ACRBO April Magazine

WHAT’S INSIDE Computers, Networking, Websites, Advertising, Marketing & Sales ISSUE 015 | Apr 2013

ACRBO MAG

“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” Maya Angelou The Owen Lea Foundation….

Let’s Make A Difference!

Association of Computer Repair Business Owners…Now over 4,000 members!

Association of Computer Repair Business Owners

CONTENTS 9

Benefits of Market Research

14

Marketing Basics

16

Positioning Your Business For Success

20

Old (MS-DOS) Commands Never Die

23

Hourly Rate

24

Keyword Search Strategy

28

Blogging To Market Your Business

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Are you a writer? Do you enjoy writing down your experiences?

Would you like to be able to contribute each month regarding your business model and give tips to other business owners?

If so feel free to contribute to the magazine. Credit is given to all writers in the form of links to your website or any other way you would like.

Share your experiences!

Welcome to the latest edition of the Association Magazine. I'd like to welcome our new contributors this month.

We look forward to bringing you more articles this coming year that can help you grow your business.

Lastly I’d like to congratulate you for investing your time to educate yourself by reading this magazine. We are proud to be able to help all our readers, and look forward to serving you for many years to come.

Dan ACRBO Keep your valuable feedback coming. I try to reply to every email, I appreciate your input as it helps to make the ACRBO magazine possible.

Write to me at: dan@acrbo.com

ACRBO Magazine Fredericksburg Virginia

Advertising enquires: Send an email to dan@acrbo.com Contribute articles: If you would like to be a contributing author for the magazine then send an email to dan@acrbo.com and let us know what you would like to write about.

Copyright 2012 ACRBO. All rights reserved.

Reprinted with permission. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated or converted into machinereadable form or language without the written consent of the publisher. Articles express the opinions of the authors and are not necessarily those of the publisher ACRBO Magazine Director: ACRBO dan@acrbo.com Contributors Various experts in their fields The instructions and advice in the Magazine is for entertainment purposes only. The creators, producers, contributors and distributors of the ACRBO Mag disclaim any liability for loss or lack of results from following the advice expressed herein

ACRBO inbox Advertise Specials

Hourly Wages

How often should I have specials and advertise them?

Read the article this month that covers hourly wages.

Sometimes less is better. If you are going to be doing specials on a daily basis then are they really “special�?

Dan ACRBO

I try to do them maybe weekly and make them enticing enough that they actually come across as a true special, otherwise people will tend to ignore them.

TOP EMAILS

TOP EMAILS

Dan ACRBO

Have a question? If so email it do dan@acrbo.com and we will be glad to answer it.

It can be business related pertaiing to marketing, setting up your business, growth of your business or anything you can think of.

Do You Market Your Business Here are just a few things that you should be doing weekly/monthly     

Customer Follow-Ups Newsletters Social Media Postings Blogging Updating Web Site

Are you doing these on a continual basis? If not why?

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This month’s winner will receive the eBook “MSPorFail”.

We will randomly choose a winner and email the winner.

Just send an email to dan@acrbo.com and in the Subject line put: WinBook Last Month’s winner is Black-CatComputers

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SMALL BUSINESS MARKETING: BENEFITS OF MARKET RESEARCH Making your small business venture successful is a difficult but achievable task. You need to look for ways to improve your bottom line profitability, and to market your business in innovative and inexpensive ways to take your small business to new heights.

Before spending the first cent on starting a small business, the first thing to do is conduct market research. Why? Read on.

Identifies consumer needs: Small businesses tend to have small starting capital and usually a limited geographic consumer focus. A small business usually starts with an idea that grows until a person feels the need to perform this activity as a source of income.

The computer industry is no different. You need to check things in your area. Are there already quite a few computer repair businesses? Are they store fronts or just mobile businesses? What is going to set you apart from them in order to get a customer base?

If you live in the area drive around and see what is there. Or look in the phone books and see who is advertising there. You can even go online and do some searches and see who is coming up in your area you are interested in.

The key is to do your research so you know exactly what you are going to market to.

Narrows the Focus: Analyzing demographic market analysis helps narrow the customer focus and the business focus.

Products sold to universal markets are not usually successful, and conducting market data research will show a small business owner how often people will purchase similar items, people from which demographics purchase those items, how much money they spend and very specific spending habit information.

Performing market needs analysis allows a small business owner to concentrate on his available piece of the pie and not spread out too thin trying to meet unnecessary needs of an unfocused market.

