Business inspiration can come in some of the most unexpected places.

For instance, everyone is talking about Sanjaya - the silly, wild-haired contestant on this season’s American Idol.

Many agree that the kid doesn’t have the goods.

He can’t hold a note, forgets the words for his songs and dances off-beat.

Yet, Howard Stern, an awestruck teen, and millions of fans have conspired to ensure this mediocre-at-best pop star isn’t erased from our memories any time soon.

The events of this phenomenon beg the question: Does quirky win over quality?

There is no doubt about it. Sanjaya’s got something of value.

And, while his success is not likely to last, his sudden fame proves that whether in entertainment or in small business, style is a huge factor when it comes to keeping things alive.

It’s all in the details.

Will your business get a boost by being the ten-thousandth paint store with a welcome mat out front?

Or the first to sponsor a neighborhood mural for the local school?

Will your website be monochromatic and wordy, or will it be funky and fun?

Will you grind away at just another job, or enjoy the path that leads to business evolution?

Everyone’s gotta make a living. But who says you can’t do it with a little flair and creativity?

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Your regular dose of entreprenurial inspiration, served up fresh right here at Grow My Business. And for all your small and home business software needs, check out Blue Squad and Avanquest, the company that brings you the biggest software bang for your hard-earned business buck.

That’s really all there is to it.

There are lots and lots of factors that go into a customer’s decision to buy from one business over another.

Firstly, they have to want what you’re selling.

Whether product or service, it better be something entirely new - or entirely better - than what’s already out there,

Secondly, it better be reasonably priced.

The coolest, most ground-breaking new product in the world will go nowhere fast if you price it for the 22nd Century.

Not convinced that price is mission-critical to your small business revolution?

One word: Segway.

Thirdly, do you have a decent coffee pot?

No joke!

Let’s put it another way.

There are lots and lots of places I can get my oil changed. All are conveniently located. They all do a good job.

And most are even within a few dollars of each other. In fact, none of them are going to break the bank.

But which one do I like the best?

That’s easy: the one with the good, free coffee!

The oil changer doesn’t have to provide the coffee. They don’t have to have a TV to watch and a free copy of the newspaper, either.

But they do. And I appreciate it. And I am now a loyal, regular customer.

Guess what? So are the same other 5-10 people I see every 3 months or 3,000 miles.

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Your regular dose of entreprenurial inspiration, served up fresh right here at Grow My Business. And for all your small and home business software needs, check out Blue Squad and Avanquest, the company that brings you the biggest software bang for your hard-earned business buck.

Wouldn’t it be great if success was as simple as mastering the business basics?

Of course, profits and longevity are dependent upon your preliminary business inspiration.

But first it’s important to figure out how to get this concept in motion.

And there are no shortage of ideas designed to help.

As well as small business true stories that offer encouraging examples of good ideas well-executed.

But beyond start-up mode, you need to know how to maintain the momentum, too.

This means knowing how to ensure the money is coming in.

Being skilled at keeping the sacred ledger accurate.

And, of extreme importance, having the work-life balance thing figured out, too.

But even if you have accelerated all of these factors, there will be instances in which things out of your control threaten to defeat your well-intentioned efforts.

I speak, of course, of bad attitudes.

Inevitably, your customers will express disappointment in no uncertain terms.

And it is at this point that you’ll have a choice: get defensive, or get excited.

Get excited?? Well, yes, even though it can be difficult to endure, and won’t exactly be music to your ears.

But as any kind of feedback offers you a chance to learn how to improve your business, taking the high road is really one of the best investments you can make in your future success.

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Your regular dose of entreprenurial inspiration, served up fresh right here at Grow My Business. And for all your small and home business software needs, check out Blue Squad and Avanquest, the company that brings you the biggest software bang for your hard-earned business buck.

The previous post discussed the part industry conferences can play in business success.

But one topic left undiscussed was cost. Typically, there are only 1-2 major events for a given business sector, and it’s all pay to play.

Mac fantatics have Mac World…

Aftermarket auto parts people have Special Equipment Manufacturer Assocation (SEMA)…

There’s even the National Association of Catering Executives (NACE)!

But one thing they all have in common: even when registration is free, unless the event is coming to your town, expect to take a hit of at least several hundred dollars for travel expenses.

So when you can’t afford the outlay of cash, or when work and family commitments turn event attendance into Mission Impossible, try something revolutionary: read a book!

Turns out there is no shortage of business reads, and occasionally a particularly interesting one even comes along.

For example, one of the most popular is Mavericks at Work, a business-focused work entrenched in the notion of going one’s own way when it comes to acheiving success.

It’s inspired by the very instructive case studies of businesses that forged success out of that rarest of elements: originality.

Companies like ING Direct, Cranium and Southwest Airlines, to name a few.

Can’t make a conference this year? Check out the library or the bookstore and get yourself some business inspiration the old fashioned way.

Word by written word.

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Your regular dose of entreprenurial inspiration, served up fresh right here at Grow My Business. And for all your small and home business software needs, check out Blue Squad and Avanquest, the company that brings you the biggest software bang for your hard-earned business buck.

Perhaps you’ve been working hard for a long time, and perhaps you have a lot to show for it.

And ideally “a lot” includes personal as well as financial satisfaction.

