How A Virtual Server Can Keep Your Business on Track During a Disaster

Technology in this day and age is an integral part of any business, large or small. With each employee comes another set of costs: a new PC, a tablet, a smart phone, dedicated email, each chipping away at the servers that contain everything. Perhaps your business requires a few servers, a few dozen, a few hundred. But what do you do when a server fails or you suffer an unexpected disaster?

September is National Disaster Preparedness month and while we’ve talked about creating a data disaster preparedness plan in previous articles, having the proper technologies in place, those that can quickly have you back up and running - quickly - is essential to recovery. In a recent survey by a nationwide network of Cisco partners, 65 percent of employees who experienced an outage on their computer and were working in a virtualized workplace had it restored in less than one day.

Server virtualization is a rapidly evolving technology that is becoming more and more cost efficient for businesses of any size. As SmallBizTechnology’s own Ramon Ray has written on several occasions, there are plenty of reasons why server virtualization is beneficial to small businesses. For example, physical servers often utilize only a fraction of their computing power, take up space, and increase power and cooling costs. By virtualizing your servers, you cut down on space used, allocate moe computing power, and lower cooling and power costs.

Even further, it’s much easier, and affordable, to invest in safeguards for a single virtual server than for multiple physical servers or each employee computer. Businesses can also save money by investing in backup software to protect company files. While employees may forget to backup important files, with software in place business owners can rest knowing in the event of anything, their files are undamaged because they’re not stored locally. While this opens up the topic of whether local storage is even necessary, anyone who’s suffered recovery problems know it’s best to keep backups, and even backups of backups, just in case.

Virtualization can lead to some pretty big benefits for businesses. While the lower costs and reliability of backups are huge advantages, the ability to recover from server downtime quickly is essential. So while the crushed servers are being tossed out, you can kick your feet up on your oak table and restore your business from backed up virtual server storage.

Why Online Video is Beating Social Media

In 7 Reasons Why Video is the Fastest Growing Online Ad Format, I share Forrester, Cisco and Forbes research on why video is beating social media as a small business marketing platform. The biggest reason, however, may not be found in a research study.

First, I must mention that I do use and value social media. While some communication channels are better than others (depending on goals), all have value. The problem is with the “silver bullet” perception.

During these past few years social media has gotten more hype than just about anything. It’s been a great bandwagon to jump on and just about every online marketing guru under 60 has. It’s been a party for slick marketers and sales people who’ve financially capitalized on the hype. Whether it’s because of that hype, or despite it, business owners are now experiencing a social media hangover.

As the Manta Small Business Wellness Index showed, over 60% say they “don’t see any ROI” on their social-media activities. That’s a lot.

Regardless of why business owners say they see no ROI (return on investment), it’s forced them to seek an alternative - and that alternative is video.

The shift from social media to video is not surprising for another big, fundamental reason. Every business owner, manager and marketing director in the universe wants to know what they’re getting for their marketing dollar. Even if they fully realize there’s no guarantee on ROI, they want to know what “the deliverable” is. With social media, that’s hard to grasp. With video, it’s not. With video you see what you’re getting and, if it’s done right, you get excited by it.

Unlike social media, there’s an immediate emotional connection. It touches our senses. And, when it does that to us, we have no reason not to believe it’ll do the same to the people we’re trying reach.

So, the big differentiating factor between social media and video as a marketing platform is one you may never see in a Forrester report. It’s the bedroom conversation between a business owner and his, or her, spouse:

Her: “So, is the business going better?”

Him: “Well, it’s better. We just hired a social media firm.”

Her: “Really? How much are you paying them?”

Him: “$800 a month for 6 months.”

Her: “And what are you getting for that?”

Him: “A cohesive message across multiple social media platforms to integrate our selling proposition for better engagement across new media channels.”

Her: “What the hell does that mean?”

Him: “I have no idea.”

Bedroom Talk Photo via Shutterstock

How A Virtual Server Can Keep Your Business on Track During a Disaster

Technology in this day and age is an integral part of any business, large or small. With each employee comes another set of costs: a new PC, a tablet, a smart phone, dedicated email, each chipping away at the servers that contain everything. Perhaps your business requires a few servers, a few dozen, a few hundred. But what do you do when a server fails or you suffer an unexpected disaster?

