Our Latest Events and Awards Listings For Small Businesses |  |
- Our Latest Events and Awards Listings For Small Businesses
- Small Business News Roundup For Week Ending August 24
- Plenty of Laughs Abound From The Top 100 Vine Video List
- “Keeping Up With The Quants” Helps You Keep Up on Business Intelligence
| Our Latest Events and Awards Listings For Small Businesses Posted: 24 Aug 2013 05:30 PM PDT Welcome to our latest curated list of events, contests and awards for small businesses. These events are perfect for small business owners, managers and entrepreneurs to continue their education, network with peers and industry players, and more. This is a partial list – see the full list visit the Small Business Events Calendar. Featured Events, Contests and Awards
This contest highlights small businesses and helps them to show off their amazing products, services and happy customers all with a chance to win $10K. The contest is open this year to small business owners and their consumers. At the end of the contest, one photo will be chosen as the $10K Grand Prize winner. Hashtag: #SmallBizLove 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 Our Latest Events and Awards Listings For Small Businesses appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Small Business News Roundup For Week Ending August 24 Posted: 24 Aug 2013 01:53 PM PDT
Didn’t have time to read everything this week? The Small Business Trends editorial team keeps you informed with our easy-to-scan recaps. Let’s jump right in with the most popular and important small business news stories on the site this week. Outages, Outages … Toil and TroubleAmazon downtime may have cost the company. More than $66,000 a minute, one source reckons. Of course, with a household name like Amazon, those visitors probably returned later. But for a lesser-known and smaller business, can you count on visitors remembering and coming back? Or will they just go to your online competitor? We have a practical tip for dealing with downtime on your website. (Besides pulling your hair out, that is.) Microsoft outage rivals Amazon’s. In length, that is — not necessarily in actual sales dollars it cost the company. Of course, it may have cost YOU money if you were one of those Outlook.com users. It may have taken three days to get your service fully restored. Ouch. If you own an iMac, your video card could be faulty. No worries though. Apple has recently announced a program that not only helps you figure out whether you need a new card. The company will replace it free. People may be opening fewer of your marketing emails. That is, if the people you are emailing happen to have GMail accounts. There are worriers out there who have been antsy about the new GMail tabs, and one study suggests 18% fewer opens. Still, it may be too early to blame Google for this. ServicesGoDaddy acquires Locu. The deal could be big news for small businesses in need of Web services. GoDaddy already offers a website building tool. And the new addition of Locu will help businesses extend their local-marketing reach. Fiverr reaches 2 million “gigs.” Fiverr has its share of questionable services offered (such as those spammy “I’ll get you 10,000 Twitter followers in 1 day” offers). However, as long as you stay away from that kind of stuff, Fiverr can be a source of inexpensive and quick virtual labor. Small services start at $5. Here are some tips on how to use the site. New service offers small biz PR. A group calling itself the National Association of Local Advertisers has a new service that goes beyond distributing press releases. They will write them and help you develop a press campaign, too. Social Media72 percent of your Twitter followers are likely to buy from you. And that’s only the beginning of the helpful ROI and other information you’ll find in a new survey commissioned by Twitter, and released this week. Also learn why people follow your business on Twitter. Hey – give them what they are looking for! Facebook has new embedded posts. They may remind you of embedded tweets. But trust us, there are some differences. And if you’re worried about the shelf-life of your Facebook posts, this is one way to address it. Franchises are embracing social media. But as this new approach to marketing and PR evolves, challenges remain. Franchise correspondent Joel Libava gives us a look at how things have changed. TechSmartwatches coming from Samsung and Apple. Wearable tech is getting more popular. These kinds of watches are already available from companies like Pebble and Sony. Though they can’t yet be used as a phone or even to, say, update your Facebook page, they are great accessories that work along with smartphones. New intelligent coffee kiosk coming. It could be an interesting business model. It could also be another alternative to supplying your staff with their morning cup of joe. StartupsAmericans aren’t investing in startups. In fact, only about 5.3 percent of Americans invested in startups in the three years leading up to 2012, recent data suggests. That’s despite all the focus on venture and angel funding. Unless the startup entrepreneur is a relative, it’s not likely the average American will be investing in a startup anytime soon. Scott Shane, Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies at Case Western Reserve University, has more. Choosing a fiscal year explained. Not every business can choose a fiscal year for income tax reporting purposes. For those that can, Nellie Akalp, CEO of CorpNet, reviews the options. See whether your business can choose. OperationsBetter benefits could lure better talent. A recent report suggests small businesses are competing for a limited pool of interested and qualified applicants. That means leaving some positions unfilled. One possible incentive is a great benefits package, says Michael W. Zuna, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Aflac U.S. WordPress explained for the entrepreneur. Few content management systems worth the time are simple or easy. But Jennifer Shaheen, CEO and President of The Technology Therapy Group, gives an overview of the benefits the WordPress platform has to offer. MarketingGrumpy Cat is a marketing machine. We’ve written before about this photogenic feline with the unforgettable face. The cat, named Tardar Sauce but known as Grumpy Cat, can teach us all a few lessons about branding in the digital age. Don’t get your hashtags hijacked. Ever see a brand’s Twitter hashtag being used for snark and sarcasm? Don’t let that happen to your marketing campaign. Small Business Trends CEO Anita Campbell gives some pointers of the types of hashtags susceptible to hijacking — and how to avoid it. Book ReviewsHow to develop more business. Moving too slowly on business development can kill your business, or make it stagnate. Pierre DeBois reviews The Professional's Guide to Business Development: How To Win Business In The Professional Services. Feel the love with Loveworks. Great marketing of your brand isn’t just about the facts. It’s about emotion, too. Ivana Taylor reviews Loveworks: How the World's Top Marketers Make Emotional Connections to Win in the Marketplace. News image, Shutterstock. The post Small Business News Roundup For Week Ending August 24 appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Plenty of Laughs Abound From The Top 100 Vine Video List Posted: 24 Aug 2013 09:00 AM PDT If you haven’t seen Vine’s Top 100 Vine Videos, then you’re missing out – on a few laughs. Vine, if you’re not familiar with it, is the 6-second video service for Twitter that has become wildly popular. We’ve picked 10 of our favorites and shared them with you below. Interestingly enough, it’s not Justin Bieber that tops the charts on the Vine video list. Rather, it’s Harry Styles of the band One Direction. Vine is easy and brings out the creativity in people. As Mashable points out, 31 of the most shared Vine videos are from the 19 year old heart throb who signed with Simon Cowell’s record label after finishing third on The X Factor, a British singing competition. Harry also happens to have the number one most shared Vine video, as seen below, that is quickly climbing towards 161,000 shares. As a small business owner, you don’t always have to be “talking shop” on social media. Sometimes, just sharing yourself with others and the world in a humorous way can build the bridge to long lasting relationships of all types. After all, being human is a condition – and humor is part of the human condition. * * * * * Watch Harry Styles embrace a multitude of fans in Verona in the number one most shared Vine video.
