onebiz

Essentially, there are three sorts of apps you could create: A game app (hearts for instance), a utility (i.e., an app that lists movie times) or a business app (a mini-version of your website – like the USA TODAY app.)

While the first two are not cheap, I am happy to report that the third one can be quick, easy, and inexpensive, so let’s start there.

Typically, creating an app is not unlike starting a small business – you have to come up with a great idea and then be able to execute on that idea by having enough money and hiring the right team (in this case, software designers.)

But recently I spoke with Magaly Chocano, CEO and founder of Sweb Apps, a company that has figured a unique, creative way to allow folks to create a mobile app using a simple drag-and-drop interface, and at a fraction of the cost of hiring an expensive designer.

How inexpensive? How does $200 to $400 sound? I thought you might like that.

Here’s how it works: Go to the Sweb Apps site and you will then go to a page with a virtual iPhone. Then you pick how many buttons you want your app to have – 4, 6, or 8, and decide if you want a custom look or would rather use a preset template. Then all you will do is drag over the parts of your site that you want on the app. It could be

• Content, blogs, and podcasts, etc.
• Your store – allowing anyone to purchase products through the app
• Maps and contact info
• YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter buttons
• Plenty more

When you are done, simply check out and Sweb Apps will post your new app on iTunes. It is a very easy way to create an app, allowing you another way to stay in front of your customers. Highly recommended.

Now, on the other hand, if what you want is an app that is more than a mini-version of your site, then the steps would be these:

1. Have a good idea: As with any business venture, you don’t want to sink a lot of time and money into a mediocre idea. Your app idea has to be something that people need or want and serves a market need.

There are 75,000 apps out there. You better have a good idea.

2. Analyze the idea: Who is going to use it? Why would they want it? Will they pay for it? What should it look like? What would be on the first screen? What would be on subsequent screens? This analysis will help when you get to the next step, namely

3. Hire a developer/designer/programmer: Of course you want someone with experience designing mobile apps. Expect to pay plus or minus $10,000 and expect it to take at least a month. Check out Craigslist, Guru.com, and eLance.

4. Submit the app to iTunes: this is something your developer should help with as it actually is a fairly technical process.

5. Market your app: Again, it helps to think of your app like a business. Just as you must market your business, so must you market your app. Get people in your industry interested in it – give it to them even. Get industry writers to write about it. Have a Facebook connection be part of the app so people can share it through social media.

Is this a great time to be in business or what? There are so many cool tools available. Who woulda thunk that, a dozen years ago when we named this column Ask an Expert, that expertise would someday need to extend to how to create a software program to grow your business on a phone that doubles as a Web browser?

Today’s Tip: Continuing in my series of great business books I have come across recently:

At the airport not long ago I saw Magic Johnson’s business book 32 Ways to be a Champion in Business (Magic was No. 32.) I was intrigued for two reasons: First, no one loved those Laker teams more than me (but no longer!) and second, and more importantly, Magic has become an entrepreneur and I was interested in his what he had learned.

First, what this book is not: It is not some celebrity cashing in and offering pabulum. This is an excellent, substantive, interesting, well-written, engaging book. Whether it’s his lessons from his successes (like teaming with Starbucks) or failures (a sporting goods store that failed) Magic truly has learned what it takes to be a great entrepreneur. The stories are interesting and the lessons are very relevant. Steve says check it out.

But dealing with errant emails is only one of many issues that arise in the course of doing business electronically. As such, here is my Business E-mail Bill of Rights.

1. You have the right to read email written in proper English. Somewhere along the way, as business has become less formal, quicker, and more personal, the idea that there is a proper form to business communication has become somewhat lost.

E-mail is not texting. E-mail is not talking. E-mail has largely taken the place of the written letter and should be treated as such. This means that it needs to be formatted properly, contain salutations and closings, and has whole sentences.

Of course this rule is inapplicable for long threads going back and forth, or when communicating with close associates, but I am nevertheless reminded of that old radio commercial – “people will judge you by the words you use.” If you want to be taken seriously, especially by people who don’t know you, then write like someone who deserves to be taken seriously.

2. You have the right to read emails that are grammatically correct. By the same token, you should expect to receive emails that contain the proper use of grammar and punctuation, sans misspellings.

Go ahead, call me old-fashioned; that’s OK.

3. You have the right to a complete, prompt response. If you request information, you should expect an answer, and that answer should come, as we say in the law, within a reasonable amount of time. “Reasonable” of course depends upon the circumstances. Failure to respond, either on time or with a reasonable response, is unprofessional, disrespectful, and just plain rude.

