It’s going to happen, you know.

No one wants it to. Everyone hopes it won’t. Many naively believe it can be avoided.

But despite all the careful business planning in the world, focused execution and careful devotion (cue Google business software soundtrack), there’s no way around it: something is going to go wrong with your small business.

Listen, if it can happen to Tom Cruise, it can happen to anyone.

It could be a big thing. It could be a little thing (hopefully). But ultimately - and unfortunately - it will be a bad thing.

How can we know this? Well, hmmmm…OK, so is there a laptop out there that doesn’t get hot? Seriously, nobody saw this one coming?

Don’t get me wrong, I love my Dell laptop, the current and previous version. But the current one gets plenty warm, and the last one gave new meaning to “warm to the touch.” The new meaning was always just a dropped “t” away: “warm to the ouch.”

I was actually super excited when the recall hit - much more excited than I was about the Emmy Awards, even with Conan hosting - as a cooler running battery would mean fewer palm scalds for yours truly.

Imagine my surprise when neither my current battery nor the previous two qualified for replacement via the Dell Configurator! 

Folks, all this can mean is that the batteries that did get pulled must have generated temperatures in excess of the earth’s core.

And in this day and age of global warming, we need much less heat and much more environmental good news. Thank you, IRS, for the hybrid tax credit!

Anyways, between Dell and Apple - and the collective 6 million batteries due for recall - ouch. And how about Sony, battery manufacturer to both? It is not a good thing.

In Sony’s defense, some analysts say the overheating battery conditions often can’t be duplicated in the lab, but Sony labs, take note: turn sample laptop on, open 6 programs and 19 browser windows simultaenously, and start watching random videos on YouTube.

Now burn a CD. Then spill some mocha java on the touchpad. Who needs a lab? That’s really all there is to it.

The point being, even when you think you’ve figured it all out, there’s a chance that maybe just maybe, you didn’t anticipate every possible contingency.

Like, were the execs at CBS really thinking straight when they came up with the plan for Survivor this season? I am thinking not.

And now Ford is thinking of going private and selling off its premium brands, too. When they were first buying up Jag, Land Rover and Volvo, my guess is that this definitely wasn’t in the plan.

So, bad things happen. But what are you going to do about it?

For starters, you’re not going to panic. As Dell and Apple are doing with Sony, address the issue, take care of the customers and move forward.

It won’t be a picnic, but stay calm, write down your reaction plan, and roll with it.

Good example: lets give some credit to NASA for delaying the liftoff of shuttle Atlantis. The Space Administration has rushed to deadline in the past, to catastrophic results. Not this time.

They don’t get to claim the first Space Tourist, but hey, that’s not really where their head is at anyway.

When it comes to your small business, if you’ve already done the big thinking and the heavy lifting, you’ve laid the groundwork to weather the unforseen.

As with storms of the meteorological variety, when it comes to those of the entrepreneurial sort, this too, shall pass. 

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Want to prepare for the unexpected? Check out Grow My Business for advice and opinions that will give your business venture prepare for the unexpected, and visit Avanquest USA for affordable productivity, utility, digital media, mobility, finance and PC Protection home and small business software.

You need to blog for your business, you want to blog for your business. So how do you blog for your business?

First things first, figure out what you want to say, and who you want to say it to.

Unless of course, you’re Northwest Airlines, and think it’s a good idea to tell your employees to go dumpster diving.

But assuming you are ready to put just a little bit more thought into this, let’s get started. Firstly, don’t worry about length. Some blogs are short; some are long. You can really go either way, whenever you want.

Take note, however: this only applies to blogs, not cars, especially now that automotive black boxes are here.

But the nice thing about blogs is that the format is defined by the blogger. Therefore, many blogs are by nature somewhat informal. The tone is not intended to be corporate-speak, but conversational. As formal as email minus 5 is a pretty good estimate.

(A pretty sad estimate is the latest prediction on how much longer than previously expected it’s going to be before the ozone repairs itself. I can already hear the blog keyboards hammering away about this one…)

However, don’t confuse informal with unprofessional: whoopsie Swedish TV! Make sure your comments are relevant to your audience. You may be offering new information about a product, or simply putting current events into a context that makes sense for what you’re doing.

