Fake Message from Apple: Two Ways To Stop Email Spam Attacks

Looking for Buzz About Your Business? 10 Tips To Better Marketing and Publicity for Your Business - Smallbiztechnology.com

(function() { var cx = '006191494802294982657:ofi5ngqrqfa'; var gcse = document.createElement('script'); gcse.type = 'text/javascript'; gcse.async = true; gcse.src = (document.location.protocol == 'https' ? 'https:' : 'http:') + '//www.google.com/cse/cse.js?cx=' + cx; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(gcse, s); })();

Small Business Capital Bill Seeks Less Regulation for VC Investment

There’s plenty of lip service in Washington about creating a better climate for startups and small businesses. So it’s disappointing to hear that a law designed to do just that is stalled indefinitely thanks to political posturing.

But that’s exactly what seems to be happening with the Small Business Capital Access and Job Preservation Act H.R. 1105.

The bill was introduced by Congressman Robert Hurt (R-Virginia) earlier this year. It was an attempt to loosen up some of the regulation on private equity companies like venture capital and growth capital firms.

Why Startup Investors Need Less Regulation

Simply put, these firms invest in startups like Facebook and Twitter when they are small and grow them into huge companies. These companies in turn create jobs and opportunities for smaller contractors and other small businesses.

Up until recently, private equity firms were assumed to manage the money of more sophisticated investors less in need of protection by the federal government.

So federal regulators who monitor publicly traded stock on Wall Street didn’t bother with these groups much if at all.

But all that changed with the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. Now many private equity firms need to register with federal regulators meaning greater costs and greater regulatory hurtles.

In an official release supporting Hurt’s bill, House Committee on Small Business chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) explains:

The Dodd-Frank Act creates excessive red tape that inhibits growth, and the costly new requirements on smaller private equity funds is a clear example. H.R. 1105 helps reduce that regulatory burden on private equity funds in a common sense way, so that private sector capital isn’t unnecessarily restricted and these funds can remain focused on investments that help grow the economy.”

In short, critics of Dodd-Frank think the new regulations on private equity may be slowing the flow of capital to startups.

Small Business Capital Bill May Not Move Forward

Earlier this month, supporters of Hurt’s bill from both parties helped pass it in the House 254-159.

But opponents of the new bill like Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) say relaxing regulation, even on private equity firms, is a bad idea. And the White House has threatened to veto the bill meaning the Senate is unlikely to even consider it anytime soon, reports The Washington Post.

Certainly, there is need for some regulation where risk to investors or the public is concerned. But creating regulations that potentially hurt business and investment is a step in the wrong direction.

Image: U.S. House of Representatives

The 3 Insurance Policies You and Your Employees Should Not Ignore

Despite all the emphasis recently on major-medical health coverage, let’s not forget three other types of insurance policies that can provide valuable protection for you, your employees and respective families in the event of injury or illness.

1. Disability Insurance

Only 31 percent of Americans are protected by disability insurance and half of those believe they need more coverage, a 2012 LIMRA and LIFE Foundation Insurance Barometer Study found. Disability insurance helps protect employees’ most valuable asset: their income and ability to earn a living.

Without steady paychecks, many would find it difficult â€" or even impossible â€" to pay the monthly mortgage or rent, car and credit card payments, utility and food bills, education costs, etc. In fact, half of all U.S. households examined would struggle to come up with $2,000 within a month, a study 2013 from the National Bureau of Economic Research determined (PDF).

Disability insurance could help alleviate some of the financial stress when disabling accidents lead to tightened purse strings.

2. Cancer or Specified Disease Insurance

An estimated 1.6 million Americans were expected to be diagnosed with cancer by the end of 2013. Cancer or specified-disease insurance can go a long way toward helping families focus on recovery, rather than on financial concerns.

A supplemental policy can help protect a patient’s savings from expenses that aren’t covered by major medical insurance. These include deductibles, out-of-network specialists, experimental cancer treatment, travel and lodging when treatment is far from home, child care and household help, and normal living expenses.

3. Life Insurance

Finally, life insurance isn’t fun to think about, but is crucial to a family’s well being should a household suddenly lose an income to death. Without it, a family’s entire standard of living could change drastically.

Life insurance policies that pay cash benefits can be used to pay remaining medical costs, cover funeral expenses, or pay monthly household bills. They can even be used to ensure a child can do something as simple as continue dance lessons or as momentous as attend college.

Women, Too, Need to Pay Attention

When providing benefit plans and making benefit choices, it should be self-evident that female employees and female business owners today have concerns just as do males when it comes to continuing the family lifestyle or caring for dependent children in the case of an emergency.

Consider these points when it comes to women business owners and women employees:

• The number of women ages 25 to 64 currently in the labor force with a college degree roughly tripled from 1970 to 2011, according (PDF) to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• The earnings of these women have also increased in proportion to men’s over the years, the Pew Research Center finds, and
• Mothers are the sole or primary providers for children in four out of 10 homes, the U.S. Department of Labor has determined.

So don’t forget to assess the needs of the female segment of the workforce.

Insurance policies photo via Shutterstock

17 Top Small Business News Stories of 2013

A lot happened during 2013 that affects small businesses.  Let’s take a look at the top small business news stories for 2013, as tracked by the Small Business Trends Editorial team:

Wearable Technology Gets Attention

Wearable technology ranges from Google Glass (the eyeglasses-like computer you wear on your head - image above) to the smartwatch.  Pebble raised a cool $10 million on Kickstarter and started shipping its smartwatch.  Not to be outdone, Samsung unveiled the Gear smartwatch as a companion to the Note 3 phone.   And 2013 saw the concept of the Smarty Ring , which raised almost $300,000 on IndiegoGo.

Maybe one day Google Glass will be perched on every head, but that day will be a while coming, if it ever arrives.   Part of the reason is due to privacy concerns people have about being filmed without their realizing it.  Already there are businesses where Google Glass is not welcome.

Accounting Software Market Changes

Competitors from offshore and with cloud products, challenge the big players in this market. And we are seeing the market stratify, with accounting and financial products designed for various sizes of small businesses:

• Xero, out of New Zealand and Australia, still has a small footprint in the United States, but raised $150 million in funding in October, to go after the U.S. market.
• Entrepreneurs and micro businesses are catching on that they don’t necessarily need double-entry accounting software. Freshbooks, out of Canada, is mainly an invoicing and expense tracking software, but calls itself “cloud accounting” now, and has 5 million people using it.  And there are dozens of other invoicing apps that when paired up with downloaded bank and credit card records, provide sufficient recordkeeping to meet the needs of very small businesses.
• Sage went the other direction. It continued developing and adding features to its Sage One product â€" combining accounting, invoicing, time tracking, productivity and collaboration features into an all-in-one suite for businesses with under 10 employees.
• Intuit, the largest player in the U.S. with millions of small businesses using it, went off on yet a different direction, by announcing plans to acquire document aggregator DocStoc.
• GoDaddy acquired the Ronin invoicing app, pairing it with previously acquired Outright, to create the GoDaddy Bookkeeping software.

