Creating Community for a Small Business by Kevin Dwinnell

I had the opportunity to speak with Owen McGab Enaohwo at Hire Your Virtual Assistant to discuss how to create an online community and how small businesses can get started using “community” to help their business.  You can see the full interview and an outline of the discussion at hireyourvirtualassistant.com/blog.  I don’t want to repeat that discussion here and detract from Owen’s efforts.

Still, it’s a great topic, because so much attention is on social media and the encouragement of brands to join the conversation with their consumers. The idea of online community goes back to the earliest days of the Internet, and the foundations of what works are not that different from what works in offline relationships.  Community is a powerful and persuasive communication channel and there’s no doubt companies need to have this as a part of their overall go-to-market strategy.  Yet, how, where and when you participate are all up for debate.

A small business is often resource constrained and the time commitment to building a community can be overwhelming.  There are better places to start and work toward the benefits without over committing. We go into those details in my discussion with Owen.

As much as I’m a believer in Brand Thunder’s interactive browser themes, it’s not the place I’d start – in fact, you still don’t see a Brand Thunder browser theme available (though you may notice www.ThunderThemes.com is a working URL and pointing to our gallery for an indicator of other efforts, but I digress).  While the browser theme is a powerful communication channel, it does well as an affinity marketing tool allowing brands to leverage the audience they’ve aggregated and deepen those relationships.  Small businesses need to be focused on creating those relationships and leveraging the platforms that can help with that, but in a manner that allows those community-building efforts to be inserted amongst the thousands of other necessary tasks for survival.

There are a lot a small steps a small business can take to make community building a part of their business building. Check out the discussion with Owen for those details, and there is a written outline if you don’t have time to watch the video.

Where do you think community falls in the priority of a small business and what are the best ways to leverage its power?

Posted in Commentary, News | Tags: brand thunder, browser theme, marketing, online community, Owen Mcgab Enaohwo, Small business, Social media | No Comments »

Independence Days – July 4th and Otherwise by Kevin Dwinnell

If you’re a startup or a small business, celebrate your own independence along with that of the U.S.A.’s.  If it helps, do like me and run Brand Thunder’s Independence Day browser theme to help get you in the spirit.

I’ve had a diverse career with a range of companies from big to small.  None of them gave the sense of independence that working for Brand Thunder does.  The difference this time, I think, is that I’m all in.  That doesn’t mean I wasn’t committed or dedicated to my previous jobs, it’s just there’s more riding on this venture from the standpoint of what I can contribute and affect.

Because my efforts can have that direct affect, that leads to the potential of making Brand Thunder work all encompassing as well.  It may be pretty close to that.  There are steady worries and a lot of time trying to work out the current puzzle.  “If I can just solve for this…” is usually how the internal conversation goes.

Yet, there’s never enough time and always more to do.  So, we’re forced to look through a lens that focuses on what’s important and most material.  That lens, however, isn’t just applied to the business.  It’s applied to the personal life as well.  When so much is this important, then all the important things must be considered.  The result has been more and better time spent with the family.

Knowing that the things needing attention the most are getting it is tremendously liberating.  I don’t know if this makes much sense to you, but it does for me.  With the three days this weekend, my time will be split between family, friends, celebrations and Brand Thunder, and I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate independence.  Hope you find your own independence as well.

Posted in Commentary | Tags: brand thunder, browser theme, Independence Day, july 4, Small business, United States | No Comments »

Start-ups and Entrepreneurs – Look Local to Grow Global by Kevin Dwinnell

My career experience is diverse, with a great deal of expertise in Internet marketing, commerce and product development. Branded browsers were a natural fit to my skill set. Nothing like joining a start up for the sudden exposure to the breadth of what is unknown or needs to be relearned.

Fortunately, the local community is flush with people who can help and there are organizations active in getting those people together. Through these connections the knowledge gaps have closed and the company’s reach has expanded. Columbus OH is a medium-sized city, so I’d be surprised if similar organizations don’t exist elsewhere. Here are the ones that have been most beneficial to me and to the company.

TechColumbus

An early supporter of Brand Thunder, TechColumbus has provided funding, leads, direction, guidance, media support, marketing support, lunch & learns, networking events, counsel and the list goes on. Find your local organization focused on launching and growing early-stage companies and join. There are a lot of benefits here.

Ohio TechAngels

Ohio TechAngels and TechColumbus. The two organizations remind me of a saying I heard while traveling overseas – “same, same but different.” The benefits are similar, but each organization is involved at different stages of the company’s evolution. Central Ohio is fortunate to have this asset.

Columbus State Community College – Small Business Development Centers

This CSCC program is a partnership between the college, the state’s development arm and the SBA. Not only did it offer free programs to solidify the business plan and our company foundation, it was the first to connect us to TechColumbus and which became our first source of funding. Find those free sources in your town.

TechLife Columbus

Hard to say if groups like TechLife exist everywhere. It started with a group of people that wanted to engage their community and connect the deep but dispersed tech community of central Ohio. The result has been an amazing birth of gatherings and events that are forging new relationships.

Meetup.com

Meetup.com is a great and free tool to either find groups near you or easily start your own. Explore it.

LinkedIn.com

Build your network and knowledge by joining some of LinkedIn’s groups. There’s more value here than just staying connected to your co-workers.

Posted in Commentary | Tags: brand thunder, Branded Browser, Business plan, custom browser, internet marketing, LinkedIn, New product development, Small business, techcolumbus | No Comments »