August 2011

QR codes can do a multitude of things including redirecting the scanner to a URL, display custom text on a phone or even direct the scanner to a phone number. These codes can be placed anywhere fairly flat (think business cards, Realtor signs and printed ads) and are a great way to grab attention and increase your click through rate.

Imagine you meet someone new at a conference and want to give them your contact information. Traditionally you'd give them a business card and hope that they took the time to painstakingly enter your information into their contacts. Not anymore! Your information can now be contained in a QR code printed on your card and will be automatically entered when scanned. Want to give it a shot? Scan the QR code on the right to see my business card!

NOW, what you've been waiting for. This is a prime time to practice your QR scanning skills if you're new at this and if you're a QR pro, this will be an easy entry for you! To enter the giveaway simply scan the QR code on the left (or click on it if you don't have access to a QR reader). It will direct you to a quick two question survey and by entering your contact information at the end, you'll automatically be entered to win. The winner will receive a copy of  The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber as well as two free admissions to your choice of seminars from our Business Health Series this fall (Strategic Marketing, Financing Your Business and Writing Your Business Plan).  

The deadline for entry is Thursday, August 11th. The winner will be announced August 12th. 

The Amarillo Chamber of Commerce has announced their 2011 Business Excellence Awards winners and we're proud to say that we have clients (and many friends) on both of these lists!

Top Small Business Award

Rod and Vanda Lancour and their business Support Hose Plus and online store SupportHoseStore.com are finalists for the Top Small Business Award! The Lancours have been clients of the SBDC since 2006 when the SBDC helped these Enterprize Challenge winners expand inventory and take their business online.

Top 20 Under 40 Award

Kolache Cafe is the brainchild of Scott Dickerson and his wife Cindy. It's a cafe like no other in Amarillo and Scott's dedication to the business has earned him a finalist's spot for the Top 20 Under 40 Award! While attending college in south Texas, he and Cindy fell in love with the kolaches that are common in that part of the state. They returned to Amarillo after graduation with a longing to offer the same kolaches here and we're proud to have been a part of the opening of the Kolache Cafe in 2009!

Dirk van Reenen and Andy Roller of Expio Consulting have both been named finalists for the Top 20 Under 40 Award! Dirk has been a long time client and friend of the SBDC and in addition to Expio Consulting, he continues his work with Prudential ADA Realtors as their Director of Special Asset Solutions and his own business, Caprock Auctions. 

View the entire list of finalists for the Top Small Business Award and the Top 20 Under 40 Award. 

• The creator of the Nike Swoosh symbol was paid only $35 for the design in 1971.
       
• Henry Ford, the father of the automobile, used leftover wood scraps from the production of Model T's to invent the first widely used formula for making charcoal briquettes. He later sold the formula to a relative by the name of E.G. Kingsford and the Kingsford company as we know it today was born.
     
• In 1916, oil tycoon John Rockefeller became the first person to ever become a billionaire.
   
• Bank of America was originally Bank of Italy. It was founded in 1904 by A. P. Giannini, an Italian immigrant who began operating from the streets of San Francisco to provide loans to other immigrants that the big banks ignored.