10 Golden Lessons From Steve Jobs

1. Innovation has no limits. The only limit is your imagination.

It’s time for you to begin thinking out of the box. If you are involved in a growing industry, think of ways to become more efficient; more customer friendly; and easier to do business with. If you are involved in a shrinking industry – get out of it quick and change before you become obsolete; out of work; or out of business. And remember that procrastination is not an option here. Start innovating now!

2. Steve Jobs said: “Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.”

There is no shortcut to excellence. You will have to make the commitment to make excellence your priority. Use your talents, abilities, and skills in the best way possible and get ahead of others by giving that little extra. Live by a higher standard and pay attention to the details that really do make the difference. Excellence is not difficult – simply decide right now to give it your best shot – and you will be amazed with what life gives you back.

3. Steve Jobs said: “The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.”

I’ve got it down to four words: “Do what you love.” Seek out an occupation that gives you a sense of meaning, direction and satisfaction in life. Having a sense of purpose and striving towards goals gives life meaning, direction and satisfaction. It not only contributes to health and longevity, but also makes you feel better in difficult times. Do you jump out of bed on Monday mornings and look forward to the work week? If the answer is ‘no’ keep looking, you’ll know when you find it.

4. Steve Jobs said: “You know, we don’t grow most of the food we eat. We wear clothes other people make. We speak a language that other people developed. We use a mathematics that other people evolved… I mean, we’re constantly taking things. It’s a wonderful, ecstatic feeling to create something that puts it back in the pool of human experience and knowledge.”

Live in a way that is ethically responsible. Try to make a difference in this world and contribute to the higher good. You’ll find it gives more meaning to your life and it’s a great antidote to boredom. There is always so much to be done. And talk to others about what you are doing. Don’t preach or be self-righteous, or fanatical about it, that just puts people off, but at the same time, don’t be shy about setting an example, and use opportunities that arise to let others know what you are doing.

5. Steve Jobs said: “There’s a phrase in Buddhism, ‘Beginner’s mind.’ It’s wonderful to have a beginner’s mind.”

It is the kind of mind that can see things as they are, which step by step and in a flash can realize the original nature of everything. Beginner’s mind is Zen practice in action. It is the mind that is innocent of preconceptions and expectations, judgments and prejudices. Think of beginner’s mind as the mind that faces life like a small child, full of curiosity and wonder and amazement.

50 SEO tips to increase page visits…

1) On Site SEO: Glossary pages are good content for SEO

2) On Site SEO: Use footer links sparingly and only link to your most important pages. Don’t waste pagerank on content that is worthless.

3) Search: You need to get your site in to the blended search results using images and video. A picture is worth 1000 words and people are clicking on it.

4) Keyword Research: Use Google Insights to make sure the keywords you are focusing on do not have declining interest.

5) Analytics: Measure your brand traffic and keyword traffic separately.

6) Analytics: Are you ranking #1 (or trying to rank #1) for a keyword that will not provide any real benefit to your business? Check that.

7) Keyword Research: Perform ongoing keyword research. The way people search changes.

8:) Competitive Analysis: Read competitors press releases. Are they using words that may change the way people search? Think “Kleenex, Xerox, Dell”

9) Keyword Research: Use Google Trends to check traffic trends in different markets. There may be emerging opportunities in other geographic areas..

10) Keyword Research: How long will it take to get a keyword converting? Will it be worth it when it does?

11) Launching a new product that doesn’t exist in the market yet? Associate it with one that does to make people more comfortable with it.

12) Landing pages: put the call to action above the fold.

13) Landing pages: keep forms above the fold and make them as short as possible

14) Conversions: 3% to 5% is decent

15: Bounce rate: 30% is good, 50% is ok, 70% needs work

16: Search: 80% of queries are informational. Give them the information they want and then lead them where you want them

17: Forms: make sure there are no questions they can’t answer or they will leave

18: Does your “Thank You” page cross sell or further engage? It should.

19: User experience: Screen size and resolution matters. Test, test, test

20: Local search: Just because you are closest doesn’t mean you get the business. You need to build your brand too. Build trust.

21: Local search: Pull out your phone and do a search for your business. What happened?

22: Local search: neighborhoods matter

23: Local search: Pull out your cell phone and search for your business. What happened? (duplicate)

24: Local Search: neighborhoods matter. Are you optimizing for a “bad neighborhood”?

Common mistakes small business owners make

Small business owners often dedicated the majority of their time in ensuring that their business succeeds. They nurture their business carefully with each step but unfortunately very few start up businesses make it beyond their 3rd year. Failure is usually down to a number of clearly identifiable mistakes, which if small business owners are aware of, can increase their chances of survival.

Here are the 3 common mistakes a small business owner makes.

Insufficient Capital

When starting off it’s easy to decide what capital is required for what. What many new business owners forget about is the capital needed to keep the business going (your “working capital requirement”). Business owners often get excited about a large amount of cash coming in and spend it on themselves, leaving the business empty. If you want to survive make sure you set aside enough cash to meet all your needs. Being in business can be exciting, especially once the money starts to come in but don’t be tempted to immediately buy a sports car. If you are to own a successful business then you have to keep some cash back to fund future growth.