There are so many benefits to starting your own business – autonomy and flexibility of your time, control over the services and products offered, opportunity for increased income, or turning a labor of love into a full-time career. But while all entrepreneurs may realize these benefits, not all small businesses are created the same. For some, an investor-worthy web startup is the right pace and challenge, and for others, a home-based product line has success written all over it.

So which type of business might be best for you? One that plays to your strengths. Take our quiz to find out more:

You base important decisions on:

1. Intuition
2. Logic

Do you like to adhere to a schedule or do you find excitement in a flexible and changing schedule?

1. Flexible and ever-changing
2. Set schedule

Do you work well in teams or do you work better alone?

1. Teams
2. Alone

Are you outgoing or more of an introvert?

1. Extrovert
2. Introvert

When you have a lot on your To Do list, which do you tackle first?

1. The easy things – cross as many things off the list as possible up front
2. The hard things – get the most difficult or taxing task done first

If you answered mostly A’s, you might consider starting a small business in the areas of:

• Client Services – Marketing and event planning are two areas in which you’re likely to thrive. It’s a requirement that you’re creative and outgoing so that you can interface with clients and come up with attractive and buzzworthy campaigns that promote your clients’ products, services, and events. Sales may also be a strong suit for you if you’re intuitive and are skilled at persuasion.
• Restaurant or local small business - If you wan to run your own brick and mortar store or local restaurant, it is imperative that you demonstrate independence and creativity, are an effective leader, and know how to collaborate with a number of different types of people. These types of businesses are often fast-paced and can be a great deal of fun for extroverts who love to meet and network with new people.

If you answered mostly B’s, the right type of business for you might be:

• Franchise owner – as a franchise owner, you operate your very own establishment of an existing chain. Franchisees are required to follow established business rules dictated by a franchisor, though they are responsible for the execution of these branding and operational guidelines. There are many franchise opportunities and thriving franchises that you might consider opening up.
• Independent consultant – you may do well offering independent consultancy services in the areas of research, finance, or technology. Running your own consultancy gives you the freedom and control to develop your own services and product offerings and work at the pace you prefer and in the environment you thrive in, be it your home, in an office you lease out, or on-site at your clients’ offices.

Photo source: santafenewmexican.com, host.madison.com

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Voice Over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, is an internet-based telecommunications method that first hit the mass market starting around 2004. VoIP uses existing broadband internet access and allows users to make and receive calls over the internet in much the same way as they would with their phone. In 2012, VoIP business phone systems have become mainstream, and every day you may be participating in VoIP calls without even realizing it.

Phone Facts and Statistics

On average, a person makes or answers eight phone calls a day, so with 300 million cell phones in use in the United States, around 2.4 billion calls take place every day. An increasing number of those calls are VoIP calls, whether the phone user specifically sets out to make a VoIP call or whether his or her telecommunications company uses VoIP technology to route regular phone calls. Of the eight calls you make and receive each day, it’s a good bet that at least two of them are VoIP calls, due to increasing use of VoIP technology by traditional telecommunications providers. And with each passing year, the chance that you’re using VoIP in your everyday calls increases.

The Growth of VoIP

To say that growth in VoIP usage has been rapid is an understatement. A 2011 study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that about one-quarter of adult internet users in the United States have placed phone calls online using VoIP services like Skype. A 2010 market study by IBISWorld found VoIP to be the fastest-growth industry of the decade from 2000 to 2009, with growth during that period of an astounding 179,036%! That growth rate is more than 100 times greater than the next fastest growing industry during that time: search engines.

Adoption of VoIP Services like Skype

The Pew Internet study found that the number of Americans placing internet phone calls using VoIP services tripled from 2007 to 2011. Men and women are equally represented among those using VoIP, and the 18 to 29-year-old age group makes up the most enthusiastic VoIP users. Somewhat surprisingly, higher-income individuals were more likely to make VoIP calls than lower-income individuals, even though many VoIP calls are free. The study also found that the more education a person has completed, the more likely they are to use VoIP. Furthermore, urban residents use VoIP more than rural residents.

Telecommunication Companies’ Use of VoIP

Big telecommunications companies like Charter increasingly use VoIP over their dedicated and public IP networks for connecting switching centers and interconnecting with other telecommunications providers. They use VoIP for the same reasons individuals do: because it is very inexpensive. That means that even if you have never made a Skype call, chances are, you have used VoIP without knowing it, through your telecommunications provider.

