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Free Business Cards from PrintRunner

PrintRunner has offered to give away a set of 250 business cards to 3 readers of GetEntrepreneurial.com. PrintRunner’s business cards come on premium 14 pt card stock with water resistant UV coating. The cards are available in full color, black and white, one-sided, two-sided, matte or glossy, according to your preferences. You can choose to design the card yourself or choose from hundreds of free templates available on PrintRunner.com. Please note that shipping is not included and will need to be paid when placing the order. Shipping costs vary depending on where you live, but U.S. shipping is generally around $10 or less (for ground shipping).

PrintRunner.com is one of the top printing companies on the web. PrintRunner specializes in affordable high quality printing and offer a wide range of products including business card printing, catalog printing, brochure printing, postcard printing, flyer printing, sticker printing, and much more.

To participate in this giveaway, just leave a comment on this post by Sunday, 11 APril 2010. Three lucky winners will be selected by random and contacted with further details. Good luck!

Official Rules:

  • One entry per person
  • Open to U.S. residents online
  • Must be 18 and over and not an employee or relative of an employee of PrintRunner LLC
  • No purchase necessary
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Recommendations

Tips on Cost Effective Security Options For Your Business in 2010

It is no surprise that there will be from time to time employees that steel from your company. Many times it is as small as a few pens and post-it notes—other times it could be they are doing the unthinkable and steeling money from you. Whatever it may be the fact is that according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, employee dishonesty costs business owners around $50 billion a year. Because of this it is time you start thinking about simple ways to stop employee theft from your company.
Lights
Just adding some lights to the outside of your business can do wonders and save a lot of money when it comes to business security options. If your parking lot is brightly lit it will be harder for your employees or anyone else to steel anything from your business. Keeping the outside well lit will also keep from anyone hiding in dark places who could jump out and attack someone on their way to their car—making your employees feel safe.
Video Camera
If you have a video camera installed in your stock room and in high secure areas it should help prevent your employees from shoplifting at your store. If your parking lot is prone to vandalism having a well lit parking lot and a video camera can do wonders. Cameras come in all shapes and sizes and finding an inexpensive camera should be fairly easy.
Card Access Terminals
Card access terminals are a great idea and fairly inexpensive way to keep track of who is coming in and out of your office or store. These devices will be able to keep track of each employee so if a situation arises you will be able to know if he or she was in the office during an incident.
If your company doesn’t already have a business security system it is defiantly time to start thinking of cost efficient ways to monitor your business. It doesn’t have to be the latest state of the art system—minor changes can really do wonders for your company and could end up saving you money in the long run. One last tip to remember is to check with your insurance company for deductions if a business security system is implemented. Many times you will find that there are deductions for having some sort of security system for your office.

Shannon Suetos is a writer based in San Diego, California. She writes extensively for Resource Nation, an online resource that provides expert advice on purchasing and outsourcing decisions for small business owners and entrepreneurs.

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Free Report: Cool Business Ideas in 2009

Despite the global economic gloom, we continue to see smart entrepreneurs and businesses introduce innovative new business ideas to the market around the world. If you want to be in the know, this free report by our sister website CoolBusinessIdeas.com is for you.
This newly published 28-pages PDF ebook (worth $38), Cool Business Ideas in 2009, is an analysis of innovative and never-seen-before business ideas we’ve seen worldwide in 2009.
As competition for consumers’ downsized wallet intensifies in these tough times, it is increasingly important to deliver superior value and whet consumers’ natural appetite for all things new and latest. So if you have a brilliant business concept in your head, do not hesitate to make it happen in today’s business marketplace. For those of you who don’t, fret not. Look within this free 29-page report brought to you by CoolBusinessIdeas.com for inspiration on the coolest new business ideas you wish you’d thought of. Some of the case studies included in this free report: Everyday Solutions, Small Niches and Big Riches, Wireless Wonders, Rethinking Tourism, and more.
This report is exclusive available for free download for CoolBusinessIdeas.com readers. Click here to find out how to get your free report.
We also have past reports for your free download at CoolBusinessIdeas.com, including New Business Ideas Report 2007 and 2006’s Best Business Ideas. Click here to learn more.
Download Free Reports Now!

