Why Every Brand Needs Custom Social Media Marketing

We love our smartphones, laptops and tablets but while new technology is thrilling for consumers, it presents new challenges for brands. In the early days of online marketing, you could simply set up a website and frame your content in any way you wanted.

Now that Internet users are going mobile and have their own customization options, chances are that they won’t stumble across your site on their own. This is why it’s so important for brands to invest their content on a variety of social platforms. You need to be able to push your content around without having it tied down to your domain.

Consider how Internet users spend their time:

• 22 percent on social media
• 21 percent on searches
• 20 percent browsing content
• 19 percent reading emails
• 13 percent multimedia sites
• 5 percent online shopping

With user attention diversified through so many platforms, doesn’t it make sense to diversify your content as well? Unfortunately, posting content to a variety of platforms takes time and strategic planning. To alleviate this problem, many brands rely on auto-content posting to automate their social media.

But did you know that using auto-content could decrease your social media likes by up to 70 percent? Also, consider the fact that the ratio of social media views to shares is 9 to 1. When all statistics are considered, social media marketing isn’t going to become any easier as users continue splintering into different niches.

This is why brands must focus their efforts on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Pinterest. While Internet users are continuously browsing the Web wherever they want, social media platforms unite users onto a single stage.

And yes, social media marketing is extremely effective:

• 77 percent of business-to-consumer companies have earned new customers through their Facebook presence.
• 43 percent of business-to-business companies have earned business through Facebook.
• 34 percent of businesses testify that they’ve generated leads through Twitter.

What Does This Mean?

With audiences splintering into specific niches online, we know that social media marketing is the best way to reach a mass of consumers. However, with so many social media platforms, it’s tempting to automate social media marketing to save time and post on more sites. But this is the worst strategy possible.

Instead of auto-content posting, brands should use custom social media campaigns. By targeting users specific to Facebook, Twitter and other platforms, you are maximizing the effectiveness of your content. Not only do you see a greater ROI (return on investment), you also create a stronger presence for your business online.

Yes, customized content requires more time or even a financial investment, but it works. Research has shown that posts that are more interesting and that are clearly customized increase exposure to both the post and the page. Remember that using creative, custom content for social media marketing results in:

• Customer engagement
• Increased reach
• Trust
• Higher traffic
• Sales

Why Every Brand Needs Custom Social Media Marketing

We love our smartphones, laptops and tablets but while new technology is thrilling for consumers, it presents new challenges for brands. In the early days of online marketing, you could simply set up a website and frame your content in any way you wanted.

Now that Internet users are going mobile and have their own customization options, chances are that they won’t stumble across your site on their own. This is why it’s so important for brands to invest their content on a variety of social platforms. You need to be able to push your content around without having it tied down to your domain.

Consider how Internet users spend their time:

• 22 percent on social media
• 21 percent on searches
• 20 percent browsing content
• 19 percent reading emails
• 13 percent multimedia sites
• 5 percent online shopping

With user attention diversified through so many platforms, doesn’t it make sense to diversify your content as well? Unfortunately, posting content to a variety of platforms takes time and strategic planning. To alleviate this problem, many brands rely on auto-content posting to automate their social media.

But did you know that using auto-content could decrease your social media likes by up to 70 percent? Also, consider the fact that the ratio of social media views to shares is 9 to 1. When all statistics are considered, social media marketing isn’t going to become any easier as users continue splintering into different niches.

This is why brands must focus their efforts on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Pinterest. While Internet users are continuously browsing the Web wherever they want, social media platforms unite users onto a single stage.

And yes, social media marketing is extremely effective:

• 77 percent of business-to-consumer companies have earned new customers through their Facebook presence.
• 43 percent of business-to-business companies have earned business through Facebook.
• 34 percent of businesses testify that they’ve generated leads through Twitter.

What Does This Mean?

With audiences splintering into specific niches online, we know that social media marketing is the best way to reach a mass of consumers. However, with so many social media platforms, it’s tempting to automate social media marketing to save time and post on more sites. But this is the worst strategy possible.

