Small Business Tools to Boost Productivity

In the present business world today where time and money go hand in hand, you simply have to use the small business tools that are available to you to boost productivity and keep costs down. Here are some tools to help that happen for you:

1. Dropbox is a free service that allows you to simply drag and drop, or copy and paste, files into another file folder on your system to share with those who you select. It's ideal for avoiding attaching large files to the internet, for use in webinars, product demonstrations, and more.

2. Tungle is an important scheduling application that syncs all of your calendars. This one is different from others because it features the innovation and technology that actually makes it work for you. You don't have to sign up for a user account just to use Tungle. Even without an account, you can use all the features of this tool. In other words, you can get milk even without paying for the cow! What I like the best about Tungle is that it synchronizes most naturally with other calendar service. For instance, it syncs up with Yahoo! Calendars, Google Calendars, Outlook, Lotus Notes, Windows Live, Tripit, Plancast, and many others. It can pull and post appointments from existing calendars, and you don't even have to think twice or thrice about it.

3. Rapportive is an email application tool that works with Gmail only. It gives you a complete rundown on everyone who is sending you email, from a picture of their face to their company name and other information. This is ideal for those professionals who network significantly but have trouble remembering people by name alone.
RescueTime is just what you need to stay productive during work hours. It tracks your computer time and generates an analysis of how you spend that time, giving you the information you need to drive productivity.

Each of these small business tools give you the features and benefits you need to truly boost productivity in yourself as well as in your employees.

Finding a Good Cleaning Service in Boise

A clean, sparkling space does wonders to lift spirits, and creates a smart, professional face for your company. You surely would not want to enter an office space that is shabby and poorly maintained. A good cleaning service can help to keep your office clean and perform maintenance services so that it always remains spotless. If your office is in Boise, there are many cleaning companies you could check out.           

Whether you have a large or small office, efficient janitorial service is needed to keep it sparkling. All janitorial programs do not suit every office need. Your office might have nightly schedules, or yours could be a flexi-time office where people come in and work according to their convenience. Having a full-fledged cleaning team interrupt just when you are in the middle of a meeting with a prospective client could be a bad idea. A reputable cleaning service can draw up a cleaning program that is just right for your needs.           
 
When choosing a cleaning service in Boise, you also need to see how flexible they are. It might be that you require services just once a month, or once every week. On the other hand, you might also want them to come and perform cleaning services on an emergency basis. A good cleaning company will work perform their services at your convenience without disturbing your schedule.           

There are so many maintenance and cleaning services that are needed to keep a space clean and looking at its best. Duct-cleaning, maintaining floors and carpets, clean-up after some construction activity—a business could need any of these at different times. Mold is not good for equipment so it is good to have a cleaning service perform mold remediation service if your walls are moldy and old. The sophisticated technology used by a cleaning service will help your walls remain mold-free and healthy for years.           

When cleaning companies let loose their battery of cleaning equipment, the damage to the environment could be immense. All those fumes and toxic chemicals are surely not good for your employees’ health. Look for a cleaning company that performs their service using environment-friendly cleaning chemicals that are free of toxins. If you are looking for an efficient cleaning service, Boise has several companies that you could approach. Western Building Maintenance offers janitorial, carpet-cleaning, duct-cleaning, construction clean-up, window-cleaning, and mold-remediation services. All their cleaning is done using environment-friendly chemicals.

5 Mistakes That Can Stop You From Making The Sale

You’re in the process of introducing a new program to your database and everything is prepared.

Your sales page is up; your shopping cart/payment gateway is ready to accept participants; and you’re sending out emails to prospective clients who you know could benefit from your support.

Launching a new program (or product/service) is certainly an exciting and busy time. However excitement can soon turn into concern, and concern to panic if you’re nearing the start date with hardly anyone booked in? Can you relate?

Help! Where did you go wrong?

While there can be multiple reasons why you haven’t got clients flocking to your door, here are five common mistakes that can result in minimum signups to your programs.

See if you recognise any.

Mistake 1: You haven’t created the ‘irresistible’ factor

As a service provider it’s vital to build a strong signature brand that instantly captures the spirit, personality and passion of YOU and what you do. A strong brand will enable you to stand out in a crowded marketplace as an expert and leader in your field.

