Read Your Call Is (Not That) Important to Us Before You Call Customer Service

Who’s got a bad customer service experience story?  If we were all in a giant room, I’m sure everyone’s hands would go up at that question.  In fact, we could probably regale each other with numerous stories of rude, stupid and just plain bad customer service behavior. So, why has customer service on the phone become such an ordeal for everyone?

That’s what Emily Yellin, the author ofYour Call is (Not That) Important to Us,wanted to know.  Her intention was to research what was going on at call centers so that she could “demystify the current maze of aggravation” for herself and the rest of us.

As it turns out, the corporations and the call centers arenotconspiring against us.  In fact,theyare just as frustrated with the current state of customer service as we are.  And this is what makesYour Call Is (Not That) Important to Ussuch an interesting read.

A little background on the book

I received a review copy recently, but the book was actually published in 2009.  The review copy was for an updated 2010 paperback version. Customer service call centers can be found all over the world, and rather than speaking broadly about customer call centers, Emily focuses on two emerging locations, Latin America and Africa.  This was interesting to me–I had no idea that call centers were expanding to these two areas.

Another interesting update to the paperback edition is a new chapter on Twitter. Social media has been a thorn in some companies’ sides – just ask Comcast!The company has had to spend millions doing the damage control after a few unhappy customers created videos, web sites and general complaints that went viral with social media.  Since then, they’ve hired Frank Eliason, who enlisted employees to monitor mentions of Comcast’s name and address them online.   They created@ComcastCares, and soon customers learned that they actually got better service if they Tweeted their problem than if they called.  This is an interesting trend.

Your Callwill make you smile with satisfaction

Yellin really knows how to weave a story.  I enjoyed the beginning chapters where she puts our relationship with the telephone in context with a little historical perspective.  That, of course, starts with Alexander Graham Bell, the early days of AT&T and what was called“the operator problem.”

You see, the first call center operators were boys. The problem was that these boys were yelling, screaming and swearing at the customers!To solve the problem, call centers transitioned to using women as operators.  As this shows, customer service hasn’t gotten worse – there have been issues from the start.  It’s how we deal and interact with technology and each other that makes the difference.

After this history, Yellin shares wonderful examples of bad customer service and the insane tactics that customers use to be heard.  I found myself smiling with sweet revenge and wishing I had been so creative with my dissatisfaction.

One of my favorite chapters was“To Send Us Your Firstborn, Please Press or Say “One.” This chapter is filled with hilarious examples of automated attendants.  There’s IKEA’s Anna, which is an automated chat system.  It was entertaining to read about – but even more entertaining to head over to the Web site and talk to Anna myself.  (See image of my chat on left.)

Then there is the story of“Amtrak Julie,” Amtrak’s  automated phone system that’s gotten rave reviews from customers and the ultimate compliment by being featured on“Saturday Night Live.” Here is asnippet of the SNL skit featuring Jon Hader (Napoleon Dynamite)and Amtrack Julie on a date:

Hader:Um…what do you think Julie?  A latte or a cappuccino, or something?

Julie:Did you say latte? Or Cappuccino?

Hader:Uh..well, I said both.  Do you want a latte or cappuccino?

Julie:My mistake.  Cappuccino would be great.

Julie (interjecting):Before we go any further, let me get some information.

Hader:Sure.

Julie:Please say your age……I think you said 19.  Did I get that right?

Hader:No. Twenty-nine.

Julie: I think you said nine.  Did I get that right?

This was a fun and educational chapter about the advantages and disadvantages of choosing and using automated attendants.

What I liked about the book

Your Callis both entertaining and educational. Each chapter takes you through aspects of call center customer service, explains the background and context, outlines good stories and bad experiences, and then leaves you to make your own decision based on what you’ve read.

I really liked Yellin’s tone as well.  She wrote as a journalist, not as an evaluator.  This was especially effective because the book is so full of customer complaints that if she had taken a point of view, the reader would become more focused on her opinion than on the circumstances and the lesson. (Emily Yellin is@eyellin on Twitter; and her Web site isEmily Yellin.)

My only peeve about this book is that it contains yet another reference to Zappos.  This is not a slight on Zappos or the author. Being included as a great customer service example in yet another business book deserves kudos. But it would be nice to see another company as an example for a change.  Isn’t there any other contemporary company doing it right?

