Why, was it only just last night that I made a run for the border?

Fired up the tunes, hit the road and before I knew it, there I was at the drive-up window: A ready, willing and pay-able customer, right where the purveyor of product wanted me.

And so I got the goods and made my escape - and was I hungry! - driving off in eager anticipation of my rich reward of trans fats and sugar and…and…and…

No logoed napkins…

No tasty hot sauce…

No brand-satisfied customer.

All over 2 cents worth of throwaway marketing collateral!

OK, it’s not like I’m a member of congress and I can’t get on an airplane, but still.

Ask Wal-Mart about its reputation crisis. They are keenly aware of the risks involved with skipping steps.

There are day-to-day financials that we all allow for. It’s just the cost of doing business.

In fact, our customers come to depend upon us providing these minor expenses.

And when we don’t, it’s really the worst kind of missed opportunity.

Why? Because it’s the kind of missed opportunity that has already been factored in, both carefully planned and provided for, and only lost due to simple oversight and laziness.

Am I overreacting? That may well be your diagnosis.

But - back up! - because I’m the customer.

And who is it, again, who’s always right?

Don’t spend all your time getting the big picture right only to blow it on the no-brainers.

Or before you know it, you’ll be going the way of newspaper circulation, tiremaker Goodyear and - at least we can say we knew you when - MySpace.

p.s. You didn’t really think I’d leave you without a Halloween small busines angle, did you?

Boo.

–

Grow My Business can help lighten the load on understanding how to get started, gain momentum, and manage growth for the long run. And for small and home business software needs, check out Avanquest, the company that brings you the biggest bang for your hard-earned entrepreneurial buck.

We all need cars.

Whether you’re a home-based small business or go into the office every day, you need a way to get products to customers.

And this means you’ve got to get those products shipped, and before that, you’ve got to get those shipping supplies organized and back to your office.

So what are the best tools for the job?

For the small businessperson, the answer is always the same: cheap, reliable and practical.

Luckily, there’s a couple of great solutions, and here’s a bonus - they’ve even got a bit of design flair.

Mini: Who doesn’t want this car?!? It’s both cute and cool at the same time, it’s fun to drive and you fold down the rear seats and there’s no shortage of room to move out with a full load. What many don’t realize is how truly affordable these cars are: $16K + 26 mpg? Wow. Oh yeah, you can jack our iPod into the stereo, too.

Mazda5: Little known, but that’s likely to change soon. This is a European-themed microvan, but you wouldn’t know it from the inside. It’s got party room for 6 (!), it’s got boat loads of room - especially with the seats folded - and it is fully loaded. Easy to find for sub-$17K fully loaded, and pulls in about 25 mpg.

Scion xB: Still the sleeper. Maybe you hate the way it looks. I did when I first saw it. Then I got inside. What?? There is more headroom and rear set legroom inside this car than in a Suburban. No joke. And fold down the seats? Forget it. You fit a cruise ship in this thing. Penny pinching small businesspeople will also appreciate the $15k (loaded) price. And the best part? This brick gets 33 mpg. Hybrids R.I.P.

Get your motor running.

–

Grow My Business can help lighten the load on understanding how to get started, gain momentum, and manage growth for the long run. And for small and home business software needs, check out Avanquest, the company that brings you the biggest bang for your hard-earned entrepreneurial buck.

This blog and many others spend puh-lenty of time chatting about technology and all of its business implications.

Hey, it’s hard not to when every day brings huge YouTube acquisitions and the viral popularity of all things Web 2.0.

But PC Magazine is busy reviewing breakout new tech, not the mom and pop shops, so most small businesses aren’t courting big VC dollars and getting mainstream headlines.

Sometimes, it can feel like your business is already surrounded by this new-fangled invisibility cloak everyone’s chirping about.

Yet there’s no shortage of trenchwork that always needs to be done. Which is why it’s important to make sure we keep the fundamentals in mind.

Take the brochure, for instance. Yes, yes. The low tech, ho hum, mundane brochure…

Newflash: cell phones may be the new cigarette, but print is not dead. And if you are bored with your print materials, that’s a sure sign that they might need some fresh attention to detail.

Expert designer Rob Kirby of Duct Tape Marketing offers some great advice in a recent Design Matters post, reminding readers of:

“…a few cardinal rules you should remember for any brochure design that will help it be more successful…”

Make It Untossable

Make It Understandable

Make It Actionable“

Like I said, great advice. And you’re invited to click through on those links above to learn more about just exactly what it means and how it can turbo-charge your small business.