In the case of AOL, reassuring the world that you’ve revamped your internal privacy & secuity policies.

Either way, you’re writing for an audience, so be sure to respect them.

Speaking of professional, know any young entrepreneurs who could benefit from some positive ink in BusinessWeeek? The magazine has put out the call for nominees for America’s Best Young Entrepreneurs. Make the cut and you’ll have plenty to blog about!

Not surprisingly, the nuts and bolts of blogs are a lot like those of forums. Lots to choose from. And better yet, lots of good stuff to choose from.

1. Blogger: Blogger is a great place to start. It’s free, it’s easy — and pretty much every body has heard of it! Great place to get started with a blog, and even includes prelimary templates. It doesn’t make customization easy, though, which is important when it comes to branding.

2. Movable Type: Like Blogger very well known. Unlike Blogger, not as easy for the novice to get going with right away. Requires some technical savvy, but also makes up for it with a vast array of customization features. Pricing is also not free, ranging from $50 to more than $200.

3. TypePad: Offers more customization than Blogger, but less than Movable Type. Costs more than Blogger (barely), but less (a lot) than Movable Type. A great solution because it is easy to grow with. May take a little more start up time intially, but can pay off with features that become desirable later on.

4. WordPress: The Avanquest choice! Wordpress offers an excellent user interface, and very easy to comprehend layout. Other advantages include cost (free!) and the fact that it offers a very rich-feature set, including comment moderation. This cannot be overstated: the writing interface is super easy to edit and modify. Get’s our vote!

5. Yahoo!: Very new to the blog-o-space is Yahoo!’s free solution. Combining branding elements well-known to Yahoo! users, but now incorporating a bloggable tool as well as MySpace features like “Friends,” Yahoo! is making inroads with what looks like a cool tool. While perhaps not the long term solution for a business, a great place to experiment with a blog that is user-friendly and fun. Worth poking around on.

There are others, of course…lots of others! But this short list of well-knowns should help get the ball rolling for any small business interested in making blogging a reality, and bringing in more customers from your site.

Blog on!

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Need to get your business off the ground? Need to keep it there? Grow My Business offers helpful resources and ideas for any entrepreneur, and Avanquest is the one-stop shop for any small or home business software needs.

We’ve already covered why forums are so valuable to growing a new business.

Now it’s time to focus on the blog mandate that Web 2.0 demands for businesses that want to compete in the 21st Century.

In case you didn’t already know, “blog” is just a shortened version of the word “weblog.”

Guess what? Despite the revolutionary Web 2.0 chatter and acclaim - and name aside - blogs, like forums, ain’t nothin’ new. Ever since the advent of the internet, people have been “blogging.”

(Only it used to be called “writing”…shhhh!)

In any case, blogs initially engendered a lot of skepticism from the business community, but now they have won nearly universal praise.

Now, while I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for China to start blogging about it’s new tough on piracy policy, when the President of Iran starts blogging, that might be a sign that this is somewhat of a global phenomenon.

“That’s nice,” you say, “but why do I need a blog for my business?”

I’m so glad you asked.

OK, so you’ve got your forums, and then you’ve got your blogs. Both similar, but with one important distinction: with forums you let others do the talking; with blogs it’s all you. That’s it!

And when it comes to your business, what could be better? If you’re like most, you can’t afford the kind of advertising you’d like to.

Yet you still have things you want and need to tell your customers: new product announcements, improvements, service upgrades, etc.

Exhibit A: Segway’s back! Remember when Segway scooters were slated to change the world? Despite some impressive technology, it didn’t really happen. Now Segway has some new ideas that are somewhat interesting. But they stopped blogging last year. Whoops, bad timing.

Exhibit B: Dell needs a blog. Millions of laptop batteries got recalled this week. And while Dell is getting points from analysts for reacting quickly to the crisis, a blog would go a long way towards putting a personal touch on the situation and helping limit customer frustration.

Exhibit C: If you’re a real estate agent that enjoyed the recent boom, you’re shifting gears. Home prices are going down. But rather than allow yourself to be paralyzed with fear that buyers won’t appear, start a blog! Put the situation into context for your prospective customers. Remind them about the advantages of the situation. A blog lets you put things in perspective.

