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Ideas for Small Business Networking
By admin | August 13, 2008
Networking for a small business can be a bit tricky, and because it is one of the most important elements of success, one must be careful to do it well. There are many tools out that allow small businesses to make contacts and bring in new customers, but those tools need to be used well. Trade shows, the chamber of commerce, local events and business cards are all excellent ways to help your business reach a wide and diverse audience of customers and even potential investors.
Trade shows are an exceedingly useful way to help people in the same field as you to see why your company is special. At a good trade show, countless businesses that make the same types of products as you will be present. This is your chance to show people why they should pay attention to you instead of their competitors. Time well spent at a show will allow you to make friends in the business that can help promote your products, open the eyes of potential customers and even gain publicity with anybody looking to invest in a small company to help it grow.
However, having a good exhibit at a trade show is not inherently easy. Your booth needs to grab people, and draw them in. Make sure that they are drawn in because of interest in your products, not in something else. In terms of samples and prototypes, be smart. Do not bring anything so valuable that it cannot be seen by a competitor; also, make sure that you keep a close eye out for those who come simply for the free samples. If somebody asks for a sample, find a kind way to ask for a business card or other form of credential. Every trade show has people who come in trying to make away with plenty of free products.
Also, make sure your booth is attractive, and representative of your company. Use colors that fit within the theme of your logo. It is also important to have a sense of energy around your booth. Keep the employees who work it standing, moving around and focused on the work at hand. You must, in every moment, show a passion and enthusiasm for what you offer. How else will you get customers interested in your products? In the end, a trade show can be a great way to network with other small businesses, while also showing how you stand out.
The local and national chambers of commerce are also excellent tools to help you network. Since these places are present to help the economy of your region, and the country as a whole, they are always looking for ways to support small businesses, and help them succeed. A successful business provides jobs and infrastructure that can spur the economy onward and that is what everybody wants. Therefore, continual programs are being run by the chamber of commerce trying to help small businesses grow and expand. Keeping a close relationship with the chamber of commerce can do wonders not only to keep your small business alive, but to help it thrive as well.
A third tool for small business networking is taking advantage of local events. No matter how electronically and internet based your company is, the local community still should be your most prominent audience. These individuals are within reach, and can use word of mouth advertising powerfully to enhance your small business’ public image. Getting your community to recognize you is also a first step towards regional prominence. Therefore, stay on the lookout for large community events, and make sure that you are there. If your town is having a Fourth of July Parade, get your employees together and build a float featuring your products, and how they are representative of the American way. Have a booth at community days as well. Whatever the event is, use it to put yourself in the public eye. Raising awareness is a crucial part of networking.
Business cards are a more personal way of networking. Creating a good business card is simple. Include the important information, a logo and just enough color to get noticed and you are set. From there, however, it is important to use the card well. Only give it to people who are interested, or those who you have a professional relationship with. Post it on bulletin boards in local restaurants and shops as well. Just be careful not to be that person who seems to be in a constant mode of self promotion. That will not help your business bloom. Just keep things simple with business cards, and they can be a great way to network yourself to others.
Being able to get your name and image out is a very important part of running a successful small business. Using tools such as trade shows, the chamber of commerce, local events and business cards is a great way to let people know that you are there in the community. From there, providing excellent service and a quality product will help to ensure that your small business becomes a larger, more profitable one.
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Using the conferencing features of his Cisco Communications Network keeps Magic Johnson Connected to his staff and customers without always having to travel. To learn more visit www.cisco.com
Help answer the question about small business networking
Can someone advise on best internet security suite for small business network set-up?We have a small office set-up of 10 computers and we are connected to a small business server. Currently our network is protected with Sophos anti-virus but would like to know if there are other products available that can provide a higher internet security suite for our network? You can also comment on how satisfied you are with your current internet security provider. Would greatly appreciate your comments. Obviously would like to hear from users rather than sales persons. Thank you!
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Nick Kakolowski is a freelance writer who writes about business services such as ” target=”_blank”>www.printingforless.com/cardsbusinesscards.html”> business card printing.
Topics: Networking | 18 Comments »
August 13th, 2008 at 8:55 am
this is bad
August 13th, 2008 at 9:31 am
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August 13th, 2008 at 10:33 am
this is good
August 13th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
i just hav a question. my family has a linksys router, and were all on the same connection. for some reason, we didnt do anythin, and all of our computers were linked. my printer is an old HP Deskjet, and it doesnt have any ethernet connections, it plugs into my laptop. so my mom wanted to print sumthin from her computer, and wen she hit print, it printed on my printer. i was on a wireless network. one day we all wiped out our drive and lost the network. how can i set it up again? i dont kno how
August 13th, 2008 at 9:39 am
I don't know where your from but here in Ontario we have this thing where the government will give you $3000 + a mentor to start your own business. For young people anyways.
You should do some research and see if you have that where you live.
Good luck!
August 13th, 2008 at 10:18 am
join the local chamber of commerce
August 13th, 2008 at 10:38 am
I think your best move would be to offer both alternatives with regard to VoIP. You could get away with having one centralized server, but if the partnership ever changes – particularly if the partner where all the VoIP equipment is located ever leaves – then it will take some serious work to get things going again. If you put a server at each location it will cost more, but changes will be easier to implement. If you offer them both alternatives then you are doing two things: One, you're giving them a high and low priced alternative which will keep you competitive, and two, you're letting THEM take an active role in the design decision so they can't scream at you down the road if they make a bad decision.