To ensure the small business idea is valid and worthy of pursuing financially, do some market research to find out if anyone else is offering the same business or services.

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Subscription or onetime prurchase. Easy for your customers.

Powerful for your business

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Have a story to share with others about your computer business that might help them in the future. Submit it and we will publish it in next month’s issues right in this location.

Send to dan@acrbo.com

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In business time is one commodity that you do not ever have enough of. There will always be enough projects, meetings, loose ends, appointments and more, but never enough time.

How to make time for things that you never found time for before.

How to not stress out at the end of each day because you did not finish what you started.

Start Today “Time Is Precious”…www.TimeIsPrecious.info

Inside this article we are going to examine what needs to be implemented to be successful online. This system is really easy and one that people don't bother about too much. By telling you what to search for online, this is going to be a smart way for you to master how to set up a small online business.

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SMALL BUSINESS MARKETING: BASICS Marketing is crucial when it comes to gaining the attention of prospective consumers and clients, developing products or service demand and turning those prospective consumers into customers. Marketing has an effect on your sales, pricing, promotions and your advertising strategies. When understand the importance of marketing you can use it to promote the ongoing transition of your services and products to the consumer; this can create success in your small business.

Necessity of a marketing plan: A marketing plan serves as a roadmap when it comes to your marketing initiatives. It details the success route that you will need to follow to get your small business noticed by potential customers. A detailed marketing plan will show you what to do and help you understand why you are doing it. It will also help you navigate away from the marketing and business mistakes that will cost you money, time and future growth potential. As a small business owner equipped with a marketing plan, you will feel more organized, have more confidence and a clear vision when it comes to your marketing goals. Put in simple terms a marketing plan increases your chance to achieve the business success that you desire.

Strategise wisely: Marketing a service is different than marketing a product.

There are certain things you need to consider and different steps you need to take in order to help the consumer feel comfortable. Learn what you what you need to do differently in order to market your service effectively.

Persevere: It often happens that a small business owner does not persevere with their marketing plan. This happens for various reasons and small business owners often give up too soon. Learn how to persevere with a set marketing plan and chosen marketing strategies, until it pays off in the end.

ACRBO marketplace Linux For The Rest Of Us - Do you want to stay ahead of the computer curve so that you don't feel left in the dust?

- Do you want to expand your knowledge so that YOU are that technician who people go to for advice?

PC Dice Contact: dan@cmonova.com A great gift for that tech you know. Or even better take them on site with you and amaze your customers.

- Do you want to learn an operating system so powerful and fun you'll wonder how you lived without it?

Your Ad here Contact dan@acrbo.com Let Us Know > Want to see your ad here?

Drop us an email.

Small Business marketing: POSITIONING your small business for success In small business marketing, it is very essential that you define your “market position”, a critical step in your business plan that even the most successful companies know they must do before they purchase a single ad.

Making your small business venture successful is a difficult but achievable task You need to look for ways to improve your bottom line profitability, and to market your business in innovative and inexpensive ways to take your small business to new heights In small business marketing, it is very essential that you define your “market position”, a critical step in your business plan that even the most successful companies know they must do before they purchase a single ad.

“POSITIONING” YOUR SMALL BUSINESS FOR SUCCESS COMMON POSITIONING FACTORS So how could such a business be positioned to actually mean something in a crowded marketplace? Well, you could start by leveraging some of the market positioning factors outlined:  Price – You could scan the market to determine what your competitors charge and simply charge less, giving you ownership of the “low-price” position  Level of Service – You could offer more services than the competition, or you could do the opposite and offer fewer services allowing you to specialize in certain types of consulting.  Geography – Thanks to the Internet, you could be a consultant to anyone in the world, or you could choose to offer your services on an in-person basis within a defined geographic area.  Quality of your Service – What credentials and experience do you bring to the table that would allow a customer to judge the quality of your consulting services? Are you better equipped or less equipped than your competition in this area?  Target Market – Do you have a defined target market for your product or service? McDonalds was clearly targeting families and the youth market. Geico.com targets cost conscious consumers who are willing to accept over the phone service instead of in person service from their insurance company in exchange for a discount on their premiums.

The Industry Site: www.TechNibble.com Who Is Technibble For? Technibble is a free resource for Computer Technicians and Computer Business Owners.

Technibble helps computer technicians with information and how-to-articles published a few times a week and has a strong community of Computer Technicians to help one another.

