Tips For Startups Can Apply To Any Business

Old dogs aside


If you've ever trained a newbie, you know that there's a lot of routine stuff you'll sigh your way through. Questions or comments may bring up entirely new ideas, however, and it's for this reason that many businesses, whether they're new or old, can learn from tips for startups.

Alex Iskold of ReadWriteWeb and AdaptiveBlue put together 36 pieces of advice, and some seem rock-solid. The legal and financial information, in particular, is intelligent and might be hard to find elsewhere.

Other tips you'll have to think through for yourself. Iskold writes, "Launch at DEMO . . . DEMO is a great venue because its sole focus is to launch companies. Despite the fact that you will be one of over sixty participants, you will be given the stage and attention." He also suggests not releasing anything on a Monday or Friday, since both can be quiet news days.

Robert Scoble takes issue with the DEMO tip due to the sharing-of-attention matter. For the same reason, Mondays and Fridays might not be so bad - if no one else is doing anything, your product could get that much more attention.

Consider the pros and cons, then, but among Iskold's 36 tips (and Scoble's commentary), there are almost sure to be a few things that will be good for your business. And one thing on which they both (implicitly or otherwise) agree: it's a good idea to keep a company blog.

5 Small Business New Years Resolutions

NetBooks CEO Ridgely Evers provides tips for growing your small business.


If you're trying to grow your small business, every bit of advice counts, right? Alright, well here's five tips, or New Years resolutions, submitted by NetBooks CEO Ridgely Evers.

1. Define your success. It’s different for everyone.

What’s your measure of success? Define realistic and measurable goals, and communicate them to your employees. Put goals up in the lunch room where everyone will see them on a daily basis, and track progress against them. Give out rewards when they’re met.



2. Understand and fix the sources of error.

Pinpoint the errors that seem to keep happening, requiring everyone to run around and fix them. Cleaning up messes prevents employees from focusing on their jobs. Figure out what is causing the error, and fix it. Address one at a time, and when you’re finished with the most common one, move on to the next one. Your profit margins will thank you.

3. Make your data safe, and have a back-up plan.

“Everyone knows they should do something about this, but assumes they’ll get away with it. Bottom line: your luck will run out sooner or later,” says Evers. “And catastrophic data loss is a leading cause of failure for small businesses – no need to risk it.”

Right now, your data is probably on a hard drive that will crash or get overwritten accidentally, and there isn’t a current back-up in place. Keeping all pertinent data in a web-based system like NetBooks gives small business owners a reliable system for storing data securely...and is accessible from any computer. No more worrying about the life expectancy of your PC.



4. Create a marketing program and use it consistently.

Marketing is crucial to growth and success. A marketing plan doesn’t need to be complicated, but it needs to be executed consistently. The first step is to make sure you know who your customers are…and then figure out where they get their information and how to reach them. A great resource is “Duct Tape Marketing - The World's Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide,” by John Jantsch. Execute your plan.

5. Increase sales – and start by raising prices.

Most successful business owners focus their energies on growing revenues to the point where the business can stand up comfortably, and keeping them there. Cutting expenses never hurt, but success come from growth.
“Growing sales should be a focus for you all year long, but the first part of the year is the best time to raise prices,” says Evers. “And you can reinvest added revenue into making sure this coming year is the most successful your business has ever had.”

If You Want The Cheapest Life Insurance Talk With A Specialist Broker

The cheapest life insurance can usually be found with a specialist broker and when looking to take out a policy this is where you should begin. A specialist website will give you free advice and information on all aspects of life insurance. This means that you will know how to prepare for the quotes when it comes to such as working out how much cover you need.

A broker will be able to search the life assurance market place to secure you the best possible quotes. It is essential to allow a broker to do this on your behalf whether you are renewing a policy or taking out your first.
A lot of individuals it seems are paying too much when it comes to their life insurance. Even those who have an existing policy in force could be paying over their odds and should consider getting quotes for the cheapest life insurance possible.

There have been a lot of advancements in medicine over the past years which mean life insurance premiums have dropped. In some cases you can be saving as much as 40%. This means that someone currently holding a policy could be paying way too much for the cover and should get a fresh quote. Your life insurance quote will be based on your age and lifestyle at the time of applying for the cover. If you smoke, drink alcohol or have a risky occupation then the quotes for your policy will be higher than those of someone who lives a different lifestyle or is in less risky employment.

A broker will be able to search the UK life cover market place for the best deal based on your individual circumstances. The beauty of going with a specialist is that they are able to give you instant quotes. However the quotes that are given will be for a basic insurance policy. If you delve deeper and fill in the relevant information asked by the insurer and you have an illness then the cost of the cover will go up.

Due to this it is imperative that you always double check the wording of the key facts that are supplied with quotes. This will tell you about any extra costs that have been added due to your lifestyle and how much this would boost the premiums up. If you are not happy with the results then you do not have to go ahead with the cover. You can always go back to the broker and ask for more quotes for insurance.

It is important that you are totally honest when it comes to getting the cheapest life insurance. While it might be tempting to put down you only drink very rarely when it fact you are a heavy drinker, in the long run this is costly. While it could give you lower monthly premiums, inevitably you will be found out found out, probably invalidating the policy and making it nothing more than a waste of money. A broker will be able to secure you the cheapest quotes possible but you must tell the truth when applying for cover.

Be Honest When Looking For Life Insurance Quotes

The cost of life insurance can vary considerably depending on where you choose to look for cover. One of the factors which are taken into account when applying for life insurance quotes is your health. The fitter you are the cheaper your insurance will be but it seems from recent research carried out by insurer Norwich Union, individuals in the UK are lying about their lifestyle and health. It is important that you are totally honest when it comes to your life insurance. If not it could mean the insurer would refuse to payout.