Instead of auto-content posting, brands should use custom social media campaigns. By targeting users specific to Facebook, Twitter and other platforms, you are maximizing the effectiveness of your content. Not only do you see a greater ROI (return on investment), you also create a stronger presence for your business online.

Yes, customized content requires more time or even a financial investment, but it works. Research has shown that posts that are more interesting and that are clearly customized increase exposure to both the post and the page. Remember that using creative, custom content for social media marketing results in:

• Customer engagement
• Increased reach
• Trust
• Higher traffic
• Sales

The Entrepreneurial Mindset: Millennials Desire Freedom, Entrepreneurship (Infographic)

From a young age, we’re all given an impression of what our adult lives will be. We’ll wake up every morning, down a cup of coffee, and begin the long commute to a building where we’ll spend our days helping someone else become rich. We’ll endure difficult bosses and co-workers, hours of overtime with no extra pay, and the potential of dismissal if we fail to perform.

The Millennial generation is saying no to that lifelong sentence of servitude. Millennials, defined as those between the ages of 9 and 31, are growing up in an Internet-driven world. Armed with a wi-fi enabled laptop or tablet, this generation can work from anywhere, tracking down work opportunities and using a variety of electronic tools to complete work on their own.

Millennials are asking for freedom, with plans to pursue it. According to a recent survey called the Entrepreneurial Mindset from Generation Y consulting firm Millennial Branding and crowdsourcing site ODesk, 72 percent of freelancers who are presently employed want to quit those jobs and become independent workers. The survey, which looked at 3,193 freelancers around the world, nearly 2,000  of which were Millennials, revealed that the reason freelancers would like to quit those day jobs is “freedom.”

“We believe that the barriers of Industrial Age work simply don’t make sense for businesses that want to get more work done, or for workers who are demanding more freedom,” said Gary Swart, CEO of oDesk. “No one today wants to be confined to a cubicle. As independent professionals embrace this freedom, hours worked on oDesk have increased eightfold since 2009.”

When responding to the survey, more than half of the freelancers saw themselves as entrepreneurs. Freelancers often deal with a variety of clients, completing projects whenever and wherever they want. In fact, it’s this freedom that is most attractive to those responding to the survey. In fact, one freelancer who works while traveling the world stated that she hopes others will feel empowered to travel while working for themselves. Here’s a look at the infographic:

While the survey only looked at those who are already freelancing, this isn’t the first indication that the concept of work may be shifting. ODesk, which bills itself as “the world’s largest online workplace,” allows businesses the opportunity to connect with talented workers around the world. Along with competitors Elance and Freelancer, ODesk allows businesses to hire a worker to design a logo, conduct data entry, provide sales leads, and much more…all on a per-job basis.

Each online job site has reported phenomenal growth in the past couple of years, leading many to speculate on the real possibility that in a few years, both businesses and employees may connect with each other on a per-job basis. Businesses are becoming comfortable with the concept of hiring an employee across the country or even across the world, saving money and receiving the best possible work for each project. At the same time this trend increases, businesses are allowing workers to telecommute in increasing numbers. For those workers required to continue to come into an office, the prospect of working independently may mean the ability to work from home. For those already working from home, freelancing is just a short step away.

You can read the results of the Millennials and the Future of Work study here.

The Entrepreneurial Mindset: Millennials Desire Freedom, Entrepreneurship (Infographic)

From a young age, we’re all given an impression of what our adult lives will be. We’ll wake up every morning, down a cup of coffee, and begin the long commute to a building where we’ll spend our days helping someone else become rich. We’ll endure difficult bosses and co-workers, hours of overtime with no extra pay, and the potential of dismissal if we fail to perform.

The Millennial generation is saying no to that lifelong sentence of servitude. Millennials, defined as those between the ages of 9 and 31, are growing up in an Internet-driven world. Armed with a wi-fi enabled laptop or tablet, this generation can work from anywhere, tracking down work opportunities and using a variety of electronic tools to complete work on their own.

