Small Business in the FT
Reading the FT at the weekend I came across two really interesting pieces in the ‘Finance Corner’ which I wanted to share with you.
The first was about the lack of market research being done by small firms in their new business development work. Apparently in the UK “one man bands” spend on average £1,100 a year ($2200 approx) on sales and marketing with an average spend of UK business overall of £28,000*. However less than half do any kind of research into prospective customers such as checking out websites or researching key personnel.
This seems almost hard to believe, especially in this day and age with information being so readily available on the Internet. For every single new business prospect I acquire the first place I head to is Google. It’s amazing what information is available on the internet and it’s even more amazing how much this can help your sales.
The second story was about how fathers are hugely influential in inspiring their off spring to become entrepreneurs, even more so than mothers - who the article says are more likely to want to talk about their business and entrepreneurial experiences. However the research ** also found that:
students in the USA are found to be more likely to have a larger number of role models and more enthusiasm for the idea of becoming an entrepreneur.
Are role models part of the reason why so many world class businesses and products emerge in the States then? Maybe there is some value then in reading those books about Donald Trump, Jack Welch and co then… (although I have to say I’m a little biased towards reading about great British entrepreneurs such as Sir Richard Branson and Dame Anita Roddick)
* Research completed by Marketsafe and published by the Financial Times on Sept 22/23 2007.
** Research completed by Lancaster University Management School and published by the Financial Times on Sept 22/23 2007.
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It’s true that smaller companies tend to advertise more. I know I barely advertised when I first started. It’s a catch 22, because money isn’t coming in…and you need to advertise to bring money in, but when you finally get some work, you need to pay the bills!