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Websites have long since been regarded as one of the quickest ways to get your company name, service or product “out there.” And the relative ease with which you can set up a payment processor and even a method of shipment for your products, being in business online need not take long or be complicated.

But having a website that does all these things is only the very tip of the iceberg. You still need a source of past, present and future customers. And this is where an Internet business consulting firm can help.

You might be wondering what exactly, Internet business consulting is. Simply put, it is training, either singularly or in groups that specifically focuses on way to increase your visibility and profits online. But how is this accomplished?

An Internet consulting firm will first meet with you to discuss the present state of your online endeavors and what goals you want to achieve as well as timeframes in which to achieve them. Once the company has a clear understanding of where YOUR company wants to be, they will start coming up with a plan to help get you there.

The Internet business consulting firm will take a look at your company site as a whole, including copy, graphics and structure and will make recommendations based on what they find. This can include changes to the presentation of the site as well as to the sales copy. The structure may be changed as well, to permit better usability for customers.

If there is a need for training, the consulting company will also provide that. It may be included in fees you’ve already paid or may be an ongoing weekly or monthly session. Depending on your company’s needs, there may be training in copywriting, graphics for the web, or even training on setting up profitable Google AdWords campaigns.

Another thing that an Internet business consulting firm should be able to do and do well is search engine optimization. This is the key to your company’s success online. Given the proper information, the firm should be able to put together an SEO campaign that will uniquely position your company in the marketplace and give customers solutions to the problems they face. An effective SEO campaign includes elements of psychology, salesmanship and mentoring. In short, the firm you choose should be able to explain your prospects problem, solution and be able to position your company as the expert in the field.

An Internet business consulting firm should be able to handle all aspects of your site as opposed to just sales copy or graphics. What you want to look for is a company that will not only handle these two things but will go deeper to include things like effective paid and free online marketing, how to effectively target the proper market and of course, training when needed. In short, look for a long-term, stable working relationship as this will benefit both your company and the consulting firm for years to come.

All of us at one time or another have experienced the loss of a job, being in transition or just plain don’t like the job we have. It’s a tough situation to be in but it also gives us the opportunity to reflect on what we can do differently in getting what we want from our next venture.

If you happen to be floating along in one of these less than desirable situations, let me challenge you to do some radical thinking – have you thought about ditching a job search altogether and creating your own job? Self-employment is the hottest trend according to U.S. Labor Statistics and nonprofit grant writing consulting lends itself beautifully to working from home, making money and contributing to society’s improvement.

I started my own grant writing consulting business as a desire and need to be a stay-at-home working mom. There were just a few things that I needed to happen. One, I needed to make money. That was a given. Second, I wanted flexibility to work my job from home. And, three, I still wanted to contribute to the good of society by continuing my work in nonprofit.

In order to be a successful grant writing consultant, I realized quickly that I was going to have to get five tools working for me. These are very important and they’ll work for you too. Think of yourself as the mechanic of your career. And what does every mechanic need? Tools! Get these tools into your toolbox and see the success that follows.

1. Have confidence in stepping outside of your comfort zone. No luck securing the job of your dreams? Try something new and different by working for you. Thousands of others (including yours truly) have taken the leap and never looked back. Everything and everyone has a starting point. If it’s something you’ve been wanting to try, don’t waste any more time. You don’t ever want to look back and say “I wish I would have…”

2. In becoming a grant writing consultant, first learn correct grant writing techniques that will win grants. Well, duh, you might say. All I’m advising is that you pay attention to who you place your trust in in learning the cornerstone of your new business. Remember that guy with the question mark suit that promised a bunch of free money from the government? He’s an example of who to avoid. Also, read and learn everything you can about this skill. There are many reputable folks that you can learn from. And, practice makes perfect like with anything else in life. Remember the first day on your current or last job and everything just seemed so new and strange? You get over that. For those of you with experience in grant writing, yay!, you get to skip this step and move on.

3. Build and sustain meaningful relationships. This holds true for just about everyone you come into contact with in your business. Get to personally know the folks at the offices of the grant funders that you’re making application to. Like you, they put their pants on one leg at the time and they’re there to help. Take an interest also in really getting to know the nonprofits you serve. Don’t just tell them what you can do for them – actively engage yourself in finding out what matters most to them. Not only is this a polite way to do business – it consistently attracts clients that pay you.

4. Effectively market yourself to attract clients. There are two ways to market yourself as a grant writing consultant – locally and virtually. And, no, you don’t have to be an aggressive marketer to attract potential customers. As a matter of fact, my personality just lends itself to a more soft-sale approach. I advise my clients to hang out where the business is. In this case, it will be where nonprofits gather. If you’re interested in working locally, check out your local chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals ( http://www.afpnet.org ) and attend some meetings. All potential clients! Marketing virtually, of course, means establishing a website and connecting via social media for more clients. There are nonprofit groups on LinkedIn to engage in discussion and Twitter and Facebook are also good starting places.

5. Become known as the go-to person. You want to become known as the balm that will soothe your client’s pain. In time, you’ll learn to use speaking and other communication means to your advantage to establish this reputation and become a respected fixture in the grant writing world.

So, there you have it. If you’d like to learn more about the first steps in beginning your own career, be sure to visit my website and download a FREE copy of “You Can Become a Grant Writing Consultant.” You might also be interested in my step-by-step instructional program GRANTcoach – taking you from a grant writing novice into a successful consultant.

Here’s to Your Success!

