As a business owner, chances are you’re more passionate about your product or your service than overseeing business workflow issues like scheduling and payroll.

Luckily there is software available that can help streamline these processes so you and your employees can spend more time on what really matters. According to the American Payroll Association, companies that don’t use workflow software will end up giving employees and extra half day of vacation each year and spend 25 percent more time producing and managing employee schedules.

Using workflow software can help save your business both time and money, reducing the amount of paper you use and allowing you to generate reports that can help find efficiencies in your day-to-day management.

We recently caught up with Brian Reale, CEO and co-founder of Colosa Inc., the primary developer of ProcessMaker Open Source Business Process Management System, to get his take on workflow solutions.

Reale has more than 15 years of experience managing high-tech companies, specializing in VoIP, Telecom, business process management (BPM) and Workflow, and Open Source Software, and has been a speaker and panelist at numerous technology conferences.

Here’s what he had to say:

Why is it important for a business to develop workflows?

When we talk about business processes or workflows, we are talking about the way information moves around a company or department. Business process information can move in a number of directions: between people, between systems, or from people to systems (and back again). When one employee needs information from another in order to execute a task, the transfer of information becomes a critical part of the business process. When employees fail to pass on the appropriate information to their counterparts in a timely, concise, and accurate manner, inefficiencies and errors can occur. This can happen within a single department, or across multiple departments.

People-system gaps occur when the information a person needs from a system is not easily accessible, readily available, or accurate.  When people-system gaps occur, systems fail to provide people with the information they need to do their jobs and inefficiencies occur.  Likewise, people-system gaps occur when people fail to enter the appropriate information back into systems.

When communication lapses or errors occur in any of these information transfers, it can cause significant inefficiencies, waste, and business process delays. BPM systemizes the interactions discussed above. Once systemized, this flow of tasks can be measured, monitored, and improved. This is the real value that BPM brings to the table.

What are the consequences if workflows aren’t established?

Aside from the issues highlighted in my last answer, paper usage and tracking continues to be a major problem in businesses today. It’s all too easy nowadays for employees, supervisors and managers to become lost in a sea of paperwork. Paper forms, requests, approvals and verifications are easily misplaced, misrouted or can be left on somebody’s desk tray until they’re forgotten about. The inefficiency associated with this mismanagement of workflow can be very costly to most mid- to large-sized companies.

Determining the Return on Investment for a BPM system is not that difficult. It involves calculating the time involved in performing each task of a workflow, the costs associated with this time, costs associated with delays and errors caused by doing things manually, and the cost of not being able to improve the process because the process can’t be measured. Once we calculate these costs and add them together, we know the cost of each workflow today.

What are the immediate benefits to building solid workflow? Long-term benefits?

The immediate benefits become obvious to the end users when they can see their workload neatly organized in a user-friendly format. Sifting through paperwork, managing multiple copies of the same email or spreadsheet, or struggling to read somebody’s handwriting is very inefficient. For managers, the immediate benefits present themselves in the form of notifications and status updates on current workloads. Reports and dashboards allow managers to identify bottle-necks and trends easily. When a particular job number/customer/ticket needs to be looked up for immediate attention, managers can simply perform a search and see at a glance where the holdup is and why.

When we consider the long-term benefits of building solid workflow at Colosa, we follow the continuous evolutionary BPM cycle known as “build, run, report, optimize.” Whilst the immediate benefits of workflow are obvious right from the start, continuous monitoring and improvement is just as important as the workflows themselves. As company policies and methods change, the structure of the workflow must also change.  Implementing these changes and continuously building on top of your existing efficiency is another long-term benefit of solid workflow.

Gartner (an information technology research and advisory firm) has surveyed and reported on the long-term benefits of BPM implementations and found that for 78 percent of BPM projects, the internal rate of return was greater than 15 percent. Gartner has also found that an improvement of more than 12 percent in efficiency is realized with BPM implementations.

What tools are there to help a business to establish workflow?

There are many different BPM tools out there — from .NET based, proprietary applications to PHP based, open source solutions. Most BPM providers offer a variety of implementation methods to assist organizations large or small.

What’s the most common problem businesses hope software programs like ProcessMaker can solve?

There is rarely one single common problem that our sales team hears from potential customers. However, the majority of calls we receive tend to relate to improving efficiency, eliminating paperwork, facilitating inter-departmental collaboration and automating business processes while also integrating with existing systems such as CRM, ERP or DMS. In other cases, clients have an older legacy-type database system which would be costly and time-consuming to replace or upgrade.  Integrating ProcessMaker with these older systems allows organizations to maintain their data storage in a pre-existing source, while having a powerful front end managing the routing and distribution of data.

Who in a company typically implements and/or uses workflow software?

Typically, either IT or a business unit manager will actually implement workflow software. Workflow software should be designed so that a business area expert can map and implement his processes. Inevitably, IT gets involved because the process needs to connect to existing systems and data sources via web services.

