If you don’t own an Apple iPhone, chances are you know someone that does. Make that several people, given the phenomenal rise of the smartphone to third place by global market share.

Apple’s tablet, the iPad, has surpassed the success of the iPhone by rocketing to 93% of market share for tablet computers. For those who have reservations about Apple’s tightly controlled IT platform a flotilla of competing tablets is arriving this year based on Google’s Android.  Read More

Did you invest time and money in developing a website only to find that it isn't generating the amount of business you expected? Unfortunately, the belief that a website will magically generate more business is false. People searching for your products or services need to be able to easily find you. There might be a number of reasons why your website isn't working for you, but one very important one is likely to be search engine optimisation (SEO). Read More

As every small business owner knows, the job involves playing a wide variety of roles - visionary leader, product innovator, sales rep, secretary to name but a few. But you may not have focused on one other role you play as you talk to customers, prospects, lenders and potential investors - illusionist. Often a deal can be won or lost on how big people perceive your company to be since for many customers size equates to how professional and solid it is - so conjuring up the impression that your business is bigger than perhaps it really is an important trick to master. Read More

The term ‘market research’ often invokes images of telemarketers, focus groups and online surveys - mass media methods that cost a lot of time and money and are out of reach of the average small business. The truth is that small business owners conduct market research all the time. At its most basic, market research is asking someone other than an employee how they think the existing business is performing or whether a prospective product or service would appeal. Read More

Stop trying to guess what your clients are thinking. Before investing in gut feelings or past remedies, find out what your customers – and ex-customers – want. Just ask. It’s existing clients who offer the most potential for growth, and at the lowest cost. Talking to them is a good way to further develop or to start a customer relationship management programme. Read More

So, you’ve had a great idea.  Sitting over a well-earned drink after work watching the world go by, it came to you. It was so good you had to scribble it down on the drinks coaster, or maybe a paper napkin.  In bed that night, foot twitching and mind whirring with ideas, you can hardly sleep even though you have a heavy day coming up. It’s perfect, even brilliant - customers will love it. Read More

Choosing a web solution is not just a matter of throwing up a few pages, as cheaply as you can by using friends and tech savvy kids to toss it together.  The online market these days is as valuable and important as the physical marketplace you do business in so when it comes to creating a website it’s worth investing the same commitment of time, money and resources that you put into the physical set up of your premises, or selecting essential tools and equipment for the business. Read More

In this world it may seem that change is the only constant – but there is one other thing that appears to right up there with change – the attractiveness of coupons to consumers.

Coupons have always been popular but since they became available electronically their use has exploded. Emails that provide a printable coupon for in-store redemption, banner ads that offer discounts to new customers, onsite coupons for immediate discounts on online purchases and even coupons delivered via text messaging to cell phones are among the most popular forms of electronic distribution. And the great thing is that they are working better than ever. Read More

In the not too distant past, producing and distributing videos to promote your business was costly and time consuming. However, as a business coach helping a number of SME owners and accountants I have noticed the exponential growth of video sharing sites on the internet, such as YouTube, has now turned video into a very cost-effective marketing method. Read More

Most businesses operate to some extent on borrowed money, but borrowing too much means you’re paying more in interest than you need to. Borrowing too little means you’re under financed and won’t have enough capital to accomplish what you want to do. That’s why you have to work out, as near as possible, just how much money you will really need, and when you’ll need it, before you talk to anyone about borrowing funds for your business. And of course you’ll also have to work out how to repay what you’re borrowing. Here’s a process for estimating your borrowing requirements. Read More