New Web Series

When you talk about veterans, they don't get much more veteran-y than William Dunkelberg.

Bill is a professor of Economics at the School of Business and Management, Temple University, and served as dean from 1987-94. He was director of the Center for the Advancement and Study of Entrepreneurship from 1991-94.

He's also been the chief economist at the NFIB (National Federation of Independent Business) since 1971. Yes, you read that right: '71!

Expansion, recovery, recession, inflation, stagflation: If it's happened in the U.S. economy in the past 40 years, Bill has had a front row seat.

So when I hear that he is taking to the Inter-webs, I think I'd best alert folks to tune him in. "Your Bottom Line With Bill Dunkelberg” is a new web series geared at simple, clear, demystifying information on what drives the economy and how small business owners fit in.

Check it out.

Invoicing Pitfalls

One of the major problems that small business owners face is the monthly cash crunch. A big contributor to this dilemma is uncollected invoices, late-payers and clients who must be hounded like crazy to issue a check.

The folks behind Tradeshift are ambitious enough to believe they can change the way we do business by allowing organizations to exchange invoices for free.

Here are their tips on how to create and submit an invoice that will help avoid the pitfalls that lead to delayed payment, or worse, no payment:

1. No backup system. It’s kind of a no-brainer, but if one computer crashes, all your records are gone. Make sure to back your invoices up on multiple computers – or better yet, store it in the cloud. These are some of the most important documents of your business, after all.
2. Having one gatekeeper. Don’t give full ownership of this responsibility to just one person – you never know when you’ll need access to the information, and gatekeepers can cause bottlenecks – the last thing you want when you’re trying to get paid.
3. “The invoice is in the mail…” Unless you’re hand-delivering paper invoices, you can’t confirm receipt unless you’ve paid for FedEx. And snail mail means snail payment…the worst kind. Go online to get paid faster.
4. Forgetting to invoice altogether. Admit it – it happens. And that’s money lost. Make sure you have a system in place to help you remember to send out your invoices along with any reminders when they are overdue.
5. Incorrect currency conversions. Working with international businesses? A miscalculated currency conversion causes delays at best, and underpayment at worst. Make sure you’re using a system that allows for the most updated conversion rates.
6. Misfiring an invoice. Ever sent the wrong invoice to the wrong vendor? That can get hairy when you’re sharing confidential pricing matters – and might even hurt negotiations if one vendor sees how much (or little) you’re paying others. Automate your system to avoid the awkward.
7. Doubling up. Generating duplicate invoice numbers is one of the most common mistakes made. Without a system to prevent dupes, small business owners risk wasting time and money trying to undo the confusion this can create.

Five Myths

Read Kristie Arslan's Five Myths about Small Businesses at HuffPo.

Kristie, executive director of the National Association for the Self-Employed, is one of my best sources. She a fount of information and a dynamo of activity working on behalf of self-employed folks and small business owners.

Finding Freelancers

One question I get over and over again from small business owners is where to find freelance marketers, PR people, publicists, graphic artists, writers and editors.

MarketingZone has done a survey and compiled an absolute wealth of information and advice on hiring freelancers, where to find good ones and what to pay them.

Check this site out.

Survey Says

Things are looking up for small biz. Some results from the Constant Contact 2011 Small Business Survey.

On the economy:
• More than half of those surveyed saw an increase in revenues in 2010
• A whopping 4 of 5 of respondents expect to see an increase in revenues in 2011

Online marketing:
• Email remains the lynchpin of online programs, with nearly all respondents using email and almost ¾ checking it multiple times per day
• Facebook is definitely “Liked” – 95% of those using social media use the tool, with 82% finding it effective

Expect 2011 growth:
• In 2010, 77% of small businesses remained flat or saw an increase in revenues
• 82 % of small businesses expect to see an increase in revenues in the next 12 months

Remaining challenges: attracting new customers, generating referrals, and making marketing dollars go further top the list of concerns

Traditional marketing rules:
o 79% find email marketing to be effective for marketing their organization
o 76% find website to be effective for marketing their organization
o 64% find event marketing to be effective for marketing their organization

Social media catching up:
• 80% of small businesses increased their use of social media in the last 12 months
• The clear leader for small businesses is Facebook: 95% of those using social media are using Facebook

Small Business Week

This is National Small Business Week and lots of events are happening that may interest you.

Official events are sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Other groups host a plethora of events and activities as well.

Search for your city and "small business week" and you're likely to find regional events you can attend as well.

Free Help

If I've said it once, I've said it a million times: There's no such thing as a free lunch.

Now, let me make an exception. Good, free advice is hard to come by but it's not impossible.

