Younger Small Businesses Use More Social Media

Young folks are energetic, enthusiastic, and have energy to spare, right? Just look at any five-year-old and you see what I mean. They expend more energy in one hour than I might spend all day.

It turns out that the same principle of Youth = More Energy applies to small business and social media. According to email and direct mail marketing provider Vertical Response, startup companies (or younger small businesses) tend to be more energetic and enthusiastic than more established small businesses.

No big surprise there, but the statistics make for an interesting read. Plus, if you are the owner of a more mature small business, this might motivate you to get involved in social media, even if you join with caution. Read the article on the Small Business Search Marketing website:

Small Business and Social Media: Experience vs. Enthusiasm

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Photo credit: SF critical ass

Tags: small business, social media, startup

Small Business and Social Media: Who and How?

Social media is still in the early adoption phase where small business is concerned. Yes, a lot of small business owners are getting involved in social media. No, widespread adoption isn’t happening … yet. Without the mega-bucks marketing budget that large businesses have, small business owners are taking their time getting acquainted with social media. Social media takes a lot of one resource that most small business owners lack: time.

But, as always, there are bleeding edge early adopters out there, testing the waters, occasionally getting eaten by sharks (sad, but true), and pioneering the way for the rest of the masses. What are these folks doing?

According to a study by Sage Software and AMI-Partners, at least 260,000 small businesses in the U.S. and Canada are using social media as a marketing channel. Find out how these early adopters are using social media, and then see if you might want to start getting your small business involved.

Social Media and Small Business Getting Acquainted Slowly

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Photo credit: strawberrysoup

Tags: early adoption, small business, social media

Twitter for the Small Business Owner

To many small business owners, viewing a Tweet-stream is like trying to look for a specific drop of water in Niagara Falls. Translation? Totally overwhelming. Totally impossible. The Tweets come fast and furious, and finding ANYTHING, never mind replying to someone, is like a nightmare come to life.

But there is hope! You, the small business owner, can learn to navigate Twitter with some semblance of dignity and order. As part of this week’s ongoing focus on small business and social media, I suggest you read this insightful article by Corey Perlman on the Mplans.com website:

Should a Small Business Use Twitter?

This cogent article gives small business owners a very simple step-by-step plan on how to use Twitter. Best of all, the plan is do-able, even for the firefighting head honcho. The plan is designed to help small business owners get their feet wet in Tweetville, and figure out whether Twitter is right for their business. Corey suggests using the plan for three months before making a decision. Sounds like a good plan to me.

Sound good to you?

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Photo credit: Twitter6

Tags: small business, Twitter

Putting a New Face on My Small Business

Putting a New Face on My Small Business

For a while now, I’ve been worried about getting old. It’s rather silly, I’m in my 30s, so worrying about getting old is just plain dumb. But it didn’t just happen out of the blue. There was a cascade of events in my life that caused me to feel old. Here’s how it played out:

1.    One of my horses fell down with me, crushing my leg and tweaking my back.
2.    Two weeks later, a different horse bucked me off, tweaking my shoulder.
3.    A few days later, I tried to lift a 40-gallon weed sprayer I thought was empty. It actually had water in it, so I ended up ripping some muscles in my back.
4.    I stopped getting carded at the liquor store.
5.    People started telling me I looked tired, and I hated to look at my reflection in the sun, which reveals all!

As silly as this seems, I noticed that I started to feel and act kind of, well, old. I couldn’t ride my horses because my back hurt, and I stopped wanting look in the mirror. But that’s really not a big deal.

When My Face Got in the Way of My Small Business

What was not OK is when I started noticing myself wavering in some business transactions, backing down on stuff that I would never let go by in the past. I didn’t question a couple of items on an invoice from a vendor, which resulted in a mess that took several weeks to “clean up.” I avoided a face-to-face meeting with a potential client and opted for a phone call instead. I started oversleeping, resulting in fewer hours of working time. I work for myself, so there’s no employer hovering over my shoulder, but I wasn’t getting to everything I wanted and needed to.

A few weeks ago I woke up and realized that my feeling of “being old” was getting in the way of my business. I didn’t feel good. I didn’t look good. This was not good. It was time to shake myself out of this rut because, as you know, a rut is only a few feet shallower than a grave!