Millennials are asking for freedom, with plans to pursue it. According to a recent survey called the Entrepreneurial Mindset from Generation Y consulting firm Millennial Branding and crowdsourcing site ODesk, 72 percent of freelancers who are presently employed want to quit those jobs and become independent workers. The survey, which looked at 3,193 freelancers around the world, nearly 2,000  of which were Millennials, revealed that the reason freelancers would like to quit those day jobs is “freedom.”

“We believe that the barriers of Industrial Age work simply don’t make sense for businesses that want to get more work done, or for workers who are demanding more freedom,” said Gary Swart, CEO of oDesk. “No one today wants to be confined to a cubicle. As independent professionals embrace this freedom, hours worked on oDesk have increased eightfold since 2009.”

When responding to the survey, more than half of the freelancers saw themselves as entrepreneurs. Freelancers often deal with a variety of clients, completing projects whenever and wherever they want. In fact, it’s this freedom that is most attractive to those responding to the survey. In fact, one freelancer who works while traveling the world stated that she hopes others will feel empowered to travel while working for themselves. Here’s a look at the infographic:

While the survey only looked at those who are already freelancing, this isn’t the first indication that the concept of work may be shifting. ODesk, which bills itself as “the world’s largest online workplace,” allows businesses the opportunity to connect with talented workers around the world. Along with competitors Elance and Freelancer, ODesk allows businesses to hire a worker to design a logo, conduct data entry, provide sales leads, and much more…all on a per-job basis.

Each online job site has reported phenomenal growth in the past couple of years, leading many to speculate on the real possibility that in a few years, both businesses and employees may connect with each other on a per-job basis. Businesses are becoming comfortable with the concept of hiring an employee across the country or even across the world, saving money and receiving the best possible work for each project. At the same time this trend increases, businesses are allowing workers to telecommute in increasing numbers. For those workers required to continue to come into an office, the prospect of working independently may mean the ability to work from home. For those already working from home, freelancing is just a short step away.

You can read the results of the Millennials and the Future of Work study here.

Looking for a Startup CRM? Here Are 10 Favorites

What CRM software do you use? Has it scaled well for you as your company/team grows?

The following answers are provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently launched #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses via live video chats, an expert content library and email lessons.

1. Highrise

My cleaning company uses Highrise. It’s for our service managers and owners. We track all of our email communication with clients, important information, anniversaries and notes about their homes/offices. It also has tasks so I can make sure my managers take care of things. With reminders, we never miss a client anniversary. It’s been a great web-based CRM solution.

- Kyle Clayton, Jackrabbit Janitorial

2. Streak for Gmail

The Poshly team uses Google Apps for Business throughout our organization, including for email solutions. Because we’re in Gmail all day, it’s easy for us to integrate Gmail-based CRM options, like Streak. Streak is fantastic because it not only has traditional CRM capabilities, like shared contacts and accounts, but it also lets us save text “snippets” that we can use to standardize email replies.

- Doreen Bloch, Poshly Inc.

3. Intuit QuickBase

Being a startup, we loved custom-building everything to our own needs, rather than getting frustrated with standard options. We absolutely love Intuit’s product QuickBase that allows a young company to customize fields and sections according to its unique workflow. After seven happy years, we’ve grown and are now migrating to Salesforce.com, which is better suited for larger organizations.

- Shradha Agarwal, ContextMedia

4. UltraCart

We use a combination of UltraCart and a proprietary software that our customer service company developed. UltraCart has scaled very well for us, and I highly recommend it.

- Joe Barton, Barton Publishing

5. Saleforce.com

We originally used Zoho, but we switched to Saleforce.com as we grew our sales team. At this point, Saleforce.com has even more features than what we need; this will enable Saleforce.com to scale well as we continue to grow.

