Sometimes I refer to myself as Philip Davies, and sometimes as Phil Davies, which doesn't make it easier to control how I appear on Google, but as I'm in business and my company is named after myself, I really need to get a bit sharper!

So this was a timely reminder - I've completed a BrandYourself profile for Phil Davies and we'll see if it makes a difference. But I'm going to make a point of applying the search engine optimisation techniques I use for business to myself over the next few weeks. Namesakes look out!

1. Just do it, already

Its really easy to put your own work to the back of the queue, to not give it your full attention, or to put it off because you've been working all day, you're knackered, and you want a break. If you're doing your own marketing and you don't make the time to do it eventually you will be short of clients and wishing you had.

I get the vast majority of my clients through referrals, but I'm well aware that I have to have the basics of my ongoing marketing (website, emails, business cards, some advertising, social media activity etc) in place ready for the inevitable dry spell. As a freelancer, you have to take responsibility for your own success.

30 seconds to spare? Log onto Twitter and tell your followers what you're working on. If you've got 5 minutes, phone a sales prospect. If you've got 10 minutes, why not write a blog post? If you've got a couple of hours, review your business cards / flyers / sales letters / whatever. You get the idea

2. It doesn't have to be perfect

This is what I've really struggled with - you start working on something, get to a point where you're reasonably happy, but delay finishing it because it's "not quite right". It's never going to be. Make it as good as you can in the available time and get it out there. You can always go back and correct it, or do it differently / better next time.

3. Give yourself a brief

I suppose this is only really true for bigger and more complex pieces of work, but having a clear outline of what you are trying to achieve with your marketing activity can really drive you into actually doing it. Think about where you want to be, work out what you need to do to get there, and then figure out what resources you have to do it. Then go back to point 1!

4. Bite the bullet and outsource

If you really can't make any progress, you might have to accept that you need to focus on working for clients and generating income. Ask people you trust for recommendations for people who can help you achieve your marketing goals. After all, as a freelancer you are a business and sometimes businesses have to spend money - you can't bootstrap all the time...

(Comments are currently disabled)

Many businesses use databases and spreadsheets as part of their everyday admin. It might be Access, Excel, OpenOffice, Google Docs or a custom solution. Whatever the system, often the way that these databases or spreadsheets are used is inefficient and doesn't give the business the best possible results.

Other businesses aren't sure how they should be collecting and monitoring data. Which is best, database or spreadsheet? Answer: Either. Or Both. Or in some cases, neither!

I've been developing databases and spreadsheets for about 10 years, since a brief stint working as an Information Analyst for the Department of Health. As a freelancer, I've provided customised databases for several customers across Chester and the Wirral, including adapting and maintaining their client database for Wirralbiz. Working with Paul Davies of Fieldcrest Ltd, I've developed a market-leading cashflow forecast template. These are difficult to showcase online, but check back for screencasts soon. In the meantime, if you want a chat about getting some support with Excel or Access, give me a call.

(Comments are currently disabled)

Sometimes though, it can be more effective to have somebody within your business who is trained and confident enough to take responsibility. I can provide customised, small group or one-to-one training in several important aspects of running a small business, with the aim of leaving you with everything you need to successfully take control of that area of your business. I've provided training in:

• Web design
• Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
• Social Media (Twitter, Facebook, Linked In etc.)
• Bookkeeping
• MS Excel
• Data storage and office systems
• Contao (formerly Typolight) Content Management System (CMS)

If you're in the Chester, Cheshire, Wirral, North Wales or Merseyside and you want a few pointers in any of these areas, give me a call.

(Comments are currently disabled)

For clients who need help with online marketing and / or SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) , I work closely with Rob Duckers of BlueGreen SEO. Rob shares my ethos of providing clients with genuine value for money - in SEO terms that's ROI (Return on Investment)! Rob and I have started working together specifically to provide training that allows companies from Cheshire, Chester, Wirral and North Wales to take control of their SEO and Social Media activity - visit Deep Search to find out what we can offer.

My take on SEO

I don't claim to be a Search Engine Optimisation expert, or that I can place you on page one of Google for a search term or keyword of your choice. And in my opinion anybody who does make this claim is a chancer or a spammer. With SEO and social media, there seem to be a lot of people taking the opportunity to rip off small businesses, by charging extortionate rates for their "expertise". Here's what I think: Most, if not all, small businesses can easily manage their own SEO, social media and online reputations. There's a huge amount of free information on the web about how to do it, and I'll link to some of the best of that content in a future blog post. For now, just "Google SEO basics". Of course, there is a learning curve and there is a time commitment, and sometimes you do just want somebody else to take the strain and do it for you. In that case, by all means talk to Rob at BlueGreen SEO, or think about getting a few pointers via our training from Deep Search.

