It seems like not enough people are vocally angry about these greed filled corporations taking advantage of consumers with these absolutely ridiculous prices. Is it something you've been negatively affected by with your small business?
I am older and the present amount of social, economic, and political uncertainty seems greater than even that of the 1960's and early 1970's when I was a teenager and young adult. TBH, I am at a loss as to how to help my children, grandchildren, and their friends survive and thrive during these turbulent times. As the owner of a very small business, I confess that I am uncertain as to how best to proceed when it comes to investing in new tech for my business. I decided to hold off purchasing new Lenovo machines at the end of 2025 with the hope of finding a better deal some time in 2026. As of 5/11/26, it looks like I misjudged. Right now, I am just taking things a day at a time.
Wit my business being such a small family operation, I am currently more concerned with petroleum products (gas, diesel, oil, fertilizers,etc.) than computers and components.
Optimizing a landing page is essential to improving conversion rates and enhancing user experience. Here are some key tips and tricks for landing page optimization for an informative resource:
1. Clear and Compelling Headline - Tip: Your headline is the first thing users see. Make it clear, concise, and reflective of the value you offer. - Trick: Use a benefit-driven headline, emphasizing how the resource will solve a problem or provide value. For example, "Master Digital Marketing in 30 Days" is more compelling than "Free Digital Marketing Guide."
2. Strong Subheadline - Tip: Support your headline with a subheadline that elaborates on the benefit of the resource. - Trick: Keep the subheadline simple and actionable, e.g., "Unlock step-by-step strategies from industry experts."
3. Clear Call-to-Action (CTA) - Tip: Your CTA should be visible, clear, and action-oriented. Use contrasting colors and ensure it stands out. - Trick: Instead of generic CTAs like "Download," use more specific ones such as "Get Your Free Guide" or "Start Learning Today."
4. Value Proposition - Tip: Clearly communicate what users will gain by engaging with your resource. Highlight what makes it unique. - Trick: Use bullet points or icons to showcase benefits, such as "Expert Insights," "Free Templates," or "Practical Strategies."
5. Optimized Visuals - Tip: Use high-quality, relevant visuals to support the content. Avoid clutter and unnecessary images. - Trick: Include visuals like screenshots of the resource, testimonials, or infographics that clearly convey its value.
6. Trust Indicators - Tip: Build trust with social proof, testimonials, reviews, or trust badges (e.g., "Featured in [top publication]"). - Trick: Incorporate a short testimonial or a trust badge near the CTA to help increase confidence in your resource.
7. Keep it Concise - Tip: Don’t overwhelm users with too much information. Keep text concise, focusing on key points. - Trick: Break up content into digestible sections using headers, bullet points, and short paragraphs.
8. Mobile Optimization - Tip: Ensure your landing page is fully responsive and loads quickly on mobile devices. - Trick: Test your landing page on different screen sizes and optimize for mobile users by simplifying elements like navigation and form fields.
9. Fast Loading Speed - Tip: Slow pages can cause users to bounce. Optimize images and scripts for faster load times. - Trick: Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to identify issues and fix them for better performance.
10. A/B Testing - Tip: Regularly test different variations of your landing page to understand what works best with your audience. - Trick: Test one element at a time (e.g., headline, CTA color, or button text) to get clear results on what changes drive more conversions.
11. Leverage Scarcity and Urgency - Tip: Use time-sensitive offers or limited availability to encourage users to take action quickly. - Trick: A countdown timer or a message like “Limited Offer – 100 Spots Only” can create urgency.
12. Simple Form Design - Tip: If you use forms, keep them as short as possible. Ask only for essential information to minimize friction. - Trick: Use inline validation (where users see if they’ve entered something wrong as they type) to reduce errors and abandonment.
13. Exit-Intent Popups - Tip: Capture visitors who are about to leave with a well-timed exit-intent popup offering additional value. - Trick: Offer an incentive like a free eBook, discount, or newsletter signup in exchange for their contact information.
14. Analytics and Tracking - Tip: Set up analytics to track how users interact with your landing page. - Trick: Use heatmaps or session recordings (via tools like Hotjar) to see where users are clicking and how they navigate the page.
