Oct

18

Stop Selling and Instead Partner with Small Businesses

October 18, 2007 | 5 Comments

Are you finding it a challenge to reach niche markets?  Too costly to go after on your own? 
Has innovation inside your organization stalled or become stale?
Perhaps it’s time to do what companies like Google and Proctor & Gamble are doing: partner.  A growing trend is that of large companies partnering with small businesses to their mutual […]

Jun

18

Small Business Owners Can Thank Bill Gates

June 18, 2006 | Leave a Comment

Last week Bill Gates announced he would be leaving his full-time leadership role at Microsoft in two years.  (Read his email to employees here.) 
Reactions have been mixed and cover a wide range, from raising questions about how Microsoft will fare post-Gates, all the way to this bit of black humor on Slashdot:   ”This man has performed an illegal operation […]

Nov

18

Technology Consulting Expected to Grow

November 18, 2005 | Leave a Comment

Technology consulting — especially technology consulting for small businesses — is pegged to be an area of significant growth next year.  That’s according to Entrepreneur magazine, which notes:
“Businesses without in-house IT departments need experts to hook them up with everything from printers to internet security to wireless networks. But you can’t just rush in with a […]

Sep

15

Microsoft Reaches out to Accountants

September 15, 2005 | Leave a Comment

I’ll make just one more post about Microsoft this week because the topic is important to the SMB market.    Microsoft is reaching out to accountants: 
“…Microsoft announces that Accounting Professionals can officially sign up for the Microsoft Professional Accountants Network (MPAN).A big incentive for Microsoft to create MPAN is because of the release of Microsoft’s Small Business […]

May

17

SMB Accounting Software Packages Do it Right

May 17, 2005 | 1 Comment

Three companies “own” the SMB market in the U.S. for accounting software packages.
Intuit’s Quicken (and QuickBooks and Quicken Online) products dominate overall, especially at the smaller end (under 20 employees).  Best Software’s Peachtree has a foothold at the larger end of small business.  And Microsoft dominates the midsize business market (500 - 1000 employees).
That’s according to a research […]

Apr

13

Developing a Channel Strategy for the SMB Market? One Word: Microsoft

April 13, 2005 | Leave a Comment

If you are serious about going after the SMB market, take a page out of Microsoft’s book.
Microsoft “owns” the small business market at the desktop level, in part because the Redmond giant takes good care of its channel.  Despite market power that would enable it to keep raising prices, Microsoft instead offers reseller and partner […]