An incoming link is a link from someone else’s site to your site. To search engines, especially Google, this acts like a vote for your site. It means that someone else thinks your site is worth linking to. In general, the more incoming links you have, the better you’ll rank in search engines–but not all links are equal. Links from sites that are similar in topic to your own site carry more weight, because Google is trying to figure out not just how popular your site is in general, but if other people think it is an authority on its topic.

Google PageRank

Google assigns each page a number called PageRank, and uses this (among other things) in determining how high your page is ranked for any given search term. You can see the PageRank of any page by installing the Google Toolbar and enabling the advanced features.

The PageRank (PR) of each page is determined by the number and PageRank of pages linking to it. For example, if a page with PR 7 links to another page, it will pass PageRank on to that page and the linked-to page will usually end up with a PR of 6. If you have a lot of PR 5 pages linking to a page, that could also bump it up to a 6. PageRank is a logarithmic scale, so it is much easier to go from a 2 to a 3 than from a 6 to a 7.

It’s easy to get carried away with this and think that all you need is a bunch of incoming links. However, PageRank is only one factor in how high you rank for any particular search. The other factor is relevancy—how closely one of your pages matches the particular search term someone types in.

Relevancy

The search engine’s job is to provide the most relevant results for their users. This means that when any user types in a phrase, the search engine wants to list the 10 individual pages on the entire internet that are most about that phrase. Consider that for a moment. This will help you realize how important it is to have a lot of pages and focus each page on a particular phrase you want to rank highly for.

Google uses incoming links (among other things) to help determine what your page is about. The idea is that if ten people link to your site and their sites are all about fruit baskets, and the text of their link says “Buy Fruit Baskets Here”, then it’s likely that your page is also about fruit baskets. Google also looks at the text of your page itself, but it places a surprising amount of weight on incoming links. It’s that voting idea again–if lots of people think your page is about fruit baskets, chances are it is.

The factors Google considers in its algorithm are always under hot debate, but we can make some general observations. The most important things Google looks at are:

• What the page linking to your page is about (ie the text contained on that page)
• What the link text is (what words are actually underlined and you can click on)
• How popular the page linking to you is (i.e. that page’s PageRank)

Please note that I am talking about individual website pages, rather than your web site as a whole. Since links go from page to page, and search engines list individual pages in their results, it’s important to think of optimizing your site on a per-page basis. This means getting relevant links to the exact page you want to come up higher in the search engines for a particular term. Often you want that to be your homepage, but it’s good to get links to other pages in your site too (this is called deep linking).

It’s also very important to have good internal linking within your site. Interlink your pages with text links (rather than image links), paying attention to what words you use in the links so that you are matching the keywords in the link to the content and title of the page you are linking to. Don’t rely only on meaningless link text like “click here” or “read more”.

Besides establishing the topics of each page, good internal linking also distributes PageRank evenly throughout your site.

Natural Linking Patterns

There are lots of people trying to deliberately make their site rank higher (like you and me), and this is something search engines constantly try to counter. They want to rank all the pages on the internet their way, not your way. One thing they are looking at recently is the pattern in who links to your site. What is a natural linking pattern? The theory is that if you have good content, people will naturally want to link to you. These links will grow steadily over time, be mostly one-way and not link exchanges, and be from sites about related topics. Search engines are developing sophisticated ways of determining if a link is likely to be a natural one or one that was pursued for the express purpose of increasing rankings.

What this means practically is that you want to build our links in a way that is as natural as possible. This means don’t pursue links from unrelated websites, build incoming links gradually over time instead of all at once, and try to get one-way links more than reciprocal links.

How do you get one-way links? Provide good content—something that people will naturally want to link to. Another good way is through blogs – blogs have RSS feeds build in that get picked up by feed aggregators which then provide links back to your site. Other strategies are to submit articles to article banks, submit your site to niche website directories, and add your site to your social media profiles.

Learning more about SEO

There is a wealth of information about search engine optimization (SEO) and related topics on the web. However, it is not all reliable as the landscape changes constantly as the search engines change their algorithms.

Practical Ecommerce has an SEO section that is invaluable. Their writing is very accessible.

Another place I recommend to learn is the Google Search forum at Webmaster World. If you really are interested in the topic, purchase the membership and read the Supporter’s Forum. Some of the top names in the search engine field spend a lot of time on that forum (including representatives from Google).

Another newer forum is the Pro Webmasters forum.

To find it, identify what makes you unique in your business, and then find the corresponding need in the marketplace.

Beyond the work you enjoy, also consider the ways you like to market and how the people you want to reach may be looking for you.

An Example

Me: I do web design, I prefer small projects, e-commerce interests me, I design sites that are clean, elegant, and simple, I like working primarily over email.

