At a time when our small business community is hurting, when our country temporarily needs jobs, we must ban together locally to give them all the support we can. No, I do not me handouts, entrepreneurs are winners and much too proud for that. What we need to do is give them the tools that need to do all they do better, that starts with a solid education. Still, who has the time to go back to school to get an MBA, further what entrepreneur really wants one?
The other day, I was talking with an acquaintance about local radio programming in conjunction with the local chambers of commerce and / or the economic development association. Below are my suggestions on some of the topics and categories which could be part of that programming:
Restaurant Sector: Casual dining, QSR, low-calorie, blow-back heart attack burger, service, know your customer, commodity costs.
Resumes: LinkedIn resume reviews, paper resumes, under-employed positions, what to look for as an employer.
Retail Sector: Competing against the big box, complimenting the big box, carving out a niche, announcing your niche, buying, employee training.
Risk Management: What if, what to do when, insurance is no excuse, the simple stuff first, accidents happen, flooding, power outage.
Sales: Relationship selling, over talking the sale, listening, solution providing.
Sales Management: How long a leash on the gregarious salesperson, over management on sales staff does not work, tracking costs, sales.
Phone Sales: Incoming calls to your business, telephone sales from a list, understanding prospects time, proper etiquette.
Sales Training: Why training makes all the difference, simple role-playing, efficiencies, prior training, re-training, everyone a salesman?
Security: Security systems, business watch, thieves, crime triangle, decoy cameras, CCTV, costs of misfired alarms, weapon, police response times.
Small Business: Future challenges, online competition, location versus online, game variables, future prospects, size of economy for small companies.
Solo Professionals: A one-person operation, you are not alone, maximizing time, freedom, challenges, not for weak of heart, motivation.
Strategic Planning: 5-year plan, business plan, exit plan, marketing strategy, competition, growth strategies.
Team Building: Executive team, marketing teams, innovation teams, vendors and suppliers, larger customers, investors.
Venture Capital: Angel investors, retention of ownership, loans versus VC, family members and friends, finding funding.
Workplace Communication: Social media costs in productivity, using tweets, emails, efficient communication, vendor communication.
Workplace Safety: When was your last review? Ever? Simple stuff, common accidents, ergonomics, vehicles, slip and falls, fake falls.
Now then, you need to find talk show hosts that are prepared to talk about these topics off the top of their head without preparation of any kind. Plus as the radio team works through these segments, obviously other questions will come up to use as other show pieces to add onto the program. Indeed, I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.