Small Business is a Marathon: Advice For When You Hit the Wall
I have a friend who is training for the New York Marathon. While I’m all for running and a regimen of aerobic exercise, I’m a little baffled by the men and women who run marathons. However, from my years of experience I know that the similarities between running a small business and running a marathon are many. I would quickly add that when you’re managing a small business there aren’t folks cheering for you along the way…or an endorphin high…or even hydration stations sometimes! In fact, instead of encouragers along the route, small business owners often need to cope with naysayers, detractors and all forms of critics. Further, the route a small business must take to get to success is seldom – if ever – clearly marked. It’s quite easy to take a wrong turn and suddenly find yourself in a world of hurt, so let’s look at some of the most important things to keep in mind as we “run the race.” Failure isn’t bad. In business it’s true that if you aren’t failing, you aren’t trying hard enough. In today’s business climate you aren’t going to be a true success by always driving in the middle lane. A virtual requirement for success is to differentiate yourself and that means you must take risks and with risks come failures. Every failure is a learning experience, so when you fail learn the lesson, pat yourself on the back for daring to be different and go on to the next idea. “No” isn’t the end of the world. Your no-to-yes ratio will lean heavily toward no even if you have the best product or service since the invention of fire. I know that small business owners often find it difficult to separate themselves personally from their businesses. But remind yourself that rejecting a business arrangement is not a personal rejection. When it happens, review the failure advice above. Observe the kitchen remodel rule. If you’ve undertaken any major home repair project you know that they always take longer and cost more than the original estimate. Ditto with a small business. You will discover many unanticipated challenges as you build your business. Give yourself more time (and money) than you think should be required and above all, be patient. Anil Sinha, who heads up India’s version of the FBI, covered it very well when he said, “Patience is key to success. Good things come to those who wait. Success doesn’t come overnight for most people. It requires a lot of learning, hard work and experience to reach a certain life goal.” Don’t let the whiners distract or discourage you. There’s a great saying that covers a lot of modern life, “Everyone’s a critic!” You will have plenty of detractors along the way and many of them will be well meaning. Be especially wary of those who think what you’re doing is too difficult or demanding. If it wasn’t, everyone would be doing it and the fundamental law of economics teaches us that no financial gain accompanies the easy things. With all of this said, pursue your small business dream with your eyes open and your resolve steeled against the discouragement you are certain to experience. While I’ve never run a marathon, I understand that there is a time when almost all...
read moreThis Week in Small Business: Sharing, trading, channel surfing and the über rich
Marketing and sales Social media/content marketing The content you post on the various social media platforms should be customized for each user. Here are some simple ways to do that. Although interactive infographics take a little more time to create, Drew Hendricks outlines four ways they boost your digital marketing success. Instagram is proving to be very valuable for small business social media marketing. Follow these tips to get your channel off the ground. But don’t bet everything on web marketing, sometimes Old School strategies work too. Sharing and trading content with related businesses can boost your marketing reach. Follow these steps to find the right partners. Neil Patel, co-founder of Crazy Egg, Hello Bar, and KISSmetrics, takes us on a guided tour of eight brilliant content marketing innovations from the world’s best brands. You don’t have time to be spinning your wheels, so stop doing these seven pointless content marketing efforts right now. Marketing trends and problem solving If you’re getting too many abandoned shopping carts, review these 10 points to be sure you’re doing everything you can to grab the sales. The major players are shifting positions in the digital marketing world. You need to know what’s going on. The former head of SMB marketing at Facebook says it’s time for small businesses to look elsewhere to bring in customers. Rakhal Ebeli, managing director of Newsmodo, outlines three of the biggest problems small business owners face with content marketing and suggests how they can be solved. There are four channels you can leverage like a PR pro to promote your content. Understand them and use them as your budget permits. Speaking of budgets: How about a monthly marketing budget of less than $100? Here are a half dozen ideas for you to try. If you can’t join ’em (overnight at least), learn how to market to the ultra-wealthy. Entrepreneurship, startups and innovation Let’s not let the techies rule the startup world. Here’s a quick start guide for startups even if you’re a non-technical person. And for even more guidance, be sure to avoid these 16 fatal startup mistakes. Venture capital has traditionally been a “boys club.” Here’s Jenny Lee’s take on what it’s like to be the top woman in VC. It only cost Marissa Devantier $20 to start her pop-up shop, but she has a much bigger vision for her future. Even if your passion isn’t craft beers, you’ll probably learn something from this interview with the founder of Sam Adams. The peer-to-peer economy can generate significant incomes, especially for Airbnb’s “superhosts.” You’ve got food! AOL co-founder Steve Case is betting that the food industry is the next major target for disruption. Here’s a mom who’s paying for her kid’s private school education by selling hand-sewn lip balm holders. She’s a great example of turning a craft into a career. There are major currents at work reshaping the way we do commerce with each other. Andrew Cave explores the question of which will come first, the “sharing” or the “circular” economy. If you have the next big idea and it requires launching a major digital platform, you’ll want to check out this how-to article from the Harvard Business Review. This video tutorial from Shopify about how to create an online t-shirt store with no inventory, will give you...