15. Personalization - Tip: Personalize the user experience based on location, referral source, or behavior to make the page more relevant. - Trick: Dynamic content that adjusts based on user behavior can help drive more conversions. For example, showing a different CTA based on whether the user is a first-time visitor or returning one.
By applying these optimization tips and tricks, you can ensure that your landing page effectively attracts visitors, engages them with valuable information, and ultimately converts them into leads or users.
I truly wish I had had this advice when setting up a website for my small business. It would have helped me design and execute it better and make it more appealing to potential customers. I'm in luck, though, I am planning to refresh the site, and these guidelines should make it much more effective. Thanks for sharing them with us.
Great info, Mak! While #15 is very important, changes to Internet security have made it more difficult over time to easily grab user info from the Web browser. It used to be easy to grab a user referrer link, http request, etc., and pull out the URL / IP address and use a local GeoDB to determine where the user was located. Now, such actions get flagged in the browser. I miss the gold ol' days.
I'm a manager of a small online business, we aren't very active on social media (occasionally post on insta and pinterest) and word-of-mouth is hard to spread. We are selling our items on 3 different platforms and still building..
What are some things I can do to help pull in some traffic in the next couple of months? I kind of was thinking about taking on the posting on instagram a couple of extra times a month.
March is an important time of year for many small and medium-sized businesses🧐☑️👜🏢 What initiatives or priorities do you typically focus on during this month? Let’s find common ground with members around the world and encourage each other together!
Mortgage companies slow down on foreclosures during the holidays, and February and March is when they pick back up. So, that is the only increase that I am dealing with right now. Things will slow down a bit in the summer, but not as low as the November/December lull.
I recently dropped my landline. I had the number for 26 years, but had transitioned to a Google Voice number for a few years before finally disconnecting the landline. It was costing me $100 per month. It made me think about if there are any other costs that people are cutting. Is there any service that you have cut or are considering cutting?
I cut my landlines a while ago, although I probably should have done so even earlier than I did. I got one of those devices where I can plug all my existing phones into my Google Voice, so I can still use all my regular phones at home including my fax machine for those rare occasions I might still have to send or receive a fax.
As we are having the holiday season globally, I’d love to hear your thoughts on year-end wrap-up activities and messages to customers and business partners.
For instance, are the help desk and emergency contact points clearly defined, and is the “Out of Office” (OOO) template for external communication ready?
Prepared and ready—now let’s make this holiday truly wonderful for everyone❄️✨✨
Year-End is always a PITA and stressful for me. All my customers want things before the end of the year. I try to manage that by starting in September, but unexpected things always come up.
Throw in the holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas and all the hecticness that occurs and you have nothing but "fun times"
This post just made me think about how popular the yearend wrap-up reports have become for a lot of businesses. So much so that SNL did a spoof about it last night. I wonder if there are creative ways for smaller businesses to do their own version of a yearly wrap-up? Maybe something focused more on the community as a whole instead of a personalized report for each customer? Do you think that there's a creative way for your own business to do yearend wrap-up report?
I use both. I have a ThinkPad P16v Gen 3 laptop that I use for my everyday business and personal needs - including when I travel to my customer's sites and when I travel for leisure.
I also have several desktops at home for various purposes including file-server, disk maintenance/replication/etc. and for general HW testing.
We all know that recommendations from friends, family and co-workers go the furthest sometimes. We don't often get to spread the love of our favorite start-up brands, small businesses or unique local digs.
So, now is the time! In celebration of Mom and Pop Business Owners Day (3/29), please share your favorite small business, Mom and Pop shop or local business with us!
Keep in mind to share the business name, link to website/socials, location, why you love them, etc..
If you don't have a favorite you want to share, what about an experience you appreciated from a small business while traveling or visiting once?
Don't forget to say thankyou and spread the love to any small business you know this month! ❤
Not feeling it so much, this being National Dairy Month, I support our Dairy Farmers as much as I can with Ice Cream and Milk Shakes! Just had a great peach shake last night. Props however for finding that niche market in that area,
Many small business journeys have game-changing decisions — maybe it was a new laptop, a cloud service, a locale change, a piece of advice, a good hire, a strategy adjustment or a tech upgrade that made everything smoother.
We'd love to hear about and celebrate those smart moves! So please tell us...
What tool, tech, advice, or upgrade was your “best move” when you 'went pro' in your business?
