E-Commerce, E-Marketing & Localism Top the List of Small Business Trends for the New Year

Steven Strauss is a lawyer and contributor to USAToday.  Each year he offers an annual look at the top trends in small business.  For 2011, Strauss says he is happy to report that economic woes no longer top the list, as they did in 2009 and 2010.  So what will impact small business in the New Year? 

The Great Recession recedes. According to economists, the recession has been over for a while. Things will continue to get better economically in 2011. Now, this is not to say that things are back to normal. Clearly, they are not. Unemployment is still troublingly high and business is not where it once was. That said, on the small-business front, one reason things will continue to improve is the small-business bill that became law earlier in the year. One benefit of that law is that billions of dollars have been pumped into the lending pipeline, making it easier (though not easy) for small businesses to get SBA-backed loans. At an annual conference of SBA lenders last fall, it was predicted that the number of SBA loans would double in 2011.

New money. Even though SBA loans will increase, the tight credit markets over the past few years have forced small businesses to get creative when it comes to finding money to start and grow their businesses. Aside from traditional sources such as friends and family, angel investors and partners, one new trend is the advent of online portals that foster group lending.  Peer-to-peer lending, as its name suggests, allows individuals to lend to individuals. On peer-to-peer lending sites, entrepreneurs can post their business and look for people interested in lending money to that business. It is a new and interesting model, but not one without risks. Check it out carefully before investing or borrowing.

Growth of E-marketing. After several years of holding steady, it looks like small businesses are anxious to tap into E-marketing to fuel growth.   A recent survey indicates that in 2011, 17 percent of small-business respondents said they were going to increase their Web site marketing. Another 15 percent indicated they would spend more on e-mail marketing this upcoming year, and 13 percent were going to boost their social media marketing. E-marketing is hot.

The new localism. People are becoming increasingly aware that it makes economic sense on a lot of fronts to spend their consumer dollars, not only locally, but at small businesses locally. Of every $100 spent locally, $68 is said to go back into the community in some way through taxes, payroll and various other expenditures, not to mention the support of local entrepreneurs and their employees.  The new localism is taking many forms. Two obvious indicators: the growth of "buy local" campaigns and the surge in local farmers' markets.

E-boom.  E-commerce is one sector of the economy that grew at an 11 percent rate this year – on top of an11 percent growth last year.  Although E-commerce may seem “old school” these days, the reality is there simply are few other places where the economy has had an above 10 percent compound growth rate, equaling more than $250 billion in annual sales.  E-commerce should see even greater growth in 2011 and any small business with a retail emphasis should be looking to optimize their online customer experience.

For more details and for more trends, read the story in USA Today.