Marketplace: There is a segment of small business owners who need e-commerce but can’t afford firm prices (which are $5K+). A percentage of them are looking on search engines for the right company.

Combination (niche): simple, clean e-commerce design for small online shops, marketed through having an informative website and investing in search engine optimization.

Look For Low Hanging Fruit

There are a lot of “great ideas” out there–when you get one, ask yourself seriously how hard it will be to implement and if there are enough people with the ability and desire to pay for it. A good idea is one that you can develop in a timeframe you have, with the start-up costs you can afford, and will start to make you an income soon. There are many needs/opportunities in the marketplace that would not meet these criteria.

For example, there are a lot of small business owners who would love to get a custom website for $300. But can  you make a living you enjoy doing that? Probably only if you had an automated system. The less you charge, the more automated you have to make things in order to have a profit margin.

A major decision point is how high-end you are going to be. High-end means you market your product as high-quality, specialized, custom, or some other quality indicator. You can charge more and do less volume, which is usually a good combination for a micro-business.

It’s tempting to look at the marketplace and say

There may not be enough people with enough money to

Some have hidden costs and complications that aren’t immediately obvious. A “great idea” is easy to come by; it’s the implementation that takes hard work and perseverance.

Cuddling optional, but recommended.

Have more suggestions? Post them in the comments below.

When you hit a wall, talk to it.

An emotional roadblock is some kind of issue or problem that defies logic and you just can’t figure out. Examples:

• You keep procrastinating on your taxes even though you know that you need to get them done and they aren’t that hard.
• You just can’t figure out how to word your elevator pitch.
• You keep going back and forth on a decision and you just can’t make up your mind.

Sometimes the changes growing a business brings are exciting; sometimes they are scary. To some parts of our mind, any change is scary, even if it might lead to a better situation.

When this kind of fear is unconsciously influencing our decisions, we may find ourselves avoiding things we know we need to do or going through a push-pull with ourselves.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution for these problems because the block is personal to you. The situation is familiar to many, but the cause this particular issue in your particular life is unique to you.

Our mind has many voices. Sometimes they argue.

Somewhere in the recesses of your mind is the logic behind your indecision, procrastination, or other issue. Some part of you is blocking some other part of you. The part of you that is vetoing has some reason for that–and it won’t let go until you can uncover its reasoning and understand it. The blocking is that part’s way of getting you to listen to its needs or ideas. But since it comes from an unconscious level of our brain, the only tools it has to work with are primitive–like avoidance and stonewalling.

The solution is self-investigation.

It’s surprisingly simple to communicate with these parts of ourselves, but it takes a non-linear approach that we aren’t used to using. Here are the steps to take:

1. Approach the investigation with a curious, non-judging, open attitude. It is critical that the part of yourself you are approaching feels safe to communicate with you. That means no pressure, blame, or recrimination toward yourself. Take some time to center yourself and relax.
2. Engage in some kind of communication with yourself, calling on that part of you to respond. Methods:
   1. Writing questions to yourself in a journal. You can start with something like, “So…I notice I’m procrastinating on my taxes. What’s going on in there?” Then get in touch with the procrastination-energy and write a response from that part of yourself. You’ll probably be surprised at all they have to say about the topic! Usually they will start out upset, and calm down as you listen. Ask open-ended questions to delve deeper.
   2. Creating an intuitive collage. Start with the intention to connect and understand the issue you are facing. Then comb through magazines for pictures that resonate with you. (You can do the same thing online using Flickr). Arrange the pictures in a collage. Then have a dialog with the collage, as if that collage represents the part of you that is involved with the issue. More details and examples of this process here.
3. Sit with what you’ve learned and let it percolate in your mind. Creating a connection with your unconscious will start a ball rolling and new insights will bubble up.

Often this alone will leave you feeling like the issue has transformed and you no longer have the problem you thought you did.

Variety is spicy. photo by Zsuzsanna Kilian

Finding Your People

The minimum requirement is that you enjoy each other.

Beyond that, you’ll want to all be in about the same place in your business. That way everyone can help each other without one person feeling like they are doing all the helping, or another feeling like they are way behind everyone else. There is a big difference between just barely starting and having years under your belt.

One benefit of a MasterMind group is that everyone brings different strengths to the table. I’ve found though that what can be even more important is the strengths everyone can bring: openmindedness, playfulness, and a willingness to be vulnerable.

How many people make a good group?
I think 5 is ideal. It’s provides variety but everyone still gets enough time to talk. And if one person can’t make it, there is still a group feeling. 6 is doable, but that would be my max.

Deciding on a Structure

I’ve had the most success just dividing up the time and having everyone get a turn. Often there will be one person with more going on and another with less, so it evens out. It’s important that everyone agrees to the structure and the degree to which it is loose or rigid. Bring a timer to the meetings – a cell phone will usually work.

