We are Small Business Owners.

We don’t automatically get a paycheck every two weeks.  If there is no business or little revenue, we can’t pay ourselves.  If it didn’t get done we have no one else to blame.  We survive with our wits and hustle.

I get up at seven, yeah
And I go to work at nine
I got no time for livin’
Yes, I’m workin’ all the time

~ Rush

You’re in control of your business.  Being a small business owner is risky; it is probably the most risky career path you can choose.  But, with a lot of hard work – a lot of hard work – a peck of persistence and a dollop of luck, the rewards of starting your own business are excellent.

I wouldn’t have it any other way…

There’s an increase in regulation and the dreaded paperwork.  It’s hard to find reliable people who will produce the same quality of work as you do.  Getting organized is challenging when being the first mover is often your only advantage.  Then there’s time management versus laser like focus.  But, could you imagine working in any other manner?

The scene is changing rapidly but credit issuance and the economy are still slow.  And as if that weren’t enough we now have new ways to deal with our customers and clients called social marketing.

A study by The Guardian Life Small Business Research Institute called Six Dimensions That Characterize Success-Oriented Small Business Owners – is based on analysis of a survey of 1,100 small businesses with between 2 and 99 employees.  The Institute conducts ongoing research on what it calls “the Index of What Matters Most” to small businesses.

Top of the list for successful entrepreneurs is the ability for collaboration.  Those who can delegate, build strong relationships with their management teams, employees, vendors and others are more likely to click with customers.

The other five traits frequently found in flourishing small business owners:

• Self fulfillment.  Good small business owners put a high price on the fulfilment their companies provide them, relish being their own boss, and enjoy being in control of their personal income. They value “doing something for a living that I love to do,” “being able to decide how much money I make,” and “being able to have the satisfaction of creating something of value.”

• Future-focused.  Small business owners who thrive are good at both short- and long-term planning.  They recognize the credit and business cycles.  They’re as likely to have a well thought-out plan for the day-to-day running of the business as a road map for how to run the business for years.

• Curious.  Good entrepreneurs are always reading and asking questions.  They want to learn everything from why a particular business failed to how to find and keep good customers.

• Tech-savvy.  Perhaps not surprisingly, the best small business owners invest time and money on their company’s website and are likely to “rely a great deal on technology to help make our business more effective and efficient.”

• Action oriented.  Successful founders are proactive and always “differentiating ourselves from our competitors,” survey respondents said.  Entrepreneurs are not afraid of making a move even if it turns out to be wrong.  They were less worried than other small business owners about the state of the economy, and more likely to look at adversity as “a kick in the rear to help you move forward.”

First, the power supply gave out and  that was replaced.  When opening the box to change the power supply I added inexpensive RAM memory doubling the previous configuration.  For moments, it ran fast and well.  And then, once again, it didn’t.  There was no video signal and unfortunately the video board was integrated into the mother board.

I took it to our neighborhood Micro Center in Fairfax, VA.  The service personnel there were reluctant to look at the machine without first checking it in with a commitment to a $70 diagnostic fee.  With a quick calculation I figured that could be as much as 25% of the cost of a new machine.  If as they suggested it would most likely require a new mother board I couldn’t help feel that the diagnostic fee and cost of a new motherboard would be better invested in a totally new machine.

I went to the department with the new computers and was looking at all the available models.  Nothing struck me as particularly breathtaking in terms of features and value.  But I hadn’t bought a desktop in over five years.  I did notice a table with refurbished computers, those models that had come off lease and were now back on the market for sale.  The specifications were attractive for the prices being asked.  But, I left to do some on-line research.

A week or more passed before I made it back to the store.  I was returning to pick-up an on-line order for a refurbished Dell.  The web site said only 1 was left but they could not confirm this and canceled the order.  I entered a new order for a slightly more expensive choice which was a 2GHz Dell Optiplex with a Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor, an Intel® Extreme Graphics Video Chipset and 512MB DDR RAM (Expandable to 2GB).  Microsoft’s XP Professional came preloaded.  The price:  $130-.  Not too shabby.

