A New Twist On Neighborhood Coupon Packages: Get Rich Customer Data and Boost Revenue

We all know about coupons - we use them, our mothers used them and our grandmothers did too. We use them to get discounts on the things we want, love and need. For local businesses it’s a great way to drive more revenue into a local retail.

Welcomemat Services has a new twist on coupons - giving local businesses rich data about the customers in their area and helping them boost revenue from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars extra per customer per year.

Here’s how it works, based on Welcomemat Services’ press release:

After a customer uses a gift check, the business returns it to Welcomemat. The bar code is scanned and the resulting information is provided back to the business in an easy-to-read data sheet profiling the client’s new customers and providing demographics such as the customer’s name, gender, income level, neighborhood and home value. Welcomemat uses data from more than 35 sources to locate newcomer addresses.

New residents receive their Welcomemat package within 30 to 120 days of moving in, with offers for such things as $15 of free dry cleaning, complimentary haircuts or free car washes sent to hundreds of thousands of families across the country each year.

Providing local businesses access to highly qualified new customers moving into the area allows the business to develop and grow a regular, recurring customer base. Welcomemat founder, Brian Mattingly, says the next revolution in local marketing isn’t discounting, couponing or online group deal buying - where customers are only as loyal as the coupon’s expiration date - it’s loyalty programs.

If you’re a local business there’s so much opportunity to get new customers and keep the ones you have.

See all of our stories focused on local businesses here.

A New Twist On Neighborhood Coupon Packages: Get Rich Customer Data and Boost Revenue

We all know about coupons - we use them, our mothers used them and our grandmothers did too. We use them to get discounts on the things we want, love and need. For local businesses it’s a great way to drive more revenue into a local retail.

Welcomemat Services has a new twist on coupons - giving local businesses rich data about the customers in their area and helping them boost revenue from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars extra per customer per year.

Here’s how it works, based on Welcomemat Services’ press release:

After a customer uses a gift check, the business returns it to Welcomemat. The bar code is scanned and the resulting information is provided back to the business in an easy-to-read data sheet profiling the client’s new customers and providing demographics such as the customer’s name, gender, income level, neighborhood and home value. Welcomemat uses data from more than 35 sources to locate newcomer addresses.

New residents receive their Welcomemat package within 30 to 120 days of moving in, with offers for such things as $15 of free dry cleaning, complimentary haircuts or free car washes sent to hundreds of thousands of families across the country each year.

Providing local businesses access to highly qualified new customers moving into the area allows the business to develop and grow a regular, recurring customer base. Welcomemat founder, Brian Mattingly, says the next revolution in local marketing isn’t discounting, couponing or online group deal buying - where customers are only as loyal as the coupon’s expiration date - it’s loyalty programs.

If you’re a local business there’s so much opportunity to get new customers and keep the ones you have.

See all of our stories focused on local businesses here.

Microsoft Hack Attack: A Wake Up Call Not to Reuse Passwords

Late last week, Microsoft announced it had been a victim of the same kind of hacking attacks reported recently by Apple and Facebook, and earlier this month by Twitter.

No Customer Data Compromised

In a public statement on Friday on its Security Response Center blog, Microsoft insisted the scope of the attack was fairly limited.

Matt Thomlinson, General Manager of Trustworthy Computing Security, wrote:

“During our investigation, we found a small number of computers, including some in our Mac business unit, that were infected by malicious software using techniques similar to those documented by other organizations. We have no evidence of customer data being affected and our investigation is ongoing.”

While Microsoft, Apple and Facebook insist no customer data was accessed during recent attacks, Twitter cannot make that claim. And last year, social networking giant LinkedIn experienced a highly publicized hacking in which millions of user passwords were potentially leaked.

A Wake Up Call

We’ve reported recently about the potential security dangers small businesses face online. One of the greatest of these may be the compromise of company data when passwords held by third parties are accessed.

For small business owners and staff who may have literally dozens of accounts ranging from social media to cloud apps, to PayPal to bank accounts, examples like these breaches should be a wake-up call. Why Because of the dangers of something far too many users do: reuse of the same password across multiple accounts.

As Tom Espiner explained on ZDNet last July after a similar hack of Yahoo exposed the details of about 400,000 users, the real danger is how many other business accounts the hackers may have access to.

According to Espiner, 20 percent or one in five accounts compromised in the Yahoo breach matched the users’ Microsoft accounts â€" all thanks to password reuse.   So in other words, when one account’s login information is revealed, it is as if the cyber attacker suddenly has a key to get inside other accounts.

