I’m sorry to be the one to tell you but the internet has been around now for over 20 years, it’s not going away.  It’s time for the small business owners to embrace it.  The day of the hand held compass will forever be replaced with the GPS.  The good old maps that dried up in our car glove compartments and ripped apart as we tried to unfold them are also gone.  Record players and typewriters are gone forever.  I’m sorry to be the one to tell you but I need you to morn these losses so you can move on.   Death is inevitable and change is hard but at the rate we are experiencing technological deaths (computers now have a 2-3 yr life before they are obsolete) we should be getting use to it.  Businesses need to change and evolve yet the small business owners seem to be stubborn and fight change.    

In my opinion most small business owners are in denial about these technological changes and are fighting it.  They understand that they are happening but they just don’t want it to affect them.  Businesses need to change from copies and faxes to email attachments, scanning documents and going paperless.  Communication is still verbal but email, social networking sites and blogs are coming up fast.  Online newspapers, magazines and special interest sites are where people are getting information.  Specialist, and not generalist, are flooding the market as the world is becoming forever linked together via the web. 

Why are you fighting it?  I’m not talking about Twitter and Facebook, but just the whole technology growth.  The internet is full of free information, networking opportunities and products that can assist your business.  SBO’s seem to hold on the past and feel better when  they can touch it.  This virtual world on the web seems to be difficult for them to grasp. 

I’m going to over generalize my perspective on the ages right now but here is what I see in the small business sector.  20-30 yr olds have been raised in the technology craze, with the internet and home computers as part of their lives.  They live wireless, love the gadgets and the internet is the portal to them.  The 40 yr olds were raised in the forefront of the tech wave and basically embrace most of the technological advances.  They are constantly looking, talking and learning daily about the opportunities and generally embrace the changes.  The 50 yr olds are where there seems to be the chasm and breaking point.  Most have embraced that email is the form of communication and the web is a good place to find general information.  Phone calls and personal face to face meetings are best but the internet does have some benefits as it related to general communication. Outside of email and occasional research they don’t see why Facebook, Twitter and blogging are popular.  Now, to be honest here, those 50 yr olds who have kids are being forced into learning this so I can’t give them credit for embracing it.  Finally I throw everyone else from 60 yr old on up into the next group.  Most don’t have kids and they never had computers so they have to make an active effort in wanting to learn.  Some have embraced email (mainly to stay in touch with family), even fewer use it as a research tool, and very few of them go online to read the latest updates on the online papers, blogs and articles.  They have the time but often would rather read a book or spend time with friends and family then learn about the new technology.

The point to this verbal diatribe is that regardless of your age, as a business owner you need to accept that technology is here to stay.  There is an enormous amount of information on the web that can help your business.  From a marketing and advertising perspective there are numerous opportunities that provide new, cheaper ways to attract new clients.  From a purchasing perspective the vendors of the world are now at your fingertips.  From an operational perspective there are management and financial programs that have been adapted to the SBO and many are free. 

All I’m asking you to do as a business owner is to accept that the internet is here.  That technology is making your competitors better, faster and cheaper.  The world wide web (www) is opening up the world to you (and your competitors) services and products.  Open your mind and creativity to this and see how either increasing your business value or selling your business can be enhanced by the changes in technology.  Remember that you will be selling your business to the 20-40 yr olds and you need to at least understand what they are doing. 

Change is here so embrace it, apply it to your business and learn how your business can increase in value with it.     

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 13th, 2010 at 8:43 am and is filed under Selling a Small Business, Sell Your Business, Exit Stories, Exit and Answers, Emotional Selling. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.