Larger organizations usually have a business process manager or area that is dedicated to implementing BPM across the enterprise.

The end users are the employees and departments within an organization that require workflow, such as HR, admin, finance, operations, IT, marketing or sales.

How long does it take for a business to implement a new workflow using a software system?

This really depends on the size of the workflow being implemented and the competence of the person carrying out the implementation. Small projects can be created and deployed in just a few weeks; larger projects can take months. This is another area that Gartner studied, and the results showed us that 67 percent of projects are deployed in less than six months and 50 percent in less than four months.

How easy is it to create a workflow system?

This depends on the application you choose to use. Some BPM applications can be quite complex and require a large amount of training and support in order to get a project off the ground.  If you’ve never used a BPM application before or do not fully understand the BPM model, it can be a challenge. In the case of ProcessMaker, we try very hard to keep workflow creation as easy and intuitive as possible — using toolbars and icons that workflow designers will instantly recognize and a graphical user interface with drag-and-drop functionality.  This interface, coupled with our training and support services as well as an active online community, make ProcessMaker one of the most easy to use BPM applications on the market.

When should a business’s workflow be changed or reevaluated?

Every organization should consistently monitor and evaluate its workflows. Continuous changes to company standards and practices means that workflows should never be set up once and then left to operate without any sort of review strategy. For example, company HR processes often see amendments made to them at least once a year, which means that your HR-based workflows require updating to reflect said changes. For workflows that involve customer relationship management (which is an ever-evolving practice), data entry methods, routing rules, user assignment and notification methods
should be under constant review and evaluation in order to maintain high efficiency rates.

If you’re a small business owner who’s never created a workflow system, where’s the best place to start? Who can help navigate the process?

The best place to start is to understand your own workflows by documenting them. Many people come to us asking for help automating a process when they don’t even have the process fully defined. Once you have a workflow clearly documented and you know how it’s supposed to function from beginning to end, you can perform an online search and look for workflow software solutions that meet your needs — both in an operational and technological sense.

Most BPM providers offer free trials of their software. I would recommend taking a real documented workflow and seeing how easy it is to implement it using one of these free trials. Finally, contact the BPM providers themselves and request a demonstration. Most BPM vendors will provide a demonstration of their software with several types of workflow scenarios relating to what you are looking to accomplish.

Learn more about business workflows on Business.com.

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Jonathan Volk is a self-described “make money online” guy. He’s president and CEO of Surge Marketing Inc., a company that helps generate millions of dollars in sales for companies annually using a model called affiliate marketing.

Affiliate marketing is a type of advertising by which a publisher (usually a blog or website) promotes a product, service or site in exchange for a referral fee and/or commission (generally a percentage of the sale). Promotion can come in the form of banner ads or buttons, product image hyperlinks, or a “store page” on the site with links to products related to the contents of the blog.

Depending on the business agreement, site owners are paid each time a person clicks the ad (pay-per-click), each time a person purchases the product (pay-per-sale), or each time a lead (pay-per-lead) is developed.

A variety of products can be promoted via affiliate marketing — everything from physical goods (clothing, accessories, tools, toys, appliances, etc.) to digital goods (e-books, software, etc.) to subscriptions.

Volk’s business roots began growing back in 7th grade when he’d buy candy bars in bulk and sell them to students for 25 cents cheaper then the school’s vending machine. He went from hawking candy to coding, which lead him into the web-hosting business, where he learned about SEO and affiliate marketing techniques.

Today, the 25-year-old is a highly successful affiliate marketer and runs a small group of e-commerce sites. We checked in with him to find out what it takes to make a good living off of affiliate marketing.

What do you do day-to-day?

As an affiliate, there is a lot of monitoring advertising campaigns, optimizing the ads, discovering new offers, etc.

When did you first learn about affiliate marketing?

It was roughly around age 11 that I began to learn to code: first in C and C++ and then website languages. I’ve been doing it ever since and it’s really what began this passion for everything internet related. It was then, in 2004, that my dad had called me into his office and told me that he was interested in starting another business with me: web hosting. This was my first venture into making actual money online. While attempting to get a successful hosting business up, my dad invested tens of thousands of dollars in learning SEO and other techniques.

For example, one conference with Brad Fallon and a few select others cost $10,000 for two days. While there was a lot of great information, the hosting business still failed. The business might have failed, but we did not fail. It really was this foundation that enabled me to reach the level that I have reached currently. Through that business failure, I had learned quite a bit about SEO and affiliate marketing.

Early in 2007, I really decided to get serious about affiliate marketing. I had been running some adsense websites and such for a while and had made up to $250 a day during the peak of my adsense days. The adsense income was very inconsistent and the profit margins were very very slim. I was essentially buying traffic and sending it to my heavily ad-ridden websites. As I began to apply my techniques to affiliate marketing, I began to learn how much potential affiliate marketing had. I researched everything I could about affiliate marketing through forums, friends, and my friend, Google.