Online Business Reviews Provoke Frustration, Legal Action

Online reviews and local listings that display them continue to be a sore point.  Some of the sites where reviews appear have come across as cavalier and uncaring toward small businesses through poorly implemented review systems and uneven efforts to deal with rampant fake reviews:

• A sting operation by the New York state attorney general resulted in fines against a number of marketing firms and small businesses for faking online reviews.
• Yelp sued a business that it alleges was faking its own reviews - after that same business won a small claims case against Yelp.  There’s a lot of “underground” grumbling by small business owners who feel the system is too easily gamed â€" a common complaint remains that Yelp’s algorithms hide too many legitimate positive reviews, and highlight fake ones by competitors that know how to manipulate the system.
• Facebook rolled out starred reviews.  The system was promptly given a poor review by some small businesses due to its clumsy implementation.
• Google managed to confuse small businesses with its  Google Local (Places) Plus and Google+ for Business.  By the end of the year, things started to look better.  In late November, an upgrade was rolled out that allows business owners to manage and respond to reviews left on their business listings. 
• The Better Business Bureau expanded its pilot program for verified local business reviews. The BBB review system, which is separate from its rating system of A+ through F, seemed to provoke less frustration than some of the other review sites.

Twitter Goes Public; Focuses on Revenue and Spam

• The company went public in November, trading on the NASDAQ under the symbol TWTR.  The stock has gone up and down in the past two months, but currently is up over 40% and the company has a market cap of $35 billion.  That’s more than 16 times the size of the New York Times’ market cap of $2.3 billion.
• In anticipation of its IPO, Twitter continued rolling out advertising products and improved its business resources.  It announced plans to acquire MoPub, a mobile ad platform.  We expect the focus on advertising and sponsored offerings to only increase, given the need to meet quarterly earnings expectations.
• Perhaps anticipating closer scrutiny, Twitter changed its spam algorithms, cracking down on DM spammers and other abusers.  We saw a spate of legitimate small business users having their Twitter accounts banned in error - apparently it is now trickier to follow a lot of accounts without tripping a spam filter.

Scrutiny Increases on Content Marketing

Content marketing continued to grow in 2013.  We published not one, but two lists of content marketing books during 2013, so that ought to tell you how much interest there is.  Native advertising also grew â€" native advertising comes in many forms, but newspapers have long published a form called advertorials.

Guest blogging and advertorials became so popular that they were over-used and abused by some.  It seemed like an epidemic of plagiarism and “spun” articles.  Fake writers and rings of “made-for-links” sites proliferated.  What was the goal?  Build links.

In May of 2013 Google’s head of Web spam, Matt Cutts (pictured above), spoke out and explained how advertorials need to be handled under Google’s guidelines.   Then later Cutts cautioned against “low quality” guest blogging.  The U. S. Federal Trade Commission also updated its advertising guidelines to address disclosures needed in social media.

There will always be value in high quality content in marketing.  But 2013 was the year that saw abuses of content explode, and a resulting crackdown start.

Counterfeits and Mass-Produced Goods Irk Entrepreneur Artisans

Etsy was originally set up as a marketplace for handmade items â€" and supposedly a refuge from mass-produced stuff.  But shop owners, who number nearly one million on Etsy and are mostly entrepreneur-artisans and small businesses, have been vocal about mass produced goods being allowed.  Even Etsy’s “be honest” rule is not enough, some say.

Some hand-crafted items from Etsy also are copied. Fakes end up on wholesale sites such as Alibaba. Alibaba, through founder Jack Ma (above), announced an anti-counterfeiting campaign in advance of its rumored 2014 IPO.  While counterfeiting is often thought of as a “big brand” type of plague, it also affects small businesses like artisans.

Obamacare Confusion Reigns

The year 2013 has been one of confusion.  With many media reports being politically motivated either left or right, millions of small businesses had a tough time getting good information about healthcare options. Here are some key facts:

The words of Professor Scott Shane take on added meaning: “Despite (or because of) our policy makers’ efforts, employee health insurance remains a burden for small business owners. ***  Only time will tell whether our policy makers’ efforts to help have alleviated or exacerbated the problems.”

Social Media & Mobile Valuations Hit Records

Are we living through another tech bubble, like the Dot Com bubble of 2000?  Judging from some of the valuations, possibly.

Remember Instagram, the company with no revenue that was valued at $1 billion back in 2012 when Facebook acquired it?  The year 2013 saw a redux of sorts, when Snapchat’s 23-year-old founder turned down an offer of $3 billion from Facebook.  Meanwhile, at least 16 million small businesses had Facebook pages, and Facebook was placed on the S&P 500.  Despite all that success, a report by Oklahoma Senator Coburn suggests Facebook will for the second year in a row pay zero taxes.

Yahoo, trying to reinvent itself, acquired Tumblr, a blog platform known for its porn, for $1 billion.  Shortly thereafter, Tumblr jumped on the sponsored posts bandwagon. And Yahoo is currently a Wall Street darling, with its stock price at a five-year high.

If you want to create a high-valuation startup, mobile and social are hot spaces to be.  At least for now.

Traditional Tech Companies Retrench, Reinvent

Remember those traditional technology companies so many of us run our businesses on?  Here’s what happened with a few of them:

• Dell went private again after a battle by Michael Dell to retain ownership of the company he founded in his dorm room in 1984.  Dell expanded its traditional laptop and desktop computers to include tablets and tablet hybrids. It is aggressively investing in innovative startups, acquiring other companies, and entering into partnerships to reinvent itself into a combined hardware, cloud software and services company.
• Microsoft announced the retirement of CEO Steve Ballmer as it began its own reinvention with strong moves toward mobile.  Along with aggressive marketing campaigns for its Windows Surface and RT tablets, Microsoft made a bid to acquire Nokia to gain a bigger footprint in the mobile space.
• BlackBerry - well, pundits have been predicting its demise for the past two years.  After the disappointing launch of BlackBerry 10, the company changed CEOs in November.  For awhile it planned to go private, then scrapped that.  Right now the focus seems to be on serving businesses in regulated industries and government.

Netting it out: the changes at Microsoft and Dell are good news for small businesses. BlackBerry is becoming less of a player in the small business market with each passing month.

Phones Get Bigger, Tablets Smaller, Voice Minutes Go Away

• Mobile devices become big then get cheaper. We saw plenty of data about the increased popularity of mobile devices with consumers this year. And manufacturers responded with more phones and tablets. There were also hybrids like the phablet. And then the devices started getting cheaper too.
• The responsive Web design approach gained steam.  Instead of creating a separate .mobi site, today a responsive design can make sure all visitors experience your site in the best possible way - whether they are using a smartphone, tablet or computer.
• Voice minutes are becoming almost a thing of the past in the United States. The reason is that mobile carriers have realized charging for data transfer is the more lucrative approach. Carriers are beginning to do away with hardware subsidies, too.
• Apple, meanwhile, announced that its app store had generated $10 billion in revenue for the third-party developers. The demand for mobile apps on other sites like Google Play also is strong.

Grumpy Cat and Gangnam Style Memes Cool Off

Two of the hottest viral memes  in recent memory became big news this year and later faded. Though the Gangnam Style video was posted in 2012, by 2013 it had became the most watched online video in history. Grumpy Cat still has her fans, but the adorable cat (pictured above) is not quite as hot.

Independent Worker Marketplaces Grow, Merge

oDesk and Elance announce a merger. The two online freelance marketplaces decided to pool resources. That fact, along with 30+ other freelancer sites, shows how the labor market is changing, with more hiring of independent workers being done online.

Crowdfunding Sites Grow

Sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo became instrumental in funding startup projects. And sites like CrowdBrewed are springing up to represent niche markets like brewing. Meanwhile, the SEC issued “no action letters” that made it a bit easier to do online venture and angel crowdfunding.

Internet Sales Tax Heats Up, Stalls

The issue continues to divide small business owners, depending on their business interests.  An effort to pass national legislation â€" the so-called Marketplace Fairness Act â€" appears stalled in Congress.  Meanwhile, various states tried attacking related issues from another angle, by taxing affiliate marketing.

Printing Evolves From Laserjet to 3D

Traditional printing remained in demand, despite our move to electronic data. The HP laserjet turned 30 years old and HP shipped its 200 millionth printer. But 2013 also was the year that saw 3D printing start to hit the mainstream (image above). Some UPS Stores now offer 3D printing to customers.

Bitcoin: Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing?

Bitcoin, the alternative virtual currency, was much discussed throughout 2013.  Some Web entrepreneurs use it because it makes it harder to track their money.  However, Bitcoin has a long way to go to catch on with mainstream small businesses.

Privacy and Security Woes Increase

By now you’ve read about the NSA reading emails and listening to phone calls.  But it’s not only the government digging into your privacy.  News came out that Facebook knows more about you than you might think.  And hackers found small businesses to be easy targets.

2014 WordPress Website Trends: What’s Hot and What’s Not

The popularity of CMS-based websites has been growing constantly, and WordPress is the most used platform by far.

At least 19 percent of the entire Internet is powered by the WordPress platform. This number includes nearly half (48 percent) of the top 100 Technorati blogs, as well as some of the largest websites in the world - Ford Motor Company and NASA, to name a few. In 2014, that number is expected to increase.

In the 10 years since its launch, WordPress website trends have come and gone. Below are some of the latest emerging 2014 WordPress website trends that you can expect to see more of in the new year - and some of the features that have fallen by the wayside.

2014 WordPress Website Trends: What’s Hot

Speed, Simplicity, Standout Backgrounds

Fast loading times are crucial for a successful website today. With more people than ever accessing the Internet on mobile devices, the trend is toward websites that are simple and easy to navigate, yet elegant and interesting.

Look for these WordPress features to rise in popularity during 2014:

Typography Over Images

Through simple add-ons like Typekit, more WordPress websites are creating great looks with the use of distinctive fonts.

Previously, most websites were limited to using standard fonts like Arial, Times New Roman or the dreaded Comic Sans, with the process of displaying custom fonts limited to hand-coded or designer sites.

Now just about any font style can be displayed through easy-to-use technology and more WordPress sites are incorporating stunning typography to help them stand out.

Flat Websites

The latest digital interfaces, including Windows 8 and iOS 7, shy away from fancy design elements like gradients or shadow, and instead rely on the use of color to make things pop. This trend is also surfacing in WordPress websites.

Clean and simple layouts with strategic color placement are the basis of the sleek, modern designs you can see reflected in many WordPress templates and custom websites. Expect this WordPress website trend to continue through 2014.

Single Page Websites

Potentially inspired by navigation challenges on mobile devices, there have been plenty of these simplified WordPress designs popping up lately. Simple, yet elegant, single page websites contain all of the main content in one page. When you click on a “menu” item your view shifts to another area of the same page, rather than changing the URL and loading a new page.

Some examples of single page WordPress templates include the free One Page from WordPress, and paid themes like Renova, Stylos, and Interion.

Full Width Background Images

While simplicity is trending high, style and professionalism are still important facets of a successful site.

One way many WordPress websites are bringing their designs to life is through the use of page-width imagery, usually with a hi-definition photo as the background.

2014 WordPress Website Trends: What’s Not

Lag-Prone, Slow Loading Page Elements

In a world built on speed, most WordPress websites are shedding anything that slows them down and makes navigation cumbersome.

These outgoing elements include:

Frames

A popular page-within-a-page layout style for many years, frames can make for a dramatic website.

Unfortunately, they also slow down loading times and make for SEO (search engine optimization) unfriendly pages that can bring searchers to random content outside the main website.

PDFs as Pages

While it’s fairly easy to insert a PDF document as a page into a WordPress website, it’s also cumbersome and most visitors don’t appreciate the shift from viewing a standard Web page to downloading a PDF, especially on mobile devices. PDFs also have a tendency to crash browsers.

Flash and Animations

In the battle of Flash versus HTML5, the more dynamic HTML5 is far ahead. This is particularly true in the mobile market, with iOS devices not supporting Flash display. Other types of animations, such as Gifs, are also being left behind due to the drag on loading times.

It’s shaping up to be a great year for simplifying and transforming your website using the latest 2014 WordPress website trends. Begin to envision your Web presence for 2014 now.

Hot Trends Photo via Shutterstock

More in: 2014 trends

Green Bed and Breakfast Wins $5000 Award

There are several reasons to consider creating a greener business.

They can include things like saving money and, of course, just a basic concern for the environment.

But Kurt Kessner and Alline Anderson (pictured above), co-owners of the Milkweed Merchantile Eco Inn and Organic Cafe, have  discovered there is something more. It can be a profitable way to distinguish your business too.

The inn is built with reclaimed wood and insulated with straw bales (a waste product from local farmers). The roof is made of metal from recycled cars and is designed to  collect rainwater for drinking, cooking and bathing.

Food served at the bed and breakfast and at the environmentally friendly cafe is organic and most comes from local farmers. One specialty is the cafe’s signature pizza served every Wednesday. The pizza features dough and even feta and mozzarella cheese made locally.

And all vehicles in the inn’s compound are either 100 percent biodiesle or electric.

See more about the Milkweed Merchantile in the YouTube video created to showcase the business below.

The environmentally friendly bed and breakfast recently was named one of the nation’s top three green businesses for travel and transportation by Green America.

The national non-profit supports environmentally friendly businesses with an annual People & Planet Award recognizing the nation’s top 12 environmentally and socially responsible businesses.

Owners Kessner and Anderson received a $5000 prize in addition to the recognition.

Anderson says the money will be invested to continue the business’s growth which, she says, includes education of consumers and others.

Anderson told Green America on the organization’s official Website:

“The funds will go a long way in our efforts to demonstrate that a sustainable life is about joy, community, a real sense of connection, hope, and of course, great food!”

She said one goal was to further promote the business’s branded line of jams and pickles created with ingredients from local farmers and gardeners.

Bottom line: you may never have thought of creating a greener business as a form of marketing. But Kessner and Anderson’s experience proves this approach can be a simple solution when targeting the right customers.

