How does your small business use its influence and technology to grow and carve out a unique niche in your market? What could this teach other small business owners about being similarly successful? This review looks at tools small businesses possess to influence and create better opportunities for themselves. We hope you will offer your own suggestions below.
News
SBA pitches small biz ideas to the White House. Two hundred distinct ideas to promote entrepreneurship gathered from 1000 entrepreneurs and investors at eight round tables as part of the Startup America initiative were presented by the Small Business Administration to the White House recently. Some of these proposals can be enacted by the President, some require Congressional action, and some can be implemented by the private sector. Portfolio.com
Strategy
Developing Website Content to Meet Your Goals. To develop fresh website content requires long range planning. The first requirement is the need to put together a good editorial calendar. The calendar should include the timing of every bit of media that must occur to support the plans and goals of the small business. The calendar must cover one year minimum and must be a “running” calendar. Five distinct steps required in developing the calendar are discussed in detail. Business 2 Community
Tech
Technology–helping the small get bigger. The rapid rate of change in technology that can be used by small businesses has made it possible for them to find and serve their customers better and more efficiently. The right choice of online applications and tools will help your business connect with your perspective customers. Using the right online applications and platforms will result in improving your bottom line by lowering your marketing and operating costs. Dynamic Business
Finance
Many small business owners unaware of total costs of expenses. Even in these difficult economic times, one out of five small businesses do not know what their monthly expenses are. About 40% of these small business owners are unsure that their expenses make claiming entitled tax reductions possible. Web-based reporting and tracking tools can be used to easily solve this problem and result in increased profitability. Fresh Business Thinking.com
Tips
How good is your idea? Do you know enough about how to start and run a small business? Is there a market for your product or service? Unfortunately far too many small businesses fail within five years. Too many of these fail because the small business owner concentrates more on their product than on their potential customers. Market research is a must if you want to improve your chance of success. Check out some inexpensive ways of doing some market research. Inc.com
How Your Business Can Thrive In Any Economy. Look at the big picture. Don’t waste your time and get upset over the day to day roller coaster ride of today’s economy. Your small business can survive and thrive in any economy. Here are five things you must consider. Forbes
Management
What every small business needs to know about being a sponsor. What’s wrong with your business sponsoring a local group or a local event? Great PR, right? Actually you must be careful. Thorough planning is needed so as not to make a costly investment with little chance your ROI will be worthwhile. There are many things to consider and questions to be answered before jumping into a sponsorship. Fox Business
Cybersecurity and the Internet small business. As small businesses start to expand into the global market through effective use of the internet, they must take steps to update and maintain their security measures. This is a serious responsibility small businesses have to their customers. The FCC provides ten tips to protect their business and their client’s information and data. ADINEWS
Trends
Do you have a social media mission statement? Why do you have a Facebook Fan Page, a Twitter account, a blog, a LinkedIn profile, and a You Tube channel. When asked, many small business owners will tell you that they heard social media is good for business and they wanted to be relevant. Many of these same people wondered why the money didn’t roll in after implementing social media. You need to know why and how you will use social media before you get involved. You need goals. You need a mission statement. Answering the listed questions will help you to create a strategy. Then you can decide which social media platforms will do the most for your business. Business 2 Community
Less entrepreneurship than there used to be? New startups may be the key to a long-term economic recovery, but there may be fewer entrepreneurs around than there used to be. If that sounds strange, read on to discover why entrepreneurship is a shadow of its former self. Bloomberg Businessweek
