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December 18, 2004
Don Wehbey of the Arizona Department of Economic Security shared information about Labor Market Information (LMI), explaining where to get it and how to use it. If you're looking for statistical information to develop or update your business plan or to develop new marketing strategies, you'll find everything your looking for at http://www.workforce.az.gov/. Beginning next month, Don will be a regular guest on our show. Don will open each show discussing the latest data and giving his expert analysis.
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Do you listen to your market? Mitch Glasser of Glasser Research discussed how to use surveys, interviews, focus groups, and pilot tests as "decision insurance."
Mitch Glasser with Beth & Monica
November 20, 2004
Maximize Your Publicity
, Principal of Maximize Your Publicity (623-572-8201) shared her tips for publicity success. Julia gave us great tips for creating publicity and news worthy business events. Among her suggestions were to look for opportunities to nominate you, your employees, or your company for an award. If you're not comfortable nominating yourself, ask one of your best friends to sign the application. Next, volunteer your time at a non-profit agency or serve on the Board of Directors for a non-profit agency. You can find a wide variety of non-profit organizations to consider by visiting the Arizona Community Foundation web site. These activities allow you to give back to the community while working with other influential business owners. Put together a Press Kit to share with reporters. Here are a few ideas for items to include:
Business Etiquette
We had a lively discussion on how to best use your business manner with our guest, , owner of the Protocol School of Phoenix. Ms. von Hellens explained her programs and gave our listeners tips on how to overcome various business situations.? Tips shared for business luncheons included the following list of advice:
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Visit the restaurant first to scope things out
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Request a table that will be conducive to your business lunch, and make sure you're not given a table by the kitchen
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Prepay the bill by giving the restaurant your credit card information ahead of time
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When entertaining your client, ask them if they would like a drink or appetizers. If they order a drink, you should refrain from drinking. If your guest orders an appetizer, you should enjoy the item with your guest, even if you are dieting.
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Match meals, if your guest orders a very expensive meal, so should you.
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Keep topics of conversation off of health, religion, politics, etc.
You can learn more about the many programs offered by the Protocol School of Phoenix by visiting their web site, or by calling 602-957-0928.
October 16, 2004
The Shy Writer, by C. Hope Clark
C. Hope Clark, author of The Shy Writer, joined the show to discuss her new book and to give tips to business owners on how to get comfortable writing. Additionally, Hope shared valuable resources for self-publishing, print-on-demand services, grant writing, and partnering with non-profit agencies.
Hope recommended using E-books as a marketing tool in business. They are inexpensive to produce, are easy to download from a web site, and can produce a revenue stream if sold on the web site. Visit Hope's primary web site, www.GrantsforWriters.com for more information.
Resource Links
E-Book Publishing resource link
Print-on-Demand resource link
Non-Profit Partnerships for fiscal agent relationship
Dee Power and Brian Hill
Also featured on the show were Dee Power and Brian Hill, authors of several books and the founders of Profit Dynamics, Inc., a research and consulting firm that assists in the preparation and review of business plans. Dee and Brian shared their experiences and offered tips on writing everything from newsletters and reports to best sellers. For more information about Dee & Brian, visit www.brianhillanddeepower.com.
Resource Links
www.CapitalConnection.com - business resources
www.inktip.com - resources for motion picture scripts
September 18, 2004
Using Purchasing as a Strategic Weapon!
We had a very interesting and action packed hour discussion with our guest on this topic, , President of Southwest Outsource Purchasing. Joanne is licensed as a Certified Purchasing Manager and has a B.S. in Supply Chain Management from Arizona State University. With 15 years of corporate experience in all aspects of materials management and supply chain logistics, Joanne has taken her expertise to smaller businesses to help them achieve significant cost savings and superior supplier relationships to boost their bottom lines.
Joann discussed strategies for analyzing your annual buying habits and leveraging average annual purchasing quantities when negotiating with vendors. Joanne encouraged small business owners to change their consumer buying approach to a more strategic business buyer's perspective.