Image: Milkweed Merchantile

Technology Drives Marketing Predictions for 2014

As proven by this year’s holiday shopping season, technology is reshaping the way customers find and purchase products. And research indicates those trends are likely to continue. So they should be reflected in your marketing plan for the coming year. Here are some related predictions about where marketing is headed in 2014.

Native Advertising Grows

Traditional forms of advertising rarely draw in customers in the Information Age. With new information inundating us daily, forms of advertising such as display ads only average a 0.1% click-through rate, with 85% of clicks delivered by 8% of the online population. However, native advertising, in which content is integrated into the user’s online experience, is much more successful. IPG Media Lab and Sharethrough found that when compared to display ads, consumers looked at native ads 53% more frequently. Additionally, consumers were 18% more likely to purchase the advertised product with native ads.

So what are the different types of native ads you can invest in? One popular subset is content marketing, in which businesses produce relevant branded content that consumers actually want to read. These include blogs, articles, and white papers.  90% of customers consider this type of content useful, and among B2B businesses, 93% plan to use content marketing in 2014. Forbes predicts that content marketing in 2014 will be more strategic and professional, so be sure to invest the necessary time and money for a well-planned content marking initiative.

Another type of native advertising is promoted tweets, trends, and stories on social media. As advertising on these sites becomes more prevalent in 2014 and beyond, it will be harder and harder for businesses to promote themselves for free. This expense might be difficult for small businesses on a limited budget. However, this strategy does work. A recent study found that promoted Tweets increased brand conversation and drove offline sales.

Image Marketing Matures

While the big social media sites (Facebook, Twitter) have a mixture of text and image content, the new sites on the rise (Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram, Buzzfeed) are almost entirely image-based. And businesses are increasingly marketing on these new sites. A study by Simply Measured found that “71 percent of the world’s largest brands have adopted Instagram” - and that number is only predicted to grow in 2014.

Why the rise in images? Well, for one thing many people learn visually, so images are the best way for them to process new information. But the reason for the recent surge probably has more to do with the ease with which photos and videos can be optimized on mobile devices. In fact, video now accounts for 90% of all Internet traffic and 50% of mobile traffic. And search engines now reflect this shift, with Google highlighting image search results to the top of the page. So to attract consumer attention, you need to integrate visuals into next year’s marketing strategy.

Still not convinced of the power of images? A mom and her teenage daughter started a local teen trend website, and they received 10,000 visitors in a month just by posting a single image to Pinterest.  Now that number is up to 120,000 average visitors per month. Huffington Post has the details on this story and how you can better leverage Pinterest for your organization.

Mobile Traffic Becomes Critical

Mobile traffic is increasingly important in business marketing. According to the Walker Sands Quarterly Mobile Traffic Report, 28% of website traffic now originates from mobile devices, and that number is only predicted to grow in 2014. So it is more important than ever that your company’s website be optimized for mobile viewing - whether that means creating a separate mobile version or investing in responsive web design. The Search Engine Journal has these great tips on how to make your website mobile-friendly if you want a good kick-start.

But its not enough to have a functioning site, you should be investing in mobile-centered marketing initiatives. For example, mobile geo-targeting, which allows companies to send relevant messages based on their location, is predicted to account for one half of mobile advertising dollars by 2017. And it’s well worth the investment. Geo-targeting can help you target your advertising within a specific area, and perhaps more importantly, help you determine the interests, shopping habits, and demographics of your potential customers.

As these trends demonstrate, customers have numerous platforms and devices by which to interact with your brand, so you have to be cross-pollinating and compatible with all of them. Business Insider reports that perhaps the biggest challenge for businesses in 2014 will be to find a way to track customers across all of these channels. But once you figure out the best strategy for your company, you’ll get a fuller picture of customer shopping habits and see more effective marketing results in the long run.

Customers go mobile photo via Shutterbug

More in: 2014 trends

How Should You Correct a Problem Employee?

It’s the part of our jobs every small business owner hates - dealing with a problem employee.

Whatever the reason, whether you dislike confrontation or worry about getting sued, you can’t ignore employee problems, or they will just get bigger and potentially threaten your entire business. Fortunately, there are some simple steps you can take to protect your business legally, while also correcting a problem employee’s poor behavior.

The moment you hire your first employee, you need to create a written employee policy that documents your rules and expectations for the workplace. It should also state what actions (such as theft) would be grounds for dismissal. Have all employees read and sign a copy.

When a problem does arise, start by getting the facts. Talk to other employees to see what’s going on and document the issues as objectively as possible.

Then it’s time to talk to the person. To stay on the right side of the law when it comes to discipline, you should have a progressive discipline policy that gives employees opportunities to correct their behaviors. Start with a discussion of the issue and a verbal warning, and set a date by which the behavior needs to be corrected.

The goal is to work out problems and hopefully keep the employee on board. Work with him or her to create a plan for how to improve. Getting the employee’s input makes him or her more invested in the outcome.

If the behavior still doesn’t improve, escalate your discipline to a written warning, which documents the problem and its duration, specifies how long the employee has to correct the problem and details what will happen if it’s still not fixed. You and the employee should both sign this.

Depending on your employee policies, how severe the issue is and whether the employee is really trying to improve or not, you may do multiple written warnings before (in the worst case) terminating an employee. However, by implementing progressive discipline early and correctly, hopefully you never come to that point.

If you have any doubts or questions about discipline and termination, be sure to consult with an attorney who is familiar with your state’s employment laws.

This article, provided by Nextiva, is republished through a content distribution agreement. The original can be found here.

Disciplining Photo via Shutterstock

The Era of Declining Self-Employment

The number of employed Americans rose from 144,144,000 in October 2013 to 144,775,000 in November 2013, an increase of 631,000, according to Federal government data.

That’s good news. More people going back to work is something that everyone - left, right and center - agrees is good for the country.

But a closer look at the data shows that the employment situation isn’t as good for those Americans in business for themselves as for those who work for others. Hidden in the rise in the number of employed Americans is another trend. It’s a divergence between what has happened to people working for themselves (what economists call the self-employed) as compared to those working for others (what economists call the wage-employed).

Last month, the number of wage-employed Americans increased by 673,000, while the number of self-employed Americans declined by 42,000. (Wage employment is total employment minus the sum of incorporated and unincorporated self-employment.)

This divergence isn’t just a one-month aberration. Consider what has happened over the last year. From November 2012 to November 2013, the number of Americans working for others rose by 1,451,000. But, over the same period, the number of self-employed Americans fell by 225,000.

Both wage and self-employment took a similar-sized hit during the Great Recession, with self-employment dropping 5.5 percent between November 2007 and November 2009. During the same period, wage employment declined by a comparable 5.4 percent. But since then the recovery has been uneven. Wage employment has nearly returned to levels seen before the economic downturn. In November 2013, it was only 0.8 percent lower than it was in November 2007. By contrast, self-employment has declined further, and is now 8.1 percent below its November 2007 level.

