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Enabling a Virtual Office
By Randy BargerPublished: October 1, 2009
Posted in: 2009 Fall, Technology, Expand Omaha Magazine
In today’s economy, companies want to cut costs while maintaining current productivity levels with possibly fewer employees. That’s a tall task, but new technologies are allowing companies to create virtual, online working environments that are secure and easy to use while providing better performance and functionality than a traditional computing environment.
In a traditional computing environment, all employees physically come to an office to work on computers purchased, configured and managed by the company“s IT staff.
What in the World is a Wiki?
By Denise McGill Published: October 1, 2009, Expand Omaha Magazine
Posted in: 2009 Fall
It’s no secret that internal collaboration and knowledge management are the keys to business growth and success. Accomplishing both is no small feat given the dynamic and ever-increasing demands companies face today. Plus, there’s the difficulty of implementing and enforcing processes to effectively support your interactions among employees as well as with prospects, customers and partners.
Fortunately, wikis can help. Wiki software is used to create websites that allow multiple users to create, modify and organize web page content in a collaborative manner. Wikis are perfect tools for companies that need to manage these critical relationships. Your collaboration processes and technologies must keep pace with – or, ideally, stay ahead of – changes in your market and customer base.
Wikis are easy-to-use, flexible tools that enhance existing work flow processes, rather than requiring re-engineering. As such, wikis present an opportunity to revolutionize workplace collaboration, much like e-mail has revolutionized communication.
For more of this article please visit http://www.expandomaha.com/2009/10/what-in-the-world-is-a-wiki/
CCR Federal Debt Flag Information
Effective February 2010, a notification of outstanding federal debt will be active on the Central Contract Registration system. CCR receives updated data from the Financial Management Service (FMS), a bureau of the United States Treasury, for the Federal Debt Flag once per week. Any vendors with questions about the flag are to contact the FMS at 800.304.3107.
The Central Contractor Registration (CCR) system is a secured repository of vendor data used for governmentwide contracts. The preferred method for completing a registration is via the World Wide Web at www.ccr.gov. Businesses only need to register once. The information submitted will be accessible to all Federal agencies for conducting business. The business owner has access to update the information whenever necessary. Annual renewal is required to remain active.
A CCR Handbook is available at www.ccr.gov to assist with registration. It provides detailed instructions on data needed prior to beginning the on-line registration, as well as steps to help with the registration process.
For additional help with government contracts, contact Andy Alexander, PTAC Program Manager/Counselor, Nebraska Business Development Center. ph: (402) 554-6253
NBDC Offers Free Research Services
If you need high quality industry research and market data, Nebraska Business Development Center in the College of Business and Technology will provide it to you at no cost. A typical report provided to business clients would cost almost $1,000 if bought separately from other providers.
The licensed resources can provide timely financial data by sales or organizational structure within an industry sector, detailed GIS demographic and economic data for a geographical region, company market penetration by industry and geographical area, and detailed national industry reports with trends and projections. Compare your own business performance to the industry. Get a better look at the market and coming trends. See how demographic and economic characteristics are forecast to change.
Contact Odee Ingersoll, Director, Nebraska Business Development Center, College of Business & Technology, University of Nebraska Kearney. Phone: 308.865.8429
Financial Resources for Business Ownership
This webinar (51 minutes) provides information to current and potential business owners about Nebraska microenterprise statewide resources. Included is discussion on financing a small /micro business, along with saving and building credit for business ownership. Guest speakers were Jeff Christensen of NED, Inc., and Jeff Reynolds of REAP, along with Rose Jaspersen, Executive Director and Glennis McClure, Program Manager of NEF.
To access the webinar, click on the provided link: https://canhelp.webex.com/canhelp/lsr.php?AT=pb&SP=MC&rID=58206977&rKey=3fe5e5feb3f41ade
Pitching to Angel Investors
FOR entrepreneurs hoping to land start-up capital from angel investors, here’s what two recent studies found: Don’t get carried away when you pitch your product because the investors may lose interest faster than you can say “almost unlimited market.” And one misstep — like stammering a vague reply instead of saying you do not know the answer — can also kill a deal, the authors of the studies say.
Other tips include:
- Memorize an “elevator pitch” for your product and its potential in 90 seconds or less. It will bolster your confidence, and you can recycle it to win over customers, vendors and employees.
- Consider hiring a speech coach, but only one familiar with angel investors’ thinking.
- Attend “pitching contests” that many business schools and angel groups sponsor.
- In presentations, be upbeat but realistic in your profit and revenue projections. Better yet, draw up optimistic, middle-ground and pessimistic projections to show how carefully you have thought them through.
Check out the article, “In Pitching to Angel Investors – Preparation Tops Zeal” by Brent Bowers, New York Times, June 10, 2009.
One location for Federal Forms
Lost and can’t find the Federal form you need? At Forms.gov you can search through more than 5,400 federal forms from over 172 federal agencies. You can search by the general topics such as: Taxes, Small Business, Social Security, Veteran benefits, and FEMA. You can also search by agency, form name, form number and by keyword.
Forms data is continually added and updated by agency partners.
Visual Merchandizing
Glenn Muske, Oklahoma State University, takes us on a tour of ways that business owners can create compelling visual displays that will draw the interest of customers without breaking the bank. This is an adobe connect webinar courtesy of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension.(http://www.extension.org/) To access the webinar, click on the title below.
Economic Gardening
Chris Gibbons, Director of Business & Industry Affairs for Littleton, CO discusses the opportunities and challenges in economic development rooted in growing jobs through entrepreneurship rather than chasing jobs by recruiting companies from outside. This is an adobe connect webinar courtesy of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension. (http://www.extension.org/) To access this webinar, simply click on the title below.
Renewable Energy and Economic Potential in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota
The most important issue awaiting action by this Congress for rural development in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota is renewable energy legislation. Expanding production of renewable electricity to 20 percent of the nation’s electrical generation has the potential to create a large number of new jobs in the rural Midwest and Great Plains, according to an unpublished analysis from the U.S. Department of Energy, National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The state-by-state projections were prepared in conjunction with the laboratory’s report 20% Wind by 2030, but were never formally published. Here, we will focus on Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota. To view this pdf file simply click on the title below.
Renewable-Energy-and-Economic-Potential
This article is from the Center for Rural Affairs’ October 2009 monthly newsletter. The authors are John Crabtree and Kim Preston.
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