If your business maintains multiple sensitive accounts, be sure they do not use the same passwords and other login  information.   Also, change passwords regularly.

Intruders gaining entrance to one account could gain entrance to your financial accounts and cloud apps containing your customer data. That’s a more dire consequence for your business than a single social media account being hacked.

DHS cybersecurity boss pushes \'cyber 911\', new voluntary standards

SAN FRANCISCO -- One of the federal government's top cybersecurity officials has big plans for shoring up the nation's information security posture, including formalizing a "cyberattack 911" service and creating a new set of voluntary security standards for private companies.

When I was in the private sector, one thing I wanted more than anything else was if [the government] had threat info I need, I wanted to know that. We're going to fix that.

Mark Weatherford,
Department of Homeland Security

Mark Weatherford, deputy under secretary for cybersecurity at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), used his opening keynote at the Cloud Security Alliance Summit 2013, a precursor to the 2013 RSA Conference, to outline his strategy for using the capabilities and influence of DHS to improve national cybersecurity, particularly for organizations that manage critical infrastructure.

Weatherford said his group's four major responsibilities are: to oversee cybersecurity at federal civilian agencies; provide infosec support and best practices to critical infrastructure firms; coordinate cybersecurity attack response for major incidents in the private sector (like the recent distributed denial-of-service attacks against several financial companies); and engage in cybersecurity diplomacy and policymaking nationally and internationally.

Weatherford said one of the challenges he's faced in the 15 months he's been at DHS is that private sector organizations often don't know who to contact when they need urgent cybersecurity support from the government. However, he said that's about to change.

In part to support that goal, Weatherford said he reorganized his group within DHS into several teams with specific responsibilities, one of which is offering urgent support and ongoing outreach across the nation, especially to state and local governments, educating them about the cybersecurity resources available to them via DHS.

"We want to be that first call," during a cybersecurity emergency, Weatherford said. "If we can't deal with it, we'll get you to the right people to talk to."

DHS, NIST to work on new cybersecurity standards

Weatherford lauded President Obama's cybersecurity executive order, announced a few weeks ago during the annual state of the union address. He said one of the results of that order will be the creation of an up-to-date national framework for critical infrastructure firms that ties cybersecurity to physical security.

He said DHS is working closely with NIST to establish consensus-based standards, which will be voluntary for the private sector, and aimed at organizations that don't fall under an information security framework from another government agency.

"This is baseline stuff; stuff that most people are already doing, but not everybody," Weatherford said. "It still astounds me as I go around the country and I ask basic [cybersecurity] questions -- 'Do you do this' and I get blank stares."

Weatherford said the executive order will enhance cybersecurity information sharing within the government and the private sector. That will include more sharing of classified information -- like anti-malware signatures and countermeasures -- with select critical infrastructure companies, and provide a great volume of less-sensitive threat intelligence to a broader swath of private-sector companies.

"We get a lot of threat and vulnerability information, both from the private sector and around the globe, and oftentimes this stuff gets classified or put in a bucket, and doesn't get shared back with the private sector as quickly or efficiently as it should," Weatherford said. "When I was in the private sector, one thing I wanted more than anything else was if [the government] had threat info I [needed], I wanted to know that. We're going to fix that."

Part of that effort will include expediting security clearances for select cybersecurity stakeholders in critical infrastructure organizations so threat information that can't be declassified can still be shared when necessary, Weatherford said.

Addressing shortage of information security professionals

Weatherford lamented the shortage of trained, talented information security professionals in the industry, and challenged private-sector companies to support efforts to encourage high school students to pursue careers in cybersecurity.

"How often do you hear someone wants to grow up to be a cybersecurity professional Not too many kids want to grow up to be a hacker," Weatherford said. "I think that's changing, but it needs a national impetus to do so. Government and education need to work together to make it seem a little bit cooler so people gravitate toward it."

Weatherford encouraged companies to reach out to high schools to foster the creation and support of student cybersecurity programs, and to sponsor local teams competing in competitions like the National Collegiate Cybersecurity Challenge.

"The trivial amount of money it costs to sponsor one of those teams -- five, 10 or 20 thousand dollars -- you make back in spades," Weatherford said. "All you have to do is hire someone every year or two, and you are more than making that money back. It's good for the nation and good for your companies."

FISMA, FedRAMP enable government cloud use

Weatherford briefly touched on the potential of cloud computing, saying the cloud represents "the next great evolution of technology" and is changing the way many companies buy IT products and services. He said cloud computing is an important part of the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), and is being enabled by the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, or FedRAMP, the initiative to standardize the security requirements that cloud computing service providers must meet in order to be eligible to win contracts with government agencies.

