Good Business Ideas

Will 2019 be your best business year yet? To get you started I'd like to share some good business ideas with you. I hope that the tips here will help you achieve your dreams for the New Year.

Start with your Goals

Setting measurable goals for your business is critical. Until you know exactly what you want to achieve and how you plan to go about achieving it, your chance of business success in 2012 will be dismal. Having coached many small business owners I have found that the lack of clear and measurable goal is the most consistent factor for business failure. The formula that I give in my small business course is:

"I am going to achieve Goal 'A' on this date by practising that initiative"

Without setting and following up on measurable goals you will not be able to see if what you believe are good ideas can be turned into actual profitable business ideas. This point is important for any business but it is absolutely critical if your are still at the stage of working with your startup business ideas.

Test your customer's needs.

Regardless of what your business is, product, service or information your objective should be to solve a problem that faces your customers. You test this by using surveys, marketing software or a simple face to face chat. The latter is usually the best way if you have on offline business. For example, when I started a hospitality business I had found an ideal location but it wasn't until I started asking my customers for feedback that I realised what was missing in what I had to offer. Once I saw a trend it was easy enough to introduce some changes that served my customers' need and as a result my occupation rates improve dramatically. The main thing to remember is that customer's needs change and getting continual feedback is a must.

Create a strong message.

Once you know what your customers' needs are and how your product or service will fill the gap you need to create a strong message that communicates the benefits of your solution. If you have a logo or banner that you are currently using, check that it conveys the right message. The most important thing to remember here is that your message must at first glance convey the immediate benefits of what you have to offer. That first impression is the one that can make or break your business. This principle applies to both online and offline businesses.

If your business is online, the banner of your blog or web page should include a meaningful logo and an encapsulation of the benefits of what you have to offer should be above the fold of your landing page. There are similar requirements for a strong message for an offline business. The logo on your business card, in your shop window or on your brochures is the first thing that potential customers will notice. If it's not meaningful you already lose a large percentage of your audience immediately. The text on any physical advertising material should follow the same "above the fold" principle as the website for an online business. Your customers will only look at the first few lines, usually no more than 10 centimetres of text, to decide subconsciously if what they've read so far is interesting enough to warrant further reading. And of course, don't forget that all important picture! People love pictures and a few eye-catching ones scattered throughout your message will keep the interest going for much longer than something that is just dull and boring text.

Keep in touch.

Keeping in touch with your customers without being seen to be pushy is one of the main factors in achieving ongoing business success. Make sure that you collect email addresses for both actual and potential customers and communicate on a regular basis. This could take the form of a simple email announcing product or service upgrades, a newsletter with interesting topics relating the your products and services, announcements of special deals, etc. It is important though that this type of communication should be at least 80% information and no more than 20% sales. Keep your customers' attention by giving them regular useful information and they will also most likely look at your sales communications. Overdo it with the sales spiel and you'll soon get a large number of unsubscribe requests.

Most businesses that work online are aware of this and are practising this at least up to a reasonable level. Many offline businesses however fail miserably on this score. Let's face it, when was the last time that you received an email from your local restaurant telling you about some terrific new menus or flavours that have been introduced? I'm certain that if you ever did receive a communication of this nature you would be far more inclined to visit the restaurant and you would also be much more likely to tell your friends about it. Why don't many restaurant owners do this? Habit! Suggesting to guests that they might like to leave their email address so they can get information such as menu changes or special recipes simply doesn't cross their minds. Quite a few offline businesses now have blogs or Facebook pages but remember, if that is your only marketing approach, you a are just one of many. Keeping in touch with your customers on a personal basis tends to be far more effective.

Monitor and Adjust.

Once you have implemented the first 4 steps at the beginning of the year, don't forget to monitor your progress. Are you staying on target with your goals? Letting this slip is one of the worst mistakes that any business owner can make. You can always adjust your goals on the proviso that you have been monitoring your progress regularly and that the reasons for the changes are valid ones that will benefit your business success.

REMEMBER, transforming your 2012 dreams into good business ideas and making this your best year yet is easily achievable if you use the right building blocks to step up to business success!

