This scenario is not unusual. Since the rise of social networking in 2004, many professionals in the advertising and marketing industries have branched out to specifically develop their expertise in this rapidly growing niche. Social media can improve and work for any business, and is something that every business should integrate into their marketing plan. When combined with conventional advertising, businesses have the potential to reach out to a wider audience, delivering the most effective campaign results.

How did perusing Facebook become a full time job?

But unless you work in social media yourself, there are many people out there that don’t know what a social media expert does. We all know that they sit on Facebook and Twitter all day, but what is it that they do that actually contributes to a brand?

To find out more information, I decided to consult my good friend Julian Cole for answers. Julian is a leading Digital Strategist (yes, a real ‘social media expert’) for The Conscience Organisation in Sydney, and the man behind Adspace Pioneers, one of Australia’s highest-ranking marketing blogs. His impressive list of clients includes Coca Cola, Nestle, Universal Music and Fox 8.

Julian explains, “It is a social media expert’s role to come up with ways that a company can integrate social media with their marketing strategy.” This involves analysing your brand, doing research to define its fit in the marketplace, and then presenting ideas on how develop the most effective promotional campaign. It is up to the expert to show the client how they intend to reach out as many people as possible by covering several KPIs (key performance indicators), such as: I’ll get your business 10,000 Facebook fans, or I’ll get your YouTube clip 500,000 views.

How does social media affect your total revenue?

Ok, fine. So your social media expert can get me 10,000 fans – so what? How does 10,000 fans make you money? How does this really affect my bottom line?

To investigate this topic further, think about conventional advertising. It is no different to social media campaigns – the same concept goes: the objective is to increase brand awareness in order to increase my sales. There is no cold hard cash guarantee.

If you want measure the success of a social media campaign in a dollar value, think about how much it would ordinarily cost you to reach out to create an advertising campaign and send out your marketing message to 10,000 people. A social media expert will be able to present to you the dollar value of your social media campaign based on comparative costs (for example, how many people drive past a particular billboard everyday, and how much does that billboard cost?). The added value of integrating a social media campaign with a conventional advertising campaign is that you are more likely to reach out to a wider audience. Not everyone may drive past that billboard, whereas your Facebook fans can come from anywhere that has an internet connection.

What makes someone a social media expert?

But what about the term ‘expert’? How do you know that someone can really deliver what he or she is suggesting? Believe it or not, there is actually a definitive measurement of what makes somebody a social media ‘expert’.

According to Malcolm Gladwell, one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People and author of The Tipping Point, someone cannot call themselves an ‘expert’ until they have 10,000 hours of experience under their belt.

If we take into account a standard 40-hour working week, this is equivalent to 5 years’ full-time work specialising in social media. It is for this reason, businesses should be wary of so-called ‘experts’. Check out their experience, and make sure they can provide you with ideal KPIs to help you secure measureable results.

Let’s face it. Australia is an ageing population. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2009), “Over the past two decades, the number of elderly people increased by 167.8%, compared with a total population growth of 30.1% over the same period.”

To be more precise, “The proportion of people aged 65 years and over has increased from 11% to 13.3%. During the same period, the proportion of population aged 85 years and over has more than doubled.”

So what does this mean for entrepreneurs like you and me? Well if it’s not already obvious enough, target this demographic if you want to make it big! Whether it be medical devices or simply just more comfortable shoes, the potential of the older Australian market is infinite.

In addition to a huge growth in population, parents are screaming a high level disposable income – aptly named DINKS (Double Income No Kids), and SINKS (Single Income No Kids).

Furthermore, it has become a growing trend for Baby Boomers to forget traditional values and spend their hard-earned cash, rather than saving every penny for their will.

So how do the elderly spend money? With more adults becoming technology-savvy, people of all ages are browsing and buying online to find the information, products and services they seek.

But let’s take a realistic look at this. 50 per cent of those aged 65 and over have a disability, most of which involve sight and movement. So what’s the solution? Make your website more accessible.

Although incredibly important, it is surprising how little people know about web accessibility. Primarily designed for the vision-impaired, AA and AAA standards are guidelines that cover everything from appropriate HTML coding to the ratio of colour contrast on the screen.

Some of the simple issues that AAA guidelines tackle include ensuring you can increase font size, accessing sections of your site without a mouse (solely by keyboard) for those who are mobility-impaired, and how to make your website compatible with screen readers, widely used by the vision-impaired community.