Announced in 2011 and launched last year, FedRAMP was developed jointly by the GSA, Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security, and in consultation with several other government entities, including NIST. It is intended to be an on-ramp of sorts, helping government organizations speed up their drive toward cloud computing by reducing the time and cost of cloud provider security assessments. By using a FedRAMP-approved vendor, agencies can forego the time and effort of conducting their own security reviews.

However, so far only two vendors have received the FedRAMP seal of approval: Autonomic Resources and CGI Federal. Reportedly dozens of other vendors are undergoing the process.

Weatherford noted the importance of the new information security technologies being developed by cloud computing providers. "It's important to the government that you guys are developing the kinds of technology that'll leap us ahead as a nation."

An industry veteran, Weatherford earned his government stripes as CISO for the states of Colorado and California, and then took on the role of vice president and CSO at the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) before being appointed to his current position in 2011.

SearchCloudSecurity.com contributor Ed Moyle, founding partner of Amherst, N.H.-based consultancy SecurityCurve, said he enjoyed the talk but would have liked to hear more on the intersection between continuous cloud monitoring and cybersecurity in the federal space.

"There's this impetus to go out and find ways to monitor concrete things that tell us something about security; there's a whole [NIST] program built around this," Moyle said, "but what do you need to get from your cloud providers to do that What's the expectation for the [vendors] in this room"

Dear Local Business. It’s Your Time To Shine. So Many Services For You. Yiftee Debuts

It seems that ever since Google launched local service and local pages, small businesses have had a big opportunity to expand their presence in local search. Of course Yelp led the way in local business directories for years and is still a major player in the market, joining what seems like hundreds of other local business oriented services.

Yiftee is an app that’s recently launched, which enables customers to select a gift for someone, from a local business. Here’s how it works:

On your smart phone or web choose a gift at a local merchant, pick your friend, and pay for the gift. Your friend immediately gets the gift notice via Facebook, email, and/or text, along with a single use digital credit card and gift/merchant description. Your friend takes her phone to the merchant, shows the digital credit card, and gets her gift!

Like many apps and online services, Yiftee appears to be more of a solution that’s looking for a problem - just like Facebook was when it first came on board or many other services.

What’s the use for your business Yiftee hopes to drive a following of local customers to your business. The more customers use Yiftee to give small gifts to others, the more local business, your business will get.

You can’t get hurt from checking out this new service…so check it out.

Dear Local Business. It’s Your Time To Shine. So Many Services For You. Yiftee Debuts

It seems that ever since Google launched local service and local pages, small businesses have had a big opportunity to expand their presence in local search. Of course Yelp led the way in local business directories for years and is still a major player in the market, joining what seems like hundreds of other local business oriented services.

Yiftee is an app that’s recently launched, which enables customers to select a gift for someone, from a local business. Here’s how it works:

On your smart phone or web choose a gift at a local merchant, pick your friend, and pay for the gift. Your friend immediately gets the gift notice via Facebook, email, and/or text, along with a single use digital credit card and gift/merchant description. Your friend takes her phone to the merchant, shows the digital credit card, and gets her gift!

Like many apps and online services, Yiftee appears to be more of a solution that’s looking for a problem - just like Facebook was when it first came on board or many other services.

What’s the use for your business Yiftee hopes to drive a following of local customers to your business. The more customers use Yiftee to give small gifts to others, the more local business, your business will get.

You can’t get hurt from checking out this new service…so check it out.

Looking for Business Contacts LinkedIn Not Enough BizShark Might be for You.

Most of us use LinkedIn as our first source to identity, find and connect with business contacts. However, sometimes that’s not enough when you want more detailed information such as revenue, employees or a specific email address or phone number.

Check out a new service from Bizshark.

Simplicity of use and quick access are our top priorities for users,” said Bizshark’s managing director Daniel Banks. “We’re focused on helping the
person who is looking for the right contact and wants to get in touch quickly. We are confident our product will make it easy for business
professionals of all levels to spend less time researching and more time making deals.

According to their press release, the database of roughly 40 million business contacts and more than 14 million company listings is searchable by individual and company name as well as by email address. Bizshark’s easy-to-read contact profiles include title, department, phone number, and email information. Additional features include company revenue estimates and built-in company directories by department and geographical location.

You can try out  a limited free version or pay $29 - $90 a month for various levels of access.

