Why Your Small Business Should Adopt New Technology Bit by Bit

There are tons of tech tools out there that can help your small business. But adopting all of that new technology at once can be overwhelming and potentially lead to a loss of productivity. Instead, it can be more beneficial to take small steps.

Small Business Trends caught up with Rebekah King, director of marketing systems for Cox Automotive at Salesforce’s recent Dreamforce event in San Francisco. Cox Automotive is a company that helps dealers and other automotive businesses digitize their marketing and sales processes. So King is uniquely familiar with how technology can help businesses of all sizes. But just because technology can be helpful doesn’t mean you should just adopt every tech tool out there right away.

In fact, King says that Cox Automotive’s strategy is more about taking small steps. And she thinks it’s a model that can work really well for companies of all sizes, no matter how big the vision might be.

Step-By-Step Technology Implementation

King said, “We may have a big vision about unifying our client experience. But we get there through putting one foot in front of the other in a very small and practical way. And one day you’ll look up after doing that and see that you’ve put together a whole program that is really moving your business forward but you didn’t spend seven months figuring it out or two years formulating the strategy. You just spent three weeks on that one piece.”

So for small businesses looking to shape a tech adoption strategy, King’s advice is to choose one small thing to focus on. Then make that small change and execute it fully before moving onto the next thing.

King added, “The very practical thing is to just take one piece of the functionality you want to be able to do. If you want to do lead nurturing — lead nurturing is a huge end-to-end vision. So just start with one part of that.”

This article, "Why Your Small Business Should Adopt New Technology Bit by Bit" was first published on Small Business Trends

Small Business Trends Magazine’s Planning Edition Helps You Map Your Company’s Future

It’s natural this time of year to think about the past and plan for the future.

That’s why we’re releasing the Planning edition of Small Business Trends magazine today. Inside, you’ll see the gamut of advice from small business experts on subjects of vital importance to companies like yours and their future.

For startups, we’ve got advice on the best parts of a winning business plan. You do have a business plan, right? Even if you own an established business but don’t have a plan in writing, now’s the time for one. The tips from expert Steven Scheck have businesses of the less and more established variety covered.

Stuck on writing a solid business plan? Check out the article inside from our reporter Rob Starr. He goes over the 10 steps you need to take to write a solid and effective business plan today.

Of course, there are business owners reading this right now and thinking about the business plan they once wrote but scrapped. Small business expert Melinda Emerson has some great advice on how to fix common mistakes that mar many business plans.

Narrowing focus a bit, our reporter Nash Riggins offers up tips for putting together your company’s marketing plan — a critical step. And Larry Alton goes over a change management plan and why your small business needs one.

And if you ever plan to walk away from your business in the distant future, planning for your own retirement as an entrepreneur is critical. After all, you don’t have an employer looking out for that part of your life!

There’s all this and a lot more planning advice in this edition of Small Business Trends magazine.

Be sure to download your FREE copy today!

Photo via Shutterstock

This article, "Small Business Trends Magazine’s Planning Edition Helps You Map Your Company’s Future" was first published on Small Business Trends

Dropbox acquires publishing platform Verst, will shut it down on Dec. 21

 The team behind Verst is joining Dropbox, in an acquisition that marks the end of the Verst publishing platform. The startup actually started life as DWNLD, a platform that transformed websites into mobile apps. It raised a $12 million Series A led by Grelock Partners before shifting focus to Verst, which launched earlier this year as a blogging platform that has traffic and revenue… Read More

Credit card fraud? These companies think they’ve solved that problem

(This post originally appeared on The Washington Post)

Online purchases are up and Cyber Monday sales were strong, which is good news for ecommerce merchants. But these merchants still face a significant challenge: protecting against data breaches, particularly when credit card information is stolen.

Credit card fraud increased 40 percent in 2016, according to one report, with a cost to consumers of approximately $16 billion. There may never be a guaranteed way to thwart hackers. But a few start-ups have come up with a solution to reduce, if not eliminate, the problem. Their idea? Disposable credit cards.

“It’s a way of muddying the waters,” said Boling Jiang, chief executive of New York payments start-up Pay With Privacy in this Los Angeles Times report. “Fraudsters get these numbers, but they’re useless.”

The concept is simple. Jiang’s service allows people to generate as many “virtual cards” as they want–each with their own number (there are 10 quadrillion possible 16-digit combinations) that are tied to their bank account. Each virtual card comes with its own security code and user-assigned expiration trigger. A trigger, for instance, could be set to go off after the card is used once, or after a certain dollar amount is reached. Or the cards can be targeted for use at just a single merchant.

