When starting a new business, there are numerous signs that can indicate whether you’re succeeding as an entrepreneur or aren’t. A small business can be risky. This is particularly true if you specialize in a niche that bigger companies already excel in. However, if you display some particular qualities, it’s a sign that you’re doing a good job to stay afloat.That’s because small business owner who have a positive attitude towards success are the most likely to get a taste of it than his counterparts. Their counterparts focus only on stability and nothing more. While business success has a lot to do with your initial idea and how you build upon that idea, it still depends on your personality and capabilities. Here are the few signs of a successful small business owner that you should develop as part of your personality.You Like To Form CollaborationsMost successful entrepreneurs display this common trait. They understand the importance of having a well-connected network in the business world. Nevertheless, just like in every other change, collaboration needs to start from within your business. This means you’ll need to start delegating tasks effectively. Another crucial part of this is building good relationships with everyone on your team. This includes your employees and suppliers.Of course, you also need to establish a position in the network of small businesses. It’s unwise to act alone without any partners. You needn’t form friendly relationships with your competitors. However, at the least, you should be on good terms with other small businesses that complement yours. By obtaining a position in the community of other businesses, you’ll be able to create new opportunities that can benefit others. Moreover, others can do the same for you. What results is a beneficial support system that allows all members to rely on one another.You Have Your Eyes Set on the FutureYou never know what the future holds, especially if it’s for something as volatile as a new startup business. That’s why successful entrepreneurs share a common characteristic of looking towards long-term future goals.Some struggle to stay afloat amidst a rocky economic climate, and such desperate conditions can lead to business owners not looking farther than the near future. Such thoughts are understandable, but think of it this way; acting upon well-structured long-term goals at the same time as day-to-day tasks can ensure far more than financial stability and simple peace of mind.Your Leverage the Benefit of TechnologyNowadays, when it comes to operating a small business, it all comes down to incorporating the use of technology, whether in marketing, management, or everything else. Technology and software have made it easier for entrepreneurs and small business owner to meet their goals, and now with services like Google AdWords and personal assistants, functions have become much more streamlined than ever before.Take websites, for instance, they’re a business’ online identity and that’s where most potential customers will go to check whether your brand is legitimate or not. Then comes social media, which is a useful marketing tactic that produces results without requiring you to spend too much of your ad revenue. Then there are other business-related applications like customer support live chat software, fixed responses for keywords and budgeting tools that boost your productivity so you can focus on product quality.You Love to LearnYou’re never ready to run a business until you’re prepared to improve yourself by learning from others. You may be determined to make it through with a method involving trial and error, but that costs precious resources; you need to start learning from others’ success and failures. Data is the most powerful weapon that a business can possess because it helps you discover trends and important details.If you aim to learn about what strategies lead to profitable ideas and which ones are just downright terrible, you’ll be able to devise a solution of your own. The best way to fulfill your curiosity is to read and look into insights regarding management, marketing, customer satisfaction, and product quality. Archives can provide you with numerous researches and surveys conducted by different companies. While it isn’t necessary that the results apply to your business, you’re still bound to learn something.You Don’t Just Think; You ActWhile we’re at it, we might as well establish that being a smart business owner doesn’t mean that you’ll never have to take risks; it’s merely the ability to take risks with confidence. One sign that your business will soon see the light of success is that you don’t just think, you also act when the time is right. This sign is associated with the confident ability to make good decisions, even if they’re risky.It’s true that before you put any plan into action, you need to examine it carefully all the way through. However, if you become stuck on the evaluating stage, you’ll miss your chance to implement your idea. That’s why you should have some faith in yourself and build confidence in your abilities to make a good decision.You Seek FulfillmentThere are many small businesses operating in the market, but very few businesses owner seek fulfillment. The rest of them, however, only look at it as a means to make ends meet. Success-oriented entrepreneurs always chase after their goal of doing something fulfilling for a living. Your ability to see value in everything you create is contributory to success because you’ll want to build upon ideas to increase that value.If you realize these traits in yourself, then congratulations; you have what it takes to turn your small business into a success! However, even if you don’t, do not fear! Owning a small business can change you as a person. But, it depends on you whether you take something positive from the experience. All these above-mentioned aspects will greatly improve not just the quality of business, but your life as well. If you can learn to find a hint of success-oriented personality within yourself, then you’ve hit the jackpot.
