Enter or Apply for a Small Business Contest Today

Enter or Apply for a Small Business Contest Today
Small Business “To Do” Items for the Year
Take A Bite From Sharkonomics to Compete and Survive

Posted: 19 Jan 2013 02:44 PM PST

At this time of year especially, a little help is appreciated. Here’s our hand-picked list of small business sweepstakes, contests and awards. Check them out!

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Brother CreativeCenter “Back to Business” Contest
Ends March 4, 2013

BizSugar is running a contest where you get to show your creativity. Three winners will receive a prize suite of Brother products including a printer, labelmaker, ink and supplies – valued at approximately $500. To enter just go to the Brother CreativeCenter and use the free tools to design a brochure, business cards, poster, calendar or other item. Then post it at BizSugar.com.

Contest sponsored by Brother. Contest details here.

The Small Business Book Awards
Nominations open Jan 29. through Feb. 19, 2013

The 5th Annual Small Business Book Awards are about to kick off. These distinguished awards bring recognition from fans, the public, the industry and your peers.

Business books may be nominated in the following categories: marketing, technology, management, social media, economics, startups, personal finance, leadership/memoirs, and self-help.

New this year is also a category for “all time favorites” which allows books that are classics, regardless of year of publishing, to be nominated. For the first time, there will also be a category for book resources, which will recognize and honor publishers, publishing platforms, publicists and other resources for authors. Print books and electronic books (ebooks) are welcome.

2013 Small Business Online Marketing Contest
Enter by February 28, 2013

Constant Contact has launched the 2013 Small Business Online Marketing Contest in partnership with the Chicago City Treasurer's Office. The contest is open from now until February 28th, and will award more than $12,000 in cash and prizes to Chicago small businesses for best email marketing and social media marketing campaigns.

Dell $100M Innovators Credit Fund
Ongoing

Dell has launched a $100 million Innovators Credit Fund, with the purpose of helping entrepreneurs "maximize potential for innovation, speed to market and job creation." The credit fund will offer both funding and technology resources with IT support, depending on what each start-up needs.

To be eligible, you must have already received some angel funding or venture capital before you can apply. Start-ups can get up to 10% of its current funding or up to $150,000 with limited credit terms. See website for details and application.

To find more small business events, contests and awards, visit our Small Business Events Calendar. If you are putting on a small business contest, award or competition, and want to get the word out to the community, please submit it through our Small Business Event and Contests Form (it’s free).

This list of awards and competitions is brought to you by Small Business Trends and Smallbiztechnology.com.

Please note: The descriptions provided here are for convenience only and are NOT the official rules. ALWAYS read official rules carefully at the site holding the competition, contest or award.

The post Enter or Apply for a Small Business Contest Today appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Small Business “To Do” Items for the Year

Posted: 19 Jan 2013 08:00 AM PST

Along with your promise to yourself to finally get in shape and start saving money, below are 5 “to do” items for your small business, guaranteed to make just about any business more profitable in a new year and beyond:

1. Get Up to Date on Technology

Are your business's computers and peripherals outdated? Is your company network as secure as it needs to be? Are you still paying for software downloads or discs when you could get the same software cheaper in the cloud on a month-by-month basis?

Now's the time to do a tech overhaul.

Assess what you have, figure out what you need and determine how to afford it. You don't have to go for the latest bells and whistles, but you do need to get technology that can serve your business needs now and grow with your business in the year ahead.

2. Get Mobile

Whether you sell consumer products or business-to-business, the reality is this: Your customers are rapidly adopting mobile technology.

At a minimum, going mobile means you must make sure your business website loads easily on mobile devices from smartphones to tablets. Also consider whether you need to develop a mobile app for your customers.

Finally, figure out how and whether or not you need to add mobile marketing and advertising into your mix.

3. Get Out There

Are you networking as much as you should to keep the new business pipeline full?

If not, you're likely experiencing the feast or famine syndrome, where you're so busy working in your business that you don't have time to market yourself—until you come up for air and find no projects in the hopper.

Keep the business coming: Resolve to regularly network with prospective clients both online and off.

4. Get What You're Worth

Many small business owners, especially those in service industries, struggle with pricing. In today's economy, the temptation to bid low to get the business is always there.

Don't give in, because once you start undervaluing your services, your customers will, too. Resolve to set a fair price for what you do and stick to it. If that means raising prices, don't be scared.

You'd be surprised at how often higher prices can lead to an increase in perceived value—and an increase in sales.

5. Get Help

Entrepreneurs are known for being sure of themselves—so sure, in fact, that they're often reluctant to ask for assistance or advice. But getting insights from someone outside your business can make a big difference in whether you put your business on the right road or go down the wrong path.

Resolve to get the help you need this year by finding an outside mentor who can give you advice and encouragement. The Small Business Development Center or SCORE office near you are two great places to get free mentoring, no matter what stage your business is in.

Share your “to do” items with your friends, colleagues and partners to help keep you accountable and encourage you to stick to them.

What business goals are you setting for your small business this year?

To Do Checklist Photo via Shutterstock

The post Small Business "To Do" Items for the Year appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Take A Bite From Sharkonomics to Compete and Survive

Posted: 19 Jan 2013 06:00 AM PST

Right before I started to take a bite of Stefan Engeseth's fourth book, Sharkonomics: How to Attack Market Leaders, the book cover got my attention in a scary way. With a picture of a great white shark, it looked like a movie poster for a thriller like Jaws.

I read the statement ("A stimulating read!") by Professor Philip Kotler and got the nagging feeling that this book could actually be a breathtaking read. As I relaxed, I then read in the introduction that the book is not intended to spread fear in any form ("except in the boardrooms").

Whew!

The subtitle is "how to attack market leaders," but the second part of the book covers ten points on how market leaders could defend themselves from shark attacks. In order to do research for the book, the author took a scuba-diving certificate and spent plenty of time in the water with sharks in South Africa. Full disclosure: I have known Stefan for some time and I received a review copy of his book at an early stage. I wrote the following blurb in the book on page 3:

"Catch a wave of the groundswell and surf the social Web with Sharkonomics! Stefan Engeseth's book will take off and swim by itself."

As a a blogger and social media evangelist, I am glad to see that Stefan Engeseth (@engesethsblog) is covering the power of new media in the book and is including social media in the to-do list for smaller sharks (read: small businesses):

10 Points for Smaller Sharks for Attack and Defense

1. Dive with fleshy friends.
2. Dive below surface to find new opportunities.
3. Team work is like sharing a whale (team workers also taste good).
4. Do less, bite harder (saves energy).
5. Take a test bite (blood in the water is always bad news).
6. Big prey are vulnerable – they underestimate an attack from a smaller shark.
7. Bite off the fin (make them sink).
8. Swim together to look bigger and stronger than you actually are.
9. Use social media to find prey and spread buzz.
10. Move faster than your environment.

Here is an excerpt from chapter 7, timing is key to successful attacks, on page 85, describing social media as a sonar system:

"If a predator knows the agenda of its prey, it will be easy for it to predict the prey's next move. Social media tools such as Facebook and Linkedin together function even better than the shark's senses. Through social media, the prey not only reveals its behavior but also what it is doing currently and what it will be doing next."

Small Businesses Have Plenty to Chew on in Sharkonomics

I think that small business owners will appreciate Stefan Engeseth's idea on how to do market research in smart ways, taking "test bites" instead of trying to take a huge chunk at once.

For example, Apple took a test bite of the mobile phone market by starting out small. The company started out putting iTunes into a Motorola mobile phone, instead of creating a totally new phone from scratch. The Apple fans were not happy at first. But I think it’s safe to say, they’re happy today – with the iPhone.

I must admit that I am an Apple fan since I purchased an iPhone and then got a MacBook from my brother. I am now an active member in a Mac user group (Got a Mac) in Gothenburg, Sweden.

So, it is a bit hard to digest Stefan Engeseth's posts on ways Apple could become prey for sharks due to management problems and leadership challenges. But this is the "big thought" (phrase coined by Tim Sanders) of Sharkonomics:

"Always do more than these lists (attack and defend) and never, ever stand still ("move or die")."

How can we learn from the behavior of the Great White Shark? Do you think we will be able to draw parallels from the business cases in the book and then apply them to our own daily work life? Will we soon hear the following phrase in the boardroom:

"Do you remember the Sharkonomics's moment of X company?"

Lots to Love About Sharkonomics

What I like best about the book is Stefan Engeseth's frank language. It is refreshing that he’s not afraid of stirring up a healthy debate now and then. Take his response to Michael Muth's question as to whether the ideas found in Sharkonomics are applicable with those in the book, Blue Ocean Strategy:

"Kim and Mauborgne based their book on a study of 150 strategic moves in 30 industries over a period of 100 years. Sharkonomics is based on sharks which have been around for more than 420 million years and made billions of strategic moves. Blue water has become red and it's time to change strategy. Sharks don't care what colour the water is when they attack and feed."

I want to end this review on a lighter note (but at the same time, still an important message and lesson from the world of sports). The hockey team, San Jose Sharks, (pun intended?) has built a strong team culture by focusing on both the forwards and defensive players.

“The team also invites its fans to play a role in its fanzone and community on the website, thus making the fans feel a part of the team. Being one internally and externally inspires everyone to be loyal to the team. The culture of defense is also powered by fan websites such as FearTheFin and ArcticIceHockey, where fans analyze every part of their Shark's defense team."

In the beginning of this review, I told you that I had a gnawing feeling that I would be missing something if I didn't read this book. Now that I've finished it, I'm glad I didn't let the cover scare me away.

If you feel that doing business in today's economy is akin to swimming with sharks – then let Sharkonomics be your survival guide.

Improvement Photo via Shutterstock

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