America's Best Business Practices

Have your sales dropped? Are you working harder to keep customers? Are you struggling to get new customers? Do you think it’s tougher to sell for a small business than it’s ever been before? In some ways it is. In other ways, it has never been easier.

Certain business functions like accounting and finance have remained relatively unchanged for years, notwithstanding regulatory changes like the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.  Other business functions like IT, marketing and sales have changed dramatically as a result of changes in technology and the marketplace.

Leveraging the power of technology, relationships and creativity, a small business has the ability to sell effectively in just about any market they choose without having to make huge capital investments.  In the past, only a big business with a huge marketing budget and a large sales force would be able to reach and penetrate those markets.

New technology such as video conferencing, texting, remote desktop and the “find me follow me”  telecommunication feature which allows phone calls to be received at different locations on different phones gives a small business many of the same advantages only big businesses with many employees used to have.

In addition to new technology, a sea change has occurred in the marketplace rendering traditional (expensive) marketing methods such as advertising far less effective. Up until the 1970s, marketers had complete “command and control” of a company’s message and brand. The message was “in your face” advertising, using one-way communication mediums such as print, radio & TV.  Now, people no longer tolerate an incessant barrage of advertising messages. “Do not call lists”, TiVo, DVR, permission marketing and anti-spam laws have shifted power away from the corporations and into the hands of the consumer.

All of these changes have effectively leveled the playing field for small business. However, if a small business wants to increase sales, they need to alter their approach. You see, prospects today don’t need or want to be “sold” products and or services. They want to gather the competitive information required on their own (readily available on the internet), secure recommendations from people with whom they have a relationship and trust, and then make their own decisions.

Here are 3 top selling secrets for small business that will help them to take full advantage of the changes in the marketplace:

1. Leverage Technology
Small businesses can dramatically improve lead generation with online marketing and Social Media. It doesn’t do you any good to have a great website if no one can find it. Search engine optimization (SEO) will ensure your website will get found when prospects are looking for the kinds of products and services you sell. If you are not familiar with SEO, you can find numerous articles about it on the web, including those we have written (see list below), or you can hire a consultant.

Other than referrals from happy customers, building social media networks will help you build brand recognition, credibility and generate more qualified leads than just about any other method. Utilizing Social media networks such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are excellent strategies for finding prospects, earning credibility, and developing relationships with them. Not only can you build and maintain your social networks at home and the office on the computer, today you can do it from anywhere in the world from your cellular phone – allowing you to make the most of your downtime.

A word of caution is in order though. If try to use social media networks to advertise or sell your products or services, it will backfire.  Online communities such as you will find on LinkedIn do not want to be solicited. If you are unfamiliar with social media, you can find numerous articles about it on the web, including those we have written (see list below), or you can hire a consultant.

Another way to leverage technology to increase sales is to create and maintain a company blog. A blog is a great way to drive traffic to your website, engage your prospects and customers, build credibility and generate qualified leads. A blog, however, must contain information that prospects and customers find valuable. And, to be effective, you must supply fresh content each week. Experts recommend posting at least two articles a week. If you are not a very good writer or don’t have the time to maintain a blog, you can hire someone to do it for you. If you are interested in finding out more about blogs you will find numerous articles on the internet, including those we have written (see list below), or you can hire a consultant.

Finally, small businesses don’t have the resources of a large company. So, you need to automate as many of your sales and marketing efforts as you can. Email marketing campaigns, newsletters and auto responders are a great way to keep in touch with your prospects and customers. By making sure that your content is relevant and valuable to your prospects and customers, you will continue to build credibility and loyalty while you are creating brand recognition. If you would like more information about how to develop email marketing campaigns, newsletters and auto responders, you can find numerous articles on the internet, including those we have written (see list below), or you can hire a consultant.

2. Leverage Relationships
Customers have higher expectations than they’ve ever had before. They also have more choices. This makes them very fickle. So many companies lose customers needlessly because they either don’t listen to what their prospects and customers want or they fail to give it to them. If you want more customers and want them to be loyal to you, you are going to have to be loyal to them.

How do you know what your prospects and customers want? First, make sure you are listening. At any moment of the day, 24/7, on the internet, your prospects and customers are sharing their feelings about companies and their products and services. With tools like Google Alerts (and their competitors), you can get an update anytime someone mentions you, your company name or your products and/or services. You can even get updates on your competitors. Just make sure you do something with the information you are hearing.  Those companies using social media can join the discussion and ensure happy customers.

While technology has changed almost everything about the way we market and sell, one thing has not changed, people buy from people, not companies. If you develop a positive relationship with your customers, they will be more apt to tell you what they like and don’t like about your products and/or services. This way, you can adjust your sales and service tactics accordingly.

Whenever you or one of your employees interface with your customers, keep the attention on them. If you take the time to listen and ask questions, customers will start to think of you and your business as a valuable resource. This is far better than the classic image of a slick salesperson who is only interested in getting the order. This is the best way to grow prospects into loyal customers.

The most powerful sales approach in the world is “give first, receive later”. So many salespeople are under such extreme pressure to get sales that they don’t even think about what they could do for a prospect. We all have more to do than we have time to accomplish these days. This makes it all too easy to fall into the “time is money” mentality and focus on short term gains.

When building relationships, sometimes the pay off doesn’t come for a while. But, when a prospect receives something of value from a sales person, even if it’s just a sincere interest in the prospect’s business, they will remember that sales person when they are ready to buy. They will also remember that sales person when they meet someone else who is ready to buy (referrals).

“It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed.” ~ Napoleon Hill

3. Leverage Creativity
The longer you’re in business, the more you’ve probably realized that the only constant is change.  You may be experiencing strong sales and have a loyal customer base today, but those conditions could easily change within a matter of months. Competitors (from anywhere in the world) could seduce your best customers with lower prices, new products, services or features. You need to be agile enough to respond quickly to changes due to technology, supply chain and industry or government regulations. As a small business, you have a big advantage over large companies when it comes to responding to change. The larger the company, the more difficult it is for them to change.

Today, if you are “listening”, you can keep your finger on the pulse of the market. That way, you will know what changes are occurring and have time to develop an effective response. You should tap into the creativity and problem solving skills of your employees as well as your customers. Many companies are using crowd sourcing to design new products. Don’t be afraid to try new things. In today’s fiercely competitive environment, creativity is the only real sustainable advantage.

Small businesses can compete better today than they ever have before if they know how to utilize these 3 selling secrets: technology, relationships and creativity. If you invest your limited time and resources in these three areas, you will dramatically improve your chances of finding and keeping customers.

Those who enjoy this article may also enjoy:
Social Media: What Up With That?
The New Small Business Super-Strategy
Autoresponder: The Greatest Online Marketing Tool of All
Is Small Business Blogging Really Effective?
Is Your Blog Really A Blog?
Should Small Business Give Twitter A Twirl?
Social Media-Listening, Connecting & Publishing
Web 2.0 SEO – Search Engine Optimization
Local Online Marketing For Small Business

If you would like to contact me, you can do so by visiting my LinkedIn page or emailing me at mike.clough@bestbizpractices.org.

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Under normal circumstances, free publicity is good for business. However, in some cases, it can end up costing an organization dearly. As a woman who has had to overcome many obstacles to build a successful career while raising three children, all while shouldering most of the responsibilities at home, I was shocked and dismayed by a recent post on the Chamber of Commerce blog.

As many of you know, we celebrated the 90^th anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution on August 18, which gave women the right to vote. In a stunningly controversial gesture, the Chamber of Commerce blog published an article, Equality, Suffrage and a Fetish for Money, implying that women are to blame for unequal pay in the workplace. Needless to say, there was an immediate and violent backlash across the blogosphere that has since gone viral.

In his blog post, Senior Director of Communications for the Chamber of Commerce, Brad Peck, suggested that the pay gap between men and women (women earn 77 cents for every dollar a man earns) is “the result of individual choice rather than discrimination”. Peck’s most egregious offense was his insinuation that women who insist on equal pay have a “fetish for money”. Peck went on to suggest that the most obvious solution is not equal pay legislation but for women to make sure they choose the right place to work and the right partner at home. I think it’s safe to say that the Chamber of Commerce is now enjoying an avalanche of free publicity as headlines like, “Chamber of Commerce hates women” fly across the internet.

Fortunately for the Chamber of Commerce, within 24 hours, the COO, David Chavern wrote an updated post titled, “A Wrong and Wrongheaded Look At The Wage Gap” where he stated that Peck’s piece was simplistic and misguided.

There is a very important lesson here for business owners. If you are going to take a public stance on any issue that has the slightest potential for controversy, you better make sure you have your facts straight. Notwithstanding Chavern’s retraction, there is evidence to suggest that the Chamber of Commerce is insensitive to the injustice women suffer when they perform equal work for less pay than men; if not guilty of waging all out war on the feminine gender.

The data abounds supporting the fact that even within the same occupations; women are paid less than men. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), “In 2009, women had median weekly earnings that were roughly 80 percent of the earnings of their male counterparts.” Although the wage gap was not as significant among younger workers, women aged 35 years and older earned approximately 75% as much as men.

