Lisa Druxman, Founder of Stroller Strides, is one lucky mom. But her success didn’t come easy and a lot of hard work was involved. After having her daughter, Lisa began to seek ways to get herself back into shape but also wanted to spend as much time as possible with her daughter. It was this that sprang life into the concept that eventually developed her successful business, Stroller Strides.

Stroller Strides is a fitness program that incorporates your children and their strollers into your workout routine. Lisa started the business out of her home and at one time she had 8 women - with children in tow - coming in and out of her house, each with their own set of keys.

It’s amazing to think, but from those early days eventually grew the successful Stroller Strides franchise and Lisa is now helping moms everywhere stay in shape - and she’s got the luxury of still being able to be a work at home mom while running her franchise.

Lisa was a recent guest on The Small Business Trends Radio Show where she shared her inspiring story and discusses in detail what it was like to create the franchise. If you’d like to hear Lisa’s story, please do so by visiting this post titled: How A Mompreneur Created A Franchise From Home. Her story is sure to inspire moms everywhere.

But I learned something today and that was - Twitter really can work for you and your business.  Yes, it’s a social media messaging system . . . but it’s also so much more than that. 

My colleague, Anita Campbell of Small Business Trends, took the question to the cyberworld and twittered her followers there.  To my surprise, within minutes she received 6 referrals.  By the end of the day she had 10 word of mouth referrals for me to review.  Even more impressive was the fact that several of the referrals were for local designers.  Imagine if I had to do that via ad placements, telephone or email?  Talk about instant gratification.

Anita gives the “skinny” on the benefits of using Twitter for business and discusses the experience in detail in her post.  For those of you who still aren’t sold on the benefits of the social media site for business, I’d suggest you give it a read and see exactly how Twitter worked for me and my business.

Don’t Believe the Hype 

Within two days after registering my new business, I had no less than five new credit card offers addressed to my company sitting in the mailbox. Sure, it was exciting to see my name listed as owner right above my new company name. Every offer was different and they all made it sound so easy to get a high credit limit to support my business. All I had to do was sign on the line. Luckily, I know better. If you want to start off on the right financial foot, don’t believe the hype. 

Take One Step at a Time 

Starting a business is an exciting time but it can also be a very confusing time for a business owner, especially those who are going about it on their own as a sole proprietor. Registering for the correct business licenses, buying the right equipment, finding customers, and making the ultimate executive decisions about your financial future can be inundating and stressful. Taking the steps one at a time is the best approach, especially when it comes to money and the cost of starting a business.

Caution, Caution, Caution 

The credit card offers that begin pouring in make everything look great on paper. These companies are offering you thousands of dollars to aid your start up and it can be very tempting. But the reality is, if you don’t already have a financial plan and accessible money for start up, perhaps you need to reconsider opening a business until you do. Using a credit card to fund your entire operation is not a good money move, unless you already have solid income prospects set up that will enable you to pay off the balance right away. The last thing you want to do is run up a bunch of credit cards and have no way to pay them off. As the credit card offers begin to pour into your mailbox, don’t sign up for every card.

Take Your Time, Be Responsible 

Instead, take some time to research what each card is offering and what benefits each card can provide for your business. Today’s credit cards are very different from even a few years ago. Credit cards are catering to the entrepreneurs and small business owners by offering incentive packages that are based directly on the needs of small businesses and each card offers something different. As the owner of a company, it is your responsibility to build a solid financial foundation for your company and make choices based on research. Consider what reward or benefit programs best match your business in the start up phase, as well as in the future.

Stick with One Card 

Stick with one credit card to track your expenses and earn rewards such as frequent flier miles or cash back incentives.   As a business owner you will no doubt be inundated with great sounding offers and free gift if you sign up now. You owe it to you and your business to disregard the hype and instead, seek out the best financial information for your business, especially when it comes to credit cards. If you aren’t going to do your homework, no one will do it for you. 

I have held out for my 9 years in this state that the key to turning things around is education, period. Here is an article excerpt from Crain’s Cleveland Business:

Thousands of jobs in this region and across Ohio are going unfilled for lack of skilled workers, leading Gov. Ted Strickland to push new programs for the state’s oft-criticized system for training workers.

Four of every 10 employers in Ohio reported having a hard time finding qualified workers.

In this region, thousands of job are open in health care, high technology, information technology and manufacturing.

There’s a perception that manufacturing is dead, and it’s anything but,” said Jack Schron, who employs 200 at his Collinwood rail yard plant.

Let’s see, plenty of jobs, not enough skilled workers, how to close the gap, sounds like education and training to me.

Read the full article: Thousands of jobs go unfilled for lack of skilled workers

P.S. Watch the upcoming Democratic debate, it will be filled with economic negatives, big business is bad messages aimed at Ohio. Seems to me the focus should be on education and training, not pity pile-ons.

When the matter of knowledge management and systems is raised in conversation with many sales managers and directors, they immediately look to the financial reporting within the company. They can run a plethora of reports on customers by product, turnover and margin which can be extrapolated to regions and a myriad of other reports by design.

