originally published in Buzz about Business

Introduction:

Are you are on the verge of starting a new business or working on expanding your existing business? Since the global economical turmoil affected small business loan approvals, it is very important to understand the technicalities before applying for loans. This article will walk you through the significant factors for managing and getting your small business loans.

Small business bank loan:

A bank is the first source that crosses your mind when you start thinking about small business loans. With the current economic situation, banks are revising their rules and regulations for small business loan approvals. The following guidelines may help you understand how you can get a small business loan approved from a bank.

• Have a strong project plan that highlights your small business strength
• Learn a professional method to present your project plan and its strengths so that it gives confidence to bank managers
• Establish a relationship with your bank by meeting officials in person, speaking to them honestly, explaining your goals, and business trend (past, present and future)
• Contact as many banks as possible and understand their policy, small business loan rates and loan programs
• Identify what is expected from you and anticipate the bank’s concerns
• Be flexible on your request concerning money and other terms and conditions

Government small business loans:

There are government agencies, if you meet the criteria set by them, that can help to get your small business loan approvals.

• The Small Business administration(SBA) is an independent agency of the federal government. They counsel and guide small business entrepreneurs in various business disciplines including small business loans and finances.
• Such Government agencies, generally, coordinate with banks and guarantee them on behalf of a small business owner.
• They promise banks to pay back a portion of the money, if the owner fails to do so. To become eligible, your business must meet the standard as specified and you are required to sign a contract.

Small business loans for women:

If you are a women entrepreneur, you will be surprised to find the options that are available to obtain small business loan approvals.

• Federal government agencies like SBA, and other fund-raising organizations such as count-me-in, the women’s funding network, can guide through the special options available for women’s small business loans.
• Financial organizations like Wells Fargo, and Accion USA advise women entrepreneurs on various small business loan options to take care of their business finances.
• Low interest small business loans are established according to state policies for minority women with low incomes or no monetary support.
• Disabled loans can be availed for women entrepreneurs with physical disabilities.

Conclusion:

Apart from these, there may be other industries like nonprofit organizations that can help in  managing loans. Ensure that you provide necessary information about your business and project plan as requested in the checklist. Doing it right at the first time will save you time, money and get your small business loan approvals.

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Economic Recovery for Small Businesses: Now is Not the Time to Pull Back

As I travel around the country, I meet many small business owners who are poised to take that next step to grow their business and create jobs. In fact, this morning’s USA Today looks at one of those business owners - Amarjit Kaur who runs a convenience store and gas station in Wood Village, OR.  Amarjit has been approved for an SBA loan so she can buy the property she now leases. But today her application sits in a queue waiting for passage of the Small Business Jobs Act currently before the Senate.

Here’s what’s happening:  Up until a few months ago, SBA was able to waive the fees for SBA loan borrowers.  This allowed small business owners to put more money back into their business. In fact, these fee reductions will save Amarjit about $35,000.  At the same time, we  were able to increase the government guarantee on SBA loans, to encourage more banks and credit unions to go ahead and make SBA loans to good, creditworthy small businesses.

This worked.  SBA lenders approved about 70,000 SBA Recovery loans in the hands of small businesses since the Recovery Act passed, nearly $30 billion in total. And, we brought more than 1,300 lenders back to making SBA loans at a time when other banks were cutting back their small business lending.

Unfortunately, the funding for these popular enhancements ran out at the end of May – just when small business owners like Amarjit’s needed it.  With support in Congress for extending these successful loan enhancements, we started the Recovery Loan Queue, a stand-by list just like at the airport.

Today, that list is at nearly 1,000 small businesses long, including Amarjit’s, totaling almost $500 million in loans.  With the passage of the Small Business Jobs Act, SBA will be able to fund these loans. Additionally, among other programs, the Act will create the Small Business Lending Fund to provide additional capital to small, community banks so they can boost their lending to small businesses locally.

As Amarjit’s story points out, now is not the time to pull back. In communities all across the country there are business owners just like her who are in a position to do exactly what our economy needs them to do – grow and create jobs. With the Small Business Jobs Act, we can be the very partner these business owners need by giving them the tools to continue to drive our economic recovery.