What interested you in it?

Affiliate marketing to me was like cutting out the middle man a bit. I had websites with ads. How were those ads making money? Many of them were affiliates. It was really my quest to increase my profit margins that got me interested.

How successful have you been? (one blog said you were making more than $300,000 a month — is that true?)

I have been very blessed to have earned in the range of $5 million to $10 million as an affiliate. It’s not all gravy though; my best month I spent over $400,000 in paying for advertisements. While $5 million to $10 million might seem like a lot, there are a lot of costs involved when you get to that level. Let’s just say, my wife does not need to work but has a successful online business, too, that she enjoys. We enjoy a comfortably frugal lifestyle. I don’t drive a sports car or own a 20,000-square-foot mansion. I drive a sweet ’08 Honda CR-V (and maybe a motorcycle if I can market it well enough to my wife). Success to me is being able to do what I love: Work online with an awesome team of brilliant minds, be an active member of my church, enjoy some occasional free time with my beautiful wife, and not worry about paying for the grocery bill. With the remaining profits, I continually reinvest into other online ventures and further grow the business.  

Who can try affiliate marketing?

Anyone. Really. The people who are generally successful are the ones who have a good understanding of the internet, creating websites, and are driven. I’ve met some 40- to 50-year-old affiliates, and I’ve met affiliates, like myself, who started before they were in their 20s.

What’s the best way to start?

The best way to start is to start now. Don’t go into it thinking about how you’ll be the next affiliate millionaire. Try being an affiliate for something you know something about first. Get the concept of selling, marketing, advertising, down with something you’re familiar with. Set a goal. $10 per day. $50 per day. $100 per day.  

What expertise or skill-sets should someone have to get into affiliate marketing? Is there any sort of special training needed?

Being an affiliate is harder now then it once was. Really, you need to be able to create a website. If you can’t make a website, you’re going to need to hire someone and it will make starting out quite a bit more difficult.  

Where do you find leads for businesses that want to work with affiliate marketers?

Mostly, I recommend people use affiliate networks when starting. You can contact companies directly, but affiliate networks cut the risk down and give you direct access to many more offers than you would have previously. There are hundreds of affiliate networks, so search around for one that fits you.

How much can you make? 

It’s the old 90-10 rule. Ten percent of the affiliates are the ones pushing 90 percent of the volume. Most affiliates can make a little extra income here or there. But, if you’re willing to persist, take the time, and invest the resources, it can be a very lucrative business. I’m not the most successful publisher there is by far. I would say a VERY successful affiliate would earn around $1 million per year profit. That’s what the best individuals I know are making. But, really, you have big corporate sites that are making tens of millions or more that are essentially just affiliates. Think Expedia: an affiliate for hotels and airlines.  

Where’s the best place to learn more about affiliate marketing? (Are there seminars, books, websites, etc. you’d recommend people check out?)

There are a lot of great blogs and free resources. You can check out my blog, www.JonathanVolk.com, where I give free advice on affiliate marketing. It has thousands of articles that are related to affiliate marketing and most are still relevant. Another great resource is Affbuzz.com. You can see all the other affiliate bloggers and keep up with fresh content for free.

What’s been the biggest lesson you’ve learned about affiliate marketing?

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Although focusing on one project is important, putting 100 percent of your time into one project can be deadly. One of the downsides of affiliate marketing is how quickly an advertiser can request you no longer send them traffic due to budget caps, quality, etc. There have been projects that I focused all my time and energy into, only to have them end and I was stuck dead in the water. That’s another reason why I have expanded from just affiliate marketing to running a group of e-commerce websites.  

What’s the best advice you can give someone who’s looking to make a living in this business?

If you do not have a passion for online business, don’t let the potential income sway you … you’ll probably never earn those amounts without the passion to push you through the incredibly boring, tedious, and stressful late nights that can come. Also, you would not believe the amount of people who lost their jobs, have no money, and are looking to affiliate marketing to strike it rich and pay off all their debt. Seriously, I used to get several e-mails monthly.

Affiliate marketing is an online business, just like anything else. I would not recommend starting a new “business” without having some sort of income (read: a job). It’s not a get-rich-quick scheme.

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Access to business loans is critical for our country’s small business community. This capital is central in funding startup costs, expansion … and sometimes survival. The most recent data suggests that just under half of small businesses turn to commercial banks for business loans and other funding options for their small business.

If you’re looking for assistance in getting your company off the ground, beware of these most common business loan mistakes:

1. Believing a Business Loan Is Your Only Option

There isn’t just one type of business loan you can get, and banks aren’t the only organizations that can lend to you. Many small business owners mistakenly believe that banks and credit unions are their only possible resources for getting money to start a business. So, they download an application and start putting together the information without checking out other options. In addition to small business loans, you could turn to friends and family, look into venture capital funding, and consider funding your effort with your own savings. Additionally, industry grants might be an option. Speak with your local Small Business Development Center to learn what local options you might have for funding.