September is National Disaster Preparedness month and while we’ve talked about creating a data disaster preparedness plan in previous articles, having the proper technologies in place, those that can quickly have you back up and running - quickly - is essential to recovery. In a recent survey by a nationwide network of Cisco partners, 65 percent of employees who experienced an outage on their computer and were working in a virtualized workplace had it restored in less than one day.

Server virtualization is a rapidly evolving technology that is becoming more and more cost efficient for businesses of any size. As SmallBizTechnology’s own Ramon Ray has written on several occasions, there are plenty of reasons why server virtualization is beneficial to small businesses. For example, physical servers often utilize only a fraction of their computing power, take up space, and increase power and cooling costs. By virtualizing your servers, you cut down on space used, allocate moe computing power, and lower cooling and power costs.

Even further, it’s much easier, and affordable, to invest in safeguards for a single virtual server than for multiple physical servers or each employee computer. Businesses can also save money by investing in backup software to protect company files. While employees may forget to backup important files, with software in place business owners can rest knowing in the event of anything, their files are undamaged because they’re not stored locally. While this opens up the topic of whether local storage is even necessary, anyone who’s suffered recovery problems know it’s best to keep backups, and even backups of backups, just in case.

Virtualization can lead to some pretty big benefits for businesses. While the lower costs and reliability of backups are huge advantages, the ability to recover from server downtime quickly is essential. So while the crushed servers are being tossed out, you can kick your feet up on your oak table and restore your business from backed up virtual server storage.

Businesses Hit With $350,000 in Fines for Fake Online Reviews

Writing fake online reviews can land your business in serious trouble and cost you more than you gained in reputation or sales. Just ask 19 businesses caught in New York’s “Operation Clean Turf.”

The undercover investigation snagged SEO companies and small businesses engaged in an activity Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman is calling “astroturfing.”

Schneiderman’s office defines astroturfing as the “practice of preparing or disseminating a false or deceptive review that a reasonable consumer would believe to be a neutral, third-party review.”

The technique is a form of false advertising, according to the state Attorney General.

An announcement from Schneiderman’s office says the investigation uncovered businesses that allegedly created false accounts on review sites like Yelp, Google Local and CitySearch.

The companies then hired freelancers in the Philippines, Bangladesh and Eastern Europe to write reviews for between $1 and $10 a piece, Schneiderman’s office said.

Schneiderman’s office shared some of the ads allegedly posted on sites like Craigslist, ODesk.com and Freelancer.com like this one by an SEO company:

“We need a person that can post multiple positive reviews on major REVIEW sites. Example: Google Maps, Yelp, CitySearch. Must be from different IP addresses… So you must be able to have multiple IPs. The reviews will be only few sentences long. Need to have some understanding on how Yelp filters works. Previous experience is a plus…just apply -) we are a marketing company.”

Schneiderman’s office uncovered the fake online review writing activities with a year-long sting operation.

Posing as proprietors of a yogurt shop in Brooklyn, investigators called local SEO firms about problems with negative reviews on sites like Yelp.

Some SEO firms contacted offered fake review writing as part of their “reputation management” services, Schneiderman’s office said.

The investigation also uncovered hundreds of fake profiles created on social media review sites and complex techniques used by companies to mask user IPs and hide the true identities of these accounts.

Nineteen companies entered into agreements with the attorney general’s office to pay between $2,500 and $100,000 in fines and avoid further prosecution.

This isn’t the first time writing fake online reviews has resulted in legal troubles. Recently, Yelp filed suit for writing fake reviews against a San Diego law firm, claiming it had faked some of its own reviews on the site.

Food Trucks and Technology: How The Trucks Roll With Technology To Find and Serve Customers

Photo Credit: DispatchNY.com / Evan Snug

Food trucks have quickly become a hot item in many large cities across the U.S., with anxious customers wrapping down sidewalks in front of their favorite truck. We watch food truck competitions on television and many people will spend extra time tracking down their favorite truck location just for that special bite of food. After all, we aren’t talking about simple hot dogs and hamburgers any longer as the only mobile food available. We are talking about gourmet style food and specialty food items - everything from schnitzel to Korean BBQ to gourmet ice cream sandwiches to waffles and dinges.  

You can proudly call yourself a food truck ‘groupie’ when you know which food van is going to be parked where and at what time. Having relished the sumptuous variety of food served by food trucks, have you ever found yourself thinking, “Hmm, maybe I could do this for a living”! Well, it’s not a bad idea because the American food truck industry has in recent years seen somewhat of a resurgence with people lining-up to eat street-food like never before.

