We all know that trying to find a job is one of the hardest things to do.  You have to apply for a job, land an interview, interview with the company, most likely interview again with the company, and maybe even more interviewing before you finally get the well deserved offer letter.  Interviewing is really a negotiation.  You have to convince the interviewer why you are valuable and why they should select you, but at the same time the company needs to show you why you need them. 

If you are the person being interviewed, there are some crucial steps you need to take before getting to the interview.  First, research the company!  We all have done it - applying to everything we see on the Internet even if we have no clue what the company does.  You may want to know what you are getting yourself into.  Next, stay away from all the corporate taboos - politics, religion, and personal lives.  There are many other things you can talk about so be ready with a few pre-planned conversation pieces.  Below is a list of more items NOT to talk about during an interview.  This list was compiled by CareerBuilder.com and could be seen in more detail here.

1. I hated my last boss.
2. I don’t know anything about the company.
3. No, I don’t have any questions for you.
4. I’m going to need to take these days off.
5. How long until I get a promotion?
6. Are you an active member in your church?
7. As Lady Macbeth so eloquently put it…
8. And another thing I hate…

One of the most difficult parts of starting a business is figuring out which legal documents you need to fully protect yourself.  Lots of South Asian businesses make the mistake of not taking care of these items BEFORE they start a business.  This is a common mistake that can produce severe reprocussions.  Be Smart - take care of these items (or at least review them) before you begin your dream business.

Here are a few legal related tasks that you should consider completing before starting your business or service:

Incorporate - In order to protect yourself and your personal assets from any type of lawsuits that may arise related to your business, we recommend you incorporate .  Incorporating your business helps protect your personal assets from being involved in any type of business dispute.  (In other words, they can’t take your house if your business gets sued).  Incorporating your business also has various tax benefits, which you may not be aware of!

Sales Contracts - Most business disputes arise from disagreements surrounding “hollow” sales contracts.  Make sure your sales contracts are developed (or at least reviewed) by an attorney.  You want to ensure that you are fully protected in every which way possible.  Every little detail within your sales contract should be solid, clear and bulletproof.

Non Compete Agreements - Are you operating a business that offers a specialty product or service?  If so, then you should consider having your employees sign a Non Compete agreement, which prohibits them from sharing your company’s trade secrets.  This is very important for businesses who want to ensure the secrecy of their products and/or business processes.

Trademarks/Copyrights - This is something that every business should consider getting.  Trademarking your company name will protect your business from companies who want to leverage your brand name for their benefit.  For example, since McDonalds is trademarked, I would not be able to open up a burger restaurant by the name of MackDonalds.  I would also not be able to use the name McDonalds in any of my material without their consent.  Copyrights are also important if your business produces content that needs to be protected from being unlawfully distributed.  If you have an art business, you should copyright all of your paintings so people cannot reproduce and sell your products without your discretion.

Terms and Agreement/General Business Terms - This is a general contract that all of your business patrons should be subject to.  Even if they do not purchase anything from your business, the general business terms (or Terms and Agreement) protects your business from all “general” liabilities that may be faced in the course of visiting your business.  For example, a bar owner may have a general business term that protects the business from patrons who may slip and fall in the bar due to a wet spot.  Although this type of lawsuit may not be fully dismissable in court with the presence of this document, at least you have done your job to inform the patron of all possible liabilities, which considerably lowers your liability.  

There are many South Asian and Desi attorneys in Houston who can provide you with top-notch legal services at affordable costs.  Here are our top three recommendations:

- The Mukerji Law Firm -  (20% off legal fees for new clients!)
- Calehr & Associates
- Alliant Group

To see all of the Indian Desi and South Asian attorneys and law firms in Houston, please visit the Houston Desi Attorneys category on SABAsearch.com.  This category is filled with South Asian attorneys and law firms in Houston who can help you with all types of law including Divorce, Immigration, Family Law, Tax Law, Employment, and DWI.

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Are you a South Asian law firm or attorney in Houston?  Respond to this blog article and let us know who you are!  Please provide your name, law firm, and what types of legal services you provide.  Thanks!

When we mention the word COUPON, all of our business owners cringe.  Offering coupons mean you’re doing bad and are desperate for sales right?  WRONG!

Offering coupons to your customers provides more of a value than you think.  Recent studies show that 62% of businesses who utilized coupons on a regular basis had better performance than those who did not.   Additionally, studies show that a majority of shoppers prefer to use coupons when making a purchase.   Check this out - Over 76% of the population use coupons, according to the Promotion Marketing Association (PMA) Coupon Council.  Those numbers should be enough to convince you that your business needs to be using coupons and promotions as a STANDARD marketing practice.

