Opportunities 2012 is your chance to learn how you can tap into this lucrative market. It is a regional biennial “reverse” trade show that allows small businesses the opportunity to meet contracting officers from over 50 federal, state, and local government agencies and prime contractors.

As a small business person at Opportunities 2012, you can:

•Market your products and services directly to over 50 federal, state, and local government agencies and large prime contractors in ONE day with ONE sales call.

•Attend series of seminars designed to provide the latest information on doing business with the government.

Opportunities 2012 is taking place March 19, 2012 from 8 am to 5 pm at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC. For more information or to register, please visit www.sbtdc.org/events/opportunities.

Tony Schwartz
Harvard Business Review

I’ve just returned from an offsite with our team at The Energy Project. As we concluded, I asked each person to take a few moments to say what he or she felt most proud of accomplishing over the past year.

After each brief recounting, I found myself adding some observations about what I appreciated in that person. Before long, others were chiming in. The positive energy was contagious, but it’s not something we can ever take for granted.

Whatever else each of us derives from our work, there may be nothing more precious than the feeling that we truly matter — that we contribute unique value to the whole, and that we’re recognized for it.

The single highest driver of engagement, according to a worldwide study conducted by Towers Watson, is whether or not workers feel their managers is genuinely interested in their wellbeing. Less than 40 percent of workers felt so engaged.

Feeling genuinely appreciated lifts people up. At the most basic level, it makes us feel safe, which is what frees us to do our best work. It’s also energizing. When our value feels at risk, as it so often does, that worry becomes preoccupying, which drains and diverts our energy from creating value.

So why is it that openly praising or expressing appreciation to other people at work can so easily seem awkward, contrived, mawkish and even disingenuous?

The obvious answer is that we’re not fluent in the language of positive emotions in the workplace. We’re so unaccustomed to sharing them that we don’t feel comfortable doing so. Heartfelt appreciation is a muscle we’ve not spent much time building, or felt encouraged to build.

Oddly, we’re often more experienced at expressing negative emotions — reactively and defensively, and often without recognizing their corrosive impact on others until much later, if we do at all.

That’s unfortunate. The impact of negative emotions — and more specifically the feeling of being devalued — is incredibly toxic. As Daniel Goleman has written, “Threats to our standing in the eyes of others are almost as powerful as those to our very survival.”

In one well-known study, workers who felt unfairly criticized by a boss or felt they had a boss who didn’t listen to their concerns had a 30 percent higher rate of coronary disease than those who felt treated fairly and with care.

In the workplace itself, researcher Marcial Losada has found that among high-performing teams, the expression of positive feedback outweighs that of negative feedback by a ratio of 5.6 to 1. By contrast, low-performing teams have a ratio of .36 to 1.

So what are the practical steps you can take, especially as a manager, to use appreciation in the service of building a higher-performing (and more sustainable) team?

1. As the Hippocratic oath prescribes to physicians, “Above all else, do no harm.” Or perhaps more accurately, do less harm, since it’s unrealistic to do none. The costs of devaluing others are so great that we need to spend far more time thinking than we do now about how to hold people’s value, even in situations where they’ve fallen short and our goal is get them to change their behavior for the better.

2. Practice appreciation by starting with yourself. If you have difficulty openly appreciating others, it’s likely you also find it difficult to appreciate yourself. Take a few moments at the end of the day to ask yourself this simple question: “What can I rightly feel proud of today?” If you are committed to constant self-improvement, you can also ask yourself, “What could I do better tomorrow?” Both questions hold your value.

3. Make it a priority to notice what others are doing right. The more you work at it, the better you’ll get at it, and the more natural it will become for you. For example, start by thinking about what positive qualities, behaviors and contributions you currently take for granted among the members of your team. Then ask yourself, what is it that each of them uniquely brings to the table?

4. Be appreciative. The more specific you can be about what you value — and the more you notice what’s most meaningful to that person — the more positive your impact on that person is likely to be. A handwritten note makes a bigger impression than an email or a passing comment, but better any one of them than nothing at all.

