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Your EnterQuest Bulletin - 15 February 2006
| Thought for the week: "The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary." Vince Lombardi |
In this week's issue:
Small business answers
If
you have any questions about your business idea or target market,
or need help tracking down a grant, subsidy or business support
in your local area, then send an e-mail with your query to the EnterQuest
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Send
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To
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Weekly stir 
How to think like an entrepreneur
Being a small business owner or sole trader is one thing, but being an entrepreneurial small business owner, one that thinks and acts in a way that will set you apart from 90% or so of the other small firms operating in your sector, is a different matter altogether.
What exactly do we mean by this?
And what are these things that less than 10% of small business owners think or believe that makes them different, more entrepreneurial, and ultimately more likely to succeed?
Well, there are no exact scientific rules to cling to here, but there are a number of key beliefs and principles that underpin the way in which a genuine entrepreneur, who truly understands his or her business and market, will act and operate.
So this week here's our bootstrap guide to what real entrepreneurs think about all of the time.
Successful entrepreneurs recognise what their customers need, and that above everything else, they are the reason why they're in business.
They believe that they are the best in the business, and continually look for ways to make their products and services the best there is on offer.
They think of their market as an endless stream of prospects and customers, and they enjoy nothing better than finding more and more of them.
They adhere to the simplest business formula, which is that if they don't personally make the effort, they won't reap the rewards.
They don't mind, and almost certainly thrive, on making mistakes. They think that if they aren't making mistakes, they aren't working hard enough, and will learn faster and be massively more effective as a result.
They recognise that being turned down, or losing a sale, or not meeting customer expectations, are all opportunities for improving or doing things differently and generating more sales.
Successful entrepreneurs are intensely focused on and driven by specific and measurable goals, objectives and targets. They believe in the old adage: "A person who aims at nothing is sure to hit it".
Most small business owners believe there is an endless amount of money they can make, whereas successful entrepreneurs think of and find an endless number of ways to earn it.
Of course, as ever with our quickfire tips and guides to being more successful in a small business, there is a lot more to what makes one individual more entrepreneurial than another than we could ever cover in a short article.
But this is a pretty good starting point, and should at least make you step back and consider how you currently think about your small business.
Marketing
tip
How to avoid getting blacklisted in the search engines
The German website of car manufacturer BMW was recently blacklisted by Google, and accused of trying to artificially influence search engine spiders to up its ranking. BMW is accused of creating so-called 'doorway pages': this means a page that contains multiple repetitions of a keyword, but when users click on the link they are directed to a different page which contains far fewer of the keywords.
Google's guidelines state: "Don't deceive your users or present different content to search engines than you display to users". As BMW was seen to be in contravention of this, the German site's page ranking was set to 0, ensuring the site no longer appears at the top of the list when those keywords are searched for.
Although this will not affect BMW too badly, as the main website www.bmw.com will still retain its high ranking, a similar scenario would probably have disastrous consequences for a small business.
So here are a few quick dos and don'ts to help you get a better search engine ranking, fair and square:
Do
-
Populate your site, title tags and image tags with relevant, informative keywords.
-
Approach related, non-competing sites to see if they will include a link back to you. The more websites that link to yours, the higher your site will appear in search results.
-
Consult different search engine websites for guidelines. Most search engines provide a guide as to what they will and won't accept. As well as Google, check out MSN Search and Yahoo! guidance.
Don't
-
Overload
your website with repetitions of keywords that aren't relevant.
-
Hide keyworded text by making it the same colour as the background.
-
Create pages that actually link to a different page.
In short, although search engine rankings are clearly important, you must play by the guidelines. It's far better to gain a higher ranking over time than to cheat and be blacklisted for good.
Check out our practical guide to getting listed in search engines and online directories for more information.
Finally, the UK Small Business Marketing Bible has more simple Internet marketing strategies for small businesses in Chapter 30, and is jam-packed with hundreds of cheap, easy to implement ideas and techniques for promoting your business.
Legal
tip
How to register as a Community Interest Company
A Community Interest Company (CIC) is a new type of company structure designed for businesses that aim to benefit the local community. The registration criteria are pretty broad - check out this list of CICs that have already been established for examples of the type of organisation that can benefit from this structure.
CICs are registered via Companies House in much the same way as any other company, but they must also gain approval from the CIC Regulator.
A CIC can take one of many different legal forms, including limited company, co-operative or plc. The main benefit is that their ability to distribute profits to their shareholders is limited, providing a transparent and official way of investing profits back into the CIC or the community. CICs also have fewer legal restrictions and obligations than registered charities.
The key registration requirement is setting out a constitution and getting approval from the CIC Regulator. The Regulator will want to know how your company intends to benefit the wider community, and to this end has devised the Community Interest Test, which sounds more daunting than it is. It simply asks whether a reasonable person would regard your CIC as benefiting the community.