Bizshark competes with Data.com (by Salesforce), Hooevers and other similar business databases.

Looking for Business Contacts LinkedIn Not Enough BizShark Might be for You.

Most of us use LinkedIn as our first source to identity, find and connect with business contacts. However, sometimes that’s not enough when you want more detailed information such as revenue, employees or a specific email address or phone number.

Check out a new service from Bizshark.

Simplicity of use and quick access are our top priorities for users,” said Bizshark’s managing director Daniel Banks. “We’re focused on helping the
person who is looking for the right contact and wants to get in touch quickly. We are confident our product will make it easy for business
professionals of all levels to spend less time researching and more time making deals.

According to their press release, the database of roughly 40 million business contacts and more than 14 million company listings is searchable by individual and company name as well as by email address. Bizshark’s easy-to-read contact profiles include title, department, phone number, and email information. Additional features include company revenue estimates and built-in company directories by department and geographical location.

You can try out  a limited free version or pay $29 - $90 a month for various levels of access.

Bizshark competes with Data.com (by Salesforce), Hooevers and other similar business databases.

The World Of Lite Apps Continues: ClickExpress Launches - An App for Mobile Users

Small businesses and teams of individuals have had access to team management services for years - with 37 Signals suite of services being probably one of the most well known.

However, we’ve recently started covering more and more of these lite team management services. Thanks to the growth and low barrier of entry to create good browser based services and the even faster growth of mobile only apps for iOS (Apple) and Android devices - largely - there are even MORE apps on the market.

SageOne by Sage has recently come on the market and I now here their advertisements in the NY market. I’ve been using ASANA for some weeks, which is really only about task management, but it does work quite well for simple task management (and a bit more)

Just recently I saw the demo video for yet a new service - ClickExpress Lite. You can read more about it from their press release below.

It’s so hard to tell WHICH one service is best for your business. You’ll find that so many are good and yet not all will offer everything you want, so explore and try out a few for a few days and see which one works best for you.

ClickExpress Lite allows users to quickly build teams of up to 20 users and create, share and track tasks, work orders or simple to-do lists. Team
members can see the status of work items and locations of other team members. All collaboration can be done in real-time via the app, which
integrates with Facebook to provide a leaderboard of team performance.

“ClickExpress Lite is the perfect entry point for small companies, project teams or even large families to take advantage of mobile task management
tools from the industry leader in enterprise mobile workforce management,” said Udi Keidar, Vice President Cloud Services, ClickSoftware. “This is our way of contributing our workforce productivity knowledge and best practices to the community at large.”

The World Of Lite Apps Continues: ClickExpress Launches - An App for Mobile Users

Small businesses and teams of individuals have had access to team management services for years - with 37 Signals suite of services being probably one of the most well known.

However, we’ve recently started covering more and more of these lite team management services. Thanks to the growth and low barrier of entry to create good browser based services and the even faster growth of mobile only apps for iOS (Apple) and Android devices - largely - there are even MORE apps on the market.

SageOne by Sage has recently come on the market and I now here their advertisements in the NY market. I’ve been using ASANA for some weeks, which is really only about task management, but it does work quite well for simple task management (and a bit more)

Just recently I saw the demo video for yet a new service - ClickExpress Lite. You can read more about it from their press release below.

It’s so hard to tell WHICH one service is best for your business. You’ll find that so many are good and yet not all will offer everything you want, so explore and try out a few for a few days and see which one works best for you.

ClickExpress Lite allows users to quickly build teams of up to 20 users and create, share and track tasks, work orders or simple to-do lists. Team
members can see the status of work items and locations of other team members. All collaboration can be done in real-time via the app, which
integrates with Facebook to provide a leaderboard of team performance.

“ClickExpress Lite is the perfect entry point for small companies, project teams or even large families to take advantage of mobile task management
tools from the industry leader in enterprise mobile workforce management,” said Udi Keidar, Vice President Cloud Services, ClickSoftware. “This is our way of contributing our workforce productivity knowledge and best practices to the community at large.”

The 5 Biggest Brands on Facebook And How They Do It

Unless you’re living under a rock, then you know that having a strong business Facebook page is important. To say that the subject of “how to use Facebook” has been covered at this point is an understatement.

It’s been thoroughly exhausted.

So, I won’t bore you with the standard list of tips. Let’s approach this topic from a different angle by examining the five biggest brands on Facebook, what they’re doing, and why it works. (Please note, the number of likes reflected below may have changed since the date of this publication.)