Karen Mills is the Administrator of the Small Business Administration

Social media can be a scary prospect for small businesses; unlike traditional marketing methods, it puts part of the message in the hands of the customers. But while it’s easy to be concerned that the message will go the wrong way, the benefits can outweigh the risks if you use the available services wisely.

The most obvious benefits are increased customer loyalty and engagement. Less obvious but just as important: Your business will gain exposure not through your own advertisements, but through folks who’ve already been patrons. We’re more likely to trust a Facebook  update or Yelp  review from a friend than from the business itself.

We spoke with small business owners and social media managers around the world who have successfully used social media to increase business performance, and we asked them for their stories and their tips. Here’s what we learned.

It’s About Relationships, Not Pitches

The most common advice we received from businesses successfully using social media: Use it to engage your customers in a conversation, not just sell your services. Ideally, social media helps any business become the corner barbershop or bookstore where the owner knows each regular’s name and preferences.

Reid Travis is the social media manager at quick-serve Mexican restaurant chain Panchero’s, which while not exactly a small business, is decidedly the little guy when stacked up to the larger, multi-national fast-food chains against which it competes. “We’re not focused on marketing to our followers, fans and readers,” he says. “Our primary goal is to connect with them.” He says engagement and transparent communication are important assets.

“I feel like companies that practice one-way conversation (the talking-only kind) are pretty much missing the entire point of social media … The best advice I can give from my adventures in the social realm is to listen more than you talk and don’t be scared to let go of the reigns. You’re definitely not going to be able to control the entire message out there; be okay with that.”

Blatz Market & Liquor’s Joe Woelfle employs a similar strategy. He says: “Social media has been pivotal in growing my business. A good portion of my tweets are conversational just to stay in front of my followers as much as possible. However I also use it to gauge interest about new products, run specials, and get the word out about events.”

Woelfle says his January 2010 was up 25% over the same month in 2009 after his first year of social media use. His chief slice of advice? “I would tell other SMB’s to be themselves but be sure to actively engage your followers.”

Social Media Exposure: Better Than Ads and Cheaper, Too

Businesses use social media to gain exposure for their products, services and brands. The alternative is traditional advertising, but social media is uniquely valuable to small businesses for two reasons. First, it’s cheaper. But it also ensures that people are hearing about your business from a source they trust more than an advertisement: friends and family.

Jim Glaub’s Art Meets Commerce does Internet and social media marketing for Broadway and off-Broadway shows with limited marketing budgets. Word of mouth is already essential to these productions’ successes — social media is an extension of that.

Glaub says, “People leave the show and jump onto Twitter to tell their friends how much they liked the show. It’s been especially helpful when people with large followings tweet about it, increasing our followers and exposing the show to people that may not have heard of it.”

He also reports that celebrities will attend the shows and tweet about them, providing even more exposure. Having an active Twitter presence encourages these theater fans to spread the word and encourage their own followers to start tracking the show.

For small business owners, it is important to remember that some people will tweet about you or review you on Yelp whether you have a presence there or not, and what they say might not be positive. You need to be on the ground, ready to deal constructively with any negative exposure. As stated previously, you should be participating in and guiding a two-way conversation.

Alan Lewis, director of special projects at Natural Grocers, has some advice on that front:

“Setting up an effective monitoring system and a couple of accounts on HootSuite () will really help you understand perceptions and misconceptions about your organization or service, and give you a chance to respond conversationally — and with links or facts. What’s more, those people often become your best, newly educated advocates — they appreciate your accessibility and openness to answering their questions.”

Engaging the Local Community

Julee Mertz puts her passion for swing dancing and her business education to work running a vintage dance studio in Chicago called Big City Swing. She and her staff use Facebook and Yelp to attract students and people just looking for a good time to dances, classes and performances.

