The New York Times Small Business Summit

A few weeks ago we had the opportunity to attend The 2011 New York Times Small Business Summit.  The day’s agenda and line-up of speakers was impressive, with representatives from companies such as LivingSocial, Foursquare, Gilt Groupe, Etsy, and many more addressing issues like social media, marketing and technology, and funding.  The morning started with a fantastic Q&A session with Loren Feldman, small business editor at The New York Times, and Jay Goltz, a small business owner and lead contributor to The New York Times You’re the Boss blog.  Much like a therapy session, the Q&A afforded audience members an opportunity to stand up and ask questions about their business, and why certain things were not working.  With each question, Jay had a direct and honest answer.  With years of experience as an entrepreneur he had a story to tell of failure and success for every trial and tribulation that the small business owners in the audience were experiencing.  Here is some of the “smallbizdom” that Jay imparted on the conference attendees:

• “There is a mentality with really successful people: they spend a lot of money to hire really experienced people.” – (discussing the importance of taking the time and money to hire people who are going to help you and your business succeed)
• “Entrepreneurship is not normal in any way shape or form.” – (talking about funding a new business and the extreme lengths he went to in order to do so)
• “No businesses succeed because of accounting, but lots fail because of accounting.” – (on the importance of finding a trusted accountant to provide valuable advice)
• “Closing a business isn’t failure, it’s a business decision” –

The main stage was booming throughout the day with keynotes and panels, including “decoding the digital consumer,” featuring Susan Sobbott, American Express OPEN president, and Claire Hughes Johnson, VP of global online sales at Google.  The breakout sessions also provided a wealth of information, tips and advice for small business owners – from tackling how to use social media to catapult business visibility to national recognition, to exploring strategies and tactics that will enhance customer loyalty and engagement.  All in all, The New York Times Small Business Summit was highly successful, informational and inspirational.     

The Institute was also on-site to ask small business owners about what wisdom and advice they would give to their fellow peers.  Check out our video here: