Small Business Center

Having good perspective is an important quality for small business owners. Small business people must see opportunities at the same time they keep a practical realistic view. They must be optimistic while being realistic and most importantly they must be able to see the forest despite the trees not distracted from seeing the big picture because of the many small details that go into running their business. For April 20, Small Business Trends looks at the blogs and news sources that follow the unique perspective of the small business owner and the entrepreneurial journey.

Strategy

That big picture thing. “It’s easy to forget you’re working on a car when your head is under the hood… ” Sometimes Internet marketers can get everything technically right and still miss the mark. Small Business CEO

So what is the real purpose of your business? You may think you know, but you may want to think again. The wrong answer may threaten your future. The Loft Group

Don’t have a Facebook fan page? You may be overlooking a HUGE opportunity to promote your business.  Albany Insurance Professional

Book Shelf

Marketing to the African American consumer. Pierre DeBois reviews Black is The New Green. Small Business Trends

Eco Trends

How green is your office? Watch this brief video survey of the latest eco friendly products that are good for the environment and even save you money. Open Forum Innovation

Operations

No new hires. Why, even with signs the economy may be rebounding, many small business owners may be reluctant to bring on additional staff. CFO Wise

Social media will change the way you run your company. It’s time to get into conversation mode and that means always responding. Flying Pig Communications

Sales

Five steps to endless prospecting. How to keep your business focused on always getting new clients. Sales Tip A Day

Looking for more customers in tough economic times? Uncle Sam may not be your best bet these days, according to one recent news report. WSJ

How selling your idea is like stand-up comedy. Here’s a great look at the perfect sales pitch…from a slightly cockeyed perspective. Right Ideas/Bright Ideas

Policy

What is the VAT or Value Added Tax? And why is it bad for both small business and America? Jim Blasingame

Forget Goldman Sachs. The government is scrutinizing small mom and pops instead. A study shows that despite pledges to crack down on big business excesses, the agency is targeting small business instead. NYTimes.com

Startups

Putting landlords and small business together. How one business is helping others find each other in the largest city on Earth. Is this the pattern for success elsewhere? WSJ

There are new rules for funding startups. After the financial crisis, investors will likely be writing smaller checks for smaller ventures. BusinessWeek

Events

How can small business use social media? What if you had at least one new prospect looking at your Website every day? The SmallBiz Social Media Summit will show you how, sponsored by both Small Business Trends and BizSugar.com. BizSugar Blog

One of the strongest trends in small business today is the emergence and adoption of technology.

If you’ve started or run a business in the last 10 years, there’s a good chance that you have turned to technology for help.  You may have created a spreadsheet to track leads.  You might use a desktop calendaring system to plan out your days.  You might use a web-based to-do/task list to keep on track.  There’s a good chance you’re now using a web-based email marketing system.  Hopefully you have a website by now.  If you sell products online you almost certainly have a shopping cart hooked into your website (which might be made up of a merchant account, PayPal, eBay and more).

But, is this new technology a friend or a foe?

As an entrepreneur growing a business, you’re bootstrapping it.  You’re finding amazing technology tools (many of them free or are low cost) to grow your business – that’s the right thing to do.  Each tool provides a new benefit to your business.  Some automate your work while others allow you to organize information so you can easily find it later.  Each tool makes your business run more smoothly and makes your life less chaotic.  Or does it?

Growing your business is extremely exciting. There comes a point when the business you dreamed of for so long is starting to blossom and success seems so close you can taste it.  But, that’s usually also when things start to go haywire.  Suddenly, the technology you turned to during your startup phase is now a jumbled pile of incompatible systems.  Your email program doesn’t work with your shopping cart and your spreadsheet of leads is definitely not in sync with your customer database.  Trying to find all the information you know about one of your customers is nearly impossible and very time consuming.

Here’s a great example – I know of one man who sent out an offer for a 50% discount to his prospect list, hoping to get a big boost in sales at the end of the month.   To his horror, he started getting phone calls from angry customers that had recently paid full price.  Since his systems weren’t in sync, he could not ensure that his past customers were not also in his prospect list.  This is a common problem called “Multiple System Chaos” – it can be crippling.  Small businesses don’t have the resources to integrate all the systems they use and they don’t have the luxury of time to chase down the information they need.

So, what can you do to combat multiple system chaos?  How do we stay sane when the very technology that houses our most important data is suddenly our enemy?

1. Awareness. The first step is to know that this problem is coming.  It usually hits most small business owners right in the face because they’re not expecting it.  Be aware that growth brings complexity – this will help you avoid costly mistakes.  Take stock of the systems you’re now using and those that you will need as you grow.
2. Plan. Once you’re aware of the complexity that will come as you grow, you can start planning for the future.  Planning will help you make well thought decisions about implementing technology before you have a problem on your hands.
3. Integrations. Today, there are many technology integrations that allow your systems to talk to each other, saving you time and headaches.  Make sure that you look for systems that can easily integrate with others.  Social media tools are great examples of this – I can post a status update on Twitter and it will automatically update my Facebook as well because they integrate with each other.  Find customer systems that do that same.
4. All-In-One Solutions. If you’re a serious entrepreneur and want to grow quickly, you’ll want to consider an all-in-one system built for small businesses.  There are several systems that include marketing automation, a customer database, a shopping cart and more.  These types of systems can save you time and money in the long run.  One of the recent developments in this area is the concept of “Email Marketing 2.0”.  Most email marketing systems don’t include a customer database, they only allow you to maintain lists of email addresses.  Email Marketing 2.0 is the marriage of email marketing with a customer database, allowing you to keep track of your customers and prospects, and send them timely, relevant emails.

If your appetite for growth is strong, you will run into multiple system chaos.  By being aware of the problem and planning for the future, you’ll avoid nasty mistakes and turn technology into your friend again.

Do you have a clear idea of your strengths and weaknesses as a business owner?

Knowing your style as a business owner can help you understand why you approach your business as you do. It can also help you change behaviors or compensate for weaknesses. That way, you can break through to a new level of growth.

The Growth Analyzer Quiz gives you insight into your style. I created the Quiz after having worked with and interviewed over 5,000 small business owners over a period of 20 years.

In most small businesses, the owner is the primary driver of business growth. The owner’s personality and style have a huge impact on the business’s growth and success. That’s certainly true in the case of sole proprietors. But it’s just as true in businesses with 5, 25 or 50 employees. That all begins to change once a businesses grows to $50 Million in revenues. At that point there is enough corporate-like structure in place with Boards and Management Teams to limit the effect of the business owner’s personality, eccentricities and sacred cows. But up until your business gets to that size, chances are you’re going to have to be good at working around your weaknesses and building on your strengths, if you want profitable growth.

That’s where the Growth Analyzer Quiz comes in. It outlines 45 business-owner characteristics. You are asked to check the boxes next to any of the 45 statements, if they are true and apply to you.

After you’re done, you’ll instantly see the results. You will see how you stack up on nine categories of business-owner characteristics. There is no right or wrong answer. I have seen business owners succeed and fail regardless of their style of business leadership. What makes the difference is how well you know yourself and the impact that your personality and style have on your business.

So, I invite you to take the Growth Analyzer Quiz now.