Small Business

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    American Express Open Forum

  • Small Business Owners Share Their Favorite Features of American Express

    20 Nov 2009 | 2:49 pm
    From Polly Schneider Traylor: In January 2005, Rebecca Schreiber took a gamble. After a career working in a steady job at the Department of Commerce she followed her passion for financial planning, and put out a shingle as an independent financial planner after earning her certification. There was a lot at stake in this decision: she wanted to represent young professionals at reasonable hourly fees, not well-heeled clients who were interested in managing their wealth. The model wasn't typical, she says, recalling the days in her early 20s when she was looking for advice from a financial…

  • 4 Ways to Use Twitter Lists for Marketing

    20 Nov 2009 | 2:38 pm
    From Rohit Bhargava: Ok, so maybe you have a Twitter account set up and have started checking out the site, or maybe you’re still among the ranks of small business owners who haven’t found that compelling reason to get off the sidelines and start trying to use the site. Recently, Twitter launched a new feature that allows users to create lists of people on Twitter … making the site infinitely more useful for users who need some help navigating the flood of information that comes from the site.  1. Improve your PR “hit rate.” For several years now, there…

  • Lessons Learned From AdMob: 2 Tips From a Great Deal

    20 Nov 2009 | 2:08 pm
    From SCOTT BELSKY: The founder and CEO of AdMob, Omar Hamoui, recently sold his business to Google for $750 million, just three years after founding the company. But behind this great deal is a great story about maniacal focus, thoughtful negotiation, and a good perspective on life. A recent blog entry in the Wall Street Journal’s Venture Capital section shares some of the lessons learned throughout the AdMob experience by Hamoui and his first hire, Russell Buckley. As quoted from an interview conducted by WSJ: On the value of ideas vs. execution: “…far too many…

  • The Nightmare of Embezzlement, and How to Avoid It

    20 Nov 2009 | 1:37 pm
    From Jonathan Weber: Embezzlement by an employee is among the worst nightmares of any business owner, and it’s surprisingly common. We’ve had a string of such cases in the news here in Missoula in recent weeks, including the case of a bank teller-supervisor who stole some $800,000 over a nine-year period, a bookkeeper at an architecture firm who took $240,000, a treasurer for a local ambulance service who stole $160,000, and a woman who took $227,000 from two different construction companies that employed her as a bookkeeper. That’s a lot of embezzlement for a small place…

  • Intranet and Collaboration Solutions for Small Businesses

    20 Nov 2009 | 1:22 pm
    From Christina Warren: In the old days, an intranet -- that is, a private computer network inside an organization as opposed to the Internet which is a network between organizations -- was often reserved for large corporations with hundreds or thousands of employees. With advances in technology and the advent of virtual offices and cloud computing, that’s changing. Even very small businesses can benefit from having an intranet for sharing and collaborating with employees and clients.   Think of an intranet as your own private portal where authorized users can log in and share…
 
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    Fast Company Feature Articles

  • The 12 Best and Worst Digital Characters

    20 Nov 2009 | 4:15 pm

  • What Do Presidential Libraries Say About Their Namesakes' Legacies?

    Alissa Walker
    20 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm
    Part of the point of a presidential library is that it's a monument to a leader's legacy--his style, his enduring affect on the world, even his reading habits...or lack thereof. Speaking of which, Laura Bush unveiled the design for her husband's book joint this week, and the ultra-traditional structure that nods to Washington but bows to the rest of Southern Methodist University's campus isn't winning any points with architecture critics. But how does W's design stack up against his predecessors? We checked out the libraries of fellow recent commanders-in-chief completed in the last three…

  • Drive a Mercedes with Your iPhone and Nine Other Mind-Blowing Stories This Week on Fast Company

    Kate Rockwood
    20 Nov 2009 | 3:45 pm
    Mind-blowing phrase of the week: "interferometric modulation," which can be loosely translated as "Oh my God! Qualcomm’s Mirasol e-reader has color video!" Mercedes Benz unveiled an app that lets you control your car with the iPhone. But Intel one-ups the luxe car maker with an implantable chip that lets you control your computer using only your thoughts.Round two of the juice-packaging cage match started late last year with Pepsi’s Tropicana fiasco, and this week Coke’s Minute Maid unveiled a juicy new look (courtesy of Master of Design cover boy David Butler). Los Angeles took home…

  • ComScore's New Study Finds Dope on "Movie Junkies"

    Alissa Walker
    20 Nov 2009 | 3:30 pm
    Research group comScore released its study on "movie junkies" yesterday that surveyed the behavior of 500,000 moviegoers who bought tickets online in September 2009. Some of the highlights: Fandango rules the market. Over $31 million is spent each month buying online movie tickets, with 81% of those tickets purchased at Fandago.com. Females 25-54 are heavy online ticket buyers. Women are actually more likely to make decisions about movie night than men: movie ticket purchasers are 39% more likely to be female. Maybe men would rather watch at home? DVD sales were an equal split between the…

  • Can Chegg Beat the Kindle at the Textbook Game?

    Ariel Schwartz
    20 Nov 2009 | 3:00 pm
    The Kindle may be the king of e-readers, but it has a long way to go before being accepted as an acceptable replacement for textbooks. When Amazon's device was introduced at Princeton for classroom assignments recently, it received mostly negative reviews. Now the Kindle's budding classroom legacy is being challenged by Chegg, an online textbook rental service that just raised a whopping $112 million in a round led by Insight Venture Partners. Chegg deals in good old-fashioned print books, but saves paper by letting students rent textbooks in a Netflix-like model. The company, founded in…
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    Escape From Cubicle Nation

  • 10 ways to stimulate the economy with your brain

    Pamela
    5 Nov 2009 | 10:58 am
    I don’t know about you, but I get mighty tired of reading newspaper articles and blog rants about the effectiveness/ineffectiveness of stimulus money on our economy. What makes me frustrated is that we waste hours a day fighting with each other about things outside of our control, instead of using our own brains to do something about our local economy. So here is my list of 10 things you can do, right now, to stimulate a small corner of your local economy without spending a dime: Mentor a new business owner.  If you know how to build an effective website or display goods more…

  • Spreading the addiction of the TED conference one city at a time

    Pamela
    30 Oct 2009 | 2:24 pm
    There are few things that get me fired up late at night like watching TED videos. For the uninitiated, TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and is a conference that takes place once a year. The videos from TED are shared free on their website, and the talks are enough to get you standing up with your fist in the air, clutching your heart with tears streaming down your cheeks, or doubling over with laughter. TED is undertaking a new initiative which is to encourage local communities to sponsor their own events, called “TEDx.” We are hosting ours here in Phoenix,…

  • Last chance to attend live Escape from Cubicle Nation workshop in 2009

    Pamela
    28 Oct 2009 | 4:20 pm
    The fabulous and enthusiastic crew from last week’s Escape from Cubicle Nation Workshop in London. Photo by the handsome and talented TMSRuge. I communicate on Twitter so frequently that I just realized some blog readers may not know that my last live Escape from Cubicle Nation workshop will take place on Wednesday, November 4 at the Hotel Belamar in Southern California.  I will be joined by the fabulous and talented Colleen Wainwright, otherwise known as Communicatrix, who is an amazing resource for branding and social media. This will be my last workshop of the year, and the last…

  • Response to Chris Brogan about Overnight Success

    Pamela
    25 Oct 2009 | 4:05 pm
    Sitting in the Dallas airport after having spent the weekend speaking and participating in Milana Leshinsky’s Coaching Millions Super Summit, I watched Chris Brogan’s 3-part video series on Overnight Success and felt my heart melt. I related to so much of what he talked about, since I have spent so much time this summer on the road, promoting my book. Getting out in front of people is critical, spreading the message of hope and connection through entrepreneurship is imperative, and creating a powerful business model that serves people well and provides well for my family is a…

  • The beauty of dirty laundry

    Pamela
    19 Oct 2009 | 2:38 pm
    At the management conference I attended in Pärnu, Estonia last week, we had a speaker from Denmark, Morten Lund,  a long-time entrepreneur who had, among other things, made good money investing in Skype. As he launched into his presentation, he said: “I have founded over 88 startups. And at the moment, I am bankrupt.” Due to a failed investment in a newspaper business in his native Denmark, he had lost a lot of money. But, he said, he actually was feeling quite good. He was spending lots of time with his four kids, whom he obviously adored. And he remained passionate about…
 
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    Small Business Labs

  • Local Web Continues to Grow - Twitter Adding Location Data

    Steve
    20 Nov 2009 | 8:08 am
    The New York Times covers Twitter's planned release of geolocation data.  The new feature will take advantage of geolocation data in cellphones letting users include their location in tweets.  This will allow users to search Twitter by location, improving its use for location applications like local commerce.  It will also allow comparisons across geography.  For example you could compare what  people in New York tweeting about swine flu versus people in Texas.  More evidence of the growth of the local web. 

  • Steve King Named 2009 SNCR Fellow of the Year

    cbockels
    20 Nov 2009 | 1:00 am
    The Society for New Communications Research (SNCR) named Steve King the 2009 Fellow of the Year at their recent awards gala in Boston.  SNCR Executive Director Jen McClure stated: "His vision for SNCR’s potential, his impressive experience and expertise as a business leader and researcher, and his unwavering commitment to the Society’s mission and goals is greatly appreciated, and I am honored to work with him as a colleague on our board of directors and as a Fellow conducting research on behalf of our organization.” As managing director of Emergent Research and a…

  • The Rise of Social Media Peer Groups

    Steve
    19 Nov 2009 | 1:00 am
    The Society for New Communications Research(SNCR) just released the preliminary results of a new study showing that corporate decision makers are increasingly turning to online social networks for assistance in decision-making.   The study, The New Symbiosis of Professional Networks, examines the role that social media has on decision-making among business professionals.  Key findings include: Professional decision making is becoming more social as decision-makers utilize social network to research, inform and validate decisions. Professionals trust online…

  • Home Businesses and Their Employees

    Steve
    18 Nov 2009 | 8:53 am
    Based on questions and feedback we are getting on the homepreneur study, the finding that roughly half of homepreneurs have employees seems to be the most surprising result. We weren't surprised by these results, mainly because we were surprised by this years ago when we first started researching home-based businesses.  Over the years our conversations, interviews and surveys of home-based business owners have consistently shown that a high percentage are employers.  While there haven't been a lot of recent studies on home-based businesses, others have…

  • It's All About Leads

    Steve
    17 Nov 2009 | 1:00 am
    Yes, this is pretty obvious.  But we often overlook the importance of leads and lead generation.  Also overlooked is how central lead generation is to the business models of many of the Internet's most successful companies - and how lead generation is changing media and marketing.  Google is, of course, all about leads via adwords.  So is eBay and all the other online markets.  For example, I just made a restaurant reservation using Open Table.  It is a public company worth $600 million that gets a big chunk of its revenue…
 
 
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    How to Change the World

  • The 19 bloggers Inc. thinks you should read

    GuyKawasaki
    6 Nov 2009 | 6:20 pm
    Inc. named 19 bloggers that you should read. We’ve aggregated them all in one place: Inc19.alltop.

  • How to Get Found

    GuyKawasaki
    4 Nov 2009 | 3:29 pm
    The reality is that people and technology is getting better and better a blocking out unwanted interruptions—aka, “marketing.” Brian Halligan is the CEO of HubSpot, and he explains in my post on the American Express Open Forum “how to get found.” It’s all about creating great stuff and letting Google et al do what they do: find great stuff.

  • How I tweet

    GuyKawasaki
    2 Nov 2009 | 8:47 am
    By popular demand (and some complaints), I’ve done a FAQ with myself about how I tweet. Hope this helps you use Twitter for your business too. I explain how I use ghostwriters and why I repeat my tweets among other “unusual” practices.

  • Current Twitter Demo Script

    GuyKawasaki
    28 Oct 2009 | 2:26 am
    This is the set of links that I used to demo Twitter by going down through this list to show why Twitter is such a valuable marketing tool. Introduction Home page Profile page Monitor Search Guy Kawasaki or Alltop Starbucks VIA introduction Search for “Prius” or “Civic” Sell Dell Outlet Kogi BBQ Support Comcast Cares Engage JetBlue Virgin America Fandango Prospect Camaro Camaro near Palo Alto Advanced searches Surfing or skateboarding (shows how to eliminate extraneous results such as “surfing the web” How I Tweet - Find Alltop MyAlltop helped me find this.

  • How to Avoid Twitter Cluelessness

    GuyKawasaki
    26 Oct 2009 | 4:24 pm
    Over at the American Express Open Forum blog, I explain how to not look clueless on Twitter. The first five ways are: Don’t tell other people how to tweet. Don’t tell the world that you unfollowed someone. Don’t ask people why they unfollowed you. Don’t constantly tweet mundane updates and babble. Don’t use a small picture for an avatar. To read all ten and why they impugn your intelligence, click here.
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    Tim Berry: Planning, Startups, Stories

  • Social Media Means People and, Eventually, Maybe, Friends

    Tim Berry
    20 Nov 2009 | 5:20 am
    It was one of those sudden-realization moments for me. I was talking to one of my favorite lawyers last night at a local startups event (smartups.org). He mentioned a person I’d sent to him a couple weeks ago. That person had asked me to recommend a small business lawyer, and I recommended him. The realization was that she — the person I’d sent to him — felt like a friend. I feel like I know her, like her, and trust her. But I’ve never met her. I’ve never even talked to her on the telephone. I’d met her on Twitter. She popped up with interesting…

  • The Fog of Research

    Tim Berry
    19 Nov 2009 | 5:43 am
    Are you familiar with the phrase, “the fog of war?” You can get the idea from the image here, from a computer strategy game: the pieces in the center of the image can see the terrain for only a short distance, shown here as the brighter area. The rest is obscured by the fog of war. Some days, bad days mostly, I think there’s something like this that goes on with most business research. They create the fog of research. It’s like the fog of war. Poor vision. Partial vision. I think this happens all the time with focus groups and surveys. The research is almost…

  • Develop Your Business, Not Just Your Business Plan

    Tim Berry
    18 Nov 2009 | 5:48 am
    I’m still long-term frustrated with how many people lose the potential steering and management benefits of business planning because they focus on the plan as document instead of the planning as management. With that in mind, I’m doing a webinar tomorrow, Thursday Nov. 19, at 11. am PST on the theme in the title of this post. Please click here now to register for that webinar (and yes, it’s free, of course). There’s an important point I’m trying to make. Don’t dismiss business planning as part of your business life just because you don’t want (or have) to do a formal business…

  • 5 Business Moments to Never Say No To

    Tim Berry
    17 Nov 2009 | 5:43 am
    So imagine yourself working on a few variations of a blog post headline when your editor says one of them, perhaps not your favorite, would be better for SEO (search engine optimization). That’s what we call a no brainer. Never say no to better SEO. Period. I was in a conversation along those lines yesterday. It reminded me of one of my favorite little life-advice snippets has always been “never say no to an offer of a breath mint.” If you don’t immediately see why, think about it. I asked around, got some help from friends, and came up with the following “never say…

  • 10 Simple Easy Ways to Green Your Business

    Tim Berry
    16 Nov 2009 | 5:27 am
    This weekend I finished Greening Your Small Business, a well written and easily readable new book by Jennifer Kaplan, dealing with a lot of background and a lot of specifics about the idea of “greening” the business. Happily, she starts out by defining what “greening” means, in several practical contexts. Then she deals with greening as green marketing, green travel, green purchasing, and a good understanding of the underlying business rationale. One thing I particularly liked about the book was its list of 50 easy ways to make your business greener. To my mind, the…
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    Inc.com

  • Dealing With Complexity; The End of the Oprah Effect

    20 Nov 2009 | 3:30 am
    A long goodbye to Oprah (and the Oprah Effect). It's official. Oprah Winfrey will announce to viewers on today's show that she will be retiring from her long-running talk show at the completion of the 2011 season. No need to shed a tear for Oprah, who has amassed a fortune reportedly in the neighborhood of $2.7 billion. Instead, think of all those businesses who will no longer feel the benefit of the so-called Oprah Effect, a significant surge in business thanks to a product mention on Ms. Winfrey's show. Here's a look at some Inc. 500 companies who have felt the spoils of the Oprah Effect…

  • Is Imeem going to MySpace?

    19 Nov 2009 | 8:00 am
    Imeem is a start-up with a great service (free online music!), lots of users (15 million, according to Quantcast), and a compelling story. Unfortunately, it's pretty darn hard to make it in the online music business. The start-up has struggled this year, because of a poor advertising market and high licensing fees owed to the record companies (these fees have been a perenial problem for online music start-ups and nearly shut down Pandora in 2007). Techcrunch reported in May that Imeem had, "risen from the ashes," by renegotiating with the record companies and raising several million dollars…

  • How to Find the Right Partnerships

    19 Nov 2009 | 6:33 am
    We just did something that some would say is crazy. We -- the company best known for making "worm poop" gardening products bottled in what were previously plastic soda bottles, and for turning billboards into messenger bags -- are creating products based on Huggies and Scott paper products from Kimberly-Clark. Excuse me? No, not used diapers and handy wipes, but the packaging that they came in. Oh. Yes. But you see where there might be a bit of a mental leap for people to buy products that are made from brands they associate with very unrecyclable things? That is, until you look at what we're…

  • Advertisement:

    19 Nov 2009 | 6:33 am

  • It Takes a Community to Raise a Customer

    19 Nov 2009 | 6:16 am
    A recent survey commissioned by e-mail marketing provider Campaigner found the top challenge facing small business owners today is customer acquisition and retention -- by a landslide.  The 2009 State of Small Business Online Marketing Survey questioned over 250 North American small business owners with 20 employees or less.  And customer acquisition/retention was the top business challenge of 50 percent of those surveyed.  Growing revenue was a distant second with 15 percent, followed by improving cash flow and maintaining profitability -- at 9 percent and 8 percent…
 
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    Copyblogger

  • The Art of the Paragraph

    Jonathan Morrow
    20 Nov 2009 | 6:11 am
    Anyone can write a paragraph, but not everyone knows how to write one that other people want to read. You’ve seen it: You open a book, and the whole page is one long block of text. Each sentence in the paragraph makes exactly the same point, said in a slightly different way, and you wonder why they didn’t just say it once and be done with it. Every paragraph is the same length (five lines, maybe?), whether it makes sense or not, and it gives the piece a monotonous rhythm. The paragraph makes a point without telling you why that point is important, and you can’t help…

  • How to Persuade People to Accept an “Unfair” Offer

    Dean Rieck
    19 Nov 2009 | 6:36 am
    Ever heard of Charley Hill? He seemed like an average, ordinary guy. He lived in a mid-sized town with his wife, two children, and a dog. He went to church on Sunday, coached Little League, and drove a pickup truck. He was friendly but quiet, the sort of guy you could walk by on the street without noticing. But appearances can be deceiving. Charley Hill was one of the most successful farm equipment salesmen in the Midwest. People would travel hundreds of miles to see Charley, even when there were plenty of dealers much closer to home. What did Charley have that other salesmen didn’t? Not a…

  • Free Report: How to Become a Creative Entrepreneur

    Brian Clark
    18 Nov 2009 | 8:58 am
    I’ve written another piece of extended content, this time for Lateral Action. Rather than sending you over there, I’ll just tell you about it here. It’s a free 31-page PDF report (don’t worry, it reads fast) called The Lateral Action Guide to Becoming a Creative Entrepreneur. It’s probably the most personal I’ve gotten about my history, but it’s still heavy on actionable, real-life examples. Here’s what you’ll discover: Why I quit my cushy law firm job and turned to online publishing. How I failed miserably. How I then succeeded miserably. How I…

  • Landing Page Makeover Clinic #20: TantricSexforBusyCouples.com

    Roberta Rosenberg
    17 Nov 2009 | 6:14 am
    This is another addition to our ongoing series of tutorials and case studies on landing pages that work. Is it hot in here or just me? Diana Daffner and her husband want to help people find a renewed sense of joy and connection in their intimate relationships through tantra. Their business, IntimacyRetreats.com, offers couples retreats throughout the year, but realizing not everyone can attend a retreat, they also want to promote their books and media products. The URL referenced above is actually the “/shop page” off their main site. Diana would like to use the page as an…

  • What I Learned From Writing 42 Guest Posts in 7 Weeks

    Josh Hanagarne
    16 Nov 2009 | 7:12 am
    Before you get too impressed, hear this: I did it all in self-defense. Let me give you some quick background. I have extreme Tourette’s Syndrome, as Sonia noticed recently. Tourette’s makes people move or vocalize involuntarily and occasionally results in unspeakable awesomeness. My motor tics range from eye blinking to punching myself in the face to even stranger things. My phonic tics range from clearing my throat to hooting and yowling and snarling and slobbering and screaming like the Tasmanian Devil. Did I mention that I work in a quiet library? There are only a couple of things that…
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    crowdSPRING Blog

  • SMALL BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK

    Bethany
    20 Nov 2009 | 8:14 am
    Harmonic Jazz Festival You’re going to want to break out your Jazz Hands when you hear about this exciting new festival coming to the UK! Harmonic is a new jazz festival will be taking place March 11th - 13th 2010 in Birmingham, UK. So if you’re in the area or want to make the trip out for it email info@harmonicfestival.co.uk to receive updates.  Our intern, Laura, was so excited about this project on our site that she started reading all the info in a British accent. Chris Mapp, the founder of this festival, asked our fearless crowdSPRING designers to design the logo for this…

  • The Ten Step Social Media Marketing Checklist

    Ross
    19 Nov 2009 | 9:02 pm
    A few days ago, I was interviewed by Phil Dobbie from bnet Australia about social media marketing. The 17 minute interview is below.  Among other things, we talked about how to get the best from Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, LinkedIn, commenting, mobile social networks, monitoring, multimedia, brand management, and leveraging combinations of social media tools.

  • BE A WINNER

    Bethany
    19 Nov 2009 | 12:54 pm
    Don’t you want to be a winner? I knew our creatives and buyers were a group of phenomenally humble people, who are on our site because they truly love us, but now it’s time for us to show YOU the love! Let us know what you and/or your friends, buyers, clients, designers have done for you this year through our site. How are you going to do that? By nominating your favorite buyer and/or creative for a SPRINGY AWARD! (PS you can totally nominate yourself too and we promise we won’t tell.) crowdSPRING will be selecting the Most Winningest Designer or the Year and the Community Awards, but…

  • crowdSPRING Celebrates Shakespearean Sonnet Day (Again)

    Ross
    19 Nov 2009 | 11:02 am
    Sadly, our last Shakespearean sonnet day was this past May. If you’re wondering what Shakespearean sonnet day is - we made it up. We read Shakespearean sonnets to celebrate … ummm … Shakespearean sonnets. In May, Kevin handily defeated all challengers and he’s been boasting about his prowess nonstop for months. Jeff Clark, our newest employee (designer/front end developer), not impressed at all by Kevin’s tattoos and fancy Elton John glasses, very simply said: I challenge thee to a duel! Their video duel is below. YOU are the judge. Who wins this one? Leave a…

  • Twitter Link Roundup #21 - Design, Small Business, Social Media And More

    Ross
    18 Nov 2009 | 9:54 pm
    Every day on the crowdSPRING Twitter account and on my own Twitter account, I post links to posts or videos I enjoyed reading or viewing. These posts and videos are about design, startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! Here are some of the links that I’ve liked and shared this past week! 10 Ways for Designers to Boost Productivity - http://bit.ly/3LkRR2 The Best Photoshop Tutorials of 2009 - http://bit.ly/1PfyI6 Three Big Mistakes that Can Make or Break Your Design Career -http://bit.ly/2ltVNR 8 Layout Solutions To Improve Your Designs…
 
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    The Franchise King Blog

  • The Health Care Reform Bill; Here's The International Franchise Association's Stance

    The Franchise King
    20 Nov 2009 | 1:05 pm
    Let me start out by stating this; I am not a member of The International Franchise Association. (IFA) That's full disclosure, folks. One thing that I feel they do a stellar job with is lobbying. Matthew Shay, it's leader, knows how to work it over on Capitol Hill. The IFA just made it's position known concerning health care reform. I grabbed this off of their website; "The Senate’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will not reduce the cost of health insurance for franchised employers, and we cannot support health care legislation that fails this basic test,” said IFA Vice…

  • Franchise Success And Franchise Failure; Please Keep Head Out Of Sand

    The Franchise King
    20 Nov 2009 | 3:04 am
    It may be too late for that guy(This is a post from a strategic partner of mine, Paul Segreto. Paul has been there and done that in franchising. and he wrote this a while back) I can personally relate to the trials and tribulations of owning franchise businesses as I have “been there and done that” and have experiences on both ends of the spectrum from achieving overwhelming success to dealing with bitter failure. I have definitely come to understand the fine line between success and failure in trying to nail down the American Dream.I know it is sometimes counterproductive to even mention…

  • Kauffman Foundation Funded Study Reveals GLOBAL Impact Of An Economic Recession

    The Franchise King
    19 Nov 2009 | 10:14 am
    In a study just released, and brought to my attention via M Booth And Associates in New York City, there is clear evidence of the impact of this recession on the world entrepreneur community.The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) wrote that;"Our research shows that new and young firms have been the primary source of new jobs in the United States over the past three decades," said Robert Litan, vice president of Research & Policy at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which funded the study. "While business exits are a normal part of a healthy entrepreneurial…

  • The Franchise King® Is Not Being Paranoid

    The Franchise King
    19 Nov 2009 | 7:48 am
          Small Business Loans Drop By $10 Billion(From CNN.com, today)"Some banks are unapologetic about their cutbacks. Small business defaults are soaring, and banks are under pressure to shore up their balance sheets and reduce their exposure to risky loans. Two key small business lenders, CIT Group and Advanta, filed for bankruptcy this month."This is not paranoia. This is reality.I have been telling folks this for the last month via; Radio programs Interviews Blog articles Phone consults Franchise seminars Social media WhiteHouse.Gov Some folks feel that I am sometimes a little…

  • Franchising And Veterans; A Good Fit?

    The Franchise King
    18 Nov 2009 | 11:39 am
    On Veteran's Day, I was asked to join two rather energetic and engaging women on their weekly small business radio program, to discuss how military veterans fit into the scheme of things with regards to franchise ownership. I'm from this school of thought; Military veterans can be great franchise owners. It's just that we don't live in a perfect world, and some people, veterans or not, just shouldn't be small business/franchise owners at all. No way. no how. (For lots of reasons) Now back to the ladies from Boost Your Business Radio. Who are they? Rieva Lesonsky owns GrowBiz MediaShe was the…
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    Smallbiztechnology.com

  • Sneezing Customers: Find Them and Help Them Boost Your Sales

    20 Nov 2009 | 4:22 am
    The word "sneezing" in this case, does not refer to the common cold or swine flu. It refers instead to customers who love your product so much that they tell others about it. Being able to know who these sneezers are, and help them sneeze to other people is so important if you want to boost sales online. In a traditional retail store, there is very little you can do, to facilitate customer evangelists. The best you can do is to have great customer service and an overall great experience. But the customer is not going to pass out 100 flyers for you. Online, however, things are quite different.

  • Why Your Email Newsletter Is Useless. Can It Be Saved?

    19 Nov 2009 | 6:47 pm
    Hundreds of thousands of us send out email newsletters on a weekly (or monthly) basis. We send these out to dozens, hundreds, thousands of customers (or others) in the hopes that they are doing some good. Guess what? Too often they are useful pieces of digital trash, strewn in someone's email box, quickly deleted or never even read. Email marketing company Campaigner, surveyed 259 small businesses with 1-20 employees. The first report - Small Business Marketing Health Check - focused on how small businesses are succeeding today and the mix of marketing tools they are using. Those findings…

  • Video Will Boost Your Business: It's Time To Dive In. BrightCove Finally Gets Smart About Small Biz Video Hosting

    19 Nov 2009 | 5:43 pm
    Online video is one of the most powerful communication media that businesses can use. Thanks to the low cost of video production technology, such as The Flip video camera (now owned by Cisco) and very cheap hosting (just upload to YouTube or Blip.tv for free) you can convey just about anything, to anyone, through video. Companies like TurnHere have taken video production a step further by enabling businesses to easily have professional videos produced. One challenge is producing professional video segments and hosting them. It's easy to have video on Youtube, for example, flanked by…

  • Justin Kitch - "Host Of 12 Million Web Sites" On The Mobile Web

    19 Nov 2009 | 4:59 pm
    Justin Kitch, founder of Homestead, hosts 12 million web sites (since 1996). Homestead was bought by Intuit in 2007. There's not many CEOs who have Justin's claim to fame in the world of web sites for small businesses. He writes on Entrepreneur.com how important it is to take advantage of the mobile web. Cell phones are already the most ubiquitous electronic devices in the world. And with more than 40 million Americans who are now active monthly users of the mobile internet via smartphones and mobile browsers, the cell phone is quickly becoming the most popular device for browsing the web.

  • Geek Techs Can Help Conserve Energy and "Go Green": Free Software Tool Helps

    19 Nov 2009 | 3:45 am
    While I do believe that much of the worlds focus on climate change and "going green" is politically charged, I think we can all agree that we MUST be better stewards of our environment. By making purposeful decisions on the technology you buy and how you use it, you can do your part as well. One big area of environmental stewardship is conserving on the power generated by computers and the heat they generate. Discuss with your IT consultant one neat and free software tool he (or she) can use in this area. SpiceWorks makes free network monitoring software and one of the tools they have…
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    Small Business Trends

  • Latest List of Startup and Small Business Events

    Laura Leites
    21 Nov 2009 | 10:31 am
    This week’s compilation of small business events has some great opportunities to learn and connect with fellow entrepreneurs and small business owners – both live and online. This list is brought to you every two weeks by Small Business Trends and Smallbiztechnology.com. Google 101 for Small Business and Entrepreneurs November 23, 2009, 5:15pm EST, New York City A free interactive workshop with New York’s local business community on how Google tools can help entrepreneurs reach local customers, tap into new markets, and operate more efficiently.  Location: Google New York,…

  • Review of Viral Loop

    Ivana Taylor
    21 Nov 2009 | 4:31 am
    If you are interested in using the Internet to grow your business virally, then “Viral Loop: From Facebook to Twitter, How Today’s Smartest Businesses Grow Themselves” is a must-read. I bought this book as part of my search for the “Not to be missed” books of 2009 (in preparation for the second annual business book awards).  And I’m glad I’ve gotten to it before the end of the year because I believe that it is going to be my bible for helping small businesses build their brand and business online. Viral Loop literally dissects and breaks apart the…

  • Investing in IT Helps Your Business Move Ahead, Benchmarking Shows

    Rieva Lesonsky
    20 Nov 2009 | 10:50 am
    The recession is cutting into small and midsized businesses’ IT spending, and some industries are hurting more than others, according to the results of the latest IT Effectiveness Index (ITEI) survey. The ITEI is a benchmarking tool that measures the technology effectiveness of small and midsized businesses. (Small Business Trends is one of the partners of the study.) According to the latest survey, the manufacturing industry has been hit hardest, with 66 percent of people in this industry delaying, halting or canceling IT projects, and a similar number reducing capital expenses. Also hard…

  • Careers: Talking Turkey

    Mark Anderson
    20 Nov 2009 | 4:00 am
    Every year I do a certain number of holiday cartoons. While they always sell well, they’re among the hardest ideas to generate. Thanksgiving is the hardest. Halloween and Christmas have tons of great stuff to play with, and Valentine’s Day is pretty good, but Thanksgiving is pretty much just turkey. One year I got to thinking about how bad it has to be being a turkey in November, and that led to a host of other holiday animals’ woes. Except for the groundhog. He sleeps, he wakes up. Shadow, no shadow, back to sleep. Nice and easy. So I thought it would be funny to have other…

  • Vote for the Best Small Business Books of 2009

    Staci Wood
    19 Nov 2009 | 11:09 am
    It’s time to vote on your favorite small business books of 2009. For the second year in a row we are holding the Best Small Business Book Awards – Reader’s Choice. This year the Awards are bigger and better than ever.  A total of 47 books have been nominated. And you can help choose the winners. The 10 books that get the most votes from readers like you will receive a Reader’s Choice Award. Following are some FAQs that explain the Awards and how to vote. What are the Awards? The Small Business Book Awards, presented by Small Business Trends, recognize the year’s best new books for…
 
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    Seth's Blog

  • Benefit of the doubt

    Seth Godin
    21 Nov 2009 | 2:11 am
    It's almost impossible to communicate something clearly and succinctly to everyone, all the time.So misunderstandings occur.We misunderstand a comment or a gesture or a policy or a contract.And then what happens?Well, if we're engaged with someone we like or trust, we give them the benefit of the doubt. We either assume that what they actually meant was the thing we expected from someone like them, or we ask about it.If we're engaged with a stranger or someone we don't trust, we assume the worst.The challenge, then, is to earn the benefit of the doubt. How many of your customers, prospects,…

  • The amateur scientist (that's us)

    Seth Godin
    20 Nov 2009 | 2:41 am
    Many people buy a car (probably their single biggest discretionary purchase) based on slamming a door, kicking a tire and judging the handshake of a salesperson.We choose a surgeon based on the carpeting in his office and a politician by his hair cut.During the first week of swine flu vaccines in New York, most parents (more than half!) chose to keep their kids out of the program.Interviewed parents said things like, "I'm not sure it's safe," and "I wanted to see if it affected other kids..."No mention of longitudinal studies or long-term side effects. No science at all, really, just rumors…

  • Embracing lifetime value

    Seth Godin
    19 Nov 2009 | 2:46 am
    If you walk into a company-owned cell phone store to sign up for a contract, what are you worth?Given the huge gross margins at AT&T and Verizon and the standard two-year contract, I think it's easy to figure on more than $2000 in lifetime value.If you ran a business where a customer represented an additional $2,000 in profit, how would you staff? How long would you make someone wait? If staff costs $25 an hour, how long would that extra person take to pay off?Few businesses understand (really understand) just how much a customer is worth. Add to this the additional profit you get from a…

  • Some books for November

    Seth Godin
    18 Nov 2009 | 12:00 pm
    Random thoughts from all over for those of us hungry for new ways to think. This month's list is here. The previous list was blogged in September.

  • The reason they want you to fit in...

    Seth Godin
    18 Nov 2009 | 2:03 am
    is that once you do, then they can ignore you.
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    Marshall Goldsmith

  • Leadership Isn't About You

    Marshall Goldsmith
    17 Nov 2009 | 12:30 pm
    This week's question for Ask the Coach: I am having a difficult time leading my team. The team members will not follow my instructions, which I am sure would make our project much more successful. What am I doing wrong? What you're doing wrong is very simple: you have simply forgotten that your team is more critical to the success of your project than you are. Over the years, I have worked with many great leaders as an executive educator and coach. One client, Charlie (not his real name), in particular is still one of my favorites. He is the one who showed the most improvement — and he…

  • Build Your Self Confidence Like a Leader

    Marshall Goldsmith
    30 Oct 2009 | 11:38 am
    This week's question for Ask the Coach: What can I do to build my confidence in my capabilities as a leader? You won't get to the top without self-confidence; to build it, you have to believe in yourself. Don't worry about being perfect — put up a brave front and do the best you can. That's it in a nutshell. Here's a little more background for you. Last year, as I often do, I taught a seminar for MBA students at the University of California at Berkeley's Haas School of Business. A second-year student approached me and told me he'd read my book What Got You Here Won't Get You There. "In…

  • How Entrepreneurs Should Handle Succession

    Marshall Goldsmith
    15 Oct 2009 | 7:42 am
    This is second of two columns in which I address, in collaboration with my good friend and colleague, Dr. Steven Berglas, the unique challenges that entrepreneurial family businesses builders face in leadership succession. The first post describes how entrepreneurial founders can unwittingly sabotage the succession process. Entrepreneurs who create and build businesses from scratch are nothing if not street smart. They know business, as well as the trends that impact businesses. I am not certain that all successful family business founders know this statistic: most (60-70%) of all family…

  • Why Entrepreneurs Sabotage the Succession Process

    Marshall Goldsmith
    8 Oct 2009 | 12:50 pm
    This week's question for Ask the Coach: In your book, Succession: Are You Ready? you describe the challenge of succession for the CEOs of major corporations. What unique challenges do you see for succession in entrepreneurial family businesses? My good friend and colleague, Dr. Steven Berglas, and I are currently writing a book that addresses this specific question. Given major demographic trends in the United States, this topic has become more critical today than at any time in our country's history. Millions of aging Baby Boomers who have founded businesses are now past or approaching the…

  • Why You Should Choose an Internal Successor

    Marshall Goldsmith
    17 Sep 2009 | 11:11 am
    This week's question for Ask the Coach: I'm getting ready to move on. Should I look for my successor inside the organization or find a candidate on the outside? Developing a great successor is one of the most important accomplishments that a CEO — or any senior-level executive — can achieve. But, what's best for your organization, and for you? Should you develop an internal or an external successor? There are many reasons, both personal and professional, to invest in development for an internal candidate. To start, if a new CEO comes from outside the company, the board will expect…
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    HBR Editors' Blog

  • Maclaren's Stroller Recall: What Would You Do?

    Julia Kirby
    10 Nov 2009 | 8:52 am
    Safe to say the management team at Maclaren is having a terrible week. On Monday its US subsidiary issued a press release announcing a recall of every baby stroller it has sold in the United States in the past decade — which means about one million units. The purpose is to install a cover for the stroller's hinge mechanism, which is sharp enough to cut through a baby's fingers should they happen to be in the wrong spot as the stroller is opened.* In fact, this has happened on at least twelve occasions. If you didn't get a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach as you read that…

  • Is Listening an Endangered Skill?

    Bronwyn Fryer
    5 Nov 2009 | 5:30 am
    Is listening important? "Yes, of course," you say. But then why would anyone pay thousands of dollars to hear someone speak, and then not listen? I recently attended the PopTech conference in Camden, Maine, a mind-bending affair attended by several hundred idea junkies, each of whom paid several thousand dollars to (ostensibly) hear what really smart people like Daniel Goleman, Dan Ariely, and Michael Pollan had to say. Yet as I stood up to stretch in the back aisle of the dark auditorium, I noticed dozens of lit-up BlackBerries throughout the audience, as people rapidly clicked away. The…

  • Coping with "Career Menopause"

    Bronwyn Fryer
    28 Oct 2009 | 9:04 am
    Night sweats. Heart palpitations. Crying jags. Mood swings. I'm a 55-year old woman, well and gratefully past that hormonal "change of life." So what the heck was this thing? My brilliant (and younger) colleague Julia Kirby took me out for a glass of wine and patted my arm. "Don't worry," she told me sympathetically. "It's career menopause." Count on Julia to consistently deliver le mot juste. I've always loved my job, but for ages I've been feeling something else — call it a longing for greater self-fulfillment — tugging at me. Relatives and friends have had brushes with death,…

  • Throwing Money at the Energy Problem Isn't Enough

    Gardiner Morse
    26 Oct 2009 | 9:18 am
    Today the U.S. Energy Department announced major funding for 37 cutting-edge energy research projects, from biofuel-producing bacteria to CO2-eating enzymes. The goal, as department secretary Steven Chu put it, is to "spur the next industrial revolution in clean energy technologies." That's an inspiring notion — but throwing money at clean-tech is a partial solution at best, no matter how revolutionary the research. America has always had a love affair with technology, and president Obama is as smitten as Secretary Chu. Obama was in Boston on Friday just a few miles from our offices,…

  • HBR Issue Highlights | November 2009

    Roberta Fusaro
    22 Oct 2009 | 8:53 am
    Welcome to HBR's Issue Highlights. Each month, this interactive table of contents will highlight some of the magazine's best features, tell you who should read them, why they're relevant, and what you'll take away from them, all in under five minutes. Share this with others by clicking on the "Share" button in the bottom right hand corner. Let us know what you think by commenting below, or by emailing us at issuehighlights@harvardbusiness.org.
 
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    Tom Davenport

  • Why Health Care Reform Is Vulnerable to Smart Analytics

    Tom Davenport
    19 Nov 2009 | 8:13 am
    Insurance — and health insurance in particular — has long been about the pooling of risk. It may be impossible to know what diseases and accidents will befall a particular individual, but if the risk is spread over a large pool, the cost of insuring the entire group is close to average. Therefore, when a company or organization seeks health insurance for a large group of employees, the particular attributes of those employees aren't usually assessed in detail. Increasingly, however, life and property & casualty insurers have attempted to increase their profits by predicting just…

  • The US Is GM

    Tom Davenport
    2 Nov 2009 | 1:02 pm
    The United States, my beloved home country, has become the General Motors of nations in its lethargy and complacency. This is ironic, because the US (and Canada) own a majority share of GM, but I am focused more on economic similarity rather than ownership. The height of complacency for GM was probably about 2004. In that year the automaker still had the title as the world's largest maker of cars, a title it relinquished in 2007. GM was still profitable in 2004 — but not very much so — and it was losing market share in many of its major markets. That was the year that GM abandoned…

  • Forwarding Is the New Networking

    Tom Davenport
    30 Sep 2009 | 7:57 am
    Michael Schrage recently wrote a post on this site about the importance of forwarding information as a way to enhance network relationships. He's right about this, although the title — "The Disadvantage of Twitter and Facebook" — is misleading (and inaccurate, since people retweet things all the time — but sadly, editors know that anything with Facebook and Twitter in the title gets a lot of page views and retweets). Forwarding is the new networking. The fact that you can't do it easily on Facebook is about as relevant as the inability to do it over the telephone or the…

  • Are Social Media Contributing to the Decline of Civilization?

    Tom Davenport
    10 Sep 2009 | 11:40 am
    I was recently sent a PR message encouraging me to blog about a new "social media for celebrity sightings" website called "OMGICU." (Get it?) Given the sad state of our society, the site will probably be successful. How could it not be, having combined the two greatest time-wasters of the current era: social technologies and celebrity worship! To save you from visiting the site and increasing its page view count, here's a typical sighting: Jill Zarin seen in Upper East Side nnekaj10 says: "And now Jill Zarin and husband have joined their daughter at California Pizza Kitchen... Jill looks…

  • How to Make the Classroom as Exciting as a Video Game

    Tom Davenport
    1 Sep 2009 | 11:50 am
    Children in the Northern Hemisphere are headed back to school this time of year. The great majority of them will go back to the traditional classroom, in which every student studies the same subjects in the same way at the same time. The fact that this approach doesn't work very well doesn't seem to hinder its popularity. We know that students are interested in different things, learn in different ways, and proceed at different paces. So why the "forced march" approach to education? This time-honored but silly approach to education, however, is beginning to crack. This summer, for example, 80…
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    Bill Taylor on HarvardBusiness.org

  • The Rise of the Teaching Organization

    Bill Taylor
    17 Nov 2009 | 6:34 am
    Ever since the publication, nearly two decades ago, of Peter Senge's monumental bestseller The Fifth Discipline, we've been in the age of the "learning organization." Executives have come to understand that for their companies to stay ahead of the competition, their people, at every level, have to learn more (and more quickly) than the competition: new skills, new takes on emerging technologies, new ways to do old things, from manufacturing to marketing to R&D. Gary Hamel, the influential business strategist, likes to say that one of the most urgent questions facing leaders (and thus their…

  • Sizing Up Jack Welch: Is "Too Big to Fail" Really Too Big to Succeed?

    Bill Taylor
    9 Nov 2009 | 7:00 am
    Last week, I got to spend nearly an hour interviewing Jack Welch, the legendary former chairman and CEO of General Electric, in front of an audience of several thousand bankers from around the world. It was a fun and stimulating conversation that ranged from the toughest leadership challenge facing financial institutions (his answer: energizing rank-and-file employees, who used to be the "friendly neighborhood banker" and are now seen as responsible for the country's economic mess) to the launch, in January 2010, of the Jack Welch Management Institute — basically, his version of the…

  • The New Logic of R&D: Rip Off and Duplicate

    Bill Taylor
    4 Nov 2009 | 11:40 am
    There's not a lot of good news coming from the business side of newspapers these days, and nowhere is the situation more grim than at the Tribune Company, which just sold the beloved Chicago Cubs, still owns the struggling Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, and has been operating under bankruptcy protection since December 2008, with little hope of emerging any time soon. But as Plato, that noted corporate strategist, famously said, necessity is the mother of invention — and the troubles at the Tribune Company have inspired at least one intriguing approach to unleashing some…

  • Amazon and Zappos: A Savvy Deal

    Bill Taylor
    23 Jul 2009 | 1:40 pm
    It's been one heck of a July for Tony Hsieh, CEO of Internet superstar Zappos.com. A week or so ago, Hsieh passed the one-million-follower mark on Twitter — putting him in the company of Martha Stewart, Miley Cyrus, and 50 Cent. And just yesterday, Amazon.com accounted it would spend more than $800 million worth of its stock to buy Zappos — even as it promised to keep its hands off the company, so Hsieh and his colleagues could keep doing things their own way. So good for Tony! Congratulations. Good for Jeff Bezos, too. Not only is he adding a huge new category of products —…

  • Decoding Steve Jobs: Trust the Art, Not the Artist

    Bill Taylor
    23 Jun 2009 | 12:47 pm
    Steve Jobs is back in the headlines, which got me thinking about this unique leader's legacy — and what, if anything, the rest of us can learn from how Jobs does his job. Whoever uttered the words, "trust the art, not the artist" must have had Steve Jobs in mind. There's no doubt that the Apple CEO will go down as one of the most creative, visionary, and high-impact leaders of his generation — or any generation. How many corporate executives can make a legitimate claim to have reshaped not just one industry but four: computing (the Mac), music (the iPod), mobile communications…
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    Scott Anthony

  • What Innovators Can Learn from Bill Belichick

    Scott Anthony
    20 Nov 2009 | 10:09 am
    Even non-football fans probably heard about Bill Belichick's "blunder" of a call on Sunday night. Believe it or not, the call — and the firestorm that followed — has important lessons for innovation managers. A quick recap. The New England Patriots led the Indianapolis Colts by six points with two minutes to go. It was fourth down, the ball was on the New England 28 yard line, and the Patriots needed just two yards for a first down that would almost certainly have sealed a victory. Conventional wisdom called for a punt, but Coach Belichick decided to go for it. After the Patriots…

  • Is the Tata Nano Really "The People's Car"?

    Scott Anthony
    13 Nov 2009 | 12:14 pm
    Last week I was riding through the bustling streets of Bangalore when my colleague made a provocative statement: "I think the Tata Nano is going to be a flop." It was a strong statement coming from an Innosighter. After all, we have been talking about the disruptive potential of the "people's car" — priced as low as $2,000 — for years. "But look around," I said. "That family will surely flock to an affordable car that projects social status and provides a safe, comfortable ride." I pointed to the husband, wife, and two children who were precariously perched on a scooter zooming in…

  • Why Great Innovators Spend Less Than Good Ones

    Scott Anthony
    3 Nov 2009 | 9:25 am
    A story last week about the Obama administration committing more than $3 billion to smart grid initiatives caught my eye. It wasn't really an unusual story. It seems like every day features a slew of stories where leaders commit billions to new geographies, technologies, or acquisitions to demonstrate how serious they are about innovation and growth. Here's the thing — these kinds of commitments paradoxically can make it harder for organizations to achieve their aim. In other words, the very act of making a serious financial commitment to solve a problem can make it harder to solve the…

  • Constant Transformation Is the New Normal

    Scott Anthony
    27 Oct 2009 | 9:13 am
    I picked up an interesting vibe at the Magazine Publishers Association Innovation Conference the other week. For the most part, the industry has had a tough year as it grapples with recession, changing consumer behavior, and a range of disruptive technologies. Yet signs of economic recovery and a sense that the magazine industry could learn from missteps from cousins in the music and newspaper business produced an unexpected sense of optimism. One point I made in my remarks is that the forces at work in the magazine business — increased competition, rapidly shifting technologies, and…

  • Nook: Too Soon To Call It a Kindle-Killer

    Scott Anthony
    21 Oct 2009 | 9:01 am
    If nothing else, developments in the e-reader market provide substantial fodder for online commentary. It seems that every week features a story in a mainstream publication about the latest "Kindle killer" followed by endless chatter and eager speculation in blogs and on Twitter. This week's discussion centered on Barnes & Noble's "Nook" device. It's not hard to see why this particular device sparked such discussion. The slick-looking device has unique features, such as the ability to "lend" books that friends can view on multiple platforms for 14 days, use of Google's Android operating…
 
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    Rita McGrath

  • Kraft, Cadbury, and Hershey: A Not-So-Sweet Deal?

    Rita McGrath
    19 Nov 2009 | 7:51 am
    Large-scale mergers often plague the "winning" bidder with what academics call the "Winner's Curse." The winner's curse takes place when a bidder does indeed win the object for which he or she was bidding, but the value of that object turns out to be less than what was bid for it. What's a recipe for a winner's curse in an M&A situation? Take one part highly visible transaction for a highly motivated, deep-pocketed acquirer. Add a bit of reluctant bride (or outright naysaying bride) on the part of the target firm. Add a potential white knight, preferably one that is despised by the original…

  • Remembering Russ Ackoff

    Rita McGrath
    17 Nov 2009 | 8:57 am
    Last Wednesday's Wall Street Journal brought the news that Russell Ackoff had passed away at the age of 90, after a long life of influencing management thinking and practice. At the time he was having the most profound impact on my life — when I entered The Wharton School's PhD. program, and the Center named for him — Russ didn't even know me. When we met years later, I think he appreciated that he had left a legacy of many students, myself included. I was the last Ph.D. student ever to graduate from Ackoff's Social Systems Sciences program (founded in 1980) at The Wharton School.

  • Create a Special Unit to Drive Growth

    Rita McGrath
    15 Oct 2009 | 11:08 am
    As the economy shows some signs of shrugging off its doldrums, growth is back on the agenda. After cutting costs for a year or more while repeating the mantra "do more with less," should companies be looking to special groups to jump-start growth? Corporate venture groups, incubator "greenhouses," and other units dedicated to identifying and incubating growth opportunities have a checkered corporate history. Often begun with flashes of significant enthusiasm, they are often first on the chopping block when executive sponsors change, costs need to be cut, or the fashion of the day swings away…

  • Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and the Battle for E-Books

    Rita McGrath
    5 Aug 2009 | 11:01 am
    There's a battle emerging over the industry structure of e-books: Amazon has one approach, Barnes & Noble another. Will the clash play out like the computer wars of the late 80s, or the music wars of the late 90s? Let's take a look. Years of declining music sales reflect a grim story for the music business — the amount of music people are willing to pay for has dropped dramatically, the unit of business has shifted fundamentally to music by the song, and the preferred medium for acquiring music is now downloading individual songs, rather than purchasing a complete CD. Who is winning in…

  • Hiring the Already-Employed: Savvy or Sad?