Is There Any Stopping VoIP?

The IBISWorld study concluded that VoIP will likely continue to be the biggest growth industry up through 2019, though with a more “humble” growth of around 150%. VoIP has seen tremendous momentum, and there is still a lot of development potential ahead. A number of other industries will be able to tie their growth to VoIP, including eCommerce, wireless telecommunications, and even online dating. For these reasons, the upward push in VoIP adoption is expected to continue for the foreseeable future. Factors that will continue to contribute to the explosion in VoIP use include:

• The drastically lower costs of VoIP communications compared to traditional phone calls
• VoIP’s easy integration into other technologies, like WiFi and 3G
• VoIP’s increasing inclusion of features that users count on, like conferencing, forwarding, and very flexible call routing.

While some mobile telecommunications companies are looking for ways to block use of VoIP services like Skype (see this recent story from Sweden), many more are integrating VoIP into their services in order to expand their reach and cut their costs.

What this means for the average caller is that as time marches forward, you are increasingly likely to be using VoIP more frequently in your everyday life, even if you never use services like Skype.

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Though the print magazine industry as a whole has been a mixed bag in terms of successes and challenges since the recent recession, starting an online magazine or a digital edition magazine is an incredibly population option for entrepreneurs who want to start a business that involves distributing useful, interesting, and entertaining content. Starting a magazine can also be lucrative if you manage to keep overhead costs low and tailor your content to a growing reader segment.

Create a Concept

Decide what type of magazine you want to publish. And we’re not talking about the subject matter (we’re assuming that if you are eager to start a business that involves distributing content in the style of a magazine, it’s the topic itself that you’re excited about, not the publishing process). No, we’re talking about how you’ll distribute your magazine. Will it be a:

• Glossy newsstand print publication funded by advertisers and/or subscribers? Your publication doesn’t have to be a major national magazine; this could include a small regional business publication or a local lifestyle magazine.
• Magazine that is produced and distributed for the web or email? Online news websites are increasingly popular because of their relatively low cost to maintain and ability to reach larger audiences than print publications.
• Digital edition? This term refers to a magazine that is delivered electronically but is formatted much like the print version of a magazine. For example, Lonny Magazine or Gadgets Magazine.

Your magazine may even be a combination of all three, but the key is to know how your target audience wants to receive and read your magazine, and tailor the medium to them.

Get Financing

You might make inroads by reaching out to people who are currently in the publishing industry. You’ll have better luck reaching out to the editors and publishers of smaller, niche magazines or magazines that you aspire to be like. Do a little research, or find out directly from the publisher how they got their start. Many magazines are self-funded “labors of love” at first that slowly turn into profitable exposure for advertisers; some others might require investment backing from private companies or get their start through a small business line of credit.

Once you’ve built a relationship with advertisers (if that’s your business model) or are making money in some other way, you’ll be able to bring additional products into the mix to sell to customers. Some publishers make most of their money from special events, reports, books, and other add-ons.

Layout and Design

In addition to the editorial content and theme of your magazine, the magazine’s layout is the next most important thing. You’ll likely require the help of a professional designer who has experience working for print and has the software and knowledge necessary to put together a professional-looking publication. If your magazine will be online only, you’ll want to work with a graphic designer who has experience bringing your editorial copy to life creatively.

If you plan to tackle the layout on your own, whether for print or an online magazine, look for magazine inspiration from those publications you admire or from graphic and design sites like Smashing Magazine.

Finding Content

The other sub-title of this section was going to be, “Hiring Staff.” Like any business, hiring experienced employees will help you learn quickly; and the quicker you learn the ins and outs of magazine publishing, the sooner you can expect to succeed. As publisher of a magazine, you’ll be forced to wear many hats that involve carrying on relationships with printers, distributors, advertisers, customers, and others. Hiring contract or full time employees will help you plow through the To Do list and all of the necessary tasks to get your magazine ready for distribution.

But while all employees are important, the key to a successful magazine is its content. Spend time to find quality, available writers and contributors for your magazine. You may be an experienced and prolific writer, but the best magazines bring in thoughts and insights from a number of authors and experts. Start by seeking out contributed pieces from professionals who are experts in your magazine’s topic. Some may love the exposure and will require no additional payment other than to see their name in print (or on the web). Others, including freelance writers who do research specifically for the article, will expect to get paid per article or per word.

