After having decided to start a business, the next thing that arrives in your mind is How to market the Product/Service? How to create a brand? How to recruit people? How & where to advertise? etc… Next is creating departments like Marketing, Operations, Advertising, Branding and Human Resource. You need some way to represent each department…

For example Human Resource needs a way to represent the company to hire talents, marketing team needs someway to represent products/services, branding team needs a way to represent the company overall… As a startup you can’t make huge investment to represent your company by giving ads in news paper or through sign boards or through hoardings or any other means…

One of the cheap & efficient ways to represent your business is through a website… Let me tell you about the advantages of having a website…

* It is cheap
* Your company goes global if you have a website
* Most online advertising is cheap
* Saves time

Likewise there are many more advantages… Ok let me take you in detail about the above mentioned points… To create a web site you need a domain name and hosting space (You can Google to find a cheap domain registrar & host), then the next thing is content (also there are many freelance content writers) or you can do it by yourself if you are good in it… Then you need to have a good web design (http://www.templatemuseum.com sells ready to use corporate designs)… With all these things you can launch a website for less than $50 – $100…

If you launch a prospectus representing your company its reach is only local, by having a website for the company you are going global & your reach goes beyond territories…

Unlike news paper advertising, sign board advertising, television advertising online advertising is cheap & worth it, because

* In online advertising you can advertise to your targeted audience
* Online advertising are global

Normally these are the steps that is involved in marketing

Step 1: Making appointments
Step 2 : Give an introduction about the company
Step 3 : Give a brief about the product / service
Step 4 : Show a demo
Step 5 : Close the deal

Having a website we need not make appointments, give a brief about the company & product/service, your website will talk for you… So you can eliminate Step 1, 2 & 3… Same can apply to Human Resource & Advertising too… So it saves time…

Also you are bound to get enquiries from search engines, online directories etc… So you have possibilities of getting new opportunities without any effort.

I’d like to make a point clear that having a website doesn’t mean you are done with everything, it is just a supporting medium to represent your company & can help in simplifying many process… So, it is recommended to use it as a support for your business & follow your traditional way of business too…

I hope this article must have helped. Please drop in your feedback to anand@anandnataraj.com…

Came accross a good article from a fellow blogger “Ravi”

Is your life like my wife’s driving?

My wife hates taking unfamiliar routes when driving. If she is not fully confident of the route, she simply will not drive. Fortunately, her “thing” stops with driving.

Unfortunately, most people “live” this way – they go through their entire life without ever once taking the road less travelled. They continue to do only the things they are comfortable with, never once wandering outside their comfort zone.

Keep doing what you have always done, and you will get the results you’ve always gotten.

Go on – do something that makes you uneasy. Something that you feel guilty for not doing. Something that you’ve always feared. Something you were always terrified to do.

Grab the mike in front of that crowd.
Try a new dish at that restaurant.
Try a new restaurant.
Ask your boss for a raise.
Tell that nasty SOB what you really think about him.
Get a better job.
Get a better life.
Propose to your girlfriend.
Say you love him.
Write the first chapter of your book.
Ask your bank if they’ll give you that loan to start your business.
Call another bank if yours won’t.
Smell the roses.
Go for a walk with your kids.
Buy a house.
Follow your dream.
If you don’t have one, make one up.
Follow that rainbow.
Even if you don’t see it – yet.

Whatever it was that you’ve always wanted to do, just go do it.

If you’ve just been waiting for someone’s permission till now, go ahead – you now have mine.

Go on, be a winner.