Business Owners: Recognize Changing Market Forces

Last Friday I heard small business expert Steven Little speak. He was in town for an entrepreneur conference, "One Inc.Redible Day."

A key nugget heard in his talk:

Business owners need to recognize the forces of change around them, and adapt to changes in the marketplace. "Small businesses are lousy at external focus. We are good at internal focus," says Steve. "Big businesses are just the opposite."

Steven has long encouraged every business owner to read 50 magazines (or Web sites, blogs, newspapers, journals -- whatever) each month. He says he knows that's a lot to read. But it is so important to recognize when forces around your business are changing, that he says you need to find time for it. He wrote a guest column here on Small Business Trends about this very topic.

Steven Little graciously sat for a photo (above). That's him on the left, seated with Steve Rucinski, who writes the Small Business CEO blog and who live-blogged the event.