Printing Options

When you’re ready to go to the presses with your magazine, you should seek quotes from a number of printing shops, both locally and online. Remember that, as with any vendor, you may not necessarily want to go with someone that gives you the lowest price. Print quality, customer service, turn-around time, and paper and binding options are all important elements to consider.

Distributing Your Magazine

To distribute your magazine, you must first give your key audience a little taste of what they might get if they were a paid subscriber. Allot a budget to distribute sample publications and free magazines to those people that represent your dream subscribers, and be sure to give them all the information necessary on how they can become a full subscriber. You can find these people at conferences or events that tailor to their needs, or you can partner with advertisers to distribute free editions through their marketing channels as well.

 Photo source: http://good.is

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Small businesses need the same features in their business phone systems as big businesses do, and in many cases they need more flexibility in order to provide optimal customer service. The good news is that the evolution of phone services in the past few years has made business phone systems far more flexible and scalable than older systems, so that small business owners don’t have to give up features for the sake of affordability.

VoIP Services and Scalability

Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) systems have been nothing short of revolutionary in offering small businesses phone features and affordability. Because these systems are internet-based, scalability is almost a non-issue. With traditional business phone systems, scaling the system up or down required installing or removing cables and reconfiguring servers and PBX boxes. With VoIP business phone systems, adding and subtracting users can be instantaneous and can often be taken care of using an internet-connected computer or even a smartphone or tablet in some cases.

Cloud Technology and Price

Phone services based on cloud technology give small businesses the same phone features as Fortune 500 companies at very affordable rates. Cloud-based business phone services are subscription-based and do not require a large capital investment in infrastructure. What’s more, they are easy to scale up or down, and they offer fixed pricing on great features like:

• Unlimited long distance
• Auto-attendant
• Toll-free numbers
• Conference calling
• Virtual fax

Why Flexibility Is Necessary in Small Business Phone Systems

Flexibility is a characteristic that small businesses can use to their advantage. You’ve heard the old adage, “You can’t turn the Titanic around in a day,” and small businesses are an apt analogy because of their ability to respond more quickly and nimbly to client needs. But in order to have that flexibility, small businesses must have a communications system that can be quickly adapted to their changing needs. With VoIP and cloud-based small business phone services, this is no longer a wish, but reality.

Small Businesses Don’t Have to Sacrifice Features

Phone systems geared to small businesses offer extensive menus of features for around $30 per month per user. And should your small business grow into a medium or large business, cost per user drops. Unlimited extensions, setup and management by smartphone, toll-free and vanity numbers, and other great features with no activation costs, plus 24/7/365 customer service all translate into powerful phone systems that even the smallest businesses can afford.

Phone Systems that Showcase Personal Service

With today’s small business phone systems, small businesses can offer their customers and clients a level of personalized service that was difficult to imagine in the days of wired PBX switchboards. Is your marketing chief on the way to a client meeting? She can still take calls on her Android, or route them in priority order to other staff members. Do clients need to speak with a programmer over the weekend? His calls can be routed to his iPhone so that he won’t miss any of them.

In short, today’s small business phone systems let small businesses highlight their great personal service while enjoying the convenience of the kind of phone features that used to be limited to the big players.

Image Links:

http://www.sxc.hu/photo/504994

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Thinking of starting a small business, but you’re not tied to any particular geographic location? Can you see yourself packing up and moving to one of the country’s best cities to start a business? Depending on your industry and target customer, you might consider relocating, since the location you are in can have a significant impact on your company’s success.

Last month, On Numbers issued its annual small business ratings, a list that names the best cities in the United States in which to run a small business. These rankings are based on factors like population growth, employment growth, and number and concentration of small businesses. For the third year in a row, Austin, Texas had the healthiest small business climate, and with its significant population growth (18% in five years) and increase in private-sector jobs (6% in five years), coupled with its phenomenally creative, trendy and high-tech culture, we can see why.

If Austin isn’t for you, the following four markets throughout the United States are among the top listed that provide incredible opportunities for small businesses to grow and proper. They are:

Washington, D.C.

Geographic area: East

Why is it so small business friendly?

