HowToDoThings.com Recent Business Articles

How To Get a Personal 800 Number

kushta — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:58:02 -0500

How To Boost and Maintain Motivation

JohnStejskal — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 12:01:40 -0500

How To Protect Your Domain Names From Domain Name Hijacking Scams

VewdoRick — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 13:35:41 -0500

How To Get Organic Search Engine Traffic with Web Page Optimization

VewdoRick — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:03:08 -0500

How To Promote Your Business Through an Email Newsletter

CK - TENFOUR writing — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 17:19:07 -0500

How To Conduct a Patent Search

JimLow — Wed, 07 May 2008 17:17:34 -0500

A patent search can be important for a new product-invention because it can confirm the originality of the idea or reveal that it has already been marketed or protected under a previous patent application.

Following are three steps for conducting your own patent search.

How To Prosper in Any Economy

stchitt — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 14:18:28 -0500

How To Hire the Right Person the First Time

rwagner — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:36:03 -0500

How To Hold an Effective Meeting

CVRAJAN — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 11:57:29 -0500

How To Make Your Kids Good Money Managers

aesta — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 13:54:43 -0500

Often, we hear parents complain how incapable their kids are of handling money, or we see parents endlessly shelling out and teaching their kids that money is an endless resource! We see first semester college kids blowing the month’s allowance on a new shirt and calling home for more. Understanding finance or even basic money management is not on the curriculum in high school. So… it is up to you. If you don’t teach them how to manage money, they will learn… but it will be a nasty experience and make nasty family relationships. Here are some steps to take:

How To Protect Your Computer Data Files

kushta — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 14:02:57 -0500

Do you ever think about what would happen if disaster strikes? In the blink of an eye, all your important computerized documents, pictures and client data would be gone. It can happen. Lightning strikes, floods, theft, hard drive failure, computer viruses and more can result in a loss of information that can be difficult and expensive or even impossible to recover.

Maybe you already backup your data, documents, and photos. But where do you keep the backups? Are they at your home or business, in the same building as the computers you use? The same disaster that might destroy your computers could also destroy the backups. If a large-scale natural disaster such as a hurricane, large flood, wildfire, etc. occurs, even storing your backups in the same city could lead to losing both.

How To Get an 800 Number

kushta — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 11:54:56 -0500

We have all called an 800 number at some point to reach a business, to find out more information about a product or service or to follow up regarding an online sale that we recently completed. Toll free numbers originated in the 1970's to satisfy an internal need that AT&T had, but over the past 30 years, they have grown into a mainstream way to perform business functions, offering numerous benefits to both small and large businesses.

A toll free number can start with 800, 866, 888 or 877 prefixes, and there is a reserve list of prefixes to use if needed by the phone companies, should their current list of available toll free numbers become completely utilized. An 800 toll free number is a phone service that charges the party being called instead of the caller. When the caller dials a toll free number, the call is routed through a switchboard and then to the designated business, charging the business based upon the caller's location.

How To Promote a New Product

JimLow — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 18:26:31 -0500

Launching a new product on the market, to gain sales and exposure for it can be a challenge. The five steps below can be effective when marketing and establishing a new product more effectively.

Packaging. When you put a new product in a package, you want it to be eye-catching so that it tells the consumer exactly what the product is, at first glance if possible. Marketing experts call this “impulse appeal” because the purpose of the product is immediately evident upon seeing it displayed on the store shelf. The packaging should also exhibit the importance of your product, so that the consumer can see their own need in purchasing it. Your product details should be described with as little detail as possible, but in an informative fashion. The packaging should highlight the attributes of your product and also promote the fact that it is easy to use and will add convenience to the consumer’s life.

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How To Lease Equipment

tomwilliams — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 14:09:17 -0500

Leasing equipment is a quick and simple process that, if done correctly, can have an extremely positive impact on your business. It's a great way to grow your business without significantly impacting your cash flow. If the equipment you purchase will help your company make more money, it makes sense to lease the equipment rather than purchase it so you can grow at your desired rate, rather than being constrained by your cash flow. Equipment leasing is a common practice among business owners across the country. Approximately 40 percent of equipment is leased and about 80 percent of businesses lease some of their equipment.