Facebook: 88,080,008 Likes

What: Facebook has a bit of an unfair advantage. After all, when you sign up for an account, one of the first things you’re encouraged to do is “like” Facebook. Oh well. Facebook makes it worth your time by posting plenty of universally accessible content.

Why: The Facebook approach works because they tell stories of universal appeal. Never underestimate the power of letting people in on your corporate culture.

Coca-Cola: 59,768,606 Likes

What: The Coca-Cola Facebook page was actually started by two big Coke fans, Michael Jedrzejewski and Dusty Sorg. When Facebook mandated that brand pages had to be owned by the companies they represented, Coca-Cola was quick to hire on the pair as consultants. After all, they had garnered over 1 million fans.

Why: Coca-Cola’s Facebook presence is so successful because it advocates a lifestyle of positive change and social good. Coke doesn’t hawk its own products on Facebook, and neither should you.

MTV: 42,478,787 Likes

What: Believe it or not, this page actually only had 1 million “likes” in 2010. Now it has more than 42 million. MTV built its success on the drive to engage with users. With a page the size of MTV’s, it’s virtually impossible to connect with even the majority of users. However, the MTV Facebook crew works overtime to develop a very real and tangible connection.

Why: MTV is constantly reaching back to its demographic. Don’t get too big for your britches; stay connected with the fans that reach out to you and choose to consume what you have to offer. If that means you must budget an hour per day for Facebook interaction, then do it.

Disney: 42,304,688 Likes

What: Disney truly has a universal appeal. After all, who else has made movies for your grandparents (when they were kids) as well as you and your children Disney knows that they have a wide net to cast, but they do so in a smart way. They reach the exploding Facebook population by sharing content that bridges generations.

Why: The Disney page works because it explores milestones and historical marks, connecting nostalgia with the present. Even if your company is young, I’d like to urge you to start celebrating milestones and history now. It’s a great way to connect with your fans.

Converse: 35,282,070 Likes

What: Converse is fairly new to this list, displacing Red Bull in the last few months. In their first year on Facebook, Converse grew from nothing to 30.5 million “likes” by encouraging their fans to create content with them.

Why: Converse knows that people aren’t the target of content channels. People are the content channels. Treat your Facebook fans like valuable parts of your strategy, and not just the recipients, and you’ll be all right.

Do you have any tips for business on Facebook

Juniper Networks launches Junos intelligence service to help detect and block attacks

Juniper Networks has released a new intelligence service to assist in the identification, detection and blocking of attackers and attacks.

According to the company, Junos Spotlight Secure is a cloud-based global attacker intelligence service that identifies individual attackers at the device level and tracks them in a global database. It claimed that this creates a persistent fingerprint of attacker devices based on over 200 unique attributes.

It said that once an attacker is identified and fingerprinted on a subscriber's network using Junos WebApp Secure, the database can immediately share the attacker profiles with other subscribers, providing advanced real-time security across multiple networks.

Junos WebApp Secure, which uses technology developed by Mykonos who Juniper Networks acquired last year, uses intelligence from the Junos Spotlight Secure service and is deployed in front of application servers behind the firewall. This also uses intrusion detection technology to misdirect and mislead attackers while simultaneously profiling and fingerprinting them, a particular characteristic of the Mykonos technology.

Also in the Junos family is DDoS secure, which uses technology acquired from Webscreen Systems to deliver a DDoS protection system for websites and web applications by using a unique, behaviour-based approach to DDoS mitigation that provides protection up to 40Gbps for high-volume attacks, the company said.

Nawaf Bitar, senior vice president and general manager of the security business unit at Juniper Networks, said: “Next-generation security must be built on automated and actionable intelligence that can be quickly shared to meet the demands of modern and evolving networks. This is only possible if you are able to collect definitive information about attackers, Junos Spotlight Secure provides the platform to deliver advanced intelligence with device-level attacker tracking.

“This integrated approach improves security intelligence, provides collective defence against attackers and delivers true defence in-depth for the data centre.”

Jon Oltsik, senior principal analyst at the Enterprise Strategy Group, said: “With the growing sophistication of threats, there is a clear need for network security to become more intelligent in how it identifies and stops attacks. Companies are looking for security solutions that not only detect attacks, but also provide definitive information about attackers and integrate with core network security controls.

“Juniper's Spotlight Secure attacker database can address these requirements with its ability to share real-time intelligence with core network security infrastructure, offering a new and more definitive way to block attacks across the entire Juniper customer base.”

FireEye announces new platform to deal with modern threats

FireEye has launched a new threat detection platform to deal with modern targeted malware.

