Google+ for Small Business
Technology That Can Help Your Business Grow!
February 29, 2012
9 am – 12 Noon

With only 20 spots for this hands-on workshop, we anticipate more demand than space.  Email or call Patricia Melton if you are interested.  Slots will be filled on a first come, first served basis, and then we’ll start a standby list.  See information below.

Google is the well-known search engine and leader in the Web advertising world, but if you haven’t already started seeing and hearing, they have recently launched a new service platform called Google+ and its Google relations, the +1 button, Direct Connect and Search Plus Your World. Together, Google+allows businesses share, promote and measure the building of relationships between the business brands and the people who care about them. In this seminar and workshop, you get the best of both worlds from Alexandria Small Business Development Center. First, Ray Sidney-Smith, president of W3 Consulting, a Web and digital strategy firm for Small Business, presents a strategic overview of Google+ for small businesses. Following the presentation, Ray will walk you through the steps to launch your own Google+ pages for your business. This event is not to be missed!

From Google+ Pages’ site:

Share

 

Different people are interested in different parts of your business. Whether it’s breaking news, updates, promotions, links, photos – even talking face-to-face with groups via easy-to-use video chat -Google+ lets you easily share the right things with the right customers.

 

Promote

 

Help word get around. Put the +1 button anywhere you’d like people to be able to recommend your business, products or services to friends and contacts all across the web.

 

Measure

 

How’s your page doing, and how could it do better? Google+makes it easy to learn more about how your followers’ interactions on your page affect your brand, and your business.

Bring your wireless-enabled laptop, netbook, or mobile tablet (e.g., iPad). The session will be held in our boardroom, located at 625 N. Washington Street, Suite 400.  Because we expect this to close out early, we ask if you register, please attend or let us know if you cannot, so others may have the opportunity!

To register, email or call Patricia Melton, SBDC Counselor, at 703-778-2960.

Enter the “Retail Parking” garage via Pendleton Street for free parking.

______

Related articles

• Upcoming Events at the Alexandria SBDC (alexandriasmallbusiness.com)

Google+ for Your Small Business [event] is a post from Alexandria Small Business

Do you need Small Business assistance to start, manage or grow your company/organization? Please visit Alexandria SBDC and contact them to set up a meeting with one of their Small Business experts. Tell them AlexandriaSmallBusiness.com sent you!

Non-competition agreements, or non-solicitation agreements, are generally clauses within employment agreements which limit employees’ ability to enter into employment or to start a business which competes with a former employer.  Under Virginia law, non-competes (sometimes called or written plainly “noncompetes”), though viewed as a restraint of trade, are enforceable if the three prongs of the non-compete–time, geography and function–are properly limited.  The non-compete terms should be broad enough to protect the employer’s business interests, but not so broad as to prevent the employee from earning a living and should not violate public policy.

Many times the focus on non-compete agreement terms fall on the time and geography prong.  In November, the Virginia Supreme Court squarely refocused the discussion on the function prong of the non-compete.  In Home Paramount Pest Control v. Shaffer, the Court reviewed a non-compete agreement that it had approved 22 years ago in Paramount Termite Control v. Rector.  This time the Court declared that the function provision, which the company had not changed in the ensuing time, as overly broad and the entire agreement as unenforceable.

The Court held that the language which stated that the former employee could not engage “directly or indirectly. . . in any manner whatsoever in the carrying on or conducting the business of exterminating, pest control, termite control and/or fumigation services as an owner, agent, servant, representative, or employee, and/or as a member of a partnership and/or as an officer, director or stockholder or any corporation or in any manner whatsoever . . .” was not reasonable because the clause effectively prohibited the employee from holding any type of job in the industry.  The reasonableness of the time and geography prongs were insufficient to save the agreement.  Under the Home Paramount, if a business wants to preclude an employee from performing any work for a competitor, then it must be ready, willing and able to prove a “legitimate business interest” to do so. That’s not necessarily an easy task.

So, to ease the process for small businesses, now is the time to review any non-compete clauses used in your business.  Be wary of non-competition agreement forms or templates.  What terms are permissible in a non-compete clause in Virginia may not work at all in California – and vice versa. Terms permissible 20 years ago or even 6 months ago  in Virginia are no longer workable.  Court decisions over time can and do change the law.  The laws of individual states evolve over time and the laws of each state differ.

