As an advocate of the Indianapolis Small Business Community, I am often frustrated when I see our city and state government spending money to support the large business community and ignoring this vital segment.
Most recently I read about Indianapolis investing in training companies how to do business with firms in Taiwan and increasing economic development activity focused on bringing more, bigger companies to Indy.
While important, I am frustrated by the mathematics. There are 65,000 small businesses in the Indianapolis metro area, with sales under $1 million. That is 65,000 chances for success!
This article by Jeff Stibel, from the Harvard Business Review suggests I might be right after all, and gives some very specific suggestions for outsourced execs considering a switch to small business ownership. He says:
- Action. This is an entrepreneur’s best weapon
- Planning is important. Plans aren’t.
- Innovative financing
- Give the people what they want
Rest, measure, refine, repeat