What Martin Luther King Jr. Would Say About Today’s Small Business Owner
Posted on January 23rd, 2012
Im no scholar. And its a pretty bold thing for me to say that I know what Dr. King would have said about anything at any time. He was a brilliant man, and I mean no disrespect with the title of this post.
My observations of Dr. Kings life, work, and words, some of which are depicted in todays Google Doodle shown here, do lend themselves to a few conclusions, however, and one of them is that, if Dr. King were alive today, he would have a thing or two to say about small and independent business owners. Heres how I think hed put it:
- Write your own emancipation proclamation.
I come here tonight and plead with you. Believe in yourself and believe that youre somebody. Nobody else can do this for us! No document can do this for us.
Tags: Say, Would Say
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J.T. and Dale talk jobs: Making connections in new city will aid hunt
Posted on January 2nd, 2012
Dear J.T. & Dale: I am a 28-year-old with a college degree, who recently moved across the country. I can’t find a job. I’m probably overqualified for many positions, but I really just need to work. How do I get hired? – Nick
DALE: Looking for work in a new city can be doubly lonesome. You start to feel like the stray cat that nobody wants to feed for fear that it won’t go away. However, there is one group that will welcome you in: your college alumni group. You instantly belong, and there will be people in that group who will want to help you get established in their town and will make introductions on your behalf.
J.T.: Maybe that will include introductions to potential employers, but you can’t count on it. Getting referred into companies in a new city isn’t as hard as you might think, but it does take work. Start by finding several groups or organizations related to your field of interest.
Tags: Dale, Jt Dale
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Vince Cable outlines plans to ‘diversify business finance’
Posted on December 11th, 2011
Small business owners around the UK could be encouraged by the recent comments of Dr Vince Cable.
The Business Secretary has set out the process the coalition will follow in its attempts to “diversify business finance”.
As part of the government’s plans, a new industry-led Taskforce has been launched.
The team will be led by Legal and General Chief Executive Tim Breedon and will examine the challenges business face with regard to finance.
Dr Cable explained that the move is necessary as a large number of enterprises are dissatisfied with the treatment they receive from UK banks.
“We have secured a rise in new lending from the biggest banks this year and credit easing is designed to provide another immediate boost.
Tags: Business, Vince Cable
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Indies On The Martha Stewart Show!
Posted on December 6th, 2011
Earlier this week, La Shonda Tyree, IBNs Local Director in the Newark/Northern New Jersey area, led a group of my members to be a part of the live studio audience at the Martha Stewart Show. It was handmade week, so it was the perfect time for Indies to show up in force. Here they are, all smiles before the show!
Pictured, left to right front: La Shonda Tyree of Handmade Soap Coach, Dawn Fitch of Pooka Pure and Simple, Delores Harris of Daisy May Soap, Roslyne Johnson of MayaIndia and Hassan Sayyed of Haus Urban Apothecary. Left to right back: Angela Carillo of Alegna Soap and Merilyn Konnerth of Utopia Bath. Not pictured: Yolanda Cathcart of Londas Body Care, behind the camera.)
During the show, Hassan asked the Domestica Diva herself a question about entertaining etiquette!
Tags: Martha Stewart, Martha Stewart Show, Show, Stewart Show
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American Airlines Parent Company Files for Bankruptcy
Posted on November 27th, 2011
American Airlines’ parent company, AMR Corp., announced Tuesday that it has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The decision comes as the airline tries to “achieve a cost and debt structure that is industry competitive and thereby assure its long-term viability and ability to continue delivering a world-class travel experience for its customers,” the company said in a statement Tuesday.
AMR said American Airlines, American Eagle and all other subsidiaries will honor all tickets and reservations and operate normal flight schedules during the bankruptcy filing process, using its $4.1 billion in cash.
American has been widely seen as the weakest of the major airlines for some time now. It has reported a profit in only one quarter since 2007, and it lost $4.8 billion over those 3-1/2 years.
Tags: American Airlines, Bankruptcy, Parent Company
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Office Coach: Too-friendly boss must build ‘presence’
Posted on November 25th, 2011
Q: As a supervisor, I have always had a friendly, nonconfrontational leadership style. I have a dry sense of humor and enjoy joking around with my staff. Recently, one of my employees told me that she feels the others are very disrespectful towards me. I was surprised, because I never viewed their bantering as disrespect.
In the past, my manager has also suggested that employees may not respect me because I am too nice and friendly with them. I disagreed at the time, but now I think she may be right. How can I overcome my history and get more respect?
A: Before undertaking a leadership style makeover, you must correctly identify the change you need to make. The problem here is not that you are a nice, friendly, jovial person. After all, no one wants to work for a supervisor who is humorless and mean-spirited.
The more likely difficulty is that you lack “management presence” – that is, the ability to comfortably relate to people from a position of authority.
Social media helps build rapport with customers, small businesses told
Posted on November 15th, 2011
Small business owners could look at their management of social media following the advice of one expert.
Tim Gibbon, director at communications consultancy Elemental, said that, if used correctly, social networks can help businesses on “quite a few different levels”.
He says firms can develop a stronger rapport with customers in addition to creating, enhancing and supporting their promotional activity at the same time.
His comments come after small businesses were told in October by Edward Saatchi – co-founder of National Field – that email is a dying form of communication, with companies generally turning to social media platforms.
Mr Gibbon added that the benefits to social networking include the platform it creates to reach a variety of stakeholders and customers directly.
“And this is where the opportunity lies for businesses, in that they do not need to use traditional marketing and media channels to engage and interact with audiences directly,” he explained.
Tags: Small, Social Media
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