Serious business - Details Rule, OK?

If you're a small business or home office PC user, beware generalisations. Well, apart from worthy exceptions like that one, of course. And all the others we've been offering in this column ... Seriously, though, it's a dilemma - knowing which encapsulated gems of wisdom to swallow greedily and which to reject. When you're pursuing desirable goals such as profitability, productivity, efficiency, growth and many others, there's no doubting the urgent need for condensed advice. We all generally welcome recommendations that come in the form of bottom lines, abstracts, rules-of-thumb and the like. Most of us could no more contemplate getting through a busy, deadline-strewn working week without them than reading a newspaper without headlines. But on the other hand, acting on such summaries can lead to problems.

Some examples are obvious enough not to be easily overlooked, such as advertising hype. Wild exaggerations and glib promises on shrink-wrapped software boxes seem rarer these days. Maybe suppliers have realised that they are counter-productive. Or perhaps that wild claims are likely to be quickly called out by PC magazine reviewers? Anyway, few experienced PC users take much serious notice of the blurb that's still around - although how many buy such products because of the conscious or unconscious influence of it is another issue.

But selectivity is not so easy in other areas, such as the one that we focus on regularly in this column, the small business sector. There's no shortage of generalities for this target. It takes all sorts of shapes, such as PC application advice, special programmes, information and resources of all types. But what exactly is a 'small business'? Here we encounter one of the chief hazards of generalities: it's not always clear who they're aimed at.

Until recently most government departments and other national and local organisations used the DTI term SME in this context, meaning Small or Medium sized Enterprises. A year ago we called three different DTI departments and were given three different definitions of SME. Happily, consistency has now emerged on this one at least, with SME defined as companies with up to 250 employees. What's more, the DTI now clearly distinguishes Small Business in a category of its own, defined as one having less than 50 employees. Actually, the DTI's formal definition also includes companies with a turnover of less than £2.8 million, or a balance sheet total of less than £1.4 million. So there's still some token ambiguity to keep us on our toes. But at least this is an attempt at an unambiguous definition.

Software suppliers are often less clear, not to say deliberately vague - perhaps in a misguided attempt to maximise market potential. The issue becomes particularly relevant when we consider how they define very small businesses. The only label used widely is SoHo, Small Office or Home Office, the target we primarily have in mind here. There appears to be no intermediate definition, so by default a SoHo is an organisation with less than 50 employees. Of course, in this column we aim our recommendations and tips mostly at sole traders, professionals, consultants and so on, where a maximum of five, not 50, might be more typical.

But even if you're in no doubt that a generalisation is applicable to your small business, that's no reason to act on it with confidence. Circumstances can differ widely from one PC user to another. As the newsgroup abbreviation succinctly puts it, YMMV: Your Mileage May Vary. On discovering a recommendation that SoHo users should do so and so or buy such and such, ask whether that really does apply to you. There's just no substitute for getting into the nitty-gritty and studying how a product or a technique will work in your business. It's often hard work, but usually pays off in the medium term. Maybe that software recommendation aimed at Large Enterprises would do wonders for your marketing? Or, conversely, that sure-fire, must-have product designed to improve cash flow for the SoHo business might set you back months because of some subtle feature, requirement or incompatibility?

In short, Details Rule, OK? That's DROK. Remember, you saw it here first!

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