And then there was the data collected by the Census Bureau in 2007 showing that female secretaries earn 83.4% as much as their male counterparts and female truck drivers earn 76.5% of their male counterparts. Another report by the University of Minnesota found that women earn $11,000 less than men with the same jobs.

A 2007 American Association of University Women report compared men and women with similar hours, occupation, parenthood, and other factors normally associated with pay. The results were that college-educated women still earn less than their male peers. The report concluded that workplace discrimination is the culprit in the wage gap.

The pay inequity between men and women is so pervasive that it shows up for people even after they’ve had a sex change. Kristen Schilt and Matthew Wiswall studied the wages of subjects both before and after sex change operations. Even when factors like education were controlled, men who became women earned an average of 32% less. Conversely, women who became men earned 1.5% more.

A scant 3 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs are women. The “2009 Catalyst Census: Fortune 500 Women Board Directors,” revealed that women held only 15.2 percent of board of director seats at Fortune 500 companies in 2009. The “2009 Catalyst Census: Fortune 500 Women Executive Officers and Top Earners,” revealed that in 2009, women held 13.5% percent of executive officer positions and 6.3% of high income positions at Fortune 500 companies.

Apparently, the position the Chamber of Commerce took on equal pay is just the most recent in a long history of opposition to gender equality. Following Peck’s post, detractors came out in droves citing several instances where the Chamber of Commerce failed to support women’s right in America:

• 1977: Chamber of Commerce opposes an amendment to the Civil Rights Act that banned discrimination against pregnant women.
• 1978: Chamber of Commerce says pregnancy is a “voluntary” condition in its opposition to Pregnancy Discrimination Act.
• 1987: According to the Chamber of Commerce, Family Medical Leave Act “sets a dangerous precedent.”
• 1998: Chamber of Commerce opposes Equal Pay Act because “work experience does tend to create greater wage gaps.”
• 2007: Chamber of Commerce opposes Lilly Ledbetter’s court case for equal pay because of “tear-stained testimony” prejudices against a defendant. They also opposed the bill in Congress to right the wrongs against Ledbetter in 2008 and 2009 as well.
• 2007: Chamber of Commerce official pledges “all out war” against Family Medical Leave Act, and in 2010 made it a “priority” to fight it in Congress.

Now, I don’t believe for a minute that the Chamber of Commerce is out of touch. Nor do I  believe they have been waging war on the feminine gender. I can only conclude that they are taking these actions in the best interest of their constituents. I just happen to believe that equal pay is an issue that transcends business. It is a moral, ethical, and social issue.

Quite frankly, I am surprised that the Chamber of Commerce feels it can afford the type of negative press they have received relative to gender equality issues considering how their membership numbers have been plummeting. It seems foolish that they would risk offending the 10 million women-owned businesses in the US today that employ over 13 million people and generate nearly $2 trillion in annual sales (see our previous article on this topic, Business Is Women’s Work ). But, what do I know?

Perhaps, the Chamber of Commerce is unaware of the signs of an emerging upward trend toward feminine power in the world. Hanna Rosin wrote at length about it in her article, The End Of Men published in the July/August edition of The Atlantic.

Rosin’s article indicated that the gap between women and men in terms of opportunity is changing quite rapidly around the world. It is fascinating to note that many aspiring parents prefer girls over boys when taking advantage of new scientific advances that allow them to choose the sex of their offspring.

Another indicator that women are destined to close the wage gap, in spite of the small number of female CEOs in America’s largest companies, is the fact that they earned 43% more than their male peers and enjoyed bigger raises last year. And, when women do make it to the top, it creates quite a stir. Names like Meg Whitman at eBay, Carly Fiorina at Hewlett-Packard, Indra Nooyi at PepsiCo and Ann Mulcahey at Xerox have received so much publicity that Whitman and Fiorina have decided to leverage their fame and go into politics.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women now hold 51.4 percent of managerial and professional jobs. This is an impressive increase over 1980 when it was just 26.1%. Women now represent 54% of all Accountants, nearly half of all banking and insurance professionals, 33.3% of all physicians and 45% of all lawyers in America.

According to Rosin, women are now flooding the halls of today’s colleges and professional schools. Three women receive a B.A. for every two men who receive one.

Some of the most important business skills required to succeed professionally today include communication, emotional intelligence, creativity and collaboration; areas in which women tend to be equally qualified, if not more so, than men. The only occupations women still lag behind men are related to engineering and science.

Rosin went on to cite research conducted at Columbia Business School and the University of Maryland that analyzed data on the top 1,500 U.S. companies from 1992 to 2006 to identify the relationship between company performance and female representation in senior management. The study showed that companies with women in senior management performed better, especially if innovation was a key strategy.

The study results could be an indication that women in senior positions have a positive impact on company performance. Or, maybe it’s just that top performing companies are more successful in attracting and retaining the most talented women. In either case, females tend to be promoted within successful and innovative companies.

While women are underrepresented among the ranks of senior executives and are “opting” out of corporate America in droves, they are not, as Peck would have us believe, going back to the kitchen and minding the kids. They are launching new enterprises at twice the rate of men. And, their growth rates of employment and revenue have outpaced the economy.

However, in spite of the indicators that women are finding their own way to close the pay gap, as of 2008, the average revenues for woman-owned businesses totaled only 27% of the average revenues for male-owned businesses. Personally, I believe it is in America’s best interest to correct this discrepancy. By writing this article, I am attempting to do my small part to ensure that my daughters and granddaughters have it easier than I did and to make sure they see a brighter horizon ahead for their gender.

Feel free to contact me by visiting my LinkedIn page or emailing me at susan.fronk@bestbizpractices.org.

*Illustration by Dale Hitchcox.

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How often have you heard someone say, “What’s wrong with young people today?” I hear a lot of comments like; “They’re lazy”. “They have no respect for authority or rules”. “They don’t have any manners”. “They have no loyalty to their employers”. These complaints are usually voiced by more mature workers who tend to be very loyal, hard working and more than willing to adhere to rules, even if they don’t always agree with them.

You know, the more I hear these kinds of complaints, the more concerned I become because sooner rather than later, younger workers are going to have to fill the shoes of older workers who will be retiring. Although it’s not true of every young worker, the vast majority of younger workers have better technical skills than their older counterparts and much more agility when it comes to change. And, in today’s fiercely competitive environment, a small business owner cannot afford to forego technical competence and agility any more than they can afford to forego loyalty and hard work. So, what’s the solution?

Before small business owners will be ready to implement a solution, I think they need to understand why there are such profound differences between younger and older workers. Actually, I went into a great deal of detail about this issue in a previous post titled, “Using Generational Differences to Your Advantage”. However, in this article, I want to focus on the implications of these differences and what a small business owner can do about them.

Lack of understanding about generational differences in the workplace can leave a small business clueless as to how to resolve the potential conflicts, performance issues and turnover it can cause. On the other hand, if small business owners examine the unique experiences that different generations have shared, they might gain important insights into how to avoid problems.

Mature workers shared many of the same cultural experiences when they were growing up. This gave them a very similar exposure to the world. You can see just how uniform their cultural programming was by looking at their high school yearbooks. They looked very similar to the way their parents looked. They dressed like little adults who were ready for a day’s work at the office; minus the experience.

In the early days of television, millions of people sat in their living rooms and watched the same programs at the same time every evening. A large percentage of American households watched the Beatles perform for the first time on the Ed Sullivan show. Mature workers shared the shocking video tape of John F Kennedy being shot. And, a great many mature workers watched as June and Ward Cleaver (Leave it to Beaver) lived together in complete harmony, resolving every within an hour. This similar cultural programming went on for approximately 20 years from 1925 to 1945. No wonder mature workers share so many common beliefs about life and work!

In contrast, today’s youth have been exposed to endless TV shows and movies where the central characters form romantic relationships (heterosexual as well as gay) almost instantly, watch those relationships fall apart within minutes, and then, almost instantaneously, meet and fall in love with someone else. All too often this is what young people see and experience in their real lives as well. This type of cultural programming tends to reinforce the belief that the very nature of relationships is temporary.

Relative to manners, other than in their homes, I think it’s fair to say that many of today’s youth have had very little exposure to good manners. In fact, they’ve been exposed to bad manners in much of what they’ve seen and heard on television, in the movies and among their peers.

If you have ever wondered why today’s youth lack an appropriate sense of propriety or boundaries, all you have to do is think about what they have seen and heard on television and in the movies. Watching television ads promoting products to improve sexuality like condoms, erectile dysfunction and female arousal would have been unthinkable when mature workers were young. The amount of profanity in TV, movies, radio and music has been increasing. Today, many movie characters drop the “F” bomb as casually as if they were saying “darn”.

Over the years, the length of time people have shared the same uniform cultural programming is getting shorter and shorter. Not only is the cultural programming for younger generations not the same as it was for older generations, it can differ widely for young people based on their race, nationality, family, religion, geographical location, access to resources and technology, etc. Today’s “youth” may still share a specific age demographic, but there are very few generalizations one can make because they share very few of the same experiences.

Younger workers don’t look at life or value the same things as more mature workers because they never shared the same experiences during as their formative years. As an example, anyone born after 1985 can’t remember a time when there weren’t cell phones or the internet. For many younger workers, ice has always been made and dispensed by refrigerators. American cars have always been low quality. The major airlines have always been bankrupt. Outrageous behavior has always been captured on video. Television programs about affluent teens and reality shows have always been popular. Diversity in the workplace has always existed (genders, races, nationalities and sexual orientation). Prominent public figures have always been found to have questionable ethics and morals.

