For small and medium-sized business owners, their top three business goals are growth, growth and growth—in that order. For most, although not all, setting and hitting growth targets is one of the most challenging—and often vexing—things about running a business. But seeing your business grow can also be the most satisfying.
It’s hard to remember that it’s just been in the last couple of decades that the Internet was the game changer for small businesses, previously limited by small ad budgets and geographical parameters. Do you remember when having a web page was “it?” Exposure! New customers! A “presence” in the marketplace!
But since then, all kinds of new technology and applications have exploded. Digital technology and the unlimited marketing possibilities of websites and social media have removed the barriers and are making small businesses more visible and bigger than ever. Even the simplest technology continues to level the playing field for small businesses, propel their growth and enable them to compete in ways they never could before.
Just this past July, business and tech experts talked about what technology really means for small business growth in USA Today. Among the contributors: Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter and founder of Square; Scott Levitan, Google’s director of small business engagement: and outgoing SBA chief Karen Mills. One of the most interesting insights came from Levitan, who said that despite all the technology and resources available to small businesses, nearly 60 percent are still invisible, meaning they are operating without a website. Not only that, but he says most of the rest are “completely invisible,” with no original content anywhere online.
The hard stats are there, these experts say: Technology is the driving factor in small businesses’ ability to grow today. For example, businesses with websites grow 40 percent faster than those without them. And when it’s so easy to create a site (and often free), why wouldn’t every business owner just do it? Apparently, business owners still have the perception that being online is difficult, time consuming and expensive. We’re all moving along a technology continuum, but it’s never too late to jump onboard.
Business owners should definitely read this article. The examples of what other small businesses are doing will inspire you and make you get onboard the technology train, if you haven’t already. From the coffee shop tweeting its specials at strategic times of the day and experimenting with iPads and Square Wallet to the consignment store that increased its revenue 250 percent with a simple website, these successes speak volumes about tech! Food trucks and farmers markets? Yep—doing business in ways that we couldn’t even imagine before, thanks to technology. For small businesses, it’s clear: Technology holds the keys to the future. And the possibilities are limitless.
And while we’re talking technology, Fox Small Business reports on research that found that 42 percent of small business owners are relying heavily on mobile technology. And an additional one in three business owners say their businesses could not survive without mobile services—those accessed through smartphones, tablets and other devices. The takeaway here: Mobile devices and solutions are not just making small business owners’ lives easier; they’re becoming an essential part of the way they do business. Mobile tech especially appeals to small business owners because it enables them to do business from anywhere.
Is there a disconnect between the apparent embrace of mobile tech solutions described by Fox Business versus the reluctance to dive headlong into the wider variety of technology-enabled opportunities described in USA Today? Are some small business owners picking and choosing—using mobile tech for operations but not so much for things like marketing and CRM? It’s hard to say, as all things tech will continue to shake out for small businesses just as they will for everyone else. One thing’s for certain: Technology’s here to stay, and small businesses intent on growing are the ones embracing it in all forms.
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