Carnival of Small Business Issues

Carnival of Small Business Issues - Edition 9

Isn’t the power of the brand amazing? Look at the euphoria as the first iPhones were unveiled to the public on Friday. I would say “a smart move” by Apple to release the product on a Friday - a very smart marketing move. But I guess us Canadians will have to wait for a while longer to get the full functionality of an iPhone.

One another major news to break out last week is about Ontario Teachers taking over BCE Inc. Both their land line business and wireless business needs fixing. But having gone private, they now have the flexibility to charter their course without worrying about their shareholders. Only time will tell whether Ontario Teachers plans to sell off Bell pieces or actually turn the company around.

As we watch these stories unfold in the media, here is quick review of some interesting posts at the ninth edition of Carnival of Small Business Issues. I received over ten submissions after the Sunday midnight deadline. As always, I will consider these submissions received after the deadline for next week’s carnival.

I trust you will enjoy this edition and support the carnival by linking to it. If you find that your post was not included, the article you submitted was not related to small business. I urge you to submit one quality relevant post. If you have to ask what’s relevant, check out Charles Green’s post. You will know what I am talking about.

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Operations

• Charles Green at Trusted Advisor talks about Soliciting Customer Service Feedback: Motives Matter. “Be careful what you measure or you may drive behaviors that detract from instead of improve customer experience.”

Comment: Another great article Charles. Food for thought: Rewards are for exceptional service. Why have we come to a point where we expect a reward for the services we a paid to perform? As you posted in your comment, there’s the monetary aspect and then there is pride in ownership of work. Sadly, it is the latter that is lacking.

• Scott Allen is the entrepreneurs guide at About.com. “If you had told me in high school that I was going up to be a writer when I grew up, I would have said you were nuts….” Scott presents an opportunity (not sure if we are late for it though) for you to ask one question of John Assaraf and Murray Smith by saying, “If you could ask these top business coaches one and only one question, what would it be?”

Comment: Scott, a question. There does not seem to be an about page for you. When clicked, we get info on Daniel Richards. Scott, if there is one question I would like to ask business coaches, I would take a leaf out out of Charles’ post above and ask, “How would you instill “pride in ownership of work” culture in your organization?”

• Marc and Angel reflect on the excitement of an uncertain future by sharing their thoughts on a broad range of topics. They promise not to regurgitate someone else’s point of view in their blog. Email Communication Problems: How To Communicate Effectively. “Email is an extremely popular form of communication … but can often lead to major problems … “

Comment: Great post Marc. I am sure everyone of us have dealt with the impersonal nature of emails in the past. I always Wait a while before sending out emails and never write emails when I am in angry.

• Write to Right is designed to write the words of the great ones in a simplified format to help right people’s lives and businesses. Cade Krueger presents What is the best type of company for you to legally set up?

HR

• “Other kids have memories of their dads showing them how to ride a bike … my dad explaining to me how compound interest worked and showing me his mortgage amortization table …” That’s Julie Rains‘ childhood memories. She presents three tips on qualifying a professional.

Marketing

• “Someone else’s opinion is not you life’s blueprint”, says Tupelo Kenyon in his post How to Keep Your Word. He goes on to say, “Small business is people dealing with people. How you impress your customers has a lot to do with the way you use your word.”

Comment: Great post. Enjoyed reading it. Reminded me of Richard Feynman’s book, “What do you care what other people think?”

• Oliver Muoto at vFlyer has a long history of building, advising and consulting to early-stage companies. He describes himself as a “serial entrepreneur”. He shares some insights on 10 Ways You Can Improve Your Conversion Rates using flyers.

Comment: You hit the nail on the head with point 8, Oliver. A lot of entrepreneurs do not test, test and test. Marketing is all about testing your assumptions and validating what works and what doesn’t.

• By his own admission, Terry Dean went from delivering pizzas for a living to building a million dollar Internet business. “… Let’s cut through all the crap. The truth about Internet Marketing is that it’s hard word!…” Read more at Cutting through the hype and lies about Internet Marketing.

Comment: If your honesty does not get you more clients, Terry, I do not know what will. I can’t remember the last time I read an Internet Marketer talking without a sales pitch. More power to you.

• Rodney Burge at Keyboard culture reminds us that “until the first sale, all you have are expenses” in his post Marketing is Everything. Rodney is a Small Business Growth Specialist who works with small business owners and private practice healthcare providers.

Comment: Isn’t it selling that gets you your clients Rodney? Sales is the only activity that directly generates revenue. All other functions, including marketing, are cost centers. Would you not agree? Perhaps you meant “Selling is Everything”?

• Matthew Paulson at Getting Green (the $$ types) talks about Business Cards: When They Make Sense, and When they Don’t. “If you hand someone a business card as part of having a conversation with them about the business, your business cards will go much further.”

Finance

• Raj Dash at Bootstrapper says, “Whether you run your business online or offline, you can promote it using methods for both. Here are 10 online and 11 offline business promotion tips.” 21 Ways to Promote Your Startup Business.

Comment: Raj, a nice “about page” would be useful. Why should startup entrepreneurs listen to your advice? Any information that is material to marketing ought to be included.

[Update]: Raj blogs at Internet UltraGeeek. With over an year’s experience working online full time, he would definitely know a thing or two about making money online. He’ll teach you everything he knows about it too.

• Sagar Satapathy at Business Fund.com talks about 17 Surefire Tips for Making a Successful Business Loan Pitch

Comment: Sagar, why should the readers of this blog follow the steps you have outlined. They do not see any information about you. How do they know you are a credible information source?

Miscellaneous

• The importance of being assertive is by Michelle Cramer at GreatFX Business Cards. “Assertiveness is the ability to say NO because you what you are capable of … being able to say no and know your limitations is what it takes to [take your business to the next level] …

Comment: It is hard to say no, especially when one is not used to it. But we become better with practice. We all have the same number of minutes in a day and have the right to choose how we invest it. Once I realized that, saying no became easier for me. I also realized that I cannot please everyone every time.

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I trust this edition was useful to you in your business. You can submit the your articles for the next edition using this link.

I find a number of people do not link back. While it is not mandatory it is common courtesy to link back to someone who has taken the time to read and post a link to your article. So if you have derived value from this carnival, I would certainly appreciate a link back.

Thanks and until next week, have fun!