By Grant Tilus

It doesn’t matter if the economy is good or bad; small business owners always need to be aware of new creative ways to run their business more efficiently.

It’s important for businesses both large and small to use innovation in technology to ensure success. However, where large corporations always had the budget to pay for these innovations; small businesses couldn’t afford that luxury.

Today, many small business entrepreneurs are turning to mobile applications to operate more efficiently and build a better business. Mobile applications are revolutionizing the way businesses operate because they are creating a more level playing field and an opportunity for small businesses to compete with larger sized companies.

Below are a list of apps you can use to further optimize your business activities on the go and help you and your business continue to succeed no matter what the economy or “those other big guys” are doing.

Apps for Small Business Owners

Social Media

1. Hootsuite
Many small business owners struggle to find the time to manage their social media marketing efforts. This app allows users to manage social engagement with customers on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Foursquare, all in one place. This means you save time by managing posts, messages, tweets and updates across multiple platforms from one easy location while on the go.

Price: Free
Platform(s): iOS – Android – BlackBerry

2. LinkedIn
Networking is a great way to find talented employees to bring into your business. Let’s say you meet someone outside of work that you may be interested in hiring. You can use this app to instantly look up their professional profile to learn more about them and see if they’re qualified for a position.

Price: Free
Platform(s): iOS – Android – BlackBerry – Windows

3. Yelp
While often used by customers to search for local businesses, this application is equally useful to small business owners for seeing what customers are saying about their business. Use this app on the go to keep up with customer reviews and address any potentially problematic comments before it impacts your business. You can also keep an eye on your competition’s reviews in order to identify business opportunities in areas that your customers care about, such as customer service, value or atmosphere.

Price: Free
Platform(s): iOS – Android – BlackBerry – Windows

4. Instagram
Most small businesses don’t have the funds available for large marketing campaigns but now they can use this app to instantly share photos highlighting products or services in an artistic way. Simply upload pictures on the go and make them unique with Instagram’s photo filters for instant marketing to share via your social media channels.

Price: Free
Platform(s): iOS – Android

5. Facebook Pages Manager
When owners choose to promote their business online, Facebook is often the number one site used to attract and engage with customers. This app allows users to manage their Facebook page and stay informed about customer interactions. Use this app on the go to always stay connected with your customers or to address immediate issues.

Price: Free
Platform(s): iOS

Productivity

6. Hours Tracker
If you work as a self-employed contractor, it’s important to accurately track the amount of hours worked on each project. This app allows you to track your hours on the go with a start–and-stop feature that works by just tapping your finger on the screen. This enables you to not have to remember to log your hours at the end of the day, which can sometimes lead to errors.

Price: Free
Platform(s): iOS

7. Trello
Business projects are complex and often require completing many different tasks at just the right time along the way. With this app you can create to-do lists, track the progress of projects and stay organized on the go. Keep your projects organized outside of the office by moving your “cards” to different “lists” as you complete them so you can easily manage your progress to get more things done.

Price: Free
Platform(s): iOS – Android

8. Pandora
As a business owner life can sometimes be stressful. And while that stress comes with the territory it is extremely important to relax every once in a while and refocus. This app allows you to listen to your favorite music while taking some time for yourself so you can come back to your business operations refreshed and ready to work.

Price: Free
Platform(s): iOS – Android – BlackBerry – Kindle

9. Evernote
Business owners are always coming up with new ideas at random times. It’s important to be able to record these ideas wherever you are before they vanish. This app can help you by creating notes or voice memos no matter where you are so you can revisit them later in order to take full advantage of your great business ideas.

Price: Free
Platform(s): iOS – Android – BlackBerry – Windows

10. iTalk Recorder
Have you ever left an important business meeting trying to remember the key points of the discussion? This app allows you to take full-length recordings and email them to yourself so you can review your conversation at a later time. Never again will you find yourself trying to remember what the other person said and what you were going to do next.

Price: Free and Premium Versions
Platform(s): iOS

Financial

11. Expensify
Keeping track of expenses is something many new owners in fast paced industries struggle with upon starting their business. Use this app to track your mileage, food and other expenses on the go. This way you can build expense reports later and not have to worry about saving all of those receipts because you can take a picture of them to create digital copies.

Price: Free
Platform(s): iOS – Android – BlackBerry – WebOS

12. PayPal
Depending on the needs of your business, you may need a variety of different ways to accept payment for your product or services. Download this app so you can accept payments or transfer funds no matter where you conduct your business.

Price: Free
Platform(s): iOS – Android – BlackBerry

13. Mint
For small business owners, personal and business finances will often go hand in hand. Use this app to track, budget and manage your accounts all in one place. It will also help to have a clearer picture of your personal finances to help you avoid late fees, remember to pay bills on time and check account balances.

Price: Free
Platform(s): iOS – Android

14. Square
In a world where cash is considered king, consumers using credits cards is on the rise. With this app you will sign up to receive your credit card reader so you can accept cash or credit payments from your customers. What is unique about this system is that it’s mobile and instead of monthly processing fees, there is a small percentage fee charged for each transaction processed.

Price: Free to Download
Platform(s): iOS – Android

15. QuickBooks
To save on expenses many small business owners choose to complete all of the accounting work for their business themselves by purchasing a software package such as QuickBooks. With this application you can sync the app with your computer software to manage customer invoices, complete billing and organize expenses as you receive them to avoid the dreaded stack of paperwork that you would otherwise have to tackle on your day off.