How To Lead an Effective Meeting

dianna_booher@booher.com — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 13:58:18 -0500

Meetings are here to stay, and sooner or later, you'll likely be asked to lead one. Understand the basics of how to conduct an effective meeting and you'll be known as one who gets things done; neglect these basics and you'll only waste everyone's time.

Meet for the right reason. When you call a meeting, know the reason. Skip the meeting if you have nothing special to discuss, if you don't need others' input, if you have already made up your mind about a course of action, or if getting others involved would only complicate your plan. Do call a meeting if you need to present information to a lot of people quickly and you don't want to write it, if you want input from others on your idea, if you want to gain "buy in" from the team, or if you want to motivate and energize the team about an idea. Purposeful meetings resolve issues, galvanize support, and prepare others for action.
Set an agenda.

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How To Make Money Online as a Freelancer

omotoed — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 20:15:33 -0600

Making money in the internet as a freelancer is one of the hardest yet simplest you can ever make money in this world. In this digital age, the internet offers many opportunities to those who are ready to change with time (in other words, those who are dynamic). The following are some of the ways of making money as a freelance.

How To Turn a Second Home into a Fractional Ownership Residence

fractionalownershipgroup — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 15:46:32 -0600

Fractional ownership has continued to differentiate itself from its cousin (time share). Some individuals with second homes in the most desirable locations have asked me how to go about making their home a fractional ownership residence. I figured I would put a “how to” out there and answer many of the frequently asked questions.

Deciding how you want to structure the property. The two most popular options are LLC operating agreements and restrictions.

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How To Get Out of a Cell Phone Contract

bronwyn — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 19:18:15 -0600

Have you ever signed up for a cell phone contract and then later figured out that it just wasn't going to work for you? It's a pretty common scenario which usually ends with the customer paying a huge fee for the "privilege" of breaking the contract. However, there are ways to get out of your contract without losing a pile of money! It may take a little work, but you can usually successfully get out of your cell phone contract.

How To Increase Your Level of Positivity

dereklawsonowen — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 11:50:53 -0600

They say that you are what you eat. You are also what you think. Think positive, hope and wish for positive things and you are more likely to get them in your life.

As an example, imagine walking across a room with a cup of coffee full to the brim, when someone says ‘be careful.' From that moment on, you are more aware of what you are doing and more likely to spill some!

The following 7 ideas have been designed to get you thinking in a more positive way:

How To Make Money with AdSense

shand0 — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 19:55:59 -0600

I 'm sure that you have thought before about making money online or maybe you already have tried some online business strategies provided by many internet business experts. Anyway, I will tell you my plan to make money online using one of the simplest money maker machines in history – welcome to the world of Google AdSense.

How To Start Your Own Internet Business

incitedg — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 20:31:14 -0600

With today’s technology, there are more than ever opportunities to take your ideas and turn them quickly into profitable Internet business. But it's just not enough to have a computer and access to Internet! There are several things to consider before jumping into this new way of making money. Below are some best tips how to increase your chances for Internet marketing success.

How To Do Business in China

lashawn — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 19:20:39 -0600

How To Use a Blog to Build Your Business

stephenc — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 12:27:02 -0600

One of the quickest and easiest ways to build your work from your home business or online business is to start blogging and letting the world know about your skills, abilities and services. We hear the term blogging almost every day, yet only a few are able to take advantage of this channel to get our word out to the world. Here are some steps you should follow to use blogging most effectively.

How To Develop Sales and Marketing Strategies

stephenc — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 17:25:00 -0600

Every company exists for the sole purpose of providing a product or service to the end user. No matter how fantastic a product or service is, you will never be able to sell and generate revenue unless the end user knows that it exists. Also if you are a small or home business owner with a set customer base and you only service those customers, and yet you have no active and ongoing marketing strategy, your business will not grow as much as it otherwise could have. Of course, your existing customers may increase their orders, but without a constant stream of new customers, your business will not grow beyond you and your current circumstance. Here are a few steps you can take to structure your sales and marketing strategies.

