Did you miss any of my blog posts from around the Net this week? No worries, just read on below.

Do you really know how your employees feel about working for you? If you want to keep them, you’d better. Get the scoop in my post on Anita Campbell’s Small Business Trends.

We all know consumers are going mobile–when shopping, that is. But what are they buying and on what devices? Find out in my post on Network Solutions‘ GrowSmartBusiness blog.

Do you use content marketing to attract customers? (Or are you not even sure what “content marketing” is?) Learn how well different types of content work in my post on AT&T‘s SmallBusiness InSite.

Maybe you use Facebook ads. How well do they work for you? Find out what other business owners think in this Huffington Post Small Business post.

What’s up with Generation Y entrepreneurs (and intrapreneurs)? Get the scoop in my post on American Express OPEN Forum.

And, in the words of Nike ads, if you’re thinking about starting a business, stop thinking and “just do it.” Read my post at SCORE‘s Success Blog for inspiration.

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If you’re on the fence about whether to start your own business, some data from a new study might help convince you to make the move. I think it always helps to hear from real people about decisions you’re considering. And recently, The Hartford surveyed some 2,000 real entrepreneurs in its Small Business Success Study.

The study focused on small business owners’ outlook in today’s challenging economy. Despite the many hurdles they face, the entrepreneurs who were polled were very optimistic. In spite of the current economic environment, 51 percent projected that they will be “very successful” in the next two years.

Sure, being a small business owner isn’t perfect. There are plenty of challenges—those cited by companies in the Hartford survey included the economy (which had affected 57 percent of businesses), difficulty obtaining financing, government regulations, rising costs and difficulty finding customers. Given all these hurdles, why were entrepreneurs so optimistic?

Well, maybe it’s because they don’t define success based on profits. Yes, money does matter: 79 percent said achieving a comfortable lifestyle for themselves was an important measure of success. And 77 percent said increasing the profitability of the business year over year was very important. But just 18 percent said this is the most important factor in defining success.

In contrast, 82 percent said what’s most important is doing something they feel passionate about. By that measure, these entrepreneurs are highly successful. Ninety percent said they loved being business owners.

Perhaps that’s why not every business owner surveyed had dreams of being the next Google. Although 52 percent said they consider themselves growth-oriented, 48 percent said they were “maintenance-oriented,” meaning they want to maintain their business at its current size. And whatever size their business reaches, 81 percent want to remain closely involved in daily operations.

What should you take from this survey? If you’re on the fence about entrepeneurship, I suggest you give it a try. There’s no way to know how you’ll feel until you take the plunge. And as the entrepreneurs in this study prove, if you love it, you’ll really love it.

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The “This is Retail” contest is part of NRF’s Retail Means Jobs campaign and is aimed at raising awareness of the retail industry’s significant economic impact. Here’s how to enter:

Tell your retail story in a video no longer than two minutes. Make sure your video includes the phrase “I’m [Name] and This is Retail.” (Check back February 1 for complete guidelines for video submissions and a checklist of what to include.)

When telling your story, pick one of the following themes, and be sure to mention at least one in your video:
• Retail Powers America’s Economy
• Retail Is Main Street
• Retail Drives Innovation
• Retail Strengthens Consumers
• Retail Creates Opportunity

Upload your video between March 5 – 16 ( upload link will be available March 5).

The top 20 finalists will be announced on April 2. Then rally your friends, family and community to vote!

For more details go to the Retail Means Jobs website. http://www.retailmeansjobs.com/contest

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Starting a business in 2012? Here are 10 tips from entrepreneurship experts at community colleges on how to get started.

1. Have a Solid Idea – According to Tim Mittan, Director Entrepreneurship Center at Southeast Community College in Lincoln, NE, “When you are looking to start your own business, make sure your idea is everything you want it to be. Remember, you will be doing this every day and you want your days to be fun, not a drag. If you enjoy what you are doing, you will never feel like you are going to work. Stay flexible as you plan, but stay focused on your idea. You may have to conduct extra research, but take the time and do it right.”

