This advice from Colin Bates’ BuildingBrands newsletter could be a mantra for small biz survival. Of course, he offers huge business examples, so let’s add some small biz perspective. “Cooperate on product design.”Everything you do is your product. How you do it is design. (see Tom Peters) Can you design your product work with someone…
If you are going to try to compete with the world for online sales, consider this interesting article on live chat for sales websites. On an average website, only 2% of visits result in actual sales. You can do better, maybe up to 25%, by adding a live chat feature.“‘”People like to buy from people,’”…
With Few Options, Rural Businesses Forced to Find Their Own Internet Access: “It comes down to population density,” said Josh Holbrook, an analyst with the Yankee Group, a research firm based in Boston. The smaller the population that would benefit from DSL, the less likely a service provider will invest the money into DSL equipment….
Supreme Court Mulls Definition of ‘Small Business’: “”There’s a lot of federal laws that don’t kick in unless a business has a certain number of employees,” Harned said. “So deciding who counts is crucial.”” Those laws include the Americans with Disabilities Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, etc. Each one has…
If you are in an oil and gas region, you probably remember this bumper sticker:“Just one more oil boom, Lord. I promise I won’t piss this one away.” Twenty years later, here it is. Regional producers see ‘boom’ conditions for oil, gas in the future. “World demand has increased significantly, both for oil and natural…
Apparently insurance is not enough. So you read the admonitions after the hurricanes, but did you actually change anything to protect your business or to speed rebuilding? Technorati tags: small business, disasters
Oklahoma is trying to sell more ag products to Cuba. Because Cuba is a subject of continuing controversy, this is a jumping off point for a few questions. Are any sales good sales? As long as we inject more money into our local economy, does it matter where it comes from? How do you feel…
In my corner of the state, a new organization, the Northwest Oklahoma Alliance, is trying to reverse the trends of decline. The stated goals are: Slow out-bound migrationDevelop employment opportunitiesIncrease employee earningsIncrease populationBuild of the “niche” of Northwest OklahomaExpand opportunities for Northwest Oklahoma Value Added businessesPromote Northwest Oklahoma to potential employers Sounds very good. The…
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