The concept isn’t exactly new. Some financial institutions tried it before but didn’t commit. More recently, the chip-cards we use today include enhanced security that is built on the ability to generate a single user “token” for each transaction. That’s all well and good for transactions that are in-store. But the security feature is useless for the online purchases many of us are doing, unless you’re one of the few and proud using mobile apps from Apple, Google and PayPal.

Jiang’s firm is competing in a crowded space of start-ups that all offer their services free to consumers and make their money by taking a percentage of the transaction fees generated (remember – they’re helping financial institutions reduce their fraud costs). Many of these companies also issue their own debit cards and are able to earn interest on deposits. Another handy feature is that the products, which are managed through mobile apps, allow customers to individually cancel subscriptions just by simply de-activating a virtual card.

Some question whether the cards are necessary, given that federal laws pretty much insulate consumers from any liabilities caused by fraud. The companies answer yes, because their products are providing a valuable solution to the biggest problem created by credit card fraud: our time. Who wants to deal with the aggravation of reporting an incident, cancelling cards and getting new cards issued, right? Not me.

H20.AI’s snares $40M Series C investment led by Wells Fargo and Nvidia

 H20.AI started almost 6 years ago with a mission to simplify and democratize artificial intelligence. Today the company announced a $40M Series C round. Nvidia and Wells Fargo led the round with participation from New York Life, Crane Venture Partners, Nexus Venture Partners and Transamerica Ventures. Today’s investment brings the total raised so far to $75 million. The last round was… Read More

50 Small Business Export Ideas

Small businesses make up nearly all of the U.S. exporting market. And international consumer markets like China’s growing middle class offer plenty of opportunities for even more small businesses to get in on the exporting game.

Small Business Export Ideas

If you’re interested in starting a business that exports products to other markets around the world, check out these 50 small business export ideas.

Vehicle Exports

The auto industry in the U.S. makes it a great area to focus an exporting business. You can work with manufacturers or even export used vehicles.

Auto Parts Exports

You could also focus your efforts on smaller products within the automotive niche like parts and tools.

Computer Exports

Computers and similar tech are also popular in markets around the world. So you could start an exporting business that focuses on computer parts and similar hardware.

Smartphone Exports

Or you could focus on smartphones and used mobile technology products.

Tech Accessory Exports

There’s also a huge assortment of tech accessories for smartphones and computers that you could export from the U.S.

Clothing Exports

There isn’t a ton of clothing manufacturing in the U.S. compared to some other countries. But you can still create a business that exports clothing from certain U.S. designers or even independent artisans.

Beauty Product Exports

You can also start a business that exports beauty products like cosmetics, hair care and skin care items.

Cotton Exports

Cotton is a popular export for U.S. businesses. You can ship the raw material to manufacturers in other countries that make clothing and textiles.

Art Exports

You could also start a business that focuses on exporting art to collectors around the world.

Collectible Exports

There are also a number of other niches that are popular with collectors around the world. So you could start a business with a very specific collectible product line that you ship out to those collectors.

Leather Goods Exports

Leather goods are also popular in markets around the world, making for great opportunities for exports.

Timber Exports

You can also start a business that exports raw wood material to companies that manufacture furniture and similar products.

Paper Exports

Or you could process that material further and then ship out raw paper materials to businesses that use it in various manufacturing processes.

Home Goods Exports

For those who want to ship products to actual consumers or retailers that sell to consumers, you could sell home decor or housewares.

Produce Exports

Farming or agriculture businesses can grow by exporting produce to various markets overseas.

Meat Exports

Beef and other meat products from U.S. farmers are also popular in markets around the world like China.

Seafood Exports

If you have a fishing business, you can also export those products to markets around the world that don’t have access to the same types of seafood.

Rice Exports

The U.S. recently struck a deal to export rice products to China. So this is another viable opportunity for U.S. food businesses.

Livestock Exports

For businesses that have the logistical ability to transport animals, you can export livestock to other countries in North America.

Animal Feed Exports

Animal feed is another potential area for farming and food businesses to consider.

Packaged Food and Beverage Exports

You can also actually package and brand food products and then sell them directly to consumers or retail outlets in other countries.

