Dashboard
A weekly roundup of small-business developments.
What?s affecting me, my clients and other small-business owners this week.
The Big Story: The Chairman?s Surprise
In his report to Congress, Ben S. Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, expresses surprise at how fast unemployment is falling and warns lawmakers that our nation is headed for a ?massive fiscal cliff.? New research from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis says there is more than enough kindling to start an inflation inferno. These charts show that it?s not just the Fed?s liquidity pump that is lifting markets. The Senate is pushing bills to help small businesses and House Republicans unveil a jobs package. A new report suggests the wealthy are more likely to cheat and lie. The Mathbabe says economists don?t understand the financial system.
The Data: On the Cost ff Living
A survey of finance professionals reports that global trade is drying up. The Truck Tonnage Index falls. Ted Kavadas updates 10 scary charts. Manufacturing expansion slows. Housing prices decline to a new post-bubble low. Orders for durable goods (PDF) fall. The Restaurant Performance Index dips. Gross Domestic Product is revised up and consumers are spending more as their confidence nears pre-recession levels. Auto sales jump. Pending home sales suggest an improving market. And five leading economic indexes increase. You tell me: does the cost of living really outweigh the benefits?
The Economy: Gas Prices
Kevin Drum answers questions about gas prices, which are hindering some small-business owners and benefiting others.? A study says entrepreneurs are optimistic about 2012. A pessimist and an optimist talk at TED. The Small Business Administration?s Karen Mills says small manufacturers are driving job creation and economic growth. A new world record for paper airplane throwing is achieved.
Management: Don?t Listen to Customers
New data show that women are making less than men at every level (and single women are advised to travel with a wedding ring). CNBC?s Becky Quick gives a piece of her mind to sexist business owners. Steve Blank explains how listening to your customers can kill your start-up: ?Your job is not to make every possible customer happy.? But Jason Trevisan says that giving a ?bear hug? to your customers will make your company worth more. Mariam Noronha gives advices on how to manage people effectively. Alessandro Di Fiore says not to let a spreadsheet determine where you locate your business. Christopher Penn explains what killed this four-star restaurant. American workers would trade pay for better retirement benefits.
Ideas: More Daily Deals?
Jill Donenfeld explains how she started her home chef service. An Israeli start-up uses technology to help women find the perfect bra. The winners of the 2012 Short Tale Awards for excellence in the use of short video in front office sales, marketing and service are announced. Small Business Trends lists its 2012 small-business book awards. Constant Contact gets into the daily deals business. This 28-year-old entrepreneur?s start-up is on a tear. A newspaper in France is published once every four years. Steven Chu says that battery innovation is alive and well in the United States, and a small company may be close to cutting battery costs in half. Intel Capital is looking to invest $100 million in ?connected car tech.? Here are four ways small businesses can score with ?gamification.? A new service helps developers create coupon and loyalty applications that can work with credit cards. This 8-year-old girl is a life coach who will solve your everyday problems.
Marketing: Tiny Budgets
This cool infographic shows how small businesses are using social media. The data show that Pinterest is used mostly by adults, and Debbie Hemley suggests what your business can do with the site. Here are three things retailers can learn from mom-and-pop Facebook stores. Twitter is trying to lure small businesses with its advertising platform. A Nascar driver tweets from his car and gains more than 100,000 followers in two hours. Google Plus users spent just 3.3 minutes per visit on the site in January. American Express publishes a video on the importance of Foursquare. Ramon Ray gives six reasons savvy businesses use e-mail instead of social media, and TJ McCue shares 24 more e-mail marketing applications. Businesses that blog generate more e-mail traffic. Jill Konrath?s video explains why you should never send funny items to your prospects. Rieva Lesonsky reports that small-business marketing budgets for 2012 are ?tiny.? The data show that 2011?s Small Business Saturday was a hit. Richard Moross says that business cards can still pack a punch. Dan Taylor suggest five ways to generate leads with LinkedIn, including: ?With the mission of positioning yourself as a thought leader in your industry, go ahead and share some content with your LinkedIn contacts that you find interesting. Does it seek to solve a potential customer?s problem? Bingo!?
