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Event 9/17: Healthcare Reform

SBOCTeam — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:38:02 GMT

Looking for Affordable Solutions

If you're a small business owner, employee or family member of a small business, there is little doubt that you've already heard about the biggest issue facing lawmakers this fall - healthcare reform. With a recent Mason-Dixon survey showing 66 percent of small business owners citing "cost" as the premiere issue Congress should address in healthcare reform, Congress and the White House have a unique opportunity to develop solutions that result in greater access to quality, affordable health insurance for the small business community.

Regardless of the outcome, healthcare reform is sure to have a significant impact on your small business - for better or worse. To help you better understand the effect(s?) that healthcare reform can have on you, your business and the men and women you work with each day, Michelle Dimarob, Manager of Legislative Affairs with the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), will provide an overview of the various employer provisions being discussed as part of the healthcare reform debate.

The event on September 17th focuses on how healthcare reform measures currently debated in Congress can impact small business owners. This week Dimarob will cover a host of issue areas that are of interest to small business owners as they evaluate the various employer aspects of healthcare reform. Topics covered include:

What can Congress do to help small businesses afford health insurance?
Legislative Update - Washington, DC at work on healthcare reform.
Understanding the 3 C's: cost, choice and competition.

About Michelle Dimarob
Michelle Dimarob is a healthcare lobbyist at the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation's leading small business advocacy organization. A nonprofit, nonpartisan organization founded in 1943, NFIB represents the consensus views of about 350,000 members in Washington D.C., and all 50 state capitals.

Michelle Dimarob will be live on SBOC on September 17 at 2:00 p.m. EST. However, if you can't participate at that specific day/time - you can post a question now and check back during or after the event for a response. Note, you do not need to register for the event. You simply need to be a member of SBOC to post a question. If you don't have a user ID, join now, it's free.

Event 8/13: How to Maximize the Impact of Online Advertising

SBOCTeam — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:09:12 GMT

You've built a great small business and know that the right type of marketing can help you achieve your goals. But, with so many advertising options and so little time to investigate them, you need proven strategies and techniques to make the most of your investment and help drive new business opportunity. The Internet is now the number one choice for consumers when looking for a local business, product or service. Discover the most effective ways to leverage online advertising to grow your business. Learn how to maximize your exposure, convert visitors to customers and accurately track your return on investment. Kirsten Mangers, an expert in Internet marketing for small business will be online to help you navigate these challenges drawing from their experience and a tool called CompassTM.

Kirsten will be on SBOC to answer questions such as:

What are some quick-hit strategies that I can use to ensure I'm investing the right amount and in the right advertising areas?
Besides asking customers how they heard about my business, how can I measure the true impact of advertising on my bottom line?
Like most small businesses, I don't sell products through a Web site, so how important is an information-only Web site to the success of my marketing & advertising efforts?
How much time/effort should I spend trying to optimize my Web site for high search engine rankings?

About Kirsten

Kirsten Mangers is chief executive officer and co-founder of WebVisible. A recognized small-business advocate, she has delivered on the promise of leveraging the Internet to drive local traffic to local businesses.

WebVisible, a global leader in local interactive advertising, blends art and science to ensure local merchants can be found online at anytime, on any device, in order to drive new opportunities through major search engines such as Google, Yahoo! and MSN; online display and video ad networks; and mobile/location-based advertising.

Kirsten will be live on SBOC on August 13 at 2:00 p.m. EST. However, if you can't participate at that specific day/time - you can post a question now and check back during or after the event for Kirsten's response. Kirsten will try to answer as many questions as possible on the 13th, but may not get to all of them. Note, you do not need to register for the event. You simply need to be a member of SBOC to post a question. If you don't have a user ID, join now, it's free.

For more tips on participating in events click here:
http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/thread/17347?tstart=0

Event 8/27: Overtime: How Much?

SBOCTeam — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 13:48:45 GMT

Some experts believe that as many as 90 percent of employers are not fully complying with wage and hour laws. This may explain why wage and hour claims are on the rise - and why these claims are being more actively pursued by plaintiffs' attorneys.

