Monthly Archives: May 2014

Celebrate Small Business!

Just returned from talking to the Women Veterans Conference on starting a business. What a great group of interesting ideas and plans among the attendees! As we celebrate Small Business Week, here are some useful background details for your use.

There are 23 million small businesses in the US and 3/4th are solopreneurs. Small businesses generate 54% of all US sales and provide 55% of all jobs.

Studies show that entrepreneurs who want to build a company flourish in places that
– have plenty of other entrepreneurs already,
– provide extensive learning options, and
– offer inspiration.

Veterans own 9% of all small businesses and are more likely to succeed than people without military service. These 2.4 million vets have $1.2 trillion in revenue. Their success is built on three main advantages. They understand the need to think ahead but also that plans change or fall apart and you have to be flexible. They have dealt with diverse people and groups successfully. They are experienced in hard work and used to heavy demands common in starting up. A slightly higher portion of veterans build companies than go out on their own in comparison to civilians.

Women are the fastest growing group of new business owners. There are 9.1 million women who have $1.4 trillion in revenue. A higher portion of women are solopreneurs than build companies. New women owned businesses are growing at a rate of 1288 per day according to SBA figures!

Currently there are a wide range of organizations supporting efforts to help people become successful entrepreneurs. These include the Kauffman Foundation, AARP, and many others.

How are you using Small Business Week to grow and develop your own business? Are you celebrating it in any way with your customers or […]

Improve your Surroundings

There is interesting research about the impact of negativity in the workplace. Regularly negative people significantly reduce productivity and creativity of those who work with them.

Which leads to the question: Who is the most negative person you deal with regularly?

If you are like most small business or non-profit leaders, you do have someone in your organization or on your Board who is consistently negative. S/he might be someone with a classic negative reaction to all change or a personality that sees their world through dark lenses. We are not talking about those who sometimes offer negative opinions or are realistically reacting to tough situations. We are talking about consistently ‘negative nellies.’

Some negativity is useful. Such people can provide a realistic voice in many discussions. They serve as a check on those of us who have a ton of new ideas but no filters. They may be a part of your unspoken ‘risk management’ process even.

Still a consistently negative person, no matter how good they otherwise are at their role, takes a toll on those around them. And they infect others with negative responses. You must assess whether their value outweighs those aspects. And think quite clearly about how they influence or impact your own leadership.

Could you reduce or eliminate dealing with this person? Is it worth a frank discussion or is this behavior so consistent that perhaps replacing this person to save the rest of your organization is really needed?