Dot Net Dreamer Business Technology Blog
Latest Tips, Tools, & Technology to Build Your Business
In The Thick Of Social Media
May 15th
Even in our in-person conversations we use social media!
Well the time has come. I’ve finally had to sit down and start learning how to use social media for my budding business. It’s a daunting task for someone getting onboard late in the game. I realize that I should have made this a common practice several years ago, but at that time, since I didn’t like social media much (and still don’t), I just couldn’t see that it had any potential. Especially Twitter. Who wants to write just one sentence and send it to a bunch of people. Well only several More >
Using Stickers As Effective Advertising
May 8th
Stickers can be a good way to get your companies info into a potential or current customers hands.
Sticker FunI was surfing the web and found some really funny pictures of how stickers have been used to grab people’s attention. Of course, most of these were large stickers, placed in busy outdoor places, by companies that can afford to do that.
With your small, budding business you might not have the advertising budget of Apple or Folgers. You can still use stickers effectively.
Sticker IdeasIf you own a business where you install equipment that you also service, you can put a sticker on More >
How’s Small Business Doing?
May 7th
Is small business growing?
The headlines are everywhere touting that small business owners are optimistic about growth. However, when you really read the small print, the outlook is anything but promising.
In April companies who answered one survey were almost equal in who added positions and who decreased positions, with 53% of businesses staying the same. That makes growth pretty much a wash for April.
The Wall Street Journals outlook was pretty much the same. In almost every area where they saw an increase, there was an offsetting decrease in a similar index.
One good sign was “The percent[age] of owners reporting positive sales More >
Power or Playful Eyeglasses
May 5th
Eyeglasses are back in vogue. Who would have thought that would ever happen. Wouldn’t it be fun if you could have a set of glasses for every day of the week, or maybe have power, sexy, fun, elegant, etc. One for every mood you have. These days eyeglasses can be purchased for a small fortune or next to nothing. If you want to have a different pair for every day of the week or mood, then you’ll probably need to opt for something less expensive.
ZENNI has lots of inexpensive frames for you to choose from. And if you don’t need a More >
When You Need Help On A Project
May 4th
Putting an ad in the paper is the best way to get thousands of unqualified applications. There are better ways now.
When You Only Need Temporary HelpYou’ve got a project that needs to be completed, but you don’t want to hire someone full-time. Not only that you don’t want to just hire someone online, out of the blue, as you’ve had some bad experiences with not getting what you paid for and no real recourse.
Sideskills may just be the answer for you. It is an online project based hiring system where you can post job vacancy and receive a pre-screened list of More >
Finding The Right Plugins
May 4th
There are so many different plugins to choose from. It's hard to know which will be the best for the job.
Web Site FunctionalityNow that I have my site started, I’m really on a steep learning curve on plugins. You see when I started blogging I had someone had me a set of plugins and tell me to add them. They didn’t explain them or anything, but I dutifully did what they said. In reality I don’t have a clue what any of those plugins are doing, well at least most of them, or whether I really need them. I don’t More >
Finding Resources For Online Workshops
May 3rd
Hmm, this is being harder than I thought it would be. I’ve done several keyword searches and still have come up empty-handed for any really useful information on how to put a workshop online.
The problem is that everything I’ve been able to find has been related to classroom courses being put online. All the web sites, information, and programs that actually help you put a program online are for teachers, who need to keep track of attendance, quizzes, grades, etc.
What I need it a program where I can deliver the content, keep in contact with the participants, and have a More >
Even Good People Do Dumb Things
May 3rd
A good lawyer will convince the gavel to fall in your favor.
A Small Mistake, Turns BigSimply celebrating a little too much, and getting caught behind the wheel, can completely change your life or the life of one of your employees. It could means months of court appearances, loss of money, productivity, and even some time in jail, depending on the severity of the charge. Sometimes we think that the charge is something simple, and we’ll get out of it easily. However, unless you’re a lawyer you might want to think twice about trying to defend yourself.
Take California, for instance, a More >
Minimal Success
May 1st
I’ve been continuing my search for good information the nuts and bolts of setting up an elearning site. Unfortunately, so far I’ve only been able to find some extremely rudimentary ways of doing it. They don’t have any sophistication; no way to track current, former, or possible future students; no way to automate emails; no way to set up forums, etc.
If you’re interested in putting up an online site you might garner a few non-technical ideas from the couple of sites I’ve found, so far. You can take a look at “How to Set Up An E-course” and “How to Teach More >
How To Move Stock
Apr 30th
When starting out a Less than Truckload company may help you ship your stock.
You Have Lots Of StockWidgets here, widgets there, widgets-widgets everywhere! You’ve just started up your manufacturing company and have loads of stock. Now how do you get it where you want it to be, at a price you can afford? For many startup companies you need to be able to ship small amounts of product to a lot of different places, but you know you’ll grow and want to be able to ship more over time.
Do You Need TL or LTL?Truck Load (TL) delivery may not be More >