Writing for Small Business Owners
Not so in writing for small business and franchise investors. Many small business writers do not bother to provide ANY supporting proof of what they write. They prefer to write a general shoot-from-the-hip conclusion because they figure that it is self-evident that they have life and franchising figured out and that readers somehow instinctively can sense their brilliance. Why bother providing supporting evidence?
Avoid Oversimplification
Here's an example. A MarketWatch writer, quoting an Entrepreneur writer, which is then finally printed in the Wall Street Journal. (It's amazing how these things online are passed on), writes four things to consider when evaluating a business to buy.
- Choose a business you like because if you hate it the business will be challenging for you
- Ask the seller questions to figure out if it is the right business for you
- Evaluate the drivers of the business
- Be realistic and enlist a business broker who can be helpful
- Love your mother and give her a big hug today
OK. I threw in the last point for good measure. I figured it's a truism that is hard to debate. Notice how "enlist a business broker" is just thrown in the middle? There is no back-up for such a claim. Some reader will probably be sloppy enough to take "enlisting brokers" as the gospel truth.
Use Hyperlinks
Beware of simplistic lists that propogate unsupported business advice. Such lists are lazy, bad writing and the conclusions are suspicious. Business nor life is rarely so neat and simple. Online writers, by all means be brief and use bullet points but remember being brief also means that there is even more reason to use hyperlinks.
What do you think? Should small business advice columns use links to support their writing?
- Franchise topic:
- Enter Your Own Tag:
