Joe Ryder, (a)g

I am fascinated by the ease of use and the response time with LinkedIn’s Answers section. People are really understanding that discussion is improving clout, that there is a value in being an expert. I will be asking some questions and posting a review of the results over the next few weeks.

Today’s question: What is the most common reason small businesses are not online? (Click for discussion stream)

When this question was asked to the LinkedIn crowd, there were almost 20 responses within 24 hours. Each had some specific insight, but most gave this list as an average response:

1. Cost would be too high
2. Not enough technical knowledge
3. Doesn’t know anything/enough about the web
4. Too much effort/time
5. Not enough return
6. Content with current or lack of internet presence

Another comment by Jobs2VA.com focused on the “local” mentality of small businesses with a localized target market. They don’t see the need for a web site if they are advertising only to local people.

All of these myths are wrong, and are being addressed in my book. But let us briefly go over each of these major issues:

Cost too high

Perhaps if what you need is a custom-built application that has never been done before, or some sort of huge infrastructure platform required by your industry. But most web tools and sites can be done with open source software that is free or cheap to license compared to major brand or proprietary systems. If you are willing to put the time in, you can do it yourself sometimes for free. But to make sure you have a site or web-based tool that will do something else than just sit there, you will want to hire a professional, even if that is a trainer who teaches you how to use your own web site.

Not enough technical knowledge

You, the business owner, may not need to know anything about a web site, especially if you have a designer that is worth his or her salt. A good designer or consultant can focus on you explaining what you do best, which they will try to complement or support with their own efforts. Some web solutions are visual, with no real technical knowledge needed other than the patience to sit and learn the interface.

Doesn’t know anything/enough about the web

This is an issue if you want a web site that will have an interactive function with your business. But it is easily resolved: get online. Sound simple? Interestingly enough, there are plenty of small business owners, from agriculture to construction, that have no desire to learn computers but know they should be online. All it takes is a few sessions on a library computer or a class at the local community college. In Southwest Washington State, there are community organizations, such as local community centers, that offer classes from local trainers, sometimes for free, as a way to educate the public on computer use.

Too much time/effort

Compared to sales and offline marketing, web sites take up a fraction of the time and, if planned right, takes less time to implement and maintain. Your execution of a web plan will fail if it has no foundation of planning.

A great example I like to give people is the concept of a “webraising”. This is a project event held at Art Institutes locations where local nonprofits are given a web site in a day (actually, 8-12 hours at most) by a team of students. Like barn-raising – the community comes together to build a barn, usually with a goal of building it in one day – the event focuses on how to work efficiently and clearly as a team. Most importantly, it teaches that you have to use the three weeks prior to the event for careful planning and contingencies, especially seeing as you don’t get to talk to the client until the day of the event.

This is a great example of time and effort paying off, but implementation taking very little in comparison to the horror, months-long stories of bad planning and broken communication.

Not enough return

This is typically something said by a person who doesn’t know what kind of return to look for. The most common variations of this are, “I don’t see results in traffic stats,” and, “My business hasn’t made sales.” Without going into the study of marketing too much, the truth is there is only as much return as you put into a campaign. You could do one small thing and get tons of traffic, or you could do a bunch of big endeavors and get very little. It’s the thought behind it that you are investing and that will determine your return.

Again, don’t waste your time in design. 70% of your campaign should be spent in planning, with 10% actual design time and 20% post-production evaluation and maintenance.

Carol Wilcox of Wild Dove Marketing in Phoenix quoted Henry Ford during the Great Depression: “A man who stops advertising to save money is like a man who stops a clock to save time.” Just because you don’t see an immediate return doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it. If there is buzz around others getting a return, it means there is something there to consider.

Content with current or lack of internet presence

Stagnation is one thing, but small business owners really think that what isn’t broke doesn’t need to be fixed let alone improved. Why limit your business this way? Is it so bad that you might have to hire a new employee to handle all the business you take on with a new web site in place? That is how this economy is suffering, business owners unwilling to move forward without concrete guarantees on returns. If they are happy so far, why change, right?

Because you can improve your organization, because you can create new jobs and help this economy, because you owe it to those who need your services but can’t find them, and because downsizing from a bigger company than you are currently doesn’t seem so bad if you like where you are now; these are prime reasons to consider web ventures.

Even local businesses can integrate web sites into their marketing, even if all they do is reiterate what is passed around. More often, people are not doing business with companies who they don’t know, and a web site builds credibility (if done right). It’s also a way to circumvent the chance of being lost in a pile of advertisements on someone’s desk.

While most small businesses have reasons not to take on new web ventures, there are predominantly better answers to these “what-if” scenarios. And all roads lead to revenue if done right.

Thanks to Łukasz Wyrębek for starting us off , as well as Janet Till, David Farrell-Shaw and everyone else answering this question for giving us their insight.

Elizabeth Gilbert is the author of many things other than Eat, Pray, Love, written in 2006 and expected to be a movie this year. She came to TED in 2009 and discussed creativity. What she didn’t mention, among the magical creatures like the genius, was the more famous and adapted name for inspiration as its own entity: a muse.

No, not the band, Muse. But what that band named itself after, what a “museum” is named for, and what we hear in our head when our creativity is at its peak. The muse was that which tormented the artist, gave him the inspiration to create and drug it out of him when it was most needed. The muse was loved and hated, and was embodied in many stories and folk lore throughout European countries.