Girly Stuff That Actually Works

For some time my friends had been urging me to try some antioxidant facial products for the freckles, tiny wrinkles, dark circles, and little spots of eczema that had started showing up on my face. I grew up as a tomboy and never really grew out of it. I’m pretty much a zen cowgirl at heart, so makeup and facial products don’t figure largely in my shopping list. I usually use natural foods and supplements to get great skin from the inside out. Plus, the cost of the facial product was more than those sold in the grocery store. But I decided that drastic measures were required here. My face was starting to affect my small business, and that was unacceptable.

I ordered the facial products with some doubt. When they came, I dutifully followed the directions and applied them twice daily. Within four days, my hubby noticed something different about my face. He asked me if I was feeling better and whether I was getting more sleep. “Nah,” I said. “I’m just getting all girly and actually using some good stuff on my face.” He knows that I’m a tomboy so he thought that was hilarious, but appreciated the effects nevertheless.

On top of all of this facial pampering, I also upped my intake of natural antioxidants. The combination has made all the difference to the way I feel. I don’t feel like I’m 20 again, but then again, maybe I don’t want to. I was kind of silly at age 20. I do feel healthy and, best of all, confident.

Looking and Feeling Good is Good Business

I feel like I’ve literally put a whole new face on my small business. After all, I am the face of my small business, so how I feel about myself and my face is pretty important. It didn’t take a lot to change the face of my business. The hardest part was recognizing that, as a small business owner, I work hard and am often under a lot of stress. I’ve reached a point in my life where I have to start combating that stress more aggressively, especially if is starts interfering with my business and well-being.

What about you? Are you feeling worn-down by your workload? Is there a way you can put a “new face” on your small business by doing something good for yourself?

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Photo credit: My ‘Happy Meal’ Version

Tags: new face, small business, small business owners

Three Kinds of Skills You Must Have in This Economy

Need a Ouija Board for Your Small Business?

The rocky economy has everyone guessing what’s coming next. In fact, that Magic 8-ball is starting to look pretty good to some people. A crystal ball or Ouija board might work, too.

Well, if you need a little help in the visionary department, check out “The Next Millionaires” by Paul Zane Pilzer. The guy is pretty savvy when it comes to putting his finger on current and coming trends. In his book, he offers some simple formulas that might help you evaluate where you are in your life and career, and where you might want to go from here.

Three Kinds of Skills You Must Have in This Economy

One of the best things I like about Paul’s book is the way he identifies the three kinds of skills that we all need to have in the coming years: basic skills, functional skills, and adapting skills.

Most of us already know about the first two kinds of skills. Paul defines basic skills as “you ability read, write, speak, calculate, and process information.” These are the basics that we learned in school, and are needed in just about every kind of work or job. If you gaps in any of these basic skills, Paul suggesting taking the time to fill those gaps now.

Functional skills are the specialized skills that we have developed since we left school. These include skills from “on the job training” and from further schooling. For instance, accountants have functional skills in accounting and number-crunching. Auto mechanics have functional skills in fixing vehicles.

In the past, we learned that having basic and functional skills guaranteed us a job for life. No longer. These days, having specialized skills in a specific niche can be deadly to your career. It’s like having special skills as a carriage driver as the automobile makes its entrance onto the transportation scene. Talk about being a dinosaur! These days, people with niche skills are going the way of the dinosaur faster than ever.

Why Every Small Business Owner Needs Adaptive Skills

The speed at which business and industry are changing means that we now need that third set of skills – the adapting skills. Paul defines adapting skills as “the ability with which you learn new things.”

If your business goes the way of the dinosaur, do you have the skills to adapt and change quickly? If a competitor comes up with a copycat product, can you take advantage of something else, like a new marketing technique, to distinguish your business from your competitor’s?

With the economy unpredictable, your ability to generate and sustain wealth is dependent, to a large extent, on your ability as a small business owner learn something new. You have to be able to learn something new quickly and thoroughly.

This kind of gives you food for thought when it comes to the old business standbys like:

“Not invented here.”

or

“This is the way we’ve always done it!”

Do you need to come up with a new affirmation or mantra for your business?

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Photo credit: Fortune Telling Collectibles

Tags: adaptive skills, basic skills, functional skills, Paul Zane Pilzer, small business, three kinds of skills

Word-of-Mouth Advertising Still Reigns Supreme

In a world awash with spam, advertisements, and tons of direct mail crap, word-of-mouth advertising still reigns supreme as the factor that influences consumer shopping and buying habits.

If you are a small business owner, here are some amazing facts about word-0f-mouth promotion that you will definitely want to know (thanks to Bazaarvoice for this very cool collection of stuff).

Read on! You’ll be surprised how these facts might alter the way you look at your business, your interaction with customers, and the way your promote.

Facts About Word-of-Mouth Advertising You’ll Want to Know

For instance, here are just a few of the facts you can find on the Bazaarvoice website:

“Person like me” still most trusted source for information about a company and, therefore, products. (Edelman Trust Barometer, November 2007)

Recommendations from family and friends trump all other consumer touchpoints when it comes to influencing purchases, according to ZenithOptimedia. (AdAge, April, 2008)

According to a global Nielsen survey of 26,486 Internet users in 47 markets, consumer recommendations are the most credible form of advertising among 78% of the study’s respondents. (Nielsen, “Word-of-Mouth the Most Powerful Selling Tool”, October 2007)

86% of consumers read online business reviews before making purchasing decisions; 90% of whom say they trust these reviews. (Kudzu.com survey of 600 users, December 2008)

84% of consumers earning more than $150,000 annually visit sites where customers review and rate products and services including restaurants. (The Luxury Institute, April 2007)

83% of online shoppers would make purchases if sites offered increased interactive elements. (Allurent, January 2008)

Consumers were willing to pay between 20 to 99% more for a 5-star rated product than for a 4-star rated product, depending on the product category. (comScore/Kelsey, October 2007)

These are just a FEW of the many facts that Bazaarvoice puts out. Plus they have a killer blog. Check ‘em out … your small business will definitely benefit:

Bazaarvoice

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Photo credit: takomabibelot

Tags: small business, word of mouth advertising, word of mouth facts

Right and Wrong Ways to Use Humor in Business

Right and Wrong Ways to Use Humor in Business

Humor is a great way to promote your small business, but did you know that there is a right way and a wrong way to use humor in business? There is a fine dividing line between humor as an engaging hook and humor as an annoying gag that has gone too far.

Luckily for us small business owners, Ken Beaulieu, Chief Content Creator at FuelNet, has put together a guide on how to use humor in business, as part of the Ebook “10 Effective Marketing Tips to Engage Your Customers.”

Get your free copy here.

In this eye-opening ebook, Ken lays down the five principles for using humor in your business. These are:

Use humor to make a point, not just to score a laugh.
Get serious after you get a grin.
Make fun of yourself, not your product.
Check in with your customers frequently to see if your humor is still relevant and compelling.
Expect complaints.

These are great tips that every small business owner needs to know about.

Get your free copy here.

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Photo credit: #112 > call the cops

Tags: humor, small business

Procrastination Problem? Don’t Let It Interfere with Your Small Business

How to Stop Watching TV and Get to Work!

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary the definition of the word procrastinate is “to put off intentionally the doing of something that should be done.” The synonym procrastinate is “delay.” We can all probably think of a lot more words that resonate with procrastinate, like denial, distraction, and avoidance. Or here’s another list that might work: sleeping, eating, watching TV, chatting on the phone with friends, listening to the mp3 players, and taking out the trash. If any of the items on these lists distract you from doing tasks that will make you profitable in your small business, then it’s quite possible that you have a procrastination problem.

Procrastination? You’re Not Alone
But rest assured that you are not alone in having a procrastination problem. According to University of Calgary professor Piers Steel, more people than ever feel they chronically procrastinate. His study, published by the American Psychological Association, showed that in 1978 only about five percent of Americans felt they were “chronic procrastinators.” Now that figure has risen to 26% (and that’s only the people willing to admit that they have a problem!). The question then becomes, “Why do you have a procrastination problem?” Here’s a short list of reasons why you might be avoiding tasks you should be doing in your small business. You:

- are overwhelmed
- don’t know what to do
- feel someone else should do it
- feel the task is unnecessary even if required
- are already too behind on many other tasks
- would rather be doing something else
- don’t like doing the task
- can’t do the task perfectly so you don’t do it at all

And to this list you can, of course, add the fact that you didn’t have a happy childhood (or substitute your own personal favorite excuse). But what can you do if you have a procrastination problem but you want to succeed in your small business? The answer is simple.

