Is it time for your business to ditch the landline?

CDC data from the 2013 National Health Interview Survey show that nearly 40% of American homes now use only cell phones for telephone communication. An additional 15.7% of the population had landlines, but still received all or almost all their calls on wireless telephones. Poor Americans reported higher rates of complete dependence on wireless phones - 55 percent of adults below the poverty level had only wireless phones at home. Having a landline and a cell phone is a double expense, after all, and when money is tight can't always be justified.

Many small businesses are run from home and have limited budgets. Small business owners may feel there is no good reason to add a landline number and pay another bill. But having a landline has its advantages, including:

• Clarity of sound - background noise is far more minimal on a traditional landline and voice quality is better than on cell phones or VoIP. 
• Accessibility - landlines do not need a clear wireless signal or an internet connection to operate.
• Sturdiness - by virtue of being less portable, landline telephones last longer and get lost less often. Their batteries also last longer. Those old phones your grandparents had in the 1970s still probably work. Does the cellphone you dropped in the toilet or left in your unlocked car?
• Features - many of the features businesses have come to expect from telephone systems are only available on pricier wireless systems.

There are, of course, advantages to VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) and cell phones including significant cost reduction, portability, and the ability to route multiple numbers to one phone - a clear advantage to a businessman on the go. 

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Still it's clear that communication technology is changing rapidly and will continue to change. At some point, even those who are entirely satisfied with the old way of calling will be forced to update their systems because telecommunications companies will find it prohibitively expensive to offer options that satisfy every user, from techie to Luddite. So small businesses should keep the shift in technology in mind for tomorrow, even they hold on to their landlines today.

Questions to ask a computer consultant before you hire him

Today's office run on information, and for many businesses, a significant amount of this information is vital and confidential. Therefore, it's vital that you hire a competent, responsive, trustworthy computer consultant, and you should do your homework on your options before you experience a major system crash or potential data loss.

Despite the challenges constantly changing technology poses to the casual computer user, computers are much more user friendly and versatile than they used to be with a plethora of different built-in programs to help recover data, restore programs, quarantine viruses and address a host of other problems that used to be much harder for the average person to deal with. More intrepid users have never had lower or cheaponer technology hurdles as open source software is free and continuously being expanded. Still the average business owner is knowledgeable about his business, not necessarily about computers or technology. And as he would want to find someone trustworthy to work on his car, as his life literally depends on the work done, he needs to find a quality computer "mechanic" for his company's needs as well. Customers who have

Vetting computer consultants is, in many ways, like vetting other employees; you need to determine if they are dependable, trustworthy, responsive, responsible, and comprehensive. Here are the things you must determine:

Responsiveness: You should ask if the consultant has a live operator, or if there are only scheduled hours for customer service. How soon will they respond to telephone or email inquiries? How soon during a data or systems emergency? Do they take the time to explain to their clients what is wrong with their computers or systems and how this might be avoided in the future? Will they give details as to what the problem is, in everyday English that people who are not technical will be able to understand? Is their customer service based locally or is it outsourced to another country?

Diligence: Will the consultant be proactive with your system, avoiding problems before they crop up, maintaining and updating hardware, software, virus definitions, and backups, regularly checking them all to make sure everything is functioning and there are multiple copies of important data? Is the consultant's organization large enough that it can function just as smoothly when someone goes on vacation or gets sick?

Liability protection: Is this consultant's company fully insured so that if, in the unlikely event mistakes happen, your business is protected from financial harm and could be compensated for lost time and productivity?

Trustworthiness: How does this consultant's company vet their own employees? Do they do full background checks? Are they required to remain current on their certifications? Have they had any previous incident with breaches of data?

Comprehensiveness: The consultant will take responsibility for the functionality of which systems, networks, or machines, specifically? Which will remain your responsibility?

Obviously, you should never hire based on brand recognition or price alone. Plenty of people think they know computers and can fix whatever you need for cheap. How much your data worth to you? How much is your data's security worth to you? The neighbor's kid may know computers; if so, hire him for smaller projects, not your overall system security. But big names are no guarantee of good service - ask the woman who sued Geek Squad for leaking her nude pictures online. Or the owner of the missing laptop Geek Squad tried to cover up.

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.

Business cards - Are they worth it?

You seem them everywhere, in every business, in fishbowls in restaurants - you probably have more than a handful stuffed in a drawer somewhere in your house. But do you ever look at them? Business cards: are they just an unnecessary expense?

We asked John Potter of Grand Rapids Area Professionals for Excellence (GRAPE), a business networking group in Grand Rapids, MI, and he said, "If you're using business cards as a marketing tool, then your expectations may not be met, but if you're using them as a contacting tool, then they can be useful. It's simpler and more professional for me to hand my business card to someone I've spent a half hour talking to at an event than writing my email or phone number on a stray piece of paper. I'm glad to have business cards for that purpose. Just don't spend a great deal of money on them, because they get forgotten and tossed aside much of the time."

Business cards now come in more a lot more than just the standard form (or media). Numerous options are now easily and cheaply available to make your card, and thus its representation of your brand, stand out. But should you go for standard, unique, or full-on special snowflake? Or is this just flashy or even alienating to your potential customers?

Consider the business that you are in. How likely is your clientele to care if you don't hire a professional to design your logo? If your business is marketing, it's important to make the investment. If your business is auto repair shop management, perhaps putting your marketing dollars elsewhere may do more good for your bottom line. If a funky card would put off or even shock the majority of your clientele, it's a liability, not an asset. You may live in an area with heavy competitive for funeral home services, in which case comprehensive branding might be necessary. But probably not.

It can be fun to design and redesign and order business cards, but even if yours are original and make people comment on them and remember them, evaluate how often and how successfully they convert into leads and sales. If the answer is "not very often," rethink this part of your branding and advertising budget.

When Purchasing Software, Consider What Support Is Included

In this economy, businesses are frequently on tight budgets, and purchasing the right software can be an enormous help for the small business owner. There are so many different programs to help with accounting, customer relationship management, e-commerce, marketing, project management, social networking, and many other essential tasks. Finding a user-friendly program can save you the expense of hiring expensive outside consultants or part-time personnel and can streamline operations considerable. But the wrong software often comes with headaches and hidden expenses that can break the bank.

Nearly everyone has experienced the frustrations of a program that doesn't work the way it's supposed to. Some of this may be user error, but what if the software you purchased is difficult to install, doesn't work well with your operating system, crashes frequently, doesn't sync with other software it's supposed to rely upon, fails to back up or accurately produce data, or any other variant of "doesn't work"? While an owner may be able to get a refund for the software itself, can he afford to recoup what using the software cost his business?

These types of problems are why it is so important for business owners to know what they are purchasing before the purchase, either by consulting with other users or thoroughly reading reviews, or relying on a reputable VAR (Value Added Reseller) for their software needs. Much has been made of saving money by "eliminating the middle man," but when dealing with software, the middle man may not be so expendable. It's true, many types of software are designed for easy installation and use. There is no point to go through a software vendor to purchase Microsoft Office or install SugarSync on a laptop, but if your business needs complex engineering software to run simulations or your medical practice requires HIPAA-compliant management software for billing, scheduling, and record keeping, a wrong choice can be a very wrong choice.  The more complex and expensive the software, the more valuable the middle man becomes to you. After all, it's he who will be able to help you install it, answer questions about what it can do, debug your model, and help you navigate customer service of the software designer. Most critically, he will be able to advise you on which software (and how much of it) best meets your business's needs.

Be careful when selecting a VAR as well. There are plenty of companies who will be glad to sell you software at marked up prices. Ask questions about what each VAR is prepared to do for you and how quickly they are prepared to do it in case of emergency. This is your backup - make sure it's a dependable one.

While it would be nice to believe that software (and hardware) will be worth its expense and that it will work and continue to work for you over time, the truth is computers are complex, ever-changing, and prone to error. Given this, it's always best to go over your options carefully before you purchase and to find reliable consultants to help with your selection.

When it comes time to sell your small business

While many businessmen are drawn to a certain industry or have been drawn into a certain business by their family connections or a specific skill set, another type of business owner is the serial entrepreneur. For this kind of person, the thrill is in starting and building the business, not in the day-to-day maintenance of it. These people are visionaries, not managers or caretakers, and after a few years of success, they're bored and they want out.