What all of this means is that mature workers shared many of the same experiences growing up that programmed them to buy into values such as being polite, working hard, respecting institutions and authority. Younger workers did not share those experiences. In fact, many of the experiences they shared have programmed them not to be polite, work hard and respect institutions and authority.

Now that we’ve explored the issue of “what’s wrong with young people today”, we are ready to look at a solution. Younger workers are fully capable of working hard and being loyal if they believe in what they are doing, enjoy it and have ample opportunity to be involved in the decisions that affect them.

Younger workers will not do a job just because someone tells them to. They need to feel a sense of ownership for the outcome. The best way to accomplish this is to ask for their ideas and opinions. Ask them to help solve the business problems you face. And then really listen to what they have to say. As often as you can, give them a chance to implement their ideas.

Younger workers will respect institutions and authorities if they feel they are worthy of it. To earn their respect, you must be as open and honest in your communications as you can. You must also do what you say you are going to do.

Younger workers don’t understand why it is necessary to go to long, boring meetings and comply with arbitrary rules about how many hours they need to work. They also have trouble seeing the value in doing things just because that’s the way they’ve always been done.

Younger workers expect more career satisfaction and enjoyment from their work than mature workers. You must do your utmost to make sure your work environment is the kind of place where they will want to work. In “Why Work Sucks and How To Fix It”, a book by Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson a new workplace model is introduced called Results-Only Work Environment. According to the authors, “In a ROWE, you control when, where, and how long you work. As long as you meet your objectives, the way you spend your time is entirely up to you.”

While this concept may sound like anarchy to a mature business owner, when it was piloted at Best Buy, it resulted in significant increases in productivity, employee satisfaction and lower turnover. If a small business owner is interested in creating the kind of workplace where younger workers want to work, I would recommend that they consider creating a ROWE.

To leverage the strengths of both mature and younger workers, a small business owner must be prepared to deliver what each of them needs from an employer. A wise small business owner will structure enough flexibility into their people systems to accommodate the different needs and desires of their workforce.

However, more mature small business owners may have some trouble designing such flexibility. Why? Because they didn’t grow up with it! Unlike mature workers who were taught to do as they were told and not to question authority, today’s youth are much more comfortable challenging the status quo. They may be more difficult for small business owners to deal with, but they see things differently than mature workers do. And that is a good thing.

If you would like to contact me, you can do so by visiting my LinkedIn page or emailing me at mike.clough@bestbizpractices.org.

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I am going take a risk and share an opinion that could be unpopular with some of my readers. One of my pet peeves is how some tech-savvy people look down their nose at those who are not tech-savvy.  The digital divide can be the kiss of death for a small business. The digital divide can create walls between departments, employees and, worst of all, between the company and it’s customers.  Automated voice answering systems (which I call voice mail hell),  are a prime example of how technology can create a wall between a company and it’s customers.

Don’t get me wrong, small business owners need to be tech-savvy. If they aren’t savvy enough to be using the appropriate internet marketing tools and techniques including Web 2.0, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Blogging, Social Media and text message marketing, they could be missing huge opportunities to grow their business.  If they haven’t checked out the new Smartphones like iPhone, EVO or Droid and haven’t seen what the new iPad tablet can do, they may never know how much more efficient they could be.

However, there is a big difference between being tech-savvy and a tech-addict.  Tech-addicts are always checking their computer screens, blackberries or smart phones. When they are challenged on this rude behavior, they defend themselves by claiming to have extraordinary multi-tasking skills.  Meanwhile, non-tech-savvy observers wonder what’s so great about being tech-savvy if it interferes with one’s ability to function normally. This short video provides an amusing depiction.

The first time I realized how polarizing technology could be was when I was working with some programmers in a small technology firm on some new products that were designed to be delivered online. As time went on, the programmers began treating me with contempt because I didn’t have their technical knowledge or skills. Finally one day, I got tired of feeling inadequate and patronized, so I told them, “The day I understand how to do your work is the day I don’t need you!”

The digital divide can exist in any sized organization. A former colleague of mine used to check her blackberry several times during conversations without even batting an eye. She could be sitting less than two feet from someone and yet her attention was somewhere else. The word that describes her affliction is called “crackberry” .  Today, Smartphones have the capacity to give “crackberries” a whole new high because they can do many things blackberries can’t.

Technology is a double edged sword. It has revolutionized how we solve problems, communicate and live. A recent survey reported that one out of five couples met online. And yet, while technology has virtually eliminated the geographical distance between people, it has also become a significant barrier to authentic communication and lasting relationships. You see, the digital divide is dividing people.

This was the subject of a recent discussion in a LinkedIn group. The leader of a local non-profit was concerned that certain members of an association were tech-savvy while others were not. The members who were not tech-savvy were being urged to “get with the program” by the tech-savvy members.

Personally, I am beginning to wonder if there is something more sinister driving the ever-widening “digital divide” between professionals who are addicted to modern technology and those who aren’t. One of the participants in the LinkedIn discussion shared the story of an individual who was texting during an interview. They seemed totally oblivious to the fact that they had “texted” themselves out of a job.

Then, there are the horror stories of people spreading lies online that have the power to destroy careers, reputations and brands. I just saw a commercial where a woman broke up with her boyfriend by sending him a text message.

You can spot a tech-addict a mile away. They’re the ones who check their Smartphones as soon as they wake up, while driving, during meetings, meals and right before going to sleep at night.  If you pay attention to the time of day people send emails and texts, you will soon realize that tech-addicts are never more than a few feet away from their electronic devices. This must be so they can get a fix from email, texts and tweets anytime they need one.

I have a theory about what may be causing the current epidemic of tech-addiction. While it’s probably true that those who are not tech-savvy may be intimidated by technology, it’s also possible that tech-addicts are intimidated by the potential for intimacy that comes with focused, face-to-face, human interaction. You see, when you send a message through email, texting, Twitter, Facebook, Instant Messaging or other electronic means, it can feel as if you have some level of immunity. You are less vulnerable. After all, if you happen to offend someone, there is little or no chance for them to punch you in the nose.

Developing thousands of digital “connections”, “friends” or “fans” can give your brain a false sense of security. The reality is that if you were ever in dire need of help, most, if not all of these connections, friends and fans wouldn’t lift so much as a finger (or two) to help. There are those who might write encouraging words. But, real friends, the kind you can count on, will earn the right to be called your friend by doing more than writing a few nice words. They will do something to help you solve your problem.

There is a seductive allure to the facsimile of human interaction and it has been growing at an alarming rate for at least a decade. In 1999, Linden Lab, founded by Philip Rosedale, created a revolutionary new form of shared experience known as Second Life^®. Second Life is a 3D virtual world where Residents (people like you) can create imaginary life experiences and relationships for entertainment. Millions of people spend hours living imaginary lives that are far more exciting and successful than their actual lives. Obviously having the ability to create a “better” life than the one you have has proven to be good business. Linden Labs now has over 330 employees and has expanded across the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

Research has shown that our brains don’t differentiate between what it feels like to experience pleasure from a real experience we are having from one we are observing. This is why we derive so much pleasure from watching certain movies, reading certain books, playing video games or taking part in activities like Second Life. And, there is nothing inherently wrong with entertainment like this. The problem is when we give more of our time and attention to the facsimile of relationships and experiences than we give to the real thing.

Tech-savvy small business owners know that the next big revolution in technology has already begun. It’s the mobile internet. According to Wikipedia, there are 234 million mobile phone subscribers in the U.S. In a 2010 study by ComScore, it was revealed that 45.5 million people in the United States now own a Smartphone, which is among the fastest growing segment of the mobile phone market.

However, tech-savvy small business owners must acknowledge and deal with the reality of the digital divide. Not everyone is comfortable with technological advances.  So, no matter how tempting it may be to automate functions in order to save money, it is imperative to retain as much human interaction with customers as possible.

My biggest concern with the arrival of the mobile internet is that we may be on the verge of a worldwide epidemic of tech-addicts. But, before you label me as a technology heretic, let me state emphatically that technological advances are good. However, too much of a good thing can be bad.

When my children were small, if they had a choice between candy and vegetables, they preferred the candy. We need to be careful we don’t create a world full of tech-addicts who prefer the instant gratification of virtual relationships and conversations rather than the real thing.

Feel free to contact me by visiting my LinkedIn page or emailing me at susan.fronk@bestbizpractices.org.

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I read an interesting blog article recently by Jorge Diener describing a theory he has about entrepreneurship. I found it to be amusing, accurate and provocative. Jorge Diener is eminently qualified as the founder and CEO of Visionary Partnerships LTD and DHM International Productions LTD, two European companies, CEO of Diener Initiatives and Communications LTD, CEO of Imagine Bulgaria LTD and CEO of Global Jewish Initiatives.

Mr. Diener draws on his training, coaching and consulting experience with over 1000 leaders and managers of all different backgrounds and sectors. I think Jorge’s theory is important because it offers a view of entrepreneurship from a global perspective.