Price: Free to Download
Platform(s): iOS – Android

Information Management

16. CamCard
As a business owner, you are constantly meeting new people and collecting their business cards. Instead of storing those cards in your desk or wallet, download this app to simply snap a picture of the card. It will save the information to a contacts list.

Price: $2.99
Platform(s): iOS – Android – BlackBerry

17. Google Drive
As an owner you will need to organize, securely store and access key pieces of information for your business at a variety of different times. Use this app to view, edit, and store your saved documents on the go with this cloud-based system. An added bonus is that Google gives 5GB of free storage.

Price: Free
Platform(s): iOS – Android

18. iFax
In business you need a variety of different pieces of technology to conduct business. While the use of a fax machine can be a necessity, it’s often used either all the time or on very rare occasions. With this app you no longer need to depend on a machine and landline. Use this app to have your own incoming fax number to be able send or receive faxes for a small charge all from your mobile device at any time no matter if you use it a lot or very little.

Price: Free with In-App Purchases
Platform(s): iOS – Android

19. Delivery Status Touch
Product and inventory management can be a huge part of running your small business. Use this app to keep track of any packages you are waiting to arrive from many of the different shipping companies. Use it anywhere you are to keep business running as smoothly as possible.

Price: $4.99
Platform(s): iOS

20. 1Password
Security is of the upmost importance in managing your business. It can be difficult to remember all your login information, passwords, credit card numbers or membership IDs. With this app you can securely store all of this information on your mobile device, and be able to access it whenever it’s needed by just remembering one password to access the app.

Price: $9.99
Platform(s): iOS – Android

Miscellaneous

21. Quickoffice
Only within the past few years has technology allowed small business owners to bring their office along with them wherever they go. No matter if you are traveling cross country or just down the street for a meeting with your banker, you can use this app to create, edit, and view your Microsoft Office documents and spreadsheets on the go, without bringing your computer along.

Price: $19.99
Platform(s): iOS – Android

22. Skype
Businesses today are able to personally connect with their partners, vendors and customers from all over the world. Nothing is better for a business relationship than face time. This app allows you to use voice or video calls for free to better connect with others as you grow your business.

Price: Free
Platform(s): iOS – Android – Windows

23. Google Search
When running a small business unforeseen problems are bound to happen and you need to find solutions to them as soon as possible. With this app you have access to the master problem solver Google no matter where you may be. Just run a search to get immediate answers without even typing it in because you can use the voice search function!

Price: Free
Platform(s): iOS – Android – BlackBerry

24. Google Analytics
These days many small businesses are dependent on a website to attract customers. By using this app you can see real time statistics such as current site visitors and other performance reports at any time on the go from your mobile device. You can even set up goal alerts to know exactly when your business reaches new milestones!

Price: Free
Platform(s): iOS – Android

25. Google Calendar
Staying organized and remembering important dates is extremely important for small businesses. Use this app to create events such as sales meetings, payment deadlines and other events that are important to your business. And because this is an app from Google it is integrated into the other Google products that you may already use such as Gmail and Google+.

Price: Free
Platform(s): iOS – Android

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Local review sites are reshaping the world of small business by becoming the new Yellow Pages, one-stop platforms where customers can find a business — and also see independent critiques of its performance.

How do you manage your reputation when everybody is a critic?

For some business owners, this is a terrifying prospect that seems more like mob rule than the wisdom of crowds. Negative reviews can hang an albatross around your neck if they appear prominently in search results. Happily, there is a big upside: referrals from happy clients are traditionally the best source of new business — and online forums are powerful word-of-mouth. The review process has been democratized.

But managing your online reputation requires a whole new skill set, including monitoring the online conversation and engaging with customers and the tech-savvy to promote yourself in the best channels. These skills are becoming essential for mainstream businesses. According to a survey by the Opinion Research Corporation, 84 percent of Americans say online reviews influence their purchasing decisions. (Still not convinced? Tell us why.)

“Social media for business now is life or death,” said Dan Simons, a restaurateur in the Washington area who closely monitors these forums. “You could open a business and do everything right, but if you’re unaware of these social media you will perish. Social media can take a business and put a bullet in it.”

Monitor

Customers and clients are abuzz with opinions — the only question is whether that buzzing reaches your ears. The first step is to tune in.

Do a vanity search of your business name and see what comes up. Are you easy to find? What is the first impression? Do you have a Web page and blog, and are they kept up to date? Is your business reviewed in online forums or blogs?

Try to see your business through the eyes of a customer. Indeed, customers increasingly shop with their browser. One study by the Yellow Pages Association and comScore found that local search for businesses, products and services grew 58 percent last year and reached 15.7 billion searches, more than a tenth of overall search traffic.

Study local search sites like Yelp, Citysearch and Yahoo! Local. Forums for customer feedback have sprung up everywhere —_Google Maps, Amazon, Angie’s List, TripAdvisor, OpenTable, Epinions and a myriad of online communities and niche sites.

“Know who the influencers are,” said Pete Blackshaw, executive vice president of Nielsen Online Digital Strategic Service and an expert on consumer-generated media. “There are going to be some megaphones that matter more than others.”

Build systems to stay on top of this online buzz. A Google alert can automatically inform you when your business is mentioned in a review, blog or online publication. Some review sites have features that automatically send e-mail alerts to business owners when a review is posted.

Twitter is becoming an increasingly popular microblogging platform for businesses and customers and you can keep track of what is being said about your company with tools like search.twitter.com, TweetDeck, or Twendz.

Manage

Once you’ve tuned into the online conversation, the tricky part is managing it.