The staff primarily uses Facebook for its event features. They host a monthly dance and create a Facebook event well in advance. When someone RSVPs to an event, his or her attendance is by default shared with all of his or her friends. That gets the word out. Mertz says:

“We really enjoy the event invitation function. It’s a great way to keep our monthly dance on people’s weekend agenda. We can now project the attendance and plan accordingly based on the number of folks who’ve accepted the invite. It represents a fraction of the actual attendance, but we’re starting to see a helpful, predictable pattern.”

The studio doesn’t use Yelp to organize events — though it could. Rather, the staff uses it as a source of positive recommendations from other customers. “We love and slightly fear Yelp,” Mertz admits. “We pay attention to everything in our reviews. We reinforce with our staff the aspects of our business our clients enjoy and immediately work on issues they report need improvement.”

She believes that the risk of a poor review is outweighed by the power of a positive one. “We post client testimonials that our students e-mail us, but I believe Yelp adds credibility to reviews,” she says. The studio’s website hosts a badge widget boasting of the studio’s 20 five-star reviews. Visitors who click the badge are taken to Yelp where they can read those reviews hosted by a more convincing third-party.

Yelp has become a necessity for local businesses, so be sure to check out our list of tips for small businesses just getting started with the service.

Going the Extra Mile

The above tips cover just the basics. Some businesses go even further to reach the influential, tech-savvy crowd who spend their lives immersed in social media.

Arizona restaurant Liberty Market actually tweets regular customers asking them how the food was, for example. That’s the variety of attention folks expect to get from a small, mom and pop business. It’s a pleasant surprise that this culture can be amplified in an era of greater connection, not mitigated.

Some businesses will be able to clearly see online sales go up in proportion to Twitter followers. Some won’t. Sometimes it can be less about the monthly figures and more about creating a culture that customers will revisit and talk about with their friends. That’s harder to measure, but it’s long-established wisdom for small businesses trying to compete in a market controlled by big corporate chains.

Using social media, you can offer something to your customers that larger businesses can’t. Liberty Market’s Joe Johnston sums it up:

“People ask me if we have ‘made money’ with Twitter. Absolutely yes. But not how most business think. We have solidified loyalty and have our name out there, front of mind. Because of that, many social media meetups use our place. Patience! One has to believe that increased loyalty and awareness are a key to business growth.”

Gist helps you build stronger professional relationships by bringing together information from across the web for all your contacts and their companies giving you the right information at the right moment to get a first meeting, deliver an amazing pitch, or just find a better way to make a connection. Gist does all the work for you, assembling a dynamic collection of all your contacts and their companies from your email inbox, your social networks, or even your CRM system automatically building and updating their profiles as new content is published – by them or about them.

The Small Business Administration offers online workshops, seminars and classes plus tips on market research and creating a business plan.

By Sharon Bernstein, Los Angeles Times

August 21, 2010|3:19 p.m.

The Small Business Administration offers a variety of assistance, including online workshops, seminars and classes. The agency also has step-by-step instructions for starting a business, including tips on market research and creating a business plan.

The main national website has links to local SBA district offices throughout the country. Try them at http://www.sba.gov. Click on the tab labeled Small Business Planner for tips on what you may need to know before you start.

If you have hit a snag in developing your business or need advice from someone who's been there, try an organization called Score. Formerly the Service Corps of Retired Executives, Score offers free business counseling and mentoring. Help can be found online at http://www.score.org.

Blueberry and lavender pops

Originally published in LA times

Total time: 20 minutes, plus freezing time

Servings: Makes 6 to 8 popsicles, depending on the mold

1 1/2 cups full-fat Greek yogurt

3/4 cup whole milk

1/4 cup blueberry preserves (or grape preserves)

1 pint blueberries

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon dried lavender blossoms

1. Place the yogurt, milk, preserves, blueberries and vanilla in a blender. Blend until smooth. Sprinkle in the lavender, then re-cover the blender and pulse briefly to combine.

2. Divide the mixture evenly among the pop molds, pouring so that you leave about one-half inch of headroom at the top. Once they are filled, tap the molds gently against the counter, allowing the liquid to settle evenly into the molds and dislodging any air bubbles that may have formed. Cover the molds and fit with popsicle sticks, if necessary. Freeze the molds until completely firm, at least 5 hours. For easy unmolding, run the frozen pops under warm water for 10 to 15 seconds before removing them.

