National Federation of Independent Business’s Optimism Index made a small but notable gain, settling at 93.8 for December.  Business optimism increased four times since September, ending 2011 on an up note.  Read the complete article here.

mepainter

Charles Lindemuth, painter, illustrator, innovator and entrepreneur visits Getting Down to Business® and talks about how he makes a living as a fine arts painter.  Moving from canvas and brush to a digital art form was a natural step for Charles. Listen as he talks about that process and some of his creations such as “mepainter.”

Business Risk Management

Chis Pobieglo, business insurance expert with Business Insurance Associates, is joined by his business partner and wife Angie to talk about the “Risk of Serving.”  That’s right, the local board you voluntary serve can cause you financial distress.  Find out more as Chris and Angie talk about Directors and Officers (D&O) insurance.

Listen or download below:

Me, Painter

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How to Build Recognition for Your Unknown Brand

Learn how to increase advertising frequency without increasing your advertising budget.  Dave introduces you to Mike Michalowicz, the author of The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, who believes the greatest business success come from underfunded, inexperienced entrepreneurs.  Read the complete article on the Wall Street Journal site.

Steve Forbes on Economics

Listen as Steve Forbes, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief for Forbes Media is Getting Down to Business® with Dave Weatherholt.  Forbes discusses his book How Capitalism Will Save Us, Austrian Economist Joseph Schumpeter, the “Brutality of Capitalism,” and more.

Listen or download below:

Steve Forbes on Economics

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I’m tired of dour economic news, and I bet you are too. My latest Business/News & Views® article, Wealth Creation the American Way, starts out as a book review for An Empire of Wealth and ends by championing the American way of getting things done. If we follow America’s founding principles, we can put this down economy behind us!

Read the full article: Wealth Creation the American Way

Subscribe to the Newsletter

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The August Business/News & Views ® is full of great advice for businesses. From the marketing front, Amanda Cullen gives 5 Tips for Writing Great Marketing Company, and our IT article on using dual monitors will really boost productivity.

Dave weighs in with his economic report– and since that’s not very encouraging these days, his Views article extolls Wealth Creation the American Way.

Read the newsletter: Business/News & Views ®

Subscribe to the Newsletter

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In an “Atlas Shrugged” moment, Kingwood, Texas bank Main Street Bank gets out of the banking business because of federal banking regulations.  Listen as Dave talks about the frustration of the banks chairman and how they will handle excessive bank regulations. Read the whole article at the Wall Street Journal online.

Alaska Center for the Performing Arts

Listen as Nancy Harbour, Executive Director of the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts talks about the new 2011-2012 season.  Nancy tells a story about a fun topic that has a serious economic impact on Anchorage’s community.  And they’ve got a new website! Visit it at www.myalaska.com.

Go It Alone

Listen as Geoff Burch, author & business expert, talks about effective selling without the high pressure.  Geoff is in rare form and entertaining as always. It’s a delightful (and useful) segment you won’t want to miss!

Listen or download below:

Performing Arts New Season

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Two crucial forms of bank lending that remained stubbornly weak are finally showing signs of life, another indicator that the credit crisis is on the mend.  This uptick could help businesses expand and reduce unemployment listen to the summary.  Read the full article: “Uptick in Loans Could Aid Business.”

A Wild Ride

An entrepreneur is a person who wants to change the future.  Change involves more than talk.  The vision must be followed by action.  Following that vision is a great risk.  There is the risk of failure, a damaged reputation, the loss of time and money.  Listen as Dave describes what it took to follow his vision of a professional football team, Alaska Wild, in Anchorage.  Contact Dave  at david@WaConsult.com.

Listen or download below:

A Wild Ride

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Later in the show is our “Business Risk Management” segment with Christopher Pobieglo, CRIS and President of Business Insurance Associates, Inc.Chris joins David to talk worker’s comp. He has great advice for Alaskan businesses on how to manage worker’s compensation insurance and claims.

Listen or download below:

Stone Horn Ridge

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This optimism index measures 10 components ranging from increasing hiring, inventories and capital outlays to earnings trends.  The data has been collected on a quarterly basis since 1973, becoming a monthly survey in 1986– making this an extremely reliable measure and record of the state of our small business community. In the 1980-82 recession periods, the Index was below 90 in only one quarter, registering the lowest reading ever at 80.1 during the second quarter of 1980.  The latest reading from December 2010 was 92.6, a drop from November’s 93.2.  “This marks the 36th month of recessionary levels.  Only once in that period did the Index get above 93 [i.e. November] and has been below 90 for 26 months.” Our business community is mired in pessimism as never before.

But don’t be too dismayed! In the article, I provide inspiration from the life of George Washington and how we Americans have a little Washington in each of us.

Read the full article: The Optimism Index

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Competing at the top requires more than simply pumping additional money into an organization.  A solid base like the “Peerless Pyramid” is quite simply the starting point, and while solid organization will not guarantee business success, a poorly organized structure will guarantee business failure.  Performing at the top of your market requires going beyond a solid structure- it requires binding that structure together with solid business processes.

Process Implementation Steps:

1. Recognize the Process
2. Formalize the Process
3. Simplify the Process
4. Repeat the Process
5. Flawless implementation
6. Measurable results
7. Continuous improvement

This Be the Best article was originally published in January’s Business/News & Views®

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Process Implementation Steps:

1. Recognize the Process
2. Formalize the Process
3. Simplify the Process
4. Repeat the Process
5. Flawless implementation
6. Measurable results
7. Continuous improvement

Read more… Be the Best V

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David brings us bad economic news, his segment being titled, “Few Businesses Sprout, With Even Fewer Jobs.” Learn what this dearth of innovation might mean for your business and customers.

