An article posted a couple weeks ago at the New York Times gracefully details the rise and fall of six companies that had started between 1996 and 2008, all of which closed up shop in 2010. Unfortunately, many of the failures were a result of the economy and therefore couldn’t have really been predicted, but I find it surprising that half of these stories involve some kind of defeat by a competitor who simply ‘does it better.’ Ouch!

Culminating all six of these stories, there are a few clear trends that can be acted upon by us as business owners entering 2011. To start, here’s one way to avoid the heat that melted these companies: Know Your Competition. Basically, learn about your competitors as though you were a typical consumer, looking to hire or purchase from them.  Pay attention to find the areas in which you think they’re on the right path and areas where they’re probably losing ground.  Remember that something that differs from your opinion or the way you do business may not be wrong—you’ll often benefit from heeding new ideas!

From Tim Berry of Entrepreneur Magazine:

• Shop your competition.
  Depending on what business they’re in, you can probably call them, visit their offices and perhaps buy from them. Get a price list. Listen to their pitch. If it’s applicable, count the cars in their parking lot. Count customers coming out of their store, both with and without purchases.
• Talk to their customers.
  What do their customers like or dislike about each competitor? Why and how do customers decide between one competitor or another?  [Honestly, people will often give you this information freely, whether they're hoping you'll offer something better or they're looking to boast about the services or products they receive.  Testimonials are good only for specifics; of course they'll all say glowing things, so read testimonials only to gain insight about what the company is doing well.]
• Purchase credit and background reports at Dun and Bradstreet’s website.
  [It costs $119 right now to get a full report on a company, so this is only for those competitors that represent huge losses for you.  Also, it may not be exactly the information you're looking for.]
• Small or not, local or not, check your competitors’ websites.
  Study them carefully. Many companies offer an abundance of information about themselves on the web. Do they offer their products or services in an online store? Or do they simply provide information only? Do they have a price list? What are they emphasizing on their site? What do they say about themselves? What conclusions can you draw? Their websites are a great source of company information. No website? That’s interesting competitive information as well.
• Do a thorough search of the internet, using your favorite search engines.
  Besides their own site, you want to see where else your competition turns up. Maybe they don’t have their own site, but they’re listed on other sites or have a store in an online mall. And maybe you can find press information on them, articles that profile them or offer information on changes they may have gone through, such as store openings or hiring a new CEO. The web is amazing in what it can reveal.

From Kim Gordon of Entrepreneur Magazine:

• Evaluate “perceived” competitors.
  Chances are, you have a lot more competitors than you think. In addition to real competitors, evaluate the marketing tools and materials of any businesses your prospects perceive as offering a similar set of products or services. For example, a custom cabinetmaker may believe he competes exclusively with other companies that build kitchen cabinets to order. But if his prospects think of the customized cabinetry offered by major home centers as competitive products, the cabinetmaker must evaluate the way the major chains market cabinetry in his local area.

From Rich Harshaw of Y2Marketing:

• Consider the appeal of not doing anything a competitor.
  To wrap up the parts of Harshaw’s long article that focus on “inertia” or the draw for a prospect to not take any action, you want to view this inaction as a competitor, too. Prove yourself better than the direct and indirect competition; but also prove yourself good enough for the prospect to make a move and not be lured away by the potential to save time and money by ignoring their need for you altogether.

From JK Harris of Entrepreneur Magazine:

• [Recognize] products and services you don’t offer and haven’t thought about offering.
  You’re also competing with the businesses that are meeting the needs of your customers with products and services you don’t offer and haven’t thought about offering, and the businesses that might make your products obsolete. You need to know who all your competitors are–not just the obvious ones, but the ones flying under the radar as well.
• Use programs like Google Alerts to track what’s said about them online.
  [TweetDeck and others can be set up to notify you when competitors are mentioned in tweets.]
• Be prepared to cooperate and collaborate when necessary.
  If something is going to have a strongly positive or negative impact on your industry, reach out to your competitors so you can join forces and take appropriate action. Depending on your particular business, you may also find that competitors can serve as backup resources. For example, you might get an order that’s too big for you to fill alone.Or if a competitor suffers a disaster of some sort that prevents that company from serving its customers, you can step in and help out.

