Check Out One of These Small Business Events or Contests |  |
- Check Out One of These Small Business Events or Contests
- Small Business News: Stories This Week Not to Miss
- Becoming a Business Icon “The Patron Way”
| Check Out One of These Small Business Events or Contests Posted: 15 Jun 2013 02:44 PM PDT Welcome to our latest curated list of events, contests and awards for small businesses, solo entrepreneurs and growing companies. 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
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.
The Big Awards started with a mission of recognizing real talent and performance. Real business people, those with experience and knowledge, judge the Big Awards. Request an entry kit today and submit your nomination by August 14, 2013. More Events
More Contests and Awards
This weekly listing of small business events, contests and awards is provided as a community service by Small Business Trends and SmallBizTechnology. The post Check Out One of These Small Business Events or Contests appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Small Business News: Stories This Week Not to Miss Posted: 15 Jun 2013 10:48 AM PDT
Another popular social media network adopts hashtags and Vine surpasses Instagram for Twitter uploads. Those are two news stories that are trending popular in the small business community this week. Entrepreneurs should also take note of the opportunities presented by a growing app market — via comments made by Apple CEO Tim Cook this week. We also debunk one incorrect meme going around about the status of the Internet Sales Tax in Congress. As always, the Small Business Trends editorial team puts these small business stories in context for you. Social MediaHere come the hashtags. Sometimes rumors turn out to be ture. For a while now, rumors have circulated about plans to introduce hashtags on Facebook .. .just like the ones so popular on rival Twitter. We learned this week the rumors were true. How will hashtags affect conversations on Facebook? Some say they don’t fit Facebook at all – other welcome them. We’ll have to wait and see. Meanwhile, we bring you the basics of Facebook hashtags. Twitter offers free analytics to users. Now you can get a better understanding of the impact you are having on Twitter. Like Facebook, Twitter now offers a free analytics tool to measure select metrics. It’s not perfect, say marketers, but it’s a move in the right direction. Vine surpasses Instagram for most Twitter uploads. Small businesses and online marketers use the 6-second Vine video app on Apple devices and now Android to market their brands. We offer tips from those who are already using vine for marketing. Facebook is changing the look of advertising. The social network announced last week it is consolidating many of its advertising formats. These include “Questions,” “Offers” and “Sponsored Stories.” Thank goodness, because it was unnecessarily confusing! AppsA $10 billion app market represents an opportunity for small business. We know, of course, that Google recently announced a growing market for apps in its Google Play Store. But Apple CEO Tim Cook put a monetary value to that market this week: $10 billion over the last five years. Do you have an app for your business? Do you develop apps? Maybe you should. Google Announced it Will Introduces Google Web Designer. The new tool from Google will let users create Web ads using HTML5, instead of Flash, which isn’t easily viewable on mobile devices. But despite its name, this tool is not primarily to be used for Web design — as first reports from many outlets suggested. It’s really a tool for advertisers, and will be available in the DoubleClick platform and also as a stand alone app. So if you needed further proof that mobile devices like tablets and smartphones are an essential part of the advertising mix, you’ve got it. SalesEbay is testing 24-hour window shops. The windows are actually 9 feet across and 2 feet high touchscreens allowing customers to buy merchandise. If brick and mortar retailers don’t carry it in their stores or it’s after hours and the shop is closed, or if they just want to expand their space without opening up another full service shop – this could be an answer in some metropolitan areas – like New York. The merchandise is then delivered by courier and paid for with PayPal. The Internet Sales Tax is still alive. This despite a claim from an activist group this week. The organization calling itself Generation Opportunity claimed it “Facebook bombed” Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and succeeded in getting him to stall the bill in the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. Goodlatte denies this. This just shows how contentious the bill is, and how divided people are on it — including small businesses. TechSony has a 13 inch tablet that slides into a laptop. The Vaio Duo 13 represents part of the tablet hybrid trend. But with a cost of $1,399, it’s on the pricey side. Created for mobile professionals, the device runs Windows 8 and boasts 10+ hours of battery life. For a tablet, the Vaio Duo 13 is a “little bulky,” says Dan Ackerman of CNET. You be the judge. You could lose that old Yahoo ID. The company is “freeing up” some of those old inactive IDs to make room for new users who might want them. Yahoo Senior Vice President of Platforms Jay Rossiter broke the news on Yahoo’s official Tumblr blog. Yahoo recently announced plans to acquire the wildly popular social blog and may be clearing space for potential new Tumblr users. IBM acquires SoftLayer raising questions among small business customers. The Dallas, Texas-based hosting company claims to be the largest privately held business of its kind. GI Partners purchased the equity in the firm, together with the company's management in August 2010. But will it’s focus on smaller customers, including Small Business Trends, remain after being acquired by the tech giant? RSS Feed: Is it still important? Small Business Trends founder Anita Campbell gives us the low down on one of the most important features of content on the Internet. What is it? What is it used for? And is it still useful in this rapidly changing technological world? The short answer to that last question is yes. StartupStartup “99testers” explores a new way to test software. Suppose we lived in a world where business was totally collaborative with no managers. Crowdsourcing is certainly a step in this