August was crowded, as far as small business research goes. So, without further ado, here’s a good sampling:

Devil in The Details

Verizon released a survey late last month which found that larger-revenue small businesses are more likely to have Web sites than smaller- revenue firms — at least, within limits.

They found that 56 percent of firms with revenues between $250,000 and $750,000 have company Web sites, while a much more substantial 73 percent of firms earning between $750 and $2 million have company Web sites.

There were also a number of drop-dead-obvious findings, like the fact that having a Web site makes you better at estimating how much time it takes to maintain one, and some stuff that could make your eyes cross, like the fact that you’re less likely to know how to attract customers to your Web site if you don’t have one.

It would have been interesting to see how even lower-revenue firms (under $250,000) would have fared with this survey. I suspect that Verizon might have replicated other market research I’ve seen lately, which found that online microbusinesses are even more likely to have company Web sites.

Other small business market research released last month from pay-per-click search network operator LookSmart found that SMB advertisers rank ROI as their top priority in PPC campaigns (63 percent), followed somewhat closely by traffic quality (53 percent).

The LookSmart bright boys seemed a little surprised at another finding: the low priority given to customer service by SMBs — although it’s not too shocking, given that most of their customers use their self-service platform.

Development, Without the Bright Lights and Big Cities

Growing rural economies was a somewhat hot topic in research-land in August, thanks to a couple of papers that tackle the unique challenges of rural economic development in the 21st century global economy.

The International City/County Management Association (ICMA) released a paper highlighting “smart growth strategies that can help guide rural growth while preserving the unique rural character of existing communities.” Those strategies basically boil down to supporting the viability of traditional land uses (i.e., farming); helping communities to preserve existing, historically vested places; and building vibrant new places that will draw and hold population (especially young population).

The other paper gets into the nitty-gritty of rural development in the Midwest, where manufacturing had been the heart and soul of local economies. Those industrial concerns have faded fast, and Midwestern rural economies have faded too. Development authorities continue to compete in what they call “industrial recruitment” — smokestack chasing.

In this paper (Past Silos and Smokestacks: Transforming the Rural Economy in the Midwest), Mark Drabenstott, Director of the Center for Regional Competitiveness at the Rural Policy Research Institute, argues that 21st century economic strategies demand regional partnerships that leverage rural resources to compete globally.

“Only by combining their forces to create new businesses and good jobs at home will the towns and counties of the rural Midwest compete and thrive in a global economy where this kind of collaboration is fast becoming the norm,” writes Dr. Drabenstott.

While these two papers are very different in their orientation, they both say essentially the same thing: The way policymakers and development experts are thinking about rural development isn’t working. That means they need to do something else, ne?

I wouldn’t have thought you’d need a Ph.D. to figure that out, but what do I know?

Jobs Growth — or Not — in August

So, what about those jobs-jobs-jobs?

The consensus right now seems to be that the recovery has a case of the hiccups … or something. We’re expecting the August employment situation release from the Labor Department on Friday but, in the meantime, the August 2010 National Employment Report from ADP was just released.

The picture is not what I’d call encouraging.

For starters, the previous estimate of 42,000 new jobs from June to July was revised downward to 37,000 jobs. Even worse, August was a tough month, especially for small businesses.

After registering job growth for six straight months, ADP’s estimate for private  sector non-farm employment change declined by 10,000 jobs. Large firms saw a net job increase of 1,000, but both categories of small firms experienced net decreases.

Medium-sized firms (50-499 employees) had a net decline of 6,000 jobs and small firms (1-49 employees) had a net decline of 5,000.

In light of some other discouraging economic news, you have to wonder: wither away, recovery?

Late Summer Releases From the SBA Office of Advocacy

Are the self-employed changing? Are there real differences between generations of entrepreneurs?

The SBA Office of Advocacy released a report last month that took a look. What they found was a measurable difference between the generation born in 1960-62 and that born 20 years later, in 1980-82. The younger group had a higher probability of being self-employed by age 23.

The researchers attributed the difference to higher percentages of African-Americans, Hispanics and, to a lesser extent, women in the younger cohort of subjects. That may be true, but I think a big part of the difference may have had more to do with growing up in different times.

Overall, the research shows that those who reported self-employment in their early 20s (ages 20-22) are much more likely to remain self-employed through age 41. I guess it’s once an entrepreneur, always an entrepreneur.

Also worth noting from Advocacy was a report on gender and business dynamics, appropriately entitled Gender and Establishment Dynamics, 2002-2006.

The report “found” a lot of things that seem pretty obvious (e.g., larger firms are less likely to close, and tend to both create and destroy more jobs) but it’s most interesting finding was a confirmation of earlier Kauffman research: Real job growth comes from new firms.

