Growing your successful business Here we will look at what is available to get your business off the ground with the push it needs to become sustainable. Marketing For some, promoting a business can be a huge challenge. Sharing what is a representation of who you are – your passion – can be scary. Take a deep breath and get started. This guide will make everything easier, more fun and certainly cheaper. I have always believed that public relations (PR) is not only more effective than advertising, but also much less expensive. With the Internet, your potential to spread the word is exponential. This viral marketing, as it is called, relies on the Web 2.0 or social media phenomenon to spread the word for you. The premise is that you have an interesting product or service and that Internet gossip spreads the news quickly. The downside is that if your service or product is poor, word will spread even faster, so you need to make sure the quality is there before you start promoting it. As simple as the premise may be, it usually takes work to create it. The job could be to make yourself known by having your own network or following before introducing your business to the world. It might connect to someone else's network, such as a friend who has a long list of "friends" on Facebook. If you're looking for Internet word of mouth, you need a website or blog where people can find you. Many of the resources at the end of this book will give you specific guidance on how to market your business. My suggestion is to start with what excites you. Find a way to share your passion and then continue to expand your venues. Websites Today, having a website is as necessary as having a business card. But unlike business cards, they can be free… in half paper… intuitive web-based accounting program. If you invoice clients, it integrates with FreshBooks, an online invoicing service. What has made Intuit products so popular is the foundation of Outright. They all use control register interfaces; Enter your transaction details and get quick and easy access to the overall status of your business. Some people are concerned about using the Internet to store and manage financial data. Over the years, the safety of these services has been proven. For others, there is a trade-off in not having the full range of options or control that purchased programs offer. It's almost fun to use these programs. You are simply relegated to data imputation; the programs do the rest. A word of warning: Make sure you set up your accounts correctly. You may want your CPA to walk you through this, as you don't want to enter your data into the wrong accounts.