To date, we’ve had another great year here at Small Business Trends Radio, with new and knowledgeable experts every week. As a result, the site has accumulated a wealth of strategic business advice.

From time to time we like to list our most popular small business podcasts and now we would like to share them with you. So here are our top 5 most popular small business podcasts for the year to-date.

Congratulations to the small business experts listed below — they had the most requested audio podcasts for the months of January, February and March of 2008.

The Top 5 Popular Small Business Podcasts are:

How To Use Facebook To Market Your Business
Shama Hyder, Founder of After The Launch
Facebook has some benefits for small business owners that you need to know about and Shama shares them with you.

How to Start a Profitable, Long-Lived Business
Scott Shane of Case Western Reserve University
Choosing the right industry when starting a business is crucial because some have an 840 times greater chance of success.

Are You Making These 5 Local Marketing Mistakes?
Court Cunningham, CEO of Yodle, Inc.
Are your local online marketing efforts failing? You might be making these 5 common mistakes.

How to Buy A Business At A Bargain
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.

How Men Can Achieve A Fulfilling Work Life Balance
Matthew Scott, Founder of The Life’s Work Group, Inc.
Matthew shares valuable insights into the questions that men can ask themselves to make a successful work/life transition.

What’s great about podcasts is that they can be listened to over and over again and downloaded for iPod listening at your convenience as well. They’ve got a long shelf life and we hope you enjoy listening to them - while learning a thing or two in the process.

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By now you may be asking yourself, “What is Unified Communications?” For starters, it’s a technology that brings together your phone, conferencing and messaging capabilities in a way that allows you control of them from any device, anywhere.

Our featured guest in this Episode of The Small Business Trends Radio is Geoffrey Baird, Vice President and General Manager of Avaya. Unified Communications means business - and Geoffrey explains why. This technology can save you money, prevent lost productivity and give you a leg up on your competitors.

Topics include:

• What can Unified Communications do? — Examples of the convenience it provides would include turning your cell phone into your office phone, checking your email from your cell phone, using your laptop to initiate a conference call or responding to an instant message via video.

• What size business will this work for? — Every business can benefit, even companies with as few as ten employees. And for small business in particular, there are different capabilities for your specific needs and they are ever evolving for additional future conveniences.

But that’s just a small portion of what Unified Communications has to offer to small business and in this interview, Geoffrey explains them all. He also explains how these services can assist those in a work from home environment as well.

Would you like to learn more? To hear about all of the many different functions, services and pricing click the red and yellow player below to listen to Geoffrey’s full interview.

Listen Now:

 Unified Communications: What's In It For Small Business? [30:08m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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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

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Each day we have more and more entrepreneurial success stories being created. These stories of success, failures, mistakes - and dreams coming true - are inspirational.

They remind us of the old adage: “If you think it — you will be it. . .” It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you’re passionate about something.

Our featured guest in this episode of Small Business Trends Radio is CD Vann, Founder of Soho Business Magazine. CD started Soho Business Magazine in 2005 with just a few dollars in her pocket and a 3-year old Mac computer. She saw there was a need for growing businesses to be able to use their marketing, PR and advertising dollars “wisely,” and they could be published in a magazine, writing about their product or service industry knowledge while targeting other growing businesses.

At the time a few of her competitors wished she would fail. But she’s here to prove she is a survivor and successful with Magazine Soho.

Here is a sampling of topics discussed during this show:

• Print Publications — are not out of style. Electronic is nice for a concise, quick read. But it’s still a fact that no one wants to download a 365-page file onto their desktop. Additionally, print material can be kept as a reference for later use.

• Business Mentors — are invaluable. Using a mentor in your industry can help guide you along your way and continue your education.

• Advertising — is crucial. PR marketing and advertising is a must to get the word out about your business. In certain industries, word-of-mouth can only get you so far and properly targeted advertising within publications can assist your business growth tremendously.

• Get Published — and start a blog. Get the word out and position your product and service. People read everyday and a well written article or blog can be priceless in the assistance of building clientele.

• Build Relationships — and network within your industry. Work with other businesses and leverage the relationships as a “give-give” situation. It’s one sure way to experience growth and success.

CD says to remember to find balance in your life while building your business. Be sure to take time off. Take advantage of your evenings and weekends and rest so that you can be more effective during the work week.

Want to hear more of CD’s story and advice? Click the player below to listen to CD’s full interview.

Listen Now:

 How to Start a Print Magazine With No Money [18:09m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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The fundamentals of business are still the same. Except that now business is valued on Internet traffic as opposed to actual dollars. But planning, implementing, reviewing, revising, strategizing - it’s all still the same.

What has changed is the speed of business - the speed of change - the speed of opportunity. It’s a brave new world and opportunities abound.

Our featured guest in this episode of Small Business Trends Radio is Tim Berry, the Founder and President of Palo Alto Software the makers of Business Plan Pro software. Tim Berry is an author, speaker, entrepreneur, and expert in business planning.

He is also the founder of Bplans.com, the world’s most viewed and referenced business-planning site. Tim shares his many insights and observations into creating and managing a living, breathing business plan for your company.

Here is a sampling of topics discussed during the show:

• Business planning — is still a part of the fundamentals of business, however, misconceptions do exist. One must realize that a business plan isn’t a straitjacket. You’re not bound to it. And one must also realize that a plan isn’t really about a plan as a document - so much as it’s about planning. And as speed increases, planning is a way to manage the ever constant ebb and flow of change.

• Plans are not a straitjacket — and a plan doesn’t mean that what you planned to do in June 2008 - you actually have to do in June 2008. It simply helps you to maintain a long term direction while managing constant short term changes.