2. Answer the Big Questions – Mittan advises that you need to be able to answer these questions: What is my product? – Who will buy my product? – How will they get my product? – How much will they pay for it? “Being able to answer these questions will allow you to be more specific with your business planning,” he says. “With these answers you will make good marketing decisions, create a good online strategy and keep your books in the black. And most important, you will get what you are passionate about out to others in the most effective way possible.”

3. Develop a Solid Business Plan. Once you’ve answered the questions Mittan raises, you have some of the building blocks of a business plan. According to Associate Dean Jan Pagano, head of Indian River State College’s Entrepreneur Development Institute in Fort Pierce, FL, “A business plan is your ‘roadmap’ and should outline your attainable and reasonable goals that are both strategic and financial. Think of it this way: You would not take an extensive trip cross country without a GPS or roadmap. Your business plan is just that – and without it you could end up on a dead end road!”

“It does not matter how large or small your business is, you have to assertively plan the work – and then work the plan,” says Joyce Presby, Entrepreneurial Resource Consultant at White Mountain Community College in Berlin, NH. “Having a plan will keep you on track and will show where there are variances in plenty of time to make adjustments. Sticking to the plan and really working it is vital to a strong business.”

4. Get a Mentor – “The old adage is to make sure you have an accountant, banker and lawyer on speed dial,” says Tim Mittan. “That is still sound advice, however, in this day and age having access to a business coach or mentor is also extremely important. You never want to feel like you are going it alone. Make sure you find someone at your local community college, SBDC, or economic development center that can help you. If any of those are not available, go online or find a networking group in your area.”

5. Get Trained and Be Willing to Learn New Skills – “As an entrepreneur you will soon learn you will be the ‘jack of all trades – master of none,’” says Jan Pagano.  “You’ll be spending a lot of time doing things that have nothing to do with your area of expertise, like bookkeeping, marketing, and IT support!  Some of this you will be able to delegate but much of this you will have to learn as you embark on your entrepreneurial journey.”

6. Develop a Solid Marketing Plan –  “Like the business plan, the marketing plan is an essential part of your business planning. It’s not enough to know your product and services,” Pagano says. “It’s critical that you research your competition, analyze your strengths and weaknesses, and identify the risks, opportunities and threats posed by both internal and external factors. By doing so, you can easily identify your niche, the best way to enter the market, and how to turn your marketing efforts into revenue.”

7. Start Within Your Means – There will never be a perfect time to begin a business; assess what you have to work with and think about how you can get started with those resources. Bootstrap if you have to, but get started!

8. Set an Affordable Loss – Decide how much you can afford to lose on the business before you begin. Measure the losses closely and be aware of your loss goal. Read and Sarasvath recommend evaluating opportunities based on whether the downside is acceptable, rather than on the attractiveness of the hope-for upside.

9. Remain Flexible – “If you cannot afford a big office, get a small one,” advises Otis White, Faculty Chair, Business & Management; Public Administration at  Rio Salado College, in Tempe, AZ. “If you cannot afford another staff member, then figure out a way to do without. Be creative and frugal with your resources and avoid debt used for ‘wants’…only use debt for critical ‘needs.’”

10. Tap into Your Community’s Resources, Including Those at Your Local Community College – Hundreds of community colleges across the nation, including NACCE’s 300 member schools, have invaluable resources for would-be business owners and entrepreneurs. These include degree programs in Entrepreneurship, workshops, entrepreneurship centers that provide mentorship and other services, and on-campus and virtual incubators.

“Research the Small Business Development Center in your community and/or SCORE and work with them,” says Mechele Hesbrook, Dean of the School of Arts + Design at Santa Fe Community College in Santa Fe, NM. “Research the entrepreneurship programs offered at your local colleges or community college. Enroll in classes. And research online virtual incubators or on-ground incubators in your community and join up.”

About NACCE: The National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE), which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, is an organization of educators, entrepreneurs, and distinguished business development professionals providing quality programs and services in entrepreneurship education and serving as advocates community-based entrepreneurship. For more information, visit http://www.nacce.com. Follow NACCE on Twitter at @NACCE and like the NACCE – National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship page on Facebook.

