Facebook and your Small Business

More and more small businesses are using Facebook to help them market their products and services to their target audiences. In addition to just setting up a Facebook account, you can take advantage of Facebook Pages, and use the "vanity" URL, www.facebook.com/yournamehere. This allows you to be visible even to folks who aren't Facebook members, to be found in a Google search, and to stay in close contact with customers who become your fans.

Here are some recent articles about how business are using Facebook and other social media in their marketing efforts. The Chicago Tribune and the L. A. Times ran this story, "Facebook becoming big friend of small businesses," in October, and the New York Times's Kermit Pattison has suggestions on "How to Market Your Business With Facebook." The Facebook site also has information about how to use their site to your advantage, on its Advertising page, and on its Facebook Pages page. The Evanston Public Library has recently added the title, "The Facebook era : tapping online social networks to build better products, reach new audiences, and sell more stuff," by Clara Chung-wai Shih, to its collection.

For even more help in learning how to use Facebook for your business, try this YouTube video, "Facebook 4 Business Free Module."

Evanston businesses in the news

Several Evanston small businesses made the news during October! PRWire reports that the Joel Warady Group, a boutique marketing consulting group, placed 15th on Brill Street's Top 50 Generation Y Employer Program Chicago. MightyNest.com, a resource to purchase and learn more about safe and environmentally friendly products, was featured int a Sun-Times article recently. The Chicagoist website has featured Neu Uber Burger and Edzo's Burger Shop in the last several weeks. And, finally, an article from the Chicago Tribune that featured Winthrop Properties.

Your small business on the web

The Evanston Public Library has some new books that will help you ensure you are getting the most out of your small business' web presence: Do the web write : writing for and marketing your website, Furman, Dan. Self-Counsel Press, 2009; Six pixels of separation : everyone is connected : connect your business to everyone, Joel, Mitch. Business Plus, 2009; Million dollar website : simple steps to help you compete with the big boys--even on a small business budget, Culwell, Lori. Prentice Hall Press, 2009.

Stop by to check out these and other books related to small business management. We're located at 1703 Orrington, the corner of Church and Orrington, in downtown Evanston.

Business Resources at Evanston Library

Check out these recently acquired books that may help you plan, manage or market your small business: The complete idiot's guide to guerrilla marketing, by Susan Drake; Business plans that work : for your small business, published by Toolkit Media Group; e-Riches 2.0 : next-generation marketing strategies for making millions online , by Scott C. Fox, or Turn your hobby into a business--the right way, by John Alan Cohan.

Advertising Your Small Business Online

The New York Times has a "Self-Service Advertising" feature aimed at small businesses. According to NYT, "If your online advertising budget is less than $10,000 per campaign, Self-Service Advertising from NYTimes.com is right for you."

This self-service advertising feature offers a "complete on-demand banner advertising solution" on the NYT website. You can select and customize one of the ad templates they supply, or upload your own--and then choose to target that ad geographically.

The Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times also have options for advertising online. From the Trib's Advertiser E-Services page, you can choose to run your ads in the print and online editions of the full paper, the Redeye, or the TribLocal.

For the Sun-Times News Group's site, STNG Online Advertising, you can target your ads to run not just in the Sun-Times, but also in any of the local papers that STNG owns, including The Evanston Review.

Financing and Small Business

The Small Business Administration has devoted a section of its website to the 2009 Recovery Act, and what the bill will mean to small businesses. Recently, as part of the Act, a change was made to the CDC/504 Loan program. The Wall Street Journal explains the impact of the changes in an article from the June 26, 2009 issue. Entrepreneur Magazine gives information about the new ARC Loan program, which provides loans up to $35,000 to financially troubled small businesses, in an article published on June 10, 2009. For start-up companies, the SBA's Micro-loan Program may be helpful. Entrepreneur Magazine has useful information about this loan program as well.

Small Business and the Stimulus Package

The Economic Stimulus package of 2009 has received a lot of press. But what does it mean for a small business owner?

A presentation produced by MyVenturePad, in cooperation with SCORE, Counselors to America's Small Businesses, provides some in-depth discussion of how the Stimulus Package will benefit small business. The authors are Steve King, who runs Emergent Research,
Barbara Weltman, a national spokesperson for small business taxes, and Erik R. Pages, who leads EntreWorks Consulting, an economic development consulting and policy development firm.
$730 million is slated to go to the Small Business Administration, and changes will be made to the agency’s lending and investment programs. The SBA is planning a comprehensive report on what this will enable them to do for small businesses. The SBA also has a slide presentation, with audio, that outlines some of the tax benefits for small businesses that resulted from the 2008 stimulus package.

Small Business Insurance

Insuring your small business is a wise move. The folks at MyOwnBusiness.org, a non-profit group specializing in educating small business owners, have put together a lesson about the types of insurance your small business might need. Using videos and text, they explain the various types of insurance most businesses need, i.e., property, liability, workers' compensation, etc., and offer some "Do's" and "Don'ts" about the best approach to obtaining the right coverage.

The Small Business Administration offers advice and information about insuring your small business. For example, they point out that homeowners' insurance policies do not generally cover home-based business losses. The folks at SCORE, "Counselors to America's Small Businesses," also have some tips about buying insurance.

Small Business TV

For small business tips in the form of short videos or podcasts, be sure to check out SBTV.com. The videos include marketing tips, franchising information, legal advice, and more. For example, here's a video titled, "Small Business Sales Strategies for 2009." You can also find podcasts provided by StartUp BizCast with Steve McMullen.

"SBTV.com is the first television network on the web devoted 100 percent to the small business market - from business start-ups to established enterprises. We believe that being an entrepreneur is a way of living - not just a way to make a living."

Starting a new small business in a recession

No, you’re not crazy for thinking about doing just that. Time has shown that many successful small businesses start-up during economic hard times. Why? Well, for one thing, being laid off after working for 20+ years means that you have skills and ideas and experience that can help you launch a new enterprise. Also, it can be easier to find vacant space for your storefront or office, and that space will most likely be cheaper than it was when times were good. Now is the time to negotiate longer term leases that will provide a margin of safety when the economy recovers and rents start to go up again. You also have more room to negotiate with your suppliers, since they need to move their inventory as much as you do. If your budding enterprise will need employees, you have many job applicants from which to choose.

Can you identify a niche product or service that is needed in your area? And now that small businesses can operate globally via the Internet, can that product or service be marketed beyond your area? Or, is there a product or service that you’ve looked for, but were unable to find? Maybe you’ve just tapped into a good idea for a business that needs starting.

Here are some ideas for small businesses that can do well in a recession, from About.com , from U.S. News and World Report, and from Entrepreneur.com .

The Evanston Public Library has some resources that can help, including the Business Plans Handbook for hundreds of sample business plans; DemographicsNow to research your target market (data only available for Illinois communities); and LexisNexis to find articles, company information and legal information. You can access these resources from any computer if you have an Evanston Public Library card, or you can visit the Reference Department on the third floor of the library to use them in-house.

Changes to EPL's electronic subscriptions

On February 28, 2009, Evanston Public Library's subscription to ReferenceUSA will expire.

We will soon be adding access to LexisNexis. Remote access will be available only to Evanston Public Library cardholders; anyone can sign on to the database when in the library. Here is a description of what LexisNexis has to offer:

News, current events, and commentary
-Newspapers and new magazines, including major publications from the U.S. and around the world and local publications from all 50 states
-TV and radio broadcast transcripts
-Wire services
-Blogs and web-based publications
-Subject indexing to take you right to editorials, critical reviews, science, business, sports and other news categories

Business
-Business news and analysis publications
-Industry and market news for sectors ranging from petroleum extraction to education
-Company information, including SEC filings and company profiles
-Country profiles and business conditions

Legal
-Law reviews and journals
-U.S. case law, including case summaries, headnotes, and Shepard's Citations for all federal and state courts
-U.S. statutes
-Canadian and European case law and legal materials

Try some fee-based electronic resources--Free!

TryIt! Illinois is a program provided by the Illinois State Library, offering free access to a number of fee-based electronic resources for the months of October and November. The business related databases include Standard & Poor's NetAdvantage, Morningstar Investment Research Center, Ebsco's Business Source Complete, Gale's Business and Company Resource Center, to name just a few. There are also resources in Public Affairs, Religion & Philosophy, Social Sciences, Careers, Children's, Consumer Affairs and more.

Participating in this trial requires a login name and password. All residents of Illinois can ask for the name and password, but rules of the trial prohibit posting them on any blogs or listservs. So, please e-mail the Reference Department at the Evanston Public Library, or call 847-448-8630, or use the Instant Messaging feature on the Research Page of EPL's website. You can also go directly to the TryIt! page, where you will see contact information for the coordinator of this trial at the Illinois State Library.

Social Networking Tools Part III

As a small business, you can use sites like Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn to increase the size and scope of your network, and to increase your web visibility. The more sites there are in cyberspace that include your name and link back to your web site or blog, the better it is for your company and your marketing plan. If you create a YouTube video, have some conversation with any commenters, and post links to the video on your blog or Facebook page. Use Twitter to post "tweets" that will entice readers to your blog. Two articles that explain ways to use these tools are "Boosting Your Sales with Social Networking," by Elaine Appleton Grant in the March 25, 2008 online version of U.S. News and World Report, and, "Are Social Networking Sites Useful for Small Business," by Karen E. Klein in Business Week, August 6, 2008.

You can also monitor sites like Twitter and Yelp to find out if people are talking about your company. If someone posts a complaint or negative comment, you can respond right away, as Comcast's customer service department made news doing earlier this year. The rewards for the investment of your time in networking tools include satisfied customers, and a reputation for good customer service.

Social networking tools for Small Business, Part II

YouTube can be a useful marketing tool for small businesses, provided it is done well. A useful article found on Hubspot.com, "6 Tips for Making a Business Marketing Video," gives you some great advice for making a professional-looking and effective video. Among the points made by the author, Catie Foertsch, are these: use a script, use effective lighting, don't use the built-in microphone on your camera, frame your face (or your product) well, be yourself, and most importantly, end with a "call to action." That is, remind your viewer how to contact you for the chance to take advantage of your great product or service.

Another useful article, including examples of memorable videos, is "How to Market on YouTube," by Stephan Spencer for MarketingProfs.com: more good advice on making YouTube work for you, too.

And finally, you need to get your video noticed. As Stephan Spencer's article mentions, tagging appropriately is important: spread your tags out among your clips; use adjectives to make your videos more visible to folks searching based on their mood; have some category descriptor tags (bearing in mind that YouTube's default search settings are Videos, Relevance and All Categories); match your title and description with your most important tags; and don't use natural language phrases or waste tag space on words like "and" or "to."

In addition to appropriate tagging, you may want to contact the folks at NorthShoreInsider.com, Chicago's North Shore Insider Guide & Video Directory. Their mission, according to their website, is to "[h]elp community businesses increase their profitability within the communities they serve," and they do this by posting local business videos and directories.

Social Networking Tools for Small Business, Part I

Networking has always played an important role in small business marketing. Now web-based social networking tools have created new ways to reach your audience. You've probably heard of Flickr, the photo sharing site, but have you wondered if you could use it in your business? Here is an excellent article from the blog, Small Business Search Marketing, that can get you started. With the new networking tools come new networking rules, and this article has practical advice on how to follow those rules to get the most out of your Flickr account.

If you're thinking of selling, or buying, a small business...

These are difficult economic times, but if you are trying to decide whether or not to sell your small business, this article about Skokie business, Schaefer's Wines, Foods & Spirits, in the August 5, 2008, Chicago Tribune, says that the economy should not deter you. Of course it also means that you should not be deterred from buying a small business in this economy either!

It does take planning, however, and Evanston Public Library has some resources that might help: Sell your business your way : getting out, getting rich, and getting on with your life, by Heather Linton, and Valuing your business : strategies to maximize the sale price, by Frederick D. Lipman, The complete guide to buying a business, published by Nolo Press .

The Small Business Administration also has some advice for you in its Small Business Planner, including information about seller financing; things to consider when taking your business public; and a checklist of items that must be written on the sales agreement.

What's in a business name?

Naming, or branding, your business is an important step in the start-up process. In this article from the March 17, 2008 issue of the Wall Street Journal, Suzanne Barlyn reports on issues to consider when selecting a unique name. And don't forget to include researching the legal issues involved in the naming process. Inc.com summarizes what you need to know.

Skokie innovator's new web application creates virtual call centers

Answering the call

Skokie telecom hopes to create a buzz with phone solutions
July 29, 2008

BY SANDRA GUY sguy@suntimes.com

Skokie tech innovator Ifbyphone is giving marketers and small businesses a fast, cheap, Web-based way to set up a virtual call center in the form of an application to be unveiled at the digital Ad:tech conference in Chicago next week.

Trader Joe's coming to Evanston?

Grocer may be in store for Evanston downtown

By Brian Cox Special to the Chicago Tribune
10:08 PM CDT, July 28, 2008

Evanston aldermen have begun to open the door for a Trader Joe's grocery store to set up shop...

Metered parking may be extended

Panel eyes limited 4-hour parking

July 24,
By BOB SEIDENBERG
bseidenberg@pioneerlocal.com
The city is exploring whether to extend metered parking to four hours in some areas in response to long-voiced concerns from restaurant patrons and others about the current two-hour limits...