• The living, breathing business plan — isn’t your fathers business plan anymore. Nowadays, a plan lives in a computer, is shared with your team, is fluid and flexible and is simply a series of reminders along your journey. It must be manipulated and adjusted accordingly and a good business plan is never finished. If your plan is done - so is your company.

• Writing a business plan — is a combination of covering target marketing and focusing on needs, wants and deadlines. It is essential to first understand that you’re always writing your business plan. And that it doesn’t matter where you start. Just be sure to start using whatever piece you’ve composed immediately - and then continue to build on your plan as time progresses.

• Plans should include a combination — of target marketing, identification of the company’s strengths and weaknesses and the company focus. Each of these should relate to the other. It may be difficult to drill these down but if you view your plan as a continual work in progress - success can be yours.

• Include specifics — and a lot of them. Mainly, specifics related to cash flow and dates. Who is doing what and when, how much does it cost, how much money will be earned? What is going to happen and when is it going to happen? This is vital to business planning and you cannot really manage your company without them. List them - manage them.

And always remember that it’s your business. You control your own destiny and planning is a vital part of that. You don’t have to be an expert writer. But keep your business plan top of mind and manage it making sure to always view it as a living, breathing, ever-evolving entity.

Want to begin planning a successful future for your company? Take control of your destiny now by clicking the player below and listening to Tim’s full interview.

Listen Now:

 Plan As You Go Business Planning [28:59m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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In this age of speed and instant communication small businesses of all types regularly have the need to send large files such as digital images, audio, video, PDFs & more on a regular basis.

Many times when we send a large file we experience email bounce-backs or have no idea if the file successfully made it to the intended recipient. This then means we have to manually follow up to insure receipt and doing so cost time and money to the business. It would be a great help if this waste of time and effort could be eliminated.

Luckily there is a secure and convenient way to send, receive and track your digital content.

Our featured guest in this episode of Small Business Trends Radio is Ranjith Kumaran, Founder of YouSendIt. In this show you will learn how to avoid email bounce-backs and gain insight to a solution that can replace the use of FTP sites and help avoid overnight courier services for physical media like CD’s and DVD’s.

Here is a sampling of topics discussed during the show

• Digital, Audio and Video Content — is becoming increasingly popular on the Internet. And following that trend is the growth in the storage requirements and file size of audio and video files.

• Files Don’t Get to the Destination — A common problem with these larger files is that you may send digital content to clients, co-workers and other recipients that may not have the capability to retrieve it due to email system limitations. Using an online service such as YouSendIt can help remedy this problem.

• Send, Receive and Track — large, multiple files up to 2 GB each with YouSendIt. Send entire folders, create zip files, create a dropbox, use plugins and password protection, control access, expiration and more.

• Brand Your Large File Distribution — Small businesses can gain the benefits of incorporating their brand and messaging within the file distribution emails. You can send bigger files to more people and take advantage of long term file storage and improve your business efficiency.

• Plugins — YouSendIt also increases the efficiency for small business by making Pugins that integrate the online service into Outlook, Photoshop, PaperPort, and more. Now there’s no need to leave your normal desktop applications environment to send or receive files.

Learn more about the benefits of YouSendIt to small businesses and as a bonus hear some details on how Ranjith started the business in Silicon Valley, obtained venture capital and is planning for future growth.

To listen to Ranjith’s full interview, click the player below.

Listen Now:

 Eliminate the Hassles and Expenses of Sending Large Files [25:59m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Posted by Staci Wood | Comments (4) | Permalink

Today, more than ever, people are wondering if they have what it takes to follow their dreams and become a successful entrepreneur.

Imagine what it would be like not to be forced into a cubicle every morning, or to hide behind the door of an office, or sit in traffic twice a day or to have the ability to earn your income while remaining at home with your family. But is everyone cut out for entrepreneurship?

Our featured guest in this episode of Small Business Trends Radio is Tim Knox, of the Tim Knox Show. Tim says, “Everything I Know About Business I Learned from my Mama.” That’s even the title of his new book. Tim can help you to determine if you have all of the personality traits that make for a successful entrepreneur.

Are you cut from entrepreneurial cloth? Here are some questions to begin asking yourself:

• Are you prepared to take a leap of faith without a safety net? – If you fear taking risks or facing the possibility that the business might fail, you might reconsider.

• Are you prepared to put in long hours and possibly work 6-7 days a week? — This is a harsh reality when developing a business; vacations, weekends, holidays and sick days do not exist when you’re the person running the company.

• Are you a leader? — Or do you need to be told what to do? You won’t be able to walk into the office and have your daily duties arranged for you. You must know what needs to be done and have the ability to see that it gets done without someone else keeping it top-of-mind for you.

• Are your personal relationships strong? — Are they strong enough to endure hours apart? The impact of starting and running a business puts pressure on the entrepreneur and their family. Support from your spouse, children, friends and extended family is of the utmost importance.

• Can you handle rejection? – The ability to continue moving toward your goals even after a setback is crucial. Spending precious time licking your wounds will only have a negative effect on your business and cause costly delays in your progress.

Tim asks the above questions and presents many more to consider before taking the “entrepreneurial plunge.” If you’ve asked yourself, “Do I have what it takes to be an entrepreneur?” you can help yourself to answer that question by clicking the player below and listening to Tim’s full interview.

And then comment and let us know - did you find that you have what it takes?

Listen Now:

 Are You a Natural Entrepreneur – Take the Test [26:28m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Posted by Staci Wood | Comments (3) | Permalink