Washington DC isn’t all government work; according to Kiplinger, “the capital’s educated workforce and deep-pocketed investors make it an attractive option for entrepreneurs as well.” Last year, AOL started a $450 million fund supporting DC-based small businesses and web startups to join the ranks of LivingSocial, Politico and Webs.com. With unprecedented networking and mentoring groups, as well as incentive programs available to entrepreneurs, opportunities for small business success abound.

Outside of government-contracted opportunities, Washington is an attractive option for small businesses in industries such as telecommunications, information and high-tech firms, service industries like tourism and hospitality, and restaurant and food service.

San Jose, California

Geographic area: West

Why is it so small business friendly?

Sitting in the heart of California’s Silicon Valley, it’s almost an understatement to say that San Jose has a strong economic standing in the technology sector. In fact it’s one of the most significant driving forces in the global economy with more than 64,300 high-tech companies employing more than 245,000 people. Silicon Valley is by far the leading area for high-tech innovation and development, and it accounts for 1/3 of all of the venture capital investment in the United States. If you are thinking of launching a web startup worthy of significant VC funding, incubator attention, and want access to diverse, bright talent and innovative thinking, you’d be smart to set up shop in San Jose.

To boot, people living in the San Jose Metropolitan Area have money to spend. The area’s median household income is $83,944 according to the US Census Bureau.

Houston, Texas

Geographic area: South

Why is it so small business friendly?

Houston has undergone a bit of a makeover through early part of this decade. Known for its relaxed zoning laws, low taxes and dominant energy industry, the city has taken steps to diversify its economy, and small businesses have played a huge part in successfully doing that. The Houston area is now home to 90,250 small businesses. Another benefit of starting a business here is the beneficial tax laws. Texas residents, including business owners, don’t have to pay corporate or personal income taxes or capital-gains taxes.

Houston has also set the national pace for employment growth since the recession began four years ago, and Texas as a whole has enjoyed the healthiest post-recession economy of any state.

If you plan to build a small business, consider Houston if you’re in sectors such as aerospace and aviation, information technology, energy, biotechnology or life sciences, nanotechnology, advanced manufacturing, distribution and logistics.

Omaha, Nebraska

Geographic area: Midwest

Why is it so small business friendly?

This low-cost Midwestern city has been revitalizing itself over the last decade, and with five Fortune 500 companies breathing new economic life into the city, innovation and new business development has seen a resurgence by a new generation of entrepreneurs and small business owners. Industry and business networks throughout the city are also working together to nurture innovation and create jobs.

Omaha will be particularly attractive to those that work in technology. If your small business operations serve to or align with computer-heavy data centers, pay close attention. It’s suggested that new data centers will be leaving the larger, expensive metropolises in favor of cities that support low operating costs, available and qualified workers, and fiber optic capacities. The demand for more data centers comes from the consolidation of federal government data centers, the growth of electronic medical records, more new data handled by banks, and an overall need to protect important information from natural disasters or outside attacks.

Omaha has also been consistently named to lists like Kiplinger’s Best Value City for its “cheap and easy” living and Forbes’ Best Cities for Raising a Family.

Photo source:  cnbc.com, cnbc.com, chron.com, deerparkomaha.blogspot.com

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We’ve all had that one unfortunate hotel experience. Whether you were traveling for work or with family, you found yourself thinking, “Seriously? I’m paying how much for THIS?” The customer service was lacking, their sense of hospitality was underwhelming or the overall quality of your stay was simply not good. “I can do better than this,” you think. If you want to start a business, have a strong customer service frame of mind, are skilled at sales or marketing, and can adhere to professionalism through difficult or stressful situations, you should learn how to start a hotel.

Whether you start a boutique hotel, bed and breakfast, or some other smaller hotel or inn, you need to understand exactly what you’ll be getting into. Starting a hotel is a unique challenge, but it can be incredibly rewarding when you find your niche. So, where do you start? Read on to learn how to start a hotel and understand the first steps you should take to become a successful hotelier:

Find Funding

Starting a hotel will require considerable financial resources. Start by putting together your business plan. In addition to all the common and necessary elements of a business plan, the key to conveying your vision specifically for a hotel is to omit no details regarding design and experience, destination, and location. Cost will vary depending on how many rooms you plan to have, as well as the amenities you will offer.

