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Top 5 Microbusiness Opportunities for 2012
Jan 7th
Believe it or not, the economy is slowly getting better. I’ll grant you, the last two calendar quarters for which we have numbers (2nd and 3rd quarters, 2011) have seen pretty sluggish growth but it was growth nonetheless.
Meanwhile, the NFIB reports two consecutive months of improved (if still pretty low) Small Business Optimism Indices, the National Association of Home Builders notes a positive trend in multifamily housing construction that bodes well for the near future, and the National Retail Federation tracked better-than-expected consumer spending during the holiday shopping season (see below).
It is during times like this that the world seems wide open to the would-be business owner who is paying attention and has the kind of vision that can see next year’s opportunities embedded in this year’s chaos. The trick is to find the opportunities that are not going to turn into bandwagons for everybody to jump onto by February.
So, in case you’re having trouble kick-starting your own version of vision, here are a few of the kinds of ideas you probably won’t find in everybody’s tweets and headlines and blog posts to get your creative juices flowing:
Indie Skill Builder (Coach) and other labor-market related consulting gigs: If you caught the brief exchange between myself and Emergent’s Steve King in last month’s Research Roundup, you’ll know that we’re probably in the midst of a labor market shift that is will leave us with a 50-50 split between the traditionally employed and the “contingent workforce” — composed of temps, part timers and freelancers/independent contractors.
But being a freelancer requires a certain very specific skill set that is quite different from the skill set needed by the traditional employee. Enter a new set of business coaches to fill that gap, particularly for those unfortunate college grads who are not finding employment in the traditional zone. Plenty of work, with this shift taking at least a decade to get where it’s going.
Inventive Inventions and Innovations: While everybody speculates on the future of Facebook and plays with the ever-expanding features of their smart phones, there’s a certain kind of anticipation in the wind. Everybody — particularly venture capital investors — is waiting for the Next Big Thing and hoping fervently that they are able to recognize it when they see it. Of course, inventions of the sort that we’re talking here — stuff like Velcro, Spandex and Teflon — require certain technical skills but if you have those, you’re golden.
Are you thinking I’m kidding with my examples? I’m not. Take a look around your house and see how many examples you find of one, two or all three substances in the things you own. The investors of those homely substances have made a bucket of money in a decidedly low-tech way. (While you’re at it, consider the investor of the humble Post-It note.) This is not an “easy” opportunity; inventions and patents and all that jazz can be a legal minefield full of corporate greed and intrigue. But, for the creative and intrepid, the rewards can be fantastic.
Manufacturing Consultancies (logistics, technology updates, etc.): I would not have expected to see myself writing this under any circumstances but it looks like the manufacturing sector has been showing signs of life for some time now. But, with economic growth continuing to be sluggish, manufacturing plants are going to have to achieve new heights of efficiency if they want to thrive during lean times.
Any service sector firm that can help with that effort — whether they know logistics or work flows or technologies or anything else along these lines — should be able to make a strong case for their services. A bit of salesmanship is going to be needed here — your services won’t just sell themselves in this economy — but the times might allow for the development of a nicely-sized client list that can keep you busy and paying the bills in 2012.
Wholesale Traders: Another surprise in the numbers comes in the form of personal consumption expenditures. The year-end consumer spending season turned out to be better than anticipated — at least by the National Retail Federation, which upped its estimated increase in holiday retail sales from 2.8% to 3.8% just ten days before Christmas Day.
With consumers in a better mood these days while private inventory investment posts discouraging numbers, the writing for a slow and steady release in pent-up demand seems likely to be on the wall. But, in the consumer world, microbusinesses stand to do better in the wholesale end of things rather than having to compete with the Walmarts of the world in the retail space.
High End Personal Services: Occupy Wall Street might lament the Gordon Geckos of the world and the progressives among us might sound alarm bells about income inequality but, in the meantime, it all translates into much largess for the microbusiness owner who can come up with a suite of personal services for them-that’s-got (in the words of the immortal Billie Holiday). The nice thing about this for said microbusiness owner is that it would in this case be a fairly simple matter to design a business around something you genuinely like to do.