Is anybody listening?

From Small Business Trends

Research Roundup: Big Picture, Little Picture

A few months ago Google began experimenting with Google Local Shopping, a service that lets customers find and buy products that are in stock nearby. Whether it’s a certain kind of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream or a special set of headphones, with one search customers can find the retailers in their area that sell exactly what they’re looking for. No more driving endlessly from store to store craving ice cream and hoping stores stay open late enough for you to find it. Huzzah! To encourage the feature, Google has made its help documentation requirements open to the public so that more local retailers can benefit and bring online shoppers directly into their retail stores.

There are a number of steps small business owners will have to go through if they want to get their products listed in Google Local Shopping. Here’s a quick breakdown:

1. Step 1: Create a Google Merchant Center account.
2. Step 2: Create an online product listing feed. [Here’s how.]
3. Step 3: Apply for a separate Google Merchant Center account for your local product listings. Once it’s confirmed that you qualify, Google will send you an invitation link within three days to a new Merchant Center account created for your Local Shopping data.
4. Step 4: Accept the new terms of service.
5. Step 5: Enable local shopping.

Not every retailer who applies will be accepted into Google’s Local Shopping program; however, there are some things you can do to give your business its best shot at acceptance. Google notes that Product Search quality is a prerequisite for participation, so small business owners will want to make sure they’re submitting an accurate and complete data feed, including unique product identifiers. You also need to have your stores listed on Google Places, so you’ll have to submit and verify your store listings, if you haven’t already done that.

It does seem like a small amount of work to get listed; however, anything you can do to make your products more available and searchable is a good thing. Since Google is requiring that stores have Google Place listings, it will also be interesting to see how products are eventually incorporated on Place pages. Perhaps business owners who have enabled the Local Shopping feature will be able to display their products directly on their Place page or make them searchable for users. We know Google is only going to increase the importance of these pages, so anything you can do to make yours stronger than those of your competitors is a good thing.

From Small Business Trends

Google Local Shopping Tells Customers You Have It In Stock

The real key to economic recovery isn’t in the form of a piece of legislation waiting for passage in Congress or on the President’s desk awaiting signature. In fact, the real key to economic recovery doesn’t lie in the hands of any legislature or government entity on the face of the Earth. The real key to economic recovery lies in the hands of people like you and me. Small business owners and entrepreneurs with the imagination and drive to innovate and change the world. We hope this roundup will inspire you. Our time is now!

Policy

$55 billion to help small businesses? The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama is again pushing for a new bill extending more loans to small business and introducing some tax cuts as a way of boosting the economy. But critics say it will add to the national debt thus hurting the economy instead of helping it. What’s the real answer? Entrepreneurs! CNN

Are our small businesses under assault? While the President stresses his administration’s support for small business, critics say current government policies including tax increases and increased regulations definitely aren’t helping small businesses or the economy. They’ve created this video and hope you share it and let your voice be heard. Gateway Pundit

Are we still being shortchanged on federal contracts? The U.S. Small Business Administration says there’s been an increase in the number of federal contracts going to small businesses this year, but they’re still way short of their goals or of giving small businesses their fair share of federal work and, with an ongoing recession and the emphasis on support for SMBs, the criticism is mounting. You’re the Boss

Trends

The lean and mean approach. In the absence of available financing, small business owners like Denise D’Amour of Capitol Hill Bikes has made some hard choices and cut back on costs to weather the storm. Way to go, Denise, and a good lesson for other entrepreneurs about self-reliance and the need to make the tough decisions. Political Ticker

Our entrepreneurial light may be fading fast. Though Jeff is talking here about the dangers of replacing a society based on self-reliance and innovation with one based on entitlement in the U.S., the message can be a global one on the dangers of creating a world in which the impulse for entrepreneurship would be extinguished. The Entrepreneurial Mind

Tools

10 social media books you’ve got to read. While it’s critical for small business owners to show self-reliance in these changing economic times, there are incredible tools that make it easier to leverage your marketing and other business functions like never before. A critical one of these tools is social media and here are 10 books about it that every small business owner must read to make your company better. Small Business Trends

Social media: What do businesses say? Before you jump on the social media bandwagon, better have a look at this long and informative stream in which business owners and social media advocates of many stripes discuss social media and how helpful it really is to your small business. You’ll hear opinions on both sides. Focus

Tactics

What’s your pitch? Probably one of the key elements that will set your business apart is the effectiveness of your pitch. What does this mean? When you explain your idea to investors, customers, partners etc. does it grab their interest. If not, refine you’re approach. This step could be key. The Entrepreneurial Mind

