Posts Tagged ‘small business’

SOPA, PIPA and Why They Matter

18
Jan
2012

SOPA - STOP ITYes, we’re participating in this today. People may arrive here or on our website and wonder what was going on. Well, imagine that being the case every day, or worse, imagine a trusted site you’ve come to know and frequent being shut down forever, due to no fault of their own. Imagine if that site was yours.

SOPA and PIPA are two pieces of legislation are being considered. SOPA is the Stop Online Piracy Act of the House, and PIPA, or Protect IP Act, is its Senate companion bill. At first blush, and without review, these sound like, well, sound bills, but even though the intentions are noble, the overall impact amounts to censorship of the Internet, and more, closure of sites. The real intent (warning: very boiled down explanation) is to protect works of those that produce it and to punish those that benefit from those works without compensating the creator. That’s called “stealing”, “plagiarism” or “piracy” and it stinks. Now, if the bills were designed to catch and punish only those ne’er-do-wells, all would be great, and only thieves would be complaining. However, that’s not how these bills are written: instead, they are sweeping legislation that essentially allow the government’s dragnet to be cast far and wide to snare those committing these kinds of crimes, while at the same time, ensnaring innocent business owners in the melee. Oh, and all without due process. These are your neighbors, other business owners, maybe even YOU, caught in a net for no reason other than having your site on the Internet. Scary stuff.

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The Trouble With “I’ll Do It Later”

16
Jan
2012

We’re not here to admonish you for putting something off; it happens to the best of us and with crazy schedules, some “to-do” items get hustled to the side. However, how many times have you said, “I’ll do it later”, yet you never did? The next time you’re tempted to utter these words, pause just one moment and think if postponing that is just an excuse for not taking care of it now, while it’s top of mind. Think of one thing you should do for your business, but haven’t. Would it help if you put it in action today?

Your challenge: if it will help your business, commit to inking it and following through, both on your calendar and in your mind. The trouble with postponing beneficial things is they may never get done, and thus, your business never gets to enjoy the rewards. The other problem is when you really decide you MUST do it, there are usually a bunch of other things screaming for your attention at the same time. By putting it in writing that you are going to do it, you’re one big step from having completed it. You’ll be surprised how easy it will be to just finish it up, then get to that other thing you’ve been postponing. Running your business is really a series of little things, all put together to form the whole. With each piece taken care of, the entirety performs better.

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Choosing Your Words for Success

03
Jan
2012

Success in business depends as much on your hard and smart work as it does on your choice of words in defining or talking about it. Negative words surrounding it make it become more of a chore and bad experience. We challenge you to think about what you’re saying about your work and change some of the words to define, (1)a more positive outlook, and (2)step towards a goal to improve things.

Examples:

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Small Business Simplicity: Your New Year’s Challenge

30
Dec
2011

The year is drawing to a close and there is no shortage of great advice floating about the Interwebs or newstands on how to be your very best in the New Year. Personally, it’s easy to get crushed under the overwhelm of all the things we *should* be doing. Sure, we nod in agreement and make vows (silently, outloud and even in writing) that we’ll do better this next year. We’re super-humans, right? Quite the contrary: we can only do so much and what’s more, we can only do so much *really well*, especially when we’re charged with numerous commitments, demands and expectations. In our “gotta be the best” society, is it any wonder the best of intentions are left to ferment sometime around the end of January?

So here’s what I’m proposing for your small business: take it easy and bite off what you can chew fully and nothing more, at least until you’re ready. Be simple in taking on your challenges in the New Year and choose those things that you feel adamant about, those things that will be impact decisions in your business. Have you postponed getting an accountant, thinking you have a handle on your books? Maybe this year is the time to turn your numbers over to people trained and dedicated to handling accounting. Is this the year you finally formalize your brand? Sit down and go over the aspects of this and put a plan to have it done and rolled out by a certain date. Or maybe this is the year you finally embark on the social media journey. Look thoughtfully at what that will take, as well as how you can commit to this kind of marketing for the whole year.

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Social Media and the Unwilling Business Owner

30
Nov
2011

Moy Burn Ice Dog Many of our readers are already knee-deep in the use of technology and social media tools; they thirst for it, see it making their life and work easier and have a hard time understanding how they could do with it. Then, we have readers and even clients that are what we term “techno-phobic”; they know they need social media to keep up and remain relevant, but seem to be brought to it kicking and screaming. They have a love-hate relationship with it and often say, “It’s just not my thing, so I’m not going to use it.” This thinking reminds me of what it must have been like when computers first came on to the scene with small businesses.

It’s pretty natural to be a bit nervous when new things come our way. Many resist learning it, accepting and just coming to terms with it. Part of it is fear of the unknown, concern about the time it might take, and part of it is a desire to keep things in the past, where things seemed more simple. The fact is it wasn’t really wasn’t it more simple then, it just seemed so because it’s what you knew, it’s what you were taught and it served you just fine for quite awhile.

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“Free” Costs Someone: 9 Ways to Show Your Love

01
Nov
2011

you rockAs frugal and savvy business people, we need to find information and tools for as inexpensively as we can, and free if at all possible. This kind of thinking prevents us from burning too much of our own resources and also keeps us in the “hunting” frame of mind, always on the look out for something to make our business brighter and better. There is, though, the other side of this coin: someone developed that free something for you to use. Was it a web app, seminar, blog post? Was it a workshop, podcast, newsletter? Or was it simply a useful link? Whatever it was, you benefited from the work and time of someone else, and have moved your business forward in some small, maybe even a large way. So read this twice: Someone else did the work and you benefited. How are you showing your love?

Here’s the reality: In order for them to continue to keep giving you useful free stuff, they must have enough paid work to make it happen. Just like you, they have overhead, bills, and costs associated with doing business. They juggle schedules, deadlines and demands. In order that they meet their obligations and continue to provide the free stuff you’ve come to know and love, they need to have the resources available to divvy up and slice some time away to work on that stuff that’s helping you. This means they need not only your thanks, but your support and recommendations.

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4 Reasons Local Businesses Rock

27
Oct
2011

local farmers marketThanks to the internet it has become increasingly easy to purchase products from not only across the country, but across the world, as we are no longer bound by geographic borders. Most things are only a click away. Online retailers can offer prices and convenience that a brick-and-mortar store cannot. However, what many people don’t take into consideration is their local economy.

While buying online or from big-box retailers may be easy and convenient, it is not always the best option. All around you are local businesses doing what they do best: putting money back into your economy, donating money to charities, and creating jobs.

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