Take a look at the buildings that surround you. Don’t almost all of them look the same? If you own or are opening a new store then you may discover that it’s worth it to invest in a unique construction design. A really cool building lures people in.

Here are some ideas for coming up with cool construction designs:

• Hire a designer who specializes in unique construction. Someone who knows how to design creative buildings is a great person to have on your construction team.
• Look to your products for inspiration. If you own a fun clothing line like Catimini or Jean Bourget then perhaps you’d want a storefront that was inspired by your clothes?
• Scour the web for top construction projects that appeal to you. Get ideas from other people who have posted photos of their own unique buildings online.
• Get out some crayons. Dig deep into your own childish imagination to come up with a store design that is truly fanciful.

You may not be able to make a unique store exactly the way that you want it due to building constrictions and financial restraints. Start with a big idea and then scale it down as necessary to create a cool building that people will want to shop in.

Technorati Tags: Catimini, Jean Bourget

Twitter is an excellent tool, not only for managing your social life, but also for promoting and managing your business.  Don’t believe me?  Here’s how you can use Twitter in your business.

One major way that a lot of people use Twitter is to promote their business.  By setting up a business account and getting customers and potential customers — or fans if you are a band or a book author — you can keep them connected with daily marketing messages or updates on where your band is, where your next book signing is, etc.

Another way to keep connected via Twitter is via an integrated software such as team management software.  This software is an organizational software that helps you stay connected with team members; combined with Twitter, it makes a powerful tool for keeping every team member on the same page.

As you can see, social networking sites can be used in the operation of your business in a variety of ways.  Facebook, MySpace, and Linked In are other social networking sites that many business owners have used to promote their businesses or keep in touch.  Of course, they can also be abused, so they should be used with caution — as demonstrated by this article about Facebook.  Keep in mind your goal — why you’re using social networking — and make sure that you stick to that goal, and social networking should be a help instead of a hindrance to your business.

Technorati Tags: Facebook, social networking, team management software

Part of running a business and employing people is knowing how the law affects your business.  One major thing to keep in mind is that because of the Americans with Disabilities Act, you may be required to make reasonable concessions for someone with disabilities.

Elderly employees probably offer the biggest challenge in this regard.  To use a somewhat silly example, you can’t go and fire an elderly employee just because they walk slower than your other employees.  As long as the employee is capable of doing the essential parts of the job, you will be required to make certain concessions in order to keep them.

As another example, you can’t fire an employee simply because they don’t hear very well, even with a hearing aid.  A reasonable concession you might be expected to make could be providing a phone with volume control for a phone rep who is hearing impaired.

Employing someone with disabilities can be a tricky business.  Your best bet is to make extra sure you are being as fair as possible, and if you believe the person is truly incapable of doing the essential parts of the job, be sure to document everything!

Technorati Tags: Americans with Disabilities Act, hearing aid, hearing clinic

Perhaps one of the best ways to gain your target market’s trust, and therefore their business, is to be the expert they go to when they need help.

One way of doing this is by ensuring that you have lots of information on your website.  For instance, if you sell boating accessories, be sure that you have lots of informative articles on your website.  Not only do you want to help them choose what to buy, but you also want to provide information on other subjects as well, such as care and maintenance.

Another way to set yourself up as an expert is to ensure that you have a very knowledgeable staff of customer service representatives.  You may also choose to do free classes or other events to teach people how to boat or how to perform maintenance on their boats, for example.

There are many ways you can set yourself up as an expert in the eyes of your target market.  However you do it, the important thing is that you DO IT.  Your customers need to be able to trust you before they will buy from you.  Demonstrating that you have extensive knowledge, not to mention a experienced staff, will help you to win their trust, and ultimately, their business.

Technorati Tags: boating accessories, marine supplies, target market

I knew long before I graduated from college that I wanted to find a job as a writer, but I had no idea that this job would help me eventually start my own writing business.

Right after graduation, I started working as a technical writer for a consulting firm that handled documentation for big financial companies.  Basically we sat down with different departments in the company, documented their various procedures, and turned them into manuals they could use for recordkeeping and training.

The company had a pretty big system where they did most of their work.  This system handled virtually every part of the process of setting up and managing retirement funds.  Even plan documents were all accessible online, as they were scanned into the system using high volume scanners, with the purpose of making them more easily accessible and streamlining the process for the many people who worked on each plan along the way.

This professional experience eventually helped me to become a freelance writer.  I started freelancing part-time on the side, using my “day job” as a technical writer to help me get my foot in the door, and eventually quit my job to freelance full-time.  I’ve never regretted that decision — nor the decision to work as a technical writer, because although the job was a miserable experience for me, it also gave me what I needed to start a successful business!

Technorati Tags: document management solutions, high volume scanners, technical writer

For most of my life, I have been hoarding gold.  Whether it be gold jewelry or gold bars, I have been buying it up along the way at a discount.  I thought that it could prove useful to me someday, but I didn’t know when.