4. You have the right to take your time before responding: E-mail is an immediate medium, but that does not always lend itself to good business practices. Yes, they have a right to a prompt response, but that response could also be, “Thanks for your email. We will be getting back to you on this in a few days.”

5. You have the right to re-read emails before you send them: I’ll say it again – people judge you by the words you use. If your emails are sloppy, poorly written, full of misspellings, or otherwise contain mistakes, it can and will hurt business. Stop. Re-read. Re-write.

Writing is re-writing.

6. You have the right to make the subject line relevant: Often overlooked, the subject line sets the tone and context for the communication. A good one might get your email read and a bad one can land it in the junk, spam, or deleted folder.

7. You have the right to be a mensch. If someone sends you an email by mistake, don’t read it, delete it. Resist the temptation to pass on the chain letter. DON”T YELL.

8. You have the right to not have to decipher abbreviations and emoticons. Again, context is of course relevant as communications with close associates is different than email with others, but that said, if someone is happy to talk to me later, I don’t need to spend time figuring out that is what they mean by TTYL . What am I, 12?

9. You have a reasonable right to privacy: No, you don’t have a complete right as that is unrealistic, but with the proper disclaimer and a good relationship, expecting confidential email communications to remain private is not unreasonable. But don’t be surprised if it gets out.

10. You have the right not to make a fool out of yourself. Slow down there, cowboy. Take a breath. Think and read twice before hitting send. Remember that nuance and email are mutually exclusive.

By being deliberate, you will live to e-mail another day.

Today’s Tip: If you put on events, functions, meetings, seminars and the like, you will be interested in a new service being offered by Constant Contact.

Called “Event Marketing,” this new online service helps small businesses and organizations professionally promote and manage their events. Event Marketing helps users through a quick and easy process that captures the details of an event and then automatically populates customizable templates for invitations, an event homepage, a registration page, and confirmation emails. It will even send the invitations and collect registration and payment information. Steve says check it out.

© 2010, Steve Strauss, www.MrAllBiz.com

Huh?

Think about any great recipe that you like. Why do you use it? I bet the reasons are essentially two-fold. First, you like the result, that is, the tasty food. Second, you probably like it because you can count on it – you get the same basic results time and again.

Well, the same should be true in your business. To succeed long-term, you need a success recipe that you can turn to which consistently cooks up new customers.

When I first started my law practice, I tried a lot of ways to generate business, and finally settled on putting on legal seminars for the public every other month or so. I learned that whenever I put on one of these free seminars I would create enough new business to keep me busy for the next few months. After some trial and error, I had figured out a way to make money consistently. I had figured out my recipe for making my “dough” (I know – groan!)

That is what you have to do. Your recipe could be almost anything:

• An ad that consistently pulls
• A sale
• A viable social networking presence
• A weekly e-newsletter
• A killer e-commerce site

The important thing is that you try out various ideas and find one that works, again and again. Creating a great recipe will give you a sense of calm, knowing that you can always count on this recipe to keep you in business.

And then, down the road, if you really want to succeed, what you will do is create yet another great recipe, or two or three, and here is why: When an investor invests in the stock market, he or she knows not to buy only one stock or sector. That sector or stock may go up, but it also may go down. By diversifying their portfolio, investors create a hedge against failure.

Great businesses, large and small, do the same thing. Take Apple for example. No, they are not the biggest computer maker out there, but they are vibrant for many reasons, including the fact that they have created some additional great recipes: Computers begat laptops which begat the iPod, iTunes, and the iPhone (among others.) By creating additional recipes – additional profit centers in music and telecommunications in additional to computers – Apple continues to be a growth leader.

The best small businesses do the same thing. To be a long-term success, you need to add more profit centers. Here’s how:

1. Make a big list of additional ways to make money or create customers that is a natural outgrowth of what you already do. It should not be too much of a stretch.
2. Winnow the list down, and then go over it with some people’s whose judgment you trust. You are looking for the best two or three ways to create additional revenue.
3. Again, it could be almost anything – a new product, a new location, an additional service, whatever.
4. Test the ideas out and see which one has the greatest potential.
5. Roll it out.

The important thing is that you test and find new profit centers that make you money consistently while reinforcing your brand. Avoid being like those restaurants that advertise “Chinese and American food.” Well, which is it? A great recipe makes logical, intuitive sense.

And they should also yield some yummy results.