To help reduce your chance of being a target and to increase your chance of successfully defending yourself against an overtime lawsuit, Elizabeth Milito, Senior Executive Counsel with the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Small Business Legal Center and an expert on employment issues, will guide you through the second of a two-part series covering the basics of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the federal wage and hour law.

The event on August 27th, focuses on determining which employees get overtime. This week Milito will cover a host of overtime calculation issues that have become pitfalls for employers and goldmines for plaintiffs' attorneys. Topics covered include:

Calculating wages under the FLSA - and the wage and hour principles frequently targeted by plaintiffs' attorneys.
Provide practical examples of work and non-work time, including on-call time, travel time, training time, and time spent responding to emails at home.
Answers to your other general wage and hour questions.

About Elizabeth Milito

Elizabeth Milito is Senior Executive Counsel for the Small Business Legal Center at the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the leading small business association. A nonprofit, nonpartisan organization founded in 1943, NFIB represents the consensus views of about 350,000 members in Washington D.C., and all 50 state capitals. Milito is a frequent author, speaker and advisor on all aspects of the employment relationship and compliance with employment and labor laws, including wage-hour issues, independent contractor classifications, sufficiency of employee handbooks and proper hiring procedures. She previously served as an editorial reviewer for the ABA's Guide to Workplace Law.

Elizabeth will be live on SBOC on August 27 at 2:00 p.m. EST. However, if you can't participate at that specific day/time - you can post a question now and check back during or after the event for Elizabeth's response. Elizabeth will try to answer as many questions as possible on the 27th, but may not get to all of them. Note, you do not need to register for the event. You simply need to be a member of SBOC to post a question. If you don't have a user ID, join now, it's free.

For more tips on participating in events click here:
http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/thread/17347?tstart=0

Event 8/20: Overtime: Who Gets It?

SBOCTeam — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 13:28:06 GMT

Wage and hour laws are a continual source of frustration for employers. These laws, which include minimum wage and overtime, cover virtually every employer in the United States. Failing to understand under what circumstances you must pay your employee overtime could cost a lot, including back pay and civil penalties to say nothing of potential criminal fines.

To help you comply, Elizabeth Milito, Senior Executive Counsel with the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Small Business Legal Center and an expert on employment issues, will guide you through the a two-part series covering the basics of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the federal wage and hour law.

Part I of the series, on August 20, will help you determine if your employees are exempt from overtime. The forum will also cover:

The difference between exempt and non-exempt status - Simply paying your workers a salary does not exempt them from overtime. Learn how to determine which employees should be paid overtime and which should not.
Positions that are automatically exempt from overtime - Depending on your type of business, many of your employees may not be entitled to overtime, such as commissioned salespersons. Find out the major exemptions.
Plus other tips and answers to your other overtime questions.

In Part II of the series Overtime: How Much?, on August 27, Milito will cover a host of overtime calculation issues that have become pitfalls for employers, including work time involving travel, training, and time spent responding to emails at home.

About Elizabeth Milito

Elizabeth Milito is Senior Executive Counsel for the Small Business Legal Center at the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the leading small business association. A nonprofit, nonpartisan organization founded in 1943, NFIB represents the consensus views of about 350,000 members in Washington D.C., and all 50 state capitals. Milito is a frequent author, speaker and advisor on all aspects of the employment relationship and compliance with employment and labor laws, including wage-hour issues, independent contractor classifications, sufficiency of employee handbooks and proper hiring procedures. She previously served as an editorial reviewer for the ABA's Guide to Workplace Law.

Elizabeth will be live on SBOC on August 20 at 2:00 p.m. EST. However, if you can't participate at that specific day/time - you can post a question now and check back during or after the event for Elizabeth's response. Elizabeth will try to answer as many questions as possible on the 20th, but may not get to all of them. Note, you do not need to register for the event. You simply need to be a member of SBOC to post a question. If you don't have a user ID, join now, it's free.

