The New Small Delivers Big Technology Insights for Small Business

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Big business used to have a monopoly on resources and tools that virtually kept customers hostage if they wanted a certain level or type of service.  This is no longer true, and Phil Simon’s The New Small: How a New Breed of Small Businesses Is Harnessing the Power of Emerging Technologies will show you exactly how small businesses just like yours are playing and earning big using tools and technologies that used to be out of reach for us.

Phil Simon: An Advocate and Example of Entrepreneurial Spirit

I don’t normally start a book review by talking about the author.  But this is how I was introduced to The New Small: Phil Simon contacted me and asked if he could send me a copy of his new book.  After a while, he called and we had a really terrific chat about the exciting technologies that make owning a small business today so rewarding and exciting.

Phil actually consults with companies on how to optimize their use of technology.  He’s the author of two other books: The Next Wave of Technologies and Why New Systems Fail. Phil is one of the more accessible authors out there; what I find most inspiring about Phil is his boundless energy and ability to reach out to anyone he admires and wants to learn from. This tone comes through clearly in the book.

It’s a Biz Book.  It’s a Tech Book.  It’s Full of Ideas

Phil told me that he wanted this book to read like The Tipping Point. His intention was to pull together trend and research information supported by case studies that small business owners could relate to and use in their business.

The book is written in four main parts:

Part I: Trends and Five Enablers: This section will give you a framework and overview of the business landscape today. It will prepare you for the meaty information that’s to come and give perspective to what drove the companies that were profiled to use the strategies they did.

Part II: The New Small: This is where you’ll get a lot of the case studies that provide real-life examples of how businesses like yours adapted to trends.  There are 12 short chapters that each dig into a critical business challenge and then show how a wide spectrum of companies overcame a challenge using technology.

Part III: Becoming One of the New Small: If you’re interested in using technology to build and grow your business, this section is priceless.  It gives technology consulting advice in a language and context that’s easy for anyone to understand and apply.

Part IV: Thinking Ahead: In this short section, Simon gives you the proverbial pat on the back and sends you on your way with some parting words of advice.  The lesson I took away is that adaptability and openness to technology and change are the successful small business owner’s best friends.

Is The New Small For YOU?

I normally wouldn’t go on and on about a technology book.  I mean, how exciting can a discussion on e-mail, cloud computing or networking be?  But when you see how Simon has linked marketing, sales management and finance, then you suddenly get interested.

This is a book I’d recommend to small business owners or anyone who has the decision-making power to evaluate, choose and implement new technologies in a business.  I’d even stretch that recommendation to anyone who can make recommendations about which technologies will improve your business operations and productivity.

Earlier in the year, I did a series of articles and webinars on how to make your small business and your marketing look like a bigger company.  There was a lot of interest in this topic, and if you’re someone that’s set that goal for yourself this year, The New Small will give you the information, insight and inspiration you need to get that done.

If you’re interested in learning more about how to use technology to build and drive your small business, pick up a copy of The New Small. You can also check out the book’s website, The New Small.  Tweet the author @philsimon or @thenewsmall.

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