We’re all more vulnerable and needy than we like to imagine. Authentically appreciating others will make you feel better about yourself, and it will also increase the likelihood they’ll invest more in their work, and in you. The human instinct for reciprocity runs deep.

“Accidentally” becoming a manager happens more frequently than you think. And it’s easy to be unsuccessful in your new role if you don’t know what you’re doing.

“The biggest mistake you can make if you accidentally become a manager and know that you are quite clueless is to convince yourself that it doesn’t matter,” says Ann Latham, president and founder of Uncommon  Clarity Inc., a Massachusetts consulting firm. “Being smart and generally competent is no substitute for knowing what you are doing. The consequences of stumbling along could be extremely painful for you, your direct reports, your colleagues and the entire company.”

But figuring out exactly what you’re doing can be the most difficult part of the transition, says Carol Stewart, Ph.D., an adjunct professor of management at Southern Connecticut State University and Quinnipiac University.

“We have all worked for great managers and not-so-great managers. What was the primary difference between the two? The difference most likely had to do with how we were treated and/or respected,” Stewart says. “If a manager values our input, respects our opinions and understands the best way to meet the objective is to work collaboratively and freely, the chances of success are much higher.”

If you find yourself in a management position with no experience, here are 12 tips to help guide your way:

1. Find a role model.

“Chances are, there’s someone in your workplace who you believe is a great people manager, even if you’ve never worked for him or her before,” says Darcy Eikenberg, president and chief creative officer of Coach Darcy, LLC. “Who do people go to with questions? Who do people gravitate toward? Find that role model and invite them for coffee or lunch. Pay attention to what they say and do — and what they don’t.”

2. Relax.

“Look at this new venture as an opportunity for growth. You may surprise yourself and those around you,” says Victoria Ashford, a life/leadership coach.

3. Figure out what “manager” means.

“If you don’t have a clear and admirable image of what it means to be a manager, get one,” Latham says. “It’s not just a title. It’s not about pushing paper and controlling people. You are going to make mistakes, so you might as well admit it upfront and prepare yourself and others for the feedback loop that you will need to learn quickly on the job.”

4. Take advantage of the individual strengths of your team.

“Put them each in a position where they can be successful and in turn you will be successful. The job of a manager is not to do the work yourself, or to get people to do things your way,” says Don Current, of Current Financial Concepts, a money-management blog. “Your job is to inspire your team to accomplish a given task. Don’t take credit for the  accomplishments, either. Always build up the team and the individual members for their successes. They will respect you for this and will work even harder to make you successful. Ultimately, as a manager, your success does not come from what you accomplish, it is based on what your team accomplishes.”

5. Bust the myth.

“Don’t buy into the ‘leaders are born and not made’ hoo-hah,” Ashford says. “While there are qualities and tendencies that some people inherit, now is the time to tell yourself that you can learn them — and will.”

6. Talk to your team.

“Honesty is often the best management tool there is. Share with your team that you want to be a good manager to them, and that you’re still learning,” Eikenberg says. “Given permission and a safe place to do so, where they know you won’t be offended or make them wrong, they’ll help teach you.”

7. Communicate effectively.

“You can do this by learning to ‘shut your trap’ and listen to those that report to you. You will be amazed on what you hear and the great ideas that they have if you are willing to put aside the fact that they report to you and listen to the great things they have to say,” says Patrick Madsen, Ph.D., director of programs and education, Career Services, Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. “By listening, you will also get a sense on what motivates them and what they need from a manager.”

8. Show them your heart.

“When people know that your intent is to do the best you can for everyone because you’ve said so, out loud, your team will help you know the right things to do when,” Eikenberg says. “Ask a lot of questions, especially, ‘What do you think?’ Say thank you  every day. The old models of hard-nosed management don’t work anymore — being yourself does.”

9. Ask for training.

“Show your employer that you’re serious about being successful. Ask them if you can attend some seminars and workshops,” Ashford says.