Today’s tip: I am sent plenty of business books and read a lot of them. Over the next few weeks, I would like to share in this space some of the best that I have come across recently.

To start, for a couple of reasons, I highly recommend the newest edition of Barbara Winter’s classic, Making a Living Without a Job. This great book shows anyone how they too can become “joyfully jobless.” In a different life, when I was the unhappiest lawyer in the land working for the big firm, this book helped me plan my escape. It changed my life, and it can change yours.

In the years since, Barbara Winter has become my friend and I was privileged enough to be asked to write the Forward to the new edition. Steve says check it out!

© 2010 Steven D. Strauss, http://www.MrAllBiz.com

Web-Based Software Enables Businesses to Conduct Critical Office Functions From Any Location, and At Any Time

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC (July 14, 2009) – Smart Online, Inc. (SOLN.OB, http://www.smartonline.com), a leading provider of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications for the small business market, today announced the release of OneBiz 1.1, a suite of web-based business management tools designed for small business owners to operate and grow their businesses.

Included in the release of 1.1 are simple and secure accounting tools for the management of bookkeeping, banking, invoicing and other accounting functions; calendar and contact management applications for scheduling and tracking appointments and meetings; sales and customer response management tools that simplify the overall CRM process; and centralized human resources functions including management of employee records, policy management, tax documentation and other employee information.  Additionally, the suite was developed to support future 2.0 initiatives such as blogging and B2B social networking.

“With the release of OneBiz 1.1, small companies now have access to the same business management tools as big companies, but at a much lower cost.  However, Smart Online’s customers do not incur the additional expense of an IT department since the integration of the program’s various software components and all updates are handled entirely by Smart Online in a secure operating environment,” said CJ Meese, Smart Online’s CEO and President. “We believe our OneBiz option will allow companies to accelerate the process required to optimize the management of their business at a low cost – A proven formula for success.”

About Smart Online

Smart Online, Inc. (OTCBB: SOLN) is a Research Triangle Park, NC-based software developer of OneBiz, a suite of best of breed applications for SOHO and small businesses to streamline business processes, reduce operating costs, and improve internal controls.  Delivered securely via the Web, the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications let small businesses more efficiently start, manage and grow their businesses. To learn more, please visit http://www.smartonline.com and http://www.onebiz.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this press release that are “forward-looking statements” are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties.  Actual results could differ materially because of many factors, including, but not limited to, delays in development schedules, changes in market conditions, product announcements by other companies, the potential impact of current litigation or any future litigation, customer perception of the value of Smart Online’s enhanced products, Smart Online’s dependence on corporate partners to market its products, and its ability to effectively manage expenses.  For further information regarding risks and uncertainties associated with Smart Online’s business, please refer to the Risk Factors section of Smart Online’s SEC filings, including, but not limited to, its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008 and the Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, copies of which may be obtained on the web sites of both the Company and the Securities and Exchange Commission.  All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to Smart Online on the date hereof.  Smart Online undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statement or to conform the statement to actual results or changes in Smart Online’s expectations.

Smart Online, the Smart Online logo and OneBiz are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Smart Online Inc. in the United States. Other marks belong to their respective owners.

Media Contact:
Ronn Torossian
5W Public Relations for Smart Online
212-999-5585
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

There are any number of small steps any small businesses can take to help reduce their carbon footprint. Here are some of my favorites:

Change your light bulbs. By simply replacing your standard bulbs with compact fluorescent (CF) bulbs (the squiggly ones), you can reduce your power bill significantly. Added bonus: The new bulbs also provide better color and flicker less.

Use Energy Star equipment. Energy Star certification means that the appliance or product you are buying and using is green, highly energy efficient, and can save you money.

Choose an all-in-one printer. By using an all-in-one printer that offers two-sided printing (also called duplex printing) you can easily and immediately reduce your paper consumption, and costs, in half.

For example, Brother (a company I have done some work with) has a cool printer (the MFC-9840) that automatically allows you to print on both sides of the paper, is super fast, and is Energy Star-certified. I love that printer.

Use timers and motion sensors. Lights are often left on in conference rooms and other offices when they are not in use. By installing occupancy sensors, you will be assured that your office energy use will be efficient and not wasteful. It will save you money.

Similarly, electronic equipment like computers and monitors are usually not turned off when not in use. To remedy this, put a timer on that power strip.

Reuse and recycle. Boxes, packaging, paper, and office folders can easily be re-used. And, if you don’t reuse them, then at least have recycling bins handy so people can recycle them.