And, building a reputation as the expert and leader in your field who delivers amazing results will make you irresistible to your ideal client.

It’s also important to have a uniquely branded Signature System. What’s a Signature System? It’s the step-by-step process you’ll take clients through in your program.

People prefer order and structure and will place more value on a well-defined system than an unstructured and vaguely laid out program. They’ll be far more likely to invest in your program if you show them you’ve got a proven step-by-step system that will help them reach their desired goals.

Have you got a strong signature brand and signature system that’s making you irresistible to your ideal clients and prospects?

Mistake 2: You’re promoting program features – not benefits

While providing an outline of your program (your Signature System) is important – be mindful of WHAT you highlight. Don’t just promote the step-by-step outline of your program as these are just the features. Instead tell your prospect about the benefits and results they can expect to achieve if investing in your program.

For instance, one of my Signature Systems is my Unearthing Your Brilliance – Your Brand Private VIP Session where I take people through a step-by-step process to help them define and develop their own powerful authentic Signature Brand.

Notice in the following example, how I position the features of the program alongside the benefits they can expect to achieve:
“When you invest in the Unearth Your Brilliance Branding Program, you’ll also learn:

•    How to create the heart and soul of your brand by identifying your primary and influencing Brand Archetype’s making you become irresistible to your ideal clients.
•    Specific words that speak directly to each of the Brand Archetypes’ needs and desires. Sprinkle these throughout your marketing messages to attract and influence the people YOU want to work with.
•    How to develop your on-brand core marketing message so that clients feel compelled to invest in you and your services.

Even if you already have a brand, the ‘Unearth Your Brilliance’ Branding Program will reveal vital tweaks that can dramatically boost sales and results. Best of all, the process is easy and FUN!”

As you can see, rather than listing the step-by-step process (the ‘features’), I have highlighted the results (‘benefits’) my clients will achieve. I know this is something they’re looking to resolve and therefore increase their desire to invest in the program.
So, what benefits can your clients expect if they invest in your program? Are you using words you know will speak to their needs and create desire so they invest in you?

Mistake 3: You’re marketing to the masses

While it may be true that anyone can benefit from your program if you market your program to the masses, you’ll probably find fewer (if any at all) people signing up. This is because your marketing message doesn’t speak to their needs and fails to demonstrate how you can help them.

Niching is vital. Get clear on the struggles your target market faces, the problems they experience and what keeps them up at night. Be specific, speak directly to their issues and desires and show them that your program provides the step-by-step solution to their problem.

Do you know what keeps your target market up at night? Are you using the same phrases and words in your marketing to show them you have the answer to their problems?

Mistake 4: You haven’t got a strategic marketing plan

While it would be great to be able to fill your entire program with just one email – in reality you’ll find you have to send several pieces of communication to someone, before they make their purchase decision.

Remember, there’s not just ONE way to fill a program. It can take several methods of communication to get ONE person into your program.

Avoid the ad hoc, spontaneous approach when marketing your program. Instead, have a well thought out marketing plan that includes various ways of communicating that is sent out a period of time leading up to the start date.

Map out your integrated marketing plan using some of the methods from my Brand Communications Wheel, which includes:

•    Social Media Networks

•    LinkedIn
•    Twitter
•    Facebook

•    Speaking
•    Articles
•    Blog Posts
•    Video
•    Webinars
•    Podcast / Audios

Which method(s) will you use to market your program? How often will you reach out to your list? And, how will you bring this information to your list in different formats so that you don’t sound repetitive?

Mistake 5: You’re marketing too many programs/products at the same time

Have a number of programs, products and services you offer to clients? Great! Don’t be tempted to promote these at the same time. You’ll only confuse your prospects and they’ll more than likely not sign up for any of them.

Make sure your marketing plan schedules the promotion of just one of your programs over a certain period of time so your list/contacts can see a consistent message about that one program.

Once that program has been filled, you can start to promote another one of your offerings.

Remember, an overwhelmed prospect will more than likely not invest in any of your offerings so only market one program/product at a time.

What do you think? Was this helpful? What will you do differently next time you launch a program to ensure you get more enrolments into your program?

Here’s to your successful program launch!