But like any other business, running a food truck is extremely challenging. For starters, the industry is flooded with a large number of mobile food businesses. In addition, as a result of increased regulations, food truck owners seem to find themselves in all sorts of trouble, from being shooed away from coveted parking slots to receiving increasing number of violation fines. (Although the real reason for heightened regulations in the business could be the perceived threat that traditional brick and mortar restaurants feel from their drive-by competitors). 

Challenges notwithstanding, food trucks are a viable business opportunity and here’s why:

1. The price tag of opening a food truck business remains substantially lower than a traditional restaurant. A traditional brick-and mortar restaurant could cost anywhere from $100,000 to $300,000, at a minimum. A reasonably priced food truck van could cost anywhere between $50,000 and $70,000. Taking into account other costs such business permits, supplies, equipment, insurance, staffing (the industry presently employs over 35000 people) and advertising, the entry costs are still lesser than a regular restaurant.

2. Despite the general economic gloom, the mobile food industry has managed steady growth rates. As per a report by IBISWorld, annual revenue from food trucks is estimated to be $1 billion with annual growth rates of about 3.9 percent between 2008 and 2013. In 2013, the annual revenue is expected to grow to $1.2 billion, a growth rate of 4.6 percent.

3. The report also highlights that despite the 30,810 businesses in the street vendor industry, no single company has a dominant share making it an industry with lower competitive barriers.

4. Consumers increasingly want to patronize local businesses ( localism), which includes the establishments where they buy their food. Most food trucks buy high-quality organic ingredients sourced from local producers. This procurement model besides helping the local economy, also adds to the overall ‘fresh food’ appeal of the mobile food vans.

5. With people looking to cut down every day expenses, affordability has bolstered mobile food van popularity. In addition, food trucks have upped the competitive ante by focusing on quality and providing an array of specialty, gourmet and ethnic food offerings.

6. Smartphones and social media in particular have taken the mobile food business to a different level. Most food trucks are using the internet to keep customers informed of their locations in real-time and engage with customers. Incidentally, the number of Google searches on the phrase ‘food truck’ increased from 83,000 hits in 2008-09 to 28.2 million in 2011-12.

So what does it take to build and market a mobile food business?

For a ground-level understanding of running a mobile food business, we connected with Chicago business owner Dan Salls, owner of The Salsa Truck. Besides running a successful street food business, Dan also provides a truck consultation service for those wanting to get into the mobile food business. Here’s what Dan has to say .

(Q) Is the mobile food truck a viable business opportunity today? D.S - Yes.  As long as you can build a strong brand & are willing to work very hard. It isn’t just making great food or having a good marketing plan. Everything is intensified because it’s done on such a small-scale.

(Q) What are the main challenges facing the mobile food business today?  D.S - Weather & regulations are first and foremost in any city. You have to make a good product of course, but the biggest challenge now is how to differentiate yourself from other trucks. Operators are no longer working as the only food truck in town-there are tons of them now!

(Q) What are the main marketing tools being deployed by mobile food vans? D.S-  Social media is crucial (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.). However, we have been working conventional media sources as well. Knowing how to write and distribute a press release is a valuable tool.

(Q) Are Groupon daily deal campaigns an effective way to build a customer base for a food truck business? D.S - They absolutely can be. The key is consistency and offering an actionable deal that can be repeated.

(Q) Which top 2 social media platforms do you recommend that every food business truck owner should deploy? D.S - Facebook & Twitter. No question.

The advantage that food trucks lack in terms of permanence of location is compensated by the flexibility of being present where the customers are. Clearly, the emergence of trends such as “localism” in customer behavior and social media have helped the mobile food industry thrive despite a weakened economy. In addition the relatively low entry barriers and stable industry growth rates are an attractive prospect. Despite rising costs and greater competition, the mobile food truck remains a viable business opportunity for those looking to enter the food industry.

But remember, starting a mobile food truck is as much about grit and grime as it is about having a great product and savvy marketing. So if are passionate about food and ready to roll-up the sleeves, a mobile food truck may well be a business opportunity worth considering.