2. No Attention to Detail

This is the largest mistake that small business owners make when applying for a business loan. There are a few common trends that lenders see when business owners lack attention to detail during the application process:

• Being vague in discussing their business vision. Not planning appropriately to include a vast number of details and thorough descriptions of your product, marketing, and operations plans will cost you. Lenders won’t understand exactly what your actionable idea is, and therefore will be less likely to grant you the money. To position yourself in the best possible light, don’t just provide the basic information requested of you in the business loan application – provide your completed business plan outlines, your marketing and sales strategies, your market research, and your short and long-term goals.
• Not clearly indicating how the money will be used. Lenders want to know exactly what your financial needs are, and how the money they loan you will help you meet your objectives and goals.
• Not demonstrating how the business will make money. At the heart of your business loan transaction is the understanding that, after they loan you money, you will repay it. You must be able to show your current financial data and projections, which help lenders understand how you plan to profit and ultimately reach your financial goals.

When you request an application for a business loan, you should also get a list of any desired supporting documentation, so that you prepare all possible information that will help you secure funding.

3. Not Reading the Fine Print

You need to know exactly what you’re getting into, and for how long. If you’re granted a loan through a financial organization, it’s not sufficient to have the representative give you a quick overview of what the contract says. Take the contract home, comb through the terms thoroughly, ask every question that comes to mind, and get your lawyer to review if you are unsure of the terms. You could position yourself for long-term challenges if you jump the gun and anxiously sign a loan with terms that are unfavorable.

4. Dismissing Your Own Credit Rating

Your personal credit rating has a significant impact on whether or not you’re likely to secure a business loan. As a new small business owner, you must be able to prove that you’re capable of maintaining a favorable credit score. Any lender you work with will pull a credit report on you as part of the application process. Prepare for this by pulling your own credit score from all three major consumer credit rating agencies so that you can verify the information for accuracy and dispute any necessary blemishes.

What mistakes did you make during the business loan process that you learned from?

Photo source: commercial-loan-advice.com

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Blog commenting is a key component of any white hat link building strategy. Not only does it help build valuable inbound links for your SEO, it’s also the first step in building relationships with other industry bloggers.

When you become a regular commenter on an industry-specific blog, the blogger (and other readers) starts to recognize your name. You never know where that kind of relationship could lead. But in order to leave great comments on a blog that goes live, you first have to find those blogs! Here are 5 tips for doing just that:

1. Start with your competitors.

One of the most important things to remember when conducting blog commenting research is to stick with sites that are relevant to your own. They don’t have to be your exact niche, but there should be a correlation so it makes sense for you to get a link there.

A great place to start is with your competitor’s blogs. Your competitor’s are going after the same audience as you, which means they should be producing highly relevant content designed to engage that target audience. It’s a quality site (hopefully, otherwise they aren’t much competition) and related to your industry, so you’ll be able to add meaningful thoughts to the conversation with your comments. There is no rule against leaving comments on a competitor’s blog. The worst they can do is not let it go through, but it’s at least worth a try.

2. Look for industry associations.

Many industry associations and niche websites have a member business directory. Check out each of the members’ sites to see if they have a blog that is open for comments. Again, these are highly relevant sites that will provide quality inbound links and allow you to interact with your peers and target audience. The industry association website might have a blog of its own; another great blog to add to your blog commenting list.

3. Check out industry conferences.

Some conferences have a speaker’s blog where they allow current and former speakers to submit content and this is a great place to leave blog comments. You should also check out the websites of any presenters, advertisers or sponsors of the conference. Chances are they too have a blog that you can add to the mix.

4. Basic Google search.

One of the easiest ways to find blogs is to do a simple Google (or Bing) search for “‘keyword’ blog.’ For instance, I look for SEO blogs, inbound marketing blogs, online marketing blogs, social media marketing blogs, content marketing blogs and more. Depending on how large your niche is, there may be hundreds (if not thousands) of blogs written by companies, consultants, experts and freelancers.

Some of these blogs might be huge, with each post getting dozens of comments and social shares. Others might be small and very niched down—both are valuable for your blog commenting efforts because the key to blog commenting, and link building in general, is to get links from a variety of trusted sources. The more diverse your link profile the more powerful it becomes to the search engines.

5. Visit guest blogger’s sites.

Larger blogs usually accept guest blogger submissions. After leaving a comment on that post, be sure to check out the blogger’s site or personal blog.

Researching blog commenting opportunities can be a time consuming and tedious process, especially if you work in a very small niche. The key to making the most of your efforts is to stick with one path of research as long as possible before moving onto the next tactic. For example:

• Go through the first 10-20 pages of search results for a specific search before moving onto the next keyword.
• Check out every site in someone’s blogroll to see if they are any good. You want to use links to find links!

