One of the secrets to getting the most from your employees is understanding the challenges they face, not only in the workplace but in the rest of their lives. A comprehensive new report, Women & the Workplace, by Inforum and Sphere Trending has some insights on a key group of employees: women.

The recent recession had been dubbed a “mancession” as men lost jobs in record numbers. By comparison, the study found, women fared better at keeping jobs (however, men are faring better in the current recovery). Not only that, but “Single, childless women in their 20s are more likely than their male counterparts to graduate from college,” says Sphere Trending CEO Maxine Lauer. “That demographic segment is going to be where a lot of the new young talent will come from in years ahead.”

Overall, some 70 percent of U.S. women now work outside the home, and one in four married women earn more than their husbands. What else do you need to know about today’s female employees? The study examined women in three age groups—Gen Y, Gen X and Baby Boomers.

Each faced special challenges:

Gen Y: Overall, this age group is doing great. They’re out-earning their male counterparts and embracing technology and social media as tools for both business and personal life. In fact, 53 percent identified themselves as early adopters of technology, and women were more likely than men (32 percent vs. 24 percent) to use social media to network and connect with co-workers. Younger women believe work-life balance is crucial and are less likely than older generations to sacrifice their personal lives for a job. Instead, they’re using tools like flextime, remote work and mobile devices to get it all done.

Gen X: Stress is the key word for this age group, which has more family responsibilities than Gen Y. Even though men are taking on more duties at home, most of the childcare and housework still falls on Gen X women, who may also be dealing with elder care. Gen X has high standards and these women often feel like they’re letting down their families and their bosses, satisfying no one. In the workplace, Gen X’s strength is “brokering” between Gen Y and Boomer employees and serving as a facilitator to smooth the generation gap.

Boomers: Boomers face many of the same issues as Gen X. Although their children are generally adults, the economy has pushed many of those adult children back into the nest, leaving Boomers in a tough position. With Americans living longer, even the oldest Boomers are often caring for aging parents, which can lead to lost productivity and greater stress. At the same time, Boomers may feel they’re getting pushed aside or left behind by younger employees, especially as Gen X employees rise up the ladder.

How can you help your female employees succeed? As with many employee motivation issues, the key is understanding what they need. That will vary from age group to age group, from life stage to life stage, and from person to person.

If your workplace is filled with young women, allowing remote work and making sure they have the mobile technology they need to work anytime, anyplace can be key. Be more focused on results, not on hours spent in the office.

If your team is mostly moms, flexibility to handle family responsibilities is most important. Like Gen X, they’ll appreciate being measured on their results, not the hours clocked.

If you’re dealing with Boomers, be aware they may be reluctant to share their challenges, especially eldercare. Being sensitive, providing resources to help them and finding ways to let them share their knowledge and experience with others on your staff can keep them feeling valued as members of your team.

Generational Women Photo via Shutterstock

From Small Business Trends

Understanding Women Workers

There’s a natural lifecycle for any freelancer’s business. When you’re just starting out, you indiscriminately look to attract as many clients as you can to build your business. But inevitably, some clients won’t be the right fit.

Whether it’s an overly-demanding client who’s prone to instant message you any time of day (or night), an indecisive client who’s sole feedback usually entails “that’s not quite it,” or the client who’s perennially slow to pay, some clients just aren’t worth the business. An extension of the Pareto Principle says that 20% of your customers probably account for the majority of your time and trouble.

Most of us strive to avoid conflict and stick with the mantra that clients are good for business. However, staying too long in negative client situations can take a significant toll on your job satisfaction, emotional wellbeing, and business.

If your attempts to actively manage the negative aspects in a client relationship ended up hitting a brick wall, it’s time to cut the cord. Firing someone may not come as easily to you as Donald Trump, but here are some ways to make the process as pain-free and professional as possible:

Take emotion out of the equation: When deciding to fire a client, don’t act rashly from frustration or a bruised ego. Take a few days to consider the situation before acting. Although, if you find yourself going through this process multiple times in a month or year, it’s time to listen to your gut.

Review the contract: Before approaching the client, go through every line of your contract and check for loose ends. If you don’t have a contract, gather any documents you have (including initial emails) that define the project scope and expectations. Make sure you have completely lived up to your obligations. If a client has already paid for certain parts of the project, make sure you have delivered on them. If you’re concerned the client may fail to pay what they owe, consider how to minimize the damage. This could mean waiting until they have paid before telling them your intentions.

Meet face-to-face: As tempting as it may be, firing a client doesn’t mean you just stop answering their emails or calls. Meet your contact face-to-face (or over a phone call if you’re a web-based contractor).

Keep it brief: No doubt you have a billion reasons why you don’t want to continue working with this client, but you only need to offer one. And it can be as simple as, “I no longer think my services are meeting your needs.” The more details you provide, the more you open the door to an argument.

Give sufficient notice: If a client relies on you for regular work, give them time to find a new contractor or vendor. This could be 30 days, the end of a major deliverable, or whatever works in the context of your relationship.

Offer alternatives: Unless the client was disrespectful or a major problem, help them find a new solution by referring a colleague who could meet their needs. If you don’t have a specific person in mind, you can still offer guidance on the type of provider who might be a better fit such as, “Your needs have grown, you may need to consider a full-size agency.” Or, “Why don’t you look for someone who specializes in x.”

At the end of the day, firing a client is never easy. Yet the difficult conversation will be over soon enough and you can move on to more restful nights and bigger and better things.

Fired Photo via Shutterstock

From Small Business Trends

Is It Time to Fire That Client?

Let’s face it: Too many of us spend a lot of time actively ignoring LinkedIn. We don’t intend to, it’s just not as flashy as some of the other social networks. But if you haven’t checked out the business social networking site lately, it’s time to stop ignoring LinkedIn and go back. Because the site has added a host of new features in recent months that have helped transform it from a static resume site to a full-blown business networking site that SMBs will want to take advantage of.

One feature small business owners want to specifically be aware of is the ability to create company profiles on the site. By claiming and building out your profile, SMBs will be able to increase your company’s prominence on the site, help prospective employees find you, and use it as your own personal recruiting network. If you’ve ever had to hire locally, you know important this is.

So how can small business owners take advantage of this new feature? Here are five easy tips to get you started.

1. Create/Claim the Page

Your first step to creating a rocking LinkedIn company profile page is to create and your claim your page. By creating your page you give your brand an outlet to highlight your products or services, keep followers updated on what you’re working on, show career opportunities within your organization, tell your personal story, and highlight various aspects of your company. To get started, perform a company search to see if you’re already listed on the site. If you are, it’s a simple process to claim your profile. If you’re not, once you’re in the search feature you’ll see an option on the right-hand side of the screen to add your company. Select that and claim your company page.

Once you’ve added your company (or have found an existing listing), it’s really important that you take the time to fill out the profile in its entirety, including:

• Your Company Overview
• Company Product & Services pages
• Information about Career Opportunities

The more information you provide, the easier it will be for like-minded prospective customers to find you, AND the more likely it is LinkedIn will show your company for prominent search queries.

