How to sell your killer iPhone app
A guide to breaking big in Apple’s very crowded market.
Keeven Kuate Konga, Tempe
What steps do I take in order to make a big jump in the iPhone application industry? I have found an app designer. I know the basics, but is there any other information other than what’s given on Apple’s Web site?
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DiggHow to get your video game into retail stores
Have a hot idea for an educational software product? Here’s how successful entrepreneurs have cracked the market.
Ernest L. Leisner, Buffalo
I have created a word game that I would like to transform into an educational video game. I believe it can go a long way to help improve the dismal illiteracy rate in our schools. I have many aspects of a proposal in place and I’d like to find a government grant to help. I have tried searching the Internet, but there are scams all over the place.
How to keep laid-off workers honest
Experts reveal the best ways to keep company information in the building when the employees exit.
Tom Goll, Owner, U.S. Diversified Tech, Nashua, N.H.
We always hear about what employees should do to prepare for layoffs. But what should employers do to ensure that company data, contacts and customer lists don’t walk out the door with terminated employees?
‘I signed a noncompete – but now I want a new job’
Is a court likely to uphold a restrictive noncompete agreement? It depends on where you live.
Ryan H. from Fort Wayne, Ind.
When I started my current job, I signed a noncompete agreement without really reading it. After reading it in full, I discovered that it sounds like they’re trying to keep me out of the entire Web design industry, anywhere in the U.S., for two years after leaving. I am looking for a new job right now – should I be worried about this? Would a judge ever uphold such a sweeping contract, in spite of my signature on it?
How to manage an inherited business
When an entrepreneur dies, loved ones are forced to make tough decisions.
Ann Gaspar, Fairview Park, Ohio
I recently inherited a small computer servicing business due to my husband’s passing. I am looking for reading material on learning/managing an established business and can’t find any titles. Can you recommend anything that will help me step into this role and excel in it? I am a registered nurse, so the business world is new to me. There are six employees that have kept the business going fairly well in the year of my husband’s illness, so I’m not on my own entirely.
When ‘free’ doesn’t pay off
Offering a product too cheaply can devalue it for customers. Here’s how to zoom in on the right price point.
Emil G., Santa Monica
Is making a service free more counterproductive then selling the same service at a low cost? We recently put together a highly defined service in which we analyze the conversion rates of Web sites and make strategic suggestions – which we were already doing, it just wasn’t separated out into its own service like it is now. Our plan was to begin offering it for free initially while we worked out the kinks, but since dropping the price to zero, it seems we’ve stripped the value in our clients’ eyes. I expected the opposite. Any suggestions?
Tech upgrades: What pays off, what doesn’t
Looking to sell your business? Some technology investments are worth the cost.
DC Kirstein, Softcare Computer Consulting Co., Pittsburgh
Do you have any articles that link updating your company’s technology and selling your business? I believe that simply improving a company’s technology can help increase its resale value. Is this true?
Alternatives to cold calling
Scott Everett, Synxe Solutions, Flower Mound, Texas
I have recently started an IT consulting firm in a potentially uncompetetive market. How can I acquire small and medium size business clients? Cold calling just seems too pressure-filled and most clients are immune to those old techniques.
Did my partner cheat our firm?
How to handle a breach of loyalty.
C.G.
My business partner and I own our tech company (an S corp) as fifty-fifty shareholders, and we each hold board positions. Recently I learned that until two years ago, my partner was getting paid by one of the corporation’s clients, through a local university, to work in exactly the same technology that our company focuses on. This strikes me as a conflict of interest. What should I do?
Merging two businesses
Pooyan Toussipour, Melbourne, Australia
Hi, I run a small Web design and video production business called Eagle Eye Productions in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. My target is small businesses looking for Web design, IT backup and more. I also shoot videos for occasions such as weddings and memorials. My brother runs a small business fixing laptops and computers. If I join him, we could do quite well in my mind, but I do not think we can promote the business ourselves because we are not native Australians. Do you think that we need to hire Australian sales people to promote this business? Should we merge these two small businesses to get more jobs?
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