The New Small: How a New Breed of Small Businesses Is Harnessing the Power of Emerging Technologies [Paperback]

Phil Simon (Author), Chris Brogan (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 25, 2010

A small seafood restaurant attracts new customers with virtually no marketing budget. An iPad case manufacturer generates more than $1M in revenue in four months with only four employees. A voiceover company is able to connect thousands of artists with opportunities, all without expensive hardware and software. A law firm increases access to key information while dramatically reducing technology-related costs and risks. 

 

And these four companies are hardly unique. A new breed of small businesses is using Software as a Service (SaaS), free and open source software, social media and networks, mobility, cloud computing, and other emerging technologies to do things simply not possible even five years ago. In The New Small, you'll discover how these companies creatively and intelligently use technology to:

• Reach new customers
• Reduce costs
• Increase internal collaboration and communication
• Create flexible work environments 

Rife with profiles from a wide variety of industries, The New Small offers pragmatic advice and lessons about how small businesses are harnessing the power of emerging technologies. It's a must-read for small business owners-and those thinking about starting their own shops.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

Thanks for checking out The New Small. I believe that it is my best book, but I'll let you be the judge of that. If you've often thought of starting your own small business with minimal up-front costs, then this is the book for you. If you're an existing small business owner who believes that his/her company could do more with technology, then this is the book for you. 

Thanks,

Phil

From the Inside Flap

"From arrows to gunpowder, from ATMs to email, technology has always been the great equalizer. In this powerful and indispensable book, Phil Simon shows how small and medium-sized business can out-duel the big guys through smart and sharp adoption of nimble tech. The New Small shows precisely why, what, and how inexpensive technology can improve every facet of your business. It's not a book, it's an investment in transformation."

----Jay Baer, co-author of The NOW Revolution: 7 Shifts to Make Your Business Faster, Smarter, and More Social"

 

"An excellent book for seasoned business owners and entrepreneurs alike. Ever wondered what new technologies are out there and if they make sense for your business? When you read The New Small, be sure to have a notepad and highlighter handy. You will be using both as you gleam nuggets of technology and business insight. Highly recommended."

----Shama Kabani, Author of the Bestselling book The Zen of Social Media Marketing

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 316 pages
• Publisher: Motion Publishing; 1st edition (November 25, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0982930232
• ISBN-13: 978-0982930236
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #942,703 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Phil Simon is a sought-after speaker and the award-winning author of five management books, most recently Too Big to Ignore: The Business Case for Big Data. A recognized technology expert, he consults companies on how to optimize their use of technology. His contributions have been featured on NBC, CNBC, Inc, BusinessWeek, Huffington Post, Fast Company, The New York Times, ReadWriteWeb, and many other sites.

To find out more about Phil and his books, go to www.philsimon.com.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Essential resource for small business January 19, 2011

By DonnaP

Format:Paperback

Not too long ago, small businesses were at a terrible disadvantage when they wanted to implement information technology. Big companies had access to pricey software and other tools that the little guys just couldn't reach. Today, everything has changed. And in Phil Simon's terrific book, The New Small, you can learn how small businesses can attain amazing success by using technology smartly.

What I like about Phil's book is his clear and interesting way of writing, and his ability to avoid jargon and vagueness. Too many business books are wishy-washy when they share examples, but not Phil.

In the first section of The New Small, Phil outlines current technology trends and what he calls the five enablers: cloud computing, SaaS (software as a service), free and open source software, mobility, and social technologies (social media and social networking).

Then, in the meat of the book, he gives us detailed examples of how various small businesses have used technology to improve their internal processes and their relationships with customers, while boosting the bottom line. The case studies are really interesting, from Voices.com to Torrance Learning.

Of course we shouldn't be surprised that Phil has produced such a useful book, because he makes a living by consulting with companies on how to optimize their use of technology, and speaking on this topic.

Phil is also the author of Why New Systems Fail and The Next Wave of Technologies, and he writes for a number of technology-oriented media outlets.

One more thing: Mitch Joel has written a blurb for the cover of The New Small, and Chris Brogan has penned the forward. Phil's in good company.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Real-World Examples Make it uh, Real January 29, 2011

By Matt Mansfield

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I am a huge proponent of enabling small businesses through technology. Unfortunately, so many of the "why-dos" and "how-tos" that you find in books like these are not connected to the real world. You either get high-level vagueness or low-level, step-by-step details; you never get to see the concepts in action in real life.

And that's just where The New Small hits it out of the ballpark. Every concept and approach in this book is demonstrated through real-world use. It's these kinds of example case studies that connect with small business owners and make the possibilities and opportunities come alive.

I highly recommend this book for those who want to see how concepts such as cloud computing (online software) and social media work successfully in the real world.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring narrative for modern business and I.T. professionals April 11, 2012

By Jason P. Collins

Format:Paperback

Having worked in office settings ranging from government & large corporations - to small upstart companies & dot.coms, I viewed The New Small as a book that I could use to fill in some gaps - in terms of technologies I may have skipped or opportunities I might have overlooked. Now that I've completed this book, I consider it an essential read for the modern I.T. professional. In The New Small, Phil Simon presents a world of possibilities to any I.T. professional or entrepreneur stuck in a cubicle farm. But even if you are content in a cubicle environment, you should read The New Small to get a view of the robust activity taking place outside, along with the dynamic and exciting fashion in which it is being carried out.

The great thing about the New Small is that it supports its case with clear structure and precise details. Simon lists the technologies that bolster the New Small. He elaborates on how these technologies are harnessed. And thirdly, and perhaps most important, Simon demonstrates how the New Small translates to a rewarding career for the open-minded IT professional. One way he does this is by profiling an array of real companies that currently leverage emerging technologies.

Simon goes on to list five technologies, which propel the new breed of successful small companies. He deems these technologies "The Five Enablers," and he makes reference to them throughout the book.

The great thing about the author is that he is a field-tested I.T. veteran. It's clear he has worked in the everyday give-n-take setting of a corporate I.T. shop. At the same time, Simon spares no detail, discussing the nuances of working in smaller and less bureaucratic environments.

Simon provides a full and thorough argument for the new breed of tech-friendly companies - which he categories as "The New Small":
"...small companies are simply better able to adapt to changes and move in different directions as needed."
"The New Small lacks many of the antiquated policies, politics, and problems that continue to plague many large organizations."
".... small business that lack the margin of error that many corporations take for granted."

While detailing the potential advantages for those who subscribe to the New Small ethos, Simon does not shy away from the challenges that this new breed of professionals will undoubtedly face. He cites "paralysis by analysis" while discussing the complicated sea of information a small business must sort through when trying to select from a vast array of new technologies and software options. Simon adds to this notion, "This is the paradox of increased choice."

At one point in The New Small, Simon touches on a subtler, and less technical theme of the book - "work doesn't have to suck." Such is the optimism strewn throughout the chapters of this book. It's great that there is a book like this in print, which identifies and chronicles the advances taking place in business and technology. Not only does The New Small report on these exciting developments, it perpetuates and accelerates them by bringing more professionals into the fold.