Posts Tagged ‘Deeba Hargis’

Out Of Fear and Into Networking

Word | Posted by Deeba_S_Hargis
Apr 02 2009

The importance of networking within a business environment is indisputable. Studies show that consumers are more likely to patronize a business that was recommended by someone known. Businesses are more willing to adopt collaborative relationships with other businesses when there is a personal relationship established. While advertising and marketing campaigns are important, the use of networking as a valuable tool should never be overlooked.

There are many forms of networking from interpersonal relationships to joining clubs and organizations based on similar interests or industries. However, networking based on higher global goals can be the most rewarding. In today’s society, it is important to embrace a sense of ethics, social and environmental consciousness. It is essential that we leave future generations with a society and planet that is better than we found it. The fear comes from growing concern that we are not moving toward such a future. But with a concentrated effort this does not need to be so. These core values are important and because of this, many businesses wish to establish relationships with other like minded businesses.

Networking with businesses that are environmentally and socially conscious makes sense from a global perspective as well as from a personal, spiritual point of view. It coincides directly with our philosophy that “there is a power for good in the universe and you can use it.” Consider two similar businesses that provide a service you need. However, one business gives back to the community, perhaps donates time or money to a worthy cause or has instituted environmentally sound business practices. Which one are you more likely to use? Opting for the one that has a similar business approach helps empower those businesses and encourage others to follow suit.

But, how do you find such businesses and the people involved with them? One of the best ways is to join us for our monthly classes where you can meet people with similar interests and philosophies. You can view our schedule of upcoming meetings on the calendar and we encourage you to participate. We also encourage you to look into Higher Purpose Business Network, a group dedicated to promoting those businesses that embrace higher consciousness values. Their forum brings people together who provide goods and services to the community while striving for socially and environmentally sound business practices.

It is up to all of us to ensure a better life for ourselves and our families. It is up to all of us to ensure society and the planet is in a better place for the next generations. Establishing business relationships with those companies that believe and act upon the fundamental values we hold dear, we can make a difference. By supporting the like minded individuals found at our monthly meetings and through Higher Purpose Business Network, we can step out of fear and into networking to share ideas, exchange information and make the world a better place.

Higher Purpose Business Network’s (HPBN) next meeting is Wednesday April 22, 2009 7-8PM at Center for Spiritual Living Carlsbad. For more information, please visit HPBN at higherpurposebusinessnetwork.com.

A special thanks to Kathleen Dougherty for helping to bring this together.

How much should I budget for website development

Website/Internet Cashflow | Posted by Deeba_S_Hargis
Mar 23 2009

By Deeba S. Hargis (reposted here -my last moderated post from PhysicianCrossroads.com

As the C.E.O. of a global website engineering, design, and marketing company, I am often asked the question by new physicians (or any new business owner for that matter) “how much should I budget for website development and internet marketing?”

First off, it’s worthwhile to look at what amount you should set aside in general for marketing and advertising your medical practice.

According to the National Federation of Independent Business there are a number of key factors to consider when deciding what percentage of your revenue to spend on advertising and marketing your new business.

As a rule of thumb, consumer-facing businesses (those marketing to consumers) will spend more money on marketing and advertising than business-to-business companies. While the actual percentage will vary among medical practices, it’s common for a new or growing medical group to spend 10 to 15 percent of the year’s anticipated revenue on marketing and advertising. As a business becomes better known, this percentage could be expanded or trimmed accordingly based on careful monitoring and tracking of your marketing and ad campaigns. New physicians should monitor revenues closely and re-evaluate their budgets every three to six months to insure a good return on investment.

Factors that you should consider when deciding what type of marketing and advertising to use (e.g., online advertising and website development, newspaper, TV ads, radio) and how much you should spend include factors such as type of medical practice, your location, your target audience, and your competition.

Here’s some insights and statistics on who’s accessing the world wide web to help you decide.

While the demographics of the world wide web are changing, according the PEW Internet and American Life Project, about 80% of people who use the internet have searched for health information and health providers. About 72 -92 % of people ages 18-64 use the internet with those that are high income earners, college educated, urban and suburban, whites and English-speaking using it the most.*

If your target demographic matches that of internet users, you may want to consider setting aside 5-10 percent of your first year’s anticipated revenues on website development and internet advertising. Please look for more follow-up posts on this topic here in the weeks ahead. If you have any questions or need assistance, you can call us at EXCEL-WEST, (888) 317-9300.

* PEW Internet and American Life Project, The Pew Charitable Trusts.
__________________
Deeba S. Hargis
C.E.O.
EXCEL-WEST
Consistently Essential. Amazingly Innovative.TM
www.EXCEL-WEST.com

Carlsbad, CA 92008
Phone .: (888) 317-9300
Timezone -UTC/GMT -8

Content Management System - What It Is All About? by Deeba S. Hargis

Website/Internet Cashflow | Posted by Deeba_S_Hargis
Mar 15 2009

Content Management System - What It Is All About?

