Is your website privacy-friendly? There are a few consumers who are pragmatic and easily willing to trade privacy for convenient online shopping. However, a larger segment want more privacy laws and the majority of Internet consumers want clear privacy rules and disclosure.

To ensure a sound privacy policy, getting a good lawyer to help craft them is a good idea. But since there are no federal laws requiring online businesses to have a privacy policy, and  no company has ever been sued for not having a privacy policy, you might not be able to find a lawyer in your area with enough experience in writing these.  So the best thing to do is to draft a policy yourself, then run it by a lawyer before posting it on your website.

A good privacy policy must clearly state how the information being asked for will be used, whether it is for exclusive use of the transaction itself, or if this information will be shared with outside companies. Make sure that the reason why their personal information is being collected is properly  communicated to  consumers.

Your policy must also indicate the specific measures being undertaken to ensure this information’s security and privacy. Then,  provide a number of choices for privacy settings and  the use of their information and the option to verify, correct, change or remove personal information.

Lastly, make yourself accessible.  Provide a hotline phone number or email address or any other convenient way to for consumers to contact your company. Provide a way for people to opt out of future communication. If someone wants to be removed, make it easy. Having a “privacy policy email” allows for these types of communications to be routed for easy handling. By conveying openness, you are also building trust.

HTML5 has been around for several years, but it was only in 2010 that it became the subject of mainstream news after Steve Jobs issued a public letter entitled Thoughts on Flash. In it Jobs declared that Adobe’s  Flash “was no longer necessary to watch video or consume any kind of web content” and that “new open standards created in the mobile era, such as HTML5, will win”.

What does this mean to you as the owner of a website business? What is HTML5 anyway and what can it do for your website? To answer this, and we’re assuming that you’re a layman, we will first give you a really brief overview of the nuts and bolts that make up a website.

HTML is short for HyperText Markup Language and HTML elements form the building blocks of all websites. HTML allows images and objects to be embedded and can be used to create interactive forms. It provides a means to create structured documents by denoting structural semantics for text such as headings, paragraphs, lists, links, quotes and other items. A web browser then reads the HTML documents and composes them into the visible web pages.

HTML4, the last major iteration of the language, debuted in 1997 and has been subsequently augmented with “plugins” so that it can handle the demands of the modern Web. You may have experienced these inconveniences from time to time. When you visit a website, you may be asked to install Flash or some other plugin before you can properly view the website’s content. Web surfers over the last 10 years were already accustomed to this practice until Steve Jobs came out and stated that Flash was causing Macs to crash and would be eating up  battery life prompting Apple to drop support of Flash and other plugins from mobile devices such as iPads and iPhones

HTML5 lets sites directly embed media with the simple HTML tags “<video>” and “<audio>”. These features are designed to make it easy to include and handle multimedia and graphical content on the web without having to resort to plugins. This is a big deal if you want to attract customers who currently use devices platforms that either don’t support Flash, such as iPhone and iPad, or have well documented problems with it.

So, if you are about to embark on an online business, or about to give your website a makeover, talk to your web developer about HTML5. It’s not really an issue of using the latest technology or trend, but more importantly, it’s making sure that your online business reaches its target audience and is available in the best way possible.

Starting your own business? In addition to capital and a great idea, you will need to take certain steps and accomplish certain tasks to ensure that your business will work. Here is a short checklist to help guide you as you begin your business venture. Or some timely reminders for those that jumped straight in!

1. Business Viability
Whatever product or service you plan to offer, or whether you decide to open a retail store or restaurant, you need to ensure that your business idea is viable. Is there a market for your idea? And if so, who are your competitors?  Study your competitors really well and determine what made them successful and what challenges they had to face. Lastly, figure out what makes your business different from your competitors. Is it the price? The quality? An added feature that they don’t have? Lastly, figure out the financial capacity to get the business up and running, and how much it will cost to operate versus the profits you expect to make.

2. Business Name
You must also take a great amount of time and care in coming up with your name. Come up with as many  names as possible and make sure that your name is unique and available for you. The Australian Securities & Investments Commission has a website that allows you to check the availability of a proposed company name.

3. Business Structure
In order to choose the right business structure, it’s best to seek legal and professional advice. There are several different types of business you can operate under. If you want to be  solely responsible for your business, then your business will be categorised as a Sole Trader. If your company has  two or more people starting a business,  all legally sharing profits, risks and losses, then your company will be a Partnership. But the most common type of company used by small business is the Proprietary Limited Company. Unlike partnerships and sole traders, it is a legal entity separate from its shareholders/owners.

4. Location
Does your business require you to be geographically near your customers or suppliers? Or is your business purely online so all you need is a comfortable place with telephones and internet?  Do you intend to lease or purchase your premises or do you plan to operate your business from home? All these are questions that you will need to answer to find the best location for your business.

