Up and Running Blog

September 2011

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In Praise of Small Business Development Centers (SBDC)

by Tim Berry on September 7, 2011

Yesterday I had the pleasure of spending all day with about 90 people who teach and advise entrepreneurs and small business owners at various Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) around the country. This was as part of the annual conference of Small Business Development Centers, starting today in San Diego. team working

The conference reminds me of something I say frequently in ask-the-expert emails and answering questions about entrepreneurship: when in doubt, if you live in the United States, and you want some help with your business like advice or classes or workshops, you should probably go first to your nearest SBDC.

The SBDCs are full of good people with real-world business experience, who are there to help startups and small business. They are funded in part by federal, state, and local money, and in part by the reasonable fees they charge for workshops and classes and counseling. I’m amazed at how many of the people I meet in the SBDC conference have been through it themselves, meaning that they tend to be veterans of their own small business experience.

How to start? Where to find financing? How to keep the right records, do the books? Marketing? Sales? Admin? Ask your nearest SBDC how they can help.

It’s a very good group and a very valuable resource for the starting entrepreneur. I’ve recommended them before but I don’t do this often enough. Today is a good day to do it.

(Image: Artur Gabrysiak/Shutterstock)

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That’s a wrap!

by Chelle Parmele on September 3, 2011

Did you miss any of Tim’s great posts from the last week? Never fear, we’ve got them listed out below. Click to your hearts content!

Test Your Leadership With These Two Questions

Are you running a business, or an organization, or a team? For a quick rating of your own leadership, ask yourself these questions about bad news:
1. How quickly do you get the bad news? and  2. How do you respond to bad news?

Are Business Social Media Campaigns About Listening?

Brian Solis, author of Engage, expert on social media for business, posted  The End of Social Media 1.0 last week on his blog. Not that there is a 2.0 or 3.0 exactly, he explains, but he says we’re at an inflection point.

Are Spelling and Grammar Obsolete?

Am I being too critical? Do you react like I do to blatant spelling errors? Do they spoil messages for you?

Don’t Compete on Price. Please.

I caught Ted Coiné’s 12 Most Irrefutable Laws of Business Heresy the other day. I really like that list. And it’s a great title for a post. And it’s an excellent post, great advice coming one delightful rule after another.

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Engage Now, Sell Later.

by Guest Author on September 2, 2011

Today’s guest post is from Brook Hays of Hy.ly – the customizable Facebook tab-building app. 

Hy.ly is running a contest where the winner will get a free design consult and Facebook page makeover! For more information on their contest and to enter to win, go here.

 

By nature, small businesses (as well as big corporations) are always anxious for immediate results. Fast results are the hopes of all entrepreneurs, not to mention an expectation that’s been subconsciously engrained by the fast pace nature of our modern world.

Social media marketing is no different: the need for speed remains.

But just like size isn’t everything (good things can come in small packages), speed and stats aren’t everything.

Yes, “Likes” and positive reaction to your Facebook and social media output are good, but they won’t immediately result in an influx of sales and cash. But that’s okay.

Small businesses should be using social media to engage: to create social relationships that keep current customers captivated and encouraged to re-buy/revisit, and that draw in new visitors with valuable content, increasing the chance they will become paying customers down the line.

When creating your business’s social media presence on Facebook, you should certainly set metrics goals and monitor your progress. But you should not let the expectation of quick results or immediate sales spikes distract you from what’s important:

  • Bridging new relationships by growing your Fan-base
  • And offering valuable content and features that keeps your contacts engaged

You can do that be designing an elegant Facebook page that’s organized by specific call-to-action Tabs, enhanced by useful promotions, contests, coupons, and features, and populated by valuable content not sales-speak.

 

About the Author: Brooks Hays is a freelance writer and the resident content creator for Hy.ly: sharing helpful social media marketing advice with Hy.ly customers and attempting to spread the good news about Hy.ly Tabs to would-be users

 

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Is Now the Time to Re-Brand Your Company’s Message?

by Dave Thomas on September 1, 2011

If your company’s message seems to be getting lost in the shuffle, perhaps now is the time to think about re-branding what you have been saying to consumers.

As you give consideration to possibly re-working your brand, keep in mind that a change involves a number of facets, many of which will cost your company money.

Most importantly, is it worth losing the time, effort and recognition that went into defining your brand in the first place? Simply put, many customers get used to a brand that they can identify with, so are you going to ruffle some feathers by changing what they already know?

Perception and Reality

If your company is toying with the idea of a brand change, remember that it took you time and money to establish your brand, something that did not happen overnight.

Are you seeing a major drop-off in revenue that is leading you to consider a branding change or are you trying to keep up with the competition who may have changed brands and are seeing more success?

When a company contemplates changing its brand, it first needs to look at several factors:

  • Will the change involve a lot of time, effort and money?
  • Is the change being done do to economics, a desire to translate a new message or a combination of the two?
  • What are the possible ramifications with customers when we make this change?
  • Have we done everything possible to maximize our current brand?

If re-branding is still in your thoughts, you will need to decide how far you want to go with the new approach.

With a complete brand overhaul, you are looking at presenting yourself as a new company that can still leverage the assets you have built to attain. Among the options here is changing your company’s name and redefining your company’s products and/or services.

If your company chooses a slower transition, the best option is to implement smaller changes so that you do not do a 180 and have customers scratching their heads.

Whichever road your company selects, be sure to accurately and efficiently notify your customers and potential customers of the changes. Nothing will upset the customer base more than if you put in places changes that will impact what they can buy from you, their terms of purchase and especially cost increases.

Speaking of costs, yes, something any business owner hates dealing with make sure you project what the expenses of a brand change will involve before implementing such a move.

Among the cost issues with re-branding are:

  • Promotional items;
  • Letterhead and business cards;
  • Advertising.

As you can see, re-branding is something that takes a lot of thought, especially on the financial end of things.

If your company’s branding message seems to be stuck in neutral, consider the different options available before completely re-branding your business.

A major re-branding does come with consequences, some of which you may not like.

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