Archive for July, 2007
Monday, July 30th, 2007
The Pet Economy
Summary of BusinessWeekOnline’s article, “The Pet Economy“, August 6, 2007.
Dogs and cats, once family pets for kids, are now popular among empty nesters, singles, and couples without kids. This shift in pet owners is important because, without kids in the household, they have money to spare.
Pet Trends
63% of American households (71 million homes) have […]
No Comments » - Posted in Micro-Biz News, Trends by Ricki Steigerwald
Tuesday, July 24th, 2007
Minimum Wage Increases to $5.85 per hour
Today, the US Federal Minimum Wage Law of 2007’s first increase takes effect. This puts the minimum wage at $5.85 per hour.
The other two steps in minimum wage increases take place on:
July 24, 2008, $6.55 per hour
July 24, 2009, $7.25 per hour
Note: Your state minimum wage law may be higher than the Federal standard.
Resource: […]
No Comments » - Posted in Micro-Biz News by Ricki Steigerwald
Thursday, July 19th, 2007
Simple Image Editors
PC Magazine released an article on July 11th on Simple Photo Editors.
Most of us only need the very basics in image editing for our photographs and images we use on business websites and in publications.
In my virtual assistance business and for personal use, my tasks include the following:
Resize photographs for printing and use in publications.
Removal […]
No Comments » - Posted in Business Basics, Computer Setup by Ricki Steigerwald
Monday, July 16th, 2007
Review of Accounting Software
It is important for a business, no matter how small, to use accounting software. Not only does it give you more detailed information such as charts and financial statements about your business’ finances, it also gives your business integrity with banks and the IRS.
PCWorld’s Mailbag column recently released an overview of four different accounting […]
1 Comment » - Posted in Business Basics by Ricki Steigerwald
Friday, July 13th, 2007
iPhone: Power of Word-of-Mouth
Who hasn’t heard of the new Apple iPhone?
Not many. AND most of it has been free. If you google “iPhone” you will find it as a topic on many blogs, forums, and other Web 2.0 sites. It has also been an article in most major newspapers.
This is the magic of the Internet. Apple’s iPod is […]
No Comments » - Posted in General Marketing by Ricki Steigerwald
Friday, July 13th, 2007
New Permit and License Requirement Tool
Business.gov has released a new tool to allow businesses to determine what licenses and permits they need.
Along with this tool, the site is a great resource for businesses to determine what they need to do to be compliant with the government.
No Comments » - Posted in Micro-Biz News by Ricki Steigerwald
Friday, July 13th, 2007
New Seven Wonders of the World
Just like the dinosaurs are no longer considered slow moving and cold blooded, the Seven Wonders of the World no longer include the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty.
Using an online poll with over 100 million votes, the new Seven Wonders of the World, as announced in Lisbon on July 7th, are:
The Great Wall […]
No Comments » - Posted in General by Ricki Steigerwald
Thursday, July 12th, 2007
Consumers Take Longer to Purchase an Item Online
There is a of buzz about a new report by a new ScanAlert Study called “Digital Window Shopping: The long delay before buying” (get a free copy).
The study says, on average, a consumer takes over 34 hours to make an online buying decision (up from 19 hours in their 2005 study). This is significantly […]
No Comments » - Posted in Micro-Biz News, Trends, Web Marketing by Ricki Steigerwald
Thursday, July 12th, 2007
Free Holiday Marketing Calendar
Are you looking for a calendar that contains holidays of multiple countries that you can use for marketing?
AWeber posted such a calendar on their blog. The calendar is in both HTML and iCal format for easy loading into your PIM.
No Comments » - Posted in General Marketing by Ricki Steigerwald
Thursday, July 12th, 2007
Make Your Return Policy Visible
In a recent Harris Poll, 91% of those interviewed said a store’s return policy is an important factor in making a purchasing decision (San Francisco Chronicle, “Customers want rules of returns clearly spelled out by merchants,” July 4, 2007).
A return policy was created to give customers the guarantee that the display models they see in […]