Leadership Skills Are Necessary for Technology Managers in the Current Business Economy
Technology oriented careers have been making a comeback. Accordingly, talented technology managers are necessary in every area of the field – from Web design and development, to database-driven e-commerce, to software engineering, to technical service and support. Technology positions, from programmer to CIO, are also critically important in organizations from all industries, including manufacturing, healthcare, education, government and service firms. Technology professionals often seek career advancement but need the leadership skills necessary to advance their careers. In response to these industry demands, adult-learning and distance learning schools now offer technology degrees at the bachelor’s and master’s degree levels, often in accelerated formats.However, other necessary characteristics of successful technology managers cannot be found on a silicon microchip or in a line of CSS markup code. Some of these characteristics include a talent for leadership; the ability to communicate ideas and directions, and the ability to motivate and mentor staff. These skills are not taught in all technology curricula of the 21st century. However, some information technology and computer science academic curriculum designers are beginning to recognize the importance of teaching soft skills in the classroom. Accordingly, some programs of study now emphasize specialized leadership training for would-be technology managers.The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) states that computer and information systems professionals typically require advanced-level training (namely, a master’s degree) in order to be considered for leadership positions in technology. The BLS also points to the need for technology job applicants to have diverse experience in technology systems and applications. This experience will allow them to lead staff who work in different departments and who have different types of technology skills. An additional benefit to pursuing training for technology management careers is the bright future outlook of this field. These careers are expected to grow 16 percent through the year 2016.Technology leadership training programs at the master’s degree level will typically have two or three core academic components. The first core component, obviously, is technology. Students who pursue this type of master’s degree typically begin the program with knowledge of at least one higher-level programming language; and are comfortable with database management or development, as well as computer networking systems administration. The master’s in leadership and information technology course of study will build on students’ foundations in information science and systems, enabling students to approach these disciplines from a leadership and management perspective.Students will learn to lead employees as well as communicate with all levels of the organization and customers.In CIO Magazine’s 2007 State of the CIO survey of more than 500 IT professionals, the three skills “most pivotal for success in your role” were: the ability to communicate effectively, strategic thinking and planning, and ability to lead/motivate staff. In other words, leadership skills. The primary characteristics that all technology managers must have are leadership skills. These attributes enable technology leaders to motivate staff; to direct projects or business activities in a way that maximizes profits, and to ensure that staff on hand are competent and contribute to strong worker retention. According to career advice site Monster.com, the best managers and leaders in technology are those men and women who are directly involved in project management and task delegation, rather than those who give orders from afar.In the tech industry, there exists a decades-old stereotype about the social inclinations of technology workers. Unfairly or not, they have been historically pegged as lacking in leadership skills and strong communication abilities. Industry efforts to disassemble this stereotype is one primary reason why students interested in technology management are able to enroll in master’s-level programs of study that combine technology skills with interpersonal and leadership skills.The other reason more and more master’s-level technology programs of study focus on business and leadership skills is because technology manager careers have become more specialized and decisions-driven. Managers in tech fields must be able to assess the technology systems in place at their companies, and make system implementation and upgrade decisions that will be positive for their employees and clients. Technology must support and align with organizational goals. Making the right technology decisions requires developed leadership skills, strong soft skills, and polished business acumen.As technology continues to change and develop rapidly, technology leadership master’s degree programs will continue to develop targeted curricula, integrating technology with the business world to produce strong leaders.