In the States, the strength of the disabled persons market is valued at US$175-billion. Imagine the range of people you could reach by following such web accessibility guidelines…

In the UK, Legal and General Insurance entirely rebuilt their website to suit web accessibility guidelines, and as a result, saw a ROI within 12 months, a 90 per cent increase in traffic, and an 25 per cent to 200 per cent increase in sales. What’s more, they saved £200K in site maintenance per year. There is no arguing the benefits of AAA guidelines with results like those.

In 2007, giant supermarket chain TESCO released two separate websites – one for the general population, and designed specifically for disabled persons.

Research found the site that followed AAA guidelines generated substantially more sales than the other, and due to being much easier to read and follow, was widely used by those without any impairment at all.

It’s a no-brainer, really. So how do you get started re-jigging your website to suit? The massive downside to confronting this issue is finding a web designer who knows these AAA guidelines down to a tee. They are far and few between.

However, a fantastic place to start is Vision Australia, based in Melbourne. They are able to review your site for you and point you in the right direction. But if you’re keen to start changing your site today, try to stick to a few key guidelines. You can find everything you need to know at the WCAG website.

These days, you don’t need to go far to see someone tapping away on their iPhone or HTC. They might be text messaging a friend, or downloading the latest applications from iTunes. But chances are, they’re probably online surfing the web, looking for useful information to pass their time.

In the US, users spend an average of 4.5 hours browsing online on their smartphones each day. Australians aren’t that far behind; currently, 43% of the Australian population owns internet-enabled phones. And, although 28% of smartphone users are now accessing their email via phone more than they do on their PC, searching online has actually become the most popular activity for smartphone users.

What’s even more astounding is that Australians aren’t just browsing on their phones on the go – only 13% claim to surf the web while commuting. Research shows that a surprising 33% of Australians surf the web on their phones from home.

Consequently, many businesses are now modifying their websites to become mobile-friendly. They understand that the way people consume content is changing, and they don’t want to be left behind.

Does your target market use an iPhone?

When we think ‘technology’, we of Gen Y. After all, Gen Y are the ones who know it all when it comes to using computers and new digital devices. They don’t just consume online content, they interact with it and create. So it makes sense that if you are targeting a young audience, you should be making an effort to maximise your business’ online presence as much as possible.

However, because Gen Y are so tech-savvy, it takes far more effort to target a Gen Y audience than just creating a mobile-friendly website. So, for this reason, here are some surprising results: the clear benefits of having a mobile-enabled website are much more suited to businesses who target Gen X and older consumers! Believe it or not, more than 41% of smartphone users are over the age of 40.

What’s more, research from a recent 2010 Nielsen study predicts that by 2012, more than half of Australian mobile phone users will be using smartphones. So don’t be fooled, modifying your website to become mobile-friendly is beneficial no matter what generation your target audience is from.

Common problems with non-mobile-friendly sites

If you have never thought of optimising your website for mobile before, let’s take a look at some of the common complications with non-mobile-friendly sites.

It is important to remember that when iPhone users interact with website content, they use their hands on a touchscreen, not a mouse on a monitor. The different dimensions of an iPhone screen compared to a computer screen means that your site will not display correctly. If your site has several panels, they may appear jumbled up, or they become difficult to see, zoom in, zoom out and navigate.

Depending on your website’s resolution, your text may also be impossible to read. You lose your selling power; the important marketing message that you want customers to read gets lost. By having a mobile-friendly site, you maximise your chances of integral content being easily absorbed.

In addition, many websites use Flash to jazz up the appearance of their sites. Flash does not work on smartphones, and due to its nature, never will. Also, the use of multiple images can slow down your website’s speed. If your site takes too long to load, consumers are bound to become impatient and move onto something else.

Taking the next step to mobile

By modifying your website to become quickly and easily accessed via phone, you are more likely to capture the consumer’s attention AND keep it.

But don’t panic – having a mobile-friendly site does not require a complete overhaul of what you already have. Rather, simply modify your site to suit, and your website will automatically load in the correct format for that specific device the user is using at the time.

It is a relatively quick process and there are several web companies that can help you with these alterations. So get in touch with your web developer today to find out how to make it happen.

Start out by explaining why you’re the right company for the job, or the right person to represent their team. So many tenders and proposals start with the same old introduction. Grab their attention straight away by clarifying what makes you different.

Introduce yourself.

Summarising your relevant background will give a company a good indication of who they are dealing with. Include certain events or projects you have been involved in. Also, be sure to offer a brief summary of your field if the sponsor isn’t already part of the industry. For example, a sports water company may know not much about kiteboarding.

Highlight your goals and achievements.

This is a no-brainer. Businesses want proof you can accomplish set tasks. Sponsors look for longevity in their relationship with you. Convince them not only that you are a star, but also that you still have a lot to achieve and will always push to succeed.

Offer different ways they can sponsor you.

You could be asking them for free product or a regular wage.

Explain what’s in it for them.

This is absolutely crucial. Businesses want to know why choosing/sponsoring you will benefit their company.

So you’re thinking, ‘I need a webpage. I’ll just use the material from my catalogue…’

This is a big no-no. Text that is written in print usually contains longer sentences. It is a fact that words are on paper are easier to read than words on a computer screen, so keep sentences short, sharp and straight to the point.

Use subheadings.

You only have seconds before your potential customer clicks away, so make your website easy to scan. You must separate text with appropriate subheadings that clearly state what you have to offer. This way, you get your message across without them actually reading the fine print.

Add links throughout your site.

You want to keep your potential customer interested. Add links on each page to make it easy for the reader to navigate different sections of your website.

Identify your keywords.

Hundreds of new websites are being created everyday, so it’s time to get ahead of the competition. Carefully select and add the right words into your website to increase your SEO (Search Engine Optimisation).

Add an action item at the end of every page.

This can be a ‘Click here to view our gallery’ button, or even better, ‘Buy now!’ Encourage your customer to take action, or risk losing their interest.

Successfully marketing your business involves more than just having a website. Traditional (but still effective!) ways to promote your business offline include printing brochures, advertising in magazines, distributing email newsletters and sending out direct mail.

To push people to your website, these offline marketing methods are ideal. They help get people talking and generate traffic, increase page views and, ultimately, increase sales.

Streamlining your web copy and offline marketing strategy

For this reason, it’s incredibly important that your offline marketing material and website work in tune with one another. Effective offline marketing will drive potential customers to your site like a ‘hook’; it makes people curious to find out more. When someone sees a brochure or an advert for something they like, their first reaction will be to visit the company’s website for more information.

Consequently, what the customer then finds at your website becomes extremely important. Not only does it reflect your business and make a lasting impression, but more significantly, it is usually the deal-breaker as to whether a customer chooses to contact you or not.

So while maintaining good design and user-friendly navigation, you MUST make the copy on your site as informative, engaging, useful and web-friendly as possible. A bit of a no-brainer really, but it is unbelievable how many businesses get this wrong.

FAIL: How to NOT write copy for your website

A huge mistake that many companies make when creating or revamping their website is that they rerun text from existing brochures and ads. This is a big no-no. You should always use your website as an opportunity to elaborate on your existing offline marketing material.

Don’t take the easy route and just copy and paste what you’ve already got. Add to it; back it up with valuable information. Write about your business, what you do, your product, or any related topic – anything to help convince the reader why they should buy something from you, or simply make contact.

If your site is almost identical to your brochure or printed advert, it adds nothing to what the customer has already seen. Remember that one of the core objectives of offline marketing is to drive customers to your website for more comprehensive information. If there’s nothing else on there for them to read, they’ll most likely lose interest and look elsewhere. A plain and uninteresting site will bore your potential customers and they’ll exit immediately, unlikely to return. Your chances of making a sale disappear, and their valuable visit turns into a wasted opportunity.

Make that sale! The benefit of capturing your reader’s attention

The exciting part for businesses is that if you are successful in generating (and maintaining!) a customer’s interest online, there is a huge chance you will make a sale. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, at least 61% of internet browsers purchase goods and/or services online. Furthermore, 71% of these online buyers are between the ages of 25 and 34, the bracket with the highest level of disposable income – perfect if your target market happens to fit this demographic.

So next time you’re thinking of writing copy for your website, don’t cut corners and rerun what you’ve already got. Double check what’s written on your offline marketing material and build on it.

When executed properly, an optimised website combined with offline marketing can work brilliantly together. Just make sure you add valuable information to nail your customer’s interest if you want to make a sale!

I have recently been working with a client to redevelop their web content.

During the client brief, I couldn’t help but take notice of a passing comment that went along the lines of, “But there’s nothing that isn’t already on the website. Why do people call up and ask questions all the time?”

