Choosing a domain name and establishing a website is definitely a major accomplishment. It takes determination to get through the website creation process and you’ve successfully joined the ranks of online entrepreneurs around the world. So what are you supposed to do now? Many first-time site owners work extremely hard to get their site up and then find themselves unsure of what to next. Here are four quick tips to help you elevate your site’s effectiveness and get the most from your investment.

1. Take it for a test drive. The functionality of your site is crucial to its success. Take the time to browse through your site checking for image and formatting issues. Click on all hyperlinks and place a test order to make sure they execute properly. If you provide an email form for customers to contact you, write yourself a sample email and make sure it gets to you promptly.
2. Lock down the fort. If you conduct e-commerce on your site, it had better be secure. Your customers put their trust in you every time they enter their credit card information, so you must take the steps to ensure that they are safe. Bolster your site’s security with SSL certificates and display each security measure prominently so that prospective customers know they can trust your site.
3. Trim the fat. While intricate graphics and abundant images are fun, they often prevent your website from loading properly or quickly for visitors who have a slow internet connection. Also, a cluttered website confuses and overwhelms potential customers. Focus on keeping your site clear and accessible, telling your visitors exactly what you want them to do.
4. Spot the errors. Carefully review the content of your site and correct all spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. One method that many site owners find helpful is to print out the content and review it as a hardcopy. Providing well-written copy on your site is one of the best ways to demonstrate your professionalism right off the bat.

Professional Marketing International suggests that entrepreneurs keep their options open as they go through the challenging process of starting their first business. One resource that can be extremely beneficial is SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives). Boasting over 350 offices nationwide, SCORE offers free business advice for entrepreneurs and has helped a staggering 8.5 million small businesses get off the ground and running!

Founded in 1964, SCORE’s volunteers offer business advising sessions which cover a wide variety of business topics. And their excellent resources have been available online since 1996, meaning that even those who don’t live near a SCORE office can receive assistance from their experts. With this expanded availability, SCORE now helps nearly 20,000 businesses get started each year. Some of the notable businesses assisted by SCORE over the years include Jelly Belly Candy and the Vermont Teddy Bear Company.

As a partner of the U.S. Small Business Association (SBA), SCORE provides many unique assets for entrepreneurs. Their business counselors include working and retired executives and business owners, all dedicated to sharing their expertise. With their online services, entrepreneurs can ask specific business questions and get answers straight from the source. They also offer regional workshops that are free to attend. For those with hectic daytime schedules, their online workshops offer great flexibility. As a final suggestion, the consultants from PMI Education consider the SCORE eNewsletter an excellent source of tips and information. Bolster your chances for success by drawing upon the free resources from SCORE in addition to your other efforts.

An important decision many entrepreneurs face is whether or not to hire employees. An article featured on Bloomberg Businessweek addresses this issue and offers valuable suggestions to help you know when to hire your first employee. The article calls the hiring decision “crucial” and the experts at Professional Marketing International agree that it is a critical decision for any enretpreneur. Here are some factors from the article you should consider before hiring your first employee.

1. Is it necessary? Waiting to hire an employee is a smart strategy because it allows you to get a clearer picture of exactly what your needs are. Because most startups have limited time and resources, it is important for you to make a careful decision. A rushed hire often results in problems down the road if the employee’s background and references weren’t checked. Conversely, some business owners regret not hiring an employee earlier in their business, so if you know it’s necessary, just be sure to make it a careful and thoughtful decision.
2. Is it possible? Evaluate your cash flow and have your accountant do a projection of revenue for the next several years. It’s not only a prospective employee’s salary you need to think about – other considerations include benefits, workers comp insurance, payroll tax reporting and more.
3. Are there alternatives? For business needs such as marketing, bookkeeping and customer service, outsourcing is a possible solution. Hiring an intern from a local college is another possibility. These part-time positions allow you to gauge your needs and come up with the best hiring plans.
4. How will they contribute? If your evaluations suggest that a full-time employee is a necessity, hire someone who can contribute in multiple ways. Look beyond the immediate job description and hire someone who can wear many hats; someone who can brainstorm with you and bring wide-reaching value.

The first step can often be the hardest. Most of us know this. It doesn’t matter if you’re bungee jumping or going in for a first kiss, finding the courage to begin can be a real challenge. Many people have the desire to be entrepreneurs, but the fear of the unknown can be immense. There are so many details and strategies to consider that it can be quite intimidating. At times like these, it can be incredibly helpful to draw upon the help of a mentor. The experts from Professional Marketing International suggest that you seek out someone who has been through the experience before and has a proven record of success. I know that I have personally benefitted from the experience and wisdom of those who have blazed the path before me.

