Business Strategy

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?

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.

Peter Whitehead, an editor with Financial Times Digital Business talks with Aongus Hegarty, Dell Vice President & General Manager SMB EMEA about IT planning for medium businesses. In this podcast, Aongus talks about how Dell works with small and medium businesses to plan long-term for technology, better manage their technology during times of growth, and protect valuable business data and information.

To access the podcast, click here and select the June 10, 2009 show.

This morning Dell shared with customers how energy-saving technology is more than environmental awareness but good business practice that can help run small and medium businesses more efficiently. Two Dell customers,  Earth Rangers and Robertson Homes, are great examples of the benefits of green technology. Read more about their stories below.  

Earth Rangers:

Earth Rangers came to Dell with a unique challenge: they needed a technology solution that would accommodate organizational growth and support new Web projects -- all while creating a green data center to match their vision for an environmentally sustainable building.  

Earth Rangers, an environmental education nonprofit based in Canada, is focused on building a green future by transforming today’s children into a powerful and determined part of a healthier planet.

With Dell, Earth Rangers reduced operation costs without sacrificing productivity. By creating a virtualized server infrastructure using Dell PowerEdge M600blade servers, Earth Rangers was able to accommodate 100 percent growth while saving 90 percent on data center space and 85 percent on energy costs.

“We’re proud that our productive data center is small on space and big on energy savings. With assistance from Dell, we have created a sustainable IT infrastructure that reflects our environmental vision and will ultimately help our organization inspire and teach even more children in the years to come.” Gordon Jekubik, chief operating officer at Earth Rangers.

6-8-09 Update: Check out the Earth Rangers and Dell case study for even more information.

Robertson Homes:

Robertson Homes, a green home builder in St. Cloud, Florida, worked with a green consultant to identify desktops and other systems at their business worth replacing due to the power savings and other business benefits. 

Several 4-year-old Optiplex 170Ls were replaced with eight new Energy Smart OptiPlex 960 desktops and one PowerEdge blade server, which reduced their energy bill by 51 percent. To find out more about the other green workplace strategies Robertson Homes has implemented, check out Leigh Stringer's Blog on the makeover.

“Since implementing Dell’s energy-efficient systems with power-management enabled, we’ve seen our energy costs reduced significantly with no impact to our productivity. Given our commitment to being a green home builder, we are grateful to work with a technology vendor that is helping us reduce our carbon footprint without disturbing our growth.” Clint Robertson, IT manager for Robertson Homes.