SmallBiz Strategy Tips from Our 7 Best Blog Interviews of Last Year
January 4th, 2012 | Interviews | No Comments »The holidays are over (for most people anyway) and people are returning to work. Last year was hectic and I don’t think this year will be much better considering it’s election year. Now before we start running for the underground bunkers or start to wade through the tens of thousands of political articles and interviews, let’s take a look at 7 really good interviews of last year that were on the blog. [Please note that these are in no particular order, except for maybe how they appeared in my tab list.] I selected these because I think that they offer some new tips and talk about things that aren’t often talked about.
1. Books the new old Google
Turning Sites into Gold: This is an interview of John Nicholson from Marketade. The thing I liked the most about this interview was that Nicholson suggests going to a library and looking at books to get information. I love libraries (although I haven’t properly been inside one in ages) and I think this is a source that most people overlook.
I remember when I was doing a Linguistics project, my partner and I got all of our information from two very good, but slightly outdated books. Sure, the internet is a great resource and will probably have the most current information, but how much of that is actually valuable? At least with books, you know that it’s been filtered and scrutinized enough to know that it’s valuable. It may not be current, but it’s probably the best.
2. Law, Perfection and the Internet
The Right Side of the Law: This is an interview with Gregg Hand. One of the things Hand talks about in the interview is the fear of starting a business. I like his examples of the types of decisions that one has to make when starting a business. Often it’s stuff that you don’t think about.
Hand also mentions that conditions for small businesses have become more favorable due to the internet. Now this is probably something we all know, but it’s always nice to hear it in words. The best bit of advice that I think Hand gives in this interview is that things don’t have to be perfect. If you’re starting a business, often you won’t have everything set up just yet and you will most likely encounter setbacks even if you make a habit of starting businesses. Eventually, you’ll have to jump right in and get started.
3.The Duo of the Elite Group
“Putting Your Money baQ Where it Belongs” : This is a double interview with both the CEO (Brian J. Esposito) and the CTO
(Peter Hermsen) of paybaQ. Their advice is solid and I liked the acknowledgement about family members and friends un/intentionally bringing you down. I think this is something that happens often, but that no one really talks about.
One of my favorite bits from this interview is the description of the small business community as “elite”. They mention that small business owners should be proud of the responsibility that they have taken on and I feel like this is a point that should be brought up more often. It takes a lot of work, energy and determination to start a small business, so feel proud small business owners!
4. Platforms and Personality
The Speech AND the Pen are Mightier than the Sword: I’ll admit to a little bit of bias on my part for picking this. I’ve met Jill Foster before and I like her and thinks that she gives great advice. One important point that she brings up in this interview is that one doesn’t have to use all of the social media platforms that are out there.
A lot of the things that I’ve read online make it seem like small businesses have to use every single platform that they can find. I know that’s a bit silly, but that’s the impression I got. Jill is the only person I’ve seen so far mention the fact that one shouldn’t use all of them.
Another good piece of advice that she gives is to make sure that your business has a personal feel to it. Big businesses like Target or Walmart have a certain feel to them, but it’s impersonal and not the type of feeling that y0u want a customer to get from your small business.
5. Juggling Jobs
Talking Employedpreneurs & Steps to Success for Businesses with Tai Goodwin : What I like about this interview is that it focuses on people trying to start a small business while having a job. Goodwin gives some great pieces of advice such as putting in systems to manage your small business while you work at your other job. Goodwin also talks a little bit about different business models and suggests trying something other than the traditional one-to-one model.
The piece of advice I liked best from this interview is that it’s important to be flexible. Having a vision is good, but often, due to the way the environment changes, you may need to update it. Customers and markets tend to change quickly and you’ll be in better shape if you can adapt faster to keep up.
6. Products and People
Small Business Interview with Sophie Kovic from FlockStocks : My favorite piece of advice from this is bit about choosing a product that doesn’t vary much because then you’ll have less trouble. Another great piece of advice is to trust the people who work under you. You cannot manage everything. Let go when necessary and trust that when you go on vacation, the people whom you leave in charge will work things out.
7. Coordination and Background Knowledge
Reach Your Best Insights: This is an interview with Pierre DeBois. One piece of advice I liked from this interview is the fact that online and offline activities should be coordinated. It’s like picking colors, you has to choose ones that go together. Another thing that DeBois talks about is going beyond Search Engine Optimization. Yes, that is important, but there’s things beyond that which Small Businesses should do too.
One of the points that DeBois brings up is the fact that Small Businesses need to think about what goes on in the background that’s essential to either the customers or the business itself. Reading all of these articles and tips for Small Business owners, I get the feeling that it’s something that’s often not touched on.
All of these interviews offer valuable advice for Small Businesses and should be reviewed as you owners start drawing up your plans for the coming year. If you have any tips or interviews to add to or contest, leave a comment. 🙂
