Worse yet are the numerous stories of banks coming back around to their small business customers to ‘reevaluate or review’ a loan package or line of credit. The banks have been doing this with regularity over the past year and a half primarily because they have economic jitters (and regulators breathing down their necks) and, the unconditional right to do so. Often times, this activity requires extraordinary amounts of work on the part of the business owners (a major distraction) in order to provide the bank with an updated inventory count or some other form of business valuation, to appease them enough to move their company off the hot seat.

Speaking as a small business owner, it’s especially frustrating to see all of this going on, knowing full well the significant contributions that small businesses make to the US Economy in the two leading areas that determine the health of the economy at large; real GDP (gross domestic product) and net new jobs created. According to the SBA, “small businesses create most of the nation’s new jobs, employ about half of the nation’s private sector workforce, and provide half of the nation’s nonfarm, real gross domestic product…”

So here’s the good news, sort of: HR 5297 – Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010. This SBA bill, sponsored by Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts, is big news for small businesses. It passed the House but… we’ll get to that it just a moment.

HR 5297 stands to benefit small business in some big ways. First, it provides a 90% loan guarantee via the SBA, giving the banks the security that they need to make a loan. Compared to the normal 75% guarantee, it can mean the difference between getting the loan or not. Second, there are no fees associated with this loan package. This alone can save a small business tens of thousands of dollars! Third, the loan limit has been increase to $5 Million. The bill also allows businesses with up to $15 Million in net worth to qualify. The previous limit was $8.5 Million. In addition, small businesses with existing SBA loans that have balloon payments coming due can refinance their commercial loans through this program.

Now for the bad news: Politics…need I say more? HR 5297 passed the House of Representatives on June 17^th with 241 in favor, 182 opposed and 9 abstaining. A small margin for sure but, it passed. It has since stalled in the Senate due primarily to a Republican filibuster.

This post is not intended to be a political commentary. It’s my hope that our representatives in the Federal Government will have the good sense and the higher calling to put aside their differences and truly act in the best interest of the people by passing this bill.

Monday, September 13^th is the day Senators head back to Washington after their summer recess. Waiting for them, front and center, will be HR 5297. As you can imagine, there is a lot of energy and anticipation surrounding this particular bill. With all of its attributes and the fact that it could be very profitable for the banks, it stands to be a win-win-win. Small businesses win, they get funded. Banks win, they make profitable loans. Government wins, they serve their constituency, create real GDP and jobs.

The SBA lending community (approved banks) has started to come alive recently and, according to several business owners that I have talked to across the country, banks are now reaching out to their small business customers in order to reopen funding discussions. Presumably, this is in anticipation of the passage of HR 5297.

If you have not heard from your banker recently and you are interested in seeking funding through the SBA, you owe it to yourself to put a call in to him or her and find out what they are doing to prepare for the potential passage of HR 5297. More importantly, you should find out what they can do for your small business specifically.

The entire 122 pages of  HR 5297 is available here.. <Link> 

Cazbah Total Internet Marketing Solution announced today its intention to attend and actively participate in the PTXi and International Powder & Bulk Solids tradeshow and Conference, to be held May 4 – 6, 2010 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, in Rosemont (Chicago), IL, adjacent to O’Hare International Airport.

The PTXi tradeshow and conference is the world’s leading event for engineers and managers who process, handle, package, transport, test and store dry particulates and bulk solids across many industries. Manufacturers and suppliers will be in attendance from industries including material handling, transportation and storage, automation, instrumentation and controls, mixers and blenders, packaging and bagging, weighing systems and scales and many more.

Cazbah has been providing its total Internet Marketing Solution to manufacturing companies for more than nine years. Their customer base, consisting of hundreds of specialty American commercial and industrial small businesses, has realized remarkable results from the Internet in the face of seemingly insurmountable economic odds. Cazbah has helped its small business customers generate tens of millions of dollars in new revenue, directly and indirectly from the web.