But no matter how focused your ideas, how dedicated you are to them, and what your level of success, eventually you’ll have to face one simple fact:

When it comes to small business, you can’t think of everything.

It matters not what your particular business passion is- pool cleaning, auto parts, the internet, handmade puzzles.

The bottom line is that sometimes the best way to ensure you’re on the right track is to derail yourself for a few days.

And that’s where the all-important business conference comes in.

Most all of us have attended them at one point or another, and have no shortage of good and bad tales to share.

The bad, however, typically has a lot to do with the “official” conference program, and nothing at all to do with the true value of these events.

Which is, it’s now what you know, it’s who you know.

If nothing else, trade shows and small business conferences are simply the best possible place to pick up new ideas, fresh trends and the kind of inside industry information that you couldn’t possibly hope to dream up by yourself back at the office.

Sometimes the best thing you can do for your business is leave it behind for a few days.

If it makes you even half again as productive, efficient and inspired as you were before you left, mission accomplished.

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Your regular dose of entreprenurial inspiration, served up fresh right here at Grow My Business. And for all your small and home business software needs, check out Blue Squad and Avanquest, the company that brings you the biggest software bang for your hard-earned business buck.

As the first quarter of 2007 draws to a close, here’s hoping that your business is in the best shape of its life.

If it is, that can only mean one thing: printing out all those business cards really paid off!

But now that your books are in order and things are looking promising for the coming year, perhaps it’s time to think about giving yourself the same attention to detail that you devote to your products.

I mean, come on, who doesn’t want to have a perfect self-image?

Most of us are big talkers when it comes to making commitments to keeping ourselves healthy.

But it’s a lot harder to push away from the desk, get out out, and feel the burn.

Alas, the realities of work, family, and life so often can derail the best efforts to hit the track or the gym.

However, some interesting new California legislation aims to make it easier for small business owners to get pumped up, and help their employees break a sweat, too.

The proposed law offers tax incentives for businesses that provide employees with everything from subsidized health club memberships to on-site gyms. 

With health care costs spiraling out of control for both big and small businesses, rewarding businesses that invest in the longevity of their most important asset - their employees - is smart thinking.

And who knows?

Maybe you or someone who works for you will be insprired enough to take the Boyd Meyers approach.

That is, turn a burning personal passion into an explosive small business!

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Your regular dose of entreprenurial inspiration, served up fresh right here at Grow My Business. And for all your small and home business software needs, check out Blue Squad and Avanquest, the company that brings you the biggest software bang for your hard-earned business buck.

9-to-5.

We all know it well.

But did you ever stop to think about how much more could be done before and after these old-school hours?

If you’ve ever been to the bank or the post office between 9-5, Monday-Friday, and not encountered a line straight out of a Star Wars premiere, well you are a lucky person, indeed.

But it was just last week that a visit to a local small business reminded me yet again that perhaps the traditional business hours aren’t all they are cracked up to be.

2:15 PM on a Tuesday, and I was the only one in the store. By the time I left at 3, still no one else there.

Compare this to the zillion times I’ve raced to to my favorite shop only to be thwarted by a “Closed” sign at 6:02.

So wouldn’t it make tons more sense for small - and even large! - businesses to open earlier, or later, to ensure more business?

In fact, the big bucks retailers are already onto this. The Best Buys and the Safeways and the Targets of the world are usually open until at least 9 on any given day. They appreciate the magic of non-traditional hours.

Of course they have the large budgets and huge staff to make being open 12-hours a day a reality.

But if you’re a small retailer and profit traffic is not where you’d like it to be, why not get creative with your hours of operation?

Your web site does that already, of course.

But if it a fresh hours approach makes it easer for your customers to care a lot more for your products than the competition’s, you might just be onto something…something big!

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Your regular dose of entreprenurial inspiration, served up fresh right here at Grow My Business. And for all your small and home business software needs, check out Blue Squad and Avanquest, the company that brings you the biggest software bang for your hard-earned business buck.

There’s certainly no shortage of news about all the big companies that dominate industry.

RIM, the popular cell phone technology, is in trouble.

Microsoft is trying to create some product headaches for Google.

It’s another huge recall for Ford MoCo.

And USA Today, thread count isn’t just for sheets anymore.

No shortage of cautionary tales, to be sure.

But does it really have any bearing on small business?

Well, in the case of RIM it does, but only if your small business isn’t interested in keeping its books clean.

In the case of Microsoft v. Google it might too, but you have to have some legal issues to deal with.

And there’s plenty to glean from Ford if you don’t know how to get it right the first time.

But most small businesses - of the standard or the home office variety - don’t have the luxury (and haven’t yet developed the bureaucracy) to get bogged down with these kinds of problems.

Indeed, there is more than a fleeting appeal to being small enough to manage all of your business affairs quickly and easily.

Ask yourself this question: Do you really need to be the biggest to be the best? Is that the best measure of business success?

Here’s some better yardsticks: customer satisfaction, your bottom line, a job you look forward to every day.

Supersize, no. Yoursize, yes!

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Your regular dose of entreprenurial inspiration, served up fresh right here at Grow My Business. And for all your small and home business software needs, check out Blue Squad and Avanquest, the company that brings you the biggest software bang for your hard-earned business buck.