Startup Weekend

Want to start a new business or spinoff of your existing business but you’re thinking, “A new business is too hard and will take too long!” How does starting a business in a weekend sound (and maybe finding a partner to boot)? StartUp Weekend events are held around the world and are 54-hour weekends filled with hands-on experiences where entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs can find out if their startup ideas are viable.  Typically, half of Startup Weekend’s attendees have technical or design backgrounds, and the other half have business backgrounds, which leads to some very fruitful teams. How’s this for a success rate? Eighty percent of past attendees say they plan on working with the team they met during their StartUp Weekend.

By Rieva Lesonsky

Is your small business doing all it can be to stay competitive in 2013 and beyond? The latest Citibank Small Business Pulse survey spotlighted 10 actions the most successful small business owners take to keep their companies competitive. Are you doing them?

1: Do your research and get educated. Some 88 percent of small businesses surveyed say they regularly work to stay up to date and knowledgeable about their industry and changes in the market.

2: Work hard and do what needs to get done. Successful small business owners are dedicated—so much so that more than half (53 percent) say they didn’t take a vacation last summer.

3: Update or upgrade technology. Nearly 70 percent of respondents say they recently updated or upgraded their computer systems, and 51 percent have made a major change to their business technology.

4: Know your clients. More than two-thirds (67 percent) say they are spending more “face time” with customers to keep their businesses ahead of the pack. Such client relationships also help entrepreneurs stay on top of industry and market trends.

5: Keep a close eye on cash and budgets. Many small businesses say they are keeping cash in reserves and spending cautiously. No wonder: Some 58 percent admit that cash flow issues have been a major challenge in the past few years. However, 73 percent feel they are doing a good job of managing their cash effectively.

6: Be involved. Small business owners are taking part in their business and local communities: 51 percent have built a network of suppliers and partner companies, and 47 percent say they have become more active in the community and local organizations.

7. Be prepared. If another economic downturn occurred, 80 percent of survey respondents say they could handle it. They’ve learned from the recent recession, in which many of them took steps such as running leaner, cutting operating costs and renegotiating contracts.

8: Plan ahead. Some 27 percent of small business owners say they can predict their cash situation four to six months ahead, which enables them to plan for the future.

9: Stick with your aspirations. Despite the challenges of entrepreneurship, nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of business owners polled say they are living their dream; three-fourths say they would do it all over again.

10: Market, market, market. More than half (53 percent) of small business owners say they’ve upped social media and online advertising in the last year, while 54 percent improved their websites and search engine presence.

Image by Flickr user Generationbass (Creative Commons)

Scavado

Looking to hire in the New Year? According to Manpower, 49 percent of U.S. employers say they have difficulty finding the right people for open jobs. Scavado is a simple talent search engine that connects recruiters with top candidates without complicated search algorithms. Built by a veteran recruiter who needed her process for sourcing talent online to be more efficient, Scavado finds relevant results from all over the Web. It’s easy; all you need to do is enter a few keywords. Scavado costs $99 per user per month and helps you target the top talent you need.

WebPort Global

Participating in a B2B marketplace can help your business grow and thrive by enabling you to make crucial connections. WebPort Global was conceived and built as a customizable platform to help form trusted relationships and collaboration for small and midsized businesses. Use WebPort Global to improve marketing strategies, work together on projects, share documents and more. You can also connect with others to share expertise, advice and information. Try it for 30 days free; after that, membership is $29 per month. The WebPort Global blog community features experts who share their perspectives on business, global trade and marketing news.

 By Rieva Lesonsky

For small business owners looking to grow their business, it’s easy to get so caught up in the world of social networking that you forget to get out in the real world and make connections. But networking the “old-fashioned way” is still one of the best strategies for business growth, especially for small businesses that rely on a local market or that sell business-to-business.

If you’re looking to revitalize your networking skills, my friend JJ Ramberg has a new book out that will get you off to a great start. Ramberg, host of the popular MSNBC show “Your Business,” gathered real-life advice from the thousands of entrepreneurs she’s interviewed to write It’s Your Business: 183 Essential Tips That Will Transform Your Small Business. While the book focuses on much more than networking, here are some of JJ’s suggestions for building business relationships.

1. Be the first person at networking events. If you’re shy (like me), you probably think getting to events late is the way to go. In reality, by getting there right when the event starts, you’ll be forced to talk to others and help welcome new arrivals. Soon you can’t help but feel more confident. By contrast, if you get there late, you’ll be stuck trying to work your way into groups who are already having energetic conversations. Ugh!
2. Meet face to face. How many times have you had a lengthy email back-and-forth with someone that could have been handled in 30 seconds of speaking in person? Instead of emailing or voice-mailing about major issues, Ramberg highly recommends meeting in person. Even phone calls aren’t the best way to resolve sensitive issues with a customer or vendor, but spending some time together over lunch or coffee enables you to tune into each other’s facial expressions and body language without distraction, helping resolve conflicts and cut through confusion.
3. Meet someone new every week. If you never leave your business, nothing new will even happen to you, writes Ramberg. She suggests tapping your networks (both online and offline) to get connected with new people, then suggest meeting in person for coffee to get to know each other and learn how you can do business.
4. The one-hour/two contacts rule. Spend one hour a day developing your contacts and network. If you make two new contacts or develop two new leads in the first 10 minutes of that hour, quit for the day. By devoting time to growing your network daily, you’ll keep your business moving forward.
5. Just keep showing up. Was it Woody Allen who once said that “99 percent of success is showing up”? The same applies to networking events or business organizations. Keep going to your association or industry events, Ramberg writes. “Once you’ve attended a few times, you’ll suddenly be seen as an insider” and more people will want to meet you and work with you.

Image by Flickr user Shashi Bellamkonda (Creative Commons)

ZebraCard.me

ZebraCard.me is an easy way to track your business card usage and the results of your networking efforts. The innovative business card tracking solution allows users to gather data in real time and monitor the path of their business cards in circulation. Each ZebraCard contains a QR code or barcode for business card information, which points to a URL where each user’s interaction with your business card data is tracked. This allows users to know what personal networks and touchpoints recipients access after receiving and scanning the card. You’ll know right away if the person you gave your card to checked your website later, and you can follow up with the appropriate type of contact.

Create. Work. Inspire: Business Edition Workshops

Create. Work. Inspire: Business Edition Workshops are a new collaboration between computer giant Dell and Manta, an online community of small business owners. The first workshop is set for September 14 in Miami, then the series heads to Los Angeles in November. The interactive sessions will feature expert speakers on business innovation and other challenges in business growth. You’ll also have opportunities to network with other small business owners, including a cocktail hour networking session featuring treats from local businesses.

Another highlight of this Dell/Manta collaboration is the selection of the “Small Business of the Week.” One lucky entrepreneur will win a Manta premium business listing for one year and be featured on the Manta.com website, giving them exposure to millions of other small businesses in the Manta community. Registration information will be announced here.

By Rieva Lesonsky

I love email, social media and all things online. But I also spend a lot of time on the road meeting with clients and prospects. Why? Because when it comes to building your small business, I’m still a huge believer in the power of face-to-face communication. A new study from Cisco proves that plenty of business leaders agree with me.

Cisco’s Business Intelligence Unit surveyed business leaders globally and found that 89 percent say face-to-face communications are useful both in internal business functions, such as employee coaching and training, and in communications with partners and customers.

Some of the common situations when companies prefer face-to-face communications are:

• To discuss/resolve major issues with customers such as a service or product failure or dissatisfaction with the partnership
• To renew contracts
• To brainstorm
• To introduce clients or customers to people in your company

Executives pinpointed six key factors that matter to effective communications and noted that four of them could only be achieved in person:

1. Engagement and focus on shared content (92 percent)
2. Tone of voice (81 percent)
3. Facial expressions (81 percent)
4. Words someone is using (72 percent)
5. Subconscious body language (72 percent)
6. Conscious movements or gestures (67 percent)

The most important use of “face time” was in meeting with customers. Interacting face to face with customers was cited as more important than doing so with partners, suppliers or co-workers.

When it comes to sharing critical information, email is the most commonly used tool for business leaders (cited by 66 percent) but is widely seen as inferior to meeting in person. The telephone was the next most common tool (25 percent), but it, too, falls short of face-to-face meetings for most execs.

What’s the takeaway for your business? You may be trying to save money by doing everything online, by conference call or videoconference, but it’s important to know when you’re selling your business short. If you’re trying to build relationships, gain trust or hammer out an agreement with a client or customer, realize that sometimes, you’ll need to meet in person. Otherwise, you could be saving on travel costs, but costing yourself a customer.

Image by Flickr user Victor 1558 (Creative Commons)

Lanyrd

Conferences can help you meet people in your industry, find new leads, learn about new trends and more. Finding the right conferences, though, is somewhat of a challenge. Lanyrd can help you sort conferences by interest and location, plus find out what conferences your friends and colleagues are attending. What’s more, you can track what’s going on at the conference even if you can’t attend. Once the conference is over, Lanyrd can help you find slides, video and podcasts from the conference. If you spoke at the conference, this tool is a great way to help build up your speaker portfolio.

Project Eve

Started by two entrepreneurial women looking to promote, support and celebrate women business owners, Project Eve is a platform for female entrepreneurs to communicate and collaborate (minus the sharp elbows). The site is hoping to connect women across all industries and geographies looking to share their expertise and experiences, ask questions and help each other out. The mission: to create a trusted community of women who want to see each other succeed. Sign up and find out about events, join a local Project Eve group, get feedback on an idea, receive an e-newsletter and more.