Continuing on with my 2010 edition of the Top 10 trends in Small Business. This week we get to the Top 5.
5. Social Media Grows Up: Have you noticed that “social media” is a term that doesn’t really describe the experience that well anymore? Yes its social, and yes its media, but for business it has become so much more than that. Tapping, nay, mastering, social media is one of the hottest of all online trends:
• Everyone from Jet Blue to Comcast has turned to Twitter as a customer service tool.
• Companies like Whole Foods and Popeys increasingly use it to get feedback, post company news, etc.
• Big business has discovered what many small businesses already know: Facebook is a great place to advertise. “Facebook” in fact was the most searched term in 2009. (Source: Experian Hitwise)
Hop on the social media train, Jane, because it’s headed out of the station at light speed.
To read more of this USA Today article click here.
As has become a tradition now, this is the time of year when I offer my annual look at the top 10 trends in small business. While not a prediction column, there is by necessity a tad of prediction in it, since trends, by their very nature, are gathering forces.
Certainly this was true last year when I listed, to no one’s great surprise, the economy as the top trend of the year, and sadly, it didn’t disappoint. I am sure I speak for many of us when I say we are happy to say goodbye to 2009.
This year, the top trend is also related to the economy, but is thankfully it is not bad news. In fact, it offers fantastic opportunities for the savvy entrepreneur. .. but I am getting ahead myself. That will need to wait until next week.
Here then are the Top Trends in Small Business, 2010:
10: The New Frugality: A variety of factors have coalesced to create an era of frugality – the bad economy, stubbornly high unemployment rates, and the burst of the housing bubble to name just a few.
To read more of this USA Today article click here.
The Senate voted this weekend to temporarily extend funding for two popular stimulus provisions that reduced fees and boosted guarantees on Small Business Administration-guaranteed loans.
The provisions, which helped bolster small-business lending over the past year, had run out of funding in late November. With the new extension, included in the Defense Appropriations bill, the government’s maximum guarantee on SBA loans is restored to 90%, compared to pre-stimulus levels of 75%. Fees that the agency normally changes banks are also waived.
To read more of this Wall Street Journal article click here.
President Barack Obama today proposed new spending on the nation’s infrastructure, tax credits for small businesses to spur hiring and incentives to make homes more energy efficient in a plan to cut the jobless rate.
Obama also called for “mobilizing” remaining money in the financial-system bailout fund to open up more credit to small businesses.
To read more of this Bloomberg article click here.
A few day s ago I went to a small business show located in a Los Angeles private home.
Promoted as “Holiday Trunk Show with a touch of communal networking” the event offered a venue to small businesses to showcase their products. Over fifteen enterprises showed mainly environmentally and socially conscious products. The offering was as diverse as hand crafted bags made of natural materials, diary free ice cream and environmentally friendly cosmetics.
The person behind the event is Afford Eco’s Tatjana Luethi. She mentioned that “The main focus is to reflect and acknowledge the current economy and how that affects all of us financially, emotionally and mentally, and build something around that with authenticity and transparency”. Her genuine desire to help the community and promote collaborative spirit is the primary driving force behind this gathering. “Times are changing, and with that change new approaches are being born, namely one of collaboration and taking care of each other”.
The gathering is another illustration of how businesses are looking for new ways to sell their products and endure hard times.
Small businesses that are having trouble obtaining loans may be eligible for assistance under a new program organized by a San Fernando Valley economic development group.
The loan program is designed to provide capital to existing businesses throughout Los Angeles to help offset the effects of the economic downturn and the credit crunch, said Roberto Barragan, president of the Valley Economic Development Center.
Read more of this LA Times article here.
While optimism among small U.S. businesses perked up slightly in September, owners saw little to celebrate as they planned to cut inventories and trim their workforce, a survey released on Tuesday showed.
The National Federation of Independent Business said its small business index for last month rose 0.2 point to 88.8 and was 7.8 points higher than the survey’s second-lowest reading reached in March.
Read more of this Reuters news article here.
Back in August, Federal Reserve officials suggested that the Great Recession was ending and the U.S. could expect “a gradual resumption of sustainable economic growth.” But even with stock market indexes and the bottom lines of large financial firms bouncing back, small businesses can expect a longer slog to economic health.
“Small business performance is a lagging indicator of recovery in the same way that unemployment is,” says Villanova University business school professor John Pearce II.
And it’s likely that small businesses will find this recovery even slower than previous ones. The downturn has especially hurt construction firms, retailers and food service providers, the vast majority of which employ fewer than 20 workers. To make matters worse, more than 110 banks have failed since early 2008, most of them community thrifts catering to the financial needs of local firms.
Here’s how a few savvy entrepreneurs are turning these headwinds to their advantage.
Read more of this CNNMoney article here.
We have all been told that a business plan is required for the business to fly. But how much attention do we really pay to it? And do all business owners really need one? You have customers, you have a niche, and you don’t need bank funding. You know what you know. Who will even read it? In this article, we will discuss why a business plan is quite often a necessary evil, and then we’ll go into the basic mechanics of a business plan.
Read more of the AmEx OPEN article here.
Even though there are signs that the economy may be starting to turn around, this has been and continues to be a stressful year for most business owners. I often think stress should be spelled $tre$$. I cannot think of many jobs that pay a good amount of money that don’t also offer a good amount of stress.
The interesting thing about entrepreneurship is that you can encounter stress either because you are busy and growing and making money — or because you are not. After many years of ups and downs, I have some tips on how to deal with stress in productive ways:
1. First, identify the real problem. Entrepreneurs often say they just need
Reed more of NY Times’ article here
