the entrepreneur's guidebook

Anita campbell doesn’t just run her own small business—she’s also looking out for the other 25 million small businesses in america.

It’s a bit unfair to ask Anita Campbell to sum up, in about 30 minutes, what she thinks are some of the most important trends sweeping the ever growing world of small business. It’s kind of like asking a top chef to explain his entire cooking philosophy in three words or less. The CEO, owner and editor-in-chief of the blog Small Business Trends (smallbiztrends.com), as well as the creator of Small Business Trends Radio (smbtrendwire.com), Campbell is constantly on the hunt for evidence of “shifts, changes and trends that are impacting small businesses.”

Why the enthusiasm for all things entrepreneurial? “It’s really two things,” says Campbell. “One, small business is just hot right now. If you look at the sheer numbers, we’re at something close to 25 million small businesses if you include the self-employed. The second reason I like small business is because…it’s got variety to it. Small-business owners tend to be very interesting people, they tend to be characters.”

Though it was tempting to ask for tales of her favorite small biz characters, we asked Campbell for her take on the top trends in small business right this moment. Here’s what she had to say:

What’s really exciting you about small businesses at the moment?
One trend that I see a lot of…is this whole idea of working virtually and being extremely mobile. [R]ather than having one official place of business, we see a distinct trend toward people working from their homes, from different locations, and communication via different technologies and collaborating through technology without actually being together in one place.

What the trend looks like:
Support Air is a $5 million business that sources replacement aircraft parts, operating as an intermediary between the parts suppliers and the aircraft operators. Like an increasing number of small companies, it is international in scope. Most of its business is done by Internet and fax. What makes the [company’s recent] relocation [from Miami to the Miami Valley in Ohio] so feasible is the “virtual” nature of the business. This business does not necessarily need to be near its customers, suppliers, raw materials or transportation facilities. It can locate in a place that’s simply convenient to its owner.—A.C.

Hasn’t that been going on for a while? what’s changed?
The technology is not only better, it’s cheaper—the Internet is a large driver of this. The fact that you can access files and information and share and collaborate together over long distances much [more easily] than you could before the Internet. The fact that you can communicate telephonically at a much lower cost today. And you have multiple choices of how you want to communicate, everything from free calls over the Internet using Skype to virtual voicemail systems, so you can have voicemail and transfer calls, but you can be across the United States from the person you’re transferring the call to. You no longer have to be confined by geography. The cost of this is now within reach of small businesses.

What’s the next trend that’s captured your interest?
What we’re seeing is that the pace of tech adoption has accelerated. It used to be that small businesses were seen as the laggards. They did not adopt technology, and in large part, it was because technology was so expensive. [Innovation] started with the big companies, and it could take years before it was provided at a small company price. What we’re seeing is a whole turning upside down of that, and it really mirrors something that’s going on in the general world—and that’s that the technologies are starting as Web-based technologies with consumers using them, even with teenagers. Take instant messaging. They start with general consumers and then go to solo entrepreneurs who don’t have a lot of money to invest in a lot of technology.

What the trend looks like:
Sawtelle Mountain Resort, a small hotel and RV park in the West Yellowstone area, is using technology in unique and exciting ways. For its new Web site, it selected the open source blogging software, WordPress (wordpress.org). WordPress allowed the hotel owner to redesign its Web site so that it could be updated quickly and easily by the hotel staff. For instance, on July 1, Sawtelle Mountain Resort added free Wi-Fi for its guests and was able to add a notice to its Web site in just two minutes, with this easy-to-use blogging software. They can even include seasonal “messages from the manager” on the home page. While the site does not look like a blog at first glance, if you look closely, it has certain features of a blog, including these “messages from the manager,” which are actually blog posts.—A.C.

Why is that so important?
We’re seeing this growth at the solo entrepreneur level. Technology levels the playing field. [It’s] not a prohibitive element anymore, [especially in information technology]. It’s a little different when you get into manufacturing technology, pieces of equipment and so on, but even that technology is coming down.

Where is this trend most evident?
[In] software as a service. [Instead of having to buy software,] companies can go to a site and pay a monthly fee [to use it]. You may not even have to download anything. You can use that software online instead of buying a license. TypePad, [a blogging site], is one example; salesforce.com is another for managing customer relationships, Quicken even has an online version of QuickBooks. Then you have all manner of the things that Google provides now for free. In fact, Microsoft is very much on a tear right now to move from the old model of providing software that’s on a machine to software that is provided as a service over the Web. You have all these things out there that people use as services that have just opened up a whole new world for small businesses. If you went back 10 years ago, you couldn’t even dream of this stuff.

[Also,] just look at the way Google has radically altered the online advertising space with its efforts, which is a model that is perfect for small businesses. What this has done has made an ad campaign online within reach and within the technological and design capabilities of a small business. You can go in and create this small little ad within minutes…it’s all self-serve.

How is small business changing traditional work models?
Basically, retirement is becoming a thing of the past, and former corporate people [now] find and discover the world of entrepreneurship. We used to think you would retire from your corporate job after 35 years with a gold watch and go off and play golf or whatever. These days, retirement as a permanent dedicated state is more and more rare. What’s happening is people are starting their own businesses. You’ve got this whole category of [people] becoming entrepreneurs later in life than you would normally expect.

What the trend looks like:
Rich Fein had been a business-to-business database marketer when I first met him back in 1999. He was one of the key people I hired to help build my first Internet business.

Rich is an example of a Baby Boomer entrepreneur. More than a year ago, he started looking for a business to buy. He came close a couple of times, but just hadn’t found the right thing. So I was greatly surprised to learn that he is now the proud franchisee of a painting company. From database marketing to painting—what a switch!—A.C.

Which trends are you putting to work for your business?
Definitely the changing technology, the changing use of the Web. They let me work virtually. They keep my startup costs low. I am very much committed to bootstrapping my business. I have not needed to saddle myself with big loans or go outside for investors. I have been able to manage the group based on building off of my customer income.

That’s another trend that I’m seeing…[t]his idea of keeping your startup costs low and bootstrapping your business is a very real one. We’re back now at a point where we can be entrepreneurs again, like the founding fathers were. We went through the industrial revolution. Now we’re back to the point where [anyone] can be an entrepreneur, because you don’t need to make that big an investment.

_________________________________________________

jenna schnuer is a freelance writer based in New York. Email Jenna at editor@executivetravelmag.com.