All businesses, regardless of size or industry, must factor in building and monitoring their online reputation as part a comprehensive marketing and sales plan.

“If you have a virtual presence, chances are you have an online reputation, too,” says Sean Silverthorne on a BNET blog post titled Protect Your Online Reputation. “In other words, investing in reputation maintenance pays off.”

A talk by Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Muhammad Yunus at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco on January 17, 2008. Dr. Yunus discussed his overarching worldview on fighting poverty by helping people help themselves.

Below is what I believe to be one of the most poignant moments in his talk. To listen to the entire recording, visit:
Creating a World Without Poverty

Even though you are probably not an experienced journalist, coming up with ideas for articles is not hard. Most “expert” feature stories are how-to pieces aimed at educating readers on a particular topic related to the author’s industry. Another strategy involves case histories or application stories-- showing readers how a business solved a problem or addressed a need.

Save relevant news stories as launching points and ready-made research for your articles. Gather publications that serve your target market, and look for ideas that relate to your business. Look to your own experiences and those of your colleagues and clients—there's plenty of good material all around you.

It's not enough just to be an expert. You need to use your knowledge to deliberately distinguish yourself from your competitors.

Plug yourself into every possible outlet that influences your niche. Assess what others are doing, saying, and writing about your industry. Your goal is not just to be fully informed, but also to develop a perspective that makes connections between your industry and the larger world.

Experts know that they must actively seek out new evidence that impacts their theories and assumptions. You don’t need an ultimate truth, but you do need to articulate your position clearly and have the relevant facts close at hand.

Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2008
11 AM-12 PM Pacific; 2-3 PM Eastern; 7-8 PM GMT

Social entrepreneurship is a model that has been gaining momentum in recent years as an answer to social problems on a global scale and scarce resources to address them. Social entrepreneurs apply business principles and leadership skills to address social issues. They build mission-driven businesses aimed at solving social problems, direct their professional skills and training toward helping people in need, or use their entrepreneurial skills to found nonprofits that use innovative business models.

Here's what you will learn in this program:

o What social entrepreneurship is, and what it isn't
o Five sustainable business models for a social enterprise

I live in San Francisco. For years, I've found it amusing to see a handful of all-over-the-map restaurants selling everything from pizza, donuts, espresso and chop suey...all offered on cluttered signs as part of the same menu!

Although I find it funny, even absurd, someone within these businesses must assume a strategy like this: 'If I have everything anyone could possibly want under one roof, customers will have no choice but to give me their business.”

I hear statistics all the time such as..."80% of all small businesses fail in their first year."

Does this mean that small business success is largely the victim of bad luck? On the contrary, I believe that most failed small businesses result from with untested assumptions.

The answer lies is performing sufficient market research, which can be as easy as picking up the phone. Market research removes the risk and guesswork of developing your business, products and services, which I explain in my book, Get Slightly Famous:

Here's a link to a recent interview Steven Van Yoder had after his talk last week at BlogWorld and New Media Expo in Las Vegas. It gives a quick overview of his philosophy and approach for combining traditional and new media.

In MASTERS OF SALES, BNI founder Ivan Misner compiles advice from sales experts from a variety of industries who share the personal experiences that took them from novices to successful professionals in lessons that help salespeople truly master the art of sales.

From finding prospects and keeping the pipeline of referrals flowing to the all-important close, chapters from more than 50 sales specialists (including Harvey Mackay, Zig Ziglar, Martha Stewart, Jack Canfield, Tony Robbins, Jay Conrad Levinson, and more) cover topics including building client value, technology, communication, attitude, goals, getting clients, handling objections and more.

Public relations isn't something most people starting an online business think about. Why is it so important to someone in business?

I think too many people who run online businesses serious shortchange themselves by only concentrating only on online marketing channels and ignoring the broader offline world of their prospects. Why pursue PR? Because no other marketing method delivers so much impact for so little investment of time and money.

Should someone who is running an online business worry about building their reputation offline? Why?