New to the Business Scene? Consider Getting a Business Coach

Most of the time, small businesses are big with locals or their specific targeted market. When the time comes that their owners might want to expand, some business person feel that they've hit a dead end and do not know what further steps to take. When this happens, business owners should consider getting coaching from an expert in the industry. Coaches can help provide the steps to turning a small business into something bigger and better. Getting a coach who knows how to provide new perspectives can help entrepreneurs to develop a better skill in creating fresh ideas for the future of their business. An owner should not be frustrated about finding ways to boost up the interest of prospective customers and keep the loyalty of their current clients. Working with a business coach can encourage an owner's drive to run a business and take care of it.

So what does a business coach do? In a nutshell, they help establishment owners with their business by helping them create the path that they want their business to go to. They asses and see what they can do to make the current situation better and provides professional advices to the establishment owner so that they can plan a strategy for their business. They work with what the business currently has and develop the potential of the business. In a way, we can say that business coaches are like advisors for business owners. Business coaches can provide owners with the knowledge of how they can manage their business and employees better. They can also teach business owners how they can keep their clients and get new ones with the correct marketing and PR approach.

When an owner has a coach, he or she must not rely on the coach alone to make their business prosper. A coach should be a consultant, someone who has already been in the business for some time and has experienced a lot. A business person needs to listen to the coach while expressing their ideas about the business. For someone who is experiencing how to run a business for the first time, a coach will make it easier.

When choosing a coach, consider the following things:

- Successful clients.

How many people has this coach helped with their business?

- Is the coach trustworthy?

There are a lot of scam artist out there. Be careful about this since you will be placing a part of your futures business in this person's hands.

- Can you afford a coach?

- Have you prepared the things that you want to discuss over with the coach? Things like questions, plans, fears, goal etc.

How To Grow Your Business Safely

As a business owner you are always looking for ways to grow your business, and as you begin to increase sales and sense new opportunities it is not unusual for your thoughts to turn to expansion. But unplanned expansion can be as dangerous to your business as no growth at all.

Fast growth can destabilize a business giving its owners a false sense of security while the additional sales volumes can eat up more working capital than expected.

If you are aiming for business expansion, keep these things in mind.

Watch Your Overheads

The biggest danger in running a business expansion program is the loss of profit that comes from uncontrolled spending when you are just too busy to keep track of what is happening. Overhead expenses that were under control in the stable business situation can grow rapidly to cover the extra expenses associated with a bigger scale of operations - transport, inventory, rental on larger storage space, and all the rest will eat into your working capital levels if not watched closely.

Track Your Profit Margins

You would normally expect that you can increase sales volumes and achieve the same profit margin, or even better since overheads will be spread across a greater amount of sales income and because the cost of goods goes down as you buy in greater quantities But this is not always the case. Additional sales often come with unanticipated costs and reduced efficiencies that can actually decrease your margins. You need to regularly track your profit margins to see if you are really growing or just running faster to stay in the same place.

Employ Strategically

As you grow your business it seems natural to hire more people but a sudden influx of new employees can introduce problems ranging from changing the dynamics among the old team and creating morale problems to higher insurance and employee benefits costs. Consider alternatives such as retraining some of the existing employees to pick up new tasks, taking on freelancers and temps or maybe even outsourcing some of the work. Balance your use of temps against the training investment they require and the skills you will really need to have on tap in the business because these people will take their knowledge and skills with them when they leave.

 Don't Underestimate Cash Flow Requirements

A growing business is hungry for cash to fund higher debtor and inventory levels as well as increased overheads and capital investments. Typically, most small business owners will seek a business loan to expand operations. But the danger here is that if the expansion doesn't go according to plan then the business can very easily end up in the red with a bad credit record. Look for the cheapest and most flexible source of funds from accredited providers and have a detailed and realistic projection of income and outflows to fully understand your need for funding.

Keep Customers Loyal

Good customer service is what drives your business success, but ironically it is also one of the first things that tends to be forgotten when businesses go into expansion mode. Employees get caught up in the ramping-up activities and lose track of what is happening with customers. So the very customer service that helped you grow your business in the first place becomes difficult to sustain and customer defection occurs. Securing new business through the growth phase can also be hard to factor in to activities. The key to retaining customers is to maintain adequate staffing levels that ensure current customers continue to receive the attention and service that has made you their supplier of choice.

Forecast Cash Flow

Sudden business expansion can involve a heavy investment to handle the production of new orders that won't translate into cash in the bank for some time. In the meantime the business still has to pay its creditors. Poorly managed or inadequate cash flow is a major cause of expansion failure. Building a strong understanding of your cash flow needs when going into a period of rapid growth will make the process much less dangerous to the business' survival.