Self Employment Ideas: Niche Marketing

As I comb the internet for workable self employment ideas, I am amazed to find so much diversity.  There is truly something for everyone online.  With that being said, I would like to focus on one single marketing strategy employed by many successful entrepreneurs.  It is called niche marketing. 

The central concept behind niche marketing is to avoid going head-to-head with large competitors.  After all, we are all competing for customers.  The trick is to find a smaller market or niche where our chance for success is much greater.  So, how is this done?
As with every other aspect of becoming self employed, finding the right niche requires research and testing.  As an example, suppose that I am an avid birdwatcher and would like to start a blog about my hobby.  My plan is to monetize the blog’s website with ads and accessories associated with birdwatching.  First, I must determine what kind of competition I am up against.
If I were to conduct a keyword search on Google using the word birdwatching, there is likely going to be a huge number of websites competing for traffic.  So, the trick is to narrow-down the competition.  This is accomplished by creating a keyword string for a more specific target group.
I decide to narrow my keyword search to birdwatching in Southern Florida.  Now I utilize the free Google keyword tool found in Adwords.  The tool enables me to see how much traffic this keyword string generates on Google in a given time period.  The tool also displays data on similar keyword strings for comparison.  Obviously, the more people there are doing a particular keyword search, the more competition there will be for their traffic. 
Although there is no perfect amount of traffic for niche marketing, most niches focus on keyword strings that generate fewer than ten thousand searches a month.  On the flip-side, I would not want to choose keywords that very few people ever search.  There will be little to no competition, but there will also be no customers coming to my website.
Now that I have found the right keywords, I need to purchase a domain containing my keywords.  In the case of the birdwatching  example, my domain would be birdwatchinginsouthernflorida.com.  That is provided the domain is available.  I may have to use another extension or use hyphens between my words if that particular domain is not available.  The point of this is that Google will give higher ranking to more relevant websites, and the goal of every niche marketer is to get his or her website into the top ten on the first page of their Google keyword search.
Niche marketing can be an excellent method for generating multiple income streams from the internet.  The reason for this is because once we find success on one website, we can replicate the methods we used there to develop several more websites. 
Anyone who has been following my articles on self employment ideas knows that I have been putting my research to the test with my own website.  As I write this article my site has moved to the top of page three in the Google rankings.  It would appear that what I have learned is actually working.  I will have further updates in the near future.

An Overview Of Shopping New And Utilized Cars Online

Buying new and used cars on the web can be a special approach to open up your possibilities when it is time to get your new vehicle. Too typically people fundamentally go to their neighborhood dealership, find a vehicle they like, get financing and ride house in their new or utilized vehicle never realizing they might have paid way too a lot for that particular vehicle and might have discovered the same thing on the web significantly less expensive. So, if you're within the marketplace for a new or used vehicle consider shopping online instead of the standard dealership.

When you begin your rummage for new and utilized cars on the web you should maintain in mind you'll find literally thousands of on the internet vehicle sellers and although quite a lot of them might be legitimate, you'll find some that are not. Since of this risk you will need to take additional care in picking which on the web dealerships to believe and those to steer away from. All the same, don't be alarmed since it's reasonably simple to spot the actually great web sites that sell cars instead of those that are basically out to get your funds.

Websites that sell new and utilized cars online are typically extremely well laid out, have a lot of alternatives, in addition to a feedback page where you'll be in a position to read up on diverse experiences from past customers. In addition to this, several are rated by car magazines, car directories and the like. Additionally, when you locate a car site you are curious about you are in a position to look it up in a search engine and discover diverse reviews about individuals' past experiences. This is perhaps the greatest method to locate anything on the web, reviews on other internet sites about certain internet sites. As soon as you feel comfy with many websites you'll be able to begin shopping.

When you begin shopping you will notice you may have the option of searching within your zip code, searching specific cars within your zip code or a certain area, and quite a number other search choices for a vary wide or narrow search. Naturally, the wider you leave the search possibilities the much more possibilities you will have. Regardless, you are able to search comfortably from your computer for the automobile you want and that incorporates from exterior color to interior and extras.