Ellen Kominars of Magnetic Products Inc., a PTXi tradeshow exhibitor and Cazbah customer said, “The hassle, heartache and mystery of website development and management are gone. Cazbah has great expertise! What a great team! ”

“We get 5 – 10 quote requests per day with a much higher close rate,” said Len Holtgreven, president of Holtgreven Scale. “Since Cazbah has taken over our Web site development and Internet marketing, our sales leads have been much more qualified,” he said. “Our Customers now have in-depth knowledge of our products due to the site contents and organization.”

“We work extraordinarily hard for our specialty small business customers because we depend on their continued patronage for our own success,” said Michael Seppala, president of Cazbah. “We literally take a stake in their game. If they’re not successful, we’re not successful.”

Cazbah’s goal is to meet their customers where they are. The company assigns a dedicated account manager to every customer that they have. “The investments that we make in the relationships that we forge are the key to our mutual success,” Seppala went on to say.

In keeping with their goal to meet their customers where they are, Cazbah will be participating in the PTXi and International Powder & Bulk Solids tradeshow and Conference. “Most of the smaller manufacturing companies exhibiting at the show have significant untapped potential, just waiting to be realized on the web,” said David Wilson, director of business development for Cazbah. We’re hopeful to meet these companies at the show and begin a discussion that will lead to their success.

The acceptance rate of our community management offering has been unprecedented. As I mentioned in a previous post, this service has to do with our customers’ adoption of social media. Cazbah provides them with the technology, work processes, and dedicated service and support to increase their inbound marketing opportunities. It also establishes them as the center-of-influence within their communities, hence the name.

On a recent visit with one of our clients while presenting a community management proposal, we got into a discussion about the viability of social media within their particular industry. Our client admitted he wasn’t too familiar with social media networks and expressed his concerns about how social media was going to help him sell his products (a very reasonable and accurate concern). While I did take the opportunity to highlight some of the benefits of social media for his business, it became clear to me that we need to  educate all of our clients regarding new media techniques that can improve their businesses.

With a wry smile, the client  asked, “I wonder what Warren Buffet is doing in social media?” He stopped me in my tracks. I thought, “what a great question.” Even though he was half joking, he struck on something profound. Clearly, if you are considering a change, you look to the leaders to gain insight into your decision making process. Who better than Warren Buffet, one of the savviest business men in the world.

Social media plays a vital role in viral marketing and enables further brand awareness. This is accomplished by establishing word-of-mouth communication between community members regarding relevant information which induces purchasing by driving traffic to a company’s Web site. Additionally, social media removes the barriers that may normally exist between a company and its customers, giving them the opportunity to communicate openly and virtually instantaneously.

Warren Buffet’s holding company, Berkshire Hathaway now owns a diverse range of businesses including railroads, candy production, retail, home furnishings, encyclopedias, vacuum cleaners, jewelry sales, newspaper publishing, manufacture and distribution of uniforms, manufacture, import and distribution of footwear; as well as several regional electric and gas utilities.

A partial list of companies that Berkshire Hathaway either has a complete ownership, a controlling ownership or a significant ownership in include; GEICO Insurance, The Pampered Chef, Dairy Queen, Benjamin Moore & Co., BoatU.S., NetJets, CocaCola and H.H. Brown Shoes. For a complete listing of their subsidiary companies click here http://tr.im/RRM5.

Several of the Berkshire Hathaway companies are major consumer brands like Benjamin Moore paint for example. A quick trip to their company Web site provides a link to their blog and an invitation to join the dialogue on all things color – the newest trends, products, and latest stories on everything from fashion to food, from art to architecture – on the blog “Living in Color with Sonu.”

BoatsU.S., the boat owners association of the United States, provides a listing of boating groups, message boards, member services, not to mention 118 Web pages chock full of boating blogs dealing with topics ranging from trans-Atlantic crossings to how to overcome your fears of traveling to places like Columbia.

The Dairy Queen Web site sports a mug of Warren Buffet himself on their homepage alongside an invitation to download their iPhone app, DQ Craze. A trip to their Facebook page shows an active community of over 800,000 fans. Their Twitter page heralds constant notifications about new content being posted to the company’s blog which, is supported by a team of eight dedicated bloggers.