The divergence in wage and self-employment means that fewer Americans are in business for themselves now than before the Great Recession. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data reveal that 6 percent of the American population is now self-employed, versus 6.9 percent six years ago. While a difference of 0.9 percentage points might not sound like a lot, it is. If the same fraction of the population was self-employed today as six years ago, 2,223,000 more Americans would currently be self-employed.

The history of self-employment over the past six years stands in sharp contrast to what happened over the previous seven. From November 2000 to November 2007, the number of self-employed Americans increased by 10.9 percent, while the number of U.S. wage-employed rose by only 6.6 percent.

If policy makers are as interested in self-employment as they seem to be at election time, they might take a look at what’s been different over the past six years versus the previous seven. The earlier period was far more favorable to self-employment than the latter one. Perhaps a change in policies is responsible.

Self-Employed Photo Via Shutterstock

New Smartglasses Raise Nearly $83,000, Rival Google Glass

There have been many companies jumping on the smartwatch bandwagon since the introduction of the Pebble.

But so far, one company has clearly led the way in the development of smartglasses. In fact, Google has been so closely associated with the smartglass revolution that one tech writer coined the term glogging to describe blogging with Google Glass.

Of course, all of that may be about to change.

Atheer Labs Introduces Immersive Experience

The word you hear repeated most often by developers at Athere Labs to describe their new smartglass prototypes is “immersive.” And a glimpse of what the company says these devices can do certainly seems to bear that out.

Check out this video shared with the Indiegogo community, where Athere Labs is trying to raise $100,000 for release of two devices (nearly $83,000 has already been raised) :

Google Glass offers a computer display projected against one lens of the wearable glasses. The device allows you to check online information and control the taking of point-of-view video and photos.

The new devices from Athere create a 3D experience with a 36 degree field of vision. The glasses create the impression of a tablet display screen floating just in front of your eyes.

The 3D effect is visible through both lenses on the devices. And gesture recognition technology even makes it possible for you to scroll through online documents, turn pages and do searches with a swipe of your finger.

New Adhere Devices Set for 2014 Release

A consumer device called the Athere One starts at $350 and can be pre-ordered now on the company website for estimated shipment in late 2014. The device allows you to connect to an Android smartphone and use it to access online information, games and even videos.

Developers say connecting with an Android device means you have access to around 800,000 apps in the Android app store.

A developer version of the glasses called simply the “Developer Kit” starts at $850. And it should be available in early 2014. It comes with USB and other connections designed so that developers can hook up a tablet and use it to develop new applications.

A Truly Mobile Business Tool

Just based on initial impressions, it looks as if the new devices may have real potential as business tools.

While news on Google Glass has focused mainly around its ability to capture images and to be a source of multitasking distraction, the Athere devices may be different.

There have been stories of Google Glass users being banned from businesses due to privacy concerns. And there has even been one run-in with the law by a Google Glass wearer.

However, Athere developers have focused on accessing data rather than taking photos or video. There is no way to use the new devices while driving or performing any other activity. However, there may be a benefit for business owners away from the office to be able to immerse themselves in important work online. And that’s without the need to carry a laptop or even a tablet along.

Image: Athere Labs

Techieworks: Providing Seniors with Online Tech Help

When Anant Vats was working for Infosys in Houston, he once took the bus with some friends to go to dinner in town.

Suddenly, an old lady sitting next to them asked them if they could fix her computer. Pleasantly surprised at this request, Anant asked her what led her to believe they could.

“Because you are Indian!” she said.

The incident stuck in Anant’s mind. So two years later, when he quit his job at Infosys, it was to co-found Techieworks, a venture that fixes computers remotely for seniors in the U.S. and Canada.

More Seniors Online

The need to keep in touch with family and friends is leading an increasing number of seniors to use the Internet. A Pew Research Center report says that more than half of American adults over 65 years of age are active online.

Nearly 86% use e-mail for communication, with 48% accessing it every day. More than 39 million from this group use social networking sites such as Facebook, Skype, and Twitter. Their presence on social networking sites such as Facebook has tripled to 43% during the last four years making them one of the fastest growing demographics in this space.

However, they are often at a loss when they encounter technical problems.

It was to solve these problems specifically that led Vats and his brother, Abhinav, an advertising and copywriting professional, to found Techieworks in 2011.

Based in Gurgaon, India, the company offers remote technical assistance services including PC optimization, anti-virus support, operating system support and troubleshooting. The company also helps with data backup, transfer of contacts and multimedia from phone to PC, application installation, home or office network setup and and other tech updates.

Need for Online Technical Help Grows

Techieworks is not alone in providing online tech help.

There are several remote technical support firms operating out of India. But what sets Techieworks apart is its specific targeting of the senior niche.

The company is sensitive to the needs of its ideal customers and so has evolved an intuitive, simple service model.

It offers multiple touch-points to reach out to customers eliminating the need to remember and write down numbers. It also offers chat support for customers who find it difficult to talk. And it eliminates waiting queues by allowing customers to leave a request to be called back.

Bootstrapping Model Leads to Profitability

The two brothers bootstrapped the company with their own funds.

They hired their first two employees in a coffee shop even before they had any office space. And they pushed themselves to be austere in their expenditures by using second hand furniture and by renting IT infrastructure instead of buying new.

The money they saved was used to build their knowledge and expertise in areas where they could gain a competitive edge. The company is currently generating revenue and profitable. And it owes this profitability to the cost-saving methods established in its early days.

What Comes Next?

So, what’s next for Techieworks? Vats says the company will continue to offer new products and services that address the needs of the senior market.

The company is not yet ready to look for external funding. And Vats says he believes that external investors take the fun and freedom out of building a company.

The founder adds that he does not harbor dreams of becoming a multimillionaire overnight. Though making more money is certainly a consideration, he says he wants to be in a situation where he can decide the kind of culture he will build for the members of the Techieworks family.

As a fan of bootstrapping entrepreneurs, I am delighted to see a company generating revenue and reaching profitability without external financing. And the secret is catering to the needs of an under-served segment.

Senior on laptop image via Shutterstock

10 Best Content Marketing Books for Small Businesses in 2013

Marketing has gotten complex. But who says you have to be implementing every single marketing technique or social media platform? Granted, there are many experts extolling the virtues of this strategy or that platform, but no one is telling you to use them all.   In 2014 consider SIMPLIFYING your marketing.

In fact, if you were to just choose ONE major marketing strategy, you would have more than enough tactics to keep you busy for years. Let’s take content marketing as an example.  And what better place to learn about content marketing than a good reading list.

Here are the Small Business Trends Editorial Team picks for best content marketing books published originally or in a new edition during 2013:

1. Epic Content Marketing

by Joe Pulizzi (@JoePulizzi) (Sep 3, 2013)

It’s not enough to simply throw content out onto the Internet and expect that customers will see it and connect to it. You need more than that.

This book is a great resource for marketing managers and small business owners who would like to use content marketing as a way to gain visibility for your business. You will find everything you need to get started here. (Read our review.)

You will learn to define your niche, revise your mission statement, and differentiate content types and content assets. You will also learn how to use social media to market your content and be introduced to some other content promotion techniques as well. And you will learn how to measure the impact of your content marketing initiatives to determine whether they have been successful.

