Style Business

For businesses that can’t afford to or simply don’t want to unnecessarily spend thousands on a full-time office… we offer a physical office address, phone, fax, reception and meeting space access for a fraction of the price.  A New York Virtual Office may be just the solution for you. Find out today with our July 2009 Virtual Office Address Trial Offer for only $12.50 per month.

Within one business day you can open your New York office on Broadway in the trendy Flatiron district taking our advantage of our trial office of US$12.50 per month, for 2-months of service including a physical New York office address with reception and access to meeting facilities.  

During the trial period, you receive everything you would at the standard rate.  Mail handling is available as well as meeting rooms, phone service, fax service, and all the extras!  All the benefits of having a real staffed office (not a mailbox or a fake suite number) without the overhead or headaches.

VIRTUAL OFFICE TRIAL
$12.50 per month for 2-months of Virtual Office. Virtual Office address includes:
-Physical Office address on Broadway with reception and meeting facilities.
-Mail handling privileges including mail-forwarding
-Meeting room rental privileges

For more service details, visit:  http://manhattanvirtualoffice.com/virtualoffice.html

To apply for this offer, simply click here to access the online application.

<em>Offer valid for new approved clients only. Offer may not be combined with any other offer. Not valid on renewals or reinstatements. Applicants must order and have their completed applications approved prior to July 31, 2009. After the 2-months are up, you can opt to renew service. Renewal rates revert to standard rates.

Starting an online business should be simple. There are loads of successful people who have done it. The good news is that the internet has information on every subject including starting an online business. You too can be successful no matter what financial tragedies you have had in the past. Starting an online business is much the same as starting any business. Passion must be used to find things that work for you. Finding a business that is centered around something you love will provide motivation when the going gets rough.

Since 96% of all online businesses fail, you should be careful, determined, smart, and adventurous when starting an online business. Obviously when getting started, avoiding mistakes is key to your success because online mistakes cost serious money and waste lots of valuable time. When starting out the average newbie loses between $1,500 and $4,000. I don’t tell tell you this to scare you. I want you to have confidence that you can be among the 4 percent that succeeds.

In fact, starting an online business can be one of the easiest things to actually do and can easily become a part-time profitable business if you do it right. There are a ton of great books that will walk you through the process. There are a thousand websites dying to sell you their latest “Start An Online Business” book. Most are junk, an absolute waste of your time. But there are a few that really help people succeed online. What these books have in common is that they all recommend promoting other web site’s products and services as an affiliate.

Become An Affiliate

An Affiliate Program is an opportunity where you are paid a commission for every click, lead, or sale you generate from a special coded link. Many People are looking for affiliate residual income programs, part-time online income or income that will enable you to quit your job. You’ll also find online many affiliate sites offer home based business resources, proven success strategies, affiliate marketing solutions and helpful information that will not only inspire you with ideas to start and build YOUR OWN online home internet business, but also teach you how to make an income online.

Before you even get started, you need to decide hat you intentions are for starting an online business. Would you like to work from home and quit your job? Do you just need an extra $500-$1000 per month to make life a little easier? The largest Affiliate network is Commission Junction Commission Junction has thousands of products to choose from. Create a free account. Browse around until you see a product/ service that you can stand behind and prepare to market it.

Conclusion

As I’ve said earlier, starting an online business should be easy. Successful home businesses should be centered on your passion. To be honest, there are many opportunities to make money online. The key is to find something you believe you can be successful with and stick with it until you succeed. Another tip is that you must be interested in the products/ services you promote. If you feel good about your product, it’ll be easy to promote. For example, I recently was introduced to a program called 4 Minute Money I believe in the product so it’s easy to promote it. I invite you to look at 4 Minute Money program as an easy way of starting an online business.

Your online business can have global visibility. But is your message getting across to different cultures as you expect it? Are you able to adapt quickly to global market opportunities you see pop up? Or would you like to know how to quickly target different international audiences, with little investment on your part?

With a little thought and some careful preparation you can have an effective international presence through your current local business. Sure, language skills can help you open doors. But careful consideration to different cultures can give you a great advantage.

Get more business from non-native English speakers

Today there are more non-native English speakers in the global web market than there are native English speakers. And the e-businesses in many foreign language countries is expanding rapidly.

Today you need to know if your sales message is getting through to everyone, everywhere they have a market. You need to nurture communication with each specific cultural market.

