Monday, February 11, 2013
She had a passion for supporting local merchants that led to a business startup expanding across the Tampa Bay region.
Ester Venouziou is an accidental business owner. She was just following her passion to support the "buy local" movement. The viral popularity of her "Break the Chains" Facebook page convinced Venouziou to launch Local Shops1. In five years, LocalShops1 has evolved into the leading membership-driven small business advocacy collective in the Tampa Bay region. Her dedicated members have helped the business to grow. They include Cheryl Hinton (Cheryl@localshops1.com), who formed a Local Shops1 chapter that covers Lutz, the USF area, Temple Terrace, Carrollwood and Brandon. "It all grew organically," Venouziou notes. "I just thought what I was doing was cool. For a long time, I never thought of this as a business." That view has changed. Now …
Monday, August 20, 2012
Explore the different ways to incorporate and which model might work best for you.
CONTEST ON: Read below for a link to official rules. This week Debbie T was chosen and asked us to donate to: Humane Society of Pinellas. We will have all past donations out next week and be current by this time next week. Congratulations! You are starting a new business and you want to know what type of business entity you want to establish. Do you want a corporation, a limited liability company, a professional association, a partnership, or be a sole proprietor? Here are three questions to take to your attorney AND your accountant. 1. DO I NEED TO HAVE A LEGALLY ORGANIZED BUSINESS TO CONDUCT BUSINESS SAFELY? You do not need to have a business entity in order to conduct business. In other words, you do not need to incorporate or file …
Monday, November 21, 2011
What you need to know when signing a contract.
My apologies for missing last week’s article. To all of my faithful readers (yes, email me so I know you exist), it was one of those weeks where the M.D. took over my J.D. and sentenced me to B.E.D. Luckily, I got an early release. There are some really exciting articles coming up including mandatory reporting requirements for abuse of children. This piece is influenced by the events that occurred in the Penn State issue. Another great article coming up focuses on the right to bear arms after a felony conviction or a domestic violence injunction. I am going to expand my scope and actually interview some social workers to get their opinions on the topics. However, this week is much more simple and geared towards our wonderful small …
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Marketing and PR strategies do not need to be beyond the reach of small businesses. Here are four steps for success.
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Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Whether you're an established business leader or an emerging entrepreneur, you have the same goal: to attract new customers, expand your business, and increase your profit. Have you tried to place a print ad, only to find it's too expensive? Have you sent press releases to a newsroom, only to get no response? Have you fiddled with social media, but can't seem to gain new followers? To be successful, you need to focus on four key areas: 1) Establish a budget. Just like every other part of your business, you need to know how much you have to spend on branding and exposure. Here's one tip that many business owners miss: ensure you have invested enough money in the graphic design and creative direction of your ad. If it doesn't' look…
Monday, February 1, 2010
Entrepreneurs are great at dreaming big, but how do you turn that dream into a reality? Here are three tips to get you started.
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Monday, February 1, 2010
I remember when I first left Pittsburgh with $814 and a dream of becoming a mover and shaker in the world. It’s hard, especially when you’re first starting out and don’t have a big budget. In my case, I didn’t have a budget, period. The first step feels like the hardest one, and it is to get yourself noticed. The term for that these days is branding. Connecting with your customers and establishing a name for yourself is a make-or-break endeavor for small businesses. Here are three ways to do that: These three ways to meet people and convince them to do business with you won’t cost you much, but refusing to do them will absolutely cost you clients and opportunities. And when you’re a small business looking to grow, you can’t afford to …
