How Do You Define “Big Time?”

I named this blog and the accompanying webcast “Small Biz Big Time” for a few reasons.  First, it’s kinda catchy.  Second, the domain name was available.  Third, it’s descriptively accurate, in that social media is enabling small businesses to go beyond the borders and previously accepted parameters to achieve success.  Lastly, I like the idea of redefining both “Small Biz” and “Big Time,” because in today’s world, both terms are up for interpretation.

Let’s look at the phrase “Big Time.”

In our attention hungry, camera carrying society, it seems like so many of us are posturing and plotting for our 15 megabytes of fame (and the megabucks and book deal to go with ‘em).  Many people think that’s what the “Big Time” in “Small Biz Big Time” is all about.  But that isn’t necessarily so.  As I’m interviewing small business people for the show, I’m asking them to describe what “big time” is for them.  In other words, I want to know what ’success’ looks like to them.  Everyone’s definitions are different—and not what you might expect.

One common theme in the replies I’ve gotten thus far is “freedom.”   These small business owners place freedom high on their lists when it comes to defining success.  That’s why they’re drawn to the use of social media to grow their businesses.  Social media can be used on their terms, on their time, anywhere they are—as long as they’ve got Internet connection.

And they want to use social media tools to build their businesses in such a way as to have enough volume/revenue to be free to choose the projects they take on and the clients they will work with.  With social media’s potential reach, these business people see the opportunity to maximize their resources, so they can ultimately spend their time doing the part of their jobs that they love.

Also, these entrepreneurs consistently define “big time” as “more time”—more time to spend with their families, more time to create, more time to enjoy, more time to do the stuff they love.

So far, nary an interviewee has mentioned “be on Oprah” or “buy a yacht” as milestones on the journey to the “big time.”  Of course, if they had mentioned Oprah or a yacht, that would be okay, too.  Everyone’s “big time” is different.  But the great thing is, social media can help us all reach for our goals, our dreams, with a little help from our our connections, our followers, our fans—our friends.

Thanks!

Be Your Own Client

Blog – Social Media Business Strategies – Social Media Connection.

I have clients.  Clients have needs.  I meet clients’ needs.  That’s how it works in my world.

Yet it’s often a different story when I need to tackle projects for my business; “the cobbler’s children have no shoes,” I often joke.  The problem is typically two-fold:  (1) I’m so busy taking care of paying clients, I’m challenged to carve time for my own endeavors, and (2) it’s hard for me to get my head in the game when the effort is my own.

Earlier this year, I added new entrepreneurial endeavors (i.e.- “Small Biz Big Time” and my freelance copywriting biz) to my existing workload and immediately felt a little discombobulated—mentally disorganized, if you will.  If I could juggle the needs of multiple clients at one time, why were my own projects weighing me down?

One afternoon as I organized client files on my computer, I had a breakthrough.  Ding!  I realized “I” am the client, and I should have client folders for my own endeavors.

Mind you, I’d often stated that I was going to treat my projects like I would any other clients’.  I even had folders already set up.  But were they organized?  No!  I hadn’t followed up my statements with concerted action.  That afternoon, as I polished the file folders for “Small Biz Big Time,” I felt the new endeavor take its place in my brain.  Because I’m so attuned to servicing my clients and organizing their projects and information, I was quickly able to assign “my” stuff its rightful place on my priority list.

It’s common sense, I know.  But for me, this issue that’s often ‘easier said than done,’ became easier once I’d done something about it.

This truth is essential as you embark on the journey into social media for your business.   If you don’t take action to prioritize your own efforts, you’ll flounder to the point of exhaustion.  Maybe you need to write out your own business plan.  Maybe you should organize your file folders like I did.  Perhaps you could invest in some training to educate yourself on the tools you want to incorporate for your business.

If there’s anything I’ve learned this year, it’s that it’s always right to invest in myself and my business.  When the economic hiccup became a full-on groan, some of even my most loyal clients—for whom I could not have worked harder—had to pull back out of necessity.  The one constant in my career is me!

I’m my own client.  And I’m pretty easy to work with as long as the service is good…

Have a great weekend!

The World is Wide for Small Biz Big Time!

Blog – Social Media Business Strategies – Social Media Connection.

In my day job (a.k.a., my “pay job!”), I’m a copywriting, strategic planning, tactic implementing PR and marketing consultant.  Just this morning, I finished up some copy for a promo piece for a holding company, in which I was charged to convey the contrast of the company’s global knowledge and market-centric perspective , in a single paragraph.

A self-acknowledged “Word Nerd,”  I love assignments like that.  I love having to encapsulate grand thoughts in 50 words or less.  I’ve built a fun career on my ability to collect lumbering piles of (seemingly) disjointed information and synthesize them into useful, pertinent messages.  And when a message I helped create actually reaches somebody and motivates response, I couldn’t be more pleased.

As I wrote that copy today, it occurred to me that “Small Biz Big Time” is yet another chance for me to synthesize lots of information into practical, applicable messages.  That’s why I’m already loving this platform and the wonderful purpose of it.  I’m making it my mission to whittle through the inundating clutter and glut of information to carve out news-you-can-use and ideas-you-can-apply.

You are busy; let me help illuminate the pertinent messages for you!

To that end, I’m trying to put some skin on the whole topic of “social media for business.”  In other words, I’m focused on giving real life examples that personalize the  often cerebral and elusive discussions floating around on the Internet.

I’ve already got two Small Biz Big Time episodes in the video editing suite, each one featuring a small business person using social media in very relatable (yet very different) ways.  Trust me, I know your time is valuable, so please be assured; each episode will be well worth the 5 to 7 minutes you’ll spend watching.

Additionally, I’ve got even more great stories in the queue to pursue…stories of real people working in an array of industries (i.e. a B&B operator, an attorney, a teddy bear designer), all using social media to grow their businesses.  I’m so excited to tell these stories!

…And speaking of “synthesizing information”…

I’ve created my own “Alltop” page.  Alltop is a service that helps collect and organize information on “all topics” throughout the web.  Visit my page to find a vast collection of small business news, from respected blogs and magazines throughout the Web.

Small Biz Big Time’s Alltop Page!

http://my.alltop.com/smallbizbigtime

Happy Friday!

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