It’s easy to put your blinders on and stick to what you’ve been doing, but don’t let it take you down. And don’t be bothered if these methods seem shady to you: If your competitors know you’re there, they’re probably doing the same things to keep tabs on you! Just be honest in your approach, and don’t be afraid to try something new. Read the NYT article here.

There are things that we, as professionals, students or hobbyists, tend to take for granted as far as what’s “obvious” or “common sense.”  Cloud computing is one of those things that I figured out based on what I knew previously about the Internet and its inner workings, and I always assumed that if I could figure it out, it must be as obvious as tying one’s shoe.  Recently, though, a cohort, who is by no means a stupid person, asked me what “the cloud” is.  This friend has been studying biological science for years, so as dumbfounded as I was that such an intelligent individual wouldn’t know what cloud computing is, it quickly occurred to me that the term still isn’t used widely enough to be “common sense.” Would you believe me if I told you that you probably use some form of cloud computing on a regular basis?

“The Cloud” is basically another term for the Internet. I say that this is the basic definition because in connotation, it is more used to describe the applications that we use via the Internet, including email clients, document and graphics editors, and virtual storage. You’re probably familiar with Google’s Gmail, and you may even use Google Docs or Google Apps. Perhaps you use an app like Piknic to edit your photos for sharing or Dropbox to share various files with friends, family and coworkers. You may be using Mozy to backup your computer regularly so as not to lose your important files. These applications all offer the unique benefit of collaboration that traditional software can’t so easily offer.

Is there a security risk? Sure, but the engineers of these online software are ever-so-aware of your skepticism, and they’re likely working much harder on the security aspect than are producers of ‘normal’ software. Also bare in mind that just because it rests solely on your hard drive does not guarantee security: Viruses and other malware are built smarter and stealthier now, so as they say, abstinence [from the Internet] is the only way to truly avoid…malware

Cloud computing seems like something you’d like to try out, but you’re not sure where to start or what is even necessary. Going to a completely Internet-based can be useful for growing businesses, but making a huge shift in that direction can be overwhelming. Each application will have a bit of a learning curve, so I’d recommend starting with your email. Programs like Mozilla Thunderbird and Microsoft Office make a more secure connection to your business email because rather than forwarding to a different address, thereby sending it further through cyberspace, they pull email directly from your email server to your desktop program. But consider that web-based email applications let you check email from anywhere—your desktop, laptop, Smartphone or a someone else’s computer—so if you’re constantly on the go, then the minor risk is often worth it. Google Apps (at merely $50/year) includes ample space for email, so you can start there and gradually move into the other apps, integrating them into your company’s work environment one-by-one.

Around the same time, getting started with an Internet-based computer backup system will save you from the seemingly inevitable frustration of losing documents in a disaster. Even static electricity can ruin your motherboard or hard drive, forever erasing your most critical documents and your sweetest photographed memories. Services like Carbonite and Mozy will automatically back up specified folders, and there are countless other programs, so do some research to find the best one for your purposes. These services may not have cheap price tags, but they become invaluable when even the simplest incident leaves you with nothing.

With the Cloud being such a new development, we’re all still learning about it, so I’d love to hear of any other applications you use and like or if you have any more questions! Leave a comment or drop me an email (see the green envelope icon in the first sidebar?) and I’ll update the site with new information as we go.

When business slows down, sometimes we throw ourselves into an alarming despair, hastily searching for any new work that we can latch onto. But those who have ‘been there, done that’ all seem to agree that it is of utmost importance to only choose to work with the clients we want to work with—and we know that by only taking on the enjoyable clients, we keep our stress levels to a minimum and free up time that would be wasted with the clients who are too difficult to work with. So where’s the happy medium, where we can boost business without taking chances in acquiring unwanted clientele? Revamping a stale business with simplicity seems to be the way to go.

