http://www.sohotrends.com All the Latest Small Office/Home Office News Wed, 24 Dec 2008 15:51:15 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Here are my favorite quotations about the holidays... From Hellen Keller... The only real blind person at Christmas-time is he who has not Christmas in his heart. From Dale Evans Rogers... Christmas, my child, is love in action. Every time we love, every time we give, it's Christmas. And finally, from P. J. O'Rourke... The proper ... http://www.sohotrends.com/off-topic/happy-holidays From 10 Advertising Words to Avoid in 2009... http://www.sohotrends.com/web-sites/free-guaranteed-drinkability-and-a-really-very-good-opportunity-that-offers-a-lot-of-synergy ANOTHER NOTE: Thanks to Mikey J for his comment about the renewal process.  He's right... At the end of each subscription year, each MAPS subscriber must re-enroll in the initiative. NOTE:  Thanks to Susan for her comment about the eligibility requirements for the Microsoft Action Pack Subscription.  Below is a snippet ... http://www.sohotrends.com/productivity-software/cheap-ways-of-acquiring-microsoft-products One of the "perks" that I miss about my previous job is the office that came with it.  Sure, there were days that the commute was ugly, but, all in all, it was great to have a private office with a door I could close when I wanted to shut ... http://www.sohotrends.com/small-business/my-second-third-and-fourth-offices Can someone please tell me why business checks are so much more expensive than regular checks?  I googled "business checks" and clicked on the link of the first organic search result.  The lowest price for general purpose, one-part, 3-on-a-page business checks was $32.40 for 300.  The lowest price for personal ... http://www.sohotrends.com/office-supplies/why-are-business-checks-so-much-more-expensive-than-personal-checks Firing a problematic client: It's often both a fantastical and frightful notion for the small-business owner. But it may also be a pretty smart move, especially in today's economy. "There's an emotional tendency to believe that all your clients are worth something," says Matt Sarkees, assistant professor of marketing at ... http://www.sohotrends.com/blogs/you-dont-need-the-aggravation-when-to-fire-a-client So you probably know you can lease a car, but did you know you can lease a Web site? But then, why would you want to? For answers to these questions and more, I spoke with YummyNames General Manager Bill Sweetman about tips for small firms in finding the best ... http://www.sohotrends.com/blogs/how-do-ifind-the-right-domain-name You already know that the most effective advertising for your business is one person telling another. That kind of natural word-of-mouth referral carries more weight than all the advertising you can buy. Testimonials are how you capture and share that enthusiasm. When a customer, employee, vendor or anyone else starts telling ... http://www.sohotrends.com/blogs/testimonials-key-for-small-businesses-looking-to-capture-word-of-mouth Talk about overload: Suddenly everybody's spewing small-business survival tips for the greater depression. It makes me long for those good old days of, say, last year, when every other E-mail promised me the Zen of something or other, like the Zen of online backup. Or, better yet, the way back ... http://www.sohotrends.com/blogs/10-overused-business-phrases-more-depressing-than-a-depression While we're on the subject of ridiculous regulations on entrepreneurs, I should mention that the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council has just released its Small Business Survival Index 2008, an attempt to rank the 50 states based on the quality of the policy environment for entrepreneurs. What that means, given ... http://www.sohotrends.com/blogs/does-your-state-put-unnecessary-burdens-on-entrepreneurs-and-small-businesses