2. Get Your Employees Using LinkedIn

The more involved you can make your company with LinkedIn, the bigger payoff you’re going to see. For more information on how to use your employees to create a rockin’ social media presence, check out a recent Blueglass post entitled 8 ways employees can improve your company’s LinkedIn presence where writer Kerry Jones discusses, in impressive detail, what steps SMBs should take to maximize their exposure. I won’t ruin the post for you, but she mentions things like:

• Taking advantage of the activity field
• Properly highlighting the teams skills & expertise (and why this is so important)
• Including customized links
• And lots more

If you haven’t used LinkedIn much in the past, that post is a really great primer to get any business up to speed. SMBs can really increase what they’re showing up for simply by showing employees how to set up and use their own profiles.

3. Follow Relevant Companies

Another thing SMBs may not know is that with the creation of LinkedIn brand pages, you can now follow companies of interest. For example, maybe you want to follow what your vendors are doing. Or companies that you’re considering partnering with in the future. Or people whose radar you want to get on for media opportunities. Or to hire down the road. This feature allows businesses to do stay up to date on what other businesses are doing, who they’re hiring, what they’re working on, etc. If you like your social media with a high amount of signal and very little noise, you may prefer to follow a brand on LinkedIn instead of on a more socially-inclined site like Twitter or Facebook.

4. Build Followers To Your Page

Obviously if you’re taking the time to build a brand page, you want to get people follow that page. Doing so will help you increase your visibility and authoritativeness with relevant users. Without that following, all the work that you’re doing on LinkedIn may go relatively unseen.

Encourage people to follow your company page by:

• Using your profile to share exclusive information about your company and/or articles and news pieces relevant to your audiences’ interests.
• Highlighting your brand’s LinkedIn page on your Web site and in all company information (in email newsletters, direct mailings, etc)
• Following the LinkedIn pages of other companies in your neighborhood/industry with the hopes that they’ll follow you back and you can create a local referrer network.
• Participating in industry-relevant LinkedIn discussion groups and let them know about your business (without spamming them).

5. Stay Active

Unfortunately, you can’t simply create your LinkedIn page and then step away. Even though LinkedIn is a business social networking site, it’s still a social networking site. That means you’ll still need to be active there to develop a real presence and following, and keep the relevance of your company profile Being an active site contributor means making sure you’re using your page to share information via your status updates, participating in relevant discussions, joining and being active in groups, acting like resource in Linked Answers, and otherwise be a good site member. If you don’t keep up your site investment, you’ll lose all the goodwill you’ve created.

Those are some quick tips to help SMBs develop a strong presence on LinkedIn and keep it going. Are you using LinkedIn for business? Why or why not?

From Small Business Trends

How To Build a Rockin’ LinkedIn Presence

Social media is a tremendous investment in time, but so critical to most small businesses today. There’s no question you need social media for your marketing, branding and PR efforts. But what is the best way to get the most out of social media for your venture?

Boosting Your Social IQ

The time suck of social media. We all know the value of social media for small business. This said, learning about social media has become a real time suck for many small business owners, especially the learning curve required to gain skill and a competitive advantage in this new field of marketing. Here are some tips to help. The Sales Lion

Creating engagement on your blog. Writing posts isn’t enough, of course. You’ll need to create engagement and community to make your small business stand out, attract fans and eventually customers. If you  had trouble building your blog in the past, see these suggestions for improvements. Small Business Trends

Thoughts On Social Media Marketing

Has social media helped your business? An online poll is collecting the answer one vote at a time from small business owners just like you. Have you shared your thoughts? Participate in this measure of small business owners’ experiences with social media success, then check the results. WSJ

Creating brand evangelism. Social media is about much more than ”likes” and ”clicks.” It’s about finding customers crazy for your brand who want to tell the world about you, your products and services. Here’s how to take your social media presence to a whole new level. Fast Company

Following the Pinterest Revolution

Pinterest: The next big thing? In case you’re wondering, the time has come! Time for all self-respecting social media gurus to fawn over the latest social media business tool you must be using. Forsake all others and follow! ReadWriteWeb

Social media hijinx. Not everyone goes crazy for the latest technological trend. This business blogger has even thought of a creative project that “pokes gentle fun” of a social media site he hasn’t yet found a use for. Want to join in? Darren Barefoot

Linking To A Brave New World

Not your average social media links. This collection of curated content comes to you from a top copywriter. We hope you find it useful, entertaining, inspiring, and unique. Now, those are great adjectives that should describe your content too, right? Copyblogger

How much are your followers really worth? As much as $42,500, or $2.50 a month for every follower in the case of one man’s Twitter account. Before you sell your social media following short, consider the dollar value some people put on this important fan base. CNN Tech

Tracking SEO and App Innovation

Don’t forget about SEO. If you think social media negates your need for good Search Engine Optimization strategy, think again. SEO is still very much alive and very important to your online business, even in the age of social networking. Brick Marketing Blog

Facebook apps for fan building. Creating fans on any social media platform remains essential for your small business, but here are some tips to help you improve communications with your fans on what may remain the most critical social network of them all. MyBeak Social Media

From Small Business Trends

The Time Suck of Social Media

Ok, I am a Pinterest newbie, arriving on the site because of the enthusiasm of an artist friend, Ann Kelle. As a surface designer, naturally Pinterest is one of her online stomping grounds. However, I’m a writer active in the small business arena so I was slow to respond to her excitement and reminders.

However, after attending a series of small business classes filled with artists and shop owners in the home and decor industry, it was easy to see that this social network is a mainstay for this creative group of entrepreneurs. And I wanted to know why.  So I finally signed up.  And quickly became addicted.

Something About Pinterest: Organic, Easy to Use

If you see something you like, then you “pin it” to one of your boards. Uou can come back to it whenever you need or want to.  It’s fun. It’s mesmerizing. But is it business relevant?

Well, if a picture is worth a thousand words, then Pinterest is really on to something.  It’s like an online scrapbook but better than that. It’s a little haven for the “neat freak” in some of us and perfect for the messy creative types too.

According to social media strategist, Kathryn Rose, “Pinterest is a great way to create interest in, and drive traffic to your blog posts.” Remember, traffic is the potential for conversion. Casual visitors to your website can become loyal subscribers and eventually paying customers (if you’ve prepped your site for the traffic but that’s a different post).

Kathryn uses the second half of her “in-depth look” to give you some specific things you can do to maximize the SEO benefits and in turn get more traffic.  Reb Carlson, Founder of NY Creative Interns, provides four tips to help you enjoy and add to the Pinterest community.

If You Fall in Love With Pinterest

Decide to make it your next social media hang out.  Consider Reb Carlson’s advice:

“Brands need to be creative in order to fit with the environment without being disruptive.”

It’s a creative space so be sure to honor that.  Have fun at Pinterest and start pinning some pictures or videos, including ones from your own website, and check out the pin boards of others, too.