Buy recycled office supplies. Paper, pads, sticky notes, file folders, and even ink and toner cartridges can be purchased in recyclable versions, and often at the same price as similar “regular” items.  Indeed, many recycled paper products are now roughly the same price as conventional paper due to increased demand and better production operations.

Use green power. Many local utilities offer customers renewable power from green sources such as wind farms. Often, there are local incentives for using such sustainable energy supplies, and the new stimulus law also includes federal tax incentives for alternative energy use. Similarly, there are all sorts of breaks for investing in green tools like solar panels.

As with many of these ideas, while in the short run these things may seem like an expense, over the long term, such changes don’t cost, they pay.

Let people know what you are doing. Lots of consumers are making purchasing choices these days based upon how green a company is. So be sure to make note of what you are doing, what changes you have instituted, and then be sure to get the word out to the local media and your customers. Many customers will reward your efforts with increased loyalty.

On this Earth Day, remember that going green is your classic win-win: Not only does it help the environment, but it also can significantly lower your operating expenses. Who would thunk that going green actually saves green?

Today’s Tip: One final idea: Be sure to get your employees involved. No doubt, many will have ideas of their own for how you can do even more in the greening of your business.  Involving motivated employees will allow them to participate in a cause they believe in while also helping the planet, and your business.

Jerry

A:  While it is no surprise that cash flow is a huge issue for almost any business that fails, and that businesses that do well are usually awash in ready cash, it is surprising to me just how few small businesses make ready and steady cash flow a priority.

The fact is, cash flow is the oxygen of your business. It allows you to breathe, and the lack of it strangles your business. Cash flow allows you to make decisions based on smarts, not fear. It helps you build good credit. Ample cash flow means bills paid on time, easy payroll, and better sleep.

Increasing your cash flow then is a good and smart New Year’s business resolution. Here are a few ways to do it:

Get paid: Far too many small businesses allow unpaid invoices to accumulate and grow old, waiting (or hoping) that they will get paid someday or some way. Buck up! If you have outstanding invoices, call them in. And once you become current, adopt a new policy and let all of your clients know about it: All invoices are due upon receipt, and invoices that are unpaid within 30 days will incur a penalty, and interest. This is an easy way to increase your cash flow.

Avoid deadbeat customers: It may also behoove you to tighten your credit policy in order to weed out customers who do not pay, or pay late.

Have a recurring sale: There are many reasons to have a sale – to get people in the door, get noticed, to get rid of excess inventory, and yes, to increase cash flow. Sales work. As sales increase traffic, they therefore up your cash flow.

Partner-up: There are essentially three ways to increase cash flow:

1. Make more money
2. Decrease overhead
3. Borrow

By finding compatible businesses to enter into joint venture projects with, you simultaneously make more money while also spending less. That’s a win-win.

Reduce other overhead:  Review your insurance policies, phone plans, and health care plans, especially if you have not done so recently. Finding fat here can really lower the bottom line and increase ready capital. Maybe less expensive digs even makes sense.

Get a line of credit: There is nothing wrong with borrowing the cash you need to run your business smoothly; large businesses make it a regular practice. The secret is to not borrow too much and to have a plan to pay it back on time, in full, and soon (if so required).

Increase your fees or prices: Sure, you may lose a few customers, but remember, people make their decisions regarding where to buy and who to hire based upon a lot more than price alone. Increased prices means more money, usually.

Cut labor costs: If you can legitimately have an employee become an independent contractor, and it does not hurt your business and the employee likes the idea, you may save a lot.

Get rid of extra inventory: A sale is one way to make quick cash by ridding your business of inventory that does not sell. It also frees up valuable space for products that can sell better.

Another way to get rid of excess inventory is to simply ask the distributor from whom you bought the product to buy it all back. While they will charge you an administrative fee to do so, it frees up capital and space.

Use the 80/20 Rule: The 80/20 Rule states that 80% of your profit comes from 20% of your products (or in the case of a service business, efforts). Crunch some numbers and figure out which of your efforts and products are the most productive and profitable, and then focus more on those. By the same token, figure out, too, which are the dogs, and send them to the pound.

Having enough money to run your business comfortably makes everything run more smoothly, and some simple changes should do that.

Today’s tip:  Some of the suggestions in today’s column come from the very useful book, The Small Business Book of Lists, edited by Gene Marks, and which I contributed to as well. The book is full of thousands of other great ideas.

