Most businesses utilize a web site to attract prospects but often forget that the real goal is to create customers. Great design, on-target messaging, compelling calls-to-action, and valuable content are just the baseline for engaging your market online. But can your customers make a buying decision solely using content from your site? Too often websites address only the discovery phase of a buying process. "How To Increase Online Sales By Increasing Web Site Conversion Rates" gives some advice on how to turn browsers into customers.

Small business owners and solo-practitioners are notorious for ignoring marketing efforts. It's easy to do, isn't it? You're involved in your business; serving clients, shipping product and doing what you need to do to keep the money flowing in. But if you're not spending time and money to market your business, then you're ignoring a critical component of success. Learn some tips on successfully marketing your business in "Ten Marketing Musts."

If you're like most entrepreneurs, you have a lengthy to-do list that never seems doable-no matter how many hours you work. But there may be a reason you're not ticking off items, or maximizing results when you do. You've likely organized your task list by deadlines, and you're cranking away on the most pressing items first. A better, smarter approach is to prioritize your list by what matters most, and "Five Tips For Managing Your To Do List" shows you how.

How To Determine If Your Business Idea Will Succeed

Understanding your tax obligations, collecting and submitting them on time, and learning about changes is critical to managing your business. The State of Tennessee Department of Revenue understands this, and has established a series of workshops to help you learn your obligations. Click here to find the dates and locations for these workshops in Tennessee. NOTE: Most states offer online assistance or workshops, so contact your state Department of Revenue if your business is not in Tennessee.

Our SCORE chapter has also received a quantity of CD's titled "A Virtual Small Business Tax Workshop" from the IRS. They are free and can be ordered by sending an email to 641@scoreknox.org.

The Small Business Administration recently announced two new loan guarantee programs, Small Loan Advantage and Community Advantage. These programs are aimed at increasing the number of lower-dollar SBA 7(a) loans going to small businesses and entrepreneurs in underserved communities. At the same time, the Community Express loan program will be discontinued effective April 30, 2011. You can learn more about these programs by clicking here, taking you to SBA's web site. 

For the past two years our chapter has offered a very successful workshop for individuals wanting to start their own business, "So You Want To Be An Entrepreneur." Based on suggestions from attendees and finding some new material, we've modified the content and format of this workshop, and renamed it "Should I Go Into Business For Myself?." Consisting of two 3 hours sessions it covers areas such as personal evaluations, start-up costs, market research, and financial considerations that must be researched and answered prior to actually starting a business. The first workshop is scheduled for Saturday, March 5. Since starting and managing a business affects family members, we strongly suggest that spouses, partners, and others that might be involved in the business also attend. If you have friends, relatives, or acquaintances who are considering starting a business, tell them about this workshop (or forward this newsletter to them) and have them go to this site to learn more and to register.

Most of SCORE's services are conducted through face-to-face or email counseling, but another important tool we utilize to help small business owners is through workshops. In fiscal 2010, more than 700 owners participated in our chapter's workshops. We anticipate a significant increase in this fiscal year, so we've make the process easier for participants by implementing an on-line registration application. The first to utilize this process are our "Should I Go Into Business For Myself?" workshops covered in the previous section. If you have friends, relatives, or colleagues who are considering starting a business, tell them about this workshop, and have them go to this site to learn more and to register.