Bella's Cookies bakes up a new kind of business and I love it, not because I love cookies, who doesn't but by differentiating itself through "green and organic" processes that appeal to the current and future clientele. This is an interesting study in how to market and advertise your new or existing business by focusing on a new, fresh, organic or green way of delivering services or products. Bella's Cookies is telling story that parallels current consumer trends and leverages business processes into marketing and advertising strengths. The story appearing in the DelMarvaNow!, "Bella's...


Read More

This will be my second expansion during a recession and there is no better time to start or build a business. You'll be smarter, leaner and ready to really grow when the clouds clear and the rest of the business world starts to grow. In the NY Daily News article, "Small business start-ups that blossum amid the recession," by Phyliss Furman gives a good look at businesses that blossom during this recession. It took being laid off twice in six months for Judy Goss to decide to launch her own business. Despite the risks, Goss chose to start a business development firm in February after she got consecutive...


Read More

I truly believe that anyone can do anything. If they put their mind and passion into the process of learning that skill. Ted.com featured Tim Ferriss while speaking at EG Conference on just that subject, here's a link to his speech. From the EG conference: Productivity guru Tim Ferriss' fun, encouraging anecdotes show how one simple question -- "What's the worst that could happen?" -- is all you need to learn to do anything. Tim Ferriss is author of bestseller The 4-Hour Workweek, a self-improvement program of four steps: defining aspirations, managing time, creating automatic income and escaping...


Read More

I don't care about "no stinking recession," it's hands down one of the best times to start a business because on the back side of any recession sits growth, be there for the upward growth path. Do it by advertising, marketing,promoting and selling your product or service aggressively during the rough times. You'll benefit from this outside the box thinking and effort.  "PR Pros Offer Recession Strategies for Independent Business Owners," appearing in Advertising Industry Newswire written by Carly Z. I wish, I could say something more than Carly wrote but I think she sums it up pretty well.   With...


Read More

How many businesses start each year, lots. But very few spend even a few moment cultivating a plan. Or asking the question, do I want to run a business and take full responsibilities? Acting as a technical expert in my field, managing a business and most important taking on the role of euntrepenuer. The role of the eutrepenuer is the most over looked and the most important, because there is only one person who can grow and develop your business, that's you, the owner. You're the chief salesmen, marketer, advertising executive and general PR guru. This article, "Starting a Small Business" from CBS News...


Read More

Three years ago, I switched from operating PC's to Macs and never looked back. Why? Because I got tired of my PC crashing and constantly downloading "fixes" that ended up conflicting with software that I had previously loaded. To put it simply, I was feed up and bought a Mac Mini for the specific purpose of running a program called "FlightCheck by MarkzWare." Now I'm running, four mac plus xserve in my business and have never been happier. Check out this article, "New Apple Ads Ignore Price Wars, Focus on Business," in PCWorld. Apple released four new ads in its "Get a Mac" campaign that...


Read More

That's what they're getting, with the new hire Carol Bartz. Any company that says their leader is a taskmaster worries me, because you can't lead through bully and strong-arm-tactics. This isn't leadership, it's a dictatorship and in the end - fails. Now, I can say one thing for sure, Yahoo, has lately been a complete failure and starting in a new direction with such a limited and limiting viewpoint is destined for failure. Here's a few excerpts from Fortune Magazine article, "Yahoo's Taskmaster" by Jon Fortt. Carol Bartz is shrewd, strong-minded, blunt, and disciplined. (Don't even think...


Read More

If newspapers die, what will all the blogger do for content? The list of famous blogs and sites that get all there content from news sources is amazing. What a business model. But if these original sources for content and news disappear from the media landscape, what will all the bloggers do for fresh and new content? Here's a great story, Want To Know Why Newspapers Are Dying? from TechDirt which is a look at the Maureen Dowd article "Dinosaurs at the Gate"  and now my two cents. In her recent New York Times op-ed, Maureen Dowd takes aim at Google, blaming it for the sorry state of the newspaper...


Read More

Who doesn't  love an UnCONFERENCE especially a Creative UnConference.       Can I UnATTEND with my UnTICKET? Who's with me? It's in NYC and everybody loves a good trip to the big apple. Here's a few of the topics to be UnCovered at the UnCONFERENCE; smartphone tech, shifting media landscape, students entering ad workforce, current economic effect on digital media and social networks branding. The One Show Creative unConference will take place in New York for two days (May 7 & 8) marking the first time ever that the advertising community in New York has hosted this hip and unique...


Read More

If you're a 'creative' like me and you run a business, we're always looking for ways to improve our businesses and creative skills, at the same time. Here's a workshop in Greensboro , NC area just for you, take a look: Seminars target arts enterpreneurship - The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area An educational workshop series called “Entrepreneurship for Creatives” will help artists and others find ways to turn their creativity into viable businesses, according to an announcement from the Piedmont Triad Partnership. The Partnership is working with the United Arts Council...


Read More