But, we understand that coupons can pose a cost to your business.  Therefore, when you create your coupons or promotional marketing campaigns, make sure to exercise SABAsearch.com’s four B’s to achieve the highest coupon marketing success:

• Be Bold - If you’re going to create a coupon, make it worth while for customers to visit your business or sample your products.  Customers can see right through “unworthy” coupons and turn away from businesses who play in shallow waters.  Be bold, offer a good discount, and create an incentive for customers to visit your business.  Don’t waste their time or tease them with a shallow discount.
• Be Concise - When creating your coupon, be as consise as possible.  “Buy one, Get one FREE”.  The longer your coupon text, the less likely it will be used.  Use keywords such as FREE, Half Off, New, Save, Guarantee, Best, Offer, Easy, etc.
• Be Smart - Save money, distribute your coupon on the web.  Placing your coupons on the web allows it to be more “viral”, which means it can get distributed faster.  It’s easy for consumers to pass on a web-coupon to a friend, but not easy when it’s printed within a newspaper.  Save money and make it viral - use the web.
• Be Happy - When a customer comes into your business with a coupon, BE HAPPY.  Don’t frown at them as if you’re upset to give them a discount.   Welcome coupons and thank them for using it.  Tell them to tell their friends about it.  More coupons received = more revenues.

There ya have it - Be Bold, Be Consise, Be Smart and Be Happy!  The combination of these four strategies are sure to increase the value of your coupon marketing campaign.

SABAsearch.com has made it easy to post your business coupon online (remember the 3rd “B” - BE Smart!).   Our website allows you to post your business coupon or coupons for absolutely FREE.  Your coupon will be viewed by THOUSANDS of South Asians in the Houston area and beyond.  To post your coupon on SABAsearch.com, please login to your account and click the Coupons link in your member panel.  You will need to link your coupon to your business listing.  If you do not have an account, or would like assistance in placing your coupon on SABAsearch.com, please feel free to contact us at Support@SABAsearch.com.

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To view all coupons currently listed on SABAsearch.com, please visit the SABAsearch.com Houston Coupon Listings.   If you need assistance in placing your coupon on SABAsearch.com, please contact us at Support@SABAsearch.com

Most business and website owners have heard of the term SEO, but what does it really mean?  SEO, an acronym for Search Engine Optimization, is defined as the process for improving website traffic through various strategies, which are aimed at ranking your website higher in each of the major search engines most commonly used by Internet users.

In Lehman Terms:  SEO helps bring you TRAFFIC!  It’s your website’s secret weapon.

But, it’s not as easy as it sounds.  There are many ”SEO Gurus” out there - some are actually capable of modifying your site to rank higher in the search engines, and some are there just to pull a scam.   Watch out for companies that guarantee 1st page results, they are big phonies!  Nothing is guaranteed in SEO.

Our teams recommend Concept Infoway, which is an Indian based company who have a proven track record in SEO.  They are experienced and better yet, affordable.  Mention that the SABAsearch guys sent you, and you’ll recieve a 10% discount!  But, they are not the only vendor around, so if you do choose to venture off to find your own SEO developer, please make sure you do your research and comparisons.

So, what do you need to know about SEO to make sure you are on the right track?  First, you need to know the basics:

What will an SEO developer do to your site?
An experienced SEO specialist will do a good job of seamlessly laying the SEO tricks on top of your current design, which will minimize the change experienced by the user.  Some of the following tricks can be utilized by an experienced SEO specialist:

Tailored Content:  An SEO specialist may recommend you redraft the static content on your site to be more targeted and “keyword” heavy.  This is a creative art that has a contains fine line between reward and risk.  Sites that are too keyword heavy and use keyword-stuffing techniques are demoted in search engine rankings (this is a way for search engines to regulate false websites).  Make sure your SEO specialist is not using these “black hat” techniques.

Restructure your site:  Your site may be a great dynamic site, but some of those dynamics may be prohibiting the search engine robots from indexing your entire site.  This is because your site structure does not allow the robot to easily flow through your site without requiring to enter certain conditions.  Keep your site easy flowing, and the robots will reward you!

Strategic Links:  Every website has links that link users to different areas of the website, but are they being used properly?  Your SEO expert should review the links and determine whether or not the “anchored text” is being utilized efficiently.  The name of the link is key within this strategy!