Read this before you call customer service

We’re all somebody’s customer, and one benefit Your Callprovides us as consumers is a little insight into what happens behind the scenes at a call center.  On the surface, it should be easy.  And if Zappos has figured it out, what’s stopping the rest of them?

Read this book and get some ideas about how customer service can be improved.

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Review of The Mesh: Why The Future of Business Is Sharing

Few books are providing a rallying cry for the environmental and social shifts impacting goods and services.The Mesh: Why The Future of Business Is Sharingis one of those books.  Its cry is worth a listen.

I listened to its author, Lisa Gansky (@instigatingon Twitter), at the first BizTech Day conference in New York, as I skimmed the free copy given to everyone in the audience. A founder of multiple Internet companies and a cofounder of Dos Margaritas, a conservation-focused social venture, Gansky is well regarded by business luminaries such as Seth Godin. After readingThe Mesh, I can see why. I spend a lot of time reading articles online and listening to presenters talk about new ways of doing business today.   I still felt that after readingThe MeshI read a book that offered original thought-provoking utility.

Using technology to build value through eliminating waste

Gansky reveals how the standard business model has become aligned with the sharing aspects of community and the managed consumption of sustainability, letting entrepreneurs scale with lower costs.  She focuses on startups— some familiar and some unknowns, yet all transformed through the use of advanced Web networks, mobile technologies, and sharable goods. Readers will learn about businesses such as lending exchange Zopa, peer-to-peer lender Prosper and custom winemaker Crushpad.

“Mesh business begins with a technological advantage. The billions spent in developing the Internet, mobile infrastructure and certain large platforms… have lowered the financial and time barriers for starting new businesses… From product development to marketing, Mesh businesses can and do deploy assets they don’t own but can easily access.”

Social media plays a significant role inThe Mesh. But social media is mentioned not as a newfangled trend, but as an integral network that is the backbone of delivering value.

Gansky reveals the benefits and shares her findings through anecdotes and case studies, all offered in fresh ways. At the heart of the author’s thoughts, however, lies the anxiety that has many consumers rethinking their lives, and that have subsequently created more information and social savvy businesses.

“What if we’ve sold ourselves a very large but fundamentally wrong story? When stuff became cheap, and then credit became cheap, we filled our lives with stuff— not the things we really cared about…. When I traveled to Chile, Argentina, and several places in Europe… this conversation became more ubiquitous and substantially louder.”

I loved the analytics perspective thatThe Meshoffers in its explanations. It’s not overt, but certainly implied. Gansky nails a great description of Zipcar as being an “information company” and shows how it manages to use data constructively to serve customers better and develop a competitive advantage.

The Meshshows how small businesses can profit from being meshy, too

The later chapters are useful for entrepreneurs who want to develop a Mesh business but are not sure where to start or look. There are five aspects of Mesh:

1. Provide services or platforms that enable and encourage Mesh businesses
2. Leverage physical assets as share platforms
3. Truly engage partners by mutually sharing resources and information
4. Integrate the supply chain, in forward and reverse
5. Extend the Mesh ecosystem

Simple“ah-ha” suggestions abound.  As an example, Gansky suggests that “Hotels can easily integrate car and bike sharing into their suite of services.” I also liked Gansky’s suggestions for how old, familiar firms can access Mesh aspects, such as the idea for a new kind of tire service for Goodyear.

Product design itself is reimagined, as a Mesh-worthy design is:

• Durable— well built and safe
• Flexible— accommodates different users
• Reparable— Has standardized parts to allow easy repair
• Sustainable— reduces natural resource waste

Gansky explains how this new design approach is the result of Mesh aspects merging:

“For years now, the common folklore in the West has been that the cheapest way to replace many appliances is to throw the old one away and buy a new one. Planned obsolescence has ruled the day…. In Mesh businesses, products are shared. The flow of information about the products, including feedback from customers, is constant. As a result, favored products are built to last and keep functioning, adapt to different users, and be capable of repair and upgrading.”

Gansky then relates the significance to environmental concerns:

“As transparency about real costs— specifically the cost of generating and managing waste— increases, environmentally responsible companies are more likely to be high performers financially…. Mesh businesses are poised to thrive, because they are based on using resources more efficiently.”