Search marketing for small business. (Part 1) If you’re marketing a small business in the digital age, chances are you have a Web presence. And if you’ve taken the time to create a Website or blog you probably would like it to at least be seen by the relevant customers who might conceivably use your product or service. Search engine marketing is an important place to start. SearchEngineWatch.com

Search marketing for small business. (Part 2) once realizing the importance of search marketing for your small business, you will immediately encounter terms like “SEO” and “PCC,” some of the tools and techniques aimed at improving your companies position online. But which tactics or tools are best and return the best results? SearchEngineWatch.com

From Small Business Trends

Small Business News: The Real Key To Economic Recovery

The most common New Year’s resolutions deal with health & fitness, money, career, relationships, and travel.

Sorry to be blunt, but if you’re not making steady progress at your top resolution right now — September 6th — you haven’t set up systems to maintain ongoing accountability, and chances are you’ll fail again in January.

On the other hand, if you’re systematically working towards a specific goal you set, the world is your oyster. What’s the next challenge I can set for myself? How can I top myself last time? Bring it on. These are the phrases of top performers I know.

The time to think about resolutions is not January 1st. It’s in the middle of the year, when nobody else is thinking about them.

You might think that this question has been resolved. After all, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation reports that more than 2,000 U.S. colleges and universities teach entrepreneurship. How could all those professors teach something that might not matter?

As surprising as it may sound, we don’t know the effect that entrepreneurship training has on start-up company success. Relatively little research has looked directly at the benefits provided by entrepreneurship education; and the results to date are far from conclusive.

Most of the studies on entrepreneurship training look at whether people who have received this education perform better as entrepreneurs than those who have not . Studies by researchers at the University of Arizona, New York University and other institutions have found that people who have received entrepreneurship education perform better at running their own businesses.

However, these studies don’t necessarily show that entrepreneurship education causes better start-up company performance. The same people who are good at running their own businesses might also be the most interested in studying entrepreneurship. As a result, receiving entrepreneurship training and start-up company performance are correlated, but the education doesn’t cause the performance.

The gold standard in research is a controlled experiment. If some people are randomly assigned entrepreneurial education and others are not, then we can see if the training causes the performance.

Researchers have conducted a few randomized experiments to look at the effect of entrepreneurial training. One study by Dean Karlan of Yale University and Martin Valdivia of Grupo de Análisis para el Desarrollo randomly assigned entrepreneurship classes to female micro-entrepreneurs in Peru participating in a micro-credit program.

The researchers found mixed results for the effects of training. The entrepreneurs who received training showed higher sales, but did not have higher profit margins or more employees. The trained entrepreneurs also scored higher on “keeping records of their withdrawals from their business, an index of business knowledge questions, the proportion that report using profits for business growth, and implementation of innovations in the business.” But they were scored no differently on “changes in tax formality, paid fixed salary to self, number of sales locations, level of diversification, allowing sales on credit, keeping records of payments to workers, started new business, proportion of clients who faced problems with business and proportion of clients who planned innovations in their businesses.”

Lars Oppedal Berge Kjetil Bjorvatn and Bertil Tungodden of the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration randomly assigned recipients of microcredit in Tanzania to entrepreneurship training. They also found mixed results. They observed no significant effect of training on sales or the number of employees, but found that training increased the entrepreneurs’ record keeping, tendency to use bonuses to incentivize employees, and willingness to change their product mix.

Xavier Gine and Ghazala Mansuri randomly assigned Pakistani microentrepreneurs to receive six hours of training, the chance to participate in a loan lottery, neither, or both. Gine and Mansuri found that, for men, receiving business training reduced business failure, but had no significant effect on sales, business assets, or number of employees. For women, receiving business training had no significant effect on any of the performance measures.

The three studies described above don’t show consistent evidence that entrepreneurship training improves the performance of micro-entrepreneurs. Moreover, experiments with random treatment of the type of entrepreneurship training provided by universities in industrialized countries have not been conducted.

In short, getting some entrepreneurship training might increase your performance as a business owner. Then again it might not.

From Small Business Trends

Does Entrepreneurship Education Make People Better Entrepreneurs?

Seattle – September 18, 2010
New York – September 24, 2010
San Francisco – October 23, 2010

I’ll be attending and speaking at BizTechDay in San Francisco. I would love to see you there at that event.

BizTechDay is an intensive one-day conference founded by Edith Yeung, a young entrepreneur herself. I met Edith in New York earlier this year at the Small Business Summit. She told me how she started the event in San Francisco, but this year has expanded it to 2 additional cities. Her energy is inspiring and she’s such an interesting person — I knew I  wanted to get to know her and learn about BizTechDay.

