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Sharing random thoughts and ideas are great conversation starters.  Sharing a blog starts the conversation across the world.  Log in and add your ideas to the conversation, whether you agree or disagree, your ideas are welcomed.  Visit the NxBizSuccess House Rulesto review how comments are to be submitted.  The information provided is not intended to be a source of legal advice. All individuals are encouraged to obtain professional legal, accounting, and tax advice before implementing new business activities

Webinars Offer Online Advice

Posted on | March 5, 2010 | No Comments

Congratulations, you now have a web site.  The only problem, it’s not generating the traffic you want, nor the sales you need.  What is the best option for you?  Is it SEO, SEM or keywords and tag lines?

To help muddle through the murky waters, eXtension.org has developed a series of free webinars on e-commerce solutions.  The next webinar will be held Thursday, March 11th at 1:00 p.m. (CDT) or 12 noon (MDT).  Jay Jenkins, Extension Educator, University of Nebraska will present Get Found! This session will help you learn how clearly written and properly implemented web pages are found.

All webinars are one hour long. Free and open to everyone. The Web meeting room opens 10 minutes before the start time.  Go to connect.extension.iastate.edu/ecop to view.  Pre-recorded webinars are also available at ETC Archives. Topics include:  Google Analytics, web usability testing, maximizing pay-per-click campaigns, Web 2.0 tools, and Internet Marketing.

Visit the NxBizSuccess e-commerce videos for more information about SEO and Internet blog marketing.   We’d also love to hear how you increased your online sales.  Sign in as a NBS member and write your suggestions in the comment box.

Until next week,

Marilyn.

Marilyn Schlake, Associate Director, NebraskaEDGE & NxBizSuccess.com, University of Nebraska-Lincoln


National Entrepreneurship Week, February 20-27

Posted on | February 16, 2010 | No Comments

Next week is National Entrepreneurship Week, the one week out of the year where we celebrate the contributions small business owners make to our economy.  These contributions are especially vital in Nebraska.  The US Census Bureau shows that in 2006 Nebraska had 36,512 businesses with 20 or fewer employees.  When coupled with the 117,336 non-employer firms, it becomes obvious that small business ownership is a way of life in Nebraska.  So let’s celebrate this accomplishment.

Plan to attend one or more of different small business activities that will be held in various locations across Nebraska.  See the complete list of activities under the Events Calendar.  Some activities do require registration and payment prior to the workshop or conference.

Comment back and let me know if you are planning to attend any of the activities.  Tonia and I will be presenting NxBizSuccess during a session at MarketPlace.  We’ll also have a booth there so come and visit.

Hope to see you next week,

Marilyn Schlake, Associate Director NebraskaEDGE & NxBizSuccess, University of Nebraska-Lincoln


If Vista was a Cloudy View, the Sun is Shining on Windows 7

Posted on | November 11, 2009 | No Comments

By: BenPankonin of Five Nine Technology Group

Starting while Tim Tebow and Florida won the College Football National Championship, much of our staff downloaded the first beta version of Windows 7, January 8th. At that time, my tablet PC running Windows Vista was a source of frustration for me. Like many others who adopted Vista, we had become exceedingly frustrated and blamed things on Vista even after it became more stable.

As a Microsoft Gold Partner who rejected implementing Vista for our business clients, I was cautious in deploying Windows 7. My caution turned when running the first beta releases in January. Windows 7 had less glitches and a cleaner feel than the otherwise clunky Vista.

Evaluating an Operating System

An operating system should function as the platform by which the applications you wish to run may operate. Keep in mind, when evaluating an Operating system, you are not looking for a specific application (Applications such as Office 2010 will simply use the abilities of the Operating system). What you are looking for is a platform that is non-intrusive, performs well and supports new software looking to take advantage of the capabilities.

An Honest Look at Windows 7

Immediately after loading Windows 7 you will notice that the taskbar functionality is greatly increased. You will see the functionality of jumplists, that is the ability to mouse-over applications and see recent documents and applications. You will also be attracted to the ability to have a preview of the open documents without having to actually open the application, referred to by Microsoft as Preview Plus.

Reducing notifications has made Windows 7 more attractive and usable, you now have the ability to customize notifications and keep them in the background, where they should be. Vista even has some nifty hidden tools like shaking the top of a window to scare away the other windows – slick. Also some of the most basic browsing, like file folders can now be modified into libraries to be better organized with photos, documents and other content.

I am running my Windows 7 machine on a Dell XT tablet which includes the ability to utilize multi-touch, similar to the touch abilities of an iphone. I will admit that this is something that will require applications to take advantage of this new ability to do multi-touch in an useful manner. Currently multi-touch only helps to expand or contract a picture and scroll which is easily served by a mouse or scroll-wheel.

While we work with Business clients in Windows 7, the lines continue to be blurred as many businesses chose laptops that their employees will also use at home. That said, Windows 7 does have some very attractive components for those wishing to network their home. An extremely useful and easy-to-implement feature of streaming music directly to other computers with Windows Media Player and previews of MP3s before you listen. Many backup functions have been greatly increased, especially for home users wishing to backup some or all portions of their hard disk.

Ready to go?

Perhaps better than any other motivating point for Windows 7 is that it is a well-tested operating system. After one of the most successful and largest beta tests in history, Windows 7 performs well and software and hardware vendors have been quick to adapt their applications for use with Windows 7. But, as always, make sure that line-of-business applications are compatible before beginning your deployment of Windows 7.