Included in the book is a directory that gives wonderful Mesh-related resources on subjects such as home improvement, books and real estate. This will give you an industry-based starting point for incorporating Mesh characteristics into your business or life.

Learn how you can improve your business, your community and our planet

WithThe Mesh, Gansky collects excellent examples and truly enlightens with her knowledge, rebooting your sensibilities like a splash of water from a morning shower.The Meshoffers small businesses a means to develop a profitable model based on sharable goods, as well as ideas for augmenting current offerings at a reasonable costs. I am delighted that Gansky developed a book that truly combines business acumen, ecological concerns and Internet sensibilities into a startling, unique, must-read package.

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Frankenstein Meetings and Halloween Greetings

With Halloween just a few days away, I thought the above cartoon would be appropriate. It’s one of my recent favorites.

I was writing a batch of holiday cartoons and I’d jotted“Frankenstein” down on a notepad. I took Frankenstein and ran him through my standard group of topics:What does Frankenstein like at home? What does Frankenstein do at work? Does Frankenstein have any pets? What does Frankenstein’s computer look like?

I settled on Frankenstein at work and asked myself what he might say in a meeting. He’s not much of a talker, but“Fire bad!”seems to be a recurring theme, and once I’d imagined the corresponding PowerPoint I knew I had it.

Happy Halloween!

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How Many Small-Business Half Truths Make a Whole?

Earlier this week I postedTrue or Not? Top 10 Election Talking Points on Small Business, a slide show with reader voting, on the Huffington Post. Here’s how that turned out – the points listed in order from most true would have been a 1, to most false, which was a 10:

1.	The government favors large business over small	3.8
2.	The government can keep U.S. jobs at home.	4.2
3.	Raising minimum wage helps struggling families	4.4
4.	Small business drives economic recovery	5.4
5.	Government policy makes or breaks small business	7.0
6.	The government protects U.S. business from foreign competition	7.1
7.	Hiring goes up when taxes go down	8.1
8.	Small business owners vote as a block (bloc)	8.1
9.	The government gives free money to start a business	8.5
10.	Immigration hurts small business	8.6

 

The biggest surprise here, in my opinion, is that slightly less than half the readers believe small business drives the economic recovery. I would have thought that was true. I’ve seen research showing that small business generates most of the new jobs in our economy.

The closest statement to truth, as voted by Huffington Post readers, was that the government favors large business. Frankly I was surprised to see so many people thinking points two and three were true; I don’t.

I did set it up to be skeptical. I believe that most of the talking points we get (adnauseum) during national election campaigns are half-baked half truths. I think the voting there confirmed that.

So my question, for you and me, here, on Smallbiztrends:what do you think?What key points should be added here? Does small business drive economic recovery? Does government policy make or break small business?Do we (small business owners) vote as a bloc?

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What’s the Difference Between Men and Women Entrepreneurs? Apparently, Not Much

There’s been a lot of heat generated in the blogosphere lately about the shortage of women entrepreneurs in technology and what’s behind this problem—or if it truly is a problem, or if it even exists. While many experts were weighing in on the differences between male and female startup founders, one expert decided to investigate.

Former entrepreneur-turned-academic Vivek Wadhwa, who blogs regularly on TechCrunch, and his team analyzed the backgrounds of 652 founders of tech industry startups, as well as 549 founders of companies in other fast-growing industries.“Our research focused on successful startups—those that had made it out of the garage, had employees, and were actually generating revenue,”writes Wadhwa onTechCrunch. Here’s what they found:

The average age of a successful tech startup founder is 39; for other high-growth companies, it was 40. Overall, company founders were typically married; had two or more children; had six to 10 years of work experience.

That explodes some myths about tech startup founders in general (they’re not all college students or single twentysomething men), but Wadhwa also wanted to take a closer look at male vs. female founders.  He enlisted Joanne Cohoon of the National Council of Women in Technology (NCWIT), whose analysts assessed the data. The result? There was almost no difference between men and women company founders.

• Both had an equally strong passion to build wealth.
• Both started their companies to capitalize on business ideas.
• Both enjoyed the culture of startups.
• Both were tired of working for a boss.
• Both had a long-standing desire to own their own businesses.
• Their average ages at startup were the same.
• Men and women were equally likely to have children at home when they started their businesses. (However, men were more likely to be married.)