Push Pin Photo via Shutterstock

From Small Business Trends

A Picture Is Worth A 1000 Words: Pinterest Is On To Something

President Obama is urging Congress to support legislation to expand tax cuts for small businesses and free up capital for startups.

His proposed “Startup America Legislative Agenda,” would eliminate taxes on capital gains in investments in small businesses and provide a 10 percent income tax credit on for new hires or to spur job-creation, double the deductions a startup business could take from $5,000 to $10,000, and extend 100 percent first-year depreciation for qualified property. The President will offer details of his proposals in the fiscal 2013 budget that will be submitted to Congress on February 13.

In an election year in which the economy will likely be the determining factor, both Democrats and Republicans will want to be seen as supporting small business, and cutting taxes is always popular with the electorate.

The White House sees small business growth as a primary driver of the economy. In fact, my company has been providing data on loan approval rates at big banks, small banks, credit unions and other alternative lenders to the President’s Council of Economic Advisers for the past several months. While the economy has risen above the dark period in early 2009 when the country was in a tailspin, the recovery is far from complete.

Credit markets are still tight for entrepreneurs, and big banks, in particular, are making it more and more difficult for startups. For example, many ask for three years’ worth of financial data before granting loans. How can a startup provide such numbers? Therein lies the challenge.

President Obama is positioning himself as an advocate for entrepreneurship and innovation. It is a good platform for reelection. Recently, he elevated Karen Mills, head of the Small Business Administration (SBA), to be a member of his cabinet. The President called this decision:

“A symbol of how important it is for us to spur entrepreneurship, to help startups, to move aggressively so that we can assure more companies that create the most jobs in our economy.”

The SBA has been instrumental in getting funding for startups, particularly during a period when financial institutions have been reluctant to lend. The agency’s 90 percent loan guarantee program was very successful, and only a very small percentage of SBA-backed loans defaulted.

Although it is admirable that the President is trying to be innovative, I believe the government’s most effective vehicle to help small companies has been the SBA, which was created by President Eisenhower almost 50 years ago. Ironically, it has been the Republicans who have called for the scaling back of the agency. President Obama has repeatedly bolstered the SBA, and its loan programs have helped countless businesses get the funding they need for growth.

President Obama Photo via Shutterstock

From Small Business Trends

President Obama: Small Business is Part of His Reelection Strategy

Small business owners are notoriously busy. You have a business to run, a Web presence to manage, customers to serve, vendors to hunt down, invoices to pay, social media to keep up with, and, oh, sometimes you like to pretend to have a social life. With so many different things on your plate, wouldn’t it be nice if this week left time to get just ONE under control? If perhaps there were just a handful of things you could tackle to wake up in a better place next Monday?

Well, there are.

Today is Tuesday. Below are five simple things to tackle so you can start next week off ahead of the game and with a stronger Web site.

1. Focus On Your Navigation

Often overlooked, your site navigation is crucial to creating a successful Web site. Your nav is what a customer will use to get around and find the information on your site. To aid them in this journey, you want to make your navigation as intuitive and easy to use as you can. Don’t hide your navigation, don’t try and be “clever” when naming certain items – focus on giving your customers something they can use, and use quickly.

As general rule, your main navigation bar should be easy to find, look and feel consistent, have properly named tabs (“trash cans” not “garbage receptacles”) and should always let customers know where they are on your site. If you’re not sure how well your site navigation does at helping customers on their way, a service like usertesting.com can help you see, from a user perspective, what it feels like navigating around your site. It may also be time to do some keyword research to make sure the keywords and phrases you’re using in your site navigation are still relevant.

2. Create a Better About Page

If you’re like many small business owners, you do a pretty good job ignoring your About page. I mean, you created one. Mostly. You threw in some bio information, your address and you even included a nice stock image of a woman dutifully at work. It’s not like anyone really uses that page, right?
Wrong.

As an SMB, one of the worst things you can do for your Web site is to ignore your About page. This is where customers go to learn more about your business, to gain trust, to see what you’re about, and, ultimately, decide if you’re a company they want to do business with. Stock your About Page with the Must Haves like:

• Your story
• Your credentials
• Pictures
• What they can expect from you/your value
• Where they can get more info about you
• Humanizing details

It’s easy to look at your About page as a chore or something that makes you uncomfortable. Instead, think of it as your formal introduction to your audience. What do you want them to know about feel about your brand? Show it here.

3. Update Your Blog

Sometimes bringing life (and customers) back to your Web site really is that easy. Spend some time this week to update your blog. Create a new post that takes a look inside your business (and maybe highlights your new About page), answer a long-standing consumer problem, share your thoughts on where the industry is going in 2012. Just get writing and talking to your audience again.

Updating your blog not only gives your audience something to find and engage with, it gives the search engines something to find, as well. It gives them a reason to revisit your site

4. Get That Contact Form User-Ready

The goal for many service-based Web sites is to guide a customer to that all-important contact form. We need our visitor to fill it out and give us their information in order to continue a dialogue with them. If they leave our site WITHOUT making it to this point, we’ve lost them. Forever. Probably to a competitor.
What does your own contact form look like? If you’re not confident in its ability, you may want to go grab a family member, sit them in front of a computer staring at your Web site, and then ask them to navigate through your site with a specific purpose in mind. Are they able to get there and make it to the contact form or convert? Or do they get scared off along the way?

Your site’s contact form should follow a few rules:

• It should be intuitive.
• It should be simple.
• It should only ask for the information you absolutely need to take a relationship with your customers to the next level.

Where contact forms go wrong is when they either try to get too much information in one sitting or they intimidate your visitor – either due to length, scope or language. Keep it simple, only ask for the information you absolutely need, and you can be confident you have a form that will due it’s purpose.

5. Show Off Your Social Media

Another quick way to add some life to your Web site is to do a better job showcasing all of your different social media profiles. Are you on Twitter? On Facebook? Google+? Have a LinkedIn profile? Sweet. Make sure you’re including a prominent call to action for visitors to follow you on these networks. Include the icons directly on your home page and on other prominent pages of your site (like your blog, About page, or Contact Us page, for example). Not only does cross-linking these profiles increase their strength, it also gives customers another place to go engage with you. They can go to your Twitter account and ask you a question, or see what questions you’re already answering. They can head to Google+ and see the media you’re sharing. Or head to LinkedIn and hop into a discussion you’re leading. These are all great trust signals.

The more connected you can look to your customers, the more they’re going to trust that you’re a reputable SMB that will be around in the morning should something go wrong.

Those are just five small things you can do to your Web site this week to increase its strength and make it more valuable and engaging to a user. What plans do you have for your Web presence this week?

From Small Business Trends

5 Ways To Improve Your Web Site This Week

Managing a small business is always a challenge. Here are some tips to help you excel in a tough and competitive market.