Get a Buddy
Get a buddy who has a procrastination problem, too, and break your day into little bite-sized chunks. Look at your horrible list of tasks for your small business, which you’ve been avoiding like the plague, and pick a couple of tasks that can be done in one hour. Call your buddy and tell him, “Hey, I’m going to be doing two things in the next hour: responding to prospect queries and making my scheduled cold calls. What will you work on?” Once you and your buddy have a plan for the hour, synchronize your watches and get going.

Your goal is to complete your chosen tasks in an hour. If you finish early, then you get to take a break. At the end of the hour, call your buddy and compare notes. If you finished your tasks then pick two more for the following hour. If you didn’t finish your tasks, break your list down into smaller chunks and choose two smaller tasks for the coming hour, such as responding to just three prospect queries instead of all of them. Keep picking and completing items on your to-do list in this way for several hours. If you don’t have a whole hour to spend, then choose smaller tasks and work for shorter periods of time. You will be amazed at how this little technique can dissolve your procrastination problem in short order.

Chunk Down Your To-Do List
This approach of “chunking down” your small business to-do list and working with a buddy helps you get beyond your procrastination problem several ways. First of all, working with a buddy makes the occasion seem social and fun rather than tedious and boring. Second, by not looking at your whole list all the time, you avoid feeling overwhelmed. Third, by finishing two tasks every hour you have a wonderful sense of completion, which definitely trumps the lousy guilt that comes from procrastination. Finally, with this method you can’t fall back on the excuse that you don’t know what you do. You just pick two tasks and do them. It’s not rocket science and you may not always pick the two best tasks, but it sure beats sitting on your rear and procrastinating until the sun sets! Following the adage that “something is better than nothing,” this method means that you will have accomplished at least something productive in your small business by the end of the day.

Photo credit: stop watching tv

Tags: procrastination problem, productivity solutions, small business

How to Be an Online Genius

“Genius. It is just attention to something specific. That’s all it is … so anyone who gives attention to any subject for a period of time will evolve in the direction of that understanding.” — Abraham-Hicks

Most of us wish we were geniuses but almost none of us feel that we are. Society tells us that the Einsteins of the world come along maybe once in a generation.

But you are a genius – we all are. At what? At being you. And that may be enough to help you create online success for your small business. Why?

Ever look around on the web and find that most online businesses are, well … boring? Loud? Obnoxious? And definitely unappealing? Ten-page ads are NOT appealing. Empty promises of making thousands of dollars in a few weeks – appealing, but not very realistic. This mass of unappealing web content is the result of people trying to be the model of success – but these people have forgotten to be themselves.

At the other end of the spectrum, look at what’s really a success online: social networking. MySpace, YouTube, Facebook. What’s that all about? These sites are about people being themselves. They show themselves as they really are–grungy, attractive, silly, sad, and smart by turns. Other people are really attracted by that authenticity.

Some MySpace users have over 1.5 million friends. Count ‘em. Yup, we said millions. What are they doing? Nothing but putting a spotlight on who they are. They are geniuses at being themselves, and that attracts.

You are also a genius at being you. So if you want to attract people online to your small business, be the genius that you are. Don’t hide your personality under a bush or cloak it in a lot of “expert” bull-pucky. Express yourself!

Whether you write articles, author a blog, put up a page on MySpace or post a YouTube video, the germ of success for you lies in your own genius.

The age of the guru is over. The age of “people like me” is here, now. People want to interact with people like them, people like you.

Whoever you are and whatever you’re situation, write about it so people can connect with you. Connecting is as simple as letting people know not just who you are, but how you are. Describe your situation and BE HONEST. Are you a mom stuck at home dealing with dirty diapers and toilet training but longing for some time and money for yourself? Then say so. If you haven’t washed your hair in three days because you don’t have time to, but you really want enough time and money to hire a babysitter, dress up for a few evenings of adult conversation and wine … then blurt it out!

If people can have 1.5 million “friends” online talking about their most recent fight with their boyfriend or a bad day at work, just think of what you can do with your home-based business by just being you? Blog, submit articles, write reviews, set up a business website, get a MySpace page … whatever. Just don’t lose your personality along the way.

As Coco Chanel, the grande dame of fashion, once said:
“How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something but to be someone.”

Photo credit: All the Pretty Things

Tags: online genius, small business

Local Smoke Shop Doesn’t Blow Smoke Up Your Pants

Meet Rick. I met Rick at the local smoke shop, aptly named “Smokes.” The first time I met him I knew I wanted to profile him on the Go Small Biz Blog. There’s something about Rick that makes people feel comfortable, an attitude of mellow attentiveness that really makes people come back. I did.

In this somewhat deflated economy, it’s important to highlight what is working for small businesses. Rick is working for Smokes. Since he has been working at Smokes, business has picked up 40%. Yesterday I visited with him at Smokes to find out what it is about him that makes people keep coming back and keep buying more. Here’s what he told me.

1. Blunt Honesty
A steady stream of customers came in while I was chatting with Rick, and I watched how he helped each one of them. He’s quick with his opinions and they are honest. One man asked to look at an item in the display case. Rick was happy to pull it out, but at the same time said, “That will fall apart on you right away. I would recommend this one,” pointing to a pricier model. The sheer matter-of-factness in his voice made it a no-brainer for the customer, who promptly followed Rick’s advice. Customers know Rick is honest, and are happy to follow his guidance, even if it means spending a few more dollars.

2. The Fuzzy Slipper Factor
People who walk into the store immediately feel comfortable. Even if Rick is helping someone else, he always greets any new person walking into the store and says he’ll help them soon. This may seem like a tiny detail, but how many times have you walked into a store only to be ignored by the salespeople, who are either helping other people or chatting amongst themselves? When Rick is helping you, even if there are other customers in the store, you never feel like he’s in a hurry or you are wasting his time. I call this the fuzzy slipper factor. Rick makes customers feel as comfortable as if they were wearing fuzzy slippers.

3. Informed Opinions
Everyone has an opinion, and many opinionated people can be difficult to listen to, but not Rick. Rick doesn’t just have opinions, he has informed opinions. He proudly pulled out a 2-foot tall water blue platic water pipe and told me that it had been broken. He pulled tried fixing it and pulling it apart with every tool at his disposal, including a hacksaw. But, being an educated microscope engineer, Rick finally figured it out. Rick likes to figure things out, which means that when he offers you an opinion, it’s usually the result of some personal experience or research. Despite the name of the shop, Rick doesn’t blow smoke up your you-know-what!

4. Don’t Sell the Unwilling Customer
The store recently started carrying electric cigarettes, which deliver nicotine through water vapor instead of smoke. Some people love the idea and some people hate it. Many a wife has sent her husband down to see Rick about getting electric cigarettes, mostly because the wives can’t stand the smell of cigarettes. The wives love the idea of an electric cigarette that has odorless water vapor instead of smoke. The hubbies are not so thrilled. One showed up in the store with a chip on his shoulder and the attitude, “OK, educate me!” Rick said he attempted to discuss the product with the man for a few minutes before moving on. No point in selling the unwilling customer. As a person who admits he’s “basically lazy,” Rick doesn’t expend effort that goes nowhere.

5. Help People
This is the biggie. Rick says that in every job he’s ever worked he has always been able to help people–a lot! When people show up to Smokes, he definitely has a friendly helpful attitude, whether they want an opinion on cigars or they want to buy a 2-foot water pipe. Rick may be an employee at Smokes, but he acts like he owns the joint with his level of caring. What’s the point? If you’re going to be in the store anyway, go ahead and care about the people who walk in. Don’t fake it till you make it, be for real. Don’t just be in your business to make a buck. Make a difference if you can.

Meeting Rick is kind of one of those “you had to be there” things.  I can write a bunch of stuff about him, but I can’t really transmit that special something about Rick through words. You have to meet him. Or maybe you don’t. You have probably met the equivalent of Rick somewhere along the way.

The question is, how can you put more “Rick” into your small business to make it friendlier, more comfortable, more honest, and more attractive?

Tags: management, sales, small business, smoke shop