This instantly set off sirens in my mind. It appeared that all the information that people wanted was there, but not set out in an easy way for people to understand. And taking a closer look at their current site, this became very, very obvious.

When seizing a potential customer’s attention, it makes sense to try and hold onto it for as long as you can. So it can seem like a good idea to add as much convincing text as possible to try and make the sale. But overloading the consumer with too much information is no good either. Text-heavy and disorganised sites are boring, hard to follow and are a sure-fire way to make readers lose interest.

The solution? Take a step back further than just changing the copy. Present your information in a simple way that people can understand. In addition to rewriting the text so it is easily scannable, place it within an easy-to-navigate structure.

My client’s website was a complete mess of internal links which lured readers into a confusing maze of information. A reader should not have to use the ‘back button’ to figure out where they are within the site. They should also be able to find the information they need within each relevant section. There was a mass of integral copy buried under layers of pages, link after link after link. It’s a wonder how customers were able to find their contact details to ask for answers to their questions in the first place.

Don’t make it difficult for your reader’s to find what they’re looking for. Rethink your navigational tools. Do you have the appropriately named buttons across the top of your website? Have you listed all the relevant pages in the left-hand navigation column?

Furthermore, if you have several different parts to your site, ensure that all the templates look the same so that the reader doesn’t get even more confused.

So next time you’re thinking about revamping your site to boost sales, remember that there is only so much that rejuvenating web copy can do. Get your copywriter to team up with your web designer to create the most effective results.

Customers make purchases when they see something they want

This is one of the most obvious and well-known business principles known to man. Yet, it is amazing how many businesses fail to take this simple statement into consideration when trying to drum up sales.

If you’re just getting started, you need to identify what customers are looking for. Alternatively, if your company’s sales are falling, you need to identify how you can revamp your business and put your brand back on the map.

So how do you do this? Easy – the answer is ‘research’. It is up to you to find out as much as you can to ‘hit the nail on the head’ and provide exactly what customers want, boost your conversion rate, and make sure that you’re always one step ahead.

Using the internet to your advantage

The internet is not just a place to list your business. The internet is an infinite resource of information where you can carry out endless market research. Best of all, you don’t need to be an expert to figure out what you need to know.

Not only can you scope out your competition and see what other similar businesses are doing, but also more importantly, you can check out what customers are saying about certain products and services online.

Find out what people are saying

There are many different ways that you can discover what people are saying online. The easiest of all these ways is to sign up for Google Alerts. Google Alerts monitors specific search term(s), and sends you email notifications on your chosen topic directly to your inbox. You’ll be sent coverage across all media forms including blogs and video. As a subscriber, you don’t have to worry about time spent on independent research – the news will come to you.

But don’t stop there – there’s always more to check out. There may be some useful discussions happening under the radar. Search online for community-oriented websites where users can post comments and share ideas and reviews. This is forum crawling – you can find some really valuable information that you’ll want to use when thinking about your next advertising campaign. A good place to start looking is magazine-based websites. For example, if you’re interested to see what people who like kickboxing are saying, check out the forums on International Kickboxer Magazine.

One of the most undervalued resources online is Yahoo Answers. Yahoo Answers is a great way to see the latest questions that people are asking each other. If you are in the business of providing customers with financial planning advice, navigate to the Business & Finance category of the site to discover what people want to know. You can even go one step further and address their questions, answering them on the spot – you may even generate some additional leads!

Ask people what they think

On the other hand, Yahoo Answers is also a great way for your business to do research by posting questions online, such as, “What bothers you the most about..…” “What do you think is the coolest product and why?” or “How would you know where to look for…..?”

Doing this kind of research encourages discussion and helps you identify what consumers think about when purchasing your products. You can also find out what other factors affect your sales. Use these comments to your advantage when figuring out how to market your business.

Another way to compile objective market research is to send out questionnaires. Used by some of the biggest companies in the world, Survey Monkey is an easy (and almost free) way to collect data. Survey Monkey sends out your own customised questionnaires into cyberspace and collects responses for you!

Lastly, there is one crazily obvious and easy way to generate discussion: social media. Twitter is a great way to interact with other enthusiastic professionals online, perfect for those who want to source feedback and get ahead in the business-to-business field. Alternatively, if you have a Facebook account, quiz your own friends by typing out questions in your status update; sometimes finding out what customers really want is as simple as asking your friends and family.

