From the Director...
As we end this year and prepare to start a new one, many times we feel the pressure to set new year's resolutions, to correct things we have not done well or need to start doing. While I am all for wanting to do better and be better, many times we overlook the opportunity to look back and reflect on the good things we accomplished over the course of the year. We rarely celebrate the small successes that have occurred. So before you start planning on what you need to improve on in 2013, celebrate the good in 2012.
- Did your business grow, even a little bit?
- Are you still in business?
- Did you finally land that big account you were hoping for?
- Do you have employees that enjoy being at work and are contributing to the success of the business?
With the good things identified, now you can duplicate what you did in those areas to other areas that may need more attention. Success breeds success. Build on the growth you had in 2012 and 2013 will be a year of continued success and growth.
We look forward to continuing to work with you in the upcoming year. Have a Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year!
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A Gift for Small Business Development Centers and their Clients
 The Planning Shop & Visa have created a Small Business Holiday Success Guide. This 20-page FREE guide is chock full of best holiday marketing strategies, money management tips, people planning advice, fillable worksheets to jumpstart your holiday planning, fun infographics, and much more.
Download your FREE copy here
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Meet the winners of the 2012 AZ SBDC Success Awards
...in a series of video clips
and hear what they have to say about
how the AZSBDC Network helped their businesses achieve success.
Video testimonials from the winners can be found online HERE. The 2011 videos are also posted on the same link above.
2012 Winners 2011 WinnerMark & Ruth Vining, Vining Funeral Home (8:23 on video clip)
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More Than You Want to Know About Hiring
by Phil Libin, Inc.com
December 4, 2012
Six battle-tested tips on finding and keeping great people, including one tip you don't want to hear
I don't think I can overstate this: Building, and keeping, a great team is the most important thing you do as CEO. That applies whether you're a five person start-up or a 50,000-head. Having launched three companies, I can offer a few tips on hiring great people. I'll save the most important one for last, because you're not going to want to hear it.
Recommendations from close friends (or just hiring close friends) is the best way to start. When that supply is exhausted, switch to recommendations from existing employees. We constantly encourage our employees to refer their friends to Evernote and we pay a generous bonus if we wind up hiring a referred candidate.
Hire people smarter than you (or at least smarter about their particular job than you are). If you do this, not only will everyone be happier, but your employee-referrer pipeline will continue to bring in great candidates for years to come. Once you start hiring mediocre people, you can no longer trust their references.
Make them write. When I'm interviewing people, I like to give them a writing test. I ask them to write a few paragraphs in normal English, or whatever language they're going to be working in the most, about a topic I assign. I try to keep the topics short and useful. For example, I asked recent candidates to write a short letter to Evernote ambassadors (volunteers who help represent us to our users in particular verticals) to thank them for their service and invite them to our annual conference. I find that you can tell a lot more about a person's personality from a few paragraphs of their writing than from a lengthy verbal interview. Many people can pretend to be something they're not in person, but very few people can do so in writing....
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Six Simple Rituals to Reach Your Potential Every Day
by Amber Rae, Fast Company
December 4, 2012
Becoming and staying productive isn't about hard-to-follow programs or logging your every move in an app. It's about self-care. Here are daily to-dos to get you started.It's Tuesday morning at 8 a.m. Two San Francisco entrepreneurs are pitching their ventures to potential investors today. They'd both agree that this is one of the most important days of their lives. This is the story of Jane and Joe... Jane was up until 4 a.m. putting the final touches on her deck. In fact, she spent the entire weekend fixed in her apartment, preparing the presentation. This morning, she woke up late and rushed putting together her most "investor-worthy" attire. She slammed a shot of espresso, grabbed her computer, and ran out the door feeling hungry and tired. She arrived right on time but felt anxious and flustered about the events of the morning. Joe, on the other hand, went to sleep last night at 11 p.m., as he does most nights of the week. His presentation was ready Friday afternoon, after seven revisions thanks to feedback from advisors. He spent the weekend in nature connecting with friends. This morning, he woke up at 7 a.m., had a glass of water, ran two miles, meditated for 15 minutes, and drank a smoothie. He put on the outfit he picked out the evening before, grabbed his bag, and walked out the door. He arrived 10 minutes early, feeling confident, calm, and eager to share his vision with potential investors. Which entrepreneur would you bet on? And, which entrepreneur most closely resembles you? Jane and Joe are fictional characters but having been immersed in the world of startups in both New York and San Francisco, I see a lot of Janes. They work 16-hour days, seven days per week, and wonder why they aren't getting the results they're looking for. The truth is, results don't come through hours spent. Great results often come by doing less and working smarter. This past weekend I had the opportunity to speak with my friend Mike Del Ponte, who resembles the character of Joe. Today he launches a Kickstarter campaign for his company Soma, which aims to revolutionize the water industry using sustainable design. (It's awesome. Check it out.) Surprised by how cool, calm, and collected Mike was so close to launch, I asked him what his secret is. "Every day I need physical energy, mental clarity, and emotional balance to tackle everything that comes my way," Mike said. "Self-care is the secret to performing at the highest level." Here are the six simple rituals he uses to perform at his highest, which you too can begin implementing right away... Click here to read complete article
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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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Thanks for Making Small Business Saturday a Great Day for Small Businesses!
On November 24th, people all across the country came out to show their support for small businesses and the communities they help to keep thriving. Continue showing support for small businesses by shopping small all year.  Check out "Small Business Saturday" Facebook page
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We are working on our new event schedule for 2013. We will keep you posted on what we have planned for next year. If you would like to see us offer a certain seminar topic, please let us know.
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The Small Business Book Awards recognize business books that were published in 2011 that are of interest to small business owners, managers and entrepreneurs.
Top Ten Winners
Problogging Action Plan, by Jane Sheeba
Accelerate!, by Arnie Kuenn
Export Now, by Frank Lavin and Peter Cohan
MBA Preferred, by Jeretta Horn Nord and Lawrence A. Crosby
Paper Flow, by MaryAnne Bennie and Brigitte Hinneberg
Managing With a Conscience (2nd Edition), by Frank Sonnenberg
Big Wave Surfing, by Kenneth J. Thurber
The Botty Rules, by Nigel Botterill
The Lemonade Stand, by Nick Gustavsson and Ara Bagdasarian
Appetite for Acquisition, by Eric Gagnon and Robin Gagnon
Click here for more information on Category Winners
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We Appreciate Referrals!
We would greatly appreciate it if you share our services with your friends, family, and colleagues.
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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