Pharmaceutical Exports

Though there are plenty of hoops to jump through when exporting pharmaceuticals, you can work with drug companies to arrange the export of various pharmaceuticals to medical suppliers in other countries.

Metal Exports

Various metals can also be popular for manufacturers and other types of businesses around the world.

Gem Exports

Or you could focus on a smaller niche and export gems to jewelers and similar businesses in other countries.

Machinery Exports

Machinery and factory equipment is another popular category for U.S. exporters.

Transportation Equipment Exports

You can also focus on equipment for transportation companies like aviation parts or equipment for railway systems.

Chemical Exports

Organic chemicals can also be popular with a variety of different organizations around the world.

Medical Equipment Exports

Or you could focus on providing medical equipment to facilities in other countries.

Electrical Equipment Exports

You can also build a business that exports electrical equipment to builders and businesses.

Coal Exports

Coal is still used by a lot of outlets as a power source. So you can potentially export the material to those outlets.

Plastic Exports

You can also export raw plastic material to manufacturers that use the material in various products.

Environmental Technology Exports

Or you can provide products or even services for companies that want equipment and expertise to improve their environmental initiatives.

Handmade Product Exports

Handmade products have become increasingly popular in markets around the world. So you can export your own handmade products or even arrange exports for other handmade businesses.

Used Product Exports

You can also focus on selling a variety of different used or secondhand products to consumers in other countries.

Software Service Exports

If you have the ability to create software or cloud based services, you can focus on selling those products or services to users in other countries.

Financial Service Exports

It’s also possible to build a business around financial services that focuses on markets outside of the U.S.

Business Service Exports

Or you could provide services to other businesses and focus on working with companies in other countries.

Information Service Exports

Information service, like IT expertise or consulting, can also provide great business opportunities. And you can easily work with clients in outside the U.S. either by traveling or communicating mainly online.

Training Exports

You could also build a business centered around training for workers and companies in other countries.

Entertainment Exports

Since U.S. entertainment like music and movies tend to be popular in other countries as well, you can build an export business that brings those items to international consumers.

Construction Exports

You can also start a construction business that provides services in international markets.

Engineering Exports

Similarly, you can start an engineering business where you work with companies and organizations around the world.

Running an Export Warehouse

You might also consider starting a warehouse business where you store and arrange for the export of various products for other businesses.

Dropshipping Service

Or you could create a more all-encompassing service for ecommerce businesses by working as a dropshipping provider that covers all of the shipping and logistics for ecommerce businesses.

Export Brokerage

You could also start a business where you serve as a trade agent to help other small businesses manage their exports.

Customs Brokerage

Or you could focus more specifically on helping exporters with issues related to getting items through customs.

Export Consultant

It’s also possible to create a consultancy business that helps other businesses looking to break into the business of exporting.

Running an Export Directory

You could also start a business that lists various exporters in a directory format to help importers looking for specific products or services.

Export Marketing Service

For experienced marketers, you could start a marketing company that helps exporters market their products to their target customers outside the U.S.

Export Insurance Service

There are also a lot of insurance considerations for businesses that export. So you could start an agency that helps those businesses get the insurance they need to protect their assets.

Photo via Shutterstock

This article, "50 Small Business Export Ideas" was first published on Small Business Trends

How One Tech CEO Takes a Different Approach to Growing Her Business

Sponsored Post

tilr is an innovative hiring solution that’s taking a different approach to connecting job seekers with potential employers. An algorithmic hiring solution that matches companies and job seekers based on skills, it bypasses traditional search methods that rely on resume keywords.

We caught up with founder and COO Summer Crenshaw at Dreamforce to learn about the vision behind tilr and how the company is driving growth by thinking differently.

Q: Online job postings are hardly a new idea. What’s different about tilr?

My co-founder Carisa and I both previously worked at CareerBuilder.com, where we learned that traditional job posting technology is biased. It maximizes results for people who write resumes well, or college students who know how to stuff them with keywords. People who have gaps in education or employment are often eliminated, even though they are fantastic candidates. But there are a lot of companies who aren’t looking for the swankiest resume; they value workers based on the skills that they have. We created tilr to focus on the skills that a company needs — and a candidate has — not on their resume writing skills.

Q: tilr has a unique approach to understanding customers that you call empathy mapping. How do you do it? Is it hard?

Empathy mapping is super easy. My team is constantly thinking about our buyers and talking about their personas — but we take it to a whole new level. We think a lot about how a potential customer is impacted from an emotional standpoint. For example, we might know that she always commutes by car. What is she listening to? How does she feel when she gets to the office and opens her laptop? Going an extra level deeper helps us build products and experiences that will surprise and delight customers.