Some companies extend the approach even further to systems that relate to quality assurance: the process to be used when entering orders to the financial or operational system, the process to be used for credit notes and other compliance obligations for the effective operation of the company. A CRM may also be in place but often the content within the software is sadly lacking any real information or value.

Are these systems? Huge Risks!

Most certainly, but they are potentially only about one tenth of what is required for effective sales force management and moreover, protection of the company’s knowledge against vagrant sales personnel.

There is a high degree of risk associated with operating a company whose knowledge of customers and associations is retained only in the heads of individuals. It is a risk that has seen many companies suffer significant downturns when that individual departs, leaving a massive void in their place. Companies can spend one or two years recovering from the lost information. The company does not really know the customer beyond their past buying trends and they lose enormous credibility as the new sales person struggles to find his way with what was a long standing customer.

Knowledge Management is about having systems for the sales force that;

1) Retains customer knowledge gained through interaction in sales activities, and more importantly,
2) Providing business and organisational knowledge for the sales force to be effective in their role.

A system that can achieve these two points leads to the establishment a standard of performance across the team that manages the experience of the customer.

The areas of knowledge are not the narrow vertical of information often thought of as financial/product knowledge nor the over promoted CRM software that exists in the market today. Rather, “knowledge” is about the all encompassing area within the selling function that was recognised by Harvard Business Review research as the core ingredient required to be a formidable competitor and a successful company. That is, a company that has well defined systems, filled with knowledge on many levels rather than the commonplace CRM. In fact, the Harvard Business Review cited the CRM system as an add-on rather than the pivotal system that most companies are led to believe.

Purpose of Knowledge Management 

The main purpose of knowledge management is about fully informing sales people before they go to a customer so that they possess a high level of credibility. Through knowledge management, sales people are given the tools and knowledge on how to use those them in order to enhance their communication with the customer.

They are also provided with knowledge on how to identify and cultivate opportunities for specific products. The working documents and methods used behind the scenes for planning, key account management, customer management, accurate forecasting, standards of operation and expectations are clearly defined. These are vast and potentially one of the most important investments for any company.

Each element of the knowledge management and systems directly affects the efficiency of the team and particularly, their capability to sign new business. The smarter an organisation becomes in its selling function, the more efficient and effective it becomes in how it operates, consequently leading to maximum growth achievements.

Your Responsibility 

As a director or executive of a company, it is your role to embark on the process of developing the knowledge management and systems whilst ensuring you are installing best practice that will mark you as a formidable competitor.

By starting to document your methodologies, experience and procedures in a way that is customized to your organizational values, style and approach, you will be taking the first step towards minimizing the risk of sales people leaving and taking your business with them.

Interestingly, most sales people report that on implementation of thorough systems and processes in an organization, they finally understand what is required and the boundaries they need to work within. In most cases, sales forces are as desperate for the right guidance and direction to conduct their sales activities as much as their managers’ need to for their sales teams to conform to the right procedures. Organizations with solid systems can usually deliver a 25-35% increase in results.

Get Help! 

Through the book, “Improving Sales Force Efficiencies” you can learn the keys to sales force efficiency. It takes you through what well defined systems are, knowledge management and how you can face the challenges of improving your organisation to be a low risk formidable competitor in the market. This book is a practical resource for its logical and valuable insights into many of the fundamental barriers that organisations place in front of themselves and stop potential growth in the future. Improving Sales Force Efficiencies is available through www.amazon.com in Europe and USA or directly with Sales Focus International www.salesfocusintl.com.

A recent poll by Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive found that 60 percent of U.S. adults feel their employer is obligated to help with retirement needs. Yet less than half of small businesses typically offer a retirement plan to workers, according to an Employee Benefits Research Institute survey.

This in spite of the fact that, from 1987 to 2006, workers at small businesses have shown an increased probability of participating in an employer-sponsored plan when one is made available to them. Since most working Americans continue to look to their employers for help in building retirement savings, small to mid-sized businesses should focus on providing accessible retirement programs in order to effectively recruit and retain a high-quality workforce.

Symetra  retirement plans are designed to bring Fortune 500-style retirement benefits to smaller employers without busting their budgets. They provide attractive investment choices coupled with low administrative costs.

The Symetra 401(k) platform, for example, features several nonproprietary, multimanager mutual fund choices from leading investment firms. Symetra plans also include auto enrollment and target date funds tailored for small to mid-sized businesses. In addition, Symetra offers a low-cost and transparent fee structure. Other benefits to plan sponsors include fiduciary backing from third party investment experts at Mesirow Financial, along with regular investment reviews and consultations with employers.

According to Dave Kulchar of Oswald Financial, Inc., who specializes in retirement plans and understands the importance of the small plan market, “For small businesses, the availability of a 401(k) or other defined contribution plan is a crucial part of hanging on to top-flight talent. What many employers don’t realize is that it is now quite simple and affordable to provide a robust retirement plan. As the Symetra plan design shows, you don’t have to be a large company to get a great retirement plan. Many small businesses can no longer afford to put off looking into worksite savings options if they want to remain competitive in today’s job market.”

Learn more about Symetra retirement plan programs and how the company works with small and midsized businesses to help workers improve retirement savings, visit www.symetra.com.