As you find these blogs, keep a running list and revisit them from time to time. You can read the 5 big blogs every day and leave a comment, while checking in on another 10 throughout the week. Remember, you aren’t limited to one blog comment per blog.

Photo credit: comluv.com

Nick Stamoulis is the President of Massachusetts SEO company Brick Marketing. With nearly 13 years of industry experience, Nick Stamoulis shares his SEO knowledge by hosting local and national SEO training classes, writing in the Brick Marketing blog and publishing the Brick Marketing SEO Newsletter, read by over 150,000 opt-in subscribers.

Contact Nick Stamoulis at 781-999-1222 or nick@brickmarketing.com

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As a business, varying your customer care options is considered multi-channel customer care, and more and more businesses are employing the tactic. While the Econsultancy MultiChannel Customer Experience Report found that 40% of businesses see “complexity” as a barrier to bettering their current multi-channel care methods, Dan Nordale, vice president of marketing and enterprise for Nuance says that it’s now necessary.

In an article with 1to1Media.com he says, “Some companies are trying to figure out the right channel for particular transactions, but customers are using different channels. Therefore, companies have to provide choice.”

With the landscape changing so rapidly, it’s important that you’ve assessed your KPI’s to determine how you can also employ methods to vary your customer service. Forrester Research found, “Smart organizations are evaluating the merits of adding chat and other interactive functions on their websites to better engage the customer and potentially increase sales.” So, how can you implement them?

Reach Every Customer

According to ZenDesk.com, 62% of customers use social media for customer service issues – however, what about the other 38%? While social is a great way to reach many customers, there is still a large chunk looking to be serviced in another way.

Whether they need to speak to you over the phone, via your outsourced call center, or send an email before bed – you have customers on all ends of spectrums. To decide how many channels your customer care will need – you’ll have to assess your customers in a number of ways:

• Age group: Your Gen Y customers may be using social media, but older folks may want to pick up a phone and reach a person.
• Niche: If you are an online business, your customers are likely assuming they can reach you online. Be sure your channels have a heavy presence there.
• Issues: What sort of problems are common among your customers? While the medical field sees more phone interaction, the financial industry fields more questions via text

Make It Convenient

Customer convenience is the number one reason why businesses are switching to multi-channel methods. Customers want to reach you at any point in their day, whether that is while they are sitting in the car during traffic or in the middle of their workday. Therefore, businesses have made the switch in order to be available at all times.

• Call center: 24/7 call center means customers can always call you when they need you.
• Live chat: Customers busy at work may still need to contact you – no phone needed.
• Email: Without picking up a phone, your customer can still get in touch with you via computer, smart phone or tablet.

Most businesses now on the market are utilizing a multi-channel customer service tactics, and for good reason. It’s imperative that you reach each and every customer, or lose them to a competitor.

Photo credit: 24-7intouch.com

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The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) sets the standard for the healthcare industry to protect confidential and sensitive patient data, like medical and billing records. HIPAA rules regulate the daily activities and tools of many healthcare and related companies, including common business phone systems.

HIPAA compliance is obviously required for healthcare providers like hospitals, clinics, and individual practitioners, but your small business may also fall under required HIPAA compliance. If your company is a private sector vendor or third-party administrator that accesses, collects or transmits protected health information over the phone, you’re required to adhere to HIPAA’s guidelines.

Phone System Requirements
Physical and network security measures, as described in HIPAA guidelines, require that business phone systems can process patient health information safely over telephone lines. Consider a common medical office scenario: the administrator on the phone taking patient’s medical or billing information writes it down on a piece of paper and, after a busy day of multitasking, misplaces the note or, even worse, shuffles it in with other patient information. The patient’s personal information is at risk.

A secure business phone system ensures HIPAA compliance and protects your office from penalties and criminal prosecution. So how do you know the phone system you use in-house is HIPAA compliant?

Among other rules, HIPAA standards require:

• Access control
• Audit controls
• Person or office authentication
• Transmission security
• Workstation security
• Device and media controls
• Security management process

If you use VoIP, understand that anything transmitted across the web-based platforms is not guaranteed to be secure, and carries a higher risk of violating the recommended guidelines. As such, tools like Skype are generally not recommended. Instead, opt for other secure landline telephone systems that offer audit trails and backup capabilities, breach notifications, and encrypted transmission of voice communications.

Using Your Phone System Properly
When it comes to adhering to guidelines, it’s less about the actual business phone system, and more about the behavior around transmitting data through voice communications. It’s been said that “technology itself can’t be HIPAA compliant; hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare-related businesses must be HIPAA compliant.”

First, it’s important to note that your phone must be in a secure location that prevents unauthorized access. You must also assure that any voicemail where sensitive information could be stored has access restrictions, ensuring a secure password and a policy around retention of the voice message.

