By : Rhonda Abrams
Source : http://www.usatoday.com
Category : Small Business Grant
A few years ago, I met a man who ran his family business as if it were 1982.
His customers were defecting to competitors on the Web, he relied on an antiquated computer system, and his product mix was out of date. Not surprisingly, his business was going under.
I doubt it still exists today.
I don't want that to happen to you. But it can if you stand still.
Outside forces and new technologies dramatically affect what happens to your small business. You don't have to respond in whiplash fashion to every business fad, but you can't keep your head in the sand while major changes occur.
So here are the seven trends happening now that you can't afford to ignore:
1. The cloud. Although social media and mobile get more buzz, the great change-maker for small business comes from the cloud.
Using Internet-based applications to run your business rather than locating those applications on your servers or hard drives sounds pretty dull, doesn't it?
But going to the cloud is transformative. Suddenly, you don't have the headaches (and costs) of middle-of-the-night "my server's down" problems, you gain powerful functionality, you can spend more of your time on your business and less on your infrastructure, and you can access your applications and data from virtually anywhere.
The cloud's addictive, especially for small businesses. Once you move one or two key functions — like your customer contact management, email marketing and document storage — to the cloud, you'll want more. I do.
2. Social media. Social media is hot right now, and small companies are entranced with the idea of it.
But they're also a bit mystified. Social media offers the possibility of inexpensive ways to reach and interact with customers, but it seems like it takes up a lot of time with a very uncertain return on that investment.
Keep watching because this year will see the emergence of more easy-to-use tools that help you reach highly targeted customers. More small businesses will embrace a wide variety of social media platforms, and Google+ will become a significant player.
3. Mobile. The mobile juggernaut continues in 2012, both for running your business and reaching customers.
Smart businesses increasingly will use mobile solutions for a raft of business functions. One technology that will explode: accepting payments on smartphones, with tools such as Square (squareup.com).
Expect to see more independent contractors, service businesses, and entrepreneurs at crafts fairs and farmers markets getting paid that way. Look for greater embrace of mobile marketing, such as offering deals when people check in on FourSquare.
And more companies will embrace the power of being untethered from an office, running operations on the go, especially when using cloud-based applications and tools.
4. Hiring. Small companies already have picked up their hiring.
The past couple of years, workers have been "on sale" because of high unemployment, making it possible for small companies to land great employees at lower costs.
As corporations start hiring again, smaller companies will have to scramble. Consider college graduates from the past three years who have been underemployed. They can make great entry-level employees, and big corporations focus mostly on current graduates.
5. Credit. Credit has been tough for small businesses for years now. But it will get slightly better this year, making it a bit easier for healthy companies with strong customer demand to expand.
Small businesses with less than stellar balance sheets will have to find other sources of money to grow. Work with community banks that are receptive to local businesses.
6. Analytics. One of the great things about cloud applications is they not only give you data, they give you reports.
You can see response in real time to actions you take. For example, in my company we send three monthly newsletters. I can see exactly how many people opened it, which articles they read, which products interested them.
Knowledge is, as they say, power.
7. Global. You may not be a global business yet, but I'm guessing you may be soon.
I've been pleasantly surprised to meet many American small-business owners who have grown their businesses by going international. I've even heard of someone who exports miniature golf courses.
Source : http://www.usatoday.com/money/smallbusiness/columnist/abrams/story/2012-01-12/seven-small-business-trends/52522944/1
Source : http://www.usatoday.com
Category : Small Business Grant
A few years ago, I met a man who ran his family business as if it were 1982.
His customers were defecting to competitors on the Web, he relied on an antiquated computer system, and his product mix was out of date. Not surprisingly, his business was going under.
I doubt it still exists today.
I don't want that to happen to you. But it can if you stand still.
Outside forces and new technologies dramatically affect what happens to your small business. You don't have to respond in whiplash fashion to every business fad, but you can't keep your head in the sand while major changes occur.
So here are the seven trends happening now that you can't afford to ignore:
1. The cloud. Although social media and mobile get more buzz, the great change-maker for small business comes from the cloud.
Using Internet-based applications to run your business rather than locating those applications on your servers or hard drives sounds pretty dull, doesn't it?
But going to the cloud is transformative. Suddenly, you don't have the headaches (and costs) of middle-of-the-night "my server's down" problems, you gain powerful functionality, you can spend more of your time on your business and less on your infrastructure, and you can access your applications and data from virtually anywhere.
The cloud's addictive, especially for small businesses. Once you move one or two key functions — like your customer contact management, email marketing and document storage — to the cloud, you'll want more. I do.
2. Social media. Social media is hot right now, and small companies are entranced with the idea of it.
But they're also a bit mystified. Social media offers the possibility of inexpensive ways to reach and interact with customers, but it seems like it takes up a lot of time with a very uncertain return on that investment.
Keep watching because this year will see the emergence of more easy-to-use tools that help you reach highly targeted customers. More small businesses will embrace a wide variety of social media platforms, and Google+ will become a significant player.
3. Mobile. The mobile juggernaut continues in 2012, both for running your business and reaching customers.
Smart businesses increasingly will use mobile solutions for a raft of business functions. One technology that will explode: accepting payments on smartphones, with tools such as Square (squareup.com).
Expect to see more independent contractors, service businesses, and entrepreneurs at crafts fairs and farmers markets getting paid that way. Look for greater embrace of mobile marketing, such as offering deals when people check in on FourSquare.
And more companies will embrace the power of being untethered from an office, running operations on the go, especially when using cloud-based applications and tools.
4. Hiring. Small companies already have picked up their hiring.
The past couple of years, workers have been "on sale" because of high unemployment, making it possible for small companies to land great employees at lower costs.
As corporations start hiring again, smaller companies will have to scramble. Consider college graduates from the past three years who have been underemployed. They can make great entry-level employees, and big corporations focus mostly on current graduates.
5. Credit. Credit has been tough for small businesses for years now. But it will get slightly better this year, making it a bit easier for healthy companies with strong customer demand to expand.
Small businesses with less than stellar balance sheets will have to find other sources of money to grow. Work with community banks that are receptive to local businesses.
6. Analytics. One of the great things about cloud applications is they not only give you data, they give you reports.
You can see response in real time to actions you take. For example, in my company we send three monthly newsletters. I can see exactly how many people opened it, which articles they read, which products interested them.
Knowledge is, as they say, power.
7. Global. You may not be a global business yet, but I'm guessing you may be soon.
I've been pleasantly surprised to meet many American small-business owners who have grown their businesses by going international. I've even heard of someone who exports miniature golf courses.
Source : http://www.usatoday.com/money/smallbusiness/columnist/abrams/story/2012-01-12/seven-small-business-trends/52522944/1
