Aspen Business Journal

PROFITABILITY

UPCOMING EVENTS

"Do one thing
every day
that scares you."

by Anonymous

FEBRUARY 1998

Sometimes I’m comforted by knowing that even the biggest, most highly capitalized companies in the world struggle every day with the same questions that bedevil the owner of a small business.

Microsoft, for example. Armed to the microchips with big bucks and huge market share, this high-tech behemoth confidently throws us the tag line, "Where do you want to go today?" , implying that Microsoft can help us get there, anywhere, by using its software.

Well, at a meeting of Web site developers in New York last week, one of the attendees showed us Sidewalk, a Web site that offers information about local entertainment in New York and other cities. Just that morning he’d received a "pink slip" from Microsoft, which publishes Sidewalk. Apparently the company is cutting its staff in each represented city and rethinking its strategy for marketing the site.

We looked at the newly-ex-Microsoft guy and then looked at each other, all thinking the same thought:

"This is exactly what we’ve been discussing here tonight -- how to attract visitors to our sites, where to find revenue streams that will make them profitable, how to position them in the marketplace, etc., etc. How could giant Microsoft be just as puzzled as we are about how to make Web commerce profitable?"

In a David and Goliath sort of way, it seems possible that a small Internet start-up company will discover the answer before the Microsofts of the world figure it out. Heh, heh, :-)

Getting back to that familiar tag line, now I’ll ask you, "Where do you want to go today? " As a business owner, do you wake up every morning with a clear answer to that question? Will you do the same things today that you did yesterday and the day before? Will you be trying a new idea? Ditching a bad idea so you can cut your losses? Taking the day off to refresh your thinking or to brainstorm with other people?

If I were a potential customer, what would you want me to know about your business this month? Are you offering special deals on merchandise? New services to amplify your existing ones? Improvements in customer service and ease of access to you and your support staff?

If you are offering new special products or services, how will you let me know about them? Through print or radio ads? on your Web site? through direct mail? via word of mouth and referrals? Have these methods worked for you in the past? Do they need improvement?

Are all your customers local? Do you need to reach out to prospective customers beyond the Roaring Fork Valley? How will you do this?

Let’s make this Business Journal truly interactive. If you have answers to these questions, or if you’re looking for solutions to a particular business challenge, call, write, or email me. I’ll address it in an upcoming issue of the Journal so we can all have a "virtual" brainstorming session together without missing any good powder days.

- Susan Bilenker, Editor/Publisher