Shirley George Frazier

How to Get Business Financing Before You Need It

Shirley George Frazier — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:43:24 +0000

Access to credit was the last thing on my mind when I started my business.

In 1990, I was well capitalized, and no one in my circle of friends advised me about applying for credit as part of my business safety net.

However, as I began building my business network, associates helped me understand how valuable other people’s money would be to continue my firm’s longevity. Their advice has proven favorable.

Let me share three financing methods to keep you afloat or help invest in necessities that serve you in the long run.

1. Apply for a business line of credit.

Information about banking products often occurs during extended conversations, so I encourage you to speak with a representative at your local bank branch.

My bank’s rep convinced me to apply for a business line of credit after reviewing my accounts. There was no application or yearly fee, and if money was needed for capital expenditures, I could simply write a check to cover the cost, paying the principle and low percentage back over time.

I took her advice and now access the funds as needed. Financial institutions are more willing to set up these terms for account holders seemingly when you don’t need the money right away.

Talk to your bank’s rep to learn what’s required to open a line of credit, the current rate, and the highest amount you can secure. Set it up now so that funds are in place when an opportunity arrives.

2. Open a credit union checking account.

Why stop at establishing a bank relationship when credit unions also provide alternative methods to fund growth and expansion?

Most credit unions maintain a Web site presence, so unless you’ve already opened an account, visit local institutions online before visiting in person to learn what’s available.

I opened a business checking account years ago with my local branch, which provided me with many no-fee services that were fee based at my bank. That leverage kept money in my pocket, and each year I meet with a service representative to learn about new business instruments.

No longer do I enter my credit union to only make deposits and withdrawals. My visit also includes eye contact and a quick greeting with representatives I know in order to strengthen my access to credit union cash.

3. Learn what’s new through your accountant or financial planner.

Who’s more knowledgeable about finances than people who work in that arena every day? I count on my finance gurus to keep me apprised about investments and money-borrowing opportunities that I wouldn’t learn about through other sources.

For example, my financial planner advises me about setting up and funding my retirement account, and she also helped me to secure a lower-cost mortgage by asking about my present circumstances.

Her assistance helped me realize the value of her industry reach along with its benefits. If I need help with business funding sources or want to refer a friend, my planner is one person I can depend on, and the same is true for my accountant.

Put locating business financing months or years before you need it in the “think big” category. It’s a foundation that strengthens your business when least expected.

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This post is a sample of the financial seminars and other business subjects, which you’ll find listed on the Topics page, that I customize for presentation at conferences and business meetings.

Contact my representative through this link to bring me to your next event, or call (973) 279-2799. Attendees will thank you for my presentation.

© 2008-2009 Shirley George Frazier. All rights reserved. Shirley George Frazier is a popular professional speaker who delivers insightful information on stage to business, college, consumer, and trade show audiences. She's author of several books, including The Smart Students' Guide Series and Marketing Strategies for the Home-Based Business: Solutions You Can Use Today. Visit ShirleySpeaks.com to learn how to bring Shirley to your next event.

How to Make Money with a Web Site

Shirley George Frazier — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:29:23 +0000

Web Sites: How to Create, Promote, and Profit Online

by Shirley George Frazier
80 pages
ISBN 0-9653408-9-9

Do you hear that? It’s the sound of my hands applauding you for deciding to launch and maintain a Web site.

The process seems daunting, but I assure you that it’s much easier today than it was when I developed my first site in 1997.

Back then everything was more expensive, even the cost to register a domain name. Now the process is easier even though you may need someone to help you with some of the steps.

I remember creating my Web site with Microsoft FrontPage, a software program that made my jump onto the Internet quick and easy. My five-page Web site made money the first month.

Now that I’ve experienced lots of triumphs and challenges, I’m happy to share my knowledge with you in this book.

You’re about to learn, in a simplified format, how to:

Create your site
Connect with customers
Appear high in search engine ranking
Consider online advertising
Make the most of social media
Collect payments online
Understand Internet-based words and phrases

Best of all, this book will put you at east with Web strategies, advertising, networking, and marketing.

Let’s get started. Your ability to make money on the Web starts now.

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Copies of Web Sites: How to Create, Promote, and Profit Online will be autographed for and distributed to each attendee when I speak at your event, and I’ll make sure everyone thanks you for their book.

Call (973) 279-2799 or Email my management team today.

10 Ways to Boost Your Online Success

Shirley George Frazier — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 17:11:01 +0000

Today’s fast-moving society and the slow pace of yesterday have similar goal setting strategies.