read moreIs Small Business Getting a Dirty Deal With Clean Water Act Changes?
When we’ve watched our elected officials and pundits go hammer and tong over laws in recent years, the documents being debated have usually been hundreds or thousands of pages in length, like the Affordable Care Act or the recent net neutrality regulations. With those battles as a backdrop, it seems almost quaint that one of the most contentious arguments being fought by public policy makers right now is language contained in just a handful of paragraphs. The document is a “clarification” from the Environmental Protection Agency that further defines which bodies of water come under the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act. People on both sides of the debate agree that clarifications are in order. For years, courts have handed down rulings that don’t always seem to align with one another. However, what EPA officials call a clarification, critics are calling a “power grab” at best and a “land grab” at worst. More power to bureaucrats “The (new) rule will extend federal bureaucrats’ reach into every corner of the American economy, affecting small businesses of every type, including those involved in, among many others, oil and gas production, mining, homebuilding, and agriculture,” says Karen Kerrigan of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council. It’s not just our country’s water quality that is being threatened, she writes, “but so too the constitutional balance between the federal and state governments. The result is more litigation and greater bureaucratic control from Washington, putting small businesses and state regulators at the mercy of courts and federal bureaucrats” Originally, “navigable waters” were mainly covered by the Clean Water Act. The EPA’s new definition of “Waters of the United States” that fall under its regulatory control include: All tributaries. Adjacent waters, Wetlands, and Other waters. Terms like all, adjacent, wetlands and other immediately send up red flags for anyone who works where dirt might be moved, crops planted or buildings constructed. It doesn’t take much imagination to see how these can be interpreted to mean virtually anything that gets wet…ever. The importance of housing We are just beginning to breathe a little easier after the housing market crash, and so much of our economy depends on new home construction. Not only does it provide jobs for building professionals, new homes must be fitted with new kitchen appliances, window coverings, furniture and much more. The benefits of a robust housing industry are manifold. Already, Kerrigan points out, government regulations account for some 25 percent of the price of a new single-family home. In many areas of our nation, this new definition from the EPA could significantly increase that figure. Last year, the House passed the “Waters of the United States Regulatory Overreach Protection Act of 2014,” but it was never taken up by the Senate. Currently, there are hearings in the Senate on the issue, but it is uncertain if any legislation will be forthcoming. This is an issue you should follow with your representatives and perhaps bring up when it’s election time and your local politicians start holding “town hall meetings” around their...
