New ADP Report Shows Job Growth In Franchising

[Click for full infographic]

The International Franchise Expo-the largest franchise expo in the US, was held in New York City last week. Thousands of would-be franchise owners were in attendance all hoping to find a franchise opportunity that they could someday buy.

Also in attendance; franchise industry insiders. These insiders…some of the top movers and shakers in the industry, were there hoping to gain insights into some of the trends shaping franchising this year. And they were able to, courtesy of ADP.

The first-ever ADP National Franchise Report SM using the Moody’s Analytics methodology was released live during the start of the expo. (I was invited to listen in live as the report was presented.) The much-anticipated report showed an increase of 19,160 jobs in May.

The chairman of the International Franchise Association, (IFA) Steve Romaniello, in his remarks, reminded us that:

The franchise industry includes over 825,000 establishments providing $2.1 trillion in economic output which helps us make the case to policy makers that public policy should help not hinder franchise businesses so that the industry can continue to grow and prosper to create millions of jobs across the country.

The ADP National Franchise Report SM utilizes actual transaction data to measure the number of new private-sector franchise jobs created. Going forward, the report will be released on the third Wednesday of every month.

Job creation is vital for the US economy. Data, precise data, is needed to track its progress or lack thereof. And, now, thanks to ADP, we have a way to track job data in the franchise sector.

Below are additional insights into The National Franchise Report SM, as provided by Ahu Yildirmaz, PH.D, the Senior Director of Market Insights at ADP, where she serves as lead economist for the ADP Research Institute®.  Dr. Yildirmaz is responsible for managing the world-renowned ADP National Employment Report®, a monthly measure of U.S. employment derived from an anonymous subset of roughly 500,000 U.S. business clients.  Sponsored by ADP, the report is developed and maintained by Macroeconomic Advisers, LLC.

* * * * *

Small Business Trends:  Is this ADP’s first deep-dive into franchise industry employment data?

Ahu Yildirmaz: Yes, this is ADP’s first deep dive into examining franchise industry employment data. As a leading global provider of human capital management solutions, ADP is committed to providing the deepest, richest insights into the U.S. labor market in order to help inform workforce strategies.

As a part of this continuing effort, ADP launched the ADP National Franchise Report SM, which provides data and insights into private sector franchise employment trends across key industries.

Franchises are an essential driver of the U.S. economy, providing 8 million jobs and delivering countless products and services on which the public relies every day. The report is produced by ADP in collaboration with Moody’s Analytics, Inc., and its experienced team of labor market researchers.

Small Business Trends: Compiling data on franchise employment trends on a monthly basis sounds like a massive undertaking. What is ADP’s goal for this project?

Ahu Yildirmaz: The report is derived from ADP’s actual payroll data and will be issued each month by The ADP Research Institute®, a specialized group within the company that provides insights around employment trends and workforce strategy.

The ADP Research Institute® is also responsible for producing the ADP National Employment Report® and the ADP Regional Employment Report SM. The goal of the ADP National Franchise Report SM  is to provide specific, in-depth data on U.S private-sector franchise employment trends, among both franchisees and franchisors.

Small Business Trends: Will ADP be gathering data from every sector in franchising? Can you name the ones that you’ll be gathering data from?

Ahu Yildirmaz: In gathering data for the report, ADP is employing classification of franchisees and franchisors based on the North American Industrial Classification system (NAICS) and on the 2007 Economic Census Franchise Report from the Census Bureau, the only comprehensive government report on franchise employment.

The report features monthly employment changes across the following industries (in alphabetical order):

• Accommodations
• Auto
• Parts and Dealers
• Building Material and Garden Equipment
• Business Services
• Education
• Food Retailers
• Gasoline Stations and Auto Repair
• Leisure
• Manufacturing
• Personal Care Retailers
• Personal Services
• Professional Services
• Real Estate
• Rental
• Restaurants
• Other

Small Business Trends: Specifically, what information will be gathered from franchisors to be used in ADP’s monthly reports?

Ahu Yildirmaz: The matched sample used to develop the ADP National Franchise Report SM is derived from ADP payroll data, which represents 15,000 Franchisors and Franchisees employing nearly 1 million workers in the U.S. The sample size of the overall ADP data set from which the ADP National Employment Report® is derived is 406,000 U.S. companies and 23 million employees, which accounts for more than 20 percent of all U.S. private sector employees.

Small Business Trends: How can Small Business Trends readers access The ADP National Franchise Report SM every month?

Ahu Yildirmaz: Your readers can access additional information at ADP National Franchise Report SM.

New ADP Report Shows Job Growth In Franchising

[Click for full infographic]

The International Franchise Expo-the largest franchise expo in the US, was held in New York City last week. Thousands of would-be franchise owners were in attendance all hoping to find a franchise opportunity that they could someday buy.

Also in attendance; franchise industry insiders. These insiders…some of the top movers and shakers in the industry, were there hoping to gain insights into some of the trends shaping franchising this year. And they were able to, courtesy of ADP.

The first-ever ADP National Franchise Report SM using the Moody’s Analytics methodology was released live during the start of the expo. (I was invited to listen in live as the report was presented.) The much-anticipated report showed an increase of 19,160 jobs in May.

The chairman of the International Franchise Association, (IFA) Steve Romaniello, in his remarks, reminded us that:

The franchise industry includes over 825,000 establishments providing $2.1 trillion in economic output which helps us make the case to policy makers that public policy should help not hinder franchise businesses so that the industry can continue to grow and prosper to create millions of jobs across the country.

The ADP National Franchise Report SM utilizes actual transaction data to measure the number of new private-sector franchise jobs created. Going forward, the report will be released on the third Wednesday of every month.

Job creation is vital for the US economy. Data, precise data, is needed to track its progress or lack thereof. And, now, thanks to ADP, we have a way to track job data in the franchise sector.

Below are additional insights into The National Franchise Report SM, as provided by Ahu Yildirmaz, PH.D, the Senior Director of Market Insights at ADP, where she serves as lead economist for the ADP Research Institute®.  Dr. Yildirmaz is responsible for managing the world-renowned ADP National Employment Report®, a monthly measure of U.S. employment derived from an anonymous subset of roughly 500,000 U.S. business clients.  Sponsored by ADP, the report is developed and maintained by Macroeconomic Advisers, LLC.

* * * * *

Small Business Trends:  Is this ADP’s first deep-dive into franchise industry employment data?

Ahu Yildirmaz: Yes, this is ADP’s first deep dive into examining franchise industry employment data. As a leading global provider of human capital management solutions, ADP is committed to providing the deepest, richest insights into the U.S. labor market in order to help inform workforce strategies.

As a part of this continuing effort, ADP launched the ADP National Franchise Report SM, which provides data and insights into private sector franchise employment trends across key industries.

Franchises are an essential driver of the U.S. economy, providing 8 million jobs and delivering countless products and services on which the public relies every day. The report is produced by ADP in collaboration with Moody’s Analytics, Inc., and its experienced team of labor market researchers.

Small Business Trends: Compiling data on franchise employment trends on a monthly basis sounds like a massive undertaking. What is ADP’s goal for this project?

Ahu Yildirmaz: The report is derived from ADP’s actual payroll data and will be issued each month by The ADP Research Institute®, a specialized group within the company that provides insights around employment trends and workforce strategy.

The ADP Research Institute® is also responsible for producing the ADP National Employment Report® and the ADP Regional Employment Report SM. The goal of the ADP National Franchise Report SM  is to provide specific, in-depth data on U.S private-sector franchise employment trends, among both franchisees and franchisors.

Small Business Trends: Will ADP be gathering data from every sector in franchising? Can you name the ones that you’ll be gathering data from?

Ahu Yildirmaz: In gathering data for the report, ADP is employing classification of franchisees and franchisors based on the North American Industrial Classification system (NAICS) and on the 2007 Economic Census Franchise Report from the Census Bureau, the only comprehensive government report on franchise employment.

