Starting Wednesday, April 27, Verizon is starting a new Verizon Author Series created to connect bestselling authors with their target audiences—small businesses across the country. The monthly live webinar will take place at the Verizon Small Business Center. Each month, each author will offer advice, tips and insights on what makes a successful small business. First on the agenda is Alan Gregerman, author of Surrounded by Geniuses, this Wednesday, followed by a live tweeting event on Thursday, April 28. Also, a limited number of books will be given away to business owners who interact with the Verizon Small Business team. Check the site for upcoming authors, times and more details.
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Posts Tagged ‘Events’
Small Biz Resource Tip: ConferenceHound.com
April 1st, 2011 :: Maria Valdez HaubrichLooking to attend or send an employee to an industry conference for networking and education? Check out ConferenceHound.com, a free online arena that has more than 45,000 searchable listings of conferences around the world. With an available mobile platform and integrated social media platforms such as LinkedIn and Twitter, attendees can base their choices on factors such as topic, who’s speaking, location and even weather and attractions (in case you’re trying to combine the conference with a little R&R). And if you have an event to promote, ConferenceHound.com is a great marketing tool.
Google+Start a Networking Event—Especially if You Hate Networking
March 9th, 2011 :: Monika Jansen
Though this advice may seem counter-intuitive, if you hate networking events, start one.
Starting your own event will greatly expand your marketing reach, especially as word-of-mouth spreads and past attendees bring new ones. In time, you should be able to cut down on the number of events you attend—maybe all the way down to zero.
While it is preferable to start an event with someone else to leverage both of your contact lists (and to have someone help shoulder the burden), it is not necessary.
There are many factors to consider when starting an event. Here’s a basic list to get you going:
1. Timing
Monthly or quarterly. If you hold your event less than quarterly, no one will take it seriously.
Day or evening. You can have a breakfast, lunch or happy hour event, though of the many people I know, they prefer either breakfast or after work/happy hour. Mid-day events just break up the work day too much.
Day of the week. Monday and Friday events are rare, which can be a good thing or a bad thing. Because so few events are held those days, you are more likely to get people’s attention. However, because of long weekends—either due to holidays or vacation—people might not be around.
2. Cost
Free. My favorite event is free, and it draws a fun, high-quality crowd.
Cover. Even if you are not serving a meal, you can still charge just to attend. Many Chambers of Commerce do this, though they serve free wine and appetizers donated by a member company.
Meal. If your event will include a meal, it’s OK to mark it up to earn a little cashola.
3. Location
Hotel. From the Ritz-Carlton to a Hyatt to a B&B, I’ve been to, or know of, events held at a full range of accommodations. I would just avoid the budget hotels.
Restaurant. Restaurants usually will offer drink specials, free appetizers and/or a raffle prize.
Bar. Hold your event at a bar, and you will attract a really fun crowd. Is it any wonder my favorite events are held in the bars of restaurants?
Country club. Sounds tony, doesn’t have to be.
4. Invite List
Exclusivity. Will your invitation be open to everyone, or will it be by invitation only?
Industries. You can invite people from all industries, or stick to a specific one, like marketing/PR/advertising, technology startups, IT, government contractors, nonprofits, etc.
Job level/position. I know of some events that are for C-level or women-owned businesses only.
5. Marketing
E-newsletter. Send out an e-newsletter two or three weeks before the event to remind people why they should come, what they can expect, where it’s held, what time it begins, and how much it costs or if they need to register. If you feature a speaker, are expecting a special guest or will hold a raffle, mention that as well. Send out reminders one week and one day before the event.
Social media. You can also push out information and reminders on Facebook and Twitter.
Registration. If you are charging for the event, you will need to offer a way to pay. All of the event organizers I know use EventBrite.
6. Event Organization
There are so many things you can include or exclude from your event. Here’s a partial list:
- Check-in
- Name tags
- Prizes
- Speakers
- Fundraising for a local charity
Image by Flickr user Quinn Dombrowski (Creative Commons)
Google+Small Biz Resource Tip: America’s Small Business Summit
February 28th, 2011 :: Maria Valdez Haubrich
America’s Small Business Summit
Whether you’re looking to learn something new, network with other entrepreneurs or use your voice to help change small business legislation, America’s Small Business Summit in Washington, DC, will be the place to be May 23-25, 2011. Attend workshops on a variety of small business topics and listen to speakers such as former SBA Administrator Hector Barreto and Coupons.com founder Steven Boal. Plus find out this year’s winner of the Dream Big Small Business of the Year Award, sponsored by Sam’s Club. Be sure to take advantage of the events’ many networking opportunities. Register now and receive a discount on registration fees.