Claim your listing on the local search sites. Many of these listings are free (although some sites offer premium services only to advertisers). The more detailed your profile, the more readily your business will appear in search results.

Responding to reviews is a delicate act of customer relations. A snarky review may make your blood boil — if so, step away from the keyboard and calm down until you can respond graciously.

“Hands down, when I’ve seen a conflict, it’s usually because the business owner is enraged, furious or personally hurt,” said Jeremy Stoppelman, chief executive and co-founder of Yelp. “Give yourself some time to cool off and engage in a respectful, courteous manner.”

You don’t need to respond to every review, especially if the overall consensus is positive. A negative review, however, demands special attention. Some business owners post public responses to apologize and try to win back the customer. Some privately message the reviewer.

Even hostile critics sometimes are mollified by a polite response from the merchant. “They are so disarmed,” said Mr. Simons, one of the owners of Founding Farmers restaurant in Washington. “I’ve had people immediately go back in and edit what they wrote.”

Jeff Diamond, co-owner of Farmstead Cheeses and Wines, with stores in Oakland and Alameda, Calif., responds to every review on Yelp — and he’s had more than 100. In one case, a reviewer complained that the person behind the counter was rude. Mr. Diamond sent a private message to the customer, apologized and asked for details. It turned out the employee who helped this customer was hard of hearing. By the end of the exchange, this onetime critic had joined the store’s wine club. He has since become a loyal customer.

“The most important thing is not to argue with your customer,” Mr. Diamond said. “It’s to listen to your customer. Try to put yourself in the customer’s place.”

Another no-no is posting false reviews. Don’t write fake reviews to puff up your business or trash a competitor. Businesses have been publicly exposed for shilling and suffered major embarrassment. Earlier this month, authorities said the cosmetic surgery clinic Lifestyle Lift would pay $300,000 in civil penalties after an investigation by the New York State attorney general’s office found that employees had posed as plastic surgery patients to write glowing reviews of their own business — a bogus grass-roots movement known as “astroturfing.”

“If you’re stuffing the ballot box and that is detected — which it almost inevitably will be — the backlash will be really significant and come back to bite you,” said Kara Nortman, senior vice president of publishing at Citysearch.

Indeed, the surest way to generate positive reviews is not to ghost-write them but to focus on good service. “It’s all common sense — the best way to ensure that you have positive reviews is to offer good products, good service, have integrity and be diligent,” said Greg Sterling, a San Francisco-based Internet analyst who specializes in small business and local search. “It’s really just the rules of dealing with people in the real world, translated online.”

Fortunately, online reviews can help you do just that. These reviewers are a virtual army of secret shoppers who are telling you exactly what works and what doesn’t.

Look for patterns. Are people consistently complaining about poor service? Are they constantly praising something that you can emphasize to differentiate your business?

At Founding Farmers in Washington, online reviews provide so much feedback that Mr. Simons stopped hiring secret shoppers. These comments have led managers to revamp how the front desk handles reservations and walk-ins, mark the vegetarian menu more clearly, coach servers who got bad reviews and even fire some employees.

“I would say 97 percent is genuinely useful,” said Mr. Simons. “You can tell the reviews that are written by a competitor or just someone who’s mean and angry. But generally people don’t go to a restaurant to get annoyed, and there’s at least some nugget of valuable information.”

Promote

These platforms do more than help you protect your good name. They can also serve as tools for marketing, analytics and aiming at customers.

Becoming an advertiser can buy you more ability to work the crowd. Benefits vary by site, but advertisers generally get more prominent display and other tools. On Yelp, advertisers can highlight a favorite review to appear at the top of their page (the other reviews are ordered according to how recent they are and how many user votes they received). On Citysearch, advertisers can get help with copywriting or video commercials and have their content pushed out to partner sites like MapQuest, AOL CityGuide and MySpace.

These platforms also can help business owners mine customer information. For example, Yelp has a dashboard that allows business owners to keep track of page views and offer promotions.

Danny Leclair, co-owner of Studio DNA hair salons in Los Angeles and Santa Monica, Calif., checks to see how many people come to his Yelp page — and often sees spikes in traffic after special offers or new reviews. He also uses tools like statcounter.com to see what pages his clients are coming from when they click on his site.

Once he started mingling in these online communities and using their tools, he got immediate traction. He said 50 percent of his new business now comes from Yelp, 30 percent from Citysearch and 10 percent from Google searches.

“My business began to grow exponentially,” Mr. Leclair said.

Lead generation is one of the most important components of any company’s marketing plan. Conducting research to find more customers and target new audiences not only keeps the business afloat, but can also push it to new heights when done properly.

But every time you convert a new client, the fresh customer-company relationship shouldn’t be one with a time limit; it shouldn’t end once the deal is done. Because an equally important component of any marketing plan is customer retention, and turning a one-time purchaser into a repeat customer. With the right approach, the people who were once skeptical to try your product can become your biggest brand ambassadors and bring in endless referral traffic.

We asked members of the Entrepreneur Council, an invitation only nonprofit organization comprised of the country’s most promising entrepreneurs, the following question to find out what their secrets are to retaining their clients:

“What’s your best tip for increasing customer loyalty?”

