Sage Launches First Hands-On Course: Create Your Virtual Business Presence
I’m truly excited to announce the not-so-official launch of Sage Small Business Solutions’ very first hands-on small business class: Create Your Virtual Business Presence.
One of the things I tend to evangelize on often is the need for a solid, but not overly complex infrastructure for small business owners. As I’ve mentioned before, I truly believe that infrastructure is the backbone of any business, so I guess you could say I consider a small business’ communications infrastructure to be its central nervous system – it ensures that information about the business is communicated clearly and effectively both within the business and with the outside world.
Today’s small businesses generally have the same basic communications needs: a company website, business phone system, business email, and business mailing address. But many new entrepreneurs often struggle with getting these basic small business building blocks in place for a few key reasons:
Reason #1: The ‘Damned if You Do’ Small Business Website Dilemma
When it comes to setting up a small business website, there are usually two options.
The first involves hiring a web designer – a specialist who will create your site from scratch to your exact specifications. This specialist will typically tell you that it will take you a few weeks to a few months to get your site built. Rarely will it take less time than you’re told – usually it’ll take about twice as long as the original estimate. The site will cost you anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand bucks. And when it’s all said and done, if you want to make any updates – add a page, change a few images, modify the menu – you’ll have to call the web designer again, and the cycle repeats itself.
With the second option, you have more direct involvement in the creation of your site. You sign up with a free or low-cost online website creator specifically targeted to small and independent businesses. You create your own site using a collection of templates and images from the website creator. When you’re finished, you have a site that looks like… a free site. The generic, uninspiring templates make your site look and feel less than professional, which will turn off or turn away prospective clients.
Reason #2: Small Business Phone Service – Sizes Run Large
When it comes to business phone service, there’s small and then there’s really small.
Here’s the thing – when the phone company is marketing telephony services to small businesses, they’re usually targeting business with anywhere from 10 to over 100 employees, and they price the service accordingly. But there’s a whole segment of small businesses – microbusinesses – with fewer than 5 employees that have much simpler telephony needs, and shouldn’t have to pay the same rates as the um, big little businesses.
Reason #3: Not Mastering Your Own Domain
Today’s business runs on email – it’s a huge part of how your little enterprise will communicate with the outside world. But for some ungodly reason, there are still so many independent business owners who don’t bother to use their own domain for their small business email communications. In other words, instead of having a me@mycompany.com email address, they’ll send and receive business communications via a free email service like Yahoo or Hotmail.
It seems like such a little itty bitty thing, but it’s one of those little itty bitty things that separates the amateurs from the pros, since many people will see your free email account as a sign that you don’t take your business seriously. And they’ll consequently follow suit.
Reason #4: Home Is Where the Heart Is
I don’t have any empirical data on hand, but I’m pretty sure that home-based businesses make up a majority of the new businesses started in the last couple of years. One of the major concerns that comes with operating a home-based business is how to market and promote your business while making sure that your home address doesn’t end up plastered all over the place.
My Attempt at a Solution
I’ve encountered these same struggles countless times in starting my own businesses and in assisting other businesses with startup. But after lots of frustration and disappointments, I’ve been able to find solutions that make sense that I continue to use today. I thought it might be useful to pass along what I’ve found to other aspiring business owners, and couple it with hands-on, step-by-step instruction of how to configure and use the small business communications tools. So I created a class that would do just that.
Create Your Virtual Business Presence is a 1-day small business training course that will provide attendees with all the elements of a basic business communications infrastructure. At the end of the class, attendees will walk away with:
- A 3-page website (with ability to add up to 7 more pages)
- A virtual pbx phone service for their business
- A company-branded email account, and
- A physical business address / local mailbox service (optional add-on).
The class will be held in early November – The curriculum is all set, and I’m in the final throes of scouting an ideal location in the metro Atlanta area. You can expect details on the final decision soon.
In the meantime, if you’re interested in attending Virtual Presence, and want to be placed at the head of the list when registration officially opens, you can pre-register for the class. I’m limiting the class to 10-12 people, so everyone can get fairly individualized attention. But that means the class will fill up pretty fast. Pre-registering makes sure you reserve your spot early.
As a bonus for pre-registering, I’m offering $75 off the regular class tuition of $500. This bonus will only be available until October 24, so act quickly if you want in. You can pre-register here.
Well, that’s it for now. I’m preparing to head to California for a few days for a joint business / pleasure trip, and when I return it’s full steam ahead until the class in November!
photo credit: Cliph (Flickr)
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Sage Small Business Solutions provides inexpensive infrastructure solutions for small and microbusinesses. If you're interested in improving your small business, or implementing techniques discussed in this article, find out how Sage can help.
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CREATE YOUR VIRTUAL BUSINESS PRESENCE IN JUST ONE DAY!
Hands-on class. Pre-register now for $75 Off!
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Hi there! I’m Kisha Solomon. I’m a writer, business advisor, and the owner of Sage Small Business Solutions.
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