In “The Every Second Schmuck”, Diener explains that the word “schmuck” is Yiddish, the language that his Polish Jewish grandfather spoke, as most Central European Jews did decades ago. The word has since been adopted as part of American English slang and is a cute way of saying someone is not smart.

Diener asserts that a phenomenon he calls the “subjective, pessimistic look at our odds to succeed” is responsible for the belief some people have that their odds of winning or succeeding are less than fifty percent and in many cases under ten percent. This belief, more than anything else keeps them from attempting self-employment.

Even so, reliable statistical data indicates that the percentage of self-employed, entrepreneurs and business owners/shareholders is approximately 50 % of the active population in some countries . A study on self-employment from 2008 revealed that 43.5% of the active population in Turkey and 36% in Greece are self-employed. In other words, every other person is self-employed!

Attempting to prove his theory that entrepreneurship is driven more by belief than skills, Diener selected two people who admired successful entrepreneurs and asked them to rate the entrepreneurs on a scale of 1 to 10. On the scale, a 1 was a total “schmuck” and a 10 was “smart in every sense both intellectually and emotionally”.  Then he asked them to rate themselves on the same scale in comparison to the entrepreneurs.

Interestingly, the two people who thought of themselves as “schmucks” rated themselves in the top thirtieth percentile of the successful entrepreneurs. Based on statistical findings and this experiment, Diener believes that virtually any schmuck can succeed in business if they have enough determination, motivation and commitment.  That, and a willingness to do what others won’t.

If you subscribe to this blog, you know that our purpose is to help entrepreneurs and small business owners succeed.  In a previous post titled, “The DNA of Entrepreneurship”, Mike Clough cited a longitudinal study on entrepreneurship that was released by the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Office of Advocacy. The study provides empirical evidence that early self-employment increases the likelihood of self-employment later.

This data resonated with me personally. Those who know me well are aware that I am a self-employed management consultant. My expertise is the connection between people and their work. Employment has fascinated me since I was a young girl, self-employment in particular.

In addition to her role as wife and mother of six (a pretty big job in and of itself), my mother took care of the payroll and bookkeeping for my Dad’s business. In retrospect, I now see that my parents, who were both entrepreneurial and headstrong, were destined to have violent clashes over how to run the business.

I remember a particularly bitter battle that finally culminated in my Dad shutting down his steel erection business for a few years. Here’s what happened. Dad had given almost every male member of our extended family a job at one time or another. While it gave them a way to make a very good living, it created a lot of tension in our home.

The chief source of angst was that most of our extended family members lacked the same dedication to the business that my Dad had with the exception of my brother-in-law. Consequently, my Dad came to rely on him and quite naturally began to groom him to take over the business. This made Mom furious because she thought my brother should get the business. Mom didn’t seem to notice that my brother wasn’t the least bit interested in taking over the family business. He was the star of our high school football team and had his heart set on becoming a professional athlete.

Yes, growing up in an entrepreneurial environment bought me a ring-side seat to the kinds of unique obstacles family businesses have. In a previous article titled, “Small Business Family Affairs”, Mike Clough addressed some of these obstacles and offered some effective strategies to overcome them.

Apparently Dad wasn’t the only one in the family with entrepreneurial tendencies. Mom and her best friend, Eleanor, used to drive around and look for old porch swings that people were giving away. They would refurbish them and sell them for a profit.

One day, after Mom and Eleanor had driven around all day without finding a single porch swing, my Mom noticed a beautiful German Sheppard sitting on the corner. She said to Eleanor, “That dog looks as if he’s lost. I’ll bet someone is looking for him and would pay a reward to get him back.”  Eleanor looked at my Mom in horror and said, “Are you nuts? That dog could have rabies and bite us if we try to put him in the car!” But, anyone who knew my Mom, knew that once she made up her mind to do something, there was no stopping her. So, off they went with the dog in the back seat. Sure enough, the next day, there was an ad in the paper offering to pay a reward for a lost German Sheppard.

After Dad shut down the business, Mom and her best friend Eleanor decided to go to work as employment counselors. This decision would prove to be a career defining moment for me, even though I was only a teenager. Mom’s life as an employment counselor was colorful, to say the least. Although Mom didn’t start the employment agency, she worked on straight commission, which is a form of entrepreneurship.

I never understood why, but, back then, employment counselors didn’t use their own names. My Mom’s assumed name was “Alice Page”.  By day, Mom was “Alice Page”, dressed in conservative business attire as she doled out career advice. By night, she donned an apron and morphed into a wife and mother of six. Then, while she cooked dinner, she would regale us with stories of impossible-to-please hiring managers and outrageously unrealistic job applicants. That explains why my older sister and I both got into the employment industry.

Actually, while my mother’s latent entrepreneurial tendencies had a profound influence on me, they are not that unusual. In fact, the importance of female entrepreneurs was the subject of a previous article titled, “Business Is Women’s Work” also by Mike Clough.

In summary, there are millions of people, apparently in every country, who stand on the sidelines as spectators, watching successful entrepreneurs as if they were the only ones with enough talent and smarts to be on center stage. So, they continue to work in jobs they hate, getting up each and every morning dreading the day ahead, dreaming of another life, but doing nothing about it. If you are one of these people, dreaming about a life where you get to perform on center stage, doing what you love, don’t wait another minute!

Those who enjoyed this article may also enjoy:
Entrepreneurs Know No Age Limits
What Is The Best Business To Start?

Feel free to contact me by visiting my LinkedIn page or emailing me at susan.fronk@bestbizpractices.org.

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Every small business is looking for a way to do more with less these days. But, after they have reduced headcount, slashed the budget and eliminated all waste, what else can they do? Well, the last person they might think to ask is the CEO of a non-profit. But, think about it. Who would know the most about doing more with less than the CEO of a well run non-profit?

Recently, Todd O’Connor of ABC News interviewed Nancy Lublin, CEO of Do Something, a non-profit organization that helps award grant money to young people who want to make a difference. Nancy is the author of a new book, Zilch-The Power of Zero in Business. In the video below, Nancy offers several tips for doing more with less. If a business owner implements Nancy’s tips they can enhance their company’s results with little or no investment.

Zilch has eleven chapters which provide tips for getting by with zilch. This doesn’t mean getting by on nothing. It means getting by with a lot less than you used to spend when you were fat, dumb, and happy.

Nancy’s approach in the book is to share stories of her own experience as well as other successful people. You’ll find lots of great ideas for motivating people without throwing cash at them. Like the idea of being liberal with titles. Titles are free. Banks are known for giving big titles instead of big paychecks. Another idea is to rearrange your workspace so it is more stimulating and fun. A happy staff equals a happy workplace.

Nancy recommends that everyone from all levels in your company understand and support the company’s vision and purpose. She encourages making investments in skills development for your staff which will increase their value to you and give them more career options. In addition, you should help your people set and achieve goals. Then, make a big deal out of those achievements. And, be sure to thank your staff for the work they do.

A company always has unintended and intended brand ambassadors. Everyone inside and outside of your company has the ability to strengthen or weaken your brand. For example, if employees feel they are not treated right at work, what do you think they tell their family and friends about the company? What do you think your vendors say about your company? By strengthening your brand inside and outside of your company, you are creating brand ambassadors.

Focus on doing more for your customers and your employees. Then, think through what you are asking from people. What else could you ask of your board? Your staff?

The one point I wasn’t sure that I agreed with Nancy on was term limits for CEOs. In almost every small business, the CEO is also the owner and not likely to turn over the reigns to someone else just to make sure the company has the benefit of new ideas. While I agree that having fresh ideas is crucial, this can be accomplished just as easily by having an advisory board without disrupting the organization by replacing the CEO. Continuity is also important.

These days, CEOs need to take pinching pennies to a whole new level. Ironically, for-profit organizations can learn a lot from not-for-profit organizations when it comes to doing more for less. For non-profits like Do Something, pinching pennies is just business as usual.

If you would like to contact me, you can do so by visiting my LinkedIn page or emailing me at mike.clough@bestbizpractices.org.  

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Why do some people opt for self-employment while others seem content to work for someone else? Are people more likely to become entrepreneurs if they grow up in certain kinds of communities? Is entrepreneurship a trait like brown eyes that is passed down genetically through DNA? These are important questions for any entrepreneur who is considering handing over the reigns of the family business to their offspring someday.

Why is this important? Between 80-90% of all companies in North America are family owned businesses (FOB). FOB’s account for approximately 60% of all employment, 78% of all new jobs and 65% of all wages.

Here’s the bad news. By 2050, the primary owners of most FOBs will be retired or dead. Up to 42% have not yet chosen a successor. Many of these owners probably are wondering (or should be), “Will the kids be able to run the business after I’m gone?” The reality is that only 40% of FOBs survive to the second generation. Only 12% survive to the third generation.  And only 3% survive to the fourth generation.

Now, here’s some good news. A new study just released last week by the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Office of Advocacy offers empirical evidence of that early self-employment increases the likelihood of self-employment later. In case you are wondering, the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) advances the views, concerns, and interests of small business before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, federal courts, and state policymakers.

While there have been numerous studies of entrepreneurship in the past, this one is unique in that it looks at self-employment as a career trajectory, analyzing self-employment patterns within the context of life cycles, specifically the effect of early self-employment on later self-employment. The study’s confirmation of what one would suspect; that early exposure to self-employment increases the chances of self-employment later on is not so surprising, but, it went a lot deeper.