You should also have a plan or policy around recording voice conversations. Installing such a recording system ensures sufficient accountability in terms of tracking and accessing information. These systems can store audio files electronically to be accessed in the future by the proper personnel.

The Consequences
So what happens if you find your phone system — or how you use it — is not compliant? An act supplemental to HIPAA was passed in 2009 to address this – the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH). The HITECH Act was formed in response to health technology development and the increase in use, storage, and transmittal of health information electronically.

There are four categories of violations that coincide with increasing levels of liability. Each level has a corresponding penalty that culminates in a maximum penalty of $1.5 million for all violations. The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reviews all reported violations, and determines the amount of the penalty based on the nature and extent of the violation and the potential harm caused to patients by the violation. There is no “one size fits all” penalty for each violation. In most cases, you have opportunity to right the wrong when notified of your non-compliance; your business won’t incur a penalty immediately, but rather you’d have 30 days to fix the circumstances.

Photo source: healthcarelawmatters.com

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Almost all businesses have built websites in order to be found easily by potential customers and clients. With a few simple clicks, visitors to a business website can buy a product, send an email to the company and even peruse the business’ blog to learn valuable industry information. A well-built website services the company as well as the clients.

An official company website is great for people who already know about a business by name. But what about potential customers that have never heard of you? There are consumers that know what goods or services they want, but are not sure where to get them. Oftentimes these consumers do an online search for a particular product or keyword in the hopes of finding a company that can provide it. In most cases, these customers are most interested in local businesses that fit their need.

Including your business in online directories is a smart way to ensure that customers find you, especially if your name is new to them. Online directories are categorized in a variety of ways in order to serve a particular purpose. Some group companies of an industry together, like general contractors, physicians or clothing boutiques. Other directories focus solely on just one industry and visitors to the site can find the provider that fits their exact need. Every site obtains directory info in its own way and each one spells out what it needs from businesses for inclusion.

If you want to jumpstart your directory listings, here are a few places to start:

• Google. Yep, that’s right. The search engine giant has a spot where businesses can submit the necessary info to improve the likelihood of being found when a customer does a search. The service is completely free but comes with a few rules, like the fact that all listings must have a physical address. Companies have the option to “hide” the street address information when searched, but there must be a physical address available for signup. If a business has several locations, a separate entry is required for each spot.
•  Yahoo! Not to be outdone by its competitor, Yahoo! also provides a way for businesses to submit their information for free. Included in this free listing are options for phone number, address, website URL, hours of operation and a brief description of products or services. Yahoo! takes it one step further, however, and also gives businesses the option of paying for an enhanced listing that includes a company logo, up to 10 photos and a more detailed description of the business than the free listing.
• Business.com. The site you are on now actually has a unique online directory. “The Grid” provides side-by-side comparisons of goods and services so consumers can make more informed business choices. Every directory submission is reviewed by the editorial staff to ensure it is relevant. Business owners can choose between five options: pay per click, pay per lead, directory listings, premium grid listings or display advertising. The goal of this online directory resource is to connect buyers and businesses “at every stage of the purchasing cycle.”
• Chamberofcommerce.com. This consumer-friendly site is more than just lists of business names and phone numbers. It offers visitors listings sorted by business category and location, and also has a keyword search option. The site is full of articles about current issues that affect businesses across the country, making it just as useful for business owners as it is for consumers. The intuitive directory system asks business owners simply for a phone number and then displays the information already available on the Internet about the company. Businesses verify the information and receive advice on how to improve their “online reputation.”
• MerchantCircle. In a matter of minutes, business owners can enter their information and be listed in the directory for free. The site offers additional online support on items like advertisements, newsletters, blogs and coupons.

The great news about online directories is that businesses can list their information in as many as they want. A good way to cover all your bases is by choosing a few free directories, and a few that charge a fee. While free is always nice, those directories tend to be saturated with entries. By paying a little bit for an exclusive directory, consumers will have more guidance in order to find your business. Spend some time researching the directories available for your industry and start submitting your business information. The investment of a few minutes on your part may result in customer dividends.

Megan Totka is the Chief Editor for ChamberofCommerce.com. She specializes on the topic of small business tips and resources. ChamberofCommerce.com helps small businesses grow their business on the web and facilitates connectivity between local businesses and more than 7,000 Chambers of Commerce worldwide. Megan also specializes in local business news.

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Every business owner secretly – or not so secretly – dreams of finding the one thing that will make him stand out. Every entrepreneur wants to have a jaw-dropping detail to add to conversations at happy hours, board meetings, and high school reunions. Every small business wants to move out of the minors and play with the big boys.

The easiest way to get a leg up on the competition today is by establishing thought leadership. For example, writing an eBook lends instant credibility (why do you think David Letterman introduces someone as “author of Super Awesome Book,” rather than “expert of Super Awesome Subject?”). Best of all, it’s something someone batting in Double-A can write as well as the Derek Jeters of his day.

