Learn and Network at One of These Small Business Events or Awards |  |
- Learn and Network at One of These Small Business Events or Awards
- Artist Uses Online Selling to Complement Her Local Business
- Understanding Big Data with “Number Sense”
| Learn and Network at One of These Small Business Events or Awards Posted: 13 Jul 2013 01:00 PM PDT We are back with other awesome, outstanding, stupendous (OK, you get our drift) list of small business events, small business awards and contests. We’ve got something for everyone — from solo entrepreneur to a small business with a handful of employees, to midsize businesses with hundreds or even thousands of employees — check out this list. It’s a vetted list. We accept listings from the community, but all submissions are reviewed by our Editors to make sure they represent quality, offer value, and are likely to be worth your time. This is a partial list. 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
Bizapalooza, a virtual conference, will provide resources and education for small business. The event is scheduled for July 16-18, 2013, and is free to attend. 25 Small Business Rock Stars will share tips and strategies that you can use to grow. If you can’t attend those days, the event is archived for later viewing. No cost!
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.
INBOUND is a 4 day marketing experience that brings together thousands of marketers from around the globe for an annual event held in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. Small Business Influencer Awards 2013 The 2013 Small Business Influencer Awards recognize the apps, organizations and people who have a strong impact on small businesses in North America. Now its 3rd year, the Awards are a coveted recognition for those who serve small businesses. Check to see who’s already been nominated, and nominate yourself, or someone or some organization or app you admire. No fee to enter. Twitter hashtag: #SMBinfluencer.
This conference brings together amazing women entrepreneurs, both on and off the stage. Hear real behind-the-scenes stories of success including JJ Ramberg, Sarah Endline, Janine Popick, and Pamela O’Hara. Expert keynotes and panel discussions include: Getting Funding for Growth with Kay Koplovitz & Peggy Wallace, Turning Ideas into Companies with Yao Huang, 5 Strategies for a Stronger Brand with Julie Cottineau, and a journalist panel on Pitching the Media. SEATING IS LIMITED. 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 Learn and Network at One of These Small Business Events or Awards appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Artist Uses Online Selling to Complement Her Local Business Posted: 13 Jul 2013 09:00 AM PDT When Christine Goldbeck first opened her brick and mortar art gallery in Middletown, Pennsylvania in 2008, she never thought she would rely so heavily on the Internet for both sales and promotion. Online selling was far from her mind. At first, Goldbeck said she used a few online promotion methods, including an email newsletter and online advertising. She used those in conjunction with more traditional techniques like direct mailers and print advertising, which she does very little of now. As time passed, Goldbeck decided to dive further into online promotion with a blog and some "photo of the day" and "painting of the day" features. She then graduated into online selling. She began selling those daily works on her own website, ChristineGoldbeck.com. "It's great because when I'm sleeping or out at a show, I can come back, check my email and have sales waiting for me," she said. "So I can be asleep and my brick and mortar store can be closed, but the online stuff is still out there and it's selling." This year, Goldbeck said that about 50% of her business's overall sales have come from her website. She uses the website to sell different types of art compared to what she sells in her gallery and other local shops. "Right now I primarily sell bigger products in my physical location and other galleries around town," she said. "My smaller products and prints tend to sell better online." Goldbeck continues to employ some more traditional promotional techniques along with her online presence. In particular, she enjoys going to local art shows and events. But she maintains that using both online and traditional methods are essential to her success. "If you're not at least promoting yourself on the Web you're at a distinct disadvantage," she said. "I would advise any visual artist to at least have their own website or blog, even if they don't want to sell directly online." She also had some other advice for artists and creative entrepreneurs looking to sell or promote their work online. "I try to tell a story about each photo or painting that gives potential clients an experience," she said. "I've had clients tell me that they've been to my blog and read the stories before ever buying anything. By creating an experience you can build a following and keep people interested and coming back." View a slideshow of Christine’s work below. Morning Swim
Sunset on the Log House
Town and Country
Morning Flowers
Double Sunshine
Punch Buggy
The Watcher
The Path
On the Rocks
Skyfire
The Cat is IN the Bag
The Right to Assemble
The post Artist Uses Online Selling to Complement Her Local Business appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Understanding Big Data with “Number Sense” Posted: 13 Jul 2013 06:00 AM PDT
But the volume of YouTube auto review sites can eat up my time. Too much choice can overwhelm, forcing me or anyone to applying judgment to not overindulge in variety. I share that personal aside to frame the purpose behind the book, Number Sense: How To Use Big Data To Your Advantage by Kaiser Fung. Fung is a professional Harvard educated statistician and author of Numbers Rule Your World. He wrote Number Sense to heighten the ability of readers to discern when the plethora of choices of data has value and when it does not. I learned about the book through NetGalley and sought an advance review copy before its July publication. Number Sense: Making Sense of NumbersNumber Sense is written for organizations in general, not just businesses. All types of organizations are facing more data-based decisions by the day. In establishing a wide scope Fung makes a solid claim that big data increases the operations possible in an organization:
Fung goes on to note how there is now more chance for error:
To enlighten us on how the chances for error are occurring, Fung supports the details with a case study approach in the text. The book lays out its chapters into four segments – Social Data, Marketing Data, Economic Data, and the intriguingly titled Sporting Data. Each segment contains enterprise and societal viewpoints to highlight how data-derived decisions can misinterpret the models an organization creates from the data. A superb early example is a Republican model for the 2012 presidential election. Fung notes a set of polls enhanced with a data model that predicted a last minute groundswell of Republican support and a Romney victory. It's a poignant example of how competitors can shoot themselves in the foot even with equal access to the same data. Readers who own small restaurants, retail shops and services reliant on Groupon-like digital services will benefit from the two chapters examining personalization within – wait for it – Groupon. The takeaway is that personalization extends the value of customer segmentation, but not always as expected from a planned strategy. Fung explains how tech can go beyond intention:
Ideas like this can enhance small business actions when it comes to strategy (see Megan Totka's article “How A Small Business Can Use Big Data” for more big data suggestions). Examples in Number Sense read like cases, so business readers should not rush into the text for answers, or else they'll overlook the salient points. The end chapter on data and fantasy football surprises in its presentation, but its takeaways were simpler than the text describing the example. In some instances I did prefer asides to explore the details. When Fung notes that analytic solutions "can have a gap as high as 20-30%" he gets the number right, but the book does not deeply explore the current state of technology solutions being applied to big data challenges. Read Number Sense to Learn, But Be Cautious to ApplyWith Number Sense, Fung seemed ambitious in expanding on McKinsey Global Institute's definition of big data. And I appreciated Fung's humility and fairness in mentioning that he can be in error as well – "Even experts sometimes fall into data traps.” The tone shows an eye for continual learning and inspired exploration – the ultimate takeaway readers should have for business intelligence books. Ultimately readers enamored with stats-books like Moneyball and Big Data will not be disappointed. In narrowing the choice of where to starting researching the concepts behind big data, Number Sense makes a credible read that can show where the big data story is heading. As for small entertainment until my next book review … I am still stuck choosing which auto review video to watch (smile). The post Understanding Big Data with “Number Sense” appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
One challenge the Internet presents is too much choice when one has a preference for simple entertainment. For example, when I want a mini–break from writing or analyzing data, I casually watch YouTube reviews of new vehicles. Reviewing cars is part of my car enthusiast childhood. It helps me recall the three automobile magazines subscriptions my dad would bring home.| 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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