Business Information for Entrepreneurs by an Entrepreneur

Despite a crumbling economy since 2008, a great many entrepreneurs have been finding their fortune on the internet. Ecommerce is a continually growing industry, and whether you sell products online or provide a valuable service, your website is your online store. If your store doesn't work properly, then you lose profits.

Did you have a professional web designer build your website? What could possibly go wrong? You may be surprised! Here are three important mistakes on an ecommerce website you should avoid.

1. Browser Incompatibility

   Whether you program your ecommerce site yourself or hire a professional, be sure that the finished product works with a wide variety of browsers. Just because you have tested your site on MS Explorer doesn't mean it will work on Apple's Safari browser, Firefox, or other popular browsers.

   Though Explorer still has the largest market share on the browser scale, there are plenty others that are gaining in popularity like Mozilla's Firefox, Opera, or even the new Google Chrome. Test your ecommerce site to assure that users of these browsers can still be your customers.

2. Heavy Pages

   Many small business online entrepreneurs think that a website with all the bells, whistles, flashes, and animation is the way to go. However, a flashy ecommerce website could be working against you.

   All that dynamic content, like Flash animation, scrolling content, ads, etc., can slow down your site and turn potential customers away. In many cases, this type of content is pulled from different application web servers and databases, which could bring your page loads to a crawling pace.

   A little 'bling' may not be bad. However, simple, flowing, easy to navigate designs have been proven to work through the ages.

3. Missing Feedback Opportunities

   Just because it works doesn't mean it cannot work better. Whether you make a sale or not, you should ask your ecommerce customers how they think you could improve. Ask specifically about usability, ease of navigation, design, and even the buying process. Without getting this kind of feedback, you are missing a valuable opportunity to improve your processes, as well as your profits.

Though everyone knows change is inevitable, change within an existing business process or structure can be met with resistance. It is important for a small business owner to ensure that all employees, staff and managers are on board with the decided changes.

Whether you are making structural and process changes due to industry currents, feeling growing pains, or just moving to another location across town, the strategies you use with your workers can make all the difference in the success of your small business. Here are a few tips.

Be Flexible - Not Linear

As an analogy, consider building a new house. Plans are made, blueprints are created, and construction goes from point A to point Z to construct the full house. This is a very linear process.

However, consider a home renovation. The home already exists, so there is much flexibility needed in moving belongings while a certain room is redone or even moving into a temporary hotel while the renovation takes place. Likely, there will be changes to the renovation as additional problems with plumbing or electrical are revealed during the process.

The home renovation process must be flexible, and so must your employees while making changes in your business.

Give More Specifics

When small business owners and top executives make big changing decisions, rarely are the full details disclosed to the managers and employees. This prevents them from doing what they need to do to help change move along.

Don't be afraid to give specifics. Let the folks know what your ultimate goals are. Let them know your vision, and what they need to do to make your vision a reality.

Help Your Team Commit to Change

It's not enough to announce that change is going to happen. Be the coach for your employees, staff, and management team. Listen to their concerns and let them know your concerns as well. Dialogue is important throughout the change process.

However, also be an enthusiastic coach. Give praise for work completed. Keep your employees focused on the goal, and don't forget to reward your team for a successful transition.

A company with a few employees does not have much need for experienced executive management. However, a small company with 50 to 100 or more employees may be on the road to becoming a large company and need the experience and guidance of a top qualified CEO, CFO, COO, and other executives. But how does a small business find the right talent for these important positions?

Utilize LinkedIn

Social networking has grown to the point where it is a useful executive recruiting tool. The social site, LinkedIn is a top place for people to connect and network. Experienced executives will place their detailed profile on LinkedIn, which usually contains as much as a resume or CV, and even more.

Through LinkedIn, you can build relationships with other people as well who can refer you to good executive talent through their networks. Be sure your small business has a LinkedIn account, and keep it updated.

Use Your Networks

Besides using the social network route, don't forget to use your own network. If you have a board of directors, have them stretch the word about your executive need to other companies with whom they work. Talk to your vendors, your suppliers, business partners, even your customers. You never know where you might get a good executive recruit, and with strong word of mouth, you have a better chance of getting the right candidate with the best qualifications.

Contract an Executive Recruiting Firm

This could be a crucial step in your search for the right executive for your small business. Executive recruiting firms have a wide database of potential experienced talent from across the country. Many small businesses without a large HR department find that this type of central talent brokerage is the right alternative to making a search in-house.

A recruiting firm utilizes a creative methodology using the criteria you provide. Much like a dating service, they can match up the right people for the right job.