Building Efficiency

Motivating employees without cash. Getting more performance out of employees isn’t always about money. Here are some other major considerations that could bring better results from those who work for you. The Fiscal Times

How IT audits can help your business. The way your small to medium sized business uses technology is clearly important. But is your current IT giving you the most bang for your buck in a difficult economy? Entrepreneur

Rules & Regs

Tips on hiring independent contractors. Hiring an independent contractor can be an excellent option for small businesses when addressing short term needs not requiring a full-time employee, but beware of the rules guiding this relationship. New York Times

Special Initiatives

Getting more green with your business. Green businesses are all the rage, but don’t make the mistake of being inauthentic. Here are some ways to keep your green initiatives on track. Small Business Trends

Getting your small business site to go viral. It’s the ultimate hope of small business owners these days. With limited resources, they hope to spread their message through their Website. But here are some things to think about first. ProBlogger

Marketing & Client Acquisition

Finding the clients that are worth your time. Part of the problem with small businesses is the wasting of time and resources on clients that don’t pan out. Here’s how to make sure it doesn’t happen to you. Business How To

What’s your marketing style? Every entrepreneur and small business owner has a unique style and approach. Match that style to a marketing strategy you can maintain over time and you’ve found the secret to getting the word out about your small business. Open Forum

Corner Office

Paying the cost to be the boss. As the old song says, being the boss comes at a price, but being a better boss may be easier than you think. Here are some tips that should make being in charge an easier thing to handle. Small Business Bonfire

Building Brand

How important is your brand? Very! In fact, for entrepreneurs and small business owners trying to build a company, branding can be the key to opening many doors. How are you building your business branding? The Work at Home Woman

Building your small business following. You may have heard that your business needs fans. If you think that makes your company feel more like a rock band than a serious venture, you may just be right! BusinessInfoGuide.com

From Small Business Trends

Tips for Managing Your Small Business Now

A study estimates that small companies have cut 725.3 million annual employee hours by using mobile apps, equaling $17.6 billion in savings

Technovation Challenge is a contest for high school students run by Iridescent, which uses online software called App Inventor

Business owners are often natural sales people. They love to talk about their successes – and yes, occasionally glaze over their setbacks, their shortcomings.  It’s human nature, in fact.

But when it comes to green business, there are risks to downplaying your weaknesses or only trumpeting achievements:

• One, your customers will see through it.
• Two, they’ll trust you less.
• Three, they will feel less loyal.

Another problem is that there are many companies these days guilty of “greenwashing,” or plastering green leaves and vague words like “natural” and “pure” on their packaging when there’s little substance behind them. This only makes consumers more mistrustful of all green messaging. They have to look more closely to find out if it’s for real. To really make an impression on consumers anymore, a business’s environmental sustainability efforts need to feel genuine, transparent and earnest.

Here, then, are four ways to improve the authenticity of your green efforts:

1.   Dig for data. Sustainability leaders are focusing more and more on tracking and analyzing data. They know how many gallons of water they’re saving each year, or how much emissions are created transporting their products from a factory in China to their U.S. distribution centers. Communicating real numbers and targets to your customers adds credibility and brings your initiatives to life.

2.  Don’t overplay “green marketing.” Don’t fall into the trap of thinking being green is all about image and messaging. In fact, it might be better to not think about your green efforts as marketing at all. Think about them as something you want to communicate to customers. But when it comes to actual marketing, focus on other benefits of your products – whether it’s their design or usefulness. Research shows most consumers consider eco-friendliness a secondary purchasing concern, anyway.

3.  Increase transparency. Give consumers more substance about your green initiatives. Write a sustainability plan and track your annual progress. Devote a part of your web site to your green efforts, so consumers can easily find it if they’re interested.

4. Expose your challenges. As you talk about your green successes, don’t forget to discuss the challenges. Let your customers know when you miss a sustainability target – and why. Explaining the hurdles involved with reaching your goals only adds legitimacy and shows you’re truly committed to reducing your environmental footprint.

100% Natural Photo via Shutterstock

From Small Business Trends

4 Ways to Be More Authentically Green

What makes YOU stop, read and respond to blog articles?   Do you notice a pattern with articles that get re-posted and commented on the most? I do. I started this conversation here in,  The Emergence and Power of Blogs, Blogging and Bloggers and wanted to continue it.

Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere 2011 report came out at the end of last year highlighting the who, what and how of blogs, blogging and bloggers.  The growth of blogging the past year is significant.  As the content space becomes more and more crowded, getting noticed, read and responded to will also become more challenging.

So who is blogging? Take a look:

• 60% are Hobbyist who write about their specific passions and interests
• 18% are Professional Part Time/Full Time who monetize their blogs
• 13% are Entrepreneurs who share their professional expertise
• 8% are Corporate who gives us a glimpse and a platform to interact with them

Effective blog and article writing  is indeed a craft and it does take practice. You don’t necessarily need to be a professional writer to write effective, articles that garner attention and action, but you do need to include and follow some key elements. Articles that get my attention aren’t lengthy, get to the point and are relevant to what I might need, be interested in, or simply want more information about at that very moment.

Here are 5 elements that can increase your blog opens and response:

It starts with a strong headline or title:   Any professional speaker will tell you it’s not always what you say but how you say it or frame it. The rule of thumb  for blog titles is a 9 word title that is descriptive, specific and useful.

It continues with providing a clear focused topic and a few specific solutions:   The most opened, emailed and commented on articles offer up a number of specific how to’s, tips, lists, ways, reasons, secrets, benefits that people can digest easily, follow and use. For personal and small business blogs, a 300-500 word blog post is good, unless you determine it needs to be longer.

Follow the content story line through, then wrap it with an open ended question to invite reader interactivity:   Try to have a clear path for what you want to say and how you develop and roll out the article ideas and information. You can begin with a question or statistic and support that with examples and references along with your take on the topic. You can see examples of this here on Small Business Trends and on American Express Open, The Wall Street Journal and other key news and business blogs.

Your branding and credibility definitely play into engagement:  The professionals that are consistent with branding their brands in person, on social media, video, email marketing, authoring books do get more engagement, but anyone can build and grow their credibility. It takes a consistent plan of delivering relevant, solid content that helps people, offers solutions and different ways of looking at things. Be the solution and you will be seen as the solution.

Acknowledge your responders and commit to reciprocal commenting:  When people take the time to read and respond to your articles, make the time to respond to them in a very simple but personal way. A thoughtful, simple reply to their comment goes a long way and shows that you actually read it. Make sure you are set up with a responder platform that is built into most key blog formats.

“Give people reasons to want to stop, read and respond to you and your articles and they will. Get to the point, be authentic, and bring value to their day.”

Really want to be brave? Include a short video so they can see you in person.

One more really important element: make sure you edit your articles for spelling and grammar before they go live, or hire a professional writer or editor to do it for you.

What are some of the things that make you stop, read and respond to a blog article?

Blog Photo via Shutterstock

From Small Business Trends

5 Elements That Can Increase Your Blog Opens and Response

As anyone who has been on either side of a venture capital deal knows, a fund raising agreement usually has so many provisions that someone inexperienced needs a glossary to read it.