In both cases, business owners must survey the landscape to convince prospects to become clients.

The big difference today is that the Internet acts as a powerful magnet, drawing thousands of followers to your virtual spaces through this online portal.

Here are 10 ways to organize your online success strategy and achieve your goals.

1. Register your personal name or business/brand name on social media programs. This step prepares you to announce posts, send tweets, and also keep cyber squatters or others with similar names from grabbing your identity.

2. Research popular keywords in your industry. You’ll be amazed at what search engine users type to find your products and services, and knowing these words and phrases empowers you to add them within your Web site to attract visitors and rise in search engine ranking.

3. Become familiar with analytics’ programs and the statistics you want to know most about new and returning visitors on your site and blog. These numbers uncover products and services with the best sales potential.

4. Gather testimonials to share and position as sales boosters. Prospects who are prepared to become clients will do so willingly when they read opinions from current buyers. Place the testimonials on your site’s home page and order page, and share them with social media followers.

5. Create a list of three to five-minute videos for monthly distribution. Some site visitors will absorb and appreciate written content, while others will become frequent followers by watching your informational videos. Make sure your social media registrations, mentioned above in No. 1, include enrollment on YouTube.com to host videos on their site and yours.

6. Prepare to establish your brand through a Facebook fan page. This free promotional space allows you to market while encouraging feedback from followers. The page also includes options for marketing on other online properties you own.

7. Sign up for Google Alerts and Yahoo! Alerts. Why re-invent business planning when you can learn, through alerts that arrive in your Email box, how companies in your industry get promoted and distribute their marketing messages?

8. Plan to distribute a weekly online newsletter. Subscribers aren’t willing to read about buying what you sell; they want to know how to solve problems. Such information is delivered through storytelling that pairs what you offer with achieving success in less time. Make this the center of your newsletter, and you’ll gain loyalty and rewards.

9. Check competitors’ Web sites for strengths and weaknesses. Knowing what they offer and gauging each sites’ popularity helps you to create an online presence that visitors will select more often as their industry choice.

10. Subscribe to HARO. Three times every weekday, Peter Shankman’s Help A Reporter Out puts you in touch with journalists and other broadcasters searching for newspaper quotes, radio guests, book interviews, and more, all to get your brand name the widest distribution possible in media circles.

My topic, Guerrilla Marketing to Increase Online Sales, is a popular keynote presentation requested by conference organizers, meeting planners, and business groups.

Contact my representative through this link to bring me to your next event. Attendees will thank you for my presentation.

How to Create an Online Policy for Staff and Students

Shirley George Frazier — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:22:23 +0000

You arrive in the office on Monday morning, ready to meet your staff to discuss the week’s projects.

All is fine until you learn that an employee accessed sensitive information to create a video now available on YouTube.

Thousands of people watched the video in the past two days, including local media who called to ask for a comment.

There’s whispering outside your door, which tells you that other employees also know and wonder what’s next.

Articles warning you about this type of online high jinks have appeared in newspapers, but until now, you didn’t consider it a priority. “Maybe I’ll add a sentence about online practices in the employees manual,” you said to yourself but forgot just as quickly.

What happens now? How to you bring the current problem to a satisfactory end and create a policy that stops security breaches before they start?

Executives at corporations, universities, and non-profit organizations find it difficult to create and distribute online policy rules to employees, students, and volunteers. But such a policy is mandatory and required to keep private information away from sources that can inflict permanent harm.

What’s at risk?

Medical records

Proprietary formulas

Resource materials

Intellectual property

Schematics and blueprints

Organizational charts

Payroll records

Long-Term Plans

Financial records

Customer databases

A comprehensive, yet easy-to-manage program, which I developed for several clients and reveal in my presentation, Who Put Us on YouTube? and Other Online Sabotage You Can Stop immediately puts your plan for curtailing avoidable breaches into action.

At the end, you’ll understand problems occurring now at facilities just like yours and solutions to stop violations before someone makes your private information public.

Contact me at 973-279-2799 or Email me through the contact page to bring this insightful and timely seminar to your conference, meeting, or event.

Back to School Includes You, Too

Shirley George Frazier — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 23:15:46 +0000

Now that school has started for millions of children and young adults worldwide, is it also time to extend and enhance your own education?

Traditional schools are a familiar option. In my area, 12 community colleges and universities can be reached by car in times between five minutes and one hour. But these schools aren’t always accessible, especially if you’re a busy entrepreneur. Thankfully, more options exist.

