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| ABOUT | ||
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| SMALL BUSINESS TRENDS brings you daily updates on trends that influence the global small business market. | ||
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Anita Campbell, Editor |
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| Past life: CEO, corporate executive, tech entrepreneur, retailer, general counsel, marketer, HR ... (more) | ||
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| FREE BUSINESS MAGAZINES | ||
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| Trade publications FREE to qualified professionals. No hidden offers and no purchase necessary. | ||
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On Wall Street The Deal Computing Canada |
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| ARCHIVES & SEARCH | |||
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Previous Small Business Trends articles can be found at the links below: | ||
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October 2003 November 2003 December 2003 January 2004 February 2004 March 2004 April 2004 May 2004 June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 |
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| SMALL BIZ INFO & RESOURCES | |
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| BLOGS TO READ DAILY* | |
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| * Don’t have time to read several dozen blogs a day? Pick two or three. Your brain will thank you for it. | |
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| ONLINE COMMUNITIES | ||
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| THE BUZZ |
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SPECIAL RESOURCES | |
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Small Business Trends Radio Tuesdays, 1:00 PM Eastern U.S. time on Voice America network Click to listen November 1st: Torsten Jacobi, CEO of Creative Weblogging, joins host Anita Campbell. Sponsored by Six Disciplines. Show details. |
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Friday, April 29, 2005 | |
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Low Tech Doesn't Mean No Tech | |
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A New York Times article reports that the majority of small businesses are low-tech."Forget Web sites and molecular imaging. The biggest fields of opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs are the same mundane ventures that have been kicking around for decades.Actually I am not in the least surprised by this report. We write about many of these "low tech" businesses here at Small Business Trends all the time. Why? Because they reflect the real world. However, I do want to clarify a misperception the article leaves: just because these small businesses are in low tech industries doesn't mean they don't use technology. No, even very small, one-person businesses today have an array of technology. It is not uncommon for one of these "low tech" businesses to use the majority of the following technology: computer color ink jet printer copier fax machine (or an all-in-one with the printer and copier) telephone with voice mail cell phone word processing, spreadsheet and presentation software financial software such as QuickBooks to maintain the books broadband Internet connection digital camera wireless network credit card authorization machine electronic calculator and/or cash register Web site online banking |
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Thursday, April 28, 2005 | |
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President Bush Addresses Energy at Small Business Expo | |
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It's national Small Business Week here in the United States. President Bush spoke to the crowd yesterday at Small Business Expo, the anchor event put on by the Small Business Administration. His talk focused on energy, a topic big on the minds of American small businesses given high fuel costs. I thought the speech was notable because it drilled in on technology as the key to making energy more affordable. I counted the word "technology" or some variant at least 3 dozen times. His unspoken point seemed to be: other countries may have oil reserves, but by using our technological edge we can secure abundant energy and lower the cost. All of which suggests opportunity may be in the offing over the next few years for small businesses that have technology that can be used to increase energy supplies or make our usage more efficient. It will be interesting to see if the President's direction translates into SBIR grant monies to encourage small businesses to develop energy technologies. By the way, it wasn't just oil energy that the President spoke about. His speech covered coal, nuclear, ethanol and even more unconventional sources of energy (such as leftover vegetable fat). Read the full speech transcript. |
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Wednesday, April 27, 2005 | |
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BLOGthenticity Syndication of PowerBlog Reviews | |
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 I am delighted to announce that Small Business Trends' PowerBlog Review series is now being syndicated on BLOGthenticity. What this means is that each review will be published in two places: here at Small Business Trends and also on the BLOGthenticity site. Many thanks to the Tinbasher (Paul Woodhouse) who brokered the arrangement. And my compliments go out to Robert French of Auburn Media who drives the BLOGthenticity site. Here is what Robert had to say about the PowerBlog Review syndication arrangement: "Starting today, we will be posting the latest review and continue on.Thank YOU Robert, Paul and the rest of the crew over at BLOGthenticity. By republishing the PowerBlog Reviews you give greater visibility and recognition to the fine blogs that are subjects of the Reviews. |