Terry Jones speaks at Governor’s Conference On Rural Development

Posted on | November 6, 2009 | No Comments

On November 6th, 2009 at the Nebraska Governor’s Conference on Rural Developmentin Kearney NE, Terry Jones, founder of Travelocity.com and chairman of Kayak.com spoke about technology changing how we conduct business.  It was a great presentation on innovation, rethinking and redesigning the customer relationship and our interaction with that customer.

Terry spoke of how the consumer is now in the driver’s seat and that we, as business owners, must listen to the consumer in order to survive, let alone be successful.

Terry termed the change as working in the “3rd Channel” (which will be a new book written by Jones).  The 3rd Channel, or the Internet, is forcing businesses to provide the personal service that has commonly been identified with the traditional small store and combining it with the Big Box model of wide selection and low prices.   The Internet makes it possible.  Face to face interaction is no longer enough, business owners need to build digital relationships with their customers…they are expecting it.  Today’s consumers use multi-channels to shop.  Although they are still visiting the stores, they are also shopping by phone and online.   To take advantage of these multi-channel shoppers, a business owner needs to provide multiple access points to their business.  Listen to your customers and discover what they want, how they want the product/service delivered and what added benefits you can provide to make their lives easier.  Convenience and service are basic demands of the customer.

If you have found great ways to capture the multi-channel shopper, please share your ideas.  I would love to hear some practical ideas that really work.

To access Terry Jone’s presentation, please click on the link provided: http://www.neded.org/files/NCIP/2009/091104_Neb_Gov_Conf.pdf.

Until later,

Marilyn Schlake, Associate Director, NebraskaEDGE


How To Proceed In A Recession?

Posted on | November 2, 2009 | No Comments

As host of the NxBizSuccess video podcasts, I am often asked, “What is the best way to go forward during this phase of the recession?”

In a nutshell: Become an adaptive leader. In other words, build the capacity to thrive in a new reality. By modifying specific strands of your organization’s DNA, you can make a critical difference.

Specifically:
1. Change the rules of the game.
2. Reshape parts of the organization.
3. Redefine the work people do.

But how? Here are some details…

1. Create discomfort, forcing people to confront the consequences of maintaining the status quo.
2. Ask uncomfortable questions. Create a culture of courageous conversations. Dissenters who provide insight at this point must be protected.
3. Focus on issues, not personalities.
4. Negotiate between various interests.
5. Orchestrate the inevitable conflict, chaos and confusion of change so that the disturbance is productive rather than destructive.
6. Cultivate tomorrow’s next practices while excelling in today’s best practices.
7. Run numerous experiments. (This is the toughest for perfectionist managers who pride themselves in their ability to avoid risk.) Make constant mid-course corrections.  Your message to your team should be: I need your enthusiastic help in discovering the path to the future.

Finally, stop dithering. Your competitors have passed the wring-your-hands’ stage. They are moving as you read this. There is probably no advantage in procrastinating in providing adaptive leadership.

Lynn Hinderaker, Omegapoint Transition Marketing

How to Use Others’ Assets to Attract Buyers

Posted on | August 10, 2009 | No Comments

Bundle Up. Use others’ assets to start your own company.

“I lost my job, so I’m looking for something entrepreneuerial that I can do. But I don’t have many resources. Any suggestions?” As the host of  NxBizSuccess, I hear this question a lot.One idea is to become a packager of specialty products or component  services that a buyer would prefer in a single, convenient  solution….to become a ‘gateway’ or “switchboard.’  No equipment or capital is required, really. All it takes is the ability to make  enough industry connections to achieve leverage with both seller and  buyer. To begin, you must have a sales personality and use it to aggregate other small companies that are willing to work together (under your supervision) in order to generate sales they couldn’t have gotten without you.

Again, the key: Have enough subcontractors and customer prospects to create a concentration of power. It probably requires that you, the entrepreneur, have 15% or 20% of the subcontractors or vendors in a marketspace working with you in order to have leverage with the buyer.  Relationship-building, trust (especially on pricing) and momentum are  
the key.

This business model is used in the building trades, in Hollywood and in many creative or consulting businesses. But it’s becoming more popular in almost any industry where there are lots of parts and pieces and buyers value an integrated solution. Consider becoming a middle-man and a talent integrator if you lack the resources to build your own brick and mortar company from scratch.

Lynn Hinderaker, Host, NxBizSuccess

President, OmegaPointMarketing


Which is Best: Nimble or Powerful

Posted on | August 10, 2009 | No Comments

Given the state of our economy right now, would you rather be a very small company or a very large company? When I interview small business  owners and advisors on NBS (NxBizSuccess.com), I wonder how they would  adapt to this turbulent situation if they were running GE, for  instance. Would they fare any better than Jeff Immelt, who has a very  
drawn look on his face these days?If you’re small, you should be extra-nimble. It should be easier to  test a new product than if you are a large company. But large  companies have resources. Industry association leaders pay extra  attention to them, so they hear about new trends faster than their  small competitors. For instance, P&G has created a world wide  ‘innovation network,’ linking them to scientists, cool hunters and  even street vendors around the world. This allows them to pick and  choose among cutting edge trends as they emerge on the fringe of  society.

If you had maximum freedom, would you choose to run a biggie – where  established practices would slow you down, but you might eventually  make a huge difference – or a start up, where you may toil forever in  obscurity, no matter how good your leadership or product is?

Weigh in! Join the NBS blog community and make a difference right  here, right now.

Lynn Hinderaker, Host, NxBizSuccess video training series

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