Each of 8 popsicles: 125 calories; 4 grams protein; 15 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram fiber; 5 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 10 mg. cholesterol; 11 grams sugar; 26 mg. sodium.

By Alyse Hart

If you’re a parent you use stories to bond and put your kids to sleep. If you are a seller you use stories to stand out and make your point. Stories are powerful and work well in selling. Listen to radio commercials. I heard a Nordstrom’s shoe sale commercial that sounded more like I was eavesdropping on a conversation between two friends. One raved about the great selection of sale shoes and urged her friend to come down and meet her at the store. And who doesn’t know the Airborne cold product story?  The 2^nd grade teacher created a product because she was sick of catching cold. These stories make us listen. They aren’t pitchy.

Being a pet sitter is quite a rewarding job. I have the opportunity to meet so many wonderful pets and their humans.  Most of the time the dogs that I pet sit are well behaved and spoiled (only a good way) by their humans. But, there are some dogs that are lacking in social skills and acceptable behavior.

I have this one client that has a 5 month old pup that is absolutely wonderful. She’s loving and playful and everything you would want a puppy to be. For one exception, she hasn’t been socialized yet.  She is now getting into all sorts of trouble, eating everything in sight, not behaving well when company comes over, and still piddling when she gets excited. The piddling part I am hoping she will out grow. She even has made herself sick because she ate part of a bush in the yard that is poisonous to dogs. As well as started to chew on furniture, not due to the lack of toys either.

The reason that I am told that she has not been socialized yet is because the Vet has told her parents that she cannot be around other dogs until she has had all of her vaccinations. Why she hasn’t had all by 5 months is a little confusing to me but, that’s Vet’s call. After raising 4 dogs over the last 20 years, experience has taught me that having all their shots by the age of 12 weeks is fine for them. In the meantime taking them on outings in the car and letting them see other dogs before their shots are finished have worked for us. Then at 12 weeks when the shots were done we would immediately get them out into public to dog parks, taking them on walks in the neighborhood, as well as meeting and greeting others.

Since a puppy only has a critical few weeks to become initially socialized between 8 – 14 weeks, it is imperative that all stimuli and experiences be positive ones. This is when the puppy is most inclined to absorb what is being introduced to them as well as whom they are being introduced to in a positive light. That’s just the way their little brains work. As you introduce your puppy to new experiences, people, other dogs, and situations; make sure that you give them a special dog treat to reinforce the positive behavior that they display. They will learn to see other dogs not as threats but as buddies. They are pack animals and as such they need to be with their pack, whether they are at the dog park or visiting someone’s home on a play date.

Anyway, in the meantime my pet sitting puppy is suffering from lack of socialization. The boredom is setting in. Not being out on walks with other dogs and learning what other dogs say and do with each other is really hindering her future. So….. When I go to see her I make sure that we have at least an hour of leash time in the backyard. We work on our Heal, Sit, Wait, Turns, and Comes. I always reward her with special dog treats anytime she is doing well.  I always try to tire her out so that she doesn’t get into too much mischief when I am gone.

Let this be a lesson to those with new puppies. Please, please, please….. When speaking to your Vet, ask them how it will affect your puppy if your puppy is not socialized in a timely manor between 8-14 weeks. Don’t let your puppy not become socialized in the critical time period. Make sure they get all of their vaccinations finished by 12 weeks. That way they have a fighting chance to be well balanced dogs when they grow up, and learn their own language from other dogs and get a chance to be in a pack environment.  Don’t forget to sign them up for a K9 Kindergarten class as well. This will help you with the tools you will need for full on obedience training course.

Always remember to feed your dog with love and a wise heart.

"Good plans shape good decisions."
--Lester R. Bittel

Barbara Wayman

Planning is an amazing habit.   It's hard to accomplish things when we aren't exactly sure what we're doing or what success is going to look like.  We are all much faster and efficient at doing tasks when we've set aside some time at the outset to think about the exact outcome we want. 

Even if you've never worked with a marketing or PR plan, or even if you've never seen one, the same principle applies.  Taking some time at the outset to decide what your business goals will be this year and how marketing can help you achieve them can be a very wise investment in your success.

In fact, after over 15 years of doing marketing work I'd say the number one mistake I see business people making with their marketing is failing to have a plan of any kind.  I see people putting attention on their sales, on their team, on their facilities and on their customers, but not envisioning their marketing as an engine that drives it all.  As a result they constantly make important decisions on the fly.  This can be a huge time waster because as you have probably experienced, business owners receive a lot of unsolicited phone calls and emails related to marketing and advertising. 

If you have no plan and an advertising representative calls you with an opportunity, you have no way to judge whether this opportunity will serve your business.  Then tomorrow another rep calls with a different opportunity.  Which one should you choose?  The absence of a plan can create a lot of busy work and distraction in your day when really, if you were to sit down and write up even a basic description of your target customer, you'd be easily able to hold that up to the demographics of each opportunity and see right away if it is a fit for you.  

That's why I always recommend my clients start with a strategic plan.  It will save you time, money and effort as well as get you to your goal more seamlessly and more enjoyably.

Barbara Wayman, president of BlueTree Media, LLC, publishes The Stand Out Newsletter, an award-winning  ezine for people who want to know how to leverage the power of marketing and public relations. Get your free subscription today at www.bluetreemedia.com/ezine.html

©2010 Barbara Wayman, BlueTree Media, LLC.

Sharlyn Lauby is the president of Internal Talent Management (ITM) which specializes in employee training and human resources consulting. She authors a blog at hrbartender.com.

Companies are realizing that people are talking about them whether they like it or not. As a result, they’re deciding whether they should consider having a social media presence, and hence, a policy. A social media policy outlines for employees the corporate guidelines or principles of communicating in the online world.

Social media is quickly moving from an emerging form of communication to the mainstream. So, just like in the old days when companies had to figure out how to deal with email, now they have to figure out how to deal with Facebook  and all other new media venues. Let’s talk about the Five Ws to adopting a social media policy.

1. WHY have such a policy?

As a human resources professional, I’m constantly accused of being all about policies. But besides the pre-disposition of my profession to policies, there are legitimate reasons to establish some guidelines for social media.

Unfortunately, you have to contemplate what might happen if someone says or does something stupid (like employees doing gross things to food and posting it on YouTube). So I asked one of my attorney tweeps, Eric B. Meyer, who’s an Associate in the Labor and Employment Group of Dilworth Paxson LLP, what companies should consider from a legal perspective in developing a social media policy. Meyer reminded me of two important points:

1. Employers need to be upfront with employees that they have no right to privacy with respect to social networking. “Employers reserve the right to monitor employee use of social media regardless of location (i.e. at work on a company computer or on personal time with a home computer).”

2. Employees “should be made aware that company policies on anti-harassment, ethics and company loyalty extend to all forms of communication (including social media) both inside and outside the workplace.” People need to remember that bashing your organization/boss/co-workers online can lead to consequences at work.

2. WHAT can social media do for my organization?

Shannon Seery Gude, VP of Digital for Bernard HODES Group, told me that forming a social policy should start with an understanding of how your employees are aligned with your company values. “It’s important that authenticity can exist without the need for what may be perceived as forced company morality.”

In addition, social media can strengthen your ‘brand’ not only as an employer but as a company. Take Dell for example. A recent report claims that Twitter has made Dell $1 million in revenue over the past year and a half. So what are you waiting for?

3. WHO should the policy cover?

Media is for everyone…not just your marketing department. So for it to really be effective consider expanding the policy to all employees, not just for a handful of people. One way to think of it is, while it’s called social media, it has a vibrant customer service component to it. You wouldn’t take the phone or email from your employees, so why take social media away from them.

“Companies have existing communications policies,” explains Scott Monty, head of social media at Ford Motor Company, “directives that spell out the company’s expectation when employees use the phone or email.” Since the conversation has moved to the Web, “it’s important for organizations large and small to acknowledge that and extend their existing communications policies to include online sites.”