Why Online Publishing Matters to You

People’s articles are mentioned in passing – “Did you know Bob wrote an article about that in Forbes?” – but writing a book carries an added long-term cache. Anyone can write a blog or toss off a quick “best of” article, but book authors are seen as established, invested experts. They have dozens of pages’ worth of insights to offer.

Truly, any kind of publishing creates credibility. When a third-party publication prints your work, they’re backing you up, so to speak. Having impartial approval of your credentials is invaluable to prospective customers, investors, and partners.

Books are instant credit, and eBooks take it one step further: They not only establish your expertise, they immediately leverage that credibility into action and interactivity, two things every company desperately needs. An eBook allows you to include links back to your company website or to specific pages with incentives, promotions, or contests. This increases lead generation and direct sales without any extra legwork on your part; it’s combining your social media efforts with an informational product. Cost-effective marketing is something today’s small business owner simply can’t afford to pass up; when your sweat equity is involved, and not your wallet, it’s even better.

Bottom line, there are four compelling reasons why you should get your expertise published:

1. It’s relatively cheap, which is good for startups and small businesses on budgets.
2. It’s effective – there’s a guaranteed return on investment.
3. It helps establish you and your brand in a crowded marketplace.
4. People trust publications more than ads.

How Your Business Can Benefit

An eBook allows you to not only engage your prospects and customers in conversation, but, like an online forum, it enables you to lead the conversation. Publications create reasons for discussion – rather than grasping at radio advertising straws, you have a ready-made excuse to ask your customers’ opinions or explain your thinking to them. And they, in turn, have your contact information so they can directly interact with you.

This does two things: 1) it eliminates the need to pitch prospects, since they’re instead contacting you, and 2) it earns trust, which is key to success, particularly when closing sales online. Think of eBooks like old-fashioned tech “white papers” – they’re opportunities for your company to create education-based materials that display your values and voice.

For you, your team, and your customers, ditching boring advertising is an added bonus of publishing. Online communities, shaped around your book, topic, or industry, allow you to act like an excited member, rather than a salesperson. This makes you more approachable to your audience. You’re also bringing a value-added product to your base: You’re providing helpful directions and insights, which proves you know what you’re talking about and aren’t just out to make a buck. Adding to their buying confidence, not coincidentally, enhances your bottom line.

But online publishing also gives you a viral leg up against the major leaguers. It’s harder to get a video, social media campaign, or infographic to take off when you’re a mammoth company – people already have set ideas about your brand. Small businesses can introduce, build upon, or rebuild their company brands by messaging on company sites, issuing press releases, writing articles, and participating in social media. You have a fresh slate to work with, and inserting existing customers’ words and testimonials in your eBook (much like critic reviews in mainstream publications) can boost your sales.

The marketing variety afforded by your online publishing – contests, user-generated content, rewards programs, loyalty points, surveys, and blogging – ensures you’re less yawn-inducing than competitors. You can even donate resources, such as server space, online guides, mentors, contest prizes, or sponsorships to site administrators. Interested in helping others? Offering real resources? Lowered cost of sales via automated processes and publishing links? Check, check, and check.

You know your niche well – that’s why you’re in business in the first place. Don’t be intimidated by the big sluggers. The payoffs – better marketing, enhanced credibility, more clients, and a shift toward the major leagues – outweigh any risks. So what will your eBook be about?

Nicolas Gremion is the CEO of Paradise Publishers Inc., and founder of Foboko, a social publishing network where members get support writing their book from peers and connect directly with readers.

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Business plans are usually put together for three reasons:

• For clarity and to fuel an action plan in developing a strategy around growing your business;
• To provide a backbone for your idea when trying to get money from investors;
• To show others (potential partners, executives, and mentors) what your vision is and how you plan to get there.

One of the many challenges of writing a business plan is that it is typically written for a number of audiences, and so the information within it must satisfy as many questions as possible while keeping it succinct and focused. The one thing you can guarantee is that no mentor, VC, or business professional who reviews your plan will come away thinking the exact same thing. The reason is because each person has their own interests in mind, and looks for specific points that help them make a decision.

So, while you will very likely run into some areas where you’ll have to elaborate — or perhaps alter — your line of thinking, there are a few things you can do to help get your plan off on the right foot, no matter who might take a look at it. Don’t put your business plan in danger of being discarded; avoid these 5 pitfalls:

1. Attaching Your Business Vision to Dated Technology or Declining Markets

When spelling out in your business plan the opportunity you see for a product or service, you can’t just have a sense that the idea will have legs in the real world. A proper business plan (and anyone who you hope will give you money) will ensure you are setting yourself up for success. This means you must develop a business vision around something that will make an impact on an emerging or existing market. Those markets that are dwindling or are being taken over by new industries will make it incredibly difficult for you to get funding.