5. The Right Team
Unless you intend to run a one-man (or woman) operation, forming the right team is also very important. Aside from selecting reliable people to work with and for you, you’ll also need to be versed with certain responsibilities and obligations under law. There are a number of labor law and HR consultancy firms that can help you, but you should also make it a point to read up on issues such as federal and state and territory laws, industrial awards and agreements, tribunal decisions and contracts of employment.

6.  Permits and Requirements

In addition to registering your name, all companies need to register an Australian Company Number through the Australian Securities and Investments Commission . When a company is registered under the Corporations Act 2001 it is automatically registered as an Australian company. This means that you can conduct business throughout Australia without needing to register in individual State and Territory jurisdictions. You will also have to register for Goods and Services Tax (GST) if you expect to have annual sales over $50,000.

Partnerships and companies need to apply for their own, but sole traders can use their own personal Tax File Numbers (TFNs). You will also need to check with the appropriate state government body for business licences, permits, registrations and certificates, zoning, health regulations, development applications or Building Application.

7. A Business Plan
You might need additional financing, make sure that your business is properly insured, and come up with ways to promote your business. There are other requirements, and these will depend on the nature of your business. You will need to write these all down in a thorough and comprehensive plan that encapsulates all your goals, costs, requirements and schedules.

Good Luck!

Are you a busy person with a million things to do and even more to think about? Don’t let work overwhelm you. Take heart in the fact that the Internet can be your friend, and can provide you with tools that can help you in your daily business-related tasks and make your life much easier.

For Writing Documents, Spreadsheets and Presentation
Google Docs
No more lost or unavailable documents. Provided you have internet access that is. Google Docs is a free, Web-based office suite and data storage service offered by Google that allows you to create and edit documents, spreadsheets and presentations through its web interface. Documents are automatically saved to Google’s servers to prevent data loss and you can then download and save these documents in their corresponding offline formats (ODF, HTML, PDF, RTF, Text, Microsoft Office). You can send copies to clients by emailing the files (or links to the files), or even grant them access to the online version itself. The service is supported on recent versions of the Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari and Chrome browsers running on Microsoft Windows, Apple OS X, and Linux operating systems.

For Managing and Keeping Track of Projects and Tasks
HiTask
Whether you are part of a team of twenty or a team of one, HiTask is a great tool for planning, organising and implementing projects. You can set up a project, divide it into its component tasks and assign it to specific people (who must also get Hitask accounts).  On the left of the page there is a calendar view of all tasks and items due that day, HiTask supports start and end dates and times for each item, and collaborators are notified in two ways: through the calendar and via email reminders.

For Communicating With Customers
Skype
Sometimes, emails just won’t do. Skype offers free chat, voice calls and video calls and these features are not limited to those with Skype. You can send SMS text messages and make direct calls to clients’ land-line and mobile phones as well.

For File Storage and Access
Dropbox
Simple, convenient and easily accessible,  Dropbox provides you with a great tool for storing files. If you have a PC and a laptop, you can synchronize files by getting an account and downloading the Dropbox folder on the desktop of both devices. All items that you download into the folder of one device are automatically copied into the other for as long as it has a running internet connection. These files are also available for download over the Internet using the Dropbox web interface, just in case you are using someone else’s computer.

Dropbox also makes it easy to have a large document you need to send to a client or coworker. Have your collaborators download and install the Dropbox folder themselves, then share files with them.

For Invoicing
Invoicera
If you require help in billing duties, but do not have the resource to hire someone, you can use Invoicera, an online invoicing and billing service. Invoicera sends out invoice reminders to clients and accepts online payments from several sources. Since it is online, it allows you to monitor and update from anywhere.

Planning a party? Organising a conference? Whether you’re organising a family reunion or a 3-day convention, Social Media can provide you with a variety of tools that makes organising an event easy and affordable.

Sending out Invitations
On Facebook, there are two free and easy ways to invite people. One is by creating an Event, and the other is by creating a Page.

A Facebook Event is great for creating one-time events. Setting it up and inviting friends is fast and easy, and you get to see in real-time how many people are attending and who will not. In addition, you can make this a “private” event exclusive to a closed group of people, so this is useful for family events or for a small and specific group of friends.

A Page is useful if you are organising a series of events and you want to display more information and encourage interaction with people on a number of topics. People can post questions on your wall, and you can respond to them. You can even add a tab with a registration form such as ContactMe for free. ContactMe will email you all the contact details of each person who signs up, which is very useful for you in creating a guest list and a database of contacts.

As Your Event is Happening
There will be some who won’t be able to show up to your parties or events, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t share in the fun or participate in the discussion. You can use websites such as http://www.livestream.com/ or applications such as Skype to webcast events as they are happening.

After the Event
Facebook Pages allow you to post photo albums and videos, which is great if you want to post highlights and moments of your event. This will really be especially useful for you if you are organising a series of events, since great videos and photos help generate interest and will help entice people to attend in the future.