© 2009 Steven D. Strauss, http://www.MrAllBiz.com

To better answer your question, I sat down recently with Jordan Colletta, the Vice President of e-commerce marketing for UPS. As we all know, UPS is a worldwide leader in shipping, but what I didn’t know but learned after speaking with Colletta, is just how much UPS does for a small business (via online tools, services, etc.). Says Colletta, “if we make it easier for a small business to grow, then as their business grows, so does ours. It’s a win-win.”

According to Colleta, this is the “best time ever” to take your small business global, for a few reasons:

• The weak U.S. dollar means that international customers have greater buying power.
• Rapidly growing economies like those in China and India offer vast, open, potentially lucrative markets.
• There is a great demand abroad for U.S. products.

The key to tapping into this success, says Colletta, is your willingness to go outside your comfort zone. We are all used to doing business a normal way and its simply a fact that to go international will require that you adopt some new strategies and procedures.

So, what are the actual steps for selling your products abroad? It is a 4-step process.

1. Review your options:  Begin by looking at your product line and consider which items you offer that seem to have the best international appeal. Do your homework, see what sells, and see what prices such items bring in overseas markets. You need to also consider how these items will look on your website.

2. Consider your markets:  Some markets may be easier for you to tap than others, for example, having relatives in Ireland may open some doors for you. The important thing is that you match your product with the right country or countries, and in that sense, this is not much different than what you do already – figuring out what will sell best where.

3. Overcome obstacles:  The most common obstacles for the small business desiring to go global are these:

• Navigating regulations, taxes, and duties: Especially in this post-9/11 world, there are no shortage of hoops that an international shipper must jump through. One place to start to familiarize yourself is the U.S. government export portal, Export.gov.
• Another place to look is to your shipping company. According to Colletta, a good shipper will make this part of the puzzle simple by handling as many of the details as possible. Sending the actual shipments: The right shipping partner is critical as it will be the conduit between your business and your international customer.

Create your process:  What language will you do business in? What will you do when an order comes in? What currency or currencies will you accept? How will you communicate with the buyer, who will pack the package, how will you communicate with the shipper, who pays what costs, and who is responsible for shipping it? How will you handle returns? (Again, a good shipping partner should make this process easier.)

There are all sorts of reasons to consider taking your business global, but maybe the best one is this: Even though here at home small businesses are having a tough time, things are not the same abroad. Abroad you can tap into booming economies and consumers eager to buy American products.

Or, in other words, maybe it is time to go for the gold!

Today’s tip:  You can also get some free help from your local U.S. Trade office. You can find yours here, or by calling 1-800-USA TRAD(E).

© 2009 Steven D. Strauss, http://www.MrAllBiz.com

OK, I think I have run out of superlatives, but you get the idea.
Starting and succeeding internationally, while much easier than ever before, nevertheless poses a variety of challenges you will not face here at home.
Begin with just the cultural differences. Needless to say, business is conducted differently in different parts of the world. Customs that we take for granted may be entirely missing in the region where you may want to do business, and vice versa. Things they find vital may be unknown to you, and not knowing may be the difference between deal or no deal.
So you have to begin by learning more about business in your desired country.
• There are plenty of websites that offer international travelers tips on doing business in different countries and regions. Start there. It cannot be stressed enough how even the slightest misunderstanding can have severe ramifications that could torpedo any possible deal.
• Speak with anyone you know from a host country where you plan on doing business and get their take. That is the sort of “insider info” that can not only warn you of any potential landmines, but similarly, let you know what will play and what to expect.
Next, once you know what is expected of you, you have to get your website ready for international sales. Surf to other websites that are selling internationally and see what they offer, how they do business, and what practices you may need to adopt.
Questions to consider are:
• Do you need to have your site in more than one language? And if so, what do you need to consider as you translate your offerings for an international audience?
• What sorts of terms do you need to consider for international transactions? Will your sales be in dollars, and does the country in question even conduct business in dollars? If you are going to accept international currency, you have to have a merchant solution that accepts that kind of currency, and you better be sure that the conversion rate works out for you.
Next, you need customers. Finding them is always an issue, no matter where you do business.
A good place to start is with online advertising, and if you are going to be relying on your website to generate leads, then you also have to figure out where people in the new country go to search for information. Although search ads are not the only way to generate leads, they are a main one, and different regions rely on different search engines. Google, Yahoo, and MSN are not the only games in town. Many countries have home-grown solutions that you need to discover.
Once you have your site ready and get people to visit, and once they start to buy, then the question is: How do you ship internationally, what sorts of regulations do you need to be aware of, and what other major considerations should you consider?
To answer that, tune in next week!

