Small business expert and author Stephanie Chandler shares tips on how to expand your web presence.

This week as part of the Hiscox Authors Series for Entrepreneurs we bring you an interview with Stephanie Chandler, author of LEAP! 101 Ways to Grow Your Business. In this video Stephanie explains how the internet is underutilized by a lot of small business owners and shares tips on how to expand your web presence.

Stephanie believes one of the best things small business owners can do is start a blog to help drive website traffic and connect with customers. Watch the video to hear how your blog can serve as the foundation for all of your social media outreach efforts.

Stephanie Chandler is the author of several books including LEAP! 101 Ways to Grow Your Business and most recently, Own Your Niche: Hype-Free Internet Marketing Tactics to Establish Authority in Your Field and Promote Your Service-Based Business. Stephanie is also CEO and founder of http://BusinessInfoGuide.com, a directory of resources for entrepreneurs. A frequent speaker at business events and on the radio, she has been featured in Entrepreneur, BusinessWeek, and Wired magazine, and she is a blogger for Forbes.

In any business, you’re only as good as your word and the actions that back them.

Yesterday, in a scene straight out of the Depression, Greeks withdrew €700 million (nearly $900 million) from the country’s banks as the nascent government quickly crumbled amid continued political infighting. If we’ve learned anything from the financial crisis over the past five years, it’s that trust is the foundation that keeps financial institutions afloat. Like Lehman Brothers, Bear Sterns and others quickly learned, hundreds of years of history can be wiped out in days once that trust evaporates.

In Greece, it’s easy to feel like the die has already been cast. The population in that country is fed up with European austerity plans and in no mood for more compromises. The trust is gone. Once that’s disappears, your deposit slips feel like so many pieces of worthless paper mocking you for the faith you once put in the institutions that printed them.

A bank promises to hold your money and have it available when you need it. An insurance company promises to make good on claims when you need help getting back on your feet. At Hiscox, our motto is, “As good as our word”. This was brought to life beautifully in a new UK ad campaign that launched last week. Our customers put their trust in us, and in turn we trust them and do everything we can to support their small businesses. In any business, you’re only as good as your word and the actions that back them. The Greeks lining up at ATMs across the country this week are a vivid reminder of what happens when trust is lost.

Episode 10 – Life in 3D

Lisa goes into labor as Aaron, Bryn and Derek meet with programming genius, Sergei Lenov (Mark Gantt), at his cabin in the woods. With hours left, the gang tries desperately to get the final pieces together to present their new plan to their mysterious investor.

Hiscox Commentary

The Leap Year crew followed the lesson of many successful entrepreneurs, if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. In fact, 38% of entrepreneurs surveyed by Hiscox said they had been part of a business that suffered a serious setback, and 92% of those entrepreneurs believe this helped them succeed in their current business*.

We hope you enjoyed Season 1 of Leap Year. Whether you are a small business owner or you are planning to be one, we hope you were able to relate to the characters, have a good laugh and learn some things along the way.

The number one tip being, don’t let a possible lawsuit get in the way of your success. Make sure you have small business insurance including professional liability insurance, general liability insurance and business owner insurance with Hiscox.

Be sure to watch Leap Year Season 2 – coming in June 2012!

The new season promises to have plenty of twists and turns as our 5 main characters work to build their business to the next level, thwart the competition and attract the attention of investors and the media. We hope you’ll follow along with us as our main characters grow with their business and learn about the dedication and teamwork it takes to make their new venture a success.

* Hiscox commissioned research with Opinium Research among 304 owners, partners and senior decision makers from US businesses with 1 to 249 employees between the 18th of May and the 1st of June 2011.

As a small business owner you may have an obligation to obtain insurance when bidding on a prospective client. These insurance requirements may also state that your insurance must be primary. What does this mean?

A primary policy is the first policy to respond to a loss or claim. An excess policy is the second policy that responds to the same claim or loss and essentially sits “on top” of the primary policy. Umbrella Insurance is a common type of an excess policy. An Umbrella Policy is considered secondary coverage, meaning that any claim must exceed your primary policy’s limits of liability before the Umbrella coverage kicks in.

Small business liability insurance from Hiscox

Hiscox professional liability insurance

At Hiscox our professional liability insurance is primary, unless other valid and collectible insurance exists, in which case Hiscox will look to be excess over that other insurance. In the event no other collectible insurance exists, your Hiscox policy will remain as the primary policy. Hiscox’s professional liability insurance does make an exception that if a second policy by its terms explicitly deems itself to be excess over our professional liability policy, we won’t consider that other collectible insurance, and Hiscox will stay in the primary position.

Hiscox general liability insurance

Our general liability insurance policy also states that the policy is primary, unless another policy was obtained with the purpose of covering a specific risk that the general liability would otherwise cover. For example, a premises rented to you may have fire insurance that, if purchased, would be considered the primary policy. Under our general liability insurance, the limit for damages to premises rented to you would provide excess coverage over the existing fire insurance policy.

Hiscox business owners insurance

The general liability section of our business owners policy (also know as BOP insurance) works the same way as does our stand-alone general liability insurance. The property section is similar in that your BOP coverage will slide to an excess position if there is another small business insurance that covers the same loss or damage.

Whether or not you are a Hiscox customer, we hope this helps to clarify a common question about primary/excess insurance coverage and how it works to protect your business. If you are in need of small business insurance please do not hesitate to contact us.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Episode 9 – Kind of a Genius

With everyone on board with Jack and Bryn’s plans, the group just needs two small pieces of the puzzle: money, and a possibly insane Russian genius who lives somewhere in the woods. What could be easier? Special guest star Guy Kawasaki!

Hiscox Commentary

Fundraising is a crucial matter for many startups and not securing enough financing was listed as one of the biggest start up mistakes in a recent Hiscox small business survey.*

In this episode, the Leap Year crew needs Mr. Cheeky’s financial help so they can hire the genius programmer they found on Facebook. However, they need to be cautious because eventhough they are hiring him on a temporary basis, they will still be liable for anything he does while he’s working with their company.

That’s why their new business needs professional liability insurance right away that is customized to the specific risks an IT professional faces. You need to be confident in your employees to work in the best interest of the company, however better safe than sorry. Having small business insurance that is customized to the specific risks you face is essential in properly protecting your small business.

* Hiscox commissioned research with Opinium Research among 304 owners, partners and senior decision makers from US businesses with 1 to 249 employees between the 18th of May and the 1st of June 2011.

Guest post by Stephanie Chandler author of LEAP! 101 Ways to Grow Your Business

Ensure your small business is positioned to thrive in this new economy

Running a small business isn’t easy. It requires long hours, dedication, creative solutions, and some of the hardest work you will ever do in your life. But entrepreneurship can also be incredibly rewarding, especially when all that sweat equity begins to pay off. Following are some effective strategies you can use to ensure your small business is positioned to thrive in this new economy.

1. Add a Blog to Your Website – These days every business needs a strong online presence—one that represents your brand and engages potential customers. Adding a blog to your website can help you connect with site visitors and attract more traffic to your site. Google gives higher priority to sites that add content frequently so the more often you add posts to your blog, the more traffic you can expect to generate. Your blog can also serve as the foundation of your social media strategy. Each new blog post can be shared across your social networks, increasing engagement and bringing traffic back to your site.

2. Embrace Social Media – Social media is not just a passing fad, it has become a legitimate and powerful way to reach new customers. Start by sharing posts from your blog, and then add links to industry news and other helpful content. Consider launching a video series on YouTube and share those across your social networks. The more you begin to engage with social media on a consistent basis, the more results you can expect to see.

3. Treat Your Business Like an Asset – Having been through the process of selling a business, I can tell you that it’s a complicated process. Potential buyers need to see several years of financial transactions, documented policies and procedures, an inventory of equipment, a copy of your lease, a list of employee responsibilities, and more. Whether or not you ever plan to sell your business, there is a lot you can learn from treating your small business like an asset instead of a hobby. If you’re the sole reason customers do business with you, you don’t have an asset. But if you can train others to do what you do, put systems in place, and take it seriously, you can build an asset that is positioned for growth.

4. Get Proper Protection – Many small businesses begin with a business card and a phone, but it’s important to put the right protections in place. Start by speaking to an attorney or accountant to get the right corporate structure for your business, which can help you save money in taxes and also prevent your personal assets—like your home—from being vulnerable to business-related problems. Small business insurance is also essential. Large companies won’t hire small firms without liability insurance, and operating without it is like leaving the doors and windows to your house wide open 24×7 when nobody is home. Business insurance just makes sense.

5. Update Your Business Plan – If you’re like most entrepreneurs, you probably don’t have a current small business plan —and perhaps you never had one to begin with. A business plan is more than just a tool to get a loan; it’s the roadmap for your business. As your business evolves, your plan should change to reflect new directions and opportunities for growth. You can find templates and resources at http://score.org/.

6. Create a Marketing Action Plan – In addition to a business plan, every business needs a marketing plan. What you may not realize is that it doesn’t have to be a formal, 20-page report. Your marketing plan can be as simple as one to three pages detailing tactics that you intend to use, when you will use them, and how much budget will be allocated. Incidentally, large companies allocate 5% to 10% of annual revenues toward marketing and so should you if you want to stay on a path to growth.

7. Build a Support Network – Entrepreneurship can be a lonely journey. When you own your own business, it’s not easy to find people who can relate to what you do or who can offer you advice and support. I’m a big advocate of mastermind groups, where 8 to 10 people get together once a month to discuss their business issues and challenges .This can be a rewarding way to build a support system, brainstorm ideas, create accountability for your goals, and get feedback. Invite the smartest people you know to join you and soon you will all reap the rewards.

Stephanie Chandler is the author of several books including LEAP! 101 Ways to Grow Your Business and most recently, Own Your Niche: Hype-Free Internet Marketing Tactics to Establish Authority in Your Field and Promote Your Service-Based Business. Stephanie is also CEO and founder of http://BusinessInfoGuide.com, a directory of resources for entrepreneurs. A frequent speaker at business events and on the radio, she has been featured in Entrepreneur, BusinessWeek, and Wired magazine, and she is a blogger for Forbes.

According to Harvard Business Schoool academics it’s a combination of skill, luck and good timing.

What makes some entrepreneurs successful and others unsuccessful? It’s a combination of skill, luck and good timing, according to Harvard Business School academics. In their paper “Performance Persistence in Entrepreneurship,” Paul Gompers, Anna Kovner, Josh Lerner and David Scharfstein looked into the factors behind an entrepreneur’s success (in this case, starting a company that subsequently goes public).

Here are the key points:

Serial entrepreneurs really are more successful than first-timers

• An entrepreneur who is backed by venture capital and succeeds in one venture has a 30% chance of succeeding in his next venture, according to the study.

• Whereas, a rookie entrepreneur has only an 18% chance of succeeding, while those who failed before have a 20% chance of succeeding in a future endeveavor.

So the lesson is “If at first you don’t succeed, try again.”

Success breeds more success

If you’re a good entrepreneur then you’ll succeed. But the perception of success may be a factor, too.

• Entrepreneurs who have had success in the past are more likely to attract capital and critical resources.

• In addition, higher quality people and potential customers are more likely to be attracted to that firm, because they think it has a better likelihood of success.

That investors choose to back it probably increases the venture’s chances of success. So success breeds further success, even if the entrepreneur was just lucky first time out.

Market timing is a skill

“A good year” isn’t just a term used for fine wine. Choosing the right time to set up a venture is a knack that successful entrepreneurs have.

For example:

• Of those computer companies that set up in 1983, 52% eventually went public, i.e., they were successful.

• Whereas, of those computer companies that were created in 1985, only 18% went public – they missed the tide.

If an entrepreneur set up a company in a “good industry year” (in which success rates were high) they are more likely to succeed in their next venture. They have a skill for choosing to start up in the right industry at the right time.

Entrepreneurs who start up a new venture in a good industry year are more likely to invest in a good industry year in their next ventures, the study finds.

Companies backed by top-tier venture capital firms are more likely to succeed

The top VC firms help companies succeed, either because they are better at spotting good companies and entrepreneurs, they help it attract better resources or help it to formulate a better small business plan.

Interestingly, top-tier VC firms were only observered as adding to the success of small business start ups by first-time entrepreneurs or by those that failed in a previous venture.

Successful entrepreneurs don’t need a top-tier VC

If an entrepreneur with a track record of success starts a company it is no more likely to succeed if it is funded by a top-tier VC firm than a lesser known firm.

That’s because if successful entrepreneurs are better, then top-tier venture capital firms have no advantage identifying them (because success is public information), and they add little value.

And if successful entrepreneurs have an easier time attracting high-quality resources and customers because of the perception that they’re successful, then top-tier venture capital firms add little value. In fact, another study cited by the Harvard academics found it was rare for serial entrepreneurs to receive backing from the same VC firm across all their ventures and that relationships with VC firms play little role in enhancing performance.

Those entrepreneurs that invest in proper liability insurance to protect their ventures have a better chance of succeeding, because their plans are less likely to be blown out of the water by an unexpected and expensive legal disaster or claim.