Who hasn’t heard of (or seen) GEICO or is it Gecko? Needless to say, they’re everywhere and the Web is no exception. You can check out their YouTube channel to see all those crazy commercials featuring that zany lizard, cave man or pile of money with the ‘googly’ eyes. They too have an iPhone app called Glovebox™ with all sorts of info to engage their customers. The GEICO blog shows active participation on the part of four dedicated company bloggers and customers from around the world.

I could go on and on but you get the point. Warren Buffet knows all about social media. All of the companies that Berkshire Hathaway owns, controls or is invested in are currently and actively engaged in all aspects of social media. The bottom line about social media is that it’s all about the bottom line, and Warren Buffet clearly understands the dramatic value and business revenue that social media brings.

Cazbah, an Internet marketing services firm, provides small to mid-sized businesses with everything they need to succeed on the Internet. Our highly effective solution includes a dynamic database driven Web site with simplified content management, search engine optimization, e-mail marketing, e-commerce shopping cart, and dedicated service and ongoing support. Cazbah customers gain a greater level of control and generate measurable results!

Responsibilities
Key responsibilities for the Account Manager position include identifying and defining our clients’ requirements and needs, managing all aspects of a clients’ online sales and marketing strategy, and understanding and applying the Cazbah capabilities to our clients’ situational needs. Responsibilities include:

• Training our clients on the Cazbah tool set
• Monthly contact with clients
• Development and implementation of Internet marketing plans
• Working with the Cazbah production team to implement Internet marketing plans
• Analyze Web site performance and make appropriate adjustments to Internet marketing plan.

Required Skills
Candidate must have Internet marketing experience and have knowledge of how Web sites are built and maintained. A BS/BA degree or equivalent work experience in customer support, marketing or technology industry is also required. Experience working with small businesses/start ups preferred. In support of this, the candidate will have the following:

• Excellent communication skills and feel comfortable dealing with their assigned clients on a daily basis
• Basic Web site editing skills
• Strong knowledge of MS Word and Excel, and basic photo editing knowledge

Preferred Sills
The ideal candidate will have a passion for small businesses along with a strong knowledge of Web development. Preferred candidates will be skilled in the following areas:

• Google AdWords knowledge / certification
• Google Analytics knowledge / certification
• E-mail marketing knowledge
• Social media marketing knowledge
• Sales and distribution knowledge for retail and manufacturing industries

Benefits
The Cazbah Account Manager position is a salaried position with a healthcare plan, and matching simple IRA.

Please send cover letter and resume via e-mail to careers@cazbah.net
No phone calls please. We are an EEO Employer.

This past year has been a very busy year for us at Cazbah. We actually finished the year ahead of the previous year by about 20% which, in the most severe recession that anyone can remember, is a pretty good thing. We also had our best new customer sales year in our history. It’s clear that more and more specialty small businesses are realizing how important the Internet is to the success of their businesses.

Our customers have continued to reward us with their loyalty as well. The Cazbah business model is predicated on our client’s ultimate success and their willingness to make a voluntary renewal of their business relationship with Cazbah year after year. The exceptional renewal rate and feedback we receive is indicative of our clients’ trust.

The true value of the Cazbah experience is in the personal relationships that our dedicated account managers establish with their clients. As is always the case in a trust-based relationship, our clients confide in us and share their fears, concerns, hopes and dreams for their businesses.

Because we do listen and have their best interests at the heart of what we do, several of our clients have asked us to take on a bigger share, or all, of their marketing efforts. Since these requests are on the rise, we’ve recently introduced two additional lines of business based upon our clients’ needs: Community Management and Strategic Marketing Consulting.

Our Community Management offering takes a hard look at a small business’s position in their industry and establishes them as the center-of-influence in the communities that they serve. Hence the name Community Management. The dynamics of the Web for small business have been steadily changing as social media and networking have established themselves as vital (and viral) communications mediums. Every aspects of a company’s social media activities are taken into consideration, all of which are handled by dedicated Cazbah staff on their behalf, freeing our clients up to run their businesses.