One difference: Wadhwa found that women got slightly more funding than did men from business partners. (You can read the full results inAre Successful Women Entrepreneurs Different from Men?)

Now, while Wadhwa didn’t find differences between male and female tech founders, he does emphasize that there is a real shortage of women entering technology. “The imbalance between the sexes … is increasing over time,” he writes. Among the discouraging realities: The percentage of computer science students who are female has dropped from 37 percent in 1985 to 19 percent today; just 1 percent of high-tech startups have a woman as CEO.

How can this change? Wadhwa shares some ideas onTechCrunch, but I’d love to hear yours as well.

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How to Add Transcripts to Your YouTube Videos

Last summer I mentioned someYouTube optimization tipsthat small business owners can use to get the most out of online video. But that was a year ago! Today I wanted to share one more tip that can help video-savvy small business owners get a big leg up on their competition: Adding transcripts to your videos.

Creating full written transcripts of your videos is an easy way to increase the benefits you receive from online video. By doing so, small business owners will be able to:

• Attract the skimmers: Like it or not, not everyone will be interested in watching your video. They’re busy and they just want the immediate facts. By creating a transcript to go along with your video, people don’t have to watch it in order to benefit from the information. This may help you attract customers who are interested in learning more, but don’t want to sit and watch a four-minutevideo. Some people prefer just to skim.
• Provide content for people who can’t watch video: Whether it’s because they’re accessing the content via a mobile device or it’s an accessibility issue, creating a written transcript provides users an additional way to take in your information and engage with your brand. Without the transcript, they may just keep on going.
• Increase your SEO power: Transcripts allow small business owners to take advantage of keyword-rich text and be more strategic about the videos they’re creating. By surrounding the video with relevant text, you make the search engines happy by giving them content to index, and you make users happy when your content suddenly becomes easier to find.

Now that you know the benefits of adding transcripts to your video, how do you go about doing it? Here’s where you should start.

Optimize your script/dialogue

One of the biggest benefits of creating a transcript to go along with your video is that it allows you to include keyword-rich text that users and the search engines can use to find you. However, you can’t use those keywords if they’re not in the video. Logical, right? That means you need to do your keyword research beforehand to know which terms you want to appear for and make sure you use them in the video. I know it sounds like common sense, but you’d be surprised how many SMB owners don’t think to do that. After all, the search engines can’t understand video so keywords don’t matter, right? Wrong! Make sure you get them in there.

Prepare the file

Google wants SMB owners to increase the accessibility of their videos, and to help them do that they’ve created a special Help page to explain how toprepare a transcript file. I’d encourage you to check that out; however, here are some things you’ll want to pay special attention to when creating your file:

• Save your transcript document as a plain text file.
• Don’t use any special characters (smartquotes, em dashes, etc) which could disrupt speech recognition matching from YouTube and readability of the transcript.
• Use a double line break to signal a long pause (3 seconds or longer) or a new sentence.
• Add tags like>> at the beginning of a new line to identify speakers or change of speaker.
• At the end of the video, include a link to your website in the audio transcript.

Upload the file

Once you have your transcript file, you have to upload it to YouTube. To do that, you’ll want to log in, go to My Videos and select Edit for the video you want to add a transcript to. Once you’re there, navigate yourself to the Captions and Subtitles screen.

Once you’re in that screen, you’ll be able to upload your file, select the Transcript file option, pick your language, and then upload it.

Once uploaded, give it a few minutes and then click Play on your video to confirm that file upload correctly and you’re seeing CC enabled on your video. If it does, you’re all done. Easy, right?

Creating a transcript to go along with your video is super easy to do and is a great way to increase both your video’s usability and search-engine friendliness.

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Time Tracking to Keep Your Small Business Profitable: GetHarvest Review

Time tracking is one of those tasks that causes otherwise sane people pull their hair out. It inspires procrastination. Harvest wants to make it super simple and easy. Harvest is an online time tracking tool that offers an elegant way to track time and timesheets for your employees.

