Ken Sundheim, KAS Placement
2 Key Start-up Steps to Take From Your iPhone
Starting a business in the year 2011 is exponentially easier than it was in 1911. Competing is a different story. The Internet will register your company, but thanks to game-changing globalization, the internet will take away much of the "Good ol' Boy" factor that American small business once relied on.
Global competitors are logging on, and they're competing. What's more, they're doing it with a lot more tenacity that leaves American businesses scrambling for bandwidth.
Still, if they're playing from an overburdened WiFi connection, that means we can too. Starting from scratch, one can still open a flourishing business from their iPhone.
Here are 2 initial start-up steps to get you up and running right from your smartphone while you're in your dentist's waiting room - or anywhere else with Internet.
1. Choosing Your.dotcom - The Monopoly Domain Rule:
A hotel on Baltic: $450. No houses on Park Place: $250.
Register the right domain and email, but do something with it - everybody knows that new domain registrations should be geared toward eventual SEO campaigns for the company, but once you're married and committed to a domain name, 'til death do you part.
Therefore, you choose "doctorinnewyorknyc.com" and, if you do get known, that's great but it's probably not because of your url. Domains no longer do the trick. They help, but don't marry for money.
Pick the domain name because you love it. Plus, the "SEO-friendly" domains in your industry have already been bought by those too lazy or short-sighted to build even one house on their prized, but now greatly depreciated, Park Place.
Better yet, somebody with no desire to be in the business can be selling it for an insanely high amount tagged with the words "Sucker's bet," for any and all who bid.
2. The "Mike Krzyzewski" Email Rule:
Life-long clients are lost because the inquiring assistant can't email the potential vendor after they hang up the phone.
When registering your domain for a start-up small business, you should get around 10 or so email accounts. (Since you're on your iPhone in your dentist's office and about to get your teeth drilled, odds that you're not currently representing 9 other partners.)
Therefore, follow these two rules:
- Have an info[at]yourdomain.com, not a sales[at]yourdomain.com. You want what appears to be a "company wide" email, but stay away from the label "sales." When a new client thinks they are contacting the sales department, regardless of how prompt and customer-oriented the response the email is, a skepticism lingers as to the motivation behind your email reply.
- Have a second personal email with your initials (including middle initial to keep up company size appearances). When a new vendor gets frustrated, you can give them an easier, more simplistic email address if your last name is long or difficult to spell out over the phone without resorting to the radio alphabet.
There is a reason why only the hardcore college basketball fan would know Step 2's namesake. The media can be quite canny when gauging your ignorance. You'd probably be more familiar with Duke University's "Coach K."
One more thing to remember:
- Put your name a few places on the website. Branding aside, if you tell somebody that your email is your "First.Lastname" then the odds of them tracking you down is a lot higher.
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