Entrepreneur writer, Antonio Neves, offers five great ways for you to redesign your business in a simple, yet effective, fashion. To recap, Neves suggests that you 1) tell your story; 2) focus on direct sales (for retail, this is selling your items rather than sending them to distributors); 3) collaborate with strategic partners; 4) charge your real cost; and 5) revamp your company culture, thereby raising morale and increasing organization.

Telling your story seems simple enough, but when you try to think through your own company’s story, you may find yourself a little lost. Marketing expert and founder of Shoestring Marketing, Jessica Swanson has a great, fresh piece on telling your business’ story: why it’s important, how to find the story and how to get others to sink their teeth into it. Other important aspects of revamping your business are marketing and, of course, your website. Inc. magazine offers an excellent article that shares the expert marketing opinions of entrepreneurs who have suggestions for a fashion company. Their suggestions can flow into any field or market, and I’ve even heard the suggestion of seeking celebrity endorsements before. When a chef was running out of ideas to boost his restaurant’s business, he humbly asked a national food television show to come visit the restaurant. They did and they loved it, bringing an instant crowd to the small restaurant.

While there isn’t much information out there on how to revamp your business, I hope these ideas will get you going on a thoughtful, useful plan with simple steps toward a redesign that may be quite necessary right now.

To continue on the topic of improving your website’s credibility, it seems only necessary to cover the topic of badges. You’re probably so used to seeing them that you hardly notice them anymore, and when you do, maybe you get warm fuzzies, knowing that someone is watching out for you.

While it’s always a good idea to beware the impostors who gain access to or replicate legitimate badges and falsely advertise commitment to your safety, it’s also good to know how you can get badges for your website—the right way.

Badges (or seals) help customers identify you immediately as a trusted source or a secure seller.  Ultimately, the badges will drive more visitors to hit the “Buy” button: When given the choice between a site that seems secure and has reasonable pricing and a site that has been proven to be secure and has reasonable pricing, of course they’ll choose the latter.

Note that some of these fit in multiple categories, and they are merely categorized according to what seems most important to each badge provider.

Badges for e-Commerce Sites & Shopping Carts

TRUSTe Seal (for small and medium-sized businesses)

VeriSign Trust Seal

Trustwave Trusted Commerce Badge

Badges for Websites Handling Sensitive Information

McAfee SECURE Service

Instant SSL by Comodo

Business Accreditation and Website Ranking Badges

Better Business Bureau Accreditation Badge

Hubspot’s Website Grader (for SEO) Badge

Alexa Web Information Traffic Ranking Badge

WooRank Website Analysis Badge

Accreditation with the BBB is recommended for any business, but these ranking sites have their places, too. By displaying a badge from a third party that has objectively (automatically, no people involved) graded your site with a high mark based on numerous points, you’re telling visitors that you took the time to make your site the best that it can be.

Indeed, there are many more scanning/verification/accreditation/ranking badge sites, but these are some of the more common ones that I’ve been able to check out. I’ll post more as they come to my attention, and of course, if you’re looking for any information on those mentioned above, drop me an email or post a comment below! I’d love to hear your thoughts or questions regarding website security and trust =)

Building trust is crucial in business, and it becomes more difficult when the first line of communication is via the internet. As a customer, you can walk into a brick-and-mortar store, office or bank, look the representatives in the eye, listen to what they say—and how they say it—and decide almost instantly whether you feel the company is trustworthy. When shopping online, however, none of these benefits are present. If you’re more skeptical of online merchants and consultants, then why wouldn’t others be more skeptical of your online presence? Check out some of these tips, collected from all around (including my own experience), and try following this like a checklist.

There are more topics to cover when considering the trustworthiness of your website. Next week, I’ll cover website badges, and on November 4th, we’ll look at website rating engines. It’ll be a fun and particularly useful series, so stay tuned!

