GoFaxer Blog

So your fax machine has broken. You’ve got a small business, not a lot of cash flow. With a recession looming, a new fax machine is hardly something you want to spend money on.

But wait my friend. Don’t hang your head in gloom. It’s a brave new world, where fax machines have died and new and better technology has replaced the old. It’s a time when all has gone digital.

Most of your documents can be sent now through email as an attachment. But in those instances where it needs to be faxed, or you need to receive a fax, you need a fax to email account. No more need for paper. No more need for bulky fax machines with toner and a table. No more need for long lines and waiting for an open phone line.

Fax to email is so convenient. It works just like email. You attach the document, and send it through the internet, but it shows up on the other person’s fax machine. And when they send you back a response through their fax machine, it shows up back in your email inbox. Multiple faxes can be sent and received at one time!

It’s so inexpensive compared with the costs of a fax machine. So no longer fret. It’s a bright new day.

When we think about modern and cutting edge we often think of technologies like email fax that change the way we communicate. But perhaps there’s nothing more cutting edge than new and improved ways that we can eat. I’m talking about organic food.

Not that organic is all that new of a concept. It used to be that all food was organic—meaning that it was grown without pesticides, grown completely naturally, with good old fashioned soil, water, and sunlight. But after decades of corporatization of the food market, organic has become a selling point.

One small business has the right idea. An article at Businessweek.com outlines Maddy’s Organic Meals. This company creates organic food for newborns. This company really taps into that deep seeded desire that most parents have to give their children the absolute best opportunities for health and nutrition in their early years of development. Frankly, I’m kind of offended that all baby food isn’t organic.

Created by Dori Boneck last May, she and her husband produce the food in a rental space in Chicago. They sell their product at Goddess & Grocer and other Chicago markets. They can also be ordered through their website, maddysorganicmeals.com.

This is a wonderful example of a small business tapping into a growing market where there’s real sales potential. With the right marketing, this small business has the potential to be quite successful.

A lot of times people start their own small business might understand technology really well. They might know to use Internet fax instead of an old-fashioned fax machine. They might now how to make the right purchases that save them money. They might understand the best software to use for their business purposes. But they may really struggle at working with other people.

But there is perhaps no greater skill needed for an entrepreneur than working with other individuals. Carlolyn Kepcher, the former board member from Donald Trump’s “The Apprentice” says:

“Relationships are everything. No matter who you speak to, who you worked for, who worked for you — it is imperative that you don’t burn bridges . . . you never know when you may need to reach out to someone from your past.”

But you might say to me, “Wade, I’m not good at this.” My response: “Get good at it.”

Being good with people doesn’t require you to be a dynamic sales manager type. You just need to care for people, be sensitive to other people’s feelings, and make it a business priority to develop the right business relationships.

Being good at creating business relationships, along with smart and savvy understanding of technology and marketing will make your small business soar. Without attention to people, you’re likely to be very limited in your growth potential.

As you create your own small business, you may be doing everything right technically. You might be adept at knowing how to use the Internet for everything from email to fax email. You may have cutting edge software. But if you don’t know how to organize your team, you’re tools will not be used properly.

Remember that you have two types of employees. One type is a specialist. The other type is a generalist.

Specialists are ideal in specific roles. They might be a good manager, but only over a department of similar specialists. They won’t be good at managing different departments outside of their area of specialty.

Generalists tend to make good managers of different types of departments. For example a generalist could theoretically be good at managing a graphic design, sales, art, and advertising department.

Generalists make great entrepreneurs, and will thrive with maximum autonomy and maximum diversity. Specialists are ideal in a more limited role, but they can be expected to perform at a very high level in that specialty.

So organize your team accordingly. If you have generalists stuck in specialist roles, get them out of there into positions with broader application. And if you have specialists caught in generalists’ positions get them out of there as well. They’ll thank you and be more successful in your company.

Sometimes I worry that the media is creating a recession. I know that they should report the news, and the business news is generally not good these days. But pundits constantly suggesting that we are in a recession influences investors to stop buying, thus creating a recession.

I have to give credit to Ben Bernanke for not letting the word come out of his mouth. He’s said that he doesn’t expect the economy to grow much the first half of 2008. But he’s not going to define the situation before we really know what the situation is for a sustained period of time.

Regardless of whether the r-word must eventually be used by our Fed Chief, the fact of the matter is that we’re not looking at a positive growth year economically. So if there’s any advice I can give you and your small business, it is this:

Stop using a fax machine. Get rid of the machine. Take it out into a field and destroy it. Well, maybe you can just throw it in the dumpster. But either way, just get rid of it.

Fax machines are a waste of time. You can now send faxes through email. It’s faster, easier, and less expensive. That is the first step to saving you money. With that out of the way, you’ll need to look to every other way possible to cut expenses. It’s not fun but it’s a must in the current situation.

Everyone’s heard the bad news. We are either in a recession, or at least an economic slowdown. Investors are crying. Companies are tightening their belts.

But I think all of the boo-hoo-ing is perhaps a little overwrought? I mean, we’ve been through slowdowns before. And this happens to be a time with great opportunity for the smart small business leaders.

You’ve heard the adage that whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. It may be trite but it’s true. This week I’ll be focusing on the advantages for small businesses going through an economic slowdown.

The fact of the matter is that you have an opportunity to really strengthen your business during this time. This is the year to really get serious about improving efficiency, eliminating waste, and getting more aggressive about attracting new customers. Now is the time to turn your small business into a really amazing business.

When times are easy, it’s easy to not be as tough on ourselves. We take credit for success that may or may not be earned. But now, where every dollar of revenue has to be fought for, you can improve your company. All of those technological advances like email fax that you’ve been putting off implementing are now necessary. And your business will profit greatly from the new standards that you’re going to be put in place. So put a smile on your face, and get to work. Recession can be a blessing in disguise.