This is not just about selling your point of view. It is helping educate those that are interested in transacting business with you, but are first interested in educating themselves.

This is really all there is to it: blogs are successful for the reason the internet is successful. They have the power to give everyone their own voice.

Why, take this very blog for instance, a component of Grow My Business. Why does it exist?

Simply for no reason more complicated than the fact that Avanquest, a speciality publisher of software designed for growing small or home businesses, wants to help give its customers ideas about how to succeed. This blog serves as a supplemental resource in support of that goal.

So what do you want to tell your customers? How do you want to help them better understand how they can improve their lives with your products or services?

A blog is a great answer. Look for some ideas on getting started in the next post.
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Grow My Business is your #1 resource for ideas, resources and products designed to help you succeed with your small business.

Last post asked if you’ve Got Forums?” and suggested that you get one. This post elaborates a bit more on the why, and points you to the where.

Again, forums are a vital component of Web 2.0, allowing customers to communicate not only with you, but also with each other.

One thing not touched on previously - yet key - is how invaluable forums can be for product enhancement and business excellence. They’re like a virtual suggestion box.

Obviously, you don’t want to launch a product that is inferior, but as we all know, the best laid product plans can never anticipate every single user experience or situation.

Like, well, duty free shops, anyone? Man. Tough week.

With proper moderation, forums allow anyone to say whatever they want about your business. And remember: absolutely let in the legitimately bad feedback with the legitimately good. In other words, don’t think of forums as a threat, think of them as an advantage - free, ongoing focus groups for your small business!

Forums also allow user communication without exhchanging or revealing private information such as email addresses or phone numbers. In this scary era of indentity theft, this is becoming an ever more attractive way for those online to talk to each other.

Speaking of communication, more is what the world needs, not less, and it’s encouraging to see that the first and hopefully the final cease-fire is now in effect.

Want some more positive news with an international flair? Check out this Business 2.0 story on Web 2.0 around the world. Nothing like a little international inspiration (competition?!?) to fuel your efforts, eh?

Back on topic, let me emphasize that forums also ensure better customer service. Your business plan did devote ink to the customer service and support budget, right? Of course it did, which is why you also recognize how valuable forums are to this effort.

Users can post questions to your forums 24 hours a day - and get answers from fellow users 24 hours a day. Serves your customers + saves you time + saves you money = everybody wins.

As with anything Web 2.0, there are standard software packages available for forums. Some are free, some are slightly less so, but the ones mentioned seem most popular with forum administrators and managers. While not intended as an endorsement of any particular software over any other, this will hopefully make it a little easier for you to decide which forum software meets your needs:

1. IPB: Inivision Power Board offers forum hosting and claims a client list that includes AMD, NASA, Sony and Yahoo!, but don’t be intimidated. With forum hosting starting at just $10/month, and a free demo account, smart forum shoppers check out IPB before making any decisions.

2. PHPBB: Not only is this the forum software behind the one and only Grow My Business Forums, it is also the software behind one of my all time favorite consumer forums, Scion Life. After buying a Scion in ‘’04, this forum became my #1 go-to resource for any info about this brand. Still is! That, my friends, is a powerful forum testimonial. Oh yeah, also it’s free.

3. SMF: Simple Machines Forum, spun off from yaBB (#5 in our alphabetical list). Lots of design options, very stable and great support. Also includes wireless access, as well as calendaring and customizable user polls. Like PHPBB, SMF is free, free, free.

4. vBulletin: $85 to lease a license for a year; $160 to own the license forever. More expensive than free, but one user endorses thusly: “I set it up and online in about 15 minutes!” That is pretty much exactly what many small business owners want and need to hear. Price includes some of the most robust features available. Powers the Ad Sense Chat Forum, too.

5. yaBB: This open source software begat SMF. Easy-to-use, secure and lots of customization options. Plus, it retails for the low, low price of free, and the site includes a number of testimonials from very satisfied customers.

That help? I hope so, and you better get hustling, because next post we’re moving from forums to perhaps the most talked about business application of Web 2.0. I speak, of course, of…wait for it…wait for it…blogs.

Until then, get thee to the Grow My Business Forums and discuss, discuss, discuss all things small business already!

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Grow My Business is your #1 resource for ideas, resources and products designed to help you succeed with your small business. Check it out today!

When it comes to doing business online, keeping things fresh is much of what it is all about.

You may have a great idea for miles 0-25 of the marathon, but if you start losing your freshness and consumer interest in the home stretch, your business will never see the finish line.

(Caveat: Now, there’s keepin’ it fresh, and there’s keepin’ it fresh. An example of over the top? iJeans. I mean, seriously? Let’s review: jeans and iPods®, not a good combo. If you must get something for your iPod®, get something useful.)

How many times have you heard the phrase “Web 2.0″ in the past 6 months? Don’t be intimidated. It is nothing more than a marketing term for social networking tools that have become not only popular but extremely useful.

In other words, there are some serious implications here, not just for social networking, but for your business and for your bottom line.

For instance, forums. I’ve alluded to forums before, simply because it is one of the best and most important features of Web 2.0.

But are online forums anything new (I mean “New!”)? Like Scrabble, no. Forums have been around for awhile.

Essentially, they’re just online destinations or gathering places for like-minded people, and really the first things that people participated in online. Does anyone remember when these were called “bulletin boards?” Ah, yes, those were popular, weren’t they?

In otherwords, pretty much the opposite of the Joe Lieberman political stance with Democrats these days.

And for all the reasons that forums are popular today - learn new things, share opinions, network, accuse total strangers of having no idea of what they are talking about - bulletin boards were really what launched cyberspace in the first place.

So what does this mean for your business? Simply that if you have a web presence, you should be creating a forum for your users/customers.

Why? Well, so your customers can learn new things (about your business), share opinions (about our business), network (about your business) and even accuse total strangers of having no idea what they are talking about (regarding your business).

For instance, let’s say you are a lollipop company that is branching out into fashion. Controversial, no? Why not capture that controversy on your site, let the buzz build and enjoy the attention?

Forums give your customers the best place to stay engaged in and thinking about what it is that you are selling. Do you think this will have a positive affect on sales? It will. Why else would companies like Atlantic Records and MTV make a forum for Danity Kane?

Another current pop culture example: search for “Ricky Bobby,” Will Ferrell’s NASCAR character in “Talladega Nights.” People want a place to sound off about a new movie, and Sony pictures smartly provides one.

With business, innovation is key. Forums provide an easy way to support your customers interests in and questions about your what you’re selling.

We’ll cover how to get one started next post, but in the meantime, how about an inspiring story about someone who literally lives and breathes the “innovate or die” creedo? This should ring a bell: “Set it and forget it.”

So, Forums, Part I: check.

Next post: Forums, Part II - “Now what?”

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iPod® is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.

Grow My Business is your #1 resource for ideas, resources and products designed to help you succeed with your small business. Check it out today!

Our previous post was all about essential PR.

But, hey, when it comes to PR there’s lots to talk about (I mean, hey, there’s an entire Society set up just for PR people). So take a deep breath, because we’re going to pick up where we left off…get excited!

Firstly, I didn’t intend to leave you with the impression that PR is solely about getting good media attention - but way to go, Tiger! - since you may not have time or staff to think up news, draft press releases and contact the press. Not inconceivable, as you are spending lots of time trying to start, manage and grow your business.

Well, don’t forget that good PR isn’t just being on the news. Good PR is making sure your products or services deliver what you promise they will. Good PR also means providing excellent customer service. Good PR means dealing with your behind-the-scenes vendors and suppliers honestly and respectfully.

It might sound a little corny but really good PR is simply this: being an upright and honest business professional in all interactions and transactions.

But if being on the news is what you really, really want out of your PR plan, don’t despair. There are still PR tools and techniques you can employ that will get you some positive ink - unlike Oliver Stone or Apple - even if you don’t have time to call every single local newspaper, radio station, or TV newscenter.

Some of the stories you read every day are also the direct result of “feature articles,” or specially penned articles specific about a particular business product, service or angle.

Businesses like ARA Content, North American Precis Syndicate, and StatePoint Media, specialize in getting these articles into the press, passively, by making stories available to editors and reporters. In fact, these feature article companies will even write your story for you!

Here’s why it works: press people are busy, just like we are. Deadlines loom every single day, and every single day editors scramble to fill their papers with stories. Sometimes, they have more space than finished stories. That’s where feature articles come in.

The editors simply visit one of the aforementioned sites, check out all the different stories that are available, and grab one to run in their paper. Not only is this incredibly convenient for editors under deadline, it’s free, too. Now you can understand why it is so successful.

The catch: feature articles aren’t free.

But if you can carve out a little bit of marketing budget, it really is one of the best ways to get your name out in the local or national media. And with Google now licensing Associated Press content, the chances that your news might get slung around the web are even better.

The best part of feature articles? Once written and made available, you can forget about them. Simply wait for the media to find your story online - and they will - and watch the press clippings start coming in.

And companies often guarantee to place a certain number of articles equivialent in ad value of the feature article cost. It is a glorious thing.

Hey, and if you get stumped on a topic for your feature article, might I suggest building your own island or selling ad space on candy or inventing “seeing shoes.” These are always always surefire media magnets.

;)

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Grow My Business is your #1 resource for ideas, resources and products designed to help you succeed with your small business. Check it out today!

Advertising is expensive. Very expensive.

It works, though. Why else would General Motors spend in excess of $1+ billion a year on ads? (It’s no secret that they don’t have money to burn right now, either.)

But even when you’re not spending 1,000 million bucks on your annual ad campaign, it can still be cost prohibitive. Want to take out an ad in the local paper? Ante up, my friend. Want to auction some excess product on eBay? It ain’t free. How about taking advantage of these new fangled ad words programs you’ve been hearing so much about? Sure, but do some research first, and watch your budget.

Commence Lesson: Public Relations is the best, most cost effective way to generate customers, grow your business and realize continued success.

PR works much better with consumers than advertising, and it is much less expensive. In fact, you can’t buy it, which is what makes it so tricky to work with and create. Yet it gets created anew everyday, and there is no reason why you can’t starting making it work for you and your small business.

It works because, for better or worse, people trust the news that they hear on the radio, read in the paper and watch on the TV. Infiltrate those newscasts with a positive message about your business, and suddenly the press is helping market your business. Does a testimonial broadcast to tens or hundreds of thousands of people sound like something that could boost your sales efforts?

Of course, we all know about celebrities and what happens when they need to do damage control for their reputation. Both Lindsay Lohan and Mel Gibson have had a tough time of late, and do note that the PR experts have lots of ideas for them.

What many don’t realize is how much of the non-star related and trusted press information in newspapers, magazines, on the radio, the TV, and online, is actually the direct result of concentrated, disciplined, positive PR efforts.

Example: it’s 11 PM, the kids are asleep, and you’ve Tivoed the 10 O’clock News. Commerical, skip. Commercial, skip. Commercial, skip. Wait, now here’s s a lead story about a recent earthquake and what some local businesses are doing to help the community prepare. And, hey, you know one of those businesspeople! How did he get on the news? The same way you can.

Here’s what I’m trying to say: the news people need news. Do you have any to share with them? Has your business ever been mentioned on the local TV newscast? Is there anything unique about your business that might have appeal for the community at large? Not just the fact that you are a florist, for example, but the fact that you now have certified organic flowers that are environmentally sensitive. Newspeople don’t care whether you sell any flowers or not, but a story about a florist that sells flowers that save the earth? That’s news.

Local newspapers often profile businesses, too, whether you have something that is newsworthy or not. The mere fact that you haven’t been mentioned in the local paper may very well be news. This is a tougher angle to play in bigger cities with larger papers, since the competition for coverage can be so fierce, but even the New York Times, as widely read internationally as it is, is still very much grounded in New York. As such, it includes a local angle every day.

Do you believe in what you do? Can you find relevance in what you do to every day events, different seasons, holidays, pop culuture and/or lifestyle trends? You can if you think about it a little bit. Make some news, then call the press.

Are they going to cover your story every time? Um, no. But do you need to be in the news every day to develop a good word-of-mouth reputation? Um, no!

Don’t believe the old adage that all PR is good PR. There is definitely bad PR, and you don’t want any. Be an honest, fair and forthright small businessperson and Enron and MCI Worldcom PR headaches will never be yours.

But what will be yours are the following: good news, community goodwill and new business.

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