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Tuesday, April 26, 2005 | |
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The New Music Entrepreneur | |
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Editor's note: From time to time we like to bring you guest columns on important subjects or industries. So we are very pleased to provide this two-part guest column by music futurist Gerd Leonhard. In this Part Two, he tells us how the music industry is changing, creating new opportunities for entrepreneurs... and how musicians are becoming entrepreneurs. By Gerd Leonhard Music products become music services, access replaces ownership, the customer finally rules, and... we can do most of it ourselves!  The music industry is in a very exciting transition phase. Seven years after the first digital music "revolution" and the painful burst of the dotcom bubble, the so-called "Creatives" (aka musicians, producers, writers, composers...) are finally starting to see a glimpse of what may be in store for them: more control over their own destiny, less hassle, direct access to their markets and... more cash!Digital technologies have become an unobtrusive and omnipresent part of our lives. The way that the entertainment, media and content industries must conduct their business has therefore changed forever. This digital tide cannot be reversed. Digital technologies have simply become part of our lifestyle, and one that empowers music producers to "go Do It Yourself" (DIY) -- rather than sign their rights away for admission to the music distribution food-chain. Clearly, the DIY trend in the music business will lead to exponential growth in the small-to-medium size service industries (SMEs). Specialized skills and knowledge will be highly valuable. Even major artists are starting to take charge of their own business affairs and want to coordinate their own marketing and business development activities. No longer are they willing to sign all rights away to a large music company and live (or rather, die) at their mercy for the next 7 years. Now is the time to start marketing services companies, technology consultancies, branding agencies and full-service companies. However, there is one exception: studios. Small studios will have a very difficult time competing in the market place. The perception is that now anyone can build a small home-studio for less than $5000 and do all their own productions from A-Z. Anyone that has ever been to a good studio, with a good producer and a good engineer, knows that this is not the case. Small studios must know find other ways to add value, e.g. by offering mastering services, web services or simply helping DIY producers do it on their own. This also portends changes in music schools and educational institutions, which now need to teach "the business" of music and DIY. There is no doubt that 100s of 1000s of talented musicians, composers and writers have fallen prey to the idea of "being good = good enough"; i.e., that by being a great musician they will somehow manage to make a good living. Well, anyone that has been there will tell you that this is a fool's paradise. Being a musician is being an entrepreneur. Period. Skills for successful entrepreneurship can be learned and trained. Many music schools such as my own alma mater, Boston's Berklee College of Music, already offer this kind of training -- now, even online (see www.berkleemusic.com). Entrepreneurship turns out to be an essential skill for today's musicians -- and even more so for the musician of tomorrow.  In addition to being a futurist, Gerd Leonhard is a musician, entrepreneur, and the co-author of The Future of Music. Be sure to check out Part One of this series (scroll down or click here). |
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Trend: The Record Industry as We Know it is Dying | |
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Editor's note: From time to time we like to bring you guest columns on important subjects or industries. So we are very pleased to provide this two-part guest column by music futurist Gerd Leonhard. In this Part One, he describes the key trends of the music industry -- and their impact on independent musicians and small businesses in the music industry. By Gerd Leonhard The music industry is undergoing massive changes, and the next five-year horizon will open new doors for enterprising musicians and businesses servicing musicians. Here are some of the key directions I see: Get "digital attention" Tomorrow's music companies must figure out how they will get their tracks into any and all of the digital channels, and just how exactly they will get the user to pay attention to THEIR artists rather than the latest videogame or cell phone. So -- the question is no longer IF you need to make your music available, nor how much a track should cost, but just HOW the world's consumers will find them, and how artists and their modern-day representatives can get the attention of that perfectly-matched customer. Exposure and discovery always leads to revenues Exposure and discovery are the main milestones on the digital highway of the future. If an artist can get exposure, then 90% of the battle is won. Music like water Until just recently, it was virtually impossible to get a quick and affordable deal for a license to use a song for a flash video on your homepage. Now there are a myriad of companies offering that service, among them the latest professional offering by Apple. When the gates are finally wide open, music will become truly ubiquitous, and revenues will start to flow from previously little-known sources. Music will be everywhere. Access will replace ownership In three to five years, consumers will have access to "their" music anytime, anywhere and the physical possession of it will in fact be more of a handicap, or a pastime for collectors. Music will feel (and act) like water, and music providers will become utilities. Mobile multi-access Multi-access to music will be the default setting, allowing consumers to "fill up" their music devices at gas stations, train stations and in coffee shops, using wireless as well as fixed-media applications. Mobile phones as we know them today will be replaced by much more powerful "mobile communication and entertainment solutions" that network seamlessly. Flat-fee access deals, cheap international roaming and "content & connectivity" bundles will make mobile music offers virtually irresistible. Use technology to re-ignite your music business Technology has always driven the music business, and it will drive it this time too. Think back to the birth of amplification, the advent of radio, the invention of the player-piano, the gramophone, the Walkman, the CD.... Put your entire catalogues and all related information online (no, that does not mean giving it all away for free!), both for internal and for external purposes. In the future, "content" assets will only be truly meaningful if they are available as 1s and 0s. Look for "feels like free" distribution models that get some exposure for your content, because exposure will inevitably bring you revenues. Pursue some secure means of delivery (such as for industry-internal purposes), but in general focus on viral dissemination and on reaching the highest possible rate of exposure. Liquidity is the name of the game! Transparency wins Do all your business online. Start by using online contract and royalty administration tools, integrate online payment systems for licensees and licensors, create online interfaces for your business partners, offer deep information archives for media and marketing purposes, and put online syndication tools to good use. Transparency is the name of the game, today and in the future. The more transparent your business activities will be, the more loyal your customers and business partners will be. Lower the prices and unplug the pirates Drastically lower the prices for music products and you will see piracy disappear quickly because it cannot compete any longer. Let's look at new ways to release music. Why is it that every new product must be released on CD, and join the other 3,500 new releases per month in the battle of shelf space and media attention? How about reviving the singles format, but in a digital form (releasing new singles on the web, as well as on bundled media products), packaging new tracks into games, phone subscriptions and ad campaigns.... Abort the old way of thinking "product" -- think SERVICE. Up-sell, cross-sell and re-sell Let's unchain the music we already have. This means a solid "yes" to free music services, feels-like-free online radio and even free media products -- make it free if it has to be, and charge for it when, where and how you can. The new game here is UP-SELL (i.e. sell more and more stuff to your ever-loyal customers) CROSS-SELL (i.e. sell more stuff to someone else's loyal customers that were referred to you), and RE-SELL (i.e. sell the same stuff in a different package or bundle) -- already common practice in the software world. Niches are golden Look at the high-yield niche markets that are now, finally, reachable, using digital technologies. Promote and pursue diversity, not one-artist-fits-all. Take the emphasis off the good old "three artists selling 15 Million tracks each" model, and look at the idea of 100 artists selling 250,000 tracks each. The future of music is rooted in giving the consumer what (s)he wants, in utter transparency and sincere collaboration, and with a deep understanding of the need to provide services that are user-friendly and accessible everywhere. Like this article? Be sure to read Part Two of this series (click here). |
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Monday, April 25, 2005 | |
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Small Business Week -- and A Special Offer | |
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 This week, April 25-30, 2005, is Small Business Week in the United States. We have special things in store all this week. First let me start with a special offer for Small Business Trends readers. As many of you know, one of our sponsors is BusinessTVChannel.com. I consider BusinessTVChannel.com to be something of a cross between television and the Internet. It is a site that provides video broadcasts for time-starved business people, over the Internet. If you sign up this week, before April 30, you can get the first month for $1 (regular price $19.95). AND -- you will get your choice of one of four special packages of pay-per-view content and books -- for free! To view all the details, go over to our sister site, TrendTracker, where I've posted the offer. My thanks go out to Ruth King, CEO of BusinessTVChannel.com, for making this special offer available to you. She is a true pioneer in online broadcasting. Be sure to check out her new blog, also: Small Biz Sense. |
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Sunday, April 24, 2005 | |
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PowerBlog Review: Brindi's Bargains | |
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