You might consider buying an existing hotel property or renovating a building into a hotel. Though still requiring a lot of money, these are more cost-effective options than building one from scratch. You’ll likely need bank loans or angel investment and should seek the help of a hospitality consultant, commercial realtor, and/or hotel architect to understand how much money you’ll need to get it off the ground.

Come Up with a Concept

What kind of hotel do you envision? Small, quaint, and comfortable could be your style, or upscale and trendy might be the vibe you go for. Will your hotel be more for business travelers or vacationing families? What will the local market support and what seems to be lacking in the area you choose?

With each decision you make, you’ll come closer to figuring out the entire picture, including amenities and services that will be right for the kind of customer you want to attract. Understand that you will have to make sacrifices in order to succeed as well – it’s nearly impossible to be the perfect hotel for every type of customer imaginable.

Location, Location, Location

Choosing the right location for your hotel is the most important factor that will influence all of your other decisions. You have to consider both destination and location. You might identify the right city, but then you’ll have to figure out where in that city is the best location for your hotel. Consider the area around your hotel: What activities and attractions are in the area for your target customers? What options do they have for meals and is it important to be near business districts or event space? And don’t forget that competition has a place in this decision as well.  What other hotels or lodging options are there in the area, and what seems to be missing where your hotel can fill customers’ needs?

Order the Necessary Supplies

The hospitality industry will require you obtain the proper business licenses and permits. You’ll likely need more than one permit, and you will need appear before the city planning board to clarify your vision and answer any questions in order to be granted a business license. Look into your state’s Department of Revenue or Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs or the like to inquire about hotel business licenses. The Small Business Administration’s website offers a list of permits you may need and offers contact information for each state in order to apply.

Once you’ve obtained these permits, the next step is to equip your hotel with the proper materials, equipment, furniture, towels, and food service supplies. This is the fun part, where you get to see your dream hotel really come together. You’ll likely work with a hospitality supply company like American Hotel, which offers money-saying programs for independent properties and can help you understand how much of everything you’ll need, and can set you up with the proper buying cycles to replace items.

Hire Employees

Maintaining your hotel and caring for your guests is a lot of work, and you’ll need to hire the right kind of staff to help manage all the work to be done. Depending on the size of your hotel, you’ll need experienced front desk administrators with a strong customer mindset, a grounds crew and maintenance workers to ensure everything runs properly and is kept to high standards, staff to clean rooms and cook if you offer food services, and perhaps a sales and marketing associate or team to help drive customers to your lobby.

Customers have no problem complaining online and to everyone they know if their stay isn’t perfect, so it’s essential you train your staff to give the highest attention to customer needs. After all, one of the reasons you want to start a hotel is because you can bring an esteemed sense of customer service to your area, right? Pair that with a marketing plan to differentiate yourself from chain hotels and others in the area, and you’ll be well on your way to success.

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How your employees answer the phones at work is important on a variety of levels.

For potential customers, your company’s greeting makes a first impression, setting the tone for the entire conversation. New callers may be in the process of deciding whether or not to do business with you, while familiar callers may be looking for that intangible comfort factor that comes from dealing with a company they trust. Being the recipient of a pleasant greeting puts the caller at ease and sets the stage for a continued business relationship.

On the other hand, unhappy customers will be making an instant decision about how competent and helpful your employees are. Clearly, your business phone greeting carries a lot of weight, so you should ensure that your employees use an appropriate greeting when they answer the phone. Here are 6 best practices for your business phone greeting.

1. Make sure your business’s phone greeting has these four basic elements:

• A brief salutation
• The company name
• The name of the person answering
• An offer of assistance

An example of a greeting with these four elements would be, “Good morning, XYZ Limited. This is Kelly, how may I help you?” This greeting includes the information the caller needs to ensure he or she called the right place. Additionally, stating your name is important because it shows that you are accountable and creates a personal connection. By asking how you can help the caller, you invite the caller to tell you the reason they’re calling.

2. Your business phone greeting should be pleasant. Callers pick up the attitude of the person who answers their call. When employees answer the phone pleasantly, it’s more likely the caller will be pleasant too. One of the easiest ways to ensure a pleasant greeting is by adjusting body language when the phone rings. If you get into the habit of sitting up straight, pulling your shoulders back, smiling, and taking a deep breath before answering, a pleasant greeting becomes automatic.

