Many small businesses are experiencing a growing need for high quality monitoring services to ensure the security and safety of their business and employees. And with today’s technology, there are a number of solutions that can be provided from anywhere in the world - via an Internet connection.

Our featured guest in this episode of Small Business Trends Radio is Jay Levy, Founder and President of Trueview Services. Jay discusses how small business owners can provide safety, security and privacy to their employees and business through a monitoring system.

Here is a sampling from the show:

• Fire Alarms — smoke detectors, surveillance systems, fire drills and the like are all ways to ensure the safety of your employees. Ask that your local fire department assist in one of your fire drills to reduce risk potential and provide insights to yourself and your employees.

• Ensure productivity — through the installation of an IP based monitoring system. This is a high quality, cost effective, Internet based system that allows you to login from anywhere in the world. The recording device is housed within a hosted data system — making this “software as a service” for the surveillance industry.

• Potential injuries — health issues, fires, slip and fall, stolen goods and productivity loss are all issues that can come as a result of not having a monitoring system in place. As you can see, a lot can go wrong and ensuring proper systems are in place can prevent liability.

• Think prevention — by making sure you are displaying the proper safety signs for exit locations and evacuation instructions. Brail is also available. Contact your insurance agent for manuals, pamphlets, etc. to provide to your employees and perform a walk through with your local fire department.

Jay has more to share with you along with some interesting stories from his own experiences. To listen to Jay’s insights, click the player below to listen to the full interview.

And stay tuned at the end of the program for Today’s Trend: Business Podcasting — Best Practices Circa 2007.

Listen Now:

 Ensuring The Safety & Productivity Of Your Employees [53:25m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Posted by Staci Wood | Comments (3) | Permalink

This week’s Podcast Review is about the Podcast Sisters Podcast.

Description: Anna Farmery, Krishna De and Heather Gorringe are the Podcast Sisters and they produce this small business focused podcast. Sometimes together, sometimes not, always with great and valuable content for the small business owner.

Comments: Well produced audio, some music and fun banter but mostly good conversation and great guests who contribute great content.

Self labeled the Podcast for Non-Geeks they cover the gambit in new marketing technologies and tools for small business. Here is a quick list of some recent shows:

- Future of Podcasting
- Facebook For Small Business
- Marketing Through Webinars
- What is Second Life?
- Increasing Readers to your Blog

There are dozens more shows for you to peruse and crank up your small business marketing knowledge. Packed with action items to use for success, good stuff.

Pluses: The content is good, some of my favorite topics are covered in depth. The website is really a blog with valuable information that also has great Podcasts. Multiple ways to subscribe are evident and lots of Web 2.0 widgets are running to view, try and learn from.

Minuses: I had a hard time identifying the instant play. It is in the right hand column labeled ‘Menu Bar’ and shows a Blubrry.com label. At first I thought it needed a download, it does not, it plays the audio and gives you access to the archives.

Recommendation: If your not a geek but are looking to better understand and use today’s technologies for your small business then check out The Podcast Sisters Podcast.

Posted by Steve Rucinski | Comments (4) | Permalink

There are a lot of ways that business owners add to their financial arsenal. Tapping into your own income and borrowing from family members is one source that is commonly used but other options exist.

Our featured guest in this episode of Small Business Trends Radio is Shirley George Frazier, Author and Chief Marketing Officer of Solo Business Marketing. Shirley knows where the money is.

Here is a sampling from the show:

• Business contests — are a new type of “grant.” Entering contests sponsored by large companies is one source of cash. Search for small business contests on the Internet. You may win some - you may loose some - but keep the information you submitted to reuse at later dates to enter more. And money isn’t the only prize. Computers, software, and the like are additional prizes to be won.

• Business lines — of credit charge less interest than credit cards. Apply for a business line of credit prior to ever needing one. Establish a relationship with your banker and it’s possible that some associated fees may be dropped. Borrowing small sums at a time and repaying it before borrowing more money keeps monthly payments affordable.

• Sponsorships — and partnerships are a method that you share with a company or another business owner to partner with you in your business. Create a page with links to companies that offer related products. In exchange for that link, a monetary sum will be paid to you by that company on a monthly basis. Build your traffic. More traffic, more money per link.

Shirley has more great resources to share with you along with suggestions for tapping into passive income earning generated from your web site. To listen to Shirley’s insights, click the player below to listen to the full interview.

And stay tuned at the end of the program for Today’s Trend: Why Being A Geek Can Help You Grow Your Business.

Listen Now:

 Places For Entrepreneurs To Find Cash For Business [53:29m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Posted by Staci Wood | Comments (7) | Permalink

Sometimes it can be hard to determine which of the many small business podcasts will provide what you need. So much audio, so little time.

So we have taken the guesswork out of it for you. We narrowed it down to 100 informative podcasts for small business owners and entrepreneurs.

