Great interview with Seth Godin. Here's an excerpt:

Question: Marcy Shinder:
Over the more than 20 years that OPEN has been serving business owners, we’ve seen the resilience of entrepreneurs to adapt to changing times. But are you now forecasting a change as profound as that which precipitated the industrial and digital revolutions? Are you saying that there’s going to be a radical difference in the way that future business models are formulated?

Answer Seth Godin:
"I think so. The biggest single difference is that the whole factory model is dead – the mindset that says that the purpose of the corporation is to raise money and build a factory, and the purpose of the factory is to make lots of stuff that people will buy. That’s gone, it’s over. The way we train, the people we hire, the products we make, the way we sell them – is approached in a different way now. The new paradigm is two or three guys, setting up a couple of desks and laptops in their garage, conquering their own corner of the web, and maybe making $1 million or more in their first year. All the brains and emotion are migrating to service-related businesses that stress their horizontality rather than verticality. It’s a mass-customization, high-bandwidth connectivity kind of paradigm."

Here's a link to the full article.

This information would have saved me lots of mistakes along my journey in starting and forming businesses. If you are considering starting a business (AND ESPECIALLY PARTNERING) you should read this. There is something about guys and wanting a business partner. You need to treat it like a marriage and carefully consider all avenues before signing the papers.

Here's the Advice on equity blog post from Seth Godin.

Social media is the new buzz on the Web. For entrepreneurs looking to connect with other entrepreneurs, Mashable, The Social Media Guide, posted an article on the Top 10 Social Networks for Entrepreneurs.

If you are running your own business or aspire to start your own business, this is a great list of social networking sites for entrepreneurs.

As a small business owner, I know the challenges of wearing several different hats during the course of the day. I also run the business using Apple computers, which many in the business world would think absurd. But I enjoy using my Macs and they are pretty much trouble free. I can count on them to work at all times.

I also use an iPhone for email, calendaring, taking notes, and recording important thoughts, such as ideas for blog entries. I came across an article in Inc magazine about iPhone apps for business and thought I'd share it. While I admit they don't fall into my daily use on my iPhone, they might come in handy for other small business owners using Apple computers for their business.

The article in MacLife called "50 Things Every Mac Geek Should Know" has some great information and tips on using your Mac.

If you are new to the world of Twitter, it can be very confusing. I started several months ago using the tool and learning about how to use it effectively. I'm still learning. Here are a couple of links that will get you started learning how it works, how to use it (and not to use it), and understanding how it can be used for your small business.

The beginner's guide to Twitter

A user's guide to Twittering

Twitter for Business

Here's my personal collection of bookmarks for all things Twitter.

That will get you started on your way to using Twitter as a tool for your small business.

I remember a good friend of mine years ago explaining the difference between a bear market and a bull market. When a bear swats you, he swings down to knock you to the ground. A bull charges you and horns you and tosses you up. Well, many big businesses are struggling in the bear market right now. Small businesses have many possibilities right now. Being more nimble, although cash flow might be limited, we can look at the problems as opportunities. Opportunities for innovation and meeting market needs by looking to the various niche areas that we serve.

It is true that it is not easy. But if you buy into the continued negativity of the business news, you are sure to miss those opportunities. I expected the same for our business and cash flow can be trying.

I was pleased early this year by having several international inquiries. We have fulfilled orders from Hungary, Canada as well as Puerto Rico (I know it is the US). We also have shipped samples to Israel and Brazil and have an a couple of inquiries from Africa (no not Nigeria, although we do get requests to transfer funds for them.)

So we remain optimistic that we will continue to grow the custom color changing t-shirt and other custom color change product market both in the United States and internationally.

Hopefully, as a small business, you are keeping in close contact with current customers, future opportunities and that pesky cash flow.

Shane

I've been quite the slacker with the blog lately. I've got half a page of blog notes, but just haven't taken the time to post. It's been a busy start to 2009. We wrapped up a large order of embroidered towels and tote bags for our client Kal Tire in Canada. We had a great time serving them and getting everything to our expectations so we could exceed theirs.