    Rita McGrath
    2 Jul 2009 | 7:06 am
    A fascinating article in yesterday's Wall Street Journal caught my eye. It suggests that even with so many great people out there looking for work, employers would still rather hire someone who is already working, thank you very much. Apparently, many believe that those that are unemployed were their former employers' lower-priorities, poor performers or otherwise non-superstars. By hiring someone who already has a job, they reason, they are reducing their risk of picking up someone who is a second-class performer. I guess this is the modern-day version of Groucho Marx's old line that he…
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    HarvardBusiness.org

  • Of Goldman Sachs, the Yankees, and Level Playing Fields

    Ron Ashkenas
    20 Nov 2009 | 12:06 pm
    Have you noticed that the two most successful teams in New York City both engender passionately mixed emotions of admiration and contempt? One team is the New York Yankees, the storied baseball franchise that just won its 27th World Series title — when no other team has won more than 10 times. The Yankees have the largest revenue stream thanks to their own cable television network, a new billion-dollar ballpark, and owners who can afford the highest-paid players in baseball. (These players, in turn, generate yet more revenue.) The other team is Goldman Sachs, the legendary investment…

  • Stop Wasting Time on Voicemail

    Gina Trapani
    20 Nov 2009 | 10:43 am
    Every time you make or receive a phone call that involves leaving or listening to a message, you're wasting time. You can't write as fast as people speak, so transcribing phone numbers, addresses, and other information from a voicemail message is tedious. When you have to leave a voicemail for someone, you're forced to listen to Robotic Voice-Mail Woman trod through the instructions on how to wait for the tone before you can start. There are two ways to cut this unnecessary voicemail overhead out of your day: 1. Get your voicemail messages transcribed automatically and emailed to you. Instead…

  • What Innovators Can Learn from Bill Belichick

    Scott Anthony
    20 Nov 2009 | 10:09 am
    Even non-football fans probably heard about Bill Belichick's "blunder" of a call on Sunday night. Believe it or not, the call — and the firestorm that followed — has important lessons for innovation managers. A quick recap. The New England Patriots led the Indianapolis Colts by six points with two minutes to go. It was fourth down, the ball was on the New England 28 yard line, and the Patriots needed just two yards for a first down that would almost certainly have sealed a victory. Conventional wisdom called for a punt, but Coach Belichick decided to go for it. After the Patriots…

  • Summoning the Courage to Tear Down Walls

    Whitney Johnson
    20 Nov 2009 | 8:31 am
    On November 9th, the world rejoiced in recognition of the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall coming down. The anniversary was occasion for me to reflect on walls that have fallen for me in my career but also about the kind of conviction that's needed to break down walls — be they miles of concrete in a former Communist area or invisible but no-less-apparent in an office setting. One thing I wondered is whether the Berlin Wall would have fallen without President Reagan's speech? Possibly. Probably. But not as quickly. And yet, according to The Wall Street Journal, the State Department,…

  • Can Good Journalism Also Be Profitable?

    Harvard Business IdeaCast
    20 Nov 2009 | 7:54 am
    Featured Guest: Umair Haque, director of the Havas Media Lab and author of the Edge Economy blog on HarvardBusiness.org.
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    Gill Corkindale

  • What Will You Pledge to Your Team?

    Gill Corkindale
    4 Nov 2009 | 10:57 am
    I was reminded last week of a simple but important truth: if you want to manage people effectively, ask them what they need from you in order to succeed. The realisation came as I was coaching a executive who had been finding it very difficult to manage the disparate people in her team. Some were old hands, experienced but cynical; others were new recruits, enthusiastic but very junior. She had tried to sit down and work out all their different needs, but was finding it perplexing. Some wanted to be left alone, others craved attention; some needed structure, others a free rein. After…

  • Don't Let Your Strength Become Your Weakness

    Gill Corkindale
    21 Oct 2009 | 11:21 am
    One of the first things I ask my new clients to do is write down three of their key strengths and three of their flaws. Typically, strengths might be attention to detail, focus, and drive; flaws can be delegation, lack of creativity, and people-management skills. I then ask clients to look carefully at what they have written. Often, they will stare at the paper and then at me. They will ask me to explain. Rarely do they see the connection. The fact is that our flaws are often the mirror image of our strengths, and it's important to realize that we should not over-develop our strengths,…

  • Why Are France Telecom Workers Committing Suicide?

    Gill Corkindale
    7 Oct 2009 | 2:38 pm
    Some years ago, I wrote a short article about stress at work, referring to some groundbreaking research by organisational psychologists at London University. The UK Heath and Safety Executive (HSE) had asked the researchers to identify workplace stressors and they came up with nine, including heavy workloads, lack of control, poor communication, role ambiguity, job security, and lack of management support. At the time, the UK was facing a flood of legal claims for workplace stress, even though the law was unclear about whether responsibility lay with the individual or the company. The HSE…

  • Is Work Taking Over Your Life?

    Gill Corkindale
    16 Sep 2009 | 11:56 am
    When I left a large company several years ago to start up my own firm, I imagined a more streamlined life, with less demands on my time from new projects and change initiatives. I could decide how much work I wanted to do and — critically — what I didn't want to do. For the first time in my life, I had the luxury of deciding what I did and when. Then I encountered reality. When you start a small business, you have to work long hours to get the company established: marketing, administration, and business development all take as much time as delivering the work itself, and you take…

  • When Work Doesn't Make You Happy

    Gill Corkindale
    3 Sep 2009 | 8:37 am
    Thanks to everyone who responded to last week's post about whether work should make us happy. There are some great insights and suggestions from readers on how they manage this difficult balance, from the philosophical to the personal and practical. Your responses were further confirmation that this is an important subject and I shall certainly be reflecting on them in the weeks ahead as I work with my clients. One of the reasons why I am especially interested in this subject is because I became unhappy at work some years ago and felt I had to make a change. I had been a journalist for 16…
 
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    Susan Cramm

  • Can You Get the Business and IT to Agree?

    Susan Cramm
    3 Nov 2009 | 2:09 pm
    My last post asked you to help resolve the business-IT standoff concerning the approach for a large transformation project. To recap, the business leader wants to use a three-year "big bang" consultant-driven approach while the VP of IT wants to use an iterative, fast-cycle approach. The standoff has become apparent to the powers-that-be and the two leaders have been tasked with developing a joint recommendation. With some additional education, the business leader is ready to adopt the iterative approach but is uncertain how to do so. Based on the quality of the advice you shared in the last…

  • The Business and IT Must Work Together. Can You Help?

    Susan Cramm
    15 Oct 2009 | 1:17 pm
    My last post asked you to be the judge of whether a business sponsor of a major initiative should take the advice of their consultants to "go big" or the advice of their IT counterparts to "go small." Your advice was virtually unanimous: Break large projects into a series of small projects ("Remember: the larger the project, the larger the risk of failure. I would much rather see a dozen small successes than one huge failure"). Place your faith in your internal IT group — provided they have earned your trust ("IT are stakeholders too and they are raising valid concerns"). Select…

  • IT Versus the Consultants. And You're the Judge.

    Susan Cramm
    7 Oct 2009 | 10:18 am
    This is not what you need. Yet again, the IT folks and consultants are at odds and you are stuck in the middle. You are the business leader in charge of redefining the way your company performs its back office functions. You have been with the company for many years and worked in a number of roles — both field and corporate — with some level of acclaim, you might add. You have always worked hard, but are finding that working in field operations is a breeze compared to getting this transformation project launched. The last 365 days have been spent in a series of non-stop meetings,…

  • How Are You Defying "Best Practice"?

    Susan Cramm
    11 Sep 2009 | 12:45 pm
    My last post raised the question, "Why does management behavior often diverge from "broadly accepted" theory or best practice?" In response, you shared insights as to why best practices aren't always practical or desirable and, instead, what should be done to (in your words) avoid "giving up on differentiation" and use best practices as "the basis for innovative practices." Here's what I heard you say on the difficult realities you've experienced and how you've overcome them: In reality, "best practice"... 1 ...isn't always the "best." Best practices work for a particular company in a…

  • Why Do We Ignore "Best Practices"?

    Susan Cramm
    31 Aug 2009 | 7:11 am
    Why does management behavior often diverge from "broadly accepted" theory or best practice? This question hit me over the head (once again) during a conversation with a talented, young CIO about a big project that was significantly late and over budget. Ask anyone experienced in the world of IT or change management, and they will tell you that the best way to pull off a big project is to break it up in to a series of small ones. Yet, this CIO decided to push forward with an approach that he knew was risky and likely to stumble and possibly fail. When I asked him why he pursued this course, he…
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    cool global BIZ

  • Carlos Ghosn, global CEO of Renault-Nissan Alliance, and the future of all-electric cars

    Edward Iwata
    16 Nov 2009 | 2:05 pm
    "Nissan Leaf" by exoduz, under a Creative Commons license on flickr.com. LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. -- The future of the global auto industry may have finally arrived.  Let's hope so, as film shots of melting glaciers keep re-playing in our heads.  Japanese automaker Nissan recently launched the Leaf, its jazzy new all-electric car, at baseball's Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, the first city in a 22-city tour of the U.S.A. and Canada.  The new car is a part of Nissan's herculean goal to make affordable, all-electric vehicles for the global…

  • Disney and Shanghai: A New Global Brand Icon & Business Partnership

    Edward Iwata
    4 Nov 2009 | 2:56 pm
    "Admiring Shanghai from the Bund" by Stuck in Customs, under a Creative Commons license on flickr.com. In the popular mindset of globe-trotting consumers, a new Disneyland-style theme park in Shanghai will be hard to top as a business/vacation destination.  Disney, of course, has been an iconic corporate brand and pop culture symbol for much of the last century, and Shanghai will be one of the great megacities of the new century.  This business fusion of cross-border media and entertainment will be fascinating to watch evolve in the coming years.

  • Michael Jackson: Media Freak Show, or Global & Cultural Revolutionary?

    Edward Iwata
    28 Oct 2009 | 10:42 am
    Note:  This post on Michael Jackson's death, plus another post on the superstar's global brand, ran originally in July.  The Michael Jackson documentary, "This Is It," premiers today.  Interesting Time magazine story below on Sony's global marketing of the film. Sony forked over $60 million for the rights to the movie, according to the Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Times, "Michael Jackson Should Have Been There." MTV Music Television, "Michael Jackson's 'This is It': The Reviews Are In." Bloomberg…

  • Western Union's Global Branding Campaign Says Yes! Si! हाँ! Oo! 唉! to Immigrant Consumers

    Edward Iwata
    28 Oct 2009 | 10:14 am
    Western Union and Publicis Hong Kong's "Yes!" global brand campaign. PHOENIX, ARIZONA, U.S.A. -- During the frontier era of the American West in the 1800s, Western Union helped pioneers send telegrams to their loved ones many miles away by train or horse.  Today, the money-transfer corporation in Colorado sends billions of dollars in "remittances" from immigrants on all continents to their loved ones around the world.  "The multicultural consumer is front and center," says Gail Galuppo, chief marketing officer at Western…

  • Global Rapper, Entrepreneur & Tech Evangelist MC Hammer: "Music is a Global Language"

    Edward Iwata
    12 Oct 2009 | 12:08 pm
    MC Hammer speaks on global and Web 2.0 branding at an ANA Multicultural Marketing & Diversity conference in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.A., at the Arizona Biltmore (10-5-09).   PHOENIX, ARIZONA, U.S.A. -- HammerTime is in real time, and still legit.  If you don't follow tech news, you might not know that rapper MC Hammer is a serious social-media evangelist and Twitter freak (over 1 million followers at twitter.com/mchammer) who rivals actor Ashton Kutcher for digital savvy.  Hammer hangs with legendary Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and…
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    Duct Tape Marketing

  • QuickBooks 2010 Expends Beyond Accounting

    John Jantsch
    20 Nov 2009 | 8:59 am
    QuickBooks 2010 Expends Beyond AccountingThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing The latest version of QuickBooks is a big step outside the box for the leading small business accounting software. Building on Intuit’s Connected Services Strategy announced last year, QuickBooks connects to several new online services that enable small businesses to extend the power of their information already in QuickBooks QuickBooks Pro and Premier 2010 feature the all-new Intuit App Center, providing users access to scalable, Software-as-a-Service business applications directly from within QuickBooks.

  • What the Heck is Integrated Marketing Anyway?

    John Jantsch
    18 Nov 2009 | 7:07 am
    What the Heck is Integrated Marketing Anyway?This content from: Duct Tape Marketing When I first started my business, several decades ago, I was determined to tell people that, mine was an integrated marketing firm. To which, I generally received polite nods and the occasional more truthful – “What the heck is integrated marketing anyway?” Well, c’mon I would mutter, “everyone knows it’s a management strategy and meta-discipline focused on the organization-wide optimization of unique value for stakeholders[1].” Right, see the problem with the term was…

  • Is Social Media Changing Selling?

    John Jantsch
    17 Nov 2009 | 8:44 am
    Is Social Media Changing Selling?This content from: Duct Tape Marketing Marketing podcast with Mike McLaughlin (Click to listen, right click and Save As to download – subscribe now via iTunes Social media has certainly changed marketing, but few people are addressing just how dramatically it’s changed sales. In this interview we hit that subject pretty head on. My guest for this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing podcast is Mike McLaughlin. He’s the author of Winning the Professional Services Sale, which offers professional service providers, business development managers, and…

  • 3 Tools to Make Twitter Lists Even More Useful

    John Jantsch
    16 Nov 2009 | 7:37 am
    3 Tools to Make Twitter Lists Even More UsefulThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing I’m a big fan of the newish Twitter List function. I wrote about it last week – 5 Reasons to Use the New Twitter Lists Feature Now that I’ve you pumped up about using lists, I want to talk about a few tools that I think can make the feature even more useful. Twitter List Widget - (example above) this is a homegrown Twitter feature that’s pretty well hidden. Scroll to the bottom of your Twitter homepage and look for the link called Goodies. Then click Widgets, MyWebiste, ListWidget.

  • Winner of the Social Media Library

    John Jantsch
    15 Nov 2009 | 6:02 am
    Winner of the Social Media LibraryThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing In case you missed my post on Friday I offered one signed copy of One these seven books: Trust Agents by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith, New Community Rules by Tamar Weinberg, Six Pixels of Separation by Mitch Joel, Web Analytics 2.0 by Avinash Kaushik, Duct Tape Marketing by well, me, Whuffle Factor by Tara Hunt and CrushIt by Gary Vaynerchuk to the person that most creatively answers the following: I get the biggest return for my business using social media when I [fill in the blank] – Here’s the original…
 
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    Word of Mouth Marketing

  • How Coca-Cola empowers fans all over the world — live with Adam Brown

    Andy Sernovitz
    20 Nov 2009 | 1:00 pm
    We’re bringing together an all-star group of word of mouth marketers for Word of Mouth Supergenius: The “How to be Great at Word of Mouth Marketing” Conference on December 16 in Chicago. We’ll feature 12 how-to classes, 12 real-world case studies, and 6 brilliant authors. You’re going to learn practical, hands-on techniques to get people talking about you the next day. Our lineup of speakers includes word of mouth supergenius and Coca-Cola Group Director, Digital Communications, Adam Brown. Here Adam shares a few tips based on the case study he’ll be presenting:…

  • Microtesting: Sell it before you build it

    Andy Sernovitz
    20 Nov 2009 | 6:00 am
    Before you build a product, test it by offering it for sale on your website. If no one responds, you’ve just saved tons of time and money. If the responses include suggestions, you’ve just improved the product before you even started. If people give you money — bingo! This sort of testing is faster, cheaper, and more informative than any generic study or focus group. From Inc. Magazine: Consider the method used by TPGTEX Label Solutions, a Houston-based software company that specializes in bar codes and labels for manufacturers and chemical companies. Like many companies,…

  • How Starbucks used fan feedback to help launch VIA — live with Matthew Guiste

    Andy Sernovitz
    19 Nov 2009 | 1:00 pm
    We’re bringing together an all-star group of word of mouth marketers for Word of Mouth Supergenius: The “How to be Great at Word of Mouth Marketing” Conference on December 16 in Chicago. We’ll feature 12 how-to classes, 12 real-world case studies, and 6 brilliant authors. You’re going to learn practical, hands-on techniques to get people talking about you the next day. Our lineup of speakers includes word of mouth supergenius and Starbucks Social Media Manager, Matthew Guiste. Here Matthew shares a few tips on using fan feedback based on the Starbucks case study…

  • Newsletter #757: The “Inspire People” Issue

    Andy Sernovitz
    19 Nov 2009 | 8:15 am
    [Welcome back to the Damn, I Wish I Thought of That Email Newsletter. This is text of the great issue all of our email subscribers just received. Sign yourself up using the handy form on the right.] It’s more rewarding to work at a company that does its part to make the world better. You can do it without pushing an overly-political agenda or getting ultra-hippie; here are three ideas to get you started inspiring people: 1> To help local communities 2> To be eco-friendly 3> To do awesome things 4> Check it out: Oddly Specific 1> To help their communities Give your…

  • Will It Blend? Our 4-part series on creating content people love to share

    Andy Sernovitz
    18 Nov 2009 | 1:00 pm
    As a preview for Word of Mouth Supergenius: The “How to be Great at Word of Mouth Marketing” Conference here in Chicago on December 16, we’re dedicating a full week to our halftime celebrities from Blendtec’s Will It Blend? video series on our Word of Mouth Marketing Blog. We’ve long been big fans of Will It Blend’s simple, cheap, and brilliant formula for creating content people love to share, and we’re thrilled to have Blendtec’s VP of Marketing and Sales, George Wright, join us for our big event next month. Installments to check out in our…
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    The Get Smart Blog

  • Another Reason Email is NOT Dead: Email and Social Media Integration with Xobni

    In business we are constantly looking for innovative ways to add more to our plate without adding more to the time clock....in most cases that is a fools errand, until now!  I am not sure how I am just now finding out about Xobni, they are a startup that ...

  • Interactive Marketing: Less Talk, More Listening, Stronger Data Integration

    image by Duchesssa I had the pleasure of attending the Blog World Expo this year, on top of the joy of finally meeting in-person those that I have thus far only known online, the conference had some great topics given by some highly educated and creative speakers. I almost missed out ...

  • Bringing Relevancy to Your Research: Real-Time Search Tools

    Are you tapping into the power of real-time information? The face of communication, research, and marketing is rapidly changing.....and the result is that the Id is controlling the Internet! If you can't remember what the Id is it comes from Sigmund Freud's theory of personality where the id is the ...

  • Not So “Community” Networks: Digg for Digg’s Sake

    Social Networks, Community Sites, Wiki's, Forums, etc. these are virtual places for people to come together based off of common interests to share and engage, through discussions and by posting content in one form or another (video, images, stories, links, etc.) right? At least that is how I understood a community ...

  • TwitterGate

    Twitter and TechCrunch is there a Conspiracy?? Inspiration JD Rucker aka Oboy (You can find JD's profiles here) Watergate Scandal Social Blade Show (Show discussing Social Media Topics - Thursday Evenings 7 pm PST) The Drill Down (Show discussing Tech Topics - Friday Evenings 8:30 pm PST) The Drill Down Podcast 7/20 (We discuss TwitterGate) Go ...
 
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    ChangeThis Newsletter

  • The Upstarts Are Here!: What Can You Possibly Learn from Entrepreneurs in Their Twenties? Plenty. by Donna Fenn

    changethis@gmail.com (ChangeThis)
    11 Nov 2009 | 3:02 pm
    Click here to visit the site. Click here to download the PDF. “We’re smack in the middle of ‘perfect storm’ conditions for young entrepreneurs, which means that if you haven’t already noticed that the CEO down the road may look more comfortable at the local skate park than in a board room, you will soon. And if you have noticed the trend, you may be asking yourself who these young people are, why they seem to be starting companies at an accelerated rate, what kinds of companies they’re starting, and if they’re really so different from the young entrepreneurs of the past couple…

  • Meaningful Digital Strategy: The Next Evolution of Marketing by Bob Gilbreath

    changethis@gmail.com (ChangeThis)
    11 Nov 2009 | 3:01 pm
    Click here to visit the site. Click here to download the PDF. "Four years ago, I grew frustrated with the lack of brand investment in digital marketing and set out to understand the fundamental reasons why this promising new space was still only attracting a small sliver of marketers’ multi-million-dollar budgets. I discovered that the issue was bigger than tiny click-thru rates and cautious organizations. Rather, there was a need for an entirely new way of approaching marketing strategy from the ground up. The interruptive, tell-and-sell model of slick ad copy and buying eyeballs by the…

  • Social Response Capitalism: Today and Tomorrow by Bruce Piasecki

    changethis@gmail.com (ChangeThis)
    11 Nov 2009 | 3:00 pm
    Click here to visit the site. Click here to download the PDF. "I believe we need something no less than a new kind of leader. Most social commentators today, from Sarah Palin to Barack Obama, note that we need leaders we can trust, leaders who can compete on price, quality and social needs—from avian and swine flu, to new forms of energy, and better cars, computers and homes. We need to combine the best that MBAs get with what Masters of Public Administration know and get in their experiences of a lifetime. How is this possible? And where will they work? This essay explores what I mean by…

  • The Freak Factory: Making Employees Better by Helping Them Get Worse by David Rendall

    changethis@gmail.com (ChangeThis)
    11 Nov 2009 | 2:59 pm
    Click here to visit the site. Click here to download the PDF. "If conventional approaches aren’t working, then what should we do? Instead of attacking people’s weaknesses, we need to find the strength that is hidden inside their apparently negative characteristics. It is time to stop trying to create well-rounded and balanced employees. We need employees that are unbalanced. We need employees that are freaks. It is time to build a freak factory."

  • Healthcare Reform: It’s Our Debate, Too by Zane Safrit and the Triiibes Community

    changethis@gmail.com (ChangeThis)
    11 Nov 2009 | 2:58 pm
    Click here to visit the site. Click here to download the PDF. “We need our help. Together. Together we can create a healthcare system that could in all honesty earn the title 'Best healthcare in the world.' But right now, our current healthcare system is on life-support. We pay to sustain its life-support, in big ways and in small, with expensive health insurance premiums or expensive emergency room visits, with expensive prescriptions with jack-in-the-box side-effects, with a growing percent of our GDP, with a growing number of personal bankruptcies that result from high costs of…
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    Dane Carlson: Business Opportunities

  • Inventor In Spotlight With ‘Cool Tool’

    Rich Whittle
    21 Nov 2009 | 11:11 am
    Dan Fenstemaker has beefed up his Web site, and he’s getting ready to be busy during the holiday season, reports CantonRep.com. Why? Fenstemaker’s invention will be featured over Thanksgiving weekend on DIY Network’s “Cool Tools” television program. Inteletool — interchangeable telescopic tool — is just that. The tool head comes off the pole and the handle telescopes for a longer reach. The interchangeable tool heads are full size, commercial grade steel and come in a round point shovel, leaf rake, hoe, steel garden rake, spade, scoop, two broom styles, lopping shears, tree saw…

  • 18-Year-Old Inventor Shows Off Doodle Bra

    Rich Whittle
    21 Nov 2009 | 10:10 am
    Who knew a doodle could make you a millionaire – and could land you on national TV? That’s what The New York Daily News asked. It did just that for 18-year-old Rachel Segal, from Ashland, Oregon, inventor of something called “The Doodle Bra.” The high school student appeared on “The View” as part of a segment about teen millionaires. The bra is made of white cotton and can be colored with erasable markers (ergo the “Doodle” name). The company provides non-toxic, washable markers and stencils, so you can wash your doodle clean after you’ve worn it. So far, the senior…

  • More Dumb Inventions

    Rich Whittle
    20 Nov 2009 | 12:12 pm
    LIFE magazine has put together an interesting collection of dumb inventions. External Turkey Roaster, 1966. Just in time for Thanksgiving. Baby Holder, 1937. Can you say slingshot? Finnish Portable Sauna, 1962. Never Let ‘Em See You Sweat. Mini Television, 1966. Take that iPod! Photos by LIFE. From Business Opportunities Weblog.

  • Niche Biz: Baby Name Translation Service

    Rich Whittle
    20 Nov 2009 | 11:11 am
    The New York Daily News asks, what’s in a name? Maybe more than you thought. A British translation firm will vet expectant couples’ off-the-wall baby names, ensuring their offspring aren’t saddled with monikers that mean something embarrassing in another language. Today Translation’s new service might have come in handy for Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, who probably thought naming their daughter Suri was a safe bet. “It sounds incredibly nice, but in Japanese, we found it means pickpocket,” said Jurga Zilinskiene, the company’s chief executive, whose…

  • That’s Called ChalkBot

    Rich Whittle
    20 Nov 2009 | 10:10 am
    If you’re one of the surprisingly large number of Americans who follow the Tour de France every summer, you may have noticed massive, gorgeous printed messages on the route roads, reports Fast Company. Nope, they’re not paint–they’re made of chalk, and they’re sprayed on the road surface by ChalkBot, a massive trailer-mounted inkjet printer sponsored by Nike and the Livestrong foundation. Check out how ChalkBot works. From Business Opportunities Weblog.
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    DONNA MARIA @ INDIE BUSINESS

  • Radio Show and Book Review: My Interview With Michael McLaughlin

    Donna Maria
    20 Nov 2009 | 4:48 pm
    This week’s Indie Business Radio, show features Michael McLaughlin, author of Winning the Professional Services Sale: Unconventional Strategies to Reach More Clients, Land Profitable Work, and Maintain Your Sanity. Michael is a management consultant and speaker with more than twenty years in the professional services industry. He is the founder and a principle of MindShare Consulting, LLC, which helps professional services organizations design winning sales and marketing approaches. Michael offered some great tips on this week’s show. One of my favorite takeaways is his response…

  • Eye Contact: Optimizing The I to Eye Connection

    Donna Maria
    18 Nov 2009 | 9:02 pm
    This is a guest post by Luci Weston of Here We Are With Luci. Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook offer new ways to socialize that are simple, fast and faceless. Interaction is immediate, and hitting the “send” button equals contact. As we increase our online connections, it is more important than ever to maximize the decreasing number of face-to-face encounters we have. The keys to successful in-person meetings are to validate, connect and be remembered. Like the dying art of a hand-written note, Internet socialization affects our basic human interactions. It is true that the strength of a…

  • Why You Don’t Have To Be Smart To Be Successful

    Donna Maria
    18 Nov 2009 | 6:20 am
    In his new book, What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures, Malcolm Gladwell says that psychologist Daniel Willingham conducted a set of experiments designed to test how quickly people become efficient at a task. For the experiment, he told people in Group A in what specific sequence a pattern of x’s would appear on a screen. Each time an x appeared, they were to push a key that corresponded to the x they saw on the screen. The people in Group B were not told the sequence in which the x’s would appear, and they were instructed to perform the exact same task as the people in Group A.

  • FTC To Host Workshops On “Journalism and the Internet Age”

    Donna Maria
    17 Nov 2009 | 9:36 am
    On December 1 and 2, 2009, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will hold two days of workshops on how the Internet has affected journalism. The workshops come in the wake of the release last month of the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising, which become effective on the first day of the workshops. If you are a small and independent business owner who uses technology to share your ideas, it is in your best interests to attend the hearings live or via webcast, or at least track progress, because the topics discussed will light on how you will use technology…

  • My Remarks At Indie Business Revolution: Portland

    Donna Maria
    14 Nov 2009 | 5:48 pm
    These are my prepared remarks for tonight’s event. I wish everyone reading this could be here, but since that’s not possible, I wanted to give you a flavor for what fun we are going to have and let you know that I hope to see you at a future event when I come to a town near you! The headings are used here to break up the text and make it easier for you to skip directly to what you might be interested in. Good evening! I am so excited that you joined me here this evening. I’m Donna Maria Coles Johnson, the founder and CEO of IBN and I am here to have a good time with you!
 
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    Signal vs. Noise

  • I'm a tailor

    Jason F.
    20 Nov 2009 | 6:33 am
    When people ask me what I do all day I have a hard time summing it up. I design, I edit, I think, I review, I suggest, I teach. Some things I mess up, some things I fix up. But what I really do most of the time is trim, tuck, iron, cut, press, and fit. I’m a software tailor. And I’m starting to think that’s my perfect role. My team is incredible. I don’t need to tell them what to do. If there was a fantasy software league, I wouldn’t trade my team for anyone. But there are times during the development and design process where the things we make just don’t…

  • Unicorns and projections

    Matt
    19 Nov 2009 | 7:53 am
    “Off the Chart” talks about how recent unemployment rate predictions turned out to be way off the mark. The reason: “Reality has produced numbers of its own.” And that’s the problem with projections. Reality is a terrible collaborator. No matter how much you try to work with it, it has a mind of its own. And it never listens to you. Plus, it’s easier to be a cheerleader than a doomsayer — especially when you have a vested interest in the outcome. That’s how people wind up in an overly optimistic fantasy world. No one ever submits a business plan…

  • QUESTION: If you had to give it up, which subscription

    Jason F.
    18 Nov 2009 | 6:37 am
    If you had to give it up, which subscription would you miss the most?

  • Design Explorations: Basecamp To-dos with Due Dates

    Jason Z.
    17 Nov 2009 | 11:32 am
    We’ve just posted another article in our series of Design Explorations. This installment shows our process for adding a new feature to Basecamp: Add due dates to to-dos. We’re excited about this new feature and anxious to share this latest peek at our design process. Read the full Basecamp to-dos design exploration.

  • [Podcast] Episode #2: Tech company valuations

    Matt
    17 Nov 2009 | 10:35 am
    Download MP3 | Time: 24:10 Like this episode? Please share it with your friends:   37signals worth $100 billion? Start time: 0:37 The story behind the mock press release claiming 37signals is worth $100 billion. The press should be more critical in covering valuation stories. Eyeballs aren’t the only thing that matter. The valuation dance Start time: 8:45 Was the press release a shot at Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube? Why was the sale of Mint to Intuit disappointing? Where will the next great generation of companies come from if they keep selling early? Also, VC money is a time…
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    Small Biz Survival

  • High tech rural business ideas

    Becky McCray
    21 Nov 2009 | 9:18 am
    Joel Wiggins, Enterprise Center of Johnson County, shares some promising ideas for high tech businesses and ag based businesses that give an advantage to rural areas. Click here to view the embedded video. Interviewed by Becky McCray at NASVF - the National Association of Seed and Venture Funds, Oklahoma City, September 2009 New here? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Subscribe.

  • I am back for the Brag Basket

    Becky McCray
    20 Nov 2009 | 3:22 am
    I've been away at the London #140conf, but I'm back and it's time for Brag Basket! Every week, I open a Brag Basket, so you can introduce yourself or share some good news. So speak up and add yourself or another deserving soul in the comments. We all cheer, and everyone feels great. It lets you meet each other a bit. Reading each others' stories brings us a bit closer to being a community.  This particular basket is open from Nov. 20-Nov. 22, 2009. How does it work? You write a comment on this post. You tell something great about your week, or you give plaudits to someone who did good…

  • Our friends launch BatchBook for Sales

    Becky McCray
    19 Nov 2009 | 1:42 am
    Our friends Pam and Michelle (and crew) at BatchBlue have launched BatchBook for Sales. BatchBook is a CRM (customer relationship manager) for small business. Think of it as a super-hero address book. Here's an overview of the new sales features. It now has Deals, a Calendar, and more user restrictions, so you have more ways to work with an assistant or others. (And I hear they are working on a To-Do template and a Leads SuperTag.) Stop by BatchBook. Tell 'em we sent ya! (No, you won't get a special deal, but it will make me feel good.) Photos by Becky McCray: 1. Michelle Riggen-Ransom of…

  • How to make your tourism Twitter more interesting

    Becky McCray
    17 Nov 2009 | 2:11 am
    At BlogWorld Expo, I finally got to meet two of Sheila Scarborough's travel connections, Doug at Authentic Seacoast (@AuthenticCoast) and Shannon Lane (@Cajun_Mama). We had a great discussion about what makes tourism tweets interesting. Doug said a regional tourism group had an intern handling their Twitter account. He would tweet things like, "I'm going to have a sandwich." If only it had been a local specialty, like a lobster sandwich, Doug said. From a great local cafe, I added. With a picture, Shannon finished. You make your tourism Twitter stream more interesting by including the details…

  • How to renew your blogging enthusiasm

    Becky McCray
    16 Nov 2009 | 2:11 am
    Blogging is a terrific tool for small businesses, but the work of blogging eventually can get you into a rut. That's why so many blogs stagnate and even die after a while. Long-time friend Chris Brogan asked a pointed question about this, on Twitter. Is your blog phoning it in? Are you tagging along in a pile of similar content? How will you break out?   Here are some of the techniques I have used to keep blogging through four years and over 1000 posts, even when my enthusiasm waned.  1. Go to an in-person event. In early 2008, my energy for writing Small Biz Survival dwindled.
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    Superinnovator

  • It's the Economy!!

    W Burnett LLC
    12 Nov 2009 | 8:35 pm
    I attended a Harvard breakfast meeting this morning.Bill Hass and Shep Pryor, who are co-authors with Arthur Laffer on the book The Private Equity Edge.The talk was very interesting and I immediately drove to Borders in Deerfield and picked up an autographed copy.I ran into trouble right away.In the preface the authors say:“Our interdisciplinary value-based study and perspective on corporate strategy, corporate profits, political leadership, and the macroeconomic factors over the last 50 years should be of great interest to all. Political leaders can especially benefit from the perspective…

  • Black Swans

    W Burnett LLC
    7 Nov 2009 | 9:39 am
    Black SwansI was in Starbucks doing a little work this morning when I ran into a well read and very bright friend who has great insights into economic issues, and dabbles in philosophy. In the course of our conversation somehow the Black Swan Events came up and he says, “What do you mean it’s nonsense!!!! Its brilliant!” and he was serious.The Black Swan Events or theory was created by Nassim Taleb. When I read about it I just assumed Taleb was having fun, it was all a big practical joke. After all, the idea of a Black Swan really has no tangible definition. It’s an event, that has a…

  • Zebras

    W Burnett LLC
    1 Nov 2009 | 12:40 pm
    I have been using Zebra Steel G-301 pens for several months. They are great, inexpensive pens that write really well and feel great in your hands. One of my business partners also uses the pens and when we discovered this we both held up our pens giving each other that conspiratorial look that says we both understand what a great writing instrument it is. That same thing has happened in coffee houses where occasionally someone across the room will notice and hold up their Zebra as well. A few weeks ago I was looking for one of my Zebra Pens and my wife asked what I was searching for. I said.

  • Mountain Trivia

    W Burnett LLC
    30 Oct 2009 | 5:14 pm
    Question:What does the second highest mountain in Canada have in common with the second highest mountain in the United States? Answer:Pretty much everything.

  • Competitive Initiatives

    W Burnett LLC
    25 Oct 2009 | 6:54 pm
    During the past couple of decades many companies have created competitive advantage by focussing on techniques to boost productivity. These include outsourcing, reengineering, automation, and getting incrementally better at doing the same thing over and over again through six sigma like programs. The trouble with competitive advantage created in this way is that it erodes easily since the competition can easily match it. For the most part, these productivity gains were around routine, non-complex jobs. Now several leading companies are focussing on making their talented, highly paid, most…
 
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    Marketing Practice

  • Snack Break : Creating new Category

    Harish B
    19 Nov 2009 | 9:13 pm
    Brand : Snack BreakCompany : Agrotech Industries ( ConAgra )Agency : FCB UlkaBrand Analysis Count : 429There is a new kid in the market for snackfoods. Agrotech Industries, which is an affiliate of the US food giant ConAgra, has launched Snack Break brand of snackfoods.There are two interesting things about this new product. The first one is the category. Snack Break is the first major brand that has introduced "pudding " as a snack. Although Indians love pudding, no one has so far ventured into launching a branded pudding.Snack Break is inspired from the Snack Pack brand from ConAgra. The…

  • Brand Update : Sony Vaio

    Harish B
    16 Nov 2009 | 9:48 pm
    Sony Vaio is currently running a campaign featuring Kareena Kapoor as the brand ambassador for its Vaio range of ultra-portable laptops.The brand is now running a campaign featuring Kareena.Watch the tvc here : VaioMy first question is whether Sony need a brand ambassador for the Vaio brand ?. Vaio had some brilliant commercials and had built in a premium image without the help of any stars. So why now take the help ?Sony is positioning Vaio not as a netbook but as the ultra-thin laptop and also as a lifestyle accessory. But a discerning consumer will think twice before splurging Rs 85000 for…

  • White Ice : Play It Cool

    Harish B
    14 Nov 2009 | 7:31 am
    Brand : White IceCompany : Midas Care Pharmaceuticals.Brand Analysis Count : 428The list of deo brands that promises raving girlfriends is endless. We have one more to add to the list - White Ice brand of deos.Like any other brand in this category, White Ice also promises men of girls falling for them and attaining the " Nasal Nirvana".Frankly I am at loss. Either it is true that girls do get easily seduced by the deo fragrances or men believe that deos work magic with girls. Either way, brands that take on this most "raped" theme of " girls chasing guys" are increasing day by day.When I…

  • Brand Update : Gems

    Harish B
    9 Nov 2009 | 11:53 pm
    Cadbury Gems is currently running a new series of interesting commercials. The brand has chosen a Giant Panda as the main character in the new set of ads.Watch one commercial here : Rangeen PandaGems has been very consistent in associating with the attributes - color,fun and excitement. Over the last few years, the brand has been concentrating on associating " color" with Gems. The current campaign is trying to further reinforce the association.Frankly , when I first saw the new Gems ad with the colored Panda, I did not understand any bit of it. Only thing I understood was that Panda became…

  • Blackberrys : Sharp,Smooth & Sure

    Harish B
    9 Nov 2009 | 12:30 am
    Brand : BlackberrysCompany : Mohan ClothingAgency : Arms CrestraBrand Analysis Count :427This post is not about the ubiquitous Blackberry smartphone but about an Indian textile brand. Blackberrys is a textile brand from Mohan Clothings. The brand just happens to share a common name with the world famous smartphone brand.Blackberrys is one of India's leading premium textile brand. Blackberrys is known for its range of suits and trouser clothing. The brand was born in 1991 and was a pioneer in bring in fashion oriented suitings in India.The brand have a strong presence in the North and East…
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    Tecoris

  • Killing The Goose

    awebb
    12 Nov 2009 | 10:49 am
    Like most of you, I watch with horror and frustration as those who “know better” than us make rules, raise taxes, enact legislation, and create entitlements that will cripple small business for generations to come.  Small business is under attack at a level heretofore unheard of.  When you consider that only a small percentage of small businesses will last for five years, this attack will undoubtedly have a devastating effect on those that have survived, thus affecting our economy, our livelihoods and our quality of life. What the “wise ones” always seem to forget is…

  • The Best Price Is Not Always The Best Deal

    awebb
    6 Nov 2009 | 9:50 am
    If I’ve learned anything in my career, it’s that the best price is not always the best deal.  In fact, I’d say it’s seldom the best deal.  What so many people fail to realize is that price is less than half the equation.  What you’re really looking for is value — or more accurately stated, what you’re looking for is the price / value relationship. For example: there are two cars, same model year, same color, same equipment.  One has 100,000 miles and costs $5,000.  The other has 50,000 miles and is $5,500.  Even though the second car is $500…

  • Much Happens You’re Unaware Of

    awebb
    2 Nov 2009 | 12:22 pm
    I got a call today from a man who was interested in a business I had been working on.  He had spoken to someone who knows me reasonably well and another person with whom I am acquainted.  While neither of these people really know me well, they both know me well enough that they were complimentary as they spoke of me to this man.  We had a good conversation and arranged an “in-person” meeting to see if we want to go forward. As I have pondered this call I got from out of the blue, I have to wonder what might have happened had my two friends said, “Oh, you don’t want…

  • No Lack Of Opportunity

    awebb
    30 Oct 2009 | 10:37 am
    Well, winter has officially come to the Yellowstone eco-system.  We’ve been having snow (a skiff at a time) almost every day for two or three weeks.  But today looks like real winter.  The color of the sky, the depth of the snow (about 8″), the colder temperatures (about 15 degrees,) all have changed and all speak of the arrival of winter. I know there are a lot of people who don’t like winter.  I’m not one of them.  It’s quiet, it’s clean, it’s crisp, it’s cold, and most of all, the majority of the “vacation-travel” crowd has…

  • Profit Is Not A Dirty Word

    awebb
    29 Oct 2009 | 10:46 am
    Somewhere,  somehow, people in our government and in our society have gotten the idea that profit is somehow wrong.  They would tell you that those who make a profit are “in it only for the money.” I’d like to remind everyone of a few things.  Every great invention, every meaningful, rewarding job was created by someone who created the thing or the business with the expectation of “making money.”  Isn’t that the American dream, after all?  You can come here to the land of opportunity with nothing but the clothes on your back and you can become all that…
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    StartupNation

  • Ugh! Bad Day-But Still Thankful!

    Melanie Rembrandt
    20 Nov 2009 | 2:00 am
    Ok. So it’s 5:00 a.m., and I walk to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee with my eyes half open. Ugh! I forgot to put coffee into the machine last night, and there is just a pot of hot water waiting for me. Oh well. I’ll make a fresh batch and use the bathroom while I’m waiting. Ugh! The toilet overflows. Where is that plunger? I take care of this and proceed to dress for my day without any issues. The new coffee is done brewing, and it’s time to sit down and work. I’m excited about helping a new client bring in more sales with some SEO copywriting. But then… Ugh! My keyboard…

  • Are You Promoting Yourself?

    Melanie Rembrandt
    13 Nov 2009 | 2:00 am
    In the process of promoting your products and services to potential customers, are you also promoting yourself? Competition is fierce today, and people want more for their money. This means that they are not just looking at products and services – but the people behind the businesses as well. With this in mind, what kind of image do you project? As you scramble to follow up on leads and attract new customers, it can be easy to let yourself go and have your personal promotion fall to the bottom of the priority list. To avoid this from happening, here are three questions to ask before…

  • ABC News Now Appearance: Maximizing Your Holiday Sales

    Rich Sloan
    11 Nov 2009 | 10:19 am
    Doing our best for you StartupNation folks, here’s our latest advice regarding making the most of your retail holiday selling season. Hope you find it helpful. Please add in your own tips as comments below, too! We could all use the wisdom!  Click on the image to view… ShareThis

  • Why you should pay for this content

    Rich Sloan
    6 Nov 2009 | 3:10 pm
    Weird that I’d write a blog post about paying for content in a free content world, isn’t it?! Weirder yet that StartupNation has for years on end been a STRICTLY free content site and hosts many tens of thousands of pages of free content and features. So why have we recently launched a paid content offering (in our new Quarterly Marketing Trends eReports)? Because they’re worth it. Our experts and co-authors spend weeks amassing research and drawing out takeaways and distill those down into clear trends and action items that could have a profound impact on your business. For…

  • Exceed Expectations to Boost Sales

    Melanie Rembrandt
    6 Nov 2009 | 3:35 am
    If you want to increase your level of returning customers, there is one major thing that you need to take care of at the very beginning of every relationship - Expectations. This may sound simple, but if you don’t spell out what you are going to provide for the money, you can run into major confusion and complications in the future. And it goes both ways. Your customers need to tell you what they expect too. With this in mind, here are three key tips to think about when you begin to work on any new projects or customer sales: 1. Communicate goals. Before you exchange funds, products…
 
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    Mobile Marketing Watch

  • Mobile Marketing Association Launches First Certification Program

    adina
    20 Nov 2009 | 10:40 am
    With the rise of mobile marketing, you may be wondering — where do I go to get expert training and certification in the field? Here’s an answer for you — the Mobile Marketing Association, earlier this week, launched its first mobile marketer certification program for professional marketers and mobile marketing noobs alike. The training and certification will cost $349 for MMA members and $399 for non members. The MMA Track is a program which consists of three certification tiers, intensive training and assessement to progress levels of knowledge and experience. The program…

  • Wal-Mart Launches iGoDigital Product Recommendations App

    adina
    20 Nov 2009 | 9:54 am
    Wal-Mart designed a new app for the iPhone and iTouch that focuses on electronic product recommendations. Already a big hit in the mobile space, with a successful m-commerce site that had 1.58 million unique monthly visitiors in August, accoding to the The Neilsen Co., the new app highlights the power of providing the consumer utility on the go, and the concept of useful mobile marketing. In the app, shoppers can search for a type of electronics product. But what’s really neat about the app is how it works for certain products, such as TVs. Users can take a picture of the room the TV is…

  • Cisco Unveils New iPhone Security App

    michael
    20 Nov 2009 | 6:10 am
    With the amount of potentially dangerous spam and other bogus mobile content threatening our digital way of life, it sure helps to have an extra pair to eyes to watch out for the dangers that lurk around the corner. Fortunately, Cisco has acted on this need and introduced a new (and free) iPhone app chronicling the latest security threats to computers and mobile devices by offering alerts from Cisco’s enormous internet traffic and security experts (better than 500 in all) monitoring the cyber dangers that loom large, occasionally unbeknown to us. “SIO To Go” enables you to…

  • No Go for Yahoo Go in 2010

    michael
    19 Nov 2009 | 9:38 am
    Yahoo is planning to bid farewell to its Yahoo Go mobile application in early 2010. For three years, Yahoo Go has served as Yahoo’s all-in-one native app for our favorite Yahoo services on Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, and Symbian phones. Famous for its simple and efficient access to the broad range of mobile offerings like search, messaging, news, etc., it seems Yahoo is letting go of Go in order to direct more energy and resources to the development of its mobile web efforts. “In the past 18 months, browser quality has been increasing at an accelerated rate,” Yahoo’s…

  • Carriers Rushing To Invest In Internal Mobile Marketing Platforms & App Stores

    Justin
    19 Nov 2009 | 8:24 am
    With the likes of Apple and Google making huge headway in the areas of mobile marketing and app distribution via app stores, wireless carriers have been forced to play catch up.  New research suggests carriers are planning to invest heavily in “service delivery platform software and services,” or in other words internal means for self-serve mobile marketing and app distribution. Market research firm Infonetics released its latest “2009 Service Delivery Platform Software and Services” report that indicates mobile marketing and app store development are the two leading…
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    Branding Strategy Insider

  • How To Be A Good Advertising Client

    Derrick Daye
    16 Nov 2009 | 9:10 pm
    The wisdom of David Ogilvy lives on in this reminder to client side marketers... How To Be A Good Client:   1. Emancipate your agency from fear.   2. Select the right agency in the first place.   3. Brief your agency very thoroughly indeed.   4. Do not compete with your agency in the creative area.   5. Coddle the goose who lays the golden egg. (provide enough time and resources to do the job well.)   6. Don’t strain your advertising through too many layers.   7. Make sure your agency makes a profit.   8. Don’t haggle with your agency.   9. Be candid and encourage…

  • The Anti-laws of Luxury Marketing #18

    Derrick Daye
    15 Nov 2009 | 9:10 pm
    18. Don’t relocate your factoriesReducing cost prices is vital in the mass consumer markets, and this often means relocating factories. Luxury management does not apply this strategy. When someone buys a luxury item, they are buying a product steeped in a culture or in a country. Having local roots increases the perceived value of the luxury item. BMW, which is successfully pursuing a luxury strategy, builds all of its automobiles in Germany – apart from the entry line: the 3 Series – and is keeping production of the Mini in the United Kingdom. Keeping production of its models and…

  • Brand Naming and Acronyms

    Steve Rivkin
    14 Nov 2009 | 9:10 pm
    An acronym is a pronounceable word formed from the initial letters of a name (WAC, for Women's Army Corps), or formed by combining the first parts of a series of words (RADAR, from Radio Detecting and Ranging).As these examples suggest, once an acronym becomes embedded in the language, most people forget -- or never bother to learn -- the underlying words. Just ask someone what "laser" actually stands for. (Ready? It's "Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.")Naming a product or service with an acronym is like an Olympic diving competition. The best efforts carry a high…

  • The Language Of Brand Names

    Steve Rivkin
    13 Nov 2009 | 9:10 pm
    Names not just "are," they "do." As a part of language, names identify a business or brand, but also subtly suggest certain types of action.To explain, we must wade into the pond of language. Scholars have pointed out that every utterance has three functions:# The locutionary function involves what the expression denotes.# The illocutionary entails how it functions as a speech act, which philosophers of language define as an utterance considered as an action.# Perlocutionary functions include all the effects an utterance has on the receiver.Brand names, like other words, use all three…

  • Social Media Not The Answer For Weak Brands

    Al Ries
    12 Nov 2009 | 9:10 pm
    If you were a first-time visitor from Mars and you happened to drop into a marketing meeting somewhere in the United States, you might assume that marketing people do nothing but talk about "TGIF."That's Twitter, Google, the internet and Facebook.There's no question these four revolutionary developments have forever changed the marketing function. Word-of-mouth has now become word of finger.A key difference: Word-of-mouth leaves an invisible trail in the ether. Word-of-finger leaves an electronic trail on the internet.In the past, nobody paid much attention to word of mouth, even though by…
 
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    OPEN Forum Articles

  • Small Business Owners Share Their Favorite Features of American Express

    20 Nov 2009 | 2:49 pm
    From Polly Schneider Traylor: In January 2005, Rebecca Schreiber took a gamble. After a career working in a steady job at the Department of Commerce she followed her passion for financial planning, and put out a shingle as an independent financial planner after earning her certification. There was a lot at stake in this decision: she wanted to represent young professionals at reasonable hourly fees, not well-heeled clients who were interested in managing their wealth. The model wasn't typical, she says, recalling the days in her early 20s when she was looking for advice from a financial…

  • 4 Ways to Use Twitter Lists for Marketing

    20 Nov 2009 | 2:38 pm
    From Rohit Bhargava: Ok, so maybe you have a Twitter account set up and have started checking out the site, or maybe you’re still among the ranks of small business owners who haven’t found that compelling reason to get off the sidelines and start trying to use the site. Recently, Twitter launched a new feature that allows users to create lists of people on Twitter … making the site infinitely more useful for users who need some help navigating the flood of information that comes from the site.  1. Improve your PR “hit rate.” For several years now, there…

  • Lessons Learned From AdMob: 2 Tips From a Great Deal

    20 Nov 2009 | 2:08 pm
    From SCOTT BELSKY: The founder and CEO of AdMob, Omar Hamoui, recently sold his business to Google for $750 million, just three years after founding the company. But behind this great deal is a great story about maniacal focus, thoughtful negotiation, and a good perspective on life. A recent blog entry in the Wall Street Journal’s Venture Capital section shares some of the lessons learned throughout the AdMob experience by Hamoui and his first hire, Russell Buckley. As quoted from an interview conducted by WSJ: On the value of ideas vs. execution: “…far too many…

  • The Nightmare of Embezzlement, and How to Avoid It

    20 Nov 2009 | 1:37 pm
    From Jonathan Weber: Embezzlement by an employee is among the worst nightmares of any business owner, and it’s surprisingly common. We’ve had a string of such cases in the news here in Missoula in recent weeks, including the case of a bank teller-supervisor who stole some $800,000 over a nine-year period, a bookkeeper at an architecture firm who took $240,000, a treasurer for a local ambulance service who stole $160,000, and a woman who took $227,000 from two different construction companies that employed her as a bookkeeper. That’s a lot of embezzlement for a small place…

  • Intranet and Collaboration Solutions for Small Businesses

    20 Nov 2009 | 1:22 pm
    From Christina Warren: In the old days, an intranet -- that is, a private computer network inside an organization as opposed to the Internet which is a network between organizations -- was often reserved for large corporations with hundreds or thousands of employees. With advances in technology and the advent of virtual offices and cloud computing, that’s changing. Even very small businesses can benefit from having an intranet for sharing and collaborating with employees and clients.   Think of an intranet as your own private portal where authorized users can log in and share…
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    Men With Pens

  • Why You Shouldn’t Stick to Your Niche

    James
    19 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm
    When people out of the blue get in touch with me and offer a guest post, I usually approach the situation with skepticism. It’s like dating – don’t make a move for a home run when we haven’t even gotten to first base yet. So I replied to FitJerk’s offer with the same skepticism, and then some. “I don’t GET why you want to guest post – my readers aren’t even your target market. You’re into athletics; we’re into business and writing. What’s in this for you?” In short, I couldn’t figure out his angle, his game,…

  • Are You Afraid of Success? We Bet Yes.

    Taylor
    17 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm
    I have discovered something about myself. I’m terrified of success. Not just terrified. I’m willing to put my health at risk, my reputation, and my financial security. I’m willing to do just about anything, if I can avoid being successful. You probably are too. Some of you are thinking that I am nuttier than a Planter’s convention, but I assure you that this blog post was not made on machinery containing nuts. My parents assure me that neither was my brain, so we are living in a nut-free zone, here. This is a harsh truth, and the sooner we all own up to it, the better. We’re…

  • How You Might Be Losing Clients Without Even Knowing It

    James
    15 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm
    Most customer experiences you’ll have are fairly average. Not great, not horrible, just somewhere in the middle. Very often, that average experience occurs because the grand majority of people in customer service positions don’t have the training they need to give you exemplary service every time. Excellent customer service isn’t something we’re all born with. It’s learned. Yes, you’ll meet people who really stand out and make you feel great for having done business with them, but you’ll meet a lot more that just do their job and get by. You’ll also meet people that suck.

  • How to Keep Your Blog From Losing Weight During the Holidays

    Taylor
    12 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm
    When the holidays roll around, we people worry about packing on the pounds. But your blog has a tendency to lose the ability to throw its weight around. More distractions, parties, and yeah, good food means we’re more prone to neglect our blog writing during the holidays – and that means your blog looks mighty lean come the new year. So how do you avoid slimming your blog down during the holidays when you have other stuff to do? Here are three ways to keep your blog nice and solid. (As for managing your own weight, you’ll have to find a different blog. I, for one, intend to eat so much…

  • The Freelancer’s Guide to Working With Clients That SUCK

    James
    11 Nov 2009 | 11:41 am
    Today’s post comes to us from an international authority in copywriting and peer of mine that I respect highly, Dean Rieck of Direct Creative and
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    My Venture Pad

  • True Colors ALWAYS Come Out

    21 Nov 2009 | 7:55 am
    My wife reminded me of a person from our past who simply touched us both because she was good to us and sincere. Now almost 20 years since I last spoke to her, I am reminded of words she spoke often b...

  • Why Serendipity Is Underrated

    21 Nov 2009 | 7:21 am
    A nice reminder from Chris Brogan. I recommend watching the entire talk—it's only 10 minutes. Here's what you need to know: as an observer and active participant of the social web for several years, I...

  • The Face of Entrepreneurship in the US

    21 Nov 2009 | 4:34 am
    A couple of interesting studies came out this week that help us better understand the direction of entrepreneurship in our economy.A study by Microsoft suggests the most of the new entrepreneurs today...

  • Benefit of the doubt

    21 Nov 2009 | 3:24 am
    It's almost impossible to communicate something clearly and succinctly to everyone, all the time. So misunderstandings occur. We misunderstand a comment or a gesture or a policy or a contract. ...

  • On Zero-Sum Deals

    20 Nov 2009 | 6:24 pm
    Most of my work is building connections between two companies or people, which sometimes means negotiating a software license agreement and sometimes helping a group of founders start a new company to...
 
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    Home Business Ideas

  • How To Launch A Social Media Charity Campaign

    Naomi Dunford
    18 Nov 2009 | 12:17 pm
    Between charitable appeals, Kickstarter campaigns and, well, a recession, it seems there have been a lot of social giving requests in social media lately. Some are awesome. Some, less so. We’ve done this a few times with pretty sock-rocking levels of success (this is the one we were most proud of) so I thought I’d do a little public service announcement on how to kick ass at begging for money. 1. Tell me what’s going on. Lead with the story. What’s going down? Did somebody’s kid get sick? A fellow blogger lost their job? House getting foreclosed on? Tell me specifically and in words…

  • 6 Things They Mean When They Say They Have No Money

    Naomi Dunford
    16 Nov 2009 | 11:12 am
    As a reader of this article, you will fall into one of three categories: 1. People who sell things, or want to sell things. 2. People who are, without exaggeration, destitute and are very sensibly finding free information online about starting and running an ittybiz. 3. People who are financially comfortable but like to wave the I’m-so-fucking-liberal flag. (We know who you are. We can identify you by your screaming about the plight of the poor, while donating less than 1% of your money and 0% of your time to charitable causes.) If you are in category 3, please read the disclaimer at…

  • Why I’m Writing 100 Free Guest Posts

    Naomi Dunford
    13 Nov 2009 | 8:37 am
    Because I am nearing the end of the year – and subsequently the end of the 1000 people quitting their day jobs target timeframe – I need a new ridiculous target. Therefore, I’ve decided to write 100 guest posts. No, I’m not kidding. I want to write guest posts. Lots and lots of guest posts. (100, actually, if you want to get obsessive about specifics.) Why do I want to do this? Well, because I want to spread the word, mostly. But I want a very special kind of spreading the word, which is where you come in. I’d like to focus on smaller blogs. Let’s face it, Copyblogger and…

  • Deceptive Marketing Redux

    Naomi Dunford
    12 Nov 2009 | 3:30 pm
    The following is a guest post by the ever-insightful Martin Whitmore. He’s clearly caught up on the Deceptive Marketing Techniques comment thread. Related Posts Deceptive Marketing Techniques: Which Ones Are You Using?

  • Everything You Need To Know About SEO. Or Not.

    Naomi Dunford
    11 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am
    Every now and again at IttyBiz, when we get big surges in traffic or subscribers, we run a little system to separate the wheat from the chaff. We write something potentially inflammatory, like yesterday, and then we run something ridiculous, like today. We figure if you stay, we can officially count you. Before you’ve been around for the offensive and the ludicrous, you might just think this is a nice, sensible blog and be in for a massive shock later. We wouldn’t want that. Yesterday, it was brought to my attention that we hadn’t done a Stupid Search Terms piece since March of last…
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    All You Need Is A Good Idea!

  • TODAY’S POST, WRITTEN BY EINSTEIN, BEETHOVEN, MENCKEN…

    Jay Heyman
    20 Nov 2009 | 6:27 am
    Here are some quotes I have accumulated that I thought I’d share with you. None were written with marketing in mind; all are excellent for helping you get in the mind frame to generate good ideas. Fires can’t be made with dead embers, nor can enthusiasm be stirred by spiritless men. James A. Baldwin Imagination is more important than knowledge. Albert Einstein The world is in perpetual motion, and we must invent the things of tomorrow…act with audacity. Veuve Clicquot There is always an easy solution to every human problem—neat, plausible and wrong. H. L. Mencken The best way to get…

  • I CAN’T THANK YOU ENOUGH. HECK, I CAN’T EVEN THANK YOU AT ALL.

    Jay Heyman
    18 Nov 2009 | 6:13 am
    When I check my blog’s visitor activity (almost as obsessively as I check my book’s Amazon ranking), usually there is link info, so I can tell immediately where people came from without any further searching. But I occasionally click through to URLs that are unfamiliar, hoping to learn a little about where those who have shown up had heard about my blog. When I did this Monday, I landed on a page where someone I had never heard of, or from, had listed me on her blog roll. (And thanks to the wonders of our alphabetizing system, I was first on her list.) I wanted to thank her for her…

  • I WOULD CHANGE ONE WORD

    Jay Heyman
    16 Nov 2009 | 7:00 am
    The article was about Black Friday. The main point was that, after an unfortunate death of a shopper last Black Friday (which as you know is the big shopping day after Thanksgiving, when most retailers are supposed to start being in the black for the year), retailers are planning new safety measures. What caught my eye was the last paragraph, a quote by Ellen Davis, spokeswoman for the National Retail Federation. “No matter how seamless and airtight you think this is, the unexpected can happen.” I thought about the statement in regard to all our marketing plans, and so would change her…

  • FIVE DOLLARS A FOOT

    Jay Heyman
    13 Nov 2009 | 7:04 am
    I had a Subway Buffalo Chicken foot long yesterday. Scooped out, toasted, with cheese, and every vegetable they had behind the counter. Then doused with ranch dressing. I meant to save half the sandwich for today, but this blog is not about my appetite. It is about the amazing Subway pricing. That entire sandwich cost me five bucks. And for someone stronger willed than I, it would have made two days of lunches. I was reminded of all this by an article in BusinessWeek, by Matthew Boyle. He talks about how the 3.8 billion in sales generated nationwide by the $5 footlong alone placed it among…

  • COMPANY’S COMING

    Jay Heyman
    11 Nov 2009 | 6:35 am
      This may be nitpicking. But if you print an ad with only six short paragraphs of text, you may want someone to proofread it. Twice. Because a typo will certainly stand out on a page with fewer than 75 words. What do you thinke?  
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    p2w2 blog

  • Budget Template for Small Businesses

    Chaitanya
    11 Nov 2009 | 5:19 am
    I run a small business and I have this need to know that I am in control when it comes to my finances. I want to make sure my business is profitable and that my cash flows are okay and that I am going to pay my employees their salaries and pay for my bills. So I made a template for myself. I am sharing this on this blog so that others who face the same problem as I can use it. The features I like about this is the ability to track profitability, budget and actual, as well as cash flows in one place. There’s a dashboard that gives me the profitability status as of now. I liked making it.

  • A Guide to Virtual Assistance - Part 2

    Iswarya
    15 Sep 2009 | 4:46 am
    Hope you all enjoyed our first presentation on Virtual Assistance(in case you missed out on the first part of this series, check it out - here) . The next presentation in this series gives a brief overview about two major link building techniques - article submission and directory submission. Here’s a link to the second part of our series of presentations. A Guide to Virtual Assistance - Part 2 P.S: Check out our Virtual Assistance page to know more about featured Virtual Assistants on p2w2!    

  • A good podcast on Effective Teleconferencing

    Iswarya
    28 Aug 2009 | 6:39 am
    We recently listened to this really cool podcast on Manager Tools which is about holding an effective teleconference. Teleconferences have become increasingly common these days, and it is as important to follow a basic degree of etiquette in teleconferences, as much as it is in a real face-to-face meeting. The cast lists 20 important points to be kept in mind while you’re in a teleconference. Here’s a gist of the podcast: 1. Treat a teleconference as you would treat a real meeting 2. Be on time - this is especially important for the leader of the meeting 3. Switch off your…

  • A Beginner’s Guide to Landing Page Optimization - on AMEX Open Forum

    Iswarya
    20 Aug 2009 | 5:52 am
    Chaitanya’s article, A Beginner’s Guide to Landing Page Optimization, recently got published in AMEX Open Forum, and we at p2w2 are pretty excited about it The aim of the article, as the title suggests, is to help the reader gain a better understanding of Landing Pages. Chaitanya has written this article, based on his own research, as well as the experience derived from creating p2w2’s landing pages. As Chaitanya puts it in his article,  a website’s home page is notnecessarily your website’s landing page. So it is indeed necessary to devote some time and…

  • A Guide to Virtual Assistance Part 1

    Iswarya
    3 Aug 2009 | 11:31 am
    Virtual Assistance has become a popular business, as more and more people are seeking remote assistance and are outsourcing various tasks. I have prepared a series of presentations on Virtual Assistance, which I’ll be posting regularly on p2w2’s blog. Each presentation will specifically deal with one or two tasks typically performed by a Virtual Assistant. Going through the presentation will help you get to know about the following: 1. What is Virtual Assistance all about? 2. What does a Virtual Assistant do? 3. How long does it take to finish the job? 4. How much should you pay a…
 
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    Online Business Blog -- erica.biz -- Erica Douglass teaches you how to start and grow an online business!

  • How Loyalty Card Schemes Suck You In and Rip You Off

    Erica Douglass
    20 Nov 2009 | 11:20 am
    Loyalty card schemes may be costing you cash. I am outraged, and I have no one but myself to blame. There are two grocery stores I shop at regularly: Albertsons and Ralphs. Albertsons is a SuperValu store, which those of you in other parts of the United States may know as a Lucky, Bigg’s, Cub Foods, or Jewel-Osco. Ralphs is a Kroger brand. (And both of them seem to have abandoned their apostrophes for branding purposes, but I digress.) Ralphs is a 7.1-mile round trip from my house. Albertsons is 0.8mi and easily walkable. Yet I almost always go to Ralphs. I finally figured out why the…

  • Using the News to Spot Innovative Business Ideas

    Erica Douglass
    12 Nov 2009 | 12:37 pm
    Million-dollar innovative business ideas may be lurking in your nearest newspaper… When you read the news, do you make a quick judgment in your head (”Ha! That will never work!”), or do you consider what innovative business ideas you can glean from it? Most people tend to make snap judgments about breaking business news. One of the most famous examples of this in the tech industry was Slashdot’s coverage of the original iPod release in 2001. The snap judgment? “No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame.” While it can be entertaining to make these snap…

  • Review: Ramit Sethi’s I Will Teach You To Be Rich Boot Camp

    Erica Douglass
    3 Nov 2009 | 6:10 am
    Review: Ramit Sethi’s I Will Teach You To Be Rich Boot Camp. Have you ever felt like your money was in control of you, instead of the other way around? Do you desperately wish your life wasn’t controlled by credit card payments and bills–and you just need a little help to get turned around? I’m excited to help my friend Ramit Sethi in his quest to help you take back control of your financial future. This video explains everything, but the story is also below for you… My Story In 2007, I nearly bankrupted my business because I didn’t keep track of my…

  • How To Make A Mind Map

    Erica Douglass
    28 Oct 2009 | 10:45 am
    How to make a mind map. Do you ever feel completely overwhelmed by some of the projects you are working on…like you’ve set an impossible goal? I felt that way when I first started writing my Blog Success Manifesto. I started with a blank document and quickly got lost. I had so many ideas, and it just seemed impossible that I could address all of them. The document gathered dust on my hard drive for a few months…until I figured out how to make a mind map. I brainstormed out at least 20 topics I wanted to talk about, then realized I could sort them into five sections. Once I…

  • Creating A New Product

    Erica Douglass
    21 Oct 2009 | 10:53 am
    Creating a new product by interviewing others and selling it online.Back in July, I wrote 20 Scam-Free Ways to Make Money Online, which has since become my most popular post. It is an honest look at various ways that you can make money online, from quick ways to make a few extra bucks to entire businesses that can be started from your home. Instead of posting affiliate links and hoping to gain a few dollars, I instead asked you for your feedback. And feedback poured in — from the 48 comments on the post, to email after email and Tweet after Tweet. I wanted to know which of the 20 ways…
 
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    Entrepreneur: Up and Running

  • Build Your Business Webinar Thursday Nov. 19

    Tim Berry
    18 Nov 2009 | 7:16 am
    Please join me tomorrow, Thursday Nov. 19, on a webinar about using proper business planning techniques to actually build your business, not just your business plan. That’s happening online for an hour beginning at 11 a.m. PST, which is 2 pm EST and 1 pm CST. You can click here to register, or click the button below.

  • Startup Financing with a Twist: Share Your Future

    Tim Berry
    17 Nov 2009 | 9:10 am
    Here’s a nice reminder: What Seth Godin is recommending in his blog post today, as alternative financing for a small business, is what we actually did. And it worked for us. Seth’s post is called Debt, equity and a third thing that might work better. It works like this: You have an idea, a fledgling business or a new market to enter. You find an amateur investor (a wealthy dentist, a retired executive) and raise the money to bring it to market. And in return? The investor gets $xx for every unit you sell. From the first one until forever. This is instead of the classic either-or:…

  • Do You Have 7 Minutes for Sticky Ideas?

    Tim Berry
    16 Nov 2009 | 6:07 am
    Made to Stick, by Chip and Dan Heath, is one of the most interesting and useful books I’ve read in the last two years. It’s about how we use, lose, push, and forget ideas, stories, news leads and such. In short, how we make ideas stick. I was browsing the Web over the weekend and found this very good six-minute talk by co-author Chip Heath. It’s a good summary of an important book. If you can’t see that here, you can click here to go to the original on YouTube.

  • Do You Really Want That MBA Degree?

    Tim Berry
    13 Nov 2009 | 6:19 am
    I received an intriguing e-mail today, well-written and thoughtful, from someone considering going for an MBA degree and asking my advice about it. Here’s a portion of it (quoted exactly): I’ve been thinking about developing some actual products for sale; but basically I have about a million ideas and as I trudge forth, I am realizing how little experience I really have when it comes to the nitty gritty. Things like accessing risk, being a better sales person, managing and dealing with potential employees, it’s all new to me. And the more I read about it and learn about…

  • Paul Graham on What Startups Are Really Like

    Tim Berry
    12 Nov 2009 | 6:09 am
    If you’re serious about starting a business, take a few minutes and read Paul Graham’s Web essay “What Startups Are Really Like.” Graham’s essay collection site is a valuable resource. He tends to post essays–a lot longer, and usually a lot more thoughtful, than a standard blog post–about once a month or so. He has a large following for good reason. The “What Startups Are Really Like” essay includes 19 points and a conclusion, so it’s more like a 10-minute than a two-minute read, but there’s a lot of real content there. Not…
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    San Jose Mercury News: Good Morning Silicon Valley

  • AT&T tries alternate route in map flap with Verizon

    John Murrell
    19 Nov 2009 | 7:49 am
    Thwarted in its initial efforts to have Verizon’s disparaging “There’s a Map For That” commercials pulled off the air, AT&T is taking its rebuttal to the public with its own new ad. On Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Batten Sr. in Atlanta allowed as how...

  • Soon to be single again, AOL starts a crash diet

    John Murrell
    19 Nov 2009 | 6:18 am
    With its divorce from Time Warner becoming official in less than a month, AOL is taking steps to shed some weight. In one of several moves intended to create a smaller, better focused company after the December 9 spinoff, CEO Tim Armstrong this morning asked for 2,500 employees, or about a third...

  • Report: Nonexistent Apple tablet to miss imaginary launch date

    John Murrell
    19 Nov 2009 | 5:01 am
    In the latest news from the Land of Mythical Devices, the much anticipated but still unconfirmed Apple tablet will materialize in the second half of 2010, not March as hoped, but it will arrive in two flavors, one with a snazzy OLED display. This update comes to us via DigiTimes, a Taiwan tech site...

  • Quoted: Smart grid could be just a little too smart

    John Murrell
    19 Nov 2009 | 12:15 am
    “Instead of measuring energy use at the end of each billing period, smart meters will provide this information at much shorter intervals. Even if electricity use is not recorded minute by minute, or at the appliance level, information may be gleaned from ongoing monitoring of electricity...

  • Off Topic

    John Murrell
    19 Nov 2009 | 12:02 am
    The rich annotations of the University of Glasgow Library’s Book of the Month archive; the economics of pinball; and Broadway actor Lin-Manuel Miranda performing an Alexander Hamilton rap at the White House. a2a_linkname="Off...
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    Bizsugar

  • 6 Bad Client Types and How to Manage Them

    WayneLiew
    20 Nov 2009 | 7:41 pm
    We've all heard the horror stories of difficult clients. Anyone offering client services has been there. Here are six common "bad client" archetypes that can impede your success. After the definition of each client type, I've listed some possible tactics you can use to tame those wild beasts in your client roster.14 Vote(s)

  • Simple Fixes: Small Business Marketing Advice

    jsternal
    20 Nov 2009 | 6:58 pm
    If you're feeling the pinch of reduced cash flow and overwhelming choices in the marketing of your business, it can be easy to overlook the simple things you can do to improve your positions. One of those simple things is taking some time to think about your marketing mindset. I am not referring to positive thinking, though that does have its plac11 Vote(s)

  • 8 Strategies For Bypassing Voicemail

    wendyweiss
    20 Nov 2009 | 4:11 pm
    What do you say when you reach your client's voice mail? The Queen of Cold Calling Shares her tips for bypassing voice mail, to reach your prospect, directly.15 Vote(s)

  • 3 tips to grow your online community 5-fold

    ZaneSafrit
    20 Nov 2009 | 4:08 pm
    David Zinger, founder of the Employee Engagement community, shared these three tips recently. They work. He's used them to grow this community from a few hundred members in May 2008 to over 1700 members currently: http://employeeengagement.ning.com13 Vote(s)

  • How to Manage Your Small Business Cash Flow Effectively

    TomBirches
    20 Nov 2009 | 12:17 pm
    Cash flow is said to be the lifeblood of any business. If you need help in managing your cash flow, here is a comprehensive guide in handling and managing your cash more effectively.11 Vote(s)
 
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    The BIG Kahuna

  • The Improper Way To Use A Tagline

    BIG Kahuna
    16 Nov 2009 | 6:41 pm
    I’ve written about Best Buy before but I just have to ask what the hell are they doing? Last year I wrote how I thought their new tagline “You Happier” was meaningless because it didn’t relate to their brand identity (whatever that is). Click here to view the embedded video. It’s not a brilliant tagline like Walmart’s :”Save Money. Live Better“. Walmart is using their tagline to actually leverage their brand identity of cost savings. But now Best Buy has again changed their tagline. Instead of “You Happier” it’s now…

  • Lend America Playing On Our Fears?

    BIG Kahuna
    29 Oct 2009 | 3:19 pm
    I’m sure you’ve all seen this cheeseball commercial: Click here to view the embedded video. Do you believe this brand called “Lend America”? Do you find it insulting how they pretend to be a newscast? In this day of mortgage crisis do you believe a bad credit score is okay?  Have you done a Google search for the phrase “Lend America Scam”? Would you be surprised to learn there are over 51,000 results? http://www.google.com/search?q=lend+america+scam&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7GGLG_en Your…

  • Good Branding Is A Safety Net

    BIG Kahuna
    24 Oct 2009 | 5:30 pm
    As I walk the mall shopping and making buying decisions I always question why I buy one product over another. The other day I had a new home alarm installed. I shopped around and know for certain I could have saved a few bucks with a lot of other people. Who did I go with? Brinks. Sorry, Broadview. Why? I know if there’s ever a problem they’ll take care of me. I’m safe. Same thinking applies to all my shopping. Whenever I’m faced with a decision between two brands I’ll always choose the one that makes me feel the most comfortable. I’ll pay extra for that…

  • Fox News – Fair and Balanced?

    BIG Kahuna
    13 Oct 2009 | 7:18 am
    Ah, no you’re not, and I watch you all the time. Let’s face it, you’re a conservative, Republican promoting TV News outlet. Get rid of this ridiculous tagline “Fair and Balanced”. It only makes you look weak.  Embrace your brand identity of representing the right. No one else is. You’ll automatically stand for much, much more by embracing the brand. We all know CNN and MSNBC go way left. Liberals love those stations. They don’t have the guts to come out and say they are liberals either. You do Fox. Just proclaim your rightness and be done with it.

  • Are You Blocking Your Employees From Social Networks Like Facebook?

    BIG Kahuna
    12 Oct 2009 | 10:45 am
    If you are stop it. Now. Really, cut the crap! This sort of practice just gets morale down and makes your company an undesirable place to work at. Go ahead, tell me your employees will be less productive. Hogwash. They’re doing it anyway from their SmartPhones, iPhones and whoziedoozzies. Soon we will all have chips surgically implanted in our heads and we won’t need a device. Here’s a great article on the issues, read it: Access to social media improves productivity. According to Dave Willmer, executive director of Robert Half Technology, “Using social networking sites…
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    Bringing Brands to Life!

  • Employee Engagement Lessons from Fast Company’s “30 Second MBA” Part 2

    Thomas R. Clifford
    18 Nov 2009 | 6:07 am
    Here’s part two of my conversation with Ellen McGirt, Senior Writer for Fast Company magazine and Dean of Fast Company’s “30 Second MBA” website. Part one can be found here. Thanks again, Ellen, for participating! 5. Many organizations see and hear the potential benefits of incorporating an internal social media framework into their communication strategies but are hesitant to make the leap. What would you say to these folks? Grow a spine. You’ve already lost control! You might as well have some fun. And by the way, this is the golden era of the communications professional. In…

  • Employee Engagement Lessons from Fast Company’s “30 Second MBA” Part 1

    Thomas R. Clifford
    4 Nov 2009 | 6:04 am
    I’m a big fan of Fast Company’s “30 Second MBA” site. The minute it launched, I felt it offered a simple yet highly effective way for organizations to integrate social media concepts into their internal communication strategies. I wanted to know more. So I asked Ellen McGirt, the Senior Writer and Dean of “30 Second MBA,” a few questions about her experiences in launching the site. I was particularly interested in seeing how the “30 Second MBA” framework could be adapted for internal communication purposes. Here’s part one of the interview. And many thanks, Ellen, for…

  • 5 Big Ideas: What Honda’s Mini-Documentaries Can Teach Non-Filmmakers

    Thomas R. Clifford
    21 Oct 2009 | 7:05 pm
    Here are five ideas from Honda’s new corporate documentary, “Racing Against Time,” to help you take your videos from talking heads to interesting and believable stories. (RSS readers click thru to see the video.) Have you checked out Honda’s “Dream the Impossible” mini-documentary series? The video series features several big ideas in a series of mini-documentaries. And yes, they’re beautifully produced. But here’s the thing. If you deconstruct Honda’s new documentary, “Racing Against Time,” you’ll find five big ideas you can use to make your own videos just as…

  • Tom's SpeedLink #12

    Thomas R. Clifford
    20 Oct 2009 | 5:52 am
    Time to share some pretty cool links... 1. New book: "Believe Me: Why Your Vision, Brand, and Leadership Need a Bigger Story." Michael Margolis, my friend and remarkable business storyteller, just released his first book yesterday entitled, "Believe Me: Why Your Vision, Brand, and Leadership Need a Bigger Story." It's a "storytelling manifesto for change-makers and innovators." Yes, I ordered my copy and can't wait to dive in to it! 2. Honda Launches New Docu-Series On Twitter Honda's corporate mini-documentaries are some of my favorite programs. I'll have a full article on this new video…

  • 9 Super Simple Ways to Rock Your Company Video

    Thomas R. Clifford
    7 Oct 2009 | 7:18 pm
    It’s the small things that can make a big difference. Anyone can implement these ideas. And the cool part? They’re free or next to free. See if you can sneak a few of these tricks into your next project. It will help your video story feel more believable and interesting. And rockin'. 1. Talk first. Your best storytellers are hiding right under your nose– your employees. Figure our what your video is about. Pull up a chair and get talking. Ask lots of different questions. Employees rarely get this kind of chance to be heard and recognized. You’ll be amazed at what you hear and capture.
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    CreativityRulz

  • New Blog Posts

    Tina
    9 Nov 2009 | 10:46 am
    For several months I have been keeping a blog on the Psychology Today website. You can find all my recent blog postings there: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/creativityrulz- Tina

  • Time is More Valuable than Money

    Tina
    20 Sep 2009 | 1:15 pm
    Most people look at their bank accounts with great attention and assess how much money they have to spend, to invest, and to give away… But, they don’t look at their time the same way, and end up wasting this incredibly valuable resource. In fact, time is much more valuable than money because you can use your time to make money, but you can’t use money to purchase more time.Time is the great equalizer… Each day has only 24 hours - nobody has any more than anyone else. Everyone, from poets to presidents, fills those hours, one after the other, until they are all filled up. Every single…

  • Life is an the Ultimate Open Book Exam

    Tina
    21 Aug 2009 | 10:04 am
    In most schools, students are evaluated as individuals and graded on a curve relative to their classmates. In short, when they win someone else loses. Not only is this stressful, but it isn’t how most organizations work in the real world. Outside of school, people usually work on a team with a shared goal, and when they win so does everyone else. In fact, in the business world there are usually small teams embedded inside larger teams, and at every level the goal is to make everyone successful.The typical classroom also has a teacher who views his or her job as pouring information into the…

  • FAIL in order to SUCCEED

    Tina
    28 Jul 2009 | 7:14 am
    I require my students to write a failure résumé. That is, to craft a résumé that summarizes all their biggest screw ups — personal, professional, and academic. For every failure, each student must describe what he or she learned from that experience. Just imagine the looks of surprise this assignment inspires in students who are so used to showcasing their successes. However, after they finish their résumé, they realize that viewing their experiences through the lens of failure forced them to come to terms with the mistakes they have made along the way and to extract important lessons…

  • Brainstorming Rules: What TO DO and What NOT TO DO...

    Tina
    26 Jul 2009 | 8:13 am
    These two short videos are priceless! They were created by students at the Stanford Design Institute. The first one shows how NOT to brainstorm and the second one shows HOW to do it effectively. They picked a fanciful problem to solve - saving your chewing gum when you go to class.The worst case example happens all the time. In fact, I was at a meeting last week with people with whom I don't normally work, and we were "brainstorming" about a new program. One person made a suggestion, and someone else literally responded with, "Go shoot yourself." For anyone who has spent any time polishing…
 
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    SpringWise

  • Eco-iconic license plates for green vehicles

    Springwise
    20 Nov 2009 | 5:53 am
    Electric and hybrid vehicles are typically eco-iconic in their own right, but a new program from Ontario's Ministry of Transportation aims to give them additional recognition via special license plates as well. The Canadian province hopes to have one out of every 20 vehicles driven in Ontario electrically powered by 2020. As part of that effort, it is encouraging the purchase and use of electric cars via several incentives. First, vehicles purchased after July 1, 2010, can qualify for rebates of between CDN 4,000 and CDN 10,000. Even more eco-iconic, however, is that drivers of such vehicles…

  • Manchester sells holiday gift wrap designed for the city

    Springwise
    19 Nov 2009 | 9:18 pm
    It's no secret that cities love to promote Christmas shopping as a festive way to boost the local economy. What we hadn't yet spotted, however, was a city selling its very own holiday gift wrap, which is what Manchester is doing this season. Created by graphic designer Peter Saville—whose work has graced the city since he designed for and directed Factory Records—the wrapping paper's vivid colours match Visit Manchester's multi-hued logo. Produced in a limited edition of 5,000 rolls, the gift wrap is sold for GBP 2,99 through Visit Manchester's online shop, as well as at the city's…

  • Bank's free tools help clients pay down their debt

    Springwise
    19 Nov 2009 | 1:00 pm
    Credit card debt is an all-too-familiar topic for all too many consumers. While the US government is working on its own solutions to that problem, Chase Card Services recently rolled out a new set of tools designed to help its customers manage their debt better. Chase Blueprint offers free tools consumers can use to pay down balances, manage everyday spending and pay off major purchases. Going well beyond simply helping users analyze their spending, Blueprint is fully integrated into customers' accounts, enabling them to create customized payment plans—changeable without penalty—and track…

  • Retail chain for brain games targets aging population

    Springwise
    19 Nov 2009 | 11:29 am
    In 2006, the US counted 37.3 million aged 65 or older. By 2030, the US Administration on Aging expects the number will have increased to 71.5 million. With this burgeoning market clearly in mind, Marbles: The Brain Store is urging the residents of Chicago to "outsmart their age" with a range of products to help maintain mental agility. The company has launched four retail outlets in the region in just over a year. The stores offer over 200 products categorized by the brain function they target: memory, critical thinking, coordination, visual perception and word skills. Products range from…

  • Wine by numbers, with a digital content twist

    Springwise
    18 Nov 2009 | 10:43 am
    We've seen several innovations at the intersection of wine and technology, including Aromicon's "virtual taste search engine," which we featured just last week. Dutch startup 94wines is now bringing a new technological twist to the table, so to speak, by offering a line of numbered and colour-coded wines that can be personalized with digital content. Launched a week ago, 94wines offers a line of French wines in which each variety is indicated by a number and a bottle colour rather than a name linked to its maker, vintage or region. Consumers begin by taking a short quiz of six questions…
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    Venture Hacks

  • Weekend reading

    Nivi
    21 Nov 2009 | 8:37 am
    Some weekend reading culled from our most popular tweets this week. Steve Blank and I have a good discussion about his and Eric Ries’ new customer development overlay. Regarding the Atlas Developer Beta, John Gruber says that “Access to the beta program is $20″ — this is the new way and I like it. Fake Steve Jobs always has better analysis than WSJ, NYT, TechCrunch, Economist, and your mom combined. I don’t think you need operational experience to be a good VC but Mark Suster’s great new post illustrates the difference. I recommend you pair these posts with…

  • The ignorant VC

    Supporting Author
    20 Nov 2009 | 7:30 am
    Thanks to Atlas Venture for supporting Venture Hacks this month. This post is an interview of Fred Destin — one of Atlas’ general partners — by David Woodward, a journalist and blogger. If you like it, check out Fred’s blog and tweets @fdestin. A few days ago, I had an interesting chat with Fred Destin, Atlas Venture’s ebullient technology partner. Atlas bought a stake in the property website Zoopla at the beginning of 2008, which wasn’t exactly a fun time to be involved in the property game. It was also a pretty difficult period to source capital in any sector — all…

  • The sultans of startup marketing

    Nivi
    19 Nov 2009 | 8:35 am
    I recently re-connected with an up-and-coming venture capital Associate who thanked me for introducing her to the masterworks of Steve Blank and Eric Ries. I told her to check out Sean Ellis’ blog, and mentioned that I’ve learned just as much from Sean. Later that night, she sent me a note: “Sean Ellis is awesome. Thanks so much.” Let me tell you why Sean is awesome. First, Sean lead marketing from launch to IPO filing at LogMeIn and Uproar. He later worked with Xobni (Khosla Ventures, First Round Capital), Dropbox (Sequoia Capital), Eventbrite (Sequoia Capital),…

  • Extrapolating computing

    Naval Ravikant
    18 Nov 2009 | 9:07 am
    Remember when mainframes did all of the computing? And workstations were dumb terminals docked to the mainframes? The terminals had less power, but were more “mobile”. Then everyone got a desktop. And the desktop is where you did most of your computing. And you carried around your underpowered laptop, which had to be synced with your desktop, or docked to a big screen, keyboard and mouse to be usable. The laptop had less power, but it was more mobile than the desktop. Now most early adopters have a laptop as their main computer. And they’re carrying around their underpowered…

  • How to pick a co-founder

    Naval Ravikant
    12 Nov 2009 | 8:32 am
    Picking a co-founder is your most important decision. It’s more important than your product, market, and investors. The ideal founding team is two individuals, with a history of working together, of similar age and financial standing, with mutual respect. One is good at building products and the other is good at selling them. The power of two Two is the right number — avoid the three-body problem. Think Jobs and Wozniak, Allen and Gates, Ellison and Lane, Hewlett and Packard, Larry and Sergei, Yang and Filo, Omidyar and Skoll. One founder companies can work, against the odds (hello,…
 
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    YoungEntrepreneur.com

  • What is your favorite WordPress Theme and why? – Entrepreneur Poll Results

    Adam
    19 Nov 2009 | 9:05 pm
    Over the last few weeks we have been asking you “What is your favorite WordPress Theme and why?” Thanks to everyone who entered this months poll, the overall winning theme for design flexibility and versatility was Thesis 1.6 Your next top 3 favorite themes were: Interphase at Elegant Themes The Lifestyle theme from studiopress! The Wordpress Journalist theme by kalphegor Here are the Young Entrepreneur top 5 online resources for fantastic WordPress templates: Best Wordpress Themes WordPress users have thousands of themes to choose from. They hunt out the best of the best free and premium…

  • 6 Steps to Capture Reviews After Purchase

    bizguy
    18 Nov 2009 | 9:09 pm
    Social proof is ever so important for e-commerce retailers, as a “feel-good” barrier stands tall between your site and the folks at the other end of the keyboard. Your offer may look tempting and you may have designed your site perfectly well, with a logical progression, your calls to action and your friendly checkout process. First-time buyers still face an urge to find out a little more, so that they feel they are doing the right thing and discover if others have found success. Incorporating testimonials and reviews within your site makes a great deal of sense. You should try and…

  • Interview with Sanjay Sabnani

    Adam
    17 Nov 2009 | 9:06 pm
    This week I was lucky enough to interview Sanjay Sabnani. Sanjay is the CEO of CrowdGather. He has been an active proponent of message boards since 2002, when he acquired General Mayhem, his first message board community. Adam: How did you first come up with the idea for CrowdGather and what made you believe this idea would make a great business? Sanjay: CrowdGather came from my frustrations first as a forum member and then as a forum owner. I felt that forums and message boards had been ignored by technologists and investors alike, despite the fact that they are the largest repositories of…

  • Profile on Chad Hurley

    bizguy
    16 Nov 2009 | 9:05 pm
    “It’s about creating new market opportunities. Giving users new ways to be creative…We see our technology as a platform for other things” – Chad Hurley. Like many other concepts that we now take for granted as part of our everyday lives, YouTube developed from a fragmented series of ideas and became the product of its own popularity. Rather than representing the result of a well thought out business plan, or a journey through the helping hands of various angel investors, the explosion of the ultimate concept propelled YouTube from an unknown to a household name in very short…

  • How to Find a Great Business Partner

    bizguy
    15 Nov 2009 | 9:05 pm
    Every new business goes through phases, some representing expansion (hopefully, often) and some contraction and as these phases unfold your business can fluctuate in size and require different resources. Sometimes, the business will get to a certain plateau and seem to stick, almost spinning its wheels despite your efforts. At this point in time you will want to consider all your options and may feel that a business partner could really help to un-glue the potential and allow you to make significant forward strides. Finding a business partner can be quite a difficult task and is much more…
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    Zdnet: Entrepreneurship resources

  • Is the Printed Page Dead (or Just a Little Sick)?

    21 Nov 2009 | 9:34 am
    Doc is a big believer in the power of print, but I do have to admit some print products are moving in new directions. That's why a recent article at the printing Website, What They Think, caught my eye. It's an interview with entrepreneur and writer Paul Hawken, best known...

  • IndustryPlayer 6.6 build 660 (Windows)

    27 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am
    IndustryPlayer is a business simulation game which realistically reproduces all aspects of a corporation's business, including it's relationships with the workforce, suppliers, competitors, consumers, banks, insurers, and the government. The simulation is based on real world economic models and genuine industry data. Players take the role of an entrepreneur and...

  • Tivoli Foundations: Designed and priced for your growing business

    15 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am
    You're invited to a very special Virtual Event for IBM Tivoli Foundations. During these difficult economic times, mid-size companies have unique challenges and may struggle to find equally powerful yet affordable solutions, designed and priced specifically for them. Look no further! ...

  • Intelligent Office Increases IT Efficiencies With Help of Small Business Server 2008

    14 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am
    Intelligent Office is a virtual office solutions provider with seven locations across Ontario, and plans for growth across Canada. The company provides entrepreneurs and businesses with executive office space and services such as professional phone answering and receptionist services. With an eye on sustainable business growth, Intelligent Office wanted to...

  • Photos: Start-ups step up at DemoFall

    22 Sep 2009 | 3:10 pm
    Twice a year at Demo events, well-funded entrepreneurs face off with venture capitalists and the press. Here's the scene. by CNET News.com
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    Slate: BizBox

  • What You Should Be Reading

    Marc Tracy
    20 Nov 2009 | 12:52 pm
    Here's a tip: do what Thanksgiving cooking you can before Thanksgiving. That way, you can spend less time day-of cooking, and more time drinking and watching football. What else to talk about when you talk about lending. Alternatives to bank debt. [OPEN Forum--from our sponsor, American Express OPEN] Starting a small business in New York City. Of course, there's some good stuff in here even if you're starting one elsewhere. [NYT] Entrepreneurs against health-care reform? Not generally, of course. But there's an interesting trend among actual federal legislators. [You're The Boss]…

  • Snowe Proposes End to Big Program

    Marc Tracy
    20 Nov 2009 | 8:26 am
    Via You're The Boss, we see that Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Me.), the ranking member of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee and our favorite senator, is actually seeking to end the America's Recovery Capital lending program before it wastes $120 million more of taxpayer money. A 60% default rate will make you think that way, we suppose. Snowe's bill really is a stop-him-before-he-kills-again measugre. Over $130 million has alrady been lent out in 100%-backed microloans to struggling but "viable" small businesses trying to pay back pre-existing debt. The bill is about saving what…

  • Geithner Speaks at Yesterday's Big Meeting

    Marc Tracy
    19 Nov 2009 | 10:48 am
    So what was discussed at that meeting yesterday among administration officials, lawmakers, and small business owners? The good: Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner admitted that the small-business credit crunch lingers. Acknowledgement is the first step toward fixing. He even went a step farther, joining our very own Anonymous Banker in laying some of the blame for the status quo at the feet of the banks: "Banks bear some responsibility for the extent of the damage caused by the crisis. And they carry a substantial obligation to help our communities get back on their feet." It's also very much…

  • The Pentagon Goes Small

    Marc Tracy
    19 Nov 2009 | 7:48 am
    At least as far as Department of Defense spending goes, small businesses may not have to worry that they are being denied their rightful 23% of all federal contracts much longer. That's because, according to the New York Times, current trends in Pentagon spending will expand the opportunities for small contractors. Specifically, the Pentagon will likely be in the market less for complex and gargantuan weapons systems, which only two or three (gigantic) companies are even remotely capable of producing anyway, and more for small, individually tailored jobs and devices in the information-systems…

  • A Meeting of Minds

    Marc Tracy
    18 Nov 2009 | 12:10 pm
    Even as we speak (or type), various prominent officials in the Obama administration are meeting with various prominent folk in the small business and banking communities. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner,Small Business Administration head Karen G. Mills, and Small Business & Entrepreneurship Commitee Chair Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) are among those who will pick each other's brains today, along with the brains of several invited small business owners. The New York Times's Robb Mandelbaum has the essential take (as he usually does). "Banks still seem wary of taking bailout money, and the…
 
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    Big Marketing For Small Business

  • Om Malik And Guests Discuss Perfect Hosting for Startups

    Rajan Sodhi
    20 Nov 2009 | 12:44 pm
    GigamOM and PEER 1 Hosting are putting on an event called FutureHosting and broadcasting it live on webstream, Dec 3rd at 9:30am PST. The live panel discussion will be hosted by leading technology blogger Om Malik, and an excellent lineup that includes: Byron Sebastian, CEO, Heroku Sebastian Stadll, Founder, Scalr Jason Hoffman, CTO, Joyent Robert Miggins, SVP BizDev, PEER 1 Hosting They will debate the perfect web hosting environment for early stage entrepreneurs as the hosting market evolves towards an on-demand model. Topics include delivery of platform-as-a-service, and optimizing…

  • Top 5 Free Services to Build a Website

    Rajan Sodhi
    12 Nov 2009 | 11:23 am
    If you’re a small business without a website, I have one question for you: What the hell are you waiting for? If the idea of high costs or technical know-how is still stopping you, then you need to pay attention to the list below. These are my top five free or inexpensive easy-to-use web building services that can get you up and running your own website in minutes! No. 1 – Wordpress My all-time favorite. I’ve written countless times about my love affair with Wordpress and how it can be used not only for your blog, but for your company website. The platform is incredibly easy…

  • Banner Ads Are Better Than Clicks Suggest

    Rajan Sodhi
    5 Nov 2009 | 4:08 pm
    I attended the ad:tech Digital Marketing event in London back in September and sat in on an intriguing presentation by ComScore about online banner advertising and how more and more people are clicking on less and less of them. In fact, only 8% of Internet users account for 85% of all clicks according to their study. Compared to search engine marketing (SEM), click-through on banner ads seem pitiful and almost a waste of resources and money. But wait. Before you decide to kill your banner ad campaign, consider this: using just click-through to measure the performance of your banner ad…

  • Cloud Hosting Still Cloudy for Many Businesses

    Rajan Sodhi
    26 Oct 2009 | 11:48 am
    Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison believes cloud is just water vapor. All the buzz in web hosting these days is around cloud hosting. From large providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS) to the Rackspace Cloud, to a whole bunch of tiny providers, you can’t find a corner on the Internet that isn’t talking about or trying to offer up a cloud service. But what exactly is cloud? If you aren’t quite sure, you’re not alone. A recent independent cloud hosting study of 200 IT decision makers showed that 88 percent of them do not use cloud technologies, while 39 percent said that…

  • Make Your Website Your Best Salesperson

    Ryan Kelly
    23 Oct 2009 | 12:35 pm
    While stacking up your sales department is a good way to drive inbound leads and sales, I find that many businesses are overlooking the potential for a rockstar salesperson: their website. Don’t be afraid to invest in your website just as you would a training and education budget for a salesperson. You may be tempted to throw a lot of money into paid search, but investing in organic search will last much longer, making it the most effective way to drive leads for your business. That means once the ad budget runs out, the leads and the traffic stops, but the work you put into organic…
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    CNN/FORTUNE/Money: Small Business

  • Pen 2.0: Your scribblings go digital

    20 Nov 2009 | 7:27 am
    As founder and creative director of Art Street Design, a graphic-design studio, I'm pretty familiar with pens and computers. (We make all sorts of marketing materials for companies, from invitations to Web sites.) But in my 13 years of running the company, I hadn't seen anything like a smartpen until recently.

  • Goldman's $500 million small biz hug

    20 Nov 2009 | 7:06 am
    Goldman Sachs earned an eye-popping $3.2 billion last quarter. Now it's decided to share some of that with the little guys.

  • Geithner: 'Credit crunch not over'

    20 Nov 2009 | 7:06 am
    One day after Goldman Sachs' CEO apologized for his bank's role in the financial meltdown, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner called on the nation's financiers to step up and do more to fix the damage they helped cause.

  • A truffle farmer's black diamonds

    20 Nov 2009 | 7:02 am
    I take my first bite of a truffle in Franklin Garland's sunlit kitchen, which overlooks a greenhouse and an orchard of budding hazelnut trees.

  • The CEO and the owner broke up. Now what?

    20 Nov 2009 | 2:16 am
    The news that Los Angeles Dodgers owners Frank and Jamie McCourt are divorcing came with a bitter kick: Team chairman Frank's first move against his soon-to-be-ex was to fire her from her job as the Dodgers' chief executive.
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    Sales Management 2.0

  • Make People Want to Buy

    Alen Majer
    Whenever a new commodity appears, we ridicule it, and oppose it, and refuse to buy it at any price. Then the salesperson trains his energies on us. We fight for a while, and finally we surrender. But we give no credit, or glory, to the salesperson. We walk up to the counter and buy the commodity, remarking to the clerk that it is just exactly what we needed for the past twenty years. It is not true that new products are manufactured to supply the demand. There is no demand. Both the demand and the goods have to be manufactured. The public has always held fast to its old-fashioned discomforts,…

  • Infectious Leadership

    Kathie Bloom
    What kind of infectious agent do you want to be? Infectious like humor or infectious like the plague? For good or ill the senior leadership of every organization is infectious. By this I mean that leaders’ behaviors tend to be transmitted to their direct reports, who pass them on to the next level, and so on down through their organizations. Over time, they permeate the organization from top to bottom, influencing activity at all levels. Eventually they become embodied in the organizational culture, influencing the types of people who get promoted and hired into the organization, creating a…

  • Conducting Corporate Diplomacy

    Kathie Bloom
    The higher you rise in organizations the more you need to be able to practice the corporate equivalent of international diplomacy. Whether you are striving to transform your organization internally or working to shape the rules of the game with government officials externally, the essential challenge is the same: If you want to achieve your objectives, you need to learn how to effectively identify alignment and build alliances in order to get things done. Failure to master this critical skill can lead to trouble: it’s easy for leaders who are used to wielding authority (and making decisions…

  • Dispelling The Salesperson Stereotype: The Key To Being More Effective In Today's Economy

    Xavier Sotelo
    As salespeople, we can get very enthusiastic about our business and offerings. As tempered as this enthusiasm may be, we run the risk of being overwhelming, or worse being too “salesy.” This has contributed to the stereotype of the average salesperson as pushy, aggressive, and overly excited. The result is, invariably, a degradation of the sales process. By virtue of this stereotype, internal feelings of pressure and tension are instantly created within prospects and clients alike. The prospect feels he or she would rather be anywhere else other than speaking with you. The reality is that…

  • Building Trust through Empathy: A Practical Guide

    Eric Gilroy
    Trust is the single most important purchasing factor in any sale. Trust is the buyer’s confidence that the seller will do right by them, and becomes more important as the level of vulnerability (risk, significance of the decision) and dependence (technical, knowledge, time) rises. As I am sure you can imagine, the importance of trust is highest in a strategic sale. Buyers will never work with a seller that they don’t trust, and will most likely choose to work with the supplier that they trust the most. The irony with trust is that most buyers don’t trust sellers. Look at mainstream…
 
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    Chief Home Officer Home Office, Home-Based Business, Remote Work, Telework & Cloud Computing

  • Home-Based Businesses Use & Accept Credit Cards Safely This Season

    Jeff Zbar
    21 Nov 2009 | 4:32 am
    As the holidays approach, home-based and home office business owners will hope to sell — and buy — products online. But like the question asked in the 1976 Dustin Hoffman movie Marathon Man, “Is it safe?” Yes, says computer law attorney Mark Grossman. “You’ve probably heard that the Internet is a dangerous place to use your credit card,” he says. “As the Holiday shopping season approaches, you need to know that this is a myth. It’s time to wake up and see the light.” Read his legal and practical views on why it’s a great season to shop…

  • Podcasting Broadens Home Office, Small Business Media Empire

    Jeff Zbar
    19 Nov 2009 | 7:30 am
    Simple Tools & Dedication Make Audio Media Key And Business Boom for Small Business Promoters As he was preparing to publish his book, The Disciplined Investor, South Florida financial planner Andrew Horowitz was considering ways to promote its arrival. Already a savvy self-promoter among friends, peers and the media, he wanted to take his guide to investment strategies to the masses. If only he could speak more widely about it, he thought. Today, Horowitz does just that with TheDisciplinedInvestor.com podcast. The audio show is recorded 10 days or so and uploaded to the Web. A link is…

  • Password Tips Equal Home Office / Small Business Computer Security

    Jeff Zbar
    12 Nov 2009 | 2:32 am
    Good Password Management Practices Perhaps the single most important thing to remember when creating a new password is make the password hard to guess, but easy to remember.  That’s easier said than done, but follow some guidelines below and you will start using passwords that are more secure than what you’re doing now. A good password is any combination of letters and numbers that cannot be found in a dictionary.  Your password should be at least 6 to 8 characters long and should not have any personal information such as your name, child’s name, occupation, telephone number, address…

  • Short on Space? Five Tips That Maximize a Tight Home Office

    Jeff Zbar
    11 Nov 2009 | 2:08 am
    Not every home office is in a spacious bedroom with enough square footage for all your stuff. Some are downright tight. To capitalize on the space you have, make the most of idle or ill-used space. Here are five tips to better space management… - Go flat and wireless. Whether it’s a flat-panel dispanel monitor, or use of wireless computer accessories like the keyboard or mouse or a cordless desktop phone, today’s tech maximizes space while ensuring function. Moreover, it eliminates unsightly and space-consuming wires. Even a wireless telephone headset can allow you to work away…

  • Entrepreneurship: A Grand Illusion?

    Jeff Zbar
    9 Nov 2009 | 2:00 am
    News Flash: Entrepreneurship is hard work. It’s grueling and tough. There are long hours, with little to no pay at the start. Even years into the gig, many entrepreneurs struggle to make ends meet. And there’s no guarantee you’re going to make it at all. Chances are, you’ll run back to some corporate tower, begging for a day job in the hive. So says Scott Shane, a Case Western University professor and author of The Illusions of Entrepreneurship ($17.16, Yale University Press. 2008). He lays out the hardships borne of breaking out on your own. Writer Harvey Schachter…
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    Lip-Sticking

  • The First Three Things I Do Every Morning

    Mary Schmidt
    20 Nov 2009 | 9:15 am
    By Guest Blogger, Mary Schmidt, Marketing Troubleshooter From my "match your marketing tactics to your (best) customers" fileAdmit it – were you anxiously awaiting this to pop up in your RSS feed?  Are you waiting in breathless anticipation to the next email popping up in your in-box? No? Well, same here. Here’s what I do every morning, first thing in the office: 1. Open up maryschmidt email. Delete several unopened. This even when I know the sender. There are several well-meaning people that bombard me with emails on everything from lost cats to unrequested/unneeded meeting notices.