4. WHERE should you let employees know about this policy?

When you give all of your employees the ability to interact with the whole world…well, then you have to provide them with some training on how to use it properly and effectively. A great example is Zappos. They encourage all of their employees to have Twitter  accounts so they can interact with current and potential customers. And, they actually train their employees on the proper use of Twitter during new-hire orientation.

Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh says that their company uses Twitter in a big way. “We’ve found that it’s a great way to form more personal connections with both employees and customers.”

5. WHEN is the right time to implement a policy?

The time to think about drafting a social media policy is now. Twitter is growing at a rate of 1,382%, and it’s just one of the many social networking applications in the market. Companies are using social media tools to establish value in terms of marketing and branding.

Social media or new media is really media. Plain and simple. Many organizations with any kind of formal structure have a policy in place for working with media. You know, the policy that says any requests from the media need to be directed to the Corporate Director of XYZ for response. Add to that, the communication policies you have in place. The ones that say you won’t do anything illegal, immoral, unethical, etc. So this is really no different. Social media is merely an extension of what you currently have in place.

Monty agrees. “If anything, existing policies should already be in place; amending them to include the changes to communications platforms and anticipating future changes – should occur ASAP.”

So it’s time for companies to start thinking about social media in the same context as all other forms of communication. According to Gude, “the case has been made that common sense should be all that is needed, but when done right, formal policies can drive effective practices.” That means developing guidelines for its use, training people to leverage the benefits, and proactively creating a positive social media presence for the organization.

Grace Smith orginally published on Mashable

The importance of having an attractive website that converts visitors into buyers and helps cleverly promote your small business is essential in these fiercely competitive times.

Your website has to capture a visitor's attention, entice him or her to stay and browse around, create an interest in your product or service, and result in sales. For small businesses with limited time and budgets, design is an essential factor in both attracting and converting potential customers.

With this in mind, here are five current design trends that most small businesses can utilize to great effect.

1. Minimalism

While this web design style has been popular for some time, it's worth revisiting as no small business owner wants to turn visitors away with a cluttered, overbearing and hard to navigate website.

Minimalist design effectively strips away the excess and helps the user concentrate squarely on the content. If a page has too many elements, the user will easily become confused about where to focus on, with many elements vying for attention.

With page weight now affecting your Google search engine position, it's the perfect time to reassess how streamlined your design is.

There are several principles and steps you can follow to create a more minimalist design:

1.  Go through your site and prune any unnecessary widgets or elements which aren't serving a real purpose.

2.  Make good use of whitespace, which is the space between different elements of a design. Used well, it will allow for easier scanning of your site and help frame the elements on each page.

3.  With fewer elements, choosing the right color palette or accent color is critical. As color has great significance and meaning, it's best to test how certain colors interact with each other.

4.  Browse your site through the eyes of your visitors, evaluating if there is too much information, confusing or off-putting elements, or sufficient calls to action. Answering these types of questions truthfully will help you prioritize the essential elements.

A minimalist design doesn't have to be bland and boring; it can easily be modern, fresh, sophisticated, elegant or refined, based solely on the details within the design.

2. Unique Photography

Two men shaking hands, a group of people in suits sharing a joke, the call center girl: these are all tired, clichéd images that litter thousands of business websites. These types of images fail to convey either information on the company or a sense of the site's character, and are essentially meaningless.

Using custom photography or artwork whenever possible is recommended, though for small business owners, both time and budget are limited and stock photos are a relatively cheap and accessible resource.

So when choosing stock imagery, it's best to keep in mind these four tips:

1.  Research your competitors and industry and take note of the images used. You can then find a unique way to represent your product or service.

2.  Avoid being too literal in your choice of imagery as abstract compositions often give a more dramatic and memorable effect.

3.  Don't always opt for the cheaper low-res image, as pixelated imagery devalues your overall design and looks unprofessional.