Some groups have a set of questions that people answer when it is their turn. These may include:

1. How are you doing personally?
2. How is your business doing?
3. Give your “elevator pitch” (good if you are working on honing that).
4. What is a “first” that you had in your business last month?
5. What do you want help with from the group today?

Sometimes you may want to do exercises with your group, like any of our [worksheets] or other self-discovery tools. I’ve done collage and writing exercises with my group and it’s both fun to do in a group, and you learn more about each other.

How often should we meet?
It really depends on what works for the schedules and lifestyles of everyone involved and what your goals are for the group. Meeting more often will foster more intimacy and camaraderie.

Where should we meet?
Anywhere with some privacy and quiet. Often meetings are either in a coffee shop, in one of the members’ homes, or over the phone. I like meeting in a home as it feels more homey. If you plan to meet in a restaurant, you may want to make a rule that people who want to order should arrive early so that is taken care of before the meeting starts.

Creating a Culture

Some groups are all business. Some are very woo-woo. Some are all about numbers and progress. Some are more about socializing. I enjoy a happy mix of celebration, sharing breakthroughs, and brainstorming strategies for solving problems (with a lot of laughter and a few tears thrown in). Use the [worksheet] to get clear on what kind of culture you’d enjoy and keep it in mind as you look for your playmates.

Setting the Intention

Stated or not, your group has a shared goal that you are organizing around. Lest it unconsciously become “kvetching about our businesses”, I recommend stating it out loud. It could be summed up as a motto or mission statement, or be a general discussion about what you all are about.

Connecting Between Meetings

My favorite tool for keeping touch in-between meetings is Facebook’s Groups function. Since we were all on Facebook anyway, it was an easy tool to start using. We celebrate successes, ask for help, and share resources–just like we do in meeting. It helps keep the continuity going between meetings.

Lift off!

Support is not just for emergencies.

You can approach support two ways: crisis-mode (you reach out in emergencies, to people who barely know you), or by creating support structures that you consistently participate in and help you to thrive every day (and help you prevent crisis).

A support “structure” is something you set up to receive support from the same folks over time. It makes receiving support more consistent, and lets you develop trust and deepen in knowledge of each others’ businesses.

Before I list my reasons, I want to make a special point about “accountability”. This is a word used a lot with MasterMind groups and other support structures. I’m not a fan of  accountability as the #1 reason for support. This sets up our would-be friends and supporters as our cops or watchmen. They can be much more than that. Here’s my top 10 list  of benefits (in no particular order):

10 reasons to create support structures

1. It’s (way) more fun with friends
2. Others act as mirrors – seeing and reflecting our blind spots
3. Seeing problems from different perspectives
4. Wisdom and resources from people who have been through similar things
5. Feedback from people who know you well and care about you
6. Watching people grow over time (and helping them) feels warm and fuzzy
7. Brainstorming and idea generation
8. Creative collaboration
9. Referrals to and from
10. People to celebrate successes with!

Sounds fun right! I made this list based on everything I’ve gotten out of my Mastermind groups over the past few years.

Examples of support structures

Mastermind Group

• consists of 3-6 people who get together weekly, biweekly, or monthly
• usually made up of people in different industries but in a similar stage of their business
• each person takes a turn getting feedback on a particular issue

Business Buddy

• a business partner or friend who is in the same or similar industry.
• someone you can talk about the day to day technicalities of your industry
• you know each other’s business really well and feel collaborative with them

Class or Coach-led Group

• you receive instruction and advice from the leader, while also interacting with a peer group to learn together
• can vary widely in structure

Mentor/Coach

• someone who is further along in your industry or in business in general
• someone you want to emulate (don’t choose a mentor whose business setup you wouldn’t want)
• you can get coached, or just follow and learn by example

There is also a spectrum of investment.

Time: this can range from meeting one time for an hour to meeting daily, weekly, or monthly…for 6 weeks, a year, a decade, or more.

Depth: some relationships stay fairly shallow and “professional”. Some grow into friendships and partnerships, where business topics mingle with personal journeying and discovery.

Where do I find these folks?

Wherever business owners hang out: networking groups, Biznik, Facebook, Twitter, professional organizations. Your friends and colleagues.

Get clear on what you want and invite it into your heart. Take time to build the relationship and make sure it is a good fit.

What makes a good support relationship?

• You share the same values and are in the same or similar “tribe”.
• You trust them and feel safe with them (you have to show them your messy insides for this to work!).
• Each of you is committed to the relationship and the process.
• Each of you has the ability to communicate clearly and work through differences or sticky spots constructively.
• You each are on the same page with the structure of what you do together.
• You each feel collaborative rather than competitive toward each other.
• Each of you is committed to your own personal growth.