I wouldn’t expect a new company or one that is still growing to have hit all of these points—in fact, my own company hasn’t had the chance to catch up on all of it—but they should still be somewhere on the “to do” list:

• Start a blog

  Not only are corporate blogs appropriate for companies of all sizes these days, they are almost essential! Companies like GM, Google, Southwest, Nike, NFL, Giant Supermarket and many, many others have corporate blogs, and with good reason. With few ways for your website to stand out among hundreds of millions, finding your “voice” and “speaking” to your online audience will help them get a feel for who you are and how genuine you are. Blogging will also keep your site up to date, which builds some level of trust. As an added bonus, customers will know where to turn when rumors spread or even when your products are recalled. Instead of trying to run for cover, put the facts and any due apologies out in the open and in your newly found “voice” to reassure customers that they have every reason to stand by you.

• Keep the readability to a moderate level

  Visitors don’t want to feel overwhelmed or berated by a website (of all things), but they’ll be turned off by a site that reads like it was written for kiddies. Industry jargon is too confusing for those outside your industry, and you aren’t trying to sell to people who are already doing what you do! So keep the diction to more general terms, but also remember that using “bigger” words will often help with conciseness. LymeLightWebs.com reads at a high school level (rated by HubSpot, which I’ll cover soon), and I think it’s a great position to be in.

• Make friends with other website editors and bloggers

  When you’re comfortable with some of these editors and bloggers, ask them to write something about you on their site and link that piece to your site. It’s understandable that as an interior designer, you may not feel led to request a spot on another interior designer’s website, but go for the architects and real estate agents, as well as the landscapers, because they’re all wonderful complements to your field of work. When a person is confidently hiring a particular landscaper and they see that this landscaper respects you and recommends your work, you gain instant trust with that client.

• Use clean navigation, an intuitive layout and quality design.

  Loose, clumsy navigation makes it look like you’re trying to hide something. At the opposite extreme, confusing navigation that is all piled in the same spot looks unprofessional. Ensure that each link—from main page to storefront, from blog to portfolio to contact page—flows to the next and that there are no surprises. Similarly, anticipate the route that your visitors will take to make sure that each section is a continuation of the next (or indirectly tell them where to go). Finally, a quality website design enhances the professional look you’ve created through blogging and online references. This isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s about functionality and interactivity, too.

• Post only your own content.

  This may seem like a no-brainer, and sometimes the line between what is your content and what came from someone else is blurry. But a critical example of this is of a web design firm’s identical copy of an article from a developer resource website (excerpts shown below). The design firm breaks virtually every rule of building trust, including having a terrible website (paradoxical, I know), but in this case, they’ve stolen intellectual property and have given no credit to the original writer.  Really, what’s the likelihood that two authors had the exact same idea for introductions to their articles?  The “copycat” changed a few words here and there and removed one point that seemed redundant and one point that is wrongfully overlooked as an integral part of website building.  Every industry has them – don’t be “those people.”

Although it isn’t new, I wanted to stress that this “commemorative month” is, in fact, recognized by the U.S. government; it isn’t just made up by activist groups. National Disability Employment Awareness Month was established by Congress in 1988 in an effort “to increase the public’s awareness of the contributions and skills of American workers with disabilities.”  The Department of Labor’s website says that “various programs carried out throughout the month also highlight the specific employment barriers that still need to be addressed and removed.”

Before you walk away—because I know this doesn’t apply to everyone right now—I want to point out some things I’d come across within recent months that may surprise you.  There are major advantages to employing people with disabilities, as I’ve found, and a clip by ABC delves into the deep-rooted issues with stigmatization and speaking up that still exist.

Employing disabled people has hidden benefits.

1. Creativity – thinking ‘outside the box’

Creativity and innovation—the ability to think “outside the box”—are principle forces for businesses of all sizes. The business that can overcome obstacles and build upon its foundation in new ways is the one that sees the greatest and fastest gains. A hidden benefit of employing people with disabilities, their ability to think outside the box is seen but not understood. Books and company profiles that illustrate the astounding benefits of creative people are published by the week, so employees who utilize their creativity on a daily basis can be extra valuable to your business and your bottom line.

2. Possible tax deductions

Given that I’m not a tax expert, I can’t say much on this, but since I’m a pro at finding information, I can provide you with this handy link from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.  It details the Disabled Access Tax Credit, which may be of great interest to any small business owner, as well as two other tax credits.

