March 3, 2011

It seems everyone – from Google, to Facebook, and now Apple – is recognizing the strength and value of small businesses not only as economic drivers, but as customers and partners for their own businesses.

Case in point, Apple’s launch of Joint Venture.  The new program is focused on helping business owners set up their Apple products, train their employees, and make sure everything works smoothly through dedicated support.  To me, this is a big statement coming from a company that’s been so focused on minimalism.  Apple’s choosing to extend its services to small business shows how important small business owners are to Apple's future.

Joint Venture may have launched without any iPad 2 type hype or headlines, but Google’s rumored $6 billion offer for Groupon late last year sure did.  Headlines aside, Google’s interest in Groupon shows a similar interest in building a greater relationship with small business.  If you don’t see the connection, or why Google would be so interested, read this article by John Battelle, Thinking Out Loud: What's Driving Groupon?  He attributes Groupon’s phenomenal growth to their ability to tap an economic engine, to connect small businesses with customers – much like Google did with AdWords.

At OPEN, we’re also focused on small business – have been for a couple of decades – and we’re excited to see the number of companies and other organizations that are joining what we see as a small business movement. Included in that are the more than 130 small business advocate groups, public and private organizations, and elected officials that joined American Express in recognizing Small Business Saturday last November.  They all contributed in their own ways: Facebook, for example, provided free advertising to 10,000 participating small businesses.

While I believe there’s a real small business movement underway, I’d like to hear your thoughts on it:

• How do you feel about the companies that say they’re helping small businesses?
• Is it all talk, no action?  Is there more that can be done?
• Is there more information we can provide to help you become more aware of the various offerings?

Related Topics

• Innovation

Related keywords

Scott Roen, Article, Small Business Saturday, joint venture, iPad 2, Groupon, American Express, Apple, Google, Steve Jobs, John Battelle

Join the conversation ( 3 )

• Phil Denton 7 months ago

  

  I think it will be an uphill battle for large companies like AmEx. Since the economy began to decline in 2008 there has been a surging movement to buy local and spend local, such as the 3/50 project:http://www.the350project.net/home.htmlWhile we can't all stop spending money on national brands or using national banks, the growing protests on Wall Street and dissatisfaction with the government bailout of banks and other financial institutions will make it very hard for individuals or small businesses to place their trust in them.

• Scott Roen 1 year 2 months and 22 days ago

  

  Al, thanks for the feedback. I can understand that there is always a desire to cut costs and improve cashflow, and I'd like to learn more about your issue to see if we can help. If you're open to a call, email your number to me at scott@openforum.com.

• Al Marabella 1 year 2 months and 24 days ago

  

  Unfortunately, American Express falls into the category of all talk and no action. I ask only two things from my credit card merchant account : the lowest possible fees; and deposit my money as quickly as possible. Amex has the highest fees and is the slowest to deposit money into my account. Amex may offer a wealth of other services for small businesses, but none could be more important than this area.