This is Entrepreneur.com’s top 10 list of small business website accessories.  Stay focused, simple and make sure you search engine optimize.

1. A clear description of who you are
Someone who stumbles upon your website shouldn’t have to do investigative work to figure out what, exactly, it is that you do. That means clearly stating your name and summing up your products or services right on the homepage, says John Zhuang, of Web-design and SEO-optimization firm Winning Interactive.

2. A simple, sensible Web address
Don’t make things complicated.

“Your domain name is like your brand. It should be easy for a user to type it into a Web browser or an e-mail address,” says Ron Wright, the founder of business Web design and online marketing firm Accentix.

3. An easily-navigated site map
Clear links to the most important pages, and a site map, are crucial for guiding visitors to the information they’re looking for.

“Be sure your navigation is clearly laid out. I always recommend using drop downs in the navigation menu so the visitor can see the content under every heading from virtually any page. You want to make it very easy for your visitors to find what they are looking for, or what you want them to know,” Wright suggests.

4. Easy-to-find contact information
You wouldn’t want to lose a customer to a competitor just because you made it difficult for them to get in touch with you.

“Not every online visitor has the patience to click through every page on your website to find the contact information,” says Zhuang

5. Customer testimonials
Honest words from others help make your products or services more tangible to customers who are visiting you online.

“They help your potential customers to build trust in you, especially if you are new,” Zhuang says. “[And they] help shoppers to confirm whether the product [or] services meet their needs.”

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Here are a few business networking strategies that Dian Helbig reviewed on smallbiztrends.com.

1. Identify where you should go. All venues are not right for all people. You owe it to yourself to do your research and find the venues that make sense for your business.

2. Make a decision about which organizations you should join and which you don’t have to join in order to gain value from their events. For example, does it make sense to join a local chamber of commerce, or just go to the events that sound interesting and will most likely include people you should meet?

3. Register for the event and schedule it like a business meeting. Many people either don’t sign up for events or sign up for them and then forget to go.

4. Determine how often you should be networking in a given week, month or quarter. This will help you narrow down where you should be going.

5. Develop open-ended questions you can use to ignite a conversation. Try to find unique questions; don’t ask the same old “So, what do you do?” if you can help it.

6. Attend events with a plan to learn something new. This will keep you from talking too much about yourself and your business.

7.Prepare yourself physically and mentally for the event.

• Dress appropriately.
• Bring business cards.
• Turn your phone off or set it to vibrate.

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In a recent article on MinuteManNewsCenter.com, self-owned businesses now make up about 80 percent of the GDP. Some experts contend that the success of small business owners will play a critical part in leading the country out of this economic crisis. A Merrill Lynch New Retirement Survey conducted in 2005, revealed that Baby Boomers would reinvent retirement and start news businesses in their later years.

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In a recent post by Ivan Miser on Entrepreneur.com, Miser highlights 10 networking questions from his friend, Bob Burg. He encourages everyone to use these tips when networking with others.

Bob Burg’s 10 Networking Questions That Work Every Time

1.  How did you get started in the (______) business?

2.  What do you enjoy most about your profession?

3.  What separates you and your company from the competition?

4.  What advice would you give someone just starting out in the (______) business?

5.  What one thing would you do with your business if you knew you could not fail?

6. What do you see as the coming trends in the (______) business?

7.  What significant changes have you seen take place in your profession through the years?

8.  Describe the strangest or funniest incident you’ve experienced in your business?

9.  What ways have you found to be the most effective for promoting your business?

10.  What one sentence would you like people to use in describing the way you do business?

I would like to share an article published by Jennifer Wang of Entrepreneur Magazine which reflects on creative new age techniques that one entrepreneur has used to get his business noticed. Alex Calderwood has created a new style of urban hotel which is pitched not as a place to stay while on vacation or business trips, but as a lifestyle.

