Small Businesses being targeted by online scams

With so many businesses now trading online, an increasing number of small businesses in Australia are being ripped off by online scams. And if you think it can’t happen to you, be aware that many of these online scams are disguised as legitimate business transactions (see case studies below).

According to Victoria Police figures obtained by the Victorian Small Business Commissioner’s office, every minute in Victoria five small business operators are being targeted by online scams.

The Victorian Small Business Commissioner, Mark Brennan said yesterday that on average, small business operators in Victoria were being ripped off between $150 and $1000.

“Victoria is historically a major target for scammers, charlatans, crooks and conmen because we have always enjoyed a thriving small business sector,” Mr Brennan said.

The Office of the Victorian Small Business Commissioner (VSBC) has partnered with Australia’s fraud watchdog the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), to focus on the education and awareness of scams during Fraud Week between 1 – 7 March, 2010.

As a warning to other small business operators, Commissioner Brennan highlighted some recent scams being investigated by his office: Read more

The Value of Pictures on your website

A single picture can already express so many things. We all know this for a fact. As seen in the various forms of media especially in newspapers and magazines, a picture adds beauty to just plain text.

This is also true on the internet. The presence of wonderful pictures make internet surfing fun and never boring. Isn’t it that we easily get captivated first by the pictures we see rather than the text on display? Since most internet users are aware of this, utilizing pictures is a sure way to get readers’ attention.

People involved in any form of business online normally venture into article writing and marketing to raise awareness on their offerings and worthy endeavors to a wider audience. But don’t just simply write articles. Make it a point to create an interesting and detailed author bio with picture as well to go with your article. Read more

How Email Autoresponders can help streamline your Business

Autoresponders are perfect tools for busy business people. In fact, set them up correctly and autoresponders can help you reply to your huge volume of email without even touching your computer.

What is an autoresponder?
An autoresponder is a type of computer program that automatically responds to your emails as they enter your computer inbox.  People will receive an instant response from you, based on the rules you have set for each type of email.

How can you use an autoresponder?
Autoresponders can benefit you in a number of ways, depending on how you like to operate in business:

1. An autoresponder is ideal as an email marketing tool as it is capable of providing important information to potential customers and sending a followup email to them. For business people who need to regularly update their customers with new products or prices as they are released, an autoresponder is ideal. Read more

Ten Consumer Trends for 2010

From ‘urban pride’ to ‘forced sustainability’, according to trendwatching.com, even cautious consumers will crave pragmatic or exciting innovations in 2010.

1. BUSINESS AS UNUSUAL: When the downturn ends, there won’t be a return to ‘business as usual’. This year, prepare for ‘business as unusual’ as for the first time, there’s a global understanding, if not a feeling of urgency that sustainability, in every possible meaning of the word, is the only way forward.

In mature consumer societies, companies will have to do more than just embrace the notion of being a good corporate citizen. To truly prosper, they will have to ‘move with the culture’. This may mean displaying greater transparency and honesty, or having conversations as opposed to one-way advertising, or championing collaboration instead of an us-them mentality. Read more

Home Based Businesses Keep Office Location Top Secret

According to a recent survey¹, more than half of Australian home based businesses choose to keep their clients in the dark about operating from home for fear of losing business. The survey by Serviced Offices International, a provider of serviced offices and virtual offices in the Sydney CBD, found 56 per cent of business owners believe prospective clients are hesitant to work with a business that is home based.

Managing Director of Serviced Offices International, Michelle Mills (pictured) said: “There are nearly one million people running home based businesses across Australia², but it is no surprise that such a large number keep their place of business a secret. Image is very important, especially for a home operator who has to convince customers that home life will not infringe on the quality of product and service provided.” Read more

How to Use RSS Feeds

You may have seen the words RSS Feed many times on websites and blogs that you frequent, but exactly what is an RSS Feed?

RSS refers to Really Simple Syndication which is actually a format that allows a publisher to get updated content on their website or blog with little effort. Sometimes, RSS is also known as Rich Site Summary. Feed formats used in updating web content include news headlines, blog posts, audio clips and videos.

RSS formats have been in existence since 1999 but its popularity soared during 2005 and 2006. Currently, there are many sites that offer a feed of their content through the RSS format. Read more

Effective Ways to Promote Your Name Online

Having a good business reputation is one of the most effective ways of attracting people. This is not only true in the real world but even on the internet. A person who is real and trustworthy as well as one who provides interesting and useful information to web users often gets the most number of followers online.

Whether one is in business or is just pursuing a passion online, what counts most is for a person to establish a good name. Some of the appropriate traits that could help you successfully achieve this goal are honesty, sincerity, respect towards other people, ability to connect or socialize and the ability to persuade. These traits coupled with a dedication to make it in the virtual world can surely reap the benefits.

So how does one go about promoting her name? There are several ways to do it and one is to create a bio that will easily draw the attention of web readers. This can apply to both individuals and organizations who want to raise awareness on what they do. Read more

Online Diva Hollie Turner on the run from creditors

Founder of OnlineDivas.com.au, Hollie Turner (pictured), is currently ducking creditors and a long line of dissatisfied members who are demanding their money back from the women’s networking site.

Australian Women Online has spoken to several women who say they have been let down, ripped off and in some cases, verbally abused by Hollie Turner, who is reportedly in the United States at present and can’t be reached. When reports surfaced last week that the TV program A Current Affair, were interested in doing a story on the Online Diva, Hollie Turner silenced her critics by promising to pay what she owed. Read more

Google Australia offers Christmas stimulus for small business

In the countdown to Christmas, Google Australia is offering a free $100 search marketing campaign for businesses to reach the record number of Australians researching and shopping online this festive season.

Although 2009 was a difficult year for many businesses, recent reports suggest that small and medium enterprises are slowly beginning to recover and Australian consumers are starting to spend in the lead up to Christmas.

The Australian National Retailers Association and American Express Annual Christmas Survey of 1,000 Australians found that 55% of Australians had done some Christmas shopping online in 2009 compared to 45% in 2008.

Further, the Australian Centre for Retail Studies found that 50% of Australian shoppers research their retail purchases online before they get to the store to buy. Read more

10 Ways to Build a List

Doing business the traditional way or online would not be complete without clients or customers. Whether you’re selling a product or service, you will always have to attract people to what you’re offering and encourage them to take action. Generating more clients is a priority for any business and should be done consistently.

There are easy ways you can build your list of regular customers or opt-in list online. You can start with one and then as you get positive feedback, you can try the other methods. Read more

Next Page »