Often one of these provisions discusses “drag along rights.” As Investopedia explains, these rights allow “a majority shareholder to force a minority shareholder to join in the sale of a company.”

The inclusion of drag along rights in VC agreements is becoming more common, according to data assembled by the law firm Cooley LLP. The figure below shows the share of venture capital agreements for which Cooley provided the legal work in which drag along rights were included. While the proportion of agreements with drag along rights never exceeded 50 percent before 2006, it has never fallen below 50 percent since then. And since the second quarter of 2009, it has exceeded 60 percent in every three month period measured.

Why the increased use of drag along rights? As venture capitalist Brad Feld explains in his blog, when the sale of a company occurs at a low price, common stockholders (who are often the founders) usually earn very little after they pay the venture capitalists’ liquidation preference. As a result, the entrepreneurs are often resistant to such sales. To ensure they can sell companies even when founders (or other shareholders) oppose the sale, venture capitalists put drag along rights into their financing agreements.

The greater use of drag along rights reflects a belief among investors that venture capital-backed companies may have to be sold relatively cheaply in the future.

Source: Created from data from the Cooley Venture Capital Report, various issues

From Small Business Trends

Drag Along Rights Are Now Commonplace

There are plenty of myths about small business startup. No, you don’t need to tap your home equity to start your business, and small businesses probably have a better chance than ever to export products and services right alongside the big guys. What other myths of business startup and operation do you think need exposing?

Latest Trends

How to finance your startup. You don’t need to use home equity to start a small business. Though, in the past, it has been a major funding source for beginning entrepreneurs, today there are many other options you may want to consider first when raising money for your new venture. WSJ

Exporting small business success. Has your small business begun exporting? The push for increased U.S. exports is on, and small business could play a huge part. Learn more about how your small business can become a part of the revolution. Bloomberg Businessweek

Customer Service & Negotiations

Looking for the opportunity in unhappy customers. Responding to dissatisfied customers is hugely important. Though some small business owners may shrink from potential confrontation, others realize the possibilities. Z-S Knowledge Center

Negotiating tactics you should know. As a small business person sometimes with limited resources, the deals you make play a huge part in how you leverage opportunities. Check out some tips aimed at improving your skills. QuickSprout

Marketing Basics

Standing out from the crowd. Conformity isn’t a good thing, especially when marketing your own unique brand. You need to distinguish yourself and let the uniqueness of your product, service, or personality shine through. Your individuality may be your greatest asset. Firefly Coaching

The key to understanding keywords. If your marketing is primarily online, here’s another important marketing idea you should absorb. Keywords could be the key to your success, so be sure you understand how they help your blog or Website stand out. TechWalls

Calling your customers to action. If you aren’t getting the results you’re expecting from your marketing campaign, maybe you’re not being clear enough with your customers about what you want them to do. Here’s the way to get more response from your marketing by adding a call to action. CopywriteMatters

Lessons in Entrepreneurship

Don’t fail to learn from failure. In small business, success is great, but don’t forget that sometimes you can learn even more from the opposite. No one likes failing, of course, but the lessons potentially learned are invaluable. What have you learned from your small business failures? Angel Business Advisers

Doing due diligence. Martin Zwilling gives us an overview of a part of startup some business owners haven’t seen. If you’re part of the angel or VC ecosystem, this is one part of the process you must understand. Startup Professionals Musings

Success Stories

Indian food service finds need to fill. Great entrepreneurship is about finding a need and filling it. Spice Cafe found their niche with doctors and other professionals from South Asia scattered across America, all missing the food they were used to back home. What opportunity can your business fill? Bloomberg

From Small Business Trends

Myths About Small Business Startup and Operation

Ever felt like you’d like the 911 status on your business, in one view, one place? All the vitals so you can see, at a glance, what’s going on in the different areas of your company? If you have wanted to combine your web analytics, CRM, project management, sales pipeline, customer support requests, to name just a few, then this review of GeckoBoard is for you.

The first thing to understand about GeckoBoard is that it aggregates the stuff, the information, you need or want to see in one dashboard view. That dashboard might be on your iPhone or laptop or it might be an HD television hanging in your office lobby or manufacturing floor. Each device or monitor counts as one connection and, depending on your account, you are allowed a certain number of simultaneous connections.

For small business owners who are already managing too much information, GeckoBoard provides a way to streamline and simplify the information flow across your desk.

After you sign up for a free trial, I’ll admit it can be a little intimidating to figure out. However, it doesn’t take long to get it working. They are creating a new category of web-based application — a tool that pulls all of your disparate software and applications into one view. The company calls it a “real time status board.” I can live with that. The app comes with some basic parts installed so you can view samples. By clicking “Add Widget” you quickly see how many apps are already easy to connect to, such as:

• Highrise for CRM
• Gmail and Mailchimp for email
• FourSquare for location updates
• Basecamp or Github for project management
• Salesforce, Twitter, Freshbooks, Google Analytics, to name a few more and the then you have tools to create custom widgets linking into datasets that are just your own. The custom widget button helps you build from scratch.

Frankly, it is a bit mind-boggling. And that’s my only real wish for the GeckoBoard platform — that they do a bit more work on explaining what it all means for you as a small business owner. For some, it is a big “aha” and quite intuitive; for others, it’s a rabbit hole of “what does this do, really?”

Here is a sample dashboard I created in less than five minutes; after I got up the courage to hook into different data sets of my own.  I set up a search on Twitter for “makers” and “inventors”; then hooked into my Gmail account (I had just emptied my inbox to look organized). I also hooked into one of my websites Google Analytics account and it was all point and click and authorize. Here’s a quick screenshot below. I left the three default sample widgets that are right on top.

If you find yourself jumping from application to application to keep up with your inbox, your tasks, your social media, you could use GeckoBoard to put it all on one screen. More so, if you have information that you want to share on a big screen with your team or your customers as they come into your company offices, you could use it that way, too. It is fairly easy to use and offers a lot of potential for those trying to see a lot in one glance. Plans start at $9/month and scale up based on connections. No credit card to sign up for a free 30-day trial (which is what I used to test it out).

Learn more about GeckoBoard.

From Small Business Trends

Real Time Status for Your Business with GeckoBoard

There are two types of entrepreneurs: those that jump into a new business headfirst, and those that dip their toes in the water. One’s not better than the other, though the second one is probably more prepared for what lies ahead. In Making the Jump into Small Business Ownership (@MakingtheJump), authors David Nilssen (@DavidNilssen) and Jeff Levy (@JeffLTheESource) guide readers into the water, so to speak. They dissect what it takes to become a business owner into easy-to-digest chapters peppered with real-world examples.

What You’ll Find

I received a review copy of this book from the authors. Although this book was written to be used in a more formal education setting, it doesn’t come off like the college textbooks I had. It’s a pretty small book, not even 200 pages, for the amount of information it offers.