Google+What’s New at Network Solutions
December 7th, 2010 :: Shashi BellamkondaThis December, Network Solutions has a few great opportunities to help you take your small business to the next level. In addition our leadership tweet chat with Terry Starbucker, we have some fantastic online deals for you this holiday season. Read on!
Leadership for Small Biz Tweet Chat Dec. 9 with Terry Starbucker (@starbucker)
If you are a small business owner, you need to read Terry Starbucker’s blog, Ramblings from a Glass Half Full. From hiring, to firing, and everything in between, Terry offers sound advice to help hone your leadership skills with executable tactics. For a quick look, check out last week’s post on Solutions are Power where we re-capped some of his recent articles. We are so fortunate to be hosting Terry as guest tweeter for our upcoming #netsol small biz tweet chat.
Register on Eventbrite: http://netsolleadership.eventbrite.com/
Here are the details:
Who: Terry Starbucker, top leadership speaker and blogger
What: #netsol tweetchat, just log into twitter or tweet chat and follow the hashtag, #netsol
When: December 9, 1-2:30 pm EST
Where: Twitter
Why: To understand how to be a more effective leader, and to answer the following questions and more:
- How do I become a leader instead of a micro-manager?
- As a leader, how can I be an effective communicator?
- How do I increase my odds of hiring someone worthwhile?
- What are some simple non-verbal tactics I can use to become a better leader?
Image courtesy of Terry Starbucker
We all know what December means… It’s time for the holidays. Here at Network Solutions, we are big into giving too, and this year we are especially giving thanks for our Facebook fans. Facebook is one of our favorite ways to engage with you, our customers, and hear your small business success stories.
Network Solutions is offering exciting deals to get your Web presence moving forward, and they all start on Facebook. We are encouraging you to join our small business conversations on Facebook with some fantastic offers:
- $1.95 Domain names—to redeem, visit www.facebook.com/networksolutions and click on the Offer tab
- $1,000 Network Solutions Gift Certificate Sweepstakes—the grand prize winner will be able to boost his/her Web presence with $1,000 worth of Network Solutions tools and resources.
- 5 additional winners will receive Network Solutions “Large” Hosting packages.
- To enter, visit www.facebook.com/networksolutions and click the Sweepstakes Tab.
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Tech, Business and Magic – Small Business Technology Summit 2010 Recap
March 30th, 2010 :: Steven Fisher
This month Shashi and I were asked to speak at the Small Business Tech Summit in New York City. There were many great speakers as you can see from the agenda. I have had a small business for 10 years and I learned a few new things which is why I like Ramon’s event so much. They keep it relevant, have good content and with Ramon’s trademark delivery never let it get dull. The summit had over 500 folks registered and you can see the details of the conference at http://www.smallbiztechsummit.com. You can follow the conversation on Twitter by searching the conference hashtag #smallbizsummit
Highlight: Seth Godin Keynote
Image via Wikipedia
This year they had Seth Godin keynote in the afternoon and I have to tell you that for never having seen him speak I can see why people pay lots of money to have him at their event and why he sells tons of books. He is that good. Granted, all of his books I haven’t liked or they just didn’t speak to me personally but I have to admit his one hour delivery that centered around his new book Linchpin (which we just reviewed yesterday) it was really informative and entertaining.
He took the audience through an informative set of info graphics and distilled being a linchpin when he described Marissa Mayer at Google. From his book “If you could write Marissa’s duties into a manual, you wouldn’t need her. But the minute you wrote it down, it wouldn’t be accurate anyway. That’s the key. She solves problems that people haven’t predicate, see things people haven’t seen and connects people who need to be connected. She is a linchpin.”
For more on his book, check out our book review of Seth’s Godin’s Lichpin.
Highlight: Small Business Tech Hot Demos
This year they had something new to fill the space between speakers and that was the Small Business Tech Hot Demos. These were new or existing companies that had a really hot technology that would benefit any small business owner. The winners were:
Broadlook Mobile Profiler
http://www.broadlook.com/products/profilerx/
Automatically acquire accurate and more information about your contacts from the Internet, in particular social networks.
Ez Texting
http://www.eztexting.com
Send SMS (text) messages to customers (clients). Send to 10 clients or 500 clients. Send to all or a segmented groups.
