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Opinions of Friday, 30 September 2011

Columnist: Aboagye, Patrick

African Owned Businesses in the High Tech World!

Taking your business to the next level - African Owned Businesses in the High Tech World!

African immigrants are well known for their entrepreneurial spirit. This is shown through the thousands of small businesses that are present in communities throughout North America and Europe. Ethnic grocery stores, clothing stores, hair salons, accountants and photographers are a few examples.

Owning a business requires you to be an expert at whatever service you provide; it does not require you to be technologically savvy or experienced with computers! I believe that in order for us to succeed and to grow our companies beyond the street level store front we need to not be afraid to learn about new technologies. Instead we should grab a hold of the opportunities that technologies offer us. Let us lead our nations into prosperity through innovation.

With millions of people now using the Internet to find products and services, it has become essential for any organization or business to have an online presence. Looking around you will notice that North American and European companies are spending more and more of their time and resources developing their online presence. Why? Because they understand that it is needed in order to stay relevant in our high tech world.

We need to realize that new and current customers are online! They are connecting with their friends and peers using social media like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. They use search engines like “Google, Yahoo or Bing” to search out new companies and products and then purchase the products/services that they find! If we limit ourselves by not being on-line – How can we grow?

Some of the common excuses people give for not having a website are "My business is very small," "I have only myself and another employee", "I don't have any products or services to sell". This type of thinking limits our opportunities! Do you not want to grow your business? Make more money? Increase your customer base? By utilizing a website for your marketing you are able to reach out to a large number of people. You can showcase your products and services without the high cost of traditional print media. There is no limit to the information you can provide and it is a very cost effective way to promote yourself or business.

Regardless of your knowledge of computers and the Internet, you need a website if you have business. If your limited knowledge of computers is holding you back from investing in a website then contact a web design company to find out what options are available.

Stay tuned for upcoming articles where I will be detailing the key steps in getting your business online.

Patrick Aboagye is the President & CEO of Danipa Business Systems Inc. He is dedicated to helping companies successfully develop their on-line presence while increasing their brand recognition and market share in a competitive economy.

Follow Patrick on Twitter @paboagye.

For information on Danipa visit: www.danipa.com