Harvest actually does a lot more than track time. With it you can analyze your time across clients, projects and tasks. You can use it to create and send out invoices (for your billable hours) and track those accounts in their invoicing dashboard. I actually learned about Harvest through my account at Outright, because Outright integrates their bookkeeping tool with Harvest’s invoicing. Pretty slick, in my view.  You can read my full review of Outrighthere.

Harvest has thought about almost every aspect of your time tracking experience, even for simple widgets. You can watch a short YouTube video on what the desktop widget does prior to downloading it. Leave it to a team that knows“time is money” to think about giving you a short 2-3 minute video to explain something fast. By the way, the widget lets you keep track when you’re not online.

What I Like:

• Easy export to Quickbooks and other financial tools, including Excel

• Ties to Basecamp and several other major Web-based apps for project management.

• Mobile device applications for iPhone. You are probably out on the road doing project work from time to time; being able to time track from a mobile phone is a great option.

• Harvest’s philosophy: “Don’t get in the way. Small business people are busy. Create a system that is as easy to set up as it is to use. Be intuitive so there is a minimal learning curve for all users. Everyone has more important things to get done than just track time.“

What Could Be Better:

This app is pretty solid, but I’d like to see a mobile app for Android and Blackberry, too.  It would also be helpful to see a couple of short case studies so that I can see how other small business owners are using Harvest.  (The testimonials cover some of this, to be fair.)

Who Is It For?

I imagine that large teams might want Harvest, but in searching the Web I found freelancers, small businesses and independent professionals using the tool. Attorneys, architects, accountants and others who operate on a solo level most of the year or add team members at busy times of year also use Harvest; it looks like it would be perfect for nonprofits, too.

Harvest offers a“forever free” plan for microbusinesses; other plans start at $12/mo. There is a 30-day free trial, no credit card required, just an easy and fast form.

Learn more aboutHarvest.

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Small Business Events to Boost Your Company

Check out this list of small business events, webinars and conferences.  It  is brought to you every two weeks as a community service bySmall Business TrendsandSmallbiztechnology.com.

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Small Business Tech Tour 2010

October 25– Boston
November 5– Washington, DC
November 9– Atlanta

Learn how to leverage technology as a tool to grow your business! Brought to you bySmallbiztechnology.com, this full-day event is for business owners, entrepreneurs and business professionals who want to have fun, network and learn– whether you know nothing about technology or know a lot.

Maximize Your Success– SCORE, HP& Intel: Small Business Workshops
Multiple Dates and Cities

SCORE, HP and Intel provide real insights and simple solutions to help you increase efficiencies, boost your productivity and grow your business.

You will get essential advice on technology-based solutions and marketing strategies that can help your small business, including how to better understand your customers and target them more effectively, how to rethink your marketing in the digital age, and how to manage your marketing to reduce costs and increase sales.

October 27: Washington, DC, area
November 16: Tampa

Inc. Leadership Conference
October 27-29, 2010

Together,Inc. Magazine and Winning Workplaces will identify and honor those benchmark small and midsized businesses that offer truly innovative, supportive environments, thus achieving significant, sustainable business results. In the June 2011 issue ofInc., Winning Workplaces will name the top private companies that foster a productive work environment and satisfied employees. JoinInc. and Winning Workplaces for three days of exchanging new leadership strategies at the Denver Marriott City Center from October 27 through October 29, 2010.

How Facebook Creates Leads& a Community: A Real Case Study
October 27, 2010, 10:00am PST, Webinar

Social Media isn’t magic but when you take the right steps it can have a significant impact on your business. In this webinar, we will hear first-hand tips& lessons learned from Dan Kalm, an insurance agent who has seen incredible business results on Facebook. This session will be co-moderated by Clara Shih, author of the bestselling social media book The Facebook Era: Tapping Online Social Networks to Market, Sell, and Innovate& Chris Andrew, small business success manager at Hearsay.
This session will cover: The small business opportunity on Facebook; Discussion with Dan about his use of social media& Hearsay; 10 best practices for Facebook pages that result in real growth.

PR+MKTG Camp East
October 28, 2010, New York City

PR+MKTG Camp East is a highly interactive one-day conference. Its goal is to help PR and marketing professionals maximize their impact in reaching new influencers in today’s increasingly socially driven media landscape. Sessions will focus on integrated strategic engagement— ways that organizations and companies can benefit from internal collaboration and aligning communication, customer support, sales, and community management and moderation.