If you are a pet masseuse or a people groomer or have the skill to make anything else look or feel good, then you can find ways to market those services to the kind of clients with enough money to pamper themselves, their pets, their palates, their cars, their crabgrass and their contours even in times like these.
There’s enough here to start your creative juices flowing and your enterprising eye looking for your very own niche. Meanwhile, here’s hoping you have a happy, healthy and prosperous new year.
Micro Business Photo via Shutterstock
Top 5 Microbusiness Opportunities for 2012
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
Opportunities In Business System
Dec 14th
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Opportunities In Business System
Great Small Business Opportunities
Jul 24th
Great business opportunities are created not made. No idea is guaranteed to work or guaranteed to make money, but conversely effective execution of any business model will give you a greater opportunity for success. Here at Small Business Trends we’re more about sharing tips to help you make your business a success then trying to help you find the perfect business. And perhaps that’s the real key to a great opportunity anyway. 
Success Stories
You don’t have to be Facebook. Though their business may not have created the same splash as Mark Zuckerberg’s famous social networking juggernaut, siblings Catherine, David and Geoff Cook recently sold their own social Website myYearbook for a respectable $100 million. Not bad for a site that was started for just $250,000 when two of the founders were 15 and 16 years old. WSJ
A little bit of controversy. A bit of controversy, scarcity and Chris Brogan’s personal brand has turned the social media maven’s Webinars into major money makers. But what can we poor mortals learn from all this? Creating a brand around trust and expertise is a great business model with little overhead besides the time involved. Are you a trusted expert? SEOHatch
Tools
The best opportunity. The best opportunity in small business today is not a business model but an inexpensive way for you to get your message to your audience about any product or service you provide. It’s called the social media, of course, and any small business owner can take advantage. Here some tools to make it even more effective. WSJ
Tips
Do you know a business scam when you see it? There are lots of ways to create a vibrant and profitable business online with valuable products and services that delight customers and build your brand. This said, there are also plenty of scams out there. Do you know the difference? An infographic from NowSourcing shows what to watch out for. Better Business Bureau
Etsy international? More than just a Website for crafters, Etsy is a movement with the mission of establishing sustainable businesses all over the world. No greater example exists of the company’s goals than this series of small business summits complete with grants aimed at planting the seeds of small business based on the company’s platform far and wide. Are you an Etsy entrepreneur? WSJ
The value of you! Believe it or not, a great opportunity may not start with a great idea, product or service, it may start with you. What sets you apart, makes you special? If you were a product on a shelf, what would make a customer choose you? Think about what you have that no one else possess and you may have the makings of a great business model. M4B Marketing
Resources
You don’t need much money. You really don’t! In fact, you may be working a day job while trying to launch your business on the side. The first lesson about finding great business opportunities (and avoiding the not so great) is that small businesses come in all sizes and you don’t have to be a success overnight. Figure out what you want to do. Then find a way to do it. That’s the entrepreneurial way. The Frugal Entrepreneur
Listening is half the battle. A great small business learns from customers and does a lot of listening. So why not start with small business listening post all your own. Social media tools provide some great guidance so why not start there. Check out this brief post and watch the video as Fred Caballero teaches you to do a little listening of your own. Channelship
Investment
A whole new way to invest in opportunities. Small businesses are about seizing opportunities, but there may be another opportunity that separates successful from unsuccessful businesses in the marketplace. How effectively are you managing financials. Yes, you want to run a tight ship, especially in the early days. But can you afford not to keep an eye on the book? CFO Wise
Great Small Business Opportunities
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
Hunting Off-Site Promotional Opportunities for Your Brand
Jul 21st
You’re working your butt off on your site and in your business. You’re blogging, you’re building a community by establishing expertise and you’re maintaining a dynamic Web site that users want to engage with. But to complement what you’re doing on-site and in your own community, it’ time to take it off-site and start using the power of other people’s communities to help grow your own.
Below are some ways that any small business owner can attract attention, links and press by taking advantage of off-site promotional opportunities. Which ones are you already doing?