- Jesse Pujji, Ampush

6. Infusionsoft

We are big fans of Infusionsoft. While it’s not advertised as a CRM, it does so much more to automate your business and your marketing. As we’ve grown, it’s become more and more valuable. Sometimes, it seems as though it can do just about anything, which leaves endless possibilities for as long as we are technically a small business.

- Benji Rabhan, MorrisCore

7. ONTRAPORT

I’m a fan of ONTRAPORT. The software offers a good 360-degree view of your contacts, along with lead scoring and automatic routing of leads.

- John Hall, Influence & Co.

8. Salesforce.com

Salesforce.com is an amazing platform that can be customized well beyond its basic features. There are also many plug-ins that can be used for things like marketing and ERP integration. We periodically make changes to the way we use the system, so it can grow as our organization grows.

- Ziver Birg, ZIVELO

9. Our Own System

We built our own proprietary CRM from scratch over the last five years. The existing products in the market, from Salesforce.com and similar companies, were not specific enough to our particular business. Building it in Ruby on Rails and hosting it in the cloud (Amazon’s EC2 stack) has allowed us to easily scale up as our company and team grew.

- Chuck Cohn, Varsity Tutors

10. Highrise and Salesforce.com

When we first started out, we had a small team, and Highrise (37signals) was an excellent way to manage contacts, keep emails attached to accounts and delegate tasks. Now that our organization is bigger and we have more sophisticated campaigns, Salesforce.com really is the way to go. Innovative features, like Chatter, allow for an organization with a global presence to keep everyone in the loop.

- Michael Costigan, Youth Leadership Specialist

The Power of experts. Help is great. But get the right help.

The Power of Experts. Lesson from Lowes

Over the weekend I was getting advice in how and what tools to use to get an air conditioner to fit in a “hole” in my bedroom. I went to Wal-Mart and Lowes and between these two stores bought hundreds of dollars of hardware and 3 power tools. Guess what? 2 of the 3 tools were not needed and in fact would NOT have solved my problem.

Check out the video below or watch it here.

At Lowes, I spoke to a true expert who immediately knew what I needed, directed me to the right tool and in fact saved me lots of money.

Lesson learn. It’s great to get help for your business. But ensure that the help you get is the RIGHT help, from a true expert who can be most useful to YOUR needs and that of your business.

Hire the wrong social media expert and you’ll find yourself wasting money, not getting the results you want and wasting time. This goes for just about every consultant or adviser (or employee) you hire.

The Power of experts. Help is great. But get the right help.

The Power of Experts. Lesson from Lowes

Over the weekend I was getting advice in how and what tools to use to get an air conditioner to fit in a “hole” in my bedroom. I went to Wal-Mart and Lowes and between these two stores bought hundreds of dollars of hardware and 3 power tools. Guess what? 2 of the 3 tools were not needed and in fact would NOT have solved my problem.

Check out the video below or watch it here.

At Lowes, I spoke to a true expert who immediately knew what I needed, directed me to the right tool and in fact saved me lots of money.

Lesson learn. It’s great to get help for your business. But ensure that the help you get is the RIGHT help, from a true expert who can be most useful to YOUR needs and that of your business.

Hire the wrong social media expert and you’ll find yourself wasting money, not getting the results you want and wasting time. This goes for just about every consultant or adviser (or employee) you hire.

Looking for a Startup CRM? Here Are 10 Favorites

What CRM software do you use? Has it scaled well for you as your company/team grows?

The following answers are provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently launched #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses via live video chats, an expert content library and email lessons.

1. Highrise

My cleaning company uses Highrise. It’s for our service managers and owners. We track all of our email communication with clients, important information, anniversaries and notes about their homes/offices. It also has tasks so I can make sure my managers take care of things. With reminders, we never miss a client anniversary. It’s been a great web-based CRM solution.

