Small Business Trends

So how is your small business doing? No, really. We’d very much like to know. One of the hardest parts about being in business for yourself is that you have no one to ask these questions to. There’s no annual performance review and the only feedback comes from your sales and the occasionally really irate customer. Sure there are happy customers but sometimes they don’t say much, no matter what the gurus say, and you only find out the weaknesses of your own business model when a competitor suddenly appears. For all of these reasons we’ve assembled this roundup to get you thinking about your own reality check. Go ahead. Add some of your own points if you like. We think your business will be better because of it.

Operations

Who needs technology? Worried about your employees using Twitter and Facebook at work? Well, that’s probably what someone once said about other new fangled devices. In this little satirical rant, David Meerman Scott looks at companies that are afraid of technology, the future and change. Ban Facebook and Twitter? Can you imagine refusing to let your employees using the telephone? Web Ink Now

Stop nickel and diming your customers. It might surprise you to learn that these days, for most people, simple pricing works much better than a break down. This is especially true with shipping costs, says John Jantsch, who says shipping is one place simple pricing is becoming the trend. A higher price with free shipping is a better option. Duct Tape Marketing

Marketing

34 major Website mistakes. OK, all kidding aside about being afraid of technology, we all know Web presence is an important part of business today, the way many customers, who will go to the Web first, are most likely to find your business, product or service. Don’t make mistakes when it comes to making your Website all it can be to market your business to customers. The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur

Sales

10 tips for a better fourth quarter. Yes, it’s that time again, and with the last quarter looming it’s super important to maximize your efforts to improve sales and your business’s overall financial health for the end of the business year. Sarah Shaw shares 10 tips she believes will help your balance sheet sing. The Entreprenette Gazette

A better way of gaining referrals. Though in practice referrals from customers who love what you do should be the way to grow your business. The trouble is that some customers or clients may want to keep your awesome services a secret, especially from competitors, but sometimes from those in other industries too. It leaves you plenty of time to keep giving them awesome service. Enter a very different kind of prospecting that helps you look for more work while keeping your current clients satisfied. WSJ

Customer Relations

God is in the details. There are probably a million things customers will forgive you for but lack of knowledge about the products or services you are offering is definitely not one of them. Notice the photo Becky shares in this post and magnify it for a better look. Notice anything unusual. Hint: Is the coffee double-filtered or triple-filtered? Small Biz Survival

Branding

Create your brand by telling your story. Your business is an extension of you, but sometimes people don’t think enough about how their own personal story can function as a way of getting their business known. Check out this advice from Norm Brodsky about how to use your personal story, even past failures, as a way to market your business in the present and the future. Inc.com

Networking

Turning loneliness into the opportunity to connect. Ever the consummate networker, Chris takes us from a meditation of the loneliness of a crowd to some actionable ideas about how to turn a visit to a strange city into the opportunity for contact. Better yet, it is the opportunity to flourish in the face of the unfamiliar and to make strategic connections out of thin air. Chris Brogan

How to start a blog. Penelope Trunk is a huge fan of blogging as way of furthering, well, just about every aspect of your life. And even though there’s clearly a bit of marketing in her basic blogging startup advice, there’s a fair amount of networking involved as well. If you’ve ever wondered whether a blog would help your business, wonder no longer. Here is the ultimate guide to the ultimate networking and business building tool. Brazen Careerist

Entrepreneurship

11 harsh realities. Finally, you may find yourself wondering, after doing plenty of soul searching and reflection on both yourself and your business, whether it is all worth it and whether other entrepreneurs and small business owners are really having the same problems you are. Well, the truth is that they are…and then some. We conclude our wrapup a post to put things in perspective. On Startups