The study revealed that in addition to early exposure to self-employment, other factors such as education, family size, family income, net worth and employment history also influence self employment experiences during the early and mid-career years.

A Longitudinal Analysis of Early Self-employment in the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth (NLSYs) was completed by Yasuyo Abe and Hannah Betesh, Berkeley Policy Associates and A. Rupa Datta, at University of Chicago. The researchers utilized data from two earlier studies; National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth; the 1979 Cohort (NLSY79) and the 1997 Cohort (NLSY97). The 1979 data provided the researchers with information on the early self employment experiences of a group of people born from 1960-1962. The 1997 data provided the researchers with information on the early self-employment experiences of a group of people born 20 years later between the years 1980-1982.

The researchers looked at the self-employment experiences of the two groups from age 14 to 41 and then analyzed the impact of demographic factors such as finances, personal and family backgrounds. They were looking for answers to the following questions:

• Does the level of self-employment over time vary due to individual and family characteristics and/or early labor-market experience?
• Do economic characteristics, measured in terms of income and net worth, alter the probability of self-employment?
• Are economic outcomes, such as income and net worth, affected by the extent of prior self-employment?
• Are there differential patterns of early self-employment among two generations of Americans born in the late twentieth century?

Here are some highlights from the research:
There are statistically significant differences as well as similarities in the self-employment experiences in those born between the years 1960-1962 and those born 20 years later between the years in 1980-1982.

A high correlation between self-employment experiences during ages 20-22 and self-employment later in life (ages 22-41) was found. The data proves that early exposure to self-employment increases the likelihood of self-employment during an individual’s early to mid-career years.

In addition, the data also showed the younger subgroup members in the NLSY97 cohort had much higher self-employment rates than the older subgroup members in the NLSY79 cohort when the two were compared by age 23.

Between the years 1979 and 1997, there were dramatic increases in self-employment for Blacks and Hispanics. There were also increases in female self-employment, but, not as much for Blacks and Hispanics.

Supporting the findings of previous self-employment studies, respondents who had ever been self-employed tended to be white males whose parents had higher levels of education than respondents who had never been self-employed. In addition, access to financial resources (family income and net worth) increased the likelihood of self-employment.

An interesting piece of data revealed that respondents who had ever been self-employed were more likely to have grown up in a rural area or on a farm than those who had no experience with self-employment.

Extended years of self-employment were positively correlated with individual and family income. In fact, even one more year of self-employment increased income and net worth significantly.

Conclusion
Data from NLSY97 confirmed that study respondents who were approximately 20 years younger (born from 1980 to 1982) are experiencing higher levels of self-employment compared to the experiences of individuals born 20 years earlier. This increase is attributed to higher levels of self-employment among minorities. Self-employment statistics for white males was the same for both groups.

Quite frankly, this research supports my belief that we need to do a better job of fostering and supporting entrepreneurship for the sake of our economy and our nation. In fact, I think we could do with a little more focus on early entrepreneurship training for our youth and a little less on extracurricular activities that have limited potential as a career path.

For every Brett Favre and Tiger Woods, thousands of kids are postponing viable careers while they nurse dreams of fame and fortune. Meanwhile, they could be spending some of the time they are investing in practice to study or work part time. Nothing prepares someone to enter the workforce better than working!

Of course, I realize that I may have incited a riot or at least the wrath of those parents and coaches who will argue that kids learn valuable lessons from sports like competing and teamwork. And, I’m not suggesting we throw sports out. I just wish would focus a little more on teaching kids about entrepreneurship. Maybe that’s because I’m a serial entrepreneur.

Actually, I had my first business when I was 12. My Dad was a school teacher and he would drive me to a nearby town and park. then I would get out and walk up and down the street selling advertising specialties while he sat in the car and graded papers. I would walk into a business in my Sunday-best suit (yes, at twelve years old I was already wearing business suits) and my prospects thought I was so cute, they just couldn’t say no to me. I ended up being the top sales person in the company and earned more money than my Dad!

Later on, when I got older, my prospects didn’t think I was so cute. Then, I had to learn some real selling skills. But, I never forgot what it felt like to sell something for more than it cost me and make a profit. From then on, I was hooked on entrepreneurship. In the video below, Cameron Herold, who began his first entrepreneurial venture at seven, shares his belief about the importance of teaching children how to be entrepreneurs.

What are your thoughts on early exposure to self-employment? What ideas do you have on how we could prepare our youth to fill the entrepreneurial shoes of their predecessors? If we succeed at this, by 2050, we’ll be enjoying a virtual renaissance of entrepreneurship and a return to economic health.

A full report of study results are detailed in, A Longitudinal Analysis of Early Self-employment in the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth (NLSYs). For more information you can visit the Office of Advocacy website or call (202) 205-6533.

If you would like to contact me, you can do so by visiting my LinkedIn page or emailing me at mike.clough@bestbizpractices.org.

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Let’s imagine that you are a very successful business owner or executive. You have achieved amazing results in your company. You are making a great deal of money and enjoying the fruits of your labor. You have earned the respect of your subordinates as well as your peers. You deservedly get the credit for how well things are going. When you talk, people listen. You have the authority to hire people, take them to task when things go wrong or fire them at will. You are now supremely confident in your ability to leap over any obstacle you encounter on the road to success and land on your feet. You feel good about your company’s future. You feel even better about yours. But, maybe you shouldn’t.

After working with many highly successful executives who experienced career failure, Dr.Tim Irwin, an organizational psychologist, noticed a pattern of mistakes which inspired him to write Derailed: Five Lessons Learned from Catastrophic Leadership Failure (available for theKindle).

Irwin was intrigued by the fact that the fatal flaws of leaders who failed had nothing to do with a deficiency in IQ or even competence. These people were smart, tough-minded, willful, skilled at political maneuvering and strategy; all necessary for success in the business world. What Irwin discovered after studying the derailment of six high profile CEOs will surprise you. In this short video, Gretchen Carlson of FOX News interviews Dr. Irwin who shares some common mistakes executives make that can lead to their demise.

In Derailed, Irwin paints a compelling portrait of how highly successful leaders fall victim to an insidious hubris which eventually leads to their downfall. He opens the book by pointing out our fascination with the misfortunes of others. We get a perverse pleasure from watching the mighty fall; relishing it when they get their recompense as we did when Bernie Madoff, the infamous operator of the largest Ponzi scheme in history was caught, convicted and punished.

“It’s like watching a train wreck. We should look away, but we just can’t”…George Will said “few things are as stimulating as other people’s calamities observed from a distance”. Perhaps this explains why we seem to have such an appetite for bad news, celebrity gossip and highway accidents. Irwin hopes that by reading the book, we can learn from other people’s experiences (OPE).

For this reason, the book has significant value for anyone who aspires to greatness; especially small business owners. There are several lessons in the tragic story of the California train engineer who ignored a red warning light and a dispatcher’s verbal warning before crashing into a freight train at 40 miles per hour, killing 25 and injuring another 135 people. The investigation revealed that the engineer had been texting just moments before the crash.

In a way, all of us are engineers, directing the path of  our lives, our families, our companies, our teams and departments. And we are all vulnerable to derailment. In the book, Irwin points out that derailment is a process and shares 5 separate stages:

• Failure of self/other awareness
• Pride before the fall
• Missed early warning signs
• Rationalizing
• Derailment

According to Dr. Irwin, if there is one factor more than any other that can get you off track it is arrogance. I am completely honest with myself, I can recall several times when my life and/or career ran off the rails. And, although there were extenuating circumstances in every case, and there was plenty of blame to share with others, arrogance played a role.

What I loved best about Derailment was Irwin’s conclusion that when it comes to leadership, character trumps competence! In my career as a management consultant I have observed countless numbers of leaders who have demonstrated that this is true. Irwin’s definition of character has 4 components:

1. Authenticity
2. Self-management
3. Humility
4. Courage

As important as character is in business, however, it is critical that you define it in behavioral terms. For example, what kinds of actions and decisions demonstrate that a person has or does not have good character?  What does it look like when someone has authenticity, self-management, humility and courage? All of these nouns can be extremely difficult to define, assess and measure in people. Different people will define them differently.

Many a company has tried to build competency models for jobs that include character. However, unless a company can define character in behavioral terms, it can increase their legal exposure if they try to use it to make decisions about an individual’s career. In my opinion, character or the lack thereof is not a competency. It is an individual’s operating system-what drives them to make certain decisions and take specific actions.

If you would like to know if you are at risk of derailment, take Dr. Irwin’s FREE Derailed Personal Risk Assessment.

I don’t know about you, but, in my case, I tend to learn more from my failures than my successes. Do you have story to share about learning from failure or derailment? I would love to know your thoughts on this very important topic!

Feel free to contact me by visiting my LinkedIn page or emailing me at susan.fronk@bestbizpractices.org.

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There are 14 million people out of work. Up to 42% of them could end up self-employed. This isn’t an outrageous idea since many of the jobs that have been lost in the recession are not coming back. Besides retraining, entrepreneurship is a viable option. Each year, approximately 6 million new businesses are started. There is every reason to believe this trend is going to continue and may even increase.