- Kyle Clayton, Jackrabbit Janitorial

2. Streak for Gmail

The Poshly team uses Google Apps for Business throughout our organization, including for email solutions. Because we’re in Gmail all day, it’s easy for us to integrate Gmail-based CRM options, like Streak. Streak is fantastic because it not only has traditional CRM capabilities, like shared contacts and accounts, but it also lets us save text “snippets” that we can use to standardize email replies.

- Doreen Bloch, Poshly Inc.

3. Intuit QuickBase

Being a startup, we loved custom-building everything to our own needs, rather than getting frustrated with standard options. We absolutely love Intuit’s product QuickBase that allows a young company to customize fields and sections according to its unique workflow. After seven happy years, we’ve grown and are now migrating to Salesforce.com, which is better suited for larger organizations.

- Shradha Agarwal, ContextMedia

4. UltraCart

We use a combination of UltraCart and a proprietary software that our customer service company developed. UltraCart has scaled very well for us, and I highly recommend it.

- Joe Barton, Barton Publishing

5. Saleforce.com

We originally used Zoho, but we switched to Saleforce.com as we grew our sales team. At this point, Saleforce.com has even more features than what we need; this will enable Saleforce.com to scale well as we continue to grow.

- Jesse Pujji, Ampush

6. Infusionsoft

We are big fans of Infusionsoft. While it’s not advertised as a CRM, it does so much more to automate your business and your marketing. As we’ve grown, it’s become more and more valuable. Sometimes, it seems as though it can do just about anything, which leaves endless possibilities for as long as we are technically a small business.

- Benji Rabhan, MorrisCore

7. ONTRAPORT

I’m a fan of ONTRAPORT. The software offers a good 360-degree view of your contacts, along with lead scoring and automatic routing of leads.

- John Hall, Influence & Co.

8. Salesforce.com

Salesforce.com is an amazing platform that can be customized well beyond its basic features. There are also many plug-ins that can be used for things like marketing and ERP integration. We periodically make changes to the way we use the system, so it can grow as our organization grows.

- Ziver Birg, ZIVELO

9. Our Own System

We built our own proprietary CRM from scratch over the last five years. The existing products in the market, from Salesforce.com and similar companies, were not specific enough to our particular business. Building it in Ruby on Rails and hosting it in the cloud (Amazon’s EC2 stack) has allowed us to easily scale up as our company and team grew.

- Chuck Cohn, Varsity Tutors

10. Highrise and Salesforce.com

When we first started out, we had a small team, and Highrise (37signals) was an excellent way to manage contacts, keep emails attached to accounts and delegate tasks. Now that our organization is bigger and we have more sophisticated campaigns, Salesforce.com really is the way to go. Innovative features, like Chatter, allow for an organization with a global presence to keep everyone in the loop.

- Michael Costigan, Youth Leadership Specialist

3 Gadgets That Boost Productivity In The Office and On The Go!

So much of your work and the work of your employees doesn’t have to be done at a desk, or in a cubicle, or even anywhere near your offices, if indeed you even need offices. With the rise of smartphones, mobile printing and headsets, there are numerous technology options available today to make employees more productive by giving them the capability to do their work anytime…and anywhere.

With the world’s mobile workforce estimated to represent as much as 37% of the world’s total population by the year 2015, businesses need to equip their employees with the right technology to be efficient and productive in today’s changing job environment.

Staples Advantage, the business-to-business arm of Staples, says there are several pieces of technology that can help!

Mobile printers - Check out our article on the ways mobile printers can help you! Devices like the HP OfficeJet 150 Mobile All-in-One allow workers to copy and scan on-the-go, making sure no unnecessary time is wasted on administrative tasks.

Headsets - Check out Ramon Ray’s Plantronics headset review! Headsets for mobile/office phones like the Voyager Pro UC Bluetooth from Plantronics not only keeps hands free for driving, it keeps on-the-move employees connected and available.

Mobile projectors - We took a look at the very best in pocket-sized projectors over here! Technology like the 3M Mobile Projector MP410 easily connects with laptops‚ tablets‚ smartphones and even wirelessly, increasing efficiency by making it possible for workers to present easily and at a moment’s notice.