3. More loyalty – lower turnover, absenteeism and tardiness

Many case studies have been quoted, and I see this as something that makes sense but is easy to overlook.  People with disabilities tend to be more genuinely appreciative of the opportunity to work, whereas sixteen-year-olds will balk at parents’ demands for getting a job and plenty of people complain about their jobs everyday.  Not only do disabled people show more company loyalty, but that dedication flows through their fellow employees before long. One of my favorite case studies (Carolina Fine Snacks) shows a 75% drop in turnover, a 15% drop in absenteeism, and a 30% drop in tardiness (from 30% to zero, if you can imagine).  The company also saw a rise in productivity of about 35%.

4. More productivity and possibly fewer sick days

Along with less financial burden of issues like turnover, absenteeism and tardiness, businesses employing people with disabilities see increased productivity.  Even more, a major consulting firm that works with disabled people reports that some of their staff—85% of whom are disabled—haven’t taken any sick days in five years.

5. Better attitudes of employees and customers

You may be inspired by the disabled people you know because they’ve overcome a lot in life.  Many people are inspired to do more, if only because they’d feel guilty for taking life for granted.  On a Roll Sandwich Shop has seen mostly positive interaction between customers and employees since employing disabled people.

How would you respond?

Check out this video clip by ABC in which a rude customer is set up with a disabled bagger at a grocery store.  Both of them are actors, but the session was designed to look at how others would react.  As has been explained through the case study of On a Roll, customers won’t likely respond to your employees this way, but it’s disheartening to know that plenty of people still will not stand up for others.  The cashier risks losing her job if she speaks up, but the other customers can certainly bring attention to this kind of behavior.  And they’ll be heralded for it:  Watch the clip.

There is surely more that can be said on the topic, but keep these basic resources and heartwarming stories around to remind you that there really is no reason for inequality in your workplace.  For some light reading, be sure to check out the two revisions to the Americans with Disabilities Act that were just published earlier this month.  Of course it isn’t light reading, but that so much information is available and ignored is something to think about.

I’m sure I’ll have more comments to make on this topic as time goes on, but what are your thoughts? Do you have disabled people on your team, and if so, in what ways have you noticed them making a positive difference? Do these positives outweigh the potential barriers or costs involved in making your workplace accessible?

Has your brain been wracked enough yet? Well either way, it’s time for round two! If you haven’t, be sure you read part 1 of “Google Trends helps you reach your target market” to get caught up – we’re looking at this very useful, free tool and how it helps us get past the first step of finding keywords for our websites. Let’s jump right in…

Your keywords in the news

Beneath the graph that we were looking at last week, the Search Volume Index Graph, is the News Reference Volume graph. This graph isn’t scaled the same way that the Search Volume graph is; so while you don’t need to look as deeply into this one, you do need to remember to switch modes when looking at either one. Instead of using relative comparisons for plotting the lines, the News Reference Volume graph simply shows you when there was an increase or a decrease in the number of news stories about your keywords. Notice that there are no numbers on the axes of this graph and that it follows the time frame you have selected. In my case, December 2009 saw the largest decrease in the number of news stories about web design and May 2010 saw the largest increase in the number of news stories about web design.

What the news is saying about you

Maybe they aren’t talking about you, but if you look to the right of the two graphs, you see a list of news headlines with their sources and publish dates. This is in no way a conclusive list of news headlines, as A) these correspond only to points in time when Google picked up on a notable spike in related news stories, and B) these particular stories have been drawn at random from all related stories published around the specific point in time. For example: In early October 2009, there was a spike in news stories about web design, so Google Trends marked it with the flag B. This happens to be at a time when there was a relative increase in the number of general searched on “web design.”

