Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with business and resolved

Brand me

b33j — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:37:49 -0800

What is that I'm doing? Tag my business. I’ve been working freelance for a couple of years while I finished my degree doing a variety of tasks for academics (4 or 5) who work in the field of Education. Some of the things I’ve done have been to create logos for various groups, diagrams and illustrations for lesson plans and books, some photography,animations, presentations, formatting of material for publishing, transcription, managing an international journal and formatting it, creating databases and entering all the data, as well as analysing it (lightly – I’m no expert in statistics) and producing all graphs and reports.

Now that I’ve finished my degree, I want to increase my clientele. I think I can make a go of this because I turned over around $30K at about 14 hours a week. I have a domain which is my own name and the word design. I hope to launch my website (with a blog -thanks metafilter for earlier advice) in January. I’m working on a design for my business card. My current clients will probably forward my details onto their mailing groups if I ask them – I just need one last thing. What do I do and what’s a good tag line? I would have thought “academic support” except that that phrase tends to mean helping students to survive university. I tested the tagline “the whole package” on one of my current clients, and she was aghast, but couldn’t exactly say why.

So, to summarise my business card, for example...

b33jdesign
~~Academic Support~~ (?)
~~The whole package~~ (?)
w: www.b33jdesign.com
e: jr@b33jdesign.com
p: xxx xxxx xxx

Related

Tellers in crappy polos and aprons need not apply.

thebestsophist — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:45:05 -0800

Help me find a good credit union or small bank around Milwaukee, WI. I recently opened a business account with Guardian Credit Union but have had nothing but trouble and terribly unprofessional service. I need to move, and soon. I've had experience with other banks in the Wisconsin area, such as US Bank, Wells Fargo (though the closest one I've seen was Madison), and Associated Bank. I will not do business with any of them every again. I would think my requirements are simple, but apparently not:

Professionalism. I am never doing business with a bank where the teller is not wearing at least a button down shirt or blouse ever again. If someone is handling several thousand dollars of my money, I want them to dress like it.

Payroll for me, and my partner.

Online banking, including electronic transfers (not that many, just need to be able to do them).

Decent interest rates on savings, and checking if possible.

Responsive customer service. If I call and leave a voicemail, I expect to get a response in one business day.

Things such as being able to have a relationship with my banker, is a big plus.

Help me start a landscaping business!

Sentus — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:59:42 -0800

I am thinking about starting a landscaping business. I don't really have direct experience in the field. Looking for resources. Hello there,
I am in my mid twenties, moved to a midsized city in Texas about two months ago. As you probably know, our economic condition is not the best these days, which made looking for a good steady job pretty frustrating. To sustain myself I did a bunch of small gigs including small landscaping projects (Through craigslist mostly).

I am thinking about starting my own little landscaping business.

I volunteered in various organic farms for about two years; Have a modest knowledge about edible crops, organic growing methods, love and know my plants. I enjoy working outside, using my body, planting stuff,.

My selling point will be organic/sustainable landscaping.
* Trying to use native plants that require less water. Demand less upkeep and just thrive once established.
* Using organic methods, good soils, heavy mulching, sound irrigation techniques, maybe vermiculture in the future (earthworms castings).
* Showing people the beauty and functionality of edible perennials.
* Down the line get into Permaculture design, and just using Permaculture principles in people's yards.

I don't have a truck or heavy duty tools YET. So I'll have to start out doing smaller projects/rent truck on special occasions (to haul bulk soil/mulch).

Is any one here works/owns a landscaping operation? Any insights? Words of wisdom? Pros and Cons? Warnings?

Any good books on Landscape design? I know there are dozens if not hundreds, do you have any specific recommendations?

Any good software available? With design, plants for climate zones?

What would be cheap and effective marketing channels?

Thank you and have a great day,

What are some good things to consider when starting out as a professional photographer?

ghostpony — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:36:31 -0800

What are some good things to consider when starting out as a professional photographer? This can include equipment (lenses, bodies, flashes, strobes, computers), software, sites, marketing, rates.

I have lots of experience with photography but don't know exactly how to break in as a freelance professional photographer. I have a portfolio better than most and expansive enough to cover pretty much any need (from jewelry, to wild life, to children, to wedding and traditional portraiture). One of the things I have most difficulty doing is finding and setting appropriate rates.