All three prongs of the non-compete must be appropriately limited, reasonable and related to the position in question.  The function prong cannot be so broad that it effectively precludes the employee from performing any job in the industry from CEO to janitor or even from owning stock passively in a multinational, publicly held corporation.

—

Law Office of Paula Potoczak

218 N. Lee St., 3rd Floor

Alexandria, VA 22314

703-519-3733

Non-Competition Agreements for Small Business: Not Too Broad or Too Narrow, But Just Right is a post from Alexandria Small Business

Do you need Small Business assistance to start, manage or grow your company/organization? Please visit Alexandria SBDC and contact them to set up a meeting with one of their Small Business experts. Tell them AlexandriaSmallBusiness.com sent you!

Join us for the second in an interactive series of START, MANAGE, GROW your business workshops for federal contractors.  Workshop # 1 gave you the top 10 proven activities you need to do to obtain federal business.  In this workshop, Federal Contracting Consultant John Boulware will provide suggestions on how service providers can conduct Federal business development activities.  He’ll give service providers tips on how to identify Federal opportunities and how to get meetings with government staff.  He’ll also discuss reasons why some development efforts for services fail. He’ll also identify critical actions you shouldn’t do when seeking a federal contract.

REGISTER NOW

This FREE federal contracting SMART, MANAGE, GROW your business workshop is sponsored by the Alexandria Small Business Development Center and the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership.

Join us at for two hours of interactive programming in our new office Board Room, 625 North Washington Street, Alexandria, VA beginning at 9:00 AM.    Learn federal contracting from someone who has seen it all through 23 years federal teaming and subcontracting experience.  John expects you to bring your questions!

Federal Business Development and Marketing for Service Providers (Event) is a post from Alexandria Small Business

Do you need Small Business assistance to start, manage or grow your company/organization? Please visit Alexandria SBDC and contact them to set up a meeting with one of their Small Business experts. Tell them AlexandriaSmallBusiness.com sent you!

Here are some categories that might spark your creative juices about victories in your business:

1. Have you recently closed a big deal with a potential client or returning client? What was the process you adhered that led to the sale?
2. Did you weather the down economy and now you’re seeing an uptick in the revenue of the business?
3. Were you recently surprised by a note of gratitude from a past or current client?
4. As others have covered in the past, customers who have problems with your business can actually be beneficial. Have you had a customer service experience where you’ve been able to save the day after you’ve made a mistake?
5. Did a client return to your business after having a bad experience with a competitor?

What have you accomplished by owning your Small Business? In the Comments section below, let us know what you have accomplished by owning your Small Business.

Photo courtesy of Official U.S. Navy Imagery

What have you accomplished by owning your Small Business? is a post from Alexandria Small Business

Do you need Small Business assistance to start, manage or grow your company/organization? Please visit Alexandria SBDC and contact them to set up a meeting with one of their Small Business experts. Tell them AlexandriaSmallBusiness.com sent you!

Once you have reviewed the registration requirements, it is wise to see if there are any certifications for which you qualify that could give your business preference in the contracting process.  At the Virginia state level, SWaM (Small, Woman-owned and Minority) certification is available for most small businesses.  The application process is easier at the state level than at the federal level, so we generally advise small business owners to begin there.  Again, there are SWaM resources on our website to that describe the process and walk you through the registration and certification.

As indicated, the federal certification process is more complicated and the requirements for preferential contracting set-asides are more onerous.  Review the various programs through links on the SBDC website for the 8(a), WOSB, and other programs, described in detail on the SBAs website at www.sba.gov.  The Alexandria SBDC is ready to assist you in determining which program works for your company, and we can assist in the certification process.

Finally, once you have completed all registration and certifications requirements, you will need to work on developing government business.  This can be a time-consuming process, but there are certain “tricks and tips” that can assist you.  The Alexandria SBDC is offering a six-part series on Federal Contracting during the winter and early spring of 2012, so visit our website events page often, connect with us however you’d prefer (email, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or AlexandriaSmallBusiness.com) or contact the SBDC for more details.  We also offer inpidual business development counseling for both federal and state contracting to City of Alexandria businesses.

