Website Design in Parramatta and Western Sydney

Tuesday, March 15th, 2011

Ever since I moved out to the western suburbs of Parramatta and further west, I have been getting some interesting feedback from businesses. I shouldn’t say all but quite a few businesses were under the impression that websites were something that business in the eastern suburbs of Sydney required.

Although there is some truth to that point, the overall argument is incorrect. From what I have seen, some of the products and merchandise in the western suburbs are much cheaper than what you would find in stores near the Sydney CBD. Prices of products is only a single reason of the many reasons why people search for businesses online, but i could comfortably say its one of the more important reasons why people search for products online.

No matter where you are in the world, whether your are selling a products or maybe your selling a service. Any serious business who is wanting to come across as professionals in their respective industry should have a website. By showing your website to your customers and potential future customers, you are virtually telling them that your business is here to stay.

So, the next time you’re considering the potential of what a website can do for your business, think about all the sales you could be making by using a website as a viral marketing tool.

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Starting Your Own Virtual Assistant Business

Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010

Here is in extract from Lia Harman’s blog Day2DayVA.

Step 1:  Do your research
There are a lot of great resources out there for aspiring VA’s. You can read articles, undertake courses, the amount of resources available can be overwhelming. To help you cut through the mountains of information available to you, here are a couple of websites that I trust, that you should check out for information on becoming a VA.

A Clayton’s Secretary:  www.asecretary.com.au
The Australian Virtual Business Network:  www.avbn.com.au
Virtually Yours Virtual Assistant Network:  www.virtuallyyours.com.au

Step 2:   Determine your strengths
The most important thing to do is to figure out what you want to specialise in. Too many people decide to become a Virtual Assistant and then realise that they don’t have the skills to complete the work that they have secured. Think about what you have done in your full time employement, what your skills are, the level of technology you are comfortable using, and most importantly what you enjoy. Once you know what you want to do as a VA, it will be easier to win clients and deliver results.

Step 3.   Set up your business
You need to talk to your accountant on the best way to set up your business. But in addition to that, get everything organised BEFORE you start advertising your business.

- Develop your website. As a VA, we exist only due to the technology that is available to us. So make sure you demonstrate that you have embraced that technology by having your own website! It doesn’t have to be too complicated, even just a simple Wordpress blog or Vista website that outlines the services you provide, and your contact details.

- Design a logo and choose a business name. Having a logo gives you an element to use throughout all of your business and marketing materials, and it shows a level of professionalism.

- Order your business cards. There is nothing more unprofessional that telling someone what you do, and then not having a card to give them. How do you expect them to rememeber you? Make sure your business card is clean and simple, it includes your logo and business name, your name and contact details, and don’t neglect the back of a card – there is a lot of space there to use to include a few points about the services you offer!  See Vista Print for free cards and other marketing materials.

- Set up your invoice template. Whether you do your invoices in Excel, MYOB or Quickbooks, make sure you set up a template that again includes your logo and business name. Having a consistent look and feel throughout all of your business stationery, business and marketing material is so important, and shows that you have attention to detail and a level of professionalism.

- WRITE A BUSINESS PLAN. If you don’t know what you want to achieve, how are you going to get there? There are a lot of business plan and marketing plan templates available online, so do some research and write a plan. Work out your rates – what do you need to charge to achieve your goals, and is this going to be achievable? If you need to charge a higher hourly rate, make sure you have the point of difference that is going to sustain this!

Step 4.   Join some networks
The main way that I get new clients is through word-of-mouth, and that’s because I spend time networking. Both online and face-to-face. So join a few VA networks online (refer to the websites I listed at the top of this blog post), and check out your local Chamber of Commerce, or business networking groups in your area. And make sure that you always have your business cards with you when you attend networking meetings!

Step 5.   Promote your business
Now that you’re ready to go and you have your business “front of house” in order, it’s time to look for some clients. Networking is one way, but there are others. Join some job leads groups (again refer to the above websites). Figure out the kinds of businesses you want to assist, and directly target them through mailings, emails, telemarketing etc. Have an information pack ready to send out to people, either by post or email. Set up a Facebook fan page, and a Twitter account for your business. Check out LinkedIn. Promote via some free business directories that are available. There are thousands of free or inexpensive ways to promote your business.

For the full article please visit: So you want to be a VA?

http://www.day2dayva.com.au/

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Using the right Browser for the right job.