Conversely, if you sit slumped over, frowning, you’ll probably come across as depressed or indifferent when you answer the phone. Callers can’t see your body language, but they can certainly hear it in the way you answer your phone.

3. Your phone greeting should be brief. It’s hard to sound genuine when you have to reel off an excessively long greeting before getting around to the business at hand. Plus, callers don’t like long-winded greetings because they waste time. It is not a good idea to introduce elements into your phone greeting that result in lost time. For example, “How are you today?” can make a caller forget why they’re calling or worse, prompt irate callers to launch into an angry tirade.

4. The greeting should be sincere. As Conrad Birdie sang in Bye Bye Birdie, “If what you feel is true, you really feel it, you make them feel it too.” Scripted greetings make it hard to be sincere, and sometimes make the person answering the call sound irritated. A natural sounding greeting that can be altered a bit for each employee is the best way to ensure that greetings come across as sincere. A single scripted greeting may sound overwrought coming from a more outgoing employee, or wooden and fake coming from a more reserved employee. It’s best to have a few variations on your business phone greeting so that employees can match the greeting they use to their personality.

5. You greeting must be appropriate. The phone greeting at an investment law firm will naturally be different from the phone greeting at a surfboard shop. Ask yourself what type of person will be calling and what image you want your business to convey. Keep the greeting polite and friendly and avoid crossing lines that may offend callers.

6. Make your business phone greeting responsive. Do you typically answer calls from callers who want information about your products and services? A slightly laid-back attitude lets them know you’re not too busy to answer their questions. Do you answer emergency calls? Don’t waste time with too many pleasantries: just get to the point politely.

Finally, don’t forget that how you end calls leaves a lasting impression on the caller about how the call went. Asking, “Is there anything else I can help you with today?” before terminating a call shows you are conscientious and want to make sure you haven’t missed anything. Furthermore, if the caller remembers something he or she wanted to bring up, it can eliminate the need for a repeat call, saving both parties time. When you’re sure the conversation has wrapped up, you can end it pleasantly with something like, “Thank you for calling, Ms. Jones, and feel free to call back if I can be of further assistance.”

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The road to hell is paved with good intentions, and the path to SEO success is cluttered with mistakes threatening to derail your campaign every step of the way if you aren’t careful.

While the search engines do their best to educate site owners on what is and isn’t black hat SEO (and therefore frowned upon by the search engines) there are few bigger mistakes that could damage your SEO campaign before it even gets off the ground.

1. Not giving your SEO campaign enough time.

SEO is a long term and ongoing process.

Depending on a variety of factors, it might be 6-9 months before you really see the effects of your SEO kick in. I’ve seen plenty of SEO campaigns with a lot of potential get cut off at the knees because site owners didn’t think it was moving fast enough. In today’s economic environment, many businesses are looking for immediate wins and short term gains; SEO is not the place for short term anything. While it may be hard to convince your higher-ups that their investment in SEO will be worth it in the long run, it’s the truth.

SEO is not for the impatient, so you have to be willing to make a move and then wait it out. This is especially true if you think your site was penalized and are trying to fix the issue. The search engines do not re-index every site every day—it’s just not possible given the size and scope of the Internet. You might make changes to your site today (new content, better internal linking, redesign the navigation, etc) and the search engines won’t see those improvements for a few months. This was an issue many sites faced after the first few rounds of Google’s Panda update. For some site owners, it took several months and multiple changes before their site was back in Google’s good graces.

2. Not taking a rounded approach to Internet marketing as whole.

SEO is important. However traditional link building and onsite SEO by themselves are not enough to keep your site competitive in today’s online space.

Most of your competitors have stepped on their online game and if you want your site to compete well you have to do the same. Without social media marketing and content marketing getting incorporated into your Internet marketing campaign, your SEO efforts are eventually going to plateau.

Content is really the driving force behind both SEO and social media, so at the very least you need to create and routinely publish a company blog. Online press releases, guest blogging opportunities, webinars and video marketing are other content marketing tactics that can really propel your SEO forward and help build your online brand.

And it’s really no secret that social media and SEO are essentially two sides of the same coin. The search engines are looking at social signals (how many times your content is shared in social networks) to determine how valuable it is and where it should fall in the SERPs. Author authority is also being used as a factor, meaning the more powerful your social reputation is (not just based on how many followers you have, but who is following you) the more weight your social signals carry.