The book is divided into several sections:

• Find the Entrepreneur in You
• Your Business
• Getting Started
• Parting Thoughts

The start of the book gets you thinking about whether you have what it takes to become an entrepreneur. It doesn’t sugarcoat small business ownership; in fact, it forces you to ask yourself hard questions, like whether you’d be willing (or able) to go without a paycheck for up to two years to get your business launched. If this section doesn’t scare you off, the rest of the book will help you determine what type of business you could launch, as well as details on how to get started.

The Authors Know Their Stuff

I don’t like small business books written by people who don’t actually have experience running a business. That’s why it’s nice to know that both Levy and Nilssen have launched multiple companies and helped others with their businesses. Neither has an advanced business degree, which just goes to show you don’t have to be a Harvard MBA to be successful as an entrepreneur.

Throughout the book, both authors offer their own stories and advice to highlight a point. You build trust in them as you read.

Be Honest With Yourself

The hardest thing to really know when considering business ownership is whether you’re cut out for it. Nilssen and Levy ask some thought-provoking questions that give you an idea of how difficult, emotionally and financially, entrepreneurship can be. Ask yourself these questions and you’ll have a sense of whether you could make it as an entrepreneur:

• Are you capable of putting a vision ahead of your short-term needs?
• Do you perform well under pressure?
• Are you a decisive person?
• Will your family be able to support this decision knowing you will likely have to work longer hours and face initial financial insecurity?

What I Liked Best About Making the Jump

Having already taken the path toward entrepreneurship, I can see that the material in this book blows off the fluff and focuses on what anyone needs to know to start a business. I’ve always said you don’t have to have a degree in business to be an entrepreneur, but having the right resources to understand what it takes is key.

This book is divided into bite-sized chapters that are easy to read. I always like to “sit” on a chapter a while and reflect on what I’ve learned. There’s plenty of food for thought in this book.

Who This Book is For

If you’ve been thinking about starting a business but are unsure of the level of commitment required, this book is for you. It leaves no stone unturned, and you’ll walk away with a better idea of whether you’re ready for entrepreneurship. From finding a mentor to determining your business structure, this book has answers to many of the questions newbie entrepreneurs have. While books about social media and technology are out of date practically by the time they’re printed, the lessons taught in Making the Jump will be true in 15 years as much as they are today.

From Small Business Trends

Are You Ready to Make the Jump into Small Business Ownership?

Every two weeks we put together a list of key events for small businesses and entrepreneurs. The following Small Business Events Guide contains worthwhile events for those wanting to grow their businesses:

* * * * *

Small Biz Success Summit 2012
February 1 – 23, 2012 – Online

Presented by Social Media Examiner, this mega-event is designed to help you grow your small business using social media. There’s no travel! You simply attend this online event from the comfort of your home or office. It consists of multiple online webinars and Q&A sessions spread out from February 1 to 23, 2012. Recordings and transcripts also available.

You will hear from 28 of the world’s top small-biz social media experts, including: John Jantsch (author, Duct Tape Marketing), Anita Campbell (founder, Small Business Trends), Michael Stelzner (founder, Social Media Examiner and author, Launch), Mari Smith (co-author, Facebook Marketing), Brian Clark (founder, Copyblogger Media), Lee Odden (founder, TopRank Online Marketing), Ramon Ray (founder, Small Biz Technology and author, Technology Solutions for Growing Businesses). —-> Register now.

Where Is Everyone?: The Remote Project Manager’s Arsenal
February 6, 2012, San Francisco

So how exactly does one manage a tribe and change the world, with all these to-do’s and deadlines bogging us down? Not to mention the finicky Skype calls, buried emails, and timezone arithmetic. Join us for practical tips to get more out of you and your team:
- Preemptive strike: attack problems before they happen
- Two (free!) tools for working better, and how to set them up
- Your inbox is a blackhole. Get out of it.
- Social psychology 101
-And more…
Specifically designed with the remote project manager in mind, this class will cover tips that go beyond watercooler politics and planning agendas. Methods will be applicable to MiF-carrying PM’s and jetsetting entrepreneurs, to office bees who occasionally work from home… or anyone who has to work with other humans.

Small Biz Big Things
February 7, 2012, San Francisco

Small Biz Big Things is all about YOU, YOUR BUSINESS, YOUR challenges. In this interactive forum you’ll hear from business growth experts who have built (or are building) successful companies and can share their lessons learned, success stories, growth challenges and victories with you.

Speakers include Scott Hintz, co-founder of Tripit, Jim Fowler, who built Jigsaw and sold it to Salesforce.com, and Tamara Mendelsohn, VP of Marketing for Eventbrite.

Come network, have a great lunch and learn from experts who can help you GROW YOUR BUSINESS.

 

Small Business Webinar Series
Multiple Dates, Online

Feb 7: 10 Low Cost or No Cost Ways to Get Publicity for Your Small Business
Feb 9: Using Mobile Marketing to Grow Your Business
Feb 14: Great Presentation Skills – How to Improve Your Presentations and Grow Your Business
Feb 16: Using Social Media to Find New Customers
Feb 21: Keeping Your Pipeline Full Using LinkedIn

Give Me 5: Government Contracting Success Story
February 8, 2012

This educational webinar is part of the Give Me 5 program, a national program created by American Express OPEN and WIPP to help women business owners get a leg up on selling to the world’s largest customer: the U.S. government.

In this one-hour session, Give Me 5 instructor Barbara English will interview Hester Clark, President of The Hester Group and the 2011 American Express OPEN’s Victory in Procurement Woman Contractor of the Year. Through government contracting – which makes up 90% of the company’s revenues – The Hester Group has grown to become one of the largest African-American, woman-owned strategic communications and program management agencies in Northeast Florida. Hester will share experiences of how she moved her business into the federal contracting area, the lessons learned, challenges she faced and the success that she achieved.

Social Media Week
February 13-17, 2012 – London, Miami, New York, San Francisco + More

Reflecting the global impact of social media – and its role as a catalyst in driving cultural, economic, political and social change in developed and emerging markets – Social Media Week is one of the world’s most unique global platforms, offering a series of interconnected activities and conversations around the world on emerging trends in social and mobile media across all major industries.
See website for each city’s schedule of events.

Leancamp New York
February 18, 2012

Leancamp is a non-profit, high-energy day where you discover the tools that are right for you, by connecting with and learning from people actually practicing these approaches. You get actionable feedback on your current challenges, learning from a variety of disciplines.

These connections also spark new tools get to market faster. Leancamp has been the birthplace of many popular entrepreneurship techniques.

Small Farms Conference
February 25, 2012, Corvallis, OR

The event includes workshops ranging from harvesting rainwater and marketing meat products to grafting vegetables and selling produce to schools and hospitals. Speakers include farmers, OSU faculty, farmer’s market representatives and experts from the state Department of Agriculture.

Other topics include farm financing, land-use legislation and business plan development.