4.  Veer away from the bland and predictable and let the images 'break out of the box'.

Imaginative imagery will reinforce your brand message and add greater character to your website. So, when you must use stock imagery, do so with great care and take the time to find the right piece that will convey the true personality of your service or product.

3. Bold Typography

Web design at its core is about communication, and typography is a vital component of that. Great web typography helps bring order to information and creates a coherent, visually satisfying experience that engages the reader without their knowing.

A recent trend is the use of big, bold typography which helps to create contrast between other text while grabbing a user's attention. Oversized text can help create hierarchy and ensure users understand your message loud and clear.

In order to utilize typography to create a bold statement, keep in mind the following tips:

1.  Determine the single most important message you want to emphasize, as too many messages can lead to choice paralysis. Understand the qualities of the message you are trying to convey, and then look for typefaces that embody those qualities.

2.  Choose a typeface that will match the character of your work. For instance, if your company embodies the feel of an Old Style font, you should consider Bembo, Garamond and Sabon. It will also greatly depend on what you want to convey with the type, because legibility is as important as the character of the type.

3.  Give the typography the prominent position it deserves by surrounding it with a generous amount of whitespace. This will add emphasis and create even more focus on the typography.

4.  Test out some of the various font replacement options such as Typekit or Typotheque. These allow you to license fonts to embed within your site, and help you to experiment with beautiful typography.

Typography is an art and the decisions you make are subjective; however, carefully selecting a typeface can make a huge difference to the quality of your design.

4. Clear Calls to Action

As a small business owner you want your visitors to complete a certain task when they land on your page. It could be to download, sign up or checkout, but these calls to action are one of the most important (and overlooked) elements in a small business website.

You want to grab your visitor's attention and move him or her to take action. Crafting a clear, concise call to action is essential.

Here are four tips to keep in mind when designing a call-to-action button or advertisement:

1.  Language: Keep the wording short and snappy (always start with a verb), but also explain the value behind the action the user is taking. In some instances it also helps to create a sense of urgency using words such as 'now', 'hurry' and 'offer ends,' with 'free' being the number one incentive.

2.  Positioning: Ideally, calls to action should be above the fold, and be placed on every page of the site in a consistent position. For instance, Squarespace (shown above), not only has a large call-to-action button at the top of the page, but also has a slightly smaller button in the footer of every page.

3.  Color: The color should make the call stand out from the rest of the design. Brighter, more contrasting colors usually work best for smaller buttons. For larger buttons, you may want to choose a less prominent color (but one that still stands out from your background), so as to balance out its size.

4.  Size: The call-to-action button should be the largest button on any given page. You want it to be large enough to stand out without overwhelming the rest of the design

It's vital you test different combinations of call-to-action buttons and see how each affects your conversion rates (see A/B Testing below). It's also best to make sure they fit within your overall design.

5. A/B Testing

With competition growing fiercer online, it's important for small businesses to have a website that converts visitors to buyers and creates a competitive edge. That's why it is important to continually measure and improve site performance, usability and conversions.

One of the foremost ways of optimizing your web design is via A/B testing (sometimes referred to as split testing). An A/B test examines the effectiveness of one landing page over another. The two versions are randomly shown to site visitors to see which generates the best results. You then evaluate the performance of each and use the best version.

Various elements can be tested, including, layouts, copy, graphics, fonts, headlines, offers, icons, colors and more. Here are a few tips for A/B testing:

1.  Clearly define your goal before beginning any test. For example, if you wanted to increase sign-ups, you might want to test the following: type of fields in the form, length of the form, and display of privacy policy.

2.  Start with elements that will have the biggest impact for minimum effort. For instance, you could tweak the copy on your checkout button to see if conversions can be improved.

3.  Don't use A/B testing in isolation as this alone won't give you a well-rounded picture of your users. Instead, use other feedback tools, such as Feedback Army or User Testing, in conjunction with A/B testing to get in-depth analysis of user behavior.

A/B testing won't make a bad design great, but it will prove an effective aid in optimizing your current design's usability and conversions until you decide to overhaul your website design completely.

These are just five web design trends that small businesses can take part in to enhance their websites.