Factors such as your weight, your lifestyle routine, whether you smoke or drink alcohol are all taken into account. It seems that around 82% of individuals in the UK are not being totally honest when it comes to this. While this has been put down to things such as appearing healthier in order to attract the opposite sex, it also applies when applying for insurance.

While appearing fitter than you actually are can lead to getting cheaper life insurance quotes the policy would be invalid. If you fail to give information when applying for the cover or bend the truth a little you could find your policy would fail to payout and so be nothing more than a waste of money.

With this in mind it is essential to be totally honest when it comes to applying. There are many ways in which you can save money on you life insurance quotes. One of the best ways is to go online with a specialist broker. A broker will be able to search around with the whole of the market place on your behalf and find you the best deal for your circumstances. They will know from experience which insurance companies offer the best deals and secure them for you.

Of course you will have to do a little work yourself. Before approaching a broker you will have to know how much life insurance you need. A very rough guide is to take your annual salary and then multiply this by around 5. This will give you your loved ones financial security so they will not have to worry about paying essential outgoings for a while.

Life insurance quotes will be based on your age when applying and your lifestyle in general along with how much cover you need. This is what a broker will use to get the initial quotes. You need to take into account factors such as your children, paying for schooling for them, your outstanding mortgage and also take into account inflation. While a broker will be able to get you the cheapest quotes it is down to the individual to make sure they read the terms and conditions. All policies will come with the key facts and this will highlight the points of the policy. You do have to remember that the quotes given will be for basic life insurance. If for example you suffer from an illness such as asthma, then you can expect the quote to jump up once you have been given a full assessment.

Kids Cars And Car Insurance Advice For Nervous Parents

If you have a child who has just turned 16 (or is going to turn 16 soon), you are probably a nervous wreck. Sitting in the car while they are practicing is enough to give you a mild heart attack, because of the way that they handle themselves in traffic. After they get their license, you arent going to be able to sleep at night knowing that they are out alone in your car. Plus, your car insurance rates are going to go up and cost you an arm and a leg now.

Ever since your teenager turned 13, they have probably been begging you to buy them a car for their 16th birthday. If you can, you may buy them a used car that is safe and big enough, so that when they get into their first crash they will be alright. But, along with this car, you are also going to have to get good car insurance that will cover them when they hit their first parked car on a snowy day, get rear-ended for the first time, and so on.

When shopping for car insurance quotes, you may be tempted to go with the cheapest quote. When getting these car insurance quotes, you are going to see a wide array of options and prices, and it can be really confusing. It can kind of be like comparing apples and oranges, because the cheap car insurance that you get for about $100 a month for your child might actually be more expensive in the long run than a policy that is a bit more expensive and costs $120.

When purchasing car insurance, you are going to have to make sure you are comparing apples with apples and oranges with oranges. You may want to look at your car insurance and see about getting a policy that is similar to yours. When talking to the insurance agent, you may decide to up the liability insurance, in case your son or daughter causes an accident.

The first place that parents should look for car insurance when trying to get a policy for their teen son or daughter is from their own insurance company. A lot of places will give you cheap car insurance if you have more than one car or more than one driver insured at the same place. You might get a 10% discount, which can add up to hundreds of dollars over the course of the year. Another thing to consider is to get car insurance from a company that offers other insurance for your family, for example, from the same company that offers your home owners insurance.

Car insurance for teenagers can be really tricky, and the best thing to do is to shop around and get quite a few car insurance quotes. Sure, you probably will end up going with the car insurance company that you originally chose for your insurance, but knowing what other companies offer for their prices will help you to decide whether or not to change plans with your teenager and get a better price. Cheap car insurance can really be deceptive, so make sure that you are comparing the car insurance you currently have with that different car insurance company is offering.

Home And Contents Insurance Can Be Cheaper When Bought Online

Home and contents insurance can be a lot cheaper when bought online. This means that you can have peace of mind for a lot less than your policy is costing you now. If you took out a policy from the high street lender as opposed to shopping around then you should go online with a specialist and allow them to gather quotes for you.

The majority of people do take a policy from the high street lender. The main reason for doing so is that they believe that home insurance has to be taken from the mortgage lender or they might not get the mortgage. This is closely followed by apathy - the fact that many people feel that they havent got the time to shop around and believe the price of cover does not vary that much.

Those who have a home and contents insurance policy at the moment should also be aware than they might need more cover than they currently have. With the Christmas period over and expensive gifts having been exchanged many could find themselves under insured. While the majority of policies will be lenient and offer extra cover on the run up to the holiday period when you have gifts in the house, after Christmas this is dropped off. This means that you need to take an inventory again and check to make sure you are still insured for the correct amount. If you do this get a fresh quote with a broker, never be tempted to up the amount with your current provider.

The terms and conditions of any policy are a vital part of the cover and this needs to be checked along with the premiums. This is the part of the policy which will tell you what is and is not covered. It will also tell you how much the premium will cost in total and give vital information regarding the insurance. The terms and conditions of a policy can vary greatly so never assume that they will be the same. Just as the premiums for the cover will vary remember that the conditions will too. If you have any expensive jewellery, home office equipment or collections then these might not be included in with your basic cover.

When making an inventory of your possessions with a view to taking out home and contents insurance do not forget about the little things. While the big items such as TV, sofa and such items will jump out it is important not to forget the items that are hidden from view. Take into account the clothes in the wardrobe and items in the kitchen cupboards, they might only be small items but it can be surprising how much they can add up to.

Home and contents insurance taken out online is always the best way to take out cover. A broker however can find you the right policy in the shortest time possible which saves you effort. You can also be sure you have the key facts which must be compared if you are to get the cover you need.