Small Business Labs

Touring Wisconsin's Artisans

The Boomtown blog has a great post on artisan tours in Wisconsin.  According to the post, in Wisconsin you can visit:

• 116 different artisan cheese producers
• 60 orchards
• 116 maple syrup boilers
• 26 small vintners
• 25 artisan brewers

It also turns out that Wisconsin produces over 95% of US ginseng root exports.  No word on how much Wisconsin ginseng root stays in the US. 

Artisan tours have grown in popularity across the US.  Many small towns, counties and regions use them as part of their economic development programs to raise awareness of locally produced goods.  They also promotes tourism.  The post mentions Handmade in America, a non-profit that:

"was founded in 1993 with a belief that economic revitalization wasn't necessarily tied to luring "modern" industry to the region but in making known the hidden heritage and craftspeople that are so vitally a part of Western North Carolina."

The growth of artisan tours is part of the broader trend towards locally produced goods, which is #5 on our top 10 small business trends list for 2008.

Picture from the Seattle Times.   

The Impact of the Recession on Coworking

Over the last couple of weeks we've been talking to people in the coworking community about the likely impact of a recession on coworking. 

This included a brief discussion on the Coworking Google Group, which is an excellent resource for keeping up with coworking and coworking facilities. 

A small majority of the people we got feedback from believe an economic downturn will be good for coworking.  The most common reason given is rising unemployment and fewer traditional job opportunities will result in more coworkers and more demand for coworking spaces.

A second reason we heard is a recession will likely result in companies reducing office space to save money.  As an alternative to company office space, employees will turn to coworking spaces for facilities and a social environment. 

A sizable minority felt the overall impact of the recession would be negative.  The most common reason given is there will be fewer opportunities for independent workers.  A second reason is coworkers will cut their costs in part by moving back home, or to coffee shops and other free spaces.

We agree with the majority.   In previous recessions small business formation increased.  And today it is much cheaper and easier to start a small businesses or become an independent worker, contractor or consultant than it was in the past.

Coworking facilities provide low cost, on demand space for independent and affiliated workers.  They also provide a social environment and a work community.  These features will be attractive in a down economy.   

The Atlantic's Redesign

At first glance The Atlantic seems out of place in today's fast media world of blogs, tweets and sound bites. 

Feature stories are long and complex.  It usually takes me several sittings to wade through an issue.  So I wasn't surprised when this month's magazine showed up sporting a major redesign. 

In a nod to our shorter attention spans they added several brief columns and brought back the bulletin oriented "Dispatches" section.  But the core of the Atlantic remains "its wide-ranging feature stories" (their words) that are in-depth and require time and focus to read. 

I realized while writing this post I'd never been to The Atlantic's website.  I visited to make sure they have one (they do) and get links for this post.  I glanced through the site, but quickly returned to the magazine.  And over the next week or so I will finish reading it. 

 

The SBA on Small Business Challenges and Opportunties

SBA Chief Economist Chad Moutray has released a working paper called Looking Ahead: Opportunities and Challenges for Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses.  The paper was prepared for presentation at a conference in mid-October. 

The purpose of the paper is to outline important issues facing small business owners and entrepreneurs and the policy issues the next administration will face. The key challenges Moutray outlines are:

1. Strengthening the overall economy
2. The impact of taxes and regulations on small business
3. The cost and availability of health insurance
4. Issues around attracting and retaining quality talent
5. Global competition

Moutray also discusses 5 broad small business sector opportunities:

1. Technology driven small business innovation
2. Economic gardening and regional development creating new jobs
3. Small business globalization and exports
4. Greater diversity among small business owners and entrepreneurs
5. Improved business education and training

As with all SBA research, the paper provides detailed footnotes and references to related data and information sources.  There is both a summary and full report. 

 

Spreading the Word About Inventions With Social Media

The NY Times has an interesting article on Microsoft researcher Johnny Chung Lee posting videos of his inventions on YouTube. The video of his work using a Wii Remote to convert a normal video screen into a virtual reality display with eye popping graphics has been seen by over 6 million people. 

Key quote from Lee on the role video plays:

“Sharing an idea the right way is just as important as doing the work itself,” he says. “If you create something but nobody knows, it’s as if it never happened.”

Inventors and researchers have been relatively slow in taking advantage of online collaboration tools.  They worry that their work and ideas will be stolen, and others will get either the financial or academic credit. 