There are a lot of conferences out there. Although this will be my first year at BizTechDay, I can tell it’s going to be different, because of the emphasis on learning from other entrepreneurs — especially those in technology — who tell you how they grew or are growing their businesses. You can learn from people who’ve “been there, done that.” And the networking opportunities look awesome.

Expect to get fired up by stories, ideas and strategies of other inspiring entrepreneurs.  I enjoy events like this because it gives me a chance to meet in person the people I’ve connected with online through social media like Twitter.  So if you plan to attend the San Francisco event, I will look forward to meeting you there.

If you register using our discount code you’ll get 20% off the registration:  SmallBizTrendsEarly.

From Small Business Trends

Get Fired Up at BizTech Day: Join Me

About the List

Putting together this list was challenging because there are so many wonderful books to choose from.  Ultimately it came down to creating a mix of books that was targeted to small business owners and that will help us build our brands  and grow our businesses.  These books run the gamut from those that strive to give you an overview and strategic context for the social media trend — to more detailed how-to books that will help you apply social media in your everyday marketing tactics.

Overall, the intention of this list is to provide a spectrum of information that will leave you feeling better, smarter and faster when it comes to social media.

Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff

Whenever a CEO or small business owner comes to me and says “I’m not sure I understand the business value of social media,”  I tell them to read this book first.  Groundswell is written by a team of researchers from Forrester Research.  These people have done more research on social media for this book (and continue to empirically study social media and document it) than you or I will do in a lifetime.

Because this book was written in 2008 when social media was still “new” to even the professionals, it explains social media in a way that all of us can understand and relate to.  Groundswell will give you a framework and a context within which to place new learning.  It is well written, easy to read and full of research data that you can trust.

The Facebook Effect: The Inside Story of the Company That Is Connecting the World by David Kirkpatrick

If you’re a business history buff who enjoyed the “Pirates of Silicon Valley” movie about Steve Jobs and Bill Gates – then you will also enjoy The Facebook Effect.  It was written by a journalist who has interwoven his interviews with Mark Zuckerberg and the key players who turned a school hobby/project into the realization of Zuckerberg’s vision to change the world by connecting people.

This isn’t necessarily a book about how to use social media, but it will take you behind the scenes of several social networking sites and how they succeeded and failed.  It’s great business reading in general.

The Digital Handshake: Seven Proven Strategies to Grow Your Business Using Social Media by Paul Chaney

If you’re fed up because the time and money you’ve already invested in traditional marketing like advertising or direct mail isn’t paying off, or you’re frustrated because you see the world of marketing changing and you’re not sure how to maximize the technology for business objectives, then this book is for you.

While it won’t show you detailed nuts and bolts of how to start a blog or how to use Twitter, it will help you to start plotting your next move.

The Social Media Bible: Tactics, Tools, and Strategies for Business Success by Lon Safko and David K. Brake

When a book has the word “Bible” attached to the subject and in the title, you automatically assume that it has everything you’ll need to get through life as it concerns that topic.  And that’s exactly what you’ll find here.

This book covers some history and background, as well as tools and strategies that you can use to grow your business with social media.

The New Community Rules: Marketing on the Social Web by Tamar Weinberg

Let’s say you are now “sold” on the idea that using social media as part of your marketing strategy is probably a good thing.  Yet, despite all the books out there, you’re still not sure exactly what to do or where to do it or how to do it – beyond establishing a basic profile or a presence.  

The New Community Rules is your next step.  This book will give you the specifics you’re looking for.  It covers a number of niche social sites you may not be as familiar with, and includes short success case studies.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Social Media, But Were Afraid to Ask… by Hilary JM Topper MPA

There is something very appealing about a short, pocket-sized book with the title “Everything you ever wanted to know.”  This book gives you short, succinct descriptions and tips on many of the most useful social media applications.

Newbies will love its short, easy-to-grasp style; intermediates will find applications they may not have thought of using before; and advanced users will find a few gems and recommend it to their friends who are just starting out.

Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith

By now you’ve noticed that the social media revolution requires a new and different way of thinking.  This makes Trust Agents the perfect book to read next.  It’s written by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith and endorsed by Seth Godin — all trusted marketing minds whose work has stood the test of time.

This is an easy read and will get you squarely in the social media mind-set.  One warning: You may not agree with what you read.  You may not like it.  But understand this:  It’s how the technology is impacting people and small business.  Embrace it.

Viral Loop: From Facebook to Twitter, How Today’s Smartest Businesses Grow Themselves by Adam L. Penenberg

You’re almost a pro now (after reading the 7 books above)!

