Posts Tagged ‘ebusiness practices’

Profitable Business: Government Grants without the costs

Friday, January 23rd, 2009

Government grants are a very nice way to obtain capital for your business. The award is supplied by tax-payer funds and you are not required to repay the grant; unless it is determined that you are not performing the tasks for which the grant was awarded. Do not fall into the trap of thinking the grant award is “beer money” or for that long awaited vacation. The grant award requires service and or research to be performed in accordance with the grant’s purpose.

We have all heard about business models that will guarantee to find you a government grant. I addressed this issue in another post stating that if they could guarantee a check, why not accept a finders fee in lieu of monthly, recurring payments? I still have not found a plan that will do just that; however, here is the URL for obtaining government grants: http://grants.gov.

The information contained on the web site is sparse. However, the web site is an excellent place to start in order to determine is any of the grants are applicable to you and your business. Now, there are people who do not want to be bothered and find the costs associated with the various online grant programs acceptable. Remember, time is money.

Government grants are constantly being added and removed from the list. Grant search providers can be worth the cost if they are finding you grant money and not just taking your monthly service fee. Applications for government grants also take time to process, so you will be paying a monthly service fee while you wait for the grant governing body to determine who will receive the grant.

Enjoy your quest for e-business success and remember, E-Business Juncture is here to help you along the path. Take the time to perform research. Successful business and e-business is built over time.

Mike Kniaziewicz, MIS

Good ebusiness practices for vendors

Thursday, August 14th, 2008

Looking for a growing niche in the economy to grow an online business? Look no further than your neighborhood. Many small businesses are looking to examine the opportunities presented by the Internet and e-commerce; however, they do not have thousands of dollars to spend on software and hosting plans. That is where the small business entrepreneur enters the picture.

The sole proprietorship offers the small business person the opportunity to explore e-commerce without the higher costs of larger organizations. There are some basics to remember when dealing with the small business person:

  • The small business person does not understand the Internet and e-commerce. This is a very important concept to remember, because many small businesses will create requirements that conflict with the purpose of a web page. Flashy ads should be kept for print advertising and not constitute the entire page.
  • Do not make promises you cannot keep. Take for instance the small business person wants to place a short video clip on his or her web site. Do not promise to perform the service only to find out they want you to create, edit and present the video. Up-front pricing is another good method for avoiding conflicts.
  • Validate all materials. Validation will ensure the web page is viewable in ALL browsers and not ostracize someone using an older version. Remember, viewers of a web site are customers.
  • Justify your expenditures. Do not supply the small business with tools they do not need or cannot work on their own. It is not fun to receive a call at 2 AM from a customer because he or she cannot figure out how to make a change on their site. (Remember: Many small business owners are going to expect you to support your work 24/7 and do not want to pay an hourly rate for you to make modifications.
  • Present the small business owner with ALL the materials. A problem with many information technology providers is insecurity. Holding back passwords and account information may result in a court case as the small business owner sues you to obtain the information he or she purchased from you. If you are worried about the small business person making a “mess” of their web page, then place in the “Rights and Responsibility” a clause that explains to them you will only restore the site to the way it was presented to them when first posted.

These are just a few of the more important aspects to remember when dealing with the small business person.

Thoughts?

Mike Kniaziewicz, MIS