Ask an Expert: Being small has its advantages, especially now

— -- Q: Hi, Steve. With the current strain on the economy, we all know that businesses are looking for ways to better compete in their markets and grow in the downturn. We have noticed that many small businesses are capitalizing on their flexibility and pivoting their businesses to enter new markets. Agree? — Deanna

A: I know of very few small business people who would trade their lot for a gig with a big business, even given the steady paycheck and benefits that would come with it. The lack of freedom alone would likely emotionally pummel most small business owners (and in fact, probably did — that is why they left).

But it's not called "big business" for nothing: Large corporations have bigger budgets, better resources, more people — a whole host of bigger and better advantages small business can only dream of.

But, to quote the wizard in The Wizard of Oz, "You've got one thing they haven't got," namely, the ability to adjust quickly and move fast. You are the speedboat to their tanker. And in an economy like this that is no small thing. The best small businesses shift course, quickly.

Here's an example: Polly Liu is the founder of Beau-Coup.com, a website that started out offering an amazing array of wedding favors. Ms. Liu and her husband started the business because, while looking for unique wedding favors for guests at their wedding, "we seemed to come across the same set of products from vendor to vendor." They knew they could do better.

Beau-Coup.com was born not long thereafter and while the site is great and the business quickly became successful, the question arose: How to grow, and more importantly, in what area? This is where being a nimble small business really comes in handy. Beau Coup used Google Analytics and Google AdWords to research and test out new possibilities. They concluded that the next natural extension for them was, maybe not surprisingly, the baby market. Beau Coup soon began to sell favors, accessories, and party supplies for lots of non-wedding events like baby showers, bar mitzvahs, birthday parties, and so on.