Posts Tagged small business

British Airways Grant for Small Businesses

Sep 15

Posted by Mrs. Mecomber in business services, technology | Comments off

Got a small business? (I do, too!). Listen up, this could be a one-in-million opportunity for you:

On the tails of their very successful “Face to Face” campaign, British Airways and partners are sponsoring a Business Opportunity Grant to give 100 small to medium-sized U.S. businesses FREE global travel, British Airways and their corporate partners (Canon, Regus Office Services, Courtyard by Marriott, and British Airways World Cargo) realize the crucial importance of the small business, and they are dedicated to seeing them thrive.

The Business Opportunity Grant is, in a nutshell, a contest. Sound appealing? Here’s the lowdown:

Go to the Business Opportunity Grant website and look for the entry form.
Write an essay telling British Airways about your business goals for the coming year (2010) and how a grant would help your business.
Your business must have 500 or fewer employees and must have a Federal Tax ID Number.
Contest ends September 30, 2009.
Winners will be selected by a panel of British Airways executives and others
Winners will be announced in Novermber 2009!

British Airways airfare for ten round-trip Club World business-class flights
Five British Airways World Cargo freight shipments, worldwide
$1000 toward accommodations at Courtyard by Marriott
A high-end Canon PIXMA wireless All-In-One Printer
and more

This is such an excellent opportunity for businesses! Even though businesses are having to tighten their belts during these economic difficulties, the “show must go on”: meetings must still take place, interactions and partnerships must still be cultivated, and growth must still be planned. Usually, travel is one of the first things to go on the business chopping block. British Airways understands this, and are offering businesses the chances to save some money and spur on business growth. This is an opportunity not to pass on! See the website for more details.

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Tags: contest, small business

A Contest for Small Business Owners

Aug 12

Posted by Mrs. Mecomber in business services, marketing, technology, websites | Comments off

Here’s a really spectacular contest for business owners, from AT&T! This is an incredible contest! In a nutshell, it’s a FREE business technology upgrade! It’s in celebration of the launching of the classy new AT&T Small Business InSite website.

Now, I have said long and loud that a business– ANY business, large or small– MUST have a professional online presence. It’s necessary in today’s technological and information-hungry world. Having managed a couple of small businesses myself, I know how difficult (and expensive) the IT end of the spectrum can be. I commend AT&T’s efforts to make that effort a little more affordable and easy with their new contest. Kudos to
AT&T for recognizing and helping the “little guy”!

The AT&T Small Business InSite is a resourceful website. I have great interest in website security issues, so I scoured their Security articles for a while (Go to Manage Technology >> Security to see their articles). They have much more to offer the business owner, too– productivity tips, online marketing tips, and more. If you have a small business, this is one to bookmark, and share. And it’s all coming from one of the world’s leaders in business, so you KNOW they know what they are talking about.

OK, so the contest– believe me, you will not need an IT counselor to enter your business! It’s easy! Just go to AT&T Small Business InSite, and explain your need for a technology makeover in a short video, or write a review of the new AT&T Small Business InSite, and feature it on Technorati. Be sure to see the website for more details and contest rules and regulations.

The prizes include:

Two Samsung Epix Smartphones
1-year subscription to AT&T Tech Support 360SM Advanced Service Package
1-year subscription to AT&T UNIX or Windows Enhanced Web Hosting services
AT&T Web Design service
A one-on-one consultation with a small business expert, with a business assessment and more
A Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2008 Standard
and other perks, gadgets, and AT&T services

This is a golden opportunity for us small business owners. I’m going to have to come up with some ideas for my own “small business.” (I’m a free-lance writer, and I’d sure like to get my name and services out to more people; so I guess I need to work on the marketing aspect). Be sure to get more information about the contest, too!

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Tags: AT&T, AT&T InSite, contest, IT, small business, technology

Search Engine Toolbar with a Twist

Feb 3

Posted by Mrs. Mecomber in search engines | Comments off

It was bound to happen. A search engine toolbar with a twist. Right now, the Internet is awash in toolbars and search engines. The competition must be fierce to get one’s product out. I know that I have looked at about 3-4 new search engine websites the past two weeks.

Well, there’s another one! This is a little different. If you are a search engine junkie, this may interest you. And if you are self-employed, it may interest you a little more.

It’s called AAfter. When you search business or personal questions or how-to questions, Aafter will, like a search engine, generate answers. But Aafter also provides promo coupons and cash back deals on personal benefits for self-employed. For example, I did a search on “canon printer ink mp530″ for my office printer. A search results page (similar in text to Google) gave me a large listing of places about my terms, but it also gave me a link to click “More Coupons~CashBack~Stores…” When I clicked, a new page showed up showing me deals, promotions, discount stores, etc, where I could find Canon printer ink for my MP530 printer. Aafter saves on time and money for busy businesses. You can also search things like details on a domain names, IP address information, tiny urls– very convenient. The toolbar is available from C|Net for downloading.

Tags: shopping, small business

Find the Help You Need With Task Market

Jun 10

Posted by Mrs. Mecomber in business services | Comments off

Here’s something new that may be of interest. It’s Task Market. It looks really neat! It’s basically an open market of people who can do things that you can’t, like building Excel spreadsheets or creating a logo. These folks sell their services to do things that others can’t. Here’s the scoop from a press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Welcome to the launch of the Task Economy. We’d like you to be among the first to experience it, kick the tires, and share your opinions with your readers.

Microsoft® Task Market is a new Technology Preview site that lets people with tasks find people with the know-how to do them – saving time, and improving the end product.

For every person who throws up both hands at the prospect of creating a complex formula in Microsoft Excel, somewhere in the world there’s another person who can make it look easy. For every poor proofreader, there’s an expert one out there who wouldn’t mind making a few extra dollars. For every small business owner who doesn’t have time to do background research on a new business prospect, there’s a talented researcher who could quickly put together a dossier.

The big idea with Task Market is this: create a viable market to get them together and things get done.

Task Market is in the Technology Preview stage. That means that developers at Microsoft Research are releasing the site “into the wild” to demonstrate the potential of the technology, investigate the breadth of user adoption, solicit ideas on how to improve the site and, ultimately, create a market of Task Posters and Task Solvers to help people get their office tasks done.

A Task Market Task is:

· Something that can be done for $20 to $500
· Something that the Task Poster could use help doing
· Something that can be delivered electronically, like a Microsoft Office document.

A Task Market Poster might need help with:

· a specialized Excel formula
· language translation
· letter writing
· an aspect of their accounting
· making a PowerPoint presentation “pretty”
· graphics, charts, formatting or logos
· research gathering
· proofreading
· building sell sheets, listing sheets or simple brochures
· fact checking

Task Market Solvers create profiles of their skills to help Posters assign tasks to Solvers with the right skill sets, and get email alerts when a job arrives that fits their skillsets. Posters can award and pay several solvers for tasks to compare results, and give more work to the ones they like. All without the commitment of a freelance engagement.

Get more done faster with Task Market

Interesting! It’s new and growing. It’s something to watch, for sure, especially if you have a small business and are inundated with enough tasks and jobs! It’s also a way to OFFER your services and perhaps make a little money. I’m keeping m eye on this one!