Any help would be appreciated.

backpack be gone ...

ouchitburns — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:16:28 -0800

Help me find the get rid of my backpack! I am a student, but one of those older professional students, and I keeps catching glimpses of myself in windows with my huge backpack and I grimace.

I should no longer have a backpack.

So, I need a bag that I can bring to school and work placements. It needs to be:

1) Functional - (it should be able to carry at least one textbook and binder, and have room for the equivalent of a thin jacket.

2) Strong - my textbooks are heavy and it needs to be able to handle that.

3) Sleek - I want this to grow old with me so it needs to be of classic style.

4) Waterproof - would be nice. Not completely necessary.

I am in Vancouver, BC, Canada. I am willing to spend up to $250.

I like the look of these, but they should be used as a starting point rather than a rule.

http://jkontherun.blogs.com/photos/the_man_bag/man_bag_front.jpg
http://www.bagsnob.com/images/DiorManBag.jpg

Thanks!

Business in Georgia?

wandering steve — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:23:12 -0800

I'd like to find out what the climate is like in Georgia -- the country, not the state -- for an American business looking to expand overseas. But when I Google for it, I keep getting results for the state! From what I understand, it's a fairly Western-oriented economy -- low on taxes and bribes, a not-unreasonable amount of bureaucracy, that sort of thing. But beyond looking at the Transparency International ratings, I'm having trouble finding actual data. Can MeFi help?

How do you fund a startup with (virtually) no collateral?

ohyouknow — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 10:51:48 -0800

I need an SBA loan yesterday. My business is in startup mode, I'm already fielding new orders, but I need startup capital to get this thing off the ground. To keep this simple I won't go into great depth about my business model. The short version is that this is what I've been doing for the past 5 years very successfully, I was the one driving the business where I was at previously, and all of my former clients have been calling me for assistance. But in order to make this work I need about 35k in capital and I have no collateral. I do have excellent credit, about 30k in untapped credit, and of course my 401k... but I really don't want to touch any of these things. Each time I model out my plan I anticipate (worst case scenario) that I will be out of debt by month 4. But how do I get to month 4 without cash?

I live in San Francisco and have contacted the SBA here, but it's a long process. There is one organization that had me fill out a one page form online for an "instant SBA" and I was summarily rejected (because I don't have collateral, which I thought wasn't supposed to be an issue for an SBA, but I digress).

I know SBA applications are way up and banks are more hesitant than ever about granting them... so any guidance you could give about how to proceed would be much appreciated.

And feel free to MeMail me if you'd like to know more about the specifics. Thanks in advance!

Do online companies need toll free numbers?

ckohrman — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:14:20 -0800

Do online companies need 800 numbers if most of their sales are online from their website?

What Counts to Nielsen When Nielsen Counts?

saulgoodman — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 06:44:47 -0800

Do Nielsen Ratings account for TV viewership in public venues, such as bars, restaurants, waiting rooms, etc., and if so, how are these viewership counts tallied and weighted? I would think keeping track of performance royalties, etc., would require Nielsen or at least some performance rights entity to track viewership in public venues like this. Any information about how reported viewership outside of personal households might impact Nielsen Ratings, if at all, would be appreciated. Additional links to statistical breakdowns or other data points would be welcomed, too.

A simple "No" is also fine, say, if the two kinds of viewership are tracked separately.

Match Making 101

PFL — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 07:36:50 -0800

What's the proper etiquette when recommending up a potential contractor or vendor to the company I work for? Long story short, I have a friend who did a huge favor for me and I'd like to return the favor. He works for a contractor that specializes in construction in our industry and I'd like to forward his contact info on to our Construction Director. Ideally, I'd like to help my friend out without annoying anybody.

Should I just hand over our CD's info? Talk to him first and see if he's open to talking to my friend?

How would the Mefites do it?

Checklists and timelines for moving a business

Gravitus — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:17:57 -0800

Checklist and Timeline for a moving a business. Wholesale warehouse plus retail business. I googled for some checklists with timeframes but they were so ambiguous that I could make one faster than piecing together all of the different stuff into one master checklist. However my time is so chewed up I don't really have the time to make a comprehensive one.

