Five Ways Web Design Has Changed To The Advantage of Small Businesses

Web design has changed significantly. What are the changes, and how can you to take advantage of them? Let me tell you a story.

In 1999, the Internet bubble was at its peak. New companies — all planning to become “the next big thing” — were launched daily. These companies were famous for two things — thinking BIG and massive “burn rates.” “Burn rate” refers to the rate a company goes through money. They were spending hundreds of thousands on programming to produce web sites considered mediocre by today’s standards.

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Venture Capital and Green Technologies

As the “Venture Capital (VC) guy” for the Office of Advocacy, I have been frequently asked whether venture capitalists are truly jumping into green technologies with both feet or are tentatively dipping a toe into the water. The answer is more complicated than those questions suggest, but many VCs are going long and strong into this sector.

In fact, according to the National Venture Capital Association, clean technology investments have increased from 90 deals worth over $550 million in 2005 to 277 deals worth over $4 billion in 2008. Last year, three of the five biggest IPO’s were in the solar industry.

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How Take Back Your Startup

TechCrunch today takes a look at the saga of social bookmarking site StumbleUpon, a fortuitous startup that launched with $1.5 million in venture capital and eventually sold to eBay for $75 million.

But wait, there's more: While most entrepreneurs would have walked away with the cash and wrecked a Ferrari or two, the founders of the technology, Garrett Camp, Geoff Smith and Justin LeFrance, kept their hearts attached to the company they gave birth to.

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Looking To Your Web Host for Tools to Grow Your Business

Your web host is good for only a few things - hosting your web site, creating your web site (maybe) and helping you register a domain name. Or so you think. Of course all web sites help you do e-commerce, get you a shopping cart and things like that, but some do more.

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Early Adoption Is Not For You: Let Others Test Technology First

Dozens, if not more, technology products are launched every day. From the brand new products to product upgrades we are in a constant spin of new products. However, as you consider technology purchases, especially in a tight economy don't purchase technologies that are new to the market and haven not been proven. Unless you really know what you are doing.

If you're a business whose culture has little patience for the quirks of technology or slowness of technical support - purchasing the first new gadget on the market is not advisable.

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Smart Technology to do Dumb Things

Okay, lets admit it, we have all been here at least once in our business life. We have an awesome piece of technology and use it against us or counterproductively. It happens, you have a “duh” moment or your sleep deprived and it’s 4:40 on Friday and all you can think about is punching that time clock.

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How to Cut Tech Costs

From health insurance to heating and cooling bills, the cost of doing business is moving in one direction: up. This puts many small-business owners in a pinch, squeezed by limited financial resources on one side and the pressure to keep prices low on the other.

To survive and thrive, it's essential to keep your costs down as much possible. Here's how.

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Google Searches for Startups

Google has established a venture capital fund that will be formally unveiled tomorrow, The New York Times reports. The fund could be seeded with as much as $100 million.

Its focus will, as might be expected, include internet ventures, clean technologies and life sciences. The fund will be run by David Drummond, senior vice president of corporate developing and chief legal officer at the web-search giant, the paper reports. "A lot of the things we have done in the energy area [are] the kinds of things you might see from Google Ventures," Drummond said.

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Upgrading your technology: 4 ways to pay

Your growing business is ready for new PCs or software. How do you buy it?

It's a common challenge for small businesses. New technology purchases top the list of capital expenditures in a 2005 American Express survey of small businesses, with 43% of respondents saying they planned to make a buy in the next six months.

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Is It Time To Replace Your Equipment?

While it’s not uncommon to have a vehicle for 10 years or a washing machine for 15 years, the same cannot be said for technology and electronics. Your business computers are no different.

I saw this happen to a Vitamin Company that I had worked with a few years back. This particular computer was used to store all customer information. This computer was their powerhouse - and it was 10 years old.

