Startup BizCast

Don’t forget, the Startup BizCast Small Business Week Contest runs until April 12. At stake in the contest is approximately $2,000 in prizes from PRWeb, NetSearch Direct, Carbonite, and Startup BizCast!

In this contest, I’m asking for your very best tips for small business owners. All completed entries will be entered into a random drawing for the three prize levels, and the best advice will be used in a “listener tips” episode to be published on April 16.

You can enter via voicemail (206-339-4366), or via online entry form. All completed entries will be given equal weight in the contest drawing, but when I select the “best advice” to use in the listener tips episode, I must admit that I’m likely to give more weight to advice given via voicemail. Give it a shot. When you’re passing along your advice, feel free to say something like, “Hi, this is Bob from Bob’s Plumbing Supplies at www.bobsplumbing.com, and my advice is… etc.” If I select your advice, I’ll use the entire thing … so your business gets a plug!

For full contest information, please visit www.startupbizcast.com/contest.

 Startup BizCast Episode 41 [14:55m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In this week’s Startup BizCast, we’re talking once again about how to get your small business website to rank higher on the search rankings. We’ve talked about news release distribution, and this week the topic is article distribution. The two have some similarities. Mainly, the goal is the same — building incoming links to your website. My guest this week, Jim Baldwin from Search Engine and Internet Marketing Firm NetSearch Direct, tells us why it’s a good tactic, and has tips on how to do it.

Also in this episode — a reminder that Startup BizCast is running a contest to celebrate Small Business Week in the U.S., which is April 21-25. At stake in the contest is approximately $2,000 in prizes. For more information on the prizes and how to enter, please visit www.startupbizcast.com/contest.

As if that wasn’t enough, BizCast Brief returns this week with stories about the small business credit crunch and two well known companies expanding their small business VOIP offerings.

Links mentioned in this week’s episode:
NetSearch Direct (www.netsearchdirect.com)

Article distribution site examples:
Article Trader (www.articletrader.com)
Articles Base (www.articlesbase.com)
Article99 (www.article99.com)
Article Post Robot - automated article posting software (www.articlepostrobot.com)

Article example:
Simple Steps for SEO and Social Media Beginners

Startup BizCast is produced by EndGame PR Podcast Production, a service of EndGame Public Relations, LLC. For more information on how your business can take advantage of the social media revolution, please visit www.endgamepr.com/podcasts.

Startup BizCast’s theme music is “Dangerous Toys” by George Fletcher’s Bourbon Renewal. The full version of the song, along with other music by the same artist, can be downloaded at Podsafe Music Network.

Get each episode as it’s published: RSS - iTunes - Blubrry - Podcast Alley

Here is this week’s Small Business Recommended Reading list!

Small Firms Find Credit Is Tightening
New York Times

Microsoft Pumps Up Small Business VoIP
internetnews.com

Comcast rolls out phone service for small business
Boston Globe

Tips for small businesses to survive recession
San Francisco Chronicle

It’s OK to pay yourself when starting a business
Kansas City Star

 Startup BizCast Episode 40 [14:30m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Ever feel like you run around all day putting out business-related fires? Feel like you’re chasing your tail? Feel like you’re in a game of whack-a-mole? See where I’m going? Sam Carpenter, CEO of telephone answering service Centratel says all of those statements applied to him. He was working 100 hours a week and not getting anywhere. Then, he says, he found a system to perfect his life, his relationships, and his business. Now, he says he’s working a couple of hours a week and making more money than ever. He’s written a book called Work the System, that tells us how he did it. In this week’s Startup BizCast interview, I talk to Sam about his book and his system.

ALSO in this week’s Startup BizCast, details about the Startup BizCast Small Business Week Contest! I’m so excited about this contest, I can hardly contain myself. The contest has three prize levels, with the total prize pool worth nearly $2,000! Details on prizes plus instructions on how to enter are available in this episode and on the contest page.

Links mentioned in this week’s episode:
Work the System (www.workthesystem.com)

Startup BizCast is produced by EndGame PR Podcast Production, a service of EndGame Public Relations, LLC. For more information on how your business can take advantage of the social media revolution, please visit www.endgamepr.com/podcasts.

