RESOURCE CENTRE

Your EnterQuest Bulletin - 17 February 2004

In this week's issue:

• how to play the business game
• a factsheet about income protection for the self-employed
• getting listed on Shopping Bots
• a website explaining how pay-per-click works

How to play the business game

One way that entrepreneurs can look at being in business, is that it is like taking part in a game. A very serious game, where winning is the only objective. You are not playing for fun, or the pleasure of taking part. You are in it to succeed and to win every game you play. The extent to which you, the small business owner, are determined to win will ultimately determine the extent to which your business will succeed.

Put another way, being in business is a bit like being in lots of games at the same time, where you are not just competing against obvious business opponents, such as competitors. You will also be playing against your customers and suppliers, where you are seeking an edge or opening that you can turn into a winning opportunity when negotiating with them.

In these business games, failure is definitely not an option. That doesn't mean to say you won't occasionally lose a sale, a contract opportunity, a negotiating point, or a concession over prices.

What's important for the entrepreneur to recognise is that being successful in business is down to winning these games more times than you lose them. To do this, you must learn the 'street' rules and tricks that increase your chances of winning.

These tricks cannot be taught. You will only learn them through experience, by wheeling and dealing, ducking and diving, and using your in-built business 'nous' to negotiate each result. And, of course, by learning from your mistakes.

In his classic book, What They Don't Teach You at Harvard Business School, the author Mark McCormack describes this as "taking the edge". In his book, he says:

"Taking the edge is the gamesmanship of business. It is taking everything you know about others and everything you have allowed them to know about yourself, and using the information to load the deck - to tilt a business situation slightly to your advantage. It is winning through intuition."

McCormack describes it as a matter of doing your homework first - knowing all the players and all aspects of the game. But to play the game, you have to find out what people want and find a way to give it to them, with the idea being to give slightly less than you get in return.

He advises, "I strongly believe that in any situation there is an edge to be taken. Don't be greedy, don't be pushy, don't be impatient, but keep looking for the edge. Eventually it will show itself, and when it does, be ready to do whatever you have to do to take it."

Sound advice. And you won't go far wrong if you read his book.

Playing the enterprise game has a number of risks attached, especially for those of you who are self-employed. In particular, the risk of not being able to generate an income if you fall ill or have an accident that prevents you from working. Fortunately, you can guard against this risk by taking out insurance, and this week we've included a factsheet that explains what's offered by income protection policies for the self-employed, and what to look for when choosing a policy.

Here is the factsheet:

A Guide to Income Protection for the Self-Employed

Weekly business tip

Registering your service with a Shopping Bot website

If your business is online and you are dependent on attracting traffic to your website to generate sales, then you will increase your chances of success if that traffic is from people who are already interested in your product or service, rather than from general or casual traffic.

An increasingly popular way to get this higher quality traffic is to get your product, service or business listed on a Shopping Bot website.

Shopping Bots work in a similar way to some of the search engines, but are specifically designed to help shoppers find the product or type of product they are looking for and compare prices, specifications and reviews.

Getting yourself listed on Shopping Bots can be a cost-effective and productive way of exposing your service to prospective customers, who will see your listing or advert on the site.

So for a small business wanting to gain some online customer exposure for the first time, these Shopping Bots are a very affordable option to consider.

There are an increasing number of Shopping Bot sites to choose from and register your online service with, but it's worth doing a bit of research to see which ones are getting the most traffic for your category of product.

You will also need to look at the Shopping Bot you are interested in and decide whether your product or service will look right on that site, and whether your prices are competitive alongside the other products listed.

You'll need to do a little bit of extra work to create a "product feed" to submit to these sites. This generally isn't complicated, and most people should be able to do it themselves.

A Shopping Bot can also put your service in front of an international audience, although there are some UK only sites that might be more appropriate.

Some of the biggest Shopping Bot sites share their listings with other affiliated sites, which increases your exposure at no extra cost.

As a starting point, have a look at:

http://www.dealtime.co.uk

http://www.pricegrabber.com

http://www.shopping.yahoo.com

http://www.froogle.com

Discover how to promote your business on a shoestring Are you struggling to attract new customers to your small business? Do you have a great product or service but aren't sure how to let prospects know about you? You can attract more new customers, sell more to existing customers, and bring back your customers more often - no matter what product or service you sell. Click here to find out how The UK Small Business Marketing Bible can help you double your sales

New business ideas

Each week we provide you with summaries of some popular or emerging business ideas in the UK.

Here are this week's ideas:

• Second Property Locator
• Vintage Clothes Shop

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 the difference between the very similar looking words "complementary" and "complimentary"? Which word means:

a) a free bonus item or gift?
b) something that goes well with something else?

Answer at the end of Bulletin.

.eu domain names will soon be available

Preparation for .eu domain names will get under way in March, but general registration of names won't begin until November on a first come, first served basis. EU-based businesses will stand a better chance of securing a .eu domain, and we'll keep you posted about developments as we get nearer the date.

For the latest information, go to:
http://www.eu-domain-registrations.com/eu-domain-name-timeline.htm

Stealth theft by employees is on the increase

Small businesses should ensure that their data and intellectual property are well secured. New research, by data forensics firm Ibas, reveals that 30% of people have stolen databases when they left an employer, usually using workplace e-mail systems or by burning the information onto CDs. Although filtering tools on e-mail servers may track some of the thefts, it is very important that business owners have well-enforced policies that remind their employees of their obligations and responsibilities.

For advice and information on intellectual property, go to:
http://www.intellectual-property.gov.uk

Worth a visit

The process of applying for patents is currently being simplified to make it easier for businesses to understand. The UK Patent Office has produced a series of brochures that aim to lead users through the technical and legal minefield of patent terminology. Clarifying and modernising patent law and procedures will hopefully encourage innovation in UK businesses. For more details, and to download the brochures, go to:

http://www.patent.gov.uk/patent/info/index.htm

If you're interested in trying pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, and would like to know more about it and how it works, then this website takes you through a neat little demo and explanation. Go to:

http://www.kanoodle.com/xplane/index.html

There are some free events coming up that will offer small businesses tax, VAT and legal advice through drop-in centres and seminars. Locations and dates include:

24 February at Swansea
11 March at Bristol
20 April at Croydon
13 May at Inverness
20 May at Glasgow
15 July at Sheffield

For further details, go to:
http://www.businessadviceday.co.uk

Worth a read