Business Information for Entrepreneurs by an Entrepreneur

Small business owners have an important task when it comes to their small business website, including choosing the right web hosting company that fits all the important requirements, such as budget, speed, customer service, etc. Alas, sometimes it is necessary to say goodbye to one hosting company and start again with a new web host.

But what is involved when you are ready to change your web host? If you are a small business without an experienced webmaster, you may want to heed the following steps to get your small business website on the right hosting server.

Choose Your New Web Host

First, it is important to choose the correct host. If your current web host is not meeting your business needs, do a bit if research. There are plenty of "Top 10" small business web hosting reviews online that can give you a comprehensive idea of a web host's price, service, and features. When you find the suitable host that fits your small business website requirements, make your purchase.

It is recommended that you buy at least 12 months of service, but no more than 24 months. Many web hosts will attempt to get you to pay for 3, 4, even 5 years of service in advance for a lower price. However, one or two years still allows you to change the web host in the near future if necessary without losing money.

Backup All Web Files

Be sure you backup all the current web files that are used on your current web host. You should have these files backed up in your own server. Double check that you have everything.

Inquire if the New Web Host Has Free Migration

Some web hosts will provide "free migration." This is a great help to get your web files set up properly on the new host. If your host offers this service, be sure to take advantage.

Upload Web Files to New Host

Once you have purchased a new web host, it is time to get your small business website files onto their servers. One way is to simply use the provided account access software, also known as the control panel. This process uploads just a few or even one file at a time and can be a long process. But smaller websites with fewer files can manage this process fine.

If you have a larger website with many pages and files, consider using a FTP client software. This software is usually for purchase, but the interface allows the user to access two servers (or hard drives) at once, and transfer files in bulk. It's quick and easy, and is also a godsend when your website requires frequent updates or maintenance.

Double Check All Navigation and Outside Links

After your files are uploaded, your website is still not "live," meaning your domain is still pointing at your old host. But you can access your website using your host's server URL. It may look like this:

http://NewWebhostingCompany.com/~yourwebsite

Using this "backdoor" access, you can test that all your small business website files have been uploaded and in their proper folders, and assure that all links are working properly as well.

Point Your Domain Name Server (DNS) Setting to New Web Host

When you are ready to go "live," you need to point the DNS to your new web host's servers. Your new host will provide you with the proper nameserver information, and there are usually two of them. You will need to log on to your domain registrar and input both Nameserver1 and Nameserver2 and save the settings. It usually takes up to 48 hours for this domain "pointer" to become active.

Double Check Your New Host is Live

To make sure that your small business website is "live" on your new web host, you can easily upload a special note on your homepage that is only on the file uploaded to the new host. When that note is seen when you type in your URL domain, then you know the change is complete.

Cancel Old Hosting Account

One important thing to mention is to never notify your old host that you are changing hosting service, or close your account before the change is complete. Some hosts may practice "dirty business" and shut down your account before your new account is live.

However, once your domain is properly pointed to the new host, go ahead and contact your old host to let them know about your cancellation. Be sure that if you set up an auto withdrawal type of payment, it is turned off as well so they do not try to improperly charge you.

As with any business process, you need to understand the pros and cons of each method so you can make better business choices. Social media is a relatively new form of marketing, and it has proven effective for both small and large companies. However, in order for social media marketing to be effective for you, know what it is you want from it in terms of payoff, and know what you are willing to give up in terms of resources and allocation.

To get a better idea of whether social media marketing is right for your small business we present a list of benefits and cons related to business use.

BENEFITS OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Wide Reach of Target Market
When it comes to finding an effective marketing channel, social media offers you the potential to reach hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Facebook alone touts over half a billion users. Twitter has over 100 million active users each day.

Using the classic sales conversion of about 1% to 5% of sales from marketing efforts, you can see that with such large numbers, you can increase the number of buyers for your product or service. But you must make the efforts to reach your target audience of each social media channel.

It's Free
Social media sites allow you to create an account for free. Posting to those accounts is free. And free marketing is always a good thing.

But even though social media marketing may not cost you dollars out of your coffers, you still need to approach your marketing strategy as if you were paying for it.

Better SEO Ranking
Search engines have become one of the most popular ways for customers to find the products and services they need. With a few simple search words, your business can pop up on search results...and you have found an instant customer.

Now that major search engines like Google and Yahoo! have access to search content on social channels like Twitter and Facebook, you can improve your SEO through the updates you post on your social media accounts.

