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SOHO Owners Mix High-Tech and Traditional Methods to Optimize Their Business June 1999 — In today's booming small business market, Small Office/Home Office (SOHO) owners are looking to both high-tech and traditional methods to stay competitive and optimize their business reach. Of the SOHO owners that participated in June's survey, 38 percent cited their local Small Business Development Center as a prime resource for help in running their business while 29 percent relied on local trade or industry associations for counseling and support. Forty two percent of the respondents also tapped their trade or industry associations to remain current with the business world and 19 percent looked to a board of advisors for business advice and information. However, despite some reliance on a board of advisors for information on the ever-changing business world, 56 percent of the respondents had not established a board of advisors or mentors. When it comes to developing business contacts, an overwhelming majority (73 percent) of the respondents chose a high-tech option, citing Internet research as a key resource for identifying potential business opportunities. In addition to Internet research, many SOHO owners mentioned friends and family (65 percent) and "how-to" books for small businesses (38 percent) as essential for generating business contacts. Despite their apparent reliance on research, however, the traditional version - library research - was only cited as a resource by 23 percent of the respondents. Continuing their interest in the high-tech arena, 44 percent of the respondents mentioned their Web site page as a key method of broadening a business. However, the overwhelming choice (73 percent) for building a business was the tried-and-true "word of mouth." Local advertising and direct mail were cited respectively by 38 percent and 35 percent of the respondents as well. Click here to view the results of previous surveys.

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