Here’s what members of the Entrepreneur Council had to say:

1. Always Over Deliver

“First and foremost, meet the needs of the customer, and then take it up a notch and over deliver. Whether you provide deliverables ahead of schedule, throw in bonuses or surprise and delight with cool new features, continue to give more.” ~ Kelly Azevedo, She’s Got Systems

2. Provide Good Customer Service

“To quote a recent customer email, “I really appreciate your thoughtful and professional response. I don’t get that a lot from customer service. Usually, it’s scripted nonsense that makes it seem like I’ve done something wrong. You’ve single-handedly improved my perception tenfold. Someone there should give you a pay raise.” ~ Matt Mickiewicz, 99designs

3. Treat Them As You Would Want to Be Treated

“Empower your employees to help customers the way they would want to be helped. Ditch scripts and “company policy” in favor of dialogue and intuitive problem solving. Customers want to be treated like human beings, not sales figures.” ~ Vanessa Nornberg, Metal Mafia

4. Try Genuine Transparency

“If you screw up, be willing to openly acknowledge it and take responsibility for it. Always be real with people, and cut out the “robot act.” Show a genuine desire to improve, even if you’re already doing a good or great job in servicing them. Customers really appreciate that sort of interaction, especially when you show you understand them and actually give a darn.” ~ Matthew Ackerson, PetoVera

5. Love Them and Thank Them

“As Gary Vaynerchuk says in his book, The Thank You Economy, you need to “shock and awe” your best customers. This means actually giving attention and rewarding them for no particular reason with thoughtful gifts. I agree 100 percent. Are you telling me the best you can do is an automated Happy Birthday email?” ~ Patrick Curtis, WallStreetOasis.com

6. Customer Loyalty Works Both Ways

“If you want customers to be loyal to you, don’t forget to be loyal to them. Focus on your core, die-hard clients. The fringe customers will come and go, but your core will stick with you through the good times and bad. Keep those customers happy at all cost. Customers reward loyalty with loyalty.” ~ Nick Friedman, College Hunks Hauling Junk

7. Build a Broader Relationship with Clients

“If the only time you talk to a customer is when you’re getting paid or providing support, you won’t exactly be their favorite person. Creating a broader connection makes you someone that they’ll want to seek out. Something small, like forwarding a relevant article can be enough to create a positive association, but keep your eyes out for bigger opportunities.” ~ Thursday Bram, Hyper Modern Consulting

8. Sincerity

“Customer loyalty is built and substantiated with honesty. But more than honesty, it’s really about sincerity. Clients or customers want to look into your eyes and know that you don’t just mean what you say, but you are what you say. They know that everything you do and say is a part of who you are. Because of that, they know they can trust you, and that keeps them loyal.” ~ Steven Le Vine, Grapevine PR

9. Send the Message Clearly

“How much would it mean to you if the founder or president of one of your vendors called you up on the phone to ask you how your business was doing, and if there was any more that they could provide for you? Don’t say you care, show you do. Pick up the phone and make it personal.” ~ Benjamin Leis, Sweat EquiTees

10. Reward the Remaining Ones

“Make your customers feel special by rewarding them for their loyalty. A thank-you gift, access to an exclusive event, a special offer, will all go a long way. And now, there are many services that can help without requiring a major capital investment. For instance, at Merchex, we’re working with dozens of luxury merchants to identify their best customers and effortlessly reward them.” ~ Michael Tolkin, Merchant Exchange

11. Keep Their Best Interest in Mind

“I believe the best way to increase loyalty is to only offer people what they truly want and need. If someone isn’t the right fit for my company or they no longer need the services, I tell them. Coming from a place of total authenticity not only turns clients into raving fans, but also wins the hearts of people who are amazed you didn’t try to pressure them into a sale.” ~ Elizabeth Saunders, Real Life E®

12. Educate Your Customers

“You can provide great value and consequently develop stronger loyalty with your customers by taking the time to educate them about what they need. Determine what you want to communicate and then establish a timetable for regular interactions to cover issues that should be important to them.” ~ John Berkowitz, Yodle

Author: Scott Edinger

Who is more engaged and more committed to their work and rates their leaders the highest?

A. People who work in the office
B. People who work remotely

If you picked A, you might be as surprised as the investment firm I worked with recently, which found in reviewing results of a 360-degree feedback process that the answer was, in fact, B.

The team members who were not in the same location with their leaders were more engaged and committed — and rated the same leader higher — than team members sitting right nearby. While the differences were not enormous (a couple of tenths of a point in both categories), they were enough to provoke some interesting speculations as to why this might be happening.

It made perfect sense to me, though. Here is why:

*Proximity breeds complacency.*
I've worked with leaders who sit in the same office with those they manage but go for weeks without having any substantive face-time with them. In fact they may use e-mail as their primary source of communication when they sit less than 50 feet away. It's even worse if they sit in different parts of a building — or all the way on another floor. This is not to say that these leaders are in any way lazy — just that because the possibility of communicating is so easy, it is so often taken for granted.

*Absence makes people try harder to connect.*
When I managed a team of professionals in nine different locations, I made a point of deliberately reaching out to each of them by phone at least once a week, and frequently more often. I'm not an anomaly here. Most leaders I work with make an extra effort to stay connected to those they don't ordinarily run into. They can see that taking even a few minutes to talk about what's happening in their respective worlds before addressing the tasks at hand makes a difference in maintaining the connection with a colleague. What's more, because they have to make an effort to make contact, these leaders can be much more concentrated in their attention to each person and tend to be more conscious of the way they express their authority.

*Leaders of virtual teams make a better use of tools.*
Because leaders of far-flung teams have to use videoconferencing, instant messaging, e-mail, voicemail, and yes, the telephone, to make contact, they become proficient in multiple forms of communication, an advantage in leadership that their traditional counterparts could well develop but not so automatically.