Strategic Marketing Consulting is a very involved five-step process that looks at every part of a small business, leveraging the strong current knowledge that we have with our existing clients. This engagement seeks to create a fit between the company’s resources, capacity and changing market opportunities. Our aim is to shape and focus our client’s offerings so that they produce enhanced financial results.

We have several of these expanded business relationships underway and we are seeing some immediate and exciting result. Please stay tuned in as we’ll be sharing information on a much more frequent basis going forward.

(The importance of your differences cannot be overstated.)

The short answer to this question is, you do! If you want to do more business, more effectively on the Internet, then you definitely need a Unique Value Proposition.

The term Unique Value Proposition can be best understood by breaking it down into its parts.

Unique refers to the characteristics of your product or service offering that distinguish you from as many of your competitors as possible. Think about it. What is it about what you do that sets you apart? Take the time to really understand how you are different from your competition. Then, write it down!

Value is the intrinsic worth of your offering to your customers. In other words, it defines what your customers get for their money. If you’re having difficulty with this one, ask your customers to describe how your service or product has helped them. Take this input and translate it into several concise statements.

Webster defines Proposition as; a statement containing only logical constants and having a fixed truth or value. That pretty much sums it up! It is your factual and truthful proposal to your customer. Being able to qualify and quantify your claims is very important and makes your Unique Value Proposition that much stronger!

The Internet is a tremendous resource for gaining a better understanding for the UVP concept. There are numerous examples that you can find online through a search using any search engine, on the terms ‘Unique Value Proposition.’ Using the results of your search as a model, construct your own Unique Value Proposition.

Documenting your Unique Value Proposition and making it easy to understand is very important. As with goals, the elements of your Unique Value Proposition are not real until you have written them down. Once you have done so, place them somewhere that you are sure to see them. Reading them on a regular basis is an excellent test of their accuracy. Ultimately, your customer will determine how well you have captured your Unique Value.

As an aid in this process, ask yourself this question: “What is it about what we do that makes us different (better)?” And, “Why should anybody care?” Combining your honest answer to these two question with some objectivity and customer input will get you far along the path to identifying and documenting your Unique Value Proposition.

Use mind mapping to capture your Unique Value Proposition. Write your product or service features in the center of separate pieces of paper. Once you have documented the features in this way, draw a circle around each one. Then, write the benefits that your customers receive from that feature in smaller circles, surrounding the center. Connect the circles with lines, like spokes in a wheel. When finished, evaluate them all to ensure that they accurately represent your offering. Compile each feature map page into one sentence. Then, combine the sentences into an itemized list or paragraph. Congratulations, you have just created your Unique Value Proposition.

As I mentioned before, your customer will be the ultimate judge of the accuracy of your UVP. Take the time to test your newfound focus by sending it to some of your better, longer term customers to gain their insights. Their input will provide you with the finer points that will allow you to refine and sharpen your Unique Value Proposition even further.

All The Business!

So here’s what really chaps my set-upon; I would have to say that every customer (to a one) that we’ve gotten (and still have by the way) over the years, has had at least one (if not several) bad experience with another web development company or so-called guru or expert, before we’ve had the pleasure of their business.

In most cases this has cost them tens of thousands of dollars in fees for a mediocre website and whatnot, plus the loss of revenues, i.e., the money they should have made but didn’t. This can easily get into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Being completely objective, which is difficult for me to do in this particular case, this is a blessing and a curse:

The Blessing — There are an ever increasing number of hucksters out there putting out an incessant commentary on the virtues (not that they would know virtue if it bit them) of Internet Marketing, in all of its varied forms and functions.

That’s good, because whether they realize it or not, they are advancing the cause, so-to-speak, by raising the awareness of the relatively uninitiated small business owner or entrepreneur for all things Internet. If there is anything we can use more of it’s awareness.

The Curse — These maleficent marketers who shill, bait and switch, sell a pig in a poke, have no concern for the bad faith and jaundice they create in the industry as a whole. I can’t tell you the number of times we hear things like, “You guys are all the same.” Or, “I just talked to a group that does exactly what you do.” Or, “I spent 2o grand with the company who did my website and now they want even more money to fix it. Why should I trust you?”