© 2009 Steven D. Strauss, http://www.MrAllBiz.com

Answer: Good negotiation skills are vital to small business people because it is something we use every day. Whether it is asking a vendor to lower a price or getting a potential customer to sign on the ‘ol dotted line, negotiations are part and parcel of small business life.

Indeed, as my brother Larry is wont to say, ‘everything is negotiable’

No, I doubt you need a lawyer to do your negotiating; not only might that be cost-prohibitive, but it would take some of the fun out of the game. If you do not see negotiating as a game, then pull up a chair for Lesson One: Don’t take it too seriously, and most certainly, don’t take it personally. It is just a game.

The first step then in any negotiation occurs ahead of the game: Decide what tack you will want to take. It is conventional wisdom that one should strive for a win-win outcome. In a win-win, you try and get as much of what you want while also trying to help the other guy get what he wants (or at least needs.)

But as is often is the case with the conventional wisdom, it is not always right. Now, I am not saying that win-win negotiations and results are not good things, in the right circumstances, they are great. But not always.

If you have extra leverage, if you are uber-competitive, if singing Kumbaya together is not your style, then don’t worry about the win-win - go for it. Just know that tough win-lose negotiations often leave a bad taste in people’s mouth that does not go away quickly.

OK, so once you have decided upon your strategy, then it is time to think about your tactics:

Use questions to obtain undisclosed information: When you wander onto a car lot, what is the first thing the car salesman does? He asks a series of seemingly mundane questions such as: What are you looking for and how much would you like to spend? Far from being humdrum, questions actually help the salesman craft his pitch to you.

It’s a tactic any of us can use. Not only does it make you seem interested and cooperative, but it also often fosters the disclosure of useful information.

Try to avoid making the first offer: While this is negotiating 101, it is still worth remembering. And if forced to make the first offer, be outrageous: ‘Well, if you really want me to tell you how much I want to make, I guess $50 an hour would be great!’

What motivates you? If you are like most self-employed people, it is probably the idea of creating something from scratch, being your own boss, having freedom, and the opportunity to make as much money as your wits allow. Not so your employee. What motivates him or her? Certainly there is not the internal, psychological self-motivation and willingness to take a risk that comes with being an entrepreneur. Instead, employees are usually motivated by more external stimuli – wanting to get a raise, job security, good benefits, that sort of thing.

But although they may not have the same psychological factors driving them that drive you, in many important ways, they are not so different – they also want what you want in several respects: The satisfaction of knowing they did a good job and that it was appreciated. The key then to motivating the unmotivated is to figure out what they want from work and dangle that in front of them.

Money Motivators: It is no surprise that money motivates almost everyone, employer and employee alike. Indeed, according to Michael LeBoeuf, author of The Greatest Management Principle in the World, the No. 1 work-related reward is money. Your challenge is to use the money motivator in ways that get the desired result. For instance, the time-honored tradition of giving bonuses for a job well done is in fact time-honored for a reason: It works. Similarly, the chance to get a raise if certain goals are met works well too. A promotion combined with a raise is one of the best motivators of all.

Taken one step further, top businesses find that offering employees the chance to get an ownership share in the business is a very strong motivator; having a stake in the business turns an employee into an owner and an entrepreneur. Does this mean you will have to give up some ownership shares? Yes. Does it also mean that it may transform your workplace in amazing ways you can’t even imagine? Yes again.

Other Motivators: People work for a variety of reasons; money is just one of them. Therefore, motivating without money is possible if you tap into these other reasons.

Studies consistently show that, almost more than anything else, workers greatly appreciate being recognized for a job well done, and knowing they can get that recognition motivates them to work harder and better. Giving them credit could be as simple as a letter home to the family saying how valuable the employee is or publishing compliments from customers in your newsletter.

Employees are also motivated by getting to work how and when they want. Consider flex time, telecommuting, or job-sharing as options to offer employees who reach certain desired performance benchmarks. Not only will they love you for that, but it will make your workplace a more family-friendly spot, which also can help with recruitment. Great policies cost you very little, but can create much.

Of course, everyone likes freebies. Gift certificates, dinners out, tickets to the game, or a free massage might be the right motivator. Maybe every employee could get a paid day off on their birthday.

Creating a great place to work, a place where people feel like they belong and are valued can be even more motivating than dangling some sort of carrot in front of them. And so, along those lines, one last way to motivate people is simply to listen. One small business I know of offers gift certificates to employees whose suggestions are implemented. Another enters all employees who participated in the employee suggestion program into a yearly drawing for prizes and money.

