Meet Featured Diva Sharon McMillian

What goals did you set for 2010?

To successfully launch my brand new business for women like myself who have little time but life experience, energy, and interest in running an online business. My new company is a service offering affordable on-demand, 24-hour access to marketing and online business management tutorials specifically for e-entrepreneurs. The company is called the Small Business Academy (www.smallbusiness-academy).

Are you carrying over any New Years Resolutions from 2009 into 2010?

I’m not carrying over any New Years Resolutions from last year. I’m a 20-year veteran of the marketing and public relations profession. I started a new business in 2010. I also ran a successful business writing service where I wrote speeches, advertisements and articles for small business owners. I closed that business in 2009 to direct my time to starting up the Small Business Academy and providing marketing services to one major client.

Do you have any unfinished business carried over from 2009? If so, what is it and how do you plan to handle it? If not, what advice do you give to others when it comes to completing tasks?

I have no unfinished business from 2009. The advice I would give to others in this regard is to break big projects up into small tasks, and short timelines.

When someone does business with you what are some things you hope they take away from the experience?

• That I made their business needs and concerns a priority
• That I produced the outcomes they were promised
• That I was pleasant to work with
• That I’m a proactive professional – I bring ideas and solutions to my clients
• That I or my team ALWAYS respond quickly to queries

Where can we connect with you? Website(s)? Blog(s) email address
You can connect in the following ways:

My business website: http://www.smallbusiness-academy.com
My personal blogs: http://www.newurbanmom.com and http://www.momsprimeyears.com
My email: newurbanite@gmail.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sharon.mcmillan
Facebook fan page: http://www.facebook.com/smallbusinessacademy
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/sharonmc
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/sharonmcmillan

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Website Marketing Ideas

If you’re a woman with an online business, you undoubtedly know the challenges you face in getting the word out about your product or services.  One of the best resources I have found is Social Networking sites like Twitter and Facebook.  Some people do tend to overdo it when it comes to their business promotions, however, if you draw them to your website, that’s the first step in turning a prospective client into a keeper. 

Here are some tips on marketing your website

1.     Broadcast your website like a phone number .

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   • Include your web address on all printed material (brochures, stationery, business cards, and press materials).
   • Include your web address in your email signature file.
   • Include your web address in your Yellow Pages listing and in other advertisements.

2.      Entice customers and prospects to visit your website again and again.

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   • Update your site regularly.
   • Add new features to your website regularly.
   • Revise your site’s Meta tags; to make it easier for search engines to find. (Your website developer can embed codes that the search engines use when indexing your web page.)
   • Offer Internet specials, such as discounts for orders placed online.
   • Host a discussion group on your website with customer comments and questions.
   • Add small photos on opening pages that expand to full-size pictures only when clicked. (This saves loading time.)
   • Tailor your choice of web features to your target market – just like you would with any other form of communication.

o        Regularly view your competitors’ websites. Learn from what they do right and from their mistakes.

3.     Use your site for sales and customer service.

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   • Use shopping cart software that allows customers to shop and order online. The software also provides instant feedback of total costs, including tax amounts, to your online customers.
   • Have a secure website for Internet sales.
   • Provide a street map to your business location on the Web. (Customers can print it out.) If you have multiple locations, find a way to let customers know which location is most convenient for them.
   • Provide forms on your web page that can be completed and submitted online for customers’ convenience. (If inquiries are allowed in the forms, respond to them promptly. Most web users expect a response within 24 hours.)
   • Create a link to your email on every page in your website. That way, if something on the page sparks a customer’s response, you’ve made it easy for them to “talk” to you.
   • Make sure your customers can find you by searching with keywords. Check how easy it is to locate your site using various search engines.
   • Check your website using various versions of browsers and types of computers to be sure it loads quickly and correctly. Get business associates and friends to access your site and tell you how it looks.
   • Provide a variety of ways for online customers to contact you: by email, phone (800 number), fax and mail.
   • Offer an online newsletter. This could be an electronic version of a printed newsletter you already publish, something entirely different, or a combination of the two.
   • Feature some interesting history or suggestions about your area of business.
   • Offer to include photos sent by your customers showing them using your business.
   • Create a sense of family among your web page readers.

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Find Your Next Job Online

In today’s economy, some women have decided it might be in their best financial interest to go back into the Corporate World as opposed to trying build upon their Entrepreneurial spirit.

Despite the gloomy picture being forecast by the media, there are jobs out there but you just have to know where to look.  One avenue is through online business networking.  That’s right.  Web communities like LinkedIn and Facebook are changing the way employees are being hired.   LinkedIn, for example, offers professional profiles, the networking component, an answers section and company profiles. These features can help jobseekers find jobs or perhaps meet someone at a company they have targeted in a job search.

Networking is about building relationships, and online networking can make strengthening connections surprisingly easy. 

If you prefer not to network, you can also find job opportunities through other websites such as careerbuilder.com.  As a matter of fact, I found this job recently:

Bloomingdale’s is seeking a Creative Project Planner for Bloomingdale.com.  The primary responsibility for this position is to manage the workflow of the Creative Department and across several departments to insure successful delivery of projects. You will create, manage, update and enforce project schedules.  To learn more visit:  Careerbuilder.com

Xerox is looking for a PR Communications Specialist in Norwalk, CT.

Responsibilities include:

?  Coordinate communications activities that range from developing press releases and developing media outreach plans to assisting with special events and the production of corporate publications.

?  Produce multi-media forms of communication to tell Xerox’s stories via video, podcasts, blogs, Web, and more. Identify areas for Xerox to turn up the volume through social networking, like Facebook and Wikis.  To learn more, check out PR News Online

With each passing day, it seems as though the way we do business moves further away from the traditional.  That’s why it’s more important than ever to brushen up on your computer skills so you won’t miss out on a great opportunity.

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