1. Sit for Interviews
As a small business owner, interviews are a great way to establish authority and introduce people to your product or service. By setting up a simple Google Alert (Remember, I love Google Alerts) it can help you stay abreast of important industry topics and conversations. Once you’re in on the conversation, you can make yourself available to local media outlets, respected industry bloggers or online publications as a source/expert for the story. Doing this not only helps you earn links and attention from that specific story, but you begin to build awareness of your company, while also establishing important industry contacts. If you haven’t created a Blogger List of people you want to connect with, you should. This can be a really valuable document to help you organize your outreach efforts.
2. Traditional Press Releases
Or, instead of commenting on the news, why not create it? Press releases are a great way to promote your brand and earn word of mouth, especially if you choose to use a service like PR Web. When is it appropriate to issue a press release about your company?
- When you’ve launched or redesigned your Web site.
- When you’ve been accepted to speak at local conference or chamber event.
- When you’re company is celebrating a milestone like 10 years in business, doubling your year-over-year revenue, signing a noteworthy client, opening up a new store, etc.
- When you release a new product.
- When you announce a new partnership.
- When you participate in a charity event.
And tons, tons more! Issuing press releases about what you’re up to not only helps you build links to your site, but it can get you additional media coverage from reporters who are apt to be watching local press releases looking for something to cover.
3. Write Authoritative Articles
Similar to participating in interviews, finding authoritative sites to guest blog and write authoritative articles for is another great way to promote your brand off-site. By blogging for others it helps you to steal readers and traffic and convert them over to your site. You’re able to show off your knowledge, mingle with a different audience, and take advantage of someone else’s reach. This is also where that Blogger List mentioned above comes into play. You want to have a working list of blogs that you can pitch for guestblogging opportunities. Don’t just pick any old blog though – do your homework, get to know their audience, and make sure you’re writing something that not only helps show off your unique skills, but that truly helps that community you’re writing for.
4. Hold a Contest
Who doesn’t love a contest and the chance to win something? If the fervor over the Small Business Influencer Awards are any indication – the answer is everyone loves a contest! Contests are a great way to build awareness about your brand because they get people excited, tap into user’s competitive spirit, and gives people a chance to associate your brand with something fun. Both Facebook (Contest Rules) and Twitter (Contest Rules) have different rules for holding promotions on their services so you’ll want to familiarize yourself with each before getting started. As a small business owner, you may want to use contests to keep your brand on the top of everyone’s mind and to give away trial offers of services, branded swag, business books that have helped you along the way, etc.
5. Sponsor Events
Or if you don’t have time to hold an event of your own, why not sponsor someone else’s? By sponsoring an event, you may get a link back to your Web site but, even more important, you’ll be able to help potential customers associate your company with a specific cause or topic. For example, if you’re an organic bakery, maybe you want to become a sponsor for an organization that is all about being vegan or living gluten free. Or if you’re a local mechanic, consider sponsoring a high school club that teaches kids automotive skills. Or maybe sponsor something that your company is passionate about, even if it has absolutely nothing to do with your day-to-day job. Seeking out these opportunities is a good way to help build brand karma for your company, while exposing yourself to people who may be interested in finding out more about you.
Those are five great places to start building up off-site promotional opportunities to get your brand in front of a wider audience. What off-site tactics did I miss? What else are you doing?
Hunting Off-Site Promotional Opportunities for Your Brand
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
Home Based Business Opportunities.
Jul 19th
Home Based Business Opportunities.
Home Based Business Opportunities.
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Jul 12th
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Work From Home Opportunities
Jun 26th
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Work From Home Opportunities
Slicing Real Time Search for Trends and Opportunities
May 12th
Slicing Real Time Search for Trends and Opportunities
This content from: Duct Tape Marketing
Marketing podcast with Doug Hubbard (Click to play or right click and “Save As” to download – Subscribe now via iTunes or subscribe via other RSS device (Google Listen)
Real time search data is turning up some very interesting trends and business opportunities for those that know how to measure and analyze the data.
I turned to Doug Hubbard, author of Pulse: The New Science of Harnessing Internet Buzz to Track Threats and Opportunities to talk about this very idea.
Hubbard is the inventor of the powerful Applied Information Economics (AIE) method. He is also the author of How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of Intangibles in Business.