Have you ever wondered what it is about some concepts, ideas or applications that makes them go viral?  Viral Loop has the answer.

This is another business history book that proves that viral marketing has been with us for ages and not just since the advent of the “Forward” button on our e-mail.

Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion by Gary Vaynerchuk

The key to really making a social media strategy work is passion and authenticity.  If you’re wondering how you can harness your passion for your business to hit the big time using social media, “Crush it!” will be a fun read for you.

This book will help you understand that in order to be successful, you have to look at everything in your business as potential content.  It’s a case study of a traditional wine business and its transformation into a modern, social media marketing driven enterprise whose CEO used his passion for unpretentious-ness as an asset.

Wild West 2.0: How to Protect and Restore Your Reputation on the Untamed Social Frontier by Michael Fertik  and David Thompson

Perhaps the best reason (and one not often talked about) to get your business actively using social media is reputation management. The question every small business owner needs to ask him- or herself is, “Do I want to manage my online reputation or do I want to leave it to chance?”

This book will show you how reputations are created, controlled and managed.

* * * * *

So there you have it — a mix of social media books that every small business owner should have on the shelf. If you’re wondering what social media strategies and tactics you should put in your marketing plan this year, you’re guaranteed to find them here.

From Small Business Trends

10 Social Media Books Every Small Business Owner Should Read

This list of contests, competitions and awards for small businesses is brought to you every other week as a community service by Small Business Trends and Smallbiztechnology.com.

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The Franchise Council Contest
Enter by September 6, 2010

A nationwide contest for business owners interested in an initial launch of franchising their businesses. The winner will receive $87,000 in business services. The Franchise Council (TFC), in partnership with Franchise Brokers Association (FBA), an industry association, will manage the contest, which runs from June 1 – September 6, 2010.

The contest winner will be announced October 20 at the FBA national meeting in Orlando. Online application and rules can be found at http://www.franchiseba.com/development. Or contact Randy Hove, FranNet – St. Louis, at (314) 614-8940 or rhove@frannet.com.

Sugartone Sweet Business Blogging Contest
Enter by September 9, 2010

BizSugar and Bloggertone are hosting a blogging contest to share and promote some of the finest small business news, information and tips online. To enter, submit an original blog post fitting the theme of “Making your business amazing.”

The blogger receiving the most votes from the BizSugar community will receive a $350 HP gift certificate. Second prize is a $250 HP gift certificate, awarded for the “most engaging comment” as selected by BizSugar judges.

WIE Prize
Enter by September 10, 2010

The WIE Prize in conjunction with I/O Ventures is an early stage startup program that focuses heavily on investment and mentorship, and they are looking for the next female tech trailblazing entrepreneur. Win up to $25,000 investment in your product, for which I/O Ventures will receive 8 percent common stock in your company.

Free PR Contest From Vantage Communications
Enter by September 17, 2010

Vantage Communications is offering a free PR contest providing 20 hours of free PR services to one winning technology company. Note: The contest is open to any size technology company, including SMBs. See website for rules and to enter.

New Ideas Contest
Enter by September 20, 2010

Winners will be announced at the Small Business Innovation Summit and Expo in Charleston, South Carolina, on November 3. The grand prize winner will receive $5,000 in seed money for his or her business idea, a scholarship to a FastTrac entrepreneurial training program, tickets to the Small Business Innovation Summit and Expo and a Dream Team of Mentors to help cultivate the idea.

Five first place prizes of $2,500 will be awarded in the categories of Bio-Science, Software/Information Technology, Engineering, Environmental Sustainability and Wild Card. Each winner will receive a scholarship to FastTrac and tickets to the Small Business Innovation Summit and Expo. There will also be five $1,000 honorable mention prizes distributed in each category.

America’s Got Net Video Contest
Enter by September 30, 2010

This contest is is open to U.S.-based individuals, small businesses and nonprofit/charitable organizations that demonstrate the benefits of the open Internet.

Video entries will be judged by some of the Internet’s most influential celebrities; winners will receive a prize package containing an Amazon Kindle DX, Google Nexus One Phone, Slingbox PRO-HD, Skype mobile phone plus one year of Skype Unlimited World Calling, and a Sony bloggie. Small business and nonprofit winners will also win free advertising and promotion, the chance to be featured in an Open Internet Coalition ad campaign, and a VIP trip to Washington, DC, to meet with key decision-makers on the open Internet.

