The StartUp Blog at PartnerUp

The extended outlook for small, family-owned businesses is bleak, particularly when it comes to transitioning between generations. Only 33 percent survive the initial switch from first to second generation; 12 percent make it to the third generation; and only 3 percent make it to the fourth generation or beyond, according to a Fortune Small Business article.

The problem is in the planning. The predecessors need to have a firm plan as to how the succession process is going to take place. You can’t just toss the keys to the next generation and cross your fingers that they’ll know how to drive. They need to go through intense training, and those who’ll be working under them need to feel as comfortable with the new management’s abilities as you do.

The blame doesn’t lie solely on the shoulders of the generation passing the baton though; it also lies on the shoulders of the one receiving it. Younger generations need to be able to roll with the changes. If the business model is outdated or doesn’t allow the business to reach its full potential, change it. The temptation is to keep the business completely intact, which is generally a good thing; you don’t want to lose what has made you successful. But adapting to and keeping pace with the changing times is necessary for all businesses.

Business ownership and adequate sleep do NOT go hand-in-hand, at least not for most people. Entrepreneurs spend most nights wide awake and worried with their minds racing, contemplating the many issues facing their businesses. Because of the current economic slump, small business owners are beginning to work even longer hours and worry more, according to a recent NFIB poll, which makes sleep deprivation all the more prevalent.

There are many entrepreneurs out there who like to boast about the minimal amount of sleep they need each night, but for the vast majority of people, research shows that seven to eight hours of sleep is optimal. Those who don’t get it tend to operate at a disadvantage.

This is all pretty widely-known, but what I found kind of interesting the other day is that 84 percent of entrepreneurs say they have developed business ideas or solved business-related problems WHILE they were sleeping, not as they lay awake in bed at night, according to the Wall Street Journal’s small business blog Independent Street. Knowing that you’re potentially doing some business-related problem solving while simultaneously giving your body some much needed R&R might make full nights of sleep a little more bearable for you worrisome entrepreneurs.

A great way to make the most of your sleep-working is to keep a pen and pad of paper next to your bed. When you wake up and your mind is flooding with ideas, start jotting some of them down right away. If you don’t, you will likely forget them soon after you get out of bed.

Hurricane Gustav gave Louisiana residents a bit of a scare over the holiday weekend. It was a haunting reminder of the devastation that Katrina brought just a few years ago. Though Gustav has now been downgraded to a tropical depression and was not as fierce as was expected, tropical storms Hanna, Ike and Josephine are currently picking up speed and making their way toward the Gulf Coast.

It’s weather like this that should prompt owners to take a look at their businesses and ask, “Is my business prepared for disaster?”

September is National Preparedness Month, and the U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is urging all business owners to expect the unexpected. Whether you’re dealing with hurricanes, floods, wildfires, earthquakes or tornados, natural disasters can cost you thousands or even millions of dollars in damages.

Though it’s tough to anticipate when and where disaster will strike, preparing for the worst and having emergency procedures in place are the keys to helping your business survive with minimal disruption.

Late in 2007, the SBA, in partnership with Nationwide Insurance, released a Disaster Preparedness Guide that helps small business owners cover all of their bases in preparing for disaster. It really is a great resource, so I urge all of you to check it out and start the planning process as soon as possible.

If your company hasn’t jumped on the social media bandwagon yet, then maybe this will give you a great big shove in the right direction. I recently came across some overwhelming statistics regarding the use of social media by online users on the Duct Tape Marketing blog.

The research, which was developed by Universal McCann, blew me away. I know that social media is highly regarded as a useful marketing tool, but I guess I never realized just how much it really reaches people. Here are some of the stats:

• 73% of online users read a blog
• 57% of online users join social networks
• 45% of online users have started a blog
• 83% of online users have viewed a video online
• 39% of online users subscribe to RSS feeds
• 36% of online users think more positively about companies that have blogs

Kinda crazy isn’t it? If you’re too cheap to institute any social media tactics of your own, or you think you just don’t have the time, then shame on you. You’re missing out.

