Events and Awards to Check Out

Welcome to our latest curated list of events, contests and awards for small businesses, solo entrepreneurs and growing companies.

To see a full list or to submit your own event, contest or award listing, visit the Small Business Events Calendar.

Featured Events, Contests and Awards

Small Business Book Awards 2014Small Business Book Awards 2014
April 30, 2014, Online

The Small Business Book Awards honor the best business books published in 2013, and book resources (such as cover design, copy editing and more). No fee required. Get the recognition your book or resource deserves. Nominate now through April 30, 2014!

Hashtag: #BizBookAwards

ICON14 by InfusionsoftICON14 by Infusionsoft
April 23, 2014, Phoenix, AZ

#ICON14 is the eighth annual conference for small business, hosted by Infusionsoft (previously called Infusioncon). Over 3,000 attendees expected. Confirmed speakers include Seth Godin, JJ Ramberg and Peter Shankman.

Hashtag: #ICON14
Discount Code
smallbiztrends (Get an extra $100 off)

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This weekly listing of small business events, contests and awards is provided as a community service by Small Business Trends and SmallBizTechnology.



Facebook Looks for Like-Baiters and Twitter’s Follow Rule Reviewed

It’s time again for the Small Business Trends Community News and Information Roundup. If you use Facebook for business, especially for marketing, make sure your content isn’t “abusive.” And, how many people can you follow on Twitter? There is a rule though somewhat hard to define. Here’s more.

Facebook Goes After Like-Baiters. (Marketing Land)

Facebook says it is clamping down on two kinds of user abuse broadly described as like-baiting and link-spam. If you want to determine whether you may be guilty of adding such content to your page, read Martin Beck’s detailed list of what Facebook considers abuse.

How to Cope with the Twitter Follow Rule. (Ego Net Cast)

Blogger, podcaster and BizSugar moderator Martin Lindeskog has run up against the dreaded Twitter Follow Rule. Basically, Twitter limits the ratio of people you can follow to the number of people following your account. Lindeskog suggests one option in a recent discussion on BizSugar. That would be unfollowing less active accounts to bring your numbers down.

For Great Social Media Marketing, Look No Further. (SuperMedia)

Out of Print sells T-shirts and other items with covers from some of the world’s most famous books printed on them. It’s already a great product, right? But what small business owners may want to hear most are details about the company’s success using social media to market its brand.

Omnichannel Marketing Has Become a Reality. (Content26)

Before buying a product these days, a customer might start by browsing reviews on a laptop. This might be followed by a trip to one of the local big box stores to have a look at some floor models. Finally, when it’s time to order, the customer does it, not at the store, but on an Amazon app. This new Omnichannel way of buying things is here to stay, according to a new study from Deloitte. So what can businesses do to take advantage?

Use Video Interviews as a Marketing Tool. (Rebekah Radice)

Video can be a powerful way to market your brand. And social media marketer Rebekah Radice says creating interviews connected to your industry, brand or market has never been easier. Just look into using Google Plus Hangouts as your video tool of choice. Then follow Radice’s advice to prepare.

Don’t Get Desperate and Ruin Your Brand. (Denise Lee Yohn)

While businesses need to constantly be looking for customers, it can be a bad idea to discard their brand to reach them. Take Mercedes and its recent efforts to appeal to young buyers, says Yohn. Has the car company made the mistake of sacrificing its brand identity to chase this demographic? And will they hurt their credibility (not to mention future sales) in the process?

Customer Experience is a Whole New Discipline. (Customers That Stick)

Here’s why you need to worry about customer experience. It’s because all your competitors are already thinking about it. Adam Toporek paints us a picture of a whole new discipline and way of marketing…that is, in some ways, a very old kind of marketing too.

Be Ware These 13 Myths of Entrepreneurship (The Smith Report)

Know the difference between cash flow and profitability. Understand what truly makes a business valuable to a seller. And, in the process, avoid the myths that can kill your business or send you down the wrong road. Business consultant Ian Smith shares some myths he finds particularly worrisome in this conversation in the BizSugar community.