Conclusion

By researching what people are saying online, you can address exactly what your customers want, and develop your products accordingly to meet market demand. Furthermore, you can quash any doubts or concerns that your customers may have about your products by listening to their feedback and providing them with solutions.

This simple but effective idea will increase your conversion rate and drive your sales figures in a positive direction. Best of all, it costs your business practically nothing other than time.

If you’re running a small business, you need all the help you can get to push customers through the door. You could promote quality. You could promote price. But these are all words customers hear all the time.

So what can you do to make your business stand out from the crowd? The answer is: testimonials.

Testimonials are simply positive word of mouth referrals – written down. They are one of the best ways to generate business and don’t cost a cent. So why not make the most of it? If you haven’t got them already, start collecting and put them on your website today!

Social proof: Why testimonials work

When trying to persuade a customer to choose one business over another, effective testimonials always work. The truth is that people are influenced by what other people are doing.

This theory is called ‘Social Proof’, investigated by famous psychologist Robert Cialdini in his book Influence and the Power of Persuasion – people will want to do something if they see someone else do it first. For example, if we hear “This book has sold 3 million copies!” we think it must be good.

Testimonials provide this kind of social proof to other prospective customers. They give you credibility and show that:

• you are reputable
• people have had good experiences using your product or service
• people can trust you
• people can be reassured you will provide them with exactly what they’re looking for.

Promoting good customer feedback is a no-brainer, really. It’s guaranteed to bring in more work amongst your clients and peers. We’ve all been influenced by it before, so you may as well start using testimonials to your advantage.

Collecting testimonials

The good news is if you genuinely have a great business, testimonials are not hard to get. To begin, start collecting positive feedback from former clients. You can do this a couple of different ways:

• The more formal way is to contact them via letter or email. Ask them to write and send you a few sentences, describing what they liked about your business.
• Alternatively, the easiest way of all is to simply ask your customers over the phone or in person. You can then write their comments down yourself.

Make you testimonials work for you

1) Edit and make your testimonial clear

Testimonials need to be sharp and to the point. Avoid diluting the power of your testimonial with waffle. It doesn’t have to be published word for word.

Pick out the best parts of your testimonial and cut it down (without changing the message) to just two or three lines.

To make it stand out even more, you can give your testimonial an appropriate heading.

2) Add a photo of the customer

For some reason, adding a portrait photo next to your testimonial just works. It makes a big difference – it makes your testimonial seem more credible.

When asking a former customer if you can feature them on your site, ask them if they would be happy to send you their professional picture to add as well.

You can also do something similar if your client has any video. Embed a clip next to their testimonial – this creates an interactive user experience where they can see what kind of other customers you’ve worked with before.

3) Format your testimonial so it stands out

Believe it or not, the type of font you use can have a big effect on your testimonials. Depending on your overall web design and style, you may like to use a traditional ‘typewriter’ font to increase credibility (although I know in modern times this makes no sense, but it works).

Alternatively, depending where you put your testimonials, you may want to use a different font to your body copy. This will make sure that the testimonials stand out.

Also, it is important that you put your testimonials in quotation marks. This makes it clear that the statement is a quote, not just promotional copy that you’ve written yourself.

4) Credentials

It’s not enough to write down a quote and just add someone’s first name. If you really want to get the most out of your testimonial, add more information.

If you can, add the customer’s full name. You should also add the company that they’re from. Better yet, add their role, especially if they’re a manager or director.

Depending on the type of business you have, you can also add other bits of information such as the suburb that they’re from. Or, for example, if you are promoting a personal training business, you could add the customer’s weight.

The best thing that you can add is their credentials. If someone is an expert, list their qualifications. Remember, the more important the person, the more credible the testimonial! A testimonial from a doctor is more convincing than a testimonial from a ‘nobody’. Unless it’s clearly a paid endorsement, customers understand that their professional reputation is on the line – so what they say must be true!

5) Placement

Once you’ve collected a few testimonials, it’s time to upload them to your website. The most common way to add testimonials is with a ‘testimonials page’ – curious customers can click on this page and see what others are saying about you.

One step better is a ‘clients page’. Ideally, this page should have testimonials and short descriptions. Almost like a folio, it details who you’ve worked for, what you did, and what they thought of your business.

However, the best way to place them is to add them to various pages throughout your site (e.g. your right hand navigational panel). Have a different testimonial on every page, or set them to rotate. This way the customer doesn’t need to search for good responses about your business – they just appear.

