Small Business

While it might seem contrary, starting a business in a recession can actually be a good idea. With so many people getting laid off, people are struggling to find sources of income. Many with that entrepreneurial drive are starting new businesses.

Is it time for you to start a new business? Here are some questions to ask yourself:

• Can this type of business thrive in this economy? You know people aren’t spending on luxury items, so that pet spa idea might not be ready to bear fruit. But think about what people are spending money on, or how you could save them money with a business idea, and then you have a winner.
• Do I know how to start a business? It’s not necessary you know all the ins and outs of running a business, but starting one in a recession means you need to be better prepared than at any other time. Read some books on business, or take a class or two at your local community college. It’s important that you see beyond the idea to the accounting, hiring, marketing and labor that will go into your business. If you’ll have a retail or office location, overhead may be more than you originally guesstimated. Do your homework first.
• Do I have resources to help me? Resources might mean money or an organization that helps small businesses, like SCORE. Or maybe it’s staff. Is your husband willing to help you get started until you can afford to hire help?
• Do I truly want to start a business? If you’re just looking for a way to make some quick money, starting a business probably isn’t your best option. You might not even make money (most don’t for a few years; factor in the economy, and, well, you get the picture). But if you genuinely have passion for something, and are willing to put in the time and tears, by all means, get a plan and get going.

If you’re still reading, I’ll assume you found that you really do want to start that business. Start with a plan before anything. Figure out what kind of investment you need, how you’ll market it, who your customers are. Talk to others about the idea to see what they think of it. And most of all: good luck!

Recently on my blog on Sparkplugging.com, I wrote about customer appreciation. You know, making sure your customers know you think they’re all that and a bag of wasabi potato chips. But what about your contacts? Isn’t it just as important to let them know you care?

I’ve been blogging here on Dell’s Small Business Blog for a few months. I do it out of love of Dell and entrepreneurship. I don’t get paid. So imagine my surprise when Kara Krautter, who runs this blog, sent me a special thank you gift. Check out the video:

I was so excited. And it’s nice to be appreciated. So think about ways you can show your contacts you’re thinking of them. It doesn’t have to be a grand effort. Here are some ideas:

· If you’re on Facebook or Twitter, take the time to look over a contact’s page. See what they’re up to and comment on their page. Show that you’re paying attention.

· Send a Starbuck’s card. Even $5 will get a smile.

· Take someone to lunch. Who doesn’t love free lunch and good conversation?

· If you find a blog post or article that you think a contact will like, send it to them.

· Send a quick email just checking in. No motive.

· Send a handwritten letter or thank you card.

· Refer business to the contact.

As you can see, it doesn’t take much. Think about the things others have done to make you feel special. Care to share?

This morning, Dell announced a new portfolio of products and solutions designed to help companies of all sizes run IT more efficiently. One of these core technology solutions, and some might say the heart of an efficient infrastructure, is virtualization.

Its simplest definition is that virtualization increases server utilization so companies can use less hardware, in less space, and drawing less power – less everything – while scaling business up. And while virtualization is one of many possible “tools” in the “IT toolbox”, it is a cost-efficient, scalable solution for fast-growing midsized companies. And for small and medium businesses who want to deploy virtualization quickly, Dell now offers SMB Business-Ready Virtualization Configuration as a cost effective virtualization solution that cuts months off the planning and deployment timeline. 

Data Guard Systems, a software application service company for the cell phone retail industry, is one example of a Dell customer using virtualization to save energy, time and money.

Data Guard Systems CEO Tim Maliyil approached Dell with a challenge: how can we streamline our IT to handle business growth while also solving space, electrical and cooling issues? With Dell’s virtualization solutions – hardware, deployment services and software - Data Guard Systems was able to save more than $20,000 each month and now has a flexible IT environment that can scale with their customers’ seasonal demand.

“It’s made our lives very easy for the Christmas season, when we see our load increase 50-80%. When the Christmas season is behind us, we simply turn off those extra resources. Implementing virtualization, the immediate savings came by turning off additional, unused servers and saving electricity, but there were also efficiencies in human resources, a hidden benefit of the virtual infrastructure. Hard to quantify, but priceless to have our people use their time focusing on the future rather than maintaining the status quo.” -- Tim Maliyil, president and CEO, Data Guard Systems.

To hear the full Data Guard Systems story, check out the case study video below.

We’ve received some great feedback from our sales reps who told us their customers are looking for special financing for printers. Because we’ve never had special financing offers on printers, we took the opportunity to create an offer that we think our customers will find valuable.

“Maximize Your Pages, Minimize Your Payment” is an offer designed for our customers to receive a printer, upgraded warranty and one extra toner cartridge for one low monthly payment. Depending on the bundle purchased, this offer may save our customers anywhere from $73 to $819 off MSRP. This bundle provides small and medium businesses the latest printing technology, extra supplies and is backed by two added years of service. This should help put your mind more at ease when making this purchase for your business.

Special Printer Bundle includes:

• 0% 36 Month $1 Buyout Lease

• Dell Laser Printer (see bundles below)

• 36 Month Limited Warranty**

• (1) Extra Black toner cartridge

• $1,000 minimum order amount (before tax and shipping)

• Only printer bundles listed below are eligible for special offer

• Offer valid until July 31, 2009

If you’re wondering what printer solution might work best for your business, the Dell 2330 Laser Printer Series was recently awarded the Outstanding Small Workgroup Monochrome Printer from BLI. (Read more about the award on BLI’s site).

Dell continues to create smart financing solutions that allow our customers to get more for less. We look forward to getting your feedback here and on IdeaStorm, and we will keep you posted on any new developments.

While you may know your business inside and out, while it may be your baby, it can pay off to talk to someone else about what you’re doing.

For me, that person is my husband.

Whenever I am trying to figure out how to grow Egg or help a client with a new strategy, I talk to him. He has a different point of view and different skill set that helps me see beyond my nose. Inevitably I come out of our talks with great ideas I just didn’t see before.

So who do you talk to? It might be a co-worker, client, friend or family member. Make it informal, and even possibly away from work (over lunch, on a walk, etc) to get the juices flowing. Start by just talking about what’s going on, and see where it takes you.

When I talk to my friends about their businesses, I often have suggestions they’ve never thought of. The first is always: are you on social media? I find this to be a great way to build a brand, so it’s my biggest contribution to the conversation.

Don’t have anyone? Start a networking group to let local professionals (or you could do this online) ask questions about how they can improve their businesses. Many groups like this are called mastermind groups. Pick a topic each week, or a member, so that the group can focus on one area to help with.

Twitter’s a great place to get advice too. Just put a question out there and wait for the replies. I’ve gotten free technical advice as well as just people’s opinions about everything from blog posts to my website.

Where do you get your advice? Please share with us!