Industry guru Dave Taylor answers free tech support questions about a wide variety of business and technical topics, including blogging, Google AdSense, MySpace, Sony PSP, Apple iPod, Mp3 players, management, Linux, SEO, Mac OS X, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Microsoft Windows.

Still befuddled? Get immediate live tech support with SupportSpace!

How do I rebuild my business?

This is a terrible story, I'm sorry to say, but my husband and I recently had a fire in our small business and are now stuck having to rebuild the store right when we were hoping to actually sell as much as possible for the Holiday season. Fortunately our inventory survived, and we're thinking about building a Web site too. What do you recommend?

Dave's Answer:

Tough story indeed. Really sorry to hear that you have had such problems and I'm glad that no-one was hurt and that you've managed to retain your inventory through this terrible experience.

I would suggest that you can immediately begin trying to sell some of your wares on eBay: spend a little time reading through the eBay help materials for sellers first, however, and make sure you have attractive pictures as it really helps with sales.

Secondly, I suggest that you consider opening up a Yahoo Store as it's an easy way to build a quick online shopping site with full security. Yahoo Shopping gets lots of traffic so it's well worth the small monthly fee if you have competitive products and prices.

Finally, you might seriously consider turning this tragedy to your advantage by opening up a business blog and writing about what happened and how you're going through your recovery process. Go and check out Diamond Diva Online and you can read about another small business that's going through a very similar crisis, and are keeping their sense of humor and pushing ahead, determined to turn their store fire into a chance to reinvent their business for the 21st century. Smart!

Before you travel too far down the Internet path, however, I'd also like to suggest that you get a copy of my well-rated book Growing Your Business with Google. it'll definitely help you choose the best path for online success, and it's fun reading to boot.

Good luck to you and do come back and let us know when you're online so we can see how you're doing!

Help others find this article at Del.icio.us, Digg, Netscape, Reddit, and Simpy.

Categorized: Business and Management (Article 4294)
Tagged:
Previous: Why does Gmail stall with a blank screen?
Next: Should I upgrade my Sony PSP firmware?

Subscribe!

Never miss another useful Q&A article again! Subscribe to AskDaveTaylor with Google Reader.

Comments

Just a quick note on Dave's book. I have a copy and have read it. It's a great book on how to leverage Google to build your business.

Dave's insight will help you understand WHY Google is changing how businesses of all sizes market and sell their products. It will also give you good, practical advice on how to leverage it.

It's a great book for any entrepreneur.

Posted by: Kevni Bedell at November 30, 2005 9:07 PM

Dave, if your writer needs tech help/input I would love to help - Ramon

Posted by: Ramon Ray at December 1, 2005 1:34 AM

I have a lot to say, but ...

I have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but most of all I'd like to say thank you for all your efforts on this Web site by buying you a chai!

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!