-

Tell us about the gadgets you use to increase productivity in the comments below!

Freelancer.com Expands Contests To Let You Find Writers, Programmers, More

Freelancer.com, a site for outsourcing projects, allows businesses to post contests to get freelancers to compete for design projects.  And now, it no longer limiting contests just to design â€" you can post a contest for programmers, writers, mobile app developers, and more.

On the Freelancer.com contest page you can now create contests for categories like “websites IT and software,” “mobile,” “writing,” “data entry,” “product sourcing and manufacturing,” “sales and marketing,” and “business, accounting and legal.”

This means that if you need a piece of software code written or some articles written, you can establish a contest and see which freelancer does the best job.

To set up a contest, you fill out an online form and set a “prize” for the end project.  Prizes for design contests can start as low as $30 and average around $500.

For example, small business owner Justin Lang, of Caringbah, Sydney, created a contest using Freelancer.com that allowed him to select from over 900 designs.

“Not only was the contest useful for getting a great logo but I was able to make contact and sort through hundreds of freelancers for projects that I will do in the future,” Lang was quoted as saying in a prepared company release.

Of course, those who compete in the contests are often small business people, too. They are generally freelancers attempting to win jobs, clients and perhaps long-term business relationships with the sponsors.

Contests like the ones hosted by Freelancer.com and competing sites are controversial.  Graphic designers and other freelancers whose businesses are dependent upon getting paid for completed work, sometimes view contests as doing work on spec.

A post from Creative Bloq looks at the concern that some contests are nothing more than spec work. Freelancers can spend a lot of time on spec work, but unless they win the contest, they’ve spent their time on non-income producing work. Since most freelancers are one-man operations, that limits the time left for paid work.

Another post at Freelance Switch explores which of these contests represent a legitimate opportunity to showcase abilities versus spec work. To avoid doing spec work, Thursday Bram writes that contests should involve a pitch and perhaps a portion of sample work, along with the promise of pay for any future stages of the project.

For small business owners and entrepreneurs looking to find a freelancer through a contest, keep in mind what’s reasonable to expect from the freelancer.  For large projects, such as writing every page of your entire website’s copy, you may want to structure your contest to ask for a sample of 2 or 3 pages.  Attach a small prize to the sample.  Then you and the prize winner can outline a follow-on project for writing the rest of the pages.

Contests have become popular for straight-forward design projects. It remains to be seen how well the contest model works for larger or multi-phase types of projects.

Former Barclaycard head of payment security Neira Jones joins consultancy Accourt

Former SC Magazine information security person of the year Neira Jones has joined financial services consultancy Accourt.

Jones, who won the award in 2012, was previously head of payment security at Barclaycard and built a strong reputation as a conference speaker and industry expert during her near four years there.

She was a member of the PCI Security Standards Council Board of Advisors and is also chairman of the Cybercrime Advisory Board for the Centre for Strategic Cyberspace and Security Science, and also sits on various other advisory boards.

She will join as a partner at Accourt, which offers specialist advice on areas such as regulation and compliance, risk management and fraud and product development and implementation.

Jones said: “It is an honour and a privilege for me to join an organisation I have highly respected for such a long time. When I was first approached I was interested in assessing four key areas: the markets Accourt serves, its capabilities, its vision and the quality of the people I would be working with.

“I have been fortunate in getting to know many of my new colleagues over the past few weeks and their professionalism, competence, enthusiasm and welcome to me make me very proud to become part of the team.

John Berns, managing partner at Accourt, said: “We are delighted to be working with Jones. Her global experience and knowledge of information security, coupled with her retail payments background in the digital world, make her a perfect fit for Accourt.”

3 Gadgets That Boost Productivity In The Office and On The Go!

So much of your work and the work of your employees doesn’t have to be done at a desk, or in a cubicle, or even anywhere near your offices, if indeed you even need offices. With the rise of smartphones, mobile printing and headsets, there are numerous technology options available today to make employees more productive by giving them the capability to do their work anytime…and anywhere.

With the world’s mobile workforce estimated to represent as much as 37% of the world’s total population by the year 2015, businesses need to equip their employees with the right technology to be efficient and productive in today’s changing job environment.

Staples Advantage, the business-to-business arm of Staples, says there are several pieces of technology that can help!

Mobile printers - Check out our article on the ways mobile printers can help you! Devices like the HP OfficeJet 150 Mobile All-in-One allow workers to copy and scan on-the-go, making sure no unnecessary time is wasted on administrative tasks.

Headsets - Check out Ramon Ray’s Plantronics headset review! Headsets for mobile/office phones like the Voyager Pro UC Bluetooth from Plantronics not only keeps hands free for driving, it keeps on-the-move employees connected and available.

Mobile projectors - We took a look at the very best in pocket-sized projectors over here! Technology like the 3M Mobile Projector MP410 easily connects with laptops‚ tablets‚ smartphones and even wirelessly, increasing efficiency by making it possible for workers to present easily and at a moment’s notice.

-

Tell us about the gadgets you use to increase productivity in the comments below!

The Micro Business Home Equity Loan Crunch

To obtain the capital they need to finance their business operations, some micro-business owners tap the equity in their homes by drawing on home equity lines of credit. But in recent years, this strategy has become more difficult for business owners, as banks have cut back on home equity lending.

Seventeen percent of businesses with less than $100,000 in sales use home equity lines of credit for business purposes, Barlow Research’s October 2012 Small Office/Home Office Opportunity study - a random sample of 100,000 small businesses with less than $100,000 in sales listed in Dun and Bradstreet - reveals.

That’s surprisingly high. The Federal Reserve’s 2010 Survey of Consumer Finances reveals, that 18 percent of the self-employed don’t own their own homes, so they can’t get home equity lines of credit. The National Federation Independent Business’s 2011 Annual Finance Survey shows that only 44 percent of businesses with fewer than 20 employees have a line of credit, whether drawn on their home or otherwise. Together these numbers suggest that just under half (47 percent) of micro business owners with homes and lines of credit made use of home equity to get the credit line.

In absolute terms, a lot of micro enterprises use home equity lines of credit for business purposes. The Internal Revenue Service estimates that there were approximately 25 million businesses with less than $100,000 in revenue in operation in the United States in 2008, the latest year data are available. Given Barlow Research’s estimate of the fraction with home equity lines of credit used for business purposes, that translates to more than 4 million micro business owners.

These 4 million business owners have had a tough time with their financing strategy in recent years because of the declining home equity loan market. According to the Federal Reserve of New York’s Quarterly Report on Household Credit, the number of home equity lines of credit fell from 23.9 to 18.7 million between the fourth quarter of 2007 and the fourth quarter of 2012. Moreover, the amount of credit available on home equity lines of credit declined 39.3, and the balance on these loans 24.1 percent, percent in inflation adjusted terms, over the same period.

As I have argued before, small business credit markets are linked with the housing market. During the housing market boom, micro business owners had an easier time getting credit for their companies because they could tap rising home equity levels. Since housing prices have deflated, however, and banks have cut back on home equity loans, microbusiness owners who used home equity to finance operations have found credit more difficult to get. If policy makers want to help ensure that microbusiness owners have access to sufficient credit, then they need to keep a careful watch on the housing market.

Home Loan Photo via Shutterstock

Forrester forum predicts future of cloud delivery and end of central IT

In seven years the information security industry will see more cloud delivery and no central IT.

According to recent predictions by Forrester on ‘The CIO's World in 2020', 90 per cent of the 325-strong audience said that central IT would not exist in the future, as IT will be directly embedded in business units such as marketing, product development and customer service.

The audience also said that most technology would be delivered via the public cloud, according to 85 per cent, who agreed that companies will architect and deploy business solutions from a growing pool of external as-a-service resources, with IT playing the role of orchestrator.

Also, 80 per cent overwhelmingly believed that systems of engagement and other technologies would be differentiating.

Commenting, Dwayne Melancon, CTO of Tripwire, said that the security systems that will be used in 2020 should reduce risk and ensure the integrity of the IT systems, and data stored in those systems, regardless of whether they are real, virtual or cloud-based, and that a lot of companies will have to radically change their approach to security for this to happen.

He said: “The Forrester CIO Forum predictions for where we will be on the IT front in 2020 are interesting on the cloud perspective. As a company, we have always said that - as well as detecting changes at the file system object level - effective security systems also need to exercise control over their physical and virtual IT infrastructures,” he said.

“This will have to happen, in light of Forrester's 2020 backdrop of companies switching to heavy reliance on external as-a-service resources, with the on-premise IT systems playing a controlling role.

“The bottom line from this fascinating set of predictions on where IT will be at the end of the decade is that the security we use today will have to adapt markedly if corporate data is to be adequately defended.”

ICO fines former primary care trust £100,000

Stockport Primary Care Trust has been issued a £100,000 monetary fine by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) after patient records were found at an unused facility.

According to the ICO undertaking, the site has been closed since 2010 and a new purchaser found boxes of waste that contained information relating to patients, including names that they recognised, together with some HR records.

The purchaser contacted Stockport MBC who notified the data controller who collected them, and found that they contained approximately 1,000 documents containing patient identifiable data including work diaries, letters, referral forms and patient records.

These included confidential and highly sensitive personal data relating to over 200 data subjects containing details about miscarriages, incontinence problems, child protection issues and a document from the police about the death of a child.

The ICO's investigation revealed two earlier security incidents where confidential and highly sensitive personal data had been left behind in secure buildings owned by the trust. Stockport PCT was dissolved on 31 March 2013 with its legal responsibilities passing to the NHS Commissioning Board. The board will be required to pay the penalty amount by 3rd July or serve a notice of appeal by 5pm on 2nd July 2013.

The ICO said that it would also be speaking to the NHS Stockport Clinical Commissioning Group to pass on the learning that should be taken from this incident. It said that it had "sufficient financial resources to pay a monetary penalty up to the maximum without causing undue financial hardship", as the data controller is a public authority, so liability to pay any monetary penalty will not fall on any individual.

David Smith, deputy commissioner and director of data protection at the ICO, said: “It's crucial that organisations don't take their eye off the ball when moving premises. This NHS trust's efforts to keep its patients' confidential records secure were completely undermined by its failure to properly decommission the premises it was leaving.

“The highly sensitive nature of the documents left behind makes this mistake inexcusable, and there can be no doubt that the penalty we've served is both necessary and appropriate.

“In the last year we have served two six figure penalties on organisations that have left large volumes of personal information behind when leaving a site. These penalties highlight the need for organisations to have effective decommissioning procedures in place and to make absolutely sure that these procedures are followed in practice.”

Why More Than One Perspective Is Important In Tough Situations

Ramon’s air conditioner lesson

Over the weekend (as in yesterday) I spent several hours trying to put an air conditioner in my bedroom.

I took out the old air conditioner but no matter how hard I tried I could not get the new air conditioner to fit.

I went to Wal-Mart and Lowes and bought 3 different tools (that’s another video).

Finally I got the air conditioner to fit in. How? See the video below (or click here to watch it)

Instead of looking at the air conditioner from the safety and comfort of my bedroom - as I had been doing. I went to my sloping roof.

Sure it was a bit scary. But when I looked at the air conditioner and the hole in the wall where the it had to go, from another perspective (my sloping roof, in the rain), I was able to see what was blocking it from going all the way in.

What’s blocking your business? What’s keeping you stuck?

Maybe you should check out my friends Adrian Miller (AdrianMiller.com) , Dr. Sharon Melnick (get her book and/or sign up for one of your sessions) to help you get out of your own way or Fred Thomas (to help you STRETCH)