Greetings!
We hope the following content will provide current and useful information to our clients and other members of our community. Thank you for your continued support of the SBDC. Please contact our office for further information or assistance.
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What Successful People Do With The First Hour of Their Work Day
by Kevin Purdy, Fast Company
August 22, 2012How much does the first hour of every day matter? As it turns out, a lot. It can be the hour you see everything clearly, get one real thing done, and focus on the human side of work rather than your task list.
Remember when you used to have a period at the beginning of every day to think about your schedule, catch up with friends, maybe knock out a few tasks? It was called home room, and it went away after high school. But many successful people schedule themselves a kind of grown-up home room every day. You should too. The first hour of the workday goes a bit differently for Craig Newmark of Craigslist, David Karp of Tumblr, motivational speaker Tony Robbins, career writer (and Fast Company blogger) Brian Tracy, and others, and they'll tell you it makes a big difference. Here are the first items on their daily to-do list..... Click here to read complete article
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Sensible Social Media Checklist for Businesses
by Davis Wallace, Search Engine Journal
July 27, 2012 
Once in a while, I come across a company that has yet to embrace social media. They get the same scolding that companies who did not have a Web presence 10 years ago received, which is, "Better evolve and get with the program or lose to the competition!" Even many who ARE using social media to one degree or another, do not have a consistent strategy that will enable them to get the most out of their social networks. Common excuses are, "I don't have time," "I don't know what to say," or even "None of our customers are using social media." However, given the fact that many people do use social media on a day-to-day basis, not too mention that search engines such as Google now factor social signals (social media users referencing your brand or products) heavily in their ranking algorithms, the excuses may be valid, but at the same time they will hinder the growth of any business. To make things a bit easier for companies looking to get on the social media bandwagon, the folks over at The Whole Brain Group have put together the second edition of their handy social media checklist, which helps businesses take a sensible approach to setting goals on the most popular social media networks, including Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, YouTube, and even the newcomer, Pinterest..... Click here to read complete article
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Borrowing Money
Starting & Managing a Business
SBA.gov
Borrowing money is one of the most common sources of funding for a small business, but obtaining a loan isn't always easy. Before you approach a lender for a loan, it is a good idea to understand as much as you can about the factors the bank will evaluate when they consider your application. This page outlines some of the key factors a lender uses to analyze a potential borrower.
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A Crash Course in Lead Generation: Sales Without Selling
by Barry Moltz, Open Forum
August 22, 2012
The biggest issue that faces every small business owner in this economy is how to find new customers. Unfortunately, the most common strategy used is various random marketing activities like going to networking events, deep price discounting or using haphazard social media postings. They get stuck on selling the features and benefits of their products and hoping that the prospect is interested in buying at that very moment. In fact, many small businesses keep going after the same old prospects that stopped returning their calls or emails a very long time ago.
Traditional lead generation through cold calling and other hard sales tactics is dead. Most small business owners welcome this news flash since a prospect's "no" or non responsiveness hurts their confidence and places further stumbling blocks in the way of growing their business through increased sales.
The Sander Selling Systems taught me along time ago that the formula for people buying is actually very simple. Customers buy when:
1. They are in pain (or a very great need!)
2. They have the money to solve that pain.
In a tough economy, customers always buy painkillers before vitamins! Before any small business owner decides to get more customers, they have to clearly describe in one sentence the pain that their company solves and identify which prospects have the money to solve that pain. In fact, this type of "elevator speech" should be practiced often.....
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 The ASBDC Biz Blog launched in January 2012 with 12 contributing companies -- all with extensive backgrounds in small business. The blog is updated weekly with new articles covering topics on IT & Marketing for Small Business, Youth Entrepreneurship, Veterans in Small Business, Procurement, Financial issues and more!
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The EAC Small Business Development Center, funded by Eastern Arizona College and the Small Business Administration, is designed to promote the success of small business in the Graham and Greenlee County area, as well as the San Carlos Apache Nation. This program puts a team of experienced business professionals at your disposal - at no cost to you. We offer one-on-one confidential counseling and training in various business-related areas such as record keeping, marketing, taxes, computer usage, business planning and more. Take advantage of us. We're here to help you!
Sincerely,
Kevin Peck, Director
EAC Small Business Development Center
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The Benefits of Pay Per Click Marketing
Thurs, September 27, 2012
6:00 - 8:00pm
Cost: $20
EAC High Tech Center (HTC) #124
Click here to register
Chamber Members Lunch & Learn Event
"Increasing Your Business Visibility by Claiming Your Online Local Page Listings"
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Good Reads
Read the Pumpkin Plan to Grow Your Business Review by Ivana Taylor, Small Buisness Trends, July 8, 2012
r) and I'm already laughing.
When we talked about his sending me a review copy of this book, he told me this was going to a more serious book about building your business - and it is. But I'm still laughing out loud in my kitchen at 6am on a Saturday over a cup of steaming coffee (which is when I write these book reviews). I hope the rest of my family doesn't hear me. Let me tell you a little bit about the author, Mike Michalowicz. In the interest of full disclosure, Mike has become a sort of professional friend. That happened after I reviewed his last book, The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur. He's not the kind of guy everyone likes. Some people may think he isn't serious because there's a playful, unassuming, comedic teenage-sense of humor that you notice first. I mean who else would name their book "Toilet Paper Entrepreneur?" But he's the kind of guy I LOVE because beneath the carefree, frat-boy style is real down-to-earth wisdom that only a small business owner can appreciate. Click here for more information
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If you would like to write a review or testimonial about your experience with the SBDC, click here to find out how!
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EAC Small Business Development Center
615 N. Stadium Ave., (Student Services Building)
Thatcher, AZ 85552
Phone: (928) 428-8590
Fax: (928) 428-2578
Email: sbdc@eac.edu
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