small business

The Moneyball strategy – which emphasizes a sophisticated understanding of data and statistics to help small budget baseball teams compete with their higher-spending rivals – holds a number of important lessons for the world of business. At a time when companies are finding that they must do more with less, Big Data – the massive amounts of unstructured data that Web users create every day with their Internet-connected devices - could be a source of competitive advantage for smaller businesses.

Jason Fried, CEO of 37signals, knows a thing or two about small business. His company has been developing apps for small businesses for seven years. But it’s how he runs his own company that reveals his keen insight for how to be a successful small business.

This week we have been looking at social media for small businesses. Ways in which they can use the social media tools that exist to build their brand, engage their customers and learn about their brand, market and competitors. It is as important for small businesses as it is for large brands to build a social media strategy. And there are many different ways that you can start to use social media to get these benefits.

[Nuts & Bolts is a new category focusing on basic business practices for the entrepreneur or established business. Look for new Nuts & Bolts posts approximately weekly.]

I saw my brother-in-law over the holiday, and he mentioned a friend who had started a business selling duck calls. This friend was having trouble collecting from his retailer customers, with the result that he had outstanding receivables of $20,000. Did I have any advice as to how he could collect better?

Looking back at pivotal events that took place within the business world in 2009, it is becoming increasingly clear that there are five macro trends that will be shaping a New Way to Work in 2010 and beyond. Together, these five trends point to a New Way To Work in which creativity and innovation are more valued by employers than ever before and the traditional notion of work as merely an economic activity is being supplemented by ideas about happiness and well-being.

by: David Armano

Adweek reports that American Express has tapped two small business owners (who also blog) as part of a campaign which recently kicked off (full disclosure, American Express is a Digitas client — though I have no idea if we are involved in this effort).

by: Joel Makower

What would the world be like without Wal-Mart? It's not a simple answer.