Whenever you locate the auto you want on the web, then you'll have the alternative to get. Plainly, you'll find many different ways it is attainable to buy the vehicle on the internet. Some enable you to get online; other people allow you to contact the vender to arrange payment if the web site is representing private sellers, often times you'll be directed to the dealership where the automobile is located too as many different other payment alternatives. The best thing about buying new and employed cars online is it is feasible to discover the most efficient cost and just the vehicle you are looking for without the irritation of sales representatives attempting to change your opinion on specific cars or talk you into something you're not curious about. Go ahead and search some car selling internet sites and you will surely turn into an automatic fan.

Oliver Cornock, OBG Regional Editor: snapshot of the Saudi Arabian Economy

The Saudi economy remains one of the region’s most stable and consistent performers. Rather like Germany within Europe, a growth pattern over the past decade that was labelled as steady, rather than headline grabbing has more than proven its worth during the global downturn. While other economies are still struggling to shrug off the effects of that downturn, Saudi Arabia last year experienced real growth of 3.8%, while this year the government expects to see 4%.

The bases of that growth are well-known – perhaps too well-known, as familiarity can sometimes blind us to their significance. It is perhaps pertinent to recap them here – and the changing dynamics. The Saudi economy remains dominated by hydrocarbons, although oil and gas now accounts for less than half of GDP. Successful vertical diversification in the 1970s and 1980s means the Kingdom now has a world class profile in several heavy industries, including most prominently petrochemicals.
Additional development and diversification will mean that in the coming decade crystalline minerals such as phosphate, bauxite and copper will add a valuable third pillar to oil and gas. In addition to heavy industry, the Kingdom has also developed one of the region’s leading financial sectors, while retail and wholesale trade, logistics and services are all becoming significant elements in the economy.
Although Saudi Arabia is now engaged in greater horizontal diversification, it is this successful vertical diversification of the economy into a range of vital industrial inputs required by the world’s most dynamic growth economies which has ensured the country’s stability through the recent crisis. Saudi Arabia now occupies a significant role in the global economy, as demonstrated by its membership of the G20, the body which during the recent crisis de facto replaced the G7 as the most important global forum for economic decision-making.
Domestic growth during that crisis was sustained largely thanks to a huge government stimulus in the form of a $400bn programme of capital spending, due to be completed in 2013. Government investment remains a key driver in the Saudi economy, accounting for 15% of GDP and arguably providing the bedrock of business confidence, which means that Saudi SMEs are currently among the most optimistic in the world. Capital investment in 2011 is budgeted at $68bn – a slight decrease on 2010’s $69bn, and perhaps an indication that the government is understandably concerned about stoking inflationary pressures in a continuing low interest rate environment.
However, the growth benefits of the government’s targeted investment programmes are already beginning to be felt, as manufacturing in particular enjoys a boost from capital investment coming online at Jubail, as well as new Ma’aden facilities. 2010 growth for the manufacturing sector was 5%, while in the related field of utilities (a good indicator of overall demand) growth was even more impressive at 6%. Another key sector, transport and communications, grew at 5.6% in 2010 – again, largely due to significant government investment which is seeing new rail and land routes opening up the mineral wealth of the north-west, as well as improving connections between the main commercial hubs.
Beyond the government’s activities, the private sector has also shown signs of resilience, although bank credit to the private sector remains an area of concern – a current phenomenon across the world. Credit to the private sector from the Kingdom’s banks grew at the fairly staggering average rate of 27% per year between 2004 and 2008. Following the damage to confidence caused by exposure to the Saad Group and Hamad Algosaibi and Brothers, lending has recently grown at a much slower rate, with even a decline of 0.2% in November of last year. Following an improvement in provisioning for bad loans however, the banking sector’s confidence is expected to recover in 2011.As I just mentioned, another concern is inflation, which remains high