The rise in I-9 audits under the Obama Administration has been dramatic. Read what guest blogger, Sue Milford of KAF Financial has to say on what to watch out for when completing your Employment Eligibility Verification forms.

The U.S. government recently released statistics that indicate $7.1 million in fines were levied during the first half of 2011. Although immigration raids have been common before, the focus of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) today is on auditing and investigating employers to determine if they are satisfying the I-9 form requirements and if they are knowingly or unwittingly employing illegal workers.

ICE isn’t only going after companies they suspect may be employing illegal or immigrant workers or the big companies; they are going after small and middle market businesses too…and there’s no leniency.

Penalties can run amount to as much as $1,100 per violation; however employers with large workforces and multiple violations can be hit with millions of dollars in fines. Criminal prosecution can also face employers if they purposely overlook I-9 responsibilities.

While the government has been diligent in communicating the documents needed for I-9 compliance, little has been said about the importance of accurately completing the I-9 form. Increasingly, employers are discovering that even small violations are grounds for penalty. The following are a number of I-9 issues that can place a company in violation:

• Using red ink (only black or blue ink is acceptable);
• Using a highlighter to call attention to information;
• Miscellaneous marks or notes in margins or white space (even the slightest mark at the top of the form can trigger a penalty);
• Using White Out or corrective tape (if a correction is necessary, cross out the item that needs correcting, write in the new information and initial and date when the correction was made).

Other reasons for an I-9 penalty are:

• Providing too much documentation;
• Failing to list the I-9 documentation in the correct column;
• Showing an inaccurate issuing authority;
• Reviewing photocopies or faxed copies of documentation;
• Accepting expired U.S. passports.

It’s critical that businesses make every effort to assure they are in compliance with the I-9 form requirements. Don’t let seemingly small errors and omissions add up to large fines and/or criminal charges against your company.

Sue Mulford, PHR, Human Resources Manager at KAF Financial, is an active member of the HR committee for the Mass. Society of CPAs, the Northeast Human Resources Association, the Society for Human Resource Management and the Associated Industries of Massachusetts. For more information, call 781-356-2000 or visit www.kafgroup.com.

By Connie Certusi,

With the year drawing to a close and speculation about how the economy will fare in the new year, many small business owners are introspective. They are contemplating what went right in 2011 and what they can improve in 2012 and are looking for some direction. Today’s guest blogger Connie Certusi, Sage Peachtree’s Executive Vice President and General Manager, offers some tips:

1. Review and revise your business plans. Were you unable to achieve your goals or meet your targets for 2011? As you head into the new year, it is worthwhile to evaluate why and determine if new tactics need to be added to the revised business plan. What course of action or changes can be made so you can resolve these issues? On the other hand, don’t be afraid to remove these objectives altogether. Changes in your industry or the economy may have played a major factor to why targets weren’t met and it may not be strategic to incorporate these goals into the 2012 plan.

2. Mobilize your manpower. Most of the business applications you are using or will consider in 2012 extend easily and inexpensively (often free) to smartphones and tablets. Many customer management systems, for example, let entrepreneurs and employees access marketing campaign and sales management features on an Android or iPad, and actions taken remotely are also reflected on their office system. Productivity seekers: look for device independent apps that work on almost anything. Techies: seek HTML5 based apps.

3. Get some intelligence, as in Business Intelligence. Something every small business should be doing in 2012 is to look at the data stored in their software. By taking the data and turning it into actionable information, businesses can save costs and increase profits. That’s what Business Intelligence (BI) does. But don’t be afraid that it’s too complicated – many software solutions now provide BI tools that are easy to use. One of the most popular ways: take the data stored in your ERP and CRM systems, pull it into Microsoft Excel, and then let business managers that already know how to use Excel analyze the data. Embracing Business Intelligence in 2012 will set business up for growth and higher profits.

4. Go hybrid. There’s a lot of hype about SaaS, cloud and other web solutions. However, most SMBs have existing software in place and cannot afford to move their entire company “to the cloud.” But to be successful in 2012, SMBs should start embracing a hybrid solution where on-premise software is connected to cloud-based services. This will allow SMBs to reap the benefits of the cloud without too much disruption. Some key areas to look at include Web-based sales tax calculation services that ensure small business are always charging the correct amount of sales tax; services that allow SMBs to electronically file taxes; and Web services that allow small business to create cost effective marketing campaigns that provide customers with a personalized experience. Connected Web services is a trend to embrace in 2012.