Most of the following podcasts specifically target a small business audience. Others have a broader business focus. All, however, are relevant to business owners and entrepreneurs. Explore and listen, and see what you think of this list.

>> Read more

Posted by Staci Wood | Comments (29) | Permalink

This week’s Podcast Review is about the Venture Voice Podcast

Description: Venture Voice is a podcast that explores how entrepreneurs build their businesses and live their lives.

Comments: Gregory Galant produces Venture Voice and conducts the interviews. Aaron Quint does the creative work for the Web site and helps with sound engineering.

With 46 shows to date Greg has a who’s who of top entrepreneurs as guests. You will find great sound, excellent scripting and summaries at the beginning of each interview.

If you like hearing entrepreneurial success stories then this is a Podcast you should try. Here is just a sampling of recent guests:

- Kevin Ryan of Panther Express, ShopWiki and Music Nation
- Jay Adelson of Digg
- Guy Kawasaki of Garage Technology Ventures
- Jason Calacanis of Weblogs Inc., Netscape and AOL
- David Sifry of Technorati

Greg is a good interviewer, prepared, very insightful and sometimes challenging to the guest.

Pluses: Content is king and this Podcast is packed with good content. Instant play, good sound, good show notes, easy to operate website, good use of images and not a lot of extra clutter on the site or in the shows.

Minuses: Would love to have access to transcripts, not much else to criticize.

Recommendation: If you like the high-tech, entrepreneurial world then you need to check out the Venture Voice Podcast.

Posted by Steve Rucinski | Comments (1) | Permalink

Moonlighting is a term that we are all familiar with. There are times when we could all use some extra money and there are many who would love to start their own business on the side. But what can you do? Where do you begin? And how do you do all of this with a full time job?

Our featured guest in this episode of Small Business Trends Radio is Michelle Anton, Founder of WeekendEntrepreneur.com. Michelle’s tips are based on a “been there, done that,” point of view. She will share insights on how to juggle moonlighting, how to make money using some seldom known businesses that anyone can start, and how to do all of this while holding down a day job.

Here is a sampling from the show:

• Keep it simple — when starting a business. Put a new spin on an old concept. Provide a “green” cleaning service using eco-friendly products or offer professional organization services focused on home offices. Internet options such as eBay also offer an avenue of income. Find a niche and focus on it. Play on nostalgia by offering vintage clothing, vintage collectibles, and vintage home decor and passing them onto the virtual marketplace.

• Share your expertise — to make money. Webinars, boot camps, and seminars are all ways to make money and market yourself and your expertise. Sharing knowledge regarding “how to” perform an action, solve a problem, or learn a skill offers a valuable service that many will be willing to pay for.

• Use the Kaizen — concept to achieve success. Kaizen means “improvement” and it is the Japanese strategy for continuous improvement. The concept is that one small step has the power to change your life. To apply the kaizen steps, there are 4 things to do. Ask small questions, think small thoughts, take small actions, and solve small problems. Small steps circumvent the brains built in resistance to behaviors and sometimes goals seem too far out of reach. Taking daily small steps towards your goals will help you to ultimately achieve success.

Michelle has many more great tips to share with you along with more information about how to apply these tips to building your own business. To hear Michelle’s “been there, done that” insights, click the player below to listen to the full interview.

And stay tuned at the end of the program for Today’s Trend: How The Internet Has Moved From Communication To Content - And Why You Should Care.

Listen Now:

 How To Juggle Your Day Job With Your Small Business [53:28m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Posted by Staci Wood | Comments (3) | Permalink

This week’s Podcast Review is about the The Cold Calling Podcast

Description: This podcast, produced for salespeople and marketers working in the business to business environment, is about telephone prospecting and lead generation.

Mike OHara and Greg Grimer cover the entire skill set you need to maximise your effectiveness at hunting out new decision-makers and prospecting new business opportunities.

Comments: 20 to 40 minutes in length, great sound and production values. Mike and Greg work hard to share their last 10 years of cold calling lessons learned.

They bring a very authentic slant to their content and really do a great job of keeping their focus on the listener. Covering a wide reange of topics, here is a sample of the titles:

- When to Stop Calling
- Pro’s and Con’s of Outsourcing Cold Calling
- Overcoming the Limitations of Remote Selling
- Promoting a Prospecting Culture

They even include audience questions, voicemail and email listener feedback into the shows.

Pluses: Great focus on the audience, instant play, good sound, authentic orientation, simple and easy to navigate website. Over 36 Podcasts for the listener to use and enjoy.

Minuses: RSS subscriptions links are only in one spot, would like to see them more visible. This is my problem but the accents of Mike and Greg get in the way of my understanding the content at times.

Recommendation: If sales and cold calling prospecting are important to your business you need to check out The Cold Calling Podcast.

Posted by Steve Rucinski | Comments (1) | Permalink