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When Social Media Marketing Doesn’t Work for You

Source: NYT, 8/17/12

There are five steps that I think everyone should take if they are serious about using social media as a marketing strategy, but there are always a few things to consider. Social media marketing is a long tail strategy for a small business — it can take a lot longer than six months to see results. And it starts with a strong Web site.

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The Biggest Trap Facing New Entrepreneurs

Source: DailyFinance.com, 8/28/12

In a tough economy, millions of Americans have taken on contract positions in lieu of permanent employment, while many others have unleashed their inner entrepreneur by seeking to start their own businesses. But in doing so, many don't realize some of the hidden dangers that can newly self-employed people right where it hurts most: in the wallet.

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How To Encourage Learning By Making "Smart Mistakes"

Source: 99u.com

We've written here before that you can learn a lot from your mistakes, but of course you shouldn't seek out mistakes. Or, should you?

In fact, there’s a class of mistakes that you can more than recover from – that you can use as tools to discover and test out new ideas. Let's call them "smart mistakes."

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Small Business Survival Lessons From Jeff Foxworthy

Source: Forbes.com, 7/13/12

Have you seen the classic Jeff Foxworthy act?

You know, the one where he says, “If you have more than one car jacked up in your front yard, you might be a redneck.”

Foxworthy got rich with this comedic routine. And you can benefit from this cause-and-effect logic too, if you apply it to your small business.

Small Retailers Open Up Storefronts on Facebook Pages

Source: The New York Times, 7/25/12

When Mandie Miller left her job as an on-air traffic reporter in Charlotte, N.C., to have her first child, she started baking cakes for friends, just for fun. The response was so positive that in April 2009 she started a business, Got What It Cakes.       

Does Your Small Business Have a Social Life?

Source: SmallBizDaily.com, 7/30/12

Does your small business have a good social life? I’m not talking about dating, parties and dinners out—I’m talking about social media tools such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Pinterest. While some small business owners have been slow to embrace social media, for those that do, it can make a real difference in their marketing ROI.

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Getting a Small Business Loan When the Bank Says No

Source: TheStreet.com, 7/19/12

One of the greatest barriers in the search for business capital on Main Street is the labor-intensive underwriting process used by banks. Similar to the mortgage process, getting a business loan from a bank -- if by some miracle you are approved -- takes weeks or more from application submission to closing. For small businesses, the waiting game can put a crimp on operations.

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Worth Your Investment: Business Software for Microbusinesses on a Budget

Source: Upmarket, 7/10/12

For microbusinesses on a budget, what business software is absolutely worth the investment?

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Is Shared Office Space Right for Your Small Business?

Source: Microbusiness Perspectives (Vistaprint), 6/28/12

Crowdfunding: It's More Than Just Having an Idea and Collecting the Money

Source: Ventureburn.com, 6/4/12

Thousands of great ideas flounder at the point where they need to become reality; when great thinkers and idea generators turn to the age-old problem of raising funds to kickstart their new ventures….too often they fail and give up. Getting investment is a whole different ball game to developing products and services.

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