ANTenna Blog -- Business & E-Business

Today's Wall Street Journal offers small businesses a trio of tips on how to cut spending without hurting your business. And -- surprise -- it uses a bMighty Mid-Market Hero as an example!

The Journal piece, by Raymund Flandez, offers a peek at mainstream thinking on small business tech spending. The tips won't shock any small business person, but they're still good ideas. So, what are they?

1. Do an audit of your technology inventory. Flandez doesn't mean count your PCs and software packages, but figure out what you've got and what you really need going forward.

2. Try Web-based software for specific tech tasks. Flandez smushes together virtualization with cloud computing, but he's right that renting can be cheaper than buying for cash stapped companies. He's got to be right, after all. He cites Innovations International, which bMighty profiled back in August: Mid-Market Heroes: Why -- And How -- One Brick-And-Mortar Business Went Virtual.

3. Renogitiate vendor contracts. Everybody's scrambling amidst hard times, and many vendors will cut you a deal rather than lose your business. It never hurts to ask. And to be willing to walk if you can get a better deal. I'd remind SMBs, though, that engaging in a race to bottom could save some money short term, which can make a big difference, but if and when things improve you may find yourself customer non grata with vendors you tried to low-ball. Plus, if you're going to put the hammer on your vendors, you can bet your customers will be doing the same to you.

It's nice to see the Journal trying to help small businesses with their technology needs, but maybe their SMB reporters like Flandez need to call in their tech gurus like Walt Mossberg. After all, just because someone runs a smaller business doesn't mean they're not tech savvy.

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