*Leaders of far-flung teams maximize the time their teams spend together.*
Having had to make such an effort to get the team together, these leaders naturally want to make the best use of their precious time. They take care to filter out as many distractions as possible so they can focus on the work to be done together. They also typically spend more than an ordinary work day together, socializing at planned luncheons, dinners, and activities. This level of focused attention is hard to replicate day to day. I've heard from some employees who work near their bosses on teams whose other members work elsewhere that the most time they spend with their leader is when the others come in for such meetings.

None of this is to say that working remotely is better than coming to the office or that virtual teams are better than traditional ones. Someone working in the same office with their leader needs just as much effective communication as someone located in a different office. It’s just that, ironically, they’re less likely to get it.

Just like casting for fish, the process of meeting people, staying in touch, and then asking for their business is something that requires patience and practice.

A few years ago, a long-standing member of a business networking organization was talking about canceling his membership–not because he wasn’t getting enough referrals, but because his referrals were coincidental.

That’s right. Despite a full year of getting great referrals, Mike (names have been changed to protect the foolhardy) didn’t feel the results proved that networking was a viable business strategy for getting more referrals. He felt that the business he got was based on “chance occurrences”–one person knowing another, who happened to know him–and despite the fact that he kept getting these referrals as a result of his networking contacts, it couldn’t possibly last. So he left the group.

Even though Mike’s misguided reasoning led him down the wrong road, it raises a good question, and understanding the answer could help your business. The question is: Despite its chance nature, is networking something you can count on as a consistent means of getting more business? Of course it is.

Mike’s situation boiled down to two things–repeatability and understanding. His training told him that the way to get more business was to target a niche customer by calling people from a demographics-based list. If he didn’t have enough business, he needed to make more calls. Exactly how many more? He could figure that out, too, because the amount of business he got was directly proportional to the number of people he talked to. It was a repeatable process that he fully understood.

On the other hand, clients he got from referrals always had a story that he couldn’t see being easily repeated. Sally knew Jim, who ran into Sue, who happened to be in his group and referred Mike the business. This understanding led Mike to conclude that the results were coincidental and couldn’t possibly be repeated.

Mike’s reasoning wasn’t entirely off-track, just flawed. If you focus on the specific people who gave you the referral, rather than the process and relationships that allowed it to happen, then it’s unlikely you will consistently get more business from networking.

But if you step back and ask, “Is it possible that somebody will know someone else who’s looking for my services and will give me that referral?” Well, there’s that repeatability–especially if you focus on building relationships–because there’s always a “somebody.”

Networking Is a Long and Winding Road

When it comes to networking and passing referrals, it’s not about who’s giving what to whom, and it’s hardly a straight line. If you’re thinking, “For every referral I give, I can expect one in return,” it’s time to put that idea to rest. Reciprocity is nice, but networking just doesn’t work that way.

Think of referral-giving in the context of the Abundance Mindset, which is the awareness that there’s more than enough business to go around. If you hear of a business opportunity that would be well-suited for a referral partner–in other words, not your kind of business–think of it as “excess business.” When you pass this kind of excess business to others in the form of a referral, you’ll wind up attracting more prospects who want to work with you.

Call it a gift from the referral gods, but when you do good things for others, those good things have a way of making their way back to you–often from a different person or group of people. Even if it seems that you’re not directly benefiting from the referrals you’re giving others, take note of all the other business that just happens to come your way.

The guy who stumbles across your website and gives you a call.

The old prospect you haven’t heard from in months who suddenly wants to get together for lunch.

The inactive client who wants to renew his contract with you.

Even though it seems happenstance, some or all of these occurrences are likely to be new business you attracted by giving away excess business (in the form of referrals) to people you know.

Network With a Net

Referral networking is a lot like catching fish by casting a net. Each fish comes to the net by a different path–each has a unique “story” that is not repeated. You don’t focus on a particular fish and then try to get it to come to the net–in fact, you probably don’t even see the fish until you pull in the net. Instead, you focus on the action of setting the net. You know that if you set your net correctly and consistently, fish will eventually come, no matter what path they take to get there.

The same is true for getting referrals. You don’t have to worry about how a specific referral got to you because you understand the process of setting your net.

And the best part is your net can be working for you all the time. You don’t have to be there whenever someone you know runs into someone else who could use your services–this means you can be “fishing” in many different ponds simultaneously and reaping tons of new business. This is especially true when you’ve become a referral gatekeeper and begin to get referrals not only from your own network of contacts but from the networks of others as well.

When it comes to networking, there is no coincidence about referrals. They are the inevitable cumulative result of the day-to-day activities of relationship-building. And even though those efforts can’t be measured as easily as cold calls, the results are far more powerful.

By: Irv McGowan

By Peter Renton

You start a business and most likely you are excited. You have a great idea and you can’t wait to get going. At this moment the last thing you are thinking about is selling your business.

However, as your business gets established, the idea of positioning it for sale (even if you have no intention of selling) is always a good idea. You may indeed run your business for the rest of your life, or life makes take an unexpected turn and you will need or want to sell. Either way, creating a business that is always positioned to sell is just a smart way to run a business.

Is Your Business All About You?

When I decided to sell my first business I went to lunch with my broker and described my business. I was really into personal branding back then and so I had formed my business in my image, injecting myself everywhere in it. Now, when it came time to sell, this was a liability. A buyer wants a profitable system for making money and if that system relies too heavily on the owner then you will likely be penalized with a lower valuation. I spent the next 12 months extracting my image from the business and ended up selling for the price I wanted. I could have saved myself a lot of effort by thinking about this when I started the business.

