It seems that although my local reseller's consumer business had suffered as a result of folks flocking to the glowing new Apple Store, he was actually gaining traction with local business owners, who heard the buzz about Apple and went to see what it was all about, but were put off by crowded stores and the consumer focus of Apple Stores.

Small business owners are busy folks, and frankly don't have time for 14-year-olds to get done playing in PhotoBooth to have a chance to evaluate whether that MacBook Air is the right product or not.

It's probably a stretch to carve out dedicated "business hours" for an Apple Store, but running some late evening information seminars or mid-day "lunch-and-learns" for small business owners to ask their questions in a less chaotic environment would go a long way in making Macs more accessible.

3. Embrace The Channel. For Real This Time.

If Apple and small business have historically had an interesting relationship, then Apple and independent resellers have historically had a love/hate relationship. Many local value-added resellers (VARs) continue to deal Apple products. But most only do so because they have always done so, because they really believe in the products, or because their customers want the products. It is safe to say none of them do so because Apple makes it profitable and easy for resellers to do business with them--because they never have. And the relationships have become even more strained over the course of the last decade, as Apple has become more squarely a consumer company, and its retail operations have become its main route to market.