Free tools for marketing and managing your biz in tough economic times
Yesterday I was privileged to give a presentation at the first Marcshoret conference in Jerusalem for marketing professionals. I wasn’t able to attend the whole event, but from what I could see Paula Stern and her crew at Writepoint did an excellent job putting a high-level, professional event together. You can see the program here […]
8 Bootstrapping Tips That Will Cut Costs Today
The following is a guest post by Heather Johnson. Her details are at the end of the article. —————————– In order to maximize sales and improve marketing tactics, each small business must learn the fine art of bootstrapping. There are many ways to cut costs in order to leverage your assets. Some of these methods […]
Google Adwords vs. Dapei Zahav (Yellow Pages)
Small businesses have small marketing budgets. In a previous post, I listed 5 low-cost ways to market your business. Two of the methods mentioned were advertising on Google Adwords and Dapei Zahav. Since bootstrapping businesses need to ensure that every advertising dollar is justified, I decided to conduct an unofficial study comparing Google Adwords and […]
20 Things You Should and Should Not Do Before Starting Your Small Business
Dane Carlson lists 20 Things Not to Do Before Starting A Business. While I agree with some of his points, I disagree with many others and think that if you follow them, they will either hinder the growth of your business, or get you into trouble. Dane’s point was to help entrepreneurs bootstrap, but it […]
Business magazine predictions: take them with a grain of salt
The media exudes an aura of authority. They write and talk like they are experts and know-alls on whatever topic it is they are discussing at that moment. And many people refer to the media for their knowledge on many issues; how many times have you heard someone say “But I read it in the […]
6 tips for cleaning up your computer (for Pessach)
With Pessach around the corner, many people are busy scrubbing their homes to rid them of all signs of chametz. In honor of this season of cleaning, here are 6 (mostly) free tips on housekeeping for your computer that anyone can do to keep it optimized and in good health: Antivirus program – make sure […]
Smile if you pay more taxes
Unquestionably, there is progress. The average American now pays out twice as much in taxes as he formerly got in wages. – H. L. Mencken (1880 – 1956) I recently became bit despondent about the state of my business. I felt like I was taking one step forwards, and one step back: every time I […]
Self-Employment and Maternity Leave: Part 2
In Part 1 of this series, I wrote about self-employed women and the issues facing them when trying to get proper compensation from Bituach Leumi/Social Insurance. However, a self-employed mommy faces another significant dilemma after giving birth: how can you just stop your business for three months? Can you afford to lose clients? Running a […]
Business Plans: What are they good for?
Business plans are considered standard fare for the budding entrepreneur. Business mentors and guides will tell you that you must have a business plan in order to succeed. Even if you aren’t looking for funding or loans, and even if your business already exists, they will tell you that you must put together a business […]
New Category on illuminea blog: Bootstrapping
I am a big fan of the bootstrapping business approach. I am also a big-talker, since I was forced into bootstrapping by circumstances – investors weren’t knocking down my door, and banks weren’t handing me cash. I was a bootstrapper before I even realized that this approach had a name. At the beginning of my […]