Small Business Lessons We Can Learn from Watching Movies
Category: Business>Small Business Trends

Movies have a big impact on our everyday life. There is no denying that even with DVRs where we can record everything on cable television, we still take a lot of time to watch movies. The 2009 movie “Avatar” now has become the highest grossing film in history — by a wide margin.

In fact, technology has increased our appetite to watch to entertain ourselves since we can now watch not only on television, but computers and smartphones.

There’s no reason to feel guilty about watching a movie, thinking you should be working instead.

Relax! You can actually learn about business by watching movies!

I asked a few small business leaders what were their favorite movie quotes of all time and then I thought about what I learned from that movie. Grab your popcorn and take a look at what they shared:

NO EXCUSES!

Movie:  Goodfellas. “Business is bad? F-you, pay me.  Oh, you had a fire? F-you, pay me.  Place got hit by lightning, huh?  F-you, pay me.” (From Bob London)

• Lesson: If you are part of the organization, there are no excuses for results. It is also an incentive to keep your company overhead low so you have cash to pay for what you really need.

FOCUS FIRST, GROW LATER!

Movie: Jerry Maguire: Remember the Mission Statement? “We are losing our battle with all that is personal and real about our business. Every day I can look at a list of phone calls only partially returned. Driving home, I think of what was not accomplished, instead of what was accomplished.”

• Lesson: Fewer clients, more personal attention makes for a better business. Growth for growth’s sake is a bad business strategy.

STAND UP FOR YOUR BUSINESS!

Movie: Road House: “Be nice.  Be nice until it is time to not be nice.”  (From Prasann Thakrar)

• Lesson: Being nice in business does not always get the results you want. Many times, we need to press our point.

RISE TO THE OCCASION

Movie: Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium: “Your life is an occasion. Rise to it.” (From by Phillip Zannini – @PhillyMac)

• Lesson: We need to remember that we are responsible for our own success. Never look for that one magic bullet in business or for someone to save you because no one is coming. The magic comes from the hard work you give to your business.

EVERYONE NEEDS TO BE ABLE TO SELL

Movie: Glengarry Glen Ross “Good leads are for closers”.  (From Vicki Donlan)

• Lesson: You need to know what to do with a lead if you are going to close a sale. There is no substitution for being able to sell. We all need to learn and have skilled sales people on our team.

GET TOUGH — DON’T COMPLAIN!

Movie: A League of Their Own: “There is no crying in Baseball”.  (From Scratch at Boston Baby Dolls).

• Lesson: No matter how bad it gets, long term, crying does not help us in business.

From the same movie “Of course this is ‘hard’:

• Lesson: People always tell me that their business is especially hard. Guess what, every business is hard.

RELATIONSHIPS ARE POWERFUL

Movie: Hustle & Flow – You’re in charge of your business and the power of marketing relationships.  (From Elizabeth W. Wilson)

• Lesson: No matter where you come from, you can become successful.

DON’T LET ANYONE TELL YOU WHAT YOU CAN’T DO

Movie: Legally Blonde: Elle uses what she has to achieve her goals. (Submitted by Phillip Zannini)

• Lesson: We all need to make it work from where we are right now

LEAD BY EXAMPLE

Movie: It’s a Wonderful Life:  The movie shows the principles of leadership. George Bailey puts his customers, employee and family interests first by taking responsibility.  (From Stephen Antisdel of Precept Partners)

• Lesson: If more financial institutions has operated this way maybe the “Great Recession” would have been avoided.

LOVE YOUR LIFE

My favorite movie quotes are from the movie, Jerry Maguire, as said by Jerry’s mentor, Dickie Fox:

”Hey, I don’t have all the answers. In life, to be honest, I failed as much as I have succeeded. But I love my wife. I love my life. And I wish you my kind of success.”

Want more? Check out Kevin Coupe and Michael Sansolo, the co-author of The Big Picture: Essential Business Lessons from the Movies interview on my radio show.

What are your favorite quotes or business lessons from movies?  Share them below.

From Small Business Trends

Small Business Lessons We Can Learn from Watching Movies

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Assessing Small Business Owners’ Optimism
Category: Business>Small Business Trends

Policy makers, the media, and many other people care about small business owners’ perceptions, making the monthly optimism figures put out by the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) and Discover Small Business Watch (DSBW) noticed statistics. The goal of these measures is to tell us if small business owners are becoming more or less optimistic about prospects for their businesses and the overall economy.

Because these indices get reported and discussed in the media, it’s important to recognize their strengths and weaknesses. First, the overall numbers sometimes mask big differences between groups of entrepreneurs because the surveys are given to very different business owners. Some are male, and some female; some sell products and others provide services; and some serve consumers and others serve businesses. The respondents vary in age, income, number of employees, and years in business.

If the optimism and pessimism of all of these business owners moved in lock step over time, the tendency to focus on the average of all of them wouldn’t be a big deal. Whether optimism was high or low would pretty much be the same for everyone. But when the levels of optimism of different groups don’t all move in the same way over time (they aren’t that highly correlated), then knowing the average but not what’s happening with the different groups hides important information.

I don’t have data on the Optimism Index for different groups of respondents to the NFIB survey, but I do have it for the DSBW from December 2006 through January 2010. So I can talk about those correlations.

While the optimism levels of all of groups are positively correlated, the correlations aren’t super high. For instance, the correlation between the optimism levels of the owners businesses that are one to two years old and those that are six to ten years old is only 0.44 over this time period.

Similarly, the optimism levels of business owners 18 to 29 only correlate 0.64 with those of business owners 65 and older, and optimism levels of owners making under $20,000 per year only correlate 0.66 with those making between $75,000 and $100,000. Thus something common affects the optimism of owners of different ages, those running different aged businesses, and those making different amounts of money, but different factors also drive their levels of optimism.

Second, the responses of the business owners to different questions on the surveys don’t all correlate highly. For instance, there is essentially no relationship (correlation of -0.02) between the share of business owners who say the economy is getting better and the percentage that say they have experienced temporary cash flow problems that caused them to hold off on paying some bills over the past 90 days. And the percentage of small business owners who say that the economy is getting better and the percentage that plan to increase spending on business development correlate only 0.36, while the percentage of owners who say the economy is getting better and the percentage that plan to hire correlates only 0.30 over the August 2006 through January 2010 time period.

What about the question everyone wants to know about right now: are businesses going to hire? Over the August 2006 through January 2010 time period, the share of owners planning to increase spending on business development is a better predictor than the percentage who say that overall economic conditions are improving (a correlation of 0.73 versus 0.36).

But here’s a piece of evidence that shows what a lot of people in Washington are worried about. If the data are split into two time periods – from August 2006 to June 2008 and from July 2008 through January 2010 – the correlation between the share of small business owners planning to spend more on business development and the percentage planning to hire is greater for the first period than for the second. That pattern suggests that the factors driving the spending and hiring plans are more different now than they were in the pre-financial crisis period.

