Radio Free Enterprise

Recent posts have gone from monkey to donkey, and now I’m moving from TWiT to Twitter.

I am seriously investigating Social Networking as it relates to Small Business Marketing. I’ve been on LinkedIn for a couple of years and am now experimenting with FaceBook, MySpace and, most recently, Twitter.

As with all Social Networking tools, Twitter can be a little difficult to explain to those of us who were born before 1990.

In a nutshell, Twitter allows you to let everyone in your group of friends know what you are doing from minute to minute.

This may not sound appealing to those of us who feel the Internet age has left us naked from a privacy standpoint. Sadly, this is something that we’re all just going to have to accept and, in my opinion embrace, since the idea of personal privacy is not just going the way of the Dodo bird, it’s already long gone. And Twitter is less invasive than many other Internet information sources. What you post about your life and actions is up to you. You only need tell the people you want to tell, what you want to share, when you want to share it. Some people go crazy, posting info ever time they have a meal or leave the house. Puh-leeze resist the urge to do this.

Instead, look at Twitter as a great free tool to help stay top-of-mind with your sphere of influence. Twitter posts are short text messages (limited to 140 characters) which can include links back to your blog, website, ecommerce site, etc. which can also potentially increase your page rank on Google. I have just started “Tweeting” but intend to tweet every time I post something on my blog or do something else I think the folks following me will be interested in knowing.

Just for kicks, why not set up your own Twitter account and choose to follow my actions. I’ll do the same for you and we’ll figure out whether this thing has any longterm value together.

One of my favorite podcasts is TWiT, This Week in Tech with Leo Laporte.

Leo has a great radio voice (and years of “real” radio experience) and his ever-changing panel of thoughtful, funny guests makes for a very enjoyable listening experience. Frequent contributors include John C. Dvorak, Patrick Norton, and Jason Calacanis. He also often has surprisingly famous one-time guests like Steve Wozniak and Roger McGuinn.

Leo is constantly pushing the edge of the envelope when it comes to distributing audio and video content and frequently shares tidbits on how he does what he does. For example, he uses Skype to connect his panel from across the country and around the world in a real-time, relatively high quality production. He has also recently added live streaming video.

If you ever wonder how I stay on top of all the cool new tech products and services that I blog about, give a listen to TWiT. Every week you’ll learn about the latest happenings in digital video, social networking, blogging and podcasting - you name it.

You can subscribe via iTunes or just listen online via the TWiT website.

Hope you enjoy it - and don’t say I never gave you anything!

Last time it was monkeys, this time it’s a donkey (pronounced DUN-key if you’re Tony Kornheiser).

As someone who has seen his share of challenges over the past couple of years, I really appreciated the moral of this story of a donkey who fell down an open well. If you’re a believer in the power of persistence, you’ll love The Donkey Story.

We all encounter difficulties of one kind or another. But what really matters is not what happens to you, it’s how you respond.

In this story the donkey finds himself in a spot none of us would wish on our worst enemy - and then learns that the people he’s depending on to rescue him have decided to not only turn their backs, but actively make his situation much worse. His patient, creative and unexpected response is one for the ages.

The narrator is Alex Mandossian, an Internet Marketing guru whom I have followed for many years.

Give it a listen.

Yes, you read that correctly.

I’ll explain in a moment, but first a quick Economics lesson.

Economists talk about how every person, corporation - and living creature - arranges their affairs in the fashion that best suits them as part of what is called their Personal Utility Function. In other words your purchase decisions, choice of employment, food selections, etc. are based upon your personal tastes and beliefs regarding your likes and dislikes.

It has been shown that even an amoeba will move from a nutrient-poor environment to a nutrient-rich environment in pursuit of its own Personal Utility Function. But does that mean that animals engage in commerce? Read on and decide for yourself.

In this story from Time Magazine’s web site, researchers describe how female Indonesian Long-tailed Macaques engage in prostitution in exchange for grooming services from males. There is even a sliding price scale which reacts to the number of females available and other factors in the immediate environment.