The report features monthly employment changes across the following industries (in alphabetical order):

• Accommodations
• Auto
• Parts and Dealers
• Building Material and Garden Equipment
• Business Services
• Education
• Food Retailers
• Gasoline Stations and Auto Repair
• Leisure
• Manufacturing
• Personal Care Retailers
• Personal Services
• Professional Services
• Real Estate
• Rental
• Restaurants
• Other

Small Business Trends: Specifically, what information will be gathered from franchisors to be used in ADP’s monthly reports?

Ahu Yildirmaz: The matched sample used to develop the ADP National Franchise Report SM is derived from ADP payroll data, which represents 15,000 Franchisors and Franchisees employing nearly 1 million workers in the U.S. The sample size of the overall ADP data set from which the ADP National Employment Report® is derived is 406,000 U.S. companies and 23 million employees, which accounts for more than 20 percent of all U.S. private sector employees.

Small Business Trends: How can Small Business Trends readers access The ADP National Franchise Report SM every month?

Ahu Yildirmaz: Your readers can access additional information at ADP National Franchise Report SM.

Be More Productive on Business Trips with These 5 Packing Tips

The upwardly-mobile millennial generation is traveling in a different world than previous generations. When packing for a business trip, these up-and-comers must now wear easy-to-remove shoes and choose between being X-rayed or patted down to get past security.

For millennials climbing the corporate ladder, every minute counts. Breezing through security and packing in an organized manner can make the difference between arriving at a meeting on time or rushing from airport to hotel to the meeting, only to be late. Closing the deal depends on coordinating travel the same way a millennial handles every other aspects of his or her business day.

It all starts before you leave home. USA Today Road Warrior of the Year Joyce Gioia advises business travelers create a packing checklist that includes items they would take on a typical trip.

“Making a list will save you from having to make sure you remember everything each time,” Gioia says. “I made my first list when I got home from the trip on which my husband had to overnight my vitamins, supplements, and cellphone and blue tooth chargers

Once you’ve made your list, it’s time to put it in action. To avoid unexpected snags, here are a few other words of wisdom to help your business trips run more smoothly.

• Make your laptop easy to remove. Standard-size laptops (12” X 14” or larger) must be removed from the bag and placed in a screening bin, according to the TSA. Tablets and smaller laptops can stay in the bag. If your laptop requires removal, make sure it’s easy to slip in and out of the bag without slowing you down.
• Follow security rules. Airport snags can slow you down and nothing stops the line at security more than having an item in your carry-on that is against regulations. Read up on the TSA’s 3-1-1 rule for carry-ons, which means all liquids may not exceed 3.4 ounces per bottle. These liquids must be consolidated into one quart-size Ziploc bag and only one bag with these liquids can be placed in the screening bin per passenger.
• Dress for success. Arriving at your location to find a suitcase full of wrinkled clothes can sabotage your entire trip. Attorney Shane Fischer recommends packing wrinkle-free dress shirts for meetings and poly-blend polos for traveling. If an item requires ironing after only an hour or two of wear, chances are it won’t travel well. In regard to dressing for success, I’ve been eying the ScotteVest which has an array of pockets (some big enough for an iPad) that lets you easily move about keeping your hands free or quickly go through security lines - http://www.scottevest.com
• Roll clothes. One packing technique employed by flight attendants is the technique of rolling clothes rather than folding them before putting them in the suitcase, as detailed by USA Today. By rolling clothes, you not only help keep your clothing wrinkle-free, it frees up space in your suitcase for all your electronic gadgets.
• Choose a travel wardrobe. Unless your trips involve seeing the same people each time, set aside a wrinkle-resistant, color-coordinated wardrobe for traveling. For multiple days, choose clothing that matches the same pair of shoes, allowing you to take only one or two pairs of shoes per trip.

As millennials gain valuable travel experience, they’ll likely find their own shortcuts that will make trips run more smoothly. Until they develop their own travel routines, these expert trips can help get them started.

Be More Productive on Business Trips with These 5 Packing Tips

The upwardly-mobile millennial generation is traveling in a different world than previous generations. When packing for a business trip, these up-and-comers must now wear easy-to-remove shoes and choose between being X-rayed or patted down to get past security.

For millennials climbing the corporate ladder, every minute counts. Breezing through security and packing in an organized manner can make the difference between arriving at a meeting on time or rushing from airport to hotel to the meeting, only to be late. Closing the deal depends on coordinating travel the same way a millennial handles every other aspects of his or her business day.

It all starts before you leave home. USA Today Road Warrior of the Year Joyce Gioia advises business travelers create a packing checklist that includes items they would take on a typical trip.

“Making a list will save you from having to make sure you remember everything each time,” Gioia says. “I made my first list when I got home from the trip on which my husband had to overnight my vitamins, supplements, and cellphone and blue tooth chargers

Once you’ve made your list, it’s time to put it in action. To avoid unexpected snags, here are a few other words of wisdom to help your business trips run more smoothly.

• Make your laptop easy to remove. Standard-size laptops (12” X 14” or larger) must be removed from the bag and placed in a screening bin, according to the TSA. Tablets and smaller laptops can stay in the bag. If your laptop requires removal, make sure it’s easy to slip in and out of the bag without slowing you down.
• Follow security rules. Airport snags can slow you down and nothing stops the line at security more than having an item in your carry-on that is against regulations. Read up on the TSA’s 3-1-1 rule for carry-ons, which means all liquids may not exceed 3.4 ounces per bottle. These liquids must be consolidated into one quart-size Ziploc bag and only one bag with these liquids can be placed in the screening bin per passenger.
• Dress for success. Arriving at your location to find a suitcase full of wrinkled clothes can sabotage your entire trip. Attorney Shane Fischer recommends packing wrinkle-free dress shirts for meetings and poly-blend polos for traveling. If an item requires ironing after only an hour or two of wear, chances are it won’t travel well. In regard to dressing for success, I’ve been eying the ScotteVest which has an array of pockets (some big enough for an iPad) that lets you easily move about keeping your hands free or quickly go through security lines - http://www.scottevest.com
• Roll clothes. One packing technique employed by flight attendants is the technique of rolling clothes rather than folding them before putting them in the suitcase, as detailed by USA Today. By rolling clothes, you not only help keep your clothing wrinkle-free, it frees up space in your suitcase for all your electronic gadgets.
• Choose a travel wardrobe. Unless your trips involve seeing the same people each time, set aside a wrinkle-resistant, color-coordinated wardrobe for traveling. For multiple days, choose clothing that matches the same pair of shoes, allowing you to take only one or two pairs of shoes per trip.

As millennials gain valuable travel experience, they’ll likely find their own shortcuts that will make trips run more smoothly. Until they develop their own travel routines, these expert trips can help get them started.

5 Steps to Build Your Personal Brand: How Small Business Can Do Big Things With Personal Brands (Webinar)

5 Steps to Build Your Personal Brand: How Small Business Can Do Big Things With Personal Brands

 

Personal Branding is all about how individual professionals can differentiate themselves in a market of look-a-likes. It’s about how you can get people to know, like and trust you. It’s about how in a sea of uncertainty, YOU can be chosen. It’s about INCREASING sales, INCREASING influence and so much more.

Learn how to stand apart from the rest and promote the brand of YOU.

Join the NFIB and our very own Ramon Ray, on June 26th at 12pm ET for the free webinar, ‘5 Steps to Build Your Personal Brand: How Small Business Can Do Big Things With Personal Brands‘.

 

In this webinar, attendees will learn:

• Why events are an important step in personal banding building
• How your platform is essential for others and for you
• 10+ quick tips to build a personal brand
• How to differentiate yourself in the market

Don’t miss out on this great opportunity and register today!

Review of Moz: Demystifying Search Engine Optimization

The U.S. Military has certain equipment that it calls a “black box.” In some computing circles, a black box refers to a program where the process is largely unknown outside of a certain few people. How Google, Bing and other search engines rank a website to show it in search results is often considered a modern black box.

Moz, formerly known as SEOmoz, is a suite of tools focused on demystifying the black box process of search engine optimization (SEO).

The re-branding of SEOmoz to Moz tells part of the story of how you build a presence for your company and website.  SEOmoz as the name implies â€" was focused on search engine optimization. The process of getting your website to rank well and show up in search engine results. While the company is still focused on SEO, it has now broadened its focus to encompass how to do better marketing.

