Grow Your Biz With One of These Small Business Events or Awards |  |
- Grow Your Biz With One of These Small Business Events or Awards
- Lemonade Day Aims to Teach 200,000 Pint-Sized Entrepreneurs
- 3 Things You Need To Know When Making Green Claims About Products
- Top Small Business News Stories: Week of May 3
- “Black Still Matters In Marketing” is a Journey to Understand Diversity
| Grow Your Biz With One of These Small Business Events or Awards Posted: 04 May 2013 05:00 PM PDT Each week we bring a hand-picked list of small business events, contests and awards. We think it’s important to educate yourself and your teams, and be more visible among your peers. To see a full list or to submit your own event, contest or award listing, visit the Small Business Events Calendar. Featured Events, Contests and Awards
Marketing and PR professionals from companies of all sizes will gather at the 3rd annual Content Marketing Strategies Conference, hosted by dlvr.it and Business Wire, to gain practical “how to” advice on content marketing SEO, content distribution optimization, content ROI, and learn from case studies by brands including Red Hat, New Belgium Brewing, FOX’s hit show Glee and much more.
A half-day search marketing conference educating small businesses about local search. Local University is a training program that travels to cities around the country. The New Orleans event is provided by the local-search practitioner experts, under the support of Google, Search Influence, The New Orleans Chamber of Commerce, Greater New Orleans, Inc. and Nokia.
Join us at the Navy Pier to learn how you can raise capital for your small business. Meet 1:1 with loan officers. Attend panels on traditional and alternative lending options, start-ups, crowd-funding, and more.
The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) will convene 3,500 decision makers from the nation’s leading corporations, government entities and women’s business enterprises (WBEs) to generate business together and stimulate economic growth at the 2013 WBENC National Conference & Business Fair in Minneapolis, MN, June 25-27, 2013. More Events
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This weekly listing of small business events, contests and awards is provided as a community service by Small Business Trends and SmallBizTechnology. The post Grow Your Biz With One of These Small Business Events or Awards appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Lemonade Day Aims to Teach 200,000 Pint-Sized Entrepreneurs Posted: 04 May 2013 03:00 PM PDT
This Sunday May 5, 2013 is National Lemonade Day in the United States. The day is designed to inspire and teach America’s youth how to become budding entrepreneurs. Lemonade Day refers to a 14-step process that teaches kids how to create and operate that quintessential symbol of childhood entrepreneurship, the lemonade stand. According to the Lemonade Day website, the program gives children an all-encompassing idea of what it’s like to run their own business, something children rarely have a chance to do in a real-life environment. Lemonade Day is organized around events occurring on a designated day, at cities around the United States and also Canada. Lemonade Day was started in 2007 by co-founders Michael and Lisa Holthouse and the first year featured one event in Houston. This year, Lemonade Day expects to reach 50 cities in the U.S. and Canada and have more than 200,000 children participating. Backers include Google for Entrepreneurs. Some cities and states have even created their own days apart from but still affiliated with the national movement. In Louisiana, for example, Lemonade Day is May 4. Lemonade Day in Indianapolis is May 18. Children can register through the Lemonade Day website or local organizations to operate an official stand. “Adults are needed to participate as mentors, volunteers, investors, employees and customers. In addition, community support from schools, churches, businesses, and youth organizations is essential to the success of Lemonade Day,” Lemonade Day organizers say. Once children register for Lemonade Day, they receive official information from the organization. A workbook guides children through the process of starting a new business, from setting goals, creating business plans, and formulating budgets … to finding investors and even giving back to their local communities. Lemonade Day provides registered children with a Web address where they can promote their own lemonade stand and places it on locator maps. Of course, promoting their business on their own is also helpful and some children have found Twitter and the #LemonadeDay tag as one other way to reach potential customers.
For security reasons, Small Business Trends recommends that parents be involved with their children in using the Lemonade Day website. Locations and names of the children may be publicly disclosed – it’s up to you to choose what to disclose, but don’t leave those decisions to your child to make. Image: Lemonadeday.org The post Lemonade Day Aims to Teach 200,000 Pint-Sized Entrepreneurs appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| 3 Things You Need To Know When Making Green Claims About Products Posted: 04 May 2013 11:48 AM PDT
As more consumers look for greener choices in the marketplace, it's not surprising that marketers are focusing on the environmental benefits of their products. However, green claims, as with any other advertising claim, must be backed up by sound science. Green advertising claims – whether in the form of product marketing, packaging or promotion – are regulated by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which requires that businesses must have reliable evidence to back-up any environmental promises. You can get the details in the FTC's recently-updated Green Guides (PDF), or check out this brief Summary of the Green Guides for an easy-to-read explanation. Many of the laws have changed in recent years to reflect advancements in green product development and marketing. So, if your company is keen to market your green products, processes, or practices – here's an overview of the basics of what you need to know about "green" marketing laws. 1. Avoid Broad Environmental Claims – As a general rule, the FTC advises against making broad, unqualified claims such as "green" and "eco-friendly," which may be difficult to substantiate. However, if you can qualify these more general claims with specific environmental benefits, then you are OK — as long as those qualifications are clear, prominent and specific. So, say you want to advertise a beauty product that has been packaged in recycled plastic. It's not enough to stick a label on the product or run an ad that markets it as "eco-friendly" or "made from recycled materials" – you must state which attribute of the product is eco-friendly (and don't hide it in the small print or footnotes). 2. Use of Certifications and Seals of Approval – Most consumers simply aren't in a position to evaluate the evidence behind any green claims, so businesses often use green certifications and seals. If you have a green accreditation, this does not change any of your obligations to prove the truth behind your claims and clearly and prominently identify specific environmental benefits. This is extremely important if the certification or seal doesn't clearly convey the basis for the accreditation. Again, you should also steer clear of broad accreditations that suggest environmental claims that can't be proven. If you have any material connections to the certifying organization – you'll also need to disclose this. Read the "Certifications and Seals of Approval" section of the FTC's Green Guide for more details. 3. Be Very Careful in Your Use of Green Terms and Phrases – As green technologies and practices advance, more terms are being used in the marketplace to describe green products, such as "made with renewable materials," "biodegradable" or "made with recycled materials". These may be misinterpreted by the consumer to mean something more than is actually being claimed. In the case of a "made with renewable materials" claim, you can minimize the risk of misinterpretation of the claim (and prosecution by the FTC for deceptive advertising) by clearly identifying the material you're talking about and explain why it's renewable. If only part of your product is made with renewable materials, qualify your claim so that you're not implying that the whole thing is made with renewable materials. The same holds true for claims like "made with renewable energy." You can minimize the risk of deception by being specific, for example – "this product was manufactured using power derived from wind /or/ solar energy." Now, if any element of your product is manufactured with energy from fossil fuels, you are prohibited from using the "made with renewable energy" claim without qualifying it. For example, you might indicate that, "75% of this product was made with energy derived from solar power." The only exception to this rule is if you buy a renewable energy certificate (RECs to match the energy use). Read the "Made with Renewable Energy" section of the of the FTC's Green Guide for more details. The guide also covers use of terms such as "recycled content," "refillable," "made with renewable materials," "non-toxic," "free-of," "ozone-friendly," "recyclable," "compostable," and "degradable." Many of the rules around these terms have recently been updated, for example, if you claim that your product is degradable, you must prove that it will degrade completely within one year. The same goes for "compostable" products – if a product can't be composted at home within the same time as the materials that it's composted with, you need to qualify your claim. "Recyclable" claims are also strictly regulated – if recycling facilities aren't available to at least 60 percent of the consumers or communities where a product is sold, then you need to qualify your recycling claims by stating something like: "This product may not be recyclable in your area." More Information Be sure to check out the Green Guides (or the summarized version here) for further guidance. If you are in any doubt, talk to a green business consultant or lawyer who specializes in consumer protection or marketing and advertising law. Image: Green products The post 3 Things You Need To Know When Making Green Claims About Products appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Top Small Business News Stories: Week of May 3 Posted: 04 May 2013 09:00 AM PDT
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| “Black Still Matters In Marketing” is a Journey to Understand Diversity Posted: 04 May 2013 06:25 AM PDT
The author of Black Still Matters in Marketing starts off the book by examining the changes in the past five years, and asks two questions: Is Black consumer behavior much different from Whites? Is it now time to stop labeling, and perhaps limiting ourselves with race? After acknowledging the many changes, she concludes: Black still matters in marketing. And then she goes on to explain that the book is not about “targeting” blacks in marketing, but rather about offering solutions to help marketers understand African Americans and comfortably frame messages to Black America. Pepper Miller is the author of “Black Still Matters In Marketing: Why Increasing Your Cultural IQ about Black America is Critical to Your Company and Your Brand.” The author's background lists several significant accolades. She is a regular Advertising Age contributor. She is Founder of the Ruth C. Hunter Market Research Scholarship Fund, a program to increase market research awareness among Black American Students. And she heads up her own marketing research group, The Hunter-Miller Group. Her experiences infuse a terrific sensibility into this book, one that can help businesses frame insightful personas associated with today's African American consumer segments. The topic of marketing nuances among African American consumers has been raised over the last few years, such as its treatment in the book “Black Is The New Green.” Miller builds on the topic by examining urban segments that have "come-of-age" economically, such as the multiracial demographic and the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender) community. This examination is a powerful suggestion, given the geographic shifts in where the Black middle class lives. Such significance is highlighted in the book “Our Black Year“and in the post-civil rights generation now mobilized in the U.S. workforce, also featured in the professional development books “Black Faces White Places“and “Black Business Secrets.” I found the thesis of Black Still Matters to be well supported and explained. The book unquestionably extends the cultural dialog into the topics businesses need to focus upon. It first outlines what marketers must understand about the changing preferences and responses of Black men and women. Businesses should:
Add to these points an examination of LGBT and multiracial consumers. Both groups appreciate the historic treatment of Black consumers, but bring unique needs that businesses must acknowledge. Check out this quote as an example of attitudes towards multiracial consumers of personal care products:
Another wonderful highlight is the examination Miller offers on Black immigrant consumers. Economic statistics are punctuated with the successful marketing engagements, such as Publix's plan in connecting to West Indian consumers. African American-centric marketing in relationship to the ecological/green movement is also a savvy topic addition. Black Still Matters In Marketing details some of the issues advertising agencies can face. Businesses may not be agencies, but they can learn when some actions are too patronizing and can turn off consumers. The following quote notes how partnerships meant to address strategy can be mismanaged:
Miller writes clear recommendations for successful campaigns. The takeaways are meant to be easily imagined, an augment to the wealth of stats Miller provides. Take Miller's point about connection, using a scene from the movie The Break Up to illustrate the point about recognizing culture and the nuances that can come with it (which is a favorite move of mine, I'll admit):
Read Black Still Matters In Marketing and begin a journey to understand diversity and the nuances that come along with acknowledging ethnic consumer perspective. The post “Black Still Matters In Marketing” is a Journey to Understand Diversity appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
We bring you another small business news recap for this week. Google was in the small business news a lot, as were announcements on jobs, loans and Federal agency appointments. Here are the top small business news stories, put into perspective by the Small Business Trends Editorial Team:
Consumer goods manufacturers have coveted the African American consumer base. But the landscape of the African American community is changing.| You are subscribed to email updates from Small Business Trends To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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