While we’re busy rooting ourselves in the nitty-gritty of running a small business, take a gander at another small business owner’s ideas for generating some new clients.

My favorite?

“Send out a thank you email to all existing customers and alert them to my plans for next year.”

You don’t get much more back-to-basics than that.

And why, again, do we care about the basics? They pay off.

–

Grow My Business can help lighten the load on understanding how to get started, gain momentum, and manage growth for the long run. And for small and home business software needs, check out Avanquest, the company that brings you the biggest bang for your hard-earned entrepreneurial buck.

Folks, it’s official: We’ve hit the big 3-Oh-Oh.

And we all know what that means: lots and lots more customers for companies of all shapes and sizes…

God Bless America!

That’s right, even if you are that rare entrepreneur whose business dream come true is to make cars that double as boats, well, now there are now a few more people who just might interested in putting one on the road.

Er, water.

However, a skyrocketing population doesn’t mean you get to stop staying on the ball. Because the mob is fickle, and the penalties are steep.

Like, when did eBay fall out of favor? Did I miss something? And Yahoo!, too, is suddenly feeling the Q3 pinch, apparently.

Still, for those companies with a compelling model and product, with population growth come sales growth which, if managed correctly, means profit growth.

And profit growth means business growth and away we go!

But hold on: despite the fact that the Census has an accurate tab of citizens, it turns out that some of us little businesses are being undercounted.

Ramifications? All of us home office types could be missing out on some much-needed government resources.

That isn’t stopping some go-getters like Lobster Mail from making a serious go of it, though.

And an important point here is that it’d be more than slightly naive to ignore the fact that we’re not the only ones paying attention to the growing market. Say hello to some new competition.

Still, since we’re positive-thinking entrepreneurs, we’re focused on the fact that the glass isn’t half-empty, it’s half-full.

After all, there’s 300 million potential customers that have money to burn, right? Wow. This can only mean one thing.

Break time’s over!

–

Grow My Business can help lighten the load on understanding how to get started, gain momentum, and manage growth for the long run. And for small and home business software needs, check out Avanquest, the company that brings you the biggest bang for your hard-earned entrepreneurial buck.

First, the bad news.

Anymore, it’s not enough to run a business as usual. These days, there are some brand new considerations that go into competing in this era of a warming planet.

In other words, it’s a long way from party time.

Look, you still need to pass out business cards. You still need to write letters. You still need to manage spreadsheets. You still need to keep your website up-to-date…

In fact, you need to do all of that and more. And it’s the more that concerns todays post: Namely, how green is your business?

Here’s the good news part: Green is not only a new cultural phenomenon, it is an opportunity to do more business than ever before.

How? Simple. Green isn’t just the right thing to do for the planet, it’s the smart move precisely because it is so popular, and gaining in popularity every day.

Customers don’t want cloned pets; they want Green. And you want to give the customers what they want.

So regardless of what your small business endeavor, and whether home-based or not, there is no reason you can’t take simple steps to examine your business practices and do something - even little things - that align your commitment to sustainable busines practices with just another day at the office.

Double-sided printing? Check. Recycled paper products? Check. Efficient, self-service checks…”check!”

And since you are on top of using your web site and your customer contact information to keep your customers abreast of all the things that separate you (favorably) from your competition, they’ll be very impressed that you share their values.

And research shows that when given a choice, the new breed of consumers prefer to buy from businesses that build, strengthen and support community.

So, you want more green? Then roll out the green carpet. Not only is it the right thing to do. It’s a new way to give yourself the competitive edge.

Talk about a win-win.

–

Grow My Business can help lighten the load on understanding how to get started, gain momentum, and manage growth for the long run. And for small and home business software needs, check out Avanquest, the company that brings you the biggest bang for your hard-earned entrepreneurial buck.

So here it is.

Fellow entrepreneurs, this year’s story of inspiration is upon us.

In fact, this isn’t just any old story. It may well be the Grand Poopah of them all, the best yet, fantasy-come-true business story of the 21st Century.

Was it really but 19-months ago that the founders of YouTube scrawled the name of their business idea on a cocktail napkin?

Apparently, it was. Google bought YouTube for $1.6 billion this week. Way!

Now, for all the rest of us that have been working for slightly longer than only 5 months less than 2 years, this sort of event comes as somewhat of a miraculous surprise.

Also incredibly inspirational and encouraging (and maybe slightly depressing - because, seriously, random TV clips on the internet = $1.6 billion??), but nothing short of a miraculous surprise nonetheless.

Ultimately, Google’s acquisition of YouTube means one thing and one thing only: the future of online video is just getting started.