The machine resides in the library on the first floor next to our bedroom and the first night the noise from the CPU fan woke me up -  it was LOUD!  The next morning I made a promise to myself to return the box to see if I could get a quieter one.  Two more nights went by until the following day when we received a hard drive failure.  Fortunately, I hadn’t loaded any software except the download of Mozilla’s Firefox which I use any chance I get.

I packed up the broken machine into the packing material and then into the box with all the miscellaneous pieces of equipment.  Upon my return to Micro Center, customer service retrieved a new machine and allowed me to plug in the new unit  before leaving the store.  It was so quiet compared to the other one I could hardly tell it was on.  If it was wasn’t hooked up to a monitor I wouldn’t have known that the operating system was loading.

The new, refurbished Dell is home now with software loaded performing homework tricks and gaming stunts.  Everything is quiet and I’ll be adding additional memory from the old box and the hard drive to run as a second drive.  But for now I told our son to have at because the next 90 days is the burn-in period.

There are a wide variety of self proclaimed experts that you can find on the internet.  Many of which that are hyping a product or program, all claiming to be the latest and greatest.  We won’t claim that any one program or product is the best, nor are we selling or affiliated with any of these in particular.  Instead, we let our actions and results for our partners speak for themselves by helping you learn what works best for you and your business.

And that brings me to my point about the Realities of Reference.  Your profile (or profiles if appropriate) are your customers and potential customers reference to your business.  Whether it is all the positive and eye catching information that you post, the praises of your expertise and superb customer service, or the negative experience THAT YOU WERE ABLE TO OPENLY ADDRESS in front of the world, you do want people to know.  Trust me on the fact that people know you are human as your employees are too, and this is not a perfect world.  All they want to be sure of is that you know what you are doing, you’ll get the job done at a reasonable price for what you offer, and fix it when something went wrong.

Yes, that is a reality of reference.  Your worst performance, when addressed correctly, can be your best testimonial.

So what are you waiting for?  Left foot or right foot doesn’t matter, just take the first steps…

You want the truth?  You think you can handle it?  Or does the aroma of smoke created by mirrors and images appeal to you?  No smoke and mirrors here.  Sorry, you are in the wrong place.  “It is what it is” and that is what you are going to hear.  Some say I am a too “brutally honest”.  But there is no harm intended, just cutting the chase in half to get to the finish line more quickly.

The Truth:

If you are looking for an social media expert, I will tell you now that great ones are few and far between.   I am a student of social media, but more so a student of people.  Yeah, I got my Liberal Arts degree in Social-Psychology years ago, then progressed through 25 years of managing locations, regions, brands, and franchises all dealing directly with service and building customer loyalty.  You can read my resume if you want, but that is not what it is about.

I don’t profess to be a social media expert because it is not an exact science.   Nor am I a sales guy (liked eat them for lunch though)…  I am an operations management guy that looks at the total picture, considers the resources and competitive environment, identifies opportunities or issues, sorts ‘em out by the impact opportunity, considers cause and effect, and defines an action plan (a process to achieve goals, if you will).  I have thrived on melding analysis of data, company goals and objectives, daily operational challenges, and building long term relations with internal and external customers.

The Truth:

IT IS ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS AND HOW YOU MANAGE THEM!!!! Consumers are so tired of being pounded and bombarded and blasted and tired of IN YOUR FACE “Friend me, follow me, fan me” that they will shut you down.  You have to be you, you have to have personal and professional social profiles, and you have to be open.  Open on what you are about, Open to what your company is about, and Open to what your customers want, and most of all OPEN TO CHANGE.  (This is where you think of the definition of insanity being doing the same thing and getting the same results).