by historic standards. Inflation in 2010 averaged 5.4% - well down from the peaks of 2008, but nonetheless  something to watch. The consensus among banks and financial institutions appears to be for a very slight decline in inflation this year, though endogenous structural factors such as a lack of urban housing will keep the rental component of the consumer price index around 10%. Another peak in global food prices revealed a couple of days ago, coupled with the knock-on effect of continued quantitative easing in the US, could easily result in renewed inflationary pressures. For this reason, officials at SAMA will no doubt be keeping a close eye on global indicators in the coming months.Arguably, the biggest long-term challenge facing the Saudi economy remains dealing with the relatively high levels of youth unemployment, by matching job creation with the growing number of entrants to the job market. The Kingdom has a young and fast-growing population, with growth of around 750,000 every year, and a trend of significant increases in the major urban centres of Riyadh and Jeddah. Unemployment fluctuates according to economic cycles, though in recent years it has remained stubbornly above 10%, and there is also the specific issue of youth unemployment.
Dealing with this structural trend will require a dynamic private sector capable of generating not just raw growth but – just as important – employment growth. Equally, providing hubs for that growth other than Riyadh and Jeddah is also of fundamental importance. Hence the government’s $60bn investment in the four new economic cities, the largest of which is King Abdullah Economic City.
These are long-term projects of enormous scope, designed to permanently transform the footing of the Saudi economy. In one sense, they can be compared to the first wave of government-led diversification which occurred in the 1970s and 80s with the construction of the industrial cities of Jubail and Yanbu.
Jubail and Yanbu, which continue to expand, bequeathed the Saudi economy a legacy of heavy industrial capacity which has seen domestic players like SABIC evolve into global heavyweights. However, while vital to the Kingdom’s domestic economic capacity, the types of industry found at Jubail and Yanbu involve heavy long-term fixed capital investment, and create limited job growth.
By contrast, the Economic Cities will focus on the creation of a dynamic knowledge economy in the Kingdom, with the potential to provide high job growth for Saudi Arabia’s young population, in sectors requiring a less capital-intensive investment profile. The expectation for the four economic cities is that they will house a combined population of some 4-5 million people, and create in the region of 1million jobs.
This works out at government investment of around $60,000 per job created – a significant redistribution of hydrocarbon wealth, and a strong example of the direction that government policy is currently taking in Saudi Arabia. Rather than redistributing oil wealth directly through state sector employment and public benefits, the government is increasingly channelling investment into economic infrastructure that will create jobs and, hopefully, future growth. Indeed, SAGIA expects the four economic cities to contribute $150bn to the Saudi economy by 2020 – this works out at some $150,000 per job created: a significant return on investment.Creating the dynamism necessary to ensure such an impressive return is a two-stage process, requiring both supply and demand. The economic cities themselves are the demand side of the equation, providing quite literally the built environment which will need filling with young workers. On the supply side though, the government is also investing billions of dollars in education and skills development. Spending on HR in the Kingdom grew by over 40% in the three years between 2007 and 2010, and investment in the tertiary sector in particular has been extremely impressive. The continuation of other long-term programmes, such as the Economic Offsets Programme, will also continue to be important mechanisms for knowledge transfer between Saudi Arabia and its Western partners.
As this brief snapshot has hopefully demonstrated, the Saudi economy remains well placed to continue reaping the benefits of renewed growth in emerging markets – particularly high growth markets in Asia. This orientation of the economy toward the hotspots of global growth will ensure that the government can continue pursuing its domestic diversification strategy, and hopefully lead Saudi Arabia into the next stage of its economic development – the knowledge economy, where the Kingdom reaps the benefits not just of its natural resources, but also the dynamism of its human resources. To conclude, it is OBG’s view that the direction of the economy is positive and set to ensure the creation of a solid foundation for future sustainable prosperity.

