Welcome to "Business in the City!"

Welcome to ‘Business in the City!”  I am here as a resource for all your small business needs whether you are an established company looking to grow or a young entrepreneur just starting out.  I am your inside source to all things NYC and will go beyond just business and provide you with information on lifestyle, entertainment and personal.  Next Wednesday I will be rolling out the first blog in a long series about how to start a business and of course, be successful at it: What you can expect from it, the obstacles you may face, how to get funding and clients, where to create an office for yourself and your company be it a traditional or virtual office, etc. and unravel all that comes along with this.

Today’s post is an introduction so I want you to understand what I’ll be doing, how I’ll be helping you and why I am even blogging in the first place.  It is my hope to become a one-stop-shop or go-to source, if you will, for the small business community in our very own New York, New York!  It’s said that “if” you can make it here you can make it anywhere but what does it really take to make it here?  How can you increase your chances of not falling victim to the odds stacked against small businesses in Gotham City?

With so many blogs out there along with everything else that’s put in front of you to read, why read this blog?  I have my own take on its importance and the overall importance of blogging and social media as a whole.  If you give me a shot, you may be surprised what you learn.  There’s an investment here; an experiment if you will.  That experiment is to create a blog that chronicles the entire process of starting and sustaining a business in NYC.  It is being authored by someone who has never done that before but who will take the steps to do so in a diligent and comprehensive way that benefits all who read along.

So where should I begin?  Today, I’ll just start with addressing the pros of blogging for small business and of course, social media in general…Next time, I’ll start at square one with the creation of a small business in NYC.

As you well know, many of the most significant revolutions of the last 20 years have all had to do with writing – email, webpages, texting and now blogs.  A blog is in essence an “online diary” with a coherent voice and opinion.  When you were a kid and wrote a diary would you ever consider letting someone else read it and comment on it?  Probably not so maybe there’s more to blogging than meets the eye?  First you have to ask yourself: Are you blogging for the right reasons and what are those reasons?  Will your blogs lead to a flow of information and a dialogue with the reader?  One hopes so.  In essence, bloggers are people with attitude and a strong opinion.  

In business, blogs have the potential to help the organization develop brand loyalty and a stronger relationship with the consumer.  By capturing and maintaining visitors, your blog can gain traction in the broader marketplace.  A blog can be seen as the “human face” of an organization.  You have to be careful that your blog does not become pointless or narcissistic; that it remains accurate and original.  Blogs can be a positive way of getting feedback and “keeping your finger on the pulse” as readers react to certain pieces.  Lastly and most importantly, you have to ask yourself: what is your point of view so that your blog has the right mindset for the audience you are trying to target and will engage the reader.  In essence, that is what I am trying to do here.  I will be taking a stance and will not waver from it and I hope you will consider listening and taking my advice.

As a small business owner, you may even want to think about blogging yourself.  Social media is a MUST for any new venture starting out.  While I have my reservations about Facebook (but that’s a whole other story that I won’t bore you with), I believe Twitter is the place to be as you look to grow and expand your brand in the marketplace.  It is, after all, an $8 billion dollar company!  I’ve always thought, if you’re not on Twitter, you’re no one.  Twitter is a very effective way to get your message across and promote yourself to a mass audience.  I want you all to understand the importance and power of social media – this is something you should think critically about.  Many people who aren’t aware of the value of the platform are scared off by it.  They don’t even understand how to tweet or to train their brains to think in 140 characters or less.  

Here’s the deal: Your goal with Twitter is obviously to gain as many followers as possible but the right kind of followers – followers that are interested in the brand and message you are selling.  While it’s not easy to gain a big following right away, here are some tricks to do so:  Follow like-minded organizations – after all, they might follow you in return.  Additionally, you will have the option of what is called a “retweet” whereby you can tweet another account’s message to your followers and begin an information flow and dialogue.  You should also have tweets of original content at least three times per day.  (Remember, I said original not redundant).  Make sure they’re informative about your industry.  You want to prove to your followers and the broader Twitter community that they indeed should follow you.  These are some strong ways to build up a loyal following – people that will stick with you and not get bored and unfollow you the next day.  Be clear and concise in your message; work hard to train your brain to think in 140 characters or less.  It might sound daunting at first but I promise you will get the hang of it.

So that’s my advice for today.  My point here if you’ve missed it: Jump on the social media train and quickly!  Why put off tomorrow what you could do today, right?

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s piece and found it helpful and informative after all that is my goal: to help you!  To help you grow and succeed in business.  Please stop by again.  I will be posting new and original content every Wednesday so tell your friends “Business in the City” is the place to be!

I will close by saying that it is my goal to provide ideas to help you move forward, rather than just those of corporate business leaders telling you something won't work.

Until next time…