The Power of Small Businesses
By Sonny O’Steen
Atlanta, GA
Americans spend much of their time watching the news about large corporations and how their decisions may affect the local economy. Make no mistake about it, the small business holds the power to the livelihoods of millions of American households. Over 20 million Americans are employed by businesses with less than 20 employees, which is quite a lot of workers. Also, small businesses generate over 11 trillion dollars a year in receipts. They produce more than 13 times more patents per employee than large corporations! That is very significant.
Needless to say, if small business owners are unrestrained, they will continue year after year adding more to the American economy than ever before. Unfortunately in today’s economy, regulation and taxes present a considerable amount of roadblocks to small business owners.
Left to their entrepreneurial spirit, the small business owner will seek to find ways to improve receipts for their business. The more receipts, the more employees and the better the unemployment numbers will look quarterly for the nation as a whole.
The power of progress rests in the hands of small business owners, not large corporations. The patent count verifies that with certainty. No other environment fosters creativity like the small business environment. Large corporations are prone to stifle creativity as their board members look to the immediate bottom line rather than the future of the company they oversee. Government economists look to the large companies to drive the economy when in fact, the small businesses can accomplish this by delivering more tax revenue because of fewer tax loopholes. If you are a small business owner, the power of progress holds clear implications for where to focus your efforts. It suggests that you have more influence as a manager than you may realize over your employees’ well being, motivation and creative output. Knowing what serves to motivate and nourish progress – and what does the opposite – turns out to be the key to effectively managing people and their output. The small business owner champions this output and creativity every day they unlock the door.
Guerrilla Marketing – Remix!
Guerrilla Marketing Remix has been out for a couple of years, but if you haven’t read it, I strongly recommend it! It’s packed with practical information for all kinds of business owners, and it’s especially resourceful for microbusiness owners! Do yourself a favor and check it out!
Visit Amazon, your local library, or a nearby bookstore to pick up a copy.
The Fallacy of Starting a “Real Business”
By Anthony Hilb
Be extremely careful with the advice people share with you…this blog included! What has worked for others may not work for you. Our economy isn’t what it once was, and technology is drastically changing just about every industry. Many traditional rules no longer apply. People have told me to grow my businesses, to start a “real business” and to get a “real job.” Yet I’ve been profitable since day one, and I make more than the average person my age. What’s so unreal about that? These are the same people that want me to take on debt and hire employees I don’t need. And that’s probably why 90% of businesses fail. People new to the business world frequently listen to their elders and take antiquated routes. This isn’t always the case, but it has been often enough from my experience. Every adviser at my local SBDC has not been helpful. I would have never even started the profitable businesses I enjoy had I listened to many of my risk averse elders. 
Who has helped me with their advice? Incredible people who blog about business and authors who write about business. People like Seth Godin, Jason Fried, Jay Levinson, Gary Vaynerchuk, Tony Robbins, Richard Branson, Chris Anderson, Chris Guillebeau, Timothy Ferris, and many others have all been very helpful. They actually have experience and know what they’re talking about.
Take a route that works best for you. Pursue your business at a pace that works best for you. Some people are in a situation to start a traditional business with millions of dollars and employees, while other people prefer starting extremely small without debt. Determine a path that works best for you and get started! You may need to start your business part-time, or you may be able to start full-time. It’s all situational.
To traditionalists and many people older than myself, it may not appear like I own a “real” business. I don’t have 50 employees, and I don’t own a big office. I don’t buy everything I need for my businesses up front; I rent equipment and buy it used if I know I’ll need it regularly. Even if I do grow more and hire 20 people, those employees won’t have to come in to an office. As long as they get their work done, they can work from their home or from their own small office.
I started my first business two years ago, and now I pursue three microbusinesses each week. One of my microbusinesses gets the majority of my attention while the other two only need a few hours spent on them each week at this point. It only took a couple hundred bucks to start all of my businesses, and I hardly spend anything on marketing. I have no business debt, and I’ve always been profitable. All because I follow my instincts and grow at a pace that’s right for me.
Live a Little!
Go out and live a little! Experiencing the outside world and getting to know people is vital to your success. Getting in touch with the world helps you understand changes and what needs people have. Doing this will help you learn what kind of businesses to pursue. If you’re interested in a certain area of business, go to a meeting that is about that specific interest. Check out meetup.com in your area and see what you can find.
You can learn about the world quickly by spending time on your phone and on the internet, but there are elements of a physical meeting that the online world can’t yet fully capture. You can learn so much from partying or spending time with a group of friends in person. It’s obviously important to only carve out a small percentage of your time for partying, but taking time for those experiences is important. Forget about social networking for awhile and be social for real. Get out from behind your desk and go meet new people in person!
Take a Break!
By Anthony Hilb
I haven’t taken more than a few days off work for the last two years. Fortunately, running my own microbusinesses is fun, so I’m excited to get to work each day.
I just got married this weekend and a lot of my microbusinesses were put on hold – specifically my websites and digital work. Currently, my blogs are my least profitable endeavor. It was difficult for me to put them on hold, but I had to narrow my focus on my most profitable work while I was helping my wife plan our wedding. Taking a break doesn’t always mean taking a break from all of your work. Taking a break from a few projects can bring new life and excitement to them when you return.
The projects that are the most profitable for me right now don’t even require much of an online presence. I still have websites for a lot of those microbusinesses, but my customers are really more interested in talking with me in person. There’s still a market for people who want to meet face to face!
Now I’m preparing my honeymoon and plan to take a break from everything for about a week. I’m confident it will be helpful for all of my projects. You need to do the same when you get a chance!
Weddings!
By Anthony Hilb
I’m getting married this May, and I’ve learned that weddings cost a lot! Not many people compete on price. There’s a tremendous opportunity in my area for businesses who are willing to charge a little less than the competition when it comes to anything related to weddings. And it’s not a race to the bottom – the majority simply charge too much. It’s as if they’re price colluding. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were.
However, my fiancée and I have found some great people in our area. The Seasons Lodge in Brown County and Mary M’s here in Bloomington, IN have both been amazing to us. Thanks, guys!
Starting a microbusiness that services wedding related activities can give you plenty of work. It’s the perfect kind of business to start on the side while you’re working a day job. Photographers and DJs are two examples.
Microbusiness Owners 