As a suite of tools, I won’t be able to cover them all in great detail, but Moz offers a number of free and paid tools.

First, let’s look at some of the free services and what they can mean for your business:

• GetListed is the tool to help you with your local  marketing. You can claim your local U.S. business listings on Google+ Local, Bing Local, Yelp and other local search engines.  This used to be a stand-alone service, but was acquired by Moz in late 2012.
• Followerwonk is a social analytics tool to let you analyze your Twitter metrics. Segment your followers, compare users, and learn more about engaging your audience.  As you can see in the screenshot below, I don’t have any followers in Antarctica yet.
• Open Site Explorer is a link tool. You enter your website, or any website, and it returns the details of other websites that link to it. It’s used for competitive intelligence and targeted link building (which is part of how your site improves its search engine ranking).

There are some paid tools, in addition to free ones.  On the paid front, if you subscribe to the Pro level on a monthly basis for $99/month you get access to the following tools:

Weekly website crawls and rank tracking. You may have heard that Google has “spiders” that crawl websites and that’s how they index the content on Web pages. Moz has their own set of spiders and algorithms to help you improve your site ranking. Part of this is Rank Tracker which retrieves search engine rankings for pages and keywords you specify.  This way, you can see whether your activities are improving the rank of your pages â€" or not.

Social media monitoring. The Fresh Web Explorer will search for and analyze mentions of your brand, your competitors, and industry topics to discover the latest relevant content being published on the Web. Think of it as a Google Alert, on steroids.

Moz wants to help you optimize your keywords with its On-Page Grader. The best part about this tool - they don’t just point out the problems on your site. They give you a detailed, easy-to-understand set of steps to fix each problem. They rank them, too, as Easy Fix or worse. Thankfully, the page I’m showing you here received an “A” grade.

As you can tell, there is a ton here in Moz. But one of my favorite tools is the Keyword Analysis. It lets me study a word or term to find out how difficult it is to rank for it. The score is based on the top 10 competitor sites that currently rank for that same term or phrase.

It isn’t very often that I dig into a tool and love it. But I have to say that I love Moz. It is perfect for any business owner or executive that has to figure out how to make their website perform better. Moz provided a long media trial for me to evaluate the many tools in its suite. Frankly, they did it because I’m pretty slow, even after years of reviewing software and hardware stuff. They offer a free 30-day trial on the paid tools, so you can dig in and see how it can help your marketing on a trial basis.

So, what you are doing to optimize and improve your website?

Review of Moz: Demystifying Search Engine Optimization

The U.S. Military has certain equipment that it calls a “black box.” In some computing circles, a black box refers to a program where the process is largely unknown outside of a certain few people. How Google, Bing and other search engines rank a website to show it in search results is often considered a modern black box.

Moz, formerly known as SEOmoz, is a suite of tools focused on demystifying the black box process of search engine optimization (SEO).

The re-branding of SEOmoz to Moz tells part of the story of how you build a presence for your company and website.  SEOmoz as the name implies â€" was focused on search engine optimization. The process of getting your website to rank well and show up in search engine results. While the company is still focused on SEO, it has now broadened its focus to encompass how to do better marketing.

As a suite of tools, I won’t be able to cover them all in great detail, but Moz offers a number of free and paid tools.

First, let’s look at some of the free services and what they can mean for your business:

• GetListed is the tool to help you with your local  marketing. You can claim your local U.S. business listings on Google+ Local, Bing Local, Yelp and other local search engines.  This used to be a stand-alone service, but was acquired by Moz in late 2012.
• Followerwonk is a social analytics tool to let you analyze your Twitter metrics. Segment your followers, compare users, and learn more about engaging your audience.  As you can see in the screenshot below, I don’t have any followers in Antarctica yet.
• Open Site Explorer is a link tool. You enter your website, or any website, and it returns the details of other websites that link to it. It’s used for competitive intelligence and targeted link building (which is part of how your site improves its search engine ranking).

There are some paid tools, in addition to free ones.  On the paid front, if you subscribe to the Pro level on a monthly basis for $99/month you get access to the following tools:

Weekly website crawls and rank tracking. You may have heard that Google has “spiders” that crawl websites and that’s how they index the content on Web pages. Moz has their own set of spiders and algorithms to help you improve your site ranking. Part of this is Rank Tracker which retrieves search engine rankings for pages and keywords you specify.  This way, you can see whether your activities are improving the rank of your pages â€" or not.

Social media monitoring. The Fresh Web Explorer will search for and analyze mentions of your brand, your competitors, and industry topics to discover the latest relevant content being published on the Web. Think of it as a Google Alert, on steroids.

Moz wants to help you optimize your keywords with its On-Page Grader. The best part about this tool - they don’t just point out the problems on your site. They give you a detailed, easy-to-understand set of steps to fix each problem. They rank them, too, as Easy Fix or worse. Thankfully, the page I’m showing you here received an “A” grade.

As you can tell, there is a ton here in Moz. But one of my favorite tools is the Keyword Analysis. It lets me study a word or term to find out how difficult it is to rank for it. The score is based on the top 10 competitor sites that currently rank for that same term or phrase.

It isn’t very often that I dig into a tool and love it. But I have to say that I love Moz. It is perfect for any business owner or executive that has to figure out how to make their website perform better. Moz provided a long media trial for me to evaluate the many tools in its suite. Frankly, they did it because I’m pretty slow, even after years of reviewing software and hardware stuff. They offer a free 30-day trial on the paid tools, so you can dig in and see how it can help your marketing on a trial basis.

So, what you are doing to optimize and improve your website?

5 Steps to Build Your Personal Brand: How Small Business Can Do Big Things With Personal Brands (Webinar)

5 Steps to Build Your Personal Brand: How Small Business Can Do Big Things With Personal Brands

 

Personal Branding is all about how individual professionals can differentiate themselves in a market of look-a-likes. It’s about how you can get people to know, like and trust you. It’s about how in a sea of uncertainty, YOU can be chosen. It’s about INCREASING sales, INCREASING influence and so much more.

Learn how to stand apart from the rest and promote the brand of YOU.

Join the NFIB and our very own Ramon Ray, on June 26th at 12pm ET for the free webinar, ‘5 Steps to Build Your Personal Brand: How Small Business Can Do Big Things With Personal Brands‘.

 

In this webinar, attendees will learn:

• Why events are an important step in personal banding building
• How your platform is essential for others and for you
• 10+ quick tips to build a personal brand
• How to differentiate yourself in the market

Don’t miss out on this great opportunity and register today!

Executive Spotlight: Jamie Sutherland of Xero Reminds Small Businesses to Never Stop Fighting

Jamie Sutherland, US President of Operations for the accounting software Xero, isn’t afraid to take on a challenge, even though he realizes that they “are David in the David vs. Goliath battle.” I recently had the opportunity to speak to Sutherland about Xero, a cloud-based accounting solution created with small businesses in mind. Xero accounting software may be a great option for your small business, but even more - his story may inspire other small businesses who are fighting their own battles with industry giants.

Sutherland has an interest in start-up companies and a history of growing them into successful million-dollar businesses. Before he joined Xero, he spent years running the North American branch of Sage, also a global accounting software provider. Under his leadership, Sage expanded. His team developed two new cutting-edge SaaS applications and eventually grew to serve over 500,000 small businesses. In 2010 Sutherland also created an app called Taxi Now, which allowed users to hail a cab from their mobile device. His creation was later acquired by FastCab.

Making the Move to Xero 

In 2012, Sutherland decided to join Xero as the head of US Operations. As a whole, Xero is an incredibly successful business. It was founded in 2006 in New Zealand, later expanded to Australia and the United Kingdom, and currently is one of the hottest companies in the New Zealand stock exchange. However, if you think Sutherland signed up for an easy job - think again.

In the US, Xero is relatively new - they joined the market with a US version of the software in 2011, and because of this, many small businesses are not even aware they exist. When Sutherland joined the Xero team in January, 2012, he knew he was gearing up to battle the biggest name in US accounting software - Quickbooks. Most small businesses in the US know and use Quickbooks accounting software, but to really drive in the point, consider that Quickbooks has a long history in the US (launched in 1998) and has always been extremely popular with small business owners who have little accounting knowledge. In fact, a 2008 Intuit press release stated that over 3.7 million small businesses use the software, a 94.2% share of the business accounting arket.

“We are David in the David vs Goliath battle,” Sutherland said. A pessimist may have concluded that there was no room in the US market for Xero, but Sutherland is determined to spread the word about Xero, including the unique benefits for small business owners. To capture some of the main points:

• Xero was custom designed for the mobile business world of today, which is great for small business owners who are on the go

• Xero is a 100% cloud-based solution. Since it’s not tied to a physical location, it can be used anywhere, anytime and on any device that has an internet connection

• The software has a ‘beautiful’ interface that is eye catching, fun and easy to use, no matter your level of accounting knowledge

• Since it is a cloud accounting option, you can check bank balances, make payments, send invoices and more - even if you’re away from the office. Also, to keep track of expenses you can take a picture of your receipts and log them immediately

• Over 200 other cloud providers and apps have integrated with Xero, allowing you to run your entire business - from payroll to inventory and beyond - in the cloud

• Flexible pricing options start at $19 per month with no set-up fees. Sutherland says the $29/month package suits the needs of most small businesses. Your subscription also comes with free, unlimited online support, 24/7

Gearing Up For Your Own Battle

With a strong belief in the merits of Xero over other accounting software options, Sutherland is intent on spreading his message through professional networking, attending events, and partnering with other companies. His efforts seem to be working too, as Xero now has over 200,000 users worldwide and is seeing exponential growth in revenue.

Are you a small business who is also fighting a David vs Goliath battle against an industry giant for a share of the market? Follow Sutherland’s lead by making your product or service stand out from the competition. Focus on the benefits, the unique features, and market like crazy to get the word out. Sutherland’s work at Xero is a reminder to all the “Davids” out there - never give up the fight, no matter how big that giant is.

Executive Spotlight: Jamie Sutherland of Xero Reminds Small Businesses to Never Stop Fighting

Jamie Sutherland, US President of Operations for the accounting software Xero, isn’t afraid to take on a challenge, even though he realizes that they “are David in the David vs. Goliath battle.” I recently had the opportunity to speak to Sutherland about Xero, a cloud-based accounting solution created with small businesses in mind. Xero accounting software may be a great option for your small business, but even more - his story may inspire other small businesses who are fighting their own battles with industry giants.

Sutherland has an interest in start-up companies and a history of growing them into successful million-dollar businesses. Before he joined Xero, he spent years running the North American branch of Sage, also a global accounting software provider. Under his leadership, Sage expanded. His team developed two new cutting-edge SaaS applications and eventually grew to serve over 500,000 small businesses. In 2010 Sutherland also created an app called Taxi Now, which allowed users to hail a cab from their mobile device. His creation was later acquired by FastCab.

Making the Move to Xero 

In 2012, Sutherland decided to join Xero as the head of US Operations. As a whole, Xero is an incredibly successful business. It was founded in 2006 in New Zealand, later expanded to Australia and the United Kingdom, and currently is one of the hottest companies in the New Zealand stock exchange. However, if you think Sutherland signed up for an easy job - think again.

In the US, Xero is relatively new - they joined the market with a US version of the software in 2011, and because of this, many small businesses are not even aware they exist. When Sutherland joined the Xero team in January, 2012, he knew he was gearing up to battle the biggest name in US accounting software - Quickbooks. Most small businesses in the US know and use Quickbooks accounting software, but to really drive in the point, consider that Quickbooks has a long history in the US (launched in 1998) and has always been extremely popular with small business owners who have little accounting knowledge. In fact, a 2008 Intuit press release stated that over 3.7 million small businesses use the software, a 94.2% share of the business accounting arket.

“We are David in the David vs Goliath battle,” Sutherland said. A pessimist may have concluded that there was no room in the US market for Xero, but Sutherland is determined to spread the word about Xero, including the unique benefits for small business owners. To capture some of the main points:

• Xero was custom designed for the mobile business world of today, which is great for small business owners who are on the go

• Xero is a 100% cloud-based solution. Since it’s not tied to a physical location, it can be used anywhere, anytime and on any device that has an internet connection

• The software has a ‘beautiful’ interface that is eye catching, fun and easy to use, no matter your level of accounting knowledge

• Since it is a cloud accounting option, you can check bank balances, make payments, send invoices and more - even if you’re away from the office. Also, to keep track of expenses you can take a picture of your receipts and log them immediately

• Over 200 other cloud providers and apps have integrated with Xero, allowing you to run your entire business - from payroll to inventory and beyond - in the cloud

• Flexible pricing options start at $19 per month with no set-up fees. Sutherland says the $29/month package suits the needs of most small businesses. Your subscription also comes with free, unlimited online support, 24/7

Gearing Up For Your Own Battle

With a strong belief in the merits of Xero over other accounting software options, Sutherland is intent on spreading his message through professional networking, attending events, and partnering with other companies. His efforts seem to be working too, as Xero now has over 200,000 users worldwide and is seeing exponential growth in revenue.

Are you a small business who is also fighting a David vs Goliath battle against an industry giant for a share of the market? Follow Sutherland’s lead by making your product or service stand out from the competition. Focus on the benefits, the unique features, and market like crazy to get the word out. Sutherland’s work at Xero is a reminder to all the “Davids” out there - never give up the fight, no matter how big that giant is.

Mobile Card Readers Let Any Business Accept Plastic - Even Those On The Go!

A 2010 Federal Reserve study showed an increase in the percentage of consumers making non-cash payments. They found consumers reaching to plastic alternatives like debit, credit and pre-paid cards instead. If you’re a small business owner who has relied on paper currency, it’s time to update your technology and offer customers payment options that work best for them. If you’re unfamiliar with mobile card readers, let me introduce you to Capitol One’s option - Spark Pay.

• Spark Pay is a free mobile app that is compatible with Android devices, iPhone or iPad
• After you download the free app, Capital One will send you an encrypting card reader in the mail - also free
• Use the card reader to safely swipe customer credit cards for payment
• The fee for the services ranges from 1.95% to 3.70% per swipe, depending on the plan you choose

In addition, here are six features of Spark Pay that may work for your business.

1. Easy Transactions: With Spark Pay you can manually enter the sale amount, set the tax rate, add tips, or also create an inventory of your items. With the inventory set, you can even scan the bar code of items when you make a sale.
2. Emailed Receipts: Once a transaction is processed, you can send an emailed receipt to your customer. Even better, you can customize your receipt to have your business logo, address, map and links to your social media.
3. Set Multiple Users: Your Spark Pay account can be linked to other users, which is beneficial if you have a sales or service team that requires multiple payment centers. When a second user joins your account, they get their own card reader to use, but all scanned sales will go back to your main account.
4. Sales Reports: The app allows you to see reports and graphs related to your sales. You can choose date ranges or search particular days. Also, if you set multiple users, you can track each person’s sales performance on the Spark Pay app.
5. Offers: This part of the Spark Pay allows you to create offers for your customers. For example, you can reward a loyal customer by emailing them a 20% off coupon, or you can link your offers directly to your social media for all fans to take advantage.
6. Support: All of these options are nice, but if you can’t figure out how to use the app, there is no point! Luckily Spark Pay has a dedicated customer service team that is available 9am to 9pm on weekdays and 9am to 5pm on weekends. If you don’t have an urgent question that requires a phone call, you can also search the FAQs, email your question, or send the question via Twitter.

Spark Pay is one of many options when it comes to mobile payment devices. Competitors include Square, Intuit, PayPal Here, and Pay Simple, among others. Although they all have similar features, they do differ based on the plans they offer, the presence (or absence) of a monthly fee, and the percentage fee per swipe. If you’re a small business that doesn’t take credit cards - or an owner who wants a better option - evaluate your options and let this new technology help increase sales.