Hubbard shared a basic example of how Google Trends data could accurately predict unemployment rates in real time based on search trends – something that took the Department of Labor months to do.
Pulse has a complementary website (www.pulsethenewscience.com) with links, analysis, examples, and spreadsheets.
Hubbard uses real-world examples to illustrate how:
- A Canadian epidemiologist tracking “flu symptoms” searches on Google is able to track flu outbreaks faster than Canadian health authorities. His success inspired Google’s “Flu Trends” tool.
- Tracking Twitter comments about upcoming movies could reliably predict box office success better than any other method.
- The number of “unemployment” Google searches nationwide tracks very closely to Bureau of Labor Statistics unemployment reports, which releases its data monthly after sampling 60,000 households while Google trends data is available weekly—and for free.
- Tracking Twitter comments produces nearly the same results for consumer confidence and political polls as Gallup polls—except that Twitter results are real time and free.
For more trend resources check out My Trend Radar Points Here.
You can listen to the show by subscribing the feed in iTunes or a variety of other free services such as Google Listen (Use this RSS feed) or you can buy the Duct Tape Marketing iPhone app. (iTunes link – Cost is $2.99) or
View full post on Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing
Want Business Opportunities to Find You? Follow These 4 Steps on LinkedIn
Jan 13th
LinkedIn is a great tool to help you grow your company, find job candidates, attract key employees, even find a buyer for your business. Whatever your objective, LinkedIn can be a remarkably effective tool, yet is misunderstood and underutilized by most CEOs/entrepreneurs I talk with. Like any other tool, it becomes more effective the more you use it. But even a minimal effort with LinkedIn can position you to reap real-world results.
You do not need to know anything about “social media” to use LinkedIn. You do not have to tweet while waiting at the airport or post photos of your board meeting or family vacation. There is no doubt, the more effort you put into this business communication tool, the better results you will get. My objective here is to give you the very basics required so others can identify you as a potential partner, seller, employer, buyer, etc.
LinkedIn is my number-one tool when helping clients identify potential buyers (or sellers) for their company. It is also very effective when trying to identify potential partners for shared revenue deals. If you want these types of opportunities to find you online, here are 4 easy, yet very effective, steps to follow. No time? You can even delegate these to your admin or someone in business development. I’ll create a future post about how to find opportunities using LinkedIn (that requires more effort by you). For now, let’s keep things simple to get you in the game.
As mentioned, the key is to be “findable,” and that will be accomplished when you establish your profile. In our increasingly crowded online world (LinkedIn had 85 million users on 12/15/10) , you are relevant if you have a presence online, and out of touch if you do not. Here are a few simple steps that are almost guaranteed to help a business opportunity find you in the next six to 12 months.
1. Your title
Your title needs to accomplish two things. First, tell others you are the person who can make a decision about acquisition, JV, licensing, etc. Additionally, describe your core service capability.
LinkedIn allows people to search their entire database based on keywords and assigns greater relevance for certain areas of the profile. Your title is one of the most heavily weighted areas on your profile, so use it effectively and you will rank higher in search results for those looking for your service.
So, being the CEO of “a franchise development firm: The Franchise Builders” may sound redundant, but it is a very effective way to improve your rank when anyone is searching for the term franchise. Being the COO at Dimension Solutions does not help searchers looking for a program management company.
In 2010 we completed an acquisition for a client who was selling their company in the “program management” space ($14 million revenue). The acquiring company’s press release stated it was the most important acquisition of their fiscal year. This deal happened because I found their VP of sales while searching LinkedIn’s database.
2. Recommendations
Personal recommendations are not necessary at a C-level and may even work against you. Leave that to your business development people. If you are going to have them, however, be sure to have at least 5 percent of your connections as recommendations until you have over 20. To have 500+ recommendations and only 4 or 5 recommendations does not enhance your profile. (Additional thoughts by Chris Brogan on a good recommendation).
3. Connections
When I find a potential candidate with fewer than 50 connections, I seldom make contact. LinkedIn only has clout with those who recognize its capabilities and engage it as real business tool. If you have fewer than 100 connections, you probably do not use or value this form of interaction, so I’ll move on to others who do.