Food Trucks and Technology: How The Trucks Roll With Technology To Find and Serve Customers

Photo Credit: DispatchNY.com / Evan Snug

Food trucks have quickly become a hot item in many large cities across the U.S., with anxious customers wrapping down sidewalks in front of their favorite truck. We watch food truck competitions on television and many people will spend extra time tracking down their favorite truck location just for that special bite of food. After all, we aren’t talking about simple hot dogs and hamburgers any longer as the only mobile food available. We are talking about gourmet style food and specialty food items - everything from schnitzel to Korean BBQ to gourmet ice cream sandwiches to waffles and dinges.  

You can proudly call yourself a food truck ‘groupie’ when you know which food van is going to be parked where and at what time. Having relished the sumptuous variety of food served by food trucks, have you ever found yourself thinking, “Hmm, maybe I could do this for a living”! Well, it’s not a bad idea because the American food truck industry has in recent years seen somewhat of a resurgence with people lining-up to eat street-food like never before.

But like any other business, running a food truck is extremely challenging. For starters, the industry is flooded with a large number of mobile food businesses. In addition, as a result of increased regulations, food truck owners seem to find themselves in all sorts of trouble, from being shooed away from coveted parking slots to receiving increasing number of violation fines. (Although the real reason for heightened regulations in the business could be the perceived threat that traditional brick and mortar restaurants feel from their drive-by competitors). 

Challenges notwithstanding, food trucks are a viable business opportunity and here’s why:

1. The price tag of opening a food truck business remains substantially lower than a traditional restaurant. A traditional brick-and mortar restaurant could cost anywhere from $100,000 to $300,000, at a minimum. A reasonably priced food truck van could cost anywhere between $50,000 and $70,000. Taking into account other costs such business permits, supplies, equipment, insurance, staffing (the industry presently employs over 35000 people) and advertising, the entry costs are still lesser than a regular restaurant.

2. Despite the general economic gloom, the mobile food industry has managed steady growth rates. As per a report by IBISWorld, annual revenue from food trucks is estimated to be $1 billion with annual growth rates of about 3.9 percent between 2008 and 2013. In 2013, the annual revenue is expected to grow to $1.2 billion, a growth rate of 4.6 percent.

3. The report also highlights that despite the 30,810 businesses in the street vendor industry, no single company has a dominant share making it an industry with lower competitive barriers.

4. Consumers increasingly want to patronize local businesses ( localism), which includes the establishments where they buy their food. Most food trucks buy high-quality organic ingredients sourced from local producers. This procurement model besides helping the local economy, also adds to the overall ‘fresh food’ appeal of the mobile food vans.

5. With people looking to cut down every day expenses, affordability has bolstered mobile food van popularity. In addition, food trucks have upped the competitive ante by focusing on quality and providing an array of specialty, gourmet and ethnic food offerings.

6. Smartphones and social media in particular have taken the mobile food business to a different level. Most food trucks are using the internet to keep customers informed of their locations in real-time and engage with customers. Incidentally, the number of Google searches on the phrase ‘food truck’ increased from 83,000 hits in 2008-09 to 28.2 million in 2011-12.

So what does it take to build and market a mobile food business?

For a ground-level understanding of running a mobile food business, we connected with Chicago business owner Dan Salls, owner of The Salsa Truck. Besides running a successful street food business, Dan also provides a truck consultation service for those wanting to get into the mobile food business. Here’s what Dan has to say .

(Q) Is the mobile food truck a viable business opportunity today? D.S - Yes.  As long as you can build a strong brand & are willing to work very hard. It isn’t just making great food or having a good marketing plan. Everything is intensified because it’s done on such a small-scale.

(Q) What are the main challenges facing the mobile food business today?  D.S - Weather & regulations are first and foremost in any city. You have to make a good product of course, but the biggest challenge now is how to differentiate yourself from other trucks. Operators are no longer working as the only food truck in town-there are tons of them now!

(Q) What are the main marketing tools being deployed by mobile food vans? D.S-  Social media is crucial (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.). However, we have been working conventional media sources as well. Knowing how to write and distribute a press release is a valuable tool.

(Q) Are Groupon daily deal campaigns an effective way to build a customer base for a food truck business? D.S - They absolutely can be. The key is consistency and offering an actionable deal that can be repeated.

(Q) Which top 2 social media platforms do you recommend that every food business truck owner should deploy? D.S - Facebook & Twitter. No question.

The advantage that food trucks lack in terms of permanence of location is compensated by the flexibility of being present where the customers are. Clearly, the emergence of trends such as “localism” in customer behavior and social media have helped the mobile food industry thrive despite a weakened economy. In addition the relatively low entry barriers and stable industry growth rates are an attractive prospect. Despite rising costs and greater competition, the mobile food truck remains a viable business opportunity for those looking to enter the food industry.