Bonus points for photos or links—show off your setup or share what made the difference!
Employing more empathy and understanding while working with clients. This has many benefits but especially helps make those tough interactions a little smoother because the clients don't feel like you're talking down to them or using technical jargon all the time.
For me, the best “pro move” I made was definitely getting my ThinkPad X1 Carbon. It allowed me to process all my data for consulting projects and prepare my reports quickly and without any hassle.
It’s still very reliable and efficient — a true work companion! Though I have to admit, it’s starting to show its age…
One of the most powerful aspects of Small Business Saturday is the spirit of collaboration. Whether you're a boutique teaming up with a local café or an IT consultant offering free audits to neighborhood shops, partnerships can amplify everyone's success.
So what about you? Have you collaborated with another local business or professional for Small Business Saturday? 📈
Share your story or ideas for future partnerships! ✒️
I haven’t had the chance to collaborate with another local business yet, but the idea really inspires me. I love the thought of two small shops side by side, each with something unique to offer, creating something even bigger together. One might have the perfect location, the other the expertise… And by partnering, they both grow. That kind of collaboration is truly beautiful.
Whats up Techies and Techettes!! Check out my new video with Jeffrey Cagle on effective communication in selling!! #TwoMinuteTechTalk #WeAreLenovo #NCCU
Thanks for another quick but informative video! I have to ask though, was this filmed at Lenovo's HQ in NC and if so, what exactly are "writable walls?" 🤔
I’ve always taken more of a "catch-all" approach and then slowly stopped whatever wasn’t working. I’ve dabbled in pretty much everything on your list except TV and radio.
My biggest challenge has probably been just putting in the actual work... and then digging through all the analytics from split testing to figure out what’s actually performing.
Not exactly recent, but finally getting a laptop stand has been a gamechanger—for cooling, posture, and visual clarity. I no longer have to wear glasses while using my laptop, now that the screen is more in line with my eyes and a bit closer. I'm definitely considering picking up another stand like the one Robert has with 360° rotation—it would be perfect for the secondary laptop I’m often using off to the side.
I purchased a Lenovo think pad some time ago without doing much research. I find that the Think Pad is deficient in a number of ways. First there is no memory card input, second there are only two USB ports. This is important because I have one USB port for my mouse and the second for a memory stick. I would be nice to have a third for a cd rom drive since I have programs on cd's that I would like to transfer to a memory stick without having to copy it to my computer and then to a memory stick. Other then that, I find the Think Pad a pleasure to work with. The Think Pad is fast and the screen is clear with colors so true to life the you thing you could reach out and touch them.
Yes, the ThinkPad series is built to be more lightweight and often have less USB Ports. Other Lenovo Series have more ports and functions. So yo can just get the one that meets your needs.
But a usb hub can be added to give you more USB ports and even flash card ports. Many of these are small and portable; or you can leave the hum on your desktop to save travel space/weight.
The U.S. President has directed the Treasury Department to stop minting new pennies, citing rising production costs—each one-cent coin now costs nearly $0.04 to produce.
Completely discontinuing the penny would likely require an act of Congress, but the Secretary of the Treasury may have the authority to halt new production. Over the years, several proposals have aimed to address the ongoing losses from minting the coin, including temporarily suspending production, removing it from circulation, or rounding prices to the nearest five cents.
There is precedent for eliminating low-value coins. Congress discontinued the half-cent coin in 1857, and other countries, such as Canada, have already phased out their one-cent coins—Canada stopped minting its penny in 2012 and stopped using them in 2013.
The nickel could be next, as each $0.05 coin now costs nearly $0.14 to produce.
Would your business be affected if the U.S. stopped minting pennies? If so, how? What if nickels were also eliminated? What changes would you need to make?
I primarily use internet searches to find advice and ideas to expand not only my product selection but also my customer base. I find that these communities are an excellent way to find ideas and suggestions on business matters.
2021 has come to a close but not without it's own unique sets of challenges and triumphs. Although it was not quite so drastic as 2020, 2021 continued to present the need for some major pivoting to stay afloat. I think everyone is ready for a new year.
So, what business goals have you excited for 2022? Have your goals shifted from their previous trajectories or have they stayed the same?
Let us know in the comments below and Happy New Year!