As for the question of subnetting, I'm really not sure why this is an issue. Taking the 10.0.0.0/8 block, you could assign an entire /16 to one office and still have lots of room for growth. Even if you go with one VoIP server, it shouldn't have a problem routing between subnets.
You could also do both. Assign a 10.x.x.x subnet for each office for data and another, say 192.168.x.x (just to keep things very OBVIOUSLY separate) for the VoIP.
Don't forget to consider jitter. You'll definitely want to set up class of service.
August 14th, 2008 at 2:55 am
Nice work. keep it up. mean time come for social media marketing for esteembpo**com
August 14th, 2008 at 6:05 am
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August 14th, 2008 at 9:24 am
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August 14th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
thanx, this really helped, better than my teacher!!!!
August 14th, 2008 at 11:04 am
Definitely! I think social networking can be beneficial for many types of businesses. Depending on your industry, some networks may be better than others, but the best idea is to create good mix of a few different networks with genuine content and interaction. Just creating a Facebook Fan page will not guarantee an influx of avid fans, especially of your business is just getting started. You'll have to consistently update and stay connected with your networks and friends in order to keep them subscribing.
I generally prefer the big names… Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc… I think MySpace has lost it's luster and would only be worth while if you were an entertainer of some sort. Use Twitter to find new customers and clients, reach out to strangers, become part of the conversation – don't just sit back and listen. Facebook is a good place to connect with existing friends or customers. Create an Ad campaign to bring people to your site or fan page. YouTube is where you can showcase your expertise and use the other sites to promote what you post there.
Make sure to incorporate all of your social media profiles into your website so people that already do business with you can promote you there. Don't forget about blogging… if you haven't already been blogging, that can be a great tool for keeping people coming back to your website.
Also, remember more localized websites like yelp.com, craigslist, and other directories…
August 14th, 2008 at 11:15 am
There's NO WAY I'd suggest wireless – it's subject to interference from everything from cordless phones to microwaves and other devices. Further, even when there is no interference, you typically see AT BEST 60% of the advertised performance. So a 54 Mb G router would see perhaps 30 Mbit throughput.
A wired connection using even 100 Mbit NICs would perform better, typically seeing 80% throughput, or almost 3x the performance of wireless. (TYPICALLY – your milage may vary).
I would suggest, if network performance is a top priority, get a QUALITY server with a SERVER CLASS Network Adapter and a MANAGED Gigabit Network Switch. Plug AT LEAST the server into a Gigabit port on the switch – the workstations can do 100 Mbit, though you can do Gigabit on them too (costs will be higher if you use an all Gigabit switch).
Also, you need to pay attention to the server's disk-subsystem. The hard disk has to be able to feed data to the network fast or your gigabit network could perform like a 10 Mbit network. It really depends on what you are needing to use, but the FASTEST disk subsystem will involve a RAID 10/0+1 and multiple 15K SCSI/SAS hard drives in a hardware RAID.
For 24 computers, I would recommend getting Windows Small Business Server 2003. It's easy to manage and provides many features including Exchange at TREMENDOUS discounts over retail prices of non-SBS versions. There are a few restrictions with SBS, but they are not typically going to affect the small business.
For more information on SBS, you can check out my SBS page here:
http://www.lwcomputing.com/tips/static/sbs.asp
Quick Note: I'm 100% in favor of using Linux and other open source technologies – IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCED in using and managing them. If you're not, then your support costs will RAPIDLY eat up any savings on licensing you may realize when you choose open source.
August 14th, 2008 at 11:36 am
Your application is a bit more heavyweight that most.
First, you should use a router to interface with with the ISP. You cannot use the household grade ones. With 5 static IP addresses and an FTP server, etc you need something more robust. Check out http://www.adtran.com for Adtran units. Feel free to contact their prepurchase support and they will help a lot.
I would use the router to interface with Verizon. I would dedicate one static IP for FTP and probably use a dedicated XP box for FTP (rather than risk hackers on my server). I would put the FTP server in the DMZ so the router should be DMZ capable.
I would have the router control the IPSec VPN at the router level as well.
Let the server address LAN DHCP; assign static IP to the router, the server, and probably to print servers and the FTP server.
The router can direct the public IP addresses appropriately but this is a configuration matter – part of the config you need to do. Adtran will help to a large degree.
Because this is heavyweight, you may wish to get technical support locally.
August 14th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
Hi there,
2 thoughts come to mind:
1) Check out your local Chamber of Commerce or Board of Trade;
and also – consider building a web-based business to supplement.
Try http://work-from-home.first411.com
Good Fortune to You!
August 15th, 2008 at 3:45 am
i don’t think that DMZ is the best way how to access your PC from internet. for services such a webserver is better to setup port forwarding and not to leave whole PC open as DMZ does.
August 15th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
Here is a totally different approach to getting a name for your small business performing IT work that is both fun and can involve your friends.
Try this link: http://www.ychange.com/ychangeblog/?p=78... and follow the suggestions.
Good Luck
August 15th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
The Small Business Administration – http://www.sba.gov
also SCORE