But remember, starting a mobile food truck is as much about grit and grime as it is about having a great product and savvy marketing. So if are passionate about food and ready to roll-up the sleeves, a mobile food truck may well be a business opportunity worth considering.

BlackBerry Could Go Private with $4.7 Billion Acquisition

If your business routinely uses BlackBerry products and services, you may be wondering how a possible acquisition taking the company private affects you.

In the short term, not much probably, experts say.

BlackBerry announced Monday Sept. 23 it has signed a letter of intent agreement with Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited to take the company private.

After a 60 day due diligence period and approval by the majority of stockholders, Fairfax Limited and a consortium of investors would acquire BlackBerry for $4.7 billion with current stock holders receiving $9 per share.

The acquisition would mean that, for the first time since going public in 1998, BlackBerry would no longer be traded publicly and would no longer need to share financial details of its revenue and other internal operations publicly.

But the acquisition might also mean the company will be shifting direction in its business model with greater focus on its business services and less on its consumer products.

Prem Watsa, Chairman and CEO of Fairfax, hinted at this new direction in a prepared statement issued with the announcement:

We believe this transaction will open an exciting new private chapter for BlackBerry, its customers, carriers and employees. We can deliver immediate value to shareholders, while we continue the execution of a long-term strategy in a private company with a focus on delivering superior and secure enterprise solutions to BlackBerry customers around the world.

In a podcast on the industry watcher website Crackberry, consultant, writer and former equity analyst Chris Umiastowski said the company will almost certainly be looking to focus on the enterprise and security niche of its business.

In an announcement issued Friday Sept. 20, BlackBerry unveiled a restructuring plan with greater focus on the “enterprise and prosumer market.”

Specifically, the plan calls for a change in the company’s smartphone portfolio with a decrease from the present six leading devices, including five smartphones and one tablet, to four.

It also calls for a focus on enterprise systems like BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10, a device management, security and app management service available for Apple, Android and Blackberry operating systems.

The service helps businesses maintain control of company data while allowing greater mobility for employees and more use of personal devices for work. See more on BlackBerry Enterprise Server 10 below.

The company says 25,000 commercial and test servers for the service have been installed to date, an increase from 19,000 as of July 2013.

Image: Blackberry

Where To Find 1000′s of Free Qualified Leads Online

Businesses pay mega-bucks for solid, qualified leads, but there’s an easy way to uncover buyers that are part of a market that amounts to $35 billion in annual sales.

The key is to find who is making purchases on government credit cards for items or services you sell. To get you started, here’s a page of credit card purchases made by employees of the Department of the Interior all around the country.

These cards are generally used for smaller purchases and travel, and government employees are racking up at least $35 billion every year on their cards. If you have a product or service that the federal government buys, you need to invest some time finding out how to market yourself. We’ve discussed B2B marketing before, but with the federal government, it goes to a whole new level.

Have the IRS Pay You!

Let’s talk about a branch of the government that most of us dislike…at least somewhat: the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS, by its own estimate, spends about $4 million dollars every month charging “micro-purchases” on its federal charge cards. Those are purchases up to $3,000 each.

When I drop three grand on an item, I don’t call it a “micro-purchase.” The IRS’s terminology may give us a little insight into its perspective on spending. Alas, that’s probably a topic for another article and perhaps in a different forum.

However, the IRS is very helpful for small businesses that would like to be considered for these purchases. Check out this IRS information page that tells you what you need to do to get your business listed.

As you review this information from the IRS, you’ll see that the agency refers to various special categories of small businesses: HubZone, disadvantaged, woman-owned, veteran-owned, and others.

From the Government and Here to Help You

Confusing? Not to worry. The General Services Administration (GSA) handles much of what the federal government buys and it has a wide range of training opportunities â€" including webinars â€" that tell you how to do business with the government.

When looking through the training opportunities, try to find one where you’ll learn about the GSA Schedules program which can be a good way to sell items that the government buys in volume. Millions of items are sold through GSA Schedules and 80% of the contractors are small businesses. Your business could have a slice of that pie by taking the correct steps to landing a government contract. Big names like Dell, HP and Toshiba don’t have all the government sales locked up.