My guess in this case is that the two are hardly related. The news story that was automatically picked from that time period is about a script that allows Ubuntu users to use Mozilla Firefox. Ubuntu isn’t really a news-maker and the script allowing Ubuntu to run Firefox probably wouldn’t have led the masses to search for web designers. Just a guess

Similarly, news flag D happens to mark a point when searches on “web design” began to decline (relative to the entire year). A news story about a web design company creating 40 jobs when Americans are struggling to find jobs is likely not the cause of the decline, so it’s safe to say that this randomly chosen news article is not quite indicative of the time. As you see, you don’t need to live by this news section of Google Trends.

You can click on “More news results” under that list to be taken to Google News, where Google will have already searched your keywords for all the news that has been published about them.

Where in the world…

Where are these people who are looking for you? And do you need to learn some quick Russian to be able to get a hold of them? Look below the graphs and news section and you’ll see sections for subregions, cities and languages. Google explains this one best: “Google Trends uses IP address information from our server logs to make a best guess about where queries originated. Language information is determined by the language version of the Google site where the search originated.”

It’s possible that these results won’t be 100% accurate, as “Trends” is using its best guess, but it may be helpful to look into these results. To determine top-ranking regions and cities, Google Trends divides the number of searches on your keyword from each region by the total number of searched from the region. So if there are X number of searches coming out of Las Vegas, NV, and Y number of them are on “web design,” then Google Trends works out the math in Y/X and ranks Las Vegas among other cities using the same math each time.

What do you think so far?

Now that you know a little more about this powerful, free Google tool, see what kinds of information you can glean from all of these aspects and how the information can help you. If you’d like some additional insight or more help with the tool, leave a comment here or email me (jayme@lymelightwebs.com). And if you’ve come up with astounding information or other helpful tips, comment below!

Next up, we’ll export our data and analyze it to find the right set of keywords.

Today’s post is more of a how-to, designed to help you familiarize yourself with a neat Google tool that will guide you toward an answer to the question:  ”Knowing that I can rank better in search engines by writing about the things people are searching for, how do I find out what the heck they’re searching for?!”

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) experts put in full-time hours to conquer the intricate aspects of optimization for their clients, so while there is no definitive answer, there is Google Trends.  ”Trends” lets you search up to five terms at a time, and from there, it draws a line graph to compare how often those terms are searched by Google users.  It breaks the information down into which geographical areas are searching for those terms most, and it also points out a few online news headlines that were running during the specified period of time.

I’ll run through what Google Trends does and then explain how this can help you.

Search Query / Queries

Upon opening the Google Trends home page, you’ll still feel right at home with the Google logo atop a standard search box and some gibberish at the bottom of the page (the categories are self-explanatory).  Start by typing two search phrases into the box, keeping in mind what you think your potential customers are looking for.  I’m looking to first compare “web design” with “web development.”  Click “Search Trends.”

Settings / Filters

Before diving into the results, it’s important to look at the light blue bar stretching across the top.  My recommendation is to limit your search by region to “United States” and by time period to anything less than the pre-filled “All Years.”  I’m going with the past 12 months.  After the page reloads, a subregion field becomes available so you can also choose a specific state.  For instance, if you’re an architecture design firm that only operates within Arizona, then you’ll want to choose the subregion of Arizona.

Search Results: Line Graph

Note that you need to be signed into your Google account to view the numbers or to export the data.  The one thing to bear in mind when looking at the line graph is that it is relative, so all changes in the slopes of the lines are based on the average of the ‘baseline’ search query during the specified period of time  (I’ll explain).  The numbers on the graph represent the mathematical relativity, moreso than the actual number of searches.

So in my example, “web design” is my first term and is therefore the ‘baseline’ term, situated around the 1.00 mark; the results for “web development” will be relative to the results for “web design.”  I can now see that people have been statistically five times more likely to search “web design” than “web development” because the latter scored merely a .20, compared to the former’s score of 1.00.

This part will seem even more baffling, but remember that the entire graph is based on relativity.  Each line fluctuates according to changes from the average for the specified period of time.  In my example, to say that fewer people searched for “web design” in December 2009 than in January 2010 is not exactly what’s read from the graph.  Rather, December 2009 saw far fewer of these searches than was average for all of the past twelve months, and January 2010 saw a slight increase in the number of these searches for this time period.  I can still assume that more people were looking for web design in January than in December, but the actual drop/incline is relative to the year’s average.