Decide Whether a Virtual Office is Right for You. (Tweak Your Biz)

Cloud computing and faster Internet connections have made virtual offices a reality. The virtual office allows potentially all the employees in your company to work remotely or from anywhere. The question, says Frank Pipolo, is whether a virtual office is right for you. Here’s a check list you may want to consider.

How To Apply For an SBA Back Loan. (The Franchise King)

With new Small Business Administration Chief Maria Contreras-Sweet sworn in this week, there should be a renewed push for getting small businesses the funding they need. But be aware the agency may also be bringing more oversight to the approval process. Joel Libava shares more about how that process works, especially for franchises.

Help us continue to make the Small Business Community News and Information roundup better each week. Email us with your suggestions for coverage at sbtips@gmail.com. Or share your news on BizSugar.com. It’s where we go to find the freshest and most authentic voices in the small business community.

Stay current with mobile photo via Shutterstock



Tactile, New Salesforce App, Adds Team Synchronization and Better Collaboration To Sales Teams

Tactile is a new app, by a former Salesforce executive, which gives sales executives an easy to way keep track of their contacts, synchronization information between sales staff and connect with the social information of a contact.

According to the press release: “The company’s technology and approach is a natural fit for customer relationship management (CRM), which is notorious for low salesperson adoption. The company’s first mobile app, Tact, syncs a sales professional’s essential business data from email, calendars, tasks, contacts, LinkedIn, and Salesforce. With all this disparate information linked and available in one place, salespeople can better prepare for, capture and follow-up on their daily conversations, creating deeper relationships and ultimately, greater personal success. Further, with a simple swipe, important details can be synced back to the company, giving management the visibility they want.”

Check out this video of Tacticle here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXT2iuzbCWo&feature=youtu.be or below



New Hiring Service To Help Non HR Professionals: YouAreHR

YouAreHR has launched YouAreHR.com, an online service that makes it simple for non-HR professionals to identify, review, and hire employees for their businesses. YouAreHR.com turns the complicated process of hiring new employees into a streamlined process that hiring managers can use to fill personnel vacancies. YouAreHR.com lets your company collect job applications and evaluate potential employees online. Alternatively, business managers can add a custom YouAreHR “help wanted” section to the company website.

Founded by Alex Kolesnichenko, I asked him for more information.

What are businesses using who are NOT using YouAreHR.

1.       Usually businesses do not use anything at all. The smaller, the younger the company, chances are every round of requiting  is pretty chaotic.

That said, of course, we’re not the only company that targets this audience and not all target companies are unaware of applicant tracking software and services. The Resumator, RecruiterBox, ZOHO are targeting this market and we see people using it. As businesses grow, they start looking into more comprehensive solutions, where applicant tracking is just a feature, not a product.

What are they missing if not using an HR management tool?

2.       Well, first of all, companies that do not use any tools for recruitment process are spending a lot of their time dealing with miscommunications surrounding recruiting, data and feedback collection and organization, complexities of time management (especially if company looks outside their local job market for new hires).

Hiring wrong people is pretty expensive in the long run.

YouAreHR establishes a pipeline for hiring people. We guide the company by establishing well-defined recruitment stages, collect information and team feedback, help with scheduling. We put recruitment-related communications and data into one place, so companies would make an educated hiring decision. On top of that, all our offerings are very transparent, we don’t require any mandatory sales calls - we are always there to help out with your recruitment process, you may even schedule a call with us for free, if you need help. In case if the company is done with recruitment, they may stop using our service and we’ll preserve their data for free, so they could jump-start their new recruitment season.

What about using Monster or other hiring services

3.       Monster is a gigantic job board with additional services they offer to companies. It’s probably great for mid-to-large-size companies, but they might be out-of-reach for small biz. I do see that one of our customers had posted their listing on Monster and linked to our intake form. Usually companies simply post their job ads on Craigslist, their sites, small job boards, on Facebook or Twitter. WRT hiring services - for temps, maybe, but not for your core staff. There you want to control all steps of recruitment and where we come in handy.