For instance, what would your reaction be if someone developed waterproof ink for typewriter ribbons? You wouldn’t necessarily be enthused, because the number of people looking to buy something like that is incredibly small.

2. Not Acknowledging Your Weaknesses

To be a successful small business owner, you must know that it’s impossible to do everything on your own. Mentors and investors don’t expect you to successfully juggle the production, operation, administrative, marketing, and sales aspects of your business – at least not for the long term. An impactful business plan will have a strategy for dealing with weaknesses. Don’t convince yourself that investors won’t provide funding if you draw attention to a challenge you struggle with. If you acknowledge only what you’re good at, those that review your business plan will very likely ask the tough questions looking to uncover the contrary.

3. Identifying Your Core Customer as “Everyone”

There is no product or service that is everything to everyone. If there were, we’d all be driving around in the same car. The fact is, your product or service is specific and beneficial to an ideal type of customer, not anyone willing to fork over a handful of cash. It’s tough to wrap your head around, particularly when you’re just starting out, and when you need every customer possible to make your case. But as your business grows, you’ll be positioned for success only when you aren’t trying to please everyone that comes through your door. Your market research will not only help you target the “right” customer for your business, but will also help you determine the proper market size for your projections.

4. Having Unrealistic Growth Projections

Yes, a business plan will require you to do some legitimate math, and not just estimate what you believe to be the opportunity. You must first estimate your market size and use as many resources as you can to determine what kind of audience you’re talking about. The stronger a position you can take as to what opportunity the market provides and how you can capture their attention, the more likely you are to secure funding. This includes understanding the market value (how much is spent by various types of customers), not just the market size. If you’re looking to grow a presence online and want to display how you’ll capture a sizeable market share of web traffic, you may use data from search engines to determine how many people are looking for keywords related to the products you provide as well.

5. Acknowledging Your Competitors, but Not Analyzing Them

It’s common for new business owners to say, “We have no competitors,” in hopes of appearing to be unique, but it’s far more impressive to simply list your competitors as considerations when surveying the market. Listing your competitors is not a strategy against winning business from them. When putting together this section of your business plan, it’s important to know as much as you can about the people you’re going up against. It’s important to be as objective as possible: What are they doing right? How are they succeeding? Why do customers choose them? Knowing this information helps you prepare your own strategy to differentiate your business from theirs.

What other business plan challenges did you have to face?

Photo source: prdivein.blogspot.com

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If you’re wondering whether you should invest in time and attendance software, consider this: A survey of more than 500 employees nationwide by Michael G. Kessler & Associates, Ltd, found that 87 percent of employees admitted to falsifying their time sheets. That’s a large percentage of employees stealing time from the company and being paid for hours that they did not work.

Employee theft of all kinds results in $200 billion in losses to U.S. businesses annually — with time and property theft being the most common ways employees rob their bosses.

What might not seem like a big deal — an employee showing up to work a few minutes late one day or spending 10 minutes on Facebook every morning, for example — can add up to hours and days of lost labor every year for businesses.

Some of the most common ways employees steal time include:

• Buddy punching
• Proxy attendance
• Late arrival
• Early departures
• Unauthorized overtime
• Taking long breaks
• Non-work-related computer use
• Socializing or making personal calls during work hours

Research by the University of Southern California and the University of Illinois found that paying employees a higher salary reduces the likelihood that they will steal from you, according to an article on cnbc.com.

But if your business has suffered from the economic downturn, giving everybody a raise to encourage honesty might not be an option.

Purchasing time and attendance software is a good solution for curbing employee time theft. Not only should your employees have trouble falsifying the time they’ve worked, but there will be less room for payroll errors and less time needed calculating old-fashioned time sheets. Some software providers estimate that using a time and attendance system can result in an 80 percent reduction in manual effort and a 3 percent savings in total payroll.

Time and attendance software allows you to collect time via badge readers, biometrics, computers or mobile devices (either a phone or mobile time clock); manage your time collection data; and easily process the collected time for payroll.

• Improve employee productivity by eliminating the need for timely calculations of overtime, shift differentials, rate calculations, etc. with automation.
• Track and restrict unnecessary overtime
• Eliminate the need to calculate time cards
• Better manage employee scheduling; whether it’s group, individual, rotational or demand-based scheduling
• Eliminate time card preparation, collection and storage
• Cut payroll processing time
• Reduce instances of tardiness
• Eliminate unauthorized hours
• Eliminate the need to calculate sick, vacation or compensation time accrural
• Identify and eliminate time abuses
• Track labor distribution by tracking time worked by location, department, branch, cost center job, position, project or any other metric
• Allow management to enforce work hours limits and improve employee safety
• Eliminate disputes over hours worked and pay
• Improve relations with employees, including eliminating favoritism

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