Before I get on to the business benefits let me just say that the personal benefits of setting up my business account were massive. For the first time, my bank started treating me like a real human being! They gave me a special privilege phone number that I can call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and talk to a dedicated account manager about any problems I have, not just with my business bank account but with my normal personal current account too! When I go to the bank, I speak to a dedicated business advisor! It really is a much more pleasurable experience. [More]

So, you've just started a new company, and you've got yourself a shiny new website to go with it - now it's time to sit back and watch the money come flying in, right? Wrong I'm afraid. How will people know where to find you? Do the search engines even know you exist? Can you compete with the competition? You need to get people to your website, this can be achieved through a combination of SEO (Search Engine Optimization), marketing and advertising. Today I'm going to present to you the best methods of advertising. There are many methods of advertising, but not all will be appropriate for all types of businesses - for example a local plumber will clearly need a different form of advertising than a company selling books on-line. Let's take a look at what's available, and who it's appropriate for. [More]

If you have thought about writing a blog (see my previous post on web essentials for reasons on why to write a blog), and need some inspiration or motivation. You should check out this free guide on blogging success. It’s written by a guy who runs PluginID.com – an extremely successful blog site (although not his most successful blog site by far), he earns his money purely through blogging and advertising, and believe me he earns big money and is only about 20 years old. [More]

When thinking about your website for your new start up venture. Before talking to your friendly web designer, consider the following web essentials that you really should integrate with your website. [More]

Last year I had the pleasure of designing and hosting a website for My Pet Friend - a pet sitting company based in Bournemouth, owned and run by Jess Bland. Despite the credit crunch, business is good for Jess so I invited her back to answer a few questions about starting out on her own. Here is the interview in full… [More]

Now whilst you're more than welcome to contact me regarding the design of your new website, there are many many web designers out there who will be willing to help you - despite the fact that you are on a budget. The way to stop them recoiling in horror when you tell them your budget and time scale is to back it up with a few simple things which will help the design process go smoothly and swiftly and therefore keep the cost down. [More]