• Affordable Web Design  for small businesses, churches, and organizations 
• Text writing - Newsletters, web text and News Releases

• Promotional Products

Come work in an atmosphere that contributes to the success of the young work-at-home Mom, as well as the seasoned corporate worker-turned-entrepreneur, or the retiree venturing into online business as a supplemental income choice.

Visit our Membership Section to join this working community!

PRIVACY

This web site does not collect any information from you -- no cookies, no personal credit card information -- absolutely nothing!  Credit card information is seen and processed only through 3rd party PCI compliant credit card processing systems at iTransact.com or PayPal.com, if you choose

Visit some of our member sites and look for our web ring!  Click below to begin your shopping trip!

Disclaimer:

The information on these pages is meant for informational purposes only. Anyone contemplating starting a business should be aware that laws and regulations differ from place to place and year to year. To insure that your business will/is operating within legal limits of the physical area in which you operate, or on the Internet, we strongly urge you to consult an attorney, a tax specialist, and your insurance agent. Opinions stated in articles on these pages are the personal opinions of the writers, and not to be considered a guarantee of success in a business venture or as definitive expert opinions. Creative Enterprises is not responsible for any financial loss incurred in business start-up ventures or through personal dealings with any of our member businesses. Individual members are responsible for their own operations and business decisons, and are liable for their own customer service and satisfaction. Entrepreneurs are responsible for researching any business opportunities, possible expenditures associated with thoseopportunities, and legal and tax requirements. Purchases of products or programs offered through links on this site are the responsibility of the buyer alone. Although we do our best to confirm the legitimacy of products and vendors, buyers are responsible for and strongly encouraged to do their own investigation before making purchases. All information, graphics, text, and design elements on this site are theintellectual property of Creative Enterprises unless otherwise stated.

©1998-2010 Creative Enterprises

Almost Free Advertising! . . .

I Have No Money . . . How Can I Advertise?

Tell me . . . do you have a business name tag? I don't mean one of those label-looking things.     I mean a real honest-to-goodness "genuine plastic" name tag with a pin on the back. NO?! Why not? No one ever sees me, you say? Nonsense. Do you go to the bank? The post office? The grocery store? The mall? People do see you. You just don't think of those occasions as advertising opportunities.

When people in the corporate world wear name tags all day, as I used to and many of you probably did too, they don't even think about them. They're part of our "uniform" – they define who we are to the outside world, and we just let them. We don't even think to take them off. After a while, grocery checkers start to think of you as "the woman who works for the hospital" or "the guy who works for the government" – now why shouldn't you encourage them to think of YOU as the person "who owns that local online gift shop"? Hmmmm? Did you know that you can take your camera-ready logo and go to a local trophy store or office supply and get a name tag made up for next to nothing? We have a place here locally who does a great job for about $5 a piece. So get one – wear it wherever you go (well, maybe not with those ratty old blue jeans that you use to do the yard work, and just happen to make a quick milk-and-bread run in – no, no, no – remember the image has to go with a name tag!) But really --- talk about cheap advertising that keeps on giving! And it goes without saying, that you should always wear a name tag when going to meet with prospective clients, vendors, or bankers . . . BE your business, so people will always think of you when they need what you sell.

You can join a community like this one at Creative Enterprises Network and get involved in the many ways our members help each other advertise . . . link exchanges for web sites, sending out each other's flyers or business cards with orders, work out a commission system and drop ship products for members with relevant markets and let them drop ship for you, and if you have a little more money, you can participate in our collaborative print advertising projects for only $25 a month. So many ways to get lots of exposure for a little bit of money.

And there are some other very simple ways to be seen . . . some that will work in your circumstances, and some that won't. Think how you might be able to do something like this. What do we pay attention to (hopefully) more than TV, newspapers, radio, the Internet, or even our spouses? Our children. Now lest I sound tacky here, let me say that anything you do in this vein should BENEFIT the children first and as a plus, give you some advertising.

So . . . you have a parenting web site that also sells gifts for children. You need to get your target market there (people who buy for children). You have no real advertising funds for local advertising, but if you could get enough coverage out of it, you could maybe scrape together $100. So why not sponsor a local contest? Pick a reason, holiday, cause, whatever. I'm going to say Mother's Day here for the sake of argument. In February or March, you approach the local school officials and you tell them that you want to hold an essay contest on your web site on "Why My Mom Is Special" and that you want to open it up to local children ages 6-12. That the winners (1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd prize locally and the same "worldwide") will have their essays posted on the web site. Additionally, the local winners will also get to go to a special pizza party at Pizza Hut, get a certificate from your business, and you'll be calling the newspaper to come take photos for publication. Teachers will love you because you're encouraging a writing exercise, and parents will love you for 1) getting their kids excited about writing 2) giving them something constructive to do, and 3) giving them bragging rights if their child wins.

So what just happened there for your $100 bucks? You printed lots of flyers with all the criteria for the contest for every teacher of kids in that age bracket. You ask the schools to copy the flyer and send it home so parents can "sign it" giving permission for the child to participate (if there's a chance they're going to dinner with you, you HAVE to have permission :o). So now every teacher and every parent have seen your business name, your URL, your own name, and your phone number (if you planned your flyer well.) Good advertising. But you're not done yet. When the contest is over, you're going to Pizza Hut (part of your investment – you, 3 kids and 1 other adult because you should never have other's people's children with you these days unless you have another adult there – it's a legal issue). You've got winners to entertain and recognize – AND a photographer coming to see them get recognized and put their photo and your business name in the newspaper. And BINGO! You've got more advertising!

You could do that on any topic, whether or not your business focuses on kids. Sponsor a contest on the environment if you're selling biodegradable products; on caring for pets if you sell homemade doggie treats and toys; on "my dream vacation" if you sell travel ---just think it through – you'll come up with something. Don't like the essay thing? How about a poster contest?

I could go on and on, but I won't. I'm going to save other ideas for other issues. But the point is this. Advertising opportunities are all around you if you just take the time to look for them. Don't let money stand in the way of reaching your goals. If you do enough self-promotion through everyday efforts like the simple wearing of a name tag; volunteering in your community under your company name; or sponsoring events or contests that do have a real benefit, you WILL get known. It may not be as fast as advertising on cable TV, but everyone has to start somewhere!

* * *

Carol Daly is the owner of The Creative Enterprises Network, a networking community site for home-based and small businesses online.

This site is best viewed with 1024 x 768 resolution. Other resolutions may cause items to appear off center