It is somewhat of a balancing act. If you are starting a business from scratch then it is often all you. You do everything and the business is likely an extension of your personality. But as you grow and add employees you can build systems and the business can become less dependent on you. But if you are the one closing all the deals, your face is on the web site, you write the blog and newsletter then be careful. Your customers may be more attached to you than your product or service. Any savvy business buyer will be wary of that.

A Profit Making System

You want to create a profit making system that is at least somewhat independent of you. There are two great books that every small business owner should read on this subject. From the 1990′s the classic The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber and the recent bestseller, The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss. These books emphasize the importance of creating systems and extracting the owner out of the day-to-day operations. Most importantly, if you are making decent money but are working 80 hours a week in order to create that income then your business is worth substantially less than someone who can create the same income in 20 hours a week. What is most valuable is a business that is highly profitable and is independent of the owner.

As entrepreneurs we can fall in love with our business. They are our baby and we want to leave our imprint everywhere. This is understandable and may even be the right strategy in the short term; but as you grow your business you should always be aware of the impact of these actions. Even if we decide not to sell it is healthy to create a business that doesn’t need the owner’s input on everything. By doing this not only will you create a more valuable business, but you will likely enjoy your work more.

By: David Curtis

Unless you’ve been doing business on Mars (or Venus), you’re aware of all the buzz out there about brands and branding. But to grow your brand, you have to move beyond the talk and adopt a practical plan of action. As always, it starts with some fundamentals.

What is a brand?

A brand is a relationship — the connection between your customers and your company or product. Like all human relationships, this connection is based on experience, attitudes and expectations. “Branding” is about shaping and deepening that relationship.

Think about your own choices as a consumer. Why will you pay more for a suit with an Armani label? What makes New Yorkers go out of their way for an H&H bagel? Why have you bookmarked Google, but not Ask Jeeves? In each case, the answer has to do with how you think and feel about these brands. Clients sometimes say to me, “I can’t spend time and money building my brand — I’m too busy building my business.” But that’s a false choice. A strong brand makes your business more visible and more credible. So instead of your constantly seeking customers, they may find you. Also, at a time when it’s tough to find a real, lasting competitive edge in the marketplace, a strong brand can give you that edge. It increases the perceived value of your product or service, which can translate into higher prices and profits. And a strong brand commands loyalty, which means better customer retention. So although you many not find any line item on your balance sheet called “Brand Value,” a strong brand is one of your company’s greatest business assets. Another misconception I often hear: “I’m no Coke or Nike — branding is just for the big guys.” Wrong. Whether you’re a global powerhouse or a local start-up, branding is crucial to your business. And starting small actually has its advantages: You’ve got a clean slate to work with. Nothing to undo or un-brand. And small investments yield bigger returns. Besides, nobody wants to stay small forever. Think like a big brand and you’ll find it easier to become one. Let’s get started.

Understand what a brand is — and is not

A brand is a bond — meaning both a connection and a promise. Therefore, branding is bonding. When you consistently deliver on your brand promise, you strengthen the bond between you and your customers. There are both rational and emotional aspects to the brand bond; but, if anything, how your customers feel about you is more important than what they think about you. Take the Apple brand. Mac users will intellectualize (at great length!) about crash-free operating systems and elegant interfaces, but what really comes through is their passion. That brand loyalty and devotion has helped Apple defy the conventional wisdom of the PC-dominated marketplace. It has also helped them charge a premium for their products. Emotion is where great brands live. Don’t confuse “brand” with “corporate identity.” Sure, you need a good logo and consistent graphic standards but these are just visual expressions of your brand. Before you develop a corporate identity, get a handle on your brand identity. Also, your brand is not you. Especially for entrepreneurs just getting started, it’s natural to blur the distinction. But long-term, it can be a trap. Think of the day when you want to sell your business; what will the buyers be paying for? Not you — you’ll be off playing golf in Arizona. They’ll be buying your brand.

Scope out the competitive “brand-scape”

Step back and assess your competitors with a critical, objective eye. Which ones do you think have well-defined brands? What do they stand for? What kind of customer — or customer need — do they appeal to?

What you’re looking for is a gap in the brand-scape where you can build your brand, a strategic opportunity that plays to your brand’s strengths. Or its potential.

We’re not looking for a niche. Ideally, you want to occupy the “high ground.” That’s the place in your category that has the most basic, powerful consumer promise, and the greatest source of business.

In the heyday of “reach out and touch someone,” the AT&T brand owned the high ground of long distance — human connection.

Do any of your competitors yet occupy the high ground? Could you?

Define your “brand space”

This is the more rational component of your brand — the space you want to occupy in customers’ minds. Think about the functional benefits you deliver to them. Identify the one or two that are most critical to your business. What promise is solid enough to build your brand on? Speed? Innovation? Customer service? Value?

Just as important, this exercise also helps you identify what you’re not. Because a brand that tries to be all things to all people may not be much of anything to anyone. Focus! It’s demanding, but for brand-builders it’s vital.

Example: Did Manhattan really need yet another me-too dry cleaning establishment? No, but it needed someplace that knows how to care for upscale finery — and the fussy fashionistas who own it. Enter Meurice Garment Care. Quality and service (at a hefty premium) is what Meurice delivers. They’ve built a thriving business, a fleet of delivery vehicles and a tony brand on that platform.