What business owners want to achieve today is concentrated learning to understand technology, increase their software knowledge, and expand skills specific to their industries.

This is also my focus. Frequent travel to speak in regions outside of my home state leaves me little time to sit in a classroom. Like many of you, I enjoy the face-to-face interaction as well as the networking opportunities with like-minded people before and after class. Time simply does not allow for the traditional environment.

Education centers that increase and expand your knowledge are available online, and most times, the courses are free of charge. Here’s where I find great classes.

Hewlett-Packard

HP offers eight learning categories, including home office, photography, Microsoft office products, and graphic arts.

These non-credit classes are led by an instructor but are self paced so that you can learn each lesson on your own schedule. There’s also a forum for each class where you can interact with other students.

Sony

Courses, videos, articles, and tutorials come together in Sony’s BackStage 101 Learning Center.

Although the four categories listed focus on and around technology, you can apply desktop, video, and more courses to all areas of your life.

U.S. Small Business Administration

Here you’ll find 10 categories of business, marketing, finance, and other topics essential to your success.

According to the site, each course requires registration (it makes sense that the SBA gathers statistics) and will only take 30 minutes of time to complete.

Now you know about three online portals where you’ll advance your skills and have no excuse to not go to school.

Conference, college, and company meeting planners frequently request my business and educational topics for their employees, students, and association members. Contact me through this page or call 973-279-2799 to schedule a seminar or workshop. It’ll be one of your easiest events and also one that the audience will always remember.

Five Easy Tips to Bring Social Media Tools into Your Business Life

Shirley George Frazier — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:33:12 +0000

Social media tools may terrify you for one reason: there’s so much of it on the Internet that it’s difficult to decide what’s right for you and what’s not beneficial for your life or business.

I share the same anxieties, but rather than be completely terrified, I move forward to learn about new tools, similar to the way a baseball outfielder runs toward a ball.

There’s no getting past what’s coming at you; it’s either go after technology and familiarize yourself with it, or be left in the outfield, bewildered and out of the loop.

Here’s a quick tipsheet to consult with basic moves to make when something suddenly becomes the new IT tool.

1. Consult the program’s “What is it?” page, which may be termed with these three words or something similar to learn about the tool’s reason for creation.

2. Read trusted blogs to learn what popular bloggers are saying about it. You’ll find these individuals uncovering more about the tool than what is explained on the “What is it?” page, and visitors’ comments will also reveal ideas you may not have considered.

3. Subscribe to or register for the program if you believe it may be of benefit now or in the future. It’s smart to sign up with your name to, at a minimum, claim and protect your identity.

4. Do nothing, at least for now, if you find no reason to integrate the tool in your daily business or personal life. It’s okay to register and then wait until you are more clear about how to promote whatever you represent.

5. Monitor what the Internet and traditional media are reporting about the program. If reasons to begin including it in your everyday activities start becoming more apparent, you’ll already have an identity to sign in and join the community.

Like you, there are times when I wonder if burying my head in the sand is easier than getting on board to learn another social media tool. But consider this: making connections online is much easier and expansive than attempting to attend conventions, conferences, and meetings worldwide.

Why not include social media tools in your life and let audiences come to you?
Contact my assistant, Emma, at 973-279-2799, to bring me to your event, or Email her through the contact form. Everyone will thank you for a great presentation.

Three Marketing Steps You Can Accomplish Now

Shirley George Frazier — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 19:03:32 +0000

Staying positive during a down economy is difficult, especially if you allow the media to convince you that your future is all gloom and doom.

Entrepreneurs that I coach, operating small and large businesses, understand the circumstances, but more importantly, they see a very bright future in the short term for their businesses. How does each of them stay focused?

They:

1. Develop products and services required now and 10 years from now. The chosen programs are customizable, changed with minimum effort to accommodate clients. Programs that don’t match this requirement are shelved for additional review.

2. Meet clients for breakfast or lunch. Speaking with loyal customers in a casual environment allows them to uncover how best to serve clients now and later. The investment cost is minimal while the relationship-building strategy is immeasurable.

3. Continue their self development through education. Every conference is not within every budget, so the events that combine world-class marketing information with opportunities to network with speakers and like-minded business owners are given high priority.

This is the blueprint that business owners worldwide follow to guarantee that their marketing plans match long-term objectives.

Scheduling one of my marketing seminars right now for your organization will keep employees and members focused on productivity and strategic goals. Best of all, they’ll see a positive difference in outcomes, and so will you.