I need to learn how to sell merchandise from my small business nail studio/retail shop to earn more and work less "hands-on."
I've just started teaching my apprentice nail technician and have recently found out I'm allergic to chemicals in products that earned me the most. I have lost about half of my income and just opened my own business just under two years ago.
I don't know what to invest in (tablet, laptop or desk top and if I need to purchase software) to ring up and collect payment from clients/customers for services and/or retail merchandise.
As 2022 looks to crest it's half-way hump, how are you seeing current trends shake out in your small business?
The world keeps distancing itself (in various degrees) from heavy COVID-19 lock-downs, mask requirements and more - everyone is ready to travel, get married and get social again.
Please share your thoughts below and see what trends other businesses are seeing and responding to!
Berrufliche Reisen ist nicht mehr so notwendig wie vor zwei Jahren. Mindestens 50% meiner Kunden akzeptieren Remote-Arbeiten, mindestens 50% der Zeit und off 100% remote. Als Trainer for Enterprise- und Softwarearchitektur-Schulungen müsste ich meine Didaktik sehr anpassen, um sowohl Remote als auch Trainings vor Ort halten zu können. Aktuell gibt es auch mehr Nachfragen für hybride Trainings, bei den Teil der Gruppe remote teilnimmt und Teil der Gruppe onilne teilnimmt.
I have found that many places are offering both in-person and virtual options for programs. My organization has done this and it has been effective. With the virtual aspect, we are able to reach out to clients who normally would not have had an experience with our organization which is really rewarding.
We've all experienced the growth of social media and streaming, and its use as a marketing platform, but I'm curious if Pro Community members running businesses are still able to successfully use traditional methods of advertising like placing advertisements on radio, in physical magazines / newspapers, on TV, or via billboards / signage, etc? If you don't run a business, or aren't involved in marketing, I'm also curious if you still consume advertisements through traditional methods.
Do email mailing lists count as 'traditional' advertising? Beyond that, I don't watch traditional TV, listen to the radio, read magazines or newspapers, and since I live and work in the suburbs I almost never see billboards or other signage. Mailing lists (for news and deals on books mostly) are probably the oldest form of advertising that I see regularly.
Here are a few ideas on ways to celebrating from National Day:
Attend or host an event. Whether it's a seminar, webinar, interview or workshop, these events promote healthy small businesses. They provide a wealth of information all business owners need to know. These events also offer resources specific to women-owned enterprises.
Be a mentor to other women. If you've already overcome the stumbling blocks of ownership, you're one of the most valuable resources available to beginning business owners. Your experiences not only help pave the way for others, but your insight brings clarity and confidence to others.
Sharpen your skills. Any business person knows that it's vital to keep learning and discovering. Whether it's a new technology, legislation, or financial news, the business world is always changing. It demands we stay focused and aware of the changing business world. Improving our skills also provides us with more opportunities. Whether driving business into new areas or changing direction, growing our tools help us create a brighter future for our businesses.
Join an organization. Numerous organizations around the country support small businesses. By networking with other like-minded women, you're not only able to learn about growing your business but you can also share your experiences and be a voice for others. Some organizations you may find helpful include the National Association of Women Business Owners, your local Chamber of Commerce, and the American Business Women's Association. If local organizations are lacking in your area, help start one. Bring a chapter to your community and let the leadership begin!
Discover other resources. For example, the U.S. Small Business Administration includes an Office of Women's Business Ownership that serves not only as a guide, but advocates for women business owners, too.
Support a Woman-Owned Small Business. Explore your community and shop at women-owned small businesses.
With Valentines Day coming up, St. Paddy's Day, March Madness and more, do you create any material or special activities in your business to celebrate and drive visitors - either digital or physical?
If you have, how has it worked? What would you recommend to others planning on promoting their products or services during this time?
Nothing really going on in IT for this. At least not with ours. I've seen lots of sales going on with various orgs, and I can imagine the increased traffic during those times to be quite profitable.
ALWAYS BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR EMAILS!!! So many scams, from so many different senders. I have a very strict whitelist and recommend that you all do the same. Accidentally clicking on the wrong email link can wreck your day.
Grow your business alongside other small and medium businesses as you share best practices, overcome challenges, exchange advice and celebrate the wins - big and small.
