Want to get the inside scoop, the latest advancements, or the heads-up on up-and-coming companies in your industry or niche? Would you like to generate new ideas that will transform your small business and give you a competitive advantage?

One of the best ways to do that is to regularly scan trade and industry publications.

Unfortunately, too many small-business owners are shortsighted and never take advantage of these incredible timesaving resources. They think that paying for a couple of dozen magazines is a waste; after all, they may only get one good idea a year from them. They feel they don’t have the time.

Let’s set aside the “time” issue for now. (I’ll outline a very simple process that our Business Owner’s Coaching Club members use to quickly filter through, organize, and digest magazine content in a future article.)

There are three reasons why you want to become an investigator of not only your own industry or niche, but also a voyeur of industries other than your own.

1. Bridging the digital divide

Being a small-business owner in today’s competitive environment requires a serious commitment to stay abreast of trends and technology. Forget that fact and you’ll quickly be left behind in the marketplace.

Don’t be fooled into thinking “well, I’m a local business,” or “technology has nothing to do with my industry.” You’d be surprised to find that online and offline technological advances are transforming industries as local as your neighborhood beauty salon, and as seemingly non-technology driven as farming. There’s not an industry in today’s marketplace that is not being reshaped, restructured, and reformed through advancing online and off-line technologies.

You constantly need to be bridging the digital divide, leveraging technology, and developing the infrastructure you need to perform effectively and efficiently. And reviewing trade publications – both inside and outside your core industry/niche –
will help you do just that. The editors of these publications do a lot of research and filtering for you, so there’s no reason not to take advantage of their expertise.

2. Break out of the box

The human mind works best off connections and associations. Without substantial external simulation through exposure to new thoughts, strategies, and tactics, you’re likely to wallow around in a myopic puddle of stagnation. Subscribing to trade publications, not only within your industry, but also in complementary or adjacent industries, will give you a tremendous advantage over your competitors with ideas and solutions outside the conventional norm.

3. One good idea can give you a 1000% return – year after year!

If you only get one good idea out of a dozen magazines over the course of 12 months, would you say that’s been worth your time and investment? Even if it takes two hours per month of your time figured at $100/hour – you bet it is!

In my last 25 years of business ownership I can tell you that I’ve made hundreds of thousands of dollars off ideas that were spawned off of articles or case studies that I read in trade publications.

One example was the application of production-line efficiency principles to a service-based business. That one simple shift on our maintenance crews lowered customer complaints by 80% and reduced on-site time for each property by more than 15%. Without even quantifying the positive impact on client satisfaction, that translated into more than $24,000 dropping directly to the bottom line for each crew every year!

Even for members of www.BusinessOwnersCoachingClub.com who regularly mastermind with owners in diverse industries from around the world, we still recommend this powerful technique for spawning new growth ideas. Put it to use for yourself, bridge the digital divide, and see how easy it is to become the innovation leader in your marketplace.

You can get started for free today! I’ve found a convenient place where you can search for and subscribe to all the trade publications you want – for free! www.tradepub.com

There’s no catch or hidden trick to it. Trade publications and their advertisers want to give you information you need to do business. It’s worth it to them to give you the magazine free because you have a genuine need for the information and products described in them. Advertisers need a vehicle to deliver their message to you, which justifies spending advertising dollars to give subscriptions for free.

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About the Author: John-Paul Micek and his partner Deborah Cole Micek are Business Growth Coaches. They help small business owners like you, achieve profit-doubling growth in one-third the time it would take to do on your own.

In just 12-months with your membership in the www.BusinessOwnersCoachingClub.com you can bridge the digital divide and transform your small business into a click-and-mortar powerhouse that delivers the profits, personal fulfillment, and free time you want.

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