Calderwood’s visionary ideas, to name a few, incorporate the option for guests to purchase a hotel room that comes with a Brita water filter and a pair of special edition Converse sneakers.  ”Ace Hotels reflect Calderwood’s individualistic spirit. Seattle’s Ace–the chain’s first–is like nowhere you’ve stayed before. Located in a bustling downtown bar district, the hotel has unobtrusive double glass doors that open onto a flight of stairs leading up to the front desk and narrow hallways that resemble a modern art installation.

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The road to becoming successful has always been hard, but here are four steps to ensure entrepreneur success by Entrepreneur.com author Kim Kiyosaki titled “The Four Keys to Raising Capitol”.  ”The key to raising money, whether it’s to start or expand your business or to purchase and operate a rental property, comes down to four factors:”

The Project

The Partners

The Financing

The Management

“If you can show a prospective lender or investor that you have command over these four pieces of the puzzle, then selling will not be an issue, and you will attract more money than you thought possible.”

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Owning your own business can have its ups and downs. It is nice to be in charge, make your own schedule, and be flexible with how your spend your time within the company. Creating a business plan is very important in the beginning, setting goals for the company and understanding where you want to see your company in the future are very important strategies to implement.

TheNetworkJournal.com wrote an article about keys to owning your own business. Below are some of the tips that I found to be helpful

Follow Your Passion
Select a business that allows you to work in your “passion” field. For example, if your passion involves preparing meals for large groups of people, you could open a restaurant, banquet hall or fast-food stand. Working in your area of passion will motivate you to meet your goals and to “hang in there” when customer support lags or access to capital stalls. Passion will also help you to commit to the success of your firm.

Writer and mountaineer, W. H. Murray, put it well when he said, “Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation) there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issue from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way.”

Create a Business Plan
Dedicate one month to writing your business plan. Anne Wenzel, CEO of Econosystems (a consulting firm for small businesses) states that, “To successfully create an effective business plan and strategy document, you should commit to setting aside several hours of uninterrupted time each week for several weeks.” Include the following areas in your business plan: Overall Summary, Mission Statement, Company History and Executive Team, Marketing Plan, Financial Statements and Market Analysis.

Of the above business plan components, it is market analysis that will help you to measure the public’s appetite for products and/or services that you offer. Market analysis includes demographics about your potential customers (i.e. age, gender, hobbies, marital status). Market analysis also includes market trend studies and the numbers of competitors in your industry.If you start a company in a saturated market, you could still achieve success by focusing on unique and distinguishing identifiers that your business possesses. For example, you could offer a product or service differently. Amazon.com did this when they offered books at discount prices for sale over the Internet. They recently extended their offerings when they rolled out Kindle, a tool that allows readers to enjoy a story with the click of a button. For more information about business plans, check out the Small Business Administration’s “Small Business Planner” section.

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A credit score is very important. Having a poor credit score can reflect and even restrain you from purchasing things you both want and need to survive. A credit score scale is what measures your actual credit score and explains the impact.

There are several factors involved with a credit score. The FICO score is a number that ranges from 0 to 780. A good credit score is one that is above 620. Not making payments on time and collection accounts reflect poorly on credit scores.

Below is a helpful video about how to rebuild your credit score.

For those of you who are unaware of what a 401k is. It is a savings plan that allows employees to contribute a fixed amount of income to a retirement account and defer taxes until withdrawal. 401k is incredibly important to maintain throughout the years. So when you retire you have a way to survive after employment.

Below is a informational video about how you can take advantage of your 401K.

Each year, big and small businesses alike strive to achieve the “best place” to work at status. So, what does it take to win this high honor?  It’s not always about free coffee, donuts and days off.  In fact, it is much more than that. It is how the employees feel, how they are treated by superiors and how comfortable they feel in the workplace.

Here is the list from Entrepreneur.com, naming the best small businesses to work at in 2010.

1. Dixon Schawbl

Location: Victor, N.Y.
Employees: 82
www.dixonschwabl.com

2. Radio Flyer

Location: Chicago, Ill.
Employees: 55
www.radioflyer.com

3. Badger Mining Corp.

Location: Berlin, Wis.
Employees: 156
www.badgerminingcorp.com

Complete List