Business professionals ask as I ask myself…when are we going to get back to NORMAL? Well, I have to say, I now believe we have arrived. Yes, the current economic situation is the NEW NORMAL for all of us. This is the result of the fallout of the recent recession. It has changed the way we work, the way we get work done and the way business is conducted forever. Businesses have to do more with less people, with smaller budgets, and will continue to do so. The fact that our economy seems to be improving, yet unemployment doesn’t seem to be affected positively, means that the days of full-time jobs with full-time benefits are ending. Employee benefits have always been among the largest business expense. Businesses will continue to cut costs by creating more part-time work and independent contractor agreements.

So, what does this mean to small business? Business leaders have to do more with less. Processes and relationships will change. This fact is especially true when marketing your business and its offerings. In today’s business climate there is SO much available to that is FREE, yet we choose or find ways not to embrace them. Here are two…

* Facebook … now has 600,000,000 users
* Localization profiles in Google, Bing and Yahoo … within 2 years, 100% of cell phones will be smart phones

I constantly hear that it is a "fad." My response: if it is, then "so what" … it is where marketing a small business is at RIGHT NOW. If it isn’t a fad, you need to get started. If it is a fad, you still need to get started!

So, what are we waiting for… let’s get started!