Other small businesses sell because there's no one to take on the helm after a long era of family ownership has passed or because they need to relocate or raise funds for living expenses or some other purpose.  The owners, having spent sweat equity building something substantial, now need to recoup their investment with a sale to a good buyer. But how does an owner ensure that he gets a good price for his small business?

Max Friar specializes in the sale of small and medium-sized businesses. His company, Calder Capital, recommends that before a business owner even begins to contemplate selling, he should make sure his company is an owner independent one, and that his involvement in it is not essential to the business's maintenance or profitability. This seems, at first glance, to be counterintuitive thinking. How can a successful person not be essential for the running of a successful business? Because while the business needed a visionary to establish it, it needs a good manager to run it, and good managers are more common than successful visionaries.

Of course, not every business is designed to be sold. Many people start a business as a way of channeling their energies and making everyday expenses. They have no thought of selling because in their minds, their businesses are a natural extension of themselves. Every day men and women retire and their businesses close, and that is the way of the world. But if a business has been very successful and has established a brand that is in demand, there is no reason why someone else should not successfully take it over it and compensate the originator for his vision and hard work.

To be well compensated for his energy, however, the business originator must show that he can transfer the knowledge of how to maintain, at at least current standards, the brand he built. If an owner has his Rolodex "in his head," this is of no use to a buyer because he will not be able to make the connections necessary to run the business. If the owner has his eye on every deal or every transaction, if the business depends on him showing up to work every day and motivating his employees, the business cannot run without him, can't make money without him, and, therefore, without him, is essentially worthless. No one will pay money for it because it's throwing gold down a well.

The steps to take, then, according to Friar, would be to:

• Make sure that the client base is not small and limited to a few very profitable relationships the owner has cultivated himself. A wider array of customers looks like a safer deal to a buyer wary of an owner taking his business relationships with him. 
• Put the day-to-day management of the business in the hands of a competent manager who is incentivized to stay with the business after it is sold.
• Strengthen the business's brand. It goes without saying that a strong brand is essential to a good price.
• Put all policies and procedures in writing so that your employees and any potential buyers know they are in place already and there are no surprises in transition.

Additionally, any seller should put himself into the shoes of a potential buyer and critically examine his own business for value reducing dependencies. Once those have been addressed, a much better deal can be made and the value of his hard work will be better compensated. And who doesn't appreciate generous compensation?

Negative online reviews - don't panic.

The internet has made many more products accessible to a worldwide audience, and with that exposure has released an previously unknown level of vitriol from a certain segment of the population - the perpetually dissatisfied. While it's true that regular people will leave real reviews of negative experiences they've had with a company's products or services in order to help other customers avoid having the same experience, it's also true that there are customers who will never be happy and love to complain.

If you have a fledgling business, or even an established one, it can be upsetting to read negative reviews of your company online. The internet is a public space after all, and criticism is unpleasant. The natural reaction is to become defensive and offer reasons (or - let's be honest - excuses) to a dissatisfied customer - anything to quash the negative and move on. Some businesses, like Amy's Baking Company of Scottsdale, Arizona have taken negative reviews particularly badly and thrown epic tantrums online or threatened to call a lawyer and sue for libel.

But before you panic and go off the deep end, realize that negative reviews aren't always a bad thing. For a well known company with an established brand, yes, negative reviews are something to handle carefully because bad publicity can result in diminished sales, brand tarnishing, or even boycotts. But smaller, more obscure businesses or brands often benefit from bad reviews because they bring their companies to the attention of people who would not have known about them before.

Research done at Wharton assessed the effect that bad reviews had on book sales and discovered that for popular authors bad reviews were a negative, but for "relatively unknown authors, bad reviews caused sales to rise, by an average of 45%. This held even when the criticism was extreme." What's more, over time people would remember the name of the author or book, but forget the negative reason why they remembered it - so negative reviews ironically created positive brand building for these authors over the long term.

The curiosity factor also plays a part. An experience that causes so much emotion in one reader or user is bound to create interest in another.  "Anything but ordinary!" is one consumer motivation.  People will try or buy products that other people dislike too, when they already know their tastes differ, particularly if the review is sufficiently detailed. These people may decide to leave a positive review later if their experiences differ to "set the record straight."

Consider this, then, the next time your business gets a negative review on Yelp or Amazon, and assess your strategy for how to deal with negative reviews accordingly.