5 Small Biz Trends for 2010: Offline Mining, Cloud Computing Stand Out

I’ve recently began following the teachings of John Jantsch and Duct Tape Marketing, his take on best practices in marketing and sales. I like the way he presents information for small businesses; it’s practical, less costly in technique than other marketing gurus, and kind of fun.

My eye was drawn this morning to an American Express Open Forum story authored by Jantsch on Five Small Business Trends for 2010. LIke many readers of the CPATechViews blog, I, too, own a small business and am constantly searching for ways of doing business that will help me stand apart from my competition.

Although all five are noteworthy, two of his predictions have direct parallels to accounting: #4 – Kitchen Sink on a Cloud, and #5 – Fusion Boosts Offline.

“Kitchen Sink on a Cloud” is all about cloud computing – technology you’ve read about from Darren Root and others who hail the virtues of outsourced information repositories. The article states:
“The sacred cow of the desktop, financial data will finally move online completely as QuickBooks Online. Tools like Freshbooks make it very easy to do bookkeeping online while providing secure access for financial employees and outside accounting resources.”
I personally think you’ll see even more information coming about in 2010 about cloud computing, so stay tuned.
The other prediction, “Fusion Boosts Offline” goes back to something I talk with accounting groups and firms about all the time. You have to “mine” your contact database in person as much as you mine them online and/or in social media. I compare this scenario to the way technology impacts our lives – we use it to its fullest, and yet, there are some activities that are just as effective in an offline environment.
Enjoy the article.