It’s only the lucky few that don’t have to work 40 hours each and every week to get by.

Actually, it’s only the lucky few who only have to work 40 hours each week!

Most small business owners I know spend far, far more time than this prerequisite amount to ensure that their economic ventures are going in the right direction.

But work isn’t what life is all about.

Work, however, does help us to enjoy the things that life is all about: family, friends, home, health.

So why is it that the last thing on the list is always given the least consideration?

Think about it: If you’re not healthy, you’re not going to be able to enjoy anything. And you’re certainly not going to be able to do any of the heavy lifting, literally or figuratively, at work.

We should all know this, but we don’t act like it.

To be fair, physical fitness is on everyone’s mind. It can’t not be in the world that we live in. Health and beauty are used to sell everything all around us.

But being healthy takes more than just thought (although some would debate this point). It takes action. And action is where things always seem to breakdown.

Booking time for staying healthy should be a number one priority at any company. Instead, it’s typically the responsibility of the employee to find and make the time.

However, isn’t keeping your employees healthy the best way to keep them working? Just because you offer your staff health insurance doesn’t mean you want them to have to use it all the time (cue Michael Moore’s new movie, “Sicko,” for additional nuance on this point).

See you at the gym!

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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 online publishers dedicated to bringing you the biggest software bang for your hard-earned business buck.

What’s the secret to business success?

Simple: Know what people want, and deliver.

That’s really all there is to it, actually.

It’s just that the knowing what people want part can be a little tricky.

Focus groups and user surveys are extremely valuable business tools.

They can offer insight into personal buying preferences, brand affinities and seasonal habits that often can’t be teased out any other way.

But they ain’t cheap.

And that moves these tools quickly from the necessity category squarely to the luxury category.

Which means, in many cases, that they are never to be heard from again.

Or are they?

Turns out there are a couple of very cool tools available that put the fundamentals of business focus groups in the hands of the masses.

SurveyMonkey is the online survey tool with the name you won’t forget. It offers some pretty robust functionality, and a pretty unbeatable price (free for the basic service).

Other players include Vovici and Zoomerang. Like SurveyMonkey, they offer basic accounts and/or free trials.

Either way, it’s a great way to get started learning more about that whole secret to business success thingie.

Next question?

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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 online publishers dedicated to bringing you the biggest software bang for your hard-earned business buck.

No doubt about it, green is the new gold.

The Twentieth Century closed out with a small business gold rush that revolutionized the world, with Internet technology influencing and affecting everything related to business.

Today, a new era of tech is promising to create an entire new class of small business success stories. Modern society’s reliance upon fossil fuels and the fears associated with global warming have inspired many entrepreneurs to figure out how to create products and services that can address these concerns.

And, of course, turn a profit, too!

Blue Green Pacific is a California-based company fresh on the scene.

A true small business pioneer, BGP has identified a potential market in what it calls “micro-wind” production.

The company has designed a wind turbine for homeowners, the first application of its kind for wind energy capture and generation.

It’s the kind of innovative thinking so typical of the most successful entrepreneurs.

Will it succeed? Will it fail? Is it one time? Too early? Too late? The market will decide.

However, by all accounts this green tech company has done its homework, and already committed no small amount of personal investment and sacrifice to see the venture succeed.

And isn’t that what it’s all about? Identifying a small business niche, and making the decision to go for it.

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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 online publishers dedicated to bringing you the biggest software bang for your hard-earned business buck.

There are more than a few cautionary tales for businesses out there.

Remember when NetFlix came along? It was practically an Internet miracle.

Movies that come in the mail? And no late fees?? Sign me up.

But for the big money movie rental kid on the block, Blockbuster, things went from rosy to ruinous in no time at all.

And then, at seemingly the last possible moment, Blockbuster put one of my all-time favorite cliches to work: “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”

Blockbuster rolled out an online rental program - with lower prices, quicker turnaround, and even free rentals.

Plus, all those brick and mortar locations made it pretty easy to aggressively market to a captive audience of movie-renting consumers.

Now the tables have turned.

All of which is to say, when the chips are down - even way, way down - it’s no time to give up.

Rather, take a cue from Blockbuster’s turnaround.

Look to your successful competition, and ask yourself what they are doing that you aren’t. Then do it!

The only thing you have to lose is something you can’t afford to: your business?

Plus, who doesn’t like lemonade?

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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 online publishers dedicated to bringing you the biggest software bang for your hard-earned business buck.

Remember what it was like when you were little, and you had to tag along for all the errands?

I do. It was no fun.

But not at first. Of course, it always seemed like a good idea at first.

After all, there’s something about going to the laundromat, and the corner grocer, and the mechanic’s shop that can be pretty exciting for a kid.

Usually, though, it only took about 5 minutes before the boredom quotient far exceeded any potential for adventure.

Flash forward a decade or two (or three), and I’ve noticed a small business trend that definitely separates the wheat from the chaff.

It’s nothing more complicated than making your business kid-friendly.

I’ve noticed coffee shops and tire shops and even sporting goods stores that understand one very important thing about customers.

Namely, that lots and lots of them have families.

But whether you have kids or not, you know this much: shopping is no fun with screaming kids.

So smart entrepreneurs try to get ahead of this issue. They spend $20-30 on children’s toys and magazines, maybe even a kid-sized table and a few min-chairs.

And what do they get for their modest investment?

Why, nothing more complicated than engaged, entertained, and happy kids.

And what don’t they get?

Stressed out, frustrated, frantic parents. The self-same ones who control the cash, checks and credit cards.

It’s a simple equation: Happy shoppers make for happy sales.

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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 online publishers dedicated to bringing you the biggest software bang for your hard-earned business buck.

Why is it that so many businesses, both big and small, insist on allowing rude employees to ruin their reputation? “Insist” is a strong word, but I use it deliberately.

There’s really no other explanation for the preponderence of impatient, elitist behavior and bad attitudes you can sometimes encounter on a day-to-day basis.

So there’s this coffee chain I frequent, and a particular beverage I like. A shot of espresso with a shot of whipped cream. I happen to like it because it’s not too much coffee, not too much sugar, not too much cream. For me, it’s a perfect product: a combo of all three.

Anyways, “Espresso with a shot of whipped cream,” right.

The coffee shop has an Italian name for it, but seeing as how my Italian is pretty rusty - actually, it’s nonexistent, with the exception of “espresso” - I order the drink in English.

And here’s where the problem lies.

Without fail, I am corrected by the coffee shop employees. You see, apparently they are under express (espresso?) orders to correct any and all attempts to order in English.

I wouldn’t mind so much if I were say, in Rome. But here in the US, it’s pretty annoying.

But what makes it 10x worse is the condescending attitude with which the correction is delivered.

And I’ve done a little bit of informal market research. I’ve tried multiple chains; I’ve experimented with the drink ordering; it’s always the same reaction.

So how does a small business decide that a good way to bring customers back is to treat them with arrogance and disrespect?

It’s a puzzle.

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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 online publishers dedicated to bringing you the biggest software bang for your hard-earned business buck.

Small business inspiration can come from a lot of different places.

Sometimes it comes on the 10 O’clock News, sometimes it comes from the daily newspaper, sometimes it shows up in your inbox.

And very, very occasionally, it shows up in the Albertson’s parking lot after a trip to SuperCuts.

I met an entrepreneur today who gave new meaning to the word “dedicated.”

He wore a bright green shirt, shouldered an oversize bag, and engaged everyone he could with a pitch for some of his new products.

True, these were not blue ribbon goods.

There were no iPods or HDTVs - which is a good thing, b/c selling those in the parking lot would certainly make one suspect.

However, there were plenty of Made In China pink sunglasses and watch gift-boxes and illuminated plastic fans. I don’t even think you can find these in Wal-Mart.

But despite my disdain for the lack of impressive offerings, this small businessman didn’t give up.

The next thing out of his bag was an all-metal LED flashlight: 3-for-$10.

Sold!

And then he was off to meet his next customer in the Albertson’s parking lot. A smile for all, and something for everyone.

It’s not every day you meet the epitome of a small businessperson, and get to see the earliest stages of the American Dream taking shape.

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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 online publishers dedicated to bringing you the biggest software bang for your hard-earned business buck.