Posted by Greg Magnus | Posted in Finance, Managing | Posted on 09-10-2010 | 
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Time management is especially important for small business owners. And, one easy way to save a little time is by reducing the amount of unsolicited mail, telemarketing and emails you receive everyday. The Federal Trade Commission provides details and links to the appropriate sites so you can “opt-out” of unsolicited mail, telemarketing and email. Here’s [...]
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Posted by rieva7 | Posted in Managing | Posted on 14-09-2010 |
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Learn How To Find the Right Balance as a Manager Is micromanaging costing your business? BNET recently took a look at this common problem, spotlighting BrightStar home-care franchise founder Shelly Sun. Sun, who had been working 90-hour weeks to lead new initiatives to help her franchisees, was shocked when a franchisee satisfaction survey showed that [...]
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Posted by Guest Blogger | Posted in Managing | Posted on 10-09-2010 |
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How To Interpret Your Company Culture In my previous post, I talked about company culture and how to create one your employees enjoy. What I didn’t mention is that your company most likely already has a culture and before you try and change it, you must understand it. Back in 2009, Stephen C. Harper, Author [...]
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Tips to Inspire Any Company, Any Size Company culture? We’ve all tried to define it; most of us have tried to create it. In fact, large companies spend millions of dollars a year with surveys, management training to foster sustainability and events to spur creativity and engagement with employees. Let me re-peat: Millions. For us [...]
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Posted by Guest Blogger | Posted in Managing, customer service | Posted on 27-08-2010 |
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Make Business Plans Easy on Your Customers My mechanic has me trained. When I take my car in for an oil change, he places a sticker in the upper left hand corner of my windshield to remind me what date and mileage I should have my next maintenance completed. But every once in a while, [...]
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Posted by stevenson927 | Posted in Leadership, Managing | Posted on 18-08-2010 |
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OK, there are a lot of good bosses out there too! Last week I blogged about the bad bosses. This week, let’s look at the good ones. Take these cues and learn from the great ones. I recently heard this great-boss story: A woman was about to start a new job when an unexpected medical [...]
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Posted by rieva7 | Posted in Managing | Posted on 17-08-2010 |
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5 Simple Tips to Help Manage Your Time Did you click on the headline of this blog post eager to find the simple secrets of time management? Well, I have to admit, that headline was kind of wishful thinking. Time management isn’t easy (at least, not for many of us—including me) and we’re all looking [...]
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Posted by stevenson927 | Posted in Leadership, Managing | Posted on 11-08-2010 |
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What to Do about a Bad Boss Maybe it’s the economy, but lately I have been hearing about a lot of bad bosses. I have a friend in sales who works for a boss whose management style is fear: Once a week, every week, someone is fired for not doing their job right. Employee morale [...]
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Posted by stevenson927 | Posted in Growing, Managing, Marketing | Posted on 14-07-2010 |
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Webinars Add Value and Build Your Brand There are many reasons why you might want to add webinars to your business bag of tricks: Webinars are easy in two ways: From a practical standpoint, offering a webinar requires only that you have a great subject, a PowerPoint presentation, and a host for the webinar. A simple [...]
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Posted by Julie Brander | Posted in Managing | Posted on 08-07-2010 |
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Time Management for Small Business Owners One of the major stress factors in owning a small business is that there never seems to be enough hours in the day to accomplish all that needs to be done to keep the business running smoothly. As an entrepreneur, you are constantly faced with choices about how to [...]
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Posted by J. Barnes | Posted in Managing | Posted on 07-07-2010 |
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What’s New at SCORE This Month New Bloggers Have you noticed our two new bloggers, Steve Strauss and Jeanne Rossomme? Steven D. Strauss is a lawyer and author who is one of the world’s leading small biz experts, and is also the founder of Mr. All Biz. He has been seen on CNN, CNBC, The O’Reilly [...]
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Posted by rieva7 | Posted in Managing, customer service, sales | Posted on 22-06-2010 |
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Service is Critical to Small Business Conventional wisdom would have it that women business owners should excel in customer service. After all, we women are supposed to be tuned in to human relationships, touchy-feely and detail-oriented—all things that should make us experts at customer service, right? Apparently, wrong. According to the latest Key4Women/Forbes Insights report,“Strategies [...]