According to the company, the FireEye platform creates a cross-enterprise threat protection fabric using a next-generation threat detection engine, dynamic threat intelligence and interoperability with a broad ecosystem of more than 20 alliance partners to secure all major threat vectors and enable rapid detection, validation and response to cyber attacks.

FireEye said its features include: a multi-vector signature-less virtual execution engine that detonates web objects, files, suspicious attachments, and mobile applications within virtual environments; the dynamic threat intelligence cloud where information can be exchanged; and partner interoperability via APIs and standards-based threat intelligence metadata.

Dave Merkel, CTO of Mandiant, said: “By utilising our integrated platforms, security teams can connect the dots between what is happening on their network and their endpoints. This eliminates blind spots and creates the complete picture required to fully scope and contain security breaches as they are unfolding.”

Jon Ramsey, chief technology officer at Dell SecureWorks, said: “The FireEye platform, along with the data it provides, is an integral component of our end-to-end lifecycle approach to protecting Dell SecureWorks customers from advanced threats.”

Mark Seward, senior director of security and compliance at Splunk, said: “The FireEye platform allows malware command and control site detection and can provide attribution as part of your security ecosystem. Splunk software allows a user to take the FireEye data, add context using machine data from other security and business systems, and automate responses as part of an active defence.

“The combination of FireEye and Splunk allows a long term view of threats and attacks that support changes to business processes and employee awareness."

David DeWalt, FireEye chairman and CEO, said: “FireEye is the security platform organisations can rely upon for protection against today's new breed of cyber attacks. We have enabled flexible options so customers can integrate our dynamic threat intelligence into their existing security infrastructure to automate the threat response and rapidly neutralise today's cyber attacks."

FireEye has also announced a partnership with Guidance Software to improve attack detection and incident response times. The two companies will integrate the EnCase Cybersecurity solution and the FireEye threat protection platform.

The FireEye alert triggers an automated assessment of the endpoints by EnCase Cybersecurity, which determines their risk profiles, prioritises the responses and remediates any harm, according to the companies.

DeWalt said: “FireEye has a unique threat protection platform to protect against today's attacks, which is extended by the ability of EnCase Cybersecurity to provide rapid incident response.”

Small Biz Events Roundup: Confab, Seth Godin Live, BlogHer, Black Enterprise + More

Welcome to this week’s roundup of events, conferences and webinars for growing companies and entrepreneurs, brought to you every other week by Small Business Trends and Smallbiztechnology.com. Why not register for one or more of these educational conferences, webinars and events Get out of the office, learn something, and make new connections for 2013 and...

The post Small Biz Events Roundup: Confab, Seth Godin Live, BlogHer, Black Enterprise + More appeared first on Small Business Technology.

Small Biz Events Roundup: Confab, Seth Godin Live, BlogHer, Black Enterprise + More

Welcome to this week’s roundup of events, conferences and webinars for growing companies and entrepreneurs, brought to you every other week by Small Business Trends and Smallbiztechnology.com. Why not register for one or more of these educational conferences, webinars and events Get out of the office, learn something, and make new connections for 2013 and...

The post Small Biz Events Roundup: Confab, Seth Godin Live, BlogHer, Black Enterprise + More appeared first on Small Business Technology.

Invoicing Should Be Simple and Integrated. Sage One Delivers.

Sage One is Sage’s relatively new service offering very small businesses an all in one suite to manage their accounting, projects, tasks, invoices and sharing of data. It goes head to head with a variety of other collaboration services that provide similar services - some offering more and some offering less.

However, recently Sage One added the ability to not only invoice but facilitate payment as well.

“In this economy everyone is doing more with less, and this is especially true for entrepreneurs,” said Mike Savory, product manager for Sage One. “With the integration of Sage Payment Solutions, busy entrepreneurs can get paid faster and spend more time on growing their businesses, rather than chasing down payment from their customers, reconciling invoices, and wasting time going to the bank.”

Many of us use a myriad of point solutions from Freshbooks, to Outright, to Quickbooks (which has built in invoicing and accounting), ASANA, Google Docs, Office365 and dozens of other great services.

Services, such as Sage One, that provide an all in one solution make it easier for solo professionals to manage their teams and their business.

Small Biz Events Roundup: Confab, Seth Godin Live, BlogHer, Black Enterprise + More

Welcome to this week’s roundup of events, conferences and webinars for growing companies and entrepreneurs, brought to you every other week by Small Business Trends and Smallbiztechnology.com.