It is a sign of a maturing industry when one receives in their hands technology pertaining to that industry which even non-experts can conveniently deploy for their benefit. In the web world, new sets of tools keep coming up on the horizon and are being made available to customers, clients and business owners, as well as to web developers and web designers. One of these tools is called the “Content Management System “, Content Management System for short.

Some of the more popular Content Management System packages include Joomla, Mambo, Wordpress, Drupal, Accrisoft, etc.

What is a Content Management System? It is a nifty little piece of software that enables you to manage both at the macro and the micro level the task of managing the content of your website. It is a powerful tool that brings to all the convenience and the features that make a good website a great website.

Though relatively a new concept, the model has matured very rapidly thanks to the massive involvement of the development community. Part of the Web 2.0 movement, a Content Management System allows automation of almost all the features that a website owner or project manager would like to see on the site. Before the advent of the Content Management System, these same features would have required hiring a competent programming team which would have made the exercise cost-prohibitive. By now providing these same features in plug-and-play modules, Content Management System has made setting up shop and going to market very easy and convenient.

Features And Advantages Of Content Management System

Some of these features include providing memberships to users of the site, and on top of it, creating a different layer of paid membership within the user community; presenting different interfaces of essentially the same information repository to clients, vendors, employees at different levels of hierarchy, as well as to the whole wide world; calendaring; blogging capabilities; Web-2.0-community-based features such as mass communication, information sharing and ratings — the works. Don’t you wish you had all these features and more in your website, too? The Content Management System makes it all possible.

One very good advantage of using a Content Management System is that website owners and project managers can have entry-level people contribute to content development as well as the site’s layout and architecture; these are the people who may not be technology-savvy but who are experts in the domain that is the site’s focus. This is made possible by a so-called “grey interface”, wherein users simply login through a nifty-little window with a user-name and password given by the site owner or manager, and proceed to get on with their particular job. Couple this with the fact that multiple contributors can be managed simultaneously, and you can have fresh content at all times, at unheard-of cost-savings.

Yet another spin-off, and a worthy spin-off if you please, is that sites developed using Content Management System features are well-liked by search engines. This is because Content Management System enables sites to become more user-interactive, and thus engenders the possibility of return users. And search engines like the popularity and loyalty that users returning again and again connote, as their latest algorithms suggest.

Thanks to the ever-growing community involvement in Content Management System development, a number of plugins are now available which add even more features and functionalities to the already powerful tools. So you have exotic-sounding extension names such as “Zaragoza Clouds”, “Accordian menus”, “Featured Article Listing”, “PixSearch” and the like, which make building websites using Content Management System a joy.

Role Of EXCEL-WEST

EXCEL-WEST is adept at setting up a Content Management System, configuring, installing, designing site layout and site architecture, and building content on an ongoing basis for website owners, and on behalf of project managers, web developers and designers. We are an ideal strategic partner for all aspects of website building and maintenance. Our repertoire includes search engine services such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Search Engine Submission (SES), Search Engine Positioning (SEP), Search Engine Results Page (SERP) components of the business that drive traffic to the site. Involvement of EXCEL-WEST guarantees that sparkle and magic that makes a site stand out from the millions of me-too sites that may be jostling for attention in the same domain.

And that is just the beginning.

Once the site goes live, we provide expert advice that only experts who have put in the hard work for years can provide. So whether your site produces revenue or develops membership, or is just a personal statement for someone, we are there by your side every step of the way. Rest assured, your readership and client base will keep growing over time, and you will find our being by your side every single moment a bonus in this competitive world. Whether it is to engage them with whacky or serious polls, or rolling before them the calendar of events that are planned for the next few weeks or months, or simply updating the content every so often — we know our job very well, seriously.

EXCEL-WEST’s involvement begins with that initial assessment meeting with clients where we help the client arrive at an informed decision with regard to which Content Management System and which database to go with. This decision is usually based on the particular domain the site is operating in, projected number of users who would be using the site, anticipated traffic, amount of advertising, the number of concurrent users expected to use the site at different points of time, and so on.

Work only with experts

When you decide to invest in a site with a lot of potential for growth, work only with people who know what they’re doing. Many contractors can create a Content Management System for you, but if it’s not the proper structure and if it’s not built properly, the structure would likely collapse if you develop several hundred members/visitors while your site is not properly outfitted with the right design. When this happens, you’ve pretty much lost your opportunity with those potential members/visitors, and it’s very hard to get them back to your new architecture. This is exactly why proper planning is so important.

For more information, or an estimate on developing a social network, contact us here at EXCEL-WEST, via phone at 888-317-9300 or here. We look forward to working with you to help you achieve your successful social network website.

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Thanks Sanjay for your contributions to this content.