What are your best practices for hiring the right candidate?

4.       We’re preaching staged approach to recruitment - the company should go through the pre-screen, phone screen, then face-to-face.

  • Our default template for a job opening contains all of these.
  • Most of the filtering should be done during pre-screen and phone screen, so we suggest for teams to sit down and come up with a decent number of questions that they think are important for making quick decision to reject an applicant - this will save tremendous amount of time otherwise spent on meeting face-to-face. Use our pre-screen forms and phone screen questionnaires for that.
  • Only a small fraction of potential hires should make it to face-to-face stage.
  • There also - have a general plan for interviews, so you would compare apples-to-apples when choosing between candidates.
  • Use our calendar to make sure everybody’s on the same page.
  • We even handle situations when applicants are in a different time zone. There should not be an excuse for missed appointments, because it wastes everybody’s time.
  • Last but not the least - keep all data and feedback on candidates in one place. There should not be a situation when you’re trying to make a hiring decision by combing through everybody’s emails, trying to find resumes or thoughts after the interview.
  • We also urge people to read on how other companies are dealing with their hiring - it’s always very interesting to see how fellow entrepreneurs are solving this problem.
  • We have a (currently) small section of featured articles we’re collecting on youarehr.com, where we link to articles in biz publications that touch this topic.


12 Stunning Flower Arrangements for Administrative Professionals Day

Administrative Professionals Day is a chance to show your appreciation for the person who keeps your business running smoothly. The holiday, which takes place on April 23rd is just around the corner. Show your gratitude and appreciation.

Administrative Professionals Day

Sweet Garden Bouquet

Tulipina in Burlingame, California created this arrangement of roses, dusty miller, pepper, and ranunculus. The boutique specializes in eclectic and artistic floral arrangements. This particular arrangement goes for $85 plus $20 for hand delivery.

Administrative Professionals Day

Single Phalaenopsis Orchid in Glass Cube

This simple flower arrangement, created by PlantShed, features a single stem phalaenopsis plant in a clear glass vase. PlantShed is a family owned and operated business in New York City, selling gift baskets, food items, and flower arrangements. This one retails for $65 plus $8 for hand delivery.

Administrative Professionals Day

Rose Pave

Chicago-based Dilly Lilly is the florist behind this arrangement of 30 roses in a compact display. The floral design shop is also a full-service floral event company and has been serving the Chicago area since 1997. This arrangement costs $145 plus $18 for hand delivery.

Administrative Professionals Day

Treasure

King Florist of Austin created this arrangement of seasonal flowers in a glass cube vase filled with river rocks and bark. The florist has been in business since 1927 and sells everything from single flower arrangements to full wedding orders. The Treasure arrangement goes for $135 plus $11.95 for hand delivery.

Administrative Professionals Day

Pops of Color

Artistic Surroundings in Phoenix put together this arrangement of Peruvian hydrangea and orange tulips in a cylindrical black vase. The floral shop specializes in vibrant colors, clean lines, and unique textures. This arrangement costs $65 plus $15 for hand delivery.

Administrative Professionals Day

Two Dozen Roses

Roses are a classic option. This arrangement, created by Ideal Orchids of Fort Lauderdale, features two dozen long stem roses in various color options and retails for $100 plus $15 for hand delivery.

Administrative Professionals Day

Orchid Excellence

Lubliner Florist is the Portland-based floral designer behind this arrangement of orchids and various other flowers in shades of green and purple. Orchid Excellence is priced at $59.95 plus $16 for hand delivery.

Administrative Professionals Day

Orange You Lovely

Orange You Lovely is an arrangement of orange and peach roses mixed with tropical greens in a leaf-lined vase. Rose Shack Florist of Las Vegas created the arrangement, which costs $89 plus $12 for hand delivery.

Administrative Professionals Day

Take Me to the Tropics

Denver-based Bella Calla created this arrangement of ginger, anthurium and monstera to help give customers a taste of the tropics. Aside from individual flower arrangements, Bella Calla also deals with weddings and other events. This arrangement goes for $70 plus $10 for hand delivery.