BlackBerry Reseller Road Tour
Multiple Dates and Locations

New York, Tuesday November 2, 2010
Atlanta, Thursday November 4, 2010
Dallas, Tuesday November 9, 2010
San Jose, Thursday November 11, 2010

Meet face-to-face with the BlackBerry team and get the inside track on sales and technical knowledge at the BlackBerry Technology Reseller Road Tour event nearest you. You’ll also be able to discover more about BlackBerry Enterprise Solution Express, gaining in-depth knowledge that will differentiate you as a BlackBerry solutions provider. Each free event is divided into two sessions: sales and technical.

BlueGlass Florida Online Marketing
November 2 -3, 2010

Ft. Lauderdale, FL

BlueGlass FL 2010 is an online marketing conference featuring the top social media and search marketing industry experts to give you the best in topics, trends, strategies and networking possibilities.  Features keynote speaker Peter Shankman of Help a Reporter (HARO.com).

Twitter for Business
November 3, 2010, 8:00pm EST, Webinar

Twitter has changed! This class is for people interested in using Twitter for their business and for those who are already on Twitter but are just getting started. In this class we will cover: choosing your Twitter name, setting up your Twitter account, finding people to follow, hash tags, what you should Tweet and Twitter strategies for success.

L2 Innovation Forum
November 5, 2010, New York City

A day interacting with top entrepreneurs, strategic thinkers, and recognized academics such as Red Envelope and L2 founder Scott Galloway, NJ’s Wine Library’s own Gary Vaynerchuk, and Four Season’s President& CEO Katie Taylor, and other innovators and top marketing talent. The full-day event will address innovation in digital marketing and implications for prestige brands. The Forum will feature:• Never-seen-before research benchmarking brands’ digital marketing efforts • Provocative presentations from thought leaders in industry and academia • On-stage conversations with prestige brand leaders • Networking with senior executives and top MBA students • Cutting-edge product demos

The Make Mine a Million $ Business San Francisco Event
November 7, 2010

This two-day event features our famed Make Mine a Million $ Business competition, where you get to vote for your favorite woman entrepreneurs to win our coveted prize package. Plus, you’ll experience renowned business experts, exciting speakers, provocative panels and fun workshops, and access to a vibrant community of ambitious entrepreneurs growing their businesses just like you.

Entrepreneurship and Small Business Series
Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship Research
Multiple Dates, Hudson, OH

Entrepreneurship and the Green Economy
November 8, 2010
Dr. Robert J. Hannemann, director of the Tufts Gordon Institute at Tufts University School of Engineering in Massachusetts, discusses entrepreneurship and the green economy.

Numbers Demystified
November 17, 2010
Jim Griggy, Certified Business Advisor at the Ohio Small Business Development Center (OSBDC) at Summit Medina Business Alliance Inc., will explain how to read financial statements using meaningful comparisons and financial ratios.

New York Entrepreneur Week
November 8-12, 2010, New York City

NYEW is a semi-annual event built for entrepreneurs by entrepreneurs, providing an exclusive educational experience for innovation-minded start-ups to multi-million dollar revenue generators.

More than 100 speakers from 40 cities, 15 states and 3 continents converge at NYEW.  New York Entrepreneur Week encompasses five days of innovative and hyper-targeted events, including:

* Inspiring keynote speeches from recognized business leaders
* Riveting panels delivering relevant mission-critical advice
* The flagship RELENTLESS business plan competition

Pubcon 2010: Social Media, Search and Affiliates
November 8-11, 2010, Las Vegas, NV

PubCon Las Vegas 2010 conference is an important gathering of search and social media innovators, offering an unrivaled highly-productive conference experience at cost-effective rates, and with the leading technology and online marketing visionaries. Every attendee will come away with valuable new ideas and solutions for their businesses.

This year’s Kickoff Keynote speaker is New York Times technology columnist, David Pogue. It will be held at the Wynn Las Vegas, and features 28 in-depth sessions, plus fresh keynote speakers every hour.Register.