For instance, if Matt Cutts of Google Tweets a link to your blog, that one link is worth so much more than 10 bot profiles Tweeting the same message.

3. Failing to adapt to changing behavior.

The Internet is not a static thing—it is constantly growing and evolving and user’s search behavior is changing right alongside with it.

One of the biggest mistakes you could make as a site owner is failing to roll with the punches. For instance, in last few years, the SEO industry has developed an entire new lexicon around social media marketing and inbound marketing. A few years ago, social media marketing didn’t even exist and now we use phrases like “geo-tagging” and “community engagement” in every day conversation. Any online marketing company that failed to adopt these new keywords would be seen as a relic of the past and would have been passed over by companies willing to embrace the way things are, as opposed to clinging to what was.

The same holds true for SEO. How users are searching for your products/service today might not be how they search for the same thing a year down the road. You have to be willing to morph your messaging to meet expectations and fall in-line with changing user behavior.

These are just three of the big mistakes many site owners make that could end up harming their SEO campaigns.

While there are plenty of little mistakes to be cautious of when you get down to the nitty-gritty of SEO, if you are guilty of one of these three your SEO campaign is most likely dead in the water, no matter what else you do.

About the author: Nick Stamoulis is the president and founder of Brick Marketing, a Boston SEO and SEO consulting firm. With over 12 years of Internet marketing experience, Nick Stamoulis has created SEO strategies for small and large companies in almost every industry. In order to share his SEO knowledge, Nick Stamoulis regularly writes for the Brick Marketing Blog and publishes the Brick Marketing SEO Newsletter, read by over 150,000 opt-in subscribers.

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Ever since the first phone system was installed in an office, phones and businesses have been inseparable. Business phone systems have evolved over the years, as have the phones themselves, but with the widespread adoption of smart phones, tablets, and other smart devices, the business phone system is now experiencing something more revolutionary.

Today a business of any size can manage their entire phone service with a smart phone or other smart device. That means no multi-line phone installation in the office is necessary, and when employees work off-site they can carry all their office phone functionality with them. This allows workers to be more un-tethered to the office than ever before without compromising productivity or availability. This concept works great across a wide range of industries, from consulting to event planning to real estate.

Cloud-Based Phone Systems

Cloud-based applications have proliferated in recent years, and now entire phone systems can be cloud-based. Today, any smart device can turn into a smart business phone. Users can control their phone settings, access voice messages and faxes, and even add new users to the system. Integration of cloud-based phone systems with services like Box, Dropbox, and Google Docs allow users to fax documents stored in the cloud regardless of where they are.

Setting Up New Smart Business Phone Systems

Administrators can add employees, activate new phone numbers, and set call handling rules on mobile devices, and employees can customize their business phone settings as well. And none of this requires tech skills because these systems come with an intuitive user interface. Two adjectives used to describe today’s workforce – mobile and distributed – now apply to today’s business phone systems as well.

Cloud-based phone system features include:

• Virtual PBX
• Toll-free numbers
• Call screening
• Call forwarding
• VoIP service
• Voicemail
• Music on hold
• Message alerts
• Multiple extensions
• Customized greetings
• Internet and email fax
• Dedicated fax numbers
• Comprehensive fax service without a fax machine

The Cloud as Phone Platform

These new cloud-based phone systems work just like an automated switchboard: when someone calls your business number, you can prioritize where you want it to ring. The number can ring first a cell number, then a work number, then a home number, or it can ring all three at once. It can also be set not to ring any numbers and go to voicemail during important client meetings or other situations where taking a call is impractical or impolite.

What this means is that even a very small business can communicate just like a major corporation without having to install an expensive business phone system, because everything is set up and managed in the cloud. When landlines, mobile phones, tablets, and fax machines are managed from the cloud, users avoid problems like hard drive freeze-ups, Windows crashes, and other catastrophes.

Scaling Up Painlessly

Furthermore, the system can be scaled very easily: when new employees are hired, it is simple to add them to the system, allowing their smart phones to function their business phones seamlessly from day one. No more estimating how many phone lines a business will need, because they can be added on demand.