Contact my assistant, Emma, at 973-279-2799, to bring me to your event, or Email her through the contact form. Everyone will thank you for a great presentation.

Adding Social Media to Your Marketing Mix

Shirley George Frazier — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 19:30:27 +0000

How can you escape all of the buzz around online social media and its impact on strong business and personal relationships?

It’s nearly impossible, especially if the Internet is part of your success plan.

On the flip side, the number of social media tools can make your head spin. Everyone’s talking about the ones they favor, but which options will create a funnel of business rather than a torrent of wasted time?

Message boards (forums) and blogs were first on the landscape, though they appeared before the phrase “social media” was coined. Then came (in alphabetical order):

De.li.ci.ous

Digg

Facebook

MySpace

Plurk

Ryze

Twitter

There are more, but these are most prominent. My seminar, 10 Ways to Market Your Business with Social Media, uncovers how small and solo firms turn online followers into loyal fans that buy often and refer friends. You’ll save lots of time and hair tearing once you understand how to navigate these tools for business success.

Social media programs have lots to offer, but it’s impossible to participate in all of them with the same success rate. Two or three at most will serve your needs. What’s critical is that you examine each one to decide which will be beneficial and time saving.

One task that may be wise, no matter which programs become your favorites, is to register your identity on each one. That identity will be your name or business name, whichever is most important to claim. From there, you can bookmark your page and develop it over time or simply monitor it for connection requests from other participants.

I find myself leaning more towards Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Visit my pages through the above links. If you’re not yet part of these programs, review my pages and consider them as a blueprint to create your own.

Contact my bureau today and schedule the 10 Ways to Market Your Business with Social Media seminar for your group or conference. I promise to make the ideas and information painless and profitable. You’ll laugh at the end, wondering why you hadn’t explored social media earlier.

A Success Formula for Returning Students

Shirley George Frazier — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 16:05:22 +0000

Speaking to students at high schools and colleges is one of my career’s highlights.

The ability to present ideas and information to young minds and the interaction with them after the event reminds me that there is still hope for the future.

Each time I’m invited to speak, I ensure that my presentations stay on track as I combine the topic with:

A history lesson based on the subject
Present trends that shape their lives and the world
How the music they love interacts with the subject

Becoming comfortable with new surroundings, both inside the classroom and with peers, are incredibly important to today’s students. I remember how critical it was when I was in school.

That comfort zone helped me to form great relationships that I still maintain today. Here’s the educational success formula I followed and discuss in the book, Smart Students’ Guide to…Successful Transition into College.

Immediately review the student handbook. This manual was created with you in mind, explaining campus procedures and identifying counselors who are there to assist you. The handbook smooths familiarity all around campus.

Find and join a group. Being part of an organization is one of the quickest ways to find lifelong friends. The group may be a fraternity or sorority, or it might cetner around music, sports, or science.Best of all, you’ll be surrounded by like-minded individuals while you learn about other positive traits you have in common.

Choose a study rhythm and stick with it. Do you study better on your own, or is a group setting more your style? Is it easier to retain test information while reviewing notes at night or first thing in the morning?Once you determine your study strengths and weaknesses, you’ll know when to concentrate for best results.

There are many more success formulas to share with your students, and I look forward to elevating their progress when I speak at your school. Email Emma to arrange a presentation.

How to Avoid Distractions in School and in Business

Shirley George Frazier — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:32:16 +0000

Who has the best widget, program, or software this week? I guarantee that no matter where you’re located, someone wants you to see the latest, greatest something, and if you try it once, the creator promises that it will change your life.

I’ve heard this claim hundreds of times while in college and operating a business. How about you? Very few times, if ever, has this claim positively altered my study practices or post-college goals. Three things have occurred in most cases:

Time drain while attempting to learn a process that took me back to the basics (what I had been doing)
Energy overload becoming enthused with a product that promised a positive result but did not deliver
Wasted money (if available for a fee) due to a convincing sales pitch

I’ll admit that some items do deliver, but many more are a distraction, delaying your arrival from the goal you want to reach.

Here are three methods I suggest to students or business owners when speaking at seminars throughout the world to determine if a new program is a distraction or good deal:

Ask yourself before opting in, “How will this item create a better experience from what I use now?”
Search for comments from other users. You’ll be able to tell the good reviews from those that are planted or mean spirited.
Compare the pros and cons with competitive options.

You’ll deal with many distractions throughout your life. Develop good habits now to make the best decisions as you sidestep your way to success.

[tags] college success tips, business success tips[/tags]