This Week in Small Business: Don’t kill your startup and start thinking about Generation Z
Survey the news, trends and tips savvy small business owners have been following this week:
Entrepreneurism and Startups 2015 style
“Startups don’t die, they commit suicide” and other startup Secrets and tips from America’s coolest young entrepreneurs…illustrated!
Some small business owners think creating an entrepreneurial culture is one of their most important goals for 2015. Read more and evaluate other smallbiz goals.
If you’re new to startups, take a few minutes to get a quick overview of market research before you start plowing money into your project.
Marketing
Hyper-targeting and predictive analytics are among the five important marketing trends, according to Flipflop founder and CEO Doug Camplejohn. To back that up, a Forbes report quantifies the advantages enjoyed by those who practice data-driven marketing.
Are Daddy Warbucks and his high-roller pals your target market? If so check out your marketing strategy against these five steps for marketing to the affluent. Then again, maybe you should be shifting your focus to the under-18 Generation Z. (BTW, how are we going to label the next generation?)
Here’s the third part of a series on implementing beacon technology in your retail facility and it includes links to parts one and two.
Big brands did poorly in content marketing last year. Some small businesses did great. Here are the lessons to be learned. To do better, half of all businesses say they are going to increase their marketing budgets. They may be spending on these 15 must-have marketing tools or these seven technologies, but I hope they understand these mobile marketing truths few talk about.
And with our enthusiasm about mobile marketing, let’s not forget video. Here are eight video marketing resolutions for the new year.
Politics, Government and the Economy
Is it time to make the “Internet Tax Freedom Act” permanent and stop going through this dance every few years, or has the Internet grown up enough to start playing by the rules others have to obey?
Falling oil prices and low inflation have created unusual economic conditions. Here’s a quick primer on what’s happening. Maybe this is why small business optimism is at an eight-year high. Even President Obama’s messaging on the economy is shifting. The Fed, by the way, says the economy continues to modestly expand, so maybe it’s not yet time to start bragging.
Untangling the fates of individual nations in the global economy isn’t easy. Here’s how the US and China look from Aussie soil and in Europe, Ireland is set to be the big winner.
Since April 15 is looming larger every day, take time out to consider your relationship with the IRS and be prepared.
Study the correlation between federal regulations and small business formation and growth. Spoiler alert: when one is going up, the other seems to go down.
After all the recent hacks and cyberattacks, the Obama administration now supports controversial legislation that indemnifies tech companies when they share private user data.
Does the name of the “Job Creation and Reducing Small Business Burdens Act” get it right, or are opponents telling the truth when they call it the “Kicking Dodd-Frank in the Teeth Act”? In any case, the House passed it last week and now it moves on to the Senate.
Management and Leadership
Are your thoughts just as good as those you hear from the “thought leaders”? If so, it’s about time you took steps toward becoming a key influencer in your field.
Hackers and fraudsters from inside your company are more likely to cause problems than hackers from abroad. Be sure you’re taking all the right steps for protection. Also, not all fraud is of the high-tech, online variety. This small business was smart enough to sense when they were being scammed. To cap this inspiring topic, here are the top cyber security threats that could come at you in 2015.
Get ’er done! Here are three resolutions that will get those projects done and those dreams realized. And if you need to get more out of your team, see what kind of office environment promotes productivity. And while we’re on the subject, offering flexibility-based perks is great for morale.
If you’re a visual learner and about ready to launch a business, you might want to clip this infographic that icon-izes 18 ways to sink a startup and tape it to your monitor.
With mobile claiming 30 percent of all ecommerce transactions, you need to get all your mobile marketing ducks in a row.
Technology
Fuel prices are way down; airline fares…not so much. Conferencing technology is proving to be a cost saver, especially for younger small business owners.
What is driving mobile app innovation and adoption? Here’s a review of the key academic theories.
If you’ve bought a computer lately, you know many don’t include an optical drive to read CDs and DVDs. You might want to get an external drive for a few good reasons.