Eric Stonestreet, an actor who plays Cameron on ABC’s “Modern Family,” finds himself giddy over a Justin Bieber sighting.
Twerking is a form of dancing that involves shaking your hips in an up and down motion. These two have just found the mystical “Twerk Tree.”
Being towed behind a moving vehicle is a popular tactic used in many music videos. This young man takes advantage of it – that is – until his dad taps the brakes.
KC James wants to enjoy a beautiful day by firing up his magic banana for a ride – only to find himself unable to handle its power.
Sometimes it’s hard to picture your parents as cool. But Marcus Johns finds out that his dad is truly “rad” – really awesome dude.
This guy just can’t figure out why everyone is so afraid of love.
Lance considers himself quite the pick-up artist and approaches it with gusto – only to find it proves more difficult than imagined. It ends in an epic fail.
A finely tuned, coordinated dunk that comes off without a hitch – from a bunch of amateurs at the pool. This is amazing!
Do you enjoy singing in your car alone? Ever get caught at it? Then you’ll appreciate this one.
The post Plenty of Laughs Abound From The Top 100 Vine Video List appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| “Keeping Up With The Quants” Helps You Keep Up on Business Intelligence Posted: 24 Aug 2013 06:05 AM PDT
Analytic practitioners in business, unfortunately, lack a uniform "bushido" that can inform business leaders how to make better usage of data. This can lead to conflicts that can make all involved reach for a kitana sword. But enough of the samurai metaphors…. Fortunately, more advanced books are becoming available to business managers seeking analytics to keep up on business intelligence. Two master practitioners among business intelligence are Thomas Davenport, whom we reviewed with Analytics At Work and business and statistics professor Jinho Kim. They are authors of Keeping Up with the Quants: Your Guide to Understanding and Using Analytics . The book delves into the strategic significance of how people and ideas are deployed before choosing any analytical solution. Meant for managers, the book makes for great reading for leaders trying to corral data in their organization. Your Data is Your BusinessKeeping Up With The Quants has the capacity to extend the discussion about the usefulness of data. We increasingly read or hear the term “Big Data,” but many writers never get to the business intelligence end of the topic – in other words, how does analytics work beyond the numbers? Davenport has revealed his analytical perspective in previous works, such as Judgment Calls. In Quants he and Kim waste no time digging beyond why big data is the new way to build a business, noting:
Perspectives That Give a Small Business Team “Big Smarts”Small businesses that grow employees have to manage head count and how those resources are being used. Because analytics beyond basic metrics can lead to a dedicated head for measurement, the book offers ideas as to how to grow your organization into the need rather than randomly select a resource. The chapter "Framing the Problem" shows how to organize analytical challenges:
The authors reveal stages and steps on how to assess and present information, all with straightforward reminders such as the following:
Conveniently, the segment "Solving the Problem" follows with probably the most actionable ideas for small businesses. Within this segment and others, fun aspects abound to keep analysis points interesting. There's a historical bit about Florence Nightingale's work with mortality rates that ties into data visualization. I liked the "Fido equation", a fun version to explain what a model is and should do. The imagined concept comes right before an aside on assigning variables within a model:
The authors' take on models, variables and data visualization, makes the book a great choice to read prior to other specific analytic topics. You can read it before picking up Predictive Analytics and Big Data without programming language details examined in books like Yahoo Web Analytics. If you find yourself going into a battle over data-based decisions, you'll find Keeping Up With Quants as a suitable weapon to win the day. The post "Keeping Up With The Quants" Helps You Keep Up on Business Intelligence appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
Citizens of ancient Japan appreciated the samurai practice Bushido – "the way of the warrior" – and its tenets of loyalty, martial arts skill and honor. Citizen cooperation and the samurai adherence to Bushido ways inspired peace in Japan that lasted until a formal military ushered the end of the samurai era in the late 1800s.| 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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