Q: You have a unique model for engaging with community organizations to help drive business. How does that work?

We’ve been partnering with community organizations, working together to provide them services they need. We’ve found that’s an effective way to get the word out about what we are doing for companies and individuals looking for work. For example, tilr is empowering workers to get back to work. And so is the United Way. We go about things in different ways but the end goal is the same. Community organizations have been a very, very important channel for us and that’s a playbook that we hope to replicate in additional cities.

Q: Has technology contributed to your success? What’s your advice for companies that are choosing and implementing it?

We’re a Salesforce shop, but although we’re a tech firm we don’t just use technology for the sake of it. Small businesses always have resource constraints, so you need to think long and hard about what success looks like. You have to do a cost-benefit analysis and examine what happens if you take a lower-cost solution now but have to retrofit it down the line. You have to be very proactive about scaling and planning for business success. Look 1 to 2 years out as you make decisions.

Image: Salesforce/Summer Crenshaw

This article, "How One Tech CEO Takes a Different Approach to Growing Her Business" was first published on Small Business Trends

WeWork has big plans for Alexa for Business

 Amazon is soon to announce Alexa for Business, and WeWork is one of the first partners to have hopped on the platform. WeWork’s vision is to use technology to help businesses make the most out of their physical space, all while customizing that space to each individual’s personal needs. The co-working giant has been on the Alexa for Business platform for about a month now, as part… Read More

Windows Introduces Sets, Aims to Streamline Small Business Digital Workflow

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) just announced Sets, a new feature which will make your workspace more efficient and the apps you work with easily accessible.

Introducing Windows Sets

Microsoft is tackling the task of bringing all of the apps together with Sets. This is one of those features that will have you saying, “What took so long?” Sets puts the applications and files of a project in a single tabbed window, and you will be able to access it across devices and platforms.

Whenever you work on a project, you might use Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Photoshop, YouTube, browse on the web and much, much more. While your browser might have your history, you will have to retrieve the other apps one at a time. This is a time consuming process, and one the new Microsoft feature was created to streamline.

What does this mean for your small business?  Sets will save you a lot of time when you are working on projects. Whether it is writing a report using only Word, or a complex project with multiple applications, you can now access them with just a click, even if you started weeks ago.

In an email sent out to Windows Insiders, Terry Myerson, Executive Vice President for Windows and Devices at Microsoft, describes the objective of Sets, “The concept behind this experience is to make sure that everything related to your task: relevant webpages, research documents, necessary files and applications, is connected and available to you in one click.”

What is Sets Doing?

The best way to explain it is, Windows is turning its interface into a kind of browser. Just as you can open multiple tabs on your browser and it will keep the history, Sets is essentially doing the same thing. It will work along with Timeline to organize the different apps into Sets.

While the end result might look simple, Microsoft is having to overhaul its Desktop Windows Manager within Windows 10 so apps can be switched using tabs.

When Will You See Sets?

Over the coming weeks select users part of the Windows Insiders Program will be first to experience Sets. It will roll out as an A/B test limited to Universal Windows Platform apps, such as Mail and Calendar. Other apps will become available in early 2018, including Microsoft Office 365 and others.

Microsoft will announce availability based on feedback from the test.

Image: Microsoft

This article, "Windows Introduces Sets, Aims to Streamline Small Business Digital Workflow" was first published on Small Business Trends

Innovid acquires Taykey to provide more data to video advertisers

 Video advertising company Innovid has acquired another advertising startup, Taykey. We’ve written about Taykey as a tool that companies can use to target their ads based on the topics that their desired audience is interested in. Innovid says that by combining Taykey’s analysis with its own data about video engagement, it can show advertisers how targeting relevant content affects… Read More

CloudBerry Backup 5.8 Promises Businesses Protection from Ransomware

If you are a small business hit by ransomware, there is a more than 1 in 5 chance you will have to cease operations right away.

The new CloudBerry Backup 5.8 has been designed to improve this statistic so your business can continue operating with minimal stoppage. The latest release of the flagship product now has a feature which protects your backups when a ransomware is detected. 

Growth of Ransomware

In some states around the country, ransomware has increased by as much as 500 percent. And when the attacks do take place, small businesses take a bigger hit than large enterprises. The Second Annual State of Ransomware Report by Malwarebytes said 1 in 6 small businesses saw 25 or more hours of downtime. Others experienced more than 100 hours of downtime.