It wasn’t until recently that I truly realized the value of all the gold that I had amassed.  You see, I wanted to open up a pizzeria in our town, but I needed the capital to open it.  After I was denied financing at the bank, I was left with two options: find some money on my own, or find an investor.

I followed my first instinct and I tried to find an investor, but I was unable to find anyone that wanted to invest in an unproven startup.  I couldn’t blame them since a large number of businesses had closed in town this year already.

At this point, I wasn’t ready to give up on my dream of owning a pizzeria, but I didn’t know where I was going to get the funds to start the business.  But my mother suggested that I could come up with the money by selling the gold jewelry I had collected.

I hadn’t thought of that.

In the end, I was able to sell my gold and come up with enough money for the first year of operations on my own.  I just hope that this business venture does well.

Technorati Tags: sell my gold, selling the gold jewelry

One of the nicest things that I think you can do for someone is to improve their home for them while they’re away somewhere. When they return, they get to come home to a place that is nicer than when they left it.

I’ve done this a few different times for people who were away from home for awhile. One time I had a friend who went to a Florida drug rehab center for several months. A group of us got together to make her apartment’s kitchen nicer while she was gone. We didn’t make any huge changes but we cleaned it up and added a few new appliances. She was even more thrilled than we thought she’d be when she got home and saw what we’d been doing while she was away.

It’s important to note that you probably shouldn’t make any major changes to someone’s home without knowing for sure that it’s what they’d want done. A home is a person’s sanctuary so they don’t want to be startled by a drastic change. Make changes like adding furniture and fixing torn curtains - things that will be appreciated and can be easily undone if the person doesn’t like the new design.

Technorati Tags: Florida drug rehab center

If you are looking for a Fiji resort to stay at on your vacation, chances are you are going to find a lot of businesses to choose from.  But how do you know which to choose?

There are a few things to look for.  First of all, if you don’t have to worry about all of the little details you might consider an all-inclusive vacation package for accommodations and activities.  Sometimes you pay a bit more for these, but the convenience can make it worthwhile.  Don’t forget the cost of travel to Fiji, though, which is typically not included in package deals.

Also, be sure to research a resort before you book a vacation package.  Every resort’s site will say that they’re the best, though obviously they can’t all be the best.  If you search online, you should be able to find some reviews of the resort and their vacation packages that will tell you what people’s experiences with them are like.

Finally, be sure you don’t let yourself get talked into something you wouldn’t normally choose.  An inclusive vacation package really isn’t a good deal if you wouldn’t choose to do all those things otherwise.

Like any other decision that involves spending money, the choice of a Fiji vacation package should be undertaken with some thought and care.  The money is important, of course, but it’s also about the quality of the experiences you will be gaining!

Technorati Tags: all-inclusive vacation package, Fiji resort, travel to Fiji

If you are a spiritual person, you need to be careful at the office. Most places of business like to keep religion outside of the office space. This does not mean that you can’t express your religious beliefs at work. It just means that you should take care not to overstep your boundaries when you’re sharing your spiritual ideas.

The general rule of thumb to follow is to enjoy your spirituality in a way that doesn’t involve others. If you are Catholic, you can wear a necklace with a cross on it without having to tell everyone why you do this. Likewise, if you have pagan spiritual beliefs, you could wear your Celtic rings without making a big deal out of why you wear them.

Of course, there are times when your religious beliefs may actually need to be discussed. If you pray at certain times of the day then the boss at your place of business may need to know this. If you take certain holidays off for spiritual reasons then this needs to be known too. In this case, it’s best to discuss the issue only with your boss. However, it can be addressed appropriately with co-workers if they get curious. Explain your beliefs but don’t force them upon others at work.

Technorati Tags: Celtic rings

Buying and selling vintage and antique jewelry is a great small business venture that you can do on your own.  There are many ways to do this, however.  Here are a few options.

• Make jewelry using vintage pieces.  A seller that I met through my 1920s wedding blog takes art deco jewelry that she finds at the flea market, at thrift stores, and garage sales, and remakes it into something new.  I’ve seen her turn shoe buckles into chunky bracelets, brooches and pins into necklaces, and cufflinks into earrings.  The result is incredibly funky and fashionable.
• Buy and resell jewelry.  Another way to make money is as a jewelry dealer, sort of like an antique dealer.  If you know what you are looking for, by combing thrift stores, flea markets, and estate and garage sales you can often find good deals on semi-valuable pieces of jewelry, which you can then resell for a profit.  Of course, the trick here is knowing jewelry and its value, so that you don’t inadvertently lose money by discovering that your purchases are worth the same or less than you paid for them.
• Sell gold for scrap.  Sometimes gold jewelry is worth more as the materials it is made for, than the piece itself.  Knowing the current value of gold can help you know whether you will be able to sell the scrap gold you find for a profit.

Being a dealer can be hard work, because you really have to do your research, know your stuff, and always keep your eyes peeled.  However, if you are dedicated enough to become really good at what you do, it can also be a very rewarding small business to own.

Technorati Tags: art deco, resell jewelry, sell gold, sell scrap gold, small business