Doing business online
Lessons shared
Earlier this month Paul’s post ‘eBay Learnings’ ended up being a wonderful example of the small business community coming together to provide support, guidance and advice to a business owner in need of it. It really showed the true nature of our readers! Love Your Work!
We have invited Megan Stones from Envi Fine Accessories to [...]
eBay Learnings
A man dug up these trees and took them away in his truck.
He saved me 4 hours, 2 vertebrae and $140.
And he paid me!
I used to think eBay was just about car parts, beanie babies and signed Gilligan’s Island photos.
Lately, however, I’ve found business uses for this medium.
Some of these may help [...]
Sky High Quoting
Though illuminating, our Building Fences debate didn’t generate one fence builder inquiry.
Number 8’s dad is now doing her fence and Number 12 has decided to sell!
My great social media vs tradies experiment is a fizzer.
Or is it?
From Damp Squib to Space Rocket
I was set to conclude that tradespeople have no use for the internet.
Then I [...]
Boxing Clever
What’s NOT to like?!
Having ranted a bit lately, I’m delighted to share a great news story.
One that counters my recent poor service and bad packaging adventures.
Surprise
I ordered some stuff from Officeworks (after my debacle with the budget mob).
When the box arrived, I was elated to read:
You’ll like what’s NOT in this carton
You’ll like what [...]
Charity Case
I’d rather work and donate money than go and volunteer.
That said, I have optimised a community newsletter and a few immigrant resumes for free.
So I didn’t turn off when I got this direct message from a new Twitter follower:
Hi Paul, would you be willing to help out a young start-up with your experience? Dave*.
I checked [...]
Twitter Truths
Having just clocked one year and 10,000 followers on Twitter, I felt I should report my learnings.
At first I thought I’d just cover basic stuff (e.g. who to follow, how to list, behaviours to avoid).
Then I realised Twitter ‘truths’ were far more important than Twitter ‘tips’.
It seems impossible such a simple (and apparently frivolous) application [...]
Can’t Beat The BBQ!
The other weekend, a barbecue gave me a reality check.
I found that all the social media in the world can’t beat yarning with ten real people.
A short chat unexpectedly led to a new client, immediate work and welcome payment.
Once again I’ve learnt lessons.
1. Ivory Towers are Hard to Climb
In studying Web 2.0 for over a [...]
How I Learned to Stop Worrying & Love My IT Support
Introducing Stephen Hamilton! Many of you may know Stephen from his myriad enlightened comments on SBO over the past 12 months or so. Today we welcome his maiden guest post on a topic that many of us find pretty darn annoying…getting decent IT help.
I’ve worked in IT for most of my working life. [...]
Blog Me, Amadeus!
Content Beats SEO
Search engine optimisation (SEO) can improve your website traffic.
But each time Google changes its ‘secret recipe’ (algorithms), you may lose benefits.
Content which solves customer problems is emerging as a cheaper, more reliable alternative to SEO. And the best way to create such content is blogging.
Free Blogging Resource
I’ve spent years getting a grip on blogging.
By [...]
Poll dancing – Part 2
One firm’s quest for client hearts & minds
Part 2 of 3 (Results)
Read Part 1
So there I was; proud owner of my first ever client survey results.
My deepest fears populated the response options; it was time to see if they were true.
Question 1 (Multiple Choice)
Scanning the chart below, I was instantly relieved at two findings:
Only one [...]