A lot of foreigners do speak English. But most don’t. And the people who do speak English as a second language, do not have the same level of understanding as native English speakers do. The problem is your international readers have different levels of English language skills.

Language is only part of the complexity in multicultural communication. There are also the whole set of cultural differences in mindset, in habits, and in other aspects of communication as a whole. Miscommunication in some form or other happens very easily. Sometimes without either parties realizing they are not of the same understanding.

Written English also has its pitfalls in cross-cultural communication. Of course people have more time to understand when reading. But the person writing can’t tell the effect his writing is having on the reader. Is the reader understanding what the writer intended in the first place? Is he even interested?

Step 1 – Internationalize Your English

Avoiding miscommunication requires constant awareness at all stages of communication. The process is fairly easy:

1. Acknowledge constant risk of miscommunication

- Be prepared to be patient and forgiving.

2. Clear communication

- Use plain English; avoid slang and local or national expressions
- Give clear explanations.
- Always go through processes slowly, methodically, logically.
- Give full explanations; don’t assume everyone does things like you do
- Speak slightly above your listener’s level of English.

3. Stay calm – Question your own communication first.

- If your gut reaction is to respond aggressively, keep this in check and respond slowly.
- Do not jump to conclusions quickly.

4. Listen actively to everything.

- Adjust your communication accordingly

The most difficult part is in the beginning, in training yourself to keep this open mindset constantly.

Practice brings you enriching experiences. The more practice you have in becoming familiar with communicating with other cultures, the better you become at establishing and maintaining effective communication cross-culturally.

The first two steps of this process can be applied directly to your written communication. Don’t forget to be even more patient and to communicate clearly when you do get feedback from your readers. And listen attentively to what your readers have to say.

By paying close attention and adjusting your written communication to your readers’ responses you will get your message across better. Your communication with your international clients and prospects will evolve and you will become more familiar with how your business is perceived abroad. You will be in a better position to take advantage of global business opportunities.

Step 2 – Create Localized Websites In English

Developing an international company can be made in steps.Once you get to know your different international markets, you can develop localized websites for individual countries. Cultural differences in non-native English speaking countries are often strong enough to merit adapting your English language website to each country.

This would also give you the time to get to know your particular marketing strengths in each country before investing in full blown multilingual sales and marketing efforts…and making mistakes.

An English language website targeted for the specific needs of each different culture will bring you better results than one main website in your home territory serving the world. What is considered polite in one country can be offensive in another. What is considered normal sales practices in one culture can come across as a very aggressive intrusion by another culture.

The best way to quickly grasp what makes your international clients tick, is to be interested in them. Have a look at some of their local websites. Don’t worry about not understanding them. Just notice how different they look in general. How do the graphics affect you? If there is any audio online, what is the general sound? Try to identify different tastes.

Be interested in reading about anything from that particular culture. Ask questions. Keep an open mind. Show your interest. And then listen to any feedback you have from your clients.

Before long you will see recurring questions. You may even be able to identify misunderstandings as they arise. Return to your website and try to answer these questions simply and clearly.

Adapt each localized English language website for your message to be understood as best as possible by your native readers. This will limit the risk of cultural misinterpretation as much as possible.

Your sales message may not be as strong as if it were in the reader’s native language. But it is often easier and quicker to adapt your English language website to the cultural specificities of your local target market. Your adapted, localized English language website will also convey a stronger message than a bad translation.

This process will also give you credibility within each different cultural group. People often do web search first in their own country search engines. People are not stupid. It will be hard to hide the fact you are a foreign company. But they will recognize your willingness to make an effort in understanding them and appreciate you for it.

Step 3 – Multilingual Websites

Of course, with a little bit of effort you will develop your market in each individual country. You will begin to understand any differences in buying habits, tastes, difficulties. At this stage you will ask yourself if you could get more business with a website in your readers’ native language.

Going through the first two processes of making your website Non Native English Speaker friendly and localized will save you a lot of time when it comes to the writing of your website into different materials. You will probably understand how the differences in your markets will require material specifically written for each market. You will be able to evaluate whether you can get away with simple translations of your current website and sales materials or not.

Part English – Part Multilingual

Depending on your particular market you may decide to translate parts of your website, all of it, or only translate parts of specific local marketing campaigns.

There are various tactics companies use. The choice really depends on your market. Two of the options are:

- Keep your main localized website in English and have a direct sales page online in the local language, with email campaigns in local languages
- A specific area of your localized website in local languages to provide key information to your international clients in their own language.

