Author: Amo

Time Magazine has put together a collection of the 50 coolest websites of 2005!

The full list can be found at:
http://www.time.com/time/2005/websites/

Turns out Donald Trump doesn’t just have an online university, but he also has his own blog – which gets plenty of comments, heat and feedback *sniffs*

Link: http://donaldtrump.trumpuniversity.com/

Of all the Internet buzzwords, E-business is perhaps the most mis-understood. We see e-commerce every day. From e-bay to Amazon, e-commerce allows the consumer to buy, sell and pay for products and services online. We also see e-marketing from search engine results, from e-mail lists and viral marketing campaigns.

But what about e-business? What is it, and why should you care?

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Here are a list of great questions, openings and closing statements that you can use in your business.

Ive taken most of these from Guerrilla Negotiating, and the 250 Sales Questions to Close the Deal;

1. What were your goals for todays meeting?
2. What is your main objective?
3. Before we get into any depth, can I get your agreement on the analysis? Will you look at the facts and decide for yourself if they make sense?
4. How do you plan to achieve that goal?
5. What is the biggest problem you currently face?
6. What other problems do you experience?
7. What are you doing currently to deal with this?
8. What is your strategy for the future?
9. What other ideas do you have?
10. What role do others play in creating this situation?
11. What are you using now?
12. What do you like most about it?
13. What do you like least about it?
14. If you could have things any way you wanted, what would you change?
15. How will this affect the present situation?
16. What would motivate you to change?
17. Is there anything else youd like to see?
18. How much would it be worth to you to solve this problem?
19. What would it cost if things remained as they are?
20. Are you working within a budget?
21. Just out of curiosity, how did you get to that figure?
22. Are you working towards a particular deadline?
23. How soon would you like to start?
24. When would you like to take delivery?
25. What do you see as the next step?
26. Who else, besides yourself, would be involved in reaching a decision?
27. On a scale on 1 to 10, how confident do you feel about doing business with us? What would it take to get it up to a 10?
28. If we do X, do we have a deal?
29. Have you ever worked with a company like ours before?
30. When should we get together to discuss this again?
31. What else may be prohibiting us from moving ahead?
32. Have I covered everything? Is there anything I am not asking?
33. Is there anything else youd like me to take care of?
34. It makes sense to me what do you think?
35. Why dont you give it a try?

Meg Whitman, CEO of eBay, is listed as the #1 most powerful women in business, according to a list prepared by fortune.com

“The empress of eBay still rules Silicon Valley. Though the stock has had a tough year, down about 30%, revenues and profits are strong. To keep eBay expandingit now has 68 million active usersWhitman has gone shopping, buying seven new businesses for more than $1.3 billion. Up next: the controversial $2.6 billion acquisition of Skype.”

The list also includes, Anne Mulcahy – CEO of Xerox and of course, Martha Stewart – Founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.

See the full-list of the 50 most powerful women in business

Are you stuck drifting through life in a state of existential confusion wandering aimlessly through the multitudes of energy products not knowing which one is the right one for you? Then look no further for the true meaning of life then Master Sensei Seagals Lightning Bolt Energy Drink!

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Oh and it gets better, Steven Seagals Lightning Bolt is available in 2 great juicy flavors! Cherry Charge brings you the great taste of freshly squeezed cherry juice, while for those of you that desire a slightly less sweet drink can partake of the true Asian Experience. Either way, you still get a powerful bolt of energy delivered into your body that Steven Seagal precisely blended for lasting maximum performance. So get ready to take on the world with new meaning with Steven Segals own Lightning Bolt Energy Drink!

Features:

• 100% Pure Steven Seagal Juice
• Designed for intense mortal combat or any extreme situation requiring ultimate energy
• Can has Steven Seagals face on it (who could ask for more!?!)

Specifications:

• Size: 16oz Can
• Servings: 1.9 Per Can

“Dear sir,

I recently saw your website, read some of your articles – which I think are very well written, but the thing is – I run a very small business and I don’t think any of the things you say are actually practical. Running a small business is time-consuming and it’s expensive, I don’t have the time or money to “think big” – how can a small business think big on a small budget?”

That’s a great question.

Thinking big is seen by many as something done by big companies, by marketing gurus, by people who write blogs – or people who may or may not have had the experience of actually running a small business.

I know from personal experience that running a small business is time-consuming and it can be very expensive to run, to operate and yet still have the time/money to think big.

Think big doesn’t mean “Oh I can do this too, and I can add that” — most businesses don’t have the capacity to do more than what they offer or provide – what think big means is how you can deliver more, how you promote better, how you work smarter.

The most crucial aspect of thinking big that people forget is — “is it actually practical?” — “can we actually do this” and “how do we do this?”

A bad example of thinking big

Recently a colleague of mine had a great street-smart marketing idea to promote resturants – he thought big about how to promote it, about “catching the big fish” – but once I asked “how do you actually deliver it?” he stared blankly – as if it were somebody else’s job to help deliver it.

If you say you can do a particular job and then can’t actually deliver it, that’s not thinking big at all – it’s called “winging it”.

Thinking big must be practical – sure shoot for the moon, think about going nationwide, think about going global – think how much you can make and think about how many contacts you will see — but always think “okay, this is the idea – how do we actually deliver it”

So, getting back to the question — how can a small business think big on a small budget?

Well, think big on low-cost ways of marketing, and promoting your business… think big on attending at least 1 or 2 networking events, and put a budget on it and ask is the investment worth the hassle.

It might be that you can’t do it, or it’s too expensive or the risk isn’t worth the investment – you can always do it later, you can always downsize your idea or do it bits.

To think big doesn’t mean you think without rules, without a budget — all you need is an idea and know how to deliver it – be it advertising, promotions or marketing.

In short, a small business *can* think big – simply choose one area you want to think big, be practical about the idea, then shoot for the moon!