Why? The benefits of having your own business can be quite seductive; the freedom to do what you love, the chance to be your own boss, the potential for substantial wealth, an opportunity to make a difference in your industry, with other people, your community and the world.

But , there is no guarantee you will enjoy these benefits. In fact, the risks can be quite daunting; significant financial investments, high stress and potential for burnout, unreliable suppliers, difficult employees, less time for family, friends and leisure time, and instead of typical workdays of 9 to 5, its more likely going to be 5 to 9 seven days a week.

The grim reality is that over 50% of new businesses fail within the first five years. Very few make it big. For some, a failed entrepreneurial venture ends up causing problems in the family, marital difficulties or even divorce. For many more, it ends in financial disaster such as huge debts or even bankruptcy. Still, entrepreneurship offers a unique opportunity for growth, both personally and professionally.

Carol Roth is a Partner and Business Strategist with Intercap Merchant Partners, a business advisory service that maximizes value for companies by partnering with them through investments, financing, licenses or other avenues. In the short video below, Carol recommends that, above all, aspiring entrepreneurs should be realistic, suggesting that if you fail to prepare, then you prepare to fail. She offers 5 tips to increase your chances of business success.

1. Test your business on a small scale-small budget/small amount of time
2. Get relevant experience-go to school on other people’s dime-i.e. work in a bike shop nights and weekends before opening a bike shop
3. Make sure others in your life are on board-business ownership is demanding
4. Build your network of relationships-expand your support system
5. Get your financial life in order-make sure you have enough capital to fund the start-up plus your living expenses for at least 2 years

As Carol stated in the video, entrepreneurship is a long term commitment. So much so that you need to make absolutely certain it is right for you before taking the leap. The fun little test she gives aspiring entrepreneurs is a good one. If you love the adrenaline rush of being in charge, then you are probably more like Santa and would enjoy being an entrepreneur. If, on the other hand, you would rather leave the decisions and responsibility for results to someone else, then you are probably more like an Elf and should stick to being an employee.

Those of you who are considering taking the plunge may be wondering if this is the best time to take the risks associated with starting a business. In an article published in Inc. Magazine on April 1, 2009, author of the best selling book, “Good to Great”,  Jim Collins predicted that the future will be full of uncertainty, chaos, turbulence and risk. So far, his prediction has proved to be correct. But, it’s not a bad time to be an entrepreneur.

Collins believes we now know enough about successful entrepreneurship to teach it in a systematic and replicable process. Successful entrepreneurship is more about action than personality or temperament. When starting a business, Collins urges all aspiring entrepreneurs to:

• Focus more on making a difference (vision and mission) than money
• Identify and execute strategies that advance your company’s goals
• Manage time, money and outcomes; not how work gets done

For those of you who are hesitating to start a business because of the risks, it might be helpful to ask yourself one question. Is self-employment really that much more risky than having a job? Let’s see, when you have a job…

• Your work goals and objectives are determined by someone else
• The kind of work you perform is determined by someone else
• How, when and where you work is determined by someone else
• Your performance is measured and evaluated by someone else
• Your paycheck and other rewards are determined by someone else
• Your job security is determined by someone else

So, pick your poison, as the saying goes. As for me, I’m addicted to the adrenaline rush of entrepreneurship. If you have any tips on starting a successful small business I’d love it if you would share them in the comments section below this article.

Those who enjoyed this article also enjoyed:
What Is The Best Business To Start?
Best Advice for Starting a Business: Ask the Experts!
Is now a good time to start a new business?

If you would like to contact me, you can do so by visiting my LinkedIn page or emailing me at mike.clough@bestbizpractices.org.

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Every once in a while, I come across a really good book for small business owners and decide to recommend it. Of course, there are many good books but, this is one worth reading. The jacket says it all.

“As thorough as a textbook and as lively as a news magazine, The Big Book of Small Business: You Don’t Have to Fly By the Seat of Your Pants,’ by Tom Gegax is the most comprehensive and practical book on how to take a small business to the next level, an indispensible slingshot for the millions of David’s taking on corporate Goliaths”. While the book is a virtual blueprint for making your entrepreneurial dreams come true, it is anything but a fairy tale. In fact, long before Tom’s dreams came true, he had to live through a nightmare.

“Your shoes are charred from stomping out brush fires. You have nightmares about UFOs-Unreachable Financial Objectives. All star interviewees turn into duds. Meetings cause more problems than they solve. The office is a ghost town at 5:01 PM. Does this sound familiar?

“Tom Gegax knows what that is like. Years after running his Tires Plus company by the seat of his pants, blissfully unaware of how little he knew about getting the most out of people and managing a world-class organization, Tom was faced with a cancer diagnosis and a business at the brink of disaster. Resolved to change things around, he improved his mental clarity, health, and relationships and noticed that the more profited on a personal level, the more his company profited. Tires Plus grew into a $200 million business with 140 locations. He had learned his first lesson in Enlightened Leadership 101: Focus on the well-being of your employees and customers-as well as your own-and success will follow naturally.

“In The Big Book of Small Business, Tom shares his hard-earned lessons on how to become an enlightened, effective leader, and how to do the small things right so the big decisions work. This all-in-one toolbox for small business is jammed with warm-hearted, tough-minded practices and street-smart tips, covering every aspect of growing a business:

• Starting, funding, and getting your new business off the ground
• Crafting a mission and growing a corporate culture that works
• Hiring the best people and maximizing their potential
• Communicating/negotiating with employees/customers/suppliers
• Creating processes for continuous innovation and growth
• Protecting your business from unforeseen dangers
• Planning for growth
• And much more…”

As co-founder and former Head Coach (aka, CEO) of Tires Plus, Tom grew the company into a multinational corporation with 2000 employees and 150 stores. After selling the company to Bridgestone, Tom wants to share the insights he gained with small business owners to help them increase profits and reduce stress. In “The Big Book of Small Business”, Tom humbly describes his journey from being “clueless to cashing out”.

What I like most about Tom’s book is his authenticity. Tom openly discloses the correlation between his own personal transformation and his company’s success. He admits that one of the keys to his success is to understand, not just the business, but the people who work in it.

According to Tom, leaders need to objectively observe and grade themselves; both their strengths and their weaknesses. In his presentations, workshops and coaching sessions, he often asks if the leader knows what those grades are.

Tom often asks clients, “When is the last time you evaluated your own performance? How did it look? What did you do about it? It sure isn’t easy to get good evaluations. We beat up on ourselves too much or ignore faults altogether because that’s less painful. Denial and rationalization can rush in when we turn inward.”

Tom believes in the practice of self-coaching as much as he believes in coaching employees. He still chuckles about the reaction he got from people a few years ago at the American Management Association’s CEO Conference in Quebec when he mentioned feedback he got from an employee review. Other CEOs in attendance were appalled that he had allowed his employees to talk about him like that. Ignorance is not bliss, Tom told them. He would rather know what employees are thinking and saying and make corrections based on valid criticism. That’s how you avoid the Emperor-has-no-clothes syndrome.

I realized that Tom was the real deal when he flew to Arizona to be with my late husband who was given a terminal diagnosis of cancer. My husband had been supportive of Tom during a tough period in his life and Tom was duty-bound to reciprocate. I don’t know of many CEOs of multinational corporations who have demonstrated that kind of character.

But, I digress. I would not suggest you read Tom’s book because he has character. You should read “The Big Book of Small Business” because it has the kind of help you need to build a successful business.

If you would like more information, you can contact Tom at tom.gegax@gegax.com or 612-920-5114.  www.gegax.com

If you would like to contact me, you can do so by visiting my LinkedIn page or emailing me at susan.fronk@bestbizpractices.org.

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For those active in social networking (who isn’t these days?), it is a tall order to read all the communications you receive from individuals, groups, and/or companies on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc. let alone respond. This is a problem for me as well. So, for the past several months, I have been testing a tool that organizes all of this activity and sends you results in an email, including links and buttons, so you can respond in a timely manner to the activity that takes place.

Although NutshellMail has been around for a while, it was recently purchased by ConstantContact and infused with additional development. What makes NutshellMail unique is that it sends you an email showing your recent activity on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace (for those still using MySpace) and Ning and allows you to interact from within the email to this activity.

I must admit that it took me a while to get used to NutshellMail and fine-tune the settings to suit me. But once everything was set up the way I liked it, I have really grown to appreciate it. This is not to say it is perfect for everyone. Some people, particularly the younger generation, just don’t use email (it takes too long for a response for them). They probably would not find this useful. Yet, I do believe social media managers and small business owners will find this a very useful tool. And as you heard in the video, it is free.

Facebook
Get all of your Facebook Birthdays, Photos, Friend Requests, Wall Posts, News Feed, Event & Group Invites, and Messages in one interactive email. In other words, you can control Facebook right from your inbox — you can comment, reply, post on walls, and update your status without leaving your email.

Twitter
See all of your mentions, new followers, quitters, and your friends’ latest tweets in your Twitter summary. Tweet, Reply, Retweet, and DM without leaving your inbox.

LinkedIn
Stay connected to the professional world on your schedule. Add LinkedIn to your NutshellMail account and get a summary of all the latest LinkedIn activity delivered to your email inbox: new & updated connections, profile updates, job posting updates, status updates, group updates, recommendation updates, question & answer updates and application updates.