Technibble helps you by covering topics such as: - How to start a Computer Business - Advertising, how to get clients and keep them - Business and legal issues - Streamline your computer repair work - Technician related product reviews and discounts - New opportunities to look out for - Stories from “the trenches� from your fellow Computer Techs Technibble also has a large database of Computer Repair tools and adds a new on to its database every week.

Be sure to check out the Archives, Computer Repair Tools section and the Computer Technician forum. .

www.Technibble.com

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Old (MS-DOS) Commands Never Die Most computer users today have never seen, or had occasion to use, the Command Prompt. Originally known as the MS-DOS Prompt, this was our only way to communicate with the Operating System and the Directory and File structure before Microsoft Windows® converted us all to the Graphical User Interface.

Most IT Support technicians are at least aware of this arcane, text-based interface and use it on rare occasions. But to effectively deal with today's sophisticated malware, the savvy tech must be intimately familiar with at least a dozen of these commands.

If the GUI of Windows is working properly and you are not restricted in your ability to open a Command window, you will normally do so by entering "cmd" from the Run command or the Search box provided by the Operating System on the infected computer.

In cases of more persistent malware infections, you may need to boot into Safe Mode Command Prompt only. This approach will usually allow most of the basic functionality that may be blocked when the GUI is loaded.

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To see a complete list and a brief description of all available commands, you may enter "help" . a Command Prompt. For more detailed from information on the options and parameters associated with each command, enter "[command] /?" and they will all be listed.

If you haven't studied the syntax of these commands in a while (or ever), you may want to invest some time in becoming familiar with them before you need them. If you deal with cleaning up malware on a regular basis, it's a safe bet you'll be using these commands frequently.

Bonus research: What's the difference between entering "cmd" or "command" from the Run command or the search box? And why do you need to know? Send your response to kdwight@thevirusdoc.com.

In either case, here is the short list of commands you need to be prepared to use, along with the purpose of each:

            

Attrib - Used to view and/or change the attributes of a directory or file Cd or Chdir - Used to navigate through the directory structure Copy - Copy files and/or folders (directories) from one location to another Del or Erase - Delete or erase files Dir - View the contents of a directory Find - Search for a file or folder by name or partial name Md or Mkdir - Create a new directory in the current location More - Allow viewing of on-screen output one page at a time Rd or Rmdir - Remove a directory Ren or Rename - Rename a file or folder Set - Displays, sets, or removes DOS environment variables.

Tree - View the structure of a directory Xcopy - Copy files and/or folders from one location to another; gives you additional options beyond those offered by the Copy command

Copyright  2013 by Ken Dwight, “The Virus Doctor™,” Houston, Texas. All rights reserved. Ken is a Computer Consultant, Speaker, and Trainer, and creator of the Virus Remediation Training workshop for computer support technicians. For reprint rights, information about upcoming workshops, or to inquire about booking Ken for your next Conference, Convention, or Company Meeting, contact us at www.thevirusdoc.com or phone (281) 537-0252.

Hourly Rate I as recently asked this question and figured it might make for a good article.

“How did you come up with your hourly rate based on overhead costs and still make a profit? I’m going to have to hire a new tech full time and I want to introduce some monthly service programs and don’t want to take it in the shorts.”

There is no definite answer to this type of question because there are way too many variables.

Our hourly rate from inception was based on what others in the area were charging for their service and then setting a price to our services. Over time this has changed some due to economy or adding new services.

When we were just a mobile service then obviously expenses were at a minimum. It was not until we opened a store front that then you incur added expenses. At that time you might just have to raise your rates a bit.

Depending on if you are mobile or a storefront some things to consider are: Rent Gas Electric Phone Internet Insurance Taxes etc….

Once you know those things then you might just adjust your rates a bit more.

When it came time to hire a tech I knew we had expenses and also had a rough idea of our income (I don’t do the books). But, upon checking all I did was asked “can I pay a tech $X per hour”…The smart people who do the books said yes.

But, it does not take a genius to figure that they looked at our current income, expenses, etc and based it off of that.

My issue with businesses looking at hiring a tech is this…Is there “already” enough income coming in to handle the added expenses that come with a tech. If you are going to base it on “If I had a tech then I could…” philosophy to me that is not a good route to go….You might just find yourself a month or so in with no money to cover this additional tech.

Sometimes you have to spend money to make money. In the case of a tech I would caution using this concept.