5. Give mobile payments a try. Mobile commerce will continue to be hot during 2012. It’s important to know that mobile payments are more than an iPhone processing a credit card, or a mobile phone replacing a credit card. Mobile payments are also about delivering information and building loyalty through an array of mobile devices used by consumers. While the allure of mobile payment offerings is strong, and the benefits, like the expansion of sales channels and low cost of entry, can be great, small businesses do need to be very careful not to put their business or their customers’ credit card accounts at risk. If a mobile payments vendor’s system does not focus on all aspects of payment security, regardless of what point-of-sale (POS) device they use, then they (and you) could run into problems. If mobile is a key part of a small business’ environment, then that business should work with processors that have tightly integrated, Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliant (at the hardware level) mobile solutions.

Also consider:

• Synch your accounting software with your accountant regularly- don’t wait until mid-year or year end!
• Take the opportunity to purge your old data- identify inactive customers, old inventory items.  Get rid of what you no longer need.
• Refresh your customer information- are there customers who used to do lots of business with you, but have lapsed?  Maybe outreach to them is in order.  Look at the possibility of offering a discount to those customers you’d like to win back, as well as your best customers, who will appreciate the perk.
• If you’re not already doing it, use electronic banking for easy record keeping
• Record everything electronically- scan statements, utilize tools out there to easily track receipts and financial records, so that everything is easily accessible and most importantly, able to be backed up remotely
• Back up your data- the IRS doesn’t care if you have a crash and lose your information!
• Track health insurance policies, review with your accountant, to see if you qualify for some valuable tax credits
• File Online- it’s the law!

Sage Peachtree is a leading global supplier of business management software and services for small and mid-sized businesses.

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Everyone has their own list of Twitter favorites. Today in a guest post Wasp Code Technologies shares its 10 favorites. Of course we’d add our own Twitter accounts to follow: @Rieva, @SmBizDaily, and @TrendCastFood. As Twitter gains momentum (and active users) it can become more and more difficult to weed out the best handles to follow. Some are spam handles, some share off-topic news, but some are gems. Wasp Barcode Technologies has sorted through some of the more popular accounts, and in today’s guest post, they’re sharing their picks for the Top 10 Twitter accounts relevant to small businesses.

@NYTSmallBiz

Offering a wide variety of news from The New York Times Small Business page, this handle offers articles ranging from accounting and insurance to marketing and retailing.

@SBAgov

Official handle for the Small Business Administration, this handle offers news, tips, and resources for the small business community.

@OPENforum

While American Express OPEN Forum shares news and discussions from a wide variety of topics, they also offer articles directly related to small business owners.

@Manta

Manta is an online community specifically for small business owners to connect and discuss issues surrounding the operations and management of a small business.

@smallbiztrends

This handle is a news aggregator for all things small business. They also have their own website, Small Business Trends, where a variety of authors discuss topics relevant to small business owners.

@WSJSmallBiz

The official handle of The Wall Street Journal Small Business page, this handle provides links to business-related articles in The Wall Street Journal.

@HuffPostSmBiz

For those who don’t already follow The Huffington Post, it is an online-only news provider. Their small business handle is a feed for articles posted on the Huffington Post Small Business page.

@ducttape

The official handle of Duct Tape Marketing, this timeline is full of blogs direct from Duct Tape Marketing as well as other news relevant to the small business world.

@mashbusiness

The official handle for the Mashable Small Business page, this handle tweets all articles from Mashable that are related to small business owners.

@WaspBarcode

And last but not least, Wasp Barcode Technologies is sharing small business tips, news, and offering the latest in barcode software and solutions, so you can spend less time surfing the Web and spend more time running your small business.

Have you missed any of my posts from around the Web this past week? Keep reading to see what’s on my mind.

As the year draws to a close, lots of us are assessing our business performance. Do you feel successful? Find out how your achievements measure up to those of other business owners in my post on Anita Campbell’s Small Business Trends.