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Netizens Don't Want Advertisers Crashing Their Party

Until recently, it has been assumed that social networking was largely something for younger generations. Even here at Entrepreneur, we've debated the validity of sites like Twitter, with the lines being drawn along generational divides. The fact is, while the young may be the early adopters, the older generations are finding their way into social networking, blogging and other forms of digital media.

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What is a Podcast? Why Podcast? Is a Small Business Podcast Right for Me?

Podcasting is a recent phenomenon. It's so recent, in fact, that the word itself was only coined in 2004! Now, it gets searched millions of times each month.

Podcasting is a combination of the words "iPod" and "broadcasting" (but it doesn't actually require an iPod to hear). In fact, you can hear it on your computer, on some cell phones, and on any mp3 player. Think of it as a free subscription to a specialty audio magazine.

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Pump Your Business Marketing with PURLs

Customers expect a lot these days (especially the tech-savvy type) and personalized attention — from your first marketing message to post-sale followup — can provide your business with a huge marketing boost. “Personalized URLs” — or PURLs — are a marketing personalization tactic that’s been used by big companies, but now becoming available to small business, along with custom landing pages and so-called micro sites.

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Advantages of Creating a Website for Your Small Business

Read on to learn how running your own website can help you grow your business.

• A website provides your company history.

  You can include the date your company was formed, some pictures, achievements and important milestones.

  This will position you in the minds of visitors as a well-established company that can be trusted.

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Match Your Technology Goals to Your Company's Future Strategy

By Scarlet Pruitt

As a business owner you're constantly planning for the future. You focus on company growth by offering new products and services, adding staff, or expanding into other areas of the business. But how often do you tie technology plans with your company's future strategy? If you don't have a technology road map, it may be time to form one. The right technology investments can support a company as it advances toward its goals; it can also launch the business to a higher level of performance and achievement.

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15 Experts: The Risks and Rewards of Cloud Computing

Last week I was invited to moderated the NY IT SMB User Meet Up Group, led by Mor Sela of ProCompare.com.

The group of about 15 IT professionals had a wide ranging discussion of what cloud computing is (there is NOT only one definition), what are the benefits and what are the risks. What was interesting about this group is that we were not a bunch of professionals clueless to technology, but we (well they) were all technology gurus, in one way or the other and came to learn from each other and discuss cloud computing.

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How to Use Technology to Grow Your Small Business

With a variety of products now available at very reasonable prices, there is no need to be afraid of embracing new technology. Rather, the ease in using these new products should teach you how to harness new technology to benefit your small business.

There are various ways that technology can help you to grow your small business at a much faster pace. Some of them are mentioned below.

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Your Small Business and Information Technology: What’s The Impact?

Whatever side of the fence you are on in that respect, it’s clear that changes in the business world will continue as a result of new technology. So how does technology effect business?

The answer will be different for each business depending on the type of business as well as the size of the operation. Here are just a few ways that technology has had an impact on small businesses.

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Social Media. Is it just for Millennials?

Not a day goes by that I do not hear a complaint either about working with younger generations, or trying to reach them. The millennials as they are called are a section of “Generation Y” that are currently in the early stages of our workforce or about to leave school. So many people talk about how they do not have an attention span, they use cell phones alot and they play on the Internet more than they should. We need to face it, this is a brand new form of generation that we have not seen before. So many companies have talked about how their customers are not in this generation so they do not need to know how to reach them. One thing to keep in mind though, these customers are getting older and will soon be part of your customer base. There are also many people, not just millennials who are embracing the new forms of marketing and technology.

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The Value of Customer Testimonials

Customer testimonials are one of the most effective marketing tools for small businesses both off and online. Using customer testimonials in your company’s marketing collateral will provide potential customers with a viewpoint other than yours or your employees. If you have a website for your company, providing a page of positive testimonials can show would-be customers why they should choose to do business with your company over your competitors’. You can also ask satisfied customers to write reviews and testimonials in other online media such as review websites, where prospective customers will be able to find you when they search for your company, product or service online.

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