Automation of identity can help defend against attacks directed at users

Efficient identity management can help protect against advanced persistent threats (APTs).

Speaking to SC Magazine, Lieberman Software CEO Phil Lieberman said that the challenge for administrators of millions of users is that there is little in the way of off the shelf software to manage thousands of users, and to do manual management is impossible.

He said: "How many certificates and passwords are there, millions on thousands of machines? No one has made that software so they try to write it themselves. Identity management is a point solution for remediation for scale. There are users at this scale, but if it is not automated it cannot be done.”

Lieberman said that there is a problem of a lack of security and a lack of process and while there was not a lot of demand in the past, there are nation-state attacks and attackers having better tools requires automation. So if identity management is not automated in terms of understanding information then everyone is a target.

“In the scenario of cyber war, you want every account and API to be limited in time and scope so every credential changes every couple of days. So every hash changes and we see companies acknowledge the scope of the damage; without automation how do you know what is happening? With automation you can be in constant rotation.”

Lieberman said that a company with 40,000 users will never be fully protected from spear phishing, so efforts will be made on detecting and minimising the damage. “Every identity is a physical paradigm, and every user has got something and the shift is what you do and how far you go,” he said.

“You cannot hire enough people to do this and there is not the software for it. I am not about spreading fear, I feel I have to say what is going on and if you know the methodology and what your users do, it needs to be managed and there are few tools available to solve the problem.”

He concluded by saying that automating identity only requires a few lines of code but it can cause major benefits for scale.

Connect With Your Employees With a “Crowdsourced Performance Review”

When I think of crowdsourcing, I think finance. But can it be associated with other activities, such as our work performance?  After all people do have a lot of ways to view you, but how accurate are the views?

The book that best tackles how employees are acknowledged is The Crowdsourced Performance Review: How to Use The Power of Recognition to Transform Employee Performance by Eric Mosley.  Mosley combines the latest research with his experience as Co-Founder and CEO of Globoforce, an employment performance firm. I discovered the copy via NetGalley and was impressed with its argument of how much the performance review had become a relic.

A Panoramic Photo of a Career Instead of a Single Snapshot

When I first read the title, I immediately recalled the 360 degree performance reviews from my days at Ford. So I wondered if Mosley was advocating something already available.

But I did not have to read further than the opening chapter for the answer. It clarified the value of the 360 review in Mosley's view  - much of the reality surrounding a 360 performance review is less authentic than intended.

In practice 360-degree reviews can actually muddy the waters. According to an authoritative 2012 study conducted by Gallup, a serious problem for multi-source appraisals is that they often present the employee with conflicting messages about his or her performance. . .The result? In the 360 degree environment the input is watered down to the point where it becomes generic.  Whenever people have to give an opinion, they become diplomatic in their responses.

The opening chapter also clarifies Mosley's thesis for the book â€" that the performance review structure is outdated.

To draw that conclusion, Mosley relies on the latest research. He describes how the discoveries increment the current quality of reviews.  For example, he notes the degree that review timeliness is out of sync with an employee's current performance.

Typically managers' judgments about performance that will color the next 365 days are based on reactions to the last 365 days.

Mosley advocates social recognition as a remedy.  Three trends serve as an influence for the review model:

• The spread of crowdsourcing information of all kinds.
• The universal adoption of social media.
• The rise of culture as a competitive advantage.

The third influence particularly caught my imagination. When I read that I recalled all the small startup firms that tout their quirky team of super-savvy-awesome professionals who miraculously balance work and play. The specific way culture enhances competitive advantages becomes clear.

Mosley goes on to outline the basics for a timely employee performance assessment. He sums how the new influences give social recognition an advantage:

When we bring these three innovations of crowdsourcing, social media and culture as a competitive advantage together for the purposes of talent and culture management, the result is social recognition, a systematic asset of practices in which many people consider and recognize an employee's performance on a daily basis.

The ability to relate performance to larger issues is what makes this book appealing. Mosley's writings and the supporting research connect the results from today's digital landscape to the activities of managing people well.

Your Employees Can Not Improve if Your Measures Do Not Improve

Analytics, while not covered in full-force detail here, takes a secondary undertone.  Noting Moneyball, the story of the analytics success the Oakland As had with its baseball roster, Mosley advocates data as a way to explore untapped potential in employees:

Statistics are not the whole answer: Concentrating only on data can blind a manager to other relevant information…HR employees instinctively know that last point but too often it leads to a view that performance management is more art than science.  It's both art and science, and the key for using data is separating the signal (relevant but selective data) from the noise (irrelevant but plentiful data).

Data visualization for managing employee metrics is highlighted to explain its value and to drive the salient points regarding employee improvement and proper monitoring of related performance.

I have two interns, my first “employees” since starting my business. The work arrangement is not complex, but I know that when the day comes for more formal reviews, I will have to consider new criteria to evaluate employees.  Such considerations will happen for most small business owners who adopt the cloud and incorporate various levels of partnerships.

When owners do reach for more sophisticated evaluation, The Crowdsourced Performance Review illuminates how evaluations should be done.

Healthier Employees May Lead to Bigger Increases Under Obamacare

Having younger, healthier employees may no longer mean lower health insurance increases for small businesses after next year. If you're wondering how that can be, thank Obamacare.

According to brokers and other experts, the Affordable Care Act, which goes into effect in January, will have some unanticipated impacts, especially on small group premium plans. These are the kinds of plans often bought by employers with between 50 and 100 employees or less.

Why Healthier Employees May Lead to Increases Under Obamacare

Under the Act, insurance companies can no longer consider the health of employees (except for tobacco use) or the risk in their particular industry when setting insurance premiums, the Wall Street Journal reported last week. And insurance companies must consider age to a much lesser degree when setting those premiums, the Act says.

So what does this mean?

It could signal good news for businesses that employ less healthy or older workers or those in a higher risk industryâ€"think industrial manufacturing.

But for businesses with younger and potentially healthier employees - many tech businesses, for example - or for those in lower risk white collar industries, the new rules may mean trouble.

Costs Spread Around

The Affordable Care Act will have the overall effect of spreading out insurance costs among small businesses. Those companies with a fairly even distribution of employees based on age and health may see little change in their premiums. Those businesses with a larger number of older, less healthy employees may see a lower increase in premiums than they are used to next year.

For instance, a Connecticut hinge manufacturer employing 16 people with an average age in their early 50′s could see premiums increase by just 10 percent next year, the Wall Street Journal reported. That's compared with 18 percent last year, so a fairly significant change. Compare that to small businesses with younger, healthier employees that will almost certainly see more cost.

How much more?

Well, another Connecticut firm, a 23 employee computer business, anticipates a 25 to 45 percent increase in insurance premiums next year after historical increases of between 13 and 17 percent.

Is the Affordable Healthcare Act going to affect your company's insurance premiums in 2014? What are you anticipating?

US Healthcare Photo via Shutterstock

Is Social Media Still an Enigma?

“You are here to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world” â€" Woodrow Wilson.

Social media has been around the world for one reason or the other. With the birth of Facebook and Twitter, it remains ubiquitous and the most powerful source of communication. It is changing how the institutions are engaging citizen's right from journalism to business.

However, the key question lies with its effect on global development.

In a Ted talk on how social media can make history, Clay Shirky, an academic at New York University argues that:

The history of the modern world could be rendered as the history of ways of arguing, where changes in media change â€" change what sort of arguments are possible â€" with deep social and political implication.

Clay Shirky's work focuses primarily on the increasing usefulness of different networks. According to Shirky, until social media, there have been four major periods where the media has changed enough to be truly revolutionary and social media may be number five:

• Printed Media: The printing press.
• Conversational and Two-Way Communication Media: Telephone and telegraph.
• Recorded Media: Photographs, movies.
• Media Over Air: Radio and television.
• Social Media: The period with the largest upsurge in expressive capabilities in human history.

Shirky says new technologies are facilitating new sets of cooperative structures to show a way of getting things done in science, arts, business and many other platforms. His biography describes his work.

