Show Me the Money

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When you talk about your business with someone that might have an interest in loaning you money, or joining you as a partner, or buying the business, they will want to see the Cash Flow Statement. Continue reading

A Good Ending is Key –

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According to Kevin Daum (Inc columnist) how you end your day is just as important as how you begin it.  Kevin shares the following tips to help you finish your day right, leaving you well prepared for tomorrow. Continue reading

CBI Networking Night Creates a Buzz

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The April 8th Networking Night at the CBI was a hit.  The food was great.  The room was full and the energy was contagious.  The goal to complete the CBI Business Bingo card keep the conversations and the networking moving.  Participants had to meet and talk with others to get signatures from a Home-Based Business, Storefront Business, Outdoor Business, New Business, Bookkeeping Business, Technology Business, Marketing Business, Mature Business, Male and Female Owned Businesses, Health Business, Real Estate/Mortgage Business and others. Continue reading

Standing Room Only at CBI Pitch Session

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L to R: Holly Hanson-Director CBI, Justin Sidwell, Peter Bilodeau, Marie Fey, Diane Morey-Owner A to Z Printing and Facilitator of CO.STARTERS, Dave Clark-A to Z Printing and CO.STARTERS Mentor

Community supporters joined family and friends of the graduates of the Cumberland Business Incubator’s inaugural CO.STARTERS program to celebrate their work and hear them pitch their business ideas.  The CO.STARTERS group met once a week for 9 weeks as they validated their business concepts.

Graduates of the program that participated in the pitch presentation were: Continue reading

Is Your Business Viable?

 

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Why is it that we put so much emphasis on a business plan?  The goal is to be able to determine if you have a viable business.  What is a viable business?  A business that is freestanding, self-sustaining, capable of making it without outside financial support.  That means no credit card debt, no loans, just the business itself, standing alone, able to meet all the expenses from the transactions of the business. Continue reading

Internet is Great – But Sometimes Relationships Count!

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We had the Small Business Marketing Analyst for a major package moving organization in recently to conduct a workshop.  We were reminded that sometimes it is the relationship that counts when doing business.  A representative from a company in our area attended the workshop.  The company had a critical shipment that had to arrive at the destination by a specified time or they would not be considered for the project they were hoping to get.  They sent the materials to arrive in time. Continue reading

Get More Done – Increase Your Effectiveness

NowandLaterYou’ve got to think about the big things while you’re doing small things, so that all the small things go in the right direction….Alvin Toffler

Not all tasks are created equal.  Some are more important than others. Continue reading

7 Habits of Highly Wealthy Entrepreneurs

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Thomas C Corley studied the daily habits of hundreds of wealthy people in preparation for his book Rich Habits – The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals.

Corley’s definition of wealthy people is those earning at least $160,000 annually and owning assets of at least $3.2 million.

Some of the characteristics Corley identified of the wealthy include: Continue reading

Key Performance Indicators

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There is a primary problem with measurement.  You can measure a million different things.  Measure too much and you’ll drown in a sea of meaningless data.

Some measurements are more important than others.  Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are measurements of the critical parts of a system.  Measurements that don’t help you make improvements to your system are worse than worthless:  they’re a waste of your limited attention and energy.  You don’t have time to pay attention to everything – just a few key measurements that actually matter. Continue reading

11 Networking Turnoffs Entrepreneurs Make

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Many of our clients are making the commitment to network more this year to help get the word out and grow their business.  A quick review of what not to do may help make this year’s networking lead to greater results.

Upstart Business Journal posed this Up Take and question.  The responses that follow are from entrepreneurs regarding their networking experiences.

The UpTake: Networking events are an opportunity to build future relationships, not sell your product and life story. It only takes two to form a healthy business relationship, so don’t waste it by dolling out business cards after saying “hello.”

Question: What’s one common networking mistake or turnoff that you see business owners make? Continue reading