Improve Customer Relations
Social media has proven to be a successful way for any size of business to build and maintain customers. It gives you an opportunity to engage with customers with your interactions. Why do you think it's called "Social" media?

Through your social media channels you can spark discussions, obtain market research data by asking opinions and feedback, improve how you handle complaints and returns, and even form positive strategic relationships with other businesses.

Positive Branding
Branding is an ongoing marketing effort. And while branding through regular marketing channels can be challenging, you can easily improve your business identity through social media. That means using your business name, logo, and slogan on every social media account. It also means getting your business name in front of the right people, or your target market, so your business is more recognized.

CONS OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Time Consuming
By far the biggest disadvantage to using social media as a marketing channel is the amount of time required to make it successful. While any marketing effort requires time and effort to make it work, social media is unique in that you must maintain practically a daily effort to write posts and updates, respond to comments, and review results of previous updates.

Time Waster
Another disadvantage is the fact that whoever does your social media management could get "sucked" into the time warp of these channels. It is amazingly easy to read all your followers' & fans' updates, follow links to outside websites, etc, and find that 3 or 4 hours have mysteriously disappeared. You must maintain discipline in your time commitment in order to make social media work for your small business.

Lost in the Crowd
Another big complaint that small businesses have about social media is due to the sheer numbers of people and businesses using them. You can easily get lost within the millions of other commercial accounts and find it difficult to gain visibility to your target market. But again, social media requires you to form a sound strategy and review results to improve your efforts. That is the only way you can avoid getting lost among the cyber world of social media marketing.

It's easy to have a business vision. However, when it comes to getting your small business vision on paper and having a prioritized strategy to realize that vision, it takes a little more effort than just daydreaming.

Whether you are trying to determine a priority for your overall business goals, your yearly business strategy, or simply setting up a daily goal planner, here are some effective strategies you can use to set up the proper priority.

1. Take Time To Set Your Goals

   In order to establish an appropriate priority list, you first need to set your goals. Most business owners, whether of a small business or large corporation, will set up a strategy planning session before the end of each year in order to set up this list. It doesn't have to be end of year, but could be any time before your fiscal year.

   Regardless of when you plan, make sure you set up a top priority to get your business strategy in place. Brainstorming business goals isn't easy. To help make it a priority and keep everyone on focus, some business owners even set up a weekend retreat for managers. Do what you need to do in order to get this top priority done.

2. Put Absolute Musts First

   In setting any small business goals, there are things you should label as Absolute MUSTS. These are the goals you must accomplish in order to continue your success and achieve your overall mission.

   These types of goals may include:

   • Acquiring new investors
   • Obtaining a business loan
   • Completing new product development and/or release

   These are just ideas of the big plans you may want to put ahead of everything else. That way, you can set up a high priority project so necessary delegation and baby steps can be assigned.

3. Do the Easy Stuff Now

   After you have your Absolute Musts prioritized and in process, you can then focus on the rest of your goal list. The next priority should be anything that you can do in 10 minutes or less right now.

   Take a look at your goal list. Do you see anything that you can pull from the list and get done right now and take only a few minutes? Don't wait - do it now! It will shorten your list immediately, and help give you a sense of instant accomplishment.

4. Do What is Enjoyable

   Set up your remaining priority with a preference for those tasks that you think would be most enjoyable. For any entrepreneur, there are certain tasks which he or she liked most about starting the company. It may have been developing the software, promoting and selling the product or service, or even inventing the product itself.

   Take a look at your remaining list of tasks and goals and find the ones you think would be the most enjoyable. The sooner you check them off the list, the better you'll feel.

5. Prioritize by Importance

   Another strategy to help prioritize your small business goals it to arrange them by importance. This is one of the most popular methods of prioritization that became popular with the Franklin Planner, now called the Franklin Covey. This is a method developed by Stephen R. Covey in his popular book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

   Using this method you will assign each task or goal a number or letter in order of importance. You might use "A" or "1" for high importance, and lower letters and numbers for lesser priority goals. This way, you have a clear list of which goals need your top focus.

6. Prioritize by Category

   Another option for prioritizing your small business goals is by category. Set up your goals in lists of categories such as "financial", "product development", "Expenses", etc. This way, you have a list of priorities at your fingertips for the category you want to work on.

Setting your small business priorities can take some work. But using a strategy, even one or more strategies presented here, can help you form a priority list and knock down those goals one by one and keep your small business on track.