For more tips on participating in events click here:
http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/thread/17347?tstart=0

Event June: Organizational Leadership

CommunityTeam — Mon, 04 May 2009 16:00:38 GMT

Every small company is a tribe, in which everyone knows everyone else, or at least knows of them. Small companies tribes often include investors, spouses, attorneys, accountants, and advisors. But not all tribes are the same. What makes the difference in performance, innovation, and the ability to survive and thrive in economic downturns is tribal culture. The five cultures are:

Stage One: criminal clusters, such as gangs and prisons, where the theme is "life stinks," and people act out in despairingly hostile ways.
Stage Two: the dominant culture in 25 percent of workplace tribes where people say, in effect, "my life stinks," and exhibit behavior of apathetic victims.
Stage Three: the dominant culture in almost half of U.S. workplace tribes, where theme is "I'm great." This personally competitive cultural stage produces only limited innovation and almost no collaboration.
Stage Four: representing 22 percent of tribal cultures, where the theme is "we're great." Stage four is the zone of Tribal Leadership where the leader upgrades the tribe as the tribe embraces the leader. Stage Four is the beginning of high performance.
Stage Five: the culture of 2 percent of the workforce tribes, where the theme is "life is great" and people focus on realizing potential by making history. Teams at Stage Five have produced remarkable innovations, leading their industries and the economy.

In this highly interactive session, Dave Logan, best selling co-author of Tribal Leadership and The Three Laws of Performance shows executives how to upgrade their organization one stage at a time, all the way to Stage Five. The result is unprecedented impact and success.

Dave Logan is a USC faculty member, best-selling author, and management consultant. He currently teaches management and leadership in the USC Executive MBA-an area rated #1 on the latest Wall Street Journal ranking of EMBA programs. He is also on the faculty at the International Centre for Leadership in Finance (ICLIF), endowed by the former prime minister of Malaysia, and on the Foundation for Medical Excellence in Portland. From 2001-2004, he served as Associate Dean of Executive Education at USC.

As senior partner at CultureSync, a management consulting firm, Dave works with governments, non-profit organizations, and Fortune 500 companies, including Qualcomm, Intel, Charles Schwab, American Express, and Prudential.

Dave is co-author of four books including Tribal Leadership and The Three Laws of Performance. His books have been on the best-sellers lists of USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, and Business Week.

Dave has a Ph.D. in Organizational Communication from the Annenberg School at USC.

Post a question now, and then join us on June 4 at 2:00 p.m. EST for a response. Or join us during the event and post a question. Dave will try to answer as many questions as possible, but may not get to all of them. Note, you do not need to register for the event. You simply need to be a member of SBOC to post a question. If you don't have a user ID, join now, it's free.

Event July 23: The Upwardly Mobile Small Business

SBOCTeam — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 13:55:10 GMT

Using Mobility to Compete, Survive and Thrive in a Web 2.0 World

Sponsored by BlackBerry®

In the face of tough economic conditions, small business owners are looking for ways to build long lasting relationships with current customers while pursuing new relationships with good prospects. In this event with Brent Leary, speaker and award winning blogger, we will look at how a strategic use of today's powerful mobile devices can offer solutions to challenges small businesses are faced with in effectively communicating with today's socially-empowered, on-the-go customer base.

Brent will be answering questions like:

How can we use mobile devices to easily capture and share information amongst ourselves? with customers?
How can we use mobile devices from a sales and marketing perspective?
How can a mobile strategy help lower costs?
How do you measure the ROI for mobility?
How can mobility help us build better relationships with customers? Acquire new ones?

About Brent Leary

Brent Leary is a CRM industry analyst, advisor, author, speaker and award winning blogger. He is co-founder and Partner of CRM Essentials LLC, an Atlanta based CRM advisory firm covering tools and strategies for improving business relationships. His client list includes Research In Motion, Sage, Microsoft, Intuit, Cisco and the state of Georgia's Depart of Economic Development.

Recognized by InsideCRM as one of 2007's 25 most influential industry leaders, Leary also is a past recipient of CRM Magazine's Most Influential Leader Award. He serves on the national board of the CRM Association, and as a subject matter expert for the Small Business Technology Task Force. He's been quoted in several national business publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek and Entrepreneur magazine. In 2009 Leary co-authored Barack 2.0: Social Media Lessons for Small Business. He has written regular online columns for Inc. and Black Enterprise magazines, as well as for popular business sites including American Express OPEN Forum. Leary also hosts and produces the popular "Technology For Business $ake" Internet radio program.

Brent will be live on SBOC on July 23 at 2:00 p.m. EST. However, if you can't participate at that specific day/time - you can post a question now and check back during or after the event for Brent's response. Brent will try to answer as many questions as possible on July 23, but may not get to all of them. Note, you do not need to register for the event. You simply need to be a member of SBOC to post a question. If you don't have a user ID, join now, it's free.

For more tips on participating in events click here:
http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/thread/17347?tstart=0

Event July 16: Navigating Through the �Great Recession�

CommunityTeam — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 10:16:08 GMT

Want to get tips on navigating your small business through the "Great Recession?" Join us for a discussion with Rieva Lesonsky, former small business journalist and current small business owner, who has become a well known small business expert in the field. Rieva thinks it's critical for small business owners to have the right tools and resources to help them reduce expenses and better manage day-to-day work so they can focus on running their business in the current economic environment. This will also help small business owners begin to prepare for the economic recovery that is sure to come.

Rieva will be answering questions like:

What can I do now to shore up my business so I'm ahead of the competition when the economy comes out of the recession?
How can I better manage my cash flow?
What are some low cost marketing techniques that I can utilize to market my business in the current economic environment?
What types of responsibilities can I outsource, so that I can focus on more important tasks?
Is now a good time to invest in new technology and equipment?

About Rieva Lesonsky

Rieva Lesonsky is the CEO of GrowBiz Media, a content and consulting company specializing in covering small businesses and entrepreneurship. Before co-founding GrowBiz Media, Lesonsky worked at Entrepreneur magazine for over 26 years, where she started as a Research Assistant and worked her way up to Editorial Director. Lesonsky wrote the bestselling book Start Your Own Business, currently in its 4th edition, and has co-authored several other books about small business and entrepreneurship, including Young Millionaires, Ultimate Book of Franchising and 303 Marketing Tips. Lesonsky has appeared on hundreds of radio shows and numerous local and national television programs, including the Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN, Fox Business News, The Martha Stewart Show as well as Oprah and can regularly be seen on MSNBC's Your Business. Lesonsky served on the Small Business Administration's National Advisory Council for six years and the SBA honored her as a Small Business Media Advocate and a Woman in Business Advocate.

Rieva will be live on SBOC on July 16 at 2:00 p.m. EST. However, if you can't participate at that specific day/time - you can post a question now and check back during or after the event for Rieva's response. Rieva will try to answer as many questions as possible on July 16, but may not get to all of them. Note, you do not need to register for the event. You simply need to be a member of SBOC to post a question. If you don't have a user ID, join now, it's free.

For more tips on participating in events click here:
http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/thread/17347?tstart=0

Event: Cost Effective Strategies to Go Global

CommunityTeam — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:12:36 GMT

Thinking of taking your business global? Laurel Delaney runs GlobeTrade, a leading management consulting and marketing solutions company dedicated to helping entrepreneurs and small businesses go global. Learn about the changing dynamics of global business in today's market, and cost effective strategies to expand into a global market.

Please welcome Laurel Delaney back to SBOC! Laurel was an expert guest speaker in March and gave advice on how to get started in global business. Laurel addressed questions like - benefits & risks with going global to the best way to establish international partners. Click on the link below to read the past event transcript:
http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/thread/14467?tstart=0

In this session, Laurel will be addressing ideas on how to cost effectively expand or maintain your business abroad. Laurel will address questions like:

How do you leverage social media and networking platforms to grow a business globally?
What's the most effective way to hire and maintain (nurture) independent contractors worldwide while building a global empire during a tough economic time?
Is Twitter important? Can it help reach a global audience? If so, what should you be doing to tap into it?
What are some key elements involved to run a fit-for-fast-growth type of global small business?
Where do you turn to find out if an overseas market is ripe for your type of product or service offering?