Inc. GrowCo
March 5-7, 2012, New Orleans

Come to GROWCO and master the strategies, tactics, and real-world solutions your company needs to thrive. Packed with actionable insights, GROWCO can be a life-changing event. You’ll learn from mega-successful entrepreneurs whose companies have created millions of dollars of wealth and tens of thousands of jobs…and a lot more.

Brite ’12 Conference
March 5-6, 2012

Now in its 5th year, BRITE ’12 will bring together 400 leaders from business, technology, media and marketing to discuss how technology and innovation are transforming the ways that companies build and sustain great brands.

BRITE offers a different blend of thinkers and doers, both onstage and off, than you will find at any other event. Participants come to think differently about the changing landscape of media and technology, and to connect with a unique group of innovators, marketers, entrepreneurs, and champions of social enterprise.

Seventh Annual Small Business Summit 2012
March 6, 2012, New York City

The Small Business Summit is New York’s premier event for small business owners looking to network with other decision-makers, attend cutting edge seminars and shop around for products & services available to help their small businesses succeed. You’ll network with 500+ attendees, hear from small business experts in exciting presentations and panel discussions, and have a great lunch. The winner of the Small Business Strategy Award will be announced live, plus great raffles and giveaways.

Early Bird Registration Rate of $149 through February 24th.

MWBE’s: Your Business is Certified, Now What?
March 12, 2012

During this lunchtime teleconfrence, gain valuable marketing and business development information that will help you win government contracts. Presenter: Jean Kristensen, MWBE Success

To register and receive teleseminar login information, e-mail pzill@westchester.org.

Geek Girl Cape Cod Boot Camp 2012
March 17, 2012, Cape Cod, MA

Whether you are a beginner newbie who needs hand-holding on all things computer, to the intermediate self-starter entrepreneur who needs some new tools, to you entirely tuned-in code toads looking to learn, there is a workshop for you at this bootcamp. See website for full list of sessions.

2012 Ohio Business Matchmaker
March 20-21, 2012, Dayton, OH

The Ohio Business Matchmaker 2012 event is a unique opportunity for exhibitors, purchasing agents (buyers), trainers, and small business owners (suppliers of goods and services) to come together.

More than 1,300 small business owners who represent small, minority, service-disabled veteran-owned, veteran-owned, HUBZone, women-owned businesses, and approximately 250 purchasing representatives from city, state, county, and federal agencies will be participating this year. Prime contractors and other organizations with a combined purchasing budget representing hundreds of millions of dollars in opportunities will attend as well.

In addition to one-on-one matchmaking meetings, this event will offer exhibitors networking opportunities and workshops covering current topics vital to small business success such as Selling to the Government, Doing Business with Federal Government Prime Contractors, SBA Policy Updates, and Surety Bonding.

Social Tech ’12
March 29-30, 2012, Seattle

Social media marketing is no longer an option for B2B—it’s an absolute necessity. Luckily, we’ve got you covered with over 25 of the leading experts who will teach you how to use social media marketing to generate more inbound leads, grow brand awareness, drive conversions, and increase revenue. You’ll meet with industry insiders as well as other B2B marketers to discuss best practices, winning techniques, current roadblocks, and find out what works for your business!

Infusioncon 2012
April 2-4, Phoenix, AZ

Get ready to learn, network and set new ideas in motion! Join hundreds of small businesses from all around the world at InfusionCon 2012, Infusionsoft’s annual user conference, and experience three days of idea sharing and inspiration in beautiful Phoenix, Arizona on April 2-4.

Innovation Uncensored
April 18, 2012, New York City

Where provocative thinkers collide and engage in meaningful, unexpected conversations. At this event, participants from various industries are charged with sharing smart techniques and exploring the next generation of innovative ideas that are shaping our world.

Confab: The Content Strategy Conference
May 14-16, 2012, Minneapolis

Deep dives. Conceptual discussions. Practical application. Whether you’re a seasoned content vet or new to the game, Confab has something for you. You’re sure to walk away with not only new insights and discoveries, but also the ability to actually DO something with them. A mixed agenda format will offer attendees a variety of ways to engage with and employ the innovative ideas that come from the scintillating content and unexpected environment.

The event content is aimed toward anyone who thinks of themselves as an innovative business leader including but not limited to the fields of technology, design, marketing, entertainment, venture capitalism, energy, infrastructure, non-profits and brand executives.

America’s Small Business Summit 2012
May 21-23, 2012, Washington, DC

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s annual event — America’s Small Business Summit — unites small business owners, managers, and entrepreneurs from across the country to learn, network, and discuss common legislative and management concerns. Past speakers include former President George W. Bush, General Stanley McChrystal, Small Business Editor of the WSJ Colleen DeBaise, and many more. Attendees help influence our nation’s economic and political agenda by advocating for pro-business policies through the Rally on the Hill portion of the program. The event will take place at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C., on May 21-23, 2012. For more information and important dates, check the Summit website, www.uschambersummit.com.

8th Annual Kentucky Innovation and Entrepreneurship Conference
June 1, 2012, Louisville, KY

The Annual Kentucky Innovation and Entrepreneurship Conference (8th KIEC) will bring together distinguished speakers, tech-based economic development practitioners, researchers, innovators, entrepreneurs, students and postdoctoral fellows.

The conference will focus on growing local initiatives powered by science and engineering talent.

2012 Veteran Entrepreneur Training Symposium
June 11-14, 2012, Reno, NV

Designed by Veteran small business owners for Veteran small business owners, VETS2012 brings government agencies, industry leaders and Veteran entrepreneurs together in a small, intimate forum to discuss the questions you need answered.

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

If you are putting on a small business event or contest, and want to get the word out, please submit it through our Events & Contests Submission Form (it’s free). Only events of interest to small business people, freelancers and entrepreneurs will be included.

Brought to you as a community service by Small Business Trends and Smallbiztechnology.com.

From Small Business Trends

Grow Yourself: Attend One of These Small Biz Events

Have you noticed that there is a whole new personality and a new way of being to successful entrepreneurship?  Just compare the successful entrepreneurs from one hundred years ago and those of today – there is a subtle difference about how Andrew Carnegie built his business and how Larry Page and Sergey Brin built Google.

This new theme of being successful is what James Marshall Reilly (@reillytweet)  explores in his book Shake the World: It’s Not About Finding a Job, It’s About Creating a Life.  In the opening pages of the book, we find Reilly sitting at the Ben Franklin room at the State Department waiting Hillary Rodham Clinton to speak.  As he looks around and banters with other people there he begins to wonder, “How did I end up here?”  How does a guy from a no-name school who worked with and represented rock bands end up sitting at the State Department with Nobel Prize winners and Haitian diplomats?

Instead of simply letting the thought go, Reilly takes on a project of actually conducting empirical research and speaking with the young game changers of this generation to find out how they define success, how they got to where they are and can their paths be a template for others.

Shake the World Asks if  You Are  Willing

When I received the review copy of this book from a publicist and started reading it I was unimpressed.  I thought to myself, “Here’s another book that’s trying to create some kind of success roadmap.  And another book that’s trying to elevate “young upstart entrepreneurs” and their unique way of being to something few of us are ever going to do.  Well, at least this guy has done some kind of research instead of just sharing war stories.  I’m going to give it a shot.”