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Entrepreneurs Entrepreneurship Home-Based Business Online Business Operations Recommendations Starting Up Work Life

5 Things Every Stay-at-Home Entrepreneur Needs

What do computer giant Dell, gourmet food basket maker Tastefully Simple, and organic brewer Honest Tea have in common? Though all three are now multi-million dollar companies, all were originally started within the founder’s home. You’ve probably heard how Michael Dell worked out of his garage to build his empire, but equally inspiring are the stories of Jill Blashack Strahan- who assembled gift baskets on the pool table of her backyard shed- and Seth Goldman- who brewed tea at his kitchen sink and presented homemade samples to clients in thermoses.
The home-based startup story has a certain magic to it that often glosses over the particulars: where to set up office equipment (computer, printer, copier,etc.), whether or not you should dedicate a business phone line or switch your VoIP service to include “follow” features so you’re always available, and how many hours you should put in when your office is in your kitchen. What does a stay-at-home entrepreneur really need? Here are a few necessities:
1. A Separate, Dedicated Workspace. Whether it’s your garage, a toolshed in the backyard, or just an area off the den, you will need a space that’s just for work.

2. A Separate Phone Line. Small business VoIP service plans are cheap and easy to sign up for. You can also add an extension or line to your existing residential VoIP service arrangement.

3. A Fast Internet Connection. For businesses based online, this is non-negotiable. Your internet connection should be fast enough to support online activity and VoIP calls, if you use an internet-based phone system as your method of business communication.

4. A Door…or Earplugs. If you can’t physically separate your workspace from the rest of the house, you can mentally separate it by using earplugs to tune out audio distractions, or a folding screen to tune out visual ones.

5. A “Do Not Disturb” sign. If you’re working while others are at home, make sure they know when you’re “unavailable.”

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5 Tips for Finding a Great Virtual Assistant

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I’ve been hearing too many stories of late from fellow business owners, clients, and colleagues who have had bad experiences when partnering with a virtual assistant.

So in this article I thought I would shake things up a bit and share with you my five tips for finding a GREAT virtual assistant for your business… and believe me, there ARE many great VAs out there; you just need to know what you want before you go looking!

1. Decide what your requirements are. What skills and abilities do you want your VA to possess? What projects/activities do you want them to be working on? Do they match your needs? Check out their websites, view client testimonials, and examine their profile.

2. One hat doesn’t fit all. Although VAs primarily provide administrative support, many are now specializing in different areas of business support. If you’re a speaker, look for a VA that specializes in speaker support; if you need help with your online marketing activities, look for a VA that specializes in this area. This might mean that you’ll work with more than one virtual assistant but each one has their own unique skills and abilities that they can bring to your business.

3. Cheaper isn’t always better. Don’t always go for the cheapest, even if you think they have a great skill-set. Here’s why… if a VA is charging quite a bit less than the average rate, how many billable hours do you think they are going to have to work or how many clients are they going to have to be serving so that they can make a good living from their business? I’m betting too many! This translates into too many balls to juggle, work slipping through the cracks, projects not being completed on time, and so comes the bad experiences that I’m hearing about. Which leads me on to the next point…

4. Business owner first; VA second. Like any business owner a virtual assistant will know that they are a business owner first, and a virtual assistant second, and so will be running their business accordingly. They will have systems in place for handling new client enquiries, and have a firm client consultation process in place. If, when you approach a potential VA, they ask you to book an appointment for a consultation take this as a very good sign – they have their system in place! You cannot begin working with a VA unless you’ve had this initial consultation first to ensure that you’re a good fit for one another. This process is a two-way street and one that is absolutely essential in ensuring you have a great experience in working with a virtual assistant.

5. Get it in Writing. Always ensure that you sign an agreement before any work starts so that you both know exactly what is expected of each other. This should include information about the fees, terms & conditions etc.

Bonus tip: Contact, contact, contact! And finally, contact your potential VA as many times as you feel necessary to ensure that you are 100% happy with them before any work starts.

Partnering with a virtual assistant is a great business investment for you; they can take a lot of the day-to-day work off your hands, freeing up valuable time for you so that you can focus on growing your business and doing those activities that only you can do, i.e. working one-on-one with clients, developing products etc.

And if you partner with a VA who has a business and marketing mindset they will be able to help you plan, strategize, and achieve your goals as well as making your To Do list their To Do list!

Don’t let prior bad experiences cloud your future decisions. If you take on board all the tips I’ve shared with you today, I guarantee you’ll find a GREAT virtual assistant!