Related articles

• What Does the Alexandria SBDC Do – Our Services (alexandriasmallbusiness.com)
• Upcoming Events at the Alexandria SBDC (alexandriasmallbusiness.com)
• US Federal Contractor Registration Continues to Encourage Persistence Following Report on Trends in Small Business Federal Contracting (prweb.com)
• Are Government Contracts a Way UP for Women Entrepreneurs? (ventureneer.com)

Photo courtesy of Cliff

Small Business Federal, State and Local Government Contracting, an Overview is a post from Alexandria Small Business

Do you need Small Business assistance to start, manage or grow your company/organization? Please visit Alexandria SBDC and contact them to set up a meeting with one of their Small Business experts. Tell them AlexandriaSmallBusiness.com sent you!

If you have never been a business operator and owner before, a detailed yet succinct formal business plan is what you need to give you tracks upon which to run. This train, with each of its cars (sections), will be pulled by a strong engine from the departure platform directly to a successful destination.

If you are an existing business owner considering an additional office or another retail store nearby (or completely out of town), a modified business plan will be helpful as you consider the costs and sales ramp-up period involved to reach breakeven.

On the other hand, if you are an experienced entrepreneur and have been through the process a few times, a “mini-plan” may be all that will be necessary for you to move ahead and obtain financing, if that is necessary.

If you foresee that funding the project will involve a lender, investor(s) and/or a landlord, a Business Plan is mandatory. Write for your intended audience but always write the plan for yourself. This plan will be an individual creation different from any other and bear your personal stamp.

Now, let’s talk about exactly what is in a business plan and how it works to help you. It is comprised of five major sections:

1. Executive Summary;
2. Business Description;
3. Marketing;
4. Operations; and,
5. Financial.

In addition, there are sub-sections to the marketing and financial areas, cover page, table of contents and an appendix.

Contrary to what you may think, the Plan is not written in the order one may read it. The first section to complete is the Marketing section. This is the “engine” that drives the train and delivers the revenue you need to insure that your business can meet its cash flow requirements. The second section to craft is the Financial section with the project costs and performance projections spanning up to five years supported by written financial assumptions. When these two sections are considered to be in final form, you have completed about 80% of the hard work.

Finally, you are likely interested in how long it will take to finalize a business plan. You can anticipate it taking about 60-90 days if you work on it studiously and consistently. How long will it be? It will be anywhere from 30-40 pages (plus copies of tax returns for lender) dependent upon the audience for your plan. How does it affect the plan if it’s just for yourself? It shapes into a shorter and less wordy document. And, for a bank or other lender? Work on just the facts and prove the ability to service the debt. Lastly, for an investor(s)? Show returns over longer periods, concentrate on the return on investment (ROI) and exit strategy for the investor. You will find the task engaging and rewarding in many ways and glad that you took the time to do it right.

For more details on creating your business plan, visit Alexandria Small Business Development Center’s website or call us to schedule a meeting to discuss your needs.

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• Writing a Business Plan is Like Eating Broccoli (score.org)

Do I Really Need a Business Plan? is a post from Alexandria Small Business

Do you need Small Business assistance to start, manage or grow your company/organization? Please visit Alexandria SBDC and contact them to set up a meeting with one of their Small Business experts. Tell them AlexandriaSmallBusiness.com sent you!

Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has weighed in on the matter and is quite concerned about the stifling of individuals’ privacy on social networks like Facebook, Twitter and others. They are certainly the organization to watch as this movement by the US government and its agencies begins.

Who is the EFF?

(from their website’s About page)

From the Internet to the iPod, technologies are transforming our society and empowering us as speakers, citizens, creators, and consumers. When our freedoms in the networked world come under attack, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is the first line of defense. EFF broke new ground when it was founded in 1990—well before the Internet was on most people’s radar—and continues to confront cutting-edge issues defending free speech, privacy, innovation, and consumer rights today.

What are the implications for Small Business?

In a word: tremendous. Businesses are just learning the power of Social Search, using social networks and social media to conduct market research and find their customers on the Web, as well as the benefits of content marketing, using social media to engage with their target audience through content. If people become reluctant to speak comfortably about themselves on the Web, Social Web content will decline and the real-time, real-world experiential knowledge Small Business was garnering from their target audience diminishes in value. Additionally, that means that businesses will draw back adoption of content marketing strategies, which will leave a struggling economy in limbo about how businesses can generate consistently new clients. All this doesn’t even take into account how the FBI will use this data in taking actions against businesses with their data.