PITCH: Women 2.0 Startup Competition
Enter by October 1, 2010

Open to early-stage ventures around the world, from high-growth business ventures in Web 2.0 to mobile, from enterprise Web/mobile to consumer clean/biotech. Applying companies must be in beta stage and have not received significant funding.
A handful of startups will be chosen to pitch live in San Francisco at the 4th Annual PITCH Night on November 4th, 2010. Previous years’ prizes included meetings with Michael Moritz (Sequoia Capital), Tim Draper (Draper Fisher Jurvetson) and Esther Dyson (investor in companies such as Flickr, del.icio.us and 23andMe), and a host of startup-friendly services.

Startup Nation Homebased 100
Enter by October 1, 2010

The 2010 StartupNation Home-Based 100 will once again rank the best performing home-based businesses across America in 10 distinct categories. To enter, you must be home-based, must have a website for your business, and some aspect of your business should fit at least one of the themes of the Top Ten categories.

ACCO Brands Everyday Heroes Contest
Enter by October 31, 2010

What is an Everyday Hero? It’s a person who knows how to use his/her office tools to make things run smoothly; a person to whom everyone turns to pull it all together in a crunch; an individual who quietly gets the job done — often without being recognized. Everyday Heroes can enter the contest now at accoheroes.com. ACCO Brands will award a grand prize of $1,000 redeemable at office product dealers to one winner in each of three categories — business, home/home office and school.

Show Us Your Office Contest from Regus
Enter by October 31, 2010

Contestants can enter a photo or video of their current, less-than-ideal workplace, and site viewers will be able to vote for the entry most deserving of a new office. The 10 entries with the most votes will proceed to the final round of judging. One lucky winner will receive a year of fully furnished, fully equipped office space at any of Regus’ more than 400 U.S. locations. Nine runner-ups will receive Virtual Office Plus packages from Regus, allowing them to work more productively on the go.

The Business Card Project
Open entry deadline

MOO.com is giving away more than $250,000 worth of design services and MOO products to 500 small businesses. Each winner will receive a one-time business card redesign by a professional design team and 50 free business cards from MOO. Check out a great “before and after” on the site.

The Cleantech Open Ideas Competition
Enter by October 2010

Cleantech Open runs the world’s largest clean technology business competition and is looking for the best clean technology ideas from around the world. Just for sharing your idea, you could win a prize package of services worth $100,000 to help you start a business. Winners of each individual National Competition get to represent their country as Global IDEAS finalists at the annual Cleantech Open Awards Gala on November 16, 2010, in San Francisco.

There, your idea will be presented in a five-minute pitch in front of a crowd of 3,000 investors, entrepreneurs, sponsoring companies, corporations, members of academia, press and others interested in hearing your ideas and getting involved.

The crowd will vote via text message for the “People’s Choice,” and you could win $100,000 in marketing support, legal advising, conferencing services and more to help launch your business. See the site for entry details, and sign up to receive the newsletter to get updates.

Business.com’s 10th Brithday iPad Giveaway
Enter by November 1, 2010

Enter to win one of 10 Apple iPads and enjoy special discounts from Business.com partners including Vistaprint, Dell, TelecomRush, Intuit and others.

Dream Big Small Business Award
Enter by January 7, 2011

The DREAM BIG Small Business of the Year Award, sponsored by Sam’s Club, is designed to honor U.S. job creators and recognize their significant contributions as drivers of economic growth. The 2011 application will become available starting Tuesday, September 21, 2010. View the eligibility and criteria to learn more and check out the Application Process FAQs for tips on filling out the application.

To find more small business events, contests and awards, visit our Small Business Events Calendar.  In addition, we also have a giveaways page; click to learn more about our small business giveaways section.

If you are putting on a small business contest, award or competition, and want to get the word out to the community, please submit it through our Small Business Event and Contests Form. (We do not charge a fee to be included in this listing — it is completely free to submit your award or contest for our review. )

Please note: The descriptions provided here are for convenience only and are NOT the official rules. ALWAYS read official rules carefully at the site holding the competition, contest or award.

From Small Business Trends

Small Biz Contests and Competitions

Don’t just imagine a single monumental act like a scene from a movie.  Instead, plan on a series of well-executed plays.

At least that’s my takeaway from the new book Clutch: Why Some People Excel Under Pressure But Others Don’t by Paul Sullivan, a New York Times columnist who writes the “Wealth Matters” column for the paper.  I received a review copy of this book, and was intrigued enough to read and see how it stacks up from a business owner’s perspective.   I think Clutch gives good advice for readers looking to understand why some people come through in tough moments — and why others choke.

In Sports and Life, “Clutch” Moments Are All Around Us

Clutch starts with the anticipated sports references, but it inspects sports moments differently from most books. Author Paul Sullivan’s interesting take is that being “clutch” is not just a “triumphant sports moment: the home run that wins the game or the basket or stolen pass at the buzzer…. It’s the precisely executed series of plays in football, not the Hail Mary.”