10. Learn to delegate.

“You need to let go of details and empower your staff to take care of the details,” says Kathryn Ullrich, author of “Getting to the Top: Strategies for Career Success.” “Since the accidental manager may be coming into the role from having done the detailed work, he or she is used to jumping in and doing the work to get it done. You are now managing, not doing.”

11. Devote your time to helping them achieve their career goals.

“Many times, managers think their job is to make sure people are doing what they were hired to do. Change your thinking to be a manager that inspires people to do their job but also provide them opportunities for growth and reward,” Madsen says. “Take the time to explore what they want from their job and where they see themselves going in the next few years. Use this to your advantage to create new ways of tackling company issues or putting people into roles that would allow them to use their strengths to add value to the company.”

12. Head to the public library.

“You won’t learn everything overnight, but you’ll expose yourself to new vocabulary and new insights about management, and figure out that your new title or responsibility is really about leadership which is all about your positive influence and impact,” Ashford says.

Rachel Farrell researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues for CareerBuilder.com. Follow @CareerBuilder on Twitter.

We also surveyed small businesses about the constant pain of “getting paid.” Our Intuit Payments survey revealed a nearly 50 percent increase in small businesses that accepted electronic payments in 2011 as opposed to 2010. Check out the infographic below for more year in review insights and a look ahead into 2012.

The last days of 2011 are ticking away, and that means there are plenty of year-end tax strategy articles out there.

I say, “Give me a break!” Most of the advice involves investing in your Individual Retirement Account or harvesting losses in your stock portfolio. The so-called tax gurus ignore important steps you can still take that will save you money on your tax filings.

Small-business owners really do have an advantage over average taxpayers, so don’t let the opportunity to save money slip by.

Here are some to-do items to consider in the next week:

• Shift income and expenses. Most small-business owners use cash-based accounting. Simply put, that means you don’t pay taxes on income until you receive it, and you don’t get to claim tax write-offs until you spend the money. So if you can, tell your customers they don’t have to rush to pay you before January 1. And pay your January phone bill early. Run the numbers.

• Buy needed equipment now. Federal economic stimulus measures involving Section 179 and the related “bonus depreciation” can allow you to write off the entire purchase price of a smartphone or a copying machine. But the tax benefits will be greatly reduced after December 31, and then mostly go away after 2012. If you’ve been holding off on buying something for the business, do it now.

If you are in the market for a new business vehicle, there are some incredible tax incentives before December 31. Don’t think the vehicle has to be new, either. The federal depreciation deduction on an SUV could be up to $25,000, and even more for large trucks or RVs used for business purposes. If you are a little more “green” in your tastes, the tax credits for electric vehicles are fantastic, too, with a federal credit of up to $7,500.

• Pay your family members. Has Junior been sweeping the store this year for allowance money? You still have time to put your child or other family members on the payroll or issue them a 1099 as a general contractor. Then, you can count the money you gave them as a business expense. Better yet, maybe give your new worker a year-end bonus in the next week. Not only do you get to deduct what you paid your family member, but you also will pay less tax on the amount. Your child will owe a tiny amount of federal income tax, but far less than you would pay at your higher tax rate if you kept the money for yourself.

• Make your holiday vacation pay for itself. If you’re sitting on the beach in Hawaii reading this article on your iPad, something is wrong with you. But I’d say something is really wrong with you if you haven’t scheduled lunch with a client or a similar meeting that will allow you to write off some holiday trip costs as business expenses.

• Set up a 401(k). A 401(k) is far more powerful than an IRA. A person under 50 could save up to $49,000 in a 401(k) this year; the limit for an IRA was $5,000. A self-employed person still has plenty of time to shelter a great deal of retirement savings from taxes. As with an IRA, you can generally make 2011 deposits until the April tax-filing deadline. However, the 401(k) must be created by December 31.

I know the following sounds a bit self-serving, coming from an accountant and lawyer. But it could prove very valuable to schedule a consultation with your accountant before year-end. It’s a busy time of year for everyone, but the effort can be well worth the investment of time and money.