You need different support at different times.

There’s no blueprint for everyone and all time. My goal is to help you understand all the options so you can find support that feels right and helps you in all the ways you need.

You might start out with a class, and then find you want the ongoing support of a group. Or you may have a group you love but sometimes supplement it with the focused help of a coach. As your needs evolve and change over time, reassess what you need and find new sources of support.

Give yourself what you need to thrive–there is no reason to struggle by yourself. No matter where you are in your journey, there is someone who can light the way forward.

Make your support-structure goal to thrive.

When you set up your group or support relationship, you can set an intention or purpose for it. I suggest you choose “to thrive” as your goal. It’s about more than money and clients–it’s whole-body happiness.

To be in business means you are constantly offered the opportunity to stretch yourself and grow. You are also constantly offered the temptation to stagnate or operate from fear. We’re only human. Support from others who are also committed to doing well makes the difference between surviving and thriving. I believe business owners needs consistent support. Personally, it tipped my scales to make business not just fascinating but also fulfilling.

Saving wood for the winter.

Business accounting can be the last thing you want to think of when you start your business. But to stay in business, you need your ducks in a row. This article covers the minimum practical steps you need to do to start your business, money-wise.

(Disclaimer: I am in no way legally qualified to give advice for which you need to be legally qualified.)

Get a business checking account.

Separating your business income and expenses into a separate account is essential for an organized business, and makes things infinitely easier when tax time comes. It also makes it easier to track expenses – just use your business check card instead of your personal one.

I recommend U.S Bank as I know they have free business checking accounts, but others probably do as well. Check with your current bank.

Plan for the taxes you will owe.

Paychecks have taxes taken out and paid every month; the IRS expects small businesses to do this themselves, and they don’t want you to wait until the end of the year. You owe federal and state estimated taxes every quarter. At the end of the year you will also need to pay local taxes – in Portland, Oregon that includes the Multnomah County Business Income Tax and the Trimet Tax. Google will provide plenty of information on the topic of estimated taxes and your local tax laws.

For simple planning, put aside 1/3 of all your income (after expenses). For more complete planning, set up a spreadsheet that mimics the 1040 and put in your actual numbers as you earn money through the year.

Set up a minimal paper file system.

You need at least these three files: Income, Business Receipts, and Taxes for each year. Each January, create a new set of three files for the current year. If all your income is received online and you never get a paper check or invoice, you may not need the Income file. You do need to keep your business receipts, and separate them from your personal ones. You need receipts to back up any statements you make about your expenses if you get audited.

Optional/Advanced

Create an LLC

Being an LLC isn’t strictly required, but it gives you some liability protection. Either way, as a single person LLC you are still a sole proprietor and are taxed using the 1040 (income passes through to your personal taxes). You file the 1040 with Schedules C (business income or loss) and SE (self-employment).

Do NOT create an S-corp unless you have an accountant and are prepared to keep them.

Some accountants recommend an S-corp structure, but I’ve observed that the hassles of filing paperwork and paying yourself as en employee (think payroll taxes) are not worth it for most small businesses. Normal sole-proprieter business taxes are simple enough that most people can do them without help. Becoming an S-corp elevates your paperwork requirements to those of a corporation and are usually too much for an individual. Having an accountant do your taxes each year can run you $1000 or more–plus, you need to oversee them and understand what they are doing. Keep it simple–stay a sole proprietor.

Understand the fundamentals of accounting and use real accounting software.

Read Radically Simple Accounting. It’s short, easy to understand, and it gives you the basics–and that’s all you need. Reading this will let you understand enough to make a chart of accounts in Quickbooks and keep track of your income and expenses.

Quickbooks: no, it’s not intuitive. No, it’s not fun. But it will make taxes far easier. If you can’t face Quickbooks, then find another double-entry bookkeeping program to use. Quicken and many personal money management programs are single-entry and are not sufficient for business accounting. (The difference will make more sense after you read the accounting book.)

Do not try to use it for everything. There are much better tools for estimating cashflow, sending invoices, and processing payments. Just use it for what it’s best at: accounting.

Set up a spreadsheet to track your monthly cashflow.

Tracking your cashflow is like balancing your checkbook, with extras like tracking how much tax you owe and how much you can expect to earn this month.

Your spreadsheet needs to answer these questions:

1. How much money did you start the month with?
2. How much do you expect to earn and spend this month?
3. Will your expected earnings cover your expected expenses this month, including taxes and paying myself? (and if not, what can you adjust so they do?)

You can also use your spreadsheet to project to future months, by entering known expenses and expected income. This will tell you what kind of income you need to earn to ensure you stay afloat.

Here is an example template of a cashflow spreadsheet. Each business is different; use it as a starting point to create a spreadsheet that works for you.