In addition to utilizing the experience of a mentor, here are some tips that can help you find the motivation to get started today:

• Get organized. The immensity of a task is often an illusion created by the randomness of the components. Take the time to break it down into manageable elements and you will be amazed with how much you can accomplish. It’s certainly hard to get motivated when facing a random mess.
• Identify the challenges and find solutions. Anything worth doing is going to take some work…at least, that’s what my parents have always said. I think that there are definitely some rare times where amazing things just sort of happen, but for the most part I agree with this. Take the time to identify the biggest obstacles to your success, so you can focus your energies where they are truly needed.
• Remove the distractions. This is a crucial element. Right now, I’m trying to stay motivated as I write this article, but there is a really good basketball game on the TV. Because I keep glancing over to check out the score (and end up watching a couple plays) it has taken me much longer to write this than it should have. If I would just turn the TV off, my productivity will go through the roof!
• Reward yourself. If you have had a great day and accomplished what you planned, don’t be afraid to reward yourself for your effort. When I want to reward myself, I often watch a WWII documentary. Or sometimes I buy a fishing lure that I’ve been wanting. Point is, make it something reasonable and fun. In fact, now that I have finished this post, I’m going to go back to that basketball game. Kentucky is up by seven and it looks like it’s gonna be a barnburner.

Have you ever seen that old Monty Python sketch where a woman is trying to order food in a restaurant, but is frustrated to learn that everything comes with Spam? She gets more and more agitated, trying unsuccessfully to order some bacon and eggs without Spam. All the while, a group of vikings sings a loud chorus of “Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam…Lovely Spam…Wonderful Spam!” It is a true comedy classic, and it is actually from this famous sketch that unwanted emails got their name. Indeed, it seems that there are times when you open your email inbox and you can almost hear the vikings singing “Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam!”

Because spam has become more of a problem in recent years, email services have improved their technology to block it. This is great news, because it means that you will not have to waste as much time sifting through worthless junk. Unfortunately, these impressive spam blockers can also intercept legitimate emails, which can be problematic. If you are trying to send out a newsletter or promotion to your email list, your email may be blocked before it reaches your customers. The experts at Professional Marketing International have a few recommendations to help you avoid this issue. First, don’t use multiple punctuation like this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Multiple exclamation points and question marks can be red flags. Also, don’t use ALL CAPS too often, because it can be another red flag. Using the words “Click Here” too often can also set off spam alarms. These tips can help you get your legitimate emails through the overzealous spam blockers. There are many other elements targeted by the spam scanners, and the technology is constantly changing, so if you have additional questions, contact one of the internet coaching gurus at PMI Education today.

The experts at PMI Coaching have helped thousands of entrepreneurs develop their business ideas into financial success. By joining a success team, you are connecting yourself to the expertise and networks of Professional Marketing International. Our years of experience have helped us develop a robust program for helping people just like you take their endeavors to the next level. Here are a few tips to consider as you decide how you want to develop your business idea:

1. Maintain Flexibility: I’m putting this here at the beginning because it is a crucial element through the whole process. You may think you know exactly how you’re going to do things, but any expert can tell you that things rarely go exactly as they are planned. It’s always important to stick to your guns and be tenacious, but you need to realize that your ideas will (and should) evolve and change through the process.

2. Your Business Has To Be What You Know: If you are not passionate about what you are doing, it will be apparent. Plus, you can expedite the development of your idea if it is something that you are familiar with and have prior experience with.

3. Identify a Need: Even if you are passionate about something and have prior experience, if it doesn’t meet a need, then people won’t take much notice. This is a crucial element that often gets overlooked, and a PMI Education coach can help you maximize your effectiveness in this area.

4. Be Prepared to Work: Starting your own business takes time and a lot of effort. One good thing about joining a success team is that you will have a mentor and friend to help you along the way. Plus, by drawing upon the help of an expert, you’re work will be less frustrating and more focused.

So you want to buy a domain, do you? Well, there are a few very relevant things to consider. First of all, do you have an established product name? If so, you’ll probably want to purchase a domain containing that name if possible. For example, if I manufacture a rocket launcher called the Fire Belching Dragon, I would likely want to buy something like firebelchingdragon.com. This is not necessarily true in all cases, but for the most part, you want to think of what people will type when they think of your product…then buy that domain. If I sell the Fire Belching Dragon through a website called superdiscountrocketlaunchersandmore.com, my customers may have a hard time remembering the connection. If I were to attempt to buy firebelchingdragon.com and find that it is owned by a guy in Ohio who sells dragon statues, then I could contact him and offer to buy the name. A domain name owner is under no obligation to sell the name, but they may be willing, so it’s worth it to ask. Just be prepared to potentially pay significantly more than the standard price. You’ll have to make the judgment call to determine if it will be worth it.

What about long domain names? Many entrepreneurs argue that multiword domain names are too difficult for the average customer to remember. This can certainly be true. And some long names get somewhat laborious to type. But short, acronym names can also be tricky. If I try to sell my rocket launcher on a site with a short name like fbd.com (short for Fire Breathing Dragon), people may still have a hard time remembering the name. And this would be particularly true for a name like drlam.com (short for discountrocketlaunchersandmore.com). People would probably think that drlam.com was a website for Dr. Lam, whoever that is. So you must find a nice balance…a name that has relation to its purpose and can be easily remembered, regardless of the length. That means that travel.com could be effective, as well as a name like europeantravelspecialists.com.

Picking a domain name can be an exciting opportunity, and it doesn’t have to be entirely frustrating. Some people have found that enlisting the help of a success team, such as the internet consulting experts at Professional Marketing International, can help ensure a wise choice and successful integration. Just remember that your domain name is essentially your online storefront, so it is important to find the right word or combination of words for it to be memorable and accessible.