Why not register for one or more of these educational conferences, webinars and events Get out of the office, learn something, and make new connections for 2013 and beyond.

If you are organizing a great event that small businesses should know about or just attending one, please let me know about it.

******

Valentine’s Day Review - Time to Show Some Love to Mobile and CSE Shoppers
February 26, 2013, Online

SingleFeed and mShopper are offering advice on how ecommerce retailers can reach more online & mobile shoppers, including:

Up-to-the-minute trends in mobile shopping.
How much more revenue would you have had with a mobile-centric website and CSE shoppers
How to be mobile ready & sell on the Comparison Shopping Engines CSEs.

Transform Your Sales Culture
February 27, 2013, Philadelphia

Join Gene Marks and Todd Cohen for this half day seminar and learn:

How to plan for and create a sales culture - not just a sales team - to increase sales
How to make relationships work in a more profitable way
How to differentiate yourself in 5 words or less and have more profitable conversations
How to convert your customer relationship system from a “glorified Rolodex” to a productive sales and marketing system
How to determine which emerging sales and marketing technologies you should consider this year

Crowdopolis New York 2013
February 27-28, 2013, New York City

Learn how Fortune 500 Corporations are using crowdsourcing to out-innovate, out-process, & out-engage their competition. Companies like GE, Microsoft, Walmart, eBay & many others.

Produced by the leading voices in crowdsourcing, David Bratvold and Daily Crowdsource, Crowdoplis was created to show both corporate leaders and small businesses that crowdsourcing is replacing outsourcing to translate millions of words in mere minutes, invent products that sell out before any costs are incurred, and create national award winning TV commercials for $20.

SMX West
March 11-13, 2013, San Jose, CA

The landscape of search and search engine marketing changes constantly.
To keep up, stay ahead, grow your business, and get more (and better) traffic to your site, you need the right help.
Search Marketing Expo is a conference that offers more than 50 cutting-edge sessions (as well as invaluable networking opportunities) covering the search marketing strategies and tactics you’ll need to thrive in 2013 and beyond.
Whether you are a beginner or a search marketing expert, whether you work at (or with) an agency or manage search marketing in-house, SMX West has programming to fit your needs.

Digital Marketing World: B2C & Retail Marketing
March 8, 2013, Online

This free virtual conference is designed to address the specific digital marketing concerns faced by marketers in today’s consumer-based and retail sales industries. Reserve your spot now and get ready for three actionable sessions, including:

1. Give your Email Programs a Dynamic Boost with Customer Data
2. Believable Business Blogging
3. Engaging Customers Before, During, and After the Sale

Spark & Hustle 2013 Tour
Multiple cities & dates, March - July 2013

Led by Tory Johnson, the jam-packed, high-energy two-day event enables you to experience big breakthroughs in your business and yourself. This two day conference arms current and aspiring small business owners with the tools, strategies and support to make more money now.

Live Q&A with Seth Godin
March 15, 2013, Costa Mesa, CA

Here’s a chance for readers in Southern California to join Seth for an evening presentation and Q&A focused on his new book, The Icarus Deception.

The presentation runs from 6:30 to 8 pm, and limited to the first 1000 people who sign up.

Doors open at 5 pm for networking and a book signing, and the organizers will alert attendees about exclusive post-event opportunities as well.

BlogHer Entrepreneurs 2013
March 21-22, 2013, Mountain View, CA

BlogHer Entrepreneurs ’13 is BlogHer’s third annual event designed for women who want to start something, whether their goal is to strike out on their own with a brilliant idea, or to bring an entrepreneurial approach to innovation within a company.

Web.com Small Business Forum

Various locations and dates in 2013 including:
Lafayette, LA March 21, 2013
Midland, TX April 11, 2013
Valdosta, GA April 25, 2013 … and more

Web.com will be traveling to cities near you during 2013, in partnership with SCORE, for 2-hour sessions designed to help local small businesses learn how to successfully market their businesses online. Various dates and cities during the year. Sessions are free.

CONFAB 2013
London - March 25-27
Minneapolis - June 3-5
Atlanta - November 11-12

As the leading conference of its kind, Confab: The Content Strategy Conference brings together professionals everywhere who realize the value of content. User experience. Marketing. IT. Business management. This is one big party for content-loving folks who value smart thinking, voracious learning, and constant improvement in the workplace and beyond.