Needless to say most small businesses are gun shy when it comes to Internet Marketing or the companies who profess expertise in this area. Can you blame them?

For this reason, I’ve come up with the following questions to help small businesses in their vetting process when determining an Internet Marketing company to work with.

How many customers do you have?

How many customers like me do you have?

What is your Federal Tax ID?

How long have you been in business?

Can y0u give me a list of a dozen customers, with their website addresses, that I can call and talk to personally?

Do you have employees (i.e., the kind you can touch), and if so how many?

Can you give me a demonstration of your work?

Who will I be working with if I choose to become a customer of yours?

Can you show me first hand examples of the results, SEO, Conversion, Sales that you have achieved?

Do you have your own technology? If not, who’s do you use?

Do you have any certifications, Google Analytics, Addwords, etc?

What are you going to do for me EXACTLY?

What is this going to cost, EXACTLY?

And of course; Does your mom still do your laundry?

For our part, I welcome all of these questions and any others that you can think up. We’ll continue to keep killin’ it for our specialty small business customers, under-promising and over-delivering every single time.

Vikki Donnelly, who has been with the company for 4 years now, was promoted to the position of Director of Production / Build. Vikki is responsible for all aspects of the work product and resources associated with the development and update of our customer’s websites. Vikki’s and her production team are the first people that customers encounter after joining Cazbah. Her keen sense of timing and priority has ensured a flawless record of successful customer website launches.

Mike Farney, one of the first employees of the company, was promoted to Director of Account Management. Mike’s roll is to oversee and manage the dedicated account management staff at Cazbah. Mike has been an account manager himself for 5 years and is a classic example of what effectiveness as an account manager at Cazbah is all about. Mike’s responsibility is to provide leadership to his team in all areas of their involvement with their individual base of Cazbah customers.

Louis Horton, was recently promoted to Director of Information Technology. Louis is responsible for a growing staff of software development personnel and is the principle development engineer for the company. Louis provides direction to his team regarding the design, daily operations, security, update and continuing development of Cazbah’s technology. Louis’ expert development skills have had a profound effect on the quality of the company’s technology in a very short period of time.

This group represents the management team for the company and is headed by Mike Seppala, company president, who acts as the director of operations.

Congratulations to Vikki, Mike and Louis!

Next, a lot of your competitors are sitting on their hands waiting for something to happen. If you are out there making something happen, you have a huge advantage. I think Winston Churchill’s statement during WWII sums up our current state pretty well, “This is no time for ease and comfort. It is the time to dare and endure.”

This leads us to the next advantage. Your business is part of the solution. Small business is the back bone of the American economy. Our own President acknowledges this. So, running a well oiled successful small business, in today’s turbulent economy, only sets you up for greater success as the economy moves forward into more rewarding times.

Now, do I think it is going to be easy? Absolutely not! It’s going to take creativity, thought, planning and implementation on a huge level. Your business is going to need to have a rock solid strategy from top to bottom. In today’s business environment, any hole in your business model will quickly lead to a sinking ship.

So what can you do as an entrepreneur to ensure success? First, get a strong business plan. Plans help you set a course for success. They show you were your strong points are and where your challenges are. Next, be willing to make adjustments based on the information you gather that will impact your business plan and create a strategy for implementing your plan. Finally, follow through with the plan. I have seen more small businesses than I care to remember set themselves up for failure based on their lack of follow through. They have a great plan, but never implement it and end up dying off or just winging it. In today’s economy this is truly a recipe for disaster.

Lastly, as Nike likes to say ‘JUST DO IT’. Whatever it takes, do it! Don’t be afraid to ask for help there are a lot of places out there to get help. You can go to the Small Business Administration, the Internet has a ton of information and advice, local business groups, or even other local business owners themselves. Business owners can be the greatest resource because in many cases, they have been there and done that.

My own take away from the video was somewhat different although, she is absolutely correct in her assertion that small businesses need to “get in the game.”

Regardless of who or where you are, this video will have an effect on you. These are truly global exponential times. Watch and ponder: