Proven programs that grow great businesses for great people who care.
Silly sign — don’t look too closely. Does this apply to customers? Photo by quinn.anya from flickr.com
In business, we talk about the importance of customer loyalty. But we consider customers as assets, something tangible. We think of them in the same way as our equipment or property: something that can be counted, weighed and measured, and given a value.
As property, an owner understandably feels, that they belong to the company. [Read more…]
It was a great experience meeting and talking with SXSW Interactive Festival director Hugh Forrest.
I’m taking a different approach towards starting up my own self-sustaining business. What long-time and successful business owners were able to offer me, a musician by trade, at the Business Success Center (BSC) and Texas Entrepreneurs Networks (TEN) First Looks Forum in October was an eye opener.
I compose, perform, teach and am currently a student at the University of Texas, and am also about to graduate soon. I have a tough time balancing the aforementioned and trying to get higher paying gigs. [Read more…]
Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy supports small business.
Are you a small business? Do you provide goods or services to the federal government or want to? Starting October 24, 2012, you will have over 18,000 new competitors for federal contract opportunities with the potential of even more competitors after November.
According to the Small Business Administration Office Of Advocacy, the Small Business Goaling Report, 2012 reported that in fiscal year 2011, 21.7 % of federal government small business eligible purchases went to small businesses.
Now, contractors will have to work even harder because their competitors are larger and stronger. That’s because effective October 1, 2012, Federal agencies and programs must use the United States Small Business Administration (SBA) small business size standards that are based on “NAICS 2012″. These are modifications adopted by the Office of Management and Budget. They include 76 new industries and changes to 11 sectors. Oddly, the public can comment on this “adopted requirement” until October 19, 2012. This has big implications for federal purchasing, loans, etc. [Read more…]
Small but mighty — just like a small business.
The small business definition by the government isn’t simple. It has changed over the years. It changes by agency or federal program. Sometimes a small business is defined as a “mouse”. Really!
Your small business definition is probably very different. If you are one, you may be surprised at who else is included.
Until the creation of the Small Business Administration (SBA) in 1953 by President Eisenhower with the signing of the Small Business Act, there was no difference. A business was a business and some were smaller than others. The beginning of a small business definition starts here.
In the 1970’s, during another economic downturn, those who looked at the economy saw that there was a group of businesses doing better than others and creating jobs. The federal SBA Office of Advocacy was born at that time to identify, track, report, and make recommendations to government agencies on how to keep this momentum going. [Read more…]
Worth reading if you’re considering investing in or using crowdfunding for your business.
Crowdfunding, is also known as hyper funding, crowd financing, and equity crowdfunding.
Crowdfunding or crowd funding is defined in Wikipedia as “the collective cooperation, attention and trust by people who network and pool their money and other resources together, usually via the internet, to support efforts initiated by other people or organizations.” [Read more…]
Look out world, here it comes. You read it here first. After a “gazillion” years of how business grants work, the world has changed. Maybe for good!
Who did it? Chase Bank and LivingSocial. (In full disclosure we are going after this grant. We want to use the money to take our Owners MBA™ for existing business online, add ebooks, apps, and include special segments for veterans, rural business owners, and owners who are disabled. We also want to create an owners community as we did for our Entrepreneurs’ Association in the 1990’s.)
Why did they do it? It depends on whom you ask.
What’s different? [Read more…]
Get your meeting in better order for everyone. Photo by mrbill from flickr.com.
What’s wrong with networking meetings? It’s the same thing that’s wrong with most business meetings. Organizers and hosts take things for granted.
These meetings leave the impression that…
The prevalence of these really makes me hate to go to meetings. The worst offenders are the ones that call themselves “networking” meetings. I wrote A Networker’s Guide to Success. I know what networking can and should be. [Read more…]
Focus on Platinum Profile Prospects™.
On June 25th I’m going to be speaking at the BSC B2B Meetup in Austin about finding the best prospects and firing the worst customers. It’s one of my favorite subjects because it’s got a huge payoff.
Image by Jamie Rood.
Business development is key to the health and success of every business. What is a Business Orienteering™ system? How can it help you grow your business? It’s a business development system that focuses on vision and knowing how to “play the game”.
The concept of Business Orienteering™ is derived from the game of “Orienteering”, a sport of navigation using a map and compass. It started in Sweden and is now used by Boy Scout troops, social studies and math teachers worldwide. It’s often called the “thinking sport” because it involves map reading and decision-making in addition to a great workout. The goal is to get to all the places indicated on the map faster than others who are competing. [Read more…]
Teach a young man to fish to empower him. Photo from:. flickr.com/photos/linsight/
Business pride is not a bad thing. I hope that you have pride in your business.
In April, I will receive the 2012 Career Achievement award from my undergraduate college, Mary Baldwin College, in Staunton, Virginia. One of the questions they asked me was what was I proudest of in my career.
It’s a great question and complex for me to answer. The short answer is the business I built with my husband. This year our business and our marriage celebrate 30 years. That’s a big payoff. I have a lot of business pride in what we’ve lived through and built together. As you begin another year in business, celebrate it with pride. You deserve it. [Read more…]