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Posted by J. Barnes | Posted in Growing, Managing, Starting | Posted on 21-06-2010 |
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Check out SCORE’s Summer Success Resources Today’s the first day of summer. Start it off right with tools and tips to succeed. Starting a Biz? Workshop: Can You Afford To Start? Expert Advice: Avoid these Mistakes eGuide: Biz Tips from a Financial Insider The Company Corporation & SCORE provide a FREE start-up workbook. Get your copy at your local SCORE office. In-Biz and [...]
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Posted by Betty Otte | Posted in Managing, customer service | Posted on 16-06-2010 |
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In Sales, 20% = 80% Spring has sprung The grass has riz Wonder where the Business is That old rhyme keeps going around in my head these days as the media tells me the economy is picking up, but do you feel like you forgot to get on the right bus? Historically, about 80% of [...]
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Posted by stevenson927 | Posted in Managing, business growth | Posted on 02-06-2010 |
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A Team is Born
When SCORE recently asked me to become a regular blogger, I was flattered and excited, but when I was told that I would be the first man to blog regularly of the SCORE Women’s Success Blog, I actually wasn’t surprised. It made a lot of sense in my life. You see, I [...]
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How to Sell to Large Companies
Buying and selling is the key to business. Buying is easy, if you hold the purse strings – selling, on the other hand, is more difficult. Selling is a broad term that is often used in business dealings. In this instance, however, I am couching my definition within the rubric [...]
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How’s Your Team?
Do you have a team to effectively help you start, operate or manage your business? Whether they are employees, volunteers, interns or subcontractors there are some common things that you should consider when getting a team to help you.
Do they fully understand your organization’s focus, mission and/or objective?
Can they help you to effectively [...]
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Posted by rieva7 | Posted in Managing, Marketing, SUCCESS | Posted on 25-05-2010 |
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How One Company Achieved Success
I love reading about women entrepreneurs who come up with smart ideas for doing things better. One hot trend during the recession has been do-it-yourself (DIY) just about everything. As consumers started cutting back, smart business owners launched DIY versions of their more costly products and services.
I Heart Design is one [...]
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Dan Pink’s Expert Answers
Every month SCORE interviews an expert on topics related to business and entreprenuership. This month’s featured guest is Dan Pink. He discusses what really motivates you and your employees. An excerpt of his interview is below. To read the complete interview, sign-up for SCORE ExpertANSWERS and get it delivered direct to your inbox.
What are three important [...]
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Tips to Reinvigorate Your Next Meeting
There is an adage in corporate America that says the average executive will spend 75% of her time in meetings. In my own experience, I have found this to be true. As the president of a marketing consulting firm with many Fortune 500 clients, I am called upon to constantly [...]
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A New Way of Doing Business
Date: Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Time: 12:00 PM EDT (9:00 AM PDT)
Place: On Your Computer
Take a tour of the virtual summit.
Opening Keynote Speakers — Via Streaming Video
Arianna Huffington
Co-Founder & Editor-in-Chief of the The Huffington Post
Learn how she is transforming the most powerful blog in the world into a revenue-driving business moddel.
Edie [...]
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Posted by rieva7 | Posted in Managing, Women in Business | Posted on 18-05-2010 |
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Women Bosses in the Workplace
Surely, in this day and age, the issue of women being poor managers has long been laid to rest—right? Wrong. Recently on The Huffington Post, Ella L.J. Edmondson Bell, an associate professor at the Tuck School of Business, examined stereotypes about women in the workplace after a quick survey of her [...]
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Understanding & Pitching Your Value Proposition
As entrepreneurs, we strive to bring a new, fresh perspective to our chosen business environment. The supposition is that our venture will provide a value that has been untapped and/or under-served. This is principally what drives most small business owners as intuitively we feel “I can do it better myself.”
All [...]
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The Art of Customer Loyalty
Getting referrals for business is not about asking, it is about the customer experience.
How can you create a great customer experience?
How can you become the trusted resource?
How can you get your customers so connected to your business that they go out of their way to refer everyone they meet including their friends [...]
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A Blue Print for Your Company
Previously, I provided Back 2 Basics Tips that were easy for anyone in business. A few of you wanted more information about business plans, what I called a “Blue Print For Your Company.” A business plan offers various purposes for your business from your personal use to potential investors. The [...]
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Posted by SCORE | Posted in Growing, Leadership, Managing | Posted on 10-05-2010 |
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Tips, Resources & Expert Advice
Each month SCORE interviews an expert in the field of business. Get exclusive biz tips, resources and expert advice by signing up for SCORE ExpertANSWERS. This month’s featured expert is Dan Pink. Read excerpts from his interview discussing how to really motivate your employees. For the full interview, sign-up for SCORE ExpertANSWERS today.
Dan [...]
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Posted by Guest Blogger | Posted in Growing, Managing | Posted on 07-05-2010 |
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Key Practices for Small Business Employee Growth
I started my company a few years ago as a solo venture. I knew I had the skills and resources to be successful on my own, but the business’ rapid expansion made employee growth imperative.
All small business owners hope to consistently generate enough revenue so their business can continue [...]
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Effective Networking Skills
Marketing has always been building trust with your customers and knowing what they need and want. The more ways you can get in front of and get to know your customer the better. Networking is an integral part of business that allows people to know who you are and what you do.
Attend as [...]
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Free, Live Webinars
With live webinars, you have unprecendented access to the best and brightest. Take advantage of these free webinars for valuable biz advice and insights from biz experts. Make sure to register so you can participate and ask questions.
Upcoming Free, Live Webinars:
Social Marketing: Using Social Media to Promote Locally
Tuesday, May 18 at 1 PM [...]
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Posted by SCORE | Posted in Growing, Managing, Marketing, SUCCESS, award | Posted on 03-05-2010 |
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Win up to $5,000 of Marketing Services
About: Brought to you by the Deluxe Corporation and SCORE, Project Rev is a yearlong program to help 10 entrepreneurs jump start their small business marketing efforts.
Prize: Winners will get personalized mentoring from a SCORE counselor to help them succeed. They will also have access to best-in-class marketing expertise, [...]
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Seven Essential Tips
If you had told me 10 years ago that I would be running a virtual company with 10+ employees from my cell phone and laptop computer, I would’ve thought you were mad. When I started my career, corporate business was done in board rooms, executive assistants sat in the hallway just outside their [...]
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Today’s Inspirational Thought
Having a purpose is the key to life. If you are committed in what you do, you will work longer and work harder because you love it! Business is something that you love and, if you love it, you will do it well!
Julie Brander, New Haven SCORE
View posts by Julie Brander
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Posted by SCORE | Posted in Growing, Managing, Marketing | Posted on 26-04-2010 |
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Live Webinars with Jeanne Rossomme
Join marketing expert, Jeanne Rossomme, for a live webinar this Thursday. She will share her insights to help you increase profits and grow your biz. Register today.
About Jeanne Rossomme
Jeanne Rossomme creates practical marketing roadmaps to help business owners arrive at their growth goals. Jeanne is a recognized national speaker on marketing and sales [...]
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Posted by SCORE | Posted in Growing, Managing, SUCCESS | Posted on 21-04-2010 |
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Do Good & Succeed
In recognition of National Volunteer Week, SCORE salutes our 12,400 volunteer biz mentors. Learn more about SCORE volunteers and find out how SCORE serves the community. If a SCORE volunteer has helped your business succeed, we’d love to hear your story. Share it below. Then consider donating to SCORE.
Discover how doing good [...]
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Financial Words of Wisdom
With today’s economy there are a lot of people being laid off from their jobs. It doesn’t matter if the people have a vested interest in the company; there is still a possibility that they could be laid off. Well all is not lost. There is light at the end of the [...]
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FINANCING: DID YOU KNOW?
With today’s economy there are a lot of people being laid off from their jobs. It doesn’t matter if the people have a vested interest in the company; there is still a possibility that they could be laid off. Well all is not lost. There is light at the end of the [...]
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Posted by SCORE | Posted in Growing, Managing, SUCCESS, Starting | Posted on 20-04-2010 |
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National Volunteer Week: April 19-23
SCORE honors our volunteer biz mentors who donate more than 1 million hours each year to help create and save jobs by helping entrepreneurs succeed.
Who are SCORE Volunteers?
SCORE’s volunteers are successful business professionals who volunteer their time to mentor small business owners. They come from a variety of occupations and backgrounds. Many owned small [...]
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Posted by SCORE | Posted in Growing, Managing, Marketing | Posted on 19-04-2010 |
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10 Tactics to Get the Growth You Want from the Resources You Have
Smart marketing requires focus and consistency. Check out this SCORE webinar with Jeanne Rossomme to get expert growth tips. She shares 10 low-cost techniques for gaining customers and increasing profits. No matter your focus or industry, you should leave this hour informed and [...]
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Competitive Advantage from Cultural Differences
In a rapidly globalizing market environment where corporate alliances cross boundaries, organizations increasingly have to interact, manage, negotiate and compromise with people from different cultures. If ignored or mismanaged, cultural differences can lead to great frustration and ineffectiveness by uselessness of competitive advantages.
Competitive advantage from a marketing perspective is the ability [...]
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Project Management 101
Overwhelmed? Can’t seem to get ahead of your projects? Are you experiencing problems managing your projects? Are you clearly defining your scope of work? Is your budget out of control? Having problems working within deadlines? Have you considered that maybe you are not effectively planning the management of your projects? Let Project Management [...]
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Posted by Guest Blogger | Posted in Managing, SUCCESS | Posted on 09-04-2010 |
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Be SMART with your Small Business
Some people establish life objectives easily, but struggle to do the same for their businesses. Companies need to act SMART, in every decision, especially those that lead or impact business direction. There are a lot of approaches to define organizational and employee objectives, but I recommend that you Be SMART. Consider [...]
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Posted by J. Barnes | Posted in Growing, Managing, SUCCESS, Technology | Posted on 08-04-2010 |
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Why Broadband for Small Biz?
Competitive advantage is important. In a global economy with eretailing as the norm, you can increase commerce speed and clients’ experience with a fast web site and rapid ecommerce transaction processing. Seconds matter, so high speed access through broadband helps you operate your small business like the growing business it is. [...]
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Free Events To Boost Your Business
SCORE, HP and Intel provide real insights and simple solutions to help you increase efficiencies, boost your productivity and grow your business. You will get essential advice on technology-based solutions and marketing strategies that can help your small business, including how:
–To better understand and target customers.
–To rethink your marketing in the digital age.
–To reduce [...]
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Posted by Vernita Naylor | Posted in Business, Growing, Managing | Posted on 06-04-2010 |
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Are You Effectively Servicing Your Customers?
SERVICING YOUR EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL CUSTOMERS
When you are servicing your customers are you continually and consistently focusing on exceeding the customer’s expectations, when selling or introducing your product or service, to your target audience, both internally and externally? This is actually the simplified meaning of customer service.
Your customers are [...]
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Posted by scorementors | Posted in Managing, SUCCESS, Technology | Posted on 05-04-2010 |
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How Can Broadband Boost Your Biz?
It’s all about competitive advantage. As a small business, you gain an edge when you can provide the speed, consistency and quality of service that consumers expect from big businesses. These days consumer expectations are high and you can stand out from other businesses online with an interactive web site, [...]
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Posted by Guest Blogger | Posted in Managing | Posted on 02-04-2010 |
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Knowledge Management: Not Just for the Big Boys
Two important questions arise when we talk about knowledge management. First, what does it mean? Second, how important is it to small business?
What is Knowledge Management?
There are a variety of definitions for Knowledge Management (KM). According to Ron Young, it is “the discipline of enabling individuals, teams and [...]
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Posted by Julie Brander | Posted in Managing, SUCCESS, sales, selling | Posted on 01-04-2010 |
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Effective Selling Strategies
There are a few ways to sell a business.
Sell to a partner
Sell to employees
Sell to a third party
When selling a business it is essential to have products or services that customers want and will want for a long time. It must also be a business that can be transferred to another person. If [...]
