“One of the most important things [to succeed long-term] is perseverance. You’ve really have to say, ‘I’m gonna stick it out. I’m gonna be here and I’m not going to give up.’” ~ Anita Campbell, Small Business Trends
Who better to offer small business ideas and advice than someone who both runs a business and serves up valuable small business content to more than 6 million readers a year? Meet Anita Campbell, CEO of media and information company Small Business Trends.
An authority on small business issues, Anita has been noted in The Wall Street Journal, New York Times and a number of other influential publications. She is the co-author of Visual Marketing: 99 Proven Ways for Small Businesses to Market with Images and Design. You’ll also find her name on some impressive lists, including Forbes’ 25 Most Influential WOMEN Tweeting About Entrepreneurship, the 20 Best-Branded Women on Twitter, and 30 Women Entrepreneurs to Follow on Twitter.
Having worked with small businesses myself over the past 15 years, I always enjoy speaking with others who have a passion for helping this market. While Anita is experienced enough to share great insights on a variety of small business trends, during this interview, we focused mostly on how to start a business.
Anita talks small business ideas, vision and growth
During our fun chat, we discussed:
What it takes to start and grow a business
One word: perseverance.
How the internet has opened up opportunities for entrepreneurs
The ability to start a business online “frees you,” Anita says. “You’re really not stuck in one particular area, with the local customer base that’s there — you can reach out much, much wider than that.” That paves the way for the success of niche businesses, she says.
“If you can reach out across the United States, or even across the world, you’ve got a lot of customers there potentially, and so you can afford to be in a niche business. And I think that’s one of the most exciting things — it lets us set up businesses that are very, very specific and to get very, very detailed in serving our customers because of the freedom of having no boundaries."
Why having a vision is critical when implementing new technology and ideas
Even if your business is primarily brick-and-mortar, Anita says a little vision can go a long way in leveraging online technologies to make your company stronger.
The criteria for a good business plan
Think it’s not a living, breathing thing? Anita explains why it should be.
Funding options for small businesses
Crowdfunding? Angel investors? “It takes a lot of work, a lot of marketing, to go out to a site like Kickstarter, for example, and convince people to fund your idea,” Anita says. “And in terms of getting investors, that’s a very time-intensive thing.” In our interview, she recommends more feasible funding options for the majority of small businesses.
The mindset of an entrepreneur.
When building a business, we all experience ups and downs. Anita shares her advice on how to get through some of the more challenging moments and how to get back on track.
Watch the video interview
I hope these highlights of my chat with Anita have piqued your interest! For the full interview, please check out the video:
I would love to hear what you liked best about it, so tweet me @KateVolman.