Thought should be given to strengthen you cross-cultural communication at its weakest points.

Fully Multilingual Presence

Localized websites in solely in native languages are ideal for international business. They are the longest program to implement, and carry the highest risk of making your company look bad. The reason is because translations do not do the job. Full cultural customization comes with an intimate understanding of the local market for your products and services.

The writing of a website for a different culture and in a different language needs to be written by someone with all three of the following criteria:

- Intimate local market knowledge, to be able to write to the target audience
- Understanding for both cultures, to understand the differences in messages to be delivered and change them when appropriate.
- Native speaker

Having your website written by someone who meets all three of these qualifications will give you a good website. The trouble is it will take you time to find the right person for the job. And you need to find a different person to write your website for each different language.

To give all of your readers a great multilingual experience and ensure your company’s superior international presence, you also need someone to coordinate the writing of all websites. This person will cover branding issues, and consistency. Simple things such as specific industry vocabulary need to be coordinated throughout all languages.

A fully integrated multicultural strategy is a great benefit to international business. It will also keep you from cultural blunders.

Global Market Communication Takes Time And Practice

Don’t let your own lack of language skills stop you. It is more about building relationships.

Show your willingness to do business internationally. Listen attentively to any feedback you get. Your product or service may have a brand new market in a different cultural environment. You may need to adapt your services or your product.

With increased multicultural marketing experience you will develop new opportunities in unthought-of places.

Are you committed to speeding up your international sales cycles?

Learn how to combine cross-cultural marketing tools and international sales strategies for faster sales.

Join us on the International Sales Road Map.

Would you like to develop your international business?
Are you a beginner at international sales and marketing?
Read the Beginners Guide Discover Your International Business.

The study of business ethics and its implications for different stakeholders have seen tremendous growth in the past few decades. There has also been a rise in the use and development of codes of ethics and announcements for ethical practices by many firms; however companies are still criticized for their unethical practices at different levels (Papers4you.com, 2006). Business ethics, according to the literature has been entrenched with the philosophical details of Ethics (Trevino & Nelson, 1999). Ethics has been defined as ‘the activity of examining the moral standards of a society, and asking how these standards apply to ones life and whether these standards are reasonable’ (Velasquez, 1998; p. 11).

The literature on business ethics is divided on its views about the motivation and reason for businesses to have an ethical dimension. Drawing upon Harrison (2001), there are two major schools of thoughts, firstly those who suggest that firms are profit generating institutions and therefore business ethics is yet another way to attract customers, secondly those who support corporate conscience and intrinsic motivation for the adoption of business ethics.

Business ethics has been considered very subjective in nature and according to Paul (2001) is considered a function of time and culture. It has been established that with the passage of time business ethics have evolved and also that the cultural values and norms drive business ethics within national and regional boundaries. One of the major studies regarding the national values has been conducted by Hofstede (1983). According to this research, which was only based on four indicators i.e. individualism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance and masculinity, there is a great deal of differences among values across different nations and consequently the business ethics. Globalization combined with standardization has made businesses financially efficient but at the same time poses questions regarding the standardized codes of business ethics across national boundaries.

Vinten (1991) has divided the business ethical issues at different levels i.e. international business, domestic business and professional ethics. At the international level ethical issues include free-masonry and socialism versus capitalism; at domestic level these include religious dimensions, social marketing and ethical education; and lastly at the individual level these include bribery, corruption and data protection (Papers4you.com, 2006).

There are many reasons and criticisms for the failure of adoption of ethics in the business world. Firstly, the concept is considered to be overly theoretical and it also negates the basic purpose of any business i.e. to create shareholder’s wealth. Secondly, it has lack of direction and unanimity across different cultures and academic groups. Lastly, it has many inherent unresolved dichotomies that according to Sternberg (1994) make it a case of rejected relativism.