2. The New Rules of Marketing & PR

by David Meerman Scott (@dmscott) (Jul 1, 2013)

This is a classic! It is now in its 4th edition.

It contains updates on all of the basic social media channels as well as new case studies and examples.

You’ll learn the best and most successful practices in social media, blogging, video and audio as well as the latest content marketing strategies.

This is a comprehensive content marketing guide for small business owners.  Every marketing department/person in a small business should have this on the shelf.

3. Content Marketing: Insider’s Secret to Online Sales & Lead Generation

by Rick Ramos (@ricktramos) (Jul 10, 2013)

If you’ve chosen content marketing as a strategy for getting the word out about your business, but are unsure of exactly what is involved, this is a great place to start.

Ramos, an online marketer himself, shares everything you need to know to develop a comprehensive content marketing strategy for your business.

Some of the topics include finding your online voice, choosing your channels, developing content calendars and providing insider tips and tricks for creating killer content.

4. 500 Social Media Marketing Tips 

by Andrew Macarthy (@andrewmacarthy) (Feb 7, 2013)

If you’d rather be in the trenches DOING social media rather than just thinking or reading about it, this might be the book for you.

It contains 500 practical tips that you can put to use in minutes. You’ll get strategies for LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram, Vine and a few more.

Included are also templates and a general strategy for social media success. You’ll find this truly readable book full of ideas that will get you ready to reap the benefits of social media for your business.

5. The Big Book of Content Marketing

by Andreas Ramos (@andreas_ramos99) (May 26, 2013)

Done right, content marketing can help you both build your brand and attract your ideal customers.

This book will help you get that process started. Or if you’ve already started and want to improve your strategy, the Big Book of Content Marketing will help you do that too. In its pages you’ll learn to determine how content marketing fits into your overall strategy, use influencer marketing to distribute your content, and track the success of your strategy.

6. Content to Commerce

by Avi Savar (@avisavar) (May 20, 2013)

If you have already implemented a content marketing strategy and are looking for some ideas to help you take your efforts to the next level, this is a good choice.

This book gives you more of a 30,000 foot view of content marketing and contains essays from successful strategists and marketers who have used these strategies to propel big brands to success.

7. Youtility: Why Smart Marketing Is about Help Not Hype

by Jay Baer (@jaybaer) (Jun 27, 2013)

You already know that selling to existing customers is the best and highest use of your marketing dollars and efforts.

This book shows you how to transform your marketing content from being “hype” focused to being “help” focused. Baer asks the pivotal question for today’s content-focused marketing strategists.

“What if instead of trying to be amazing, you tried to be useful?”This book will show you how to transform your marketing content from being salesy to being helpful and in-turn generating more profitable customers.

8. How to Write Articles That Convert Like Crazy 

by Ian Hollander (Jan 24, 2013)

The subtitle to this book is:  ”The Secret To Turning Your Ideas into Income …. & Your Content into CASH!”

From that subtitle, you might think this was going to be a totally cheesy Kindle book â€" but you’d be wrong.

Yes, it’s self-published and not as polished as some of the other books on this list.  But it’s also only $2.99, so you won’t be risking much.

Read this short and easy-to-scan book to harvest the straight-forward ideas.  For a small business owner or entrepreneur on a budget, who writes a blog or submits guest articles, this book has practical advice you can put to work immediately.

9. The Invisible Sale

by Tom Martin (Oct 4, 2013)

Content marketing isn’t just for writers. It’s a good strategy for people who hate cold calling.

So many small business owners run away from selling. But you can’t afford to do that.

This 200+ page book contains four sections that overlay a common selling cycle on top of powerful content marketing strategies that will help you reach out to customers and generate leads for your business without cold calling.

10. Subliminally Exposed

by Steven Dayan MD (Jun 4, 2013)

Subliminally Exposed isn’t a marketing book per se, but no marketer should ignore it. Author Steven Dayan, MD reveals the how and why behind your actions and empowers you to decode and translate others’ subconscious behaviors.

No, this isn’t likely to be a book on the radar of your typical marketing professional. But it’s loaded with interesting facts that will help you better understand social dynamics of all kinds. It could also help you attract your ideal customer, too.

Think of content not just as words, but as images, too.  If you want to know how to push the right buttons to engage the interest of customers, this is the book.

* * * * *

While some of these content marketing books may not be best sellers, they each offer something of value for those intent on becoming expert content marketers.

We limited this list to books new (or newly updated) in 2013.  If you’re looking for older content marketing books, take a look at a previous list of content marketing books.

Our Last Events List of 2013

With just a few days left in 2013, we’re now looking ahead to 2014 and the events to come.  We expect to update in the coming week or two, but for now, please check out the list of small business events, conferences, seminars, context and awards for 2014.

Welcome to our latest curated list of events, contests and awards for small businesses, solo entrepreneurs and growing companies. To see a full list or to submit your own event, contest or award listing, visit the Small Business Events Calendar.

Featured Events, Contests and Awards

Affiliate Management Days San Francisco 2014
March 19, 2014, San Francisco, CA

AM Days is the must attend event for affiliate managers who are responsible for their company’s affiliate marketing strategy, management and operations. Whether you have an existing affiliate program or you are creating a new initiative, AMDays offers you valuable insight into how other online retailers are successfully implementing and managing their affiliate programs. Topics include: Affiliate program set up; Affiliate recruitment techniques; Affiliate marketing fraud; M-commerce; and much more.
Hashtag: #AMDays

ICON14 by Infusionsoft
April 23, 2014, Phoenix, AZ

#ICON14 is the eighth annual conference for small business, hosted by Infusionsoft (previously called Infusioncon). Over 3,000 attendees expected. Confirmed speakers include Seth Godin, JJ Ramberg and Peter Shankman.

Hashtag: #ICON14
Discount Code
smallbiztrends (Get an extra $100 off)

More Events

• Aspen Global Investment Forum
  January 06, 2014, Aspen, CO
• Google Analytics Grand Tour: Roadmap to Collecting, Reporting and Analyzing Data
  January 07, 2014, Uniontown, OH
• Consumer Electronics Show 2014
  January 07, 2014, Las Vegas, NV
• SYMPOSIA::2014 Conference for Women Entrepreneurs
  January 10, 2014, San Francisco, CA
• Introduction to Appreciative Inquiry: Creating What Will Be
  January 13, 2014, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
• Kick Off The New Year: Business & Entrepreneur Networking Mixer
  January 14, 2014, New York City, New York/USA
• Small Business Expo 2013 - Miami
  January 16, 2014, Miami, FL
• Road Map to HIPAA Compliance - Webinar
  January 16, 2014, Online
• Take Action. Get A SLAP: Create A One-Year Growth Plan For Your Business
  January 23, 2014, Online
• Outlook Tips for Finance Professionals
  January 28, 2014, Online
• HIPAA Compliance: Managing the Business Associates Relationship ‘Safely’ Webinar
  January 29, 2014, Online
• Mastering the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules
  January 30, 2014, Online
• Appreciative Inquiry Facilitator Training (AIFT)
  February 10, 2014, Las Vegas, NV
• Small Bytes & Apps
  February 22, 2014, Cambridge, MA
• 18th Annual North American Shared Services & Outsourcing Week
  March 12, 2014, Orlando, FL
• Conversion Conference West 2014 San Francisco
  March 17, 2014, San Francisco, CA
• International Conference on E-Technologies and Business on the Web
  March 18, 2014, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
• Second International Conference on Green Computing, Technology and Innovation
  March 18, 2014, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
• International Conference on Technological Advances in Electrical, Electronics and Computer Engineering
  March 18, 2014, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
• SPREE 2014 - Specialty Retail Entrepreneur Expo & Conference
  April 08, 2014, Las Vegas, NV

More Contests

This weekly listing of small business events, contests and awards is provided as a community service by Small Business Trends and SmallBizTechnology.

