Tag Archives: networking

21st Century Workforce

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I had the pleasure of working with a group of high school students this past Saturday.  They were all enrolled in Roane State Community College classes offered in their high schools.  This is called Dual Enrollment.  I offered them a chance to work from 8am to 5pm on the Entrepreneurial Mindset that can set them apart and help them succeed in college and in life.  The entrepreneurial mindset is not just for those that want to start a business someday.  The entrepreneurial mindset is what employers are looking for.  Continue reading →

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Numbers…

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The season where we all start to look at our numbers will quickly be upon us. The end of the year. The context that those numbers are in matters, so take a deeper look this year until you understand what your numbers are really telling you.

Let’s say you brought in $200,000 of revenue this month. Is that good or bad? It depends. If you brought in $100,000 last month, it’s good. If your expenses were $400,000 this month, it’s bad. Everything in context. Continue reading →

Marketing

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Marketing business sales Offering value is not enough. If no one knows (or cares) about what you have to offer, it doesn’t matter how much value you create. Without Marketing, no business can survive – people who don’t know you exist can’t purchase what you have to offer, and people who aren’t interested in what you have to offer won’t become paying customers. Continue reading →

What is The Grommet?

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As we continue to work on developing the CBI Maker Space, I discovered The Grommet www.thegrommet.com . It will be a great resource for some of our makers. From the website:

“A Grommet is an innovative, unique product that is created by a Maker with a story to tell. Often a Grommet is new to market or has not yet been broadly discovered. When we choose Grommets, they are ready to find a wider audience and our product launch platform gives them the amplification and attention they deserve. Continue reading →

Not Just Another Year

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It’s January 13th – yes, almost half of January is gone. What have you decided to do differently this year so that 2015 is not just a repeat of 2014? Hint: Some people have been in business for 10 years, but they have repeated their first year in business 9 more times because they didn’t decide to do anything differently. Don’t let this happen to you! Continue reading →

5 Behaviors That Make You a Co-Working Space Pro

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The CBI recently developed Co-Working spaces. I found an article by Cassidy North-Reist that helps define some of the behaviors that will help you succeed in a Co-Working space.

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The nature of the American workforce is rapidly changing, with more of us telecommuting or starting businesses out of our homes than ever before. It’s no surprise then that there’s been a recent surge in people taking up residency in Co-Working spaces. Continue reading →

Lean Principles are Good for Business

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Lean is a problem-solving approach for continuous improvement. Most organizations are under pressure to reduce costs while improving service and minimizing errors. Implementing Lean principles and using Lean tools can lead to an immediate positive impact. These benefits include improved quality, increased operational flexibility, reduced cycle time within processes, more efficient use of space, consistent service delivery, reduced lead times and reduced operating costs. 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 →

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 →

CBI Open House – What a Success!

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What a great day it was at the CBI on Thursday September 12th starting in the early morning when our clients and friends started bringing in their materials and setting up their marketing areas throughout the building.  There was a lot of activity and a lot of friends sharing ideas and networking. Continue reading →