Avoid Disagreement Among Owners

Multi-ownership can pose its own threats to the success of an expansionary drive. Ownership arrangements that have functioned effectively prior to expansion activity can become increasingly problematic. As business issues become more complex the views of different owners on such things as how to run the business and their vision of where it should be going may diverge and introduce a conflict at the very top level.

Particularly hard to deal with is the situation that arises when the expansion takes the management of operations beyond the competence of one of the owners so that they are no longer making an effective contribution. When this happens the departure of one or more partners may be necessary to establish a unified direction for the growing business.

To succeed, you must find a way to grow your business and you shouldn't shy away from growing just because there are challenges involved. Businesses don't fail because they grow. They fail because they don't manage their growth or grow their managers. There's no substitute for expanding according to a sound business plan.

Reasons For Starting A Home Internet Business

Why start a home internet business? People start businesses for various reasons. Many times when people think of starting a business, their mind easily focuses on ideas of doing conventional businesses. Not many people have known how profitable online businesses are. Through this, I would like to point out some of the reasons as to why you should start a home internet business.

1. Make money

The major reason for starting a home internet business is to make money. The internet has opened great opportunities to many people to make money. In fact, the richest men in the world have made their fortune from the computer and the internet. Luckily, home internet businesses do not require much in terms of investment. Just having a computer, internet access and products to sell are enough to start your online business.

2. Enjoy your hobby

Are you friends with the computer and the internet? If so then a home internet business is the best business for you. Although making money is the prime reason for starting a business, you can best benefit from it if you are passionate about it? Passion is the fuel to success in home internet businesses.

3. Keep yourself busy after retrenchment or retirement from active service.

Most people start home internet businesses to prepare themselves for retirement or retrenchment. If you are currently employed with a good salary but you are worried of retirement or being retrenched unexpectedly, the best advice for you is to start and grow slowly your business.

4. Fulfilling your desire of working for yourself.

Are you employed but dissatisfied with your current pay and the treatment you get at your work? Are you looking for financial freedom? Starting a home internet business will not only create a reliable opportunity for you to become self employed, but it will also enable you to create multiple streams of income. Remember that relying on one source of income is like putting all your eggs in one basket. When you fall, you lose all your eggs. Most successful online marketers had the same experiences, which forced them to start slowly their home internet businesses.

5. Using savings accumulated over some years.

Online business does not require much money to start. If you have saved some money and you are looking for where to invest it profitably, starting a home internet business is one of the most economic, profitable and convenient ways of investing your savings.

6. Experiencing challenges in businesses.

Are you looking forward to work or businesses that give you some challenges? Online businesses provide a lot of room for creativity. Yes, coming across challenges in life is healthy and enables many people to unlock their mind.

7. Creating a job for yourself and other family members.

Starting a home internet business can open great opportunities for you to create jobs for your family members just from your home with your computer and internet connection.

8. Render better services and develop your community.

Are you looking for jobs for the people in your community? The internet has great opportunities for all people of walks of life. You can start now your home internet business, develop it and finally use it to train and create jobs for other people in your community. For instance, you can create article writing jobs for the youth to write articles in different fields of their expertise, which you can buy and use them for your online marketing campaigns. You can only be limited by your own imagination.

9. Practicing gained skills and knowledge.

Are you skilled in anything related to online business such marketing and web designing? Are you looking forward to putting into practice your skills and knowledge? When you start a home internet business, you have high chances of succeeding. Prior knowledge is an advantage in business and it puts you ahead of others in business.

10. Establishing online your conventional business.

Do you already have a business like a salon, internet café, restaurant or something? Taking your business to another level by establishing it online is a very wise idea. Apart from selling only your products, you will widen your sources of income by selling online other affiliate products related to your home internet business niche.

Making a Success of an Online Business Opportunity

The Internet can be an amazing place where money can be made and dreams, big or small, can come true. But conversely, and sadly all too often, the Internet can also be a heart-breaking place where money can be lost and dreams dashed for ever.

For anyone who is seeking to make those first steps into making money on the internet, the start to their success should be to first ensure that they are not bamboozled and romanced by all the hype from the so-called Internet marketing experts and their like, who say that fortunes can be made overnight - because they simply cannot. These are just ploys to buy their products.