How To Encourage a Bad Worker to Quit

cham0073 — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 15:26:13 -0600

Employee contracts vary from full-time permanent work to fixed-term work, home-based work, casual work, hourly work and so on and so forth. Regardless of the mode of working, most jobs typically fall into two main categories. These are full-time permanent jobs and contract jobs. The nature of a contract job is usually time-limited and specific. Even in a full-time job, there is usually a trial period during which an employee is evaluated before a permanent appointment is made. Therefore, labor laws in most countries permit some degree of flexibility for employers to filter good employees from the bad. However, when an employee is made permanent in a full-time position, then there is little flexibility for employers to fire employees or make them redundant. For the purpose of this article, this is the situation that is being looked at--how to encourage a bad worker to quit. Also, a bad worker in this context is one who is underperforming in his or her job.

How To Make Home Businesses Prosper

sinham — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 12:34:38 -0600

Like any other business, a home business can be successful if the proprietor takes the right measures to make it prosper. These measures below will help your home business prosper:

How To Promote the Right Employee

CVRAJAN — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 18:56:36 -0600

As an employer or a manager, you promote an employee for three reasons:

To give more responsibilities to a person who is capable of taking them up.
To put the right person at the right helm of affairs so that the organization is benefited by his services at an enhanced level.
To recognize and reward a person who has contributed to your organization.

Keeping these objectives in mind, an employer must consider promoting an employee in the most objective way. While interference of personal likes and dislikes in promoting an employee can’t be totally ruled out, the following guidelines will be helpful in promoting the right person in a more balanced way:

How To Grow Your Business with a Toll Free 800 Number

kushta — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:49:49 -0600

Most small business owners would agree that they want their businesses to grow. In order to achieve this desired growth, the small business must become recognizable; it must brand itself. There are literally millions of other organizations trying to steal your customers away from you on any given day. One simple method for enhancing your recognition is to obtain a toll free 800 number. Having an 800 number can benefit your business in many ways. Let’s examine a few of them now:

How To Create a Successful Business Plan

kushta — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 12:18:20 -0600

Whether you are planning to start a brand-new business, expand an existing company, or get financing for a business venture, you will need to write a business plan. A business plan not only lends your business a sense of credibility, but also helps you to cover all your bases, increasing your chances of success.

Although writing a business plan can be a lengthy, intimidating project, it is not necessarily difficult. Here is an overview of how to write a successful business plan.

What to Include in Your Business Plan

Your business plan needs to demonstrate that you have thoroughly considered all aspects of running your business. To that end, the standard business plan has nine major sections, covering everything from your business’s mission statement to a detailed financial analysis.

How To Choose an Advertising Agency

donkobes — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 16:00:45 -0600

One of the most difficult decisions a growing business can make is choosing an advertising agency. In choosing an agency, you're choosing a business partner, and a wrong choice can be expensive. Nay, disastrous!

A right choice, on the other hand, could propel you to leadership in your business arena. To guide you through this process, we have created a simple, common-sense procedure, including some practical tips to help you choose the "best" agency for your needs and your budget.

The Relationship

Agency people often speak of the client-agency relationship as a "marriage". The relationship, like marriage calls for:

How To De-Dork Your Management Style

aesta — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 11:28:23 -0600

Management gurus and a barrage of books examine the range of management styles and what makes sense in various situations. On the Internet, you can even test out your management style. There are so many labels and categories coming out now that to just sort out who has a model that makes sense to you takes a lot of time and energy. With too much data to manage nowadays, it is difficult to remember those styles, let alone pinpoint the recommended reaction each time a new situation comes up. Besides, people change and new situations often bring to the surface parts of us we don't even know. So, forget about labels and styles and categories. Let's start with something closer to home and easier to remember... our innate capacity to be management dorks. Remember dorks are made, not born. We can all recover.

Check out your own behavior. As a manager, you are not the King or Queen. You are just like everyone else: Someone trying to do your best.

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How To Have an Office Everyone Can Enjoy

aesta — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:41:03 -0600

Remember, your customers immediately sense a happy, upbeat office when they come in. So making your office feel upbeat and positive not only will make your life better, it is a solid part of a marketing strategy. Now, don't look around and expect everyone else to do something. You should be the key.