SCORE, sponsored by American Express OPEN, the small business arm of AMEX, does a multi-city tour every year providing excellent free advice and counseling to small business owners. And I can vouch for them because I attended one myself.

Here's the 2011 schedule for “Small Business High Speed Growth,” a brand new national multi-city tour that couples popular one-on-one speed coaching with new problem-solving workshops focusing on areas that directly impact small business growth, including effective marketing and business finances.

May 9 – Washington, DC

June 7 – Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN

June 21 – Portland, ME

July 13 – Orange County, CA

October TBD – New York, NY

More information and registration here.

Business Credit Cards

In response to a reader's question, I listed some tips on business credit cards in my L.A. Times column earlier this month.

Here is some additional advice on the topic:

Do your research. Many banks and credit card companies are making various offers, with some attractive perks that may fit nicely with your business needs. But offers run the gamut, so be choosy. You’ll want to find out about offers from both your local banks and national credit card companies.

Don’t get burned by special offers. As noted, there are many offers and plans available for small business owners, but pay specific attention to business credit card plans with introductory offers for 0% APR. While this may be a good option for an immediate, high-end purchase to support your business, you need to find out what the conditions for the APR are – under what conditions will it rise, and what are your options if it does rise. Beware of getting stuck with a high APR after the introductory period.

Consider the rewards. Many cards will offer perks for both you and your employees including discounts with preferred vendors and airlines, as well as rewards points.

Lay the ground rules. Make sure your employees know exactly what can and cannot be charged on the credit card. Some cards will let you adjust the credit limit on individual employee cards, as well as limit where the cards can be used.

New VC Resource

I have written a series of resource articles for a unique venture capital site called FindVenture.com.

The site "connects investors with individuals and organizations based on a sophisticated matching algorithm" and provides detailed profiles of both funds and prospective investment companies, in addition to a platform and subscription model similar to Monster.com. Like employers there, investors at FindVenture have access to view prospective investment opportunities before deciding whether or not to fund them.

Here's what managing partner David Bayer has to say about the new model:

“Entrepreneurs and CFOs are turning to the web to find investment and lending resources. What they are finding is that most investors are still operating offline and seeking deal flow by utilizing traditional methods. FindVenture.com brings both the investor, or fund, and the business owner or entrepreneur into a more efficient marketplace exchange.”

It's a cool idea whose time has obviously arrived. I'm happy I was able to provide some background articles on VC and how it gets done from the entrepreneur's perspective. Check it out: It's worth a look-see whether you are looking for outside funding now, or may do so sometime in the future.

Buy Local - Does it Help?

Small retailers are still concerned about the economy, but 55% think “buy local” campaigns can help, compared to just 7% who do not.

The American Express OPEN Retail Economic Pulse shows that small retailers are leveraging local review sites like Yahoo Local and Yelp! (51% use at least one site) and social media (51% use at least one platform and 37% will increase usage this year).

“Buy local” is not a phenomenon restricted to the coasts: small retailers from the north central states are more likely to believe “buy local” sentiment is growing than any other region (49% versus 39% in the south, 37% in the northeast and 38% in the west)

Check out the Amex site for more details of this interesting survey.

Branding Gone Bad

Hang on a sec: 7-Up in baby bottles and husbands spanking their wives for not buying the right coffee?

Sounds awfully kinky, right?

Actually, these are examples of the worst ad campaigns of all time, as compiled by Bschool.com.

Check it out, and let it be a cautionary tale when it's time to update your own marketing/advertising plan.

Visualization Can Help

In the spirit of sharing useful resources with small business owners, I submit Payoff, a free, interactive website that applies game dynamics to finances.

It puts together infographics that I suspect could be helpful in making business decisions. One of the toughest early decisions for startup companies is what form of legal structure to choose. This graphic allows you to compare ownership structures based on their longevity and personal liability.

(You should be able to click on and enlarge this)

Improv Tricks

What does improvisational acting have in common with small business ownership?

Not much, I would say off the top of my head. But the answer turns out to be "quite a lot," if you equate improv with networking.

Financially inKleined reader Rose King recently let me know about a fascinating article that lists 25 improv tips that entrepreneurs can use to make and keep strong business relationships.

Give it a look; you might learn something before you go to that next Chamber Mixer.

Minority Business Opportunity Day

Southern California's largest, nonprofit advocacy organization for minority-owned businesses, the Minority Business Development Council, is holding an important event on Feb. 24 in Industry Hills.

The 35th annual Minority Business Opportunity Day offers small and minority businesses "access to corporate representatives, seminars and workshops featuring procurement professionals from major corporations and organizations, networking opportunities at the business opportunity exhibit fair, and more."