What about the two optimism indices themselves? They’re pretty highly correlated. From December 2006 through January 2010, the NFIB and DSBW optimism indices correlate 0.85. Because the NFIB surveys its members (who tend to run larger businesses than the respondents to the DSBW), that level of correlation suggests that both indices are picking up general trends rather than factors affecting larger versus smaller small businesses or NFIB members versus nonmembers.

The overall measures correlate more highly than specific items. For instance, the NFIB’s measure of the percentage of small business owners who answer “better” minus the percentage that answer “worse” to the question: “About the economy in general, do you think that six months from now general business conditions will be better than they are now, about the same, or worse?” correlates only 0.40 with the percentage of respondents to the DSBW survey who answer “better” minus the percentage who answer “worse” to the question: “Generally speaking, are the economic conditions for your business getting better or worse in the next 6 months?” Unfortunately, we can’t tell whether this low correlation results from the types of businesses surveyed by the two groups or the difference between the NFIB’s focus on general conditions and the DSBW’s focus on the respondent’s business.

None of this says that there is anything wrong with these surveys. They provide us with useful information about what’s going with small business owners’ thinking on an up-to-date basis. We just need to be cautious about how we use them. We can’t assume that the patterns over time are going to be the same for both surveys, between questions on each survey, or between different groups of respondents to the surveys.

From Small Business Trends

Assessing Small Business Owners’ Optimism

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3 Steps to Free Publicity for Your Business
Category: Business>Small Business Trends

When you’re a small business, positive word-of-mouth is critical to growth. One of the best ways to get that buzz going is through publicity.  But how do you compete with the big guys, and get publicity?  Here are the only three steps you need to get great publicity FREE:

Step 1:  Have A Great Product, Service or Business

Most small businesses think that what they sell is great. 

The Key:  To get publicity, you need to provide what the media thinks is great.

Here are some examples of what makes products interesting to the media:

• A truly new product (just launched in the last few months or about to be launched)
• Unique, breakthrough product
• Works well, tastes great, etc. (In most cases the media will test out your product if they are interested in featuring it in a story)
• Colorful packaging / visually appealing – especially important for visual media
• Product ties into trends – organic/green, political, etc.
• Priced right – less than key price points ($100, $50, $25, $10) or priced high if truly a luxury item

Here are some examples of what makes services and businesses interesting to the media:

• New service, company or book (just launched in the last few months or about to be launched)
• Unique, breakthrough service, concept or business
• Provides ways to save money
• Offers something for free
• High rate of revenue and employee growth
• Ties into trends

Step 2:  Approach The Right Media Contact With A Great Pitch

You should only approach media that cover your type of product or business.  This means that you’ll need to read, listen to or view these media outlets prior to pitching them.

Once you determine that your business or product is a good fit for their editorial coverage, you need to find the right contact.  You can do this in several ways:

• Call up the media outlet and ask who the person is who covers your area
• Look at the print masthead or producer credits
• Search online 
• Buy a list – you can find these online

Then you need to pitch the contact. Include why your product or service is a great fit for that media outlet, as well as a product or service description.  Don’t forget to include your contact information.

You can pitch via phone or email.  Here, you can see a sample pitch for a product or service business.

Step 3: Follow Up

This is the part that trips up most do-it-yourself publicists and even P.R. folks.  Once the media has expressed interest in your product or service, you must be persistent in contacting them. 

Often you’ll need to follow-up with them several times, via the phone or email, until you have gotten media coverage.

By following these steps, your chances of getting publicity are greatly increased.  And once you get publicity, you’ll see more buzz, more sales and more credibility for your business.

From Small Business Trends

3 Steps to Free Publicity for Your Business

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10 Steps To Generating Revenue Online for Your Business
Category: Business>Small Business Trends

How’s the first quarter of 2010 — and the rest of the year — looking for you and your business?

Are you primed and ready to make money this year?

Have you put a plan in place to promote your business and maximize your success?

Here are ten quick, easy-to-implement things you can do that will guarantee your online business will be making you money this year:

Write down your personal affirmation for the month and the year.

The goal here is to help you step back from the hustle and bustle and stay focused on what’s important to you.

Get your story, idea, product, or service announcement out into the marketplace seven different ways, all at once.

Choose from these options to make a powerful impact:

1. Press release
2. Blog post
3. Facebook
4. E-zine blast
5. Email announcement
6. Videocast
7. Downloadable audio snatch
8. Free e-book
9. Podcast
10. Teleseminar

Use free classified ads to promote your business.

If you have a knack for writing short ads, you will be able to increase your site traffic by using free (or pretty darn cheap) classified ads. Place ads where you know your target audience will see them.

Introduce yourself to three potential referral sources.

A nurturing referral relationship can be quite profitable. So think of professionals who would be good referral sources for you. Then make contact with them today.

Add three success stories to your website.

You already may have testimonials from your clients on your website. Now create a space for their before-and-after success stories. Remember to include a link back to their sites so everyone gets some love.

Add a tantalizing promotional “special” to your email signature space.

Put a brief promotional line about the special product or service that you are giving away (or offering at a reduced rate) this month.

Write each of your clients and customers a personal, hand-written “thank you” card.

Thank them for sticking with you through the 2009 recession. Be sure to include a coupon they can use for a special product or service.

Offer a deal, such as “buy-one-get-one-free.” This will increase your sales!

Follow up with all your 2009 leads that showed an interest in your product or service but didn’t buy.

Call (don’t email) them and see if they now have a need for anything you offer. 

Let your clients know about something big you’ll either be doing or offering in 2010.

Here are some big ways to make an impact and get their attention:

• Book launch
• DVD training program
• Keynote speaking engagement
• Public seminar
• Corporate training program
• Boot camp
• Mentoring and apprenticeship program
• Weekend retreat
• Television show
• Membership website program
• Special teleseminar series

As a business owner with an online presence, you need to offer special buying opportunities throughout the year. This list will help you do just that.

Implement one idea each day. You’ll not only be promoting your online business, you’ll also be making certain it will be a success this year.

Editor’s Note: this article was previously published at OPENForum.com under the title: “10 Things You Can Do to Make Your Online Business Money” It is reprinted here with permission.

From Small Business Trends

10 Steps To Generating Revenue Online for Your Business

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“Rework” by 37signals Founders Reimagines How Business Should Be
Category: Business>Small Business Trends

“It is time to rework work. Let’s get started,” declares the authors of the new business book Rework by 37signals founders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson.

They want to change how businesses are run, and to borrow a segment title, “Make a dent in the universe.” They are definitely knocking on the universe’s door.

I read a review copy, and was inspired to rework my own thoughts on entrepreneurship and business strategy.

What Worked Well in Rework

This is a book you don’t want to judge too quickly. On first blush the short content seems gimmicky for a book claiming to have a revolutionary outlook.  The chapters cover an arc of business growth with intriguing names:  Takedowns (addressing the barriers to starting a business), Go (Getting started in business), Progress, Productivity, Competitors, Evolution, Promotion, Hiring, Damage Control, and Culture. Within each chapter is a bold statement, a short page or two of explanation, and a memorable image, all with a ready-for-e-book feel.

