But what happens when you’re ready to start finding clients outside a 30-mile radius? For one thing, your costs for getting new work will soar. Not only will your travel expenses increase, but time spent traveling will keep you from working on other tasks that need to get done.

It’s hard when you’re trying to grow your business solo and you’re one wearing all hats. You can multi-task to a certain extent, but still, when you work alone, there’s just so much you can accomplish in one day. Sure you can hire help, but that means adding payroll and other employee management tasks to your already overburdened schedule.

What if there was a way you could show your PowerPoint presentations to anyone in world, at any time of day, without going broke? Do you think you could nail new business? Is this thing that you’ve been wishing for night after night, while you lay there wide awake trying desperately to fall asleep?

Well for one low annual fee, which works out to be about $50 per month, you can show your PowerPoint presentations as many times as you want, to anyone, anywhere in world. No, you’re not dreaming! The technology exists right now.

Websites have replaced brochure as “must have” marketing tool for businesses large and small. While virtually every business has a website, few are harnessing potential of their websites and internet in general to promote and grow their businesses. So how can you be sure your website is working for you?

First, you must look at role you want your website to play in your overall business and marketing strategy. As with any tool you use to promote your business, your web promotion activities must be built on a strong foundation. Start by determining purpose of your website. Is it primarily informational or are on-line sales a major source of revenues for your company? Are you expecting people to find out about your company through on-line searches or are you primarily using your site as a place to send people for more information after an “off-line” contact? Other purposes for your site include:

•Building credibility •Generating sales leads •Developing a database •Building relationships

Your site may also have non-promotional functions such as on-line forms processing or customer service applications.

You must consider who target market is for your site. Is it a market that uses web? And if so, how and for what do they use it? Some individuals may use internet primarily for e-mail, never accessing websites. Others may use it primarily for research and never make on-line purchases. The look and feel of your site as well as content are key considerations. In addition, architectural concerns such as load times must be taken into account. Do majority of your clients have high speed internet access or is a large portion of your market using dial-up access. It is useless to have a site with all latest bells and whistles if majority of visitors abandon site without ever seeing or hearing them due to long load times.

Just because you build it doesn’t mean they will come. Having a top notch website is only half battle. Like glossy, four color brochures that sit in boxes in storage closet or exquisitely designed retail store that no one visits; your website is useless unless there is traffic. If you don’t have a tracking program on your site than you are not capitalizing on one of most powerful features of a website: ability to track results. Be prepared for a big disappointment though when you begin tracking. Most website average less than three visitors a day.

It is important to use both on-line and off-line strategies to drive traffic to your site. Off-line strategies include being sure that your website address is on all your printed materials, using direct mail to drive people to site and personal contacts through activities like presentations and networking.