Nassau Trade Show 2010
November 9, 2010, Woodbury, NY

The Nassau Trade Show 2010 is creating countless opportunities by bringing together premier businesses from Long Island, New York City and the greater metropolitan area with national corporations, entrepreneurs, nonprofits, government agencies, business advocacy groups and the media.

Email Marketing Outside the Gift Box
November 9, 2010, 10:00am PST, Webinar

How to use holiday email marketing to promote your services, drive repeat business, and improve customer loyalty. If you’re not in retail you may think a holiday email marketing program isn’t something you need to think about. But email marketing is about a lot more than convincing people to come to a store or order a product online to put under the tree. Join email marketing expert Melanie Attia to learn about “holiday email marketing for the rest of us” in this webinar that includes practical examples, tips and advice on how you can put the power of both email marketing and the holiday season to work for your business.

Toyota’s Opportunity Exchange
November 10, 2010 Cincinnati, OH

This annual trade fair and seminar brings together Toyota’s Tier I suppliers, who participate as exhibitors, and MBEs who attend as our guests. Toyota believes this one-of-a–kind event demonstrates our commitment to lead by example and pushes the importance of applying creativity to the business of Supplier Diversity.

BYOB 2011– Build Your Own Business– Become Your Own Boss
November 13, 2010, Philadelphia

Come and spend a day with Melinda Emerson, Smallbizlady, in Philadelphia on November 13th. You’ll plan a strategy to leave your J.O.B. to start your own business; those of you already in your own business will learn new skill sets to take your business to the next level. Whether you’re thinking about starting a business or in your first five years in business, this workshop will give you new perspective on how and what you do.

Global Entrepreneurship Week
November 15-20, 2010

Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) is the world’s largest celebration of entrepreneurship. This annual event occurs over the span of one week and includes the participation of entrepreneurial experts, policy-makers, education practitioners and politicians.

This year, GEW will feature thousands of events in more than 100 countries. In the United States, universities, colleges and organizations from all 50 states will connect young people through a variety of local, national and global GEW activities and events designed to help them explore their potential as self-starters and innovators.

SM@RT Conference
December 8-10, 2010, Reno-Tahoe, NV

The SM@RT conference features keynotes by David Nour and Scott Klososky, plus more than two dozen presenters speaking on a wide range of social media topics. The conference is designed for business professionals, small businesses, nonprofits and those working in marketing/advertising who want to take their promotions and business strategies to the next level using social media

To find more small business events, contests and awards, visit ourSmall Business Events Calendar.

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 ourEvents& Contests Submission Form(We do not charge a fee to be included in this listing— it is completely free to list your event.) Only events of interest to small business people, freelancers and entrepreneurs will be considered and included.

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Your Career Game: Make Winning Business Moves

Are you undecided on what direction your career should take? Maybe you need a fresh way to see your role in the game of business.   If you do, you may want to readYour Career Game: How Game Theory Can Help You Achieve Your Professional Goals.

Authors Nathan Bennett and Stephen Miles have  written a wonderful modern playbook for career decisions.  Bennett is a Professor of Management at Georgia Tech and owner of consulting firm Red Buoy Consulting, and Stephen Miles is  vice-chairman of Heidrick and Struggles‘ Leadership Consulting Practice.

I knew Bennett previously during my MBA studies at Georgia Tech in Atlanta.  While researching my next books to review, I came across this book while reading the business school website.  I reached out to Bennett, hoping the book’s topic would benefit small businesses.

So you may be asking yourself,“Why review a career book, a tool typically meant to aid a corporate career, when I have have already decided to be an entrepreneur?”The game theory steps outlined can show entrepreneurs and small business owners how to weigh partnerships, seek mentors and develop employees from the Gen X, Gen Y and Baby Boomer generations. Your Career Gameis also a good book for those who have decided to not be entrepreneurs but are still unsure how to better manage their business relationships and career choices.