It’s this approach that makes the book Clutch an appealing aid for developing business leaders.  A successful, established business is the result of many acts of growth and development, not just the big sale that saves the business from failure or propels it to new heights.  Using this approach can help business owners and employees realize that marketing is a series of plays, that working toward profitability is a series of plays, that social media success is a series of plays, and so forth.

Sullivan sets out to show readers how to learn clutch ability. He describes why people are “clutch” using five main personal traits:

1. Focus
2. Adaptability
3. Discipline
4. Presence of mind
5. The combined motivation of fear and drive

Sullivan does a splendid job of tying examples to his points.  Clutch is not necessarily a how-to book like Find Your Zebra. So it may fail those who really need step-by-step instruction in a business setting.  But it succeeds in providing good introspection for those who can then figure out how to apply the points raised.

Overcoming the Obstacles to Being Clutch

The most intriguing chapters regard the many hurdles that stand in the way of making clutch plays, such as “pride … an emotion that inhibits many people’s ability to make all kinds of necessary decisions.  In financial matters it acts like a smokescreen.”  Overthinking and overconfidence are other potential hazards to great leaders.

As one example of overthinking, Sullivan examines why the batting performance of New York Yankee Alexander “A-Rod” Rodriguez declines in the post season despite a great regular season performance.  (The performance examined is up to the 2008 season, prior to the 2009 championship … sorry, Yankee fans!).  A study of batting averages proves that Yankee Derek Jeter and even Boston’s David “Big Papi” Ortiz  comes through in key playoff situations (again, sorry, Yankee fans!).  The author goes on about Rodriguez:

“He was great but his problem was what he was thinking when he stood at the plate with the game on the line. Jeter is so great under pressure because he is focused on hitting the ball [and] making the play, and he is completely in the present. A-Rod has often looked like Ken Lewis at a congressional hearing: taut, stiff, not himself …. Could A-Rod ever stop comparing himself to great players and actually be great under pressure?”

The author then considers the challenges overconfidence can bring to decision-making and execution of plans:

Overconfidence is the bigger, more destructive cousin of overthinking …. When someone like A-Rod overthinks the situation, he fails personally, but other teammates can make up for the shortcomings. When a leader becomes overconfident, his choking can be systematic.

How Clutch Applies in Business Life

Sullivan reviews the management of the GM-Toyota NUMMI plant through the eyes of John Shook, Toyota’s first American manager. Shook sees how the “clutch” difference plays out in the management style of the Toyota executive:

The pressure to succeed with NUMMI was immense, but what struck him was how Toyota executives handled it. They used it to focus on their work and did not allow it to cause stress. “Most of our quintessential American leaders – like a Lee Iacocca or a Jack Welch – have this image of deciding from your gut … The Japanese don’t play that game.”

Sullivan also surveys stage fright and the career of actor Larry Clarke (who had a recurring role as Detective Morris LaMotte on “Law & Order”) on how to gain presence of mind needed to perform and to keep the past at bay.  Imagine this as an aid in making major pitches before clients and large audiences.  The world of finance provides examples of accountability as Clutch examines the decisions of Bank of America’s Ken Lewis and Chase’s Jamie Dimon during the Merrill Lynch and Bear Stearns deals, respectively.

Dimon was the technocratic leader, the man sifting through the numbers and demanding accountability from everyone and himself.  Lewis was the throwback to the imperial CEO, demanding respect by dint of his office and the standing of B of A….  In the moment when [Lewis] should have accepted responsibility [for Merrill Lynch] … he punted …. Without taking personal responsibility, a leader can never be clutch.

Most small business owners will want to read the segments focusing on clutch situations with money for lessons in the inner courage to face tough choices.

One aside: The last chapter is the author’s interview with Tiger Woods shortly before Woods’ personal scandal. I did not feel it added a new insight to the examples given, but it did provide a good closer.

What Could Work Differently for a Business Reader

I did wish that Clutch had more specific examples related to small business, such as the experiences that solopreneurs and small startups undergo.  Given the high risk of failure in a small business, these examples would have provided a more direct example to readers in such positions.  But the diversity of business examples enables readers to understand the points raised.

Also, I felt the segment on women being “double clutch” — due to success in industries that have historically discriminated against them — required more elaboration, since success in diversity often requires a cultural commitment within an organization, one step beyond the personal traits of the leaders involved.  Addressing the nuances in business would have been a nice addition — cultural change in an institution may take several “plays” to achieve  –  but perhaps would have required another book to do justice to the topic.