Managing employee’s use of social media is certainly a tricky area that employers are dealing with today. According to a recent study by DLA Piper, one third of employers have disciplined employees for something posted on a social media site. The research also found that 21% or employers had to give their employees a warning for posting something derogatory about a colleague or about the business itself. Despite this only a quarter of the businesses within the study have a social media policy. That, in itself, is a huge problem. Other findings in the study include:

Of employees who use social media for personal use:

• 14% have posted a status update or tweeted about work issues
• 22% posted a status update or tweeted about a colleague
• 28% have posted photos of colleagues or business activities
• 1% have posted confidential business information
• 39% have befriended a colleague or business contact in Facebook
• 39% have connected to a colleague or business contact on LinkedIn

The study also reveals that the use of social media is landing employees in hot water:

• 21% of employers have taken disciplinary proceedings because of information an employee has displayed on a social media site about another employee
• 25% of employers have taken disciplinary proceedings because of information an employee has displayed on a social media site about their activities at work
• 31% of employers have taken disciplinary proceedings because of information an employee has displayed on a social media site about the organization
• 30% of employers have taken disciplinary proceedings because of the level of usage of social media sites while at work

The key takeaway of this study is clear. Having a social media policy is no longer an option. It’s a business imperative.

This year’s Small Business Saturday promotion appears to have boosted sales for some independent merchants. The event, started last year by American Express, offers shoppers $25 credits if they use their AmEx cards at local independent businesses on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Vermont bookseller Josie Leavitt, blogging at Publishers Weekly, says she saw her AmEx charges double that day:

I think slowly the message is starting to seep in that it’s vital to shop at small businesses. It’s a little sad that American Express doing this promotion has had more of an immediate and positive effect on business than the Shop Local campaign has had. This got me thinking about the power of the message and the size of the voice creating the message.

…

I’m not a huge Amex fan, I don’t have one personally and they are expensive for retailers to process, but I loved this promotion.

The effort is intended to give Main Street retailers a boost between the post-Thanksgiving shopping frenzies known as Black Friday (for big box sales) and Cyber Monday (online deals). It’s also savvy marketing for AmEx and the other companies participating. It encourages more merchants to accept the cards and gives shoppers an incentive to pay with their AmEx cards instead of other cards or cash. (Likewise, Facebook is surely hoping that business owners who created free Facebook ads through the promotion will return as paying advertisers.)

By tying the whole thing to the idea of helping small businesses and keeping its own branding relatively unobtrusive, American Express got lots of other companies, business groups, and government officials (including the Small Business Administration chief) on board. (When was the last time you saw the Obamas take part in a marketing campaign started by Visa or MasterCard?)

American Express even hired Civic Economics, a research shop that traditionally works for local economic development groups, to examine what’s happened to local businesses over the past 20 years. Their study (PDF) suggests that locally owned, independent retailers’ market share in the U.S. has declined from 59 percent in 1990 to 48 percent in 2009. For restaurants, the drop is from 71 percent to 64 percent.

The Small Business Saturday promotion taps into the desire among some shoppers and merchants to emphasize local shopping, but it’s unlikely to reverse indie retailers’ declining market share. For all the hoopla, it’s unclear how much the day affects merchants’ bottom lines. (I have a query into AmEx for spending data and will update if I get it.) Shoppers may just choose to use their AmEx cards that day instead of other payment methods, and they may choose to make purchases on Small Business Saturday that they would have made anyway at another time, so even a one-day pop in spending may not translate into greater total sales over the course of the holiday season.

Still, to the extent that Small Business Saturday brings new customers into local stores and puts local businesses in the conversation about holiday shopping, it’s useful for businesses owners. As Leavitt writes, “It was heartening to see so many new faces on Saturday. People actually thought about what small business to go to and were happy to let us know they’d chosen us.”

(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

This year’s Small Business Saturday promotion appears to have boosted sales for some independent merchants. The event, started last year by American Express, offers shoppers $25 credits if they use their AmEx cards at local independent businesses on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Vermont bookseller Josie Leavitt, blogging at Publishers Weekly, says she saw her AmEx charges double that day:

I think slowly the message is starting to seep in that it’s vital to shop at small businesses. It’s a little sad that American Express doing this promotion has had more of an immediate and positive effect on business than the Shop Local campaign has had. This got me thinking about the power of the message and the size of the voice creating the message.

