Below is an interesting interview CNN Money posted with Steve Odland, CEO of Office Depot. The video is short, a tad over 4 minutes, and focuses on small businesses and their success in the recession. As small business owners are the majority of Office Depot’s customers, Steve Odland expresses strong opinions.

Odland argues that small businesses are not receiving traditional capital from the government, which is making it difficult for those interested to create small businesses. As such businesses are known for job creation, he believes it’s not happening due to the lack of capital as most small business owner’s are taking out a second mortgage instead of obtaining a loan from the SBA.

Odland states that unemployment will get worse before it gets better, and that we’re in for the long haul in the United States. Watch below. Do you agree with what he’s saying? Or do you believe that this week’s announcements from the Obama administration will answer Odland’s arguments?

My first job was working in an orange juice factory, but I got canned…couldn’t concentrate.

After that I tried to be a tailor, but I just wasn’t suited for it…mainly because it was a so-so job.

Then I tried to be a chef — figured it would add a little spice to my life, but I just didn’t have the thyme.

Next I tried working in a muffler factory but that was too exhausting.

I managed to get a good job working for a pool maintenance company, but the work was just too draining.

I attempted to be a deli worker, but any way I sliced it, I couldn’t cut the mustard.

Then I worked in the woods as a lumberjack, but I just couldn’t hack it, so they gave me the ax.

Next was a job in a shoe factory; I tried but I just didn’t fit in.

So then I got a job in a workout center, but they said I wasn’t fit for the job.

After many years of trying to find steady work I finally got a job as a historian until I realized there was no future in it.

I studied a long time to become a doctor, but I didn’t have any patients.

My best job was being a musician, but eventually I found I wasn’t noteworthy.

I became a professional fisherman, but discovered that I couldn’t live on my net income.

My last job was working at Starbucks, but I had to quit because it was always the same old grind.

SO I RETIRED AND FOUND I’M PERFECT FOR THE JOB!

(found at basicjokes.com)

1. Comedian Harland Williams Talks About Printers and Ink Cartridges

2. Comedian Dan Naturman Talks About Computer and Printer Problems

If you’re looking to get your small business involved with social media, it’s a good idea to start the same way you would anything else – with a plan. You might not need an extensively detailed map for your social media map, as detours will be likely. So, we set up a list of guidelines to get you started.

1) Research

• Look at other companies and see how they’re utilizing social media. Choose a few that you do business with often and check their websites for any Facebook, Twitter or blog links. Search Flickr or YouTube to see if they’re utilizing various channels.
• Do the same research on companies in your genre or niche. Both of these searches will result in specific ideas for your industry as well as general ideas on how you might want to use social media.
• Determine the best outlets for you and your industry. Where is your target market? Why create a MySpace profile if your demographic is Baby Boomers? Your end benefit will be greater if you establish this from the beginning, rather than diving in head first to an empty audience.
• Find out who’s talking about you. Use Twitter search and Google Blog Search to see if there are any mentions of your company. Set up Google Alerts to be notified of when a mention hits the Internet. Sift through monitoring sites on what is being said about your and your industry. My two favorites are Social Mention and Keotag, both of which give you a diverse platform of networks.

2) Decide

• Now that you have a better idea of how other companies are using social media, you hopefully have a set definition of what you want to achieve from it. Make a decision – is making sales more important for you, or establishing relationships?
• How you’re going to utilize your time. Are you going to put most of your social media efforts into tweeting or into writing blog posts, or both? This will help you choose:
• Who will be a part of your social media plan. If other employees are on board, determine what aspects they would be most comfortable with and how much time they are willing (or able) to put in.
• How are you going to measure your social media efforts? As mentioned before, you have to decide whether landing sales is a higher priority than creating relationships with customers. Measuring statistically requires time on analytics and sales, while connection measurements are more abstract.

3) Create

• Now that all the research has been done and some decisions have been made, its time for creation. It’s best to start out by creating a schedule of what will be done, who will do it and how, and by when. Having deadlines pushes you and your employees to be proactive rather than neglecting the social media.
• Profiles. If you want to create a presence on social networking sites, you need relevant, informative profiles that keep a reader interested.
• Content. If your plan is to start a blog, map out content and start writing. You can never have too many back-up posts! Brainstorm ideas for future topics and/or promotions that will draw readers (potential customers) to you. Add content such as videos, links, photos, or posts to your social networking profiles.
• Measurement plan. Set benchmarks for measuring conversations, as your own goals for where you want these relationships to take you. Explore Google Analytics if you are looking for more numerical results, such as traffic and CTRs.

4) Engage

• Begin engagement by posting your content to your various profiles. Converse with others on their blogs, Twitter and Flickr accounts.
• Look for customers and potential customers in your industry. Engage users to become a part of your community, whether it is a fan of your Facebook page or a subscriber to your blog.
• Respond to users that come to your profiles. Let them know that you’re listening!

5) Continue

• Researching other companies – especially in your industry.
• Making decisions on how you’re using your time and measuring your efforts.
• Creating content, content plans and ideas.
• Engaging with your community!

These are just some general ideas to get your foot in the door. Social media holds a lot of potential for small businesses looking to create awareness and establish relationships. There are also plenty of opportunities in social media.

What aspects do you want to integrate into your social media plan?