Read to Know How to Succeed

Clutch is a terrific reinforcement for determining one’s strengths and weaknesses.  It shows that performance is the sum of one’s actions over time. It does not have the full psychology and the imaginative elephant-and-driver metaphor of Chip and Dan Heath’s Switch.

But within its format Clutch works well enough in showing what it takes to be successful in tight spots and truly shine in business and in life.

From Small Business Trends

Clutch Helps Business Owners Perform in Tough Times

I’m not going to bore you here with the myriad sales role-plays and sometimes ridiculous models and processes that I’ve been subjected to and tried, because you probably have your very own history that’s left you lukewarm on the whole sales thing.

Not only that, but the world has changed so much, who knows anymore what works and what doesn’t when it comes to sales?

An Upfront, no-B.S. Book About What Works

Well, it seems that Landy Chase knows how to sell successfully.  He has taken an upfront, no-B.S. stand on what it takes to sell today.  I’ve never met Landy Chase, and I haven’t talked to him as of this writing.  But his writing style and tone in this book left me thinking that this is a guy who has been there, done that and decided to not let the rest of us continue making fools of ourselves.

Chase  starts the book with a personal and embarrassing story about how a competitor completely outperformed him in a selling situation.  That takes guts.  So he got my attention and my respect within the first few pages.  Then he goes on to so completely “tell it like it is” that I didn’t know if I was getting spanked or coached for my own good.

Chase is a successful sales trainer and professional speaker who lives in North Carolina.  Don’t look to the bio for much information or reasons why you should read this book.  All the reasons are given inside the pages in the form of tips and how-to’s from someone who has tried, failed and honed in on a process and system that works.

Reading This Book Felt Like a Coaching Session

There are 12 chapters in 255 pages, written from the problem- or event-driven perspective of a salesperson.  In fact, I wonder if Chase thought the trigger for purchasing this book might be the loss of a big account or opportunity, because the introduction and the first chapter start with his personal story of a failed sales call and “The Real Reason You Lose to Competition.”

In many ways, this book feels like a conversation with a coach or with your dad after you’ve made some kind of mistake.  As I was reading this, I couldn’t help but feel a sort of invisible arm around my shoulder and a confident, knowing voice saying something like, “OK, so here’s how it really goes down.  When you get into this situation, you’re going to see these people and they will say this and that.  That’s when you ask them these questions.”

Predator Points and Other Interesting Insights

Every few pages, you’ll see a gray box entitled “Predator Point.”   These are quick-and-dirty tips to help you navigate those pesky surprises that crop up during the selling process.  Here are a few examples:

• “Callers will sometimes ask for a price over the phone.  Respond by saying, “I will not be in a position to quote fees until after our initial meeting.”

• “The influencer’s reasons for denying you access are completely  legitimate to them and must be respected.”

• “Handing out your proposal at the start of the meeting surrenders your control of the meeting.”

• “When presenting to one or two people, use your laptop.  For groups of three or more, use an overhead projector and screen.”

See?  These are terrific little tips that you can literally write down on an index card and carry with you.

One of my favorite chapters is “Role Call: Identifying the Inner Circle.”  If you read only one chapter (and you’ll want to read them all, trust me), this should be the one.  Chase lays out the roles you will run into on your competitive selling journey.  You’ll meet “Spock” – the person who is second to the decision-maker, but takes over when particular situations present themselves.  Then there’s the “Mole” –the person within a selling opportunity who is on your side.  Maybe you worked with them in a previous situation; maybe they have a vested interest in your success.  The important point is to develop a mole relationship within your target company.

Who Should Read This Book

If you are the person responsible for bringing in the business, you should read this book — you can’t afford not to.  Forget what you’ve learned in past sales trainings or even if you are currently working with a sales coach and trainer.  The advice in this book is solid.

If you’re a business owner and have a salesperson or team, you’ll want to get a copy for everyone on the sales team. Depending on the size of your business or whether you get involved in sales calls, it may not be a bad idea to work through the book together as you strategize around your next big opportunity.

Marketing people will find this book extremely helpful as they work to develop materials and marketing strategies that focus on what the customer needs to know rather than tooting their own horn.  For example, put a picture of your competitive advantage on a selling sheet, not a picture of your building (unless the building is your competitive advantage).

So What?

As much as I’d like to say that marketing is the most important function of any business, we all know that unless there are paying, profitable customers, there’s no chance of creating cool marketing strategies.  And if landing more, better, more profitable customers is your goal, then Competitive Selling has your answer.

From Small Business Trends

Competitive Selling: A Myth-Buster That Will Improve Your Performance