Compuware Earns 12 Cents Per Share in Q2 as Growth Businesses Continue to Soar
DETROIT — Compuware Corporation , the technology performance company, today announced financial results for its second quarter ended September 30, 2010.

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Mine are: Whole Foods Market, Typhoon (Indian Restraunt), Mobil Gas Station, El Pollo Loco, Fuk Yo (Yes that really is the name) Sushi Bar.

Visa Enhances Visa Business Network With New Capabilities for Small Businesses
SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) today announced significant enhancements to the Visa Business Network (www.VisaBusinessNetwork.com), the online community that helps small business owners manage their businesses more efficiently, connect with and gain insight from peers, and ultimately grow their business. Now, small business owners can easily …

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Mukesh Ambani today unveiled RIL’s mega plans for power and telecom to double enterprise value to USD 160 billion (Rs 5,00,000-cr) in 10 years, as also intent to supply gas to Anil Ambani Group’s power plants.

Free to enter new businesses after scrapping a non-compete pact with brother Anil, Mukesh talked up the investors.

“As and when the power plants of ADAG are ready to receive gas, we would commence supplies to them subject to government granting allocation…,” Ambani told shareholders at the 36th Annual General Meeting here.

RIL, India’s most valuable company with a market capitalisation of Rs 3.45 lakh crore, plans to use its strong balance sheet to fund coal, thermal and nuclear power plants, add capacity to produce polyester and chemicals to create “unprecedented value” for investors. Read the full story

Grants available to help businesses find export market Grants available to help businesses find export market Read more on The Palm Beach Post

Jarrett Disputes Health-Care Legislation Will Cost Businesses
March 28 (Bloomberg) — Valerie Jarrett , a senior White House adviser, disputed arguments that the health-care legislation signed by President Barack Obama may cost jobs and increase costs to employers.

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Office Depot Recognized for Taking Care of Women-Owned Businesses for Ninth Consecutive Year
BOCA RATON, Fla.—-The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council named Office Depot® , a leading global provider of office products and services, to the organization’s annual listing of America’s Top Corporations for Women’s Business Enterprises.

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How The Best Small Businesses Spend Money
Weighing your cap-ex decisions? Here’s how America’s Most Promising Companies aim to re-invest this year.

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Column: MBAs can help family businesses
How well-run is the typical family-run business in India? While divergences from scientific management methods are obviously present, do these reflect the native genius of the…

Read more on Express India

Whether you own a service business or a retail venture, your web site is the strongest tool in your marketing arsenal. A well-conceived, well-executed web site by a reliable web development firm can help you in strengthening relationship with customers, boost your branding efforts and encourage sales. Regrettably, many small businesses fall victim to some common web site woes, such as pages that do not load properly, inappropriately written text, shopping carts that malfunction etc.These mistakes can easily hit the trust of visitors as they will avoid doing business with any such site that is not made properly. To create a full-proof site, keep in mind the following details:

• Well organised layoutYou will be surprised to know that more than 45% of small biz websites fail to prominently display obvious info, such as phone number, email address, office location and working hours. Why would people like to visit your site if they have to hunt for a separate “Contact us” page?Solution:  Display your phone number clearly across your site. People will like to call and enquire if you make it easy for them to have your number. Having a process in place to follow-up all inquiries that come through your website can prove to be extremely helpful.

• Pages that load quicklyCluttered and slow-loading pages will give users headaches. People are not much interested in multiple fonts, animation, large images or You Tube videos. They want a site that gives them complete information and loads instantly.

• Appealing colour combination schemeDifferent colors have different implications, and different effects on customers’ buying habits. The colors you choose should always reinforce your brand. If your logo, letterhead and business cards feature red and green, use red and green on your site. You can also ask the web developer to research colour schemes being used by your competitors and by other sites featuring products similar to yours.

• Easy navigationSites are not made for customers to get lost while looking for the product they are interested in. If visitors can’t find what they want quickly, they’ll click to another site that’s easier to navigate. Considering a variety of navigation structures and menu styles in advance can help. You can also keep your most important pages only one click away from your home page when possible.

• Keyword specific textText can make or break a website. If the content is either not keyword specific or not written in a persuasive way it will fail to attract both- search engines and potential customers.

• Simple yet powerful ordering processThe payment process should be simple to use. Anticipate the questions that people might have and add a FAQ page to your site. Give visitors a feeling that their credit card details are safe and sound as you are using a trusted gateway partner.

These specific strategies are the minimal points that you should keep in mind while getting your website designed. The expectations of consumers have changed and they want to see applications of new technology. Brochure-styled sites are a thing of past now. You need to have a site which is interactive enough to grab the attention of those who browse through it. Only good designers can successfully shape ideas in a fruitful way to create sites that are ‘sticky’, engages people and encourages them to return.