It’s interesting, really. Does the phrase “streaming video” ring any bells? The architecture wasn’t in place to support the YouTube-type service, but it is now.

Actually, it has been for that past 19 months!

Next thing you know, some clever entrepreneurs take notice and a cocktail-napkin sized small business idea gets real big, real fast.

This is really a wake up call for all of us currently pursuing small business dreams, and others who are still seeking the nudge of motivation.

Remember all of those Dot Com ideas that were so very overvalued at the turn of the century? Once again, the investors’ checkbooks are out.

YouTube offers much more than a subtle wake-up call that it might be high time to dust off some of those ideas and begin the 19-month countdown to success.

Oh, and for those of you out there wondering what Yahoo!’s response to this will be, wonder no more: social networking site Facebook is next in line for the Midas Touch.

Here’s the point. No matter what your small business idea, high tech or low, get it together and put it to work.

After all, what a difference 19 months can make.

–

Grow My Business can help lighten the load on understanding how to get started, gain momentum, and manage growth for the long run. And for small and home business software needs, check out Avanquest, the company that brings you the biggest bang for your hard-earned entrepreneurial buck.

Whether by the dawn’s early light, or the late night shadows, SEO is something any small business needs to figure out sooner rather than later.

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, and is the fancy name for a particular kind of web site maketing.

With some careful study of SEO, you can learn how to boost your web site’s visibility in popular search engines, which is akin to getting more customers in the door of your store or nose-deep in your catalog.

And once you’ve got them shopping, buying’s not far behind. And there are, of course, several techniques you can employ to bolster your SEO:

*Create more content (new web pages or a blog)

*Improve your site design and layout (not an overnight task)

*In fact, it is a small business venture unto itself!

What’s the upside? Let’s ask the increasingly ever-useful Wikipedia:

SEO strategies may increase both the number and quality of visitors. Search engine optimization is sometimes offered as a stand-alone service, or as a part of a larger marketing effort, and can often be very effective when incorporated into the initial development and design of a site.

For competitive, high-volume search terms, the cost of pay per click advertising can be substantial. Ranking well in the organic search results can provide the same targeted traffic at a potentially significant savings. Site owners may choose to optimize their sites for organic search, if the cost of optimization is less than the cost of advertising.

Generate traffic and save ad dollars, to boot? Bingo!

With all the extra cash you can get yourself the coolest new bike rack ever. Or maybe get yourself some new decorations for your Crocs ($10 million business almost overnight….it is possible!)

Need someone to help you out with this stuff? Hire away, but don’t waste too much time on the interview. You’ve got a company to run, and SEO to figure out!

–

Grow My Business can help lighten the load on understanding how to get started, gain momentum, and manage growth for the long run. And for small and home business software needs, check out Avanquest, the company that brings you the biggest bang for your hard-earned entrepreneurial buck.

Call it the week of personal accountability. Or lack thereof.

In the lead story position we have the deservedly career-crushing and potentially criminal email revelations of former House Representative Mark Foley.

These were closely followed by what seemed to be responsibility-deflecting excuses. (Some might prefer to call it legal creativity.)

And then on the complete opposite end of the spectrum, the publisher of the Miami Herald took complete responsibility - and resigned - for the publication’s “ambiguous” policies regarding journalistic ethics.

Hey, I thought that reporters weren’t supposed to get paid to provide favorable coverage…doesn’t everybody know that? Look it up if you don’t believe me.

In any case, you have to salute the professionalism of Jesus Diaz, Jr., for doing the honorable thing for the sake of his newspaper and his business.

But the personal accountability highlight of the week award simply has to go to defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth of the Tennessee Titans.

After a despicable display of horrendous sportsmanship (for which he and his team were rightly penalized), he had this to say at the post-game press conference:

“What I did out there was disgusting,” Haynesworth said. “It doesn’t matter what the league does to me. The way I feel right now, you just can’t describe it.” 

We all make mistakes. But do we all know how the fix-it solutions?

The most respectable among us do. They don’t run and hide, but graciously admit culpability and accept responsibility when the situation warrants.

But there really is no other acceptable design for reputation recovery. It’s the chosen path for those who wish to pick up the pieces and start re-earning the respect of others.

If history teaches us nothing else, it teaches us that ethics and success - both personal and professional - go hand-in-hand.

–

Grow My Business can help lighten the load on understanding how to get started, gain momentum, and manage growth for the long run. And for small and home business software needs, check out Avanquest, the company that brings you the biggest bang for your hard-earned entrepreneurial buck.