Open Forum Editors

Matt McGee at Search Engine Land has complied a helpful year-end web presence checklist for small businesses. Doing the things on this list will give your marketing a free boost at a time when small businesses are really looking to save cash … and gain customers!

Most of us have looked up a business or business category on Google Maps, Yahoo Local or Microsoft Live. And most of us have had the experience of seeing a business with an out-of-date, unhelpful or misleading listing — and therefore gone to a competitor out of convenience or frustration.

Don’t let this happen to people looking for your business! Claiming your  listing is one of the simple — but too frequently overlooked — things that McGee recommends small businesses do.

For more tips like this, read McGee’s full post here.

You might not own a major airline – or your own island. You may not have created your own brand of cola, or flown across the Atlantic (and Pacific) in a hot-air balloon. And solving the world’s projected oil shortage and exploring new horizons in space travel may not be high on your to-do list, but you might share more with Sir Richard Branson of Virgin mega-fame than you think.

In the latest Inside the Entrepreneurial Mind online video series, Richard Branson speaks candidly about what it’s like to be an entrepreneur in challenging times. When asked about the current financial situation, he responds: “It is the smaller businesses that are gonna get America back on its feet again. And its up to all of us entrepreneurs to get out there and do everything we can to…build new businesses, to make sure that we get our own businesses stronger, to do everything we can” to find new opportunities and not give up.

Watch our exclusive interview to find out what drives this iconic entrepreneur to constantly innovate, his advice for reaching consumers, and what the Virgin brand is really about.

Check OPEN Forum regularly for new installments of Inside the Entrepreneurial Mind. Archived series available for viewing include New Perspectives on Business featuring business experts Seth Godin and Tom Peters, The Business of Food with Top Chef’s Tom Colicchio and The Business of Technology with Facebook and Wikipedia pioneers Sean Parker and Jimmy Wales.

As times change, OPEN Forum will continue to evolve to keep you up to date on the latest affecting your business. Share your comments on Branson on Business with us.

In many countries including the United States, it is not customary to haggle in most shopping situations. But The Wall Street Journal’s “Independent Street” blog suggests that in this economy it might be better for retailers to engage in selective haggling rather than price slashing. The trick is letting the right customers know that you are willing to negotiate in order to win their business. Kelly Spors writes:

As a consumer, I’m afraid of offending a business owner by suggesting they lower a price. So if I don’t like what I see, I generally leave and go somewhere else. But if the sales associate asked me if I’d be willing to buy an item for less, they might just win my business. … You don’t, however, want to haggle with customers happy to pay full price..

Sites like pricegrabber.com and beatmyprice.com serve as haggling surrogates in the online space. With a little training and a keen eye, brick-and-mortar retail establishments can benefit from the same bargain-hunter mentality without resorting to drastic price cuts across the board.

For more on this, read Spors’ full post — Let’s Make A Deal: The Benefits of Haggling In The Bad Economy

Slate’s finance blog, The Big Money, has started a special section for “LOLEconz.” Each LOLCats-like image is accompanied by an educational link or some analysis. I’m sure Adam Smith could never have imagined that his economic principles would be debated via photos of cats.

Business experts Seth Godin and Tom Peters told us what they think business owners should really be concerned about amidst the economic headlines that are changing daily – and they don’t necessarily agree. Tom Peters offers this perspective: “When things are so off the charts (and) you’re dealing with an insane amount of ambiguity…the only thing business owners have going for them is resilience.”

How can you stay resilient in challenging economic times? OPEN Forum has put together a wealth of resources that can help you navigate, including the latest OPEN Book: A Practical Guide to Financial Planning. Featuring an in-depth review of business strategies you may not have considered, along with expert advice from OPEN executives, OPEN Book offers the unique perspectives of four Cardmembers in varying stages of the business lifecycle who share their own philosophies on resiliency and growth. You can also view the full Seth Godin/Tom Peters discussion from our Inside the Entrepreneurial Mind installment, New Perspectives on Business, and much more to help you stay in touch with what really matters – for your business. Download a PDF of the complete OPEN Book: A Practical Guide to Financial Planning.

For more insights from Seth Godin and Tom Peters on everything from the importance of decency in business to the You Tube phenomenon and thoughts on Generation X, visit OPENforum.com/Inc5000.

As times change, OPEN Forum will continue to evolve to keep you up to date on the latest affecting your business. Tell us what you’re doing to stay resilient below.

This election season the phrase “small business” seems to pop up in every debate and stump speech. But where do the candidates stand on the matters that are important to small business owners during these financially uncertain times?

Entrepreneur has a handy “Ask the Candidates” feature that shows John McCain and Barack Obama’s answers to questions posed by real small business owners as well as an at-a-glance summary of the candidates’ positions on economic issues.

The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council has made a side-by-side comparison chart showing  Obama and McCain’s positions on “key issues of concern to the U.S. Small Business and Entrepreneurial Sector.” You can view it here. (Opens as a PDF) While the organization expresses opinions about the candidates’ stances on its website, the chart appears to be a non-partisan summary.

Other interesting reads:
Business Week interview with Ralph Nader: “Why Small Business Owners Are the True Capitalists”
WSJ’s Independent Street blog: “Small Business Speak Out About Economic Woes”

“What matters is the humility that comes from writing it. What matters is the meta-cognition of thinking about what you’re going to say.” These were some of the inspiring words from author and top business blogger Seth Godin captured at the 2008 Inc.5000 conference for OPEN Forum’s Inside the Entrepreneurial Mind series. In the latest installment, New Perspectives on Business, Godin goes head to head with business expert Tom Peters, who said, “No single thing in the last 15 years professionally has been more important to my life than blogging.”

But they weren’t always so aligned when it came to the most important issues affecting business owners today. When asked which political party is better for small business, Godin stood firm in his belief that SBO’s should lead by example, “we need to act in a way we want the government to act, and vice versa.” Peters, on the other hand, drilled down to what he as a business owner is personally concerned with, “I kind of like it when the revenue exceeds the cost by a significant number” – a sentiment which clearly resonated with many of the SBO’s in the room who broke out in unbridled laughter.

For more insights from these experts: from the economic crisis to the importance of decency in business and from the You Tube phenomenon to thoughts on Generation X, visit New Perspectives on Business. read more

Open Forum editors are visiting small businesses to ask how they’re handling the economic challenge.  Here are the stories of four businesses in New York City, reported by Bill Brazell.

A Salon Focuses on Customer Service
Santa Cruz, founder of Salon Santa Cruz, is proud to have kept her business going on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue for 25 years. She says the economy’s turmoil is “affecting us over time, rather than all at once. We’re in the beauty industry,” more luxury than necessity, so people can cut back when times are tight. “They’ll extend their color service a little longer,” she said. “They may decide not to get that pedicure.” At the same time, “We’re a feel-good, look-good industry. We help people feel good.” And when times are tough, people want to feel better. To keep her customers coming back, “we’ve had to retrain the staff, so their customer service is even better.” And she had to postpone hiring a cleaning person, instead asking her current staff to help more with the cleaning.

Planning for a Slow Holiday Season
At Major Florist Wholesale, owner Louis Theofanis said he had “thirty phone calls to answer right now,” so business is “not down that much yet.”  But he’s planning for a slower than usual December. “We’re expecting it to be down 20% for the holidays, so we’re ordering 20% less,” he said.
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