About Laurel Delaney
Laurel Delaney runs GlobeTrade, a leading management consulting and marketing solutions company dedicated to helping entrepreneurs and small businesses go global. Her company's mission is simple: to make going global easy by giving you the tools, resources, and knowledge you need. And she feels very strongly that in today's fiercely competitive economy, it's the entrepreneurs and small business owners of the world who are turning to global trade, discovering accelerated growth and big profits, and reshaping the new world economy.

Laurel hopes that her session empowers you to take that first dramatic step toward starting your own business and taking it global from the get-go.

Post your question now, and then check back on June 18, 2-3PM EST for a response. Or join us during the event and post a question.* Note, you do not need to register for the event. You simply need to be a member of SBOC to post a question. If you don't have a user ID, join now, it's free.

Also, click here to learn about tips for participating in online events: http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/thread/17347?tstart=0

Event: Going global with your small business

SBOCTeam — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 18:18:05 GMT

Thinking of taking your business global? Then you've come to the right place.

Laurel Delaney runs GlobeTrade, a leading management consulting and marketing solutions company dedicated to helping entrepreneurs and small businesses go global. Her company's mission is simple: to make going global easy by giving you the tools, resources, and knowledge you need.

And she feels very strongly that in today's fiercely competitive economy, it's the entrepreneurs and small business owners of the world who are turning to global trade, discovering accelerated growth and big profits, and reshaping the new world economy.

Ask Laurel questions like:

What is the single biggest stumbling block to taking a business global?
How to I find the right international partners?
Why should I go global?
How do I evaluate the benefits and risks with expanding my business abroad?
What advice would you offer to those of us considering expanding our business internationally?

Laurel hopes that her session empowers you to take that first dramatic step toward starting your own business and taking it global from the get-go.

Post your question for Laurel here and then check back on March 24 at 2:00PM EST for her reply. You can post a question any time during the event hour.

If you'd like to post a question, it's easy - simply hit reply. However you must be logged into your user account to do so. If you aren't a member yet, signing up is easy and free. It just takes two minutes. Click here to join now if you haven't already http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/create-account.jspa.

Event: Importance of Branding for Small Businesses

CommunityTeam — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:26:47 GMT

Your business may be small, but your brand doesn't have to be. Branding ensures that no matter what size your operation, your audience will remember you, talk about you, and recommend you to friends. More valuable than the hardest-working team of sales execs, your brand tells your story, gives your company instant validity and can even strike an emotional chord in your target market. A powerful brand doesn't just say you're the best choice - it says you're the only choice.

About Perry Sessions

Perry Sessions Design is an award-winning design firm located in Charlotte, North Carolina. From strategic marketing and branding, to development of brochures and websites, the company's overriding goal is to transform business messages into design that inspires action while maximizing return on investment. Learn more about Perry Sessions by visiting http://perrysessions.com/

About Karen

Karen Sessions founded Perry Sessions Design after having spent nine years at Wachovia, now Wells Fargo, as Design Manager in Corporate Communications. Prior to that, she worked for Luquire George Andrews as production manager and for Triangle Health & Fitness (a subsidiary of Campbell Soup) as assistant marketing manager.

Join us on May 19, as Karen Sessions addresses questions like:
1) What is a brand?
2) What should a new business start-up do to create and develop it's brand?
3) When do I take my business to a next level of branding?

Post a question now, and then join us on May 19 at 2:00 p.m. EST for a response. Or join us during the event and post a question. Karen will try to answer as many questions as possible, but may not get to all of them. Note, you do not need to register for the event. You simply need to be a member of SBOC to post a question. If you don't have a user ID, join now, it's free.