References:

Harrison, J. (2001), Ethics for Australian Business, Prentice-Hall, French’s Forest

Hofstede, G. (1983), The Cultural Relativity of Organizational Practices and Theories, Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp.75-89

Papers For You (2006) “S/B/92. What distinguishes ethical from unethical business activity and how significant are the principles of business ethics in modern business?”, Available from http://www.coursework4you.co.uk/sprtbus21.htm [17/06/2006]

Papers For You (2006) “S/B/49. ‘Should businesses strive to be ethical?’ Critically Discuss”, Available from Papers4you.com [18/06/2006]

Paul, S. (2001), Cultural and Business Ethics, Cross Cultural Management: An international Journal, Volume 8 No. 1, pp 22-35

Sternberg, E. (1994), Relativism rejected: the possibility of transnational business ethics, in Hoffman, W.M., Kamm, J.B., Frederick, R.E., Petry, E.S. Jr (Eds), National Conference on Business Ethics. Proceedings from the 9th Conference on Business Ethics Sponsored by the Centre for Business Ethics at Bentley College, Quorum Books, New York, NY, pp.143-50

Trevino, L.K., Nelson, K.A. (1999), Managing Business Ethics: Straight Talk about How to Do It Right, 2nd ed., J. Wiley & Sons, New York, NY

Velasquez, M.G. (1998), Business Ethics: Concepts and Cases, 4th ed., Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ

Vinten, G. (1991), Business Ethics: Busybody or Corporate Conscience?, Managerial Auditing Journal, Volume 5, Number 2, pp. 123-144

9 Headache-Free Tips on How to Start Online Business

 

For many people, knowing what they wish to sell online is the easy part. It’s setting up the business, and knowing how and where to start that’s difficult. Here are some surefire tips on how to finally make your online business dreams come true without suffering a mountain of headaches.

 

Tip #1 Choosing a provocative name for your business. Something catchy is best, but it’s ideal if your business name could also explain what it’s all about. It should be something easy to spell as well so that people won’t have a hard time searching for it in the Internet. Take the time to pick your name, there is no rush and it’s better to get it right then to change after you’ve spend a fortune on printing and advertising.

 

Tip #2 Register your business. Even if it’s an online company, it still earns money the way other businesses do and because of that, you’re obliged to pay taxes as well. As requirements vary depending on the type of business, the best thing to do is make your inquiries with your local government body or IRS. If you live in any resident community, you should also speak with them and see if they have stipulations regarding residents setting up online businesses.

 

Tip #3 Spend several days to a week diligently researching about search engine optimization or SEO. This is the lifeblood of the e-commerce, and it would cost less if you do the SEO for your online business yourself. You should look at keywords for your industry, then research the competition and then create your products and business model.

 

Tip #4 Build your website while keeping SEO in mind. If your budget allows it, you should pay for your own web space so that you get to choose exactly what kind of ads would appear in your website and where. A good online business website is one that’s not only visually attractive but also offers excellent content that relates to the target market or customer. Provide complete information regarding products, ordering and payment processes, promotions, and customer service. Always offer a brief company background. People only buy from people they know like and trust.

 

Tip #5 Register accounts with the necessary online payment handlers. Although you can still accept payment by cash, check, or money order, it’s still better if you also accept payments by credit cards and from online banks as these are more convenient for your customers. Depending on your product you should expect around 90% of your transactions to be done online and younger people are generally more comfortable about it and increasing numbers of them jumping online it makes sense to do it.

 

Tip #6 Be a member of creditable websites or communities. If you sell anything online it pays to use services such as Honest E Online to provide better assurance of a safe and secure shopping experience for your customers. If you’re new to internet business, this can be one of the quickest ways to instill trust into your customers.

 

Tip #7 It’s time to start advertising. Your first sales and marketing promotion should consist of offering free advice. Hire a copywriter if you truly believe you don’t have the writing skills to create marketing content. Make sure you issue an invitation to join your free newsletter with each article.

 

Tip #8 Collect the email addresses of people who have signed up for your newsletter. Your first issue should again include original, unique, and valuable tips related to your online business. Start with that then follow it up with product or service updates.

 

Tip #9 Find more ways to advertise. Create a blog and start blogging about your online business. Get RSS feeds for your online business. Create podcasts and make sure to insert brief advertisements about your online business in the middle.

 

Only when free methods of advertising don’t work should you finally use paid advertising methods for your online business. Give it two months and if it doesn’t work then that’s time you should go for the big guns. As a general guideline paid advertising and free methods can work well, but to master the free methods you will need to pay money to the experts to find out how to best use them. So in reality, if you leave it to your own devices and don’t pay for expert advice or resources then it would be best to assume that free advertising will only account for 10% of your overall traffic figure, it is therefore safe to assume that if you where to pay money for advertising there is a potential 90% more effective traffic generation techniques.

 

Online Money Tree provides tips and resources on how to make money online.  New and aspiring internet entrepreneurs can find some great ideas and advice on how to start a small internet business from home.

 

For more information visit www.online-money-tree.com