Bottom Line

Every year the government buys $50 billion of goods through the GSA schedules and small businesses get more than a third of that pie. There are a lot of hoops to jump through to get into the GSA Schedules program and many businesses hire a third party to perform the service for them.

However, the GSA does offer webinars and other online training materials for the DIY business owner. The GSA Schedules program is only one way to sell to the government. For a good overview, scan this information page. Spend some time exploring your options and determining how your company can best do business with the government.

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/76657755@N04/7067732521/ ”Government Spending,” © 2012 Tax Credits, used under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Megan Totka is the Chief Editor for ChamberofCommerce.com. She specializes on the topic of small business tips and resources. ChamberofCommerce.com helps small businesses grow their business on the web and facilitates connectivity between local businesses and more than 7,000 Chambers of Commerce worldwide.

Where To Find 1000′s of Free Qualified Leads Online

Businesses pay mega-bucks for solid, qualified leads, but there’s an easy way to uncover buyers that are part of a market that amounts to $35 billion in annual sales.

The key is to find who is making purchases on government credit cards for items or services you sell. To get you started, here’s a page of credit card purchases made by employees of the Department of the Interior all around the country.

These cards are generally used for smaller purchases and travel, and government employees are racking up at least $35 billion every year on their cards. If you have a product or service that the federal government buys, you need to invest some time finding out how to market yourself. We’ve discussed B2B marketing before, but with the federal government, it goes to a whole new level.

Have the IRS Pay You!

Let’s talk about a branch of the government that most of us dislike…at least somewhat: the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS, by its own estimate, spends about $4 million dollars every month charging “micro-purchases” on its federal charge cards. Those are purchases up to $3,000 each.

When I drop three grand on an item, I don’t call it a “micro-purchase.” The IRS’s terminology may give us a little insight into its perspective on spending. Alas, that’s probably a topic for another article and perhaps in a different forum.

However, the IRS is very helpful for small businesses that would like to be considered for these purchases. Check out this IRS information page that tells you what you need to do to get your business listed.

As you review this information from the IRS, you’ll see that the agency refers to various special categories of small businesses: HubZone, disadvantaged, woman-owned, veteran-owned, and others.

From the Government and Here to Help You

Confusing? Not to worry. The General Services Administration (GSA) handles much of what the federal government buys and it has a wide range of training opportunities â€" including webinars â€" that tell you how to do business with the government.

When looking through the training opportunities, try to find one where you’ll learn about the GSA Schedules program which can be a good way to sell items that the government buys in volume. Millions of items are sold through GSA Schedules and 80% of the contractors are small businesses. Your business could have a slice of that pie by taking the correct steps to landing a government contract. Big names like Dell, HP and Toshiba don’t have all the government sales locked up.

Bottom Line

Every year the government buys $50 billion of goods through the GSA schedules and small businesses get more than a third of that pie. There are a lot of hoops to jump through to get into the GSA Schedules program and many businesses hire a third party to perform the service for them.

However, the GSA does offer webinars and other online training materials for the DIY business owner. The GSA Schedules program is only one way to sell to the government. For a good overview, scan this information page. Spend some time exploring your options and determining how your company can best do business with the government.

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/76657755@N04/7067732521/ ”Government Spending,” © 2012 Tax Credits, used under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Megan Totka is the Chief Editor for ChamberofCommerce.com. She specializes on the topic of small business tips and resources. ChamberofCommerce.com helps small businesses grow their business on the web and facilitates connectivity between local businesses and more than 7,000 Chambers of Commerce worldwide.

14 Unorthodox Tips for Becoming Successful in Business

It’s no secret that you don’t become successful in business by doing the same thing the others guys are doing. Being able to take calculated risks is all part of the fun of being a small business owner â€" and understanding how to differentiate your business from the rest is a special skill most entrepreneurs spend their careers honing.

That’s why we asked members of the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an organization comprised of the country’s most promising young entrepreneurs, the following question:

“What is your most unorthodox tip for becoming successful in business?”

