sq. ft. home in Portland, Oregon. My 83 year old mother, who can not live on her own, moved in with us three years ago. With dementia, there a whole set of interesting issues. For the most part, she mainly stays in her room and watches TV. If anything goes wrong, it’s my fault.

Our son-in-law lost his job last year and decided to return to college. So He, our Daughter and Granddaughter moved into the basement. We remodeled an area for our Granddaughter so they all their own space.

All in all, it works out rather well. We get to see our Granddaughter every day. We are able to give our daughter and son-in-law some relief in the challenges of child rearing. My daughter prepares most meals and my son-in-law is the chief dishwasher. The kids pay what they can during this time. It’s about helping each other.

What makes it work is the ability for all of us to have our own space. It simply would not work for us in a smaller house. Yes, there have been some conflicts, but we talk and it gets resolve. We recognize and respect our daughter ans son-in-law as setting rules for our granddaughter. We still have the privilidge of sending her back to her parents when we are full of ,”grandbabby time.”

Ken B ear Cole

Fishing with Bear LLC

Not wanting to waste a crisis, Speaker Pelosi has taken an active role in the development of a comprehensive plan for rescuing the auto industry AND moving the nation towards energy independence.

First on the speaker’s agenda was the formation of a new congressional sub-committee to study the effectiveness of round steering wheels over square steering wheels.  Mrs Pelosi said, “The round steering wheels are too tall for many of our older drivers and present a very un-safe condition for Main Street America.”

With recent authority granted to the Auto Industry Task Force, Mrs. Pelosi feels the conversions could be incorporated into the government back warranty service agreements.  “With roughly 251 million passenger vehicles on American roads, this Auto Navigation Safety Enforcement and Energy Revitalization and Independence program could put millions of American workers back to work fixing unsafe cars caused by the Bush Administration.”

Robert Nardelli (CEO of Chrysler) was quoted saying, “huh?”

The Speaker will be seeking congressional funding for this vital safety improvement.  “With millions of unemployed Americans forced to relay on their cars for shelter, the urgency of this bill is high and her committee will be seeking additional funding through HUD.”

Her committee has concluded that the $12 billion dollars needed would be absorbed by the six riches people in America and no additional taxes would “…burden the hard working Americas”.

In a related announcement, the House is also considering renaming Chrysler to Social Harmony Industrial Transporters because Chrysler sounds too close to the name of a religious figure.

With so many workers being laid off, the job market is saturated.  Finding a new job is difficult at best, impossible for most.  Turning to the state for unemployment insurance is even a challenge (as reported by Mike Rogoway with the Oregonian).

Despite all the bad news, the true spirit of America is best seen at your local chamber of commerce.  People who are turning their own skills into marketable services are starting their own business and flocking to chamber meetings.  Over the past several weeks, I have witnessed a big increase in meeting attendance.

What sort of businesses should you consider starting?

Professional services are always in high demand.  During recessions, customer loyalty is traded for price.  If you have the skills and can offer them at an affordable rate, then your job may just be a phone call away.

Business consulting, marketing and web development are all important services right now.  As employers are forced to cut labor, the workload for those still employeed skyrockets.  Consulting startup costs are among the lowest in the industry.  Registration fees, business cards, a website and some time at the library to build a contact database and you’ll be well on your way to self-employment.

Personal service companies also have an allure.  Errand Services, Child Care, House-sitting, Pet Care, and Shopping Services have a market in times when parents are too busy.  Recessions tax time and energies of every worker still employed.  Marketing yourself as a time saving resource can be very profitable.

Get out there are trust yourself.

Ed Bejarana
BusinessBlogging.net
A division of Zenith Exhibit, Inc.

by Robert Scoble, Web Feb 11, 2009 published on FastCompany.com

If you’re like my friends and family you probably fit into two buckets: Those who’ve been laid off and those who haven’t but survived a round or two.

If you’re one of those who’ve survived a round or two you probably flinch a bit when the boss calls you into her office. Wonder: “is it my turn?”

That’s a tough way to live and it saps you of the optimism necessary to come up with creative ideas to help keep the business afloat. The worst thing you can do for your career is worry about getting laid off or, in you’re an entrepreneur, just wonder when the other shoe will drop on your business.

We all fall into the depression trap. When I came back from the World Economic Forum I was in a funk. The world leaders and economists freaked me out. Why? Because they were almost always doom and gloom and didn’t have any creative ideas to how we’d dig out of this hole. So, maybe this post is a bit for them. (more…)