New data released yesterday from analytics and billing firm Bango suggests that the United States may soon pass the United Kingdom as the top user of the mobile Web. According to a VentureBeat post, the United States holds nearly 19 percent of the world total, while the United Kingdom holds about 19.4 percent. In terms of growth, the United States is moving forward much more rapidly.

I’ve said it once before, and I’ll say it again, the mobile Web is where it’s all headed. So if you’ve been waiting to see if it will really take off, then you must have blinked somewhere along the way, because it has already taken off. I highly suggest you do some brainstorming and figure out how your company can get on board with the movement, that is, if you haven’t already. Adapt your Web site to the mobile Web. Advertise on the mobile Web. Just do what you can to take advantage of the growing number of people flocking to their cell phones to stay connected.

Having a point of differentiation that matters to a particular market is a critical marketing strategy. That’s why it’s essential to actively find and aggressively communicate to consumers what it is that makes you different

I read a great post by John Jantsch on Duct Tape Marketing blog the other day about the importance of establishing a point of differentiation between you and your competitors. According to Jantsch it’s “what sets the truly successful business apart from the businesses relegated to compete on price.” He goes on to talk about how businesses that compete on price alone don’t last long because there will always be someone “willing to go out of business faster than you.” So you have to be different from the status quo if you want to go anywhere but down.

The problem with being different is that most businesses think they’re different, but few actually are. You have to be willing to take a good, hard look at your company and ask what it is that really sets you apart. Do you add services to products or products to services? Is your sales process a little “out there?” Do you package your services differently? These are all things that Jantsch suggests you try to figure out. Find whatever it is that makes you distinct (or come up with something if there really isn’t anything there to work with) and then shout it from the rooftops.

I read a great post this morning on the Wall Street Journal’s small business blog Independent Street about social media. Basically it talks about the ways that some businesses are messing up their social marketing efforts. Though some small businesses are familiar with the Web 2.0 world, many still don’t fully grasp the concept and its impact. So I wanted to highlight two points from the blog post that I think can be applied to social media in a broad sense.

The first is that businesses need to lighten up—a lot. Social media is all about personality and creating a fun and engaging environment. So don’t bore your customers with “dry facts about your business.” The second is that promoting your business shouldn’t be the one, main force driving your social marketing efforts. Why? Because people aren’t stupid. They can see through the fluff, and if all you’re doing is blatantly selling yourself, people will be turned off. Instead, social media is “about making connections and creating credibility so that people will like you and trust you and eventually want to buy from you.”

So if you keep things fun, personal and all about your customers (not you), you’re in a good position to make social media work for you.

Ohio voters will decide whether or not to approve the Healthy Families Act on their ballots come November. The act, which will guarantee most full-time employees seven paid sick days a year, could cause Ohio to lose 75,000 jobs over the next five years, according to a recent study by the National Federation of Independent Business.

About 20 percent of those lost jobs would occur in small businesses that employ 20 or fewer employees, even though they are exempt from the mandate. Why? Because it would cause large businesses to cut jobs or reduce production, therefore hurting small business suppliers, according to researchers. Companies that don’t already grant at least seven days will also face up to 15 percent in increased labor costs. In the long run it could cost Ohio employers $1.17 billion in added bookkeeping and management costs and $9.4 billion in lost sales, the study said. The act could also force cuts in other employee benefits such as health care or vacation.

Last November, San Francisco voters approved the nation’s first mandatory paid sick leave law, which took effect last February. Today Ohio is the only state with such an act on its upcoming ballot, but several other states are looking into mandated paid sick leave. They include Connecticut, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Virginia.

Voters need to be weary of jumping on the paid sick leave bandwagon. It may sound nice to have seven guaranteed sick days throughout the year, but those days aren’t going to do you any good if you become one of the predicted 75,000 who lose their jobs in the process.