Lexmark Pinnacle Pro901
http://www.lexmark.com
One of the first printers with customizable applications
SugarSync for Business
http://www.sugarsync.com
Synchronize files or folders, instantly, across computers or mobile devices
ReTargeter
http://www.retargeter.com
Display online advertising in front of customers when they visit other popular web sites, after they’ve left your web site.
Pixability Business Video
http://pixability.com
Take video footage of your business. Send it to Pixability for creation of a professional video about your business.
Highlight: Meeting Awesome People
This year there were about 500 people and it was bigger than last year with great small business owners and those who work with small business
We met some great folks at the event and here is a list of some of them:
- Stephanie Singer of http://www.bajdesign.com @bajdesign
- Darcey howard http://www.getlifestyled.com
- Mark Grahan Rightsleeve.com
- Melton Littlepage concurbreeze.com
- Norman Schreiber normanschreiber.com
- Laurie McCabe smb-group.com @lauriemccabe
- Anne Lupton SandHillWebsiteDesign.com
- Tom O’ Shea Waspbarcode.com
- Brian Moran smallbusinessedge.com
- Mel Parker dell.com
- Alec Stern ConstantContact.com
- Prasad Thammineni OfficeDrop.com
- Land Grant growsthroots.com
- Jimmy Izquierdo RNS Marketing Inc ( advise – put your website on your card
- Dion P Kenney y2strategic.com
- Bill Manos favrav.com
- Kelley A Cox uschamber.com
- Lady from Jojo’s Jewels ( wish the website was listed on the card)
- Sri Narayana Bupan drugwrite.com
- Jagannath Raghavan 8kmiles.com
- Sara Ruh TecAccess.com
- Sylvester J Di Diego StrategyDynamix.com
- Joshua Newman Integrateny.com
Highlight: The Swami Presents his Great Social Media Presentation
Here is the presentation Shashi Bellamkonda gave at the Small Business Tech Summit New York March 16th 2010.
Social Media Tools in Small Business at Small Business Summit
View more presentations from Network Solutions – Domains, Hosting & Free Website.
Highlight: Learning How to Create Killer Business Cards
I had the opportunity to present my 2010 edition of the 10 Rules for Killer Business Cards. Here it is, from Slideshare, below for your viewing and amusement. Would love to hear your feedback and thoughts on the do’s and don’ts of business cards.
10 Rules for Killer Business Cards 2010 EditionView more presentations from Steven Fisher.
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Unintentional Entrepreneur Event in Atlanta with Network Solutions
July 22nd, 2009 :: Steven FisherMany of you might not have heard of a new blog from Network Solutions called the Unintentional Entrepreneur. The Unintentional Entrepreneur is focused on providing tips and advice on accounting and finance for small business owners. They also are starting events around the country called, you guessed it - The Unintentional Entrepreneur. Here are the details for the Atlanta event coming up on Wednesday July 15, 2009:
Unintentional Entrepreneur: Atlanta
The 3rd stop of a 5 city tour of the Unintentional Entrepreneur will make its way to Atlanta on 7-28. The sponsor of the event, Network Solutions, is introducing small business owners and prospective entrepreneurs to the available resources and tools that they can take advantage of right now to be successful in today’s economic environment.
Network Solutions helps small business owners achieve their goals by providing tools and resources to start, grow, and manage their businesses online. Network Solutions has been involved with the Internet since its inception and leverages this experience and expertise to help businesses succeed in an increasingly digital world. Randy Windsor, director of Online Marketing at Network Solutions, will speak about noticeable trends that small businesses are using online today to get the most out of the web.
Also speaking on July 28, Brent Leary, Co-founder and Partner of CRM Essentials LLC, a Customer Relationship Management consulting/advisory firm, will focus on small and mid-size enterprises. He hosts the Technology for Business Sake program, which airs on Business Talk 1160AM andwww.BusinessTechnologyRadio.com. His popular blog can be found at www.brentleary.com.
Technology For Business Sake is a radio program aimed specifically at those small business folks who are trying to understand the technology maze and figure out what tools, services and applications can help make them more productive and profitable.
Network Solutions has enlisted the help of the Gwinnett County Chamber of Commerce to host this event. Their state of the art educational room will comfortably fit 150 attendees. The event will take place between 4:00 and 7:00 at 6500 Sugarloaf Parkway, Duluth GA. Pizza, beer and soft drinks will be served during the event to registered participants. Limited space is available for this event. Please register by 7-27 at http://ueatl.eventbrite.com.
For more information contact Tony Casteel, local marketing manager, Network Solutions at 770-309-4154, or by e-mail at tony.casteel@networksolutions.com
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