Many of us would relish the opportunity to be our own boss. And that thinking has made many at least consider the thought of buying their own business. But it’s risky - not to mention a bit scary, too. What industry do you focus on? And where do you look to find potential business opportunities? How about a good bargain? After all, wouldn’t it be nice to pay a fraction of the cost of a start-up?

Our featured guest in this Episode of The Small Business Trends Radio is John L. Herman Jr., Founder of Hermanisms.com. Herman is recognized as an expert in the sale of financially troubled companies and he’s sharing his insider tips on how to buy a business at a bargain with us.

Topics include:

• Half of most businesses are “under water”? — Yes, more than 60% of operating businesses are financially drowning. Yikes! So what’s the best way to acquire these businesses? Surprisingly, Herman says all you have to do is ask. Many owners may already be looking for a way out.

• Do bankers really love buyers with cash? — Not surprisingly. . .yes, they do. And they will help apply the pressure to the seller to accept a low offer to get their hands on it.

Herman is also an Author and has been kind enough to provide us with complimentary copies of: Hermanisms - Axioms for Business and Life, pictured here.

If you are considering purchasing your own business, you will want to click on the red and yellow player below to listen to Herman’s full interview.

Listen Now:

 How to Buy A Business At A Bargain [22:49m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Posted by Staci Wood | Comments (3) | Permalink

It’s safe to assume that many business owners do not plan to fail. However, we also know to expect the unexpected. Have you taken steps to help ensure the success of your business? Do you have a plan against failure?

Kira Wampler, Marketing and Community Leader at Jumpup.com, has a few tips for you, provided by a JumpUp.com member, to avoid the pitfalls of business and help ensure your company’s success.

Take a moment to hear them by listening to Kira’s tips by clicking the player below.

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcast [1:19m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Posted by Staci Wood | Comments (3) | Permalink

This week’s Podcast Review is about the StreetIQ.com Podcast.

Description: StreetIQ.com is a site that aggregates multiple podcasts in one location. With over 30 categories of content most of which are centered around business topics you are sure to find some current and relevant content for your needs.

Comments: Most of the audio quality is good, this portal provides access to hundreds, yes hundreds of Podcasts so I couldn’t listen to them all but the ones I checked out are well done.

Podcasts vary in length and structure but most are done in an interview format. Here is a small sampling of some of the content categories:

- Bonds and Fixed Income Devices
- Economics
- Energy
- Small Business
- Tech News
- Venture Equity

The content covered is both deep and wide, this is what makes this a good Podcast site a good portal to visit.

Pluses: Instant play, the content, search functions, content categories, a rating and sharing system and subscriptions.

Minuses: Not much missed here but I would like to see more comprehensive show notes for the visitors use.

Recommendation: If you want your Podcast listening to be efficient and effective then the StreetIQ.com Podcast is one to check out!

Posted by Steve Rucinski | Comments (3) | Permalink

So, you haven’t heard of Facebook yet? Or maybe you have and are just not familiar with it. Well either way, Facebook has some benefits for small business owners that you need to know about.

Our featured guest in this Episode of The Small Business Trends Radio is Shama Hyder, Chief Marketing Expert and Founder of After The Launch. Shama is an expert marketing consultant to independent professionals and professional service firms around the world and she share’s her tips with us on how to leverage Facebook to market your business.

Topics include:

• Why is it better than MySpace or LinkedIn? — There seem to be more small business owners on Facebook. MySpace is more personal and LinkedIn is more of a formal professional site. Facebook operates as both and allows you to expand your network more so than others.

• How can you use it for business? — The basics are to start by entering a great profile. SEO ranking is high for Facebook so use that to your advantage. Then reach out to other small business owners and develop friends and follow up by then reaching out to your target audience.

But that’s only the beginning to successfully using Facebook. Shama shares very detailed steps and the proper etiquette to contact, network and respond to others on the site to begin to build your community and bring together people in your industry to create personalized groups.

There are so many more tools that Facebook offers to assist in marketing your small business. Would you like to hear them all? Click the red and yellow player below to listen to Shama’s full interview where she covers the many features that Facebook has to offer small business owners.

Listen Now:

 How To Use Facebook To Market Your Business [30:04m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Posted by Staci Wood | Comments (7) | Permalink

This week’s Podcast Review is about the AIIM Waves Podcast.