And as much as I may have frowned or laughed at my kids for the “FACEBOOK” thing when it became the rage, or for that matter any skepticism on the value of all social networking sites, I am now a believer that it can play an important part of personal and professional growth when it is used correctly.  It may be you that is being socially profiled, but it is not about you at all.  It is about your customers and potential customers.   What they think and who they engage with is what will drive your growth.  It is not just the spoken word of mouth that is the best advertising that money can’t buy, but the ”social profile” and associations that are built on the Internet through a raving base of  fans.

Let’s take as an example a case study of “Blendtec”.  In 2006, they took the foundation of the old “blender jokes” and started their social media campaign of “Will It Blend?”  Capitalizing on the natural human curiosity of imagination and “what if”, they put their machines to the test, video taping and blogging away on the results.  Keeping in mind that their least expensive machine sells for around $400 each they have increased sales 700% (yes, seven hundred percent) in the past 4 years.  They used humor to create a raving fan base and educate their customers about the added value that buying their product provides.

OK, so there are no frogs in the blender videos to watch.  But, they have capitalized on content, using the same format and feedback from their growing fan base to put their blender to the test.  They use new products on the market (the one everyone is talking about), have competitions (which football conference is toughest), and even put their machine up against icons (everyone knows Chuck Norris is bad to the bone).  What is the point?  They are having fun and creating a raving fan base.  Even those that have not purchased their products check back in for the latest “Will it blend” episodes.  And if you friend them on Facebook, you’ll find they post questions and run recipes to engage their 56,686 fans.  And yes, periodically there is a discount offer or coupon, but no “Will it Blend” videos (which is an intentional and smart strategy). For those of you looking you have to visit YouTube.

Why not put it all in one place?  Simply put, it gets a distinct message into different media outlets in order to reach a broader base of customers.  Sounds like a lot of work, which it can be, unless you plan your work and work your plan.  And that is where a coach and/or consultant comes in to help you identify your goals and plan, define the process, and assist in the execution and achieving the results based on your own tools, abilities and time.

Decision Point:  Do you think about it, or is it time to have your own slurpee summit or beer summit?  Is it time to be proactive and reach out for some assistance while you continue to manage your business?  Making blender videos may not be the best fit for your business, but with a little creativity, a little fun, and some continuity in execution, you can stay on track for greater results.

Competitive and economically challenging environments require proactive and cost effective marketing and management.  It also requires the strategic execution of the plan to prevent serious erosion to an existing brand.  Rushing into social media without clearly defined benefits to the company and customer will be the biggest cause of failure.

We will be your number one advocate.  We believe in what you are doing, understand your message and be loyal to your brand.  We will assist you to engage and empower your clients, customers, friends and followers to be an army of supporters, listeners and loyalists.  You want someone who wants  your company to succeed.  Period.  You need someone who not only understands what is happening now in social media, but someone who also thinks about where social media is going.

Social media marketing, like any field of work or study, has distinct skills and requirements.

Whereas traditional CRM activity focused heavily on operational effectiveness and its impact — both internally and on the customer — social CRM is all about people  and community.  It’s about how your company intends to participate in the ongoing conversations taking place in your industry.  Businesses must embrace non-traditional influential people like popular industry bloggers and social sites on the web frequented by your audience to start meaningful conversations.  And fully understanding the importance of contributing to discussions, in a transparent manner, will help you build the kind of reputation needed to become a valued member of the online communities important to your business.

While there are processes involved in building a successful social CRM strategy, listening is the heart of it.  Having meaningful conversations with those searching for the help you can provide is the turning point in transforming a web-based search into a paying customer.  The processes involved are aimed at making it easy for people to find you (through your content and participation) and invite them into a conversation — on their terms.  This may take the form of a comment left on a blog post, following your company on Twitter, or possibly visiting social landing pages created by you to guide potential customers to your web page.  There are numerous ways for you to participate in meaningful conversations with people looking for help.  Formalizing a strategy to increase the likelihood of engaging in these conversations is a tenant of social CRM.