Lists have been probably the biggest trend in blogging over the last few years. Especially if you're a fan of small-business related topics, a day rarely passes without encountering 'The 50 Things You Need to Know About Social Networking' or '92 Tips To Make Twitter Work Better For You.
Now, we're all grateful to receive sound business advice, but today's franchisees and small business owners are strapped for time. But what if you could pool a number of small business experts and get the one piece of advice that every entrepreneur needs to make profits this year?
Anita Campbell, founder of the Small Business Trends website has thankfully done exactly that in an article for the Open Forum website. There's lots of insight here as she solicits everyone from an SEO expert to a software executive for wisdom. Of course, everyone offers quite different advice, but it's refreshing to see small business advice distilled and focused as it here.
Ultimately, we really liked the advice that Campell herself offers at the end of the story;
"In 2010 develop and use an executive dashboard, with key metrics, so you can work ‘on’ your business instead of ‘in’ your business. Stepping back and examining your business through numbers will make you focus on problem areas, and find opportunities to improve. Some of the key metrics I am going to pay better attention to are: gross margin; customer acquisition (or in my case, reader acquisition) cost; cost of goods sold; and marketing expenses."