Some owners of small, traditional businesses feel that innovating is difficult, if not impossible. Even with a great idea, where’s the money for advertising and promotion? How can I absorb the high up-front costs of developing a new product or service and still turn a profit? And, what if the innovation fails? Can I afford to take on that much risk?

All good questions. One thing for sure, a small business needs to be selective. You can’t try every new idea, but at the same time, you will almost certainly get into big trouble if you never try any idea. My father, one of the best natural marketers I’ve ever seen, has innovated successfully by following some simple rules:

• Know your market inside and out.
• Identify a real need in your market.
• Talk to actual customers before concluding the need is real.
• Put everything you have into your new product or service. Make sure you have quantifiable advantages over your competition. Articulate those advantages well.
• Be willing to stick with it for a year or longer. Overnight success is rare: in some industries, “overnight” means six months.
• When you see momentum, invest more and work even harder. Get so far out ahead of your competition they won’t even try to catch up.

In Naked Conversations, Scoble and Israel talk about how blogs can help very small companies develop business. A plumber, they say, can blog about common plumbing problems and offer help. By sharing his expertise, he will become the “go-to” guy when people need advice or the services of a plumber. Real online discussion with real people about real problems will carry more weight with customers than a fancy Web site. Something to think about.