MySpace
MySpace updates include new messages, friend requests, photos, videos, groups, and status updates.

Ning
Get the latest updates from all your networks in one convenient email. You can finally turn off all the annoying notifications without missing anything: new messages, friend requests, photos, videos and status updates.

All of these activities can be managed through an email with the schedule you set for yourself. However this is not where it ends. Additional features are available for small business owners and organizations with Facebook Fan Pages and their own Ning Network. Check out the follow email feature.

NutshellMail for Pages & Networks
Facebook Page owners can increase their Fans’ engagement with a free email newsletter for their Pages. No extra work – they put their existing wall content in email newsletters delivered when their users want them. Check out NutshellMail’s 1-minute, 4-step guide to add a free email newsletter for Facebook Pages.

Ning Network Administrators and Creators can encourage more interaction on their Network with a free email newsletter. They can put the existing content from their Network in their users’ inbox automatically, with no extra work. Check out NutshellMail’s 1-minute, 4-step guide to add a free email newsletter for Ning Networks.

As we continue to explore ways for small business and organizations to capitalize on social media and networking, NetshellMail is just one destination on the journey. Since it’s free, why not give it a try and let us know what you think. Some of our readers may already be using NetshellMail and hopefully will share their experiences with us. I am personally interested in hearing how the email for Facebook Fan Pages and Ning Networks is helping their business and organization.

If you would like to contact me, you can do so by visiting my LinkedIn page or emailing me at mike.clough@bestbizpractices.org.

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When I wrote, “Local Online Marketing for Small Businesses”, a couple of months ago, I neglected to mention Foursquare, a great tool for local retailers. I have been meaning to get back to it, so I figure now is as good a time as any.

With so many social marketing tools `available, why should you consider learning and using yet another one? Because Foursquare is different from the other tools. It offers some really neat capabilities that the other tools don’t. First and foremost, it gives you, the small business owner, management and promotional abilities the other tools don’t.

As social media and networking have moved from computers to cell phones, new applications are being designed and incorporated into existing marketing tools. One of the latest is called “geo-tagging”. “Geo” is short for geographic. As you probably know, cell phones now have a feature called “location”. You can turn it on or off but all phones now have the feature and software companies are building apps around it. Initially, it was navigational GPS. But now, every day other new apps are popping up. Foursquare is built around this feature and helps drive foot traffic to your location, increase branding and create advocates for your business.

Let’s take a look at Foursquare from the advantages to first the consumer and then the small business owner.

Foursquare for the Consumer
Consumers can launch an app on their smartphone (or via text messaging for non-smartphones), that allows them to “check-in” to a business when they arrive. When they “check-in”, several things take place. They can see if any of their friends are at that location or nearby; they have access to tips and special unpublished “deals” (determined by the small biz owner); and they earn points. Points are automatically tracked and consumers earn badges that determine their status. This creates an active and competitive community around your business. The individual with the most points over a 60 day period (your most loyal customer) becomes the “Mayor” of your community.

Here is a short video for the consumer from Foursquare.

Foursquare Social Media
As you can guess, the goal of most Foursquare users is to become the Mayor of their favorite business – stores, restaurants, theaters, night clubs, museums, or your business. These people then become your brand advocates. How well it works for your business will depend on well you play your side of this game – the business side.

Foursquare for Your Business
We mentioned how the consumer earns points for checking-in when they arrive at your business and if they are the top point earner, they become the Mayor of your business. This is really fun and great for the egos of your customers. But, if you could easily identify who your best customers and brand advocates are, wouldn’t you want to reward them in some way? And if you did, wouldn’t your customers compete more aggressively for points? It is easy for you to do this with Foursquare software that is available for your business.

It starts with you claiming your business or “venue” as Foursquare calls it. Then you can use the simple self-service tools to allow you, the business owner, to create different kinds of foursquare Specials, manage multiple Specials and ultimately track how these Specials perform. These services should empower you to develop more engaging ongoing relationships with you customers. You’ll be surprised how effective a little friendly competition — over the Mayorship, free fries or whatever! — can be in driving customers back to your business.

As a business owner, you can use foursquare to engage your increasingly mobile customers with foursquare “Specials,” which are discounts and prizes you can offer your loyal customers when they check in on foursquare at your business.  Don’t forget to show extra love to your business’s Mayor!  Additionally, if you offer foursquare Specials to your customers, you will be able to track how your business is performing over time thanks to Foursquare’s robust set of business analytics – for free!

For example, you can use these tools to create a variety of Foursquare Specials, customized just for your business and for your customers:

• Mayor Specials: unlocked only by the Mayor of your business. Who’s the Mayor?  It’s your single most loyal customer! (the user who has checked in the most in the last 60 days) For example, “Foursquare has deemed you the Mayor! So go ahead an enjoy a free order of french fries!”
• Check-in Specials: unlocked when a user checks in to your business a certain number of times. For example, “Foursquare says you’ve been here 10 times?  That’s a free drink for you!”.
• Frequency-based Specials: are unlocked every X check-ins. For example, “Foursquare users get 20% off any entree every 5th check-in!”.
• Wildcard Specials: always unlocked, but your staff has to verify some extra conditions before awarding the Special. For example, “Show us your Foursquare Swarm badge and get a free drink!”.

Once you claim your business on Foursquare, you’ll be able to check real time stats about your business. For example, how would you like the stats for the following?:

• most recent visitors
• most frequent visitors
• the time of day people check in
• total number of unique visitors
• graphical display of check-ins per day
• gender breakdown of customers
• portion of foursquare check-ins broadcast to Twitter and Facebook

And if that is not enough for you, Foursquare has created mobile phone apps (iPhone, Android and Blackberry) for consumers to check-in and has woven the “Specials” platform into these apps. Through this platform, Foursquare actively calls attention to those businesses (it could be your business) that offer specials to Foursquare users. For example, if a Foursquare user is at your bar/restaurant, Foursquare will tell them what they have to do to unlock a free snack or discounted drink. If they happen to be across the street or two blocks away from your business, Foursquare will let them know that your business gives special treatment to Foursquare users and that they should swing by for a visit.

Small businesses often promote their involvement with Foursquare via Twitter, signs at cash registers and sidewalk blackboards. Also, Foursquare can help you market your Specials to your customers by sending you official Foursquare window clings (see first image in this article as an example). Once you claim your business, you’ll be able to add your mailing information to the list, and Foursquare will send some window clings your way.

Before I leave the subject of Foursquare, I just want to add that Twitter recently announced “Twitter Places” – the ability to send tweets that identify your location. Foursquare users can integrate their accounts with Twitter Places. So if you click on a Twitter Place, you will also see nearby Foursquare check-ins.

Foursquare seems to me like a huge opportunity for retail businesses. And I can’t see a down side. It is free (at least for now) and their software makes everything happen automatically for both the business and the consumer. I am interested in the thoughts from our readers.

Those who enjoyed this article also enjoyed:
Local Online Marketing for Small Businesses

If you would like to contact me, you can do so by visiting my LinkedIn page or emailing me at mike.clough@bestbizpractices.org.

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Do you know what one thing could have the biggest positive impact on your small business? I am reminded of the old 1991 comedy, “City Slickers”. In the movie, Mitch, played by Billy Crystal, is a middle aged radio advertising salesman. He and his friends Ed and Phil are in a mid-life crisis. They decide to go on a two week holiday in the Wild West driving cattle from New Mexico to Colorado. Their guide , Curly, played by Jack Palance, teaches them how to become real cowboys and one or two other things about life.

At one point, Curly says to Mitch, “Do you know what the secret of life is? One thing. Just one thing.”  Mitch asked, “What is the one thing?”. Curly answered, “That’s what you have to find out”.

Of course, driving revenue, keeping costs down and customers happy are critical. But, the one thing that will help you achieve everything else is great employees. Without them, everything else is a lot harder to achieve.

The verdict is officially in. Studies have shown a statistically significant relationship between employees who are passionate and engaged at work and positive business indicators including profits (see research by Gallup). Although this short video by Enterprise Leaders Worldwide does promote their services, it reveals some of Gallup’s findings; proving that when employees feel good (employee engagement), it’s good for business.

Now, if you don’t have employees, you may be thinking this is irrelevant. However, if you are planning on growing, eventually you are going to need to hire at least a few employees. Hiring and retaining great employees may seem like a no-brainer these days when there so many people are out of work. But, this is only an illusion. Great employees are still hard to find and even harder to keep.

A previous article on this blog, “Employees From Heaven or Hell”, reveals alarming research statistics and cases as sited in Cliff Roberson’s eBook titled, “Preventing Employees from Ruining Your Business”.

According to Roberson, employee misconduct is considered the primary reason for the failure of one-third of the businesses that fail. Research indicates that approximately 50% of employees steal at least one item per year. It is estimated that losses from employee theft exceed $30 billion a year. Others estimate that inventory loss through theft exceeds 5% of the inventory cost.

Some experts say that 20% of the people will not steal from you no matter how you treat them. Another 20% will steal from you no matter how you treat them. A full 60% will steal if they feel they are treated poorly. The key, of course, is to avoid hiring the 20% who will steal from you no matter how you treat them. Then, make sure your employees enjoy their work.

Basically, there are three steps to make sure you have passionate and engaged employees. The first is to do a good job of recruiting and hiring. All too often, when small business owners hire employees, they make mistakes. The problem is that many small business owners lack the training to conduct effective employee selection interviews.

Job candidates are notorious for over-selling their abilities and hiding their weaknesses in an effort to obtain employment. Compounding this problem, small business owners are notorious for over-selling the company and the opportunity in an effort to fill the position. This is similar to dating, when both parties are on their best behavior. Then, after they get married (or the the employment relationship gets underway), reality sets in. New employees turn out not to be quite as wonderful as they led the small business owner to believe they were. The job turns out not to be quite as wonderful as the small business owner led the employee to believe it was. Is it any wonder that so many mistakes are made on both parts resulting in disappointment and turnover? For this reason, it is critical that small business owners receive training on effective interviewing.

Today, more and more businesses are turning to temporary help firms to make sure employees are a good fit before hiring them. Temporary workers are an excellent solution for small businesses, especially if there is any doubt about the long term need for help. This way, small business owners don’t have to worry about taxes, unemployment insurance, health insurance or liability.

The second step is to create a great working environment. Contrary to popular belief, compensation is not the main consideration for many employees. Most employees are at least as interested in having an opportunity to contribute to something important, to perform work that they enjoy and are good at and to be appreciated. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do everything you can to make sure your wages are competitive. For more on this topic read the article, “Compensation, You Get What You Pay For”

The third step is something many small business owners do very well. Build relationships with your employees and foster relationships among employees. People don’t quit companies, they quit bosses. Many studies show that relationships at work contribute to employee engagement.

So, if you want to know what one thing will make the biggest difference in your business, look no further than your employees. Take a ruthless look at your business to see where you need to improve it. Call your employees together and be totally transparent about the problems in the business. Ask for their help. Allow them to help. Then, show your appreciation for their help. Sounds simple. It is.

If you would like to contact me, you can do so by visiting my LinkedIn page or emailing me at susan.fronk@bestbizpractices.org.

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If you are operating a business today and you have employees or contractors, you probably should have a social media policy. Why? Virtually every human being who has any interaction with you or your company is involved with social media. That includes your employees, contractors, customers, vendors/suppliers, bankers and consultants. This is just as true for a small business as it is for a big business. Of course, it is unrealistic to think that you can control what all of these people are saying about you or your company online. However, you must recognize the reality of the situation and do what you can to monitor, influence, control and mitigate any potentially negative impact.

The first step is to identify the people over whom you have the most influence. That would include your employees, contractors, consultants and suppliers. These people are probably motivated to maintain favorable relations with you and your company. The only way to have any influence over these people is through policy. If you don’t have a policy for social media, here are some of the scenarios you could encounter:

• Your receptionist wins a wet t-shirt contest and posts pictures on Facebook
• Your new temp tweets that his company sells junk-he has 32,000 followers
• Your bookkeeper comments on a blog that her boss failed to report income
• Your consultant shares in a LinkedIn group that you are hard to work with
• Your employee posts a video of an irate customer on YouTube-it goes viral
• Your supplier complains online that you don’t pay your bills on time

Now, you might be thinking, “my employees, bookkeeper, consultant or suppliers would never do that!” And, you may be right. If so, that is great. However, I would encourage you to open your mind to the possibility that one of these scenarios or something similar could happen. If it is a possibility, you should ask yourself three questions:

1. How can I know what people are doing/saying about me and/or my company?
2. What, if anything, can I do about it?
3. How can I prevent it?

1. The best way to know what people are doing and saying about you and your company online is to get involved in social media yourself and then observe and “listen” on LinkedIn, Twitter, blogs and Facebook. Here are some free online monitoring services:

Google Alerts will notify you when something is posted about you (your name), your company (company name), your blog/website (domain name), or your employee’s names.

TweetBeep will notify you when someone tweets about you (name or username), your company (company name) and/or your blog (blog name). If you put in the (Twitter account name) of your employees, you will be notified about their Tweets.

BackTweets will notify you when someone tweets about something on your blog and/or website using your domain.

2. The best thing to do if someone does or says something that negatively impacts you and/or your company online is to respond. For example, if you notice that one of your employees has posted pictures of themselves online that are questionable, you may not have any legal right to demand that they take them down. However, if they have listed your company name in their profile, you might want to have a conversation with them about the potential harm pictures like that could do to their image as well as the company’s image. Remember, anything that is online could easily be seen by your investors and customers. Before taking any action with an employee, however, I would suggest that you check with an attorney to be sure you are standing on solid legal footing.

If someone says something online that negatively impacts your company, the first thing, you should do is determine whether or not it is true. If, after researching the situation, you find it is true, you need to resolve the problem by making an apology and appropriate amends. Whenever possible, you should try to repair any damage to your image by communicating through the same social media networks the individual used that caused the damage in the first place. In the case of dissatisfied customers, disgruntled employees, contractors, consultants or suppliers, you should communicate with them personally as well as online to offer an apology, correct any misunderstandings and make amends. That way, others can see how well you took care of the situation.

4. How can I prevent people from doing or saying things online that negatively impact me and/or my company? The simple answer is you can’t prevent it in all cases. Of course, with employees, contractors and consultants, you have some recourse. You can always terminate them. However, unless you have an established social media policy in place, there could be legal repercussions.

More and more companies are creating social media policies to prevent the kinds of problems mentioned in this article. If you Goggle social media policy, no doubt you will find a lot of helpful resources. Social Media Today offers examples of social media policies form over 100 companies. You may also wish to consult with an expert in Human Resource policies and/or an attorney before drafting your social media policy as every company is different.

By now, everyone realizes that the worldwide adoption of the Internet has forever changed the way we live, do business and relate to one another. Terms like global economy and global village are not just clever euphemisms; they describe the world as we know it. And, it’s going to be almost impossible for small businesses to avoid being impacted by the power of online communications and social media. However, these new media can become a runaway train for a small business with employees. It’s best to get on board before the train gets too far down the road and develop a social media policy.

If you would like to contact me, you can do so by visiting my LinkedIn page or emailing me at susan.fronk@bestbizpractices.org.  

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Frustrated over the lack of cash to run your business? Many existing small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs seeking to access capital in the form of bank loans are running out of patience by the inability to land credit. Only half of small businesses that tried to borrow last year got all or most of what they needed, according to a survey by the National Federation of Independent Business. In the mid-2000s, 90% of businesses said they got the loans they needed.

Now, if you are on Twitter, it is probably not news to you (they have been tweeting about it since its introduction) that Sam’s Club recently announced it is testing an online program with Superior Financial Group (SFG), the Nation’s leading Small Business Administration (SBA) lender, to make $5,000 to $25,000 loans available to qualifying members. The initiative, aimed at supporting small business as well as its small business members, was launched after a survey in 2009 revealed that nearly 15 percent of Sam’s Club’s business members reported being denied a loan to run their operation. This statistic is up from 12% in April 2009.

The Sam’s Club small business loan program complements other offerings for small businesses including low rate merchant credit card processing, convenient order-ahead programs and early shopping hours. This will be the first small business loan program offered by Sam’s Club.

The small business loan program offered by Sam’s Club targets Main Street minority, women and Veteran owned small business owners and micro-entrepreneurs under the SBA’s Premier Outreach Express products such as Community Express, Patriot Express and Export Express loans.

“Access to capital is a major pain point for our members and the small business Main Street community.  We believe this pilot program is a step in the right direction to help fuel small business growth and create jobs to stimulate our economy. It’s also simple to apply and costs less, which is consistent with our goal to help our members make smart choices and provide superior value,” said Catherine Corley, vice president, Membership at Sam’s Club.

There are only 13 Small Business Lending in Corporations (SBLC) that are approved and federally regulated by the SBA. SFG, which specializes in providing access to credit for Main Street and underserved borrowers, is one of them. SFG also offers free online technical assistance and online training courses specifically designed to shore up the borrower’s weaknesses. They include “how to” instructions on writing a business plan, complete with a business plan writing template.

“All Lenders are trying to make an impact on Main Street, which includes minorities, women and veterans to help create jobs. Main Street, however remains the most difficult underserved market to reach”, said Tim Jochner, CEO Superior Financial Group. “Sam’s Club together with SBA’s premier outreach express loan programs provides both a unique and powerful opportunity to reach and provide capital along with technical assistance and training to increase successful penetration into this underserved space.”

A special offer by Sam’s Club for members who apply for a small business loan online during the pilot is $100 off the application fee, a 20 percent discount and a 7.5 APR, which is a 25 basis point discount. Loan terms will remain at 10 years, which is common to help keep monthly payments low. Best of all, there is no penalty for early repayment. Sam’s Club memberships typically run $35 annually.

Sam’s Club small business loan pilot program is anticipated to be delivered online. However, Sam’s Club is planning on testing some in club communication and other marketing efforts to reach business members and small business owners. For more information visit samsclub.com and click on the services tab.

For more information about Sam’s Club SBA Loan Program, view their Q&A page and download their brochure. If you are already a member of Sam’s Club, you can even apply online.

If you would like to contact me, you can do so by visiting my LinkedIn page or emailing me at mike.clough@bestbizpractices.org.

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