Today’s cloud-managed smart business phone systems let businesses avoid the expense of hiring a full-time switchboard receptionist while also avoiding automated systems that drag frustrated callers through endless menu options. They combine the best features of both personal service and automation, and they are affordably priced even for very small businesses.

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We’ve all endured appalling job interviews.

Whether it’s the guy who came in wearing spandex bike shorts, the woman who talked on her cell phone for 15 minutes without stopping, or the college grad who brought his mom in, awkwardness and bad fits abound in the interviewing process.

Imagine taking those bad in-person encounters and putting them on the phone.

How would you know who’s likely to wear neon yellow spandex to the office? How would you weed out the kids who are still using Mommy as their security blanket? It seems like it would be even harder to hire good staff remotely, but it’s entirely possible to find great hires from afar. You simply have to know what you’re doing.

Create the Right Interview Process for Your Company

If you run a company that has employees scattered across the country – or the globe – you’re going to have to do some remote hiring. As you develop a remote hiring system, keep an eye on what works best for your business in its day-to-day operations. What makes you most productive will also help you locate the right hires.

For example, my company has a large Facebook fan base. We’ve moved to posting positions on Facebook – because we have a large pool of people using our page, we’re not shorting ourselves on quantity or quality. (This also works if you have a solid client list or a professional association you work with.)

We know that these people are already passionate about our brand and the market space we occupy, which is tremendously important. Skills can always be developed, but initial interest is crucial. You don’t want people who hardly know what you do trying to explain it to other people – then you’ve created the awkward situation.

One good way to create a real-life interview experience is to do video interviews via Skype. This allows you to see the person you’re interacting with and get a feel for their communication style. (Non-verbal signals count just as much as speech. If you don’t believe that, imagine Bill Cosby without the exaggerated facial expressions. Jell-O seems a lot less appealing without them.)

The best way to pull people out during Skype interviews is to chat them up as if you were meeting at a social event. The benefit of a webcam is that you can pick up on people’s personalities more clearly. You want to know if they’d be a good fit for your company, even if they’ll be thousands of miles away. People can still be very annoying from distant zip codes.

Narrow the Field Selectively

The first thing you’re looking for in a potential employee is ability.

The most accurate view you’ll get of their skills is via their past work – always ask for samples. People who’ve struggled to produce good work in the area you’re hiring aren’t going to suddenly become talented overnight. If you don’t want to be the person to build them from scratch, carefully look over their old work.

Test projects also allow you to see people’s capabilities, particularly if they’ve completed work that’s so different from what you’re looking for that you’re having difficulty gauging their fit. Once you’ve eliminated the people who aren’t up to snuff, send the remainder a test project. This doesn’t have to be something you actually need, but it should be something that requires a 30-60-minute time investment on the candidate’s part.

If it’s a design position, you can have them create a small banner; if you’re hiring a writer, you can ask them to craft a short email. A lot of people will blow the assignment off, so that cuts out the tire kickers who are too lazy to go the extra mile. These tests also let you evaluate how the candidates respond to your needs. People who develop samples that reflect your way of thinking will immediately rise to the top, as will the people who improve upon what you yourself would have done.

Eliminate the Bad Fits

Once your field is down to just a couple of people, you need to check references.

A true former employer, supervisor, or co-worker counts as a qualified reference; the neighbor who paid the candidate to mow his lawn doesn’t. Contacting references is time-consuming, but these people will be able to give you a firsthand account of what it’s like to work with the fabulous-seeming people you’re considering.

But don’t just rely upon former employers’ impressions.

Think about how the candidate responded throughout the hiring process. Did she respond on time? Was she easy to communicate with? Did she fully answer all the questions you asked? Did she behave appropriately? It’s easy to overlook these things when someone’s work has blown you away, but fit is crucial. You’ll have to work closely with the person you hire, so finding out how they’ll act in the environment you’ve created is important. One ill-fitting hire can scare off the rest of your superstar squad.

It’s true that people can find ways to hide their true natures during the interview process, no matter the format. But following these steps will make it much harder for candidates to hide their rude phone manners – or the spandex bike short collection that would make Lance Armstrong jealous.

Take the extra time to vet your remote candidates, and you won’t spend the rest of their tenure avoiding them!

About the author: Nicolas Gremion is CEO of Free-eBooks.net, a source for free eBook downloads, eBook resources, and eBook authors, and Foboko.com, a social publishing network.

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