direction. In 2010, Praveen Singh, CEO and Founder of 99tests, brought the concept to software testing. The rest is startup history as Sramana Mitra explains. Find influencers with “Little Bird” today. TJ McCue gives us an overview of a new search engine to help you find influencers. This is a review of a tool designed to help you find new leaders to follow, create a plan for influencer engagement, discover your “freshest” connections, and more. MarketingLearning content and context in marketing. Mike Volpe, chief marketing officer for HubSpot, talks with Brent Leary, Partner at CRM Essentials and organizer of the Social Business Atlanta conference. The subject is the one thing that may be keeping your marketing from reaching its intended audience. Book ReviewsPresent Shock: Taking A Moment to Review the Future. Has technology given you the lifestyle you wanted? Author Douglas Rushkoff asks questions about what technology has given us and what we should expect in return. Analytics expert Pierre Debois reviews the book for us. PolicyCould the IRS scandal be a good thing? Well, it depends what you think of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Many small business owners don’t care for it. Scott Shane, professor of entrepreneurial studies at Case Western Reserve University, says while the IRS is under assault, the agency may be less likely to hassle small businesses on other enforcement issues like healthcare reform. We can only hope. ManagementChecking your risk half-way through. You do annual mid-year checks on progress, meeting revenue and growth goals. So doing a mid-year risk-management assessment is also a good move. Looking at risks to your data, in your workplace and elsewhere in your business is a good way to be prepared, says Ted Devine, CEO of Insureon. Shutterstock: reading news The post Small Business News: Stories This Week Not to Miss appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Becoming a Business Icon “The Patron Way” Posted: 15 Jun 2013 06:10 AM PDT
The Patron Way, From Fantasy to Fortune – Lessons in Taking Any Business from Idea to Iconic Brand, is by Ilana Edelstein (with help from Samantha Marshall). I discovered the book via NetGallery, and thought it would be worthwhile to marketers who work with premium brands as well as business owners associated with the distilled spirits industry. Patron Means Godfather, So Here's the Godfather's Story (Without Al Pacino!) This is a passionate narrative about the personal travails of the author, Edelstein, and her business partner/lover Martin. Martin was introduced to tequila on a business scouting trip. He brought Edelstein home some samples of the version to be known as Patron to taste. The rest became a history blending their passion for each other, the business and the drink itself.
The couple worked to raise the brand profile through serving Patron at the finest events attended by titans of industry and celebrities. Their first event included A-list celebrities like Tom Cruise and Arnold Schwarzenegger. A few other actors are mentioned, such as Robin Williams and James Coburn. Edelstein even relates a discussion of hip-hop's adoption of Patron with Daymond John of Shark Tank and FUBU fame. These experiences offered some business insights Edelstein sprinkles into the story progression:
Much of the book details Edelstein's relationship with Martin, but it's not a tell-all. It also covers the marketing tactics to position Patron as a premium drink and the negotiations that would provide further investment. Patron was one of the earliest alcohol names to be branded to sophisticated consumers. Its success grew from influential people who could speak passionately about the drink. Edelstein does get into relating the Seagram deal to purchase Patron. A later chapter explains decision details such as packaging. Chapter 2 will educate the reader about the tequila business. Distilled in a specific region like whiskey and bourbon, tequila experienced bust and boom demand cycles that mirrors Mexico's history. The agave, a plant whose juice is fermented to produce tequila, became more industrialized when the Mexican government decreed all tequila distilled must contain at least 51% of blue agave sourced from Mexico. The couple's true guidance came from Francisco Alcaraz, a Mexican aristocrat who was "at the forefront of the modernization and standardization of Mexico's Tequila industry." Edelstein explained the couple's admiration for Alcaraz:
In addition to Alcaraz, there is a highlight on John Paul "JP" DeJoria. An "impoverished street kid" in his youth, JP becomes a trusted business partner who helped land the first Patron distributor. The Patron Way does not reveal much about other employees. It’s just as well, given the volumes of books written on large corporations with memorable leaders such as Apple (see Ivana Taylor’s review of “Inside Apple” and “The Apple Experience” for an example). What Kind of Reader Will Enjoy The Patron Way? This book is not filled with research about business couples. If that’s what you are looking for, read You and Your Partner Inc. Rather — like Guitar Lessons and Beam Straight Up, The Patron Way tells mostly a personal story. Yet the book's perspective can be valuable for couples starting to work together. Those who are working with a partner or spouse will have an interest in how this couple face their business challenges. There is an appendix section with short direct insights. But outside of that you are reading a narrative, not a how-to guide. There’s a pleasant aspect about the author's tone. Edelstein conveys everything with a grounded while carefree spirit, all despite the celebrities she met and success attained along the way. That keeps a good, never-dry tone that makes you want to invest in the couple:
No matter what industry your business is built upon, you'll appreciate the perspective in The Patron Way. Read it, or better yet, share it while enjoying your favorite drink. Cheers. The post Becoming a Business Icon "The Patron Way" appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
Working in a business with your spouse or life partner can be tricky – but rewarding. If you are looking for a story about family business to inspire, you may want to sit down and have a drink. In this case, make it a good shot of fine tequila.| You are subscribed to email updates from Small Business Trends To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment