The new year represents a new start, a time to reflect back on the past with an eye towards the future. It’s a time to be thankful for the many people in your life. It’s a time to clean out the cubbards, for me I’ve been purging through 20 years of samples, mostly printed pieces. Going through the samples made me realize just how much change has occurred within the design industry over that span. For me, each piece had a person, a story attached to it. It made me realize the many blessings, the struggles, the achievements. It made me realize how CS Designworks has adapted to change and managed to pick itself up after each and every adversity.

So this leaves me with a heartfelt thought for the new year.

2010 = HOPE

This patient has been seeing this dentist for 16 years, so you might guess that they were already happy with the service. However, having this secondary presence – a website with information about the staff, procedures offered beyond the basic cleaning, and several dental health articles, further cemented the patient’s happy relationship with the dentist.

The patient commented that the site (Carle Place Dental)  was overall “easy to navigate and very informative.”  They found the FAQs helpful and the articles about various dental health topics enlightening. So while the patient has been seeing this dentist for years, they now have more evidence that the dentist is knowledgeable and experienced.

This deepened trust can then extend to an increase in additional services. Maybe a patient has never considered teeth whitening – it doesn’t seem safe, it’s for celebrities, who knows – but when they see that their friendly and trustworthy dentist offers it… they might reconsider.

So, in addition to helping bring in new customers, a well-designed and informative website can also work to keep existing customers, strengthen the level of customer satisfaction, and increase sales with regular customers. And that’s something to smile about!

I know it seems strange, summer is over and here we are… In no time it will be December. Not to panic, try this handy guide to get through the gift giving season.

Month by Month Holiday Survival Guide
October – Start Planning for the holidays with ideas
November – Place orders and review samples
December – Holidays arrive, begin shipping gifts!

Each month brings us closer to the holiday season. Gift giving can be difficult for us all. Trying to find a corporate gift that will please everyone and trying to fit within a budget is a challenge.

This never fail holiday formula has worked successfully for many of our clients that rely on us for promotional gifts. Some clients even start planning as early as August and September. We have learned over the years to plan ahead, avoid shortages and last minute holiday pangs.

First, plan a budget including the number of recipients. Second, list some of your favorite corporate gifts, and some not so favorite.  Ask your co-workers for suggestions. This will put you in a good position for step three: focus on the actual gift. It is easier to accomplish corporate gift giving in steps, rather than trying to do this in one giant leap.

At CS Designworks, holiday gifts are an opportunity to say thank you and extend good will to our clients and vendors.

Each year we try to reach further with popular trends. Whether it is technology, traditional, eco friendly or executive toys, we look for corporate gifts that will be remembered.

Take that first step with us, think Holidays!

Considering this small business had been around for over 20 years, it was a surprise to hear, but up until now they had just gotten by on their reputation. This got us talking, it turns out the reason that the company was ready for a website now was because they had just lost a potential new client. After a few good phone conversations their client was impressed, but wanted to do a little more research about them before entering into an agreement. That’s when she headed to her computer to make her final decision. The companies lack of a website made the client nervous. In an age of technology how could any company rely only on what others said about them when they were face to face?

Even with a great reputation in your field without a website, new clients, especially ones who may not be able to meet you in person, judge you by it. Now I’m not saying your reputation isn’t important, rather your website helps to solidify your reputation.

Back to our clients dilemma, they spent the next few months working on their site with us, all the wile keeping what had happened in the backs of their minds and considering their clients reactions at every turn.

The result was a great, client focused custom website that even many months after the launch of the site, still receives rave reviews from their current and potential clients, including that very client who push them into creating a website in the first place.

Not too long ago, a tote bag was a standard business gift and a great corporate advertising vehicle. The tote is a useful promotional giveaway. Whether filled at a trade show or lugged around town, it is meant to carry on with your message.

Our perspective has changed with the times. Now a logo tote can be a fashion statement as shown by the wide variety of designer totes. We can buy them from fancy european boutiques or at the local bookstore. The message can be as subtle as “buy local” up to a “limited edition” bag that makes women crazy!

The old plastic water bottles were a mainstay for walkathons, picnics and other fitness events. Today’s water bottle has gone hi-tech with materials ranging from Stainless steel to BPA-free polycarbonates. With so many colors and styles, it is really amazing.

It is also amusing to see how far we have come in such a short time. Thankfully, these items are simple, easy to put into our daily routine. Eco-style can be serious or fun. Change your message, add your logo or create custom art for a thoughtful corporate gift or promotional item.

We are offering three enticing incentives to encourage owners of websites that are in serious need of an upgrade. 1) A 20% discount of our normally competitive pricing 2) Free Web Hosting for 1 year and 3) Up to 80 % financing at 0% interest for 1 year to qualified upgraders.

The goal of our Cash for Web Clunker program is to make it easy for business owners to get that new 2010 model website. By now all business owners realize that their website is the vital to their success. And our aim is to reduce the economic barrier that might have created a roadblock in the past.

Just like the governments Cash for Clunker Program all good things don’t last. Our offer is on the table until the end of September.

For more details call me at 212 -679-1212 or go to http://www.csdesignworks.com/discountonwebdesign.html

The trick is trying to relate the item with what you want to promote. Branded Kool-Aid packets, clocks, towels or even Magic Eight Balls can all be used to promote your business if it relates to either your company or a special event you’re marketing. Fox Searchlight gave away branded hamburger phones to promote the movie “Juno” and now even the unbranded hamburger phones are selling. As long as you make the item fun and useful, they can continue to use it and they see your company’s logo when they do.

After you know what you want to use, figure out how best to distribute it. Conferences and trade shows are good places for distribution. You can also get a mailing list going of clients and potential clients and mail you promotional item.

Promotional gifts are fun and easy to do. Almost anything can be used to promote your start-up. Plus it’s free! And who doesn’t enjoy a free gift?

You like to travel light, you say, keep things simple. You’re exicted and you’ve already looked at possible office space!! That’s great, but do you know how much you can spend?

That’s just the sort of detail that writing a business plan will help you figure out by organizing the descriptions about your new business. Not only will it help you better define your company (which will help you pitch it to investors now and market it later), you’ll have a clearer picture of strengths and weaknesses, and, very importantly, where you plan to take the company. Formalizing all of your ideas in writing will give them more shape and make them more executable. As your business gets going, you will be able to refer to your plan to help make decisions (or to change the plan!).

So what’s all in a business plan? Here’s a basic outline of a sample business plan:

• A summary of your business. Keep this brief.
• A more in-depth description of the company including the purpose (or mission statement), info about your background, key employees, and goals.
• A description of the industry and your target customers.
• Description of products and services, including pricing info. Include photos if possible!
• Organization details: who’s involved and how everyone is organized, your legal business structure (such as LLC or INC), info about how sales are generated.
• Marketing and selling strategy. Good idea to start thinking about how you’ll promote your startup.
• Finances. If you are looking for a loan or investors, this will be important. Be realistic about startup costs and earnings projections.

That’s a basic overview. For more on how to write a business plan, see this sample business plan outline. Once you’ve really nailed down the details, you’ll feel better – because you have a plan for starting and growing your business. Trust us, you don’t want to be wandering aimlessly, in whatever industry it is, without a map.