  • Ways to Measure Social Media using Key Conversation Indicators

    Donna DeClemente
    18 Nov 2009 | 1:59 pm
    By Guest Blogger, Donna DeClemente, Donna's Promo TalkYesterday I helped plan and execute a breakfast event for RAMA, our local Rochester chapter of the AMA (American Marketing Association). Our speaker was David Berkowitz who came to share his insights on ways to measure social media. This is a question that most marketers and business owners are asking since we are now seeing a phenomenal growth from those of all ages engaging online in some form of social media. Not a black and white, easy thing to deliver at this time, but as Jeffrey Hayzlett, CMO of Kodak, said last week when he spoke…

  • On the road to Colorado

    Yvonne
    17 Nov 2009 | 4:34 am
    OMG! OMG! OMG! WE'RE OFF! Today starts our week long road trip to Colorado. We'll be living near one daughter and one granddaughter (have two of the first but only one of the second). Will try to post and send pics, via the phone as we go along. Many of you know that I have a 17 year old kitty (the Wabby Wibby, herself) who will be riding in the back and wailing all the way, methinks! She is already confused (and much displeased) over the interruption in her life as we pack everything away and empty the house. Stay tuned for news from the road. And many bits of whining as we will arrive in…

  • How *NOT* to Ask Someone Whom You Don't Know to Use their Social Juice to Help You

    Lena West
    16 Nov 2009 | 12:20 pm
    by Guest Blogger, Lena West, Chief of Social Media Strategy at xynoMedia Warning: This blog post is long, but worth it.Last week, on November 8th at 12:26pm, I received a voice mail from Michelle Christie representing a group of local women who were getting together having some sort of event. They called themselves Motivators & Creators and they were having a Women's Expo on November 23rd, at a local hotel and wanted my help promoting the event.As this was my first week back from being out of the office for a retreat, I asked my assistant to call her back and get the pertinent details. (I…

  • Researching the Women's Market - What They Leave Out

    Mary Schmidt
    13 Nov 2009 | 9:32 am
    Raise your hand if you: a. are over 50. b. are happily single; c. weren't born a female; d. aren't a mother; e. aren't heterosexual; f. some combo of a-e. Oops! You're invisible (right along with me and most of my friends.) By Guest Blogger, Mary Schmidt, Marketing Troubleshooter I've designed and conducted quite a bit of market research and analysis over the past three decades.  And, here's an inherent problem with any kind of research: no matter how objective you want to be - you tend to skew research to fit your world view and interpret any findings via that same view. (Eating a lot of…
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    OnStartups

  • Answers OnStartups Roundup 1 - March of the parentheticals

    Jason Cohen
    20 Nov 2009 | 2:00 am
    By now you've probably heard of Answers OnStartups, the new Q&A community for any topic about startups and entrepreneurship. If not, here's Dharmesh's announcement. I have the good fortune of being asked to co-moderate the site with Dharmesh, probably as a result of the popularity of a few provocative but useful guest-posts here on OnStartups. (Note to those of you hoping to expand your influence in the blogosphere and beyond -- take the advice from Leo and Darren and Mary and, I suppose, me: Guest-posting is a good way to do it!) What does "moderation" mean, you ask? I took it mean "Get…

  • Adam Smith Video On The Story Of Xobni

    Dharmesh Shah
    16 Nov 2009 | 3:51 pm
    As noted in my previous article on startup marketing, I had the opportunity to speak at the MIT Startup bootcamp recently.  My friend, and an all-around great guy, Adam Smith (founder of Xobni) spoke earlier that day.  Adam did a great job capturing the experience of starting a company and watching a company grow.  Adam's both brilliant and articulate.  Well worth watching the video.  Here are some quick notes from the video (to help entice you to watch). 1.  If you can improve email just a little bit, you can create a lot of value.   2.  PG: "Go shake…

  • Dharmesh On Startup Marketing: Video From MIT Startup Bootcamp

    Dharmesh Shah
    16 Nov 2009 | 1:13 pm
    I recently had the opportunity to speak at the MIT Startup Bootcamp held at the MIT Kresge Auditorium (a great venue that President Obama spoke at just a couple of weeks later). This was a fantastic event with a packed house (1,000+ people in the live audience) where some great entrepreneurs had a chance to share their experiences and insights.  I was a little nervous in the beginning (as usual), but once I warmed up, I think I did OK. Here's a recorded video of my talk.    Hope you enjoy the video. Would love to hear your comments and questions. Looking for other startup…

  • Startups: How To Build A Barrier To Entry With Inbound Marketing

    Dharmesh Shah
    20 Oct 2009 | 1:16 am
    I’ve been doing a fair amount of speaking lately.  It’s partly driven by my recently released book, Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Social Media and Blogs (which is doing exceptionally well -- more below on this). The topics I usually speak on are startups (surprise) and marketing (surprise, surprise).  And, when I’m really on a roll and feeling adventurous, I talk about startup marketing. First off, a quick confession.  I’m not really a marketer, and I don’t play one on TV.  I’ve never had the word marketing in my job title, ever.  The closest…

  • Holy Crap! HubSpot Has Now Raised A Total Of $33 Million

    Dharmesh Shah
    19 Oct 2009 | 2:12 am
    It has been a little over a year since I announced the news that my marketing software startup closed it’s Series B round of funding.  The article, “Insanity? Why A Bootstrap Entrepreneur Raised $17 Million in Venture Funding”, was a candid glimpse into the rationale for raising what seemed like a huge amount of money to me at the time (it seemed huge, because it was — at least to me). Today, we’ve released news that HubSpot has just closed on another $16 million funding round (our Series C) bringing our total capital raised to a whopping $33…
 
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    Junta42 Content Marketing blog

  • 10 Corporate Blogging Tips and Strategies

    Joe Pulizzi
    18 Nov 2009 | 5:33 am
    Ambal from Click Documents asked me if I had any tips/strategies for corporate blogging.  The presentation below is a corporate blogging basics presentation useful for beginning bloggers.  That said, here are the main takeaways.  For more indepth understanding of a content marketing strategy, this content marketing white paper will help. A blog is just a tool, nothing more, nothing less. BUT, it can be a powerful tool to distribute consistent and valuable information to your prospects and customers.  Be sure to focus on the informational needs of your customers, and…

  • Custom Publishing Council Announces 2009 Pearl Awards

    Joe Pulizzi
    16 Nov 2009 | 6:41 pm
    Had an outstanding time last Thursday at the 2009 Custom Publishing Council Pearl Awards (Junta42 was a sponsor of the event). A sign that the recession may be over? - many more attendees at the awards event this year over last year. A great site to see.Finally, congrats to Junta42's parent company, Z Squared Media, on their silver place best blog finish in association with Razorleaf Corporation. Here are all the winners below:Winners are listed by category, title, custom publisher and client name, included in parentheses. DESIGN | Best Cover Less Than 50,000 Gold: Lamborghini Desk…

  • Create Content that Sleeps, Creeps and Leaps

    Joe Pulizzi
    13 Nov 2009 | 9:10 am
    I had a great conversation today with Dr. Sandra Bauman from Bauman Research about start-up companies.  She shared with me the idea about "sleeps, creeps and leaps." In the first year of a business launch, the brand sleeps.  In year two, you start to see the company creep toward success.  But it's in the third year that the business leaps and really begins to grow.Fascinating concept.The same principle can be applied toward corporate content marketing.As the corporate content program starts (let's say with a blog, white paper, enewsletter strategy), success…

  • Top 10 Twitter Basics Questions Answered

    Joe Pulizzi
    10 Nov 2009 | 5:51 am
    Just about every day I answer a question about using Twitter, the microblogging tool. I've put them together in this handy post.  Enjoy, and, if you like getting information on content marketing, feel free to follow me @juntajoe. Question #1What is the easiest way to find someone's @ name? If I read an article or hear them speak, how do I easily find their Twitter call sign. Use Twitter Name Search Question #2What are other ways to find twitter names? If Twitter Name Search doesn't work for you, try Twellow, the Twitter Yellow Pages. Question #3What does the # mean and how…

  • Custom Print Magazines - Why Can't MasterCard Produce Inc. Magazine?

    Joe Pulizzi
    4 Nov 2009 | 7:00 am
    I don't know about you, but I've been reading more print magazines lately.  Seems odd at first, but in a way, it makes perfect sense. I spend most of my business day and night on the computer. When I'm on my computer, I need to get things done. But when I want to relax and engage in an inspiring story, print is my choice...books and magazines. At the top of the list is probably Inc. magazine. This month's article about how 37Signals founder Jason Fried spends his day was priceless. Speaking of "priceless", shouldn't MasterCard be producing an Inc-type…
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    Shoestring Branding

  • When a Company Name Can Build a Brand

    21 Nov 2009 | 8:27 am
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulofierro/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Your company name can be one of your most important brand signals. In some cases, like in the example I’m about to show you, a name alone can build a brand. In 1999 the HVLS Fan Company, a manufacturer of large industrial fans, opened for business in Lexington, Kentucky. HVLS is an acronym that stands for high volume/low speed (HVLS), the main characteristic of their products. During the early days, as each new fan was installed, they noticed that their customers referred to them as “big ass fans”. Before long, they decided to…

  • Burger King Gets Branding

    10 Nov 2009 | 5:04 pm
    I live five minutes away from Burger King’s headquarters, and today I passed by a BK restaurant located next to their building.  This is one of the few restaurants that sports BK’s recently launched new look.  The new BK, more upscale and futuristic (and more sit down than drive through) clearly stands out from other fast food chains. But with this redesign BK not only gains in style and image, but also scores big on branding.  Perhaps the most significant brand signal can be seen above the entrance: BK’s classic tagline “Home of the Whopper” has been dusted…

  • Sandbagging

    7 Nov 2009 | 12:25 pm
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/chaimann/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 A few weeks ago I took my car to the dealer for an oil change and the clerk promised it would be ready in about 1 ½ hours. Once the car was ready, he presented me with a questionnaire which asked, among other things, if the car was delivered within the promised time frame. The answer was yes, or course, but the promised time frame was 1 ½ hours, or about 1 hour more than it should really take. Sandbaggers. Four years ago, after hurricane Wilma hit South Florida, FPL advised us that full restoration of power could take four weeks.

  • Rediscovering Your Personal Brand Assets

    31 Oct 2009 | 6:52 pm
    I was browsing through my advance copy of the next issue of Personal Branding Magazine, and found an interesting interview with MC Hammer. Hammer, as you probably know, is a hip hop artist who had his fifteen minutes of fame back in the 1980’s, and after many years under the media radar has now resurfaced as a social media celebrity. He has been blogging since 2006 and now boasts more than 1.6 million Twitter followers. The lesson MC Hammer’s story teaches us is that we can start with whatever assets we have today, and leverage them to take us closer to our goals. In his case, he took…

  • Free: The Future of a Radical Price (Book Review)

    24 Oct 2009 | 7:46 am
    I just finished reading Chris Anderson’s book Free: The Future of a Radical Price. It is a fascinating read, following in the footsteps of Freakonomics, the book that a few years ago taught us that a subject as dry and technical as economics could be entertaining if used to explain why ordinary things around us turn out the way they do. Free has generated a lively debate in the blogosphere, with some questioning the validity of its conclusions, others finding some merit to them but hoping that we can find a way out, and others fully embracing them as the inevitable way things will be from…
 
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    Selling to Big Companies

  • Do you know a Sales Superstar? Are you one?

    Jill Konrath
    20 Nov 2009 | 8:42 pm
    Top performing sellers who deliver results in today's crazy market deserve to be recognized. That's why  AllBusiness and Top Sales Experts are honoring a top salesperson each month. Monthly winners will: Be recognized by their peers for their outstanding contributions. Be profiled in an article for AllBusiness and its sister site, Hoover's. Receive free 12-month VIP membership at Top Sales Experts. Get a signed copy of one of the panelist’s book. Receive a free sales profile (Value $195). The annual winner gets an even bigger prize! Take this opportunity now to…

  • Who Are the 50 Most Influential People in Sales Lead Management?

    Jill Konrath
    19 Nov 2009 | 8:29 am
    The votes have now been tabulated and the results are now in! The Sales Lead Management Association just posted their list of the top 50 most influential people in lead management in 2009. I'm honored to be included in the Top 10 on this list, along with so many talented people whose work I highly respect. And, I want to thank all of you who voted for me!To see all the other winners, click here.

  • What Are You Doing to Finish 2009 Strong?

    Jill Konrath
    16 Nov 2009 | 7:27 pm
    Ending your year on a high note is important. Right now, you have less than 30 working days to make that happen. Here are a few tips: Propose new ideas to existing customers. It's always easier to get business from at accounts where you already have a relationship. Focus on how you can help them achieve their objectives, not your product or service Ruthlessly protect your selling time.Have a plan for every single day - before you even get started. Limit the time you spend on non-revenue producing activities.  Reconnect with previously-interested prospects.If they were interested…

  • Embrace the Struggle: Complimentary Webcast with Zig Ziglar

    Jill Konrath
    15 Nov 2009 | 5:16 pm
    When: November 17 from 7-8:15 pm CTClick to Register: http://bit.ly/182WR7After years of speaking and writing about the value of having a positive attitude and being thankful, Zig Ziglar was challenged to put his own words into practice. Several years ago, his own life changed dramatically after he fell down the stairs in his own home. Today it's a daily struggle for him to overcome the effects of a brain injury and the resulting short-term memory loss.In this webcast, Zig Ziglar, Julie Ziglar Norman and Tom Ziglar will discuss Zig's new book Embrace The Struggle: Living Life on…

  • True Story: I May Have Misjudged Your Interest

    Jill Konrath
    12 Nov 2009 | 9:22 am
    A true story, but the names have been changed to maintain privacy.Recently I received an email from Ellie, an advertising sales professional who read my blog posts on Where Have All the Prospects Gone? Part 1 & Part 2. The topic? How to deal with prospects who disappear into the proverbial black hole.Ellie decided to try my "let them off the hook" strategy. Here's what transpired.Subject Line: I may have misjudged your intentions My apologies if I’ve crossed a line to become your dreaded professional stalker. It’s apparent that I’ve misjudged Generic System's…
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    CASKEY Sales Training

  • Do You Want to be Right, or do You Want to Help?

    Brooke Green
    17 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am
    The healthcare debate has reminded me a lot of sales processes gone wrong. We hear it all of the time. Sales conversations always start with the right intent in mind (at least in my happy place they do)—figure out the problem, put a recommendation together, connect the dots so that my prospect believes in the value I will bring to the situation. Somewhere in that stream of events it seems that things go awry. Our focus and intent goes away from helping our prospect. Suddenly, we’re more concerned about being right—concerned about beating the competition—concerned about getting our…

  • Don’t Let a Good Recession Go to Waste!

    Brooke Green
    11 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am
    I was with one of my coaches last week, and she said the funniest thing… ”Don’t let a good recession go to waste!” BRILLIANT! This statement has stuck in my brain. I’ve tweeted it only to have it re-tweeted (http://twitter.com/CaskeyChick). It received a slew of comments on my Facebook page. Obviously, it struck a chord with others as well. So what does it mean to you? Seriously, I’d love to hear. Here’s my take on how we should be working the recession for all it’s worth: •    Workforce: What a perfect time to get rid of your underperformers. You can’t afford not to be…

  • Rewire The Sales Mind - Lesson 3 -”Fear”

    Bill Caskey
    24 Oct 2009 | 11:27 am
    No one ever admits they’re afraid. Yet, sales people seem to live in fear. Fear of the sale going bad. Fear that this is the last prospect on the planet. Fear of push-back and resistance. Fear my manager won’t see my potential. The list goes on forever. Fear Affects You. Q: But did you ever wonder how that fear affects you on a daily basis. And is it possible that the fear paralyzes you–or makes you less effective than you could be? A: Yes. Look at this list and see if you can relate. These are some of the things fear causes you to do–(and the result). fail to dream…

  • Rewire The Sales Mind - Lesson 2

    Bill Caskey
    24 Oct 2009 | 7:55 am
    What are you listening for when speaking with a prospect? Are you listening for buying signals like you’ve taught since the 70’s? If so, that’s wrong. So Why Do People Buy? Our philosophy is really quite simple–people buy when they are either a) in pain with their current situation– or b) have a vision that will be accomplished easier with you in their life. The “rewiring” here is for all professional sales people to understand what they’re listening for–so that when they hear it they’ll know they’re close. How do you know when…

  • Is It Uncool To Have A Vision?

    Bill Caskey
    23 Oct 2009 | 5:52 pm
    I would love it if once–just once–when I asked a person what their vision was, they had some answer. Even a lame answer would be better than the blank look I get when I ask the question. In the last few weeks, I’ve had a chance to ask a few people that question–and I’m convinced that there’s something deep down inside us that says it’s uncool to have a dream. We were told early in life ‘not to dream.’ We talked about dreaming as if it was cool–but when any of us did it, we got crapped on. Here’s What I’d Like You To Tell…
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    B2B Lead Generation

  • How to Get the Twitter Username You've Always Wanted (even if it's taken)

    Brian Carroll
    19 Nov 2009 | 10:14 am
    Don't forget to secure your Twitter name! I signed up for twitter a year an half ago but that wasn’t soon enough to get my hands on my company's Twitter name of choice of @intouch. So if you were late to the party (like me) I'm happy to say there still might be hope. I found this blog post How to Snap Up that Twitter Username You’ve Always Wanted posted by @zee I followed Zee's process and I'm pleased to say it worked for us! Maybe it will work for you too.  Here's what we did Emailed username@twitter.com with the following information: • The username you want • Your existing…

  • How to Design Lead Nurturing Programs that Drive Sales webinar with Ardath Albee

    Brian Carroll
    13 Nov 2009 | 7:58 am
    You’ve probably seen a lot of discussions regarding lead nurturing lately. People want to know: How can I create enough content with my organization’s limited resources? How can we develop a nurturing program that actually builds our pipeline? What measurements will help us consistently create great outcomes? To help marketers answer these questions, I have invited Ardath Albee to join me for the next B2B Lead Generation Roundtable webinar. According to Ardath, the buying process is changing and marketers need to adapt their lead nurturing programs to match. Ardath is perfect for this…

  • 50 Most Influential People in Lead Management

    Brian Carroll
    12 Nov 2009 | 9:06 am
    The Sales Lead Management Association posted their list of the 50 most influential people in lead management. I was humbled to see that I was included on the list along with a lot of of people I really like and respect. You can check out the full list here.

  • Lead Generation Check list – Part 6: A Multi-modal lead generation approach

    Brian Carroll
    11 Nov 2009 | 12:07 pm
    This is the sixth in an eight-part series I’m calling the ‘Lead Generation Checklist.' I wanted to provide a checklist that helps organizations optimize their lead generation process.  My first post was on the mindset we should have – one that involves “pulling” not pushing; in the second installment, was on how to drive sales and marketing as one time; thirdly, I outlined steps for creating an ideal customer profile in addition to an un-Ideal customer profile. We should be smart with our time and learn to recognize the signs that tell us when not to pursue a lead. In my…

  • Steps for creating a true lead nurturing program

    Brian Carroll
    6 Nov 2009 | 9:53 am
    Sometimes in an attempt to vamp up lead nurturing efforts, misguided and well-meaning organizations simply start sending out more emails. When email is misused in this manner, companies are really just training prospects to ignore or delete their messages.  See What IS and ISN'T Lead Nurturing If your organization lacks a well-defined process for nurturing early-stage leads and building relationships before the buying process, you are missing out on opportunities. True lead nurturing involves creating and maintaining relevant and consistent dialog with viable potential customers -…
 
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    About.com Entrepreneurs

  • New Contest for PHP Coders

    17 Nov 2009 | 3:22 am
    You can do a lot with PHP and a database, which even most cheap hosting plans include.  According to Elance, PHP is the number one skill in demand through their website, which matches freelancers with clients. If you love PHP, you could be one of ten winners who will receive $250 in cash and one year of premium membership on Elance, valued at $120. To enter, just take Elance's new PHP Skill Test before November 30, 2009 and demonstrate your code-writing skills.  Elance plans to add more Code Tests in the future but to celebrate the launch of their new "Skills Test" program, Elance is…

  • House of Reps Passes Health Care Bill

    8 Nov 2009 | 6:26 am
    The House of Representatives passed a sweeping health care bill by a vote of 220-215, last night, Saturday, November 8, 2009. According to CNN, H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act has taken a step forward, but, "the Senate will vote on a version of the health care legislation debated in that chamber. If the Senate passes its bill, the House and Senate bills would have to be reconciled into one document and voted on again." Read the House-Approved Bill (.pdf format - 1,990 pages)House of Reps Passes Health Care Bill originally appeared on About.com Entrepreneurs on Sunday,…

  • Are You Networking Enough?

    8 Nov 2009 | 1:53 am
    Are your networking enough? If you answer, "yes" chances are you do not understand the value of business networking.  No one can networking enough because the more you connect with others, the easier it will be to grow your business. Does online networking count? Yes! But it does not take the place of good ol' fashioned face-to-face networking. If you do not know of any biz networks in your area, start by trying BusinessNetwork.MeetUp.com, a free online service that allows you to start a networking group, or locate existing networks in your area. If you need more convincing as to why you…

  • SCORE Offers Quick Start Business Plan Tool

    6 Nov 2009 | 3:56 am
    SCORE just announced a new "Quick Start Business Plan" tool online.  And it is FREE!  In addition to helping you understand how to write a business plan, SCORE offers free templates to help you assess how financially viable your idea is, including: Quick start business plan action plan An Excel cashflow template Break-even calculator Chargeable hours template Business plan template A Market Research Questionnaire To access this free lesson and their template tools, visit SCORE. You can also take advantage of Entrepreneur's articles for creating a Step-By-Step Business Plan Outline.SCORE…

  • Business Advice for Military Personnel

    5 Nov 2009 | 4:07 am
    Entrepreneur's gives a thumbs up to SCORE for recognizing and filling a need to provide seasoned business mentors for our military personnel! I just received a notice from SCORE promoting an exciting program called, "Veterans: Succeeding in Business." To connect with a fellow vet in business visit SCORE's online counseling system and select, "Veteran Owned Businesses," for advice from a mentor with prior military experience.  You can also visit SCORE's page exclusively for Veteran, National Guard & Reservist Small Biz Owners. Related Articles: When Your Employees Go to War Business…
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    Solutions Are Power

  • Following Up on a Few Things: Celebrities, Crises and One Year Here

    Joe Loong
    20 Nov 2009 | 7:00 am
    Here are a few items that came up recently that reminded me of other things that happened, only less recently: * Social Media Vulnerabilities: From the New York Times Sunday edition came a report of a Hollywood burglary ring whose members not only targeted celebrities, but used celebrity gossip web sites to figure out when those celebrities would be out partying, so they could break in knowing no one would be at home. Granted, celebrities aren’t normal people — their movements are tracked and broadcast with unhealthy intensity. And the burglary ring (alleged, that is)…

  • Interview with the Product Manager – Mike Hollen of nsMail

    Steve Fisher
    20 Nov 2009 | 4:00 am
    Recently I had the opportunity to sit down with Mike Hollen and talk about nsMail, what it is and the changes that came with the improved Network Solutions brand. We talked about all areas of hosted email and some great improvements and new products coming in the future. The video of the interview is below: To see more videos, check out the series section below or check out the interviews in advance, you can see them on our Solutions Are Power YouTube channel.

  • Interview with the Product Manager – Lynne Brehmer of nsWebAddress

    Steve Fisher
    19 Nov 2009 | 4:00 am
    Recently I had the opportunity to sit down with Lynne Brehmer and talk about nsWebAddress, what it is and the changes that came with the improved Network Solutions brand. We talked about the reasons for the name change and how it still means your domain name, but it encompasses so much more, especially for being more small business friendly. The video of the interview is below: To see more videos, check out the series section below or check out the interviews in advance, you can see them on our Solutions Are Power YouTube channel.

  • What Does Marc Benioff Really Have To Say About The Cloud At Dreamforce 2009?

    Kenneth Yeung
    18 Nov 2009 | 10:00 am
    I’m sitting here at the 2009 edition of the Dreamforce Conference to listen to the CEO of SalesForce, Marc Benioff, talk about his thoughts about the cloud and listen in to any potential  announcements that he may have about the company and their highly successful product. And without disappointment, it turns out that Salesforce is rolling out what they’re calling their “biggest breakthrough ever”: Salesforce Chatter. According to their release, Salesforce Chatter is the “first social computing application and platform for real-time enterprise…

  • Behold the Power…Keyword Power

    Travis Petersen
    18 Nov 2009 | 8:00 am
    When it comes to online marketing, whether you’re going the organic route with SEO and link building or targeting paid search through PPC or both (which you should, if you can, hint-hint), there are few, if any, aspects more important than choosing the right keywords. So how do you choose the right keywords for your enterprise’s website? Depending on whom you ask, there are many ways to go about it, many online tools—Wordtracker, Keyword Discovery—that you can use, and a number of places to get started. But the important thing to remember is that no online tool or SEO expert knows…
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    Mine Your Own Business

  • Hiring and Firing

    Randy Alletag
    19 Nov 2009 | 3:04 pm
    We've done a lot of posts on the importance of good employees for any small business and just a few days ago we did a posting on the kinds of workers a business could hire as the economy improves in...

  • More Timely Advice

    Randy Alletag
    17 Nov 2009 | 2:04 pm
    Small business owners face the daunting tasks of working at their business and in addition must take care of the overall management of their business. Good employees can help tremendously and in fact we did a posting on May 9th...

  • What Kind of Employee?

    Randy Alletag
    16 Nov 2009 | 12:45 pm
    One of the few positive aspects of our current economic downturn and dismal unemployment figures is that it means the pool of high quality workers is much greater than usual. An article from the Associated Press discusses the many employment...

  • Pricing Dilemna

    Randy Alletag
    12 Nov 2009 | 9:01 am
    Small businesses are all well aware that price has always been a major concern with any prospective customer and in the past few years it seems that it has become more important than ever to many people. We ran across...

  • Increased Business Spending

    Randy Alletag
    9 Nov 2009 | 1:47 pm
    An article in USA Today reports that after reduced business spending for six quarters in a row that businesses increased spending on new computers and software at an annual rate of 1.1%. That may not sound too impressive, but after...
 
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    Bizinformer

  • Seen that? - Business Plan Archive

    20 Nov 2009 | 6:18 pm
    Business Plan Archive at Bizinformer I save things. Ridiculous things - old magazines, newspapers, memorabilia that offers no real memory. I'm not sure why. I started saving odd things as a kid - certain school work, comic books, etc. Now, I save presentations, ...

  • Sen. Dodd's New Banking Bill Would Reshape the Financial World

    11 Nov 2009 | 11:26 am
    © SEIU International In October of 2008 Alan Greenspan conceded that an unregulated free market would not regulate itself as a matter of self-interest on its own part...“Those of us who have looked to the self-interest of lending institutions to protect shareholders’ equity, myself included, are in a state of shocked disbelief,” he told the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.Greenspan was testifying before Congress in the wake of the housing crisis, problems with the creative structuring of financial derivatives, the credit crunch, record bank ...

  • Seen that? - A Question Of Ethics

    6 Nov 2009 | 6:18 pm
    A Question Of Ethics at Bizinformer This morning's The WallStreet Journal has a cover article (subscription required) about the prescription drug trade, Internet marketing of said drugs, and the entrepreneurs that profit from differing laws between countries regarding prescription drug access. This post ...

  • Obama Focusing on Small Business?

    27 Oct 2009 | 8:04 pm
    Twice in October, President Obama aimed his weekly address in the direction of small business. The President discusses his move earlier this week to have the federal government increase the maximize size of loans available through the Small Business Administration, and the effort the feds are undertaking to pump money into smaller, community banks.Of course, credit is a big part of the picture being discussed. Since the banks aren't loaning money, maybe the government can...

  • More Internet Regulations to Come?

    23 Oct 2009 | 8:14 pm
    © Fosforix I'm sure it's been said in other places, but Venture Chronicles articuled the anxiety of the online business world well recently when it discussed the general feeling that more Internet regulation could just be a matter of time...I am a proponent of net neutrality but in the pit of my stomach I have a strong fear that now that the FCC has determined they can broadly regulate the relationship between internet technical service providers and content providers that they will have a reflexive desire ...
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    the Selling Sherpa

  • Sales Tip of the Day: TAKE ANOTHER PICTURE

    The Selling Sherpa
    20 Nov 2009 | 12:14 am
    This idea is purely for getting better engagement from your customer, especially if you are in the retail or restaurant business. Find out which of your loyal customers are most likely to take a trip in the coming months.  Give them a nice shirt with your logo on it and ask them to take a picture of themselves in your shirt at their destination.  Promise them a gift, discount or some other item of value in exchange for that photo. Then, tell them you will repeat the reward when they take another picture at a different destination. With the photos you collect, create a “Wall of Fame” at…

  • Sales Tip of the Day: I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW

    The Selling Sherpa
    19 Nov 2009 | 12:01 am
    Have you ever gotten a business card from someone and had trouble finding their phone number, email, or other contact information?  Maybe it was so they could make room for their photo, or their logo, or the huge list of features for their product or service. Isn’t the point of a business card to give someone a way to contact you? Make sure your contact information can pass what I call The 3-Foot Test.  If you can hold the business card at arm’s length (which is about 3 feet for average folks) and still read the phone, email, and web information, it’s fine.  Typically this can be…

  • Sales Tip of the Day: TIGHTEN UP

    The Selling Sherpa
    18 Nov 2009 | 12:01 am
    If you aren’t making as many sales as you should be right now, you might need to tighten up your time management. Some of the things you can do include:     • use “time blocking” to schedule your activities and stick with your plan     • transfer voicemail messages to your ‘to do’ list and delete immediately     • ask those who interrupt you if you can schedule a time later to discuss     • learn to tactfully say no to meetings and events that don’t serve your goals     • ask for early appointments to minimize the “late meeting” trickle-down…

  • Sales Tip of the Day: WORKING MY WAY BACK TO YOU

    The Selling Sherpa
    17 Nov 2009 | 12:29 am
    Let’s go to the request line: “What if you had a job where you developed a clientele, then left that position and didn't really keep in contact with your clients. Now, you have a new position and would like to re-contact them. What are some clever ways to do so?”  - S.A. A great question and, these days, there are a lot more people dealing with the issues created with changing companies, locations, or situations. Depending on your sense of humor, and theirs, you can actually have a lot of fun with this. Here’s a few ideas:     • Hire a bakery to create cookies with your new…

  • Sales Tip of the Day: CONTROVERSY

    The Selling Sherpa
    16 Nov 2009 | 12:01 am
    Do you remember the infamous Iron Chef/McDonald’s “subliminal ad” controversy that raged briefly in 2008? During an episode of the popular Food Network program, an image of the golden arches logo on a red background with their tagline appeared for 1/30th of a second in the middle of the segment.  A viewer posted the clip on YouTube, then the story was picked up by a local Chicago news program, and then was discussed on television and blogs worldwide. Although they were a sponsor, McDonald’s denied using subliminal advertising techniques, and Food Network claimed it was merely a…
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    Future Changes

  • Milestones: 4 Years and 1,003 Articles

    Stewart Mader
    18 Nov 2009 | 12:26 pm
    Last night at dinner Sameer Patel asked me when I first started blogging. I started to experiment with weblogs and online publishing sometime in mid-2003, but the question reminded me of another milestone that happened late last month: Future Changes is four years old. I started it in October 2005, and have been steadily writing ever since (for you history buffs, the site’s first title from 2005-2007 was Using Wiki in Education, then Blog on Wiki Patterns from 2007-2008). Including this note, the blog has 1,003 articles. 4 years and 1,003 articles. A nice moment to reflect. Now, back to…

  • Salesforce Chatter: Integrated, Homegrown “Collaboration Cloud”

    Stewart Mader
    18 Nov 2009 | 12:03 pm
    Salesforce is making headlines today with their announcement of Chatter, an enterprise collaboration platform that ties into their existing customer relationship management (CRM) product. Besides the name – Chatter is as risky a term as social in the business world – the product announcement is notable for two reasons: Chatter is integrated with Salesforce’s Sales and Service products. For instance, when you update an object (opportunity, contact, account) created in another part of the environment, that update will be posted to a feed that others can follow to keep track of…

  • WSJ: Why Can’t I Pick the Technology I Use in the Office?

    Stewart Mader
    16 Nov 2009 | 9:47 am
    Nick Wingfield of the Wall Street Journal on the gap between the technology we use at home vs. the office: Some forward-thinking companies are already giving employees more freedom to pick mobile phones, computers and applications for work—in some cases, they’re even giving workers allowances to spend on outfitting themselves. The result, they’ve found, is more-productive employees. There’s a reason professional chefs bring their own knives to work, rather than using a dull set of blades lying around the kitchen. The article paints consumer technology as innovative and…

  • “A Willingness to Let the Process Take its Time”

    Stewart Mader
    15 Nov 2009 | 9:14 pm
    Andrew Sullivan on Barack Obama’s decision-making process, shown consistently in his handling of the biggest, most contentious and vexing problems so far in his 10-month old presidency – health care, Afghanistan, and Israel-Palestine: Obama encourages the process but hangs back, broadly – and persistently – pursuing certain objectives without tipping his hand on specifics or timing. What strikes me about this is the enormous self-confidence this reveals. Here is a young president, prepared to allow himself to be portrayed as “weak” or…

  • Neglected Keystrokes

    Stewart Mader
    14 Nov 2009 | 11:23 am
    (Via Amo Lixo Electronico)
 
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    ScottFox.com - Internet Riches - e-Riches 2.0

  • TOMORROW: Traffic Building School Launch - FREE!

    Scott Fox, eRiches 2.0 and Internet Riches Author
    21 Nov 2009 | 1:09 am
    My new Traffic Building School video course will introduce you to dozens of the top, proven online marketing techniques.  And, tomorrow you can get it for FREE! The first 100 folks to sign up tomorrow at Noon ET (900am PT / 5pm GMT) will get access to the entire series of 50+ online marketing introduction videos for no cost! With more than 50+ short video episodes, this new online marketing training series is a great (and easy!) way to learn about online marketing today. That's it.  No catch.  Just be here on time tomorrow to grab your fre-e subscription to the Traffic Building School…

  • The FREE and EASY Way to Learn About Online Marketing

    Scott Fox, eRiches 2.0 and Internet Riches Author
    21 Nov 2009 | 1:08 am
    Would you like to learn about all the latest online marketing strategies the EASY way and for FREE? You read email every day, right?  How about adding just 1 more email to your inbox daily?  And what if I include in that email a short (2-3 minute) video about just 1 new online marketing technique? Wouldn't that be an EASY way to learn about online marketing? In just a few weeks you will have watched dozens of short videos and learned a LOT about online marketing. Even if you're a complete newbie to the Internet, you will soon be "walking the walk" of an experienced Internet marketer! My…

  • Traffic Building School coming soon...

    Scott Fox, eRiches 2.0 and Internet Riches Author
    20 Nov 2009 | 9:31 pm
    There's a lot to know about online marketing today. In fact, it's hard to keep up with all the new marketing and social media promotional strategies, isn't it? Coming Soon: The Traffic Building School Video Series How about spending just 3 minutes each day to upgrade your Web marketing expertise?  That's what my new Traffic Building School video course will deliver to you:  A daily email with a 2-3 minute video explaining a different marketing tactic each day! This is a new service I'll be launching very soon.  Subscribers to my f-ree E-Commerce Success email newsletters will get a great…

  • Get Traffic Building School FREE!

    Scott Fox, eRiches 2.0 and Internet Riches Author
    16 Nov 2009 | 11:06 am
    If you are new to online marketing, my new Traffic Building School will teach YOU how to increase traffic to your web site for FREE! And, for the first 100 subscribers it's FREE!  Sign up here now: http://www.TrafficBuildingSchool.com How Does Traffic Building School Work? The easiest way to learn things is by repeated exposure, ideally in small bursts that don't take too much time.  That's exactly how I've designed Traffic Building School!  Sign up for this video traffic-building course and you'll get 1 email each day.  Each email contains a link to a video…

  • Olive Kitteridge says...

    Scott Fox, eRiches 2.0 and Internet Riches Author
    15 Nov 2009 | 4:46 am
    "'Don't be scared of your hunger.  If you're scared of your hunger, you'll just be one more ninny like everyone else.'" From: "Olive Kitteridge", by Elizabeth Strout (1956 - ), Author of Fiction Thanks to Bob Lefsetz (www.lefsetz.com) A quotation from the 365SuccessQuotes.com collection. Subscribe for a fre-e daily dose of inspiration delivered directly to your email inbox
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    MyBusiness Magazine

  • Creative Ways to Screen Job Applicants

    Emily McMackin
    19 Nov 2009 | 2:15 pm
    Got a mountain of resumes on your desk that you need to go through? With unemployment at a record high right now, people are flocking to any and every posted job opening they can find, and many small businesses looking to hire are overwhelmed with potential candidates. Some smaller firms with limited HR departments are finding success with creative and unorthodox ways to screen candidates, according to this Wall Street journal article. Take I Love Rewards, a 38-person consulting firm based in Wellesley, Mass., and Toronto. Instead of wading through 1,200 applications they received for nine…

  • Is There No Such Thing as Slow Growth?

    Lena Anthony
    16 Nov 2009 | 10:20 am
    In the past 10 years, Fog Creek Software has grown from two employees to more than 50. Some companies do that in one year, but Fog Creek CEO Joel Spolsky never wanted to do it that way. Slow and steady wins the race, he always told himself. But in this month's Inc., Spolsky explains why he's no longer going to be satisfied with slow business growth: "If you're growing at 50 percent a year, and your competitor is growing at 100 percent a year, it takes only eight years before your competitor is 10 times bigger than you," he writes. "And when it's 10 times bigger than you, it can buy 10 times…

  • Bartering for Business

    Amber Garner
    13 Nov 2009 | 12:08 pm
    “I’ll trade you!” It’s a phrase we all know well. It’s certainly a staple in every elementary lunchroom across the country. But who knew that small business owners could use this concept to trade one set of goods for another in order to grow their business? The brains behind the Barter Business Unlimited's Annual Business and Holiday Barter Show, that’s who. This year’s annual event attracted business owners from all over who traded warehouse space for fine jewelry, advertising for clocks, and other products and services. This CNNmoney.com article explains the process of…

  • How Important Is a Business Plan?

    Emily McMackin
    12 Nov 2009 | 2:14 pm
    Have you written a business plan? That's the question Scott Shane, a professor of entrepreneurial studies at Case Western Reserve University, poses to entrepreneurs in his latest New York Times small business column. According to Shane, academic research of the business start-up process shows that many entrepreneurs never write a business plan, regardless of the positive impact it can have on developing a product, organizing a company, generating sales, ect. There are several reasons for this, he suggests: 1.) Entrepreneurs don't know that they are supposed to write one or realize how it…

  • When Firing A Client Pays Off

    Megan Pacella
    10 Nov 2009 | 1:22 pm
    With the economy still not improving as much as we'd all like, you wouldn't thinks any businesses would be shedding customers--no matter how much of a headache they can be. But these days, small business owners are cutting ties with customers who make late payments, expect special treatment or ask for discounts, says this Wall Street Journal article. I know what you're asking yourself: What's the up side of losing business? According to Kishau Rogers, owner of Websmith Group LLC in Richmond, Va., dropping high maintenance or late-paying clients boosted her business in the end. According to…
 
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    FreelanceFolder

  • Know Your Clients: How To Build Loyalty With Customer Surveys

    Laura Spencer
    20 Nov 2009 | 7:23 am
    Do you know what do your clients think about you?Many clients won’t even tell you if they are unhappy, instead they’ll simply stop using your services. You may never find out that anything was wrong.Loyal customers are important to your success as a freelancer. Even if a particular client no longer needs your services, you want him or her to to speak favorably about your business.One way to keep your clients loyal is to keep them happy — but how do you find out whether your clients are happy? The only real way to find out what a customer is thinking is to ask. That’s…

  • Five Useful Ways Dropbox Can Improve Your Business

    Lexirodrigo
    19 Nov 2009 | 6:29 am
    What would you do if something happened to your computer? Say, it caught fire, was stolen, or got drenched in your latte?If you were using a good backup solution you could just keep on working, otherwise you could be in a lot of trouble. For those of you who don’t already have a backup and file sharing solution in place, you’ll want to learn more about Dropbox.A computer-savvy client introduced me to Dropbox a few months ago as a way to share huge files without having to compress and email them to me. However, I soon discovered that Dropbox can do so much more — making me a…

  • Ten Signs You Need To Refuse That Project

    Laura Spencer
    18 Nov 2009 | 8:16 am
    You’ve worked hard looking for a freelance project. Finally, it looks like all of your hard work is about to pay off. Someone offers you a freelancing gig. Now it’s time to breathe a huge sigh of relief and dig into the project. Right?Well, maybe not… Unfortunately, not all freelance opportunities are created equal. It’s best to be cautious when accepting new work. Taking the wrong freelancing job can set you up for failure, or worse, damage your professional reputation.In this post, we’ll show you what to do if you need more information about a freelancing…

  • FreelanceFolder Hits 20,000 Subscribers! You Get 50% Off :-)

    Mason Hipp
    17 Nov 2009 | 12:19 pm
    It makes me very happy to announce that FreelanceFolder has just hit the 20,000 subscriber mark! It might not seem like much compared to some other blogs out there, but for us it’s a pretty big deal :-)In honor of hitting such a big milestone, we want to give something back to all of our readers — so for the next 7 days we’re cutting the price of The Unlimited Freelancer eBook by 50%. That’s just $14 for an in-depth 200 page ebook, and we’ll be running the sale all week.We’ll also be giving out another big-ticket item next week for some more celebration…

  • How to Become a Freelance Web Developer: A Six Month Plan

    Amber Weinberg
    17 Nov 2009 | 5:23 am
    Nearly every day somebody asks me about how I got started as a freelance developer. Many people recognize that they would like to branch off into freelancing, but most don’t know where to begin. It’s this fear and uncertainty that keeps them from taking the plunge.Challenges like how to find clients, what to do about money, and how to set up your own site can be overwhelming at first — but the end result of having a successful freelance business is easily worthwhile. In order to help make your life easier, I’ve set up a simple month-by-month plan that you can follow to…
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    The Global Small Business Blog

  • Amazing Autumn

    21 Nov 2009 | 6:59 am
    "Delicious autumn (Chicago photo)! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns." ~ George EliotHave a bountiful weekend.Posted by: Laurel Delaney, The Global Small Business Blog

  • Blogging LIVE at the World Entrepreneurship Forum in Lyon, France

    20 Nov 2009 | 6:11 am
    I had the great honor and opportunity to listen to Minister Lee Yi Shyan, the State Minister of Trade and Industry, in charge of Entrepreneurship, Singapore talk about Singapore's strategy on entrepreneurship development.Here are twenty (20) highlights:1. How can government be a part of entrepreneurship (big question he was faced with)?2. Ten percent (10%) of all businesses in Singapore are small businesses.3. World Bank named Singapore the easiest place to do business.4. Businesses in Singapore can no longer compete on the basis of low-cost pricing.5. Projected growth for Singapore is 2-5…

  • Global Trade Gap Grows

    20 Nov 2009 | 6:07 am
    Even with a sinking dollar that aids exports, the trade gap still grows.Important excerpt here:Long term, however, economists say the U.S. needs to address its trade deficit by spurring exports to help offset imports of other nations' goods and services. One way to do that is by lowering the value of the dollar relative to other currencies, making U.S. goods and services cheaper abroad and more attractive to buyers. That is already beginning to take place, as a recovery of the global economy has reversed investors' "flight to safety" that spurred demand for dollars during the past year. The…

  • Could China Dominate a New Asian Trade Bloc?

    19 Nov 2009 | 5:05 am
    What's up and what's the hurry?China's total trade volumes are expected to drop 20% this year largely because of the U.S. recession. Beijing has to keep exports growing to keep workers employed, and it needs commodities to turn into finished goods. China also needs other nations as customers and suppliers—if not the U.S., then Korea, Japan, Australia, and others will do. Find out what China's strategy is and what the U.S. intends to do to remain competitive here.

  • Blogging LIVE From World Entrepreneurship Forum in Lyon, France

    19 Nov 2009 | 2:06 am
    Arrived in France for the World Entrepreneurship Forum where there are already fabulous exchanges between members of so many different backgrounds.Enjoying the experience immensely. Follow my Tweets @ twitter.com/LaurelDelaney.
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    Art Biz Blog

  • Assessing juried exhibit opportunities, Part 2

    Alyson Stanfield
    20 Nov 2009 | 8:59 am
    In Part 1 on this topic, I went over the questions you should ask of yourself when considering a juried exhibition. Now, let’s look for answers that might be beyond your control, but for which you need answers. Rayann Orr, Plaza at Las Golondrinas. Mixed media, 22 x 30 inches. Ask Others What is the reputation of the exhibit organizers? Do they have a good track record and have they generated publicity for past events? How many people (potential buyers) are on their mailing list? How will the exhibit be promoted? Will it be advertised? Is there the possibility of social media buzz through…

  • Deep Thought Thursday: Style vs. Gimmick

    Alyson Stanfield
    19 Nov 2009 | 3:08 am
    Overheard on Twitter: When does personal style turn to gimmick? With nods to @anniesalness @Art_News @aakschipper Related PostsPromoting yourself on TwitterTwittering artistsA very cool use of TwitterLearning opportunity: How to use TwitterTry TweetDeck

  • Assessing juried exhibit opportunities, Part 1

    Alyson Stanfield
    18 Nov 2009 | 7:41 am
    How do you know when a juried exhibition opportunity is too good to pass up or is something that you should let pass you by? You have to ask a lot of questions without allowing yourself to be intimidated by the person presenting the opportunity. Empower yourself by finding answers. Hanna Phelps, Digging to Australia. Oil on board, 6 x 8 inches. ©The Artist Ask yourself What do I expect to gain from being accepted into this exhibit? Note that your answer isn’t necessarily monetary. It might be as simple as “experience.” Or it could be that you want to be noticed by a particular juror.

  • Art Marketing Action: Post Your Statement Strategically

    Alyson Stanfield
    16 Nov 2009 | 6:43 am
    Now that you’ve read and followed the tips in last week’s newsletter, you have this great artist statement. It’s time to post it on your website. You not only have your statement for your printed portfolio, but it is equally valuable to your online marketing efforts. Here’s the big question: Is your statement on the RIGHT page on your site? Is it strategically placed next to the art? Or is it on a page entitled “Statement” by itself? Karen Hubacher, Playground 3. Wire sculpture, 10 x 20 x 16 inches. ©The Artist I’m not crazy about artist statement links in the main navigation…

  • Deep Thought Thursday: Art agents and reps

    Alyson Stanfield
    12 Nov 2009 | 3:30 am
    Is there such a thing as a fine art representative or agent (not gallerist) that can do all the work for you? How are they paid? How do you find them? Related PostsWhen an Agent Might Be Good for Your Art CareerDeep Thought Thursday: Ego or income?Deep Thought Thursday: CapitalismDeep Thought Thursday: The arts todayDeep Thought Thursday: Advice to a young artist
 
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    Meryl's Notes at meryl.net by Writer Meryl K. Evans

  • Links: One Week until Black Friday 2009 Edition

    Meryl
    20 Nov 2009 | 11:45 am
    Congratulations to Dawn Herring for winning The Last Will of Moira Leahy! Never fear… Thirsty is still up for the winnin’. Also, please vote for your top 25 books on writing. Articles full of brain goodness… Oxford Word of the Year: 2009: I had to unfriend someone on Facebook who abused the “Join this Page” button. Other terms listed include hashtag, sexting and Obamaisms. Copyright Essentials for Writers: It does matter. For example, if a pub puts your article into a book, you could get paid for that — but not if you sell all rights [Link: Jessica…

  • 11 Reasons Why People Don’t Follow Back on Twitter

    Meryl
    19 Nov 2009 | 7:38 am
    Image from Twitlogo.com You do everything right in Twitter. So why are some people not following you back? It’s not you. (Well, maybe in the rare situation when someone truly doesn’t like you. Even the nicest people don’t have a fan in a person or two.) Doing Twitter right means you … Mix up your tweets (retweets, replies, original messages and links). Take care in promoting your own stuff. Don’t spam. Have a nice follower and following ratio. Share insights. Spotlight others in a genuine way. Have a complete profile that includes a bio, avatar, link and…

  • Congratulations! You’re a Mom and an Author!

    Meryl
    18 Nov 2009 | 5:23 am
    Welcome to meryl’s notes blog (this here place you’re lookin’ at) in Plano, Texas. We’re honored to be a stop in Kristin Bair O’Keeffe’s WOW! Women On Writing Blog tour. I first met Kristin through Christina Katz. Since then, I’ve read her book, exchanged a few tweets and emails and absorbed her column in Writers on the Rise. (Stay tuned in this post if ya wanna win this book!) About Kristin Bair O’Keeffe Kristin Bair O’Keeffe is the author of Thirsty and an American who lives in Shanghai, China. She is also a voracious reader, a happy…

  • Game du Jour: Week of 15 November 2009

    Meryl
    15 Nov 2009 | 5:56 am
    The following games will be discounted next week on Game du Jour, the first ‘one-deal-a-day’ website dedicated to indie and casual games: Sun. November 15th: 60% off on Zombie Bowl-O-Rama Mon. November 16th: 50% off on Party Planner Tue. November 17th: 50% off on Imperial City: The Crown of the King Wed. November 18th: 50% off on Hexagonal Chess Thu. November 19th: 50% off on Byzantine Circular Chess Fri. November 20th: 50% off on Jack’s Home Sat. November 21st: 65% off on Gardenscapes

  • Links: Veterans Day 2009 Edition

    Meryl
    13 Nov 2009 | 6:53 am
    Meryl's dad in USAF: Yes, that's a ciggie. He quit smoking not long after. Thanks to veterans everywhere for defending our country at all costs. Two of the most important men in my life served in the USAF: My dad and my husband. Also, thanks to the brave soldiers at Fort Hood who put their lives on the line to capture the shooter. Win Therese Walsh’s captivating novel, The Last Will of Moira Leahy, and Vote for your top 25 books on writing… Articles full of brain goodness… The Most Important Sentence: How to Write a Killer Opening: I love the examples shared in this…
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    Capital Solutions Bancorp Blog

  • Need Business Support? Build an Advisory Board

    Capital Solutions Bancorp
    19 Nov 2009 | 8:52 am
    I've heard from one-person businesses that they have advisory boards with people from different backgrounds. One might have financial smarts, another has experience in the industry and another is a pro with operations. These consist of volunteers who genuinely care about you and your business.read more

  • Credit Card Reforms Act Update

    Capital Solutions Bancorp
    18 Nov 2009 | 7:58 am
    Although President Obama signed the credit card reform into law in May, legislators are tackling the bill again in hopes to move up the effective date to December 1, 2009. As a result, some advocates are trying to get small businesses included in the bill so they'd have the same protection.read more

  • Almost Everything You Want to Know About Cash Flow Management

    Capital Solutions Bancorp
    10 Nov 2009 | 9:25 am
    A business can have everything going right for it except cash flow. Cash flow alone has the power to take out a business. We've posted lots of information on cash flow to help you ensure you always have it and at the right time. Here they are in one neat post so you can get just about everything you need to know about managing your cash flow.read more

  • Haynesville Shale News

    Capital Solutions Bancorp
    9 Nov 2009 | 9:37 am
    "The Haynesville Shale, is a black, organic-rich shale of Upper Jurassic age that underlies much of the Gulf Coast area of the United States. 'Haynesville Shale' is a driller's term for shale rock units within the Haynesville Formation." Source: Louisiana Oil and Gas Association's Haynesville Shale Education Center.read more

  • Natural Gas May Last up to 30 Years

    Capital Solutions Bancorp
    6 Nov 2009 | 7:27 am
    In a speech at the University of Texas at Dallas, T. Boone Pickens says that we have enough natural gas to last for about 30 years before it dries up. We'll need to find another solution like fuel cells or battery. It doesn't have to be bad news for companies in the natural gas business.read more
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    BusinessCast Podcast

  • Choosing the Right Social Media Tools

    Andrew - BusinessCast Co-Host
    15 Nov 2009 | 3:51 pm
    Twitter? YouTube? LinkedIn? Are they right for you? Are they right for you now? If you’re like the vast majority of successful entrepreneurs, you’re still grappling with these questions. At the same time, you’re trying to determine when, how and if social media is worth the effort — given your day-to-day challenges and your short- and long-term business goals. That’s why Robert and I are constantly speaking with leaders in social media. And, in BusinessCast episode #130, we posed the questions that are on the minds of every entrepreneur to one of Canada’s…

  • Privacy for Business Success

    Andrew - BusinessCast Co-Host
    9 Nov 2009 | 5:48 am
    Privacy is such a fundamental part of business success, that it often goes overlooked. And that can be a serious problem given the negative repercussions of not properly meeting your obligations — and customers’ unspoken expectations — about how their private information is to be managed. That’s why for BusinessCast episode #129, Robert and I sat down with Dr. Ann Cavoukian, the Ontario Privacy Commissioner along with the two co-authors of an exciting new privacy toolkit — aimed squarely at helping entrepreneurs. Listen to BusinessCast episode #129 and…

  • Business Success: It’s About Time!

    Andrew - BusinessCast Co-Host
    2 Nov 2009 | 10:03 am
    One of the many things that all successful entrepreneurs have in common is an insatiable need to bring their innovations (i.e products, services and/or processes) to the market. But, a key question that often gets trampled in the midst of entrepreneurs’ enthusiasm is “When is the right time?” Because short- and long-term success depends so much on timing, for BusinessCast episode #128 Robert and I sat down with Steve Taylor, President of Resolver Inc. to gather his insights about evaluating the right time to launch/grow a successful business. Listen to BusinessCast episode…

  • Finding, Hiring and Motivating the Right People

    Andrew - BusinessCast Co-Host
    19 Oct 2009 | 11:04 am
    Whenever Robert and I sit down and talk with entrepreneurs about their historic, current and future successes, one theme constantly emerges: entrepreneurs need strong teams. And that means they are always looking for ways to optimize how they find, hire and motivate staff. That’s why for BusinessCast episode #127, we sat down with an entrepreneur renowned for effectively recruiting and retaining exceptional employees — in an industry where people are highly skilled, in great demand and highly mobile. Chris Carder, President of ThinData, A Transcontinental Company, shares with us…

  • Investing in Innovation — What You Need to Bring to the Table

    Andrew - BusinessCast Co-Host
    12 Oct 2009 | 9:14 am
    Successful entrepreneurs are by their very nature innovators — it’s very nearly a pre-requisite. But, before determining if their business is going to attract customers and attention, every entrepreneur has to answer a key question: Is their business innovative enough to attract funding? To answer this question, in BusinessCast episode #126 — Investing in Innovation — Robert and I sat down with David Ceolin who spends his time evaluating, and investing in, entrepreneurs and their innovative business ideas.  David shares with us his criteria for innovation and the…
 
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    MakingTheMogul.com

  • Jermaine Dupri Discusses The Effects of Blogs & Social Media On The Music Industry

    Moe Arora
    3 Nov 2009 | 9:01 am
    Jermaine Dupri recently spoke at BlogWorld Expo 09 about the effects of blogs and social networking sites like Twitter, on the music business.Here are 2 videos of the panels he spoke on:Also, social media blogger, Wayne Sutton caught up with JD for a quick convo about his talking points on the above panels:What are your thoughts on what JD said?Do you agree/disagree, and why?// © Moe Arora // MakingTheMogul.com //

  • Tony J Is Bringing Romance Back To R&B

    Moe Arora
    20 Oct 2009 | 4:53 pm
    I wanted to let you guys know about a new R&B artist/producer I’ve recently began working with, Tony J.He’s been making a name for himself in his hometown of Houston, and today, we’re releasing his new single, “U Need A Man”.Here’s a quick bio rundown:“With the new generation of R&B artists singing tales of promiscuous lifestyles, today’s R&B music has lost its connection with love and romance. Houston native, Tony J, wants to change that.Having been raised in Houston (a primarily hip-hop market), Tony’s musical influences range from…

  • MUSIC BIZ FRAUD ALERT: Antoine Keane a.k.a Dominic Edmonds

    Moe Arora
    14 Oct 2009 | 1:47 pm
    One of the biggest problems with the music business (or any business, for that matter) is that you’re never quite sure who you can trust. People talk a lot; the difference is some can back up their talk, while others simply can’t.And other times, not only can they not back it up – they go to the extreme to create an entire façade.Fakes.Frauds.One of those frauds is Antoine Keane a.k.a “Dominic Edmonds”.I got contacted by this guy a couple months ago about doing some consultation work for his independent label, SRB/WongGee Records. He claimed to have distribution…

  • Video Games Becoming More Lucrative For Musicians

    Moe Arora
    8 Oct 2009 | 12:38 pm
    DJ AM (R.I.P) in DJ Hero video gameIn this struggling state of the record industry, most artists, producers and labels are desperately looking for different streams to generate revenue.Video games have long been a great alternative revenue stream, however in recent years games are becoming even more dependent on musical content (Guitar Hero, Rock Band, DJ Hero, etc), making this an even more attractive option to consider.Below is a great slideshow presentation offering a quick overview of the Top 10 Trends in Music & Games prepared and presented by Stuart Dredge of MusicAlly.com:// ©…

  • SOUNDBITE: Imagination

    Moe Arora
    4 Oct 2009 | 1:26 am
    Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.- Albert Einstein// © Moe Arora // MakingTheMogul.com //
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    Biz Crusader

  • Choose Your Customers, Choose Your Future

    John Park
    12 Nov 2009 | 12:42 pm
    This is a great post by Seth Godin.  His advice may be one of the hardest approaches to actually act upon but he is right.  After you read his post, you’ll agree.  The problem is… can we ALL do this in this economy? Marketers rarely think about choosing customers… like a sailor on shore leave, we’re not so picky. Huge mistake. Your customers define what you make, how you make it, where you sell it, what you charge, who you hire and even how you fund your business. If your customer base changes over time but you fail to make changes in the rest of your organization,…

  • Why Evil Corporate Deeds Will Not Go Unpunished

    John Park
    19 Oct 2009 | 1:26 pm
      IT NEVER FAILS.   Bad economic conditions always lead to poor customer service.   Don’t ask me why this happens but it always does.  Whenever companies (mostly large ones) are faced with tighter budgets, the group that inevitably pays the price are their customers.  It can be an onerous return policy, a hike in fees or maybe headcount sacrifices in customer service departments.  Instead of a phone tree, you are faced with a “phone forest”.     CAUTION:   This… I’ll screw them over now and deal with it later approach is not what it used to be. …

  • Obama Goes Toe-To-Toe With Stephanopoulos On “Tax Increases”

    John Park
    20 Sep 2009 | 1:31 pm
    Is this a TAX Increase or not??? If the Government forces me to purchase something via a MANDATE, how is this not a tax increase?  How will this effect small businesses everywhere? Chime In. Let me know what you think. Until Next Time…

  • A Marketing Lesson From The Vegas Water Guy

    John Park
    18 Sep 2009 | 12:50 pm
      I see dead people… I mean marketing opportunities everywhere and what I noticed on a Vegas walkway in the middle of August was no exception.   It was an “Africa Hot” day and making money from everyone’s discomfort were entrepreneurially minded individuals selling chilled bottled waters to passersby tourists.  They were poorly dressed, disheveled looking and not exactly professional in their approach or presentation.  Nevertheless, they were selling these waters just by waving them around standing in front of their coolers, which were filled with all generic…

  • Suddenly They’re Blind.

    John Park
    27 Aug 2009 | 6:28 pm
      As my readers know very well,  I am often writing about the good things happening in business.  However, in some cases, I have to bring to everyone’s attention a very bad thing happening in the business community.   So… as of today, I’ve decided to start a SHAME ON YOU BUSINESS category.   All of the businesses listed or mentioned in these postings are doing or have done something really STUPID to damage their brand and customer loyalty.  And more importantly, their acts are damaging small businesses and their owners—the people I fight for.  Sometimes these…
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    Connie Bensen

  • Should you Accept the Job Offer?

    conniebensen@gmail.com (Connie Bensen)
    29 Oct 2009 | 8:53 pm
    Your dream is to work in social media. You’ve been blogging, building your brand and know your stuff. After doing all the right things you have a job offer, so now what? As with any potential new job there are many questions & many unknowns in regard to one in social media. And to make it worse, I believe that there are many more because the space is so new. I have been advising both employers and job seekers for quite awhile. Here’s a review of practical things to consider when you’re on that emotional high of having received a job offer: 1. job expectations? Do you know what your…

  • In San Francisco next week

    conniebensen@gmail.com (Connie Bensen)
    27 Oct 2009 | 3:22 pm
    It’s a busy time of year! Next week I’ll be in San Francisco for two events. I’m doing a 3 hour workshop at Enterprise 2.0 on Frameworks for utilizing social media. The diagram in my last blog post outlines the potential that a community manager offers an organization. I will share how to use social media to: Build brand & PR, social media marketing, business development & collaborations Connect with customers in terms of customer service, peer support, product development Augment sales by shortening sales cycle, new forms of prospecting (reducing cold calling) I was really…

  • Community Manager + Sales Funnel = ROI

    conniebensen@gmail.com (Connie Bensen)
    20 Oct 2009 | 7:25 pm
    This diagram summarizes what I have learned over the past year about how my role as a Community Manager influences the sales funnel. We are in agreement that social media efforts need to be measured. I will contend that the role of community manager or social media specialist requires you to show how you contribute to your organization’s business objectives in order to justify your presence (and paycheck). I created the diagram to help us as practitioners describe our position and influence in the sales funnel. The concepts apply to B2B sales as much as to B2C. Too often I think that…

  • Seven Business Objectives and their ROI for Monitoring Social Media

    conniebensen@gmail.com (Connie Bensen)
    8 Oct 2009 | 9:43 pm
    Michael Leander Nielson of Oslo  invited me to present a webinar on Business Objectives for Social Media Monitoring. It’s a popular topic and we had great attendance! I covered the following: Which objectives to consider when defining your social media monitoring (SMM) strategy What types of tools are available How to make sense of the data that is gathered The ROI and benefits of social media monitoring During the webinar it was interesting the exchange of Twitter usernames transition to  requesting to continue the conversation in a community. It underlined how people with a…

  • THE REASON You Should Be At Blogworld 09

    conniebensen@gmail.com (Connie Bensen)
    3 Oct 2009 | 9:06 pm
    Not too long ago I was in a traditional professional job. Ironically that same job is what introduced me to Web 2.0. Fast forwarding finds me deeply entrenched in working online and advocating for the role of Community Manager and working remotely. THE Reason You Should Be At Blogworld 09 is the people. As much as I enjoy working remotely there is a huge value to meeting people in person. The power of connecting face to face is incredible. Last year’s BlogWorld was a turning point for me. I had the opportunity to meet many of the people who had influenced my work & inspire so many of…
 
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    Virtually Ready - "Extend Your Reach!"

  • New Client Spotlight: 3D Motion Lenticular Patriotic & Collegiate Sports Promotional Products

    admin
    10 Nov 2009 | 6:47 am
    www.3-DMotion.com Virtually Ready is happy to introduce 3D Motion, creator of lenticular patriotic & collegiate sports promotional products.  We were introduced to the owner who had already had a website created, but was interested in basic website management as well as extending their web presence via social networking.  Naturally, Virtually Ready was a perfect fit! 3D Motion provides you the opportunity to show off your patriotism and/or show support for your favorite college sports teams with their unique magnets, stickers, postcards, coasters and more! These unique…

  • How Effective Are Facebook Ads?

    admin
    21 Oct 2009 | 9:18 am
    Virtuallly Ready Fan Page on Facebook® At Virtually Ready, we’re reaching out to our connections to find some questions that may be looming out there about the social web and how to best manage your web presence.  As a result, we received the following inquiry from one of our Fans on the Virtually Ready Fan Page on Facebook and wanted to share it with you. “I think the thing that I have been wondering the most is how effective are the ads on here (Facebook)? I have been going back and forth on doing one for both the business and the podcasts, but I am wondering if they actually…

  • Business Owners Have A Chance To Win A Customized Flip® MinoHD Video Camera from Virtually Ready

    admin
    15 Oct 2009 | 9:00 am
    Do you own a business? Here’s your opportunity to get connected and promote your business at the same time using the latest “on the go” video camera technology – The New Customizable flip® minoHD 120! This handy little gadget can boost your online business promotions with its FlipShare software feature, that “makes it easy to email videos, edit individual clips, make custom movies, capture still-image snapshots, and upload video to Facebook™, MySpace™ , YouTube™ and other sharing sites!” Virtually Ready is giving away a top-of-the-line 120 minute…

  • Soundwave Merchandising Extends Social Web Presence for Business with Virtually Ready

    admin
    21 Sep 2009 | 2:09 pm
    Soundwave Merchandising - Specializing in Band Touring Merch & Webstores A couple of months ago, Virtually Ready announced our new partnership with Campus Customs, which offers custom imprinted apparel, promotional screen printing & embroidery to their customers.  Today, we are  introducing an extension to that partnership with Soundwave Merchandising, a division of Campus Customs. Soundwave Merchandising is known for having “major company muscle with independent company thinking and accessibility”, especially in the music industry. The company specializes in band…

  • Springbak Springsoles Spring Into Action On The Social Web

    admin
    2 Sep 2009 | 7:00 am
    Official Springbak Springsoles Virtually Ready has recently partnered with Springbak Springsoles, the official provider of the sales and manufacturing of Springbak performance boosting Springsoles (insoles) designed for professional athletes, to revamp their website and bring them up to speed with a new Social Web Fusion(SM) website. To compliment their new site, they are also utilizing Virtually Ready’s website and social web management solutions program to boost their web presence and extend their reach. Springbak’s new website accommodates all of the detailed information they…
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    Quixoting™ - A Quest for New Ideas

  • Ideas In The Idle Mind

    Tim Tyrell-Smith
    7 Nov 2009 | 8:51 am
    I've been taking stock lately. Of my ideas. Or at least the few that are coming these days. Oh sure, I'm still having them. But they are different. Different in that they come at new intervals. And they are very focused. Before I got busy with Spin Strategy, the new job and a new flurry of kids sports, I had a mind at idle. To the extent that can be true of the mind. An idle mind is allowed to rotate at its own speed. It takes in, I think, more random data and delivers more content back to the conscious mind. And more ideas. Now I will say that the ideas produced in an idle mind are more…

  • Signs That Your Idea Needs Love And Attention

    Tim Tyrell-Smith
    30 Aug 2009 | 7:55 am
    Sometimes I get lost.  Not real bad.  But lost enough that I'm going to be late for something that matters.  A few weeks ago I was on the way to pick up my daughter at soccer practice.  At her normal field - one I've been to many times before.This time I got lost.  Turned around.  Took a wrong turn.I ended up two streets away and had to do a u-turn to get back.  The u-turn I took was an illegal one that forced me to do a 3-point version.  These are slower and potentially more embarrassing if someone comes driving up the other way.And someone did.  Right as I was completing my turn. …

  • Hungry For Breakfast? I Have An Idea.

    Tim Tyrell-Smith
    23 Aug 2009 | 9:27 am
    So I had an idea this morning.  But I'll tell you that I'm a little bummed out that it came down to this.You see, I had big plans this morning.  A little background story for you . . . I was going to take my Triumph TR6 down to a little breakfast place called Corky's in Ladera Ranch (Orange County, CA) and enjoy a nice warm breakfast.  Yes, that's my TR6 pictured below.  A car I have been waiting 20 years to buy.  And Quixoting helped me get it!  Yes, that's right.  Acting on my ideas.  Allowing in a little madness.  So by now you have surmised that I did not go to breakfast because…

  • New E-Book Now Available! "30 Ideas. The Ideas of Successful Job Search."

    Tim Tyrell-Smith
    16 Aug 2009 | 4:13 pm
    So if you've followed along here for a while, you'll know that I started another blog the same day as this one.  That other blog is called:  Spin Strategy™ - Tools for Intelligent Job SearchAnd as that idea grows bit by bit, I want to share pieces of it - perhaps you can see how an idea can begin to take root and how you can slowly over time create a brand and a following.I'm not saying I'm there yet.  Far from it.  After all, so many other great bloggers and job search experts are out there trying to reach the same people.  I mention a number of them in my new e-book.One way that I…

  • Need A New Place To Share Your Ideas?

    Tim Tyrell-Smith
    12 Aug 2009 | 7:00 am
    In my last post, I discussed how easy it was - utilizing social media to launch a new idea.  Importantly, without cost and without risk.  Using Twitter To Launch And Test A New IdeaAlthough if your idea is really bad, I guess your reputation can get t-boned.  But that's a risk we should be willing to take if we believe in our ideas.  Note: if you have any concern that your idea might be a stinker, tell 5 friends about it and tell them you can take the bad news . . .Today I'm writing about another place you can share your ideas.  Or, in this case, a second home for an idea.  Quixoting is…
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    NC State of Business

  • Do you say or communicate?

    Nora Milley
    20 Nov 2009 | 3:37 am
    These days Management Systems such as ISO 9001 and the Malcolm Baldrige Criteria required communication processes, why do these continual improvement systems emphasize in communication if it is such a basic principle? Communication has always being important, at home, school, work, between different nations, etc. Through the years, technology has provided us with a lot of tools to communicate, every day these tools make possible for messages to travel faster and further. But I wonder… are we using the technology effectively to communicate, or are we abusing the technology and still not…

  • Manufacturing Matters: How does Creativity and Innovation Result in Economic Benefit Anyway?

    David Boulay
    14 Nov 2009 | 4:55 am
    In my recent blog posts, I have outlined several reasons why manufacturing matters. My goal has been to highlight the tremendous importance of manufacturing while plenty of attention seems to be focused on its “decline”. Let me share another reason why manufacturing matters. The global economy has changed the nature of competition. United States manufacturers can no longer focus solely on being a low-cost producer, rather need to focus on high-value products. Creativity and innovation unlock new customer benefits resulting in higher-value products. Consequently, innovation and…

  • Meaningful Research to Reduce Injuries in the Workplace

    Wendy Laing
    13 Nov 2009 | 12:09 pm
    I recently learned some staggering statistics. • In 2007, 400 workers in the US manufacturing industry lost their lives on the job. The leading causes of these fatalities were contact with objects and equipment, transportation incidents, and falls. • During the same year, 783,100 non-fatal occupational injuries and illnesses occurred, with more than half requiring days away from work, job transfer, or job restriction. The leading causes of these incidents were contact with objects and equipment, overexertion and repetitive motion, and falls. So how do we reduce these hazards in…

  • What if You Had to Grow your Own Food?

    David Yates
    11 Nov 2009 | 9:04 pm
    This is a question that for most people never comes up in conversation. Sure, some of us grow a few tomatoes, plant a few peppers, or maybe tend a small bean patch. Do you know anyone who grows their entire daily menu? Think. Think some more. Anyone come to mind? It has certainly become rare in our society as grocery stores and restaurants have become the norm. Why not grow or raise your own food? Someone in your family tree probably did just that. Today, maybe it is harder? Maybe we like just more variety and options? Maybe it is too much work for our lifestyles? What if we had to go back to…

  • Integrating Lean and Six Sigma for Optimal Organizational Performance

    Christy Guion
    6 Nov 2009 | 1:12 pm
    Organizations often seek opportunities to improve their competitive advantage within their respective industries. Many organizations struggle to accomplish this goal without the use of a systematic approach to improve their organizational performance as it relates to quality products or services. Lean and Six Sigma are proven quality techniques that can help improve organizational performance. Although most organizations want to improve quality and cut costs, the deployment and implementation of continuous improvement methodologies is commonly viewed as a daunting undertaking. For various…
 
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    Business of Software Blog

  • Inbound marketing by @dharmesh and @bhalligan - a book review

    Neil Davidson
    8 Nov 2009 | 10:43 pm
    Inbound marketing - get found using Google, social media and blogs is a great book. It's not the book I expected, but it's a great book nonetheless. Dharmesh Shah, Brian Halligan and their company, Hubspot, are creating the digital wave. They're throwing giant twitter and facebook rocks into the sea of traditional marketing. This book isn't, of course, targeted at the impossibly thin market of people who, like Dharmesh and Brian, are creating this wave. But neither is it targeted at people like myself; those of us who are surfing the wave with differing levels of skill and success. Instead,…

  • How to take advantage of your time at Business of Software 2009 - tips from @asmartbear (#bos2009)

    Neil Davidson
    2 Nov 2009 | 11:35 pm
    This is a guest post by Jason Cohen, founder of Smart Bear Software and blogger about startups, marketing, and geekery. Jason gave a Pecha Kecha speach at BoS 2008 and has this advice for 2009 attendees. So you're going to Business of Software 2009! It's going to be awesome. There's a 100% chance you'll get your time and money's worth from the speakers alone, but that's not the only benefit of the conference. In fact, most of the folks I've talked to agree that getting to know the other attendees is half the experience. This conference is unlike any other, and you should take full advantage…

  • #codingbythesea – throw four smart people into a house by the seaside and shake

    Neil Davidson
    2 Nov 2009 | 6:55 am
    At Red Gate we like to try new things. The million dollar challenge and the accidental incubator are a couple of examples. Combine this with an occasional but nagging frustration at how long it can take to get stuff done nowadays and a curiosity about how much a small team can achieve if we just leave them alone, we’ve shipped Alex (developer), Dom (designer), Nagashree (tester), Rob (developer), and – oops, I forgot to send a project manager or scrum master - off to a house by the sea for a week. I’m not entirely sure what they’ll be working on, but take smart people, a fast internet…

  • Business of Software 2009 program

    Neil Davidson
    21 Oct 2009 | 2:31 am
    I’ve just posted up the BoS 2009 program (thank you @thatdesigner). You can download it here (.pdf). It’s going to be awesome. There are still some places left. You can sign up here.

  • Don't just roll the dice - a usefully short guide to software pricing

    Neil Davidson
    20 Oct 2009 | 8:00 am
    In 1938, two young engineers were ready to launch their first product. They'd struggled with what to build. After considering amplifiers, radio equipment, air controllers, harmonicas and even muscle-building electrodes for housewives, they'd finally decided to create an oscilloscope. Not wanting customers to be put off by a version one product, they sensibly called it the Model 200A.The next step? Decide the pricing.They eventually settled on $54.40. Was that because it represented the cost of manufacturing, plus a decent markup? No. These engineers hadn't taken that into account.
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    The AppGap

  • Evolve From a Tactical E-Discovery Approach to Search and E-Discovery: KM World Session Notes

    Bill Ives
    20 Nov 2009 | 10:33 am
    Here is another in a series of notes from the 2009 KM World that focus on applications. This is part of the Enterprise Search Summit.   It is titled: Evolve From a Tactical E-Discovery Approach to Search and E-Discovery by Brian W. Hill, Senior Analyst, Forrester Research, Here is the session description. During the next 18 months, initiatives to cut costs and rising regulatory demands will drive enterprise e-discovery investments. Although search is a critical component of e-discovery, enterprises Forrester surveyed use a grab bag of search tools and techniques for litigation or regulatory…

  • Enterprise Search Technologies: KM World Session Notes

    Bill Ives
    17 Nov 2009 | 5:24 pm
    This is another in a series of notes from the 2009 KM World. Enterprise Search Technologies was a preconference workshop. It was led by independent consultant Miles Kehoe from New Idea Engineering, Inc. Here is the session description. “This workshop, by a vendor neutral consultant who has hands-on experience with a broad range of “out of the box,” open source, commercial, and home grown solutions, provides an overview of the enterprise search technology landscape. It reviews technologies currently on the market; discusses pros and cons, strengths and weaknesses, and specific…

  • Attivio Aligns with Traction and Releases New Features

    Bill Ives
    16 Nov 2009 | 12:28 am
    I have written about Attivio on the AppGap before (see Attivio Tightly Integrates Structured Data and Unstructured Content for a New Approach to Information Access and Attivio on Some Potential Winners in our New Economic World).  Recently, I talked again with Attivio’s CTO, Sid Probstein and their VP of Marketing, MaryAnne Sinville, on some of their latest moves.  We first discussed Traction’s selection of the Attivio Active Intelligence Engine ™ (AIE) to power their information access. I know Traction well and have great respect for their offering (see for example, Traction…

  • Darwin Ecosystem Brings Awareness Engine™ to Enterprise 2.0 eDiscovery

    Bill Ives
    9 Nov 2009 | 12:34 am
    The introduction of Web 2.0 social media into the enterprise creates large amounts of potentially useful information about the social side of business processes.  The key is gaining awareness and access to this social intelligence. Paula Thronton recent covers this issue nicely in The Context of “Intent.” She opens with, “Two differentiating attributes of 2.0 are adaptation and emergence. Adaptive systems rely on feedback loops for continuous assessment. Emergence is the result of self-organizing adaptation.” Paula later adds, “The goal is to bring together relevant facts to…

  • JackBe Leads Formation of Open Mashup Alliance to Advance Adoption of Enterprise Mashup Solutions

    Bill Ives
    6 Nov 2009 | 12:52 am
    A consortium of technology companies announced the creation of the Open Mashup Alliance in late September. This effort is being led by JackBe and provides open access to their Enterprise Mashup Markup Language (EMML) language through a Creative Commons arrangement. I have written about Jackbe before (see: Jackbe is Refining its Enterprise Mashup Offering). Recently I spoke with John Crupi CTO of JackBe about this new move and other things going on at the company. John said that the alliance is open to any organization with an interest in the advancement of EMML and Enterprise Mashup…
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    Rise of the Innerpreneur

  • Samantha Brightwell: November Innerpreneur Spotlight

    Tara Joyce
    19 Nov 2009 | 9:47 am
    Samantha Brightwell Creative Entrepreneur Out of the Void and How to Build a Really Good Business Follow Sam on Twitter I am: …a writer, an artist, a teacher, a tree-hugging hippie, a mum, and an advocate for conscious living and new ways of doing business. I provide life & business advice. I am a girl with a dream, who is daring to do something about it. I’m a practical Virgo with a twist of chaotic Aquarius. I try to find a balance between walking my spiritual path and being truly grounded in the real world. For me, real world concerns should come first. And so, I am focused on…

  • It’s My Birthday Today!

    Tara Joyce
    16 Nov 2009 | 5:07 pm
    I’m 28! Woo hoo! I’m writing this post late today as I spent the day with my family, eating and laughing. I’m off to dinner with my hubby in a few minutes too. My birthday is a day that I always treat myself on. Even when I worked for others, I took my birthday off and made it a priority to fill the day with all the things and people I love. I do hope that you do the same for yourself on your special day. You deserve it. photo by: Paco CTOther articles that might tickle your fancy: Slowing Down for the Holidays We Have a Problem with Business It’ll Never Be Fast Enough…

  • It’s the Squishy Stuff that Counts

    Tara Joyce
    15 Nov 2009 | 12:28 pm
    When it comes to business, we tend to focus on the “hard stuff”. We believe with the right idea, coupled with equipment, know-how and a little money, we will be a success. We write business plans, take classes, invest in seminars, read books and magazines, and worry over and debate the nuts and bolts, the material resources and the fundamental idea, of our business. It’s not the idea, it’s you It’s not the “hard stuff” that will make your dreams come true, those things you can easily acquire. Having an idea does not make you unique, nor does having…

  • You’re My Kind of Whackjob

    Tara Joyce
    12 Nov 2009 | 4:25 pm
    After a year and a half of writing this blog, it still seems odd to me that I share my most personal thoughts with world. See, I’ve always considered myself a private person, as I keep my feelings close to my chest, dealing them out only to those few, dear people closest to me. I’ve never really felt safe opening up to people, and I felt a sense of contentment with my story staying mine, alone. You actually care? When I first heard about blogging I couldn’t understand why anyone: Would think someone else cares enough about their thoughts to publish them Would want to read…

  • 5 Tips for Finding Your Signal and Creating a Web Presence to Support It

    Tara Joyce
    9 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am
    I wrote this post for my friend and fellow Innerpreneur, Tim Bursh. He blogs on Social Impact, Social Media and Community. I encourage you to read the article in it’s entirety. 5 Tips for Finding Your Signal Accept that there is no demand for your message. Express your point-of-view. The more valuable your signal, the stronger it will be. It’s a table for two. Share. Looking for more guidance than this? Read the whole article. The context around these 5 tips is what really matters. photo credit: Andres RuedaOther articles that might tickle your fancy: What Tune Does Your Business…
 
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    The Moutray Chronicles

  • No More Camera Envy

    moutray
    18 Nov 2009 | 8:41 am
    Earlier this year, we went to my nephew’s first birthday party. I offered to help my brother-in-law take some pictures, and he handed me his brand new SLR digital camera. It was nice – especially the ability to take continuous shots every couple seconds, capturing each expression of my nephew’s face as he ate his birthday cake. I was hooked and instantly had camera envy. A couple weeks ago, I did a quick search on eBay for SLR cameras, and before I knew it, I had bid on a Canon EOS Rebel XS. My existing camera was having some minor (and probably fixable) issues. My attempts…

  • Lean But Not Mean

    moutray
    17 Nov 2009 | 2:00 am
    As several of you know, I have lost 20 pounds since early June, settling in around 160 pounds.  When I say that, people often respond that they think that I did not need to lose any weight.  Indeed, my girlfriend has told me that I am too skinny now.  Nonetheless, I am happy with it, as it is nice to feel like I am in shape for a change. The usual second response is for people to ask how I lost the weight.  Since I am an economist, you will not be surprised that I tackled the issue in a very analytical way.  Each day, I keep a log using FitDay of everything that I eat, ensuring that I do…

  • If Only Every Day Were March 10

    moutray
    16 Nov 2009 | 2:00 am
    Not a single day goes by where Charlotte does not bring up her birthday.  She has been talking about turning five since she turned four.  In picking her up from school, I often overhear her inviting her friends to her Princess party.  (Of course, what she gives, she can also take away.  She has also told me that so-and-so is not invited to her birthday party anymore.  It is funny to watch her use her party as a weapon.)  The challenge to all of this is that Charlotte’s birthday is still four months away! If only every day were March 10.  Charlotte knows her days of the week, and…

  • Refocusing My Blog

    moutray
    15 Nov 2009 | 3:43 pm
    Today, I will relaunch The Moutray Chronicles focusing more on events and thoughts from my life with Charlotte.  In doing so, I will not discuss professional issues as much as in the past.  While I might occasionally discuss a paper, a speech, or my thoughts on small business economic issues, it will no longer be the primary mission of the blog. Truth be told, there were some within the SBA who were never thrilled with my blending of personal and professional thoughts.  (The SBA’s Office of Advocacy has its own blog, which I also contribute to from time to time.)  As such, I have…

  • Remembering Laura – Two Years Later

    moutray
    13 Nov 2009 | 12:57 am
    “I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now, the prize awaits me….” (2 Timothy 4:7-8)
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    The Entrepreneurial Mind

  • The Face of Entrepreneurship in the US

    21 Nov 2009 | 3:39 am
    A couple of interesting studies came out this week that help us better understand the direction of entrepreneurship in our economy.A study by Microsoft suggests the most of the new entrepreneurs today are either accidental entrepreneurs or at least not folks who had aspired to become an entrepreneur before the recession.  The study found that about 70 percent of the respondents left their jobs to start their own businesses in the midst of the current recession.The latest Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report that looks specifically at the U.S. was just released by Babson…

  • Seeing the Recession

    20 Nov 2009 | 11:58 am
    My colleague Joe Alexander passed along a map developed by Latoya Egwuekwe that gives a very stark visual display of the spread of unemployment.  Go to this site, press the play button and watch employment spread across the country over the past three years.  You may want to watch it a few times.

  • Entrepreneurship is Anemic Around the Globe

    19 Nov 2009 | 11:37 am
    The driver of the old economy from the twentieth century was the auto industry.  The old saying was that if General Motors sneezes, the rest of the economy caught a cold.The driver of the economy in this century has been entrepreneurs.  From the sounds of the latest survey from the Kauffman Foundation and the OECD, entrepreneurs seem to have caught swine flu, so the rest of the economy is probably about to go on life support.In all 23 countries and regions surveyed, firm formation declined and exits increased.  This should be viewed as a leading indicator of job creation -- or…

  • Preparing for Inflation

    19 Nov 2009 | 4:57 am
    I continue to be in the camp that is worried about inflation -- even possibly hyper-inflation -- in the not too distant future.  Our ballooning debt along with the many latent inflationary pressures could soon create the spark that ignites a fire storm of runaway prices.  If we see a currency crash, or many are now saying when we see one, we could likely see double or even triple digit inflation.The problem for small business during inflationary times is that they are less able to adjust prices as quickly to adjust to inflationary pressures.  There is never a smooth and orderly…

  • A Bucket of Cold Water

    18 Nov 2009 | 4:21 am
    It looks like the Obama administration is considering a move to increase taxes to deal with the exploding federal deficits caused by their massive give-aways and bailouts.  Their plan would be like throwing a bucket of cold water on the embers of entrepreneurial growth in this struggling economy.  From James Pethokoukis:Since Obama already wants to get rid of the income and capital gains tax cuts for wealthier Americans that expire at the end of 2010, clearly what Romer is referring to is the rest of the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts. Letting all the 2001 cuts -- rate reductions,…
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    The Small Business Watchdog

  • Capitol Hill Connection for the Week of November 17

    rlkrafft
    17 Nov 2009 | 8:14 am
    Each week while Congress is in session the Office of Advocacy will post a highlights schedule of congressional hearings and committee markups that we think will be of interest to stakeholders in the small business community. For further information on the hearings in question please contact the relevant congressional committee. Tuesday, November 17, 2009 10:00 am  Markup House Financial Services Committee mark up of pending legislation             Agenda/Bill Text:  H.R. ___, Amendment in the nature of a substituteto HR 2609, Federal Insurance Office Act of 2009 H.R. 3904,…

  • Capitol Hill Connection for the Week of November 2

    rlkrafft
    2 Nov 2009 | 11:36 am
    Each week while Congress is in session the Office of Advocacy will post a highlights schedule of congressional hearings and committee markups that we think will be of interest to stakeholders in the small business community. For further information on the hearings in question please contact the relevant congressional committee. Tuesday, November 3, 2009 9:00 am   Markup Senate Environment and Public Works Committee markup of  pending legislation, S.1733, Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act Where:            366 Dirksen             Website:          9:30…

  • A Gold Mine for State Data Diggers

    rlkleinsteuber
    30 Oct 2009 | 6:30 am
    This week the Office of Advocacy released its 2009 edition of small business profiles. On the website at www.sba.gov/advo/research/profiles, you will find an array of two-page small business economic profiles for the nation, each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories. Each is loaded with the most current available data on the demographics of business owners, the numbers of businesses, their employment by industry and size, business openings and closings, gross domestic and state product, and the employment picture. As noted, there are statistics galore. But…

  • Capitol Hill Connection for the Week of October 27

    rlkleinsteuber
    26 Oct 2009 | 8:49 am
    Each week while Congress is in session the Office of Advocacy will post a highlights schedule of congressional hearings and committee markups that we think will be of interest to stakeholders in the small business community. For further information on the hearings in question please contact the relevant congressional committee. Tuesday, October 27, 2009 9:30 am          Hearing Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on global climate change and pending legislation, S.1733, Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act Bill Text: S.1733, Clean Energy Jobs and American Power…

  • FAA and Other Agencies Should Consider How a Safety Management System Might Affect Small Business

    rlkrafft
    23 Oct 2009 | 6:58 am
    Advocacy just filed public comments on the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) pre-rulemaking notice on Safety Management System (SMS).  This is a really interesting issue because FAA and several other federal agencies are exploring whether they should require businesses to adopt SMS as a regulatory requirement.  In fact, there are various international agreements that may compel them to do so. Under the SMS concept, a business essentially organizes itself around safety.  That is, safety becomes the essential organizing principle for every aspect of the organization— just as…
 
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    Catherine Lawson

  • 2 Things A New Business Must Do

    cathlawson
    19 Nov 2009 | 7:00 pm
    When you start a new business, there are two things you must spend 80% of your time on: 1) Finding new customers - through marketing. 2) Keeping the customers you already have - by meeting their expectations. If you’re spending too much time on activities that don’t help you do those two things, think about how you can cut them down or eliminate them completely.

  • Thinking Of Immigrating? 8 Things You Should Know

    cathlawson
    18 Nov 2009 | 12:52 pm
    Thinking of immigrating to Australia, Canada, or anywhere else in the world? People have been immigrating successfully for decades. But before you buy your plane ticket, there are 20 things you should know, so you can decide if immigrating would be right for you and make sure you immigrate to the right place. 1. Don’t Put Your Life On Hold: I seriously began to consider immigrating almost two years ago. And because I thought the process would be quick, I more or less put my life on hold. Don’t make the same mistake. The research process can be long and in some cases it can take…

  • Those Little Things Folk Don’t Want To Talk About

    cathlawson
    14 Nov 2009 | 8:18 pm
    Have you been plagued by those little things nobody wants to talk about? Well, they’ve had me tearing my hair out - literally. So, I’m on a mission to wipe them out. And if you’ve ever been infested with head lice, you might to join me. Last night I got so desperate that I almost shaved off my hair. Then I remembered that my mother said shaving your hair isn’t a great idea, as folk might think you have cancer. And I wouldn’t want to disappoint some of my neighbours by letting them think I have cancer when I don’t. Shaving for head lice doesn’t make…

  • The Assholes, The Bus Driver & The Awesome

    cathlawson
    8 Nov 2009 | 9:05 pm
    As some of you know, my son - Josh was hit by a bus 4 weeks ago. Lots of people have asked me for an update, so here goes. Josh is recovering and managing to get out and about a bit. But the consultant says it’s too soon for him to go back to school, because of the head injury. He still has significant hearing loss in one ear, which makes life a bit difficult for him. But at least his other ear is working perfectly fine. The Assholes Unless you live in some weird Stepford like place, you probably have your fair share of assholes living around you. This is the only place I’ve lived…

  • Be Smart Like An Animal

    cathlawson
    13 Oct 2009 | 10:32 am
    “It will be weird going back to school tomorrow,” my son Josh told me yesterday. A bloody miracle more like - he only just got out of hospital yesterday, after being knocked off his bicycle by a bus. I know he’s getting tired of hearing all the one liners like, “You’re supposed to get on the bus through the door.” And, “Didn’t you know you’re not allowed to take your bicycle on the bus.” But the doctor said it will be six weeks to six months until he’s well enough to go back to school. If you’ve ever recovered from a…
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    Everyone's Blog Posts - Biztropolis

  • Watch What You Send

    Erroin Martin
    The internet has proven to be a powerful marketing tool. You have social media, blogs, Google Ads, Youtube videos, and email newsletters. There are so many methods to communicate and engage your target audience that when you make a blunder it is seen exponentially. Here is an example that we received from a company we buy from: Hey __firstname_! Just in time for Thanksgiving we are celebrating this month’s Open House in two special ways. First, we will begin by Blackberry [beer] on tap. For those of unfamiliar with Blackberry [beer], it was the 2008 BLC winner and is a uniquely brewed with…

  • How to NOT lose time or productivity during a shift in employees.

    My Business Assistant
    We have already discussed the top three reasons why growing companies choose to outsource – lower costs, lack of internal expertise, and scalability. The fourth prominent reason is problems with employee retention. Retaining employees is of paramount importance for a healthy and growing organization. Every person lost is a setback for your company. Apart from the time spent in training and building the requisite skill set, losing an employee is a costly affair. Too many issues with employee retention also hamper the brand image of your organization and have a great impact on customer…

  • 21 Equals 7 -- Keep Diverse Contact WIth Your Customers

    Erroin Martin
    Somewhere it is written that it takes 21 days or more to change a habit or establish a new one. (Although I am sure under the right pressures those days can be shortened.) If it is really the case that it takes 21 days then you should use that number when establishing how many times you are going to speak with your customers/clients. Meeting With A Client First, you cannot bug your clients/customers for twenty-one straight days. That is simply insane and they are in their correct judgement to bar you from the door. If you have an established call cycle that you are working with to obtain…

  • 21 Equals 7 -- Keep Diverse Contact WIth Your Customers

    Erroin Martin
    Somewhere it is written that it takes 21 days or more to change a habit or establish a new one. (Although I am sure under the right pressures those days can be shortened.) If it is really the case that it takes 21 days then you should use that number when establishing how many times you are going to speak with your customers/clients. Meeting With A Client First, you cannot bug your clients/customers for twenty-one straight days. That is simply insane and they are in their correct judgement to bar you from the door. If you have an established call cycle that you are working with to obtain…

  • Update On The Third Option In Healthcare

    Erroin Martin
    recent article in the Wall Street Journal on 28 October 2009, discusses different ways you can find and compare pricing for medical procedures. This is the beginning of what needs to be a more open and transparent marketplace when it comes to pricing. One question that we have received from our readers is “How can I find out about pricing?” Here are a few ways: Have a candid conversation with your provider or the practice manager prior to your visit. Find out how they are reimbursed from your insurance company and what is their average negotiated rate. Let them know that you will be…
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    Startbreakingfree.com

  • Entrepreneur/Hacker Meetup In Buenos Aires

    Brian Armstrong
    19 Nov 2009 | 8:07 am
    Andrew Warner and I put together a little entrepreneur meetup last night which turned out really well. Well actually, I emailed Andrew when I saw on his blog that he was in Buenos Aires, and he had the great idea to post the meeting to Hacker News.  It ended up being a pretty good turnout. Buenos Aires is turning into quite the little tech entrepreneur scene.  As I wrote on Hacker News… It does seem like something is brewing here. I think it got popular with Tim Ferriss’ The Four Hour Work Week where he talks about Buenos Aires…lots of founders came down here. It’s…

  • Why Directory Sites Are Doing Well As A Business Model

    Brian Armstrong
    9 Nov 2009 | 7:58 pm
    I met up with a few entrepreneurs from Dublin, Ireland this week in Buenos Aires.  They have a web business based around the voiceover industry.  If you don’t know, the voiceover industry is a bit like acting or modeling in that people typically have agents – except they get hired to record their voice for commercials and things like this. You can see a sample of one of their pages here. By the way, their logo looks a bit strange, but apparently that is the tonsils on the back of someone’s mouth (their piehole). Really, it’s a similar business model to…

  • How To Finally Get Your Finances Under Control

    Brian Armstrong
    4 Nov 2009 | 10:29 am
    Check out this page Ramit Sethi put together about getting your finances under control.  It’s generally great advice and I do quite a lot of it already, like setting up automatic deposits to my ING Direct savings accounts. Here is an email he got from a reader… “I want to earn more (I know, who doesn’t) I keep reading all these finance books and like any other lazy American, I haven’t done shit. I’m 30 and a little behind on saving for the future, plus my boyfriend is a post-doc and not making a ton, so I’m kinda saving for both of us… yadda…

  • 300% Increase In Traffic To BuyersVote.com Last Month

    Brian Armstrong
    3 Nov 2009 | 4:41 pm
    Just wanted to give an update on how my SEO experiment went from this post a month ago. For those who didn’t read it I setup a category on BuyersVote.com for the best halloween costume ideas of 2009. I did this because I knew it would be a popular keyword in October, especially toward the end of the month. And if I could make a good page targeted specifically for that niche keyword, it might get some traffic. Well, it worked. I just BARELY got on the first page of Google in time for Halloween and managed to get the 9th or 10th place listing (which is still on the first page) for some…

  • If You Had $5 And Two Hours, How Much Money Could You Make?

    Brian Armstrong
    30 Oct 2009 | 9:23 am
    Students in this entrepreneurship class at Stanford were given $5 and two hours to see how much money they could earn. Some of the ideas will surprise you.  Great example of thinking outside the box (especially the last one)!  The video can be viewed here or click the image below.
 
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    Young Go Getter

  • Gaining Respect from your Employees

    Justin
    19 Nov 2009 | 10:43 pm
    Getting the respect from your employees is something I see new managers and entrepreneurs struggle to get. It is not easy, it could be your youth, inexperience in handling people, maybe you are too passive and people just seem to be able to walk all over you. Whatever it is you need to correct it, you will find it very hard to succeed unless you have your team behind you helping you reach your objectives. So here are some tips that I have used to gain the respect we all so desire! Be Consistent If you are a hard-nosed say it like it is type person, act that way. The worst thing you can do is…

  • How to Calculate Debt to Equity Ratio – Test Video

    Justin
    12 Nov 2009 | 6:28 pm
    I just got this video from my friends at investopedia.com. They wanted some feedback on the video and if you found it interesting. Please leave comments below and enjoy!

  • Project Management for Entrepreneurs

    Clayton McIlrath
    9 Nov 2009 | 12:25 pm
    Project Management can easily make or break a company of any size. If there’s anything I miss about working for “the man” it’s having someone else responsible for managing client communication, deadlines, and the tedious tasks that interfere with the bulk work. Even though a PM may get under your skin a few times or peer over your shoulder every other minute.. you can usually still look back and see the value in meeting ridiculous deadlines and not having to worry about client communications. Interestingly enough, many project managers are women. Females naturally seem…

  • How to Build a Strong List for Email Marketing

    Eric Brantner
    6 Nov 2009 | 11:17 am
    Did you know that email marketing’s ROI was about $45 for every $1 spent on it in 2008? Without a doubt, email marketing has become one of the most effective methods of direct marketing. When done properly, an email marketing campaign costs almost nothing to launch and maintain, and it generates a ton of revenue for your business. Now, there’s a saying in email marketing (and direct mail marketing for that matter) that goes like this: It’s all in the list. In other words, without a good email list, your marketing efforts will be crippled. Building your own list is the best way to create…

  • Interview: Jason Sadler from iwearyourshirt.com

    Justin
    29 Oct 2009 | 6:00 am
    We know you’re a “Young Go Getter”, but so our readers know, how old are you? I turned 27 years young in May…. 30 kind of scares me. Can you tell us the quick history about yourself, and what drives you to succeed? As a small child (yes I’m 6’5 now, but I was small once) I spent all of my time being creative, attempting to be artistic and always trying to make people laugh. I never saw myself going to college but did it to appease my parents and now know that I wouldn’t be where I am today without that life experience (read: NOT education). I graduated in 2005 with a degree in…
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    Improve My Business

  • Workplace Gripes

    Suzanne
    13 Nov 2009 | 10:58 am
    Workplace Gripes - We all have them. Some complaints have to do with the physical environment: office temperature, temperamental copy machines, noise from other cubicles. Other gripes are with the hours, schedule or traffic, but most complaints have to do with other employees. Here are some suggestions on how to cope with a few of [...]

  • Tips for influencing someone to consider your ideas

    Mary
    6 Nov 2009 | 9:45 am
    Here’s a great post about how to influence your boss (and maybe get him/her to listen to your idea for improvement). More importantly, this can work equally well for personal interactions - so you can use it in all aspects of your life! http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/baldoni/2009/10/the_smart_way_to_influence_you.html      [...]

  • Trick or Treat, part 2

    Suzanne
    30 Oct 2009 | 11:11 am
    Today’s post focuses on treats… (see previous blog post for tricks). Tomorrow is Halloween and I think we’re all ready to receive a few treats! Here are 10 ways managing your time more efficiently will reward (treat) you: Gaining control of your life. You will stop being reactive in life and working proactively towards goals. Ability [...]

  • Trick or Treat, part 1

    Suzanne
    27 Oct 2009 | 8:15 am
    In the United States, October 31st is Halloween - where children dress in costumes and go door-to-door saying, “Trick or Treat!”. In order to prevent pranks (the tricks), adults hand over candy (the treat). Today’s post focuses on ‘tricks’ that you can use to become more efficient (and stay tuned for our next post to address [...]

  • 2.5 Reasons Why There are Multiple Bloggers for This Site

    McDCG Staff
    15 Oct 2009 | 7:45 am
    Those of you who are regular readers of the blog may notice that we have several bloggers who regularly write these posts. This is done for two reasons: 1) I’m willing to share the limelight with other McDonald Consulting employees - that’s just the kind of sharing, selfless person I am. 2) I don’t want to write [...]
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    Linda's Business Blog

  • From Business Entrepreneur to NonProfit Entrepreneur

    lindasbusiness
    19 Nov 2009 | 3:14 pm
    Linda’s Business Blog is an ongoing conversation about all things business…mostly.  I’ve digressed from time-to-time, written about a vacation or two, done a book review or two -but always relevant to what I’m doing.  In January – hopefully – I’ll not only write about vacation again but the process of buying a fruit tree.  Tomorrow I’m going to write about a small, tiny even, business owner’s reaction to the differences between China’s cultural outlook on national economics and the United States’ cultural outlook on national…

  • The Burger King thing and when it’s not your idea

    lindasbusiness
    16 Nov 2009 | 11:28 am
    A franchise, I think, is both big business and small business.  I’ll explain myself in a moment.  According to InvestorWords.com, a franchise is: “…A form of business organization in which a firm which already has a successful product or service (the franchisor) enters into a continuing contractual relationship with other businesses (franchisees) operating under the franchisor’s trade name and usually with the franchisor’s guidance, in exchange for a fee ….” From the corporation’s point of view, its entire network of franchise locations…

  • Business Mentors and Hot Mommas Project

    lindasbusiness
    12 Nov 2009 | 4:08 pm
    It’s a funny way to begin a post about mentoring in a business context, but I’ve been a fan of science fiction movies from childhood.  My dad used to love to watch them with me, the old black and white movies.  One of my favorite was “The Day of the Triffids,” and those taller-than-people plants that moved were very scary.  This love of sci-fi has stayed with me and I’m an unashamed fan of several television sci-fi franchises including Stargate SG-1.  One of the characters of which I’m fond is that of Master Bra’tac, the mentor and lifelong…

  • Heart of a Military Woman and Veteran’s Day

    lindasbusiness
    11 Nov 2009 | 11:13 am
    I’m a veteran of the United States Navy.  I served during the tail-end years of the Vietnam War.  I worked as a journalist at the Fifth Naval District Headquarters which at that time was located in Norfolk, Virginia [USA].  Part of my work involved writing press releases that went out to community newspapers about ship arrivals and departures.  Part of my work involved covering posthumous awards ceremonies…these always tore at my heart.  A bright spot of my time then was an Easter Sunday morning when I was able to attend dawn services aboard an aircraft carrier.  A funny…

  • Cool Kohl’s and Safeway interaction

    lindasbusiness
    9 Nov 2009 | 3:29 pm
    When I go to the grocery store I don’t expect to receive coupons to another store.  Usually when I shop at the grocery store [I shop at Safeway] I’ll get a couple of cents-off coupons for merchandise that is carried by that store chain to use on my next shopping trip.  Imagine my surprise this past weekend when I got my receipt for that night’s supper along with a “rewards” coupon for Kohl’s department store.  For some reason I hadn’t heard of this promotion.  It was  very short-lived [Nov.4-8].  For just four days at Safeway, depending upon how…
 
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    Allison Nazarian

  • In The Flow

    AllisonNazarian
    18 Nov 2009 | 7:31 am
    I like to think of myself as someone who goes with the flow, is super-flexible and just lets everything just roll off my back. But, in reality, I have so not been that kind of person. Ha!….In fact, just the opposite. If we’re talking historically and being totally honest, the truth is I have always been one of those people who needs to feel in control of all situations and certainly of myself. Like I feel the need to know what steps B-Z will look like even when I am only starting out on A. It’s tiring. And trying. And, at the end of the day, it’s really just an…

  • The Ladybug Thing

    AllisonNazarian
    9 Nov 2009 | 7:20 am
    I have been quite vocal and open, on twitter in particular, about my new tattoo. Those of you who have known me for any time know that I am not exactly the “tattoo type.” Or at least I wasn’t previously the “tattoo type.” When this year started, I identified three big things that, for me, were “Must-Dos” for 2009. There were many more business and personal goals I had and have….but these three were separate from all of that. These were the “Three Things To Separate the Old Allison from the New Allison” kind of things: 1. Get a…

  • A Little Bit About Hero Worship

    AllisonNazarian
    22 Oct 2009 | 7:38 am
    So I don’t need to tell you yet again about the wild ride I have had this year. It’s been all kinds of new and different and scary and magical. I don’t know about you, but when I am in times of deep fear or uncertainty, I tend to try to find and/or grab on to something that seems real and stable and safe. Maybe it’s a thing we bring from childhood — relying on our parents or a safe adult so we can have that delicious “it’s a cold world but I’m safe here” kind of feeling. I admit to doing that hanging-on thing a bunch of times this year and…

  • The Danger in OverDelivering

    AllisonNazarian
    29 Sep 2009 | 10:51 am
    I recently had a “Yes, this is really crappy so dig deep for the lesson” moment. I was wrapping up a project for a client. This was a one-time flat-fee project. The components/deliverables included in the project were very clearly documented in our written agreement. So that everyone was clear (and because I have been doing this long enough to know), the agreement was also very specific in listing services related to the project that I/my company do not provide. I felt that the final project was quite impressive. I also felt that I had gone “above and beyond” in terms…

  • The Pain Of Losing Something You Didn’t Even Need

    admin
    8 Sep 2009 | 7:01 am
    I’m a peace-and-quiet-loving  girl. I try to avoid drama. I’m not good with urgent situations and emergencies. That’s why the past 10 days have been a little nuts for me. The Friday before last, my divorce was finalized by a judge. Logistically or practically, nothing changed in my life. My Ex and I even laughed about how we didn’t need a guy in a robe on a bench who knows nothing of us or our lives to tell us what’s what. But that’s how the system is and so we follow. I didn’t expect to feel overly emotional, especially as I really hadn’t gone…
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    The Accidental Entrepreneur's Guide

  • Does your pricing strategy prevent customers from committing?

    Molly
    20 Nov 2009 | 12:05 pm
    Just between you and me, how do you feel about pricing your work? If you're like many accidental entrepreneurs, pricing is not your favorite topic. Charge too much, and you lose clients. Charge too little, and you can't earn a living. It doesn't have to be this way. Charging enough to make a good living is, in fact, one of the keys to getting and keeping committed clients and customers. How does charging enough relate to getting clients to commit? Like this. The splurge that wasn't a splurge. A few years ago I treated myself to a pair of Bose noise-canceling headphones. For me, this was a…

  • Why nice people should use fear to market their work

    Molly
    12 Nov 2009 | 11:51 am
    There's no mystery about why marketers appeal to fear. Fear mongering works. Before Madison Avenue taught us to fear it, body odor was just a fact of life. Same with gray hair, weeds in the lawn, and dingy whites. Advertising has transformed what were at most minor disappointments or inconveniences into occasions of fear and shame. We're right, I think, to deplore the wholesale manipulation of the consumer mind by appeals to fear. But we're wrong to avoid appeals to fear in our own marketing. How fear led me to bodywork Once upon a time I thought massage was a luxury for the unforgivably…

  • When Trying Harder Gets in the Way of Prosperity

    Molly
    22 Oct 2009 | 7:02 pm
    Photo Courtesy of: istockphoto The wealthy man is not he who has money, but he who has the means to live in the luxurious state of early spring. ~Anton Chekhov Have you ever had a friend who always seemed to date the wrong people? Often this is the result of a confusion of values and standards. If your friend is choosing prospective mates based on certain standards, perhaps looks, he may be unwittingly overlooking the woman who is a good match for his values. When your standards don’t match your values or vision, the harder you look for what you want, the worse your results. As they say,…

  • The Innocent Origins of Scarcity Thinking

    Molly
    15 Oct 2009 | 4:29 pm
    Once upon a time there were three little pigs. The time had come for the little pigs to leave home and seek their fortune. Of course, the first thing they needed to do was to find shelter. The first pig built a house of straw he found scattered on the ground. The second pig built a house of sticks he scavenged from the woods. The third little pig discovered an abandoned cache of bricks. “These would be perfect for a house,” he thought. But then he decided to live out in the open because he just didn’t feel right about taking anything without asking and he didn’t very much like to ask.

  • Why lowering your prices doesn’t work and how to resist the urge

    Molly
    8 Oct 2009 | 5:27 pm
    A few years back (okay, 20, but who’s counting?), I participated in a three-day studio tour on beautiful, art-friendly Bainbridge Island. I spent most of the weekend scurrying around, pricing and re-pricing every scarf, sweater, and hats, certain that if only I chose the right price my work would fly off the walls. It didn’t. That weekend came vividly to mind as I read the following letter from artist Julie Sadler. I was recently in an outdoor art show and had to give prices to people as they asked for the original works that I have done. Even tho I have gotten a fair price for some of my…
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    The Pay Simple Blog

  • Entrepreneurs and Climate Change

    Posted by Elissa Beckman For the second year in a row, PaySimple is proud to participate in Blog Action Day, an annual event that invites bloggers on all topics, from around the world, to unite by writing a post about one important global topic.  The topic for Blog Action Day 2009 ...

  • Improving Customer Service

    Posted by Connie Howard, SVP of Sales for PaySimple Recently, after wanting to learn more about how our Customer Care Associates spend their time, I decided the best way to do this was to experience the job first-hand. And so I assumed the role of a Customer Care rep, answering ...

  • We provide payment software AND we cook!

    Posted by Elissa Beckman At PaySimple we are always looking for ways to get involved in the community, so earlier this month, we got a group together to volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House in Denver. If you're not already familiar with the organization, the Ronald McDonald House is a wonderful charity ...

  • Great News - ACH Payment Processing Experienced Q4 Growth!

    Posted by Sarah Jordan Despite the doom and gloom in the economy lately, a recent press release from NACHA states that ACH payments actually experienced growth in the 4th quarter, with an amazing 4.5% increase in Q4 2008 over Q4 2007. That means that more than 3.8 billion ACH transactions ...

  • Merchant Account - Card Acceptance Guidelines

    Posted by David Sharp With more and more small businesses obtaining merchant accounts to accept credit cards, it is essential to review some common scenarios that business owners and their consumers may run into. The merchant account agreement contains a complete explanation of key procedures, but here are some highlights. Within the ...
 
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    National Spending Journal

  • Shoeboxed and the Small Business Web: Connecting Apps to Help Your Business

    Stacy Chudwin
    12 Nov 2009 | 9:52 am
    At Shoeboxed, we know that receipt and contact management is only one step in your busy day. A successful small business has to juggle marketing, sales, invoices, and taxes, and still have time left over to do actual billable work! Making life easy for small businesses is what Shoeboxed is all about, but we only help with receipts and business cards. We know you need other great software services throughout the day to help you save time and be more professional. So, to help one of the coolest things we’ve done along with some other great brands is create The Small Business Web. The Small…

  • Shoeboxed iPhone App Named New York Times App of the Week

    Stacy Chudwin
    27 Oct 2009 | 12:24 pm
    Shoeboxed just recently launched our new iPhone app, and we are proud to announce that it has been selected as the New York Times App of the Week! Check it out: http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/26/app-of-the-week-better-budget-tracking/ You can learn more about the app here! https://www.shoeboxed.com/shoeboxed-iphone-app.htm

  • Shoeboxed iPhone App Tutorial

    Sonny Byrd
    27 Oct 2009 | 8:21 am
    The long awaited Shoeboxed iPhone App has hit the App Store… and it’s FREE! Here’s a quick introduction and guide for using our brand new revolutionary app that is doing away with the need to keep paper receipts and allowing business-oriented people to effortlessly manage and track their expenses for reimbursements and deductions.  First:  Access the app and you’ll be prompted to capture a photo of your receipt and add a note to it if you like.  The image will then automatically be sent to Shoeboxed to be digitally archived and auto-categorized.  Second:  All important receipt…

  • Shoeboxed iPhone App to Revolutionize Expense Management in the Mobile Space

    Stacy Chudwin
    27 Oct 2009 | 7:02 am
    Shoeboxed is proud to announce the launch of our new free iPhone app that will change the way business-oriented people, travelers, freelancers, and even individual consumers use technology to organize their finances. With the new app, users can simply snap a picture of their receipts with their iPhone, automatically generate expense reports, and send the images to Shoeboxed.com to be digitally archived for auto-categorization, expense tracking, and reimbursements. All important receipt data such as date, vendor name, total, payment type, and IRS tax category are extracted from the photo…

  • Shoeboxed Podcast Interview with Weekly App for Trimtab Creative

    Stacy Chudwin
    26 Oct 2009 | 9:32 am
    Want to learn more about how Shoeboxed can help you save time, money, and headaches? Aaron Aiken from Trimtab Creative interviewed me for his podcast, the Weekly App. Check it out! http://weeklyapp.tv/2009/10/episode-v-shoeboxed-removes-paper-clutter-gives-you-online-access-and-is-irs-friendly/
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    Understanding Marketing

  • Small Business Social Networking Levels The Playing Field

    admin
    21 Nov 2009 | 4:43 am
    There is a conversation happening online.  More than any other marketing method in the course of history, small business has the upper hand in the arena of social networking over big corporations. The intimate atmosphere that naturally occurs in social networking creates abundant opportunity to influence untapped markets.  The fact is that if you haven’t joined the conversation then you cannot direct the conversation towards your business and you’re still not fully understanding marketing.  The internet is today’s Main Street America.   A small business that does not have a…

  • Simple Fixes: Small Business Marketing Advice

    admin
    20 Nov 2009 | 2:41 pm
    If you’re feeling the pinch of reduced cash flow and overwhelming choices in the marketing of your business, it can be easy to overlook the simple things you can do to improve your positions. One of those simple things is taking some time to think about your marketing mindset. I am not referring to positive thinking, though that does have its place in most successful business operations. In this case I am referring to how your marketing mindset affects your relationship and positioning within your market. When you’re in the midst of ordering stock, training staff and dealing with…

  • Is Now A Good Time To Open A Franchise?

    John Sternal
    18 Nov 2009 | 2:55 pm
    Many would-be entrepreneurs often consider opening up their own small business because of the great rewards that come with being your own boss. In other cases people consider opening a franchise business, like SubWay or Smoothie King where they still get to be their own boss but they get the backing of a large corporation to help support them. Today’s question is, do you think now is a good time to open up a franchise? If you ask Joel Libava, a.k.a. The Franchise King, he may have some really scary insight into this question. Check out what he has to say here: </p>…

  • The Convergence Of Traditional & Social Media PR

    John Sternal
    17 Nov 2009 | 6:45 pm
    What is the relationship between social media and PR? A lot of buzz and chatter is going around about this question. Social media is an exciting new prospect. I noticed that a lot of social media also seemed to fall into the “PR” category. As a PR expert, I’d like to introduce you to the next level and present a new idea – Hybrid PR. Social media is a great way to supplement your PR and small businesses can do terrific things to build their brand.  The relationship between social media and PR is that one supports the other. Best of all, social media removes the traditional media…

  • How To Find Success Working From Home

    John Sternal
    16 Nov 2009 | 6:25 pm
    Are you thinking of working from home or are you already working from home as your own small business? If you fall into this category then you’ll want to log in to the #smbiz Twitter chat with Michele Mattias and John Reddish as our special guests. They’ll be offering tips and answering questions for people who want to work from home and those who are already working from home. Here are some of the topics we’ll be covering during the #smbiz Twitter chat on Tuesday, Nov. 17 from 8-9 p.m. ET: –If you’re going to work from home, what are some things to keep in mind?
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    Consulting Pulse

  • Efficiency or Service

    27 Oct 2009 | 10:52 pm
    I really despise push button answering systems. It tells me, in no uncertain terms, that this company puts efficiency over customer service. Efficiency that doesn't reduce my costs, but increases their profits. Banks are wonderful at this sort of "finger in the eye" approach to customer service, but today I came across the hands down champion. Telstra is an Australian monopoly in the field of Telecommunications. So much so that they still get away with charging internet usage per downloaded information. (The restrictive practice that when abandoned by AT&T helped launch Web…

  • Winding back the clock

    22 Oct 2009 | 6:10 pm
    At present we are watching the Australian Government try to turn the clock back at least 19 - 25 years in order to reconstitute union conditions and powers that they lost about a quarter of a century ago. Unionism is the one big issue that Australia cannot put behind itself. The USA has trouble getting beyond the slavery issue, even though the UK (The center of that movement) has moved on sometime ago.China has trouble getting beyond the "Japan" issue, yet France has moved well beyond the "German" issue. Regardless of where you stand on this issue, the real problem is that tomorrow will look…

  • The Long Tail of Good Intentions

    22 Oct 2009 | 2:23 pm
    About ten years ago I used to run a website in Spanish for reliability engineering. I won't bore you with the details but basically that is a pretty niche area of engineering associated with maintenance and operations of companies with lots of equipment. I wrote a lot back then, mostly in Spanish (not my mother tongue) about reliability engineering, leadership and getting big ideas into practice. It's a bit of a long story but it started something of a phenomena. A group of people who were the bottom of the industrial heap were able to find a place that they could talk with others and realize…

  • Linked In and new ways to leverage trust based networks

    7 Oct 2009 | 9:09 pm
    The impact on my professional career of becoming Linked In about two years ago has been phenomenal. I landed in Australia in January after a decade away, with a network that was limited to say the least. Today I regularly call on leaders of industry throughout Australia, New Zealand and correspond regularly with nearby Asian countries. As you can imagine, that means we have been able to generate a reasonable income as well. Linked In was fundamental as a tool to enable that, but it is by no means a silver bullet. Linked In is a phenomenal trust based asset, possibly one of the best ones there…

  • The power of an incentive

    7 Oct 2009 | 6:08 pm
    I just got an email from one of our branch administrators saying: We have received a notification from the Post Office in XXXX that future mail directed to our physical address will be sent back to sender.The whole point being that if you don't use the exact PO Box address then the post office of this small town (who know where my companies branch office is) then they will send it back and that will teach you a lesson. Could you imagine Fedex doing this? While the rest of the world is surging forward and using competition to sharpen their focus on customer services, the Australian government…
 
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    Business Pundit

  • This Week’s Links

    Drea
    20 Nov 2009 | 12:00 pm
    Becker-Posner on whether the US will go the way of Japan. Dean Baker on the dollar’s rout (or not). Barry Ritholz on a potential new amendmentthat will create even more zombie banks. SportsBiz is a neat sports business blog that I recently discovered. Kim Grant has some of the best personal branding tips I’ve seen. The article targets writers, but her tips are useful for any entrepreneur with something to pitch.

  • This Week’s Weird Jobs

    Drea
    20 Nov 2009 | 8:26 am
    Image: SpeechSuccess.com Has anyone ever asked you to be their best man or maid of honor? Did you enjoy it? If so, there may be a job in your future… 1. CA: Positions Available @ Private Women’s Gym Women’s Athletic Club is looking for part-time front desk help and instructors. Must be flexible, professional and dependable. Good ideas are always welcomed. If you’re male and tend to gawk, please be very good at hiding it. 2. CA: Bike, Segway, & Walking Tour Guides / Guerilla Marketers Our guests are always jealous that we get to do this everyday and get paid for…

  • If Health Insurance Companies Were Jesus

    Drea
    20 Nov 2009 | 3:34 am

  • Book Review: The Dollar Meltdown by Charles Goyette

    Drea
    19 Nov 2009 | 4:22 pm
    Charles Goyette has spent much of his life thinking about money. He has contemplated how it works, how governments manipulate it, and how it stores value. Goyette, a radio show host, precious metals pro, and libertarian, shares his views on fate of the US dollar in “The Dollar Meltdown.” In his four-part book, Goyette details where the US economy and dollar are now, how we got here, what might happen next, and how to protect your money. The topics Goyette presents are necessary reading for anyone wanting a well-rounded perspective on the current US economy. Even if you don’t agree with…

  • 8 Innocent Office Pranks That Went Horribly Wrong

    Julian
    19 Nov 2009 | 12:13 pm
    Sometimes the most innocent jokes have the most tragic consequences… 8. The Fatty and the Photocopier In true dimwit fashion, this chump thought the age-old office prank of photocopying your ass would be funny, even though we’ve all seen it a million times. What he forgot to take into consideration was the even older saying: ‘Don’t sit on a thin glass platform with your nuts exposed if you are a sweaty, overwieght fatty.’ Woops. The board meeting the next day must have been uncomfortable – for more reasons than one. 7. Don’t Tell the Certified Insane…
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    Small Biz Bee

  • 8 Secrets of Success

    smallbizbee
    19 Nov 2009 | 2:42 pm
    Looking for the secret to success?  Aren’t we all?  Well, Richard St John boils down the secret to success in 8 words and three minutes in this video. Who is Richard St John? A self-described average guy who found success doing what he loved, Richard St. John spent more than a decade researching the lessons of success. So What Are The 8 Secrets? John has 8 words that he thinks are the main attributes to success. The “magic” words are: 1. Passion 2. Work 3. Focus 4. Persist 5. Ideas 6. Good 7. Push 8. Serve He goes into detail on each, and describes why they are important,…

  • 5 Lessons Learned From My First Business

    smallbizbee
    17 Nov 2009 | 1:32 pm
    It seems like a lifetime ago that I started my first business, maybe that’s because it is.  I learned a lot of lessons from that first venture, most about what not to do. My First Business The year was 1984 and I was 7 years old. I was the sole proprietor of a newspaper distribution company, call it old media, but newspapers were my game. This was back in old days, before the internet, when people would get their news by reading words written on actual pages – don’t laugh, but many people would actually pay to get their news this way, including my parents. At 7 I knew enough to know…

  • Win $150 from Smallbizbee.com (Sponsored by BizSugar)

    smallbizbee
    13 Nov 2009 | 4:11 pm
    Last year at this time I gave away $100 of my hard earned money to Yan Susanto , in the inaugural $100 Competition. The contest was such a big hit  I wanted to bring it back for a second year, and I’m more excited than ever to give away money this time.  Why you ask would I be so excited to give away cold hard cash?  Well if giving away $100 of my own money made me happy, giving away $100 of someone else’s money makes me ecstatic! $150 Smallbizbee.com Competition in partnership with BizSugar.com! The great folks at BizSugar  agreed to sponsor this years competition, and to…

  • Would Your Customers Do This For You?

    smallbizbee
    9 Nov 2009 | 3:18 pm
    Story Time There are two, nearly identical, Mexican food places from which to get a fully loaded vegetarian burrito at lunch, within walking distance to my home office. Both are “fast food” resturants, lunch counter types, not a typical sit down with a waiter and what not. Which One Would You Go To? Burrito Place A is about 3 blocks away and takes me maybe 5 minutes to walk there. Burrito Place B is roughly 13 blocks away and takes me 15 minutes walking commute time. Burrito Place A is 10% across the board cheaper than Burrito Place B. Both use top quality ingredients, and both…

  • Weird Myths in Business

    smallbizbee
    6 Nov 2009 | 1:54 pm
    Myths, legends, and lore – all part of great fiction, but could they also be shaping our ideas about business? Told over and over again business myths will be regarded as fact, without ever knowing their true origin. Take for example the old adage that “leadership can only come from the top”. Or “there is no room for failure”.  How about “my title reflects my credibility”, or that “the truth is dangerous”. Myths every one of them, and quite honestly this line of thinking doesn’t hold much validity in today’s succesful busines…
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    Office Hero Headquarters

  • How to use the same bookmarks in different browsers

    21 Nov 2009 | 7:41 am
    I use multiple web browsers for different purposes. I use Google Chrome for the fastest web surfing. I use Firefox to open PDFs, because I have not configured Chrome to do this yet. And I sometimes use Internet Explorer on sites optimized for this browser.The challenge with different browsers is that they don't share my same set of bookmarks. Now that problem is solved with Transmute. This free program lets you convert bookmarks among browsers so you can use the same bookmarks in all of your different browsers.

  • 6 tips for search-engine friendly outbound links

    15 Nov 2009 | 9:41 am
    One of the many strategies for making your website appealing to search engine crawlers is using outbound links effectively. Here are 6 tips from Jerri Ledford's book, Search Engine Optimization:Keep you links relevant--Make sure there is a logical reason for pointing visitors in a particular direction.Don't overuse links--Use no more than 2 or 3 links per article or post.Use keyword anchor text--Don't use "click here". Instead, use keywords that you're linking to (e.g., "free report templates").Be careful with whom you link to--Search engines penalize you for linking to low-quality…

  • How to schedule tweets in advance

    14 Nov 2009 | 8:32 am
    Social Oomph has lots of free Twitter tools. One tool lets you schedule tweets in advance, which came in handy for the foundation administrator at our association. Knowing that our upcoming week-long meeting would be super busy, he was able to pre-schedule tweets in advance. For example, letting attendees know when the foundation reception began or where the foundation booth was located so attendees could make donations.Here is where you can find more tweet schedulers.

  • Six steps to business innovation

    13 Nov 2009 | 10:52 am
    From the article Borrowing Brilliance, here are the six steps to business innovation by David Kord Murray:Step 1: Defining > Define the problem you’re trying to solve.Step 2: Borrowing > Borrow ideas from places with a similar problem.Step 3: Combining > Connect and combine these borrowed ideas.Step 4: Incubating > Allow the combinations to incubate into a solution.Step 5: Judging > Identify the strength and weakness of the solution.Step 6: Enhancing > Eliminate the weak points while enhancing the strong ones.

  • Enhancing self awareness

    13 Nov 2009 | 10:05 am
    In I Am Just Like You, Bob Sutton mentions in the book Self-Insight that author David Dunning writes "...a host of studies show that one major impediment to self-awareness is that people see themselves as unique--usually as superior to others--when actually they are not... "People would hold more accurate self-perceptions if they conceded that their psychology is not different from the the psychology of others, that their actions are molded by the same situational forces that govern the behavior of other people. In doing so, they could more readily learn from the experiences of others, using…
 
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    Home Office Envy!

  • Making A Decent Cup Of Coffee In A Hotel Room

    Jay Fleischman
    6 Nov 2009 | 5:39 am
    I’m in Tucson this weekend for the Members-Only Workshop being put on be the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys.  The hotel is gorgeous, the weather beautiful, the company fantastic.  But I’ve got a problem, and that’s my caffeine addiction. See, my morning ritual begins with a cup of coffee at home.  On the road, I have the choice of either doing without it entirely or slogging down to the hotel coffee shop for my morning fix.  After all, those little coffee makers in hotel rooms … well, they suck.  Coffee comes out thin, tasteless, and makes…

  • Saving GMail To Your Hard Drive

    Jay Fleischman
    3 Nov 2009 | 7:40 pm
    Lots of lawyers use Gmail for their email needs, be it the standard “@gmail.com” version of the wildly-popular Google Apps. But we get nervous when it comes to keeping all of that valuable electronic data in the cloud. What if the messages are lost? What if I don’t have Internet access just when I need to get that attachment? You’ve got a few options. First, just use IMAP to download your email from the Google servers and keep it in sync between your computer and the cloud. It takes awhile the first go around, but if that’s how you routinely access Gmail then…

  • Unbundled Legal Services Or Self-Represented Consumers? You Decide.

    Jay Fleischman
    2 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am
    I recently came across a study by the New York State Bar Association that says that each year, New Yorkers experience a total of 2.5 million legal problems per year for which no lawyer is available.  Some of these people do nothing at all, others try to do it on their own. Both of these groups concerns me, and should be cause for worry on the part of every lawyer. Consider this: if someone has a legal problem and does what I like to call the, “ostrich in the sand,” routine, that person invariably ends up getting raked over the coals.  They get evicted, their bank account gets…

  • Just Released – The Untethered Lawyer For The Kindle

    Jay Fleischman
    26 Oct 2009 | 4:24 am
    Love to read about being free from the confines of your office?  Now you can learn on the go with The Untethered Lawyer – Kindle Edition.  I decided to make the blog available on Kindle because … well, because I’ve gotten a few requests for it on the blog and privately. I don’t expect to make much money off this deal – I think I get under $1 for each person who subscribes – but it’s a cool delivery mechanism for people who love their Kindle. Get it by clicking here.  And while you’re on the site, why not submit a user review of The Untethered…
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    Triple Pundit

  • What to Report on? How Two CSR Leaders Decide

    Cindy Mehallow
    21 Nov 2009 | 11:56 am
    We’ve all seen them.  Corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports weighing it at nearly 100 pages, crammed with charts and graphs, and gray with type.  There’s valuable information in there, but unearthing commentary on issues of strategic importance can be daunting.   That’s why I was especially curious to hear CSR managers from two industry leaders, FedEx and [...]

  • EcoFactor and the Truly Smart Grid

    Paul S
    21 Nov 2009 | 3:55 am
    Technology works best when it’s least intrusive and does the heavy lifting for you. Apple understands this. And so, it seems, does EcoFactor, the winner of the recent Clean Tech Open. What it does behind the scenes is fairly complex, but for the user, easy and out of the way: It keeps your home at an [...]

  • Sustainability and Employee Engagement: Anything Goes

    Jennifer Elder
    21 Nov 2009 | 1:21 am
    Engaging employees through sustainability is not a one size fits all approach.  From Walmart’s Personal Sustainability Project to  Sodexo’s Corporate Citizenship Program to Intel’s intranet to FMYI’s online collaboration, the variety is endless.  Each of the four members of the Net Impact Conference 2009 panel on Sustainable Innovation Through Employee Engagement, had differing approaches on [...]

  • Doing a World of Good for Fair Trade Artisans

    Mary Catherine O'Connor
    20 Nov 2009 | 3:38 pm
    The term “fair trade handicrafts” summons images of wicker baskets and hand-dyed sarongs. But the business side of the fair trade marketplace is getting a little less old-world, thanks to World of Good, an organization that connects artisans in developing countries with mainstream retailers (including eBay and Whole Foods). The organization—comprised of a wholesale business, an [...]

  • SABA Motors Vision: an Exotic Electric Sports Car for the Masses

    Steve Puma
    20 Nov 2009 | 2:22 pm
    Ever since I was a kid, when my father used give me Matchbox cars he bought on his way home from work, I’ve been crazy about cars. So I was extremely excited to have the opportunity to speak with Simon Saba of Saba Motors, whose EV vision is something any gearhead can get jazzed about: [...]
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    SCORE Women's Success Blog

  • Women: Pay it Forward

    Guest Blogger
    20 Nov 2009 | 3:30 am
    Inspire Young Women to Succeed as Entrepreneurs As women business owners, we’ve come a long way—but we still have quite a way to go. Despite the astounding growth of businesses owned by women, a recent study by the SBA’s Office of Advocacy, Self-Employed Women and Time Use, found that women are 57 percent less likely than men to start their own companies. What can you do to change these figures? If there are girls or young women in your life (daughters, nieces, family friends), help plant the seeds of entrepreneurship early and often by talking to them about business ownership. Wherever…

  • Manage: Professional Phone Tips

    SCORE
    19 Nov 2009 | 3:30 am
    When answering the telephone: The person who answers the telephone in the business represents the company’s image. Anyone who answers the phone should always do so in the most professional mannar. If a message is taken, make sure to get the full name of the caller, his/her phone number, the reason for calling and the best time to return the call. An example of what can be said: “Thank you for calling (name of company) this is (name of employee) how may I help you?” When leaving a message: Always speak slowly and clearly when leaving a message Say the phone number with pause…

  • Manage: Give Thanks, Give Back

    Christine Banning
    18 Nov 2009 | 3:30 am
    Support Your Community & Boost Your Biz With Thanksgiving right around the corner, businesses can show their appreciation to their communities by giving back and garnering free publicity in the process. Big corporations have long recognized the advantages of giving back.  Business like Target, Tom’s Shoes, Harpo and Microsoft are very vocal about their contributions to the local and international community. It shows their committment to the people and community that supports them. It also helps to build a brand associated with altruism and philantropy. Small Biz Guide to Giving…

  • Marketing: Social Media

    Peg Corwin
    17 Nov 2009 | 3:30 am
    Twitter Emoticons and Questions For Business Intelligence & Prospects Identify negative tweets about your company and questions in your niche on Twitter to beef up your business intelligence and find new prospects. This is the third of a three-part Twitter research tutorial, in pictures. I’ve created screen shots that relate to my nonprofit, SCORE Chicago, to use as examples.  SCORE, “Counselors to America’s Small Business,” offers free business counseling and inexpensive business workshops to entrepreneurs and small business owners.  One of our most…

  • Manage: ‘Tis the Season to Get the Help You Need

    SCORE
    16 Nov 2009 | 3:30 am
    Don’t Go It Alone. Ask SCORE for Advice. With the holiday rush upon us, the new year a few weeks away and tax season immediately following, there’s a lot for a small business owner to do. This time of year can cause stress and burnout for many entrepreneurs, but it doesn’t have to. The business mentors at SCORE are here to help you not only survive, but thrive. Find SCORE to search for an office near you. Ask SCORE online to get quick answers to your business question. SCORE’s online community also provides help from out business mentors. SCORE Association, SCORE View…
 
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    Zero-G Creative

  • Does social media have a middle class?

    Erik Wolf
    18 Nov 2009 | 12:26 pm
    In just about every industry, specialty or niche there are generally four types of people: outsiders who know nothing, dabblers who have some knowledge, experts who know a lot, and savants whose knowledge and reputation are nothing less than extraordinary. Social media seems to buck the trend though. The social realm has its share of true savants with names like Chris Brogan, Guy Kawasaki, Robert Scoble, Scott Allen and others highlighting the pantheon of superstars. There are plenty of people who don’t know anything — and who will happily admit it. But there are a LOT more…

  • Erik Wolf + Stephanie Frost take the mystery out of small business marketing in new book

    Erik Wolf
    11 Nov 2009 | 11:57 am
    Zero-G Creative’s Erik Wolf and Stephanie Frost have announced the release of their first book, Marketing: Unmasked, Tips + Tricks for Success in Small Business Marketing. The book, available in paperback, is for sale now at Amazon.com. “We hear it over and over again whenever we talk to small business owners, they tell us they don’t know where to start with marketing their businesses,” says Erik Wolf, co-author of Marketing: Unmasked and president of Zero-G. “When Stephanie and I started putting this book together, we wanted to load it with practical, actionable…

  • Zero-G Creative Honored as North Fulton Community Charities’ Business Partner of the Year

    Erik Wolf
    11 Nov 2009 | 8:50 am
    Our team at Zero-G Creative has been working with the incredible people at North Fulton Community Charities (NFCC) since the summer and it has been an incredible experience. For the past quarter-century, NFCC has been caring for our north Atlanta-metro community, providing food, clothing, money, cars and support for those less fortunate among us. Over the past few months, we have rebranded the organization, creating a new logo and a fresh new color palette (along with new business cards and letterhead), designed and developed a new web site and we have plans to continue working with them in…

  • A thought on speed limits

    Erik Wolf
    12 Oct 2009 | 9:52 am
    This past weekend, I drove from Atlanta to Denver. I had a lot of time on my hands as you can image and I couldn’t help but notice a lot of interesting things as I drove. So what’s the deal with speed limits? The roads themselves don’t change much as you ride the interstate across the country. Some are 2 lanes, some are 6 lanes, some wind and turn a little — but for the most part a highway is a highway. But the rules for driving on them can vary greatly from state to state. In Missouri, for example, they have two posted speed limits, one for cars and one for trucks, buses…

  • Zero-G Creative featured on Examiner.com

    Erik Wolf
    2 Sep 2009 | 5:33 am
    Zero-G Creative was featured in Sam Dobrow’s small business column on Examiner.com this week. We disscussed keeping marketing costs down and how this whole Zero-G thing started in the first place. Check out the full story here!
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    Solo-E.com/SoloSavvy

  • Marketing as a Healing Art

    Jody Gabourie
    20 Nov 2009 | 5:00 pm
    Marketing is all about sharing yourself authentically, honestly and openly. Marketing means you have to reach out to people and that can be hard.  It’s scary sharing ourselves with people that we most likely will not ever see face-to-face.  Our society hasn’t been the best at rewarding openness and honesty – but that’s changing now and it’s especially true for those of us who market online. There is a much higher standard and expectation for people to share more deeply of themselves in order to make a genuine connection.  I think that this new reality is helping many of us…

  • The Spiritual Evolution of Solo-preneurs

    Stacey Mayo
    20 Nov 2009 | 1:00 pm
    The two biggest things that get in the way of both the inner peace and the growth of an entrepreneur are fear and self-doubt. Now there are many ways to deal with fear and self-doubt and generally I use energetic tools such as those in my Life Transformation Tools program to help me and my clients get out of our own way. Today I want to talk about this on other levels as well.  It is no secret that there is a shift happening on our planet now — a change in consciousness. It is time to raise our vibration. But if we are in fear of moving forward with our business or doubting ourselves and…

  • Do You Need A Gratitude Adjustment?

    Laurie Mandato
    20 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am
    You’ve probably heard the term “attitude adjustment,” but I’d like to suggest a “gratitude adjustment!” As an image consultant, one of the first things I often hear from a new client is a list of what she considers to be her “flaws”: I still need to lose 10 pounds I can’t wear skirts because my legs are ugly I don’t wear sleeveless tops because I don’t have Michelle Obama’s arms Some of these might even sound familiar to you. We women are so used to feeling judged on how we look as compared to the airbrushed models in the…

  • Why Online Video is Your Recession Buster (and How to Profit From It!)

    Lou Bortone
    20 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am
    If you do business on the Internet, then you’ve seen the emergence of Online Video as a powerful marketing tool. But did you know that Online Video can also be your “secret weapon” in the battle to buck the recession? Using video to build your brand and promote your business – whether on the now ubiquitous YouTube or on your own website – actually attracts new customers and accelerates the sales process. There are several strong arguments for adding video to your marketing mix, but none more important than the simple fact that video boosts your business. When you share a video with…

  • Disney Princesses

    Kendall Summerhawk
    19 Nov 2009 | 7:00 am
    We all need to get our inspiration from somewhere, right? Last Saturday I treated myself to a mani/pedi. The manicurist’s arm caught my attention. On it, she had tattooed the Little Mermaid, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. Floating above the images was the phrase, “When you believe in dreams…” I asked her about the tattoo and she cheerfully chirped, “Oh, these are the Disney Princesses.” Okay. Now, keep in mind that this gal had rings through her nose, lips, Goth clothing, spiky hair and looked to be all of maybe 27 years old. So naturally,…
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    JobShuk - Team Blog

  • Sales Consulting tip – overcoming objections

    avicam
    15 Nov 2009 | 7:05 am

  • Lead Generation and Telemarketing

    avicam
    14 Sep 2009 | 3:47 am

  • Probably the best online backup solution!!

    clifton
    7 Jun 2009 | 10:39 pm
    After a 3 year search for the best way to keep my important files backed up and secure I think I finally found the solution I love and the one I’m happy to shout about. Online backup is one thing as is file security, but the big question for me in recent months is how best to sync files accross multi-computers. Let me explain.  Most of my work is done on my laptop, but I also use a desktop for a number of apps and other work related systems where I need mutliple logins active simultaenously. I also spend 2 days a week working in a different office on a different PC.  And there in lway…

  • Telemarketing/Appointment Setting

    avicam
    11 May 2009 | 12:57 pm
    A new blog post from our call center outsourcing partner SalesForceIsrael. Blog post deals with telemarketing, specifically appointment setting. Read it here.

  • Telemarketing Call Center

    avicam
    10 May 2009 | 11:51 am
    Telemarketing Call Center The launch of SalesForceIsrael’s new Telemarketing Landing Page. SalesForceIsrael has been providing b2b telemarketing and b2c telemarketing from the begining and we employ only industry leading experts. Our outsourcing model is simple – Onshore quality at offshore pricing.
 
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    MindFrenzy

  • Networking 101 – Get Off Your Ass!

    Jared O'Toole
    29 Oct 2009 | 5:00 am
    The most important thing to do when networking is to take the initiative and go up to people. You can’t wait for people to come to you or else you will be losing valuable connections. Promo (its good because its my stuff!): Get a free report on the biggest brand killing time wasters RockstarBusinessSeries.com

  • Gary Vaynerchuk Gives Shout out to MindFrenzy about “Crush It”

    Jared O'Toole
    14 Oct 2009 | 12:36 pm
    Gary Vaynerchuk has always been one of the people I look to for knowledge and inspiration. He is really one of the major reasons I started down this entrepreneurial road and the creation of Under30CEO. I saw him give his Web 2 Expo presentation in the summer of 2008 and from that day I knew what I had to do. He just released his new book yesterday Oct. 13th as I am sure many of you have heard. If not I would definitely recommend running out and picking up a copy because Garyvee knows his stuff and I would recommend him to anyone. Here is the description from Amazon as I am still waiting to…

  • Emotions and Ideas are a Dangerous Thing

    Jared O'Toole
    8 Oct 2009 | 12:14 pm
    Getting excited about a new idea is important but make sure to step back and let those emotions settle down.

  • You Need to be Using TubeMogul if you Make Videos

    Jared O'Toole
    2 Oct 2009 | 12:46 pm
    TubeMogul is a great video distribution site that you should be using if you make any kind of video.

  • Schedule Your Lazy Time

    Jared O'Toole
    22 Sep 2009 | 7:34 am
    Entrepreneurs need to schedule downtime and look forward to it. Just like the corporate world looks forward to the weekend.
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    The Microfit Small Business Blog

  • Ready for a New Website? 3 Things to Keep in Mind!

    John Garrett
    29 Oct 2009 | 8:42 pm
    Are you looking to develop or re-develop a website / blog for your company? If so, I have three things I thought would be helpful to share that I usually only share with people who I can be painfully honest with. Usually these types of people are friends or family, sometimes people who were referred to me and place trust because of the recommendation. You can’t always be completely honest with people who don’t “know” you due to the fear of being perceived as arrogant or rude. That said, with those who know you and need honest business advice, you can get to the…

  • DIY A/B Split Testing Using PHP and MYSQL

    Tony Legrone
    25 Sep 2009 | 12:16 pm
    I was recently working on a landing page for a client that prompted visitors to fill out a quick survey. The page looked pretty nice and invited visitors to click a button that launched the survey inside of a modal box. That seemed good enough, but the next day, I couldn’t get the idea out of my head to just embed the survey right on the page without the need for another click or the need to scroll inside of the modal box. After consulting with my art director. It was obvious that the modal box method was more aesthetic, but… Which way actually worked better to get the survey…

  • Marketing “Experts” Need A Whaaambulance!

    John Garrett
    23 Sep 2009 | 3:08 pm
    Over the past month or so I’ve been apart of conversations, social media events, read blogs and/or viewed tweets that are complaining about the flood of “experts” using social media. In the small pond that is social media, there seems to be this anger shown towards the new comers to the social media (and by virtue, marketing) landscape. Some bloggers and  smaller marketing firms (usually focusing on digital marketing) are whining at the thought of non marketers helping SMB’s with social media. So, instead of just telling those of you doing so to simply shut it, I wanted to outline…

  • 5 Ways Social Media Changed The Sales Game (#5)

    John Garrett
    16 Sep 2009 | 4:25 pm
    And to finish of our series on social media and how it has changed the sales landscape, we’ll cover the idea of Closed Loop Marketing. #5 Closed Loop Marketing If you’ve ever worked in corporate America; either in sales or in marketing, you know each has a long standing distain for the other. The marketing team has it’s objectives, processes and absolute truths; so does the sales team. If you haven’t guessed yet, they are NOT the same. Because there is a separation between the departments, there is a separation of information; each in its own silos. There are a few…

  • 5 Ways Social Media Changed The Sales Game (#4)

    John Garrett
    6 Sep 2009 | 4:41 pm
    If anything, and I mean anything is a cog in the sales machine, it’s networking. In part four of our series we’ll explore how social media helps the sales professional build their network. #4 Building Relationships (Networking) It’s not to long ago (like yesterday) people built relationships just so they could snake your network. The only purpose in getting to know you, having coffee or attending your “networking group,” was to get into your networks proverbial pants. There are a lot of old school sales people who would ask me, “Why else do you network,…
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    Frank Thinking About Internet Marketing

  • True Colors ALWAYS Come Out

    Frank Reed
    21 Nov 2009 | 7:49 am
    My wife reminded me of a person from our past who simply touched us both because she was good to us and sincere. Now almost 20 years since I last spoke to her, I am reminded of words she spoke often but are just as true today as they were then: No matter what is said or done, true colors always come out. Honestly, I was too young and ignorant at the time to even get that. Now, I have a few more years on me and little more awareness in me and I really appreciate Evelyn’s words. In particular, I am seeing it more and more as the Internet ‘evolves’. I use the term evolves loosely because…

  • Can Social Media Make People Act Crazier Than They Need To?

    Frank Reed
    19 Nov 2009 | 12:06 pm
    I was just checking out a piece of video from a student ‘demonstration’ at UCLA about a 32% hike in tuition. A big number, no doubt, but look at this video and ponder a question or two. Are the police that these kids are yelling at responsible for the tuition hike? Rhetorical question I realize but if we know the answer is no why are these students threatening them? If there were no cameras would this have gotten so out of hand? We live in a society that is overheated. Does too much media lead to too much of a need to be heard which then leads to extreme behavior being accepted so one can…

  • Asleep at the Social Media Wheel

    Frank Reed
    16 Nov 2009 | 6:40 am
    It’s becoming more and more important to make sure you are paying attention not IN social media but BECAUSE of social media. Whether you are an active user or not you are not immune for something that comes out of your mouth to be recorded, tweeted, blogged about or who knows what else. Just because you ignore it don’t think the rest of the world isn’t paying attention and will not hold your feet to the fire. Look at Bud Adams, owner of the Tennessee Titans from yesterday. Sure he may be 86 and not social media savvy but his team is part of the NFL so someone has to help him get this.

  • PR Means “Premature Readiness” for NEC

    Frank Reed
    13 Nov 2009 | 1:16 pm
    I’ll keep this short and sweet because it’s just an instance of stupid company tricks. If you really wanted to get someone excited about a product that you have put together for a very specific industry like NEC has with its Vukunet product you could do what? Do a press release is definitely one option. Let’s forget the debate on whether press releases still work because this examples proves they do. Not in a good way, mind you, but in some way. I have a friend in the digital out of home signage business and he found or was pointed to a press release for this new product. Honestly, I…

  • A Prayer for Our Armed Forces

    Frank Reed
    10 Nov 2009 | 8:00 pm
    FYI – This post has nothing to do with Internet marketing. I  just wanted to be fair. I have never served in the Armed Forces. My grandfather fought and died in World War II when my Mom had just turned 3 years old. The title of Frank Thinking belongs more to Frank Ianuzelli PFC 32594056 because I am named after him. I carry that name proudly. Below is the letter from Franklin D. Roosevelt regarding his death. Today is a day to take at least a minute and acknowledge the fact that there are people doing truly brave and heroic things so we can be here in the US and carry on our daily…
 
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    SoftwareCEO

  • New blog: From Clicks to Customers

    10 Nov 2009 | 6:15 am
    I'd like to welcome a new blogger into the fold. Susan Tatum is a co-founder of Clicks ‘n Conversions, a marketing firm specializing in helping software and tech companies use their websites to turn more visitors into paying customers at greater profits. She's also been a guest instructor at Software University (see her class syllabus here). No matter how remarkable your product is - no matter how much buzz and traffic you've generated - not everyone arrives at your website ready to pull out a credit card. Most of them are going to go through a few decision points to get there. Find out…

  • How Plex Systems took off like a rocket with SaaS: 11 tips

    10 Nov 2009 | 6:15 am
    Plex Systems is aiming at the moon, literally. SaaS from Plex was used on NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission and the International Space Station. Founded in 1995, company revenues will likely hit $27 million this year. From a strong base in automotive, serial entrepreneur and CEO Mark Symonds is now probing other verticals like food and life sciences. Plex Online is all about helping manufacturers keep track of their processes, and trace any errors back to their source. In this week's exclusive Feature of the Week, Symonds gave us 11 tips on how to build a company that takes off like…

  • How to protect your IP with patents: 10 tips (part 1 of 2)

    10 Nov 2009 | 6:15 am
    What's the worst fear of any software CEO? How about waking up one morning and realizing that someone has stolen your breakthrough idea, or even your code? What can you do? Where do you start? How can you afford to pick a fight with a much bigger competitor? To find some answers, we spoke to Washington, DC-based attorney Susan Pan, a partner in law firm Sughrue Mion. She gave us so much down-to-earth advice that we made this article a two-parter. In this week's Tips & Tactics, Part 1 covers how to protect your IP with patents.

  • Get involved in CompTIA's new member communities

    10 Nov 2009 | 6:15 am
    CompTIA's creating several exciting new communities for its members. These groups are designed to encourage industry collaboration and engagement with thought leaders, set industry standards and best practices, identify industry benchmarks, enable peer-to-peer networking, facilitate industry growth, and more. The communities are member-directed, giving you the opportunity to work on issues that interest you the most. Currently we're launching communities covering Cloud/SaaS, Software, Healthcare IT, IT Security, Small Business Owners, and more. The IT Security group has a meeting coming up…
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    SCORE Ask an Expert Blog

  • Finance: Your Balance Sheet

    Bill Haman
    18 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am
    How the Balance Sheet Works Your balance sheet is your “statement of financial position.” Together with the income statement and cash flow statement, it makes up the cornerstone of any company’s financial statements. It is a snapshot of the company’s accounts – covering its assets, liabilities and shareholders’ equity. The balance sheet gives users an idea of the company’s financial position and displays what the company owns and owes. It is important that  investors know how to read and analyze it. The balance sheet is divided into two parts that must equal…

  • Small Business: Perserverance

    Greg Magnus
    13 Nov 2009 | 5:28 am
    Perserverance and the Year of the Ox In Chinese astrology, 2009 is the year of the ox. It is said that the traits of the ox include hard-working and persistence; those that can stick to a task longer and harder than others. They are patient, determined and believe in themselves. And, you may have noticed these traits are common among successful small business owners. As the global economic slowdown approaches the end of its second year, now more than ever, it is time to be persistent. According to Stocks, Futures and Options magazine (SFO), China’s economy appears to have pulled out of…

  • Sales: Professional Checklist

    Bill Haman
    11 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am
    22 Points for Sales Success People buy from people they like and respect. What they expect of you: Product knowledge-customers want to do business with one who knows their products. Look sharp, be sharp-dress in a professional manner. Look successful. Know your customer-develop a profile of your customer. Customer relationship software can be very useful. Be prompt, confirm meetings, and always be early. This goes for returned phone calls. Customers respect sales people that get back to them right away. Take rejection in a professional manner. Ask why you failed. Next time you may be the…

  • Marketing: Do You Belong to A Trade Association?

    Steve Bloom
    9 Nov 2009 | 7:57 pm
    The Benefits of Networking Many of us get so involved in our day to day responsibilities managing our business that we fail to take the time to utilize the various networking tools available. There is a lot of discussion on line about social networking: Twitter, Facebook, Plaxo, Linked-In are used by many to connect to clients and peers. But, do you currently belong to a trade association? This is a very important network consisting of like kinds of businesses. The value in belonging provides several opportunities: 1. Your industry may be faced with different challenges and the ability to…

  • Small Business: SCORE Volunteers

    Greg Magnus
    6 Nov 2009 | 8:18 am
    SCORE District Chapter Meeting Volunteer and meet quality people helping your community. For a change of pace, I’m providing info on our local SCORE activities. Ken Yancey, SCORE CEO, will be joining us for a regional meeting. This is one of many benefits associated with volunteering with SCORE; you get the chance to meet quality people helping your community. The Virginia District Chapter Chairs, District Staff and volunteers are meeting in Richmond, VA at the Sheraton Richmond West Hotel on Thursday, November 12, 2009. More than forty (40) volunteers from SCORE Chapters throughout the…
 
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    Strategic Growth Concepts for Start-up, Small and Mid-size Businesses

  • SBA Loan Guarantees Revert to Pre-Stimulus Levels

    StrategicGrowth
    20 Nov 2009 | 7:09 pm
    The time has come to say goodbye to the 90 percent loan guarantee and reduced fees that supposedly sparked a rebound in Small Business Administration lending; though many reports have indicated small business lending has practically evaporated in spite of the stimulus package enhancements. In a few days, the SBA will run out of the $375 million in economic stimulus funds that enabled the agency to offer these enhancements. As a result, beginning Monday, Nov. 23, borrowers will have to make a choice:  They can be put on a waiting list to receive these breaks as stimulus funds become…

  • How the Obama Administration Can Stimulate the Economy and Job Growth Via Small Business

    StrategicGrowth
    17 Nov 2009 | 9:14 pm
    Below is a statement from a group called the American Small Business League with a list of suggestions for the Obama Administration that they believe will stimulate the economy and create new jobs.  After reading, we’re very interested to know what you think, and if you agree, via your comments. ____________________________________________________________ Source: American Small Business League,  Tuesday November 17, 2009 PETALUMA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The following is a statement by the American Small Business League: Since President Barack Obama has said that we need…

  • Members of the Small Business Community Are Invited to Participate in an Upcoming Live Webchat with US Small Business Administration Leader, Karen Mills

    StrategicGrowth
    13 Nov 2009 | 3:30 pm
    Members of the small business community are invited to participate in an upcoming live webchat with US Small Business Administration leader Karen Mills. Administrator Mills will be answering your questions via White House Live and the WH Facebook app on Monday, November 16 at 3:15pm. Read below for more information about the event or post your questions for Administrator Mills in the comments.

  • Strategic’s CEO Influences Technology Writer

    StrategicGrowth
    8 Nov 2009 | 11:36 pm
    Recently I had the privilege of being interviewed for an article in Small Business Computing about customer relationship management (CRM) by a freelance journalist by the name of Gerry Blackwell. When I spoke to Gerry about CRM and how it is being used by small businesses today, I immediately knew that I wasn’t giving him the type of information he was seeking for the article he was writing; he had been contracted to focus most specifically on the technology available today to facilitate the practice, and was looking for more of a comparison.  I, however, had a different take on CRM…

  • The Real Value of Joining a Local Chamber of Commerce

    StrategicGrowth
    31 Oct 2009 | 10:37 pm
    A new national study reveals that membership in a local chamber of commerce can significantly boost a business’s image among consumers, as well as among other businesses. In a scientific survey of 2000 U.S. adults, The Schapiro Group, an Atlanta-based strategic consulting firm, found positive perceptions of chamber members in a number of areas, including overall favorability, consumer awareness and reputation, and likelihood of future patronage. The study, commissioned by the American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE), IBM, Administaff, Small Business Network, Inc., and Market Street…
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    Business Credit Blog

  • Are Credit Cards for Business On the Rise?

    Marco Carbajo (Start Building Business Credit Today)
    29 Oct 2009 | 4:37 pm
    Many business owners across the country have experienced the cold shoulder from their banks and seen their credit lines reduced as a result of rising losses, the credit crisis, and economic uncertainty.  With all the doom and gloom it's time to start spreading some positive news regarding credit cards for small business.   While major credit card issuers like Advanta have left the business earlier this year it's refreshing to see that banks like J.P. Morgan Chase card services recently announced that it plans to launch four more credit cards specifically targeted at…

  • Top 10 Business Credit Building Mistakes

    Marco Carbajo (Start Building Business Credit Today)
    17 Aug 2009 | 3:41 pm
    While many small business owners realize the benefits of starting business credit there are many mistakes that are made in the business credit building process. I felt that compiling a list of the most common mistakes I've seen throughout the industry can serve as a helpful guide to you. Here they are...   Choosing the wrong entity structure   Selecting the right entity structure for your business is the most important step you can make. Not just from a business credit standpoint but also from a tax and asset protection standpoint as well.  In addition there are state…

  • Discover What American Expresss Never Tells Consumers About Credit

    Marco Carbajo (Start Building Business Credit Today)
    31 Jul 2009 | 11:49 am
    The American Express card has spent years and years branding itself as the card you can't leave home without. While the AMEX card has been one of the consumer's preferred credit cards to own not much has been discussed when it comes to the way it reports the payment history of it's customers.   While the majority of the media is focusing on credit lines being reduced, bank failures, and so on I want to address something that knowone seems to know about or pay attention to. Back in 2007  only after numerous consumer complaints nationally Capital One…

  • Is the Credit Repair Business a Scam or Solution?

    Marco Carbajo (Start Building Business Credit Today)
    15 Jul 2009 | 5:42 am
    Despite the massive efforts of the credit reporting agencies to convince you otherwise, there are many credit repair companies that are no different than most other services. Like all industries, less-than-honest companies do exist and are damaging to their clients and to the credit repair industry as a whole.   For example, you may have 20 car mechanics in your hometown. Most likely, 17-18 of these mechanics are honest, hardworking people who want to earn a living and give you the best service possible. The other 2 or 3 mechanics may not be so honest and will take your money while not…

  • Business Credit Information that Prevents Automatic Turn Downs

    Marco Carbajo (Start Building Business Credit Today)
    13 Jul 2009 | 9:08 am
    One of the mistakes that I see business owners make when attempting to build business credit is not paying attention to details. I want to provide you a business credit tip that can help improve your chances of getting approved for loans, credit cards, and lines of credit for your business.   One small detail like choosing an SIC code in a high risk classification can mean your business being flagged as a high risk with the business credit bureaus. As a result every lender, creditor, or company that pulls your business credit…
 
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    Become an Internet Entrepreneur

  • Why You Need to Hire a Web Designer?