Define your brand “personality”

Now we’re talking about the way your brand feels to your customers. It’s a much “squishier” area, because we’re dealing with human emotions. Here, it’s not so much what you say, but how you say it. Should your brand feel dignified or playful? Traditional or irreverent? Why does brand personality matter? Because while business owners might like to believe all buying decisions are fact-based, they’re often guided by feelings — feelings that attract us to certain brands the same way we’re attracted to certain people, out of loyalty, or security, or sex appeal. For example: There are seven different day-spas within five blocks of my wife’s office. They can all manicure her nails equally well. But she always goes to the one that’s farthest away. Why? The owners and staff always greet her by name and fuss over her a little. They don’t just polish her nails; they buff her ego. She is bonded to that place like acrylic. You can’t change your own personality, but you can shape your brand’s. What’s the glue that will bond your customers to your brand?

Dare to be different

A strong brand is a “tie-breaker.” If it’s a toss-up between you and a competitor, customers will choose you just because they feel better about your brand. But you can’t be perceived as better unless you’re perceived as different.  Trouble is, these days it’s increasingly hard to create a real difference in your product or service. And when you do, it gets knocked off by your competitors practically overnight.  But you can differentiate your brand. It takes a little guts to be different. But if you understand your customers and differentiate yourself on the basis of what they need, you can create preference.

Take the line of Crunch Health Clubs in Manhattan. Are their fitness machines really any different than those at the Health & Racquet Clubs? No, but their brand is. It’s an attitude — an irreverence that says it’s OK if you don’t conform. If you’re not a perfect physical specimen, like most of us, that’s a powerful emotional appeal. Enough to build a pretty healthy business. You started out in business because you believed you had something different and better to offer. Trust that instinct.

Consistency pays dividends

Your brand character and personality should find their way into every aspect of your business. I call it “360 degrees Branding.” Every place your brand touches your customer — brochures, packaging, uniforms, letterheads, signage, advertising — should feel like the same experience.  All employees must become your “brand ambassadors.” Even the way your receptionist greets people on the phone can support your brand. The care and feeding of your brand is your responsibility, but it’s everybody’s job.  If you haven’t already, check out one of Apple’s local retail stores. See how “Apple-ness” surrounds you in everything from the white-on-white décor to the user-friendly displays to the “Genius Bar” where support is just a geek away. In fact, the store itself is the Apple brand come to life. Simple. Uncluttered. And totally cool.  When all your branding efforts are focused and single-minded, it’s like an eight-person crew rowing their shell in unison. One or two oars out of sync can really slow you down.

Invest in your brand — wisely

You don’t need a big, separate “branding budget” or a special ad campaign to build your brand. Start small, and start with the basics.

Since consistency is so important, one smart place to invest a little money up front might be to create some graphic standards for your brand — your “look.” If you don’t have a logo, create one. You can hire a good designer, or use one of the Web-based design services that do this very inexpensively. Just remember that your logo, and your look, must reflect your brand’s personality.

Build and brand a website, even if it’s just a simple page or two with your logo, your capabilities and contact info. Your brand will seem bigger. And you’ll walk taller.

Be different. Find innovative and cost-effective ways to make your brand visible. Would pizza-box inserts be out of the question? Consider public relations. Do something newsworthy — getting your brand involved with a charitable cause is good for your soul, and often good for some free press.

Most of all, invest some time in your brand. Use these basics as a checklist, and think about them carefully. What competitive “brand-scape” do you operate in? What should your brand stand for? What is its personality? Are you different enough? Are you being consistent in all the ways your brand touches your customer? As a small company, you can’t afford to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on branding, so all of your employees, your website and your marketing materials need to convey what your brand is all about.

Here’s the critical thing for a business owner to remember about branding: You don’t really have a choice. Consciously or not, by design or by neglect, for better or for worse, you are already creating your brand. So why not do it well?

That way, you’ll enjoy the best of both worlds: a business that builds your brand and a brand that builds your business.

Payroll refers to the tasks an employer must execute to ensure employees are paid accurately and on time. An independent contractor is not an employee; therefore, he’s not paid through the payroll. As a small-business owner with both employees and independent contractors, it is important that you know the differences between the two.

To determine whether an individual is an employee or an independent contractor, the Internal Revenue Service says you must figure out the type of business relationship that exists. Two keys factors involved in making this determination are the amount of control and independence in the relationship. In general, if an individual provides services for you and you can control what will be done and how it will be executed, then she’s an employee. If you have the right to direct or control only the result of the work but not what or how it will be performed, then the individual is an independent contractor. Specifically, an independent contractor is self-employed, while an employee works for you.

To compensate employees for services performed, you use a payroll system, such as payroll software or outsourcing your payroll tasks to a service provider. If you have an independent contractor who performed work for you, do not pay her through payroll, as this can lead to a number of problems. For example, you are likely required to pay federal and state unemployment tax on a certain amount of wages paid to each employee for the year. You are not required to pay unemployment tax on monies paid to an independent contractor. Therefore, paying a contractor through payroll can lead to tax and record-keeping problems. If you have independent contractors, pay them through accounts payables instead. An independent contractor may have her own employees or independent contractors; in this case, she’s responsible for paying her own employees through payroll or her contractors through an accounting system.