The concept of a muse as something to talk to is not new, but could be less insane than depicted in movies and TV shows. Are we who have identified our muse tied to the visions of Janosz Poha in Gostbusters II talking to the spirit of Vigo the Carpathian entrapped in a centuries-old painting?

I have a muse, a gleeful, very energetic sprite that bursts into my head like an explosion, then out again like a black hole. She is not a specific inspiration; I get help with everything from writing to sketches to business projects. She has got me in trouble with my kids (and my wife) on several occasions. She is why I have attention problems sometimes. But my muse is there. I don’t feel insane or worried by saying that; if it were not for my explosions of alleged genius, I feel I would live a very dull and mundane existence.

I promise not to let her convince me to let a centuries-old madman take over the world.

Thanks to SmallBizWit.info and Steve Moore for the post. It was like a muse for my blog.

Happy New Year to all my readers, family, friends and Facebook friends. This years tarts a new decade, a new set of expectations, and a need to move forward, out of this recession and uncertainty. We have the potential of going through three different presidential administrations over the next 10 years, or we could follow the previous 16 years of presidencies and keep the same knobs in office with no real competition. I hope we’ve learned over the last decade that the government is not going to save us, and we can have lofty goals but we need to focus on the steps toward those goals.

For 2010, I propose to look for ways to help each other get to the next positive step in each other’s lives.

Small businesses are organizations of people working toward the same goal. Even your shareholders are part of this collective of individuals who want to make things better for themselves. It is not bad to be selfish in business; that personal drive is important to keep yourself going. But it should be a collective selfishness, a notion that what really matters is the people in your organization. Whether that means, “What’s best for my employees is to do what is best for the customer,” or, “In whatever we do, our people have to have time to be involved with their families,” you should adopt a social mission within your company. This should be separate but related to your overall mission statement, more for HR to pass out as a commitment to the team.

Also consider ways small businesses can help each other. There is no harm in sharing the market, or joining forces for projects. In fact, consider switching from a product-oriented structure to a project-driven structure. Think of each sale to your clients as a project, with a timeline, manageable resources and a scope. Perhaps you pull in other small businesses with products that complement your offerings. Put a little risk in your business model and see what positive consequences result.

And consider what you can do to make a social impact this year, something that will last the decade. Does that mean you start donating money? Organize your people to volunteer? Expand your current social impact? Or maybe this means you launch your dream non-profit venture this year. Find a way to give back.

Our country was founded on families and compassionate individuals who worked together to prosper. They didn’t rely on a formal government to survive, or they would have simply let the monarchy rule. Our ancestors gathered together for the common good and fought against their shared adversity. We should do no less.

Why wouldn’t I write a book? I have been an avid writer for years, but never really considered writing a book because I didn’t have a clear topic to review. But with my non-profit possibly on the way and current talks with small business owners, it seems clear there is a need for a good book that provides small business owners and entrepreneurs a foundation of doing business online.

A large part of what I do when I consult and coach is focus on saving money. In this economy, no respected small business coach will tell a new business owner they need to expect to break the bank. Rather, they will tell you what will work and save you the most money, both up front and over time. Sometimes there is an upfront savings but the long term requires a higher running cost, or there is a savings over time with a higher upfront cost. The risks and benefits are based on each situation, and one business may be completely different than another.

So it makes sense that I would save money and self-publish. If I live by the concept that a bad economy means huge opportunity for small business support models, I can’t pass up the chance to test my theory.

But I plan not to use just one publisher, and not just one version of book. I want exclusive versions for multiple publishers. My goal is to have a basic book on Lulu, another through Zazzle that is more of a quick reference guide, and several other variations exclusive to the publishing source. This means wider exposure, more customized reading, and exclusivity to the site in terms of what is offered. I have seen small businesses reap the benefits of this equation, as long as it is marketed right.

I am in the planning and outlining phase right now. The working title is “There is No Such Thing as an Online Business: Myths and Truths About Doing Business Online”. It will end up being a walkthrough of the traps of eBusiness and how to avoid them, as well as a toolbox to use in planning a business that uses the web for a majority of its daily tasks. It might read a little like a “For Dummies” book, without the insulting title.

I’d love to get people involved in this, as references and real world examples to include in the book. I will be canvasing businesses for that very reason. I will also be looking for a sales agent eventually, if the book takes off or I look into writing more books.

I knew my graphic design classes at the Art Institute of Portland would pay off someday.

For a great how-to on self-publishing, check out this eHow article.

Shameless plug for a friend, but a great insight on the long-standing plight of emerging artists in the business aspect of their creativity. Consider what might happen if artists become business gurus. Would small business rule social responsibility? Could we reduce the need for nonprofit public education firms through artists bringing social messages at a profit? It’s possible.

Kudos for Meg Salas and Twin Oaks Art and Frame (and gallery). Meg is the one in the glasses talking about artists struggling to commercialize their work. I can appreciate that myself, and have seen it all over the Northwest, especially my fellow grads from the Vancouver School of Arts and Academics. The VSAA is so much better than it was ten years ago, and I look forward to seeing artists become more involved in marketing themselves for the future knowing what they are now taught in magnet high schools and art colleges.