Improve your business…tips from the top social media gurus
The Small Business United blog just posted a recap of the social media conference we attended. The conference focused on improving your business through the power of social media.
As you know, this weekend Intuit sponsored the Chicago think tank event for online businesses - SOBCon 2010. The brainchild of blogger celebs Liz Strauss and Terry Starbucker, SOBCon brings together 150 bloggers/online business owners to learn, discuss , brainstorm, network, think, etc. for three days. The format facilitates attendee engagement by following presentations and panel discussions with breakout “mastermind teams” – where everyone talks about the topics/issues raised by speakers in small groups.
The weekend was jam-packed with learning and very lively discussion, so I can’t do the event justice in a blog post, but wanted to share a few themes and lessons we took away:
1. “Fail fast, fail often” (via @scottporad) – Presenters and participants alike strongly advocated to forget failure and take big risks. After all, the worst that can happen is that you fail (which almost every successful entrepreneur has at some point) and then you iterate and try again. Of course, breaking through the fear of failure isn’t easy, but it’s possible. As Becky McCray said, “There’s NOTHING special about us [referring to herself and business partner Sheila Scarborough]. You can do everything we’ve done.”
2. Focus: find your niche – Jonathan Fields opened his presentation with an anecdote about talking to an entrepreneur about his new business venture. When Jonathan posed the question, “who is your market?,” the gentleman excitedly responded, “That’s the really great part: it’s EVERYONE!” To gain any traction with your product or service, it’s so crucial to focus on solving a pain point of a defined group of people. McCray even advised that “the narrower your target, the wider your opportunity.”
3. Your people matter – Even if you’re a one-person show, every small business owner has people who can either make or break the business – whether it be employees who contribute to the dream, loved ones who provide emotional support, or mentors who help provide guidance. Across the board, each presenter in some way addressed the fact that successful entrepreneurs surround themselves with smart, honest, inspirational, team-oriented people. Fields said it’s the people you work with that make you “come alive” as a businessperson.
4. Get to it already! – This theme ties in closely with theme #1 (can you tell the need for speed was hot at SOBCon?). It manifested itself in a couple of different ways. Intuit’s Sharna Brockett spoke as a brand expert, teaching SOBCon-ers about the pressing need to nail your brand when you start to really maximize its effectiveness over time (tip: Start by writing down what you want your brand to stand for. What are its attributes?). Presenters also urged attendees to make the leap from planning to execution. As Chris Brogan so eloquently put it: “Stop collecting recipes. Open a restaurant and start cooking!”
Intuit also had the pleasure of hosting an interactive session where QuickBooks Online Product Manager Kristen Berman challenged the room to invoice the Internet for time sinks and general annoyances using QuickBooks Online. Here are a few of the invoices folks came up with: [insert screenshots]
If you’re interested in seeing what attendees had to say about the event, search for #SOBCon on Twitter. SOBCon’s agenda featured successful blogger after successful blogger, so to hook you up with their content to really dive deep.