So, it seems like we’re on guard and alert that changes are on the horizon for Social Media and how Small Business can depend on content marketing as the next generation of marketing strategy. Summarily I think we, as business owners, should pay attention and not change our plans based on this one announcement, but don’t be afraid to change as the tide does. If you’d like to read the original article from New Scientist, it’s a good background on the matter. And, in the words of the British propaganda poster (which has seen a revival, albeit in the commercial sense), Keep Calm and Carry On.

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Small Businesses Are on Alert, FBI Is Watching Social Media is a post from Alexandria Small Business

Do you need Small Business assistance to start, manage or grow your company/organization? Please visit Alexandria SBDC and contact them to set up a meeting with one of their Small Business experts. Tell them AlexandriaSmallBusiness.com sent you!

Upcoming Events at the Alexandria SBDC is a post from Alexandria Small Business

Do you need Small Business assistance to start, manage or grow your company/organization? Please visit Alexandria SBDC and contact them to set up a meeting with one of their Small Business experts. Tell them AlexandriaSmallBusiness.com sent you!

CNN‘s Tom Foreman explains in the network’s “Explain it to me” video series how the “presidential dash for cash” (in political parlance, campaign fundraising) laws and strategies work in simple terms. While watching the video, I realized that much of this is counter to Small Business financing and funding. Primarily, the subject of access to that capital to start or expand a Small Business. In campaign fundraising, as Mr. Foreman explicates, you can raise your own funds just like most of us who began our own businesses, but with presidential campaigns you can also choose to get matching funding from the federal government. We mere mortals do not get this preferential benefit if we go to the federal government and tell them we’d like to start a Small Business. Something mostly understood is that most funding for these presidential (and likely Congressional) campaigns come from a limited number of large donors and less of the funding comes from small-dollar donors. However, in Small Business, we have more opportunities than ever to find funding in creative ways since most small businesses can start with less than 5,000$ in capital (although 10,000$ is the average amount spent and asked for in small business loans).

If you’re looking for funding for your startup or expanding Small Business, don’t follow the norm by looking solely to financial institutions (and don’t leave them out of the funding portfolio either!) and borrowing money from family and friends (who more and more because of the economic downturn are weary to invest in new ventures). Here are a few resources for Small Business capital resources:

• Crowdfunding: this is a relatively new concept, where you can ask many people to held invest small amounts to a larger loan amount (keeping their risk and your interest payments low); there are sites like MyMicroInvest.com and Prosper.com but there are many more players out there (so do your due diligence to make sure the sites are legit);
• Bartering: the age-old concept of bartering with other Small Business owners here in Alexandria and the surrounding area is alive and well; learn more about bartering at the International Reciprocal Trade Association website; and,
• Sell your Accounts Receivables: not a new concept either, it’s mostly unknown to expanding small businesses; if you have a healthy Accounts Receivable and are looking to grow your business, there are businesses that will help you do what is technically known as factoring.

Do you have other resources for finding capital for your or fellow small business? Post them in the comments!

Related articles

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• Crowdfunding for Small Businesses with Lucky Ant (swipelyworks.com)

Presidential Campaign Fundraising Has Little in Common With Small Business Financing is a post from Alexandria Small Business

Do you need Small Business assistance to start, manage or grow your company/organization? Please visit Alexandria SBDC and contact them to set up a meeting with one of their Small Business experts. Tell them AlexandriaSmallBusiness.com sent you!

I can say it better than them on their main page, so here’s what it says about each aspect of the campaign:

Think:

• Your local businesses give back more to the community.
• More of your dollars stay in the community.
• More jobs stay in the community.

Shop:

• You can find anything you need locally.
• You develop relationships locally.
• You can find affordable prices in our community.

Buy:

• For every $1 spent at local businesses, 45¢ is reinvested locally. Non-local purchases keep, at most, 15¢ in your local community.
• Local businesses value, respect and appreciate your patronage.
• More tax dollars go to schools and roads in your community.

Local:

Join the movement! Take the pledge to show your support: “I pledge to THINK first of my local economy, SHOP first at my local businesses, and BUY first from local companies who give back so much, in so many ways, to my community.”

So, if you know a retail small business in Alexandria that hasn’t joined, please suggest it to them and to have them spread the word to other retail small businesses. And, if you’re a small business in Alexandria, why not patronize your retail small businesses for products you need for your company? It can only help the local economy and the small business community in the City of Alexandria!