To find out more, visit the Department of Trade and Industry's (DTI) website, which lists three factsheets explaining what a CIC is, how to set one up and what the regulatory requirements are.
And our comprehensive guide has more information to help you choose the right legal status for your business, including details about the CIC option.
IT
tip
Google's desktop search, and its alternatives
Google's desktop search has been around for a while now, but it's been in the headlines recently because of privacy issues when it searches across more than one computer.
What does it do? It indexes all the common files on your computer, such as Word documents and Excel spreadsheets, and allows you to search them in the same way as you would search the Internet.
The desktop search program is 1.5Mb and easy to install (just make sure you've closed down all your other applications first), though it's worth noting that it may take several hours to index your files the first time you use it.
Searching is done from a page in your Internet browser, and as many commentators have noted, it's quick and accurate.
The 'search across computers' problem shouldn't really put you off this useful tool - you can turn it off in the Advanced Options section of the program, and if you only have one PC it won't be an issue anyway.
Desktop searching is not a revolutionary concept, though, and if you like the idea but you're Google-averse, there are plenty of other options available. These include Copernic, Yahoo!'s Desktop Search and Microsoft's Windows Desktop Search.
Here's a comprehensive list of around 20 desktop search engines to help you find out more.
New business idea
Each week we provide you with summaries of some popular or emerging business ideas in the UK.
Here is this week's idea:
Just one word
Regularly improving your vocabulary is not just about learning a new word and its meaning. It will improve your general knowledge and make you feel and act smarter in all sorts of personal and business situations.
Do you know what 'disparate' means?
a) argumentative or stubborn
b) different or unrelated
c) anxious or distracted
d) inflated or exaggerated
Answer at the end of the Bulletin.
Website review
UpMyStreet (www.upmystreet.com)
We've previously recommended this site as a tool for carrying out market research. It provides postcode-specific information about local areas in terms of key demographics and economic environment. But how easy to use is the website?
- Navigation and presentation - although large, flashy adverts spoil the appearance of the homepage, the navigation and design of the site has been well thought out. You can search for information by postcode, town name and type of information (such as property prices or broadband availability), and you can also search for specific business types, making this a useful way to track down competitors in your local area.
 
- Accessibility - options for this are clearly linked on the homepage, and the site includes plenty of access keys, with explanations of how to use them according to your type of web browser.
- Content and usefulness - this is a quick and easy to use resource for finding demographic data or researching a specific location. The service lists information about residents in a specified postcode area by age, income level, people claiming benefits and other key indicators. You can even compare one postcode area with another.
- Relevance - the 'conversations' function on the site lets you get involved in discussions about local community news, views and events. And the site's local news is fed through from the BBC's regional services, so it's bang up to date.
Well worth bookmarking for a fast and simple way to research a target location, this site could only really be improved by the addition of some practical guidance about conducting your market research.
Our rating - 15/20
Did you know?
Major overhaul of IP law - the Patent Office wants your opinion
Defining an 'inventive step' is one of the issues the Patent Office is seeking to address in a consultation on UK patent law and practice. The consultation asks whether the current system is satisfactory, or whether too many trivial patents are being registered, harming the economy as a result. It lasts until 31 May, and invites responses from both individuals and representative groups.
Worth
a visit
Byte-sized info about auctions
AuctionBytes is a news and information resource for anyone involved in online auctions, either as a hobby or on a commercial basis. It includes news about key operators in the industry, like eBay and PayPal, as well as monthly e-zines and reports about trends in auction sales. There's also a discussion forum, a list of resources such as eBay drop-off points, and a library of useful books.
E-learning course explains finances to firms
The
Financial
Services Authority (FSA) has developed an e-learning course
to help small business owners calculate what financial resources
they need to enable them to meet their legal obligations in terms
of accountancy and other financial regulatory requirements. The
tool costs £30 and the online course takes about an hour to complete.
Worth
a read
This book is part of the practical 'Instant Success' series, and offers a no-nonsense, jargon-free guide to franchising, both in terms of franchising your venture and taking up a franchise. It's packed with useful tips and advice, and covers every aspect of the process, from sales and marketing to understanding franchise fees. All of this is written in refreshingly concise language, making the book easy to follow even for beginners to the franchise process. Check out:
Just one word answer
The answer is b).
Disparate means different, distinct or unrelated.
Your target market might include disparate groups of people resident in a specific local area. |
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Good
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The EnterQuest Team
This information is meant as a starting point only. Whilst all reasonable
efforts have been made, the publisher makes no warranties that the
information is accurate and up-to-date and will not be responsible
for any errors or omissions in the information nor any consequences
of any errors or omissions. Professional advice should be sought
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