How do you go about it? Well......Here are some suggestions that have worked for others:

How To Manage Staff Turnover

aesta — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 11:28:43 -0600

Staff turnover has plagued business since the beginning of time. Imagine Joseph shaking his fist at his son when he decided to leave carpentry for a new venture! A mountain of books and articles have been written. Careers have been scrap-heaped. But sometimes we don't need Harvard...we need hard thinking.

With today's increasing mobility and with the recruitment world becoming more global, the competition for good employees has become even more intense. The competition for new graduates with real competencies has become a bidding war. So managers can no longer say they can easily find people and casually put oil on the revolving door. Yes, you can easily get new cannon fodder, but studies have shown the substantial amount of time and money...and patience..invested in training a new employee. If you can keep your best, your office will be a dynamo.

How To Cash in on Your Assets

primal — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 12:32:45 -0600

Are you feeling the pinch? Facing the prospect of wrapping up last year's presents for Christmas and hoping the kids don't notice? Boosting your spending power can be easy.

How To Generate Sales Leads in any Market Condition

Ron Appel — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 11:38:34 -0600

I am sure that everyone knows that the mortgage industry, especially the sub-prime sector, is going through a rough stretch right now. It's all over the news. Every time you turn around, another company is filing Chapter 11, or just closing up shop. The mortgage industry is going through yet another consolidation, only this time the stakes are much higher.

Many brokers are pulling back on their marketing plans until there are signs of stability in the marketplace. Is this the smart thing to do? Well, it really depends on how well developed your ‘pipeline' is. Brokers that have insulated themselves from the current market conditions by offering a diverse portfolio of financial products are not going to feel the pinch of, say, a sub-prime broker. The sub-prime market is going through a transition right now that is unprecedented in recent history.

How To Welcome a New Employee

aesta — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 13:05:19 -0600

Most often, we just take for granted employees coming in to our offices for the first time. We give a distant smile, say welcome, and then hope they figure it out on their own. We forget that we have established an office culture that may just overwhelm many of the new ones coming in to join us.

There are three things to consider: the work to be done, the culture in the office and our commitment as human beings to reach out to newcomers and make them feel welcome. Here are a few steps to ensure they will feel welcome to your office:

How To Deal with Home Business Taxes

CVRAJAN — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 18:16:07 -0600

Whatever business your are in, the moment you say 'tax', Government is in the picture and anything you have to do with Government, irrespective of which country you belong to, is fraught with rules, regulations, laws, by-laws, registrations, forms, exemptions and notifications.

In a home business, at least to start with, you have to mantle all roles related to production, marketing, public relations and accounting. However, it may not be worth it for you to waste your time and effort on the slippery area of taxes.

How To Renew Your Business Direction

CWeddington — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 12:43:12 -0600

As we aspire to new beginnings and improvements in our personal lives, so must we endeavor in our professional lives. In 2008 professionals must look ahead with even more diligence and creativity to maintain positioning. Here are some very basic-but-necessary pointers that will help steer your business success in the coming year:

How To Come Up with Small Business Ideas

aesta — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 12:29:26 -0600

Small business ideas are sprouting all the time in the market. The market is a very dynamic place that is constantly changing and bringing with it new demands for products and services. One may do surveys or focus group discussions, but often you only have to walk around your neighborhood, observe people, listen to what they say or ask them questions directly. You will be surprised at how much information you can gather by just being there. Here are 5 simple steps you can follow:

How To Start a Business Without Going Broke

plumwine100 — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 12:05:53 -0600

Imagine being your own boss and setting your own hours. Yeah, you can more than imagine it, you can practically taste it. You're dying to launch your own business, call your own shots, and work crazy hours with little to no pay each week, until you line up some paying clients. You already have a unique concept, product or service...now you just need to implement it. If this describes you, then you're ready to plunge into the unsteady world of self-employment. But how do you make the transition from day job to full-time entrepreneur without going broke?

How To Become a World Class Manager

lalittara — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 16:52:56 -0600

Motivating those who report to you to enhance performance levels and ensure 100% contribution at all times is the biggest challenge all managers face across the world. Unfortunately, most management practices and leadership development approaches recommend action on self or self-improvement/change as the best strategy to enhance motivation and engagement levels of your teams. This is not wrong, it's just incomplete and not good enough.

