Running a successful business requires more than a good idea. It requires structure and processes to keep things and money flowing.

During the middle ages the most famous logos were coat of arms, which were first used on battlefields as a way to identify allied from enemy soldiers. The designs were a symbol unique to a person, family or kingdom, giving its owner an eye-catching visual representation. The principles employed back then still apply today.

Every business needs a logo to help set it apart, but not everyone is a designer or feels comfortable enough to create one on their own. So if that's you, below are a few tips to help you in the process when you hire an agency or designer to do the job for you.

Coping with stress is an invaluable skill for any work at home mom. The demands on your time and on you as a person never seem to end and there's always that one last thing that is left to do. How do you cope with the stress of running after kids, doing the laundry, making sure dinner is on the table, helping with homework, all the demands that are made on the time of a mother and still meet deadlines set by your clients? This is a skill that many moms are yet to learn and yet, one they really cannot afford to do without especially when they are work at home moms.

In coping with stress, it is important to learn how to prioritize. You have to realize that there is no how you can continue to meet all the household demands you were meeting before you decided to work at home. There are things that are going to be left undone and you just have to deal with that. The important thing is to make sure that the high priority stuff gets done and those that are important but not necessarily priority can get done sometime later. You will only overstretch yourself and add to your stress levels if you try to do everything at once.

In an age where we've all become reliant upon the likes of LinkedIn to make connections and find new leads, you'd have thought business events and local networking functions would have died of death. However, in the past few years, more entrepreneurs and businesspeople have looked to their neighbours and communities to source new channels of income and help progress their brand further.

So how do you get involved? While it's all well and good attending business expos and networking sessions, how do you get the best out of each opportunity? Here are ten top tips to help make your attendance high-impact.

Does your community consist of family and social obligations that have long ago lost their meaning or is it orchestrated around the things that excite you and tap into your passion?

When was the last time you questioned the assumptions you have made around your connections and your community? How much of your participation is based on what you think you should do vs. what you want to do? Any baby showers, birthdays or holidays that are spent in resignation instead of anticipation and full out enjoyment?

The recent launch of Google+ (or Google Plus as it is also called) has created quite a stir because people are eager to see whether the internet giant is able to put its unmistakable stamp on social networking with this latest offering. Google+ is this company's contribution to making connecting and networking on the internet easier than it currently is by removing a lot of the rigidity that many online tools possess. Vic Gundotra, the engineering head at Google put it very succinctly by saying that the objective has been to create software that makes online sharing as nuanced as real life sharing is.

Using social networking to increase sales and establish a reputation for your business is a very popular thing to do. Small online businesses are almost always connected to social networks, and there is a good reason to make these connections. Small businesses are fortunate enough that it could be free and very easy, as they are effective ways of increasing sales by increasing customers.

How could you use it to advertise, market and somehow manage your business?

When you are done optimizing your web page for a certain keyword, you still have a lot of work left to do. You will need to continue monitoring your search engine phrases and their progress, to track how each of them is performing, to test and evaluate. If, for a certain length of time, your chosen key phrase does not perform as you expected, namely does not bring traffic or new conversions, you should definitely modify it or change it altogether. In this process, it will help you to analyze your competition and see how they are handling their key phrases.

Whether you realize it or not, you're a salesperson. Every morning each of us goes out into the world and we sell. We sell our services and our brand to prospective buyers each time we interact with them. No matter who you are or which industry you're in, having a well thought out plan for converting your next lead into a sale is an absolute must!

Maybe you've been struggling for a while. You've got plenty of interest but no one is buying. I hear that a lot! It's easy to promote your services but not so easy to actually get the money from prospective buyers.

The S.E.C.R.E.T. to selling is a well laid out strategy that, when used correctly, not only converts leads to sales but also keeps a fresh supply of referrals coming to you on a regular basis! Are you ready for the S.E.C.R.E.T.? Are you ready to do what it takes to start turning leads into clients? Follow these six easy and effective tips for converting leads into sales and you'll never be without paying clients again!