Christian Faulconer is the CEO of Franchise Foundry, a franchise development and investment firm. They are constantly looking for business ideas that could become the next great national franchise. Since locating him last year, they have signed deals and are developing two new franchise concepts they are very excited about. Those deals found him, because his profile was “findable.”
If you (or your admin) spend a few minutes each day finding those you are connected to in the real world, you will very quickly have 100+ connections.
4. Professional Photo
A search result will often provide dozens (or hundreds) of results. As an active user, when I scan for quality a match, my eye is naturally attracted to those profiles with photos (I seldom consider those without one at this stage). Your photo indicates how seriously you regard LinkedIn as a business tool. If it is a serious tool for you, I’m more excited to make contact and pursue business with you through this network.
Take a look at this search for Security Consultant. Which results will you click on to take a closer look?
Remember, LinkedIn is a social media tool, and social media is about connecting to others you don’t know yet and deepening the relationships you already have. A photo will help you accomplish that connection on a deeper level much more quickly. Keep it simple and professional and save the fishing, skiing and family photos for your Facebook account. (Additional photo tips here).
Your title and photo will take about 10 minutes to add to your profile. Building connections a bit longer, but just one successful business deal will provide a great return on time invested. I’m confident these steps will produce results and hope you will share your experience so we can all learn to be more effective with LinkedIn.
(For additional tips see the Slideshare presentation).
Want Business Opportunities to Find You? Follow These 4 Steps on LinkedIn
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
Top 5 Microbusiness Opportunities for 2011
Dec 31st
How can you tell a real business opportunity, one with staying power, from last year’s opportunity?
Some fields might seem hot right now but, for many, there’s a good chance that the real opportunity was over five months ago and the field will be totally glutted by February.
Then, too, the opportunities that shine like a beacon for larger firms might not work so well for microbusinesses.
So, how do you find microbusiness opportunities with staying power?
Microbusiness opportunities often build from everybody else’s opportunities. If one of the big trends to watch in 2011 is travel and tourism (at least, according to Entrepreneur.com), then the microbusiness opportunity lies in providing the personal touch–for example, via a B&B or by supplying the handcrafted soaps used by the local Big Tourist Hotel.
As I look over that Entrepreneur article, I see a lot of the same trends I’ve been seeing over the last couple of years. There continue to be business opportunities attached to Baby Boomers, social media, health care and clean energy, among other things. The big difference in 2011, though, will be not what you do but how you do it.
So, let’s start at the top.
1. Experiential products and services. This overarching trend will impact everything else in the consumer economy. This is not necessarily about changing what you sell, just changing how you sell it. People have, experts say, entered a new period of austerity … but not really. What it means is that people don’t want to collect stuff anymore. On the other hand, they will pay for experiences because they last longer — a lifetime, in fact. From a marketing point of view, that means you need to go beyond the features vs. benefits meme and focus on experience (emotional) over benefits (material).
2. For the technically inclined, mobile apps (and especially phone apps) for business are very hot. Added benefit: This opportunity is not anywhere near glutted yet. Microbusiness programmers might consider developing low-cost phone apps for their fellow microbusiness owners; that fortune at the bottom of the pyramid is not to be sneezed at.
3. Another technical B-to-B niche that’s very hot right now is Web apps for business, especially small business. Once again, if you can develop a product that is affordable for microbusinesses and will save them time or money, you’ll have that niche almost all to yourself. Too many developers chase the small business market but run from the microbusiness market, so the field is wide open.
4. Marketing services, believe it or not, are back and big but, once again, it’s all about the specifics. Social media is gathering momentum, and some creative people (like the folks behind Swipely.com) are combining it with e-commerce in interesting and profitable ways. The same goes for mobile marketing, which is still pretty leading-edge and has a bright future ahead of it.
5. This one is a bit of a blast from the past: fitness products and services are making a comeback. (I’m reminded of Huey Lewis’ Hip To Be Square.) People are still busy and always on the go, so the challenge here is to develop fitness products that can be used anytime, anywhere. Promising variations include small group training and home fitness products. Above all else, find a way to connect to your customers and make it an experience!
Top 5 Microbusiness Opportunities for 2011
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