Related articles

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• EVENT: Every Word Matters in Business (Tues, 2/7/12) (alexandriasmallbusiness.com)
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• Sustainable Local Food & Fun (eatdrinkbetter.com)
• Adventures in Retail (smallbizdaily.com)

Think. Shop. Buy. Local. Join the Movement, Small Businesses! is a post from Alexandria Small Business

Do you need Small Business assistance to start, manage or grow your company/organization? Please visit Alexandria SBDC and contact them to set up a meeting with one of their Small Business experts. Tell them AlexandriaSmallBusiness.com sent you!

January 26, 2012

10:15 – 11:15 am

Get a fast, free web browser!  The web browser is arguably the most important piece of software on your computer.  You spend much of your time online inside a browser: When you search, chat, email, shop, bank, read the news, and watch videos online, you often do all this using a browser.   Chrome is designed to be fast in every possible way.  It’s quick to start up from your desktop, loads web pages in a snap, and runs complex web applications fast.  Chrome’s browser window is streamlined, clean and simple, with features designed for efficiency and ease of use.  It can help keep you safer and more secure on the web with built-in malware and phishing protection, auto updates to make sure the browser is up-to-date with the latest security updates, and more.  Google Chrome OS is a Linux-based operating system designed by Google to work exclusively with web applications.  It’s aimed at users who spend most of their computer time on the Internet.  Reduce your IT headaches and save money on software.  What’s not to love?!

Hear W3 Consulting President, Ray Sidney-Smith extol the virtues of Chrome and Chrome OS in this free, one hour Webinar.

To register, go to: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/617061273 or call 703-778-1292 for more info.

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EVENT: It’s a Web Browser! No, It’s an Operating System! Wait, It’s Both!? (Google Chrome and ChromeOS) is a post from Alexandria Small Business

Do you need Small Business assistance to start, manage or grow your company/organization? Please visit Alexandria SBDC and contact them to set up a meeting with one of their Small Business experts. Tell them AlexandriaSmallBusiness.com sent you!

February's Brown Bag Workshop Speaker, Eliza Dolin - Ivy Quill Communications

Come to our February Brown-Bag Lunch event and hear an upbeat, educational presentation about why good writing matters to all businesses – particularly small ones! These days, clear communication — whether in website copy, emails, memos, or newsletters — is more important than ever in achieving your business success.  Communications consultant Eliza Dolin of Ivy Quill Communications, LLC, will explain the reasons why, identify the causes of and cures for ineffective business writing, and offer tips that will help your business thrive.

Register today!

—

Join other small businesses at the monthly Brown-Bag lunch series of START, MANAGE, GROW your business sponsored by the Alexandria Small Business Development Center and the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership who are committed to helping small business thrive in Alexandria.

Free of charge, and held monthly in our boardroom located at 625 N. Washington Street, Suite 400 from noon until 1PM, business owners are invited to bring their lunch, network and learn nuggets of knowledge from experts.  A Q & A session will follow each presentation and we’ll get you back to your business promptly @ 1PM!

EVENT: Every Word Matters in Business (Tues, 2/7/12) is a post from Alexandria Small Business

Do you need Small Business assistance to start, manage or grow your company/organization? Please visit Alexandria SBDC and contact them to set up a meeting with one of their Small Business experts. Tell them AlexandriaSmallBusiness.com sent you!

Alexandria Small Business Development Center (SBDC) is Alexandria’s economic development program totally focused on small businesses. It’s those small businesses that comprise the largest segment of Alexandria’s economy, but we know their potential is often hindered by lack of information or expertise. When Alexandria SBDC’s services help businesses solve problem, overcome obstacles, link to resources and find new opportunities, Alexandria’s economy is strengthened. With that in mind the City of Alexandria, the U.S. Small Business Administration and a number of private sector sponsors provide funding so that all Alexandria SBDC services are provided without cost.

The services of Alexandria SBDC fall into three categories to correspond to business needs at each stage – START, MANAGE and GROW.

