Gender Bias – It’s All In Your Head

By now you have probably heard of a scandal that recently erupted last week which involved a well known freelance writer who built her business by pretending to be a man. James, of Men with Pens, posted a confession over at Copyblogger explaining the circumstances which led her to perpetrate the deception.

To grind the gritty details down to a point, through her experiences James came to feel she earned more money and respect pretending to be a man than she did when people knew she was a woman. She felt there was a gender bias being perpetuated in the online community that played a hand in how she was treated by her customers.

What to Do When You Must Close Your Small Business

People close a small business for many reasons. Some do so for personal reasons such as wanting to retire or having a baby. Others are forced out of business due to a violation of the law. But the majority of businesses close for one simple but powerful reason; no sales.

It can be disheartening to have to close a business because you couldn’t interest customers in your product. In fact, it can make you feel like a failure. You’ll even think that if you had tried a little harder then maybe the business would be a smashing success instead of a phenomenal flop.

The first thing you need to do is realize that entrepreneurship is a tough road to walk which is why a lot of people stay in the safe lane of employment. Instead of beating yourself up about having to close a business, you should congratulate yourself for being brave enough to try to make your dreams a reality.

If you have come to the decision to close your business, here are three tips to help ensure a smooth transition.

Why Competing on Price is a Dangerous Internet Business Strategy

A mistake that I see a lot of internet business owners making, myself included, is to implement a business strategy based on price competition. In this soft economy, we think that the best way to get people to notice us and buy our stuff is to make sure that we have the lowest prices around.

We figure that with less income, people are moving toward frugal lifestyles that involve cutting back on the fluff; things that are nice to have but, since they are not necessary for survival, can be sacrificed for the sake of a healthy budget.

Faced with dwindling profits, we take a hatchet and slash prices hoping the deep discounts will entice customers back to our websites to buy. While this may seem like a good idea on paper it is actually counterproductive to building a successful internet business.