Just starting out? PBXCompare.com describes 9 ways to make your startup seem big.

1. How To Fake It
‘Til
You Make it
9 steps to make your small
business look big
Brought to you by:

2.  One of the first impressions you make to others is your email
address.
◦ Personal email addresses like yourname@gmail.com can seem amateurish, while
business email address, such as yourname@yourcompany.com make your business
seem legitimate and professional.
 Setting up a business email account is easy.
◦ First, register a domain with your company name. You’ll also use this for your
website.
◦ With 10 or fewer employees, you can use a free version of Google Apps which gives
you a personalized email address
 Google Apps includes other helpful features, such as Google Talk, Google Calendar, and Google
Docs
◦ You have the option to upgrade to the paid plan once you have greater than 10
employees.
Over 4 million businesses use
Google Apps!

3.  Virtual PBX services (or virtual phone systems) allow all employees to
receive calls through one main phone number & requires no hardware.
◦ For about $8/month, you can get:
 A dedicated business line
 Online interface to manage how to deal with incoming calls
 Ability to redirect calls to your home phone, cell phone, or even other office phones.
 Virtual PBX services use auto attendants & dial by name directories that
give your business phone number a much more professional feel.
 PBXCompare.com compares different Virtual PBX services making it
easy for you to choose which plan is right for your company.
Virtual PBX Features:
- Dial by Name Directory
- Call Forwarding - Web Management
- Multiple Extensions - Voicemail Service

4.  It is important to have a unique and polished logo, but as a small
company, we know budget is tight. Luckily, there are many ways to get
a custom logo without the expense of a professional design company.
 Free DIY logo websites allow you to create your own logo using their
graphics.
◦ We recommend: www.logogarden.com
‣ There are websites that allow logo
designers to compete for the option to
design your logo.
o You set the price, usually between $200-$300
 Give a description of your business &
what you’d like your logo to convey
◦ Designers will then create logos for you and
submit them online where you are able to pick your
favorite.
◦ Two of these websites are 99designs.com and
logobids.com

5.  Having a strong online presence is one of
the most important aspects of business
these days. Poor UX, SEO & site functionality
can all drastically lower the “cred” and, or
accessibility of your new company.
 In some cases, it is not necessary to hire a developer to build a clean &
professional website. Many website builders allow you to build your own
website without programming knowledge.
 Add analytics tracking software to your site so you can strategically
improve your website based on your audience’s online activity.
◦ Google Analytics is a free service that comes highly recommended
 Here is an “apples to apples” comparison of the top website builders.
◦ Website builders provide you with “drag and drop” templates that allow you to
customize text, images, and videos onto your webpage.
◦ Our favorite website builders are Yola and Intuit.
Here are some examples of
websites built with

6.  If you expect to have people visiting you at work, it is important that you are
not working out of your home. There are several options to make this
affordable, but we recommend one of the following for new start-ups.
◦ Virtual Office
 A virtual office will allow you to run your business online, collaborate with
employees or freelancers and will provide your business with a physical mailing
address. They also offer meeting room rentals and virtual receptionists.
◦ Co-Work space
 A fairly new concept, a coworking space is a shared workspace where people can
rent an individual working area in a larger office. Renters typically share a large
conference room, kitchen and other amenities standard with a traditional office
space.

7.  When meeting potential clients or customers, you’ll want to give
them your contact information.
◦ Ordering business cards with your company email address, business phone number,
new logo, website, and business address is an important step
 Most companies allow you to order business cards online by entering
your contact information & uploading your logo.
◦ Companies we recommend:
 Moo Business Cards
 Prinly
Quick Tips:
• Using a matte card will make it easier for
others to take notes on your card
• Add a QR code so people can scan your
business card w/ a smartphone app &
download information about your
business immediately

8.  Social media is one of the easiest AND cheapest ways to get recognition for
your small business. It allows you to build recognition, credibility and open
up a line of communication with your potential customers.
 While there are many niche social networking platforms out there, these are
the 5 most active networks where you should establish a presence :
◦ Twitter
◦ Facebook
There are several services like
◦ LinkedIn
TweetDeck & HootSuite that
◦ Google + streamline your interactions &
◦ Pinterest optimize your activity
 Make sure you can connect with as many people are possible on all three
sites. The more connections you have, the bigger your business will appear.
Check out this great infographic by
ethority.de that breaks down each
social medium by purpose

9.  Communicating with people outside of your business can be tedious
when working remotely or when you have customers outside of the
city. Online conferencing services make it easy to do business with
people out of the city.
 Skype for business allows users to make
video calls over the internet.
◦ This saves money on transportation costs while
still giving you the ability to create a personal
meeting experience, which is important to new
startups.
 Services like GoToMeeting allow users to
share desktops remotely.
◦ This option is great for troubleshooting &
presentations.

10.  The easiest way to organize and assign
tasks within your company is to use a
project management system.
◦ These tools also create way to save a repository of
your previous work and make it easy to go back
and search through it.
 Collaborate in real-time, get project
status reports and assign work or grant
access to:
◦ People within your company
◦ Outside clients so they can view the status of Basecamp
their projects is one of the most
◦ Freelancers who are doing work for you widely used project
management
tools.

11.  PBXCompare.com compares the top providers of virtual PBX
services. The site was created to help make it easier to
choose a virtual phone system, obtain a 800 number for your
business and ensure all users understand the features and
benefits of a virtual PBX service for your company.
 Visit our website today to start comparing
top PBX service providers, sign up for a free
trial or just learn a little more about virtual
phone services.
◦ Review & Compare Virtual PBX Services
◦ Review & Compare Toll free Services/ 800 Number