START

• Instruction on steps to follow to start a business
• Individual guidance on concept feasibility, business plan preparation and financing
• Introduction to lenders
• Referrals to attorneys, accountants and resources for site selection
• Help with City and State regulatory issues

MANAGE

• Cash flow management (every business needs to monitor!)
• Referrals to attorneys, accountants, human resources specialists and other experts to solve problems or improve operations
• Strategic / expansion planning
• Tax / regulatory planning
• Marketing / networking strategies / social media
• Business education programs on all aspects of management, operations, human resources, marketing, branding and specialized training for retailers, restaurateurs and government contractors
• Research resources

GROW

• Access to loans and investors
• Business education programs in areas of government contracting, e-commerce, international trade, and issues of fast growth
• Introduction to key resources for expansion planning, business valuation or selling a business
• Networking / marketing opportunities / social media
• Research resources

With many years of experience, Alexandria SBDC staff responds quickly and can recommend solutions to problems and link businesses to the most effective resources. Savvy entrepreneurs describe Alexandria SBDC as the number they keep handy for times when they run into a problem or need an objective sounding board. They also describe the SBDC’s monthly business education programs as opportunities to pick up “nuggets of information” and continually improve their approaches.

The key message is that Alexandria SBDC offers individual and confidential assistance without cost to City of Alexandria businesses and Alexandria residents with businesses elsewhere. Get more information at www.alexandriasbdc.org or 703-778-1292.

Related articles

• Alexandria SBDC – 15 Years of Serving Small Businesses (alexandriasmallbusiness.com)
• SBA Program Helps to Bridge the Small Business Gap (johnlizotte.com)

What Does the Alexandria SBDC Do – Our Services is a post from Alexandria Small Business

Do you need Small Business assistance to start, manage or grow your company/organization? Please visit Alexandria SBDC and contact them to set up a meeting with one of their Small Business experts. Tell them AlexandriaSmallBusiness.com sent you!

While I can’t speak for all small business entrepreneurs, I remember my first business and how  as the author describes it as “similar becoming a parent for the first time.” He was able to see his father in action, even worked alongside him. I didn’t have the opportunity to have a entrepreneurial dad (as I was raised for significant portion of my life by my beloved mom) and when my mom and step-dad started their first entrepreneurial endeavor it was after I had already been in business several years. I was not ready for the journey I set out on that first venture, but somehow by grace I was able to make it successful and I learned from my mistakes, good luck and perseverance. My point is to the entrepreneurial parents out there reading this, your children will benefit from you introducing them to the why’s and how’s of starting and managing your small business.

And, speaking of the business start-up phase, for any of you who have been through it, you know how much you must pour into the company in those early days. It’s not just money; neither only time. In my mind, it’s always analogous to a railroad track unfinished with a locomotive barreling down the path. You’re the one who needs to source the track, lay the track and make sure everything’s secure before that locomotive reaches, but in essence with a small business you’re never quite done laying that track. All that said, it’s an intensely joyful process once you learn the ropes, get better with your hammer (be that sourcing your products, or getting that additional certification to woo customers to your service) and the locomotive stops to pick up passengers (i.e., vacations and those “golden goose” client sales moments).

Did you have an entrepreneurial parent growing up? What did you learn from them? Or, as an mom-preneur or dad-preneur, what do you expect to impart to your child/ren?

Related articles

• Entrepreneur’s Corner | Ten reasons why small businesses fail (ellousa.wordpress.com)
• Details on New Small BusinessUSA.gov (bjconquest.com)
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• New and Improved Social Network for the Small Business Community Launched by the Small Business Bonfire (prweb.com)

Photo courtesy of KellyB.

What He Learned From His Small Business Entrepreneur Dad is a post from Alexandria Small Business

Do you need Small Business assistance to start, manage or grow your company/organization? Please visit Alexandria SBDC and contact them to set up a meeting with one of their Small Business experts. Tell them AlexandriaSmallBusiness.com sent you!

I couldn’t believe it with my own eyes. I was looking for a way to give context to Facebook and a good overview to start developing a Social Media business marketing strategy with Facebook as one aspect of it. So, I used Google’s “define” search function for “Facebook” and, lo and behold, Dictionary.com had an entry, and as you can see from above, it’s pretty accurate for consumers. The external social networking service founded by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004 generally captures the people-spying-on-people mentality that pervades much of social networks. However, there’s more to the Social Media platform than meets the eye for businesses, and I’ll be blogging regularly about the many facets of the global social networking juggernaut. First, I’d like to just give a few definitions to cover some of the regular terms that define Facebook for small business.

PROFILES
The bottom line as to whether you use a Profile or Group for your business’ Facebook presence: never. I know that some will relent and give me all the reasons that their particular reasoning for using their Profile or a Group that they’ve set up for their business is better than setting up a Page. And, some will not that Facebook themselves made Pages as a second thought for businesses. My hope is that by explaining some key features of Pages and key disadvantages of Groups and Profiles, that you’ll go ahead and take the effort to launch your business’ Facebook Page in the not-too-distant future and then try to do away with your other Facebook presence as soon as practicable.

