Small Businesses in Canada are continuously running out to their local retail office store to purchase their computer supplies and accessories for their business. This practice is great for those businesses that need an ink cartridge or some DVD’s to backup their data, however, it is not the best practice for them to run out to purchase their next notebook computer or computer system.Today’s small businesses are often purchasing the wrong computer system for their business. Many times when meeting with small businesses during my travels and inspecting their existing infrastructure, we are still finding many Windows XP Home or Media Centre computers that they have purchased for their business at the local retail office supply store. The sales people at these locations may lack the business technology training to properly understand what a small business needs and how business affects technology investments. The small business world is definitely different from the home or SOHO marketplace.The business decision maker is often upset when the IT professional has to pass along the bad news that their existing systems need to be upgraded or the operating system replaced when they hit that critical point in their business that the need for a server in their business is identified. Computer Professionals that focus on small business often struggle with this daily, the need to inform the business owner that their existing systems will not be able operate effectively in a Windows domain with a home based operating system adds additional stress to their daily job.The original reason why they went to purchase their latest computer at the retail store was perhaps the immediate gratification of getting a computer system that they can use today or out of urgency that they need something immediately. Small Business today, needs to start planning their technology investments wisely instead of spontaneously purchasing or impulse buying. This is where the Microsoft Small Business Specialist can assist them to ensure that they are investing in the right computer systems to allow their business to thrive with the right technology solution.Where can small business turn? Business owners must find a trusted technology provider to assist them before they run out to the local office supply store. Microsoft has a great website for business owners to find that trusted resource at http://www.microsoft.ca/smallbusiness. An experienced small business specialist understands what a small business requires and will recommend the correct solution, even if they do not have a server today, a small business specialist has the skills to plan for the future. The Microsoft Windows XP Professional and Vista Business Editions are what a small business needs to ensure that are ready for grow, so when the day comes that they need to invest in their first server, they can purchase the server and it can easily fit into their existing investments.What prevents the home or media versions from working in business? These versions of Windows were developed with scaled down functionality to work in the home market or to work with your entertainment systems, sure they will run all the software that you purchase for your business, however, they lack critical business functionality like logging into a Windows domain network, file synchronization and they lack the additional security features found in the Professional and other business editions of Windows XP and Vista.The Small Business Specialist community needs to continue its effort in educating today’s small business marketplace to ensure that they are investing in the right technology solutions for their business needs. Small Business consultants can leverage the Business Assessment Toolkit to paint the picture for the small business on their exact needs and ensure that they are investing their dollars wisely in technology.

Even though it seems as if almost everyone dreams of running a home based business, not everyone has what it takes to succeed with a home based business. There are certain attributes that you should have if you want to have a higher opportunity for success with a home based business.

There is no doubt about the fact that you need to be a hard worker if you are going to succeed with your work from home business. A lot of people see a work from home business as a way to get out of the 9 to 5 job work frame. The truth is you will have times when you are up very early and working very late to make your business a success. You will find that there are times when you need to work on weekends and perhaps even on holidays. You cannot be intimidated by hard work if you want to run a home based business.

It is important to be a highly motivated individual if you are going to run a home based business. You need to keep yourself on task no matter what line of work you select for your business. There will no longer be a boss telling you what to do and what to do it. You will need to be able to keep yourself motivated to succeed as well as anyone you might have working for you.

Determination and optimism are important if you want to work from home. Many businesses will fail and those that don’t will have times when business is not good at all. You need to use determination and optimism to ride through the bad patches so that your business can excel. Do not give up hope the first time things do not go your way with the new business. If you believe in yourself and your business, you have more opportunity for success.

People skills are important if you are going to operate a home based business. Anyone who is going to run a home based business must be able to have the best possible communication skills. If you have people working for you, you want to be able to motivate and inspire them. It will also be necessary to communicate well with your clients. As a business owner, you will want to have the people skills you need to keep customers satisfied even when things go wrong.

Although not all home based business owners are organized, it is beneficial if you are. Being organized will make it less likely to make billing errors and other errors in your business paperwork. You are less likely to miss deadlines or to misplace items you need to provide clients with the intended products or services. If you are organized you will be able to stay on task and to make plants for the future of your business.

Creativity is also an important attribute if you have a home based business. You want to have the creativity necessary to offer products and services that stand out from products and services offered by your competitors. You want to find creative ways to attract customers.

The attributes listed above are very helpful if you want to have a successful home based business. If you have some or all of these attributes, you could be well on your way to success.

Online marketing has become one of the essential media tools in promoting new or existing products and services, and at the same time, reaching out consumers from any corner of the world. Online advertising has become the centre of attraction to business owners. The reasons behind this are that online advertising is cheaper compared to billboard or usual advertising, all of this for the fact that large target audience can be covered at no time. This leads to more chances of interacting with people who are actually interested in an advertised business.

Various types of online marketing

Even for experts, it is very difficult to identify which is the best online advertising method. You can choose any of the following methods according to your preferences and goals. The only thing you need to understand that whichever method you will use, it should reach your targeted audience. Your method of advertising and content of the advertisement should be such that it not only generates attention but also convinces customers to purchase your product. Here are some various methods of online advertising:

Article marketing: this type of method is commonly used when you want to run your advertisements for a longer period of time.
Search engine optimisation (SEO): this comes on the top of the list when you need quick and fast results. It is one of the best methods for online advertising and helps your business get entry in the global market easily.
Pay per click advertising: this is relatively a favourable method to do advertisements online.
Forums
Link exchange
Banner advertising
Affiliate advertising
Email advertising
Online classifieds advertising
Others: also there are other methods of free advertising i.e. giving advertisements on social media sites, like Facebook and Twitter.
Whichever method of online advertising you choose, it will definitely bring good results in the promotion of your products.

Various rules of online advertising:

1. Set objective of the advertisement: in your advertisement, your objective should be clearly defined. Your message should be precise and clear in your advertisement. You can easily reap maximum benefits of your online advertisement campaigns if you know how and what to advertise to reach out to your audience.

2. Decide “where” to put your ad: you should be clever enough to acknowledge the best site where you can put your advertisement. You have to do a little research to find the best site for the promotion of your product. You can consider online yellow pages, search engines, Service Provider directories and other large web sites.

3. Be creative: tailor and mould your message according to your target audience. Use the language that appeals them the most. It is equally important to present your idea according to the mindset of your targeted audience. This step needs creativity and will make your advertisement outstand in the market.