September 2, 2009 by ccplscnc
This interesting piece from Yahoo Business:
“With roughly 6.7 million jobs lost since the start of the recession, it’s tempting — and often a great idea — to launch your own business…The problem: Many would-be entrepreneurs are drawn to businesses they like to patronize or the ones that are cheapest and easiest to start. Instead, experts argue, aspiring entrepreneurs should create firms in which they have professional experience so they have a competitive advantage in the market…”
Read more: http://techstartups.blogspot.com/2009/08/yahoo-7-most-overrated-businesses.html
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August 25, 2009 by ccplbusiness
Haven’t you wondered how the media chooses which stories to air? Wouldn’t you like to know the answer so you can have a shot at getting some coverage for your organization?
If so, you’ll definitely want to join us for lunch at the Small Business & Nonprofit Networking Lunch next week on Wednesday, September 2nd! Learn from the masters as local broadcast and print journalists explain how news decisions are made and give tips on how your organization or business can get its story in the news and stand out from the competition.
Panelists include WCBD-TV2 anchor Carolyn Murray, Post and CourierFeatures Editor Stephanie Harvin, and Moultrie News reporter Helen Ravenel. Bring a brown bag lunch & an eagerness to learn from the pros!
When: Wednesday, September 2nd from 11:45 AM to 1:15 PM
Where: Main Library Auditorium, 68 Calhoun Street
If you have questions about the program, email us at askaquestion@ccpl.org or call us at 805-6930.
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August 21, 2009 by ccplbusiness
Okay, so you wouldn’t think that new books are a noteworthy event in the library. And you’d be right. New stuff comes in regularly, but thanks to a recent change in our workflow, I can see the new business books just before they hit the shelves! Here are a couple of things that caught my eye this week that you might like, too. Click the cover to hop over to our online catalog & reserve a copy!
 Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success by Dan Schawbel |
 The Mobile Marketing Handbook: A Step-By-Step Guide to Creating Dynamic Mobile Marketing Campaigns by Kim Dushinski |
 Inside the Mind of a Shopper by Herb Sorensen |
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August 12, 2009 by ccplbusiness
TINSTAFFL: There Is No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.
Anyone remember this from Economics 101? Basically, it means that in economics, you’re just not going to get something for nothing.
Even when you’re doing something that appears free (you attended a free business event at the Library, for example), it wasn’t really free. Tax dollars or donations funded the library, the meeting space, the equipment, the time of the presenter, the staff people who planned the program, promoted it, and set up the room and broke it down again when the program was done. If you consider these costs, the program just wasn’t really free .
This principle is true for starting a business as well. Despite what you may have heard, there simply isn’t grant money sitting around waiting for people who are starting a business to fill out a form and claim it.
Don’t just take it from me! A colleague shared a great blog with me today, called Free Money Ate My Brain. The blogger, Linda, is a librarian in Ohio who is tired of the urban legends and misconceptions out there about free money to start a business (among other things) that just refuses to die. The nice part about her blog is that she also shares any real free stuff programs or grants for business or individuals that she runs across. Cool stuff!
Remember, the truth is out there (www.grants.gov & www.cfda.gov make nice starting places if you’re trying to find it) , but as Linda says, “If money was easy to get, wouldn’t more people have it?”
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August 3, 2009 by ccplbusiness
Don’t forget! The Small Business and Nonprofit Networking Lunch meets this Wednesday, August 5th, from 11:45 to 1:15 PM!
This month we’re featuring a killer topic: 5 Marketing Mistakes That Will Kill Your Organization.
Dialing in on your customers or donors will increase the effectiveness of your three most valuable assets: Time, Money, and Energy. Marketing expert Chris Cooper will direct a planning session businesses and nonprofits can use to extend their brand and reach their goals. Bring your brown bag lunch for this networking and learning opportunity.
Our speaker Chris Cooper, is a former Executive Vice President at market research boutique America’s Research Group, where he participated in more than 400 custom market research studies. Chris has helped all kinds of companies from large manufacturing firms to startups and nonprofit organizations understand and reach their potential customers and donors.
When: Wednesday, August 5th from 11:45 AM to 1:15 PM
Where: Main Library, 68 Calhoun Street
You do not have to register to attend.
For more information, call the Reference Department at 805-6930 or email us at askaquestion@ccpl.org.
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July 7, 2009 by ccplbusiness
As of this month, the library’s Networking Night for Entrepreneurs is no more. In it’s place, though, is a very exciting project that we think will be of great value to the local community.
Misty Jones, our Foundation Center coordinator for the past few years, started a great Nonprofit Networking Lunch series a couple of months ago. She and I regularly compared notes on the business and nonprofit communities here in town, and we had talked about how great it would be to hold a joint networking event for small businesses and nonprofits. From our perspectives, we could see that nonprofits and small businesses share many concerns and could benefit from getting to know the other community better.
Well, we’re getting our wish in a really happy way!
Misty has become the manager of the St. Andrews Regional Library in the West Ashley area where I began my public library career 11 years ago. Since she is leaving her post as the Foundation Center coordinator for CCPL, we decided that now is the perfect time to merge CCPL’s two networking events.
We invite you to bring a bag lunch and join us this Thursday at 11:45 A.M. for the first Small Business and Nonprofit Networking Lunch. Each month, we’ll have a speaker who will address a topic of interest to both nonprofits and the small business community. Our first presentation will be What Is News: How To Make Your Organization’s Story Newsworthy. Jamie Thomas will share tips on how to tell your organization’s story so it catches the eyes of newsmakers. With a 24-hour news cycle, it’s essential to know how to make your story more relevant and timely. Jamie is currently the Library’s Public Relations/Marketing Manager. She has 28 years experience in public relations, marketing and news reporting. She joined CCPL in 2005 after 15 years as PR director for Charleston County Government. We hope to see you there!
What: Small Business and Nonprofit Networking Lunch
When: Thursday, July 9th from 11:45 to 1:15 PM
Where: Main Library Auditorium, 68 Calhoun St.
For more information, email us or call 805-6930.
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June 3, 2009 by ccplbusiness
It really pays to think carefully about naming any new product. Don’t think it’s all that big a deal? Here’s a great example of what we will call branding FAIL:
Microsoft is rebranding their search engine (again). The name this time? Bing. They tried to evoke the sound of a buzzer going off indicating that your search is “done.” What they really did, however, was to give Microsoft detractors a fabulous acronym:
But It’s Not Google.
More on the story from David Pogue’s article in The New York Times.
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