Is your website accessible?
Today we’re pleased to welcome Nicolas Steenhout to Small Business Owner. Nic is the guy behind Accessibility NZ, a web accessibility firm based in New Zealand but offering most of its services worldwide. Nic is passionate about web accessibility and has some great insights to share with you. Naomi
Having an accessible website means people with disabilities can interact [...]
Two-Speed Shuffle
How do YOU feel today?
Research released last week^ suggests our economy has stalled.
Other commentators say it’s running at two speeds.
My client portfolio is definitely doing the latter: half have gone from sluggish to flat out like two lizards drinking.
How about yours?
Economy
Mining’s up. Retail’s down. Employment is mixed and shares are all over the joint.
For [...]
Can You Kill a Category Killer?
This might sting a bit …
Here’s a mystery I hope we can solve.
Seth Godin says that, while we should aim high with our goals, we should stay in the realm of reality.
In other words, we shouldn’t try to out-Google Google, or out-Amazon Amazon.
So why is Cash Converters (CC) trying to out-eBay eBay?
eBaying for [...]
Squidoo Do Do
If you have the skills of a four-year-old
you can put your business online!
If you’ve a business but no website, this is your lucky day.
Today we explore the simplest method I’ve found to get you online.
Despite its funny name, Squidoo is one of the internet’s top 500 sites*.
It’s easy, effective, fun and free.
Paint by Numbers
Squidoo [...]
Dishing Dirt
As with large wooden beads, most business owners can string a sentence.
Due to this, many don’t feel they need a professional writer to optimise their communications.
Now and then I get a reminder of my redundancy, like this striking missive from Dirt Cheap Pfoofer Valves* (DCPV):
Error Legend: [ ] Minor. [ ] Major. [ ] Fatal.
Hello Dear Customer
We [...]
Pain Points – Part 2
Part 1 covered the top eight ‘pain points’ (as ranked by SMEs in MYOB’s Business Monitor).
Here are the lower eight, again with my comments.
9. Doing monthly accounts including tax
I hate bookkeeping so much, I put all my papers in a box and spend one agonising day per quarter sorting them out.
I like words, not numbers!
10. [...]
A New Age of Empire
Five weeks ago I was frightened. Today I’m happy to say the fear is gone. Andrew Hurl (my IT Guy) has delivered a new Empire website that exceeds all expectations. He did it on budget. And would’ve nailed it last fortnight, had I coughed up my content on time.
Andrew’s firm is SilverDimension. He should [...]
Cheap Shots!
When I read the quote for my new website, I got a fright. It said something like ‘pictures not included’*.
Last time I worked in a creative studio, clients were charged up to $150 per picture (pic). I needed nine.
Fortunately, much has changed in recent years.
On Sunday I found and bought the pics [...]
I’m Frightened!
Today I commissioned a $2500, scorched-earth rebuild of my entire website. I expected a faint pang of apprehension at this point; now that it’s here, I’m downright scared. I’ve written dozens of sites for clients, but this is different. It’s my site, my brand, my business and my money, um… line of credit, actually.
In short, [...]