Improve Conversion, Spot Difficult Customers and More

We’ve looked around the online business community again this week and scooped up some helpful tidbits. We’ll be sharing them with you this week as always. And check out the information below for more on how to get involved with making our community news reports more helpful.

15 Tools to Improve your Conversion (J Plus Media Solutions)

Different online businesses will likely define conversion in different ways. To some, it means visitors buy something while on your site or email you about your services. To other, it just means getting people to sign up for your newsletter. In either case, this list of tools from Adam Connell may help you get more.

How to Identify a Difficult Customer (Mosiac Networx)

When you first met with them, they seemed like the perfect fit for your company. But all of that has changed. Today they treat your firm with condescension and lack of respect. Here’s how to spot this kind of customer ahead of time.

Wearable Technology will Change your Business (Get Sage Blog)

They include smartwatches, Google Glass and other devices that may not have gotten as much coverage in the news. This may have been the year of wearable technology, writes Kevin Rexroat. It is a movement likely to change our business and personal lives in the years to come.

8 Digital Marketing Firms Have Holiday Fun (Marketing Land)

An important part of effective marketing is letting customers know a bit more about your business’s personality. Matt McGee shares eight examples of video hijinx for the holidays from some prominent marketing firms.

Now You Can Buy a Starbucks Franchise â€" in Europe (The Franchise King)

Franchise King Joel Libava has some exciting news. For the longest time he’s been telling those interested in buying a Starbucks franchise that know such opportunities exist. But all of that had changed now. If, of course, you live in UK and France.

Using LinkedIn for Content Marketing Link Humans

Content marketing is a huge part of the use of social media. Few think about LinkedIn as a marketing channel. It seems more like a networking channel for professionals. But before you assume this is the case, have a look at this post.

A Guide to Weekly Roundups The Practicing IT Project Manager

OK. We thought this one was interesting. Of course, Small Business Trends isn’t the only website to publish weekly news roundups. Here’s blogger Dave Gordon’s guide to the preparation of his weekly roundup. Perhaps we can pick up some tips as well!

Google Plus Post Ads Unveiled (Search Influence)

Thanks to Will Scott for this post on a new advertising option over at Google Plus. Have you heard of the Post Ads yet? Supposedly, they are a completely different animal than the sponsored posts on Facebook and Twitter. Check it out.

If you’d like to help us create a better community news and information roundup, we’re always open to suggestions. Just email us at sbtips@gmail.com with suggestions. Or submit your content to the BizSugar.com community. We often listen in to the site for more on what the small business community is talking about. So feel free to join in.

Business tablet via Shutterstock

10 Tips for Greater Online Privacy

Comedian Jack Vale (pictured above) recently took to the streets of California to freak out unsuspecting pedestrians. Vale simply searched for social media posts around his current location and then did some research on the users to make them think he knew the personal details of their lives. You can view the entire prank in the video below.

While the prank was made for entertainment, it has raised some concerns about social media privacy. If it’s so easy for someone to learn these details on social media, maybe some people aren’t doing enough to protect their information.

Here are a few tips to help you protect your personal information on social media.

1. Monitor Yourself

Set up a Google alert for your name and/or business name so that you know if anyone is using your information inappropriately. It can also help you monitor your online reputation.

2. Review Your Settings

In a post on Social Media Today, Mike Johansson suggests:

“Understanding your FB settings may take 30 minutes one day, but it will be the best half hour you spend on yourself on the social network.”

Facebook, for example, automatically sets your posts and profile information to public. So if you want only friends or certain people to see your information, you’ll need to go into your settings and change them. Other sites also allow you to make private profiles or protect posts from certain users. Take at least a few minutes when signing up to review the settings and decide how to best use them.

3. Control Tagged Posts

Some sites, like Facebook, allow others to tag you in photos or posts that then appear on your own profile. To avoid these tagged posts accidentally giving away your location while you’re on vacation or traveling for business, The Nationwide Blog recommends:

“Prevent tagged posts from automatically appearing on your timeline by enabling the timeline review control. Then you can approve pictures snapped by friends or family during vacation after you get home.”

[Image: Facebook]

For other platforms that may not have the same settings, consider just talking to your friends and family to go over any guidelines for tagging you in posts or photos.

4. Use Caution With Location Based Apps

Checking in at local businesses and other locations can help you interact with brands and like-minded individuals. But letting people know where you are at all times can also be an obvious privacy concern. If you’re worried about people knowing your current location, but you still want to check in, doing so right before you leave can help you interact while still enjoying some privacy in person. You should also regularly monitor which apps have access to your location data on your mobile device. As Jonny Evans of Computerworld reports.

“It’s important to understand that when you allow a third-party app or website to use your information on an Apple product you become subject to the terms of service and privacy policies of those applications.”

5. Protect Your Mobile Devices

Mobile devices can hold so much personal data. It’s important to have a plan in place for if your device is lost or stolen so your information doesn’t end up in the wrong hands. Apps and programs like Norton Mobile Security or Google Sync can help you track your device or wipe your information if lost. You should also consider using a password to get into your device.

6. Use Two-Step Verification

Some programs like Gmail give you the option to use a two-factor login system. This often means that sites will require you use both your computer and phone to sign into your account. Taking advantage of this makes it twice as hard for people to hack into your accounts and get access to your information.

[Image: Google]

Dave Lewis of CSO Online explains:

“Two factor authentication is not the be all end all of authentication measures, but it sure beats using just a simple password.”

7. Consider Your Browser

Cookies and browser history are directly tied to online privacy. So clearing them regularly is a must. But you should also be aware of your preferred browser’s policies on cookies. An infographic at WhoIsHostingThis.com outlines some of the other factors that impact online privacy, such the kind of browsers we choose to search the Web. For example, the WhoIsHostingThis.com team suggests concerned individuals stay away from Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, and Safari, suggesting:

“’Private browsing’ and ‘incognito mode’ on these browsers still use cookies to track what you’re searching online.”

Instead, the site’s team recommends opting for Mozilla Firefox, Opera, or Tor.

