Small Business News March 12, 2010
There’s plenty of news for small business owners out there as innovations change the market and hard times yield unusual opportunities. Keep a perspective with our regular selection of small business news exclusively gathered by the Small Business Trends team Monday through Friday in our small business roundup. Here are the news items and blogs we’re watching today.
Leadership
Small business in the driver’s seat? In hard economic times when statistics show small businesses may be the answer, it’s time to step up. Tom Raducha’s Blog
Nothing happens without a vision. And usually it doesn’t come from the people who fit in. Open Forum Innovation
Improving your international business skills. Here are 21 tips for the small business planning to go global. Cindy King
Marketing
In search of a do-it-yourself marketing guide. Why asking good questions can sometimes also be the perfect answer. DIY Marketers
Save your money. 10 ways to avoid paying way too much on your marketing campaign. Entrepreneur.com
What are they saying about your business? Why testimonials remain one of the most powerful forms of marketing and why you need to cultivate them. NJ Entrepreneur
Seeing is believing. How virtual tours can boost an e-mail marketing campaign. Understanding Marketing
Public Relations
Learning from the pros. Avoid these four major screwups when doing PR for your own small business. The Netsetter
Publicizing your local small business online. Following even 25 percent of the 51 tips on this list is guaranteed to get you noticed. Softline Solutions
Social Media
Enhancing LinkedIn for your business. Here are 11 tips to make a positive impact with the premier business social network. Paul Castain’s Sales Playbook
Adding value to your Tweets. How to up the ante when using social media to market your small business. The Rise To The Top
How Twitter and Facebook are affecting your search engine ranking. If you aren’t taking into the impact of social media on your online business reputation, you are missing an opportunity. SysComm International
Humor
It’s either the world’s best or worst franchise idea. Now all we’ve got to do is figure out whether Joel Libava is kidding or not. Franchise Follies
Policy
More doubt cast on small business aid program. Not only will a government plan to stimulate small business hiring not work but its delay is probably costing jobs and growth right now. The Entrepreneurial Mind
Show me the money. A year after a $787 billion stimulus package aimed at rebuilding the economy, a report says most small businesses haven’t seen any funding. Reuters
Director of Marketing, 352 Media Group
aka Ms. J
Author of Business Plan Pro
It’s for real.
The Franchise King
Another thing to consider would be competitiveness. The IMD OWP 2010 has a presentation by Prof. Stéphane Garelli about Competitiveness in 2010 and beyond, how we are just realizing the immense cost of this recession: huge budget deficits, formidable public debt, historic levels of unemployment and collateral damage such as inflation, bankruptcies and reduced standards of living.