Keyword Submission:  Your SEO specialist will submit your targeted keywords to Google and Yahoo for a small fee.  This fee is worth it and will drive a desired target market towards your website.  Try to develop and submit keywords that may be searched by your potential consumers.  Walk in their shoes and you will find your keyword answers!

URL Re-Writing:  Highly experienced SEO specialists will recommend that you re-write each of your website URLS to be more keyword heavy.  The url of your website will actually contain the title of the webpage, instead of just displaying a content key (i.e. asp?=363). If you have a large dynamic site containing pages that generate content based on certain criteria, you’ll definitely need to implement this strategy.

Recommended Content:  Recommended content is not just for the Amazon.coms and the ebay.coms.  This tactic is widely used by SEO specialists as well, which give them a unique opportunity to repeat a particular keyword or product multiple times via multiple links, which help index your site on Google and Yahoo for that particular content.  If you’re doing this sort of stuff, you’re in the elite SEO website class

Other Strategies:  There are an ever changing laundry list of strategies that can be utilized to make your site a strong SEO site.  Make sure your vendor has the resources available to keep up with the everchanging search engine rules. 

What will it cost?  This depends on your website.  Generally, a small website should cost anywhere from $1000 - $2000 dollars for SEO, with a potential re-occuring yearly fee.  A larger website with many dynamics could cost around $10,000 for SEO, but your returns will be well worth it if performed correctly. 

IS SEO right for your website?  Does a human need air to breathe?  YES.  SEO is something that can provide strong ROI, with little manual effort.  It is quite costly, but if you care to have your website be an integral part of your business, SEO is a MUST.

SEO can be a confusing are for many, and we understand that.  Please feel free to contact us at Support@SABAsearch.com or Rikin Shah of Concept Infoway at Rikin@conceptinfoway.net for more information on this topic.  We would be glad to help out.

What is the one thing that makes or breaks your business within the South Asian community in Houston, or for any South Asian community for that matter?  If you don’t know the answer to this question, then you need to ask your brown neighbor ASAP!Every business owner knows that he/she must master the “word of mouth” marketing strategy prior to rolling out any product or service to the South Asian community.   But why is our community so black and white?  Why do businesses owners have to put extra efforts into ensuring their business image is well taken care of by their South Asian customers?  Here are the golden explanations behind our theories, and we, SABAsearch.com, do accept any monetary “gifts” from non South Asian businesses who may benefit greatly from the disclosure of this highly valuable information

OK, so here it is:  South Asians work in very tight networks, and strongly rely upon each other to disclose prior experiences before going through it themselves.  We expect our fellow community members to open doors for us and share their knowledge, not because we cannot learn it for ourselves, but because that is what’s written in our “unwritten” laws.  This culture was established by the first group of first generation Indian immigrants who came to the U.S with $5 dollars in their pockets and a phone number to call as soon as they landed at LaGuardia airport.  The man who picked up your first immigrant family member was somebody who reaped the same cultural benefits 3 months before.   But what comes around goes around, and if you help another, you reap some benefit at some point in the future - mutually beneficial.

From that point forward, the South Asian communities within the U.S. have thrived and become powerful through the sharing of knowledge, which is a strong component of any successful business practice or organization.  If something is harmful, we know about it by noon.  If something is great, we know about it by 3pm and use it to our advantage.  When there is something that is being given away for FREE, we learn about the loophole so we can get it 3 times over

So, what does this mean for businesses looking to pierce this transparent market?  Simple:  Make sure you serve the South Asian community with the 3 F’s.  Be Flexible, Be Friendly and be FREE.

Be Flexible - Get ready to bargain.  More than likely, the client coming to your door has more information about you than you know.  If you’re not flexible, you’re not winning their business.  Save your shirt, but don’t steal theirs.

Be Friendly - If you make a friend with a South Asian customer, you’ve just made friends with 10.  If you send a customer out of the door in a bad mood, you’ve just lost 10 customers.  South Asians highly regard friendships as a trust factor.  Make a friend, make a buck.

Be FREE - Yes I said it, be FREE.  Let certain individuals within the South Asian community experience your product or service for FREE or at a deep discount.  We love FREE stuff, and it’s a great way to get your product strategically placed on the next train to South Asian consumer loyalty.  But be careful, make sure you put limitations around your FREE offer.

Word of mouth marketing is definitely IN within the South Asian community.  Master the art of spreading a strong word about your business within the South Asian community and you’ll be impressed with the ROI, with the Investment being the simple execution of the three F’s.  If your image has been tarnished by disgruntled South Asians, don’t leave it alone.  Fix it!  Make an extra effort to win over the those South Asian consumers and you’ll benefit from your efforts tenfold.