…

I’m not a huge Amex fan, I don’t have one personally and they are expensive for retailers to process, but I loved this promotion.

The effort is intended to give Main Street retailers a boost between the post-Thanksgiving shopping frenzies known as Black Friday (for big box sales) and Cyber Monday (online deals). It’s also savvy marketing for AmEx and the other companies participating. It encourages more merchants to accept the cards and gives shoppers an incentive to pay with their AmEx cards instead of other cards or cash. (Likewise, Facebook is surely hoping that business owners who created free Facebook ads through the promotion will return as paying advertisers.)

By tying the whole thing to the idea of helping small businesses and keeping its own branding relatively unobtrusive, American Express got lots of other companies, business groups, and government officials (including the Small Business Administration chief) on board. (When was the last time you saw the Obamas take part in a marketing campaign started by Visa or MasterCard?)

American Express even hired Civic Economics, a research shop that traditionally works for local economic development groups, to examine what’s happened to local businesses over the past 20 years. Their study (PDF) suggests that locally owned, independent retailers’ market share in the U.S. has declined from 59 percent in 1990 to 48 percent in 2009. For restaurants, the drop is from 71 percent to 64 percent.

The Small Business Saturday promotion taps into the desire among some shoppers and merchants to emphasize local shopping, but it’s unlikely to reverse indie retailers’ declining market share. For all the hoopla, it’s unclear how much the day affects merchants’ bottom lines. (I have a query into AmEx for spending data and will update if I get it.) Shoppers may just choose to use their AmEx cards that day instead of other payment methods, and they may choose to make purchases on Small Business Saturday that they would have made anyway at another time, so even a one-day pop in spending may not translate into greater total sales over the course of the holiday season.

Still, to the extent that Small Business Saturday brings new customers into local stores and puts local businesses in the conversation about holiday shopping, it’s useful for businesses owners. As Leavitt writes, “It was heartening to see so many new faces on Saturday. People actually thought about what small business to go to and were happy to let us know they’d chosen us.”

(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

As a proud supporter of Small Business Saturday^®,  a day dedicated to supporting small businesses on one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year, the U.S. Small Business Administration is encouraging every American to support small businesses by doing some of their holiday shopping on the Saturday after Thanksgiving at small businesses.

This year’s Small Business Saturday^® is Nov. 26, 2011.

“Small businesses are the foundation of our economy – half of America’s workers either own or work for a small business,” said SBA Administrator Karen Mills.  “Small Business Saturday^® is an opportunity to show our support for our friends and neighbors who throughout the year are growing our local economy, as well as supporting many local initiative and organizations.”

Nov. 26 marks the second annual Small Business Saturday^®, a day to support the local small businesses that create jobs, boost the economy and preserve neighborhoods around the country. First there was Black Friday, and then Cyber Monday, and now Small Business Saturday^® will help drive shoppers to America’s job creators. Small businesses have generated two out of every three net new jobs over the past 15 years and employ over half of all private sector employees.

For more information on how to support Small Business Saturday® in your area, or to get great Small Business Saturday^® marketing tips and resources, check out www.sba.gov/saturday or visit Facebook.com/smallbusinesssaturday and follow us on Twitter @SBAgov, #SmallBizSat.

American Express wants to help individuals make a difference. Get a one-time $25 statement credit when an individual registers an eligible American Express® Card and uses that Card for a purchase of $25 or more at a small business on November 26th.

On www.facebook.com/SmallBusinessSaturday, small business owners can get free in-store signage and e-marketing materials. You can also obtain $100 worth of free Facebook ads geo-targeted to your area.

There are various other opportunities provided through American Express and Small Business Saturday as well as tips on how to make the most of the day. If you are a business owner or know one, please make sure they know about this fantastic opportunity.

Please encourage your friends, family and colleagues to shop local on November 26th. If millions of Americans shop small, it will be huge!