By guest writer Mary Artz

Noah Brockman, a business advisor at the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) hosted by Portland Community College, stopped by Inside Ink this week to lend his virtual shoulder to cry on, to spread his wealth of wisdom, and to toss a proverbial life preserver to you and your indie publishing business during these unpredictable times.

He cites these Top 5 (recent) Concerns of Small Businesses:

  1. Decreased revenues compared to last year at this time. Solution: Increase sales, lower operating expenses, or increase gross profit margins. Suggestion: Ask yourself, “How can I make my company more efficient?” Cut costs on book shipping and warehousing—scrutinize your operation logistics. Work with authors who have a budget, start-up $$$, and/or their own marketing and promotional plans. Often, authors already have relationships within their book’s niche. Research and develop this market to enhance your product’s worth.
  2. How do I drive sales? You may feel as though your product has tapped the market domestically, so develop a foreign rights plan. Consider cross promotion; it’s a great way to split the bill. Send your book (but not yourself) to valuable trade shows via the Independent Book Publisher’s Association.
  3. As existing sales slow, people start considering, “What else can I sell or produce?” Before choosing new products or services, perfect what you already have and leverage existing products. Perhaps you could convert some of your titles into audio books or e-books. Hone in on your specific market; concentrate your energy and monies there. Consider marketing to libraries or marketing your book as a textbook. Get creative about reaching professors and the academic market. Look for ways to differentiate your book from the competition. Apply for awards! They’re a great addition to any press release. Optimize meta-data (tags), and visit bowkerlink.com and booksinprint.com. Do an audit of what your books look like and enhance them. This will allow book buyers to find your product more easily. Consider Seth Godin’s book Purple Cow, where he advises small business owners to put their marketing budget into product development; push yourself to make an exceptional product.
  4. Access to capital (bank loans, lines of credit). See #1 and tighten those bootstraps. Cut excess costs, and work with what you have.
  5. Fear: don’t let it overrule you. Prevent yourself from being consumed by the fear of global economic crisis. Right now, information about our tumbling economic crisis is proliferating across the media. Fear sells newspapers and makes ominous sound bites for the evening news. Focus on managing a responsible business within its means and, as Tim Ferriss suggests in his book 4-Hour Work Week, “practice a low-information diet and unplug from CNN.” Shift spending from wants to needs. Perhaps consider less hardcover copies and more paperbacks.

You can survive this! Just remember to stay focused and to stay the course. And if you need further assistance or information, please call or visit one of Oregon’s nineteen Small Business Development Centers. The SBDC provides many pro bono services, including one-on-one business counseling. You can contact the PCC branch at 503.978.5000.

Noah Brockman holds an MBA from the University of Portland’s Pamplin School of Business, and, in addition to being an SBDC Business Advisor, he owns and operates PointMan Consulting, LLC.

© 2008 Mary Artz