3 Things You Should Know About Small Business: April 27

NEW YORK (MainStreet) - What's happening in small business today?

1. Entrepreneurial lessons from Dick Clark. The passing of one of television's most famed personalities, Dick Clark, can provide us with many entrepreneurial lessons as he was involved with many business ventures, according to SCORE blogger and CEO of GrowBiz Media Rieva Lesonsky.

One great lesson from Clark is "work hard, but watch for lucky breaks, too," Lesonsky says. While Clark knew even as a teenager that he wanted to be in broadcasting, he saw opportunity while working at a local Philadelphia TV and radio station when the host of the predecessor to American Bandstand was arrested for drunk driving. He stepped in and the rest is history, she writes.

Another lesson Lesonsky points out is to always have a Plan B. "Clark was concerned that he'd be forced into retirement from the youth-oriented Bandstand, so he started his own production company so he would have something to fall back on. He branched out into roles as an artist manager and music publisher; he also owned record manufacturing plants and a distribution business," she writes.

A third lesson: build your brand. Clark was able to expand the American Bandstand brand into many lucrative offshoots.

2. Fix your company's LinkedIn page. More and more business relationships are being fostered through LinkedIn (LNKD). So is your company's page up to speed?

Putting effort into your personal LinkedIn page is a no-brainer, but you should have the same zeal when thinking about your company's page, Inc.com says.

"You cannot control who sees your LinkedIn company page or at what time they're looking. So your LinkedIn company profile is your ambassador - it must make the best first impression it can for your company," by highlighting your company story, products and services, highlighting your latest news, engaging with followers and sharing career opportunities, according to Inc.comcontributor and CEO of Web Ad.vantage Hollis Thomases.

Thomases includes some necessary elements to your company's LinkedIn page such as filling out the majority of content on the overview, careers, products and services pages.

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