Saturday, May 15th, 2010

Today as I was browsing newspaper articles on Google I came across an article by PCWorld titled “Work Around Browser Crashes and Lock-Ups” by Rick Broida.

“…try a different browser. If IE’s giving you trouble, try Firefox. If Firefox doesn’t work properly, try Google Chrome. (Heck, throw Opera and Safari into the mix. Any “different browser” will do.) The idea is to pin down the problem: is it browser-specific, or something affecting your entire system?”

It was this part of the article which caught my attention. It’s true, most people should really try out the different browsers available on the internet to see which best suits their surfing behaviour. What I mean by “surfing behaviour” is just another of saying “the types of websites that you use on a daily basis”. This behaviour can vary from corporate styled websites which only accept Internet Explorer, to multimedia styled websites where Firefox takes advantages of it superior plugins archive. At the same time, a browser like Google’s Chrome can open some javascript heavy websites much quicker than any other browser out there.

Be warned, being too adventurous in the kingdom of Browsers can be dangerous. Installing too many browsers with not enough reputation can lead to leaving your computer vulnerable. No matter what their names are, these browsers are software applications just like anything else in your operating system. Some certain browsers which aren’t as popular as Firefox, Chrome and Internet Explorer can potentially have flaws in their coding which may give access a hacker to your computer.

My personal suggestion for staying safe would be installing 5 of the most popular browsers at most (of course this suggestion isn’t for those who have advanced knowledge in IT/Browsers).

Work Around Browser Crashes and Lock-Ups

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Creating a blog under 2 minutes time

Sunday, April 11th, 2010

Blogging has been a popular term for many years. Many of us have at least one blog whether it’s being regularly updated or merely collecting virtual dust. It’s interesting to see that more and more business owners are starting their own blogs and keeping their clients informed through it. But there are still people out there who are terrified of the whole concept.

In this tutorial I will be showing those who have always wanted to create their own blogs, but never got around to it, how easy / simple it is to make one.

1. Goto http://en.wordpress.com/signup/

2. Fill out the details of your account

3. Get your own mywebsite.wordpress.com address free of charge.

4. Check your email to activate your wordpress account.

5. ENJOY!

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What Is Your Business Websites Worth

Friday, October 31st, 2008

It is a widely known fact that business that mainly own websites are usually middle sized or bigger. The obvious reason for this would be:

  1. They have more money to spend on a website.
  2. They have more time and resources to further develop their website.

Although these two reasons are somewhat true to most small businesses, but they aren’t obstacles which can be easily overcome by. Most small businesses would actually be happy if they had a sudden surge business where they can work for longer hours and put more effort into their business.

On the other hand, there are a small group of businesses who have taken a leap of faith and have invested in a website. Where they have also forgotten about their website as soon as it was developed.

Now, I would like to educate as many business owners as possible the idea that a website is not:

  • A digital brochure
  • A digital business card
  • A decoration

A website can be seen as either a business all by itself or as a selling tool. Those businesses who get their business website developed and hope their website magically generates an extra 50% of their business, in a short period of time understand the mistake they have done. Websites only become successful only if their owners continuously improve and promote the websites they have.

Whether you’re already a website owner or whether you’re planning on getting a website developed. The more effort you put into your website, the more it will multiply your profits and bottom line or else it will just do nothing and you won’t get the best value from the money you have invested.

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How To Know If Your Website Is Designed Well

Friday, September 26th, 2008

Over the past week or so, I couldn’t help but notice the lack of design with some websites. It is important for business owners to take notice of the quality of their own websites. One doesn’t have to attend to Tertiary Education in order to judge if a website has been designed well. So what to look for when evaluating the quality design of your website?

  • Make sure that the information that is portrayed on your website is easy to read.
  • Don’t go overboard with images unless you’re really trying to impress you customers (on the other hand you can actually scare them off at the same time).
  • Be precise when it comes color selection and make sure your websites’ color matches those of your business.
  • Understand your customers want and need of your customers and make sure it’s easy for them to use the website.

Designing a website can become a complicated process, from branding process all the way to information architecture. But, by applying the information given above to your websites evaluation will give you a fairly good idea whether your business website is fit to challenge your business competitors website.

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5 Good Reasons Why Each Business In Australia Needs A Website

Friday, September 19th, 2008

Over the past decade, average Australian users have become more familiar with the use of internet at their homes and/or offices. Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has been providing us with valuable information with this trend of percentage of Australian homes using a computer and internet.