The event, held at the Pacific Palms Conference Resort, will include a panel discussion on how to do business with major automakers featuring procurement executives from Nissan North America, Hyundai Motor America, American Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Sales, USA.

Information and registration is available online.

Hard to Believe

If you aren’t on the Internet these days as a business, it's almost like you don’t exist.

So how is it possible that so many small businesses are still missing the technology boat?

According to the Network Solutions Small Business Success Index, only 50% of small businesses have a website, their online advertising activity has declined by 5% from a year ago and their search engine optimization strategies have declined by 6%.

Why do small businesses have an online presence at all? The survey says that the main reason for one-third of the respondents is to provide customer service. Two in 10 use online technology to get customer leads and 30% say they are trying to build their business’ reputation.

Small business owners who are scratching their heads about why their cash flow is poor or it costs them so much to find new leads should take a look at this data and see if they have some major catching up to do.

Feast or Famine

This is the rhythm of the freelance life.

After 21 years of self-employment, I've learned that work begets work and vice-versa. One on-hold project turns into another and the downward slide begins. Suddenly, you think about using all your free time to tackle that book you always wanted to write.

And then, assignments start trickling in, the snowball starts rolling, and suddenly, you're piled on two weeks before a busy holiday season.

You learn to roll with it, and be thankful. The upswing always feels better than the downturn.

If, as I've always contended, my work load is something of an early indicator of the economy, things are definitely looking up for 2011.

That book will just have to move over to the back burner yet again. One of these years.

Your Mug Shot

Have you posted a picture of yourself on LinkedIn and Facebook?

If not, you should. So says a savvy woman and long-time source of mine, PR consultant Linda Hamburger.

Linda wrote me this:

No one cares if you’re a pretty face or not. But I’m starting to hear that people feel non-picture-posters aren’t as “trustworthy” as picture posters. Or, they wonder whether someone who puts up a cute surrogate is immature or has a reason to hide behind a façade.

You may feel a cute surrogate says something about who you are, but these on-line presences create our professional persona to the world. ... In truth, I like to know who is on the other end of the line. We don’t get a voice anymore, some people have terrible typos, why not at least give some sort of hint at what you look like?

Linda's advice echoes some I heard a couple of weeks ago from a Facebook expert. So get that picture uploaded! And make sure it's a professional portrait that puts you in your best light. (I've gotten some absolutely hideous head shots that I can't believe people actually want me to publish!)

Ice Creamery Says Thanks

One California small business shows how big an impact access to credit - made possible by the 90% loan guarantee in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the ARRA or stimulus bill) - can make.

Fleecing The Sheep

Aside from a televangelist addict with a pension, there's no one more vulnerable than a budding entrepreneur with a nest egg.

Worried about someone stealing your idea? You should be much more worried that someone will steal your money while you're pursuing your idea.

There are an abundance of crooks preying on folks who come up with new ideas. Patent scams, marketing scams, start-your-own-business scams - everywhere new entrepreneurs turn, they run into them.

And if they're not careful, rather than competitors, they'll bump into someone who'd love to take their funds before they have a chance to even invest in their businesses.

How to avoid being robbed - and profoundly embarrassed? Get educated. Be cautious. Do your research. Do not send anyone money in advance. For anything.

It sounds simple, but you'd be surprised how many bright people fall for dumb schemes. They're anxious to cash in on their great ideas, but they're more likely to stumble on the way to the bank.

Where Are the Women?

Yesterday, I was one of three women on a 15-member judges panel for the GSEA student entrepreneur awards at USC. It was an interesting and inspiring event, but the two other female judges and I couldn't help but notice that all six contestants were young men. The business school dean at USC apparently has a tough time getting women to sign up as business majors, let alone start companies in school and compete in rigorous, international contests.

Today at BusinessWeek, we feature an annual survey of the 25 most promising entrepreneurs under 25. I contributed by writing about how young entrepreneurs can get funding.

The slideshow presents an impressive and creative group, many of them former college roommates, but something stuck out as I clicked through the list. There is one - count 'em, ONE - woman included. And her business is a partnership with a male entrepreneur.

Every day, it seems, I get pitched about "mommy entrepreneurs" - women who have young children and decide to run home-based businesses to accommodate their families. That's wonderful, I'm thrilled for them, but I have to wonder why so few young women study business and start companies when it would be much easier and more logical: Before they have spouses and children!

It's sad for me, in this day and age, to see how sparse the participation of women is in the business world. I realize that entrepreneurship, in particular, is a big risk that takes swagger, self-confidence and - some might say - "balls." I just hope that's not literally true.