Finance: Surviving on $350,000 a Year
Banks posted their most profitable year since 2006, and some say we are experiencing a boon in low-cost borrowing. Small businesses are borrowing more. A new site helps small companies manage receivables and collections. A new service will help start-ups and freelancers get paid on time. The online payments platform WePay adds invoicing. A mobile application service that connects consumers with businesses in order to improve customer service receives $2.7 million in financing. Here are six factors to consider when choosing an online credit card processor. New research indicates that business owners are unprepared for retirement. Neil Sisson shows why he loves ?crowd-funding? for start-ups. And Ben Horowitz reveals the lies that losers tell, including: ?Just because we missed the intermediate milestones doesn?t mean we won?t hit our product schedule.? Could you survive on $350,000 a year?
Red Tape: Healthier Towns
The Internal Revenue Service releases better guidance on the health care tax credit for small businesses. Many states are taking a wait-and-see approach on new insurance exchanges. A House subcommittee votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act?s ?death panels.? The solution to our health care problems? Move to a town with more small businesses (they have healthier people!). An insurance consultant warns business owners not to assume that the fate of the Affordable Care Act rests solely with constitutional review by the Supreme Court. Ramesh Ponnuru blames small businesses for killing corporate-tax reform, and Jody Westby says cyber legislation will cost businesses and hurt the economy. Ross Kenneth Urken shares a few tax audit horror stories. Kimberly Palmer lists 10 things you should know about your 2011 taxes, including: ?Independent income often means you can deduct business expenses.? Sage?s Small Business Sentiment (PDF) survey finds that the cost of business, high taxes and excessive regulations could hinder growth in 2012.
Boss of the Week: Tony Lee, who goes from janitor to business owner and rescues an Ohio factory.
Around the Country: The ?Smoffice?
Regional manufacturing expanded in Richmond (PDF) and Dallas, but neither city is located in the country?s happiest? state. Here is how Google?s search changes will affect local businesses around the country. Google kicks off a program to get more North Carolina small businesses online while a contest in Durham offers entrepreneurs the chance to win six months in the ?Smoffice? ? the world?s smallest office. Not to be outdone, South Carolina introduces a Web site for entrepreneurs. A Tennessee city with superfast Internet service invites innovators to play. A New York state small-business development center helps small wineries export products to China, and a Santa Cruz, Calif., small-business development center gets rave reviews. A grizzly bear visits with tourists in Alaska.
Tech: Windows 8
Windows 8 for consumers is released, and Tom Krazit says it?s Microsoft?s most important release in years. Here are five killer Web apps for business. Salesforce.com puts a halt to its building plans. The State Department switches to Chrome, and Google offers a million dollars to anyone who can hack its browser. Patrick Kiger offers tech tips for road warriors. Bees go robotic. Computer programmers are among the most sleep deprived (if you?re reading this and still awake, you probably don?t live in the South). Verizon?s Galaxy Tab 7.7 arrives. Even after this announcement, there are still 1,000 Blockbuster stores. A leisurely game of table tennis turns awesome.
The Week?s Bests
Approach to sales. Kevin Daw says candidates for sales roles need specific personality traits, like empathy: ?In order to know how best to approach selling your product, you must first discover where there is a need for your goods and services, and understand that need. This varies greatly from prospect to prospect, and therefore you must fully understand the particular business strategy of each, and empathize with their unique situations, for the best shot at pitching them something they truly need and therefore are likely to buy from you.?
Way to invest. Jeremy Grantham shares 10 investment lessons: ?Try to contain natural optimism. Nobody likes a Debbie Downer, but on Wall Street it?s bad for business. Optimism can win friends and influence people, but it?s a lousy investment strategy. You have to be willing to hear bearish, bad news about the risks you?ve taken with your money ? and to make informed decisions about it.?
Way to Treat a Journalist. Dmitry Dragilev explains how start-ups can build lasting relationships with journalists: ?Date before you pitch. Don?t expect to pitch someone who doesn?t know you or your product, in the hopes that person will understand the story and details just right ? all in a few days. Instead, build a strong relationship that benefits both of you ? it?s the only way you can ensure great news coverage of your product launch.?
This Week?s Question: When was the last time you were in a video store?
Gene Marks owns the Marks Group, a Bala Cynwyd, Pa., consulting firm that helps clients with customer relationship management. You can follow him on Twitter.
Source: http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/05/this-week-in-small-business-an-immense-fiscal-cliff/
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