Your online marketing should be an extension of your offline marketing

And it should be linked to every aspect of your business. If you want me to spend some time pointing you in the right direction, feel free to get in touch.

(Comments are currently disabled)

Monthly bookkeeping

It's important for businesses to keep accurate, up-to-date books - for Limited companies it's a legal requirement to do so. If your business is based in Wirral, Chester, Cheshire or North Wales I can help you with your monthly bookkeeping. The cost is £22 per hour, but how long it takes depends on the complexity of your books - it can be anything from an hour a month to a day or more!

End-of-year catch up

If you're a very small business or a sole trader it's possible that you might not keep monthly accounts. I wouldn't advise it, but if you do find yourself with a deadline for submitting your taxes and a pile of receipts, I can help! Give me a call.

Do-it-yourself

The last option, bookkeeping-wise, is to keep up-to-date financial records yourself. I can help you to set up your record keeping systems and provide training in their use. I recommend Quickbooks - in my opinion, it's a much better fit for small businesses than Sage. I tend to work in partnership with Paul at Fieldcrest Ltd to make sure that you have the best possible advice and support in setting up your systems (Paul is a Quickbooks Professional Advisor)

(Comments are currently disabled)

A robust, well-thought out business plan (and the accompanying profit and loss and cashflow forecasts) can be the difference between success and failure for funding applications, grant awards, bank loans or mortgages, attracting investment and hitting your sales targets. It's not that difficult to put together, but it can be a daunting prospect.

For the last two years I've been helping a whole range of businesses across the Wirral and Merseyside draft clear, concise and achievable business plans, based around robust financial forecasts. Whether you're thinking about starting a business, or looking to move your existing business on to the next level, I can help with the planning process.

Get in touch for an informal chat about my business planning advice, assistance and consultancy service.

(Comments are currently disabled)

Design for your users

A lot of web developers will give you exactly what you ask for, and will do a nice job of it. My starting point is to ask what the users of your site want. Once we understand that, we can start to talk about how to give it to them.

Pick the appropriate format

Because I work across a broader range of services than spending all my time on web design, I don't have any fixed ideas about the best way to "do" a website. If we've developed a good understanding about what what you're trying to give your site's visitors, we can shape your site to achieve that. Speaking of which...

Place the site in context

Putting a site on the web isn't an end in itself. It's important to place your web site in the context of your business or organisation. Increasingly the lines between offline and online marketing are blurring - your website is just one facet of how you present yourself. Because I provide a variety of business services, I'm good at seeing the 'bigger picture' - when you commission a website, you should be thinking about Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), about how it links with your branding, about how you can cross-promote with "real-world" marketing, about special offers and events, about targeting your local market and about how you can use your site to capture information as well as distribute it. That's how I see web design, anyway.

Get good value

And what about price? I hate seeing sites that just say "contact me for a quote" without giving an idea of what it might cost. So although I price every project individually, as a broad indication a single page website will cost £150 (including domain name and first year hosting), a 'static' brochure style site of 5 or 6 pages will probably be between £500 and £600, a complex site with CMS will be at least £1500 - £2000, and an e-commerce with will probably start at £2500 depending on complexity. I'm not interested in being the cheapest designer around - I like to work closely with clients and make sure that the site really meets their needs, because I think that's the best way to achieve value for money. So all that said, contact me for a quote!

So, why isn't this section an all-singing, all-dancing design portfolio? Well, there's two reasons, really:

1. A lot of my web development work has been sub-contracted from other firms so I'm not comfortable using them in a portfolio.
2. Time! I want to do something a bit pretty, but I'm too busy working for clients to put the time aside to do it. Terrible excuse, but true.

Recent Examples

The two most recent sites that I've worked on are for the same customer, Voluntary & Community Action Wirral (VCAW). www.vcawirral.org.uk is the organisations principal site. The basic idea was to keep the site very straightforward, and enable all the VCAW stakeholders (including members of the public, Wirral community organisations, volunteers, and public sector partners such as Wirral Council) to find what they are looking for.

The second site www.linkwirral.org.uk is for the Wirral Local Involvement Network (LINk). We've taken the same basic layout as the VCAW site but made it more approachable - the twin aims of this site are to impart information about the LINk and to gather feedback from the public about local health and social care services.

You can see screenshots of both sites below, but I'd recommend paying them a visit to get a proper feel. Both sites are based on the open source CMS (content management system) Contao, meaning that VCAW staff are able to keep the site up to date themselves, minimising ongoing costs.

(Comments are currently disabled)