Small Business

by Ian M. Berkowitz

I am constantly amazed at the new technologies that pop up each and every day. It seems as if some new gadget, device or software is introduced to the world and we soon gobble it up like a hot and juicy turkey on Thanksgiving Day.

As a business owner, I am always reminded that my ability to understand and use technology to its fullest extent is directly related to making my life easier as technology organizes my world a bit better and continues to grow my business by the way it allows me to reach out to a world of prospective clients better than anything else.

I strongly believe that if you can learn to follow technology, evaluate its benefits and uses and ultimately embrace it, then you too will enhance your success rate.

Let me illustrate my point by identifying the simplest of all technologies and
common uses and benefits in business.

TV Revolution

Going back more than 100 years is the creation of the television. Over the course of the last 50 or so years the television has been the most utilized piece of technology developed. It provides our society with everything from communications, knowledge, information, sports, and entertainment and can also evoke practically every emotion within us during the programs we watch.

The television has also been one of the most direct forms of communication by businesses to their customers. Television advertising is a multi-billion dollar business and has the ability to cross all gender, socio-economic, racial, religious, sexual preference and color lines.

No matter what business you are in you can let the world know who you are, what you do and why the world should be your customer.

Let me give you a few real statistics to prove my point: According to the National Institute on Media and the Family, more than $2 billion dollars per year is spent on advertising to kids and teens. Business owners are well aware that juveniles are one of the large purchasing power groups in the country.

Even politicians can’t ignore the power of television as estimates confirm that advertising for the 2008 presidential election could exceed $3 billion, according to TNS Media Intelligence/Campaign Media Analysis Group, CNN's consultant on political television advertising.

Computer Revolution

The personal computer has revolutionized the way we interact with each other in almost any way you can possiblly think of. From giving and receiving information, socializing, communicating and entertaining ourselves and each other, it seems as if no other device is as used today as the personal computer.

Certainly in business the use of the computer has changed the way we manage and market our business, keep records, conduct human resources and communicate with everyone we need to support our business. The real question is whether or not you are taking full advantage of the power and benefits that the personal computer has to offer.

Last but certainly not least is the mobile phone. Like the television, and personal computer, today’s mobile phone is all of that -- and more. As much as the telephone is an extremely large part of our ability to succeed in business and interact with the world, so too does the mobile phone act as the one device that brings everything together in a compact and “take it anywhere” form.

Today’s mobile phone possessses the best of computing, entertainment, communication, socialization, information and even security. Mobile phones are not only essential in our personal lives but are equally important in business. It allows us to communicate with each other anywhere at anytime and is also the device we rely on to let our staff, vendors, suppliers and customers know that we are open and ready for business.

Can you imagine a world where being out of the office actually meant that you could not be reached and were actually unavailable?

My advice to you is to relax, take a deep breath and find out how to educate yourself on what you need to know about today’s technology to stay ahead of the pack. It may even make you smarter, less stressed, more organized and ready to reach your goals and take on the world.