Empowering Small Business

Where Entrepreneurs Go to Learn

The New York Times just released an article in its Small Business section, fielding additional research from a Fortune Small Business study, that analyzes the best places to learn entrepreneurship out of the 3,000 colleges that offer courses in the field.

For undergraduate entrepreneurial programs, the top ranked colleges were Babson College, Indiana University, Syracuse University, the University of Arizona, and the University of Pennsylvania. Those seeking the highest ranked schools for graduate entrepreneurial education should seek out Babson, Harvard, Indiana University, M.I.T., Stanford, Syracuse, the University of Arizona, University of California at Berkeley, UCLA, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the University of Pennsylvania.

Online entrepreneurial programs are another great place for busy entrepreneurs looking to build core small business building skills; the highest ranked online learning environments can be found via Boston University, the University of Houston at Victoria, the University of Wyoming, and Western Carolina University.

Engaging in cross-disciplinary studies is also a smart choice for entrepreneurs who need to get grounded in entrepreneurial basics and in an additional field of their choice; the topic programs for cross-disciplinary studies included Cornell, M.I.T., Stanford, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Wake Forest.

Executive education programs that are time limited in nature and highly intensive are another smart route for busy entrepreneurs looking to elevate their "game" in meaningful ways. The top schools for executive education in entrepreneurism were Babson, Harvard, Northwestern, Stanford, the University of  Chicago, and the University of Texas at Austin.

Shivonne Byrne, Innuity CMO

The True Spirit of U.S. Entrepreneurs

It takes endurance, steadiness, and all-around resilience to be one of the 22 million Americans who own a small business and contribute in excess of $1 trillion in receipts each year to the U.S. economy (U.S. Census Bureau statistics). This is a small price to pay for the freedom and personal satisfaction of owning your own business according to  Discover Small Business Watch survey data from the last year.

In Discover's research, today's small business owners also exhibit their commitment to their entrepreneurial path and demonstrate their underlying steadfast character by answering "yes" to the following:

• Can you or your employees afford to go without health care coverage?
• Will you work six or seven days a week and give up your holidays?
• Will you consistently work more than 8 hours a day?
• Can you do what it takes to keep a customer happy?
• Are your business and your mind wired for a new digital age?

The same independent data from Discover also revealed these top four common characteristics to small business owners: (1) Independence is their prime motivation; (2)improving customer service keeps them up at night; (3)wider economic forces can make or break them; and (4)if they're not using the Internet, they're falling behind.

Small business owners' drive for independence definitely far outshadows their desire for more money. In fact, 61% of them said they would not sacrifice any of their freedom that's part and parcel of owning a small business to work for someone else, even if they were to increase the amount of money they make.  Almost  half (46%) started their businesses because of their desire for more independence or time flexibility, with only 19% starting their business to make more money.

Additionally, the majority of entrepreneurs and small business owners, 69%, don't want to grow larger. Most also have no plans to leave or sell their business, with 38% having no plans to retire.

All in all, it strongly appears that small business owners place a high value on their freedom and the ability to control their business themselves - both in service to their sense of independence.

Shivonne Byrne, Innuity CMO

Promotion & Advertising Small Business Poll

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) just published their National Small Business Poll and found that small business owners consider positive word-of-mouth (WOM) and associated referrals as the most effective means to promote their businesses.

In fact, 52% see WOM as generating "a lot" of their sales revenues, with 30% thinking that WOM contributes to "quite a lot" of sales. Although WOM is a powerful marketing phenomena, NFIB cautions small business owners on the fact that they have little direct control over ramping up WOM situationally; WOM or buzz occurs as a residual of producing great product, delivering superior customer service, and being "talked about" in a viral, positive way.

The report suggest that more formal advertising has a more direct effect on brand image or product-service information delivery. 41% of small businesses acknowledge that the results of their advertising contribute only more than a marginal amount to sale revenues, 8% say that advertising creates only a little of their sales revenue, and  only 7% see advertising contributing for "a lot" of revenues.

The most frequent forms of advertising include website, fliers, circulars, and hand-outs; newspapers, newsletters, bulletins, etc.; and direct mail. Hardly used vehicles include TV advertising; value packs or shopper supplements; outdoor off-premise signage; radio; and magazines.

Topping the list of specific advertising vehicles was the Internet at 16%, WOM 15%, newspapers at 15%, and direct mail at 14%.

Clearly there is a understood market need for small business online marketing solutions like those provided by Innuity such as search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click, and local search.

Shivonne Byrne, Innuity CMO

 

Breakthrough Business Ideas

The Harvard Business Review annually publishes a catalog of business breakthrough ideas for the year at hand. To see how their thinking could impact small businesses, here is a quick summary of a couple big ideas that could change how entrepreneurs market to their customers:

1. The Accidental Influential: Duncan Watt's academic research turns upside down Malcom Gladwell's theory in The Tipping Point that the rapid spreading and acceptance of big trends, "social epidemics," are triggered by a small subset of highly influential individuals in a particular social environment. Influentials are described as a smallish, select group of people who supposedly have "influential" impact (influence) on various market subsegments (people) - thereby negating the need to market to everyone in these market subsegments, but rather to a few key influencer's.

Watt's research instead shows that the key requirement for what his calls "global cascades" - the broad propagation of an concept through networks - occurs via a critical mass of "easily influenced people." Via this theory adoption and buying trends are not led by a few influentials, but rather though many easily influenced individuals. So, we can see why today's popular social media vehicles (MySpace, Facebook, YouTube) are the real catalysts and drivers today for the adoption of new ideas, concepts and products/services.

2. Brand Magic: In brand marketing theory it goes without saying that a brand strategy matches up with a market segment - an audience category defined by its primary and differentiating characteristics such as age, interests, education, and socioeconomic status. As an example take a look at the range of cosmetic brands, by the same parent company, targeted at different age groups. To follow traditional brand principles, the brand parent graduates their customers to new brands once customers "move beyond" a certain age.

However, this approach can discourage customer loyalty, cause indiscriminate brand jumping, and is the root source of significant overspending in product development and marketing. Instead, a brand parent should build and evolve a brand along with its customers' natural developmental processes, and adapt the brand as their customer base grows older, has (or doesn't have) kids, and moves forward in life. They call this form of brand strategy "Harry Potter marketing" - a branding concept that grows up with you like this fictional character did with its reading population.

Shivonne Byrne, Innuity CMO

Small Business Brand Building Blocks

Business Week's Small Business section recently published an article on what it takes to successfully position a small business brand, a particularly challenging exercise when budgets are tight and creativity can be stretched by day-to-day demands.

Here's a review of, and my expanded commentary on, the six characteristics that BW suggests define and make a successful brand:

1. Relevance: A brand needs to match what your core customer audience is looking for and expecting. Basically, what a business is promising and delivering in their message and product needs to matter to your audience and have discernible, practical value to them. What's also important to remember is that brands need to evolve to stay contemporaneous with their audiences, who are also changing, while remaining true and consistent to their brand origins.

2. Simplicity: Lots of concepts, words, ideas, features, details (you get the point) overwhelm audiences to the point that they will shut down their receptors. It's critical to synthesize your brand, brand value, product positioning, packaging, etc. to the point that the essence is distilled and presented. That's the core of what audiences take in, and once that clear message resonates, then a business can expand into details (but still in an orderly, structured fashion.)

3. Differentiation: A brand needs to be able say "we're different" and be able to actually and tangibly support that difference. The differentiation war cannot be won by claims alone, no matter how much money a business may have to spend, because end customers/consumers are simply too savvy in this online world to take proclamations at face value. It's not enough for a business to just claim that you are better than your competitors, you need to zero in on what being better means and articulate those concepts/facts.

4. Believability: Will your customers/market audiences accept what you are saying and delivering, and under the auspices of your current brand platform, or does a specific positioning or strategy stretch what they think is acceptable coming from your company? This is a critical, core analysis point in determining how to launch or reposition products, packaging, and campaigns. Miss here, and a business needs to go back to the starting gate.

5. Credibility: Delivering on your promises, always. Acting responsibly, always. Operating with respect, always. Doing business according to a high standard of business ethics and values, always. A truth: Businesses build credibility with every interaction they have with the marketplace, and it can sometimes take just one deviation to irrevocably damage trust.

6. Defensibility: Is is easy or hard for a competitor to copy what you make/provide and go to market? To have a defensible market position, offerings can't be easy to imitate and you need to consistently and rigorously reinforce the brand's positioning. In the end, the brand itself may become the most defensible asset in your arsenal.

Shivonne Byrne, Innuity CMO

What it Takes to be a Great Customer

Harvard Business School professor John Quelch writes a regular marketing blog called Marketing Know-How, and recently published a blog post on "How to be a Customer."

Quelch notes that marketing, as we practice it, is almost exclusively focused on how to identify, find, attract and sell customers. But what if we turn the equation around and look at if from the customer perspective? What do customers need to do to be better customers (than other customers) in the eyes of the seller? Would their interaction with sellers improve, and could they actually be the variable factor in creating a more positive customer experience?

Instead of looking at how to take advantage of a selling system or working from a self-oriented customer approach, Quelch gives the following guidance on behaviors that can elevate any customer's "game," change a one-sided dynamic to a mutual customer and seller win-win, and transform the entire buying experience - for everyone:

1. Be Demanding: Inform the seller politely that you have offer options and will seek out more than one bid. Get references as any trustworthy supplier will have them and gladly supply them.  Negotiate and get clear terms, in a positive manner.
2. Be Respectful: Be professional in all your dealings and communications and approach all situations from a straightforward and positive perspective. Be polite, respectful. Don't be late and waste something else's time.
3. Be Reliable: Don't keep a salesperson or vendor waiting if they are arrived for an meeting with you on time. Pay in a timely fashion, according to terms. Don't ask for freebies that weren't a part of a term sheet.
4. Be Surprising: Reward good work - leave a tip if that is the situation. Pay a little more or pick up some cost if a seller's work or product exceeds expectations.
5. Be Engaging: A smart customer differentiates herself be engaging with the seller, striking up a connection that goes beyond the immediate transaction. Acknowledge and treat the seller as an equal, and see how you can play a role beyond just being a "buyer."

Check out John Quelch's blog, and join his online discussion at Harvard Business Online.

Shivonne Byrne, Innuity CMO

Kauffman Foundation's Top Ten Tools for Entrepreneurs

The Kauffman Foundation (a leading foundation for entrepreneurship) eVenturing website just published a very useful checklist and toolkit for helping entrepreneurs set-up, manage and improve core operational processes. Titled the "Top Ten Tools and Templates for Entrepreneurs," this offering provides practical agreements, models, samples, and worksheets to guide entrepreneurs through starting up and growing their businesses to profitability.

Listed below are the tools most viewed by entrepreneurs over the last year:

• Sample Buy-Sell Agreement: Outlines the concepts and language needed to understand how to set-up a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC)
• Daily Forecasting Cash Flow Model: Provides a sample cash-flow spreadsheet designed to monitor business cash flow on a daily process.
• Due Diligence Checklist: Lists information needed to effectively negotiate a company sale or its purchase.
• Sale Compensation Tool: A spreadsheet tool that the shows the core components of a sales compensation plan, including business development goals, total bonuses and commissions, and sales compensation payment schedules.
• Sample Balance Sheet: This tool uses a sample balance sheet for a one-year-old business and provides a line-by-line explanation of the most common categories used to report the value of a company's assets, liability, and equity.
• Partnering Proposition Worksheet: A worksheet that demonstrates how to facilitate recruitment of strategic partners by establishing processes from first call to deal close.
• Incentive Compensation for Sales Executives: A sample sales compensation plan that illustrates how to keep tract of quotas by department and per representative, commission accelerators, payouts and reporting.
• Sample Multi-Shareholder Agreement: A sample buy-sell agreement appropriate for companies with multiple shareholders.
• Business Strategy Worksheet: A process-based tool to set business strategy and evaluate that strategy against overall growth plans.
• Sample Job Ad: A sample advertisement to recruit a top executive.

Shivonne Byrne, Innuity CMO

Small Business Online Spending to Exceed $70 Billion by 2012

JupiterResearch just released a new report, "US Online Small Business Market Category Forecast, 2007- 2012," that predicts that total online expenditures by small businesses is growing at a rapid rate - with online spending expected to top $70 billion by year 2012, up from $47 billion in 2006.

Online spending growth is anticipated to come via overall growth in the number of total small businesses, rather than via significant increases in small business online buyer penetration which is already at a mature 71 percent.

JupiterResearch analysts see retailers continuing to promote the online channel because of its better margins and projects growing competition among online retailers for small business spending - leading to more promotions and incentives to drive higher online conversion rates.

The report posits that small businesses will continue to buy online for such value proposition reasons as convenience, better prices, or greater/wider variety. Jupiter predicts that "as relationships with online suppliers mature, small businesses are likely to provide them with a greater portion of their business."

JupiterResearch provides unbiased research, analysis and advice, backed by proprietary data, to help companies profit from the impact of the Internet and emerging consumer technologies on their business.

Shivonne Byrne, Innuity CMO

Proven POS Life Cycle Management Services

Innuity's Point-of-Sale Life Cycle Management services provides retail and hospitality customers proven, end-to-end POS services that many successful businesses - such as Jamba Juice, Peet's Coffee, and Red Robin - have counted on for years.

With all the many varied aspects that go into setting-up and operating a successful point-of-sale system, businesses need to be able to rely on a team of POS experts that have the expertise and know-how to help at every step along the way. From ensuring that customers select the right system for their business, getting that system implemented, and offering well-tested training and support, Innuity's POS team works diligently with our customers so they get the most of their investments.

Innuity's POS Life Cycle Management Services include:

(1) Infrastructure Consulting Services

• Site Surveys
• Project management and documentation
• Technology assessments
• Pricing and availability

(2) National Installations

• Order management and tracking
• Equipment staging
• Quality control
• Logistics, shipping and tracking

(3) Training and Support

• Ongoing 24X7, on call support center
• On-demand online training for general managers, managers, servers and bartenders

For more information, call 866.783.0806.

Shivonne Byrne, Innuity CMO

Think Small

Mark Penn, CEO of PR firm Burson-Marsteller and Hilary Clinton's chief strategist and pollster, has just released his new book - "Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow's Big Changes" - which makes a data-driven case for how small movements have the greatest potential today for creating societal change.

As the man who identified the "Soccer Moms" pivotal swing audience in Bill Clinton's 1996 presidential campaign, Penn is credited for being able to spot and isolate small trends or patterns of behavior in the environment - which he dubs as "microtrends." His book credits these new, just emerging microtrends  as having the potential to shape our future and society. 

He gives numerous examples: With so much teen crime we aren't seeing that the youth audience group is succeeding in life as never before. With so much attention on the political power of large religious groups, we find it difficult to grasp that it is the newer, more narrowly focused religious sects that are the fastest-growing.

As technology may have enabled, individuals have more choices today than at any other time in human history and the reasons and patterns for eventual end choices have never been more difficult to predict. But the ability to identify small groups and communities of like-minded people, and communicate effectively with them, is indeed today's primary challenge for marketers and politicians. Mass marketing and mass communications is dead in terms of real impact.

Utilizing "some of the best data available" Penn identifies more than 70 microtrends in business, religion, leisure, politics and family life that are quickly changing the way we work and live. A few of them include:

* People are retiring but continuing to work
* Teens are turning to knitting
* Geeks are becoming the most sociable people around
* Women are driving technology
* Dads are older than ever and spending more times with kids than in the past

To really know what's emerging "out there" Penn says we need "magnifying glasses and microscopes not the naked eye and an eloquent tongue" - and that equates to analyzing markets/audiences with polls, surveys, and statistics. His real point is that there are hundreds of "Americas" now for marketers and politicians to contend with, comprised of untold niches of people loosely or tightly joined together by common interests and beliefs, and we ignore them at our peril.

Shivonne Byrne, Innuity CMO