About

 

Welcome to

Next Gen Biz Tools

 

Thanks for checking out the site!

 

 

Hi I'm Debra Lloyd and I figured it would be smart for me to take a few minutes here to let people know why I feel I'm qualified to review business tools and make recommendations for anyone who's maybe new to the online world, or just looking to promote, market and grow their online business.

 

My parents started their own business when I was six years old, so I grew up in that environment and for a long time really didn't know (or appreciate) what a leg up that gave me when it came to starting my own business.

 

I sort of grew into my first online business in the mid 90's I started by selling physical products that I manufactured, packed and shipped mostly to wholesale accounts. Those products were developed from the sticks and bricks (offline) business I owned at the time, I have to tell you I thought I'd discovered "business utopia" and went over to the ‘dark side’ (online) big time!

 

I was able to significantly reduce overhead costs and eliminate a lot of the challenges associated with my retail business, the costs of running a store – rent, utilities, carrying employees (with all the additional payroll taxes you have to pay for that too), vehicles yada, yada, yada.

 

It wasn't too long before I figured out that I could have another company provide fulfillment services by manufacturing and packaging the products for me. So I started selling wholesale via a very basic website. 

 

As selling on the web changed, my business model grew along with e-commerce and I was able to have a fulfillment house produce, package and ship out all my orders. Once I realized I didn't have to pick, pack and ship orders myself I quickly decided to sell retail direct from another website specifically aimed at the retail segment. That's when the magic really set in; my time was now free to focus on managing growth and marketing. That's eons ago in terms of the internet and since then I’ve built a number of sites that’s included AdSense, Affiliate and Membership models. 

 

In the time since I first started, I've tried many, if not most business tools and products in search of the best ways to develop, organize, manage and market my online ventures. I've made a ton of mistakes, some of them really expensive, but the main thing is I’ve learned a lot from every one of them. There are tons of resources out there, but sometimes it's tough, especially for a newbie, to figure out which ones work, which you really need and which are just cool looking toys or the tech equivalent of snake oil!

  

I’ve also been through the process of buying and selling my own offline and online businesses a few times. So when I was approached by a web business broker in 2008 who was starting a niche brokerage to specialize selling income generating web based businesses, you know I jumped at the chance to join them.

 

So (although I’m much younger than I may sound) I have tons of hands on experience identifying the characteristics of a good web based business, but more importantly, I love the challenge of seeking out and implementing strategies for growth.

 

I'm hoping that NextGenBizTools will develop into a community and eventually become a go-to-place for anyone looking for tips and tools to help them start, grow or better organize their web based business. I certainly hope you'll find the information here interesting and the resources helpful.

 

Go ahead and subscribe to the email feed, I'll send the latest posts as soon as they're published, be sure to follow us on Twitter & Facebook, but still bookmark the site too and come back often to find the best resources to help you achieve success with your online business or even just for a chat – comments welcome.

 

Here's to your sucess online today and always.

Cheers,