InfusionCon 2013
March 27-29, 3013, Scottsdale AZ

InfusionCon is a must-attend event for all Infusionsoft customers. There are a variety of sessions geared towards business owners, marketing and sales strategists, developers, administrators and more. Session topics cover a diverse range of topics relevant to small businesses, including Infusionsoft training, marketing strategy, social media, company culture, business management, automation, branding, copywriting, affiliate marketing and more.

Social Media Marketing World
April 7-9, 2013, San Diego, CA

Join 1,000 fellow marketers at the mega-conference designed to inspire and empower you with social media marketing ideasâ€"brought to you by Social Media Examiner.

Inc. GROWCO
April 11-12, 2013, New Orleans

Inc. created GROWCO, a three-day conference, for business leaders who want brass tacks advice to achieve the next level of growth. GROWCO speakers include founders and CEOs of fast-growing companies, icons in the business community, and authors of definitive business tomes. Learn how to develop a vision, manage a team, create a brand, get the most for your marketing dollar, connect with customers, close deals, and find capital.

Affiliate Management Days
April 16-17, 2013, San Francisco
May 15-16,2013, London

Whether your company already offers an affiliate program, or you are considering offering an affiliate program, Affiliate Management Days offers insights into how other online retailers are successfully implementing and managing their affiliate programs. Learn about: affiliate recruitment techniques, communication with affiliates, affiliate marketing analytics, landing page and conversion optimization, legislative issues, mobile and affiliate marketing, and more.

America’s Small Business Summit
April 29 - May 1, 2013, Washington, DC

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s annual event will allow you to access the experience and perspective of hundreds of small business owners facing the same challenges you face and get the tools, strategies, and best practices to compete successfully in today’s rapidly changing business environment. You will boost your impact with ideas from successful entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, top caliber keynoters, and chamber executives.

SOBCon Chicago 2013
May 3-5, 2013, Chicago

SOBCon is a 2-day interactive business “think tank” that moves ideas to action. During the conference, attendees increase their business IQ in an engaging and positive learning environment. They take away an actionable and measurable business plan, along with invaluable business strategies and skills, increased confidence, and a network of connections to drive their companies forward.

This year’s Chicago theme is “The Customer Centered Business” - talking and masterminding about strategies that will engage your customers and grow your business.

2013 Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference + Expo
May 15-18, 2013, Columbus OH

The Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference + Expo attracts more than 1,200 attendees annually. Entrepreneurs from all over the country come together to take in everything the conference has to offerâ€"from informative sessions, high-powered speakers, networking opportunities, to essential tools for emerging and established entrepreneurs. As the country’s premier business conference and networking event for African American entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and professionals, The Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference is the only venue where leaders of the nation’s largest black-owned businesses gather at one place, one time, and with one purpose.

National Small Business Week
May 20-26, 2013, Washington, DC

National Small Business Week 2012 is a two and a half day conference in Washington, D.C. focusing on small business accomplishments, including disaster recovery, procurement and entrepreneurial success.

The Small Business Expo
May 16 - New York
June 20 - Dallas
October 17 - Boston
November 7 - Los Angeles
January 16, 2014 - Miami

Small Business Expo is the largest nation-wide B2B tradeshow, conference & networking event for Small Business Owners. Business Owners browse & meet in our huge exhibition hall filled with exhibitors showcasing valuable products & services to help their businesses grow, attend small business workshops, seminars & meet-ups, network with other small business owners & entrepreneurs in the cyber lounge & speed networking areas, & watch exciting product demos.

Internet Week New York
May 20-27, 2013

Since 2008, Internet Week has taken place all over the city, thanks to our many partners hosting diverse events in different locations.The result is a critical mass of web-focused events that raises the profile of NYC’s industry as a whole, as well as the partners who participate.

Creative Freelancer Conference
June 22-24, 2013, San Francisco

During this three day conference within the HOW Design Live Conference, Veteran freelancers and expert consultants will arm you with all the practical information you need to set goals for growthâ€"and give you the confidence and information you need to achieve them.

Global Entrepreneurship Week
November 18-24, 2013

Started in 2008 by former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Carl Schramm, the president and CEO of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, GEW is a series of international events meant to inspire people around the world to explore their entrepreneurial potential. GEW also aims to connect innovators with mentors and investors â€" making it an ideal setting for young treps to establish their startups and ideas.

To find more small business events, contests and awards, visit our Small Business Events Calendar.

If you are putting on a small business contest, award or competition, and want to get the word out to the community, please submit it through our Events & Contests Submission Form. (We do not charge a fee to be included in this listing â€" it is completely free to list your event.) Only events of interest to small business people, freelancers and entrepreneurs will be considered and included.