by Amanda Chocko
The holiday season is here and the invitations are pouring in-let the networking begin! This is a great time to meet new people and re-connect with the those you already know. Below are a few tips to help you continue to grow your business network and have a great time doing it. Read the rest of this entry »
By Amanda Chocko
As an entrepreneur, having strong leadership skills is imperative. Even if you do not have any employees, you must lead your business by interacting with clients, vendors, contractors and prospects. Recently, I attended a seminar where the speaker handed out an index card titled “The Leadership Test”. The purpose of the index card is to keep it on your desk and take the test each night before you go home. I encourage you to read these questions every morning before you begin your day, and again before you leave your office. Here is the test: Read the rest of this entry »
Web link submitted by Amanda Chocko
It’s the online equivalent of word-of-mouth advertising. And just like its offline cousin, it’s the most effective way to get new business.
This advertising mode is known as “link building,” and it involves getting other Web sites to link to your site. It’s like one of your neighbors recommending a good plumber or handyman; it carries more weight than if a person just stumbled across your Web site.
In today’s world, there is much more to good search engine listings than simply optimizing your site for keywords.
In order to keep searchers happy, search engines are always developing ways to make their results more relevant. In the last couple of years, links have become increasingly more important to the engines because they see links as an endorsement of your site by other Web sites. Think about it for a minute: Would you link to a site you didn’t like?
This concept is referred to as “link popularity.”
Based on the links pointing to your site, the search engines either increase or decrease how relevant your site is for particular keyword searches.
Obviously, you want to increase your site’s relevancy, right? Good. That’s the goal here: to make sure you start building the right kind of links for your site in order to improve your search-engine results.
To this day, the best way to build links is still doing it by hand. Here are the steps you should follow when building links: Read the rest of this entry »
AMANDA CHOCKO, LAKESHORE ADVANTAGE
It is common knowledge that networking is one of the best ways to build your business. Why? Because people like to do business with people that they know, like and trust. Or, do business with people who are recommended to them by people that they know like and trust. Unfortunately, many people are uncomfortable with networking. I believe that this is due to three myths that are associated with networking. It is time that we debunk these myths.
Myth #1-Networking is the same as Selling
I meet so many people that get frustrated with networking events because they feel that it is a waste of their time if they do not leave with a sale or at least qualified leads. If you go to networking events expecting these results you are sure to set yourself up for failure. Networking is not selling. It is meeting people, making contacts and sharing ideas, information and resources. It is broadening your “circle of influence”. If you go to a networking event with a “prospecting” mindset, you are missing out on a lot of great opportunities.
There are all different types of contacts you can seek out while networking. When networking, think of how you may partner with people who have a similar customer base. This can take the form of teaming up on projects, sharing marketing opportunities, or contracting work to each other. Be creative on how you can leverage each others strengths and resources. Read the rest of this entry »
AMANDA CHOCKO, LAKESHORE ADVANTAGE
In an excerpt from the Richard Florida book “Who is in Your City? How the Creative Economy is Making Where You Live the Most Important Decision in Your Life”, the author argues that Tom Friedman’s (The World is Flat) theory that in the global economy “you can innovate without having to emigrate” is false. Florida professes that “Geographic concentration encourages innovation because ideas flow more quickly when innovators, implementers, and financial backers are in constant contact. This happens because density brings such powerful productivity advantages, economies of scale, and knowledge spillovers”. Living in clusters with like-minded individuals is what is going to spur innovation.
I found this concept very encouraging because this is precisely the environment we are creating in the Lakeshore Business Garden. We have such an eclectic array of talent, expertise and most importantly, generousity. The combination of creativity, experience, openess, and giving is truly magical. I love watching how individuals comes together to team up on jobs, refer work to each other, bounce ideas, and offer their talents without hesitation. We are also blessed to have a great group of Business Advisors who are passionate about entrepreneurship and are equally generous with their time and expertise. When we all work together, the synergy, ideas and innovation that emerge can not be duplicated by sitting in front of a computer with a modem. I look forward to all of the innovation that is going to be spurred from our creative cluster right here at Lakeshore Advantage.
