Millenials and Entrepreneurship

Here is Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit, being interviewed about Millennials, opportunities for start ups, and the sudden burgeoning of entrepreneurship among young people.  This blog has covered before the situation young people are in coping with the present bad economy. Ohanian point, that the lack of economic opportunities means that there's no opportunity cost for entrepreneurship, and that this is the silver lining in our economic cloud is an interesting one. He also points out that the barriers for entry into business have never been lower because of increased access to consumers and open source software.

Michigan Future, Inc. put out a report several years ago with the purpose of attracting knowledge workers to Detroit and thereby encouraging the revitalization of downtown Detroit. Their "knowledge workers" are Ohanian's audience as well - young, very bright, creative, willing to work hard and take risks. In the past they've gone where the jobs are and taken their energy and drive with them, reducing the fortunes of smaller cities already on a downward spiral and enriching larger cities with, arguably, enough knowledge capital. Now, however, with good jobs hard to find nationally, they have incentive to stay where they are and build their own opportunities.

The less fortunate part of this is that knowledge workers - people who can create with "a laptop and an internet connection" are only a small subset of the general population. Most would be small business entrepreneurs still need some capital to get started. Even if you have the knowledge to build a parts washer to spotlessly clean engine liners, you can't do it without investment capital. While some small businesses can be run from home, manufacturing plants, auto garages, medical care centers, and organic farms, to name but a few, cannot, and those are the businesses who will hire workers who are not knowledge workers but still need employment. The economy won't get better until there are jobs available to the average worker, not just the specialty one.

It is, however, a blessing for very bright people who don't want to move away from their communities to find their livelihoods. And, eventually, many knowledge workers do generate jobs from their risk taking. Reddit only has 28 employees, but Ohanian has other projects that fund average people looking for a break.  It's not an overall solution to the nation's economic problems, but for those people he's helped get exposure and funds it's been life changing. We need to see more of this virtuous cycle of economic activity.

The affordable, sustainable holiday office party

It's that time of year again.  Are you ready to celebrate your business's accomplishments and treat your employees to food, drink, and entertainment?  What if you're on a budget or if your business hasn't quite gotten out of the red and into the black yet?  Can you throw a great office party on a shoestring budget?

Americans have been living with affluenza symptoms for years, but it's important to realize that great parties don't depend on overindulgence or excess, they depend on people enjoying each others' company.  A well stocked table helps, but what people will really remember is time spent together.  Think of the best party you've ever been to.  Was it in some swanky venue with an open bar and a snooty maître d'?  Probably not.  One of the better holiday parties I've gone to had no catering, no entertainment, and was light on the amenities.  It was in November 1993, and a group of American teachers were celebrating Thanksgiving together in a small Soviet dorm.  We scoured the local market for supplies, peeled our own potatoes, roasted our own small chicken, and laughed hysterically about the challenges we all had in common, swapping ideas on how to solve them.  It was a great time.  There was one tiny incident - a Russian girlfriend broke a bottle and tried to slit her wrist in the bathroom - but that's always the case, isn't it?  A holiday isn't complete without some drama.

The point is, you don't have to spend a lot of money and order a dumpster after in order to throw a great Christmas party for your coworkers.  You just need some creativity and cooperation.  Here are a few tips for a memorable, zero waste celebration:

Decorate with ornaments that can be used from year to year and then stored away.  A nice holiday tablecloth really dresses up a room, and pine cones can be gathered and then returned to their outdoor setting when the party is over.  Invite your employees to bring in their favorite holiday decorations and take a few minutes to have each one showcase hers and tell why it is important to her.  These can either be left at the office for the remainder of December or returned home after the party.

Do not use disposable plates, cutlery or napkins.  It's true, hardly anyone loves to do dirty dishes, but it also hasn't killed anybody yet to do it.  Back in the old days, before throwaway plates, how do you think people managed? They worked together.  They volunteered together.  After every potluck, that same group of ladies gathered in the kitchen and cleaned out the pots and pans while the men broke down the tables and put away chairs. They got to know each other better, and they worked off some of the calories they'd just eaten.  If your employees object to having to clean up after an office party, offer them a flex hour in compensation, to be used in the new year. It's nicer to eat with real cutlery and plates anyway, like civilized people.

Have your most detail oriented person plan the food, and order based on what will actually get eaten instead of what will fill up a table.  Better food in smaller quantities are better than lots of plates of food no one likes or bag after bag of chips that will be sampled and then thrown out.  After the party, invite people to bring home any extra food.  Ask them ahead of time to bring their own tupperware to make this easier.  Look into donating anything unopened to a food bank.  Anything else freeze and eat later.

Gift exchanges are largely unnecessary and can cause problems if the "rules" are not communicated well or some people are left out.  Skip the complimentary gift unless it's something your employees will genuinely want. Another way to think of this is: most generic gifts will be thrown away or, at best, re-gifted.  No one wants a Christmas tree ornament with your business logo on it.  If it's mass produced, it will eventually find its way into the trash.  Spend the money instead on a better cut of meat or raffling off some gift cards.  Or, if your employees approve, give the money that would have been used to a charity that can be mutually agreed upon.

Remember again this holiday season that people have enough "stuff."  What they do not have, and can never have enough of is time spent well, happily, with people they like.  Keeping that in mind will help you plan your party so that it will be less expensive but more enjoyable.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of our readers at Small Business Excellence!

 

Could Your Business Handle a Disaster or Another Economic Downturn?

In the past few years, several large corporations--mostly banks--have been called "too big to fail." This is the type of security that small business owners often wish they could have for their own operations, for their own peace of mind. But the tumultuous economy keeps slinging different statistics into the fold, reporting one month that everything is going swimmingly and then, in the following month, that everyone is in danger of drowning. Mix in the precarious nature of the planet and you have a recipe that could leave many owners without the ownership they once treasured.

So, we know this: The American status quo is uncertainty. With conflicting data and vague standards, economists and organizations are struggling to agree on the current economic state of the country. As scary as that might be, it gives some businesses the chance to thrive and others the chance to close their doors--not all owners can manage well under the chaotic reign of unpredictability.  (And obviously a blizzard can be a windfall for a snow removal business while being a mini disaster for a shipping company.) The anxiety caused by this may force an owner to shut down before becoming a victim of uncontrollable factors. But it is when owners are caught by the unknowable variables of the volatile world--be they related to money, weather, whatever--that their own determination and resilience can shine through.

Serious infographic on businesses
and disasters. | Courtesy of
Alibaba.com et al.

Let's say that a tornado hits your business. Or a flood. Or a drunk driver crashing through your storefront. Or an(other) economic downturn. In case you don't get the picture, there are a lot of independent elements in the world that can inflict damage upon your business. In order to counteract the consequences of such occurrences, small business owners should prepare. Euphemistic individuals often call these "rainy day" funds, but in reality, they are disaster prevention/reaction funds.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, an estimated 25 percent of businesses that have been struck by a natural disaster will fail due to the ramifications of such an event. This likelihood is too risky to leave to chance. In response, intelligent owners create a plan and tuck away money, providing hopeful longevity for the business. But what about economic issues? A recent report from payroll services provider ADP indicated that, in August, businesses with less than 50 employees added the least amount of jobs since May. But 71,000 jobs were still created; reports suggest that many of them were part-time positions. Meanwhile, a survey of members belonging to the National Federation of Independent Business indicated that hiring trends for small businesses declined for the fourth month in a row. Before you get worried, remember that uncertainty I mentioned earlier? Polling performed for the CBIZ Small Business Employment Index indicated that hiring trends for small businesses rose 1.23 percent, the first increase since May. Be sure to note that this index asks approximately 3,500 companies, each with less than 300 workers, about individual hiring trends.

With so much conflicting data, what is an owner to do? If you are holding the reins of a business, you should do your best to be ready for the worst while maintaining a positive attitude. If you get caught up in paranoid preparation, you may find yourself becoming resentful toward the world--this could get in the way of running a quality business. It's impossible to be ready for everything, so do your best with what you have to ensure that your business is protected to the best of your ability.