Unemployment Rate is Understated

Where have all the people gone? Americans are disappearing, based on data found in the Employment Report's Household Survey. While nothing is ever black and white, and there surely is some net hiring occurring now, we still find the decline in the civilian labor force since late last year quite suspect. In fact, we believe a discrepancy has the unemployment rate understated at 8.9%, when it is in fact closer to 9.4%. Read through this article through "The Problem" section at the bottom where we expose the problem and prove our argument.

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Stocks hit oil slick but economy to trump

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks will take their cues from the oil market this week as unrest rumbles through the Middle East. But so far equity investors are sanguine, believing the economic recovery wins the day.
Sentiment is driving large daily swings as traders vacillate between the fear that oil prices will hit consumers and derail the recovery, and the euphoria that the U.S. labor market is turning a corner.
Reports of escalated fighting in Libya and protests in Bahrain, Yemen and top oil-exporter Saudi Arabia rattled investors on Friday -- oil rose, equities fell.
"We are in such a sentiment-driven market right now and everyone is watching the equity market with one eye and oil and commodity markets with the other," said Michael James, a senior trader at Wedbush Morgan in Los Angeles.
SHIFT TO OIL STOCKS
Some hedge funds are trading the inverse correlations between oil and equities that have grown in recent weeks, while other investors are shifting their exposure to oil stocks and paring back in overvalued areas of the market.
Through it all the S&P 500 is down less than 2 percent from a near three-year high hit in late February, which even bears concede is a remarkably robust performance. Last week, stocks ended flat.
So far the trade seems to be a reallocation of risk within equities rather than a move out of stocks altogether.
Zahid Siddique, a portfolio manager at the Gabelli Equity Trust, has used the turmoil as a chance to raise his exposure to energy stocks, which have surged with oil prices.
The S&P energy sector (.GSPE) has risen 10 percent since the middle of January when troubles in the Arab world began. Since then the wider market has crept up by just a fraction of that. Over the same period Brent crude oil rose nearly 18 percent to more than $116 per barrel.
"These type of crises make you refresh your portfolio and just take another look," Siddique said. "Near-term we may have some volatility in the market ... although the markets could still trend higher within that."
In the energy sector Siddique has added to positions in Suncor Energy (SU.TO) (SU.N), Marathon Oil (MRO.N) and Exxon Mobil (XOM.N).
At the same time he has taken the opportunity to pare back positions that he believes are starting to look over-priced. Those include Deere & Co (DE.N) and Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N).
If oil prices spike higher, other areas of the market could start to look more vulnerable.
STRONG ECONOMIC MOMENTUM
Barry Knapp, managing director of equity research at Barclays Capital in New York, recently downgraded the consumer discretionary sector, a move he partly attributes to risks posed by higher oil prices.
"If there is one sector that is particularly vulnerable, it would be the consumer discretionary sector," Knapp said.
That sector is the only cyclical sector that Knapp has underweighted as he continues to believe the economy will strengthen.
"On balance we do not think that this oil price supply shock is going to be strong enough to offset the economic momentum," he said.
Spending, savings and jobs data during the week continued to inspire confidence in the consumer. Although Friday's payrolls report fell short of the fireworks the market expected, many investors feel the jobs situation has finally turned.
That is feeding into general optimism that the recovery is becoming self sustaining and will continue after the Federal Reserve stops its stimulative asset purchases later this year.
"The game changer for this market is and continues to be the consumer," said Douglas Cote, a senior market strategist at ING Investment Management in New York. "The consumer, despite 9 percent unemployment, is setting records in not only in their incomes but their spending."
That theory will be tested again this week when consumer confidence and retail sales data are published on Friday.
The Reuters consensus forecast is that confidence will ease slightly in March. Any indication that consumers are less stalwart about rising energy and gasoline prices could be a warning sign.
(Editing by Kenneth Barry)

Ireland's main parties form new coalition government

DUBLIN (Reuters) – Ireland's two largest parties agreed to form a new coalition government Sunday, clinching a quick deal that will allow it to press European leaders to ease the terms of the country's 85 billion euro EU/IMF bailout.

 

The center-right Fine Gael, winner of last week's election, had been in talks since Monday with the second-placed, center-left Labor after voters handed the ruling Fianna Fail a record defeat over its handling of Ireland's economic meltdown.
"I am happy to tell you that we have concluded an agreement, some of the finer details are now being worked out for presentation to both parties," Ireland's prime minister in waiting, Enda Kenny, told reporters.
Labor will ask both its party members and lawmakers to approve the program for government later Sunday, while Fine Gael's parliamentary party will also meet to okay the deal.
The two parties took divergent views during the campaign on the scale of public sector cutbacks, the split between taxes and spending cuts, and the time frame for cutting the budget deficit to an EU limit of 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
Both Kenny and Labor leader Eamon Gilmore said the deal reached on these points would be made known when the program for government is published later Sunday.
"They are issues that we will be signing off on in the morning," Gilmore said, adding that he was happy with the structure of the government but refusing to say how many seats his junior party had secured at the cabinet table.
Both parties ran on a platform of renegotiating the rescue deal struck last November. While they may be given a reduced interest rate on the loans, demands for bondholders in Irish banks to shoulder more losses have been more or less ruled out.
Kenny acknowledged Friday that many European governments opposed his wish to make senior bondholders share the pain and was told by one leader that there would be "no free lunches."
(Editing by Mark Heinrich)