Asked what business tasks they could do better, "being more efficient" was top on the list of one in five entrepreneurs who responded to a recent national survey of small businesses. A cluttered calendar, daily distractions, and an overwhelming to-do list can keep any busy business owner from succeeding, and time management tips like the ones we shared here last week can help you streamline your schedule.

An uncluttered mind is key to entrepreneurial success

But getting control of your time is just one of three steps that business coach Linda Tomb recommends to business owners who seek greater success. Hand-in-hand with clearing the clutter from your calendar goes clearing the clutter from your mind, she says.

Tomb's consultancy, Unleash Your Business, helps women entrepreneurs "grow a small business into a big business…with heart." In part two of our three-part "Time, Focus, Money" interview with Tomb, she says, "Focus is about taking charge of the thoughts that are occupying your brain. You can work till you drop but still be

By Scott Steinberg

Crowdfunding Bible Book CoverCrowdfunding isn't just today's hottest new form of high-tech investment — it's also a potentially new and better approach to raising money online that threatens to upend traditional approaches to venture capital and angel investment. With the recent passage of the JOBS Act, suddenly, not only can you reach out and connect with qualified investors to launch new businesses and startups. You can also do so directly, without having to let VCs play ultimate judge and jury, or a small, but influential group of wealthy individuals dictating which products, projects and services deserve to be brought to market.

Want to start your own business, looking to expand upon an existing line of products or services, or simply have a brilliant idea for tomorrow's next million-dollar invention? Services such as Kickstarter, IndieGogo, RocketHub and Peerbackers, which offer crowd funded investment solutions, literally give you the power to bring new businesses, products and innovations

Small business owners are split

With regard to who is the better candidate for small businesses, President Barack Obama has only a slight edge over Governor Mitt Romney, according to a survey of small business owners commissioned by Office Depot. The Office Depot Small Business Index, conducted in April and released today, revealed that 53 percent of small business owners see the current President as the top small business advocate, while 47 percent chose the former Massachusetts Governor.

The Internet-based national survey, which interviewed 1,002 owners of businesses with between 1 and 99 employees, also asked respondents how they feel about the state of their business. Compared to a year ago, more small business owners say they are "much more or slightly more optimistic." There has been a drop in optimism, however, from January 2012. Survey interviews are conducted monthly.

The survey also asked about measures of success. Most respondents define success as "being profitable" (73 percent); "having a work-life

By Tanya Smith

socialmediaprofileA well branded social media profile is essential for small businesses today. The profile tells people all about you and the value you offer, and it can provide those in your circle of influence a place to connect and get involved. Having a well written social media profile can certainly enhance how well you connect with potential leads, but there are a few guidelines you must follow.

The Social Media Profile Image

Your picture is very much like a personal logo. People will instantly recognize your brand when they see it. Make sure it looks natural and that it fits the perception you want to create for your target audience.

A headshot that shows part of the neck and shoulders is typically a good start. It shouldn't be too large or too small. Use the same photo consistently for all of your profiles so that your potential customer recognizes you. This increases the trust factor, because the more they see you, the more familiar your prospect is with your brand. If you have

Linda Tomb says to start your business day being still.

Having once birthed a baby and a business in the same month, Linda Tomb knows a thing or two about the unique challenges that women entrepreneurs and working moms face. After a decades-long business career, during which she helped to expand a chimney sweep service across three states, launched three high-tech companies, and secured several million dollars in venture funding for a dot-com startup, Tomb turned her attention to helping other women figure out how to balance life and motherhood with business ownership.

Today, as owner of Unleash Your Business, Tomb offers one-on-one and group coaching targeted at female entrepreneurs. Though she has come to the conclusion that "there's no magic pill—every working woman needs to arrive at her own tailored solution for achieving balance and flow," Tomb says there are some issues that trip up just about everyone. So she's devised a three-step free teleseminar to help. It's called "Time, Focus, Money: The Three Step Solution to Unleash Your

trust

By TJ McCue

It should come as no surprise that your customers research before they buy. But many small business owners don't believe in managing their brand and reputation online. Every business, from doctors (yes, even doctors) to lawyers to retail stores is judged online.
Lisa Barone, at Small Business Trends, explains in her post: Why Online Reputation Matters to Small Business that "consumers are using social word of mouth, online reviews, and other online content to form a judgment about your company. The judgment they form is then strongly tied to whether or not they decide to purchase your product (or service)."
How do you keep up?

1. Set an email alert. This is one of the easiest ways to monitor if and when your brand name, product names, specific keywords, or your personal name are being used on Twitter, Facebook, or other review sites. Most alerts can also be sent as a text message (SMS) to your mobile phone.
2. Sign up for a reputation tracking service like the Yahoo! Marketing

Equity- and debt-based crowdfunding could help U.S. businesses

We've reported here about the JOBS Act, which is designed to make it possible for small businesses and startups to use social media and friends-and-family networks to raise investment or debt-based capital through "crowdfunding." U.S. entrepreneurs won't be able to take full advantage of this practice until the SEC establishes rules (expected by January 2013), but a report released yesterday shows the significant amounts of money organizations around the world have already raised using several different crowdfunding approaches.

According to the crowdfunding research firm massolution, 452 crowdfunding platforms worldwide raised a total of $1.5 billion for more than 1 million campaigns in 2011. Massolution reports that the majority of those campaigns were in the donation-based crowdfunding category, which is unregulated in the U.S., and that North America was the largest market for fundraising with $837 million raised by 532,000 campaigns.

But outside of the U.S., in places where

By Brent Leary

customerdialogIt's tough keeping up with today's socially-empowered customer. Armed with social networks and mobile devices, their adoption and adaptation to the latest technology is accelerating at breathtaking rates. Just look at what took place this past Christmas:

• US online holiday shopping season reaches a record $37.2 billion, up 15 Percent vs. 2010 — a rate of increase almost 4X higher than the overall rate for retail.
• 7% of Christmas Day 2011 total online sales made via iPad
• As late as one week before Christmas 2011, one-quarter of consumers hadn't even started holiday shopping. (Consumer Reports)
• Almost one in four retail searches online on Christmas Day were made using mobile phones or tablet devices, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
• The number of adults in the United States who own tablets and e-readers nearly doubled from mid-December to early January, according to a new Pew Research study. (New York Times)

These numbers paint a dramatic picture