Small biz optimism at near-record levels: Don’t miss the boat!
There has been a lot of hopeful talk that the current economic growth will continue in a way similar to what the country experienced during and immediately after the Reagan years. While it’s far too early to be making those comparisons, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Index of Small Business Optimism hit “Reaganesque” levels in November, reaching a near-record 107.5. “We haven’t seen this kind of optimism in 34 years, and we’ve seen it only once in the 44 years that NFIB has been conducting this research,” NFIB President and CEO Juanita Duggan said at the release of the latest figures. “Small business owners are exuberant about the economy, and they are ready to lead the U.S. economy in a period of robust growth.” October was a great month for the index – it almost set a record then – but it gained another 3.7 points in November. Eight of the 10 index components posted gains, including a stunning and rare 16-point gain in Expected Better Business Conditions and a 13-point jump in Sales Expectations. These two components are critical because today’s expectations pave the road to tomorrow’s reality. A fact every administration and business leader needs to accept is that psychology, in large part, drives the direction of the economy. When consumers and business leaders fear bad times, they become cautious and tend to pull back on spending. When they see better times ahead, they loosen the purse strings. The fear of worse times causes worse times; the promise of better times causes better times. In macroeconomics, prophecies are usually self-fulfilling. Another key component worth noting is Job Creation plans. This figure was up six points in November, showing that even more small business owners are going to be in hiring mode. We have long noted the difficulty of finding qualified candidates; the competition will only intensify in coming months. It will be interesting to see what kind of wage growth this causes – so far it hasn’t been as much as one might expect. Given the stiff competition for talent, it would be a good time to bolster your training program. Hiring and then training up to meet your requirements is a powerful way to get the skills you need and build exceptional company loyalty at the same time. Plans to increase inventory also went up in November and this should have a strong ripple effect through the economy. If you’re B2B, this should be excellent news and if your optimism has been lagging, it’s time to get with the program. Maximize the benefits of the current expansion! Here are all the stats:...
read more2018: Time to be bold or go home
Do you believe that “slow and steady wins the race” or that you need to “throw caution to the wind” in order to be successful? I ask the question because it seems to me that today’s cultural and business climate is one that leans heavily toward bold innovation and social change. Mark Cuban recently commented that the ventures of some innovative tech companies impact our lives far more than any measures coming out of Washington D.C. – and that is probably true in other developed nations as well. Everyday, the top news stories are filled with items about driverless cars, virtual reality, augmented reality, new rockets, private space travel, space colonies, hypersonic underground transit loops, and more – you get the idea. The mega-capitalized companies at the forefront of these developments can launch bold projects (or float the ideas in the media) because of the positions they hold in the public eye and because they can risk the money to get them going without endangering other elements of their businesses. Smaller businesses generally don’t have access to such deep pockets, yet it is often smaller startups that are the initial movers on some of these concepts. Recently, I heard that Apple purchased a small virtual reality development company. The leadership dilemma for small businesses is finding the right balance between caution and boldly pursuing new ideas and projects. But as we go into 2018, I encourage you to lean more to the “throwing caution to the wind” side of this scale. I say that because I think our cultural and commercial “winds” are blowing in that direction, creating perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for many businesses. We have come off many years when economic expectations and sentiments were low. That creates all kinds of pent-up demand. Recent economic data tell us that this demand is being released and that should carry over into 2018 making it the ideal time for new ventures: Pursue physical expansion. Open a location in a nearby town or establish a sales territory in a neighboring state. Introduce new products or services. Experiment with products and services a bit further away from your core. Perhaps you do this by spinning off a startup. Innovate your processes. If you limped through the slower times by stretching the life cycles of equipment or you avoided updating your digital technology, take advantage of these rosier days to jump ahead. Rethink your online presence. Can you sell online? Implement online scheduling? Dramatically improve the customer experience – with Millennials and mobile in mind – by revamping your use of the Internet. Is there a merger or acquisition that might allow you to take your business to an entirely new level? Optimism is high among consumers and business leaders. Don’t fail to take advantage of this. Take some risks in 2018....
read moreStop paying outrageous web coder fees with this easy Google hack
Making sure that your business website is optimized for search engines can make small business owners feel like they’re swimming upstream against a strong current in pursuit of a destination that is constantly moving further away. Consultants and coders will review your site and make suggestions on ways to improve it and these projects always come with a hefty price tag. It’s welcomed news that Google itself has created an online tool that empowers people with zero coding or HTML experience or knowledge to dramatically improve the way their websites appear in search results. The first step is to have your website hooked up to Google analytics and start using Google Search Console. But before I show you – step-by-step – how to use this tool, let me take a quick side path so you’ll understand why it is so valuable. Structured data Google has started relying on some “extra” HTML coding to create “structured data.” Typically, this coding uses a system of tags called “schema,” which comes to us via Schema.org. The tags help search engines learn exactly what certain things on your webpages area. It’s especially useful for some specific types of information you may be providing on your webpages. However, instead of hiring an HTML expert to go back and add all these tags to your pages, Google has a DIY tool available in the Google Search Console that will do the work for you. All you have to do is be able to select text and choose things from a drop-down menu. The only catch is that you need to be conveying certain types of information on your webpages. Currently this information is: Articles Book Reviews Events Local Businesses Movies Products Restaurants Software Applications TV Episodes I don’t think too many TV producers are reading this, but I suspect many local business owners who have articles on their websites or sell products or schedule events are following along with me – not to mention restaurant owners. Let’s look at what you need to do. Using the Google tool First, navigate to your Google Search Console then select “Search Appearance” followed by “Data Highlighter.” At that point, you’ll need to copy and paste the URL from a page that contains information that falls into one of the above categories. If you are working with a page that is one of many similar pages, be sure to select “Tag this page and others like it.” This is handy if you have several blog pages or product pages that are all essentially laid out the same. Nest, select the type of information that is on the page. With that done, hit return and Google will then pull up that page within the search console. Once your page is on the screen, you’ll need to highlight each instance of information you want Google to know more about. If you went to the contact information page for your local business, for example, you would highlight any of these pieces of information: Name Address Telephone Opening hours Category Department Image URL Average rating Review For your local business, by adding this information, your company’s listing in Google search results would be more “polished” and complete, such as the one this example: If you highlight one page that will serve as...
read moreDoes your small business fit one of my stereotypes?
I was thinking about all the different types of small businesses where I’ve been through my life and began to wonder if I could categorize them – even stereotype them. It has a lot to do with ownership, the kind of business, the management style, the community, and probably several more factors I haven’t even thought of yet. I wanted to capture these ideas, so I started to write them down. Here’s what I have so far; maybe you can add some. Mom and pop. This was the first small business stereotype that came to mind. I’m not sure that there are as many of these around as there used to be. It takes a special couple to be able to work together day in and day out for years on end. It can also make for a very special place to do business. Family owned and operated. A step up in size from the mom and pop small business is the family business. It’s interesting that many family owned and operated businesses will use that label to promote their companies. These can range in size from a small operation where virtually every employee is a member of the immediate or extended family, to the larger operation where the family makes up the management team. Owner operator. I was going to label this the Lone Wolf, but that might have some negative connotations. Today, an owner operator small business could be one person roaming the community in a mobile locksmith truck or one person at a computer running a dozen online e-commerce sites. With the Internet, a single “lone wolf” can have a very large commercial reach. Entrepreneurially ambitious. Some serial entrepreneurs plant small businesses with the hopes that they’ll take off and become attractive to buyers or perhaps they see tremendous growth potential themselves and hope to lead the business to bigger and better things. Local institutions. Almost any of the above categories can, over time, become a local institution. You could probably name a handful of local institutions in your community. They are more often retail than B2B – although in some industry sectors you might find B2B businesses that are local institutions. It’s interesting to think that a family owned and operated business can become a local institution and in the process tremendously boost its value if the owners ever choose to sell. Technophobes. Some small businesses refuse to adopt the latest and greatest technology. It can hinder a business, but in some cases it can add to the charm of a local business. When a local institution sticks with the systems that have given it its success over the years, it can be a winning combination. Customers feel at home and know what to expect. Technophiles. On the other hand, many small businesses live on the cutting edge of technology. This can give them a number of productivity advantages over their competitors and it can help owner operators accomplish much more than they could without the technology. The downside for Technophiles is that they can adopt technologies too early and end up paying higher prices for their hardware and software. They can also adopt technological solutions that are soon superseded by better systems. Can you think of some other stereotypes? The valuable part of this...
read moreThis week in small business: Tips to finish 2017, start 2018 strong
If you have a moment or two when you can get your head above water over the holiday season, you need to check out some of this week’s recommended reading. You’ll get some tips and perspectives that could payoff big in 2018. Leadership, management, and productivity If you’re planning an e-commerce move in 2018, you need to look over what Jia Wertz has to say about choosing the right platform. And while we’re on the topic, you’ll also want to see Thomas Smale’s six crucial elements required to optimize your e-commerce site. Scott Brown makes some great points as he explains why customer success is your most important weapon in the battle for customer retention. See if you can relate to Mo Bitar’s explanation of why you’re resistant to being productive. Timothy Sykes delivers five ways you can change your bad business habits. They sound like great New Year’s resolutions to me. Marketing and sales Join Tabitha Jean Naylor as she goes on a journey with a small biz owner who’s probably a lot like you, discovering often missed opportunities in social media marketing. Here’s why connecting with local influencers is crucial for small businesses, as explained by Claudio Sorrentino. Shhh! Alex Fusman gives us the secret to leading an effective marketing team. (I hope your competitors don’t see his Forbes article!) Need some last-minute holiday marketing tips? Here are a bunch from some of our top CEOs. Peter Mollins gives you a dozen ways to “get your internal experts to create winning sales enablement.” Mark Toney of Luce Media has put together an infographic and article showing how social media supports SEO for all around increased success. Are you using geofencing yet? You will after reading Jia Wertz’ piece on how it optimizes the online experience. Entrepreneurship, startups, and innovation Attention entrepreneurs: Melanie Deziel has a rundown on year-end habits you should adopt. Stop talking and just do it! (Where have I heard that advice before…?) That’s what Kristen Tomlan did and now she’s really making it happen at her New York store. Jen Hacker tells Kristen’s story. Politics, government, and the economy Barry Ritholtz makes some very good points arguing that the methodologies behind holiday sales forecasts are...
read moreWhat to do when Snopes rejects everything you believe!
See if you’ve ever been caught in this personally embarrassing social media scenario: You find something in the news that gets your blood churning because it aligns perfectly with your thoughts and opinions. You post it on Facebook and within about 10 minutes people start pointing out that Snopes or some other fact checker has found the item you posted to be untrue. I hate when that happens! If you’ve gone through this, you’ve been the victim of “confirmation bias.” It’s a fact of human nature that we tend to accept without question ideas that agree with what we believe to be true and we reject ideas that contradict what we believe to be true. I’m sure you know some people who surround themselves with yes-men or yes-women, and it may be more common in business management that in almost any other field. It’s very dangerous because it can cause you to: Reject new ideas, Lose good team members, Fail to see dangers that lie ahead, and Admit and correct your mistakes. I’ve often seen this in business expressed through the “not invented here” roadblock. A new person joins the team and suggests a different way of accomplishing something. The idea encounters stiff head winds. In a perfect world, the idea would be given a fair chance, but people aren’t perfect and due to confirmation bias, the new idea may be shot down. If business leaders allow confirmation bias to reach a toxic level, good people will leave because their ideas are not given sufficient consideration. In fact, the best strategy is to recognize the fact of confirmation bias and take proactive steps to wrestle it to the ground. It’s healthy to seek contrary opinions. We do this somewhat when we make ourselves or others in on the decision-making process to play devil’s advocate. But I don’t think that really goes far enough. Usually when we go through the devil’s-advocate exercise, it’s more of a formality than something we take seriously. Writing for the investment world and using Warren Buffet as an example, Roger Dooley gives two essential steps to take in order to reduce or eliminate the likelihood of making a bad decision due to confirmation error: Recognize the threat and especially your personal danger of falling into the confirmation bias trap, and Go out of your way to seek and understand the opinions and ideas that contradict your thoughts. It takes big people to set aside their biases and honestly examine the other side of issues and ideas. It requires humility and the discipline to always make the effort. Are you up to the...
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