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is a subset of Internet Marketing and is one of the most cost effective means of driving targeted traffic to a website. The SEO practitioner will usually work with a business to develop an ongoing strategy to rank alongside and above competitor’s in the major search engines for profitable search terms. These search terms are usually referred to as Keywords and if there are multiple Keywords in a phrase then the term keyphrase is generally used.It is worth noting that, as with most types of industry, SEO practitioners can be of varying levels of skills and experience. There is no particular level of attainment or degree of qualification that a SEO can achieve. This can make it difficult to choose a suitable individual or company to help improve a website’s search engine rankings. Many companies choose to take a taster from a SEO company before they employ them to tackle a complete project. For example, if the website requires fifteen or so keyphrases.So what sets one particular SEO company apart from another? Well, many would argue that most, if not all, SEO practitioners are capable of delivering some kind of base Search Marketing product. Whether this is 50 backlinks per month or even if this is something that is more bespoke, this appears to be the norm for most SEO projects. But do these deliverables merely fit the client’s perception of what a SEO project should entail and, most importantly, do these ventures actually deliver adequate results. When I say adequate I mean dramatically improved search engine results pertaining to worthwhile and profitable search terms as opposed to token number one positions for key phrases that no-one actually searches for!So how does SEO work? Well, the best SEO companies are skilled and experienced at finding niche and untapped areas that no-one has found and “milked” yet. If no niche areas exist then the best keyphrases that are available are focused upon using both a set methodology and a creative edge. For example, if your business provides accountancy services which focuses upon a friendly, local service then your website must focus upon search phrases that relate to keyphrases such as “accountants in Barnsley”. I am by no means suggesting that all websites should focus upon geographical based search phrases because many company’s target markets are, in fact, national or even international. So the context within which a particular website can be classified under certainly does determine the order that the keyword research is performed using.Context is a huge concern in SEO. The next part of the article attempts to determine the order in which a typical SEO practitioner might formulate a SEO strategy. A SEO strategy is a plan that a company, practitioner or SEO company must follow to achieve a perceived result. A SEO strategy is an initial phase of and forms the basis of a SEO plan which becomes part of a company’s overall marketing plan. Remember the common business cliche, if you fail to plan then you plan to fail. A SEO plan usually consists of a schedule of work that is based upon a prescribed amount of keyword research, competition research and SEO experience and expert guidance. Past trends can help the SEO practitioner to speculate upon a likely outcome but future web page positions in the popular search engines cannot always be accurately predicted based of the variables that are involved. These variables are often known as ranking factors.During the planning stages of a SEO strategy for small to medium enterprises (SMEs) it must be recognised that larger organisations may have teams of internet marketers who are working on promoting the website nine while five, Monday to Friday. How can smaller companies compete with larger companies? This is an age old problem. The larger organisations have huge marketing budgets and can test different ideas whereas smaller companies must be more frugal with their spending. This is why small internet marketing companies who specialise in search engine optimisation and pay per click advertising are being called upon more and more frequently by smaller businesses.Generally speaking the most successful SEO companies are those who follow a reusable and scalable process model but also go above and beyond the competition in terms of creativity. We should learn something from the big advertising agencies who spend days and even weeks conjuring up fantastic, enticing and engaging ideas to promote their client’s products.We know that Search Engine Optimisation is a subset of Internet Marketing just as banner advertising is a part of Traditional Marketing. So what makes these two areas significantly different? Well, whereas Traditional Marketing is a form of push marketing, Internet Marketing is a type of pull marketing.Push MarketingThis is any type of marketing which is placed is front of people. The degree of targeting can vary widely. For example, advertisements for up and coming live music in pubs is fairly targeted whereas general banner advertisements in town centres would be rated low in terms of targeting. The main disadvantages of Push Marketing are that people see so many banner advertisements, posters, etc each and every day that their brains switch off to them and don’t register them after a while.Pull MarketingSEO is a form of Pull Marketing which is much more targeted because searchers (the terms “searchers” refers to internet users who are performing keyword or keyphrases searches in search engines) are actually looking for and are, therefore, already interested in what you are selling. The downside to search engine optimisation is that it is becoming increasingly more difficult, time consuming and costly to become ranked for popular and profitable search phrases. We as Internet Marketers tackle this issue by looking for increasingly more creative avenues to go down. For example, Social Media Marketing is now a very popular choice for Internet Marketers to aid their SEO efforts. The very best SEO practitioners are capable of successfully integrating SEO strategies into the wider marketing plan. This helps to ensure that no stone is left unturned and that the bigger picture can always be seen whilst a SEO campaign progresses.This type of holistic approach to SEO the key to a successful SEO campaign for a great number of satisfied clients.