Be creative. Take suggestions. Motivating and rewarding staff is easier when they like where they work. Even a few small changes can reap remarkable results.

Today’s Tip: According to LeBoeuf, the other top motivators for employees are:

• Recognition
• Time off
• Getting to do work they love
• Freedom
• Personal Growth

© 2009 Steven D. Strauss, http://www.MrAllBiz.com

No, you are not going to strike literal oil; those days are over. But figurative oil, why not? Think about Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin? Do you think they feel as if they struck oil? You bet. Richard Branson took The Virgin Group from a one-man band to a worldwide conglomerate, and you can bet he feels like he struck oil, too.

In fact, every company on the New York Stock Exchange or the NASDAQ started out as a small business. If they did it, so can you.

How? There is no one single answer. Different companies use different methods. Here are some of the best ways to go from small to big.

Find a great partner: Chester Carlson invented his copying machine at home but could not sell it – to anyone. A man named Joe Wilson eventually saw the machine and teamed up with Carlson. Wilson’s company eventually put more than $100 million into R&D, and then renamed the business – from Haloid to Xerox.

When you work alone, as many small business folk do, or even if yours is a company of, say, eight people or so, there is only so much you can do by yourself. Your institutional knowledge is limited to what it is you do, your reach is similarly limited to your normal channels, and of course your resources are limited. In those cases, growth, while a laudable goal, is often one that can also understandably be out of reach. So what do you do?

Find a partner, that’s what. Partners can bring your business to a whole new level. They have contacts you do not and resources different than yours. They also will have ideas that are new to you and offer unique ways to implement those ideas. The key then is to find strategic partners who offer some synergy: They need what you do and you need what they do. Together, what you can accomplish can be more than what you can do alone.

Be first to market: Ed Lowe owned a small factory that made a kiln-dried clay that was supposed to be an industrial absorbent. But it was only when his neighbor came by one day and asked to use some for her cat that Kitty Litter was born. Being first to market also helps you go from small to big.

Innovate: Bette Naismith was a terrible typist, but a good painter. That is why she would bring small tubes of paint to the bank where she worked to cover up her typos. Playing with various formulas, she eventually invented Liquid Paper at home, on her kitchen table.

Creating a new product or a way of doing things is a tried and true way to grow from small to big. Innovation gives companies what is known as the “first mover’s advantage,” and that in turn allows them to own a new market.

Be unique: If you want to take your business to the next level then one thing you should concentrate more energy on is your X Factor, that is, that one special thing sets you apart and makes you stand out from the crowd.

Think about the businesses you like best. Don’t they so something special, unique, different, something out of the ordinary? That is their X factor. Figuring out what your X factor is, and then putting extra effort into it, can go a long way to taking you from small to big.

So the upshot is that there are lots of ways to go from small to big, companies do it all the time. The real trick is to pick a strategy that fits your business and your business plan, one with integrity. Do that, and your growth chances are much better.

Today’s tip: One last thought: Plan Big. Notice I didn’t say “Think Big.” Most entrepreneurs have no problem thinking big. But what growth companies do is plan big. They create a team, figure out their X Factor, find strategic partners, come up with a plan, and execute on those big ideas. That is how you go from small to big.

© 2009 Steven D. Strauss, http://www.MrAllBiz.com

Let me give you an example:

We have all heard about R.O.I. – Return on Investment. It’s a useful way to analyze whether you are receiving sufficient bang for your buck for your efforts.

But have you ever considered your R.O.O. – your Return on Organization?

Look, we all know that main two pain points for most small businesses are not enough time and not enough money. This is even truer in light of the current economic environment. But what if I told you there was a simple, affordable way to get more of both? After all, as we all know, time is money.

I have been doing some work with Office Depot recently in order to help small business owners understand how, with just a few smart changes, they can increase their ROO, and how that can have a significant impact on the bottom line. In fact, it is estimated that increased ROO can yield up to an extra two hours of productive time a week and up to an additional 6% of revenue.

How? Well, think about it. It costs five times more to create a new customer than it does to keep a current one. The whole idea is that with some extra time you can take better care of your best customers. No, 20 minutes a day may not seem like much, but what if you used those 20 minutes a day to their maximum effectiveness? You could check in with customers, make some sales calls, send out some ‘checking-in’ emails . . . that sort of thing.

It all adds up.

Being more organized means having more time to be more effective and make more money. It’s as simple, and as important, as that.