When starting up a business, you may be overwhelmed by all the things that need to be done to get you off on the right foot. From setting up your computer, protecting it, setting up a method to take (and give) payments, your website, learning accounting software (or getting an accountant), it can be a lot of work just to get things started right.

Once you got it all set u, you might be tempted to do the website, content, and everything else yourself. This is the worst possible thing you can do, as you can’t be an expert at everything. The key here is to stick to what you do best and get a small business computer consultant to do the rest.

What do I mean? If you’re expertise is in golf, you would want to be writing up content related to your specialty. What you shouldn’t be doing is trying to learn web design, programming, keyword research and the like.

This is where small business computer consulting firms can be of great benefit, as they will be able to objectively look at your business and help you design a plan to get your name out there.

Another key here to look at this as an investment instead of an expense as you are using the firm to help grow your business over time faster than you would be able to do by yourself.

A good small business consulting firm will be able to take your vision and translate it into actionable steps and milestones to be followed on a daily basis. From keyword research, to setting up the structure of your website, and even content creation, a consulting firm can save you time that would normally be spent trying to learn it all and getting frustrated as a result.

One key thing to remember in order to forge a long term relationship with your firm is that they are a consulting firm, not employees and as such deserve to be treated as equals and with respect.

Another key thing to be aware of is that the consulting firm in question are experts at what they do, and should be listened to very carefully as the suggestions they make are specifically designed to help grow your business.

Avoiding time wasters in business is not as hard as you might think, for as soon as you realize you cannot do everything yourself and hire a small business computer consulting firm, you will see your stress level reduce and your profits and exposure rapidly increase.

One of the first things that businesses do to eliminate costs is cut services. But cutting computer consulting services could be a mistake, especially if your business depends on a properly managed IT system. In some cases, an improperly managed system will show signs of ineffectiveness before it presents major problems, while in others its mismanagement is immediately obvious. In either case, having a consultant on your side is key to correcting the problem and moving on with business.

Four Signs That your Company Needs Computer Consulting Help

Regardless of your company’s age or line of business, a mismanaged IT system could cause it problems ranging from small inconveniences to major pitfalls. Below, we list four signs that a business needs to consult with IT experts.

1. Spam Makes Accessing Legitimate Emails Difficult

For businesses, spam flooding typically results from (a) the malfunction of an onsite spam filter or (b) a spam filter with improper settings. Spam floods can range from moderate to severe, with a filter malfunction often resulting in thousands of spam mailings per hour, making it difficult to access legitimate emails amid the spam. If your business experiences a moderate to severe volume of spam, consulting with IT experts can offer affordable solutions for making your business inboxes spam free.

2. Your System was Anonymously Hacked

Hacking is the one problem that no business expects to encounter. But when it happens, it can result in everything from sensitive data theft to the theft of customer financial information, an event that effectively destroys customer confidence. Whether you’ve experienced a purely malicious attack or one that accessed sensitive information for gain, consulting with an IT expert about improving your firewall protection is the best move.

3. Data Theft Occurred from the Inside

If companies don’t expect their data to be stolen from without, they certainly don’t expect it to be stolen from within. But just as foreign parties can be lured by the financial prospect of possessing your information, so can familiar ones. In fact, statistics show that the theft of corporate data happens more frequently from within than from without. If you don’t have a client side firewall that protects against information theft from inside of your network, it’s best have an IT expert implement one as soon as possible.

4. Your Data is Only Backed Up Onsite

While there’s nothing wrong with backing up data onsite, backing it up only onsite could pose serious threats to its preservation, and ultimately the preservation of your business. Research shows that companies that lose their information typically close their doors within a year after the loss, an event that could result from fire, flooding, natural disasters, or physical theft of hardware. If your information is backed up only onsite, consulting with an IT expert about offsite information back up is one of the best security decisions you could make.

When looking into areas of management, a management consultant might be the right idea for you whether your business is big or small. All businesses have weak spots and a management consultant can often advise you on what steps to take to make the weak points stronger so that your business not only stays afloat but prospers as well. They will give you suggestions based on their years of experience in the field that they are consulting in. This advice is invaluable, as without this help, your business could flounder then close, if the weak spots are not strengthened.

Another thing that a management consultant can offer you is a plan that is constructed to assess any trouble or problem spots that your business may have. They are invaluable for that information alone. They also can act as mediators within a company in order to settle disputes. This maximizes the profitability of the company as well as gets and keeps the lines of communication open to the fullest ability. A consultant can also help you with ideas and putting those ideas into action for higher profitability. One of these consultants can also spot trouble with leadership.

This will allow for a fast resolution of the problem. Consultants can also take on problems, which allow employees to be able to focus on learning their own jobs and takes the burden off them to find the problems in question. They can also update your technology in order to keep your business up to speed in the Digital Age. This is a godsend in today’s market, especially when you don’t know how to speed up your business and how to take advantage of the newest technology that is available to your business to move it forwards.

Hiring consultants can help you to do all these things without a strain on your current employees. They can pinpoint things that are going wrong in all areas of your business, from hiring and firing to management issues and everything in between those two areas. When hiring a consultant, you need to hire one that knows everything about the business that they are consulting on. This is important to do as if you have someone that is unfamiliar with the business in general, and then they may not be able to fully utilize all their skills in order to help you with whatever problems that your company currently faces.

Consultants are worth their weight in gold to any business in trouble and the usage of these consultants to increase the business is very honorable as well as being able to profit from their knowledge and experience. These consultants will have your business ship shape in no time at all.