Welcome to our experiment in social networking

As online social networking continues to evolve beyond the MySpace teenage crowd - we will continue to explore Web 2.0 solutions that help small businesses work smarter, not harder.

Small businesses can easily get out of shape — just like their founders – too easily tired to keep up with what’s required, flabby with stress and saggy where they should be taut. Day-to-day demands can take the focus off the core. Are you relentlessly sweating your receivables? Have you even begun to sculpt a marketing plan for the frame and shape of your business? Can you go the distance without huffing and puffing?

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We'd love your input. Melinda & Mike

It’s not pretty out there –

Part of my business is speaking engagements – often booked months in advance. Not usually a big deal. But tonight, I get to talk about raising capital. Uh – hello?

• SBA loans to small businesses have plummeted compared with the same period last year. Volume in the agency's principal loan program has fallen 30%, with 28,000 fewer loans approved this year (USA Today,9/28/08)
• The financial crisis has touched off worries among entrepreneurs about the status of their business loans and credit lines (BusinessWeek.com, 9/26/08)
  

It’s time to return to the basics. In talking with a client the other day, she said she had multiple plans of execution based on available capital. Certain projects or purchases would have to wait until the capital became available.

Many of us need to rethink our businesses and overhead if we plan to weather the storm.

1. Focus on your core business - what do your customers need?
2. Be your harshest critic when it comes to purchases– measure and focus on ROI.
3. It’s a business, not a hobby. If you’re not making money, do something that will.
4. Reduce overhead where you can without impacting customer service.
5. Pay down debt any chance you can.
   

I don’t expect the next few months (years?) to be easy. But those that can adapt will come out the other side stronger, leaner businesses.

Shop local

When we go shopping, we typically choose to do business where we perceive the best value for our time and money. But in that decision have you considered the value of locally-owned small businesses?

Consider the real cost of losing locally-owned small businesses – local values. It’s the local business owners that typically employ more than 50% of the workforce, support local charities, sit on local boards, elect local officials and even challenge City Hall.

And when you think of your favorite restaurant, café or shop – is it a national chain? Not likely! It’s the local merchant who went the extra mile. It is the restaurant whose food and service is off the chart.

By supporting these businesses, you insure that they - along with the diversity they provide - don’t disappear. Shop local!