At Hiscox, we’re here to help small business entrepreneurs realize their dreams of success.

Small business series Leap Year returns for it’s second season, 10 episodes airing every Monday starting June 18.

It’s finally here, the trailer for the 2nd season of Leap Year. We’re excited to share this with you and hope you’ll join us for the 10 episode new season airing on Mondays starting June 18. This season follows the 5 friends as they work to make their concept a reality and their new business a success.

Along the way, they experience some of the successes and failures familiar to any entrepreneur or small business, and get themselves in some other interesting situations that you hopefully won’t have to experience yourself. You’ll also see familiar guest stars like Eliza Dushku (Dollhouse, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Josh Malina (West Wing), as well as cameos by well-known entrepreneurs including David Tisch from TechStars and Alexis Ohanian, Founder of Reddit – to mention just a few.

Check out the trailer and let us know what you think. What do you predict will happen to the friends and their business, C3D, this season?

Episode 8 – Five Roads

Jack has a plan to win the competition and save his friends’ startups. The problem? No one trusts him, no one likes him. Special guest star Julie Warner. Presented by Hiscox Small Business Insurance.

Hiscox Commentary

Forgiveness, teamwork, unity. Great qualities for anyone in life and in business. But, are these the same characters we’ve been following all season or has the Leap Year world suddenly turned upside down?

They’ll all have to really work together to make sure they are ready in time for the $500,000 prize. They’ll also need professional liability insurance to protect their new company once they start selling their video conferencing service.

Protecting your business for negligence, even if you haven’t made a mistake within the first few months of starting out according to half of the new small business owners surveyed by Hiscox.*

Maybe the Leap Year characters have discovered a way where they really can have the best of both worlds – now they just have to make sure they’re all on the same page.

* Hiscox commissioned research with Opinium Research among 304 owners, partners and senior decision makers from US businesses with 1 to 249 employees between the 18th of May and the 1st of June 2011.

Susan Urquhart-Brown, author of The Accidental Entrepreneur.

As a small business owner you know more than anyone what you offer.

A common stumbling block for new as well as experienced entrepreneurs is their attitude toward sales. I often hear comments like these:

Can’t I hire someone else to do it for me?

All I really want to do is work with my clients and deliver the best quality product. That’s my passion and why I got into this business in the first place! I feel very uncomfortable selling myself. I get to the close in the sales process and I freeze up and say something like..so if you’re interested give me a call! This approach usually does not result in a sale.

So, what to do?

Yes, you can hire someone to sell for you but often small business owners cannot afford the salary or the consultant’s fee. It is better for you to learn how to do sales successfully before you consider hiring someone else. Why?

As a small business owner and most likely the professional service provider, you know more than anyone what you offer, what the benefits of your service are and how to easily tailor what you offer to the needs of your prospective customers. Once you have this down, and you have a growing business, it makes good sense to hire a sales person or consultant for your small business.

Here are a few tips to help you take the scariness out of selling yourself and your product.

1. Listen. Your potential customers called you because they want something and think that you can help them! Find out what they want by asking open ended questions and then listen with respect and validation to their answers. It will give you insight and information into what their needs and concerns are and they will be appreciative of your attentiveness. Example questions: Tell me more about your project. What seems to be missing? How have you been dealing with this issue so far?

2. Share. Selling is really sharing information, helpful suggestions, and resources that address a particular problem. You can share how you can specifically address their issue or problem and easily offer the benefits of working with you.

3. Qualify. Make sure that this customer falls within your target market. If you are talking to someone who can’t afford your product/service or casually shopping, you could be wasting your time. However, by listening you might be able to offer a resource that helps them. They may not buy from you but they will remember how you helped them and refer you to a friend or colleague.

4. Offer solutions. Don’t fall into the trap of giving a prospect the laundry list of what you offer. Match your service or product to the customer’s needs. Don’t talk about the features of your service before the customer has bought into its benefits. When a customer expresses strong interest but is not yet ready to buy, try asking this question: What would have to happen for you to make a decision? The answer will allow you to offer an even more specific solution that could cinch the deal.

Try it. Soon you will be easily and effortlessly selling/sharing with confidence.

Susan Urquhart-Brown is owner of Career Steps Coaching and author of The Accidental Entrepreneur: The 50 Things I Wish Someone Would Have Told Me About Starting a Business.  To learn more, visit her website, follow her on Twitter and “Like” her on Facebook.