Other than factual statistics provided by ABS, it is a well know information that websites have evolved from the basic idea of a digital catalog to way more complicated and function websites. In this Era of technology, users are preferring the luxury of their home whether they’re looking for a specific information or wanting to get a specific task accomplished.

This new trend/breed of people are demanding for more services and information, especially from small to medium sized businesses. Knowing this, businesses are in a rush to grab onto this new opportunity to grow their business.

If you’re still not convinced why each business owner needs a website, have a read of the following 5 reasons:

  1. In 2006-07, of estimated 11.3 million people who accessed the Internet from any location, 61% used the Internet to purchase or order goods or services for private purposes.
  2. The 2006-07 MPHS indicated that in 2006-07, 64% of Australian households had home Internet access and 73% of households had access to a computer.
  3. Over the years from 1998 to 2006-07, households access to home Internet in Australia has quadrupled from 16% to 64%.
  4. The internet will grow six times faster than traditional media between 2006 and 2009 and increase its share of the ad market from 5.8% to 8.7%.
  5. ZenithOptimedia predicts adspend to overtake radio in 2008, a year earlier than the forecast in December.

If all of this information is still not enough to convince small businesses, they will soon realise their urgent need of a website when more and more customers start asking for the business website.

Abbreviations
MPHS: Multi-Purpose Household Survey
ABS: Australian Bureau of Statistics

Sources
http://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/subscriber.nsf/0/DFEED0F4BFFE51E0CA2573B6001F777B/$File/81460_2006-07.pdf
http://www.zenithoptimedia.com/gff/pdf/Advertising%20Expenditure%20Forecasts%20%20March%202007.pdf

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Mac or PC? The Ultimate Question!

Monday, August 25th, 2008

Mac or PC, in this article we will look at the battle of the operating systems where we all probably have asked ourselves the question if we should switch to use a Mac or stay with PC. Now it’s safe to assume that majority of computer users are currently using windows operating system (and probably will be for many years to come). But people in general are becoming unsure whether their loyal enough stick with Microsoft’s operating systems or to switch to using one of Apple’s operating systems. Now, I have to admit, I had to go through the decision making process myself (and it was quite tough). It’s difficult not to get involved with the hype that “Apple products are cool”, we all have enjoyed apple ipod at some stage (it’s a great product right?) and we automatically assume that the quality of the Apple brand will automatically pass onto it’s computers.

Are PC users not cool!?

At this stage, some of you might think of me as a bias PC user… but wait! It’s true that we probably have been forced to learn the windows operating system by force since it was the most common type of computers available to us when computers started getting popular. On the other hand let’s see what Apple have been doing recently! Ever since the launch of it’s Apple ipods, Apple has been implement a genius marketing plan and all of a sudden Apple has become “New” & “Cool”, although Apple has almost been around as long as Microsoft. Apple has been creating TV advertisements portraying Windows Vista as a boring business person where Mac is a “Hip-Hop” style cool cloted guy. I personally thought that the commercials were funny and enjoyable… but here’s what happened when I urgently needed a new laptop.

Alrite, let’s leave all the bias aside and asses things by facts:
Fact1: I had an urgent need for a new laptop during the past 7 days.
Fact2: I did thorough research on each type of computer by both assessing it physically and online.
Fact3: The laptop I purchased cost me under $2000 AUD where in comparisson, an equivalent would cost $4500 with an Apple Macbook Pro.

And Then… What Happened?

I ended up buying a Toshiba Satellite A300/U01 which has 2.53GHz Intel Centrino 2 Core 2 Duo CPU in comparison to Apple’s 2.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU. Where Toshiba has a 1 year on-site pickup Warranty, you have to purchase AppleCare Protection Plan for $579.

Conclusion

On a final note, Apple users have always been proud of the lack of viruses on Apple computers have had, hence the reason why they all felt great security they have had. The reall reason why Apple computers haven’t had so many viruses is due to lack of users. Here’s an exampe how insecure Apple computers can be “A security researcher won $10,000 for hacking a MacBook Air in just two minutes. Rubbing salt in the wound, he said Apple’s operating system was the easiest of targets.”, read the full artice here:
http://www.infopackets.com/news/business/apple/2008/20080402_mac_hacker_wins_10000.htm

SideNote

These are just my thoughts, becareful on making the decision if you’re switching… do your research well and you should be fine.

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