Base hiring and what you can pay on actual numbers at the time, not on what you “might make”.

Make sure your business is solid and there is a good revenue coming in before taking the hiring of a tech route.

If you need to raise rates, try to get more business and everything else just to justify the hiring of a tech then maybe now is not the time.

Dan ACRBO.com

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KEYWORD SEARCH STRATEGY: IT'S CRITICAL TO ANY ONLINE MARKETING CAMPAIGN Ah, keyword search strategy, the basis of every single successful website existing today.

Now the second example is a very targeted keyword phrase. Remember you keyword search strategy is to find the most targeted keywords with the least amount of competition.

Alright, I know that statement sounds rather extreme but let's check it out.

It's a fact, for marketers who put little to no research into the keywords they choose, or if they simply don't understand the importance of keywords to their marketing campaign and SEO efforts, then chances are they are not marketing to their target audience. If you aren't marketing to your target audience, then you aren't going to get targeted traffic. If you don't get targeted traffic to your site then you will not make any sales.

So often we get caught up in the numbers and the competition that we forget that goal is to target a specific audience. Sure you may eventually get some traffic targeting the phrase "building backyard sheds" but most of those who visit your site will not find what they are looking for. Also the keyword is so vague it will take quite a while before people can even find your site.

Stop sweating and let me explain why keyword search strategy is so important.

Let's say 6 months ago you launched a website on how to build a backyard shed. You have great original content on your site along with great photos that shows how to build different back yard sheds.

The main keywords you've picked are "backyard sheds" and "building backyard sheds". You have written tons of articles, built your backlinks and shared all over the social networking sites, yet your site still doesn't rank well in the search engines and you aren't getting a good amount of daily hits on your site. What happened?

The problem is the keywords. They are not specific enough and they have a huge amount of competition. If there are already 160,000,000 websites competing for these keywords, it is going to take you over a year to begin ranking near the top for those specific phrases. Not only is the competition too high for these keywords, but phrases aren't specific enough.

No matter how detailed the information on your site is, it isn't going to show how to make all types of backyard sheds. What specific type of shed do you have blueprints for? Is it a specific make, a specific size, a specific shape or made with a specific material? Getting more specific can change your keyword from "building backyard sheds" to "how to build a Panama 471 Shed".

The keyword search strategy you need to go by is determining what phrases people are going to use when searching for your products or services that can solve their problems.

You will also want to remember that while you do want to build your brand online, your brand or company name is not what people are looking for. What you can offer as a solution to a problem they have is what they are looking for.

The keyword search strategy you need to go by is determining what phrases people are going to use when searching for your products or services that can solve their problems. They will search for "computer repair" or "pc repair" not "fix virus" or "virus on my computer".

So while it can be very tempting to just breeze through the keyword selection processes of internet marketing, I highly suggest you slow down and spend some time focusing on finding the best keywords for your niche. Having the right keyword search strategy can make or break your online business.

Good luck and happy keyword hunting!

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HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY? THIS CAN BE YOUR SPOT EACH AND EVERY MONTH IN THE MAGAZINE INTERESTED? CONTACT US

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BLOGGING- THE BEST WAY TO MARKET YOUR SMALL BUSINESS The whole world is at your fingertips if you have the basic know how of internet.

In today’s world, advertising or marketing is not a challenge any more. May it be small business or a big one or advertising about oneself, media has opened its doors to the needs of every kind of businessman (and woman). Internet is now the easiest way by which one can have an access to the homes of every person on this earth provided he or she must have internet connectivity. It is cheap and extremely user friendly. The whole world is at your fingertips if you have the basic know how of internet.

Blogging has come up recently in the world of internet that helps one to express his or her feelings about anything under the sun. This system of blogging can be used to market your small business very effectively.

Write articles about your business or similar kind of businesses and up load them. Create a page related to your business and regularly update it with new and fresh blogs. There are various sites on the internet that will help you popularise your webpage and your blogs. Write about any new development or changes that you want to bring in your services. Ask your viewers to give suggestion regarding it. This will keep viewers interested in your blog as well as your business.

Next you can also supply free products or services to some of your personally known viewers and ask them to comment on them. These comments can be uploaded as reviews of the products. This will attract more and more people. Good reviews will develop an urge among your viewers to buy your products and use them.

Mention the link of this blog or webpage in your facebook account. This whole process is cost effective and thus appropriate for your small business where capital is the major challenge.

New Release www.MSPorFail.com