Amanda Cullen of Zoo in a Jungle Marketing brightens the mood by looking towards 2011 and how to cut your marketing budget without reducing its effectiveness. Her four steps will have your marketing budget in tip-top shape for the upcoming year.

Listen or download below:

Built In Alaska

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Learn all about the sport of roller derby from Sarah Impalem and Hurtz Jenerator (aka Angela Ramirez and Jennifer Schober). You might be surprised to learn that even roller derby requires business acumen!

Listen or download below:

Roller Derby 101

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Amanda Cullen, president of Zoo in a Jungle Marketing for small business, joins the show with her segment “Marketing Matters.” She finishes up her five small business marketing rules with tips on how to implement your marketing strategies. She advises, “Keep at it!”

Listen or download below:

Renewable Business

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Don started our repairing pallets for airlines, but the TEDS Box has taken his business to the next level. This product actually actively heats or cools the container, depending on the contents. David asks Don to explain the research and development of this new product, and Don elaborates on the regulations, engineering and building of the TEDS Box. This podcast will be useful for any entrepreneur with an idea for an invention and wants to take it to the next step.

Listen or download below:

The Pallet Guy

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Amanda Cullen, small business marketing consultant, joins the group to give startup businesses advice on marketing their fledgling businesses. Marketing for small businesses doesn’t have to involve a large budget, and most of the time, the most effective marketing is quite economical.

Listen or download below:

The Gift of Bread

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In this article from the January 2010 Business/News & Views®, I advocate that businesses should start thinking differently about their business structure. It is dangerous to put all your financial eggs in one basket, just as it is dangerous to have only one stock in your investment portfolio.

For my recommendations on how to start this analysis and implement the changes you need, read the full article: Diversify Your Business

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David Weatherholt encourages you to “Diversify Your Business” — using the proven investment principle of diversification to look at your business in an innovative, risk-reducing way.

In David’s Economic Summary, he discusses the Federal Reserve’s approach to handling the recession, along with presenting his interpretation of important economic indicators.

Amanda Cullen weighs in with advice on “How Not to Treat Your Customers,” and our Internet Tips and Tricks provides tips on “How to Get Repeat Visits to Your Web Site.”

Read Now: Business/News & Views® - January 2010

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Dave also tells us the story of the founder of the Geek Squad, an entrepreneur who started the company with $600. As we all know, now Best Buy owns the Geek Squad.

Listen or download below:

Creative Marketing Ideas for Small Business

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They explain the 4-P’s of marketing (Product, Price, Place and Promotion) and how to integrate new marketing strategies into this classic categorization.

Listen or download below:

Marketing Fundamentals

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This path followed, sometimes reluctantly, by brave or desperate individuals driven to make a difference can have a dramatic impact on not only themselves, but sometimes their community and even the world. True entrepreneurs, like heroes, often are simply trying to survive using their own instincts, which can lead to astounding feats while all along they are simply doing their jobs. Setbacks, recessions, down cycles, or just plain bad luck can either defeat or inspire the choice made at an individual level. The choice to move forward (choosing inspiration) requires taking that first step, then the next, and so on until you reach a different point from where you started. This, in a nutshell, is what entrepreneurship is all about, simply doing what it takes to survive. How many businesses do you know of that started this way?

Business innovation takes place all over the world. In Vietnam during the war, I found myself driving a large truck in a convoy that strained under heavy loads to climb the steep grade of An Khe Pass. The pace was so slow that you could literally walk to the next truck and borrow a cigarette. The trucks labored in the sweltering heat to reach the summit of the pass. The trip was long, hot, and treacherous, however, at the summit, in the middle of nowhere, was a vender selling cold drinks. In a war zone, on a road that snaked its way to the Cambodian border in the heart of North Vietnamese Army (NVA) controlled areas in sweltering heat and humidity with no electricity, stood a man and women next to an ice chest selling cold drinks to thirsty drivers. They didn’t do this just to see our smiling faces but were driven by necessity.

Their necessity sheds a different light on our current economic downturn. Many of us are experiencing real pain and anguish over our businesses. Waking in the middle of the night straining restlessly to figure out how we will make it through another day. This is the fertile valley of innovation and many of you are coming up with truly inspiring ideas.

The enterprising owners of a women’s shoe store located in Juneau, Alaska developed the idea of using their store for birthday parties. Their website claims; “You can schedule your own shoe party after-hours at Shoefly + Hudsons! It’s a great idea for celebrating birthdays, wedding parties, summer and more. You bring your own food and drink, and we provide shoenistas and shoes!” This idea created a whole new revenue source with very little in the way of costs.

The innovative owner of ESSpa and Organic SkinCare located in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania needed a quick cash infusion. In a single day she raised $30,000 by pre-selling spa services at a discount. A dentist who developed a “Dentspa” states on their website, “State-of-the art technology, a warm, inviting atmosphere, and an array of spa amenities combine to provide you the highest quality care in the ultimate relaxation setting.”

This is another example of a truly different and innovative spin on a routine business. Then there is the story of an entrepreneur who sold high-end designer t-shirts very successfully, but the economic downturn slowed business to a trickle. They spurred sales by using an innovative discount tied to the Dow Jones Industrial average combined with steep price reductions. Not all changes result in immediate success but taking action is the most important step. What can you do differently with your business?

Is there a new market for your products or services, or possibly a different business opportunity out there that you haven’t considered? Changing your business model is not always a bad idea. Every business that successfully makes it past their first five years usually has changed significantly from the business that it started as. In the beginning of a business, product or service knowledge was your advantage but now that you have demonstrated success operating a business, look for ways to replicate that success using your business experience to engage in and promote other business ideas and opportunities. Tell me, what ideas have you tried or have heard about?

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Read now: Business/News & Views® – July 2009

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