read moreProtect Your Small Business: The Best Ways to Avoid Tax Season Scams
Some of you may be old enough to remember the AT&T marketing campaign from the mid-1980s that encouraged people to “Reach out and touch someone.” Fraudsters are taking that advice, but instead of “touching” they are scamming small businesses and individuals. And because we’re in the throes of tax season, IRS- and tax-related scams are going into overdrive. One of the most popular scams – and one that has cost taxpayers $15.5 million since 2013 – revolves around a phone call from a bogus IRS agent demanding payment of delinquent back taxes. According to reports, more than 366,000 people have received this call and about 10 percent have fallen for the ruse – some forking over hundreds of thousands of dollars. Playing on our paranoia Many of us would immediately go on the defensive if we get a call from an IRS agent and try to do whatever it takes to get ourselves out of the jam we are allegedly in. Add a caller ID that makes it look like the caller is from a government agency, and it’s easy to see how someone would fall for the scam. However, it’s an unfortunate fact of modern life that the con artists know how to “spoof” the caller ID system and make it say anything they want. Don’t trust your called ID. Further, know that the IRS virtually never calls out of the blue. You would have been receiving correspondence documenting your situation before it ever gets to the point of speaking to an agent, either in person or over the phone. The IRS also won’t threaten you with arrest or deportation, so if the person on the other end of the line is coming on strong, you can be sure it’s a scam. Scammers are leveraging technology for this kind of fraud, so instead of a nasty phone call, you might get a nasty “phishing” email. In this case, the fraudster may not be looking for payment, but for your social security number and passwords. An especially alluring version of this scam is to send you an email saying that you have a tax refund waiting, but you just need to confirm your contact information. The email links to a webpage that looks just like a typical IRS webpage. Again, the IRS will never request information from you like this. Also, get tuned into the phishing scam warning signs. Look at email addresses closely. Minor changes in names should set off alarms. Examine link destinations before clicking on them. Other tax-season scams to look out for: Tax preparer fraud. If your tax preparer suggests extraordinary means to shelter income or avoid taxes, it’s a major warning sign. It tells you that the person across the desk is dishonest and may be getting ready to scam you. At the very least, you could end up in trouble with the IRS. Bogus charities. Tax time is the ideal season for people to start soliciting for fake charities. They play on our desire to do good and lower our payment to Uncle Sam. No matter what month it is, you should vet charities before giving them your support. There are many websites where you can get information about charities. The Better Business Bureau operates the BBB Wise Giving Alliance where you can...
read moreAre you an innovator? Amazon Exclusives May be Your Best Sales Channel
Can you imagine a retail outlet that sells pink girls Mary Jane flats, paddleboats and two-port USB external battery chargers? Amazon.com, can and they’re calling it Amazon Exclusives. Let’s be honest: Amazon has recently had more misses than hits in its own product development, so why not let others develop new products and be the exclusive online seller for these hot new consumer items? That’s what’s happening on Amazon Exclusives. The potential for a big up-side is there for all the innovators as well; they get immediate exposure on what is probably the world’s most valued shopping portal. Under their agreement with Amazon, they can sell their gear in their own physical store, branded site and on the Amazon Exclusive shop – no other online outlets or sellers are allowed. If Amazon can establish this corner of its mammoth website as the go-to place for the best new gadgets, fashions and other consumer items, it can evolve into a major player. Already there are products featured on ABC’s “Shark Tank.” It should also prove to be a great tool for successful Kickstarter projects to continue building their buzz and begin pushing bucks to the bottom line. The Prime reason The online retail behemoth and the small startups also share the benefits of Amazon Prime. There is probably no more appealing fulfillment option for a small business than to be able to offer the incredible shipping option that’s built into Amazon Prime membership. When small business owners want to go it alone, they must either create their own order-taking and shipping operation or sign up with a fulfillment company. Both of these would make it financially difficult to offer free two-day shipping. If they’re included in Amazon Exclusives they can put a line on their website that says, “Order through Amazon and Prime members get Free Second-Day Delivery!” Of course, it adds another dimension to the appeal of Amazon Prime. Now Prime members have easy access to tomorrow’s hottest consumer wares with free shipping and reliable fulfillment. Are you a good fit? Even if you haven’t gone the “Shark Tank” or Kickstarter route, your product might be a good fit for Amazon Exclusives. They are looking for innovative items, and maintaining a high standard will be necessary if they want to establish the cachet necessary to pull in the traffic required to make this project commercially viable. Currently only a handful of startups have their products available but Amazon is actively seeking others to go through the application process. If you’ve recently developed a product that would fit the Amazon Exclusives model or have one on the drawing board, consider this sales channel as you compare your marketing...
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