Description: Podcasts for information on the ECM (Enterprise Content Management) industry, technology changes, industry trends and research, and special alerts.

Comments: Professionally done primarily via an interview format with brief music intro’s all wrapped around REAL user stories.

Multiple shows available, most are 20 minutes or less, instant play, download and subscription functions are available and clearly visible. Here is a sample of some recent topics.

- James G. Davis Construction Co. Improves Project Coordination
- Focus Data Services Ltd Complies with the EU Data Retention Directive
- Oracle’s Andy MacMillan on the ECM Hot Seat
- ABBYY USA’s Dean Tang on the ECM Hot Seat

Nice photo’s of each guest and decent show notes help to gudie you to the content you need.

Pluses: Wealth of good content, nice website, instant play, browse box in the right column to find your desired content.

Minuses: No show listings by categories and some shows do a little music snippet between topics that I found distracting.

Recommendation: If you work in the ECM industry or are a user of ECM technologies you need to be listening to the AIIM Waves Podcast.

Posted by Steve Rucinski | Comments (2) | Permalink

Think it’s not? Think again because small businesses - those with less than ten employees - are ten times more likely to experience embezzlement than larger corporations. Embezzlement is running rampant in the U.S. It is estimated that one out of every three U.S. businesses have been victimized, are currently being victimized, or will be victimized by this type of crime.

Our featured guest in this Episode of The Small Business Trends Radio is Barry Webne. Barry is a respected authority on the detection and prevention of occupational fraud and white-collar crime.

What makes Barry an expert? He was convicted of bank fraud for embezzling more than $1 million dollars. And he says it’s easy to detect and prevent this crime - with tips from an expert.

Topics include:

• The typical embezzlement scheme? — This usually takes place within an accountant or controller position and lasts approximately 18 months. The average embezzlement scheme usually nets the embezzler about $150,000 and, typically, many feel that they’ll never get caught. And the truth is - many are caught by accident. Either by taking a day off or simply being careless.

• Who is the embezzler? — Surprisingly, it’s your ideal employee. The one who is always on time, churns out perfect work and is a whiz of a multitasker - this is the profile of a typical embezzler. Most feel overworked, underpaid and overwhelmed and many are suffering monetary pressures within their personal life. Sound like any of your employees?

Barry shares his personal insights on the psychological traits, behaviors and tendencies of an occupational criminal and believes that no company or organization - large or small, profit or non-profit - is safe.

Think it can’t happen to you? Think again and educate yourself on what to look for by clicking the red and yellow player below and listen to Barry’s full interview for tips on how to spot this crime or avoid it altogether.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: After this radio show was recorded we learned that Barry Webne, the guest, was brought up on a new set of charges involving embezzlement. Charges are pending in Federal Court in Toledo, Ohio as of February 2008.

Listen Now:

 Confessions of an Embezzler - Is Your Business At Risk? [29:34m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Posted by Staci Wood | Comments (6) | Permalink

This week’s Podcast Review is about the Ten Golden Rules Podcast.

Description: This Podcast offers weekly tips for online business owners about the leading internet marketing trends, including Web 2.0 and search engine marketing.

Comments: This Podcast is a neat mixture of great and pertinent content for the internet entrepreneur mixed with music, a variety of guests and even some fun.

There are about 17 episodes so far and new content comes out weekly. The show notes are excellent and include time marks that help you go to just the topic you want to hear. Here is a sampling of some recent topics:

- Innovate Like Thomas Edison
- American Marketing Association Bootcamp
- Commission Junction University
- Radio vs Podcasting

Interviews with current internet stars is one of my favorite elements of this Podcast, I like to learn from the best while they are flying high. This show does a nice job of capturing their success for our benefit.

Pluses: The content is strong in this Podcast, almost instant play is available (loads your local media player), good show notes and I like the song of the week idea to close out the show.

Minuses: The website is a little clumsy for me, maybe it is the color scheme but my eye has a hard time using the page. There is no search nor categories for the shows.

Recommendation: If you are an internet entrepreneur then you need to give this show a listen, good direct advice and some heavyweight guests make the Ten Golden Rules Podcast a must listen for you.

Posted by Steve Rucinski | Comments (7) | Permalink