But that is changing as inventors, scientists and researchers discover the benefits of online collaboration.  Sharing ideas, prototypes and data is a very powerful tool for testing concepts and creating new products.  Scientific American calls the trend towards more open collaboration in science and academics Science 2.0. 

As more researchers and inventors embrace online collaboration, potential commercial applications will be identified and developed more quickly.  The already rapid of pace of innovation will get even faster and lead to more opportunities for companies and entrepreneurs.   

Virtual World Murder

A woman in Japan has been arrested for "killing" the virtual world avatar of a man who divorced her avatar in a virtual world called Maple Street.  In the physical world the couple were not married and lived in different cities.

According to an AP story the women used the man's log information and password to delete her ex-virtual husband's avatar.  The man, upset at loss of his avatar, complained to the authorities.  The women has been charged with illegal computer access and faces possible jail time or fines.

While amusing, this story also highlights the growing role virtual worlds are playing. 

Online Trust in The Influence Economy

Ad Agency Universal McCann has released a study of online users called When Did We Start Trusting Strangers?  The report's conclusion is the Internet and social media have created "the influence economy" and fundamentally changed how consumers "source and share" opinions. 

The report says social media has gone mainstream and anyone can share their opinions to a broad, global audience.  It is also much easier for consumers to uncover and be influenced by these opinions. 

The report also highlights the growing clout of online opinions by people we don't know.  While friends and family still have the greatest influence, general consumer reviews and social media posts are increasingly considered trustworthy.  This survey finding led to the title.

We've seen similar results in our work on online trust.  Experienced and active online users consistently report being able to find trusted information online.  They also often point to consumer generated media sources as being trustworthy. 

While the report targets large corporations, our research shows that the same trends are impacting small businesses.  Small business customers are increasingly using online forums, reviews and recommendations as part of their research and purchase process.   

Local and Mobile Search Continues to Grow

According to a recent survey by TMP Directional Marketing, search engines have passed Yellow Pages as the first source Americans go to for information on local businesses. 

Overall Americans are almost twice as likely to start with online resources when researching local businesses than offline. 

Despite the shift to online, Yellow Pages and other local print directories are still valued by consumers.  86% of those surveyed have a print directory in their home and 90% of those consider it a valuable source of local business information.

Mobile search also continues to grow.  The survey reports 20% of consumers with Internet capable cell phones have used mobile search to access information on local businesses. 

With smartphone penetration rapidly growing (T-Mobile released the first phone using Google's Android operating system today) the local web will become an increasingly important source of information on local businesses. 

For more on the local web see our Connected World of Entrepreneurs research report.  For a shorter version see our Top 10 Small Business Trends page.

Creatives and Economic Development

A growing trend in local economic development is designing programs to attract creative professionals.  There is a growing view that attracting creative professionals leads to broader economic growth, increased entrepreneurship and more jobs.  The book The Rise of the Creative Class by Richard Florida popularized these concepts (click here for his blog). 

An interesting example of this comes from Chattanooga.  CreateHere Chattanooga is a "collective of programs, projects, incentive funding and individuals working for creative economic and cultural development in Chattanooga"

The projects include:

• mortage assistance for artists and entrepreneurs that move to approved in-town neighborhoods
• an artist grant program
• a resource center providing a range of small business and artist support services
• programs to create and build local artist and small business networks

Programs like this are becoming common as local economic development increasingly focuses on creating vibrant social communities and developing local businesses.   

Hip Hop and Entrepreneurship

The Economist profiles Russell Simmons, the founder of Def Jam records and widely considered the "godfather of hip hop" music.  A serial entrepreneur with a strong sense of branding, Simmons has created a number of successful businesses in music, apparel and financial services. 

According to Simmons entrepreneurship is consistent with hip hop because they are both "all about believing in your vision."  He has even written a book about entrepreneurship that focuses on being authentic and true to yourself called "Do You! 12 Laws to Access the Power in You to Achieve Happiness and Success.”

As the Economist reports, Simmons seems to have an "instinctive gift" for brands, branding and understanding the consumer.  He is very active in philanthropy and cause marketing.  Key quote from Simmons on delivering customer value:

"He contrasts his business philosophy with that of his friend, Mr Trump: “I believe what you sell should have a lasting happiness to it—unlike Donald, who believes you sell people whatever they want.”

I think this is the best one sentence description of the changes happening in consumer markets I've seen.