Jillian York at Harvard University's Berkman shared her viewpoint for Internet and society. In one of her interviews, she talked about how social media became the victim of the Egyptian government. Egypt's government had not only successfully disabled Twitter but also had succeeded in limiting the access to Facebook, Google and Yahoo to crush political unrest.

Although it is not the first time that a government blocked Internet access, Egypt's actions caught the attention of the entire world. Jillian York also pointed out that:

Prior to this incident, the Egyptian government had blocked only minimally: Opposition sites, but no social media or international news.

Jillian also added:

The government does not have a central control point for the Internet, which means it must rely on being able to force ISPs (Internet Service Providers) to comply.

As a result, Egypt had been gradually avoided, especially in the business community. As the Egyptian government also targeted Twitter and shut down the use of mobile phone networks and Internet communications, people were having real-time difficulty in accessing Google or YouTube services.

Access to social networks and mobile phone networks had been completely disabled in response to the growing public protests for the incident in Tunisia, when a 26 year-old graduate killed himself when police seized his fruits and vegetables for selling without permission. Likewise President Hosni Mubarak, former President of Egypt, also disabled the Internet, social network sites and even mobile phone networks when protesters took to the streets in Egypt. The government immediately deactivated Internet service to reconcile the situation.

When Hosni Mubarak resigned, the Observer spoke about the Twitter revolution, they pointed out the use of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google Docs in unprecedented ways. Social networking had played a crucial role during the modern day activism, especially pertaining to Arab Spring.

In Arab countries, activists in the Arab Spring used social media as the primary tool to express their thoughts in relation to the unjust acts committed by their government. Through the social networking sites, the Arab Spring activists not only gained the power to rebel against powerful dictatorship, but also helped the Arab civilian become aware of the underground communities.

Similarly, China confronted a massive earthquake in 2009, which was immediately reported to Twitter and other social media sites before the government knew anything about it.

In countries like Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen, numerous voices of the protests had been organized through social media such as Twitter and Facebook. Check out one such important protest in Arab Spring's cascading effects.

Therefore, social media has successfully torn the psychological barrier of fear by supporting people to connect and share important information. Hussein Amin, a professor of Mass Communications at American University in Cairo, said:

Social networks, for the first time, provided activists with an opportunity to quickly disseminate information while bypassing government restrictions.

Currently, several social media specialists are interested in using social networks for Nation's development:

Silke Von Brockhausen, a social media specialist, New York, USA coordinates UNDP's global social networking community and trains the staff and managers in the use of social media. She is interested to learn about the effective ways to use social media for the development of advocacy and making the international development community more transparent.

Dustin Andres, a social communications specialist in Washington D.C. is currently working on a social media handbook for agriculture development practitioners.

Thus, social media is an incredible tool that should be embraced with an eye towards development â€" rather than demolition.

Digital Enigma Photo via Shutterstock

Small Business News Stories to Help You Stay Current

From the possibility of a new, cheaper iPhone to Instagram getting video capabilities … tech and social media stories dominated the week.

And, because this past week ending June 22nd was National Small Business Week here in the United States, we had a rash of announcements. We covered many of them.

As usual, the Small Business Trends editorial team takes you behind the scenes to show you how these and many other stories may affect small business owners and entrepreneurs.

Tech

Apple may sell $99 plastic iPhones… in 6 or 7 colors. It's a big departure for the computer, smartphone and tablet leader, but the buzz has been going on for a while. A recent news report quotes industry sources.

Going mobile with Dolphin. As a business person, you know the importance of mobile connectivity. TJ McCue looks at how one browser may improve your mobile experience. The mobile Dolphin browser may also improve your productivity.

Yahoo! Small Business Vice President speaks.  In an exclusive live Hangout, members of the Small Business Trends community on Friday sat down with Yahoo! executive Tom Byun.  Byun explained how Yahoo! supports small businesses with their online presence, especially those with 10 employees or under.

By 2015, mobile marketing will generate $400 billion in sales. The Mobile Marketing Association's study projects big rewards for mobile marketing in the future, but how about for the here and now? Well, it's estimated mobile marketing generated $139 billion in sales in the U.S. last year.

Avoiding BYOD Nightmares. Do you allow your employees to use their own devices at work? Do you understand the practical and security implications?

New McAfee position shows focus on small business. The security software company named former Apple executive Bill Rielly this week as new senior vice president for small and medium-sized business.

Funny smartphone messages. If you've ever sent or received a smartphone message, you've probably seen the typical “message sent from my iPhone” or “message sent from my BlackBerry” footer. But what if you could make that message a little more creative and more your own?

Social Media

Instagram adds 16 second video. The announcement came this week and seems a clear response to the success of Twitter's video service Vine. Still there are some interesting differences between the two services. Check out our report on the big announcement with video from the event.

Twitter to Hand out $1 Million in Ad Credits to Chase Small Business Customers. Twitter is partnering with Chase Bank to offer Twitter ad credits if you use certain Chase small business banking products.

Have you used Hootsuite lately? The tool lets you manage numerous social media media channels from the same platform. Small Business Trends founder Anita Campbell does an in-depth review of the service and tips for getting the most out of it.

Entrepreneurship

Can college graduates start a business instead of looking for a job? Richard White suggests answering some important questions before you make the decision. Since entrepreneurship and self-employment both present challenges, consider your options carefully.

A success story to inspire. Sramana Mitra, founder of One Million by One Million, tells the story of Senthil Nayagam, co-founder of RailsFactory. Though a college drop out, something not looked upon favorably in his native India, he has been a success. Here's what his experience can teach others.

The sunk cost fallacy. As an entrepreneur, you may occasionally invest in bad ideas. It's part of the game. The trouble comes when you keep investing after knowing you've made a mistake. Think you're going to recover that initial investment somehow? Now you're buying into the the sunk cost fallacy. Here's how it works.

A case study in customer service. Customer service is important to every business. But you don't need to be theoretical when considering what makes great customer service for a business.  Jeanne Bliss of CustomerBLISS gives us an example of one business that can serve as a gold standard.

Management

Many small business owners still aren't hiring. Rieva Lesonsky reviews the Sage SMB Hiring survey.  Only about 25 percent of businesses say they either have hired or will hire this year. Meanwhile, 47 percent have no plans to do so.

Getting your company back into good standing. Did you know your business could end up in bad standing in the state where it was created? This can occur in instances when an LLC fails to file certain required reports and payments, for example. Nellie Akalp explains the possible consequences and solutions.

Best ideas for your startup. In a recent Twitter chat sponsored by FedEx Office, members of the Small Business Trends community made suggestions for how to make a startup better. From cutting costs to creating an effective business plan, check out these crowdsourced tips.

Policy

You can't judge a book by its cover. Unless you're the IRS. The federal tax collection agency claims to know the age, ethnicity and even the line of business of the most likely tax cheat. Here's more from Scott Shane, Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies at Case Western Reserve University.

How do you define small business? The answer is important for tax purposes. But there may be another reason this designation matters, reports Megan Totka, chief editor for the website ChamberofCommerc.com. A proposed bill could change the government's definition of small business.

SBA promises increased lending to veterans. Rohit Arora, CEO and co-founder of Biz2Credit, reports on the initiative. He also tells us what a 5 percent increase in lending will mean to veterans interested in running a small business. Tell us what you think of the initiative.

National Small Business Week

Small Business Week Announcements. There were plenty of announcements coming out during National Small Business Week, from new products and services, to contests, surveys and tips.  Here are some roundups breaking down the top news and announcements for you:  Roundup #1. Then there's Roundup #2.  And don't forget Roundup #3.

Shutterstock: mobile news

Food Fight On Social Media: Paula Deen Fans and Critics Square Off

Celebrity cook Paula Deen has been embroiled in a nasty controversy for the past week.  Fans and critics alike have been battling it out on Twitter and Facebook.

The current brouhaha started when a videoed deposition was leaked in which Deen admitted to certain racist remarks.

Outraged critics took to Twitter to express their anger.  Using the hashtag #PaulasBestDishes, detractors started a meme making sarcastic comments about Deen and racism.  Paula's Best Dishes is the name of her television show on the Food TV Network, so it also was sure to get the attention of the Food TV Network.