As an employer, you are supposed to give new hires a Form W-4 to complete; the form helps you determine the amount of federal income tax to withhold from their paychecks. You are also supposed to give applicable employees a Form W-2 by the end of January each year so they can file their tax return with the IRS and applicable state agency. Further, you are supposed to file the W-2 with the Social Security Administration so the employee can get credit for Social Security and Medicare benefits. You are supposed to give new independent contractors a Form W-9 to complete; the contractor includes her name and taxpayer identification number on the form. As of 2011, if you paid $600 or more to an independent contractor for services during the year, you must complete and give the employee a Form 1099-MISC by January 31 and file the form with the IRS. Also, you are supposed to withhold Medicare tax, Social Security tax, Federal income tax and applicable state and local taxes from employees’ paychecks. This process is done through payroll. You must also pay all employees’ withholding to the respective taxation agency. You do not withhold taxes for independent contractors, as they are responsible for paying their own self-employment taxes.

By Stephanie Chen

If you feel like your cubicle walls are closing in around you, you may be right.

A combination of the troubled economy and the influx of mobile technology is changing the workplace landscape. Literally.

Companies across the country are shrinking those boxed-in work areas or scrapping the notion of the once-ubiquitous cubicles altogether.

At Tech-Giant Intel, employees who used to work in a 72-square-foot space now work in a cozier 48-square-foot station, company officials say.

“Everyone used to get a cube, but that doesn’t work for the way people actually do their work today,” said Neil Tunmore, Director of Corporate Services at Intel, who spearheaded the corporate redesign that began in 2007.

In 1994, the average office worker had 90 square feet of office space, but the area had been whittled down to 75 square feet in 2010, according to the International Facility Management Association, a professional network for the facility management industry.

Space for senior office workers shrunk, too, from 115 square feet in 1994 to 96 square feet in 2010.

But not to worry, that corner office keeps growing. During this same time, space for executive management actually increased.

Gensler, a design firm in San Francisco has renovated spaces for 70% of the Fortune 500 companies. On average, they estimate those companies have downsized the cubicle from an 8-by-10 foot area to a 5-by-5 foot work space.

Open-space seating found at companies such as Facebook are becoming a popular “team-oriented” model in the past 10 years, she says.

“In recent years, we’ve seen how companies are trying to shed real estate cost,” says Shari Epstein, Director of Research at the IFMA. “When you have less space to work, you will try to cram as many people into one space.”

The word “cubicle,” which emerged in the 15th century, is derived from the Latin word for bedroom. But the office partitions to which most white-collars workers are accustomed were introduced in the late 1960s. At the time, Robert Propst with Herman Miller Inc. of Michigan pioneered the idea of a more efficient open-office model called “Action Office,” which became known as the cubicle.

Cubicles became attractive because they were a functional way to give workers an office without relying on heavy construction, says Lisa Bottom, a Design Director at Gensler.

Over the years, cubicles have been mocked in popular culture such as the Dilbert comics and the movie “Office Space.”

“The panels made it so you could move it around,” Bottom said. “It made the job of the facility manager easier; it had little to do with making the worker’s life easier.”

Several of the companies that have opted to reduce their cubicle sizes say their reasoning goes beyond simply boosting the bottom line.

With flat screens replacing clunky monitors and the growing popularity of wireless products, such as laptops, iPads and BlackBerries, some managers say cubicles no longer make sense for workers who don’t need to be tethered to their desks. And employees in the younger, more tech-savvy generation embrace the idea of working remotely and from different spots in the office.

Smaller office spaces come with environmental perks. Less space reduces the carbon footprint, workplace design experts say.

In response to the shrinking workspace, sales of new lines of slimmer, lighter, eco-friendly furniture that often serve dual purposes have increased, says John Michael, General Manager for Business Interiors at Staples, a leading office furniture seller.

For example, filing cabinets with plush tops that transform into seats and thinner cubicle panels have been in higher demand over the past five years, he says.

Intel officials say when the cubicle downsizing began in four years ago, they eliminated extra furniture and waste. On one office floor, the company disposed of nearly 10 tons of paper, says Tunmore at Intel.

While cubicle farms may be out, open shared spaces are in.

Intel has created more conference and meeting rooms where employees can collaborate. Intel is also going wireless. About 30% of their employees in the renovated space don’t have assigned cubicles, officials say.

Instead, sales people and laptop users can grab chairs at kidney-shaped desks where they can boot up remotely.

So how are employees adjusting to less work space?

Martha Johnson, Administrator of the General Services Administration, says the government has improved its efficiency by overhauling the large, clunky outdated cubicles spaces for the past few decades. GSA is a federal organization that rents out office space to government agencies.

Many employees don’t mind the smaller work spaces, Johnson says. She added that 30% to 50% of work space typically isn’t used because of meetings or travel.

“It’s not about making it smaller,” Johnson says. “It’s about making it more flexible. People don’t all want their own space.”

But Jeffrey Pfeffer, a Professor of Organizational Behavior at Stanford Business School, says working in such close quarters may bother some employees who need more privacy or feel crowded.

After all, he says, employees spend almost half their day at work.

“Cubicles, and often times many of these cubicle farms, don’t have very good acoustics, and so you are hearing other people and getting distracted,” Pfeffer said.

There is also the belief, particularly among baby boomers, that cubicles are a status indicator: More space equates to more power, workplace design experts say.

Though it tends to be rarer case, some companies are taking the opposite approach to shaving off cubicle work spaces.

For two years in a row, Fortune magazine has named SAS, a business intelligence software company in North Carolina, the No. 1 place to work. Company officials say they give almost all their employees private offices, which they say contributes to their success.

“We do value an employee not just as a commodity,” says Jim Davis, Senior Marketing Officer. “But as an asset.”