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[S584]Small Business Information Technology

by James Copper, Jam

Small businesses are businesses with less staff. The staff limit is different for different areas. These businesses are generally owned by individuals or are started in partnerships. Other criterions to decide small businesses are the turnover and profit. The less is the turnover or the profit, the smaller is the business. The smallest businesses are called as 'micro businesses' and those managed by families are called as 'mom's and pop's business'. These smaller businesses generally have employees in number from 0 to 10. Many a times, the owners are the workers in these businesses.

Advantages in small business:

The basic advantage of starting a small business is that you need less capital and money to start the business. Also, one can start a small business on part time basis. The basics of a successful business are the regular modifications that one does to it. In small businesses these modifications can be easily done as one does not need to follow any trend or face any compulsions in small business unlike in big businesses. Also, a small business can give much more to its customers than a big one as they have the power to provide each and every customer the required personal attention and take into account all the suggestions and even implement some of them. Small businesses provide daily bread to many a people and thus are very important.

Marketing small businesses:

The most common methods of marketing small businesses are customer referrals, mouth publicity, radios, newspapers, internet, directories, boards, etc. Television ads can be a bit expensive for advertising small businesses. Internet marketing is considered the most cost effective and result oriented method of marketing small businesses. The ads can be placed on websites or even search engine web pages. The costs are decided on the size of the ad and thus can be easily moderated.

Small business ideas:

- Franchisee business: this is one of the extremely profitable ideas of a small business. The only things that you need to start this business are a place and some capital. The best part of this business is that the things that you sell are already quite famous in the market and thus you need to do very little expenses on the marketing.

- Event planner: if you know the knack of organizing things perfectly, then you can become an event planner. You need to plan out meetings, parties, weddings and other such get-together for your customers in the given budget. The best part of this job is that it is extremely interesting and your work does the marketing for you.

- Computer repair: if you have done any hardware or software course or have learned any computer language then you can start the work of computer repairing. You just need to sort out simple problems in computers. The best part of this job is that you get to learn a lot more than you have about computers. But, you should do only the work that you can manage and avoid doing any guess work.

Leveraging technology is a great way for Small Business Entrepreneurs to save time and money. You should master computers, at least enough to use EMAIL and to surf the Web to communicate with customers and to follow the latest trends in your industry. Learning how to use a Treo or a Blackberry can make you more mobile and efficient.

However, if you aren't ready for a particular technology, it can get in your way. If you aren't comfortable with computers or technology at all, then you should match up solutions and techniques that work for you.

A way to think about this is by understanding what type of technology buyer and user you are. There is a widely accepted sociological model that was originally developed in 1957 at Iowa State University. Geoffrey Moore used this model in his book ?Crossing The Chasm? to help technology companies understand their market.

The model uses a classic bell curve to describe the psychology of how and when particular consumers will adopt a technology throughout its useful life. Technology companies use this model frequently in their marketing and positioning.

As a consumer and as a Small Business Owner, you should try to understand where you fit. After all you are trying to save time and money, not add time and waste resources.

Take a good look and see where you fit:

Innovators ? According to Moore, these folks ?pursue technology aggressively.? They want the latest technology NOW! They are VERY comfortable with playing around with the latest and greatest. Manuals get in their way. They buy and experiment first and figure out how their new gadget will help them out later. If you want to meet one, they'll be standing in line at the Apple or Cingular store on June 29th buying an iPhone.

Early Adopters ? Early adopters love technology, too. Unlike the Innovators, they look before they leap. They need a compelling personal or business reason to experiment with new technology. But, after the initial ?bugs? are shaken out, and after comparing it with their current solution, they'll buy. They may read a manual to optimize the technology. They'd need a very compelling reason to replace their Blackberry Pearl with an iPhone.

Early Majority ? These folks are also comfortable with technology. They want all the initial quirks shaken out. They don't buy the first release; and may not buy the second either. If they buy a new computer, they may ask for Windows XP rather than Windows Vista. But, they are the first major wave of buyers. If a technology gets adopted by this group, it will likely be successful. They have a Treo on their belt and an iPod in their pocket.

The people in these profiles have a natural affinity for technology. They actively seek it out. They adopt at a different pace, but they embrace technology. The last two profiles are more technology averse.

Late Majority ? These buyers definitely wait for a clear winner or standard to emerge. They will buy because it is well justified, there is plenty of support and they have many associates who are using the technology. Following our PDA Phone example, Treo and Blackberry users are in this group.

Laggards ? These buyers are technology averse. They avoid it until they have no choice. They were the last to have cell phones (for phone calls only, please) and an email address. In business, they prefer things on paper. They prefer faxes to email attachments.

As a small business owner you might be concerned about adopting technology too soon. That's prudent. Many technologies fail before they get to the Early Majority. If there aren't enough early adopters, companies go out of business or products are taken off the market. (Think Betamax.)

Technologies also fail when they get widely adopted, but the company or technology can't handle the volume. A good example is Bluetooth technology. It was going to make our offices totally wireless. However, the way it works is too hard for most people and other wireless keyboard, mouse and printer technologies are much easier to use. It didn't ?Cross the Chasm.? (The only exception for Bluetooth has been a little niche in wireless headsets for cell phones for the Early Majority.)

It's important to recognize which one of the categories you fit into. If you are a ?Late Majority? buyer, the iPhone is not for you. But, you might consider a Treo or Blackberry in conjunction with your Outlook calendar. In other words, you will only save money and time if you match your technology to your profile.

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Both James Copper & Lenny Greenberg are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

James Copper has sinced written about articles on various topics from Finances, Mortgage and Mortgage. James Copper is a writer for . James Copper's top article generates over 1220000 views. to your Favourites.

Lenny Greenberg has sinced written about articles on various topics from Web Development, Business Loans and Marketing. Lenny Greenberg, Silicon valley consultant and author of the ?Low Cost Small Business Starter Kit? is the ?Small Office Maven.?He specializes in helping Home and Small Business owners maximize their resources and keep their costs down while providingthem. Lenny Greenberg's top article generates over 1900 views. to your Favourites.