There is no silver bullet, no quick trick to Millionaire star status, but there are ways of making money online with a little bit of effort and work, and the sooner this is understood and accepted the sooner anyone new, or even not so new, to online money-making will be able to make their own way on the internet and reap the rewards of their own success.

To be really successful on the internet you have to put the effort in and work at it - it's as simple as that!

Every successful business opportunity has to have a clear focus - the who, what, why, where and when, with motivation being the reason behind the focus and discipline being the rules you must set yourself to ensure you succeed throughout the whole process.

Motivation is what makes us get out of bed in the mornings, whether it's to go to a job we like, go off on holiday, play a round of golf or work on an online project in our spare time. Being successful in making money on the internet demands motivation in the first instance in wanting to be successful with your online product or service, otherwise why are you even trying? The motivation may be that you need to make more money than you have already have or you may see this as a way of being your own boss, whatever the motivation it's the "something" that is driving you into doing it. A sustained motivation is the key to eventual success as there will surely be distractions and challenges along the way but as long as you stay motivated then you will not be swayed or deflected from your ultimate focus and goals. An added bonus that will keep your motivation more rock solid is passion! If you have a passion for a specific subject whether it be a sport, hobby or pastime for example and you make this the core of your online business then you will be off to the best possible start. Motivation comes a lot easier when it involves something you love and are passionate about.

Being motivated to do something is the first positive driver to success but this should be directed by a clear Focus of achievable goals otherwise it will diminish and the initial drive for success will be lost.

Focus on what you want the end result of your online work to look like, your vision if you like. It may be that you want to sell 1000 of your new online products, or publish 500 articles on your chosen subject, or broker 100 joint ventures. Keep your overall focus and do not allow yourself to be swayed or side tracked by the many online distractions as well as offline ones that will take up your time and cloud your focus.

Consider the, who, what, why, where and when principles of the new business opportunity and the focus for all of your efforts. For example:

Who - are you selling this to? Is there a market for this opportunity - do the research and make sure you target the relevant audience.

What - is it you are selling? Ebook, DVD, Software, - a product or service, make sure it is the correct media for your target audience.

Why - do people want it? It must fulfil a need. Research the need and formalize your product to meet that need.

Where - are you going to sell it? On your own website, on Ebay, on Amazon. Select best places for maximum exposure.

When - is it a seasonal product? No point in selling swim wear in winter!

These are all key aspects in the creation and selling of anything and it's no different on the internet. These are all individual areas of focus and goals which need to be considered when building your overall online business opportunity, whether you are selling your own product or someone else's.

Keep the focus by setting yourself achievable goals not pie in the sky dreams of becoming a multi-millionaire by Christmas. Keep it real!

Put in place some simple disciplines that will help you reach these goals and manage your time affectively. Some of these disciplines should include:

Work in a place where you will not be disturbed by telephones or people wanting your attention.

Allow yourself a set amount of time within which to work on your idea, for example 1 or 2 hours a day - and stick to it. This will keep your mind fresh and ensure you maintain a reasonable work-life balance. Do not use this time to check your emails, read newsletters and any other internet chore that you might already do on a daily basis. Keep your business opportunity work time sacrosanct.

Do not set yourself impossible time scales but try to complete your goals within a reasonable time to ensure the work is moving forwards to its successful conclusion.

Don't be overwhelmed if the amount of work associated with the business opportunity seems immense. Plan your work in easy manageable lots. Remember the old adage "How do you eat an elephant"? the answer is, one bite at a time. So, break up your total work package into smaller, more manageable lots of mini focuses and goals and complete each one before moving onto the next and the whole package will be completed before you realise it.

Some Business Solutions Don't Seem Right

I discover myself coming up with something new all of the time. Most of my business solutions revolve around my center mission, but lately I followed somebody who I trusted into one of those business ideas that seemed "in line" with my mission at first, but as time passed, it just didn't feel suitable. I wasn't enjoying what I was doing and lost heart in it completely. This is a partnership that just didn't work for me. Has anything like this happened to you before?

How invested are you in your own company solutions?