Ah, but what seems lacking on the surface can be fulfilling when examined.  Rework will pleasantly surprise you once you delve in.  This book offers simple been-there-done-that advice  — and it is anything but shallow.

It distills the typical business subjects to essentials, then offers inspired suggestions with a sharp imaginative eye. Here’s one piece of realistic advice that rings true:   entrepreneurs should seek alternative means to get their business  exposure besides major media publications.  In the “Forget about the Wall Street Journal” segment they write:

“Pitching a reporter at one of these place is practically impossible… you’re better off focusing on getting your story in a trade publication or picked up in a niche blog.”

The Takedown segments get the ball rolling, with sharp headlines throughout the other chapters.  Hansson and Fried explain why Meetings are Toxic and Press Releases are Spam.  Especially powerful was the segment on the “Myth of the Overnight Sensation”:

“It’s not the whole story.  Dig deeper and you’ll usually find people who busted their asses for years to get into a position where things take off…. Trade the dream for overnight success for slow, measured growth…. You have to do it for a long time before the right people notice.”

I loved the musings on “Learning from Mistakes is Overrated”:

“You might learn what not to do again, but how valuable is that?  You still don’t know what you should do next…. Evolution doesn’t linger on past failures, it’s always building upon what worked.  So should you.”

Every idea proposed shows imaginative ways to spur you to intriguing decisions.  Example:  letting your customers outgrow you:

“When you let customers outgrow you, you’ll most likely wind out up with a product that’s basic….  Small simple needs are constant. There’s an endless supply of customers who need exactly that.”

Steps in the growth process are turned on their head without being dumbed down.  Tips such as “Hire managers of one” will re-imagine the hiring process for leaders.  “Resumes are ridiculous” says resumes are “filled with action verbs that don’t mean anything.”

Rework relies on the authors’ perspective, who deliberately set about creating a small business and avoided being bogged down by external factors such as venture capital or extensive research.  That’s the perspective of this book.

References to outside sources to support their views do appear, like in the overrated mistake learning example (it mentions a Harvard study on entrepreneurship and failure).

Readers are cautioned to de-emphasize traditional tools for early efforts — “Your Estimates Suck” dovetails into the concept that not having a plan is okay. It is based on the authors’ experience.  These ideas are valuable for startups or small businesses with a few employees.

What Might Have Worked Better

In a few instances subjects contradict or need more explanation than a page or two.  A tip to “Pick A Fight” – calling out your competitors – seems to contradict a later query “Who cares what they’re doing?”  which is about ignoring your competitors.  Moreover, the Audi example in the “Pick A Fight” segment breaks a marketing rule to never mention your competition (doing so can remind your customers of the competition’s advantage over your product).

Miscues are rare, though.  In a brisk and comfortable pace Rework experiments well in reframing business.  It offers  practical steps for establishing culture, strategy, and productivity.

Who Should Read Rework

The advice in Rework fits small service firms with simplicity at their operational core.  Refreshingly the authors own up to their perspective, offering no apologies for its honest language, or for the fact that it is written mostly from the 10-year experience of running a 16-employee software firm.

Rework may not fully appeal to firms with engineered products or joint ad-hoc projects that want more detail regarding processes.  Managing a joint project between businesses can require coordination to make a profit.   Such joint collaboration is not deeply covered, a particular point given the increased tendency to coordinate small businesses remotely together.

Rework is right for entrepreneurs and small businesses that offer services and are intent on steady solid growth and profitability.   If you have a services type of business, this book will be ideal for you. The flexibility to scale advice, coupled with clear explanations, is what makes Rework a rousing success in its mission.  In its originality Rework has found a clever way to stir the entrepreneur in everybody.

From Small Business Trends

“Rework” by 37signals Founders Reimagines How Business Should Be

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Small Business News for March 5, 2010
Category: Business>Small Business Trends

We hope you’re enjoying your daily small business news roundup here at Small Business Trends. Here is the latest from news sources and blogs we are following regularly.

Marketing

What can Lego teach us about guerrilla marketing? Shane Gibson talks about giving away real value and offering a variety of options in the digital world. Closing Bigger.net

Does your business really need customers? Here’s a completely different way to look at and treat the people you serve each day. Walt Goshert

Self-Development

How to create your own online business training. Whether you attend an accredited business school or design your own “personal MBA” with online and other resources, the key to a good education is the information you take away. Copyblogger

Learn better speaking skills with seven simple steps. When it’s time to do a presentation for your small business, some simple advice will help you shine. MarketingProfs Daily Fix

Tech

Google Translate breaks the online language barrier. Think Skype is something? Joel Libava will tell you about one more tool that will increase your small business’s global reach. The Franchise King

New mobile devices may challenge Apple products. What will a Sony line of products offer by way of small business tech tools? WSJ

Operations

Want to make more money from your small business while putting less time in? Who doesn’t? But the key to success may be much more than simply increasing your efficiency. Bloggertone.com

Embarrassed by your profit margin? Remember, profitability is a sign of a healthy business and of good value delivered to your clients and customers. MyProjectTracker

Does your small business need a lawyer? Better read this first. Open Forum

Do you take notes while meeting with clients? Or when having any kind of important business meeting where issues are being discussed and hashed out? You should and here are some more tips on how to do it right. Sales Tip A Day

Startup

A great business is about more than a great idea. When it comes to launching your next venture, you’ll need plenty of hard work and the right skills. 37 Signals

Actions speak louder than words. What’s the difference between talking about that startup idea and making it happen? The answer is simpler than you think. Chris Brogan

Ever dream of launching an online retail store? Entrepreneur Cristian Dorobantescu talks with one small business owner about his experiences in the competitive world of e-commerce. Entrepreneurship Interviews

Policy

Are more loans really the key to recovery? Or is easy credit what got us into this mess in the first place? Cato Institute

More sales not government incentives are the key to economic growth. Businesses are happy about any tax breaks, but a $15 billion jobs bill won’t create new hires on its own. WSJ

From Small Business Trends

Small Business News for March 5, 2010

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Why Size Matters & Smaller Is Better
Category: Business>Small Business Trends

One frustration I hear from a lot of small business bloggers is that they feel like no one’s reading. They see the big subscription numbers of pros like Darren Rowse or Brian Clark and they’re discouraged that their numbers are just nearly breaking into the hundreds. And then they stop blogging completely. Because, if only 100 or so people are reading your blog, what’s the point?

The point is the 100 people!

As a local business, you don’t need to become the biggest, most well-read blog on the Internet. You just need to connect with your audience and the people on the Web who could become customers. If you’re a local hardware shop in Detroit, Michigan and you’re able to connect with100 people who live in your area – that’s a pretty significant number. There are lots of benefits to being a ‘small-time’ small business blogger. Here are a few more.