Mike Murphy floated through life for a while, having held several interesting positions, including janitor’s assistant, busboy, cook, welder, Maytag repairman, hospital orderly and orthopedic technician. It was in those last two roles Murphy developed a passion for improving patient care, and he’s since gone on to found and build Comfortex, Inc., a Minnesota-based healthcare products company that develops, manufactures and distributes hospital mattresses and injury prevention products.

Murphy’s chalked up a few life lessons while living the American dream of business ownership, and he gladly offers them up for evaluation by aspiring entrepreneurs. 

1. Find something that really gets your goat, and build a better mousetrap.

“You always hear, ‘Find something you’re passionate about and learn how to make a living at it,’” says Murphy. “While working in hospitals, I saw so many opportunities to make patients more comfortable and to reduce injuries sustained from falls common among older and less-mobile patients. It really bothered me there weren’t, at that time, concentrated efforts to reduce falls and other injuries sustained during hospital stays.” Comfortex, Inc. broke into the hospital market with an innovative low-pressure mattress called the Rest-Q. Its success was due in large part to improved materials, lower costs and an unprecedented 15-year warranty. “Most importantly, the Rest-Q achieved my goal of improving patient care by reducing the risk of infection through the use of non-porous surface materials, stiffer beveled edges to keep patients from rolling out of bed and low-pressure foam to prevent bed sores.”

2. Always look forward.“

When I founded the company 25 years ago, there weren’t that many players, and mattresses are still the foundation of our business,” says Murphy. “However, recognizing the needs of an aging, yet active, population, we’ve expanded into injury prevention products, such as the Landing Strip.” The Landing Strip is an ultra-thin bedside floor mat that absorbs and dissipates the impact of a fall. Customers, both in long-term care settings and hospitals, have seen marked reductions in fall-related injuries after adopting Landing Strips as part of their fall prevention strategies. According to Murphy, the company is currently developing other injury prevention products to help older people maintain mobility while reducing the risk of injuries. “We’re expanding our product line based on the needs of an aging population,” says Murphy. “Not only is this a solid business practice, but we are potentially helping people live longer, more actives lives.”Murphy cites studies that show 20 percent to 30 percent of those who fall suffer injuries that reduce mobility and independence while increasing the risk of premature death. It’s estimated that the cost of a non-fatal fall averages more than $20,000.  Nationwide, that ads up to more than $20 billion annually.

3. Commit to your employees, your community and your country.

“We’ve been encouraged to manufacture our products abroad to save money,” says Murphy. “However, having lived the quintessential American dream myself, I have no desire to take jobs away from the U.S. economy. Our commitment to our employees, our community and to our country is that all Comfortex products be manufactured 100 percent in the U.S. simply because it’s the right thing to do. Furthermore, we work with partners who share this philosophy.” Resisting the temptation to offshore is difficult as it’s a popular trend among U.S. manufacturers from auto companies to information technology services. Murphy remains steadfast, however, in his commitment to promote the American dream. 

4. Find creative outlets.

Murphy found growing a business a life-encompassing endeavor, as most entrepreneurs do. However, he’s found an outlet through writing about his overall life experiences. “Have you ever made a comment and then a few minutes, hours or even days later wished you would have said it differently?” asks Murphy. “I know the answer to that question is always yes, so I wrote a book filled with examples of what I did say and what I wished I would have said later.”Murphy’s book, appropriately titled What I Meant to Say, is a warm, encouraging walk through his life’s big and little moments, ranging from a night out with his wife to the wedding of his daughter.“The book was a great exercise in remaining grounded and close to the people I care most about in the world,” says Murphy. “It’s both an outlet and a tribute.”

5. Surround yourself with like-minded people “

All the people I work with share my passion to improve patient care,” says Murphy. “We’ve had the amazing fortune to find each other and have the excellent opportunity to improve lives while still making a great living. From product development to sales and distribution to customer services, our work focuses on what’s best for the end-user of our products.”Murphy jokes he only hires people smarter than he is, a quality he ascribes to Comfortex. President Andrea Terek. Regardless of IQ, it is clear Murphy continues to build upon a visionary strategy to ensure the long-term success of Comfortex, Inc.

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You would think that we have never faced economic cycles or variation before.

I believe strongly that we move toward what we think about, both individually and collectively.

Those who would benefit from a recession (politicians, etc.) are spreading FUD as fast and as deep as they can because if we collectively believe it then it will be so.

And with the FUD being spread of course our government is running to the rescue. (It is an election year after all)

To me the US Government in this scenario is financially behaving just like the mortgage bankers they criticize, let’s give them more money, don’t worry about paying it back, things will get better and you will be able to afford it when it is due.

After all whats $150 Billion out of a $2+ Trillion expense budget!

Keep in mind 2007 Q2 GDP growth was 3.8% and Q3 was 4.9% according to the US BEA. Q4 is not available yet and 2008 is forecast to be somewhere around 2% GDP growth. The last definition I heard of recession is two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth.

Speaking as a 20 year entrepreneur focused professor and an angel investor as well he definitely has the research, facts and experience to back up his statement.

Give a listen to the interview -  How to Start a Profitable and Long-Lived Business