Recently, my good friend Evan Davis from Pro Lead Management sent me a great ad he stumbled across on Craigslist. It’s an excellent example of solid copywriting. It’s clear, has great stories, benefit-rich, and filters out the target audience effectively. Plus, it’s a fun read. (Read more…)

Isn’t it great when a promise is backed by an ironclad guarantee? We think so. That’s exactly what we’ve launched today– we promise to double the sales of small business owners and entrepreneurs and putting our money where our mouth is. (Read more…)

I recently finished reading the book, The Google Story. It’s a fascinating story, but I found one of my favorite parts in the appendix (Appendix I). The authors, David A. Vise and Mark Malseed, list 23 Google Search Tips that have helped increase my productivity. (Read more…)

Fresh out of college, I made a brilliant (or lucky) decision to join a small software company in the SF Bay Area that ended up going public and landed me a nice wad of cash. Instead of blowing it on ’stuff’, I decided to go to business school and learn about creating and running businesses. Afterward, I entered the world of small business and entrepreneurship… only to fall flat on my face five (yes, f-i-v-e) different times. (Read more…)

I received some difficult news this week that could end up being a terrible loss for hundreds, if not thousands of businesses & users. NetBooks, an accounting-centric solution for small businesses, and Entellium, a Sales Force Automation (SFA) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) provider for medium-sized companies, appear to have ran into serious problems. (Read more…)

I’ve got the reading bug. It started about 2-3 years ago. My wife thinks I’m nuts for reading so many books that have to do with entrepreneurship, marketing, sales, & business success. As she puts it, “why don’t you read something fun?!”. Well, to me, these books ARE fun, interesting, insightful, and have really propelled me. So, which are my favorites for entrepreneurs and small businesses?

• The E-Myth, Michael Gerber
• Duct Tape Marketing, John Jantsch
• Dan Kennedy’s No B.S. Series (Ultimate Sales Letter, Ultimate Marketing Plan, Time Management, etc.)
• The New Rules of Marketing & PR, David Scott Meerman

I recently came across a blog post by Mike Michalowicz on CNBC.com with his list that looked pretty solid.

I’d love to know what books you’ve read that you think should be on the list…

Contributed by Carolyn Acker, Infusion Marketing Supervisor

Look, no matter how long you’ve been a small business owner–there is always something you can be doing better. Too often small business owners get caught up in running the daily gauntlet. They forget to invest in growing and improving their businesses. That’s why conferences, like the Small Business Summit 2008 which I attended last weekend, are such powerful tools for breaking out of the same old rut.

As I left the conference Monday night my mind was spinning. What an amazing opportunity to be part of the true small business community! I don’t see how anybody can walk away from a conference like that uninspired. I left my hotel anxious to start incorporating the dozens of tips “successful” small business owners were more than happy to dish out to their peers.

Here are just a few of the ideas I left the conference with:

Ramon Ray, editor of Smallbiztechnology.com and author of Technology Solutions for Growing Businesses, spoke about:

- Email is not CRM
- TECHNOLOGY IS AN INVESTMENT not a cost
- Web 2.0 is no joke
- Outsource if you don’t know how to do it
- Don’t Technologize a Bad Business Process
- Mobility is Critical

Anita Campbell CEO of Small Business Trends, LLC, ran a panel discussion that included tips on:

- How to grow your business
- Choosing the right employee
- What to do after you get funding
- Creating a positive business culture

Brent Leary of CRM Essentials LLC had insightful tips on the growth of small business.

The real excitement of entrepreneurship is not in the daily grind of managing a business. It is the potential of the business, waiting to be unleashed. It is in realizing possibilities and incorporating them. The real excitement comes from watching a simple idea transform into greater profits. It is in feeling that YOU can take on the world and conquer it. And, if you no longer feel that way…it’s time to attend the next small business conference. (There’s nothing quite like 400 small business owners in one little room to bring out the entrepreneur in you!)