[Image: WhoIsHostingThis.com]

8. Be Careful What You Share

Aside from not wanting your personal information out there for all to see, sharing certain tidbits with a large audience (like your Facebook connections or Twitter followers) can invite hackers and compromise your accounts. An official post at the Microsoft Safety & Security Center recommends:

“A common way that hackers break into financial or other accounts is by clicking the “Forgot your password?” link on the account login page. To break into your account, they search for the answers to your security questions, such as your birthday, home town, high school class, or mother’s middle name.”

So consider the information from such questions, and other personal tidbits, very carefully before broadcasting them on social media.

9. Don’t Blindly Click Links

Links in messages and posts on social networking sites aren’t always what they seem. Hackers and others trying to gain personal information can lure unsuspecting users into giving away their passwords and other data. Online security experts at Kaspersky Lab recently told Telegraph Media Group:

“Scammers use numerous techniques to get people to give away their Facebook logins. Clicking on an email link entitled ‘Facebook Christmas Specials’, for example, could open a fake Facebook portal in which users are required to enter their login details.”

10. Log Out

Staying logged into your social accounts and having them remember your passwords is certainly convenient. But it also leaves you vulnerable for anyone who uses or gains access to your device to use your accounts and find your personal data. To combat this, log in and out of your accounts each time you use them, and use particular caution on public or shared devices.

Image: Jack Vale Films

“Revenue and The CMO” Provides Case Study Worth Reading

Selecting a unique business book is difficult sometimes. Some topics require a lengthy treatment that may not fit into a busy schedule. Others are given too few pages to offer much insight on a topic.

But some authors hit that perfect balance, short enough for the busy small business person and yet the perfect length to deal with the subject matter effectively. That’s the case with “Revenue and The CMO: How Marketing Will Impact Revenue Through Big Data and Social Selling…and How To Get Started“.

The author Glenn Gow (@CrimsonCEO) addresses big data needs from the perspective of a company’s Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). Gow is more than a business expert. He is also CEO of Crimson Marketing, a fast-growing Inc. 500 technology marketing firm. My review e-copy arrived courtesy of the Crimson team.

This book is a short read - 90 pages - with half of that dedicated to a case study and half made up of lessons learned. The case study is a story about a CMO, Mary, who is frustrated with being under-appreciated. A conversation with the VP of Sales, Sal, leads to an examination of how to fix a three quarter sales decline at the company. They rely on developing a pilot for a social selling program meant to improve the sales team’s engagement with customers in the sales cycle.

At first blush, I’ll admit I felt some uncertainty about the content’s value relative to today’s technological landscape. Most discussions about big data these days are a bit more technical and difficult to handle adequately in such a short treatment. For a while, part of me wished Gow had chosen a more pressing big data issue. Examples might include the problems posed by the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) movement or the challenge of integrating a new database into a legacy database structure.

But ultimately I got what Gow was attempting to do with this book. The text speaks to sales teams that are impacted by customer response to multichannel marketing. Thus Gow’s approach differs from the detailed strategy provided in books like “Islands of Profit In a Sea of Red Ink.” It simplifies just enough to recommend steps regardless of technological specifics. For example, read how Gow views the role of the marketer in almost any organization:

“Marketers are in a unique position to bridge the gap for your company’s sales force. You have the power to enable your sales reps to be trusted advisors to your buyers.”

Customers are receiving information through numerous sources. This impacts the sales funnels, and forces sales reps to adjust their tactics around three customer actions - trigger, research, and purchase. That impact may be driven by social media and big data. But working out the organizational details to handle it can best be done by leveraging your people. Make sure they’re on board with the changes that need to be made. That will make your tech decisions a bit easier to address.

This approach works particularly well for workplaces resistant to change. As an example, Gow notes steps for a social selling pilot that addresses said resistance. Look at this tip regarding setting up responsibility for the pilot.

“Since marketing already owns the information flow and infrastructure required for the social selling pilot, and since marketing will be doing the bulk of process development and training, it makes sense for marketing to run the PMO. However, we recommend that the V.P. of Sales be the executive sponsor of the pilot. This lets the sales team know this isn’t just some side effort - their V.P. is sponsoring, so it’s important.”

If your sales team is really stuck - or seeing declining sales as described in the case study - you’ll find the latter half of the book particularly worthwhile. The tips focus more on organizational hazards that occur way before the any discussion of changing the way your company’s data is shared or any other technical consideration. And Gow does note the value of optimizing a sales force. Indeed the opening pages note a statistic about how sales intelligence increases revenue.

Bottom line: you’ll likely find this book a helpful aid for on-the-go marketers, sales teams, and managers. The book’s short and concise approach makes it  a good supplement for slightly more detailed sales books such as “How To Sell When No One is Buying” or a book on teamwork such as “Shortcut.” Use “Revenue and The CMO” as a way to open a dialogue about the changes that need to be made in your data management strategy.

Killer Brownies, YouTube Live Streaming and More

Keeping up with the latest is important for your small business’s success. Here are the top stories of the week from the Small Business Trends editorial team:

Marketing & Branding

Local grocery bakeries battle over “killer brownies.” Or not. Actually this is the story of how cooler heads prevailed in a dispute involving the branding and geographical marketing of a very special bakery product. And we even throw in a recipe for good measure. Enjoy!

The Scary Snowman teaches business lessons â€" with some fun. There are probably harder gigs than dressing up like a life-sized snowman and scaring people silly. But even this business has some things to teach the average business owner about interacting and making an impression.

Online Services

YouTube offers streaming video to all users. Though you must have a verified account in good standing as far as YouTube is concerned, this is importance news for businesses and marketers. YouTube introduced streaming video for selected users in 2011, but is now rolling out the feature for everyone.

Google Talk in Windows to be silenced. If you’ve gotten use to the Windows version of Google Talk for communicating with your team, here’s some bad news. The Google Talk for Windows app is going away in the next few months. Happily there are some rather simple alternatives.

Tech

Apple’s Mac Pro may face delivery delays. It’s a very niche product with a premium price tag. And those pros who need it will have to wait longer than they might have expected to get their devices. But most probably feel it’s just as worth the wait as it is the investment.

Mobile

AT&T wants to dump phone subsidies. And they aren’t the only ones, it turns out. Businesses in need of regular smartphone and mobile device upgrades to keep up with the technology may have a problem. But there are some options.

Nokia is developing an Android phone. Yes, you heard right. The company most closely associated with mobile products running on Windows is making an Android phone. And this is at the same time the company is being acquired by Microsoft. Learn more.

Content & Communications

Reverse guest blogging may be the next content marketing trend. As search engines change the way they evaluate content, you must re-evaluate the way you create it. In this new environment, it’s no longer sufficient to publish just anything guest posters submit. Here’s an alternative.

What is a “selfie?” And should you use them to promote your business? “Selfie” is the new trendy term for a self portrait. It should be distinguished from self-portraits in traditional photography by the fact that it is generally taken with a smartphone camera or front facing camera on your laptop or tablet. Small Business Trends CEO Anita Campbell asks whether these often-used photos really present the most professional impression of your business.

Franchise

This franchise could rock your world. See this post on the School of the Rock franchise, a unique business that combines music and creativity with a franchise model. The business offers camps and music lessons for rock musicians in training.

Reading via Shutterstock