For even more effect, you can also add your testimonials to your email signature. This will help your business reinforce your professional positive image every time you contact someone.

Conclusion

No matter what type of business you are running, you will benefit from adding testimonials to your website. Try to follow these tips when adding them to your site for the most effect.

Once you’re done uploading them to your site, remember to keep collecting testimonials for future reference. When you know you’ve done an awesome job for someone, make sure you ask them for their feedback. You should continue to upload new testimonials to your website as often as you can.

So the dramatic success of the world’s youngest billionaire Mark Zuckerberg has finally been captured on film. Viewers from all around the globe are now able to discover how the phenomenon of Facebook all started, and what was happening as it took the world by storm.

With rave reviews spanning from the New York Times to Time Magazine to Rolling Stone, there is something in this movie for everyone. But if you’re running a business (or just starting to set one up), take a closer look – there are some very basic but valuable lessons in this film that every budding entrepreneur should be careful to take note of and learn.

Lesson #1: You don’t have to have an original idea to be a success

When Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss approach Mark Zuckererg and brief him on their brilliant idea for “Harvard Connection”, Mark blankly looks at them and says, “How is that any different to Myspace or Friendster?”

Zuckerberg had a point. Before Facebook was created in 2004, social networking sites already existed. Friendster bad been established in 2002, and Myspace had been established in 2003. The question Zuckerberg posed to the twins was: why would anyone bother to create and use another personal profile when Harvard Connection planned to do exactly the same thing?

But when Facebook launched, it boomed in a big way. Why? The difference was exclusivity. Although Zuckerberg used the same concept as Friendster and Myspace to create another online social networking platform, his idea (or some would argue, the Winklevoss’ idea) of slightly tweaking the content just worked. He added different features that Friendster and Myspace did not offer, and the resulting product was something completely unique.

This story is just one example of how an idea does not have to be unusual to be a big hit. There are millions of people constantly thinking of exactly the same ways to create and promote their business, but some work out to be more successful than others. They do this by figuring out original ways to build on original concepts. Just be careful not to get sued for $65 million in the process!

For a fun example, check out this interesting article showcasing the Top 20 Copycat Ads from Mumbrella, where sometimes the copycat ads win a bigger audience than those who came up with the idea in the first place.

Lesson #2: Be prepared to expand

So you’ve made it big. People are catching on and you’re attracting a lot of attention. Now is not the time to screw things up.

The number of Facebook accounts that were activated exploded within two years, originating from only Harvard students to anyone in the world with a valid email address in 2006. The amount of work required to maintain the site became mammoth; additional staff was recruited and more server space was continually added to keep the site successfully running 24 hours a day.

For anyone running an online or ‘bricks and mortar’ type business, it is important to keep on top of demand so you can capitalise on your newfound success. If you’re not a business that requires you to upgrade your servers, this could mean that you need to make sure you have plenty of product in stock. Most of all, encourage customer to stay interested in your business by making sure that service is always on hand and help is readily available. If you attract a sudden increase in customers but don’t have the resources to provide them with what they want, you risk prematurely ruining your business’ reputation.

(Furthermore, if you think your business will continue to expand, stay committed and don’t sell yourself short. Facebook is currently valued at $25 billion. If Zuckerberg had sold Facebook as soon as it had taken off, he would not be where he is today!)

Lesson #3: Best friends don’t always make the best team

When a business is in its infancy, there is usually only one person or a couple of business owners who run the entire show.

In The Social Network, Zuckerberg may have spearheaded Facebook but he called upon his best friend Eduardo Saverin to be his business partner to help him get the project off the ground. However, as the film develops, we see cracks appear between the two, each with different ideas of how the business should operate. In a bitter end, the best friends go their separate ways.

When creating a team to effectively run a business, many people would not hesitate to say that each member must bring something different to the table. While this is true, be careful; each team member must agree on the direction of the business. The staff behind your business has to want the same things and aspire to reach the same vision as you. If your team has different opinions on how the business should operate, be prepared to work together, brainstorm and acknowledge different ideas. If you and your best friend/business partner cannot reach a compromise, it’s time to split.

As seen in The Social Network (and more often than not, in everyday life), sometimes having friends work with you on a professional level just doesn’t work. Don’t risk jepoardising the integrity your business and the close relationships you have with your friends. After all, unlike Mark Zuckerberg, we all need to have good friends, not just the type of Facebook or Myspace friends that you find online.