GROUPS
Facebook Groups are wonderful tools but for small communities within Facebook, such as committees, focus groups, boards, and groups of friends. Although it may be tempting to create a Group because you’ve heard of the few “advantages” over Pages, we highly dissuade you from thinking this is true. While you can send messages directly to members of groups, member engagement is higher in groups thanks to generally smaller size, and the discussion thread feature set, Groups are missing the core extensibility of Pages–Applications, analytics and Web coding functionality. Over time, Facebook engagement will be completely about the functionality of your Pages as much as they are about the content you offer.

PAGES
Facebook Pages are the de facto home for businesses and brands on Facebook. Every business should stake their claim to their Facebook Page (especially if you have a retail location). Facebook Ads and ad networks allow you to direct traffic to Facebook Pages, you can have unlimited fans following your Page, and users associate Pages with companies they like and trust. Every business’ marketing needs are different on Facebook, so research your target market well in a variety of Social Media before leaping in headfirst.

Facebook, no matter how you define it, is a commitment to Social Media that warrants close and careful contemplation. There’s no question that your target market is there; with 600 million users and counting, everyone’s target market in the United States is likely there. But, will they pay attention to your brand message while engaging on the platform? That’s the question you have to ask.

—

Still have questions? Ask them in the comments and I’ll be happy to post video responses to my Vimeo account and post them here in the Comments for you.

Facebook, Defined for Small Business is a post from Alexandria Small Business

Do you need Small Business assistance to start, manage or grow your company/organization? Please visit Alexandria SBDC and contact them to set up a meeting with one of their Small Business experts. Tell them AlexandriaSmallBusiness.com sent you!

The following is a sampling of the SBDC’s impact over the past 15 years:

• Over 3,000 businesses helped
• 19,000 hours of assistance provided
• $57 million in new loans facilitated
• Over 5,000 jobs created or retained
• Approximately 150 businesses averted failures as a result of SBDC guidance -

· Over 80 regained stability after 9/11 and Hurricane Isabel
· 70 were strengthened during the economic downturn of 2007 – 2009

Not quantified in the statistics above is the SBDC’s influence on fewer business failures, less costly mistakes by inexperienced entrepreneurs, more efficient business starts, easier navigation through regulatory processes and the commerce stimulated through SBDC referring businesses to attorneys, accountants, bankers, business organizations and other businesses for teaming or supplier relationships.

The SBDC, originally affiliated with The George Washington University and then with the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce from 1999-2010, is now hosted by the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership (AEDP). It is co-located with AEDP and the Alexandria Convention & Visitors Association in their new Partners for Economic Growth suite at 625 North Washington Street.

The dedicated staff of 3 full-time and several part-time specialized consultants offers individual guidance in such areas as startup ventures, financial management, loan proposal assistance, business and expansion planning, tax/regulatory planning, business best practices, government contracting, and enhanced retailing.

While the Board of Directors and staff of the Alexandria Small Business Development Center celebrated 15 years of accomplishment, their focus is on the future and reaching more of the City’s small businesses. Refer any Alexandria small businesses that could benefit from business feedback and guidance to Alexandria SBDC.

Alexandria SBDC — 15 Years of Serving Small Businesses is a post from Alexandria Small Business

Do you need Small Business assistance to start, manage or grow your company/organization? Please visit Alexandria SBDC and contact them to set up a meeting with one of their Small Business experts. Tell them AlexandriaSmallBusiness.com sent you!

If you don’t know how, and you live or run a small business in Alexandria, Virginia, you can get some great assistance by joining the Small Business Bloggers in the Alexandria Small Business .COMmunity here at AlexandriaSmallBusiness.com. It’s not only a community blog about the great things that Small Business is doing in Alexandria, but the products and services they provide, and advice to start, manage and grow your Small Business in general from the folks over at the Alexandria Small Business Development Center in Alexandria, Virginia.

Photo courtesy of The Library of Congress

Have You Resolved to Blog in 2012? Small Business Bloggers Unite in Alexandria, Virginia. is a post from Alexandria Small Business

Do you need Small Business assistance to start, manage or grow your company/organization? Please visit Alexandria SBDC and contact them to set up a meeting with one of their Small Business experts. Tell them AlexandriaSmallBusiness.com sent you!