    Bambang Haryanto
    21 Nov 2009 | 6:27 am
    A lot of online business owners start with no money. They have to do everything themselves — the preparation of a product, the development of a marketing strategy, the actual building of a website to cater to their product’s marketing needs. As their business expands over time, they will find that their simple “homemade” site might not be enough to cover everything, and they will have to take a day or two away to simply dedicate that to the website expansion. Sounds familiar? Chances are, you’re someone who started everything with no money too, so you’re…

  • 7 Quality Ways where You Can Advertise Your Blog for Free

    Bambang Haryanto
    14 Nov 2009 | 7:25 am
    If you have a blog that you are particularly proud of, and that you want to share with other people, there are a lot of free quality ways that you can get your blog noticed. Here’s 7 ways to promote your blog effectively: Put the Link to Your Blog in Your Email Signature. This is something that you do everyday, and that you may not even consider as a way to promote your blog. Chances are that you send out emails more times that you can count during the day, each time you send out an email, you can advertise your blog by putting the address of your blog in your email’s signature. The…

  • Bring Back Your Customers to You

    Bambang Haryanto
    11 Nov 2009 | 7:46 am
    If you want to find your users again after they leave your site and turn them around to surf your website again, now you can utilize a service offered by Retargeter. Retargeter (www.retargeter.com) is an innovative online advertising service that will reminds web surfers of the products/services you sell through various sized banner ads on thousands of sites, as they left your site and continue to surf the web. Here is how Retargeter works: A visitor visits your web site When they leave your site and visit other web sites in the ReTargeter network, your advertisement is displayed and they…

  • Agen Bola

    Bambang Haryanto
    7 Nov 2009 | 9:20 am
    Saat ini banyak sekali agen taruhan online yang beroperasi di internet yang melayani pembuatan account di situs-situs taruhan seperti taruhan bola, kasino online, togel dan bola tangkas dan masing masing menawarkan layanan terbaik. Dari pencarian yang saya lakukan menggunakan mesin pencari saya menemukan puluhan agen yang beroperasi dan melayani para pemain taruhan online Indonesia. Dengan begitu banyaknya pilihan, wajar bila seorang peminat taruhan online akan bingung dalam menentukan pilihannya. Jika anda seorang peminat taruhan online dan sedang mencari agen untuk membuka account pada…

  • BuyBlogReviews.com: A Marketplace to Consider when You Plan to Buy Paid Reviews

    Bambang Haryanto
    6 Nov 2009 | 7:59 am
    Blog advertising is the newest way to promote your website. Buy reviews on relevant blog is the best way to build back links. Bloggers will write about your products or services and will also link back to your website giving more power to your link popularity. You will get higher search engine rankings and more qualified traffic boosting your sales and revenue. This is another Blog Advertising Network Company called BuyBlogReviews.com. BuyBlogReviews runs their business in a fairly easy to understand way. People want to bring more traffic to their websites and get more exposure for their…
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    the Retail Doctor's Retail Sales Blog

  • Black Friday Prediction: Disappointing Retail Sales Stories Coming

    bobphibbs
    20 Nov 2009 | 7:39 am
    It’s the week before “Black Friday.”  My predictions for the stories you’ll see next week?   Headlines announcing that retailers are nervous about the holiday shopping season and how Black Friday will portend to a weak holiday season. How do I know this? Because that’s what has been covered the past TEN YEARS.  You can read all about the five perennial bad stories of the holidays by downloading my free white paper with all the facts at http://www.retaildoc.com/holiday-sales/ My evidence about Black Friday can be found in these November Headlines: Year Key…

  • 5 Signs Your Retail Store Needs A Makeover

    bobphibbs
    18 Nov 2009 | 8:59 am
    When you opened your business however many years ago, everything was fresh, your paint, your signs, your racks and all of your merch.  People just loved shopping there. Now, almost half a decade later, your store is still chugging along, but that once shiny layer of paint is now faded, the shelves are chipped, the merch isn’t all fresh. Does this sound familiar? As new stores have opened over the past several years, they have upped the bar, and although your store may still be completely functional, you may be turning off potential customers without knowing. Here are 5 questions you…

  • Retail Sales Stupidity: Coupons and Discounts

    bobphibbs
    17 Nov 2009 | 7:54 am
    The New York Times had an article recently on the $5 pizza slice from Brooklyn. It’s a small pizzeria that recently raised their price, which was already high at $4 to $5. Here’s a video about them. They wanted to maintain profitability.  Today’s thought is short: how high is up? Contrary to the many pundits saying to lower prices, add discounts and coupons I ask, “How high is up?”  Can you bundle some products or add a service to make more profit?  That’s all you should be concentrating on: how to increase profits – not play Santa Claus with your…

  • Pepper Your Sales Presentation to Remove Salt of Insecurity

    bobphibbs
    10 Nov 2009 | 5:56 am
    Ever been at a great dinner and use the salt instead of the pepper? The whole entree is ruined.  This rather lengthy blog is about peppering your sales approach to avoid the salt of insecurity.  A colleague of mine, Carol Spiekerman posted this on her blog recently. I’ll share my comments after but here’s Carol’s story: “Last Saturday, my just-divorced friend and I spent two hours browsing Best Buy (breaking my previous record by about one-and-a-half).  After a long and icky battle, she and her ex-husband finally made it official, and she was excited about trading…

  • 50 Things Specialty Retail Employees Should Never Do During the Holidays

    bobphibbs
    9 Nov 2009 | 11:05 am
    By Bob Phibbs, the Retail Doctor® The holidays are almost here so I’ve come up with my blunt reminders for both staff and owners of specialty retailers after seeing Bruce Buschel’s blog in the NYT.  They’re by no means all the “Don’ts” but especially at the holidays, they can make the difference between hearing, “I’ll take it,” and “I’m outta here.” 1. Do not let anyone enter the shop without a warm greeting. If you can’t or won’t do that, go work at Macy’s. 2. Never say it’s “slow,” “dead,” or voice any negative thought, we get enough of that…
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    The Mogul Mom

  • We are NOT All Connected: Old School Interactions Also Build Brands and Your Business

    Liz Goodgold
    19 Nov 2009 | 12:46 pm
    It is Not On-Line All the Time Razorfish has just published its annual study on how technology is changing the way consumers engage with brands. The data suggests, not surprisingly, that digital brand experiences influence consumers. BUT, what the study fails to highlight, however, is the woefully small number of [...] [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • From Zen Habits: The Simple, Ridiculously Useful Guide To Earning A Living From Your Passion

    Heather Allard
    17 Nov 2009 | 7:54 am
    As a mom inventor who earned her education from the “Entrepreneurial School of Hard & Expensive Lessons”, I realized after reading this post from Zen Habits, that I’m so fortunate to have now found a way to earn a living from my passion – helping other mom entrepreneurs save time, money and frustration on their [...] [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • How to Effectively Cost Your Product

    Heather Allard
    14 Nov 2009 | 12:10 pm
    The following is a guest post by Sarah Shaw, an information junkie and the ultimate go-to girl for everything product related — from which stores are the best to approach first, to how to calculate your margins, to the best manufacturer. Translating ideas into action is her strength, and she lends her wisdom willingly [...] [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • PRWeb Free Webinar: Creating a Killer Publicity Strategy with Online News Releases

    Heather Allard
    12 Nov 2009 | 5:30 pm
    Want to make journalists put down their coffee cups and actually read your news release? Build a publicity strategy that not only gets you noticed, but positions your business as the premiere “go to” entity in your industry. PRWeb Free Webinar Creating a Killer Publicity Strategy With Online News Releases Wednesday, November 18, 2009 2:00pm – 3:00pm EST Register for [...] [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • How To Hire The Right Virtual Assistant

    Heather Allard
    7 Nov 2009 | 4:16 pm
    OK, I think we realized after reading Liz Goodgold’s post that most of us could really use the help of a virtual assistant to manage our business. So I went straight to the source — virtual assistants and mom entrepreneurs who’ve hired them — to find out how to hire the right virtual assistant for your [...] [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
 
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    The Business Insider

  • The Output Gap Model: Fatally Flawed

    Zero Hedge
    21 Nov 2009 | 12:33 pm
    Could it be that the fundamental economic indicator that is gospel not only to Goldman Sachs, but to Ben Bernanke in estimating and determining monetary policy, the output gap, provides a flawed reading of the economy? As a reminder, Ben Bernanke has repeatedly expressed little regard for either commodity inflation or US dollar exchange as having an impact on overall US inflation. As Askari and Hochain state: "according to [Bernanke's] theory, inflation was related only to the output gap. As long as the output gap was negative, that is, if actual gross domestic product was below potential…

  • DEMS GET 60 VOTES ON HEALTHCARE

    Joe Weisenthal
    21 Nov 2009 | 11:59 am
    The Democrats just passed a HUGE hurdle in their effort to reform the nation's healthcare system. Arkansas Senator Blance Lambert Lincoln confirmed she would vote to bring the measure to debate on the floor. Ostensibly this is a procedurial vote, but it's actually everything, since one the measure comes for debate, Democrats only need 50 votes, which should be a relatively easy hurdle to come. Read more at POLITICO >>Join the conversation about this story »See Also:How The Democrats Bought A Key Healthcare Vote For $100 MillionSaturday Night Healthcare Showdown On Capitol…

  • Lawsuit Over NFL Seat Licenses Kept Alive, But Barely

    Erin Geiger Smith
    21 Nov 2009 | 10:15 am
    A legal right to season tickets? A federal judge is allowing a lawsuit brought by a longtime Jets and Giants season-ticket holder protesting the legality of requiring licenses to go to discovery, but only on the limited question of whether the class action plaintiffs have a right to renew their season tickets. NYT:  The teams asked the United States District Court in New Jersey to dismiss the class-action suit, which was filed in March. On Nov. 5, the judge, Peter G. Sheridan, dismissed several of [plaintiff Harold] Oshinsky’s claims. But the judge left a small legal door…

  • Schiff: Roubini Doesn't Get Why Gold Is Soaring

    Joe Weisenthal
    21 Nov 2009 | 9:28 am
    In a new video, one noted doomsayer, Peter Schiff, takes on another one, Nouriel Roubini, on the subject of gold. Nouriel Roubini believes every asset, including gold, is over-inflated due to the dollar carry trade. Schiff disagrees, and says Roubini doesn't understand the fundamentals behind gold -- that it's going to keep heading higher as a result of government action. Enjoy. (via Chris Masse) Join the conversation about this story »See Also:Goldman Sachs: Roubini's Dollar Carry Trade Theory Is WRONGRoubini: Commodities Will CollapseSocGen Analyst: Our Governments Are Insolvent, Gold…

  • Russia And Ukraine Avert A Natural Gas Crisis

    Joe Weisenthal
    21 Nov 2009 | 9:05 am
    Despite fears of a deep, and cold winter -- one made worse by a ravaging flu in the Ukraine -- it appears Russia's neighbor will be getting natural gas this year, despite its financial problems. AFP: Earlier this year, Russia also agreed to reduce the volume of gas Kiev must acquire this year without imposing fines. That agreement however has yet to be put in writing. Ukraine's Naftogaz has said it is meant to buy 52 billion cubic metres of Russian gas next year but may only need 27 bcm. It could have faced potentially crippling multibillion-dollar fines if it did not pay for all the gas it…
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    HarvardBusiness.org

  • Of Goldman Sachs, the Yankees, and Level Playing Fields

    Ron Ashkenas
    20 Nov 2009 | 12:06 pm
    Have you noticed that the two most successful teams in New York City both engender passionately mixed emotions of admiration and contempt? One team is the New York Yankees, the storied baseball franchise that just won its 27th World Series title — when no other team has won more than 10 times. The Yankees have the largest revenue stream thanks to their own cable television network, a new billion-dollar ballpark, and owners who can afford the highest-paid players in baseball. (These players, in turn, generate yet more revenue.) The other team is Goldman Sachs, the legendary investment…

  • Stop Wasting Time on Voicemail

    Gina Trapani
    20 Nov 2009 | 10:43 am
    Every time you make or receive a phone call that involves leaving or listening to a message, you're wasting time. You can't write as fast as people speak, so transcribing phone numbers, addresses, and other information from a voicemail message is tedious. When you have to leave a voicemail for someone, you're forced to listen to Robotic Voice-Mail Woman trod through the instructions on how to wait for the tone before you can start. There are two ways to cut this unnecessary voicemail overhead out of your day: 1. Get your voicemail messages transcribed automatically and emailed to you. Instead…

  • What Innovators Can Learn from Bill Belichick

    Scott Anthony
    20 Nov 2009 | 10:09 am
    Even non-football fans probably heard about Bill Belichick's "blunder" of a call on Sunday night. Believe it or not, the call — and the firestorm that followed — has important lessons for innovation managers. A quick recap. The New England Patriots led the Indianapolis Colts by six points with two minutes to go. It was fourth down, the ball was on the New England 28 yard line, and the Patriots needed just two yards for a first down that would almost certainly have sealed a victory. Conventional wisdom called for a punt, but Coach Belichick decided to go for it. After the Patriots…

  • Summoning the Courage to Tear Down Walls

    Whitney Johnson
    20 Nov 2009 | 8:31 am
    On November 9th, the world rejoiced in recognition of the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall coming down. The anniversary was occasion for me to reflect on walls that have fallen for me in my career but also about the kind of conviction that's needed to break down walls — be they miles of concrete in a former Communist area or invisible but no-less-apparent in an office setting. One thing I wondered is whether the Berlin Wall would have fallen without President Reagan's speech? Possibly. Probably. But not as quickly. And yet, according to The Wall Street Journal, the State Department,…

  • Can Good Journalism Also Be Profitable?

    Harvard Business IdeaCast
    20 Nov 2009 | 7:54 am
    Featured Guest: Umair Haque, director of the Havas Media Lab and author of the Edge Economy blog on HarvardBusiness.org.
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    TargetStars

  • Go with what you know-Part 3

    Image by Olivier Charavel via Flickr This is the last part  in my series called Go with what you know In my last post, I discussed why companies should not hire a candidate based upon their connections, but for what they know. However, there is another option that many companies tend to ...

  • Go with what you know-Part 2

    This is part two in my series called Go with what you know. When an employer is influenced in hiring a candidate based upon their connections, the employer is doing themselves a disservice. I have no problem with hiring people within your network if they have the experience that is required ...

  • Go with what you know

    Image by Liz@rt via Flickr What matters most in one’s quest to succeed in business—who you know or what you know? This is a question that seems to keep resurfacing in my life (i.e. talking with friends, watching the news, etc.), so I figured I would write about it to get ...

  • Twitter Lists: Pros and Cons

    Image by ursonate via Flickr I’m sure everyone is aware by now that Twitter has implemented the ability to create lists. When they started rolling out this feature I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to make one (I still haven’t). I am forever making lists (i.e. to do ...

  • Are you more than a logo?

    In my last blog post, I discussed how important it is for companies to implement a multifaceted methodology into their social media campaign. Last Thursday (Oct. 15th), I had the pleasure of seeing this approach in action when I attended the opening of Garrett Popcorn’s store on Michigan Avenue. For those ...
 
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    BIG marketing for small business

  • Om Malik And Guests Discuss Perfect Hosting for Startups

    Rajan Sodhi
    20 Nov 2009 | 12:44 pm
    GigamOM and PEER 1 Hosting are putting on an event called FutureHosting and broadcasting it live on webstream, Dec 3rd at 9:30am PST. The live panel discussion will be hosted by leading technology blogger Om Malik, and an excellent lineup that includes: Byron Sebastian, CEO, Heroku Sebastian Stadll, Founder, Scalr Jason Hoffman, CTO, Joyent Robert Miggins, SVP BizDev, PEER 1 Hosting They will debate the perfect web hosting environment for early stage entrepreneurs as the hosting market evolves towards an on-demand model. Topics include delivery of platform-as-a-service, and optimizing…

  • Top 5 Free Services to Build a Website

    Rajan Sodhi
    12 Nov 2009 | 11:23 am
    If you’re a small business without a website, I have one question for you: What the hell are you waiting for? If the idea of high costs or technical know-how is still stopping you, then you need to pay attention to the list below. These are my top five free or inexpensive easy-to-use web building services that can get you up and running your own website in minutes! No. 1 – Wordpress My all-time favorite. I’ve written countless times about my love affair with Wordpress and how it can be used not only for your blog, but for your company website. The platform is incredibly easy…

  • Banner Ads Are Better Than Clicks Suggest

    Rajan Sodhi
    5 Nov 2009 | 4:08 pm
    I attended the ad:tech Digital Marketing event in London back in September and sat in on an intriguing presentation by ComScore about online banner advertising and how more and more people are clicking on less and less of them. In fact, only 8% of Internet users account for 85% of all clicks according to their study. Compared to search engine marketing (SEM), click-through on banner ads seem pitiful and almost a waste of resources and money. But wait. Before you decide to kill your banner ad campaign, consider this: using just click-through to measure the performance of your banner ad…

  • Cloud Hosting Still Cloudy for Many Businesses

    Rajan Sodhi
    26 Oct 2009 | 11:48 am
    Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison believes cloud is just water vapor. All the buzz in web hosting these days is around cloud hosting. From large providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS) to the Rackspace Cloud, to a whole bunch of tiny providers, you can’t find a corner on the Internet that isn’t talking about or trying to offer up a cloud service. But what exactly is cloud? If you aren’t quite sure, you’re not alone. A recent independent cloud hosting study of 200 IT decision makers showed that 88 percent of them do not use cloud technologies, while 39 percent said that…

  • Make Your Website Your Best Salesperson

    Ryan Kelly
    23 Oct 2009 | 12:35 pm
    While stacking up your sales department is a good way to drive inbound leads and sales, I find that many businesses are overlooking the potential for a rockstar salesperson: their website. Don’t be afraid to invest in your website just as you would a training and education budget for a salesperson. You may be tempted to throw a lot of money into paid search, but investing in organic search will last much longer, making it the most effective way to drive leads for your business. That means once the ad budget runs out, the leads and the traffic stops, but the work you put into organic…
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    Business & Learning

  • Numbers Mean Everything in Business

    Kelli Claypool
    4 Nov 2009 | 7:50 am
    There are things that need to be done a certain way in business or we won’t be successful. There are also things that need to be done a certain number of times to reach levels of success as well. Customer service is one thing that is very important in business, but you also have marketing things [...]

  • 93-Year-Old Woman Learns Computer Skills

    Kelli Claypool
    19 Oct 2009 | 6:52 am
    My sister-in-law emailed a link to a news story, from back home, of a woman learning computer skills.  What makes this story so incredible is that she is 93 years old! “The most challenging thing is to get all these buttons, and where to go next, and what to do,” said Johnson. “I really don’t know [...]

  • A HUGE Thank You

    Kelli Claypool
    18 Oct 2009 | 9:20 am
    Kelli Claypool would like to take this opportunity to say a HUGE thank you to the B&L Team Leaders for a wonderful job they've done to bring you fresh and thought provoking information.

  • Evening Session of the Extravaganza

    Kelli Claypool
    15 Oct 2009 | 1:57 pm
    Wow! This morning’s session of the Extravaganza was awesome.  We heard from three of our Team Leaders, Tina McAllister, Larry Liebling, and Regina Baker.  And, yes, me too! The questions and comments received showed that the participants truly enjoyed themselves and we’re thrilled for that. But wait! The Extravaganza is not over…we have an evening session [...]

  • What is Your Biggest Business Frustration

    Kelli Claypool
    12 Oct 2009 | 4:58 am
    What is your biggest business frustration? We get so focused on the here and now that we forget that there's a whole picture. We get so caught up in the daily struggles that we don't celebrate the victories, regardless how big or small those victories may be. We want instant gratification that we lose sight of our values and ethics.
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    Sales Management 2.0 Podcast

  • Sales 2.0 and the Changing Face of Sales With Christian Maurer – Episode 27

    brad@salesmanagement20.com (Brad Trnavsky & Jerry Kennedy)
    11 Nov 2009 | 11:51 pm
    So, what’s the deal with Sales 2.0? Is it enough to have a Facebook or Twitter account, or to use LinkedIn to connect with prospects?  How about using new software applications to track your CRM data? Well, according to this week’s guest, Christian Maurer, Sales 2.0 is much, much more than that.  You might recognize Christian’s distinctive accent, as he is a returning guest to the SM 2.0 Podcast.  We were certainly glad to have him back. So what is Sales 2.0?  Christian says (and we agree) that Sales 2.0 is primarily an attitude.  As we wrote in the What Is Sales 2.0?

  • Terri Levine and “Sell Without Selling” – Episode 26

    brad@salesmanagement20.com (Brad Trnavsky & Jerry Kennedy)
    4 Nov 2009 | 10:45 pm
    This was a special episode for us, as it marked the return of sales coach and author Terri Levine.  Terri was here to discuss her book “Sell Without Selling: Lessons From the Jungle for Sales Success” and to raise awareness about Reflexive Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD), a devastating disease that causes excruciating pain in its victims.  Not only is Terri donating all the proceeds from the sale of her latest book to support a child suffering from RSD, she’s matching the sales, dollar for dollar, out of her own pocket.  Talk about a HERO! Terri struck a chord with us by…

  • Randy Illig and “Let’s Get Real or Let’s Not Play” – Episode 25

    brad@salesmanagement20.com (Brad Trnavsky & Jerry Kennedy)
    21 Oct 2009 | 12:09 pm
    This was a great episode for us, as we had the chance to catch up with a true thought leader in the sales profession: Randy Illig.  Randy has over 25 years experience in business, ranging from accomplished salesperson and general manager to successful entrepreneur (CEO) and board member.  He is currently CEO of ninety five 5 and is a member of the leadership team at The Sales Perfomance Group, a division of FranklinCovey.  Randy has received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the Ernst & Young “CEO under 40″ award for innovative management philosophy and…

  • Sales and Social Media With Alejandro Reyes (AKA Successfool)-Episode 24

    brad@salesmanagement20.com (Brad Trnavsky & Jerry Kennedy)
    13 Oct 2009 | 1:18 am
     This week, we had the chance to catch up with Alejandro Reyes, aka the Successfool.  Alejandro is a social media rock star, and he’s been on the scene since 2006 (an eternity in the online world).   Alejandro’s drug of choice is people; he gets really excited about helping people follow their passions and making a great living using social media and the internet.  Alejandro’s big question for salespeople is simple: how can you use social media and personal branding to differentiate yourself from your competition? Let’s face it: in today’s economy, there…

  • Is It Coaching, or Is It Training? – Episode 23 with Terri Levine

    brad@salesmanagement20.com (Brad Trnavsky & Jerry Kennedy)
    8 Oct 2009 | 11:25 am
    So, what’s the difference between coaching and training anyway?  That was the topic of our conversation with Master Coach, CEO and entrepreneur Terri Levine, The Guru of Coaching and owner of The Coach Institute.  And what was the answer? According to Terri, coaching has the intent of inspiring and improving the recipient, as opposed to training, which in Terri’s mind is an activity that involves teaching and instructing (in other words, telling).  And Terri contends that sales coaching can take place in a group environment just as effectively as in a one-on-one setting. When…
 
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    The Small Business Marketing Guide - Tim Andren

  • The Great Left-brained ROI Mistake

    marketing@impactbiztools.com (tim andren)
    19 Nov 2009 | 12:52 pm
    If you think the word 'branding' is a bad word, especially with respect to ROI for social media, then it might be time to do some more research. I've had several conversations with marketing managers in the last few months who only focus on one specific thing, that being the bottom line of a marketing 'campaign.' Many won't allow the notion of branding into their strategy mainly due to "the economy" and "who can measure a brand anyway?"This type of thinking is archaic, especially with respect to the fundamental reasons why people make buying…

  • The Zhu Zhu flu pandemic

    marketing@impactbiztools.com (tim andren)
    12 Nov 2009 | 5:00 pm
    A new pandemicI've caught Zhu Zhu fever! Yes, in the era of swine flu I have found myself stricken with another malady named after a beast. This time it's a supercute hamster and it's got me all in a twist. I originally heard about this pet toy a few months back and thought nothing of it, but lately I just can't seem to go anywhere without someone talking about how much they want a Zhu Zhu. From Tickle Me Elmo to department store trampling deaths I'd say this one's gonna be white hot come Christmas time. All the stars are aligning, especially when you consider the…

  • Social media explained for career education

    marketing@impactbiztools.com (tim andren)
    4 Nov 2009 | 3:21 pm
    I've been doing some speaking presentations lately directed towards the career education market. I gave this presentation with my partner Sally Mikhail-Bemis at the CAPPS conference in Los Angeles and the MAPCS conference in Worcester, Massachusetts. There's a good overview of social media for the beginner, a bit of history and social fundamentals and some specific examples about how it can be applied to the career education industry - or any other industry for that matter. Tim Andren Social Media 102309View more presentations from Tim Andren.

  • A debate with Ted Koppel about Iran and Twitter

    marketing@impactbiztools.com (tim andren)
    24 Jun 2009 | 7:27 pm
    It's undeniable how riveting the coverage has been about the Iranian election fallout over the past week. Images of violent unrest from Tehran are available just about everywhere we go in our connected world. Where did you first hear about it? I'm willing to bet most of you didn't get the story eating your toast over the morning paper.Social networks have begun to take on a whole new purpose in the past year as the big media channels are beginning to pay attention to the speed and efficiency of the crowd when it comes to news distribution.Can social media channels like Twitter be…

  • Does your business have strong contact points?

    marketing@impactbiztools.com (tim andren)
    9 Jun 2009 | 11:02 am
    I've got news for you... Your receptionist is more important than a manager. Your customer service contacts are actually sales people. Your contact points are the most often the weakest links in your company. Oh, and if you're feeling smug because you don't have a front desk person or offer any customer support, well the news is your FAQ page will probably have to be a mile long and still doesn't answer your customers' concerns. Understand this...questions are really concerns.Does your business have strong contact points?Any of the above are job titles that are what I call…
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    TradePub: Small & Medium Business

  • Phone System Providers Chart 2009

    19 Nov 2009 | 9:50 am
    Quickly see differences between brands like Nortel, Mitel, Cisco, Avaya, 8x8, Toshiba, etc. For small to big businesses, this chart also compares PBX and Business VoIP systems side by side so you can make an educated comparison of your options. This analysis is prepared in an easy to use Excel spreadsheet so you can edit and add information to suit your analysis and presentation needs.Request Free!

  • Four Keys to Choosing Your Next Business Phone System

    18 Nov 2009 | 12:20 pm
    Choosing the right phone system comes down to understanding how specific features can make your company more profitable.Request Free!

  • Exchange Server Archiving Challenges for Small Businesses

    17 Nov 2009 | 5:50 pm
    Installing messaging security software directly on to your Exchange Server has been a source of contention for years. Many professionals are averse to this practice, thus allowing gaping holes in message security. This free white paper debunks the myths surrounding installation of third-party software on the hardware that runs Exchange Server. Explore this myth and see how the practice can help fortify your security strategy. This white paper discusses the detailed results of an Osterman Research survey on messaging security software and conclusions about administrators' attitudes regarding…

  • A New Anti-virus Platform that Reduces Bloat and High Resource Usage

    17 Nov 2009 | 5:50 pm
    To counter the latest malware threats, market leaders like Symantec, McAfee and Trend Micro simply stack new layers of functionality on top of their existing engines. The result: the ever expanding code bases of the leading antivirus/antispyware packages invariably result in bloatware. The remedy to bloatware is a better, more efficient product that is specifically engineered to scan, detect and remove myriad security threats without impacting performance and taking a big bite out of the IT capital expenditure budgets. Read this report to learn how a new antivirus technology platform reduces…

  • Small Business Messaging and Web Threat Solutions

    17 Nov 2009 | 5:50 pm
    Messaging, internal and Web-based threats are increasing in number and severity. The risks to organizations large and small are not theoretical – there are real problems that users and their employers face if they do not establish adequate defenses against the growing variety of malware, exploits and other threats that are directed against them. Read this Osterman Research paper to learn how organizations must implement a layered defensive strategy to protect against all types of threats and how Sunbelt Software can help.Written by Osterman Research, Sponsored by Sunbelt SoftwareRequest…
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    NASE on Micro-Business

  • Small Biz Health Care Roundup (11/20)

    20 Nov 2009 | 3:15 am
    Posted by Kristin Oberlander - Here's a sampling of this week's top health care reform articles. If you find an article or blog that you think should be considered, drop us a line at media@nase.org. What Will The Goldman Sachs Plan Mean To You? (NY Times - You're The Boss Blog) - "Goldman Sachs and its largest shareholder, Warren Buffett, announced a $500 million plan on Tuesday to help small businesses — including $200 million to pay for small-business owners to get business and management education at local community colleges and other places." Ask SCORE: How House…

  • NASE At Small Business Financing Forum [Guest Post]

    19 Nov 2009 | 8:06 am
    Posted by Kristie Arslan – Yesterday’s Small Business Financing Forum hosted by Treasury and the Small Business Administration could have been more aptly titled "Jobs, Jobs, Jobs". That is what is really on the mind of the Administration. As Treasury Secretary Geithner stated, “America's small businesses are critical engines of job growth and have historically led us out of recessions. But to play that role they need access to credit.” With small businesses continuing to struggle in the current economy, finding access to capital has become increasingly more critical to an…

  • From Wall Street to Main Street?

    19 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am
    Posted by Molly Nelson - Goldman Sachs announced this week that it will be spending $500 million to help thousands of small businesses bounce back from the recession.  Working with its largest shareholder, investor Warren Buffet, Goldman is offering business and management education, mentoring and access to capital to 10,000 small businesses. While there has been some criticism that Goldman is only reaching out to small businesses in an attempt to bolster its public image, the company says it has been working on the program for almost a year.  The plan includes: $200 million to pay…

  • Paid Sick Leave

    17 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am
    Posted by Molly Nelson - According to You're the Boss, Congress is feeling some pressure to enact mandatory sick leave laws as a result of the swine flu pandemic.  The Obama Administration has backed the Healthy Families Act, which guarantees seven sick days per year for companies with 15 or more employees.  Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) also introduced temporary legislation that would require companies with 15 or more employees to guarantee five paid sick days for employees that are sent home or encouraged to stay home. Do you offer paid sick leave to your employees?  How many…

  • Boosting Holiday Sales

    16 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am
    Posted by Molly Nelson - Looking for an advantage in your holiday promotions?  According to Business Week, joining a buy-local campaign and marketing with authenticity can help boost sales.    For more information on buy-local campaigns, check out this article from the most recent issue of Self-Employed magazine. 
 
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    Sustainable Marketing Blog

  • Book review: “Ignore Everybody and 39 Other Keys to Creativity”

    Peter Korchnak
    20 Nov 2009 | 1:30 am
    Read this book. Then ignore it. And me. Hugh MacLeod, Ignore Everybody and 39 Other Keys to Creativity, Portfolio: New York, 2009.

  • Subscription drive

    Peter Korchnak
    19 Nov 2009 | 1:00 am
    I really appreciate your stopping by. Whether you clicked on a link someplace or found this site through a search, consider subscribing to the RSS feed or via email. (I could say it’s free, but you already know that.) Earlier this week, a new reader took time out of her busy schedule to email me: “I have just discovered your blog and have been enjoying it quite a bit! Your blog has sparked a lot of great ideas for me – personally and professionally.” Words like this keep me going – they tell me I’m doing something right. So what are you waiting for?

  • Expanding the People bottom line: The faces of social sustainability

    Peter Korchnak
    18 Nov 2009 | 1:07 am
    Though widespread adoption of the People-Planet-Prosperity concept has yet to occur, expanded definitions of the triple bottom line have been passing my reading stack and feeds. What’s more, it’s the most overlooked element of sustainability that is getting most of the attention. The People bottom line is getting a makeover into the social and cultural components. What gives? The quadruple bottom line In his Strategy for Sustainability, Adam Werbach adds to the economic and environmental components the following: “Social (acting as if other people matter): Actions and…

  • The Velvet Revolution and the power of symbols

    Peter Korchnak
    17 Nov 2009 | 12:01 pm
    Twenty years ago today, a peaceful revolution swept over Czechoslovakia, the country of my birth, launching the overthrow of the communist government and continuing the wave of events triggered by the fall of the Berlin Wall. I turned 13 that winter; the event remains the formative macro-historic event of my life. Aside from the emotions the anniversary elicits, the event’s symbolism continues to fascinate me. What took place wasn’t just a peaceful overthrow of an evil regime; it was the Velvet Revolution. Why are symbols so pervasive in the marketing of ideas? Does sustainability…

  • Applying the product evolution model to sustainable marketing

    Peter Korchnak
    16 Nov 2009 | 10:44 am
    Your sustainable brand’s “green” product competes within a product category, like household cleaners, interior paint, or iced tea. Each brand in your category differentiates its product differently as it passes through its life cycle; you are likely to emphasize your product’s low environmental impact or health benefits. Competition between individual products is just one part of the story. According to Clayton Christensen, cumulative changes in individual product features determine the nature or basis of competition within categories, which shifts in cycles of…
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    Women Entrepreneurs GROW Global

  • Make Your Global Mark

    Laurel Delaney
    16 Nov 2009 | 5:55 am
    Now is your chance to make your global mark.  Today is the start of Global Entrepreneurship Week (November 16-22) and is an initiative to inspire young people (that includes YOU!) around the world to embrace innovation, imagination and creativity. (From Washington, D.C.) — More than 1,000 partners – including top universities, non-profit organizations, successful entrepreneurs, government agencies and corporate sponsors – have currently signed up to support and initiate activities for Global Entrepreneurship Week/USA 2009, Nov. 16 – 22. The Week will engage young people in 87…

  • Hope and Desire For the Women of Kibera to Become Self-Sufficient

    Laurel Delaney
    11 Nov 2009 | 4:30 pm
    Kendal Martel, a photographer, is taking up a fight for people who struggle to survive. She is doing it her own way, one click or shutter speed at a time. After seeing first hand the poverty and squalor faced by the people who live in the slums of Africa and their desire to rise above it all, Kendal decided to showcase her photography in an exhibit, “Until the Last Seed Grows,” which features the people of Kibera, Africa, with alternately haunting and joyful images that underscore the complexities of these resilient people. While in Africa, Martel, a graduate of Diboll High School…

  • Women Entrepreneurs GROW Global (WEGG) Turns One

    Laurel Delaney
    7 Nov 2009 | 5:53 am
    Happy Birthday No. 1 for Women Entrepreneurs GROW Global (WEGG)!  It was one year ago today that we launched WEGG with the intent that we would grow it into the ultimate global hot spot destination for women entrepreneurs interested in global growth for their business.  Here’s our first post November 7, 2008: Welcome to Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global (WEGG), a social enterprise dedicated to revolutionizing how women entrepreneurs take their businesses global. Expect over the course of the next decade that WEGG will help transition tens of millions of women business owners from local…

  • Power Up Relationships To Do Business With the World

    Laurel Delaney
    2 Nov 2009 | 9:06 am
    While perusing the Web, I discovered XING, a global business women’s networking platform. They claim to have 14,000+ members. Are you one? If so, let us know how you leverage the organization to grow your digital connections and business worldwide. XING Posted by: Laurel Delaney Posted in International business, Social Media and Network, World entrepreneurship Tagged: do business with the world, global business women, Laurel Delaney, XING

  • Women Are Productive Global Economic Agents

    Laurel Delaney
    29 Oct 2009 | 6:51 pm
    A very thoughtful post by Manuel Bueno, NextBillion.net, Development through Enterprise: It still baffles me that there are not more BoP businesses making use of women’s skills to enhance their economic and social bottom lines. For example, looking at the details of the many fellowship opportunities or upcoming conferences (a list of which was recently provided by Francisco Noguera), the role of women is barely touched upon, if at all. Yet the earning power of women globally is expected to reach $18 trillion by 2014 – a $5 trillion rise for current income. That is more than twice…
 
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    Big Red Tomato Company

  • How to Start a Business on a Budget

    Matthew Needham
    18 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm
    During times of economic downturn many people look to starting a business. Either out of necessity or spotting a genuine niche in the market. If you’re able to offer increased value at lower costs, then starting a business during an economic downturn could put you in a favourable position when economic conditions improve. Whenever you start a business it can be a stressful time. In this post we look at structuring your business plan to make it easier to obtain funding and minimise the investment capital required. As we said in out post on Writing a business plan on a single page.

  • 7 Tips for Better Networking

    Matthew Needham
    17 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm
    How to make your networking more effective Not Selling Elevator pitch Talk about them first Who are your “big fish” Own the room Right events Koffee 1. Not Selling Networking is not about selling. It’s about meeting people and starting business relationships. The aim is not to close the deal. 2. Elevator Pitch Most people’s impressions are formed within 10-15 seconds of meeting someone. Make those seconds count. So when someone asks you “What do you do”, don’t just say “I’m in accountant”. Say something like, “I help businesses…

  • Video: Need some encouragement?

    Matthew Needham
    16 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm
    If I’m not mistaken, you’re the kind of person who sometimes finds it difficult to get out of bed in a morning. Especially if it’s cold and wet outside. Staying motivated is sometimes difficult. However, for some people, giving up is giving up on life itself. In this video you see an amazing man, Nick Vujicic who has over come many challenges and now travels the world as a motivational speaker. What gets you out of bed in a morning?

  • How to Think Like a Millionaire – Think and Grow Rich

    Matthew Needham
    15 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm
    Think and grow rich is the most important financial book ever written. Napoleon Hill researched more than forty millionaires including: Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, George Eastman, Henry Ford, John D. Rockerfeller, Charles M Schwab, FW Woolworth, William Wrigley Jr, John Wanamaker, Joseph Stalin and Theodore Roosevelt, to name but a few, to find out what made them the men that they were. In this book he imparts that knowledge to you. Once you’ve read this book you will understand what gives certain people an edge over everyone else. In this book you will learn about the power…

  • Updated How to get a job in the recession

    Matthew Needham
    11 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm
    There are around 12.5m Americans looking for work at the moment. I was told last week that a position on GAAPweb, a UK Finance Recruitment site, attracted over 400 applications. With that sort of competition, it’s very hard not to get disheartened. However, with a few simple steps you can increase your chances of securing that all-important interview, but remember; “No one has a free hour to hear your sob story, you have to make a compelling case for that to happen” Jia Lynn Yang – Fortune.com Here’s how… 1. The CV – Match your skill to employers needs The CV or resume is…
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    The Rise Underground

  • The Secret Of Whuffie For Entrepreneurs With @MissRogue Tara Hunt

    David Siteman Garland
    20 Nov 2009 | 11:27 am
    Find out more about Tara Hunt the author of “The Whuffie Factor” on her blog and on Twitter. She rocks. Seriously. And if you haven’t picked up “The Whuffie Factor” yet, it is a must-read for entrepreneurs doing business online. Below is an Amazon link: The Whuffie Factor: Using the Power of Social Networks to Build Your Business

  • The #1 Way To Guarantee We Will NEVER Do Business Together Is To Do This

    David Siteman Garland
    18 Nov 2009 | 11:00 am
    The fastest way to ruin a business relationship? Check that, the fastest way to never create a business relationship is to send a really, really, really horrible email. I sift through 400-600 emails a day, but this could be my favorite example which came today. Below is copy and pasted with my commentary in bold/underlined. Name has been changed to protect the crappy. Hi Website Administrator (Hi, random person. Wait you don’t even know my name?!), We are purely organic search SEO Firm; we can get your website on the 1st page of Google, Yahoo and MSN (Bing.com) (Do you have a company name?

  • 5 Entrepreneurial Lessons Learned From Proposing To My Girlfriend

    David Siteman Garland
    17 Nov 2009 | 12:58 pm
    Ever get a little side tracked when working on your business? Raise your hand. OK, put them down. This weekend we had a GREAT new episode of The Rise To The Top with my special guest Bill Guertin showing you how to dominate your niche and a whole slew of other business building tips and tricks. While the show was hitting the airwaves and Internet, I had a sneaky plan in place. I proposed to Marcie on Saturday night at our condo. But, what does this have to do with business you might ask (asking your soul mate to marry you and growing a company…ummm make a point here, David). Well, here…

  • The Basics Of Twitter

    David Siteman Garland
    16 Nov 2009 | 1:47 pm
    Above is a clip from “Great Day St. Louis” on CBS (KMOV). I wish I could have talked about 5,00000000 minutes longer but here are some super easy ways you can get involved with Twitter RIGHT now. Also, in case you missed it, we have a brand spankin’ new episode online to build your business. You can of course hunt me down on Twitter @therisetothetop (in case you are having issues with the embed here is the direct link.

  • Social Media: Is There A Better Name?

    David Siteman Garland
    12 Nov 2009 | 2:28 pm
 
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    Dollars and Sense: The Pricing Blog

  • Change the world $27 at a time

    Reuben Swartz
    26 Oct 2009 | 5:10 am
    I've never done this before, but today I'm going to plug the Grameen Foundation's "$27 on the 27th" campaign. For those of you who don't know, the Grameen Foundation is a microlending institution that helps poor women in developing countries get loans to fund small businesses. Loans are typically in the range of $20-200. Their founder, Muhammud Yunus, started with the first loan of $27 in 1976. Yunus and the Grameen Bank shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 (no NPP jokes, please). I have been involved with the Grameen Foundation for several years, and seen first-hand how their work is helping…

  • Pricing at the dollar store

    Reuben Swartz
    21 Oct 2009 | 6:53 am
    Pricing humor from Slingblade, courtesy of an alert reader.Linda Wheatley: Karl, you know what? Melinda here was voted employee of the month at the dollar store last February. Isn't that something? Karl: Yes ma'am, I reckon. Melinda: Well, when you like pricing items as much as I do, it's just bound to happen sooner or later, I guess.

  • Upcoming Event: Professional Pricing Society Fall Conference

    Reuben Swartz
    19 Oct 2009 | 11:29 am
    We'll have a booth at the upcoming Professional Pricing Society Fall Conference in Orlando, October 22-23. Come by and see us and learn more about Sales Compass.Get more information and register here.

  • Agility Key to Success in Turbulent Times

    Reuben Swartz
    15 Oct 2009 | 12:32 pm
    The economy's in a bubble! A crash! A recovery? Careful, you might get whiplash. Looking back at the roller coaster ride, a lot of companies lost a lot of money because they could not act, or even react, quickly enough. Strangely, this money rarely showed up as a line item on the corporate P&L, although the losses had a huge impact on share prices. What were these losses, and how can we apply the lessons more profitably now?Most companies have a hard enough time figuring out "optimal" pricing in relatively static markets. List prices get revised once or twice a year, often through a…

  • What's your plan to close out 2009?

    Reuben Swartz
    6 Oct 2009 | 7:35 pm
    What's your plan to close out 2009?For many companies, 2009 has been a tough year. While many people remember the crash of the dot-com bubble, some people seem to have forgotten, and even that crash didn't impact the broader economy the way the housing and credit market implosion did. So how are you going to close out 2009? (If you're in retail, good luck. I'll write more on this later, time permitting.) Many companies are trying to sell into a buyers' market, with less support from marketing efforts than they enjoyed in the past, fewer reps, but the same pressure to deliver.Many companies…
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    What Works for Business

  • How and Why You Really Can Raise Prices

    Daniel Kehrer
    19 Nov 2009 | 9:31 am
    Dear Dan:  The last time I tried to raise prices it was a disaster. Customers revolted. But I’ve cut costs as far as I can, and profits are too thin. How can I raise prices and not lose business? —  Once Burned, Price Shy Dear Price Shy:  Millions of small business owners across America seem convinced [...]

  • 10 Terrific QuickBooks Extras

    Daniel Kehrer
    11 Nov 2009 | 9:43 am
    With millions of small and medium businesses using QuickBooks to manage their financial affairs, the industry for QuickBooks “add-ons” has blossomed. Add-on programs are essential to many small and mid-sized businesses because they are often the only way to get industry-specific or highly specialized functions. They’re great for adding extra capabilities in key areas such [...]

  • Why Digital Out of Home Video Ads are Taking Off

    Daniel Kehrer
    5 Nov 2009 | 9:52 am
    Want to really target your advertising in a cutting edge medium that could surpass even the Internet in terms of advertising growth in the next few years? Then take a look at the emerging field of digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising, also called out-of-home video advertising. DOOH delivers hyper-local, personalized and engaging messages to highly specialized, captive [...]

  • Thoughts on Being a Thought Leader and Trendsetter

    Daniel Kehrer
    3 Nov 2009 | 3:09 pm
    When our “new” (well, kind of) corporate parent’s PR department called recently wanting to profile me on the company’s internal “Thought Leaders & Trendsetters” web page, I naturally thought it was either a hoax, or just another corporate whim that would quickly fade. But hey, my photo might (and now does) appear right next to [...]

  • How to Become a Thought Leader in your Business

    Daniel Kehrer
    3 Nov 2009 | 3:07 pm
    By Jean Van Rensselar A thought leader is essentially a trusted resource. And in an information economy, a trusted resource is extremely valuable. A thought leader can be an individual or a company with a thorough mastery of its business, its customers and the dynamics of the broader operating environment.  The bottom line is that a [...]
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    MyWifeQuitHerJob.com

  • Mailbag: International Selling, Tax Deductions and Answering Services

    Steve
    20 Nov 2009 | 8:48 am
    Since the internet is a virtual marketplace, could I create an online business from outside of the US but targetting mainly the US market (or English-speaking web users anywhere else), and can I use US-based internet-business service providers (web hosts, etc.) to set up? If I am not in the US, do I still need to secure a US business license to set up the internet-based business? If you live outside of the United states, you should not need a business license. The purpose of the business license requirement is so that the state or city can enforce that you pay the necessary sales and business…

  • How To Get Free Technical Support For Your Online Store

    Steve
    18 Nov 2009 | 8:30 am
    I’ve only been writing this blog for a little over a year, but one thing is clear based on the types of questions that I receive. There are a number of people out there who are terrified of the technical aspects of starting an online business. Because they are not computer saavy, they are worried that throwing up a website is beyond their abilities. But what if I were to tell you that you could receive 24/7 technical Photo By Bisgovuk support from skilled programmers for free? Yes, you heard me right. You can get all of the help you need for absolutely no cost. As Scott Clark pointed…

  • Prevent Your Online Store From Becoming a Money Pit By Learning Some Basic Skills

    Steve
    16 Nov 2009 | 8:00 am
    “I have no idea how to create and manage my own website and I have absolutely no interest in learning either. I’m just going to hire someone or pay for a service.” Believe it or not, most people that I encounter who want to create their own online store or business have this attitude. They are reluctant to learn basic web programming because they are afraid of the technical aspects of running a website. To me, this attitude is contradictory. You want to start an online only business yet you have no desire to learn about the web? That’s Photo by Photos8.com like saying…

  • Best Of MyWifeQuitHerJob.com On Entrepreneurship

    Steve
    12 Nov 2009 | 7:51 am
    I can’t believe that our second child is due in just under a month! My wife is looking pretty ripe at this point and realistically speaking, the baby could arrive at any time between now and then. Incidentally, our new house also closes escrow on the day after my wife is supposed to deliver. I know it’s poor timing, but it could not be helped. When you find the right house at a good price, you need to seize the opportunity. Speaking of seizing the opportunity, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about friends and acquaintances who have contacted me in the past about starting…

  • Running A Business And Surviving With Another Child On The Way

    Steve
    11 Nov 2009 | 9:51 am
    As the due date for our second child rapidly approaches, my wife and I are battening down the hatches for the impending damage to our finances, rest and well being. As I mentioned in a previous post, we are in the midst of purchasing a brand new house. In addition, we’ve also decided to go ahead and purchase a mini-van to help transport the kids around. What! A minivan?!? I’ve been getting a lot of flack lately from my friends making fun of me for wanting to purchase a minivan, but you know what? When I’m cruising in the parking lot with an arm full of groceries in one hand,…
 
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    Optimal Web Consultants

  • Easily Re-size Photos

    3 Nov 2009 | 3:19 pm
    Most of the ways you capture pictures will do so at the highest resolution.  This is great and you don’t want to change a thing here.  You always want to capture it at the best quality because you can always go down but you can’t go up.  You just need to re-size the photo so it does not bog your website down or take forever to send over email. How do you easly resize photos when everyone has diffrent programs to do the same thing?   Then add in the fact that each program has a totally unique way of doing the re-size.   You make it simple.  The below tutorial will walk you…

  • Promoting your business through Facebook

    22 Oct 2009 | 11:14 am
    Chances are you use Facebook all the time for personal use but how do you make it work for your business?  In the past business owners would simply create a new profile for their business and in this fashion it functions identically to the normal account.  Facebook however has just changed their policy that all self promotional material needs to be on a “fan page”.  If they discover anything else they will be disabling user accounts. In this article I want to go through how you set up this fan page and a quick and easy way to get an amazing inbound link from Facebook.  In…

  • Email…reinvented: Google Wave

    2 Oct 2009 | 8:01 am
    I have been hearing a lot of buzz about Google Wave but until I watched the below video I could not quite wrap my head around it.  The basic premise is that email is old (40 years old) and Google asks the question, “What if Email was invented today?”.  Google Wave looks amazing and could very well be the future of online communication. Right now Google Wave is still being tested and currently is on a invite only system right now.  No word on when it will go public but I when it does I will be sure to do a thorough review. Best Regards,

  • When will the Yellow Pages disappear?

    3 Sep 2009 | 12:45 pm
    Today like most days I walked over to grab the mail and saw a familiar site.  Yellow Page books in weather resistant packages parked by the mail boxes.  They have been there already for longer than a week.  I guess I wonder what will happen first, will they simply decompose or will someone simply get annoyed at seeing them and toss them in the garbage (most likely the later). The Yellow Pages topic comes up almost every time I meet with a potential client.  “I can’t track it”, “They over promised and under delivered”, or the most common “It is too…

  • The biggest shift since the industrial revolution

    31 Aug 2009 | 7:00 am
    If anyone has watched the original shift video you are familiar with the concept of these fun videos.  After watching there is no doubt that social media is and has already taken over many other traditional marketing streams. But how does a business take advantage of social media?  Social media is still in its infancy, make sure your leading the parade and not trailing behind.  Whenever there is a paradigm shift the people that are at the front of the change benefit the most. Below are some of my previous posts on social media and I’m currently in the process of creating diffrent…
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    Steps to the Top

  • Social Media (Tool 7)

    7 Nov 2009 | 2:29 am
    Cluster of new sort of online media, which shares the following characteristics, is known as social media: PARTICIPATION: users are encouraged to contribute and share feedback, which hazes the line between the concept of media and audience. OPENNESS: most of the social media services are set to openness with a freedom of providing your feedback or conveying your message to everyone. Such... This is just a summary of the article to read more click on the Title

  • Online Advertising (Tool 6)

    13 Oct 2009 | 3:48 am
    The main purpose behind online advertising is parallel to the regular marketing methods that are to market messages, in such a way that it should attract customers. Similarly, there are different types of online advertising methods depending upon how the advertising is done. The most common and popular advertising methods followed online are: Pay Per Click Ads also known as PPC ads in... This is just a summary of the article to read more click on the Title

  • Search Engine Marketing aka SEM (Tool 5)

    30 Sep 2009 | 12:17 am
    In the previous tool of online marketing i.e. Search Engine Optimization, we learned that the process of optimizing a site is based on: Content: Image and media, widgets and tool, resource lists, testimonials, translations, comments, RSS feeds, articles, blogs and titles. Links: Directory submission, partners / suppliers, reciprocal links, press release, memberships, social media,... This is just a summary of the article to read more click on the Title

  • Search Engine Optimization aka SEO (Tool 4)

    24 Sep 2009 | 1:26 am
    The art of making a website friendly enough so that it ranks higher in Search Engine Result Pages is known as search engine optimization. It is considered more technical part of internet marketing, which is true. SEO requires some technical knowledge related to HTML, CSS etc. along with copy writing as most of the techniques used to promote site in the search engine deals with the text. The... This is just a summary of the article to read more click on the Title

  • Email Marketing (Tool 3)

    28 Aug 2009 | 1:25 am
    It is one of the most effective tool of direct marketing, which uses electronic mail for communicating commercial message to an audience. Every email sent to a current or potential customer could be considered as email marketing in its approach. The purpose behind sending email to the customers is to enhance the relationship between the merchant and customers, as well to gain the customer's... This is just a summary of the article to read more click on the Title
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    Think Like A Consultant

  • Attract More Prospects In Thirty Seconds Or Less

    “So, what do you do?” This is one of the subtlest and most difficult questions in business. And it doesn’t matter if you are answering it in person or on your website. We all know that average website visitors take less than 2.9 seconds to decide if they’ll stick around. Guess ...

  • Visual Thinking For Business

    A quiet movement is sweeping the business world. It's about the power of visual thinking for business, whether solving problems or communicating ideas and concepts. If you think you were skipped over when they handed out artistic ability, think again. According to Dan Roam, author of The Back of the Napkin: ...

  • Why Twitter?

    Why Twitter? Why should you bother? What is its purpose? Business people often say that Twitter is not an effective form of social networking or they question how you can really gain anything from typing 140 character updates all day long. As one person said, “Why do I care who ...

  • How To Get Business Referrals

    Ask four of your colleagues how they get new business and odds are you’ll hear at least three of them say “referrals.” Where do referrals come from? Probably a variety of sources: existing clients, friends, business relationships, and networking, to name a few. Make It Easy To Get Recommended Now think about ...

  • Do You Need An Ergonomic Office Chair?

    Most people who have been around an office environment for some time have seen the distinctive mesh chairs that many employees covet. Herman Miller's Aeron Chairs are typically accepted as being among the best for comfort and ergonomic design, so we tried one out. Although there are several styles and ...
 
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    flyte blog: web marketing strategies for small business

  • Book Review: Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence

    Rich Brooks
    15 Nov 2009 | 10:47 am
    I've often said that the best book on social media marketing is Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People. Although Carnegie never updated his Facebook status, tweeted or even commented on someone else's blog, the lessons one can learn from that book can be used to win Facebook friends and Influence people on the social webs. Well, now that book has some real competition. Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith is a must read for anyone looking to understand how businesses and non-profits can use the Web…

  • How Does Web Marketing Help Your Business?

    Rich Brooks
    12 Nov 2009 | 8:08 am
    At flyte we have a model called Holistic Web Marketing; it's a way of explaining how Web marketing helps improve your online visibility, drive qualified leads to your Web site, and convert that traffic into business. There are four pieces: Attraction: How do you drive qualified traffic to your site? Retention: How do you keep the lines of communication open after they leave your site? Conversion: How do you get them to make a buying decision or move further down the sales cycle? Measurement: How do measure your site's effectiveness and whether your Web campaigns are working? We…

  • Web Developer Appreciation Day Take II

    Rich Brooks
    12 Nov 2009 | 6:15 am
    I came into the office this morning to be greeted by a box of chocolates from Jeff and Jennifer from SelectDwelling for the recent Web site flyte designed and built for them.As a "you're welcome!" I offer a link to your Web site (see above.)Best of luck with your business of helping home owners and long-term renters connect in southwest Florida!Rich BrooksWill Link for Chocolate

  • Long-Term Florida Home Rentals: SelectDwelling

    Rich Brooks
    10 Nov 2009 | 6:42 pm
    flyte has just redesigned and re-engineered a website for SelectDwelling, who offer affordable residential listings for homeowners in SouthWest Florida seeking long-term renters.  In three easy steps, owners can list their properties, provide a detailed description, select from a list of amenities and upload up to 12 photos along with a link to Google Maps. Flyte programmed a simple-to-use admin that allows multiple levels of user access: owners can list and maintain multiple properties and manage their inquiries, SelectDwelling can administer the entire site and edit/confirm listings…

  • Avoiding Twitter Phishing Scams: Don't Click On That Link

    Rich Brooks
    5 Nov 2009 | 12:27 pm
    There's a popular new phishing technique on Twitter that a lot of people are falling for.Someone you follow on Twitter--maybe even someone you trust--sends you a DM (direct message) that encourages you to click on a link. Some of the come-ons I've seen include: Is this you? [bogus link] I just found out my iq from [bogus link] I made $426.23 online today with [bogus link] I make money online with google. i learned how here [bogus link] I've got pictures of @therichbrooks naked. Check them out here: [bogus link] It's amazing how many people fall for that last one. The reason…
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    Business|BillyBush

  • Tech Valuations and VC action approaching 1999?

    Billy
    18 Nov 2009 | 5:42 pm
    37 Signals has a new, excellent podcast.  I highly recommend it.  Simply a group of entrepreneurs discussing interesting topics.  The latest piece (as of this post, episode 2) found here, addresses the interesting actions and valuations of tech 2.0 companies.  That is, they often forgo revenue for massive growth, tons of venture capital and astronomical valuations that make you question “Is the value really there?” This is interesting as I’ve asked this many times, only to be scorned for questioning the all-seeing powers at be, whoever they are…  Is Twitter really…

  • Empathy & principles of long-term success

    Billy
    12 Nov 2009 | 3:42 pm
    Being empathetic seems like one of the most intuitive and obvious necessities in business (that is empathy with your customer).  Obviously this is not the case as books are being written to help businesses see this point.  I recently read “Wired to Care” by [author], which centers on the concept of empathy regarding your “end user.”  One of the biggest issues in business today is the focus on profits, particularly short-term profits. This is especially difficult with publicly traded companies as the reputation and stock price often lives and dies by quarterly…

  • The Myth of Job Security

    Billy
    10 Nov 2009 | 7:45 am
    In an economy such as this, I may be beating a dead horse in discussing job security but for those who hang on to certain notions of this myth, my goal is to rewire thinking.  The millenial generation (we’ll call them genYers) is developing far different thought processes than their baby boomer parents and older generations.  During the first half of the 20th century, the key to the good life was putting in 30+ years at a company and retiring with the gold watch and a pension.  As Donna Fenn puts it in her book “Upstarts”, entrepreneurship was compared to hocking watches…

  • Check out this contest for FREE stuff…

    Billy
    6 Nov 2009 | 8:04 am
    The Business Blueprint is hosting a contest for free marketing plans & assistance. All you have to do is comment on the contest blog post. Simply go here and leave a comment sharing the biggest challenge you have in business right now… just do it! No related posts. Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

  • The Importance of Risk

    Billy
    3 Nov 2009 | 9:04 am
    Risk is an interesting beast. Generally speaking, the goal of each entrepreneur and investor is to mitigate risk to as near zero as possible. The less risk that exists the better, or at least, the less risk you personally must take on, the better. This is a fine policy that any savvy businessperson demonstrates. Interestingly, risk plays an important role when viewed from the macroeconomic perspective. On the micro level, we are all trying to eliminate it, but from the greater macro level, it is an important regulator and guide to innovation and progress. To artificially eliminate risk poses…
 
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    Sentiment of Success

  • Over Protected

    my1ambition
    20 Nov 2009 | 12:13 pm
    Are we? When you sit back and think about it we realize that we no longer have any sense of independence. Or self-reliance if you will. Our ancestors sure did. They’d go out each day with two goals: Don’t get killed and eat enough to get to tomorrow. In today’s society however, it seems that [...]

  • Recent Tweets #5

    my1ambition
    17 Nov 2009 | 10:09 pm
    Just in case you’ve missed out…(favorites in bold) Did you know that Coke makes a special formula especially for McDonald’s fountain drinks! (Maybe its New Coke). NEW BIO: Great thoughts and ideas to ponder, better your life and improve the way you interact with the world! Most violent crime is committed by people who know each other. Yet [...]

  • A Farewell Poem to the GSEs

    my1ambition
    8 Nov 2009 | 4:22 pm
    As Freddie announces a $5 Billion loss, I recall a post I wrote a bit over a year ago. It was entitled “Farewell Poem to the GSEs”. So I’ve decided to do a repost. Enjoy! A Farewell Poem to the GSEs by Levik Dubov – September 2008 Freddie and Fannie we will nationalize, As investors soon will come to [...]

  • How To Find Yourself in 20 Minutes

    my1ambition
    7 Nov 2009 | 11:25 pm
    Have been thinking a lot over the past couple days. I spent a few days in New York (and attended a live viewing of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report). I was mostly on my BlackBerry so I had more time to think instead of just “surfing” the web. One of the things that’s fascinated [...]

  • Want To Succeed?

    my1ambition
    23 Oct 2009 | 2:38 pm
    Passion, Purpose, Practice! Passion, Purpose, Practice! Passion, Purpose, Practice! Passion, Purpose, Practice! Passion, Purpose, Practice! Passion, Purpose, Practice! Passion, Purpose, Practice! Passion, Purpose, Practice! Passion, Purpose, Practice! Passion, Purpose, Practice! Passion, Purpose, Practice! Passion, Purpose, Practice! Have an amazing weekend! Tagged: passion, practice, purpose, success
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    TargetStars

  • Go with what you know-Part 3

    Image by Olivier Charavel via Flickr This is the last part  in my series called Go with what you know In my last post, I discussed why companies should not hire a candidate based upon their connections, but for what they know. However, there is another option that many companies tend to ...

  • Go with what you know-Part 2

    This is part two in my series called Go with what you know. When an employer is influenced in hiring a candidate based upon their connections, the employer is doing themselves a disservice. I have no problem with hiring people within your network if they have the experience that is required ...

  • Go with what you know

    Image by Liz@rt via Flickr What matters most in one’s quest to succeed in business—who you know or what you know? This is a question that seems to keep resurfacing in my life (i.e. talking with friends, watching the news, etc.), so I figured I would write about it to get ...

  • Twitter Lists: Pros and Cons

    Image by ursonate via Flickr I’m sure everyone is aware by now that Twitter has implemented the ability to create lists. When they started rolling out this feature I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to make one (I still haven’t). I am forever making lists (i.e. to do ...

  • Are you more than a logo?

    In my last blog post, I discussed how important it is for companies to implement a multifaceted methodology into their social media campaign. Last Thursday (Oct. 15th), I had the pleasure of seeing this approach in action when I attended the opening of Garrett Popcorn’s store on Michigan Avenue. For those ...
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    Business and the Internet

  • How much time do you spend on marketing?

    Matt Freedman
    4 Nov 2009 | 7:53 pm
    Last night I gave a presentation to a group of 17 people that are in the process of getting their business ideas off the ground. My talk was about using online media to grow your business. One of the students asked, “how much time should we spend on marketing?” I think I shattered some dreams when [...]

  • Google doesn’t use the keywords meta tag in web search

    Matt Freedman
    22 Sep 2009 | 6:30 pm
    Straight from the horses mouth – Matt Cutt’s from Google talks about keywords in the meta tag. Related Posts:Why does Google index blogs faster than other sites?Google Ranking: Which is more important: content or links?Twitter in Plain EnglishWhat is Google Wave?Blogs Wikis and Social Networks

  • Questions to ask before you rebuild your website

    Matt Freedman
    20 Sep 2009 | 7:32 pm
    Seth Godin, guru of permission marketing and leading edge thinking on new media, and new marketing has posted this list of questions to ask before you redo your website on his blog. My additions/comments are shown in bold italics. What is the goal of the site? In other words, when it’s working great, what specific outcomes will occur? [...]

  • What is Google Wave?

    Matt Freedman
    3 Sep 2009 | 10:39 pm
    Google Wave is tipped to be the “next generation” of Internet communication and was first announced by Google in May this year. The name was inspired by the Firefly television series in which a Wave is an electronic communication (often consisting of a video call or video message). Google Wave will be launched to a [...]

  • Create your digital toolbox

    Matt Freedman
    25 Aug 2009 | 5:52 pm
    When I first started in the digital industry 10 years ago, if you had a website your were using the internet as a marketing tool to it's maximum and were miles in front of your competitors who didn't have a website at all. Now a website of some sort is mandatory for all companies and it's how it is used in conjunction with an overall digital strategy that is the key factor in your online marketing. Here are some digital tools that all businesses should have in their toolbox
 
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    Current Mom

  • Detective Mom

    Julie Bindeman, Psy-D
    21 Nov 2009 | 4:00 am
    Sharing Saturday Picture by: BrillisBeasty Being a parent means taking on great responsibility in all facets of your child’s life. In many ways, it’s combining a number of professions and acquiring expertise well beyond what we might bring to the...

  • A Therapist's Perspective on Little House on the Prairie

    Jenny Vidas
    20 Nov 2009 | 1:00 am
    Family Friday My kids and I love reading together, and our shared books have included current hits like the Harry Potter series, as well as books from earlier decades. I am finding, however, that many of my childhood favorites sound...

  • Not so Isolated After All

    Lyn Millett
    19 Nov 2009 | 8:30 am
    A new Pew survey says we are not all isolated zombies after all!

  • The Quest for a Balanced Schedule

    Guest Post
    17 Nov 2009 | 9:22 pm
    Work Wednesday Guest post by Ousmane Mariko. Balanced, with a side of organization. That's precisely how I want my busy schedule to be. How about you? If that doesn't describe your current situation, fret no more, I'll try to give...

  • Why Exercise Clothes Never Quite Fit Me

    Allison Nazarian
    17 Nov 2009 | 6:00 am
    Truth Tuesday "Mom, how come when you take me to school, all of the other moms are wearing exercise clothes but you are wearing fancy work clothes?" This was the question my then-three-or-four-year-old daughter (she's now 10) asked me point-blank...
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    Profitable Growth

  • The Road To Unprofitable Growth Is Paved With One Dollar Fajitas

    Andy Birol
    16 Nov 2009 | 9:50 am
    Today I met an old friend for lunch at Chili’s. We had years of catching up to do. But not before our caffeinated waitress hawked every feature, pushed every special and described each of her favorites on the menu! First, we ignored. Then we resisted. Ultimately, we succumbed and ordered “her” mushroom steak fajita special. At last, we could share our business/family trials and traumas. What's your one-dollar fajita story from the business world? But no! Our waitress burst in to tell us that for a dollar more we could each get a second fajita order, packaged to go no less. Fine, we…

  • An Anonymous Case Study of Survival and Profitable Growth

    Andy Birol
    11 Nov 2009 | 5:05 am
    Recently, I had lunch with a partner of one of my national and very private clients who I hadn’t seen since the November 2008 election. He gave me permission to recount his story. Last Fall, he was disenchanted, dismayed and worried that his processing and services businesses could not survive the perfect storm of bankrupting clients, a government regulatory beat-down and a no-credit economy. His outlook disturbed me since he and his family were savvy, intelligent and highly committed operators. Hell-bent on creating organic growth. As individuals, they are personally accountable and walk…

  • Defining Profitable Growth In The New Economy

    Andy Birol
    10 Nov 2009 | 5:05 am
    Small business owner, how do you define profitable growth? I believe that in this new normal, the new economy, profitable growth has a new definition. Watch my video to how I define profitable growth in the new economy. How do you define profitable growth?

  • DIY, DIWM, DIFM: What Can You Do?

    Andy Birol
    9 Nov 2009 | 5:05 am
    If it’s painful watching another small business struggle as the economy rebounds. It’s torture if it’s yours. Why won’t your customers buy from you when they are increasing their spending with others? When will they realize that imitating your value, products or services “in-house” is penny wise and pound foolish? The economy may be recovering but not in the same way as in the past. Most of the buyers I’ve interviewed for my clients are buying again but with new criteria. Instead of reverting to their old ways they are pursuing total cost of any solution. And if they believe…

  • Feeling Like Oliver Twist In The New Economy

    Andy Birol
    8 Nov 2009 | 9:53 am
    In talking to so many business owners, I can report that most feel like Charles Dickens’ young Oliver Twist with his nose pressed up against the dining room window filled with people and good food. Do you feel like Oliver Twist in the new economy? Image from http://www.charlesdickenspage.com/illustrations-twist.html “Can I have some more?” he asks, only to get pushed away. While the economy is improving and a few owners are eating well again, most are still watching with envy. But there is no question that phones are ringing, inquiries are coming in, and wallets are opening slowly. If…
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    Stories, News & Updates...

  • Are You Even Breaking Even?

    13 Nov 2009 | 12:30 pm
    Seems like a pretty straightforward question, right? But for too many veterinary practitioners and managers, the answer to this question is either: 1) I don’t know, 2) I think so, or 3) what do you mean? What I mean is, is your hospital bringing in at least as much in revenue as it is spending? Moreover, do you know what your hospital’s break-even point is for each service you provide?While lots of hospitals (albeit not enough) know what their daily break-even point is for the entire operation, most do not know what that point is for individual products and procedures. This issue gets…

  • How to Get Your Hospital on Facebook: Part II

    15 Oct 2009 | 2:23 pm
    In the last article, I reviewed the steps for setting up a Facebook page for your hospital. This article focuses on adding details to your hospital’s page and getting it out there for your clients to see!Customize Applications and Hospital DetailsIn the previous steps we took care of the profile picture, basic and detailed information boxes. Now, you will need to customize the page a bit more and add any applications that you want to use. Under the image you selected for your profile picture, you will see an Edit Page link. From here, you can edit settings and add applications to further…

  • How to Get Your Hospital on Facebook: Part I

    6 Oct 2009 | 2:43 pm
    What is social media?Social media is distinct from traditional media, such as newspapers, television, and film. Where traditional media requires significant resources to publish information, social media uses relatively inexpensive and accessible tools that enable anyone to publish or access information.Why should you care?The basic idea is that social media is designed to disseminate information through social interaction – often referred to as social networking. Social media supports the human need for social interaction with technology, transforming broadcast media monologues (one to…

  • 10 Questions to Ensure Strategic Pricing

    25 Sep 2009 | 9:00 am
    While there is a lot of information out there about pricing, few veterinary practice owners or managers think about it strategically. The industry standard is to follow a cost-plus model which, unfortunately, can lead to over pricing in a weak market and under pricing in a strong one. According to Thomas Nagle, the financial questions that should drive proactive pricing are, “How many more client transactions must we achieve to earn additional profit from a lower price?” and “How many client transactions can we lose and still earn additional profit from a higher price?Another common…

  • 5 Ways to Be Better

    19 Sep 2009 | 12:36 pm
    I just finished reading Atul Gawande’s Better. In case what I write below doesn’t come across strong enough, let me say now that I believe this book should be required reading at all hospitals (human and veterinary) and among all personnel.A fantastic and quick read, it is a compilation of 12 original and previously published essays adapted from the New England Journal of Medicine and the New Yorker. If you are unfamiliar with his writing and personal story, you’re in for a real treat. From issues of medical ethics to battlefield medicine to the remarkable power of hand washing, his…
 
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    Electra Glide In Blue

  • Veterans Day Tribute – The Motorcycle That Won the War

    Electra Glide In Blue
    6 Nov 2009 | 12:19 pm
    During WWII, Harley Davidson produced about 70,000 WLA and WLC military motorcycles for the US Army and their Allies. This is the motorcycle that won the war. The WLA’s were used extensively by US Troops for messenger and Military Police duties. These bikes were nicknamed ‘Liberators’ in Europe since they were ridden by troops liberating their [...]

  • Suicide Knucklehead

    Electra Glide In Blue
    26 Oct 2009 | 6:28 am
    So you think you are a hardcore biker, this is what a hardcore biker looked like back in the late 40’s. This is yet another pic of Restoman’s dad on his Knucklehead. I don’t have a clue what they called this back in the day, but today I would call this a Knucklehead bobber. If [...]

  • Local Vehicle Registration Security

    Electra Glide In Blue
    11 Oct 2009 | 2:25 pm
    The Times Have Changed, the economy is in the dumps, no new jobs, the government is hurting for money, so they increase fees. Renewing the registration on my motorcycles here in Colorado can be done through the mail or in person at the County Vehicle Licensing Clerk & Recorder office. I always like to pay my [...]

  • Flag Burner Justice

    Electra Glide In Blue
    1 Oct 2009 | 9:52 am
    You just don’t mess with the flag at the Chester James Carknard VFW Post 1938 in Valley Falls, New York. That was proven last weekend when a drunk was refused service Friday night in the Post lounge because he didn’t have proper identification. It turns out the guy went outside to the Post flagpole, lowered the [...]

  • New Harley 2010 Motorcycles Video

    Electra Glide In Blue
    24 Sep 2009 | 11:08 am
    Harley Davidson just released this new video showing off some of their new metal masterpieces for 2010. I like the look of the new Wide-Glide with the black spoke wheels. Check out the new video….not bad. Stimulate the economy buy a new Harley! Ride Safe. Share and Enjoy:
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    CityVoter - Making Local Media

  • The Facebook Factor in Best of Voting

    18 Nov 2009 | 1:19 pm
    We just finished doing some analysis for one of our clients. It turns out that this year during their contest, Facebook drove more than 25% of traffic to the "best of" promotion. We continue to encourage this behavior by making it easy for business owners and fans of local businesses to put badges on their profiles or forward "vote for us" requests, but this data is pretty impressive.It's important to note, and we will continue to monitor the twitter effect. This year, during that same contest, twitter drove roughly 8% of total traffic.We've got fun things in store to make this even bigger,…

  • Experiential Marketing CityVoter style

    17 Nov 2009 | 6:21 am
    I'm borrowing a new term I learned: "experiential marketing". Our "best of" programs have been known to get local consumers excited to vote for their favorite businesses, and we've seen business owners do some crazy things to campaign to be number one. All this buzz is something we encourage and actually support. The happiest businesses in the CityVoter network are the ones who have fun with our program and shamelessly self-promote to generate new business and give their loyal customers something to shout about (see the photo of a tanning salon with MyFoxLA t-shirts).Since we provide business…

  • How local business owners should use group buying sites

    3 Nov 2009 | 5:20 am
    Local business owners get lots of people calling them to sell them advertising. If you are a CityVoter business, chances are you operate your business in a city where "group buying" advertising companies are growing quickly. There are really a lot of these companies out there. I chose to highlight a few above for your reference. They are: GroupOn, BuyWithMe, and LivingSocial. My goal is to give you a simple overview of how they work, but it's not that simple for business owners who aren't familiar with the opportunity. If you're interested in doing one of these deals, be sure to spend a lot…

  • An Esquire Magazine That Talks? That's just crazy.

    29 Oct 2009 | 7:11 am
    In 2005, I called on Boston Magazine repeatedly and tried to convince them that their magazine needed to not only go online with more content, but become part of the local conversation by engaging consumers to contribute their voice to the publication. The web could make that happen.As we approach the dawn of 2010, we see Esquire making big noise about their new interactive magazine. The cover actually reads: "A living, breathing, moving, talking, magazine?" "WTF?!"If I were publishing Esquire, I wouldn't say WTF. I would say "hold on we're just getting started", and I'd release a flurry of…

  • Hats off to King5 and Best of Western Washington

    27 Oct 2009 | 5:50 am
    Last night, our media partner in the greater Seattle area, King 5, began announcing their 2009 Best of Western Washington (BOWW) winners during their Evening Magazine television program. King 5 is using CityVoter to make its BOWW annual promotion bigger, and this year it was simply huge. More than 300,000 unique visitors visited the King 5/CityVoter BOWW website in a 6 week period. These visitors spent an average of more than 6 minutes on the website browsing local businesses, voting for their favorites, and recommending places. In fact, the site accumulated more than 90,000 recommendations…
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    Small Business

  • Elements of Small Business Website Solution

    admin
    6 Nov 2009 | 2:17 am
    An effective web presence requires a solutions-based approach with goals such as what you want to accomplish and who is the audience you are targeting. As  the web is constantly evolving and search engine competition is becoming fierce, being successful on the web requires consistent evaluation of the site’s effectiveness based on your objectives, understanding the latest technologies and trends, having a dynamic website marketing plan and constantly fine tuning. The right elements that need to be present for an effective small business web solution are: 1.) Domain Name – Choose  the…

  • Checklist for An Effective Small Business Website Design

    admin
    26 Oct 2009 | 5:31 am
    The key purpose of having a web presence for your small business is to develop brand identity that leads to powerful call to action for your products or services and finally sell your products or services online. But before you create your website, you need to be specific about its direction and a solid strategic foundation. You should be certain about the end goal for your website i.e. either you are strictly provide information about your products or services or it is going to be used as a powerful tool to leverage user engagement, call to actions and sales. A thoughtful checklist can…

  • How to Achieve Small Business Website Design in Limited Budget?

    admin
    20 Oct 2009 | 4:47 am
    Online presence is not only restricted to the inevitability of large scale businesses but is also must for small or medium scale businesses.  Nevertheless, small businesses usually come up with budget issue and are often refrained from obtaining a multifunctional website for their business. However, by putting little effort and endeavor, it is not impossible to get a fully-functional website design within budget for small businesses. Here are the points highlighting the importance of web presence for small business and how to get it without exceeding your budget; Small Business Needs to…

  • Enhance the Readability of Your Small Business Website

    admin
    24 Sep 2009 | 2:43 am
    A well designed website is quite important for the proliferation of your small business over Internet. Since a website is a mirror image of a business, therefore website design should be done after proper thinking and a lot of planning. You need to devote a lot of time and money in designing your small business web site, writing the copy for it and have it all done by a professional designer and copywriter. It may be easy to design a website but it takes a lot of efforts to bring people to read it. According to research, content in and of itself is not enough. No matter how much useful…

  • Web Design: A Catalyst in Growth of Small Businesses

    admin
    18 Sep 2009 | 4:57 am
    A good and attractive website design is the fastest marketing technique for any small and medium scale business. Promoting your products and services on the internet ensures the reach of the business to a large number of customers worldwide. An eye-catching web design is essential to promote a small business. Let us find out some facts which reveal the importance and role of website design in the growth and success of a small/medium sized business: World Wide Promotion: A plausibly priced eye catching web site design is the only way to promote your business world wide when your business is…
 
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    WeLoveBusiness.co.uk

  • Family gold business success story

    WLB
    11 Nov 2009 | 1:30 am
    Bournemouth based family business Postgoldforcash.com announces that is has served in excess of 10,000 customers – as the market and their company continue to grow. The number of consumers looking to sell unwanted gold from their jewellery and cuff-link boxes shows no sign of slowing as postgoldforcash.com announce that, despite only launching in May, they have now served over 10,000 customers. Gold is now treble the price it was five years ago which means, as the recession continues to bite, it proves to be a popular way of generating cash. Serial entrepreneur Ashley Faull, co-founder…

  • Top tips to save cash in your home office

    WLB
    9 Nov 2009 | 4:05 am
    Every year, offices waste hundreds of thousands of pounds in wasted resource. Be it through electricity, unused office supplies or superfluous office space, money is often thrown away purely because of poor planning. If you work from a home office, however, you’ll probably be a little more receptive to it and in more of a position to take control. Our Top Tips To Save Cash In Your Office highlight the common areas that people overspend on or neglect and, by following our handy tips, you could find that you cut your energy consumption, general waste and office expenditure by vast…

  • Tangerine acquires Juice Digital

    WLB
    9 Nov 2009 | 1:07 am
    Manchester based PR agency Tangerine has announced the acquisition of Stockport social media firm Juice Digital – in a bid to become the leading social media agency outside of London. The acquisition price is undisclosed but the deal will involve Juice’s Steve Downes join the Tangerine board and the the Juice staff moving into Tangerine headquarters in Castlefield, Manchester. Tangerine’s groupd MD Sandy Lindsay commented “regular clients have been increasingly asking for help with their digital presence over and above other PR and marketing services.” At…

  • The return of advertising and a boost in confidence

    WLB
    6 Nov 2009 | 3:15 am
    Despite the downturn becoming an increasingly bad smell that Britain just can’t seem to get rid of; advertising spend has made a surprise recovery with firms such as Unilever and M&S announcing increased spend and ITV reporting a rise in advertising revenue. Unilever, the consumer goods giant, said that its advertising spend had increased by 13% in the 3 months to September 30th. This is because Unilever saw the falling advertising rates as an opportunity to boost spending in an effort to drive volume and edge closer to rival Reckitt Benckiser. Advertising spend is usually seen as a…

  • Winkball.com is UK’s fastest growing video site

    WLB
    5 Nov 2009 | 1:12 am
    Just 6 weeks after launching Winkball.com is being hailed as the latest internet phenomenon and is officially the UK’s fastest growing video site. WinkBall.com is a free, web-based, personal video communication service, which allows anyone to record, send and share videos with friends and family – privately. What’s more exciting about Winkball.com’s success is the fact that it is a British company based on technology entirely built in Britain – Winkball.com is representing the UK tech scene on a stage that is largely dominated by companies hailing from the likes…
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    Small Business SEO, SEM and Online Marketing Tips

  • Google Local: A Step by Step Guide for Creating Your Small Business Local Search Listings (Part 1)

    Getting your business listed in the local search engines sites is paramount to getting not only more traffic to your website, but more calls on the phone and more new customers in the door. If you have been dragging your feet in listing your small business in the local search engines, stop what you are [...]

  • The 3 Types of Search Behavior (and where searchers need to land on your site for each)

    I happened to be on LinkedIn earlier today, and someone had posted a question about where they should land their website visitors. I answered their question, and thought it might be helpful to post it here for you guys as well You need to target where your visitors land based on where they are [...]

  • Why Your Site Needs a Contact Form

    Are you still making your website visitors click a plain email link to contact you? Chances are you are losing a ton of new leads that way (and probably seeing a ton of SPAM in your inbox). A recent study I came across reinforces the fact that folks just don’t click email links any more. They [...]

  • Online Marketing, SEO, SEM and Social Media: My Must Read Collection

    These are simply the best books I have read for SEO, SEM, social media and online marketing in general. I have learned countless strategies that have increased my website traffic, improved my interactions with my customers, and generally let me dominate my online markets/niches/verticals. If you are an online marketer, you need to read these [...]

  • Small Businesses Favor SEM, Social Media Over Banner Ads

    Read the full story at Marketing Pilgrim. Looks like small businesses are finally learning that intrusive banner ads are simply not the way to go. Will this lead to less banner clutter on the web? Doubtful. But we can hope.. clipped from www.marketingpilgrim.com According to a recent survey by email marketing company VerticalResponse, small and medium businesses [...]
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    McVictor's Blog

  • How to Find a JV Partner & Get Them to Say Yes!

    admin
    8 Nov 2009 | 8:42 am
    Do you know your own level of success? Many entrepreneurs don’t know where they stand in the spectrum between the greenest newbie and experienced guru. You want to find Joint Venture partners who are preferably more successful than you are. That’s not to say someone who is newly emerged on the scene can’t contribute to the equation. It’s very possible a breakout star will hit one out of the ballpark – but as a rule of thumb, try to partner with someone you can learn from throughout the venture. You’re bound to come across potential partners that don’t respond. For instance, if…

  • Making Money Online – Don’t Start Without A Plan

    admin
    24 Oct 2009 | 6:48 pm
    As you start building your online empire, you will typically focus on one primary area of revenue until it is maximized to its fullest potential. It doesn’t matter exactly what you start with – it might be a product, a membership site, or a service. One big problem many Internet marketers create for themselves is having their hands in too many cookie jars. They get a great idea, launch and fiddle with it for a week or a month, and then get bored and try something else if the money isn’t pouring in and flooding their bank account. Truthfully, this describes the vast majority of Internet…

  • Do You Make This Mistake In Your Online Business?

    admin
    25 Sep 2009 | 9:35 am
    Running a business online imitates life – you will find yourself really disoriented if you do not practice and apply some basic principles. The problem is that, in the beginning, you only sway slightly and don’t notice it. So you get a little more off course, but you still don’t realize. And the process continues. And on it goes. Then, before you know what happened, you’re completely off track, even though a series of small changes got you there. You can do a lot of things to improve or harm your online business, but there is definitely one thing that will end your…

  • Online Marketing – Focus On Long Term Strategies.

    admin
    31 Aug 2009 | 3:12 pm
    When it comes to investing in your online business, there are few strategies that work better than the daily promotions you have to maintain on a regular basis. If you consider the long term rather than quick profits, nothing else measures up to these strategies because they continue providing traffic for months (and often years) after the fact. Start with content. The Internet is an organic information machine. It lives on fresh new content. Google, MSN/BING and Yahoo seek out this new relevant content on a continual basis. Google and other search engines base their searching and popularity…

  • Matt Cutts on the upcoming “Caffeine” update

    admin
    12 Aug 2009 | 5:36 am
    (Matt lost a bet with his Googlers team and they got to shave his head!) Mike McDonald from Webpronews.com spoke to Matt Cutts (Head of webspam team at Google)about the Caffeine update. Matt says “the main objective of Caffeine is to allow for more and faster indexing. It will lay the foundation for any changes we want to do in indexing. Caffeine is re-architecting or rewriting a large chunck of how we index web pages.” Caffeine is the largest update in four years but currently there’s nothing new to the user interface and most of the changes are going on “under the…
 
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    The Art of Great Things

  • The Journey, The Destination, and What Comes Next

    Jeffrey Tang
    17 Nov 2009 | 1:49 pm
    Warning: philosophical musings ahead. “A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.” – Lao Tzu I’ve had a kind of a love-hate relationship with quotes like this one. On one hand, I see why enjoying the journey is important, and I’ve also been in situations where an excess of planning and a tunnel-vision focus on the goal actually backfired. But on the other hand, there’s also tremendous value in planning ahead, and in having a destination ahead of you. A traveler with no destination is merely a restless nomad, is he not? Destinations are our…

  • The Introvert’s Guide to People

    Jeffrey Tang
    11 Nov 2009 | 10:35 am
    Author’s Note: This is the sixth post in my 12 Great Commandments series, inspired by Gretchen Rubin of The Happiness Project. Previously, we talked about listening (and learning) everywhere. I’m a natural introvert. Studies show that introverts aren’t necessarily shy; we just get tired out by too much socializing, and need time alone to recharge. Extroverts, in contrast, recharge by socializing, and generally feel tired when alone. I read an interesting article years ago about introverted, yet successful, CEOs. Turns out the claim that charisma is a prerequisite for career advancement…

  • Ups and Downs in the Land of Big Dreams

    Jeffrey Tang
    9 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am
    One of the things I love to do is dream about the future. Just lay in bed, or stand in the shower, and imagine answers to the great what if? Dreaming big is one of the ways I keep myself motivated during the day-to-day. It gives me goals to focus on and a standard on which to judge what I do on a daily basis. Am I being who I want to become? Or am I just going through the motions of life? If you don’t spend some time each day dreaming ahead, you really ought to. (Colin Wright of Exile Lifestyle suggests something similar called 20 Minutes of Awesome. Give it a try!) On the other hand,…

  • Breaking Patterns on a Saturday Afternoon (and What Happened)

    Jeffrey Tang
    7 Nov 2009 | 1:42 pm
    As I write this, I’m licking my wounds after a Saturday afternoon spent on breaking out of my routine. As you might have guessed from the previous sentence, things didn’t go quite as well as I had hoped. Over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed just how stifling my weekends tend to be. I’d sit inside in front of the computer, resolving to be productive, which more often than not backfired into an hour or two spent on computer games. Ironically, the few times I would venture outside (usually in pursuit of lunch) I’d invariably think to myself how nice it was outside…

  • Listen Everywhere

    Jeffrey Tang
    4 Nov 2009 | 2:00 am
    Author’s Note: This is the fifth post in my 12 Great Commandments series, inspired by Gretchen Rubin of The Happiness Project. In the last post, I shared with you the importance of being gentle in a bombastic world. “I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen.” – Ernest Hemingway We all know that listening is important. “Talk less, listen more.” I get it. You get it. We’ve heard it a thousand times before, this advice about listening, and while it’s great advice, I don’t want to beat a dead horse.
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    Ultimate Work At Home Dads

  • 062 The Invisible Touch – The Shock of the Not-New

    Charlie Seymour Jr
    20 Nov 2009 | 11:04 am
    The Third Key: Packaging It's hard for me as pro photographer to look at the same images of people on countless websites. There's one clothes model I see in just about every retailer's catalog, making me feel that all these folks are really the same. You need to stand out, be different, not offer the same information and images that everyone else uses. Your style has to be different, unique, created and used by YOU and no one else. It's only THEN that people will see you for the specialist you are, who has earned the right to work with them. They say that Photos are worth…

  • 061 The Invisible Touch – The Small Stuff

    Charlie Seymour Jr
    19 Nov 2009 | 11:03 am
    The Third Key: Packaging I've always loved simple statements and sayings. To say someone is "well-grounded" really means this person is earthy, of or from the earth. Even like a flower child who was really well-grounded. Harry Beckwith points out one in this section of his book that I had never heard described before: well-heeled. People often shine their shoes, make sure to wear an attractive suit, wash and comb their hair. But when it comes to the heels of their shoes, they often let that repair go until they get some more money. So to say someone is well-heeled (and not…

  • Successful Entrepreneur – Can I Make It As An Entrepreneur?

    Charlie Seymour Jr
    19 Nov 2009 | 10:37 am
    How Can You Make Your Business Successful When Working By Yourself? These are uncertain times, and it can cause even the bravest soul to think twice before launching a new business. • Will I be able to pay the mortgage? • Can I put food on the table? • Will my kids have clothes and shoes? • Can I do this on my own? • Is there any way to know I will succeed before I begin? I can hear you now: "I want some assurances!" Unfortunately, there is no blueprint for success, no surefire way to tell if a person can make it in the land of the self-employed. However, most successful…

  • 060 The Invisible Touch – The Number One Mistake

    Charlie Seymour Jr
    18 Nov 2009 | 11:10 am
    The Third Key: Packaging I have a friend who often says when coaching clients on the telephone, "If you're excited about this, why don't you tell your voice!!" If You're Excited, Show People! You can't expect others to get excited about you if YOU aren't excited. They won't care about your business unless YOU care. They won't spend money ON your business unless YOU do. I used to do LOT of interviewing for Tufts University, my undergrad Alma Mater. And for those kids I was really strongly behind, I would tell them this: Everyone wants to be wanted.

  • 059 The Invisible Touch – The Purist's Prejudice

    Charlie Seymour Jr
    17 Nov 2009 | 11:12 am
    The Third Key: Packaging The "Purist" says that only education, service, what we can do for our clients is what matters. Maybe it SHOULD be that way, but let's face it: it's not! Your words make things beautiful. Your attitude and the way you carry yourself adds to your beauty. The materials you use to package your presentations all add up to a more beautiful package for you. Think about a fancy restaurant where the starched table cloths and contrasting napkins really look GREAT when you enter the banquet hall. You have NO idea what's going on in the kitchen or the…
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    Jon Tees Net

  • Worried about the Economy?

    16 Nov 2009 | 11:04 am
    Worried about the Economy??For more than ten years now, SFI has been showing men and women all over the world how to build highly profitable internet businesses from the comfort of their homes. In fact, our system is so successful that OVER 8000 people join SFI every week!But here's the really exciting part: In some of the most populous countries in the world (like India and China), the Internet revolution is just beginning. The profit potential is MASSIVE... and we need to expand our affiliate network to fully capitalize.That's where YOU come in. Join SFI now and we'll directly position you…

  • Thinking about starting a home based business?

    16 Nov 2009 | 11:02 am
    Thinking about starting a home business? Get started right with an International Association of Home Business Entrepreneurs membership. Includes: $1000 in FREE BONUSES!http://www.tripleclicks.com/detail.php?item=5540/8717942/

  • NEW AT IAHBE

    16 Nov 2009 | 10:50 am
    An essential guide to take your work life to new heights of success, effectiveness, and fulfillment, this month's IAHBE free book draws on hundreds of interviews with successful people."It's Not Business, It's Personal: The 9 Relationship Principles That Power Your Career," by Ronna Lichtenberg, is a practical and inspirational look at the new rules of business: how to forge the relationships that will get you your next job, your next career, or your next loyal client.Find Out More about IAHBE Here

  • Duplicate positivity

    14 Nov 2009 | 4:45 am
    The most important thing to do is stay positive, be positive, believe and then achieve. Pass this positive attitude on.Every problem has a solution.Over, under, round or through.

  • Combating negativity

    14 Nov 2009 | 4:43 am
    There are a lot of dead beats and tire kickers with negative attitudes who will try and spoil your dream of making money on the internet. They’ll try and tell you that internet marketing is a scam or just doesn’t work because they personally aren’t making money. Pay no mind to these people and remain positive and upbeat even when times get tough. You can make money online and if you keep at it you will.People often ask me “How can you possibly make money with SFI, when everyone and their brother seems to either already be apart of SFI?” Well, it’s simple for everyone who is a…
 
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    BizCentral USA - Small BizBlog

  • Branding your Small Business for Success

    Nicole Rivera
    16 Nov 2009 | 7:51 am
    No longer is branding only important for the Nike’s and Starbuck’s in the game. Strong branding is necessary for startups, small businesses, large businesses and everything in between!  As a small business owner you should know how important an impressionable brand identity is to the success of your small business. Small businesses have become an integral part of the U.S., representing over 99.7 percent of all employer firms (SBA Office of Advocacy).  So, shouldn’t your brand identity represent those large numbers? The answer is yes, most definitely! To start, your brand is the…

  • The Ins and Outs of Disadvantaged

    Jonathan Cajigas
    11 Nov 2009 | 11:13 am
    During the business certification process, small business owners will undoubtedly come across the terms “economically disadvantaged” and “socially disadvantaged”. But what do these terms actually mean? This all depends on the agency responsible for granting the certification your small business wishes to obtain. Some small business certification programs allow for business owners to have a higher net worth than others, and some  limit their programs to members of certain racial or ethnic groups. These differences can be significant from program to program, and it is recommended that…

  • Why Won’t They Open Up To Me: Getting Readers to Open your E-mails

    Jennifer Nelson
    4 Nov 2009 | 7:13 am
    Last time, I discussed the importance of capitalizing on e-mail to reach customers. The next logical question I’m sure most of you asked is, “How do I write e-mails that people will read?” The following nine steps are some important guidelines to remember when constructing your company e-mails. H 9 Guidelines to get your E-mails Opened! Include your logo in the same location. This subtle gesture will help your customers identify who sent the e-mail. It will also create a company-branding image that makes your e-mail look more legitimate and less like spam. People will have a sense of…

  • What’s your Backup Plan?

    Jonathan Cajigas
    20 Oct 2009 | 2:53 pm
    I’m not talking about contingency plans in the event that the business fails to succeed according to the roadmap outlined in your business plan. Neither am I referring to alternative funding sources or any other form of “Plan B” for financial survival. If your small business does not have these in place, by all means, develop these plans and have them in place before they become a necessity. But an arguably more pressing matter is having a backup plan for one of your most important assets - your business’ data. This past week, users of T-Mobile’s Sidekick handsets were shocked to…

  • Watch Out… There is a New Author in Town

    Nicole Rivera
    15 Oct 2009 | 8:51 am
    Article writing is a critical factor in your small business’  marketing and SEO strategies.  First, article writing is a great way to make the public aware of your expertise and knowledge in a given industry.  It will build your credibility as a small business owner and as an product or service expert.  Second, article writing can generate a multitude of back-links and traffic to your website by using applicable keywords and hyperlinks placed throughout the article.  While the benefits are obvious, many small business owners are hesitant to start writing.  This may be…
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    The Business Brickyard

  • What can 'Coldplay' Teach Us About Service?

    Howard Mann
    20 Nov 2009 | 9:18 am
    I was listening to a live album from MEGA popular band Coldplay the other day. Other than their amazing music, what caught my ear was what lead singer Chris Martin said to the crowd between songs... "We sincerely hope you have one of the best nights of your life" Not "Hello New York..Thank you for coming" "We sincerely hope you have one of the best nights of your life" What do you hope you do for your clients/customers? End of story.

  • So....When Is YOUR Keynote?

    Howard Mann
    20 Nov 2009 | 9:11 am
    I was watching a recording of Steve Jobs presenting one of his Keynote speeches/presentations earlier this week. The buzz that he creates at each of these events is well documented (If you have never watched him present and want to watch someone that is totally on their game, I suggest you watch the video feeds available at www.apple.com) My question to business owners: When are you planning YOUR Keynote? Talk to any business owner one on one and, if they are still having fun running their business, their passion is infectious. Your job is figure out a way to translate that passion to an ever…

  • original + unique = what?

    Howard Mann
    10 Nov 2009 | 11:36 am
    Great interview with Dreamworks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg in the NY Times today covering leadership, creativity and risk. Read it here. An excerpt I particularly liked: Q. How has your leadership style evolved? A. In the world we live in today, the single most important thing is making people feel secure. It’s a very different era today than it was five or 10 years ago, even two years ago. We’re in a moment in time when people don’t want to take risks, they don’t want to gamble. In my business, you must. If you stop being creative and innovative, you’re finished. And so striking this…

  • Compelling Company Messages

    Howard Mann
    19 Oct 2009 | 6:53 am
    Just read the following intro on a company web site: Do You Need Fresh Business Solutions? We Think Globally To Deliver Sustainable Contact With Customers. Risk Free Solutions for Managing Your Business With Individual Customer Support. Strong... Right? Short...hits the key benefits... speaks to the perceived pain of the market, etc... One problem. This was the text that came along with a web site template from coolhomepages.com. It just had "Insert Company Name Here" at the end. When a $36.00 website template has copy that could easily fit your company message, it's time to make changes. Go…

  • Purpose Powers Scale

    Howard Mann
    17 Oct 2009 | 12:50 pm
    While up in Portland Maine not too long ago I had dinner at The Flatbread Company. In addition to truly amazing pizza, I noticed a great sign hanging over the bar: "Flatbread Company is growing. Are more restaurants bad? Not if we follow our purpose. Groups in nature have a purpose... 100 apples in a tree 100 geese flying in formation 1000 fish in a school 10,000 bees in a colony Our purpose is who we are. It gives us direction and makes the many of us one." Click here to read their purpose and values.
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    Start Business Credit

  • Are You Getting Instant Business Credit?

    Marco Carbajo
    17 Nov 2009 | 3:33 pm
    If you’re at the beginning stage of applying for business credit for your company than you have probably seen the numerous articles, books, and posts explaining the importance of first starting with vendor credit also known as trade credit. However, one of the biggest mistakes made by small business owners during this stage is applying for the wrong vendor accounts that grant instant business credit. While some may have a tendency to believe that the more the merrier is a sound strategy I tend to totally disagree. The reason is simply getting approved for vendor credit is one thing…

  • How to Start Building Business Credit

    Marco Carbajo
    11 Nov 2009 | 2:06 pm
    Vendor credit lines commonly known as “trade credit” is the largest use of capital from business to business and remains the #1 alternative to personal and small business loans. The SBA even reports that vendor credit is the single largest source of small business lending in America today. It also happens to be the initial foundation for businesses to start building business credit. So what is vendor credit? Vendor credit is when a company, like an office equipment supplier, allows your business to purchase products and pay for them at a later date. Typically the terms range from Net…

  • Are Bad Credit Business Loans Worth It?

    Marco Carbajo
    5 Nov 2009 | 11:11 am
    Times are tough for small business owners who have seen their good credit fall to the wayside from using their personal credit cards to finance purchases, equipment, and even payments to suppliers or vendors to keep their businesses going during these tough economic times. While bad credit business loans are a viable option they do come with a price that most are not willing to pay. It can also be a difficult task but it is definitely possible despite the current economic times.   Before you decide this is an option you’re willing to pursue I encourage you to do your homework and don’t…

  • Business Credit Ratings Explained

    Marco Carbajo
    29 Oct 2009 | 11:32 pm
    There’s been quite a stir on the integration of FICO® 08 which is the credit scoring system used by the majority of lenders to determine a consumer’s credit worthiness. Similar to your personal credit ratings, businesses and corporations also have a credit rating system that potential lenders use to determine its credit worthiness. Unlike a personal credit rating, there is no designated standard for determining the credit worthiness of businesses. However, the main tool used to determine and establish business credit ratings is D&B’s PAYDEX system. Where a personal FICO® score…

  • Building Business Credit: Obtaining a Federal Tax ID#

    Marco Carbajo
    25 Oct 2009 | 10:26 am
    Obtain a Tax ID Number A Tax ID number (also called an EIN number) is mandatory, because without one, your corporation will be useless. Your Tax ID number will be the number that identifies your business and information. It’s just like how your Social Security number will identify who you are for your personal credit. Once you have incorporated your business now you’re ready to apply for an EIN. If you chose to use my personal entity specialist then this would all be taken care of for you. If you already have a corporation or LLC but do not have a Tax ID number yet, then CLICK HERE to…
 
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    Debbie Walmsley

  • Need Christmas money?

    Debbie Walmsley
    16 Nov 2009 | 11:33 am
    Need Christmas money? Want to travel? How 'bout both? Check out www.tviexpress.com/dwalms1

  • PrePaid Legal in the News

    Debbie Walmsley
    14 Nov 2009 | 6:49 am
    See how our members are using this great service! https://www.prepaidlegal.com/pdf/ao/news/sacrementoJournal.pdf

  • Top requested legal services

    Debbie Walmsley
    25 Oct 2009 | 12:46 pm
    See this article, see how we can help: www.pplmediaroom.com/2009/10/prepaid-legal-in-the-news.html

  • Blastoff open to the public!

    Debbie Walmsley
    22 Oct 2009 | 11:16 am
      A few weeks ago I told you how I beta- tested "Blastoff."  It was really cool!  They finally launched to the public today- sign up for FREE  click here- www.ppl.blastoffnetwork.com/debbiewalmsley59 What's in it for YOU?  -  Get cash back when you book travel at Expedia, Travelocity, and Hotels.com with a Blastoff Membership.  Also get cash back when you shop at Starbucks, Target, Best Buy, itunes & 400 other major retailers with your membership.  -  Invite friends, and each…

  • Is Social Media A Fad?

    Debbie Walmsley
    8 Oct 2009 | 12:22 pm
     Watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVXKI506w-E , then check out my website blastoff tab!
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    Sales Rescue Team

  • Seth Godin on Lifetime Value of a Customer

    TJ McCue
    19 Nov 2009 | 8:58 pm
    I read Seth’s blog from time to time.  Usually after someone I know posts about him and says –  “this is really spot on…” This post on the Lifetime Value of a Customer hit home.  For me and for the many small biz owners I work with:  What are we doing to make sure those customers use our services, buy our products, come to our stores (online and physical)? Worth the 5 minutes of reading time. Seth’s blog post on Embracing Lifetime Value.

  • Speed of Thought

    TJ McCue
    30 Oct 2009 | 11:04 am
    This Harvard Business Review blogger post by Jeffrey Stibel and Annette Tonti is pretty amazing.  They share some insights into how the fiber of the internet, partly via Twitter,  is becoming or already a neural network, of sorts, that processes information much like the brain.  If you’ve wondered how social media might be valuable to your small business, you only have to read this piece and think.

  • Circtistic: Holiday Ornaments You Want to Touch

    TJ McCue
    12 Oct 2009 | 11:03 am
    Circtistic creates unique holiday ornaments from touch-sensitive circuit boards.  They also create custom designs and business cards from the same material.  If you are looking for a special ornament that will get oohs and aahhs from the family and kids, take a look. Design Principal, Thomas Smith, shared some of the areas where they’ve been working on their sales. From Thomas:  “The biggest issue we have run into is how to demonstrate the product on our website.  We have set up at small shows and have no problems selling the ornaments when someone has them in their hands and…

  • Laine Cunningham Author and Public Speaker

    TJ McCue
    9 Oct 2009 | 10:35 am
    Laine Cunningham is an author and professional speaker on native cultures and ways.  It all started when Laine Cunningham spent six months camping alone in the Australian outback. She has been featured in MSNBC, Women’s Day, and the Sydney Morning Herald and a variety of other media outlets.  She identified these three challenges for Sales Rescue Team members to take a look at.  From Laine: My top challenges: 1.  Finding a way to have more detailed information on the workshops and seminars to interest people without ending up with a messy website. 2.  Driving “buyer”…

  • The Diet Coach Laurie Beebe

    TJ McCue
    5 Oct 2009 | 1:07 pm
    Laurie Beebe is The Diet Coach. There are likely many others in this niche, but I’ve not seen them and am impressed with Laurie’s focus and approach. The content in the site is instructive and helpful.  You feel like you can successfully get control of your eating and exercise when you dwell in the content. She’s had a lot of input for her site: Three times from copyrighters, webdesigners, and SEO consultants over the past year, and she’s looking for constructive design criticism and suggestions from fresh eyes. 
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