See the game board and your moves on it

Your Career Gameexamines game theory as it relates to professional development. It explains how each person is a player who needs to understand the rules and potential impact from other participants and choices.  The early chapters of the book lay out the elements of game theory, some of which include:

• Rationality– what choices would any reasonable player make
• Payoffs– Values assigned to the outcome of a rational choice
• Sequential/Simultaneous Move Games– Rules on the timing of the moves
• Mixed and Pure Strategies– no best moves, usually with random selection of a player’s move

The authors then focus on how the game is framed and what kinds of moves are typically considered.  This is where featured conversations with various executives are held up as examples of career game theory at work. My favorite comments came from BHP Billiton CEO Marius Kloppers regarding resumes because it mirrored so closely to what I think value is in a background regardless of job type:

“The advice I give to early-career people is to think about their resumes as more than a history of places visited. For each point on their journey, they should be able to point to  something that truly is different today because they were a part of it– something that, if they weren’t there, wouldn’t have happened in that way.  It doesn’t mean that you have to lead it or be the sole contributor, but there should be an undeniable case that you have contributed towards something that is lasting.”

Keith Wyche, author ofGood Is Not Enoughand high-profile president of U.S. Operations at Pitney Bowes Management Service, comments about choosing a company based on its diversity record:

“I encourage people to look for an indication that the company “gets it”– even if they haven’t yet had success attracting large numbers of women or minorities, there can be signs that their commitment to doing so is real. As companies come to realize that diversity is not just the nice thing to do, you will see very visible efforts to make it clear that they understand and respect a diverse workforce.”

While the interviews are with executives from notable corporations like Home Depot, Xerox, Microsoft and Coca-Cola, there are a few entrepreneurial perspectives from professionals such as Chris Klaus, who left Georgia Tech to develop his startup, Internet Security Systems.  The authors note how Klaus“made timely moves that often trip up entrepreneurs– the ability to move away from the leadership position, to find others to push the company ahead…”Here are Klaus’s words on finding outside investors, with his decision reflecting the idea of understand moves and outcomes:

“One of the biggest decisions any entrepreneur faces is when to bring in outside partners…By bringing in investment, by giving up control, by getting the right people on the team, the idea can become much bigger.  Whether or not you as the founder can make that work is a big question.”

The book’s comments, particularly with regard to evaluating moves, translate well for the choices small business owners encounter.  For example, many articles recommend that new business owners who want to be seen as “an expert” should just claim the title. Well, read the comments from Carol Tome, Chief Financial Officer and executive vice president of corporate services for Home Depot, on how breadth and experience contribute to expertise:

Authors:Can you speak to the importance of experience, depth, and breadth with respect to building a resume?

Tome:It is an interesting point— some people grow up and become experts, yet their experience is a mile deep and an inch wide. One advantage of smaller companies is that it is less likely you will get pigeonholed. There are too many  things to do and never enough people, so you may get exposed to a broader range in the business…As you build your career, if you don’t have the opportunity to understand the business more broadly, it is critical that you surround yourself with good people who can fill in your blind spots.

This tip is helpful for solopreneurs looking to fill the blind spots in their skill set, be it seeking others through a partner or through their own training.  It also aids medium-sized businesses that need some guidance in developing employee skills.  The interviewees inYour Career Gameare pragmatic and honest in discussing modern career concerns such as job sharing, generational differences in career decision-making, and having an exit plan.

You cannot help but have a better game plan after reading this book

I liked that the book is brief while intensely covering diverse applications of game theory to successful decision making. Your Career Gameoffers excellent instruction for any young professional starting out or seasoned vet who needs a fresh outlook on his or her career or business choices.  Small business owners can apply the principles to their partnerships, their selection of mentors and their plans for growing an organizational structure.

I tip my hat to Nathan Bennett and Stephan Miles for advancing career planning in an accessible way. Whether hiring or partnering, small business owners will find their winning move by applying the concepts ofYour Career Game. Game, set, match.

You canfollow Nate Bennett on Twitterand visit the book’s web site atYour Career Game.

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Angling for a Corner Office . . . Er, Doghouse

The above cartoon came out of one of my writing tricks:Insert an animal into a standard human situation and see what happens.

Sure, drawing a dog in a meeting is fun, and the joke is fine, but for me the real joy in a cartoon like this is digging deeper after the first reading.

What business are they in that the dog made such a difference? Is the dog happy with simple praise, or is he angling for a corner doghouse? Does the dog even understand what’s going on, or was he simply in the right place at the right time?A cartoon like this suggests all sorts of possibilities.

I’d love to know what you think. Any backstories you’d care to share about this cartoon? Leave a comment and let your imagination run wild!

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