If you’re feeling like a failure, don’t let it get you down. Turn your mistakes into lessons–read my post at the SCORE Success Blog to find out how.

Then get ready for 2012 with my quick tips for a year-end business checkup, over at Cox Small Business Navigation Program.

Speaking of the year, mobile shopping is clearly this year’s big story. Learn how you can take advantage of this booming trend in my post on Network Solutions‘ GrowSmartBusiness blog.

One group that’s taking to mobile shopping in a big way is moms. Discover why tablet computing is making marketing to moms easier than ever in my post on American Express OPEN Forum.

Moms aren’t the only ones going mobile; mobile marketing is a key way to target minority consumers. Learn why–and how–in my post on AT&T‘s SmallBusinessInSite.

One way our government could help create jobs is by helping more young people start businesses. But you can help them, too. Find out what you can do in my post on American Express OPEN Forum.

I had the chance to meet lots of young entrepreneurs at the Future of Entrepreneurship Education Summit recently. I share what I learned from them in my column on AllBusiness.com.

And if you’ve got young people on staff, you might be right to worry that they’re ready to jump ship. Get the scoop on what makes young employees stay–or go–in my Huffington Post Small Business post. Also over at Huffington Post Small Business, find out the truth about just how much time your employees are spending shopping on the job.

Do you fear failure? Of course you do. Why wouldn’t you? They don’t give out gold medals to the loser of a race, or Academy Awards to actors whose films tanked.

It’s no different with business ownership…or is it? Sure, the focus in starting a business is all about success. And business magazines don’t celebrate “failure stories.” But maybe they should. Why? Because, in many cases, there’s just as much to be learned from failure as from success—and maybe more.

Consider two of the biggest entrepreneurial success stories of our era: Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. Gates’ first business, Traf-O-Data, failed and later, Gates famously dropped out of Harvard—both things that would probably have Gates’ parents biting their nails with worry about their son’s future. For Jobs, failure came later in life, when slow sales of Apple’s Lisa computer in the mid-1980s prompted the company’s board of directors to oust him from his role as head of the Macintosh division.

I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t describe either Gates or Jobs as “failures.” They’re inspirational successes not because they never failed, but because they learned from doing so. In fact, there are some startup experts who advise new entrepreneurs to “fail fast, early and often.”

How can you put failure to work for you?

1. Don’t fear it. If babies never tried to walk, they’d never fall down. Is that the kind of approach you want to take to your business? I’m not advocating making stupid moves, but you should be taking calculated risks.
2. Start small. One way to grow comfortable with failure is to begin with small risks. Don’t try to expand your company worldwide all at once—start by expanding, say, from two units to three, or from your city to your state.
3. Let your employees fail, too. A staff that’s scared to fail will never be more than mediocre. Make sure they know you value creative ideas and innovation, even if it doesn’t always work out as they intend.
4. Learn from it. If you keep making the same mistakes twice, failure isn’t teaching you anything. After any failure, sit back and assess what went wrong, why and how you can avoid it in the future. In this way, failure can fine-tune your operations for success.

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Did you miss season one of Sundance channel’s “All on the Line,” featuring Joe Zee? Then don’t miss season two, which just started Fridays at 9:30 p.m. (Check your local listings or visit the Sundance website for schedules.)

If you aren’t up to speed on exactly what’s on the line, let me explain. Zee, the straight-talking Creative Director of Elle Magazine, comes to the rescue of designers in need of a makeover–whether on their business, their designs or both.

If you’re in the fashion industry, you’ll love this show–but you don’t have to be a fashion designer to appreciate it. Any small business owner can benefit from seeing how Zee’s objective eye quickly pinpoints the problems with the designer’s business. And these are issues that translate to any industry–whether it’s profit margins that are too slim, not understanding who your target customer is, or letting your employees run roughshod over you.

Zee gives designers some tough love (emphasis on the “tough”) which makes for good drama. This season, the show has added some celebrity sparkle, pulling in celebs to help critique the designs and provide added challenges. But the core of the show remains the business makeover, and Zee’s unerring instincts are something everyone can learn from. Tune in!