June 2007
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Month June 2007

Small Biz in the USA

Stuart has a piece on the difference in treatment of small business in the UK and the US, no real surprises here but still a timly reminder - here just one small fact:In the USA a minimum of 23% of government contracts are awarded to small businesses compared to less than 4% in the UK.You should read the rest on Stuart's blog. We can not hope that the Government is going to join our On-demand Small Business Infrastructure anytime soon.

Phoenix from the ashes

So please read on to find out if the story had a happy ending.I admire him, his candid reality check, very public goals and the hope for an happy ending. I wish him luck and from reading his posts I would say he is one the right way.One can just hope that people like Ian find the strength to get up and do it again, despite the doubts and worries.

Boomers – the not so young entrepreneurs.

..."Many Boomers have a different entrepreneurial outlook:"Although entrepreneurs of all ages tend to share some common traits, such as unbounded optimism, many Boomer entrepreneurs differ from their younger counterparts in the their willingness to balance income-producing potential with the freedom to enjoy their desired lifestyle."Jeff goes on:"For example, some Boomer business owners specifically create business operations that can be run from more than one physical location, or run part of the year."But for me this is the real highlight: "Many of the most generous donors to worthy causes in the U.S. and around the world are Boomer entrepreneurs who share their time and financial support with a wide variety of deserving organizations, ranging from Big Brothers and Sisters to Unicef."I love this, to say it with Bob Dylan: The Times They are A-Changin'.... This way small business will get more experienced entrepreneurs with a social aspect - it will also help to bring small business mortality down.There are times when I love what I do, reading stories like this certainly makes me feel good and gives me hope for the future.

WiFi, Labtops and Mobiles

Our workplace is going to change more and more, not only because of the SaaS wave building like a Tsunami, but because the way we interact with the internet is going to change as well.Instat says there will be 110 million WiFi equiped notebook PCs shipped in 2007, a 30+% growth rate over 2006.... He is probably sitting in Starbucks - coffee, one sugar, milk and wifi - calling his mates in US on Skype for free - get the picture.This is going to change they way we work with our clients, partners and if you will be able to hire new staff.

Do I? Should I? – OK then…..

One more time for the slow to understand, I am not only talking about many accountants in practice here, McKinsey Quaterly (registration required) noted:....., almost every software category has either started to migrate or will migrate to software as a service over the next 3 years.... If you are an accountant, then this is even more worrying, because your clients are in trouble too - they will lose out on competitiveness, because some accountants could not be bothered - this in turn will increase the mortality rate of small business start-up.If you are a business owner, make sure you have a good long look at the people who advice you - there are some really good advisors/accountants out there, you just need to look and ask questions!

Flexibility and Independence.

Just 19% cited making more money as their main reason.* 61% would still choose independence over working for someone else -– even for more money than they make now.* 64% of owners agree it's riskier to run a business than to work for a large company.Which is exactly the point, when we look at small business we should not assume they want to grow their business and why should they.... Why is that so difficult for people to understand.Maybe if we focused more on these businesses, then on the guys who scream about VCs and loans before they even have a business idea, we could concentrate on getting this horrendous mortality rate among business start-ups down.

On My Time – On My Terms

I would thing there are many reasons for this, like: Income Security - just as good if not better than being employed;Time flexibility - being able to care for your family;Personal fulfillment - no explanation needed here;Professional challenge - enjoying the ride;Work-Life balance - working flexibility adds to a better lifestyle.I believe that women more than men realise that our society is very sick with antisocial behavior.... I think women ned to be applauded for this conscious or unconscious inside!Needless to say that on-demand business tools help achieving these goals - just as I believe internet technology will help us with a number of other problems in our society, like global warming, travel exodus, etc.I am sure we men will get their too, eventually and I'm sure our Governments will take the credit for the positive effects women are creating.

Reality TV moves to No. 10

I think this all is a cunning plan, lets face it - all these guys have ever done for small business is make sure that more and more people start their own business, in fear of having to work for one of them.... Years later I said during a talk I gave at a Business Start-Up Show in London that:Success is a staircase of mistakes and failures.Looking back on my three decades as a small business guy, who made it big during the .COM boom, I can only say I would not be here today if I had listened to the so called experts.

Globelization 3.0

The fact that many immigrants find it difficult to get into the job market combined with the above mentioned new found power creates businesses that are highly valuable for any economy - starting a business is often easier than finding a job.These businesses link markets, maybe on a micro scale, but put them all together and we are talking very serious turnover. Our immigrants are not leaving their connections and culture behind and they use these connections to run small businesses.To me this is another example how free markets can work on many levels.

New Small Business Blog – Small Biz Labs

Now here is a sentiment I do share:"As the digital infrastructure matures and becomes widespread, small businesses - traditionallly late adopters of technology - will need to aggresively use new technologies to create, build, and market their products and services.... - from Intuit Future of Small Business Report.This story was written on a new small business blog I have just subscribed to - Small Biz Labs - great blog.Wonder if these guys have every heard of our On-demand Small Business Infrastructure?

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