How To Make Sure You Are Ready to Start a Home Business

CVRAJAN — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 12:16:58 -0600

It would be worthwhile to understand that the temperament, attitudes and goals of a "typical Business person" and a "Home-Business person" are not and need not be similar.

When you get into business, making money is necessarily implied. But besides money, there are several things that you should be clear about before venturing into a home business. Since I have been a home businessman for the past 15 years, I am fairly qualified to present my point of view on this matter.

How To Design a Brochure for Your Home Business

CVRAJAN — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 11:39:31 -0600

Your face is the primary indicator of your personality and it makes a first impression on everyone you meet. Likewise, your home business's brochure makes the first impression about what you offer to your customers. It is very important that you take your time to design it, lay it out neatly, check it, edit it, re-edit it and get it reviewed by your confidants before you finally settle on the design for printing.

How To Provide Roll-Out-the-Red-Carpet Customer Service

goldenpen — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 11:03:14 -0600

Your business can become a magnet for attracting great customers. Your ideal customers: the ones who are happy, who spend a lot of money with your company, who return over and over again... Who's your ideal customer and how do you attract them to your store?

To "roll out the red carpet" means "to give a grand welcome to an important guest", according to TheFreeDictionary's idioms reference. So how do you give your guest (customer) a very warm, special welcome? Whether you have a brick-and-mortar operation or a virtual presence, you can use these techniques to raise your level of customer service.

How To Accomplish Your Goals

goldenpen — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 10:49:08 -0600

Puzzled about how to reach your lofty dreams this year? Think of the "Domino Effect". Each step, when completed, begins the next phase. The key is to keep it going!

How To Select an Insurance Broker

Bassey — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 18:07:34 -0600

As with any other professional adviser, it is vital that a company select an insurance broker with whom they feel comfortable in terms of capability, suitability, chemistry and cost. The absence of any one of these vital ingredients will not allow the friendship to grow.

A broker should be viewed as an extension of the company's department and you must allow sufficient time for the selection exercise to be properly conducted.

How To Become a Happy and Successful Entrepreneur

a2yands2n — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 13:24:47 -0600

For all those who are going to become entrepreneurs for the first time and are at the outset of beginning a new venture, keep this in mind: "Money has no value if you are not happy. Be sure to have fun, enjoy life, and take time for yourself." If you are in immediate need of cash, then you have made the wrong decision by taking up entrepreneurship. But if you have enough to live (or more), and want to pursue your dream of doing something you have always wanted to do, then this is the right place for you. When you are going to begin a new venture, you will have to face numerous challenges. I feel that these challenges are the good part of entrepreneurship, as it keeps you alert and boredom-free and more interestingly, gives success its sweet taste. In this article, I attempt to describe the ways to become a successful entrepreneur with an emphasis on ‘happiness' and ‘satisfaction.'

How To Use the USPTO Provisional Patent Program

JimLow — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 18:17:38 -0600

The USPTO "Provisional Patent Program" is a valuable program that allows inventors patent protection for one year while they develop their invention and establish its value, before investing in a more permanent type patent. This is an important way to help inventors have more money available for invention development, rather than having to have more up-front money to invest in their patents, before having the opportunity to test-market their inventions.

How To Sell to Retail Customers: Point of Sale Pricing

goldenpen — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 12:41:37 -0600

Right from the beginning, train your staff to be top-notch retail clerks and customer service reps. Show them how to take control of the sale at the point of purchase, and guide customers along. Be confident, give them assurance, and increase sales for your company. These techniques are designed for your staff members who are ringing up sales for customers. Help your employees, help your customers...which in turn helps you!

How To Sell to Retail Customers: Ideas for Service

goldenpen — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 12:31:52 -0600

Have you walked into a store lately and tried to get some service? Sometimes employees are so busy chatting with each other (or on their cell phones) that they don’t pay much attention to you. They have bad reputations for customer service, and they’ve earned it! Well, don’t let your business get a tarnished image. Get out there and “polish” your customer service by training your employees!