Posts Tagged ‘“Online Business Manager in CT”’

Who needs a website?

If you were building your business in the offline world you would choose a physical storefront, such as a restaurant, boutique store, executive office, etc. to sell your products and services.  Businesses that are selling their products and services primarily offline still need to have an online presence and I will talk more later in a upcoming posts.

In the online world your storefront is your website.   This is the place where potential customer’s window shop to see what you are all about and have to offer them.  How does your product and services solve their problems?  The importance of having a website is extremely important if you are running an online business.  Better than a physical store front, an online store front (your website) is open 24/7, 365, and does not shut down for holidays.  Potential customers can visit your business anytime that is convenient for them.  Over the past couple of years I have heard it said many times that a website in today’s marketplace is the business owner’s business card.

What is your websites purpose?

What is the purpose of your website?  What do you want your potential customers to do when they visit your site? If you are an online business wanting to sell your products and services to your target market you will want build relationship with your target market.  You will want to offer them the ability to subscribe to your list to receive more information, you will want them to be able to contact you, you will want them to have the ability to make a referral, and most important you will want them to press the buy button.

What does your website look like?  Is it a marketing machine or just pretty?  Does it have a professional look that inspires trust in your audience? Can your audience tell immediately what it is that you are offering and how it can fix their problems? Is the next step, your call to action, immediately apparent? Just recently I heard that most internet surfers do not stay on a website more than 5 seconds.  How are you making the best of those 5 seconds?  The purpose of your website is to get business.

Many business owners make the mistake of thinking that they can do it all in their online business.  The internet has paved the way for people to learn how to perform tasks that they need to know to build an online business, but is learning those skills to save a few dollars the best use of your time and energy.  Let’s face it you have decided that you have a skill, experience, and talent that you want to share with the world and hopefully it be the path to generating income.  Why waste precious time on learning and implementing tasks that take away from your core services?  Just think when are not losing time trying to get a website up, creating social networking profiles, figuring out how you are going to sell products and services online the more you can strategically plan, network, grow in your industry and of course work with client and generate income.

Who is your target market?

It is extremely important to do your research regarding this area of your business.  I know it’s not fun, but it is critical to your business success.  Too many times business owners will think and say to others that my products and services can be for anyone.  Believe it not the more narrow your target market the more successful you will be in your business.  You will waste precious energy and marketing dollars while trying to market to the whole world.  If you have a nothing to small marketing budget you will need to spend as wisely as possible.  Some questions you will want to ask yourself:

1. What skills/knowledge/expertise do I have to offer?
2. What professions are in need of what I have to offer?  How am I solving their problems with my services?
3. What type of industry would benefit and be willing to pay for my services?  If an industry does not need your expertise or are not willing to pay for it, you may be better off finding another industry that does.
4. What kind of clients do you want to work with?
5. Do you prefer to work with men or women? What age group?  Do you work best with people that are older or younger than you?

With a clearly defined target market you can speak and market directly to those you want to attract to your business.  Then your business will begin to grow.

Yeah! I completed the Online Business Manager Certification Process.   View my profile on the International Association of Online Business Managers.

I am so pleased to be one the world’s first Certified Online Business Managers.  The training was conducted by Tina Forsyth and Andrea Lea who coined the term “Online Business Manager” (OBM).   I purchased Tina’s book, “Becoming an Online Business Manager” and knew instantly that I wanted to take the training, learn the skills that online businesses are looking for and become a certified business manager. Prior to starting my virtual assistant business, VBS Virtual Assist two years ago, I worked nearly 30 years in the offline traditional office space as a high level administrative professional.  I knew instantly as read through the pages of Tina’s book that in my heart, I was an online business manager.   I have always had a passion to help business owners grow their businesses using my administrative, organizational and management skills and have enjoyed a great and long professional administrative career.  Tina and Andrea are leading the way for aspiring OBM’s and the businesses that need them to enjoy bigger growth in their online multiple streams of income businesses.

I am thrilled to have experienced this tough, but phenomenal training and feel so prepared to help virtual business owners to grow their businesses to newer or more profitable levels.   The certification process has been  such a growth experience for me.   Click on the video below to quickly determine if you and your business are in need of an OBM.

View Video:

Brenda Violette, VBS Virtual Assist, LLC and Eric Lopkin, The Modern Observer, both from Middletown, are excited about starting this new networking group in Middletown, Connecticut to provide networking opportunities for Middlesex Businesses.

At the current time this group is an open networking group. Come, have a drink if you wish, and explore the opportunities of networking with other business owners in Middlesex County.

Meeting times will be Tuesdays, starting September 29th at 5:00 p.m. at the Forbidden City Restaurant, 335 Main Street, Middletown, CT 06457-4556.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

In today’s landscape of blurred economic boundaries, American corporations and small businesses can support the domestic economy by hiring a virtual assistant (VA). A VA living in the U.S. understands the business environment and the domestic culture. There are many benefits to hiring virtual assistants instead of managing your own staff. Here are five reasons to consider outsourcing your staffing needs.  To read more click, FIVE REASONS TO HIRE A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT

Profitability, scalability, efficiency. These are key words every business owner must embrace.  In today’s market, as independent business owners transform the marketplace with their ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit, such applied concepts are increasingly  important. No longer do the mega companies dominate the market with their huge campuses, massive pools of employees or complicated processes. Today’s businesses must be agile, adaptable and increasingly savvy.

On the same front, today’s workers must be flexible, creative and dynamic in their workplace to keep up with the demands of the changing times. Yet, with the rise of gas prices and the shifting emphasis to achieving quality of life, you’ll find workers today are looking diligently for improved models of relationship with their employers. They want freedom and stability in one package.  Click here to read more  VIRTUAL OFFICE

Your website is a tool for potential clients to discover the products or services that you offer.  However, it takes more than a website to persuade your target market to purchase your products or retain your services; it takes a “Call of Action”.  A call of action is your power of persuasion; it is a way to strongly suggest to your websites visitors to participate within your website.  Your call of action can include buttons stating “Join Our Mailing List” or your call of action can encourage your customers to purchase your products, such as “Add to Your Shopping Cart.”  READ MORE…

Generating a steady flow of good traffic to your site requires long term internet marketing strategies. There are, however, a few simple things you can do to quickly gain traffic to your website. Some of them include forum marketing, pay-per-click advertising, and guest posts in popular blogs.  To read more of this article, click on following link to  Generating Website Traffic

Whether your business provides a service or product, your reputation depends greatly on your clients’ loyalty and dedication. Personal recommendations and word of mouth referrals are your most effective marketing source.  However, this creates an expectation that you must live up to.  One of the assets of your business is your current customer base. Many business owners understand that the concept of business assets should include their business reputation.  READ MORE…