Startup BizCast’s theme music is “Dangerous Toys” by George Fletcher’s Bourbon Renewal. The full version of the song, along with other music by the same artist, can be downloaded at Podsafe Music Network.

Get each episode as it’s published: RSS - iTunes - Blubrry - Podcast Alley

I’ve posted final details about the Startup BizCast Small Business Week Contest, and entries are now being accepted! Please proceed in a calm, collected manner to the contest page BY CLICKING HERE.

Details will also be available later today, in Startup BizCast Episode 40.

I just checked my feedback hotline number, and found that it was no longer working! The service I use for the number deletes your account if it’s not used for a month. Unfortunately, I haven’t been getting any feedback (hop to it, people!), and thus it was deleted.

So, I created a new number. The Startup BizCast Feedback Hotline Number is now (206) 339-4366. This is also the number that will be used for the Startup BizCast Small Business Week Contest, so I’m glad I checked it!

I’ve got everything ready to go for the big announcement tomorrow about the Startup BizCast Small Business Week Contest! I’m going to keep full details until wraps until then, but here’s a tease:

Prizes in this contest are valued at more than $2,000! These valuable prizes are all designed to help your small business, startup, freelance operation, or even your dream of a business. The prizes come from these great firms:

Check back here tomorrow, and listen to Startup BizCast Episode 40 (publishing at about 8am tomorrow) for FULL details!

Here is this week’s Small Business Recommended Reading list! Note that BizCast Brief, which features a roundup of small business news from the week, is preempted in this week’s episode of Startup BizCast. I’m using the time to give detailed information on the Startup BizCast Small Business Week Contest, which launches on Wednesday, March 19.  The segment is scheduled to return next week.

Small Businesses Have Big Concerns
Richmond Times-Dispatch

Survey: Small-business credit worries low, optimism slightly higher
Columbus Business First

Handling late payments — and avoiding them
Kansas City Star

Do Your Business Papers Convey the Right Image?
American Small Business News

Blogs Are Terrible for Drive-By Sales
Small Business Trends

Big thanks to Jim Degerstrom for the kind review earlier this month of Startup BizCast on his podcast, Small Business Website Mailbag. Jim did a Google search for “small business advice podcast”, pulled out five of the results, and reviewed them for quality and content. Fortunately for me, Startup BizCast ranks #1 for that search. Jim said Startup BizCast was as well produced as shows from the magazines BusinessWeek and Entrepreneur!

Here’s a link to the episode of Jim’s show where he talks about SB.

PS - Want a show for your business that sounds as good as Startup BizCast? If so, click here! Sorry for the plug, but I couldn’t resisit!

 Startup BizCast Episode 39 [13:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Just about everyone has stopped denying it. The U.S. economy is at the very least souring, and could already be in a recession. As small business owners, we need to be particularly sensitive to changes in the economy because, generally speaking, our businesses are rather fragile. This week’s guest on Startup BizCast is Jody Keenan, the Director of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Virginia Small Business Development Center. She has some great advice on what you should be doing to help your business weather the storm.

In this week’s BizCast Brief, leap year trouble for Microsoft’s Small Business Server, small business owners are conflicted over presidential candidates, and information about National Small Business Week in the U.S.

Also this week — an exciting announcement about the upcoming Startup BizCast Small Business Week Contest! You can hear more in this week’s episode, or read more here.

Links mentioned in this week’s episode:
U.S. Small Business Administration (www.sba.gov)
SBA’s SBDC Locator Map

Startup BizCast is produced by EndGame PR Podcast Production, a service of EndGame Public Relations, LLC. For more information on how your business can take advantage of the social media revolution, please visit www.endgamepr.com/podcasts.

Startup BizCast’s theme music is “Dangerous Toys” by George Fletcher’s Bourbon Renewal. The full version of the song, along with other music by the same artist, can be downloaded at Podsafe Music Network.

Get each episode as it’s published: RSS - iTunes - Blubrry - Podcast Alley