New Media Cincinnati happened again this month! Fans of new media gathered on March 13 to listen and participate in a panel discussion about Online Privacy. The meeting was hosted by Daniel Johnson Jr who also served on the panel with DG Hollums and Michelle Beckham-Corbin. The panel discussed their respective views on how much of their private lives they share publicly, the tools that are gaining widespread popularity and the privacy implications, and the business marketing potential for these tools.

Special thanks to Eric Marschall of EJM Designs for sponsoring the event.

Small business needs to change the way they do business. And it doesn’t have to be a big change. Being willing to open up your mind beyond “the way we’ve always done things” could be all it takes for a new idea to occur that could seriously grow your business.

Take, for example, this article I found on Twitter. Most people think that to start a restaurant, you have to have a full-out, brick-and-mortar building, but as this article states; with a little creative thinking, these people are opting for a truck instead of a building. The part that resonated with me was, “Take the restaurant TO the people.”

It made me think about one of my clients, Samurai Sam’s (@CinciSams) because that’s exactly what he does. Now there’s still a brick-and-mortar restaurant (in Blue Ash), but in the course of our work with him, he wanted us to highlight one of his regular services: the mobile lunch. Similar to catering, Samurai Sam’s goes to an area business complex and sets up his catering trays in the lobby. For $5, anyone in the building or outside the building, can some over and get lunch, not just the “customer” company. He’s taking his business TO his customers.

To this point, the only people who would know he’s there would be people in that building and maybe people they told. We’re now using social networking techniques, such as Facebook and Twitter, to increase awareness which will, in turn, increase his business. And by offering to do this all over the city, he has essentially opened up satellite restaurants all over town without having to invest in other storefronts at enormous expense.

See: a little creativity, a new twist on “the way we’ve always done catering”, and Samurai Sam’s has not only expanded their market like not otherwise possible, but is still taking it to the people.

Call to Action: So what is something you wish you could do differently? Is there something in your business that could use a fresh outlook? Have you already made some transformations in your business? I’d love to hear about them. Leave a comment below and tell me about it.

Wow! I got chills watching this video. Just the shear numbers mentioned boggles the mind. Yet, as great as these numbers are, I know many many people (and people with businesses) that are not even aware of social networks, let alone on them; I can name at least a handful of my friends that aren’t on social media; they have an email address, that’s it. I may even know a couple people that don’t even have that. So think how much more room there is to grow. THAT will boggle your mind.

As you watch this video, how does it make you feel? Excited? Overwhelmed? Confused, as if lost in a crowd? Like it’s too late to be a part of it? All of that is true except the last one.

It is most definitely NOT too late to be a part of it. You can even decide to what degree you want to be a part of it–just a presence or all in. Just dip your toe in the water if you’re unsure at first. Work alongside a professional that will guide you into deeper waters, and before you know it, you’ll be comfortable in the deep end.

Give me your thoughts below. Tell me what you think: about the video, about social networks, about how you can be a part of it.