More Intimate

Yeah, so you’re probably never going to have the readership that Darren Rowse has at Problogger, but a smaller audience allows you to really get to know the people who are in your community. You get a better understanding of what your customers want, who they are and you can form real relationships with them in a way that bigger bloggers have a difficult time doing. You can reach out to the person who comments regularly on their blog and get to know them on a more personal level. You may even be able to tie the online person with the real-life customer so that you’re better able to target them. Playing to a packed stadium may feel great, but it’s those coffee shop environments that introduce you to your real fans.

More Engaged

At my other blog Outspoken Media last week I encouraged all the lurkers to leave a comment and tell me why they lurk instead of participating and how I could help bring them into the conversation. The response I received from people who had never commented before was amazing. And while reading over their replies, I noticed that many feared commenting on posts that had tons of comments or where they didn’t feel a connection with the blogger and the audience. They were looking for a place where (a) their comment would be heard and (b) a place they could establish a connection. Niche small business blogs are where many commenters enjoy hanging out. It allows them to get to know the blogger and really feel part of the community. Rather than feel like an anonymous person, now they know their voice will be heard and they feel more invested.

Better Signal

Having a smaller audience that you can get to know allows you to target content directly to their needs. There’s no trying to please a bunch of people who will never impact your business – you only have to worry about being useful to your customers. You can write content specifically designed to answer questions they’ve asked, respond to trends you’re seeing, and really talk to the people who matter to your company. It’s a lot easier to get to know your community when it’s made up of tens of dozens instead of tens of thousands. And the matter you know them, the more relevant content that you can create. Content that will get them off your blog and into your store.

As a struggling blogger, I know it’s hard to see the A-listers with their tens of thousands of readers, but for a small business, getting the attention of 100 of your most interested customers is nothing to turn your nose at. Imagine if you had 100 people in your store asking you product questions. Your blog is your customer service desk on the Web.

From Small Business Trends

Why Size Matters & Smaller Is Better

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Small Business News for March 3, 2010
Category: Business>Small Business Trends

Learn more about what’s important to your small business today. Here is our latest roundup of the news articles and blogs we’re reading and what’s important, from Small Business Trends.

Policy

Will small business really be better off with another layer of government regulation? Some small businesses have come out in support of a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency.  The U.S. Chamber of Commerce opposes. Entrepreneur.com

The road to patent reform runs through the Eastern District of Texas. VC investor Brad Feld runs this op ed about patent litigation in the U.S. and how it could strangle innovative small to medium sized businesses. Feld Thoughts

Employer-provided health insurance remains in proposal.  Excerpts from President Obama’s  remarks on his health care program today.  “The proposal I’ve put forward … builds on the current system where most Americans get their health insurance from their employer.” National Review Online

Tech

Want to know how other small businesses are using social media? Here’s a cool graph with stats and some other information. Mashable

Some things are just too good to be true. Free hosted phone service for your small business may be one of them. Be sure the company will still be around when you need them. SmallBizTechnology.com

Credit

The problem with small business – is it really lack of credit? In this interview, Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich.) insists he was told by one small business owner that lack of customers or sales was not the problem but only lack of credit due to lack of capital in the banking industry. How many small business owners would agree? TalkRadioNews.com

What do you need to buy a business? Before you even think about trying to secure a loan or other financing here are some things you may need to consider. Business.gov

Marketing

So, what do those little stars next to some Google search results mean? They may be an important factor in your Website’s positioning in the future and an important consideration when marketing your presence online. Wayne Liew Dot Com

New Hampshire small businesses are bucking a trend and exceeding the national average in exporting overseas. How that state’s small to medium sized companies are fostering growth and how other entrepreneurs can imitate their success at marketing abroad. NashuaTelegraph.com

What marketers really can’t stand about advertising agencies. Lack of communications, industry knowledge and insight into clients’ needs top the list in this report. American Association of Advertising Agencies

Who are you following on social media? If you’re just checking your own brand, you may be missing the boat. BetterCloser.com

Operations

Small business payrolls showed a 2% increase in hiring and slightly larger paychecks. From the SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard for February 2010. Data based on thousands of small business payrolls. SurePayroll.com

Despite the best laid plans, your product or service will someday fall short of customer expectations. Roger Breisch, Executive Director at the Batavia, Illinois Chamber of Commerce draws on 25 years of business experience  about when the worst happens. Oops…There Goes My Worldview

What if there were a simple and complete guide on how to keep your customers happy? You’re in luck! Ken Beaulieu has seven tips that should keep customers and clients sticking to you like glue. FuelNet.com

Steer clear of the usual tax preparation pitfalls by keeping good records. Tips from the Associated Press to keep your business out of trouble at tax time. Associated Press

The secret to turning your business into one you can sell. John Warrillow draws on his experiences building his business, which he sold a few years ago. Small Business Trends

From Small Business Trends

Small Business News for March 3, 2010

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The Secret to Turning Your Business Into One You Can Sell
Category: Business>Small Business Trends

I used to own a market research firm, and we’d do just about anything for a buck. You need focus groups? No problem. You need a conjoint study? We’re your guys. Mall intercepts? Let me get out my clipboard.

I found by offering such a broad set of services, we never really got good at any one thing. We had consultants doing certain types of projects only once or twice a year, so they lacked experience and got intellectually rusty. We needed all sorts of people to offer such a broad set of services, making the business neither scalable nor sellable. Eventually we decided to change models and offer one set of research papers to all of our clients on a subscription basis.

The subscription business started off well enough, but along the way, someone asked us if we still did focus groups. It was like a recovering addict being offered a fix. We jumped at the opportunity to do the project. The problem was that people noticed the crack in our resolve and burrowed a large hole in our claim of being specialists. Clients realized we weren’t totally committed to the subscription model and started asking for customization to our reports and one-off side projects. My employees noticed we had strayed from our offering and started accepting other projects — much like a child seeing his parents say one thing and do another.

Pretty soon, we were running two businesses in parallel with our resources being spread across two completely different models. We were half-pregnant: spread thin, cash flow tightened, project quality slipped and deadlines pushed. After a while, with clients demanding custom work, we had to abandon the subscription model and go back to just doing projects.

After retreating for a few years into the misery of owning an unsellable service business, we took another run at building a subscription business. This time, we told clients we were not accepting custom projects anymore.

We had to start saying no before clients realized we were serious.

I expected good clients to balk and that sales would dip. Instead, a funny thing happened: we started having much better conversations. Clients stopped asking us to do custom work and started asking how our new model could help them achieve their goals. For every one client who said no to our new model, two new ones heard about our unique offer and wanted in. Our salespeople got good at the pitch and were able to sign up 100 enterprise customers as subscribers.

The subscription business is a build-once-sell-many-times annuity model. Our scalability, recurring revenue and focus ultimately allowed me to sell the business in 2008.

Here’s a video that describes how you can identify a scalable product or service of your own:

The point is, we would have never built a sellable subscription business had we not started to turn down the one-off project work. The irony is that saying no actually made my business more valuable, not less.

From Small Business Trends

The Secret to Turning Your Business Into One You Can Sell

Blog contents are provided by Small Business Trends

Trackur Gives SMBs A Free Social Media Tool
Category: Business>Small Business Trends

A couple of weeks back I raved about Google Alerts and all the different ways that I used them. I mentioned that I use them to track keywords, identify content theft and even to track links coming into a site. I look at Google Alerts as a great multi-purpose tool that can help you track lots of different things. However, when you’re serious about finding a tool to monitor your social media presence, Trackur is where Google Alerts go to grow up and one that SMB owners should really be aware of.

You may remember that I interviewed search expert Andy Beal about Trackur back in September and he chatted about the importance of protecting your brand as a SMB owner, what to track and how his tool Trackur could help. Well, last week Trackur released a free tool for SMB owners that I thought was worth mentioning sharing.

The new tool is called Trackur Free and the functionality is the same as you’d find in a paid Trackur subscription. With it, you can set up a search and Trackur will look for mentions in traditional and social media, scouring through mainstream sources, blogs, tweets, images, videos, etc and deliver you the results via the Trackur dashboard, RSS, email or CSV export. What separates Trackur Free from the paid product is that you can only track one keyword. That said, if you’re a small business owner who’s already using Google Alerts for the “other stuff”, it may be worth using Trackur to keep an eye on that one money term that you’re really focused on. Where Trackur Free trumps a simple Google Alert is that it runs every 30 minutes and graphs mentions over time so that you can easily see if buzz is growing and how sentiment is changing. As I mentioned, it’s a bit more mature than a simple Google Alert.

Personally, I like the idea of using Trackur as your “specialty” tool and Google Alerts to pick up the easier to find stuff or terms you’re just casually monitoring. I use Google Alerts like a fire house to give me lots of different information in different areas, Trackur is considerably more refined.

Worth noting is that Andy has chosen to make the tool retroactive. So if you read our interview back in September and signed up for a free trial, your account has already been moved over and you can start using it. If not, you can sign up for a free trial to give it a look. If you’ve resisted because of the associated price tag, now’s your chance to look under the hood. The importance of knowing what people are saying about your brand is going to diminish anytime soon. In fact, it’s only getting stronger.

From Small Business Trends

Trackur Gives SMBs A Free Social Media Tool

Blog contents are provided by Small Business Trends

Small Business News for March 1, 2010
Category: Business>Small Business Trends

Our daily roundup of today’s headlines about small businesses….  Tracking what people are talking about today in the world of small businesses and entrepreneurs.

Credit

• Jeff Cornwall. Current Small Business Problems Will Not be Solved Solely by Focusing on Lending, Says Report. The Entrepreneurial Mind
• Martha C. White. Obama Administration’s Small Business Loans: Will They Really Work? The Minnesota Independent
• Phyllis Furman. Loans Remain Tough for Small Business, Startups. NYDaily News
• Paul Davidson. Credit Unions Want Congress to Lift Limits on Small Business Lending — But There are Two Sides to That Story. USA Today

Healthcare

• Samuel Gregg. Why More Regulation Probably Won’t Save the Economy. National Review Online
• NFIB. Small Business Owners Want Less Political Drama Over Healthcare, More Solutions.  NFIB.com
• The Cato Institute. Why a Free Market Can Cure the Health Care Crisis. Healthcare.Cato.Org
• The Quincy Cove. Small Businesses Interviewed About High Insurance Costs. Quincycove.com

Hiring

• Intuit. Small Business Shows Signs of an Economic Rebound. Small Business Trends
• Scott Shane. But Hiring Has Not Bounced Back According to the Discover Small Business Watch.  Small Business Trends

Marketing

• Niccolinas Soto. Capitalizing on Social Media: A How-To Guide. Smallbiz Central
• John Janstch. Standing Out with — of All Things – Rockabilly.   Duct Tape Marketing
• Becky McCray. How to Track Your Daily Marketing Activity. Small Biz Survival
• Martin Lindeskog. A Great Big List of 100 Small Business Podcasts.  Small Business Trends Radio
  

Tech

• Steven Andrés. Big Fish or Small-Fry, Don’t Wind Up on a Hacker’s Hook. NetWorkWorldAsia.net
• Financial Web. Small Business Accounting Programs Can Create a Simpler Life. Internet Brands
• Hewlett Packard. Elite 7100 Small Business Desktop Increases Productivity. Small Business Trends

Operations

• Seth Godin. I Don’t Feel Like It. Inspiration for the Business Leader. Seth’s Blog
• U.S. government. Business.gov Collects 2010  Small-Business Tax Information in One Handy Place.  Business.gov

Startups

• Adam Toren. Too Much on Your Plate Can Kill Your Startup (and So Can 4 Other Things). YoungEntrepreneur.com
• Dharmesh Shah. The 10 Most Tempting Software Startup Categories. On Startups.

From Small Business Trends

Small Business News for March 1, 2010

Blog contents are provided by Small Business Trends

Why Online Video Is Key For Small Business
Category: Business>Small Business Trends

Online video. You see it everywhere with billions of videos served (sort of like McDonald’s minus the calories).

With Youtube becoming the second most-used search engine to Google, now has never been a time for small businesses to jump on the incredible opportunity of online video. Here are a few reasons why.

1. Cost Of Production: Your video budget no longer has to have a lot of zeros especially with the rise of high quality pocket cameras including Flip Cameras, Kodak zi8, iPhones and the webcam on your computer.

2. Easy Hosting: All kinds of easy options. If you are using it for selling, talking about your products and other major business functions, Brightcove might be a great solution. Looking to add mobile video? Check out Widget Realm. Creating awesome, engaging content? Nab more eyeballs via viddler, vimeo, youtube, and blip.tv.

3. Many Functions: Entertain, inspire, sell, recruit, add personality, have a show related around your expertise. If you think it, you can create it. One piece of advice is not just talk about you and your product but relate it more to a subject. For example, Zappos rarely talks about shoes. Instead, they talk about customer service and company culture.

4. Personality: People like doing business with people. The second best thing to face-to-face is video. Video creates a much more personal connections with your customers and clients.

5. Easily Spreadable: Like peanut butter, video in 2010 is now easily spreadable. Links can be posted to Twitter and Linkedin. Video can be uploaded Facebook. Plus you can send it out via Tube Mogul to multiple sites.

Bottom line? The opportunity is there. The eyeballs are there. Are you there?

From Small Business Trends

Why Online Video Is Key For Small Business

Blog contents are provided by Small Business Trends

February Small Business Research Update
Category: Business>Small Business Trends

February was a rather quiet month in the world of small business research. In fact, it’s been a pretty quiet year so far, which might just be a result of the fact that we’re only two months into it. I’m expecting things to begin to pick up next month. Meanwhile, let’s take a look at what the research tells us:

Really, It’s okay. We Don’t Bite.

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) released a study of the small business financing situation this month, entitled Small Business Credit In a Deep Recession. This is a great study, as one expects from the NFIB. Here, they survey small business owners to find out more about the conditions of their businesses and their credit needs in 2009.

The credit situation was certainly poor, with the number of small business owners reporting that all their credit needs were met falling by about half. The big take-away here, though, is that the most immediate economic challenge fingered by small employers was not access to credit (which came in third). Their biggest headache is much more basic:  falling or declining sales.

Which means that all the contortions of the Obama Administration to get banks and other financial institutions to make loans to small business owners seems, from this survey, to be … um … misguided. Lesson #1 for policy makers: if you want to know what small business owners need, ask them.

No Surprises, But Validation is Always Nice

Here’s something you may have heard before: your customers will like you better (and be more open to your upselling attempts) if they think you’ll go to bat for them instead of fretting about your bottom line at their expense. That’s what Forrester Research said in the wake of the release of their 2010 customer advocacy rankings.

Consumer trust in banks and insurance companies is inching back up, according to this survey, but that’s not going to matter much to most small business owners. What does matter is the larger lesson here: customer trust matters, now more than ever.

Quotable quote from Forrester’s press release, from VP and Principal Analyst Bill Doyle:

“Each year, our data shows that customers who rate their firms high on customer advocacy are more likely to consider their firms for additional products. Customers who rate their firms low on customer advocacy are most likely to say they intend to switch firms in the next year.”

If you’re in the IT business, here’s another finding from Forrester that may interest you:  more than half of IT budgets in 2010 will be devoted to software upgrades rather than to new applications, according to their Enterprise And SMB Software Survey, North America And Europe, Q4 2009.

Getting specific to SMBs, 21% of them will upgrade finance and accounting software, 19% will upgrade customer relationship management software, and 18% will upgrade industry specific software.

Also, it turns out that software-as-a-service (SaaS) continues to drive the market and, in spite of the hype surrounding cloud computing and infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), firms aren’t quite ready to open their wallets yet.

The moral of this story is that, until companies come out of cost-control mode, the latest gizmo is likely to sit on the shelf for another year.

It’s Been a Trial by Fire

And, finally, it’s been especially quiet over at the SBA Office of Advocacy, the primary repository of small business research in the federal government. Mostly, we saw housekeeping releases from them this month.

That said, if you’re interested in taking a quick look back over your shoulder at the trial by fire that you just passed through (which most people refer to as calendar year 2009), visit SBA Advocacy’s web site to download their Small Business Indicators: 4th Quarter 2009 (PDF). Once you have a gander at all that red ink, you’ll probably feel much better about how your business did last year.

And, if you want to keep up with how Advocacy is doing in enforcement of the Regulatory Flexibility Act and relevant other laws and executive orders, then you’ll also want to review their annual report on the same, Report on the Regulatory Flexibility Act, FY2009.

Upcoming

The third wave of the Small Business Success Index — a joint survey from Network Solutions and the University of Maryland — came out at the end of the month but I haven’t had the chance to review it.  I’ll cover it next month.

From Small Business Trends

February Small Business Research Update

Blog contents are provided by Small Business Trends

37 What Were They Thinking Moments in Marketing
Category: Business>Small Business Trends

My first thought while reading this book:

“Uh-oh, I’ve done that.  And that.  And that.  Oh – and I still do that.  Oops!”

It’s hard not to take personally the lessons learned in “37 What Were They Thinking Moments in Marketing,” by marketer Olalah Njenga.

Njenga sent me this book, offering 37 anecdotes of marketing mishaps that she experienced – and includes a disclaimer right up front that names, places and professions have been changed, and that the book isn’t intended to harm anyone’s reputation. Phew!

Did You Have a “What Were They Thinking Moment” Today?

Wondering if you’ve done anything worthy of being featured in the book?  Here are some mistakes folks made, and a few of Njenga’s thoughts:

• Wearing gym clothes to a business event – this is not the definition of business casual
• Crossing out all the information on a business card, and replacing it with all new information (the business owner had a few months to get new cards, and with the quick printing options available, this was very unprofessional)
• Trying to “pick someone’s brain” for free,  several times – it’s time to set up a paid consultation
• Bullying people in a waiting room for testimonials needed for a Website –self-explanatory
• Moving from new Twitter connection to pushy salesperson – be aware that social networking consists of creating relationships first, sales opportunities later

Some Skin in the Game

One of the chapters is titled “Skin in the Game,” and it’s an anecdote about how something went wrong because people weren’t fully committed, and didn’t have a vested interest in the outcome of an event.

In the spirit of fair play, I asked Njenga to put some “skin in the game,” and offer up to Small Business Trends readers her own “What Was She Thinking Moment.”  After all, even the best of us have these moments, right?

Njenga laughed, and readily complied.

Scene #37 ½

Olalah’s Deeply Personal “What Were You Thinking Moment”:

So You Call Yourself A Business Owner?

Like most business owners in the early stages of business, I was cash-strapped.  I had just finished a project for a client and was happy to hear that my payment would be ready immediately.  I arrived at the client’s office and she handed me a sealed white envelope with my name on it.  I happily shoved it in my purse and drove home to get a deposit ticket for my bank account.

I completed the deposit ticket and opened the sealed envelope.  The check was made payable to my company and not me personally.  In fact, it’s not fair to say made payable to my company because in fact I only had a registered DBA (doing business as).  It wasn’t an actual business.  I was a sole proprietor.

I called the client and explained that the check was made payable to my DBA and that I needed the check to be payable to me personally.  She said to come by her office in three days to pick up a replacement check.

Three days passed and as directed, I showed up at the client’s office.  She met me in the parking lot and smiled upon my arrival.  When I got out of the car she approached me quickly, smiled again, and handed me a sealed white envelope.  As I took it from her hand she said, “Olalah, if you’re going to be in business, then be a business.”

What Was I Thinking?

My bruised ego would hear those words echoing in my head for days after I finally cashed the client’s check.  Though I had been running my one-person company for nearly two years, the truth was, doing business under my name and social security number instead of doing business as a registered business in my state made a difference.  It made a difference in how checks were made payable.  It made a difference in how clients treated me.  Little did I realize, it was also making a difference in how I looked at myself.  The sobering words of “Olalah, if you’re going to be in business, then be a business,” catapulted me to the Secretary of State website where I learned what I needed in order to be considered a real business entity.

Taking money doesn’t make you a business.  The truth is, you’re not really a business unless other business professionals see you and treat you like a business.  It doesn’t matter if you are a business of one or 10 — if you are going to be in business, then be a business.

This was, in fact, the most powerful “What Was I Thinking” moment I’ve ever had.

What This Book is Really About

As someone who has been in the public relations business for years, I know that many things can make  a reputation, and just one slip-up can ruin a reputation. Is it fair?  No.  Is it true? Unfortunately, yes.

After reading this book, I realized that it’s impossible to have a business and not make mistakes.  The key take-away here is:  look at everything from your client’s point of view, and be aware of your actions at all times. And, of course, if you do realize that you made a mistake, apologize and make amends as quickly as possible.

From Small Business Trends

37 What Were They Thinking Moments in Marketing

Blog contents are provided by Small Business Trends

New Conferences, Webinars and Events for Small Business
Category: Business>Small Business Trends

Don’t miss out on these great upcoming events, especially the Small Business Summit on March 16th – which features an appearance by Anita Campbell, Founder of Small Business Trends. (Note that several events in this week’s list have upcoming early bird deadlines.)

This list of events, conferences and webinars for growing small businesses and entrepreneurs is brought to you twice a month as a community service by Small Business Trends and Smallbiztechnology.com.
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* * * * *

Facebook For Business
March 2, 2010, 8:00pm EST, Webinar

This 75 minute class will cover: How to use your profile for business, Joining groups, Emailing through facebook, Creating and monitoring a business page, and Social networking etiquette.

This web class is designed for you, the small business owner. If you are looking for ideas on how to market on the web or are just getting started, this 75 minute web class will give you the tools you need to understand and get you motivated about marketing on the web.

Think BIG Kansas City
March 3, 2010

Join us for one jam packed day of experts who have “been there, done that.” Experts who are willing to show you how they did it and how you can succeed as an entrepreneur.

Our rapid-fire presentation style will leave your brain overflowing with ideas – and you ready to take your next step. We’ll provide the Inspiration, Education and Motivation. You provide the Aspiration and Perspiration. No one ever said it was easy. Nothing worthwhile is ever easy. But if you are serious about 2010 and becoming more successful as an entrepreneur or starting up a new company, this conference is for you!

Using Technology to Operate your Business
March 4, 2010 6:00 PM — 8:00 PM, Queens, NY

Need Help Jump-starting your business? Don’t know what tools you need to run more efficiently? Not sure how to get started or what to spend your money on first? If so, this session is for you! Whether you are in the concept phase of your business or recently started a few years ago, this workshop will enable you to run your business more efficiently through the use of technology. In this session you will learn: – Different E-mail Systems – Pop accounts, iMap, Exchange, and Gmail – Software Applications – The different kinds that every business should have to manage their customers and money. – Decision Making Tools – Deciding what will work for you, your budget, and your future growth. Cost: $15 fee in advance, or $20 at the door. to register: email fmora@queensny.org or call (718) 263-0546 (There is no ability to register on the Institute site.)

The Five Factors of High Performing Sales Teams
March 4, 2010, 11:00am EST, Webinar

In this free 30 minute webinar you will discover the five factors that can impact a sales team’s performance. Though often overlooked in many companies, these factors, when measured and cultivated correctly, can make an immediate difference in areas such as increased revenue, market share and new market acquisitions.

Many business owners struggle with marketing simply because they don’t know how to put together a strong strategic marketing plan that builds and sustains their business. This bootcamp walks them step by step on creating a marketing plan and offers a consultative review of their individual plans.

BLAST Marketing Plan Bootcamp
March 4, 11, 18, 25, 8:30pm EST, Teleseminar

Many business owners struggle with marketing simply because they don’t know how to put together a strong strategic marketing plan that builds and sustains their business. This bootcamp walks them step by step on creating a marketing plan and offers a consultative review of their individual plans.

Turn Clicks into Conversations & Relationships
March 10, 2010, 10:00AM PT, Webinar

It takes more than a tweet to turn a follower into a customer, and a customer into loyal advocate. This webinar featuring Brent Leary will cover tools and techniques needed to turn content into conversations, conversations in the exchanges, and exchanges into long lasting customer relationships. Areas of focus will include tools for social listening, automating content creation and distribution, and steps for enhancing your customers’ experiences with your company by facilitating opportunities for them to connect with each other.

InfusionCon 2010
March 10-12, 2010, Montelucia Resort & Spa, Scottsdale, Arizona

InfusionCon 2010, which is completely free and open to Infusionsoft customers, is geared toward providing entrepreneurs and small business owners with proven marketing strategies to help them accelerate the growth of their business using Infusionsoft’s solution. This year’s event is expected to bring more than 1,000 entrepreneurs together for two full days of networking, keynote speeches from industry experts and informative workshops.

Keynote speakers for this year’s event include Harry Dent, a noted economist and founder of the a long term economic forecasting technique known as the Dent Method and best-selling author and small business expert John Assaraf. Long-time entrepreneur and Small Business Trends LLC CEO Anita Campbell will also be on hand to lead an InfusionCon session.

Updates can also be found by following the #infusioncon hashtag on Twitter.

GROWCO Grow Your Company Conference
March 14-16, 2010, Orlando, FL

In 2010, Inc.’s GROWCO Conference pulls together a dynamic program with a curriculum designed specifically for the nation’s rising entrepreneurial stars, including smaller organizations that want to make an appearance on the Inc. 5000 and Inc. 5000 honorees that want to break into the higher ranks of the list or repeat their success in years to come. High-profile growth experts teach seminars that will give attendees actionable information with which to develop or maintain their own growth initiative. Cost is $895.

Fifth Annual Small Business Summit
March 16, 2010, NYC

The Summit is for small business owners and entrepreneurs who want to meet the challenges of the new economy head-on and THRIVE in 2010. The theme this year is Business & Technology: Strategies for the New Economy.

We have some incredible speakers lined up for this year’s Summit, including Seth Godin, who will be talking about being indispensable to your customers. The Summit is always about generating great ideas from some of the best talent in the business world, but also about networking, making profitable connections and having fun.

New this year is the Small Business Strategy Award. One attendee will be recognized for entrepreneurial strategic excellence that has led to significant increased profits, expanded market and/or improved market position. Apply directly online.

Early bird registration (before March 1st) is $149 for the all day event.

Western Regional Business Matchmaking
March 16, 2010, Los Angeles, CA

The Business Matchmaking Western Regional Face-to-Face Event will be hosted at the Marriott Los Angeles Airport Hotel located in Los Angeles, CA on Tuesday, March 16, 2010. Participating firms will receive advance education and tools to prepare for face-to-face meetings with buyers from federal, state and local government agencies and major corporations.

* Individual business counseling and guidance provided by SCORE, SBDC and other resource partners
* Access to the Business Matchmaking System in advance of the event to be matched with participating procurement representatives and setting a schedule for appointments with buyers
* Face-to-Face meetings with procurement representatives of federal, state and local government agencies and major corporations
* Small business specific and topical workshops available throughout event day
* Exhibits and networking with regional small business resources including access to capital, SBA loans, insurance, federal qualification requirements, women and minority business tools, certification, etc.
* On-site Internet access and email capabilities provided at the HP Tech Center
* Access to representatives from private sector co-sponsors for information about their companies

E-3…Engage, Empower, Energize
March 18, 2010, Newark, NJ

A no charge full-day conference for experienced business women seeking to grow their businesses. Breakouts, individual consulting, “Pitch-it” contest, keynotes, etc. This will be at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and will include breakfast and lunch. Sponsored by New Jersey Association of Women Business Owners’ Women’s Business Center.

How to Present Your Business Plan
March 18, 2010, Providence, RI

This interactive presentation will feature two veteran business developers who have worked with companies throughout New England on growth, turnaround, and acquisition strategies. This workshop is part of a series leading up to the Rhode Island Business Plan Competition starting in April 2010.

Astoundingly Simple Secrets to Making Social Media Work for You
March 23, 2010, Webinar

Can you really turn garden-variety online acquaintances into a supportive network who will help you spread a message or build a career? Do social media sites like Facebook and Twitter offer the opportunity to extend your brand and message or are they just a colossal time-suck?

Learn the ins and outs of social media, where it intersects with old-school marketing, and how you can use them in tandem to build your network, strengthen your personal brand, and spread the word about your business to the people who need to hear it. You will learn how to come up with your core marketing message, translate it into the language of social media, and evaluate which social networking sites will work best for you.

The Mobile Office with Ramon Ray: Productivity Anywhere!
March 24, 2010, 10:00AM PT, Webinar

Navigating the technology acronym soup of mobile technology can be daunting these days, not to mention expensive if you don’t make smart decisions around your technology and service choices. You will learn about mobile technology and how to simply safeguard your very important business information.

Social Reputation Management: Protecting and Strengthening Your Brand Across the Social Web
March 24, 2010, New York City

This conference that will share the best case studies on how communicators and marketers listen to conversations, monitor and comprehend what is being said, and engage through the social web. The case studies will be followed by moderated interactive roundtables. Use promo code SBT to receive a discounted rate of $155.

Brooklyn Business Expo 2010
March 24, 2010, Brooklyn, NY

The Brooklyn Business Expo 2010 will bring together the brightest business leaders from the most dynamic companies throughout Brooklyn and the adjoining counties.

The Brooklyn Business Expo 2010 provides an environment for businesses to enhance their relationships, research the market for the leading products and services, and learn about the latest best business practices. This will be the largest biz-to-biz expo in Brooklyn.

The Stimulus Package: Update 2010
March 24, 2010, Brooklyn, NY

This seminar, moderated by CNN contributor and president of Optimum Capital Management, Ryan Mack, is designed to show you how you can still benefit from stimulus funds. Panelists include Ann Kayman, CEO at New York Grant Company; Bruce Niswander, director of the Office of Innovation, Technology Transfer and Entrepreneurship at Polytechnic Institute of NYU; and Michael Williams, dean at the Graduate School of Business at Touro College who will discuss the following:

* The Stimulus Program: What’s the impact on the economy so far?
* How can I still benefit from the Stimulus bill?
* How will the government’s proposed three-year spending freeze effect small business and how can businesses plan now?
* What are smart, “hidden” ways that businesses can save more money in the “new” economy?

MarketingSherpa’s Email Marketing Essentials Workshop Training
Multi-City Tour

Theory works well in a classroom, but how does it translate in the real world? What makes MarketingSherpa’s Email Marketing Essentials Workshop unique is our trusted Case Study approach to learning. Using Case Studies and research as a basis, every tactic discussed during the course has been proven. This one-day workshop is based on MarketingSherpa’s Best Practices in Email Marketing Handbook. You’ll receive a FREE copy ($497 value) to be used as your textbook during the course that you can take back to your office for future reference. Use it as your on-the-job reference guide to build a ‘best in class’ email program that will meet and exceed your marketing goals. Register now to get $100 off regular price of $995.

March 25 , New York City
April 6, Philadelphia, PA
April 20, Washington, DC
May 11, Denver, CO
May 13, Seattle, WA
June 21, Chapel Hill, NC
June 25, Atlanta, GA
July 20, Minneapolis, MN
August 10, San Diego, CA
August 13, Phoenix, AZ

10 PAGE BUSINESS PLAN DESIGN WORKSHOP
April 16, 2010, New York City

This workshop enables leaders to prepare Complete, Convincing and Compelling business plans to obtain grants, VC and corporate finance, partners and customers for start ups, spin-outs and expansions. We leverage the ‘10 PAGE BUSINESS PLAN DESIGN FRAMEWORK’™ built on a proven track record of raising over $300 million of financing.

140 Characters Conference
April 20-21, 2010, New York City

The 140 Characters Conference: New York City (#140conf) provides a platform for the worldwide twitter community to: listen, connect, share and engage with each other, while collectively exploring the effects of the emerging real-time internet on business.

The format at the #140conf events is unique. Individual talks are 5 and 10 minutes, keynotes are 15 and 20 minutes and panel discussions are no more than 20 minutes. During the course of the two days more than 140 people will share the stage in about 70 sessions.
“Early Bird” registration of $100 ends on March 5th.

OSDBU Procurement Conference – Procurement Matchmaking
April 21, 2010, Chantilly, VA

The 20th Annual OSDBU Procurement Conference is a national conference fostering business partnerships between the Federal Government, its Prime Contractors, and small, minority, service-disabled veteran-owned, veteran-owned, HUBZone, and women-owned businesses. More info and registration here.

New Marketing Experience 2010
April 13, 2010, San Francisco, CA

Imagine a world where you can take your One Big Idea™ and tap over 100 other participating conference attendee and experts and each of their One Big Ideas. All in a structured, fast-paced and highly interactive one-day program under the direction of Chris Brogan and the team from New Marketing Labs.

Unlike other programs, this event will facilitate you working directly with your peers in a group of 15-20 professionals to explore in detail the topics covered in the program. In addition, each attendee will leave with one book from the conference with all of the big ideas from the attendees as well as the results of the deep dives on the topics discussed.

The 11th Annual Department of Energy Small Business Conference & Expo
May 10-12, 2010, Atlanta, GA

The Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, is proud to present The 11th Annual DOE Small Business Conference & Expo, at the Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, GA, May 10-12, 2010.

The event will feature plenaries, educational workshops, an Exhibit Hall with 200+ exhibitors/sponsors, as well as business matchmaking sessions. Over 1,600 attendees will represent all levels of federal, state, and local government agencies, the small business community, large/prime contractors, and many more!

Creative Freelancer Conference
June 5-6, 2010

The Creative Freelancer Conference is the first and only full-scale business conference for self-employed creative professionals. The goal? To help you maximize your freelance income by sharing best business practices and sage advice from seasoned solopreneurs who’ve learned through experience what works, and what doesn’t. The program is geared toward freelance graphic designers, copywriters, illustrators and photographers, as well as solo practitioners of interactive, interior and industrial design. Anyone who makes a living selling creative services on a freelance basis (or would like to) will benefit.

Early bird pricing through March 12.

To find more small business events, contests and awards, visit our Small Business Events Calendar.

If you are putting on a small business contest, award or competition, and want to get the word out to the community, please submit it through our Events & Contests Submission Form (We do not charge a fee to be included in this listing — it is completely free to list your event.) Only events of interest to small business people, freelancers and entrepreneurs will be considered and included.

From Small Business Trends

New Conferences, Webinars and Events for Small Business

Blog contents are provided by Small Business Trends