17 trends in and around small businesses, especially second stage companies. Full trend report, with strategy recommendations, is available as part of our Stage 2 Owner's Manual (see www.s2om.com).

1. Small Business Trends
for 2011
The Top Trends Impacting
Second Stage Small Businesses
March 2011
Highlights

2. About This Report
• Phimation works with a wide variety of Stage 2 small businesses (those who
are past start-up and at a stage of sustainability). Though Stage 2 can
involve companies from 5 to 250 employees, the focus of this report is
businesses with 10-50 employees.
• These trends are taken from our work assessing issues in the operating
environment inside small businesses, and in the market environment around
small businesses.
• There are always many trends acting in and on businesses, so this report
should be a starting point for strategic discussions.
• Our Stage 2 Owner’s Manual (s2om.com) includes a complete copy of
this Trend Report, with strategy recommendations and a discussion of
how to use these trends in your company’s strategy.

3. TOP TRENDS INSIDE
SMALL BUSINESSES

4. Up-shifting Leaders
There is a whole new generation of small business leaders who have come
through their first recession and are building new industries, developing their
companies from the ground up, and bringing new energy and thinking.
Photo from Flickr.com

5. Tired Companies
There are many businesses who are not making the investments and changes
they need to, and who are hobbled with poor management. These companies
are tired and will likely come to an end in 2012 or 2013.
Photo from Flickr.com

6. Profit Treadmill
Small businesses are running harder than ever, but their profits aren’t what they
used to be.
Photo from Flickr.com

7. Stalled Succession
Owners looking to retire are putting their plans on hold as they help their
businesses adapt to new market dynamics.
Photo from Flickr.com

8. Changing of the Guard
Some “old guard” leaders in small companies are not changing with the times.
In 2011-2013, small businesses will need more from their leaders, and will
transition old-guard leaders out of the business if they can’t perform.
Photo from Flickr.com

9. Mosaic Marketing
Most small businesses are only now starting to jump on the new media trend.
They are adapting their marketing approaches from focusing on one or two
media, to being active in the range of social media channels that are available.
This marketing mosaic is a challenge to manage for small businesses.
Photo from Flickr.com

10. TOP TRENDS AROUND
SMALL BUSINESSES

11. Procrasti-Nation
Small businesses across many industries are dealing with customers
who wait until the last minute to buy.
Photo from Flickr.com

12. Next-Gen “Innernet”
People will need to adapt their “innernets” – how they manage their time,
emotions, relationships, and health – with the on-going growth of mass-
connected, many-channeled, multi-media communication. Some will adapt
easily; some will struggle.
Photo from Flickr.com

13. Connectivitis
We have obesity from excessive food consumption, and clutter from
excessive material consumption. Now comes “connectivitis” from too
much connectivity, communication, and information consumption.
Photo from Flickr.com

14. Pay-to-Use
With an abundance of products and services readily available, a
growing interest in reuse and recycling, and communication networks
able to track use, people are increasingly looking to pay for use, rather
than ownership, throughout their lives.
Photo from Flickr.com

15. Play to Live
To deal with the massive complexity in the world today, and the need to
retrain people more quickly, play will become a mainstream approach for
training and learning.
Photo from Flickr.com

16. TRENDS FROM OTHER SOURCES

17. Negative Social Mood
The “mass social mood” has become negative. Though there was a
rebound in 2009-2010, the overall trend for much of the next decade
will be negative. Negative social mood includes pessimism,
restriction, separatism, criticism, and fear.
Source: Socionomics Institute
Photo from Flickr.com

18. Hyper-specialized Professions
“There are already significant knowledge gaps and communication
difficulties between specialties and subspecialties, and these divides
will only become larger and more difficult to surmount.”
Source: World Future Society
Photo from Flickr.com

19. Middle Skills
“Middle-skill workers ranging from carpenters to radiology technicians
will be needed in the key industries benefiting from U.S. federal
funding, such as construction, health care, manufacturing, and
transportation.”
Source: World Future Society / World Trends & Forecasts
Photo from Flickr.com

20. Joyning
“The traditional distinctions between producers and consumers, actors and
audience are increasingly blurred as brands join with other brands,
consumers join with other consumers, and everything in between. In order
to succeed, brands must increasingly encourage, and share the rewards for
creative collaborations that happen across the usual boundaries.”
Source: Trendwatching.com
Photo from Flickr.com

21. Expectation Economy
“An economy inhabited by experienced, well-informed consumers who
have a long list of high expectations that they apply to each and every
good, service and experience on offer.”
Source: Trendwatching.com
Photo from Flickr.com

22. Thought Leadership
Companies will recognize that to stand out they must activate credible
expert voices who can propagate new ideas and engage in meaningful
conversations around them.
Source: Edelman Digital
Photo from Flickr.com

23. Applying the Trends
For information about using trends in your strategies, see “Perkonomics,
Nowism, and Mass Mingling: Using Market Trends to Improve Your Stage 2
Business” on page 217 of our multi-media reference guide, training manual,
and business improvement playbook created specifically for Stage 2 small
business leaders.
Stage 2 Owner’s Manual
Making the Transition from
Entrepreneurship to Enterprise
Tools and Tips for Overcoming Your Company’s Growing Pains
Need a copy? Get
details and place your
order at s2om.com

24. Phimation’s Principal Consultants
Dave Haviland Randy Albert
Dave has led operations, Randy has served as a
corporate development, or founder or executive at four
marketing at four telecom/ technology start-ups,
media start-ups, including including positions of VP-
service as Business Operations at eePulse and
Development Leader for Startec Global founder/CEO at Bigwig Software. He has
Communications and President of Data TV been a management consultant for eighteen
Networks. He has been a management years, most recently as a senior manager
consultant for ten years, and has worked with Deloitte Consulting, and earlier in his
with over 50 small businesses and presented career with Accenture and Dannemiller
to hundreds. Most recently, he was a co- Tyson Associates. As a consultant, Randy
founder and Principal with Shepherd has worked with close to 100 clients ranging
Advisors, which won 2 FastTrack Growth from several of the worlds leading
Awards. Earlier in his career he was a corporations to many small businesses. He’s
consultant with Booz Allen & Hamilton. Dave an expert in strategic change and has
serves on the Board of several clients, is a significant experience in the technology and
featured blogger for Crain’s Detroit Business manufacturing industries. Randy is the
Second Stage publication, and speaks author of two consultant guides on
regularly to professional associations. interactive strategic planning.

25. We make Stage 2 companies more rewarding
for their leaders, customers, employees, and communities.
phimation.com
+1 734 622 0808