Collect Your Accounts Receivables
John Sabol of DSO Solutions, Inc shared information and tips on how to effectively collect on overdue receivables. John's company assists small business owners with collections. If you missed the show, you'll want to contact John to find out more about DSO Solutions - you can turn over your collectables to DSO and you'll pay nothing unless they are able to recover payment from your delinquent client. DSO can be reached at 602-279-9733.
Oh, and if you're wondering about the cute cuddly guy John is holding here in the photo, that's the station's newest star....by golly, we can't remember his name...but he sure is a cute little guy!
Background Checks
Steve Arruda of AccuSearch
shared why it is important to conduct background
checks on those you consider hiring to work
for your company.
Steve gave examples of companies who suffered
?embarrassing publicity when information about
their employees was exposed.
You may reach Steve at 602-249-3466 x204
to learn more about his company's services
and to understand how to select the right
consumer reporting agency to assist you
in gathering background information.
August 21, 2004
Our? Guest for the August show included & Cohen of the Valley Barter Group (VBG). Bartering is a great tool for start-up and existing businesses. Through bartering groups such as the VBG, companies can preserve cash flow by using barter credits to procure a wide range of business services such as graphic & web design, printing, accounting & legal services, print and multi-media advertising and many, many more!? By using a professional bartering company, you take the headaches out of tracking and recordkeeping. You'll also extend the possibilities of successful bartering by having access to companies across the country who are willing to barter for business!
, owner of Digital Art by Robert Smith, a small business providing professional commercial and family photography services joined the barter conversation and shared how bartering has helped his business grow.
?Robert has been contacted by people in Florida and outside of Arizona who found him through the bartering directory. Robert uses a mix of bartering and cash for some of the jobs he is hired for through VBG, this allows him to offer bartering while also covering hard costs associated with professional photography.
Click here to download a PDF listing barter Categories
Click here to download FAQ on bartering.
SAVE 50% on your barter membership!?
That's right!? VBG is offering Beth & Monica's listeners 50% off of the standard $250 membership fee. Thanks to Catherine and Barry for their generous offer!? to email the VBG to sign up for your discounted membership today.
Our final guest was from the Phoenix Workforce Connection project. His department works collaboratively with the Arizona Workforce Connection and Maricopa Workforce Connection to bring employer and job development programs to Arizona employers.
The Arizona Workforce Connection and Small Business: A Connection That Makes
Good Business Sense, a seminar and business expo for small business owners, will be 8 - 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 1, at the Heard Museum, Steele Auditorium, 2301 N. Central Ave.
Hosted by the Arizona Workforce Connection and Arizona Small Business Association,
the complimentary event will feature U.S. Congressman J. D. Hayworth as the keynote speaker, who will offer information on federal legislation that may effect small businesses.
A panel discussion will follow featuring Tom Fraker, executive director, Arizona Small Business Association; Michal Goforth, executive director, The HealthCare Group of Arizona; Roberto Franco, director, city of Phoenix Community and Economic Development Department; and Donald J. Smith Jr., CEO and president, Arizona Compensation Fund.
The panel will discuss accessing valuable resources and services available to small businesses and offer up-to-date legislation that may affect how small businesses do business and networking opportunities. Darcy Renfro, assistant deputy director, Arizona Department of Commerce, will facilitate the panel discussion.
Following the seminar, attendees are invited to attend a Business-to-Business Expo with more than 15 exhibitors. The focus of the expo is to promote awareness and increased use of workforce development and small business services, programs and products.
To register, call 602-506-4201 or visit www.maricopaworkforceconnection.com.
Our Newest Team Member
We also welcomed our newest team member, Eric Stein who is providing engineering and technical assistance to the Beth & Monica Small Business Marketplace. Eric did a terrific job running the boards and taking calls for our show. Way to go Eric and welcome aboard.
July 17, 2004
Our July show covered information on employment- related issues.
We discussed the value of using a PEO company to lease employees with , Sales Manager for AER Employee Solutions, Inc. ?Eric explained how his company and PEO companies in general provide relief from time consuming payroll and HR functions to businesses with 10-200 employees.