So here are a few examples of some things you can do to increase your ROO:

Get your office or workspace organized: No matter what kind of business you are running, having the right work environment saves you time and money every day.

Incorporate a filing system that actually makes sense for your business. Always have Post-Its on hand so you are ready for your next brainstorm. Whatever it is, make sure you have you need to be organized.

The right tools can make a big difference.

Make sure you are sufficiently mobile. What business are you in? No matter the answer, let me suggest that you are in the service business, especially in this economy. You simply have to offer exemplary customer service right now.

And one of the best ways to do that is by taking advantage of mobility computing so you can respond to customer needs wherever you happen to be. Notebooks are the best-selling computers right now for a reason; make sure you have a good one.

What about your Blackberry or Smartphone – is it helping you help them? It better! And, there are a lot of apps to choose from to make you more efficient and that help you use your time better.

These types of tools will ensure you’re always able to meet and exceed customer needs, regardless of where you are.

Own your software, and don’t let it own you: It’s amazing how often small business owners buy the best software to help them with their business, but fail to take the extra time necessary to fully learn how to use it, when doing so can save them a lot of time down the road.

Software manufacturers spend enormous amounts of time and money learning about small business and they use that to make programs to help us succeed. Take advantage of that. Learn how to really use your software.

The important thing to see is that there are savvy ways to get ahead right now that do not require spending heaps of money. Being more organized in all areas of your business will increase your ROO, and that will yield some powerful results and rewards.

Today’s Tip: According to SCORE, here are two important things to keep in mind regarding customer referrals:

• If a customer compliments your work, ask them for a written testimonial to put in your marketing materials.
• Always follow up a referral with a thank-you to the referrer. Also consider sending the referrer a coupon or other discount.

© 2009 Steven D. Strauss, http://www.MrAllBiz.com

You may think that you need new computers to better handle your increasingly mobile workforce for instance, and that is a good answer. But I would like to suggest that it also may be short-sighted.

Businesses use IT for two different things. The first is internal – your computer system must integrate and facilitate the communications between your employees and teams. Secondly, externally, your system needs to help you market and sell your business and assist your communications with customers.

That means you may need a system and software more powerful than you may realize.

What you probably want are PCs and servers that are optimized for small business, that offer “always on” connectivity, that maintain top performance, possibly even VoIP, and something that will allow you to have a robust Internet presence.

Which begs the initial question: How can you afford to get what you need, and maybe what you want as well?

Here are a few ideas:

1. Consider an upgrade or tune up: If money is really tight, you can extend the life of your current system for a few hundred dollars or less.

2. Buy more memory: Along the lines of #1, increased hard drive capacity, either internal or as an external hard drive, can help speed up and un-clutter almost any system.

3. Go green: If purchasing a new system, buying one that is highly energy efficient can save you substantial sums on your energy bill. Flat screen monitors, Energy Star systems, and so on will help you, as well as the rest of us.

4. Lease: This is my favorite cost-savings idea. It came from a chat I recently had with Steve Schuckenbrock, the Chief Information Officer at Dell. Schuckenbrock explained that since most small businesses only keep a computer system for three to four years, leasing can be an affordable, smart alternative to what could be a major expenditure of capital.

Moreover, not only can you finance the hardware, but you can also finance software and services, thus a system and strategy that works both internally and externally can fall within the budget.

Schuckenbrock explained that there were other benefits to leasing your computer system:

 
• It stretches your IT dollar further. For instance, $5,000 could net you about three computers on a purchase, but nine if you lease.
 
• Leasing is flexible: You can lease for 24, 36, or 48 months, and at the end of the term options range from a buy out to a return to getting a whole new system.
 
• It keeps you up-to-date: There are few things more frustrating than having a fairly new computer that nevertheless lacks the capacity to run the latest Big Thing. Leasing avoids that unenviable position.
 
• You are always under warranty: Service contracts come with most leases.

Here’s an example: Davis & Wilkerson is an Austin, Texas based law firm that recently leased 50 desktops. According to Mary Smith, the operations manager at the firm, “We are able to maintain a competitive edge by having the most up-to-date technology.” Moreover, she says that leasing allows them to “add systems to the lease as new attorneys join the firm.”

Bottom line: Making the right IT choice has never been more important. Make it a smart one.

Today’s Tip: Side note: One of the things that really impressed me after conversing with Dell’s Chief Information Officer was the company’s clear passion for small business. Whether it is because it began in Michael Dell’s dorm room or because we are a major piece of Dell’s business, that they are committed to helping us succeed is clear.