We shipped 1600 lbs of towels and tote bags to Hawaii for their event.

Here are a few pictures of the final product and the boxes on the pallets.






Shane

One of the wonderful aspects of business in the United States is the idea of trust. The concept and the very reality that I can pick up my cell and call someone pretty much anywhere in the US and order something and have it delivered, then have an invoice sent to me. Do people sometimes get burned? Of course and they will always will. But the majority of the transactions can be done in this manner.

This reality of business transactions that we are able to enjoy in the United States is the result of our honest and hardworking American business people who have gone before us. We have built up a "capital" in the United States that allows us this freedom to trust. In other countries, the idea of being able to conduct transactions like this is often a foreign concept. This is one of the challenges of doing business globally that Americans need to realize and understand. It is the very core of why many of our relief efforts and infusions of money just flat out don't work when we give "aid" money to other nations.

Ken Eldred, in his book God is at Work, discusses the very concept of building up "spiritual captital" in nations so that a trust can be established. Not only for business, but for community growth.

Over the weekend, Space X, tested a rocket just outside Waco, Texas in the town of McGregor about 15 miles away. On November 22 around 10:30 pm (Saturday night), Space X lit up the 9 engine Falcon rocket and created a huge orange glow in the sky and rumbled a 25 mile square area for about 3 minutes.

It was pretty spectacular. Problem was that they had only notified the city of McGregor they were going to be doing this. Everyone else was in the dark until the rocket test lit up the sky and shook everyone's bones for a few minutes. Then the calls to the media and police started. I live outside Waco about 8 miles from Crawford, Texas, where President Bush has his ranch. I honestly thought that someone had bombed the ranch and I was waiting for the F-16s to scramble from Fort Worth and arrive. We had a couple of F-16s get dispatched a few years back when a pilot in a single engine plane flew into the ranch's no fly zone. That was a pretty amazing scene as well. I watched outside till the fireworks and shaking stopped, then went inside and turned on the TV to find out what was up.



The news people were scrambling to find out what was going on.

What does this have to do with business? Well, everything. First, you need to be a thoughtful neighbor in your community. Second, let people know what you are doing and have transparency. Third, when you make a mistake, confess and ask for forgiveness. Fourth, next time don't repeat the actions of number three.

Space X did notify the McGregor community, but not anyone else. They said the reason the test was so loud and bright was the cloud cover. They have done tests before, but not of this size and it was during the week, not at 10:30 pm at night on a weekend. Third, they were not very appologetic to the community. If they were smart, heck they are rocket scientists, they should throw a party and invite the community out and show them the rocket hand out hot dogs and free Dr Pepper and then tell everyone when the next test is so everyone can come out and bring their lawn chairs and watch it. Will it happen? I don't know but I'd show up with the family.

I love getting inquiries from around the world on our custom color changing tshirts, tote bags and other products. The challenge facing SMEs is that you have to figure out ways to communicate effectively with your customers while on a budget. A great way to do this is via Skype for IM and for voice. I also have found need of tools that allow me to share documents, presentations and have a whiteboard. The three that I know best are GoToMeeting, DimDim, and a new one that I was just introduced to called Vyew. Being a Mac user, there were challenges with the GoToMeeting until they recently added the ability for a Mac to actually host the meeting and not just be a participant. GoToMeeting is not free. The other two options, DimDim and Vyew are covered really well in this review at the Axsyshosting Blog. Take a look at the review and give DimDim and Vyew a try.

I'm learning very quickly that there are way too many options for social networking out there. As a small business owner, I want to make sure that I am staying connected to my customers and potential clients, but the list of options can be overwhelming. I recently spoke with a friend of mine, Rich Jarvis at Lab Armor and he agreed that the social networking was confusing and he didn't have time to track all of it down.

There are some great resources out there for getting started, one of which is John Jantsch's Duct Tape Marketing Website, blog and newsletter. John does a great job helping small businesses understand and use technology. Here's the link to the social networking info. I'll be posting more about this later as I work on the social networking for Color by the Sun.

If you have additional info, post it to the comments.