Welcome to the first 2012 edition of Good Small Business Reads! Let’s start off by taking advantage of some of the good advice that always comes with the start of a new year. In its “Small Business Strategy Guide – How to Develop a Strategy for Your Small Business,” Zintro offers a compendium of ideas from all sorts of small business experts. I found this to be a good review of the many topics you need to be aware of when developing a business strategy. You might also want to check out Zintro.com; they offer a marketplace where people seeking business advice can find the experts they need.

Writing for USA Today, Rhonda Abrams, president of The Planning Shop and author of The Successful Business Plan: Secrets and Strategies, offers 12 business tips for 2012. My favorite is #8: Close the deal. Many small business people, especially in when it’s still early days for their business, hesitate to ask directly for the order. This shyness is something you must get over if you hope to succeed.

The Four Ps – Product (or Service), Place, Price and Promotion – have been the bywords for marketing since they were introduced in 1960. In “The Four Ps of Marketing Need a Facelift,” Fast Company blogger Lisa Nirell posits the theory that it’s time to rethink these staples. She lays out the four new elements of marketing that she believes are more reflective of today’s marketing realities – Market, Message, Method, and Mindset. I think she’s on to something.
No matter what your business, I think it’s important to keep abreast of trends.

In this SlideShare, JWT, the global advertising powerhouse, presents 10 trends they think will be important in 2012. Check them out and see if there is something here that might impact your small business in 2012 or beyond.