And gets its attention it did.  This past Friday, the Food TV Network said it would not renew Deen's contract for her show.

Then fans of Paula Deen, angry at the Food TV Network for what they saw as overreacting without considering her apology, took to Facebook to fight back.

Facts â€" Or Unproven Allegations?

Dean admitted to using the “N” word at some point in the past, and to making statements about planning a plantation wedding in which the servers would all have been black.  It was done in sworn testimony in a deposition in a civil lawsuit against Deen and her brother. The plaintiff, who is white, sued for sexual harassment.

How much of her comments have been pulled out of context is hard to tell.  Most news reports seem to be light on facts.  Lots of allegations and innuendo are floating around social media, implying that there's evidence that racist statements were more recent and the worst is yet to be revealed. However, they don't include hard facts to back up their allegations.

One report by the Savannah Morning News / Savannah Now suggests the mainstream media has not done its job. The paper accused the mainstream media at the national level of cherry-picking statements in isolation, and parotting tabloids and social media, without getting the full facts or the surrounding context.

The Savannah Morning News took several days to gather and review multiple depositions.  The publication points to another deposition in the same lawsuit where the plaintiff admitted she never heard Deen make a racist statement or discriminate based on race.  Later, Susan Catron, Executive Editor of the Savannah Morning News, taking the media to task, wrote that fast news doesn't necessarily make for factual news.

Deen apologized on YouTube videos. Some claimed the videos (three of them) were awkward and took her to task for not being articulate.  To others it just looked like she was shell-shocked and near tears, but attempting to be sincere.  Wrote the New York Times:

Some who thought Ms. Deen's words were hurtful gave her a pass for her apparent inability to articulate her evolution on race and her awkward apologies, which she offered in a series of three videos on Friday.

“I was wrong, yes, I've worked hard, and I have made mistakes,” Ms. Deen said, “but that is no excuse and I offer my sincere apology to those that I have hurt, and I hope that you forgive me because this comes from the deepest part of my heart.”

Added one Deen supporter quoted in the New York Times story, “She's a cook. She's not a Harvard graduate.”

Paula Deen Fight on Social Media Rages On

It's not enough for Dean's detractors, who are still expressing outrage on Twitter where the Paula Deen hashtag bashing is going strong.

And on Facebook?  Paula Deen fans have set up a  We Support Paula Deen Facebook page which currently has 250,000 followers.   Paula Deen fans also have taken over one thread in particular on the Food TV Network's page â€" a recipe for zucchini casserole.  It features angry fans threatening to boycott the network, and critics of Deen, arguing back and forth. As of this writing there are 13,000 comments.

Lost in the controversy is the zucchini casserole.  Scott Travis writes on the thread, “ The poor zucchini. The most controversial recipe of all time.”

Seriously, though, it's not just Deen going through a rough patch.  She runs what is essentially a family business.  Her family and her employees will no doubt have some rough times ahead.  Losing a big contract often means layoffs.  A number of lives could get caught in the crossfire of this food fight.

All of which raises one other question:  why was Deen not better prepared by her defense attorney for the deposition, and by her PR team for the news when it broke?  It all feels as if Deen was caught by surprise, and - at the very least - did a poor job managing her own communications.

Image: PaulaDeen.com

How small business credit has changed since the Great Recession

Bankers reported easing credit standards on small business in the second quarter of 2013, the April Federal Reserve Survey of Senior Loan Officers showed. But despite the recent lessening of lending standards, small business owners are still having a harder time getting credit now than before the Great Recession. In fact, virtually aspects of small business credit â€" the amount businesses borrow; where they source capital, and the terms of their loans â€" have changed since the financial crisis and Great Recession.

To begin with, small businesses are borrowing less than before the economic downturn. In the last three months of 2012, the inflation-adjusted value of commercial and industrial loans smaller than $1 million â€" a commonly used measure of small business loans â€" was 22 percent below April-to-June 2007 level, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation data indicate. Moreover, the number of small loans declined 344,000 between the two periods, despite an additional 100,000 small businesses being in operation.

Fewer small businesses are looking for credit. In May of this year, 29 percent of the small business owners who belong to the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) said they borrowed at least once in the prior three months, as compared to 37 percent who indicated that they borrowed in April 2007.

The number of discouraged borrowers â€" small business owners who don't apply for credit because they don't think they will get it â€" has increased. According to data from the NFIB's Annual Finance Survey and the Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances, the percentage of small business owners who did not apply for credit because they didn't think they would get it increased from 18 percent in 2003 to 29 percent in 2011.

Small business owners believe that obtaining credit has become more challenging. Thirty percent of the respondents to the second quarter 2013 Wells Fargo-Gallup Small Business Survey â€" which taps a representative sample of 600 owners of companies with up to $20 million per year in sales every three months â€" said that getting credit in the past year was difficult, up from 14 percent in the same period of 2007.

Small businesses aren't as attractive to lenders as they used to be. According to a recent https://wellsfargobusinessinsights.com/File/Index/y1o9AemryEuwEcD31jekgA, only 48 percent of small business owners reported their cash flow as “good” in the first quarter of 2013. That's significantly fewer than the 65 percent who said their cash flow was “good” in the second quarter of 2007.

Moreover, small business credit scores have fallen. In 2003, the Federal Reserve's Survey of Small Business Finances showed that the average small business had a PAYDEX score of 53.4. In 2011 The NFIB Annual Finance survey showed that the average small company' PAYDEX score was 44.7.

Bank lending standards have tightened. When the Federal Reserve asked bank Senior Loan Officers to describe their current loan standards last year “using the range between the tightest and easiest that lending standards at your bank have been between 2005 and the present,” 39 percent said that small firm loans are currently “tighter than the mid-point of the range,” while only 23 percent said they are easier.

Collateral requirements have increased. According to the Federal Reserve Survey of Terms of Business Lending, 84 percent of the value of loans under $100,000 and 76 percent of the value of loans of between $100,000 and $1 million were secured by collateral in 2007. In 2013, those numbers had risen to 90 percent and 80 percent, respectively.

Banks have become a less dominant source of financing for small businesses, as many large banks have pivoted out of the small business loan market. Between 2007 and 2012 the fraction of non-farm, non-residential, loans that were less than $1 million â€" a common proxy for small business lending â€" declined from 39 to 29 percent.

As always, obtaining credit is important to small business owners. However, the small business credit system has changed since the Great Recession. Fewer businesses are borrowing and the amount of credit has declined. Fewer banks are lending to small companies and those that are have become stricter about loan qualifications. The average small business has become less credit worthy. Collateral requirements have increased, and getting credit has become more difficult.

The Secrets To Small Business Success From The Largest Business on Facebook

Lolly Wolly Doodle is a children's clothing company based out of Lexington, North Carolina. They also happen to be the largest business on Facebook, with over 589K followers.

Smallbiztechnology editor, Ramon Ray, recently caught up with Emily Hickey, COO of Lolly Wolly Doodle, at an intimate roundtable discussion on the state of small businesses using technology to grow their businesses held at Facebook headquarters in NYC. Emily shares some of the secrets to small business success that they used at Lolly Wolly Doodle, including how they overcame the hurdles of being a small business and the strategies they used to grow their business and achieve marketing success.

In this short video interview, they discuss tips on hiring and how to get the most out of the people that you have within your organization. Emily also shares her best ideas on marketing as a small business and how to put an effective plan together.

You can watch the full video of the interview below or click here.

5 Tips for Creating an Online Bio That Makes You Shine

If you're a small business owner, you've likely spent a great deal of time developing and maintaining a website for your business. But your own online reputation is just as important as your business's reputation, playing an important part in whether or not clients choose to do business with you.

Creating an online bio isn't as simple as typing a few words into your business's “About Us” section. A business owner's bio should be professional, informative, and, most importantly, search engine-friendly. When a client, colleague, or potential customer searches for more information on the leadership of your business, the professionalism of the content he or she finds will likely make or break your future with that searcher.

Creating a bio that sufficiently expresses your level of expertise and talent is a matter of following a few simple tips.

• Buy your domain name. Whether you link it to the bio on your business site or you create your own, having a bio under yourname.com will help ensure it appears first in search results. This puts you in control of the information others see about you.
• Use a personal web hosting service. About.me is a great way for professionals without a website to build an online presence. Now with the ability to link to a domain, About.me lets users link social media sites and any other sites relevant to individuals. About.me creates a one-page profile for a professional, along with a background of the user's choosing. It's a great way for a young professional to increase exposure.
• Put the most important information first. While we all like to believe visitors will read ten paragraphs of text about us, many will simply read the first paragraph or two and move on. State what you do in the first sentence, summing it up in just a couple of words. “Portrait photographer or “real estate developer” convey who you are without forcing readers to browse through 500 words or more to get there.
• Use third person. Your bio should sound as though it were written by someone else. It may feel awkward to write about yourself in third person, but it reads more naturally. If writing about yourself feels too awkward, this may be one task you delegate to a trusted staff member or freelancer. A third party can often write more objectively about you than you can.
• Regularly update it. A long-dormant online bio is worse than any bio at all. You should regularly revisit your online bio, adding any new accomplishments. By always keeping your bio updated, when someone requests a bio, you'll only need to direct them to that website.

For business owners, building a personal brand for themselves is just as important as branding a business. Through the above tips, you can not only provide an easy-to-read, up-to-date bio, but you'll ensure it features prominently in search results.

Take Customer Service To The Next Level By Adding Live Chat To Your Website

Live chat support on your website gets you closer to your customers. Let's say your customer wants to buy a product, but they have a question that isn't answered on your website. The customer then has to find an email address on the site and email you, perhaps from an entirely separate site. Or they'll have to actually pick up a phone and call you, again, taking them away from your site.

You don't want that customer to leave. You want a self-contained experience. You want to keep your customer on your website. You don't want an opportunity for them to forget about your site or to decide it's not worth the effort to email you a question. Every question and every click between your customers and your product should be absolutely necessary. Anything that slows the process is a hindrance.

Thus, the major benefit of live chat support is that it allows your customers to have their questions answered fast. Where in the past, you might have lost customers because they either didn't put in the effort to email, or you took a day or so to respond and the customer ended up going with a competing product, live chat allows you to keep those customers.

Other benefits include productivity and an expense decrease. When you have customers calling, you can only deal with one customer at a time. On live chat, you can pretty safely deal with three customers at a time.

Here are three options to consider if you are thinking about adding live chat to your website:

Offerchat. Offerchat is 100% free all the time. They charge only if you are outsourcing to their agents. If you're using your own, you're good to go. There are no downloads or software and you can manage chats coming in from multiple websites on one web platform. Offerchat also allows you to store common (long) answers to FAQs for quick access later instead of typing them every single time.

Zopim. Zopim, one of the best recommended live chat service providers, also offers a free service. It allows for one agent and one conversation at a time. It also provides smart offline modes for when you go offline and the ability to email chat transcripts. With Zopim, you also receive real-time visitor information as well as automatic translation, which translates chat into your native language.

Jitbit. One of the newer players in the category, Jitbit now offers a cloud-based chat program that can be easily integrated into your website. With features such as desktop notification and sound alert,  Jitbit offers a 21-day free trial on their live chat service here, so you can check out how their service works for your company.

If you are ready to take the leap and add live chat to your business, you'll also want to check out our six tips for adding live chat to your website.

Do you use live chat? Tell us about your experience in the comments below!

Three Apps That Help You Tame Your Expenses and Receipts Into A Paperless Wonder

Papers are everywhere. My desk is full of them, and you probably also have your share of papers sprawled all over the place on a busy day. There's just so much to do that sometimes you don't find the time to file them neatly into categorized indexes. Tracking expenses and receipts is probably the most vital function of your business as far as accounting is concerned and, is often the one that requires the most paper.

The paper sheet is an invention that goes back thousands of years. Traditionally, we've been writing on papers to keep track of things (and immortalize our words). We've been stuck with what we can now call a “wonderful burden” for quite a long time! Now, it's time to move on from that into the paperless 21st century.

Inventing digital electronics has led us into an era where we can now read the written word on a screen and change those words as we wish. Yet, we still somehow have the inability to transfer some of this technology into the accounting departments of most businesses. It's disappointing that, while we can replace even the most minute written data with digital equivalents, we seem to choke when it comes to doing it with receipts. Of course, there are technologies that can help you get around this:

• Expensify - Who needs a portable scanner when your phone can do everything? Expensify is a mobile app that lets you scan mobile receipts. It has all the features you need to do all of your accounting without flipping a single sheet, including scanning receipts from a picture you take on your smartphone. The text will be automatically extrapolated. This app is free to use, so give it a try!
• Concur - If you're a frequent flyer, you could certainly use a mobile app that does everything Expensify does, but also lets you book flights. Concur lets you manage travel expenses, book travel, and manage your day-to-day business accounting. At $8 per user per month for the small business package, and a free trial to boot, it's worth a try!
• NeatCloud - What could possibly be wrong with putting your expenses and other documents on the cloud? This is what NeatCloud does, and more. According to the creators, NeatCloud is a “digital filing system,” which means that you can also gather contacts and documents. This digital filing system also recognizes the text in receipts from a picture you take in your smartphone. In other words, you can throw away a receipt right after you scanned it and stored it in the cloud. Their popular “Home & Office” offer costs $14.99 a month and includes all the features mentioned above for two users. You can also get a business plan for $24.99 a month that includes five users.

If you're tired of using pieces of dead bark to keep your business running, it's time you threw away the tree pile and dived into silicon!

Founder of Barkbox Shares Three Ways Every Small Business Can Succeed

Ramon Ray, editor of Smallbiztechnology.com, recently attended an intimate roundtable discussion on the use of technology in small businesses at the Facebook headquarters in New York City. Here he met Matt Meeker, co-founder and CEO of Barkbox â€" a monthly way to spoil your dog with a box of doggie ‘goodies'.  Matt also happens to be the co-founder of another company many of us know of, Meetup.

Matt took a few minutes to discuss with Ramon the three ways every small business can succeed. He talks to the importance of creating and developing the right product for the market, finding the right customers for the product and how to get in front of those customers through effective marketing in order to continually acquire new business.

Matt also shares his thoughts on another small business issue we all face: hiring.

You can watch the full video interview with Matt and Ramon below, or click here.

Get Instant Vendor and Product Reviews With ExpertCircle

Successful business owners will tell you that running a business takes more than just blood, sweat and tears. It takes the assistance of other vendors and business products to handle the peripheral tasks to ensure the success of a business. Business owners cannot succeed working in a silo, but by seeking the resources of competent outsourcing services. The key is in finding these reputable businesses that can help. Docstoc, an online resource that provides tools for starting and running a small business, believes it can help businesses find the best vendors and products for their companies with its recent launch of ExpertCircle.  ExpertCircle provides vendor and product reviews across a spectrum of industries to take the guesswork, and the recommendations of friends, out of the picture.

Here's how ExpertCircle works. The business owner registers for free at ExpertCircle.com and creates a business profile including selection of business category and industry.  Then, the owner can select information about a particular product or vendor or simply state a need such as, “What is the best payroll outsourcing company to use?”  Docstock uses it's already registered 35 million users to comment and provide pros and cons of a particular product or vendor as well as allows a link-up to your Facebook and LinkedIn accounts for even more peer reviews.

The system provides a two-way review where you too can review products and comment on vendor services and either endorse or critique them.  The platform is helpful for entrepreneurs and business owners because of its simplicity.  For example, under the category of Home Business, you will find reviews on accounting software, blogging tools, CRM, logo makers, time management tools, and website design.  For the small business, the benefits of ExpertCircle include:

• Reviews of products and services from peers in your industry
• Ability to submit products for review from ExpertCircle community
• Save time researching a particular product
• Learn what your competition is using
• Leverage your business community on both LinkedIn and Facebook
• Provides “you might also be interested in” reviews

While not a cure-all for finding the best products and services for your business, it is another tool you can add to your arsenal to save hours of research time- especially if you are on the fence about a particular product.