When you get into these circumstances, there is always some amount of investment. Not simply did I invest money, but I was emotionally invested at the same time. As usual with all of my hair-brained business ideas, I put my heart and soul into it. Does this scenario sound familiar? I couldn't see the forest for the trees; it's practically like being in love. You know, like when you can't see anything wrong with the other person you're in love with because you are "feeling the love". This situation has happened to me a handful of times since being in business since 1995. So, I am now really able to hone in on the moment this starts happening. Even after all of these many years in business and dealing with this situation over and over, I continue to maintain an open mind to business ideas, but I have become better at figuring out the moment they aren't going to perform.

This particular time around, it literally took 2 weeks until I started to become acutely conscious that the business solution was moving in a direction that I didn't like. The older I get, the better I become at learning quickly the moment a business idea is just not likely to work out. It's funny how being an entrepreneur involves "gut feelings". I know entrepreneurs that pick up on this immediately while other people pick up on those feelings over time. I really feel it's an issue of practical experience.

Listed below are a few things that I've learned that can help you move on from business solutions that don't work.

Revisit or re-read your small business mission. Frequently you'll find out that business ideas that seemed suitable to you at the time are genuinely not in line with your business model.

Remain open-minded even if you may be emotionally invested. You have to recognize difficulties as they arise as well as being conscious if it's heading in the wrong direction.

Listen to that inner voice. I know that seems odd, but most entrepreneurs typically know when there's a red flag in business. So, don't ignore it. I've got a very dear friend that did ignore these voices and ended up losing everything to the point of bankruptcy.

Know when problems appear if they can be corrected in a way that makes your life better or not. Business ideas shouldn't be so problematic that you can't enjoy living. So, if you see that one of your business ideas which has one problem after the other, it's likely not really worth the headache.

Some business ideas go against You, Inc.

I recall there was a time for me when all I thought about was the financial element of the new business ideas that I started. I only stepped out and refocused after a period of time when the money was not what I believed it could be and wasn't really worth my time. As time progressed, I've learned that money is an important aspect to an entrepreneur. Ideally, that money is used for reinvesting into business ideas that do work. Having said that, realizing when the business ideas don't make you satisfied may be the ideal way to determine when to move on. Money doesn't particularly have anything to do with happiness to that degree. This is a widespread misconception about business entrepreneurs. It's not simply all about the money.

Top 8 Reasons You Need A Business Plan

There are, in reality, three primary reasons you need to have a business plan. Publishers, and a certain number of consumers, like to see Top 10 lists, so I arbitrarily chose Top 8 Reasons, just to be different.

Gleaned from years of working with a variety of business in putting market strategies and business plans together, here are three of the main benefits to you, as a business owner, for having a business plan:

1) Risk Prevention. What? If you've been in business for any length of time, and paid for advertising to promote your business, can you quantify how much revenue that advertising has generated for your business? Spending ad dollars to reach potential consumers is a risky gamble that can be prevented with a little research, identification of your market, and an effective marketing strategy. These are all elements of your business plan.

Unfortunately, a majority of business owners fall prey to the "marketing consultants" who sell radio or TV time or space in a magazine or newspaper. Don't get me wrong, they are all excellent media resources for conveying a message to consumers, but each one has a unique delivery system, targeted audience, and ability to be effective. That's why you'll hear the representative say, "There are no guarantees."

However, if you know your target market and their preferred method of receiving advertising messages they will respond favorably to, your choices for advertising become much more simple. Your ratio of success and odds of increasing sales go up exponentially. That's one way your plan helps you prevent risk... and lose money!

Another aspect of preventing risk that your plan provides is the development of strategies to handle a down economy or reduced demand for your product or unforeseen circumstances or market trends. When you take the time to think things through and put them into a plan, you create solutions to problems you may only envision happening. Better to do this in advance instead of waiting until it happens. You then know how to react and don't have to waste time figuring out what to do. The plan goes into action without delay.

2) Management Tool. Yes. Operating a business requires sound management principles and effective managers. One of the key elements a bank or lending institution looks at in providing financing for a business is the strength of the management team. Strong managers are confident in making difficult decisions, and that is important to the bank. If payroll needs to be reduced, lenders like to know the decision will be made for the good of the company and its bottom line.

What management needs, therefore, is a management tool to provide guidance, determine strategies, and effect changes if necessary. This is where the business plan plays a vital role. With a well-defined budget, a pivotal element of a business plan, managers have a tool they can use every month to assess the company's performance. If sales projections are less than expected, management can implement corrective actions to improve the results. If the plan is well thought out and written with action plans that deal with uncertainties, management succeeds in turning the negative influence around.