Here’s what YEC community members had to say:

1. Sell Joy

“Stop focusing on selling your product or service; instead, focus on the joy your company creates, and let that drive your growth. Scale the joy. Systematize how you deliver the joy. Sell the joy.” ~ Corey Blake, Round Table Companies

2. Become an Expert in Something

“If you’re an expert in one aspect of your business, you’ll be able to share your expertise and drive new business because of it. Contribute to publications that reach your target audience, and they’ll come to you for more expertise and assistance.” ~ Kelsey Meyer, Contributor Weekly

3. Deliver Happiness

“I am a huge fan of the Zappos “delivering happiness” movement. I think that the paradigm for how companies and customers interact is changing in a big way. When I see examples of terrible customer service, it makes me shake my head. Delighting your customers is the fastest way to grow a hugely successful business.” ~ Patrick Conley, Automation Heroes

4. Befriend Your Competitors

“I meet with anyone who is or could be competitive. Competitors could be your acquirer; you could merge with a competitor, or you could buy them. So it’s best to position yourself as best as you can without revealing strategy.” ~ Sarah Ware, Markerly

5. Don’t Be Afraid to Fire Customers

“You cannot please everyone, so find the customers who fit your company, and don’t waste your time on customers who don’t.” ~ Suzanne Smith, Social Impact Architects

6. Remember Business Is Personal

“Business is personal. This is contrary to every cliché you will hear about leading an organization. But at the end of the day, all you have as a business person in the 21st century is your relationships â€" not factories, widgets or pipelines.” ~ Panos Panay, Sonicbids

7. Don’t Work All the Time

“When I was young, I used to pull all-nighters a few times a week and would average only a few hours of sleep a night. Looking back, my life was totally unbalanced. I was far less productive and extremely unhealthy in general. Now, I have dinner with my kids, work out every day, do yoga, maintain a reasonable balance and get way more done than when I “worked” more hours.” ~ Danny Boice, Speek

8. Do Things That Don’t Scale

“These are the words of the great Paul Graham, and we have implemented this to great effect at DJZ. At the beginning of a company’s existence, you often have to undergo time-consuming tasks to recruit customers that wouldn’t make sense on a huge scale (e.g., personal thank-you letters to customers or gathering new signups in person). These initial unscalable gestures are what ignite the flywheel.” ~ Michael Simpson, DJZ

9. Run a Half Marathon Every Year

“When you’re the founder of a startup, your company is on your mind all the time. In fact, you can run into some major personal issues by not being able to properly “shut off” from business mode. I’ve found that signing up for a major athletic event like a half marathon is a great way to de-stress. It forces you to train every day and focus on something besides your business.” ~ Eric Bahn, Hustle Con Media

10. Break Rules

“Sure, rules are great. They create momentary stability and processes we can all adhere to, but breaking them for the right reasons can lead to breakthroughs, unique experiences and stories that build businesses and brands in unimaginable ways.” ~ Henry Glucroft, Henry’s / Airdrop

11. Don’t Try to Do It All

“Get out of your own way. It’s easy to get caught up trying to do everything in a business when really you should be focusing on removing yourself as a bottleneck. Entrepreneurs should spend their time building systems and plans for their business and watching things happen. Being CEO doesn’t mean you have to be doing all the work.” ~ Matt Wilson, Under30Experiences

12. Say ‘Yes’ More

“Success is rarely, if ever, a straight line. And sometimes, the things that are slightly off track or seem a bit outside the lines are the things that may yield the biggest results. So I recommend you say ‘yes’ to interesting things, people and experiences. Those are usually where the action lies.” ~ Eric Koester, DCI

13. Motivate Employees

“If you own a business, you should realize that your employees are your most valuable asset. The best way to motivate them is to allow them to share in the success of the business. You can call it an incentive for strong productivity and performance, or you can call it profit sharing. When employees have a vested interest in the business, they become self-motivated and work hard to be successful.” ~ Jay Wu, A Forever Recovery

14. Buy a Watch

“My most unorthodox tip for becoming wildly successful in business is buying a watch (any kind!) and actually wearing it (every day!). Being punctual in business is key. No one likes to be held up or waiting on an associate who is running behind. Be early to every meeting, finish meetings on time, and never get caught saying, ‘I’m sorry, I lost track of the time!’” ~ Kim Kaupe, ‘ZinePak

Success Photo via Shutterstock

14 Unorthodox Tips for Becoming Successful in Business

It’s no secret that you don’t become successful in business by doing the same thing the others guys are doing. Being able to take calculated risks is all part of the fun of being a small business owner â€" and understanding how to differentiate your business from the rest is a special skill most entrepreneurs spend their careers honing.

That’s why we asked members of the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an organization comprised of the country’s most promising young entrepreneurs, the following question:

“What is your most unorthodox tip for becoming successful in business?”

Here’s what YEC community members had to say:

1. Sell Joy

“Stop focusing on selling your product or service; instead, focus on the joy your company creates, and let that drive your growth. Scale the joy. Systematize how you deliver the joy. Sell the joy.” ~ Corey Blake, Round Table Companies

2. Become an Expert in Something

“If you’re an expert in one aspect of your business, you’ll be able to share your expertise and drive new business because of it. Contribute to publications that reach your target audience, and they’ll come to you for more expertise and assistance.” ~ Kelsey Meyer, Contributor Weekly

3. Deliver Happiness

“I am a huge fan of the Zappos “delivering happiness” movement. I think that the paradigm for how companies and customers interact is changing in a big way. When I see examples of terrible customer service, it makes me shake my head. Delighting your customers is the fastest way to grow a hugely successful business.” ~ Patrick Conley, Automation Heroes

4. Befriend Your Competitors

“I meet with anyone who is or could be competitive. Competitors could be your acquirer; you could merge with a competitor, or you could buy them. So it’s best to position yourself as best as you can without revealing strategy.” ~ Sarah Ware, Markerly

5. Don’t Be Afraid to Fire Customers

“You cannot please everyone, so find the customers who fit your company, and don’t waste your time on customers who don’t.” ~ Suzanne Smith, Social Impact Architects

6. Remember Business Is Personal

“Business is personal. This is contrary to every cliché you will hear about leading an organization. But at the end of the day, all you have as a business person in the 21st century is your relationships â€" not factories, widgets or pipelines.” ~ Panos Panay, Sonicbids

7. Don’t Work All the Time

“When I was young, I used to pull all-nighters a few times a week and would average only a few hours of sleep a night. Looking back, my life was totally unbalanced. I was far less productive and extremely unhealthy in general. Now, I have dinner with my kids, work out every day, do yoga, maintain a reasonable balance and get way more done than when I “worked” more hours.” ~ Danny Boice, Speek

8. Do Things That Don’t Scale

“These are the words of the great Paul Graham, and we have implemented this to great effect at DJZ. At the beginning of a company’s existence, you often have to undergo time-consuming tasks to recruit customers that wouldn’t make sense on a huge scale (e.g., personal thank-you letters to customers or gathering new signups in person). These initial unscalable gestures are what ignite the flywheel.” ~ Michael Simpson, DJZ

9. Run a Half Marathon Every Year

“When you’re the founder of a startup, your company is on your mind all the time. In fact, you can run into some major personal issues by not being able to properly “shut off” from business mode. I’ve found that signing up for a major athletic event like a half marathon is a great way to de-stress. It forces you to train every day and focus on something besides your business.” ~ Eric Bahn, Hustle Con Media

10. Break Rules

“Sure, rules are great. They create momentary stability and processes we can all adhere to, but breaking them for the right reasons can lead to breakthroughs, unique experiences and stories that build businesses and brands in unimaginable ways.” ~ Henry Glucroft, Henry’s / Airdrop

11. Don’t Try to Do It All

“Get out of your own way. It’s easy to get caught up trying to do everything in a business when really you should be focusing on removing yourself as a bottleneck. Entrepreneurs should spend their time building systems and plans for their business and watching things happen. Being CEO doesn’t mean you have to be doing all the work.” ~ Matt Wilson, Under30Experiences

12. Say ‘Yes’ More

“Success is rarely, if ever, a straight line. And sometimes, the things that are slightly off track or seem a bit outside the lines are the things that may yield the biggest results. So I recommend you say ‘yes’ to interesting things, people and experiences. Those are usually where the action lies.” ~ Eric Koester, DCI

13. Motivate Employees

“If you own a business, you should realize that your employees are your most valuable asset. The best way to motivate them is to allow them to share in the success of the business. You can call it an incentive for strong productivity and performance, or you can call it profit sharing. When employees have a vested interest in the business, they become self-motivated and work hard to be successful.” ~ Jay Wu, A Forever Recovery

14. Buy a Watch

“My most unorthodox tip for becoming wildly successful in business is buying a watch (any kind!) and actually wearing it (every day!). Being punctual in business is key. No one likes to be held up or waiting on an associate who is running behind. Be early to every meeting, finish meetings on time, and never get caught saying, ‘I’m sorry, I lost track of the time!’” ~ Kim Kaupe, ‘ZinePak

Success Photo via Shutterstock