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Our next guest was , President of JRF Human Resource Solutions. Judith discussed her recommendations for preparing for and conducting employee interviews. Among her recommendations was to develop open-ended questions. She also recommended using the same questions for each candidate being interviewed for a position. Utilizing a consistent interview process and clearly documenting your activities and the information provided help to ensure you have a legally defensible interview. Judith provides hourly consulting and project-based consulting to businesses not quite large enough to have a dedicated HR director/manager. You may contact Judith directly at 602-432-5292.
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Our final guest was , CPC and CEO of Pearson & Associates. Chuck shared information on his company's latest initiative, VC Prime. This is a newly launched web portal that utilizes a proprietary process to build a profile of job candidate talents and performance-related soft skills for job seekers. The system then uses the personality-related information to continually search for job and candidate matches.
Anyone can go to the site and sign up for the personality test and to be matched with potential opportunities. The best part is, the service is free to job seekers and puts them in complete control of their information being sent to potential employers!? Chuck can be reached directly at 480-368-9100.
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June 19, 2004
In June we covered topics of interest to non-profit organizations. Our guests included Patrick McWhortor, Chief Executive Officer NPower AZ, an organization involved in bringing technology to the non-profit sector.
Patrick explained that NPower AZ was organized throughout 2002 with help from the national NPower organization and a grant from the Microsoft Foundation. Local professionals from the non-profit and technology communities volunteered their time and expertise to make NPower Arizona a reality.
NPower Arizona was incorporated in January 2003 as a non-profit organization. It is now an Affiliate of the NPower National Network, a national service and knowledge sharing community dedicated to providing technology services to non-profits, now being unveiled in major cities across the country.
You can learn more about NPower AZ by visiting their web site, www.npoweraz.org.
We also had a Valley expert on non-profit management, as a guest. Mike covered so much ground in the 30-40 minutes we interviewed him it was hard to take notes!?
Mike recommended several resources to non-profit organizations including:
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The Non-Profit Communicators Association
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ONE Organization of Non-profit Executives
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Arizona Council of Human Services Providers
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Non-profit Public Relations Group
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CharityChannel.com
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Arizona State University
at 602-285-9068 for more information and resources!
, a non-profit marketing consultant with over over twenty-five years of marketing, communications and business administration experience in corporate and non-profit arenas presented "Marketing: The Profit Factor."
Maxine shared her perspective on marketing strategies for Non-profit organizations. She shared the following tip list for low-cost marketing strategies:
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Contact your local radio and TV stations to find out if you can utilize their allocated public service announcement times.
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Offer some type of give-away to a radio station
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Hold an Open House
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Solicit testimonials from those you have provided services to and use them in your marketing materials
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Network with other Non-profit and For-profit organizations and companies
You can contact Maxine directly by calling 480-556-9937.
May 15, 2004
Our May show focused on legal concerns for small business. Among our guests were a corporate attorney, an intellectual property attorney, and representatives from Pre-paid Legal Services.
| Corporate Legal Issues with Hal Mack, Attorney at Law
Harold Mack is a sole practitioner attorney specializing in business law for individuals and small to medium-sized companies. Hal shared information about C-Corporations, S-Corporations, LLC's, General and Limited Partnerships as well as common issues facing small business owners.
Intellectual Property with Ray Harris
chairs the Intellectual Property Practice Group at Fennemore Craig, PC, and practices in the area of commercial litigation, including trade secret, trademark, patent, computer software copyright, and other IP protection matters. Ray suggested utilizing the www.uspto.gov web site to do a "knock out" search for registered trade names or pending applications.
Ray shared his knowledge and expertise and educated us on what intellectual property consists of, and gave us tips and strategies for protecting our business.
Affordable Legal Protection with Prepaid Legal Services
with Prepaid Legal Services and her partner , ?offer resources that will help protect and grow a business, from home-based to medium-sized companies. Nadine and Rob explained how Prepaid Legal Services provides families and businesses access to affordable legal services.
Nadine also discussed how her company is leading the way to helping you protect yourself and your business from identity theft.
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