On the reverse, if sales are better than projected, management can make adjustments to production or inventory control to meet the increased demand.

The point is that your business plan should be an ever-changing document, part of the fluid process of managing your business effectively with the right tools.

Evaluate the definition of your products and/or services at least twice a year. Do you have sufficient margin to operate in the black? How does your pricing compare to the competition across the board? Is there enough strength to keep your prices where they are and retain the business against competitive influences?

We worked with one client who was afraid to raise prices. She felt she would alienate and therefore lose customers. When we explained that without an increase she would be unable to keep the doors open, and that would eliminate all customers, she understood and raised prices.

There are times when you are working so hard you forget the reason you're in business to begin with; the adage that you fail to see the forest for the trees is applicable. Get some outside help so you have other eyes to help you take the time to think and see golden opportunities in front of you.

3) Financing. In the economic era of Frank-Dodd legislation, banks and credit unions need to see a business plan to extend a line of credit or provide financing for your business endeavor. There are exceptions, of course.

One of our clients had gone to the bank with his updated business plan and got his line of credit extended. When he went back for financing to add an additional location, he figured he needed another update. The bank told him they were so impressed with his original update they were fine with that version of his plan. He got the funds to open a new store.

Since the economic downturn of 2008, government intervention in the banking and financial business has stifled the growth of our economy. The Fed wants banks to loan money, but keep a certain percentage of their assets in reserve funds. The result is the banks have to be more selective in the types of lending they underwrite, and as they take steps forward, there is an auditor or inspector watching every move and controlling where they can invest. It can be daunting for a business owner.

There are countless stories of business owners having a long-term relationship with a bank that comes to an end because the bank is divesting itself of those types of customers and loan portfolios. The owner stands in the street wondering which way to turn. She may have to work with a banker that is less than receptive to her operations, hopes, and dreams for her business.

The importance here is that the business plan needs to have realistic projections, and the business owner must be able to explain where the numbers came from, how they were arrived at, and how they will be met. If you fail to have the answer, your odds of getting financing are greatly reduced.

Just so you can say there were 8, here are 5 more reasons to have a business plan:

4) Create a new business.

5) Sell your existing business.

6) Share and explain business objectives with management.

7) Valuation of your business for formal transactions, such as estate transfer.

8) Deal with professionals.

10 Top Social Networking Sites For Internet Success

Years ago businesses and people were two very separate entities. As people moved around, offices cut down on socialization, people changed jobs more frequently, social networking started growing. It slowly from just individuals talking to each other to individuals talking about companies. Fans started clubs and fan pages until the companies realized they needed to utilize this phenomenon. For Internet success, you may want to utilize these sites as well, but it helps to know what sites are available.

Blogs

First known as a way for people to talk about life, these are now a great way to share updates and special information. Websites and businesses of all sizes are adding blogs to share information and build a loyal following. The leader in this social media house is WordPress hosted on your own website.

Light Blogging

These are up and coming sites that are in between Twitter and a full blog. Often these are more casual than a regular blog as well. Tumblr and Posterous are the top sites in this market. You can quickly add pictures, write short posts, or share a link and they are contained on your page.

Twitter

In 140 characters or less, update your followers. Let them know about a sale, a new product or share quotes. The more you share the more likely your followers are to visit your website and spend money with you.

Facebook

Started as a site for college students and employees of colleges it has grown to something much bigger. Fan pages, groups, it has a multitude of ways to help you get in front of people for Internet success. Remember the key is giving something away, be it information, advice, coupons or whatever else.

YouTube

Having videos is a great way to share more than words can say. Your viewers can see your product, hear your voice, and feel the excitement. If your product is your music then add some pictures and create a video. YouTube has grown substantially and will continue to do so.

Photo-Sharing Sites

Flickr and Picasa are both very popular. Rather than add your pictures just to your website you can add them on either of these. (You can protect the images to prevent downloads.) The big advantage is that you are creating additional ways for people to find you based on your keywords and as a social media site people are more inclined to share.

Other sites

One important thing about social networking sites is using what you enjoy. Find the sites you enjoy using or hire out the work. Social networking sites require being social, involving and communicating with others.