Tuesday, January 31, 2012

How Well Do You Know Your Team Members?

Lee Cockerell led the cast at WDW for many years, ineptly in his career in hospitality he admittedly didn't treat his staff well. After much self reflection he changed his management style to focus on involment of staff is the decisionmaking process.

See his recent blog post

Friday, January 27, 2012

BCEDC 2011 Annual Report: Aligning for Growth of our Future

Buchanan County has come through upside of the Great Recession in pretty good fashion from one year ago.  Many key statistics saw positive moves in 2011: lower unemployment, increased demand for workers, increased wages, retail sales are up, record high land values, increased school enrollments in many of our districts and higher deposits in our county financial institutions.  However, the 2010 census caused many of our communities concern with drops in population, a trend that is being seen in much of rural Iowa. But the close proximately of several commerce centers like Cedar Rapids and Waterloo/ Cedar Falls has caused our area to not see the dramatic drops that many rural communities are experiencing.

In the past year we have spent increased time with businesses and communities on economic development initiatives that are a result of growth in our area as we come out of the economic downturn. Local businesses are seeing increases in demand for their products and services, and most importantly are in need of quality workers to help grow their businesses into 2012. The economic environment has also given aspiring and seasoned entrepreneurs ambition to start or grow their ventures as we see the interest in business counseling service increasing.

This next year businesses and citizens have an increased optimism, albeit cautious-optimism, for the building of wealth in our area as a result of successful economic development efforts. It will be the objective of Buchanan County Economic Development to provide important guidance to help make these efforts successful.  We will need to align this organization for growth of our future by redeveloping strategic plans for partnership, businesses development and programming support for our investors and their constituents. We will look to evaluate this effort based on the work we can control, the impact our work is intended to achieve and how the innovations and leadership we display in our communities influences change in our area. As we align our organization, we will also collaborate with other organizations to align for future growth for Buchanan County and the Cedar Valley Region of Iowa.


View the full 2011 BCEDC Annual Report

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Small Business Development Center to Offer Counseling in Independence

On Wednesday, January 25, Office 112: Center for Commerce and Economic Development, will begin hosting a representative from the Small Business Development Center for one-on-one counseling for local entrepreneurs and business leaders.  Dan Beenken, Director of the SBDC at the University of Northern Iowa’s Regional Business Center, will offer counseling the fourth Wednesday of the month in the Office 112 conference room at 112 First Street, East in Independence from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. The SBDC sessions will offer clients assistance on startup issues, growing their business, as well as buying or selling a business.  Beenken assists entrepreneurs with questions related to legal organization, accounting, taxes, marketing strategy, social media, and other small business issues.  More information is available about the services at http://www.uni.edu/rbc

If you are interested in making an appointment with Mr. Beenken, please contact Office 112 at (319) 334-7178, or (319) 334-7497. Appointments will be 30-45 minutes in length.  Appointments are appreciated; walk-ins appointments will be taken based on availability. Confidentiality of information shared in your appointment with the representative is a priority for the SBDC and Office 112. 

Office 112 is a collaborative office environment made up of the Independence Area Chamber of Commerce and Buchanan County Economic Development that focuses on the increasing community and business development in Independence and Buchanan County Iowa

Thursday, January 5, 2012

10 New Year Resolutions to Boost your Business

I came across this article on a web page after starting back to work in 2012, there are some great suggestions on how to make 2012 work better for you, and for you to work better in 2012.

- Nate

By | | Work Smarter
It’s a common phenomenon for everyone to make New Year resolutions at the last minute on New Year’s Eve, and typically, they’re personal and hard to keep. Think about how many times you’ve done the same in the past. Just how many of those resolutions did you actually stick to?
Here are ten simple New Year resolutions for 2008; all are tried and tested techniques to boost your business and, best of all, they’re achievable. Set aside a little time every week for the next year, and see if you can chip away at some of them.

1. Start setting goals.
Embracing even these ten resolutions for the coming year illustrates the power of goal setting. Many of us wander through life without really considering where we want to be. A good analogy is planning a trip from Point A to Point B. As important as it is that you sort out transport, supplies, timelines, and other elements, the most important tool for the journey is to know how to get there. Unless you have a plan, you’ll never arrive at your destination.

2. Ask a client for a referral.
It seems simple, yet many business owners never consider asking their existing clients for contacts with others who may need your services. It can seem to be a hurdle to ask the first few times, but it doesn’t need to be. Your request could even something as simple as an email sent at the end of a project to ask the client for feedback on the project, followed by a simple "If you know anybody who might appreciate our services, please recommend us."

3. Focus on profit, not turnover.
Over the years, I’ve met business owners who are ecstatic about their increasing turnover, but neglect to watch their profits. A business making a profit margin of 20% on a monthly turnover of $10,000 is far ahead of a business with a turnover of $100,000 that makes only a 1% profit margin.

4. Learn something new about business.
Ask any entrepreneur about their knowledge, and you’ll normally find the most successful people are those who are willing to admit their own weaknesses. It’s a fact — we can’t be born experts in everything to do with business, but with some dedication, we can get a little smarter. Ask yourself where you feel your business knowledge weaknesses are, then find a course or books that can help you to learn more. There are plenty of short courses that only require an hour or two a week, as well as online courses, blogs and web sites that can help you boost your business knowledge. Find your local library and join up — most libraries have hundreds of books on business topics.

5. Take time for yourself.
Ask any business leader his or her number one complaint, and the most common reply will be that there’s not enough time to spend with family or on hobbies. The most disturbing part is that it’s often not the demands of business that absorb all of our time. We’ve become used to working long hours, when in actual fact, being smarter about how you spend your office time can allow you to enjoy more home time.

6. Create products that generate income.
Web workers need to stop and take a look at many software developers, and how they build and resell their Intellectual Property. Take stock of your own tools and techniques, and look for methods of creating assets that you can monetize, or better still, will generate recurring income.
7. Delegate effectively.
We all want to work less and earn more. Here’s one of the greatest secrets of time management: successful delegation. Start by writing down every activity you undertake for an entire week, then review the results.
There are likely a number of activities that don’t help you achieve your goals, or could be done by other team members. Focus on working to get those low-payoff activities either delegated or dumped. If you’re a solo worker, perhaps consider outsourcing these duties to somebody you know who could do the work.
8. Focus on client service.
It’s easy when you’re absorbed in delivering to tight deadlines, juggling 100 projects, or just having a manic few weeks to forget the reason you have this work. That reason is clients. Clients matter, so unless you’re hoping to lose a few, you’d better remember what it’s like to be a client, and recall your memories of the best service you’ve ever received.

9. Take time to wander the Web.
Set aside some regular time to aimlessly wander the Web. I’m not talking researching competitors, or checking sites you already frequently read. Cast the net wider, and follow more links. You’ll no doubt stumble onto blogs or web sites which may hold inspiration, education, or just plain harmless fun. No matter what, there’s a good chance your wanderings will be good for the mind and soul.
10. Build rock-solid procedures.
The right procedures will make your business run more efficiently. A good system will allow for increased workload and reduce the amount of effort you need to spend on repetitive activities. Just about everyone has heard the story of middle-aged milkshake salesman Ray Kroc, and how he created systems in fast food retailing to build his little hamburger chain (McDonalds) into the mammoth business it is today.
Ask friends who know the story and they will give you the same answer — his success was driven by the fact that he created procedures for every single element of his business. Best-selling business books such as Michael Gerber’s ‘The E-Myth’ reiterate this. Having procedures reduces the chance of errors, and increases your ability to think beyond the routine.
Make Your Resolutions Now
Now, don’t just read the above list and start making excuses, thinking how nice it would be to have the time or inclination to do this.