I’ve often said that the Personal Utility Function aspect of Microeconomic Theory is almost a law of Nature. I guess the fact that monkeys are engaging in the world’s oldest profession proves me right.

I don’t know what makes Ulysses S. Grant an authority on family businesses, but this short animated video manages to impart some very important advice in a humorous format. Check it out!

Here’s a sweet business model for you: a cereal bar - and cafe.

Cereality is a Chicago-based company that offers a Starbucks-like experience for lovers of name-brand hot and cold cereals.

Nice tag line!

Though they only have five locations open so far, this is a company with plans for large-scale expansion through franchising and licensing agreements with universities, airports, theme parks and convenience stores. They also offer catering and an online store!

Cereality locations serve name-brand cereals like Cheerios and Cocoa Puffs in waxboard containers of the kind the local Chinese restaurant sends your Kung Pao chicken home in. You add the liquid of your choice from a dispenser and commence to crunch.

I can’t say whether Cereality is profitable or if the concept has the potential for long-term growth and sustainability. But, if the nearly century-long success of breakfast cereals is any indicator, you can expect to see one of their locations opening on a streetcorner near you sometime very soon.

I’m always fascinated by innovative model. Even when the idea is simply to apply an existing marketing method to a different industry.

That’s what I found when I discovered 1-800-CAB-RIDE.com. Basically it’s an online (and/or telephone) taxi reservation system. Kind of like what Expedia offers to airline passengers combined with a memorable phone number/web address like 1-800-FLOWERS.com.

The concept is simple, but powerful. And the combination seems obvious. Don’t know if they’re making any money but do know that they can now get you a cab in in more than 25 cities 24/7.

Read more about them in this article in USA Today.

Is there an aptitude test for entrepreneurs?

Many people have created tests which purport to tell you whether you have what it take to found and operate a successful small business. But I’m not sure how accurate they are.

My belief is that any human is capable of achieving practically anything, provided that they are sufficiently commited. As for necessary aptitudes, wow… I’m not sure a list that long is appropriate for a blog posting.

The Wall Street Journal’s StartUp Journal has a test that I took myself before sharing it with you. It measures your motivation relative to Achievement, Affiliation and Power. Fortunately, my primary motivation being Achievement aligns me with what the survey describes as “most entrepreneurial people.” Unfortunately, based upon my answers to their questions, I wasn’t terribly motivated by any of these factors.

My guess is that the way they phrased the questions didn’t really connect with me. I only “Strongly Agreed” with two statements and did not “Strongly Disagree” with any of them.

Take the test for yourself and see what you think. Then post a comment on your results.

Every business owner and salesperson has been told to perfect an “Elevator Speech” - 30 or 60 seconds of pith that succinctly explains what they do and why it’s great.

Entrepreneurs hoping to raise capital have been similarly encouraged to distill down the essence of their offering to just a minute or two if they hope to successfully connect with the short attention spans of venture capitalists and other investors.

But is that realistic? Can you really pitch an investor in 100 seconds or less?

Well, a couple of venture funds in New England have created Peak Pitch, to give the entrepreneurs trying to pitch them a few minutes of their undivided attention riding together on a ski lift or gondola during a couple of days on the slopes.

Sounds good to me! Just be sure you’ve caught your breath before you get on the lift!

How would you like your shop to be “The Official Small Business of NASCAR?”

Sound sweet? Well then you better get your application filled out and submitted before the March 31, 2007 deadline!

The winner of this year’s promotional contest will receive a $10,000 “makeover package” along with a visit from NASCAR driver Carl Edwards who, along with being the driver of the No. 99 Office Depot Ford Fusion in NASCAR’s Nextel Cup series is also a small business owner himself.

While winning this contest does bring a certain amount of publicity, I think the real benefit would be the bragging rights that would accrue to a true NASCAR fan at his or her next chamber of commerce meeting - and for the rest of their life among their homeys for that matter!

So, if you’re a small business owner and a NASCAR fan, don’t wait another minute,click on this link to learn more and find out how you can apply for your chance to win.