If a small business doesn’t have access to its backup, the process can take much longer. This is why it is extremely important to have multiple backups including your own personal disk storage and the cloud. By protecting your cloud backup, CloudBerry makes it much easier to quickly have your operations up and running, the company says. 

CloudBerry Backup 5.8

CloudBerry was established in 2011 to provide cloud-based backup and file management services to small and mid-sized businesses. The founders wanted an easy way to backup platforms with military-grade encryption anyone can use.

By providing more than 20 online storage providers, including Amazon S3, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud and others, it allows businesses to use a company they are most likely already using.

The developer said it was responding to its customers when it included protection for each users cloud backups when ransomware is detected. David Gugick, Vice President of Product Management at CloudBerry, said in a press release, “No customer wants to be in a position where they feel the need to pay a ransom to get their critical data restored because good backups are not available for restore. Our latest release of CloudBerry Backup 5.8 protects existing backups so customers are better positioned to be able to restore their important files.”

The Impact of Ransomware on Small Businesses

Organizations of all sizes are being targeted with ransomware, but the impact is much worse for small businesses.

Marcin Kleczynski, CEO of Malwarebytes, minced no words when he explained the problem. In the press release announcing a report on ransomware trends, he said, “The stakes of a single attack for a small business are far different from the stakes of a single attack for a large enterprise. Osterman’s findings demonstrate that SMBs are suffering in the wake of attacks, to the point where they must cease business operations.”

Deploying CloudBerry Backup 5.8 is one of the ways you can dramatically reduce the impact of a ransomware attack the company says. But it takes being aware of the security threat in the digital landscape, and implementing policies with strict governance to make it work for your entire organization.

Price and Availability

CloudBerry Backup 5.8 is now available with a  variety of levels of service . The company provides several tiers, starting with Desktop Free (Windows, Mac, Linux); Desktop Pro (Windows, Mac, Linux); Server; MS SQL: MS Exchange; and Ultimate. They all come with a free 15-day trial and prices range from $29.99 to $299.99 for a one-time license fee per computer.

Image: CloudBerry

This article, "CloudBerry Backup 5.8 Promises Businesses Protection from Ransomware" was first published on Small Business Trends

Nextdoor’s Neighborhood Favorites Will Let Customers Rank Your Local Business

Nextdoor, a free and private social networking service for neighborhoods, recently announced its 2017 list of favorite neighbor-vetted local businesses, dubbed “Neighborhood Favorites.” The public list of favorite local spots celebrates and recognizes the best businesses in local communities annually. It can help promote your local mom and pop business, while also acting as a vetted guide for foodies across U.S. cities.

2017 Nextdoor Neighborhood Favorites

“Nextdoor members shared more than 17 million recommendations for their favorite local businesses, resulting in more than 200,000 Neighborhood Favorite local businesses this year in a variety of categories,” the San Francisco-based private social network said in a post on the company’s blog.

Among the Neighborhood Favorites winners whose businesses have captured the hearts of customers in their community is Clary Sage Salon and Spa in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

“Being a Neighborhood Favorite to us means we are providing a superior experience to our guests,” owner Rebecca Banuelo told Nextdoor.

The new annual awards program lets neighborhood customers rank local businesses in more than 100,000 neighborhoods across the country. To see Neighborhood Favorite winners in your neighborhood, just visit the Recommendations section on the Nextdoor website. If on the mobile app, click the heart icon in the bottom navigation bar to see your Neighborhood Favorites.

Is Your Business a Favorite in Your Neighborhood?

Nextdoor allows users to register after verifying both their identity and address. Once registered, you belong to a neighborhood and can see and chat with any nearby users who have signed up. Users can also vote on their favorite neighborhood businesses, including restaurants, coffee shops, bakeries, salons and hardware stores. The result is a customized, accessible online list of the best of the best businesses.

Not only is Neighborhood Favorites a powerful resource in your neighborhood, but it can also serve as a legitimate travel guide that highlights your small business and increases business from visitors coming to your neighborhood or city. The best local businesses are often the ones recommended by neighbors.

“These amazing local businesses are what make each of our neighborhoods unique and special,” adds Nextdoor.

Image: Nextdoor.com

This article, "Nextdoor’s Neighborhood Favorites Will Let Customers Rank Your Local Business" was first published on Small Business Trends