You don’t have to wonder if you can create the same success that these people did – Reilly tells you that you CAN.  The question really becomes, are you will to take the same risks, make the same commitments and sacrifices as these people did?  And what about those of us who aren’t nineteen anymore and have other responsibilities?  How much of the blueprint for success can we follow?

Responding to Ordinary Circumstances in an Extraordinary Way

What I’m seeing inside this book is that responding to ordinary circumstances in an extraordinary way is a signature characteristic of the people Reilly interviewed.  That doesn’t strike me as anything new – we can say the same thing for successful entrepreneurs of the past.

What seems to set these folks apart is that they seem to be unencumbered by the negative self-talk, complaining and excuses that so many of us default to when things don’t go our way.

Take Elizabeth McKee, for example.  You’ll find her story on page 40.  Elizabeth was a student at Texas A&M.  When her friend had to quit school because she had a baby, Elizabeth asked herself why there wasn’t a child care facility on campus.  The more research she did, the more committed she became to her cause.  She went straight to the president and followed all the channels.  At the age of 20, she had raised over $320,000 to build the center, hired, fired and supervised contractors and managed to stay in school.   Don’t think that Elizabeth was “special” or privileged.  She came from a small farm in Texas and was the first woman in her family to attend college.  Her plans were to return and run the family farm.  But after the child facility experience her interests changed.

What you’ll learn from each of these stories is that it isn’t the circumstance or the person that made the difference in their success, it was the actions they took in response to their circumstances.

What you’ll gain from each of the stories covered in Shake the World is a new way of perceiving your world and a new way of taking control of your life circumstances instead of them controlling you.

It’s Not Too Late For You to Read Shake the World

I know.  You’re probably reading this and thinking that this book isn’t for you because you’re not twenty anymore.  Not true.

Granted this book is an ideal read for a young person in high school, college or just starting out.  Young people will learn that the state of the economy isn’t what drives opportunity – rather it’s the state of your mindset that matters.

Those of us with a few gray hairs will get what the title delivers – our world shaken up a bit.  I’m sure that the author intended the title to mean that these people shook the world.  What I got out of reading this book is that it’s never too late to shift your mindset about how the world works.

I was inspired by how these people looked at the world and I realized that with a little practice, I can change my mindset as well.

Read Shake the World and see what lessons you can put into practice for your own life and your business.

From Small Business Trends

Get Ready To Shake The World

Jobs.  What’s more important to an economy (and a household for that matter) than for people to be working?  Of course there’s many factors but no matter who you are, employment and jobs are right up there at the top of the list of what is needed for a healthy and vibrant economy.  That’s why I am rejoicing at today’s jobs report.

The jobs report that came out today said that unemployment is at a 3 year low of 8.3% – according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics – and that we added 243,000 private sector jobs in January.  Not sure about you but I like that.  The market was looking for 150,000 new jobs so expectations were exceeded. I realize it’s not the 4.5% unemployment we had in 2Q 2007 but it’s also not the 10.0% we had in 4Q 2009 so we’re heading in a better direction.  And, yes, I agree that we have a long way to go but I like the current trend.

What else am I (cautiously) optimistic about?  Small business lending is slowly beginning to come back.  About 15 months ago we heard from Bank of America that they planned to hire 1000 people primarily dedicated to the small business sector by 2012.  Citi announced some impressive “results” – and, by the way BofA, you get more cool points for results than you do for intentions!  Chase has also recently announced some great strides in the small business lending “results” category.

I agree with my friends and colleagues who contend that it was the local banks and smaller banks who helped us through The Great Recession with their SBA-backed lending efforts so I mean no slight to them when I say I’m happy about the direction of lending in the big-bank category.

So while the Negative Nancy’s are rolling their eyes at me and the Positive Peggy’s are ready for the big celebration here’s why neither of those extreme’s is the right place to be.  8.3% is still too high and we want a lower unemployment rate.  Additionally, since we live in a global economy where ripple effects cross borders and can circle the globe, the larger concern is how the European debt defaults will impact both the world and the US economy.  Greece is close to a likely default in the next month or two and some of their neighboring countries are looking at the same issue on the not-too-distant horizon.

Let’s not forget the global impact that was felt by our own US subprime mortgage defaults that have all occurred just in the last 5 years.  Wasn’t it Ben Bernanke or Alan Greenspan that said, “It’s a global economy, dude?”  Okay, maybe not but you get the point.

If the trend of lower unemployment continues like it has for the last 6 months then we’re all likely to be happy.  Housing is still not good but can you imagine what would happen if more people get back to work and then those same people buy or refinance their homes since rates are at historic lows and then that creates more jobs in banking and lending and the unemployment percentage continues to decrease even more?

That’s one reason the Fed is keeping rates low – let’s call it the New Fed Stimulus Package or the NFSP…what do you think?  I like how William Dunkelberg from the NFIB summed it up “The market was looking for 150,000 jobs, and we got 257,000.  We’ll rejoice, and hope for another good month next month.”

Job Photo via Shutterstock

From Small Business Trends

Cautious Optimism For Small Business

That one company mentioned? It happens to be mine. Early on, much wasn’t being spent on marketing simply because the funds weren’t available. Some dabbling was done with the usual suspects: the Yellow Pages, online ads, etc. None seemed to do more to build my brand online. So now, five years later, surprisingly nothing is being invested in marketing yet enough was earned to profit and expand. Intrigued? Read on.

Unfair Advantage

I’m a big proponent of social media, blogging and networking. To be honest, my business has an unfair advantage in using these tools since it’s a marketing firm that ultimately provides these services to others. Churning out blog posts or social media updates comes naturally. However, not all small business owners may have the same ease with the keyboard or the time to do it themselves.

Marketing Strategy

There aren’t hundreds of clients coming from Twitter or Facebook. Occasionally someone will pop up and ask about a service. A few people have stumbled across blogs and made contact. So you see, it’s not a clear cut A to B path that gets new business. It’s more about branding and building your presence online.

Projects are bid on through Elance and Guru and some proposals might not stand out more than others. But you see, it’s really about what people find when looking at blog posts and the other 4 million results that appear when Googling your name. Potential clients can read blogs to get a sense of your writing style as well as where you stand. They can find social media posts that share links to great articles. And in my case, they can also find a few answers on Quora and Focus.

In short: Potential clients can get a degree of confidence by looking at what you’ve done online.

So you see, you don’t need to spend a lot of money to get marketing results. Become known for what you do and make sure that when people search for keywords in your industry – your business appears. Social media and blogging work; just ask the hundreds of companies who use it daily to brand themselves.

Take the time to figure out what works for you and your company, regardless of how little it costs – and run with it.

Zero Dollars Photo via Shutterstock

From Small Business Trends

How One Company Spent Zero on Marketing