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I agree with John Jantsch’s statement “The current state of economic affairs cries out for leaders.” (Lead for Selfish Reasons, October 27, 2008.)

How could a political leader take charge and walk on the correct path if the country looks like it is divided into separate parts instead of being integrated into a whole map with independent states that are united? I think you could see that division in an historical perspective and look back what happened eight years ago. Here is an eloquent example by Robert Tracinski from his article, The Two Americas: read more

When it comes to politics, I’m pretty quiet.  In fact, few people typically know which way I “lean”.  And that’s OK with me.  When I find myself in conversations with people on the matter, I tend to contribute more by listening.  And frankly, I can generally see my conversation partner’s perspective on it.

I mean what platform is “correct?”  Who has the “best” political model? Republicans? Democrats? Independents?  Well, I believe it’s subjective and depends upon the context.  Each typically comes along with salient points.  This is not to say I don’t stand for one thing.  I do…and I always encourage active participation in the process.

But when you truly reflect on the impact an election has on your life and business…I invite you to consider how it compares to the effect you (and your management team) have on it.  My guess is that your active participation and control of the business dwarfs the trickle down effects of a change in political leadership.

We’ve just gone through an exciting time in our nation’s history.  Some consider this to be a “new beginning”.  I think that’s wonderful.  If it helps to spur healthy change, I’m all for it.  But if you believe that new political leadership is going to drastically change your business and life, I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed.  The universal truth is that real change takes place from within. read more

As much as I love Thanksgiving, it’s a rough holiday for cartooning.

Christmas gives you all sorts of stuff to play with: Santa, elves, reindeer, trees… Halloween is almost as good: pumpkins, monsters, candy, costumes . . .

But Thanksgiving is pretty much just turkey, so I do what I always do when I’m at a loss - I make a list of everything I can think of related to my topic.

One of the things that’s different about Thanksgiving is the lack of a consistent date. Sure, it’s the fourth Thursday of November, but it’s not, say, October 31, or July 4. And that sort of vague scheduling got me thinking about my own schedule, and the cartoon above came into focus.

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About the Author: Mark Anderson’s cartoons appear in publications including The Wall Street Journal and Harvard Business Review. Anderson is the creator of the popular cartoon website, Andertoons.com, where he licenses his cartoons for presentations, newsletters and other projects. He blogs at Andertoons Cartoon blog.

Mark is part of the Small Business Trends Expert Network.

Most small businesses have yet to see the many problems that will come as weakness in the broader economy starts to ripple through all sectors, but barring an economic miracle we’re in for a very rocky ride.

Businesses that depend heavily on credit lines should look for ways to reduce that dependence as much as possible.  For example, consider discounts for payment at time of service and consider relatives and business partners as sources for short term loans, etc.   The condition of the entire global banking system is not clear at this time, but it’s very likely that credit will be tight for several months and perhaps longer.

In general, look for ways to run your business more efficiently.   With only a handful of exceptions your revenues are going to go down and profit is going to drop if you can’t cut expenses significantly.   Use this time as an extra incentive to run very lean and efficient - always an advantage in good times and bad.    Put off purchases that are not necessary and consider downsizing office space.   Keep employees realistically informed of their prospects and make it clear that productivity is of the highest priority in the coming years.

Bank failure?  Just follow the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.  (Don’t panic!) read more

This economy is a gift. It’s perhaps the best thing that could happen to small businesses in a long time. Now, before you spit at the screen, read on for just another sentence or two.

Having too much easy money makes for rash and stupid decisions.

You know what I’m talking about. Admit it. You’ve probably done something similar to this: When I started my business I blew all my hard earned and saved money on designs, logos, business cards, phone systems and a few other things I can’t really remember. NONE of these expenditures moved me closer to the primary goal of any business: making money. If you’re going to spend money, it needs to be invested in anything that’s going to get and keep customers and/or get you chosen over any other alternative. That’s it.

Less money = More focus.

Having less access to streams of cash gets you very focused on what really matters (see above paragraph: getting and keeping customers = making money). read more

Avoid trying to time the market(ing). Buy low, sell high. Ever hear that advice before?  We all would like to be able to do it, but we know that it’s not possible to do. Even the seasoned investor is unable to do this. We know one of the best strategies is dollar cost averaging, though few of us do it.

Good marketing advice would be to avoid trying to time the market. Many people and organizations market around events, product launches, seasons, and many other  single occurrences.  But my advice to you is to do a little marketing each day. And if you do that, your single events and your marketing will be a much greater success.

Marketing needs to emphasize client relationships based on trust and knowledge.  This approach is not necessarily unique, but it’s never been more vital than today.  So here’s a few simple steps that I would advise you to try: read more

The global financial crisis is cutting deep into the economy. Consumer confidence has hit record lows. Layoff announcements seem to arrive daily. Against this bracing headwind, small- and medium-sized businesses need to batten down the hatches and continue seeking new opportunities. To learn about the best ways they can outlast competitors and avoid knee-jerk reactions that turn customers off, Knowledge@Wharton, the Wharton School’s online business journal, has asked professors specializing in entrepreneurship and family business for advice.

In this second in a series of 12 Knowledge@Wharton podcasts, management professor Raffi Amit discusses the three most important things smaller businesses should do.

 

 Knowledge@Wharton - Interview with Raffi Amit, part II: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

There are plenty of good reasons for small businesses to be worried or nervous about the financial tumult going on all around us these days, But as many of us here have been pointing out, there’s still plenty of opportunity out there. The trick is finding it. One important trick that I’ve found to be useful is to evaluate two key things in a market: what’s scarce and what’s abundant — and then learn how to leverage what’s abundant to make something scarce more valuable.

So, for example, in strong economic periods, money — in the form of investment capital or loans — is often “abundant.” Meaning that it’s a good time to raise or borrow money, knowing that it can be used to profitably invest in the business, to grow value and sell something.

However, in tough economic times, when the money dries up, some people get worried and assume that if money is scarce, so are most other business opportunities. Nothing could be further from the truth. read more