Money & Business
Small Business Watch: The Daily Grind of a Business Blogger; Running With the Alpha Dogs; Surveys Run Hot and Cold
It is one thing to suffer the trials and tribulations of starting a small business. But it takes a special kind of masochism to share those hassles and head-aches publicly with complete strangers. Yet that's just what 23-year-old Jason Duncan is doing with A Thought Over Coffee (http://forcoffee.blogspot.com/) , a blog devoted to documenting his attempt to start an artsy coffeehouse in Bozeman, Mont.--or, as he puts it, "my journey through the dreaming and planning of Cafe Evoke."
As more and more coffee lovers and small-business owners stumble across the online diary, it is serving as a gathering place for an informal advisory-focus group. "I get a ton of great feedback," Duncan says. And right now he'll take all the help he can get as he struggles to turn his business plan--originally a college project at Belmont University in Nashville, from which he graduated last spring--into reality. It hasn't been easy. His Small Business Administration loan fell through ("I found out that banks don't want to lend you money if you need it"), forcing him to borrow dough from his father, a financial planner. He has also had trouble finding a location for Cafe Evoke but maintains that he's still on track for a March opening as he also works a full-time customer service gig. His main piece of advice for other entrepreneurs can be summed up in the tag line that he uses for all his blog posts: Be bold.
Running With the Alpha Dogs
Have time to pursue an M.B.A. to improve your business acumen? If you don't, there are worse stopgap measures than picking up a copy of Alpha Dogs: How Your Small Business Can Become a Leader of the Pack by Inc. contributing editor Donna Fenn ($25, Collins). It's a practical book that explains how eight successful entrepreneurs cleared hurdles and grew their businesses. For Zane's Cycles in Branford, Conn., the answer was "seducing" its customers with great service such as giving away parts that cost less than a buck. For Amy's Ice Cream in Austin, it was establishing a "hometown claim" by being a good citizen and locating in neighborhoods. Remember, a good product or service is only a start. As Trish Karter of the Dancing Deer Baking Co. in Boston says, "Anyone can make a great cookie. It's all the rest of what it takes to build a team and deliver a great quality product 52 weeks a year while staying profitable that's challenging."
Surveys Run Hot and Cold
Now's a good time to be running a small business. Or maybe it isn't. Democrats on the House Committee on Small Business say times are terrible. The third-quarter update to their small business index showed conditions at an eight-year low. The group blamed the drop on "several factors, including rising energy and healthcare costs, skyrocketing interest rates, and reduced business confidence." The National Federation of Independent Business's most recent member survey, however, found optimism climbing, with more business owners planning on hiring this quarter. One problem with the House index is that it includes variables--like the federal budget and trade deficit--that may have little bearing on small business. (A spokesperson for ranking Democrat Nydia Velazquez of New York says the index tries to be "comprehensive." ) Yet, strangely enough, the index doesn't include tax policy, which Wachovia economist Mark Vitner contends is a key economic factor for entrepreneurs. With taxes low and the economy growing at a fast clip, Vitner says "it is unfathomable that small business would find this the worst environment in eight years."
This story appears in the December 12, 2005 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.
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