Administrative Professionals Day

Sunburst

The shop behind this arrangement, Robertson’s Flowers of Philadelphia, is a family owned retail florist established in 1927. Sunburst retails for $175 plus $10 for hand delivery.

Administrative Professionals Day

Pave Garden

The Poppy Shoppe of Farmington Hills, Michigan created this colorful arrangement. The retail boutique specializes in custom floral designs, entertaining ideas, and linens and table displays. The Pave Garden arrangement costs $65 plus $10 for hand delivery.

Administrative Professionals Day

Angelina

Fleurs du Jour of Santa Monica, California specializes in flowers for various events from weddings to corporate events. The flower shop created this arrangement of roses and ranunculus in a white square vase, which retails for $99.99 plus $15.50 for hand delivery.

Flowers Photo via Shutterstock



5 Insightful Lessons Learned From Business Books

Since the response was so great on my last article, “10 Valuable Lessons Learned from The Top Business Books,” I thought I’d share more lessons learned from business books gathered from my personal network.

In fact, business books have been on my mind a lot lately due to the 2014 Small Business Book Awards, as well as the recent Google+ Hangout, “Best Business Books.” If you missed the hangout, you can view the replay. I’m the kind of person who would rather read a book than attend a seminar or webinar, or even ask someone for help. So naturally, I’ve learned plenty from business books. It turns out my clients and contacts feel the same way.

Lesson 1: It’s Possible to Deliver Happiness

Nellie Akalp, a Small Business Trends featured expert and CEO of CorpNet, says she was inspired by Tony Hsieh’s “Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose.” It’s a book that’s been referred to again and again as the handbook for better customer service:

“You can take away market share from your competition by wowing your clients in giving unsurpassed customer service.”

Lesson 2: Anyone Can Self-Publish, With a Little Work

As a self-published author, I’ve struggled with making my book look more professional, as well as marketing it. So when Guy Kawasaki published “APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur - How to Publish a Book,” I paid attention.

It’s a fabulous how-to book that takes you by the hand and helps you from inception to publication.

Lesson 3: Don’t Follow Your Passion. Craft It.

If there’s one person I know who reads more business books than I do, it’s the Small Business Trends Book Editor, Ivana Taylor. She gleaned valuable information from Cal Newport’s “So Good They Can’t Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love:“

“Newport builds a case for developing and crafting your passion by getting really good at what you do.  And you get good at what you do by constantly crafting and honing your skills, knowledge and talent.”

Taylor said she has taken this concept on in every level of her business, especially in crafting her website, blog posts, and presentations:

“I do this by tracking performance and conversion rates and testing.  Analytics aren’t normally something I like and enjoy, but inside of the context of getting better and more effective, I’ve really come to appreciate it.”

Lesson 4: Your Business is Not Your Life

Here’s a book I agree is one of the most influencing on my attitude toward my business, “The E-Myth Revisited,” by Michael Gerber. Niki Robinson, President of Posts by Ghost, says this book changed how she viewed her company:

“Once I realized that I need to work ON my business instead of IN my business, I was able to shift my focus to creating a business model that really works. By implementing consistent processes and procedures, I was able to streamline operations, provide my customers with better service, and grow my business without feeling super-frazzled all the time. I recommend this book for anyone contemplating starting a small business.”

Lesson 5: Get Laser Focus, then Grow From There

Here’s an oldie but a goodie (and incidentally, revised just this year) that Jon Byrum, President of HelloScheduling, keeps at the forefront of everything he does, “Crossing the Chasm“ by Geoffrey A. Moore. It’s the idea of finding a niche and zeroing in on that audience:

“When you are starting your business, you want to have a laser focused value proposition with a very specific target audience.  The audience might be too small at first, but don’t worry.  First, make your target audience is really passionate about your product.  Then you’ll be able to grow from there.  It’s amazing how a small group of passionate users can drive really powerful word of mouth marketing (read: Free).”

Some of these are classics that continue to teach us years after they were published.

small business book awards 2014

Participate in the 2014 Small Business Book Awards. Let your favorite authors (and fellow colleagues) know that their work is appreciated and help fellow entrepreneurs like me and you gain valuable insights by knowing which books are worth reading.

I encourage you to think about the business books you’ve read recently (those published in 2013) and submit them to the Book Awards.

Nominations end April 30th, so be sure to nominate your favorite business book(s) now!

Books Photo via Shutterstock



5 Insightful Lessons Learned From Business Books

Since the response was so great on my last article, “10 Valuable Lessons Learned from The Top Business Books,” I thought I’d share more lessons learned from business books gathered from my personal network.

In fact, business books have been on my mind a lot lately due to the 2014 Small Business Book Awards, as well as the recent Google+ Hangout, “Best Business Books.” If you missed the hangout, you can view the replay. I’m the kind of person who would rather read a book than attend a seminar or webinar, or even ask someone for help. So naturally, I’ve learned plenty from business books. It turns out my clients and contacts feel the same way.

Lesson 1: It’s Possible to Deliver Happiness

Nellie Akalp, a Small Business Trends featured expert and CEO of CorpNet, says she was inspired by Tony Hsieh’s “Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose.” It’s a book that’s been referred to again and again as the handbook for better customer service:

“You can take away market share from your competition by wowing your clients in giving unsurpassed customer service.”

Lesson 2: Anyone Can Self-Publish, With a Little Work

As a self-published author, I’ve struggled with making my book look more professional, as well as marketing it. So when Guy Kawasaki published “APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur - How to Publish a Book,” I paid attention.

It’s a fabulous how-to book that takes you by the hand and helps you from inception to publication.

Lesson 3: Don’t Follow Your Passion. Craft It.

If there’s one person I know who reads more business books than I do, it’s the Small Business Trends Book Editor, Ivana Taylor. She gleaned valuable information from Cal Newport’s “So Good They Can’t Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love:“

“Newport builds a case for developing and crafting your passion by getting really good at what you do.  And you get good at what you do by constantly crafting and honing your skills, knowledge and talent.”

Taylor said she has taken this concept on in every level of her business, especially in crafting her website, blog posts, and presentations:

“I do this by tracking performance and conversion rates and testing.  Analytics aren’t normally something I like and enjoy, but inside of the context of getting better and more effective, I’ve really come to appreciate it.”

Lesson 4: Your Business is Not Your Life

Here’s a book I agree is one of the most influencing on my attitude toward my business, “The E-Myth Revisited,” by Michael Gerber. Niki Robinson, President of Posts by Ghost, says this book changed how she viewed her company:

“Once I realized that I need to work ON my business instead of IN my business, I was able to shift my focus to creating a business model that really works. By implementing consistent processes and procedures, I was able to streamline operations, provide my customers with better service, and grow my business without feeling super-frazzled all the time. I recommend this book for anyone contemplating starting a small business.”

Lesson 5: Get Laser Focus, then Grow From There

Here’s an oldie but a goodie (and incidentally, revised just this year) that Jon Byrum, President of HelloScheduling, keeps at the forefront of everything he does, “Crossing the Chasm“ by Geoffrey A. Moore. It’s the idea of finding a niche and zeroing in on that audience:

“When you are starting your business, you want to have a laser focused value proposition with a very specific target audience.  The audience might be too small at first, but don’t worry.  First, make your target audience is really passionate about your product.  Then you’ll be able to grow from there.  It’s amazing how a small group of passionate users can drive really powerful word of mouth marketing (read: Free).”

Some of these are classics that continue to teach us years after they were published.

small business book awards 2014

Participate in the 2014 Small Business Book Awards. Let your favorite authors (and fellow colleagues) know that their work is appreciated and help fellow entrepreneurs like me and you gain valuable insights by knowing which books are worth reading.

I encourage you to think about the business books you’ve read recently (those published in 2013) and submit them to the Book Awards.

Nominations end April 30th, so be sure to nominate your favorite business book(s) now!

Books Photo via Shutterstock



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