Entrepreneurship
I'm terrible at remembering names.
I was never great. After having my children, my pregnancy brain did not completely go away (for those of you who have never been pregnant, when you are, your memory is shot!).
So I've gotten used to writing a person's name down after meeting them.
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This week, I'll be interviewing Karen Gordon Mills, the new head of the Small Business Administration -- the government agency that provides support to small businesses.
What questions do you have for Mills?
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A few weeks ago I got a call from an angry neighbor who wanted to know if our neighborhood bylaws include any restrictions on door-to-door salesman.
She called me because I'm the president of our neighborhood civic association and one of my main jobs is fielding tons of phone calls from irate neighbors who want me to make their lives easier.
I thought it was an odd question for her to ask. So many people who have been laid off or have seen their hours cut have chosen to start direct sales businesses, including door-to-door sales, so I figured let's help out those in our community that need a hand.
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I'm a big fan of finding a mentor or a counselor to help you launch or grow a business, but that doesn't mean everything they tell you is right.
Lately, a couple of entrepreneurs told me horror stories about advice they got early on in their careers.
One woman who runs a successful fashion Web site told me this week that a small business counselor actually discouraged her from leaving Corporate America and starting her own firm.
Thank goodness she didn't listen.
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One of my regular guests, Phil Town, author of the book "Rule #1" has offered us the following advice many times on the show:
"Hire slowly, fire quickly."
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I keep hearing lately how a recession is a good time for people to start businesses.
Call me cynical, but this sounds like something a crazy person would say, or someone just being counterintuitive to get attention. There’s a lot of that has been going around lately.
“It’s completely counterintuitive,” agrees Thomas Koulopoulos, author of "The Innovation Zone: How Great Companies Re-Innovate for Amazing Success.”
But he still thinks there’s some benefit to unleashing your entrepreneurial dreams during a crummy economy.
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Many of you who read my Twitter post a couple of months ago took me up on the offer to get on the social networking site and started tweeting to help promote your business.
Unfortunately, many of you just don't seem to get Twitter yet (don't worry -- I'm not going to name names).
You can't just tweet over and over again about your products or services. Well, actually you can do whatever you want on Twitter, but just listing products in hopes someone will head over to your Web site and buy your wares is going to get you ostracized, aka un-followed, and fast.
For the majority of people out there that don't know, first I'll start by explaining what the heck Twitter is.
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I attended a trade show down south last week and was surprised at how busy it was. In spite of the economy, attendance by both exhibitors and attendees was strong.
In fact, many companies I spoke to told me that this is not the time to skimp on marketing. While most of them are not planning any over-the-top campaigns, they're still continuing with efforts to attract leads and customers. So in light of that I wanted to go back to a story we did a while ago on "Your Business" called Trade Show 101.
Now more than ever, if you spend thousands of dollars on a trade show, you want to make sure you get a return on that investment.
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I cleaned out my closet this past weekend and I came across a horrific suit from the 1980s. The shoulder pads were too big, the waist was too small, and the bright orange and green fabric was anything but just right.
The 1980s were not only a frightening time for fashion, the decade also ushered in one of the worst recessions on record -- even worse than the one we find ourselves in now.
So, in an attempt to look on the bright side of life, I'd like to point out that the economy could be in worse shape than it is right now.
It could be 1980.
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The federal government has been pouring money into failing financial behemoths with what appears to be little to no oversight. Executives at these major financial firms that caused the collapse of the financial system are even getting bonuses for jobs not well done.
But just mention some help for small businesses and the "we-need-scrutiny naysayers" crawl out of the woodwork.
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