Websites
The most important thing about having a custom website built is that you know why you want/need it and whom you’re trying to attract to it to gain business from.

It is comparable to the need for a business plan or mission statement. It is a part of business success. Being clear about how the website will serve your business will insure a more quick and satisfying completion to the project.

The current design trends and technical standards are followed and this is part of what is different about using a pre-done, template compared to a fully custom website. Careful consideration is taken in combining the message of the site, technical structure of the design, color scheme and the overall look and feel of the custom site to unfold the visual story of who the company is and what you offer.

Custom Graphics
In most cases when graphics are needed for a printed piece of advertising, logo or website, the process begins with understanding the final message that needs to be conveyed. The natural flow of text and images is the intention of ‘good’ graphic design. The graphics should enhance and assist the message, not stand out from it.

Niche Marketing
The question asked, “Are you a small fish in a big pond… or a Big fish in a small pond? refers to niche marketing. Do you specialize in something? Are your products/services geared towards a certain industry, age group, income bracket? If people want to find what you offer, what categories or keywords best describes what you offer/do?

The fear of ‘not succeeding’ drives business owners to the point of increasing the amount of things they offer or do but in so doing they become the small fish in the large pond. These are the types of considerations that should be addressed in a business plan. Who is your customer? is the basis of your future business.

Advertising to fewer groups of people costs less. EX. A product or service offered only to people who own horses allows you to focus on advertising in certain publications, on certain web directories and at certain events.

Photography
The use of photography in any form of advertising can assist in the information being given or the mood it portrays to the viewer. Since so much advertisement is displayed before all of us as consumers, a photo, or collage of photos, may be the one thing that stirs the interest and causes a potential customer to take notice of the product or service offered.

Branding
The term “branding” refers to an identity or experience conjured by a product or place. Identifying with Starbucks as your brand of coffee or enjoying the relaxation and comfort of a certain spa or hotel; this is the branding these products and places have succeeded in establishing.

What experience or identity does your product or service stir in your customers?

At a point in time when products are at a surplus and are easily accessible, how will you set your company apart and keep your products/services continually sought after?

* Change Your Thinking….
‘Combining your intelligences”, no other person has the exact life experiences, business experience, set of skills, different types of knowledge, as you. Use all of it in a combination toward your business efforts to conjure the confidence to push you towards success. Once you’re clear about what you’re offering, who it’s for and how you’re going to do it, it’s the confidence that will bring you more customers, referrals and overall success.

** The “E” Myth
Another important issue to address with your business is, are you building a business that can be duplicated? Could you sell the business you own today because it would be profitable for someone else to run it? This question speaks to understanding your role in what you’re doing. Have you put processes in place that can be followed by someone else? Are you the manager or the employee of your business?

* Book: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life
Brian Tracy

** Book: The E Myth Revisited
Michael E. Gerber