Now I know that I can relax more during the holiday season because people won’t be looking for me (they’ll be looking for sales)

You can change which term becomes the ‘baseline’ using the drop-down under the graph.  By making “web development” the baseline, you can see more easily how relativity is working.  ”Web development” is now ranked 1.00, and “web design” is suddenly ranked 5.10 because “Trends” is still showing us that people have been five times more likely to search “web design” than “web development.”

Play around with the chart alone for now, trying out different words and phrases that relate to your business in a way that others’ may be thinking.  Ask the people around you:  ”If you were in the market for _________, what words or phrases would you be using to search online?”  You may be surprised at the names and comparisons people come up with in their searching, especially if you’re selling a service.  Another tip:  Use keywords that are problem-based, not solution-based.  People are going to jump online and tell Google about their problems because they don’t always know what solutions exist.  You want to come up in the search results as being the solution they need, no matter how they go about searching for you.

Bear this in mind as we now move on to part 2! You can also jump to part 3 for exporting your data.

The laws surrounding unpaid internship may seem vague, but they’re actually so specific that it could almost feel intimidating. One part of this law to focus on is that “unpaid interns cannot do any work that contributes to a company’s operations,” according to business.gov. “This includes any tasks that help you run your business, like documenting inventory, filing papers, answering emails, etc.”

And the government doesn’t care if training is to the company’s detriment, either

A bakery, as depicted in the example provided by business.gov, can have an unpaid intern decorate a sheet of cookies that will not be sold. Yep, the government is very specific on this one. Moreover, many states allow for any employee—not just the intern—to bring attention to authorities if the company fails to abide by this law.

There are six parts to the law covering unpaid internships (#4 emphasized by me, as it’s the tricky one):

1. The training, even though it includes actual operation of the facilities of the employer, is similar to that which would be given in a vocational school;
2. The training is for the benefit of the trainee;
3. The trainees do not displace regular employees, but work under close observation;
4. The employer that provides the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the trainees, and on occasion the employer’s operations may actually be impeded;
5. The trainees are not necessarily entitled to a job at the completion of the training period; and
6. The employer and the trainee understand that the trainees are not entitled to wages for the time spent in training.

This isn’t to say that unpaid interns are worthless, but it does mean that you’re better off paying them. It’s still cheap labor, and it’s also a chance to check out potential employees.

Read the article from Entrepreneur, “Summer Interns: Are Small Businesses Flirting with Disaster?” as well as business.gov’s bit on unpaid internship laws.

Have you brought in an unpaid intern?  What were your experiences?  Were you completely informed about the laws surrounding the internship?

A few days ago, one of my favorite sources of small business information, BusinessWeek, posted a ‘quickie’ about the value of educating your customers.

It isn’t just telling people about your product or service – although that is one benefit that shouldn’t be underestimated – but rather, it’s teaching people about extra benefits or how to fend for themselves. Surely you’ve heard about “advertising the benefits, not the features?” Just as you’d be wise to tell people how your product makes their lives better or easier, so you’d also want to educate them on your industry or complements to your products and services.

Read into the third paragraph of the BusinessWeek article and get your creative juices flowing as you think of at least one thing you can teach your potential customers about. Bear in mind that you don’t need to teach them how to do exactly what you’re doing – this would just be silly. Instead, think about something similar to the examples offered; something that will either help them choose wisely (and be prepared for the possibility of them going elsewhere when they do make their decision – it happens) or something that will help them make the most of their investment in you.

This is precisely why I post to LymeLight’s blog about various aspects of small business. I wouldn’t necessarily explain every little part of how web design works, and frankly, most people would be frazzled or fall asleep with such technical talk.  Instead, I post broader tips to small business owners that enhance their marketing strategies, which of course include their websites.

And by teaching you about sharing such information, I’m making more educated clients for any web developer, as you now know that you want a blog to share your own interesting tips See how that works?

So what can you offer your potential clients to make them more educated consumers?