How to Survive and Have Fun in a Challenging Economy

Posted on 2012/02/24 by scoreoc| Leave a comment

No doubt about it, being an entrepreneur is challenging yet very rewarding. Learn how this entrepreneur has been able to keep her sense of self and enjoy her business at the same time!

Make your plans to attend the Women Business Owner’s Conference, March 23, Anaheim Marriott, Anaheim, California.

Meet speaker: Joni Marie O’Neill, Entrepreneur and Owner, Mission Viejo Florist

Joni’s session will include:

  • Learn how to find the brighter side of any challenging situation,
  • Discover what makes your customers want to do business with you,
  • You don’t have to know everything, but you need to know where to find the answers

Joni was born and raised in Southern California. Upon graduation from high school, she worked a variety of part-time jobs to put herself through nursing school. She graduated with a degree in nursing and accepted an apprenticeship in the Intensive Care Unit at St. Mary’s Medical Center in Long Beach, a teaching hospital associated with UCLA School of Medicine. She honed her nursing skills by working in the cardiac, neuro, respiratory, trauma, and pediatric critical care units. After ten years, she left St. Mary’s to work in South Orange County where she continued to work in Critical Care and Trauma units.

Entrepreneurship and Joni’s passion for flowers called and she purchased a floundering florist in Mission Viejo where her leadership and vision took the business sales from $64,000 a year to over $500,000 in less than twelve months. She continues to oversee the day to day operations of Mission Viejo Florist, Inc., as well as her on-line florists.

Invited to Washington, D.C. by President Obama to participate in the Job and Economic Forum, Joni found a new passion to inspire others to live their dream of entrepreneurship.

Sign up for the conference to get inspired! For more information:www.wboconference.com

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What is the CEO Forum?

Posted on 2012/02/22 by scoreoc| Leave a comment

By Larry Tucker, CEO Forum

What is the CEO Forum Program? The CEO Forum Program is one of the services offered to small businesses by the Orange County Chapter of SCORE, a national nonprofit dedicated to helping small business owners and those who want to start small businesses.

There are currently five CEO Forums, each populated by 12 business owners with two SCORE counselors as meeting facilitators. In monthly meetings, a specific, results-oriented process is used to solve the issues brought to the table by forum members. In addition, each quarter an outside speaker presents on a topic selected by members.

Members derive a wide range of benefits from the program:

  • Better insight into their businesses by having peers assist in decision-making and problem solving while maintaining confidentiality
  • Self-imposed accountability for business issues and goals critical to their firm’s performance
  • Fresh ideas and perspectives on opportunities and challenges from experienced peers
  • Improved skill development from exclusive SCORE CEO Forum speakers and workshops
  • “Business therapy” support from peers, and opportunities to network with others within and outside of their industries

What types of businesses participate? All types of businesses are welcome and derive benefits from the program…retail, B2B, manufacturing, service, banking, internet, brick-and-board. We find that the interaction and perspectives of a wide range of businesses provides the most robust discussions, so we intentionally mix business types in each forum. To insure that all members are similarly situated, our minimum criteria for participation is $1 million in annual revenue, 3 non-family employees and a commercial (not home-based) office.

How does a typical meeting run? Each member signs in with his/her issue and prioritizes it. After an initial go around the table with updates from each member, we begin the issues portion of the meeting, which lasts the rest of the session. We address issues based on the priorities assigned by members, and we will usually address three to six issues each session. In our quarterly speaker sessions, we bring all forums together for the speaker presentation, then break out into our forums for abbreviated issues sessions.

What are some recent examples of how businesses were helped? There are literally hundreds of examples, but let me give you a few recent examples just from the forum that Joel Mascitelli and I facilitate:

  • One member was being courted by two potential investors, each looking for different outcomes. The group helped him focus on the better of the two investors and on how to manage the negotiations.
  • An internet retailer asked the group for suggestions to create buzz around his site for the upcoming holidays. By the end of the session, he had a sheet full of ideas, many of which he subsequently used.
  • A member that does both internet retailing and B2B asked the group “Is it time for me to hire a sales manager?” After lots of discussion, the consensus was, “Yes!” She has hired the sales manager and is growing her business by leaps and bounds.

Consider joining SCORE OC’s CEO Forum group to meet and learn from other business owners in your county. Interested? Find out more about the program at www.score114.org.

 

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Facebook Dilemma: Business Page or Business Account?

Posted on 2012/02/20 by scoreoc| Leave a comment

By Eydie Stumpf, Social Media Consultant, Institute for Women Entrepreneurs

The 21st Century Marketing Conference, designed especially for women business owners, is just around the corner, and your presence on March 23rd will make this event even more exciting!  Social media is such a hot topic right now,  we’d like to offer you a tip or two on how to use Facebook to your advantage.

Have you ever wondered what the difference between a Facebook Business Page and a Business Account is?  Often, I have business owners tell me that they don’t want their Business Page associated with their Personal Profile account. Lucky for them Facebook actually gives business owners choices.  Facebook allows businesses to create a presence in two ways.

  1. Create a Business Page
  2. Create a Business Account

Let’s take a look at both options…

Creating a Business Page:

  • Using your personal profile account, create a Facebook Business Page.
  • Business Pages ARE searchable and indexed by search engines.

[NOTE: Personal Profiles ARE NOT searchable!  Often, I see business owners using their Personal Profile AS their business instead of creating a Business Page. This is not effective at all if they want to be found on Google, Bing, or other search engines.]

  • Promote your business
  • Offer valuable information, tips, updates
  • Use for customer service
  • Upload a profile banner instead of simply your logo
  • Create a Custom Landing Page
  • Use Facebook as your Page to “Like” other Pages
  • Comment as your Page for more visibility

Now, there are some people who don’t want to create a Business Page which is associated with their Personal Profile account. That’s where a Business Account comes in.

Creating a Business Account: So, what’s the difference between a Business Page and a Business Account? Lots!

Using Facebook’s explanation:

  • Business accounts are designed for individuals who only want to use the site to administer Pages and their ad campaigns.
  • Business accounts do not have the same functionality as personal accounts.
  • Business accounts have limited access to information on the site.
  • Profiles (Timelines) cannot be seen.
  • Business accounts cannot be found in search, send or receive friend requests, or create/develop apps.

Sign up for the conference to get inspired!  For more information: www.wboconference.com

What are your thoughts about a Business Page vs. a Business Account? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.

 

 

 

 

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