Does anyone know of a good master checklist for moving a business that includes warehouse inventory, CSR's and all of the office stuff as well? I need to worry about moving everything from desks to the network to phones to electrical service into the new facilities. I have inventory racks, materials, tools, adhesives, etc... and about 6 months to make it happen.

I started a list and it always seems like I am overlooking a solid time line of when certain events need to happen. If anyone has some good links or ideas, that would be awesome. I am not opposed to buying a template or something that drops into excel, etc. This would be my first move in a business setting that I am fully in charge of and I don't want to drop the ball.

How to get Computer Parts Promo Banners for Free?

davathar — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 07:48:35 -0800

I have a small Computer Repair and Web Design company and would like to decorate the store front with some cheap or free banners, cardboard cutouts and similar items from companies like Intel, AMD, Asus, and HP. Where can I find such things?

Family and Business

Gravitus — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 12:06:51 -0800

Working in Family Business. What would you consider that "line" where you are no longer dealing with a family member but a co-worker, boss, etc.. I work in the family business. There are 4 family members actively involved in the company to varying degrees. Some of problems I am having:

One of the duties that I take care of is the entire network from web servers to work stations. Employee A(non family) seems to think it's okay to use her workstation as her personal computer. She is constantly installing crapware on her machine, printing coupons, browsing sites unrelated to work, quarking up her machine because of this and then complaining that I fix it. I had put some policies in place on her workstation to stop this but was asked by Employee B (family) to remove them so that Employee A could visit a particular site or run some stupid program that wasn't needed at work. I explained why this was a bad idea but got over-ruled. Now I have to fix employee A's machine every other day for some stupid problem she caused.

I constantly get volunteered to do things for Employer C(family) extended business associates. Things like fix their computers for them, or show them how to build a website!!!!! ugggg :( ...or help them train their employees in inventory control. All of this is being asked to be done after hours. I am not being paid to do this. When I say no or make up an excuse as to why I can't do this, I feel the repercussions for weeks afterward to the tune of completely being shut out of anything, family or business related.

I have a whole laundry list of items similar in nature to the two others I posted. That would take forever though.

The rub in this whole equation is that I am being exposed to a far broader range of functions within a business than I would normally get anywhere else. I work with the finances, inventory purchasing and controls, marketing, logistics, sales, international supply chain, etc... I have a degree in business management so I know the concepts and applications. Just doing them real world leads to a greater understanding in many cases. However, I just want to choke the living shit out of my family in the process and can see it affecting our personal relationships.

My question is what would someone reasonably expect from family members in a business setting before you must think of yourself? Had I known this is how it would be, I would have never left my old job making more money, working less hours and seemingly being respected by my peers to a greater extent. On that note I don't easily quit things. I am fairly thick skinned and can deal with a lot before I walk away. That isn't necessarily a good thing all of the time though.

A side not: It's kind of sad learning some of these things about family members. For instance, Employer C prefers to have a yes man by his side. I equate yes men to ass kissers, so now I respect Employer C far less than I previously did because he rather have his ass kissed then get good advice. Employee B is non-confrontational to the point of letting people walk over them, this only occurs with non-family members though. I never hung out with this family member outside of family functions so this was very bizarre seeing for the first time.

Help me see that line where I walk away.

Do I have to assign percentages?

TungstenChef — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 15:06:04 -0800

Mixing business and pleasure as a small businessperson, I need a little advice regarding taxes and business travel. I'll be traveling to Minneapolis twice in August for personal reasons. A friend has asked about commissioning a web site and it may make sense for me to stay in Mpls for the intervening two weeks and create it. I assume that food and lodging during the business portion would be deducitble, what about plane tickets? Also, if I buy a cheap bike from Craigslist for local transportation, can I deduct that as an expense? Anything else obvious I can deduct?

Who pays whom to put on a carnival?

AgentRocket — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 08:44:23 -0800

How do the economics of traveling carnivals work? (I.e. does the host pay a fee to the carnival company or vice versa? Is it a straight fee or a share in the receipts? If its a share, does the host have any right to influence ticket prices?) We went to a little carnival put on by our town this weekend. It was good times indeed but well more expensive than I expected. For example, if you didn't buy an all-day ride pass for $20/person it would have cost $20 for a family of four to take one ride on the ferris wheel, or $10 for two kids to take one ride on the carousel.

That got me thinking more generally about how these things work. Do carnivals pay towns/schools for the right to drop their rides/games and then keep all of the receipts? Does the town/school pay the carnival to put on the show and then allow them to keep the receipts, too? Is there some kind of sharing arrangement? I could see the justifications for all of the different arrangements, because the town needs the carnival company to succesfully put on a carnival but the company needs the town to successfully continue its existence.

Google has been unhelpful thus far. I thought about maybe making a FOIA request for the carnival contract to see how it works, but thought I'd reach out to the hivemind first. For what it's worth, I have no agenda but am instead just generally curious about this subject.

Business casual or suit to interview?

mjger — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 11:35:09 -0800

Business casual or suit to interview? More inside...not as black and white as one would think. I recently graduated with my MBA and like so many graduates this year, I am still seeking gainful employment. I have an interview on Monday morning that I normally would wear a suit to, but the hiring manager called me and said, "Don't worry about wearing a suit to the interview. We understand that you are coming from out of town and business casual will be just fine." I was a little taken back and just said "OK".

This interview is on the way to a wedding I need to be at later in the week. I am taking a suit with me for the wedding, so I will already have it with me.

Here's the issue as I see it. I would have worn a suit to the interview if the hiring manager had not said anything. But since he has said something, if I wear it now will it come across as me disregarding what the hiring manager said? Or, will the hiring manager see me wearing a suit as putting in the extra effort to impress them when they clearly said I didn't need a suit? Obviously, these questions are unanswerable since each person, including the hiring manager, will interpret the suit differently.

I guess my question to you all is: In your opinion, is it safer to just wear business casual to the interview since I have the go ahead by the hiring manager, or should I wear a suit since I will have it with me. If you recommend the suit, when I get to the interview to I explain to the hiring manager why I am in a suit even though he said I didn't need to be in one?

Thanks a bunch!

I want to be the new sexman!

mooders — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 14:30:04 -0800

How do I create a YouTube channel to promote my business? I want to utilise video to promote my business. I'm thinking that creating a channel on YouTube (or similar - Blip.tv? Vimeo? Other? Open to suggestions) with videos on content relevant to my line of business would be cool.

Problem is, I don't know where to start in terms of equipment. Here's what I have currently:

A 24" Aluminium iMac with built-in iSight camera running OS X 10.5.
iMovie pre-installed.
Um. That's it.

I've done a little video and audio track editing in the past, so my question is really around the equipment, setup and planning side of things.

I want to record in some form of HD, so I think that rules the iSight camera out.

Each video will likely be between 4 and 5 minutes long.

I'm an okay writer, but unsure whether to script, bullet-point or memorise a monologue. I have done a few presentations and generally memorise but in that context I have immediate audience feedback (body language, mainly) to feed from.

Any and all help hugely appreciated!

How to get funds to buy into existing business?

ruhlmark — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 12:19:54 -0800

I have a client who has an opportunity to buy into a business, but can't tap into home equity, etc. Are there small business loans that lend to people buying into existing, established companies? Who is good and easy to work with?

Looking to pick the best e-mail marketing service for our specific needs?

orehek — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 18:46:20 -0800

Looking to pick the best e-mail marketing service for our specific needs? We own a small e-commerce business specializing in wellness products. We are in the midst of having our website completely redesigned and relaunched in the coming weeks. We are looking to sign up with an e-mail marketing service which can organize our customer e-mail addresses and set them up so that we can send those customers eye catching e-mails with the hopes that we can encourage existing or past customers to revisit our site...and with a little luck, buy from us again. We only have about 150 customer e-mail addresses at the present moment. We know there are some e-mail marketing companies which charge by the number of e-mails we need to send versus a monthly charge. But maybe the monthly services are bigger and better companies...not sure. Here are the things we specifically need from one of these companies.

1. Do all the services allow us to use our own company contact e-mail address as the sender of the e-mail?
2. If it is possible to use our own e-mail address, can those e-mails being sent, now have a higher probability of being intercepted by SPAM blockers. What we mean is, our customers have no trouble receiving our e-mails currently when we send them ourselves from our own e-mail account manually. If the service we soon choose sends e-mails using our address, do they then suddenly get treated differently by the customer's e-mail accounts?
3. Looking for a service which uses the customer's actual name at the top of the message which we of course would provide instead of it just saying "Hello."
4. Looking for a service which would be capable of setting up surveys and possible contests.
5. Looking for a service which would allow for a custom template.
6. Looking for a service which provides reports with such details like how many people opened the e-mail and clicked on the link to the site.

The companies are were looking at are the following but we would certainly be open to others if someone feels like a particular one would be a good match for what we are wanting to accomplish. Thanks!

Constant Contact
iContact
Newsberry
ReachMail
ennectMail
MailerMailer

How to get internet service for an office in a location without wired broadband capability?

Outis — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 09:41:53 -0800

What is the best way to get broadband internet to a warehouse with offices that isn't capable of it via landlines? My dad bought a building for his company to relocate to (in Northern Virginia) and while it's a great building in a great location, internet is difficult to obtain there. Verizon is the phone company and the only form of internet they provide is a T1 line, no DSL or Fios. The T1 line is a fortune (not to mention overkill) and my dad's not looking at spending 4 times more than he is with Cox at his current location. Been speaking with Cox and they want into the new building's area badly, since they'd pull in all of Verizon's T1 customers, but the permits are constantly being upheld since it's an I-5 zoning with dangerous things.

Is it possible/feasible to get a Sprint Broadband card and connect it to an office router for use of 6 computers? The only internet used is e-mail, the Nextel website to send texts out to the technicians, and the GPS website to determine location of vehicles. The office network is self-sufficient so the important stuff is on the server in the building. However, it does back itself up via the internet nightly but that can be done in house.

My dad's desperate to move in the next two weeks. Verizon went back and forth saying they had DSL and didn't and Cox was hoping to but not able to provide at the moment. Frankly, he can't stand Verizon and the run around they give on the phone and they're telling him he has to get a T1 line and it'll be a month before they install it.

Satellite has been brought up, but the guy that deals with his IT isn't a fan of reliability.

Or, does someone have a better suggestion?

Not just profit but organic profit

rongorongo — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 03:20:57 -0800

What is meant by the term "Organic Profit"?

Like YouTube, only totally not.

chesty_a_arthur — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 07:16:17 -0800

Can anyone recommend a video-hosting platform for small business? I have a client who wants to make available a 10-minute video to select individuals who have been duly NDA'd and so forth. In addition to hosting it in the client's own Web space, I am wondering whether there are services dedicated to hosting and service streaming video for small-to-medium enterprise. I know about Google Video for Business. Is there anything else along these lines you've had a good experience with?

A Business Plan for Promotion?

thankyoumuchly — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 18:28:44 -0800

Help an IT consultant write a business case for promotion. My company holds an annual review for all employees based on their level. I started my job as an IT consultant a few years ago straight out of college. I am one of about a dozen consultants in my office who I will be reviewed against for promotion, and roughly a fourth of us will make the cut. We don't all work on the same projects so our promotion is based on us writing a self assessment of our performance in more general terms, and I wanted to add to this by writing a business case about how if I am promoted, I will benefit our clients, company and co-workers. I am turning to the hive mind for suggestions about how to write a business case for promotion.

Thank you in advance!

TYM

They got me for $20.00

pjern — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 07:10:59 -0800

Is this site a scam? I paid for a one-month subscription to check it out, and after weeks the site 'support staff' is unable to give me a working URL to the "live load board" they advertise. The extent of their help has been to tell me to "retreive my password" and to state on the paypal dispute I opened "That there may be no loads in an individual state." Apparently, this 'company' advertises a lot on Craigslist.

If they are in fact a scam, what sorts of things can I do to stop them? More importantly, how can I prove they're scamming?

I need stationary!

l33tpolicywonk — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 17:35:51 -0800

Help me find an economical, customized stationary and business card service. I've decided to get business cards and personalized stationary. Here are my needs:

Containing very little information - basically my name, e-mail, phone number and one URL.
Black (or black and another color) on white or ivory - no pictures are necessary
Clean, modern look
Business cards and flat cards for writing notes, preferably with envelopes included.
Prefer an online card designer or preview, but I can design them myself if I have to.
Low quantity: 50 - 100 business cards and 20-30 stationary cards
I'd like to keep the price low but I'm willing to pay more for an independent designer or the like.
Available online or in the DC area.

Any recommendations?