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Business Resources to Help You Succeed
Everyone is so busy trying to network, make the right connections, find the best opportunities and looking for the next big deal. Have you ever thought that maybe you should stop, breathe, and take some time to learn from those that have already paved the way for success?
These days with [...]
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Who’s On Your Team? Do You Have a Guide?
I once attended an event featuring Keith Ferrazzi about the power of lifeline relationships. The ones that help you achieve success in business and life. Keith’s advice, “It’s important to build your dream team.”
Lifeline Relationships Guide the Way: It’s all about forming mentoring relationships and peer-to-peer connections with people you can trust to [...]
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Posted by Christine Banning | Posted in Growing, Managing, SUCCESS | Posted on 24-03-2010 |
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Be More Productive & Get Engaged
If we weren’t already working 24/7, it’s now 24/7 combined with social media, endless Twitter and non-stop meetings. Many entrepreneurs are busier than ever. The question is, are you focusing your energy on what matters most?
Pause. Think about direction. Identify what can make it easier for you to succeed on your [...]
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Resources for Small Biz
Did you know that there are various business resources available to you as a business owner, especially if you are a “small, minority, women, disabled, or veteran owned business?” They all require certification processes, which are somewhat similar to each other, with required documentation that must accompany the application. Some of the [...]
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Jump Start Your Marketing with Project Rev
The Deluxe Corporation & SCORE Launch Project Rev
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About: Brought to you by the Deluxe Corporation and SCORE, Project Rev is a yearlong program to help 10 entrepreneurs jump start their small business marketing efforts.
Prize: Winners will get personalized mentoring from a SCORE counselor to help them succeed. They will also have [...]
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The Cell Phone Dilemma
One of the biggest problems this new decade will have to address is the cell phone dependency. This is the way to occupy your time when you are alone but rude when you are in the company of others. The one on one connection with people has taken a back seat to [...]
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The Key to Your Success: Your Ethics
ETHICS: A HIDDEN VALUE – PART 2
Fourth Important Lesson – The obstacle in our path
In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the King’s’ wealthiest merchants and courtiers came [...]
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Webinar Series, Thursdays in March
Title:
Social Media Road Map for Your Business Success
Description: A consise and successful six week Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn program for your social media success.
Date: Thursday, March 11
Time: 12:00 PM EST
Duration: 1 hour & 15 minutes
Presenter: Ronan Keane
Register: Sign-up
At the end of the webinar, ask expert, Ronan Keane, all your social media questions. [...]
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5 Key Questions You Should Be Asking
In business & looking for answers? Entrepreneurs like you have been asking me what should I ask my SCORE mentor–I’m trying to figure my way out of this recession.
1. From your review of my financials, do you see any trouble spots?
2. Where could I trim costs by 5-10 percent?
3. What [...]
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Great Resources for Veterans
We want to thank all of the military veterans out there, for the safety of our Country. Now we want to give back to you. Did you know that there are several resources available to you, if you are looking to begin a new adventure, as either an entreprenuer or small business owner? [...]
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Learn How to Say “NO”
If you find yourself always taking on more than you can handle, you probably have a problem with saying no. It makes you feel guilty, right? But when you say yes when you wanted to say no, that makes you feel worse.
When someone is looking for help, they’re going to call [...]
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Posted by J. Barnes | Posted in Growing, Managing, SUCCESS, Starting | Posted on 08-03-2010 |
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SCORE CEO Featured
SCORE CEO, Ken Yancey, was recently featured on the American Express OPEN for Small Business blog. His advice, get a mentor. Now is a great time. Here’s an excerpt from the post.
With the American Express OPEN Government Contracting Procurement & Networking Event approaching on March 31st, I wanted to talk with one [...]
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Posted by Christine Banning | Posted in Managing, Marketing, SEO | Posted on 03-03-2010 |
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Manage Your Web Profiles
There are professional business sites for networking such as LinkedIn and Naymz. A good busines profile site ZoomInfo. These help your name appear in Google search results. And, everything you type is public.
Rules to Live By
Be positive. Be professional. Be courteous. Be careful how much detail you share. Beware, web search results [...]
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