Firms get deal on money-saving signs | Evanston Now

Firms get deal on money-saving signs | Evanston Now

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Is Green the New Black for Your Bottom Line?

As we have become more environmentally aware, many business owners are wondering how they can be more green, without adding red ink to their balance sheets.  The Small Business Administration has a Green Business Guide that provides information about resources to help small businesses expand their businesses while saving energy costs.  The Greening Advisor of the Natural Resources Defense Council provides advice for that can help any commercial business or organization to reduce its environmental impacts.

Also, the Evanston Public Library has a number of books that address this issue.  Here are just a few to get you started:

Greening your small business : how to improve your bottom line, grow your brand, satisfy your customers--and save the planet, Kaplan, Jennifer, c2009.  Jennifer Kaplan founded Greenhance LLC, a business consultancy dedicated to providing marketing and communications strategies to small businesses going green. 


The complete idiot's guide to greening your business, Riley, Trish, c2009. This entry in the "Idiot's" series provides the most up-to-date, concrete, and practical steps for readers to follow "to get rich by going green."

Green recovery : get lean, get smart, and emerge from the downturn on top, Winston, Andrew S., c2009.  Includes case studies of companies that have gone green, and explores how going green can aid economic recovery.

Green your work : boost your bottom line while reducing your carbon footprint, Carlson, Kim, c2009.  This book shows managers practical steps to make their companies environmentally responsible while staying profitable and efficient.






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Meeting set for contractors about big grant

An article in Evanston Now announces that Brinshore Development LLC will hold an informational meeting about subcontracting opportunities for the City of Evanston's $18 million federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program housing rehabilitation grant at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 27, at the Civic Center. (Read article)

If your small business can benefit from this opportunity, be sure to make plans to attend.

Small Business Blogs

Do you want to keep up with the best of the Small Business blogs that are out there?  Forbes Magazine has weighted in with their choices for the Best of the Web blogs to follow. Included are recommendations for Duct Tape Marketing, Small Business Trends, and more.

Or ar you just interested in local news?  Both the Chicago Tribune and Crain's Chicago Business have their own business blogs.  Crain's targets entrepreneurs in its blog.  For example here is a recent post to Crain's talking about business lending loosening up, which is good news for local business owners: Crain's video: Ice starts to melt for biz borrowers | Enterprise City | Crain's Chicago Business.  (Posted using ShareThis).   The Chicago Tribune maintains a business blog as part of its breaking news feature, Chicago Breaking Business.

New Small Business Titles @EPL

Here are some recent acquisitions at the Evanston Public Library that may interest the small business owner or owner-to-be:

Awakening the entrepreneur within : how ordinary people can create extraordinary companies,  Gerber, Michael E.  Collins Publishing, c2009.

Michael E. Gerber is the legend behind the E-Myth series of books, which includes The E-Myth Revisited, E-Myth Mastery, The E-Myth Manager, The E-Myth Physician, The E-Myth Contractor, and The E-Myth Enterprise.

	The Wall Street journal complete small business guidebook, DeBaise, Colleen.  Three Rivers Press, c. 2009. a practical guide for turning your entrepreneurial dreams into a successful company, from America's most trusted source of financial advice. It answers would-be business owners' biggest question-how do I fund my venture?-then explains the mechanics of building, running and growing a profitable business. Escape from cubicle nation [electronic resource (eAudiobook)] : from corporate prisoner to thriving entrepreneur, Slim, Pamela. Brilliance Audio, c2009. Life coach Slim shows readers how to navigate the terrifying yet gratifying transition from corporate drone to entrepreneur.  Hating your job intensely, she writes, is not a business plan. What's here is: the nitty-gritty of getting a business off the ground, legal considerations, making the best use of social networking sites, the components of a business model, organized creative brainstorming, financial advice, shopping for self-paid insurance and benefits, and helpful anecdotes of real-life entrepreneurship.

Good advice in tough times

Small business owners sometimes need someone to consult when they need advice, especially in tough economic times.  There are a number of non-profit organizations that will supply the expertise of advisory boards for just this purpose.  One of the largest and most well know is SCORE, Counselors to Small Business.  SCORE offers free and confidential business advice through Ask SCORE online, face-to-face counseling, workshops and more.  Their 12,400 nationwide volunteers consist of working or retired business owners, executives and corporate leaders who share their wisdom and lessons learned in business.  Their Chicago office is located at 500 W. Madison Street. 

An organization that provides business counseling to women through a mentor-matching program  is Athena International, whose Chicago office is located at 70 E. Lake Street.  Their Athena PowerLink Program is an advisory program designed to increase the growth and profitability of women-owned businesses by "linking" a business with a volunteer panel of advisors recruited from the local community. The panel and business owner work together for one year to meet the specific objectives of the business owner.

And Northwestern University provides the expertise of its graduate students, at a nominal fee, through the Small Business Opportunity Center.  This student-based clinical program affiliated with the Bluhm Legal Clinic and Northwestern University School of Law, provides affordable legal services to entrepreneurs and nonprofit organizations focusing on job creation and economic development in the Chicago area. 

Tax Time

Spring is in the air, and taxes are on our minds.  The Wall Street Journal has advice in the form of "The Best Tax Breaks for Small Business."  The Nolo Small Business center provides a "Small Business Taxes FAQ", posted on the website of the magazine, Inc., and the IRS provides an online, Virtual Small Business Tax Workshop. 

You can find J. K. Lasser's Small Business Taxes at the Evanston Public Library, which has tax facts and strategies that every small business owner needs to know for their 2009 tax return and year-round planning.

Kellogg Entrepreneurship Internship Program (KEIP)

An eight week internship program sponsored by Kellogg's Levy Institute for Entrepreneurial Practice offers entrepreneurs the opportunity use Kellogg students' passion and business skills toward completing critical projects, and offers first-year MBA students the opportunity to experience entrepreneurship first-hand.  As a business owner, you will be matched with an exceptionally talented business student between February and May, and will have their services full-time for 8 weeks in June through early August.

According to KEIP's website, "This program is ideal for start-up companies that can’t afford MBA talent year round but have a need in marketing, finance, strategy, or operations that could be met through an 8 week project involving the Kellogg intern." 

Kellogg’s Larry and Carol Levy Institute for Entrepreneurial Practice is hosting an information session and networking reception for prospective students and host companies interested in participating in the 15th year of the Kellogg Entrepreneurial Internship Program (KEIP) in Summer 2010. Past participating students and host companies will also be on hand to talk about their experience with the program.


Event Details:
Thursday, January 21st
5:15 – 6:15 pm: Information Session
6:30 – 7:30 pm: Networking Reception
Kellogg School of Management, Jacobs Center, Room TBD
2001 Sheridan Road, Evanston IL 60201 (no parking passes required)
RSVP by Wed 1/20 to levyinstitute@kellogg.northwestern.edu

For more information, and to find out if this program could benefit you and your business, see the KEIP website.

Small Business and Taxes

Small business owners face a different set of tax issues than do individuals. Since many entrepreneurs start out by turning their hobbies into money-making ventures, they don't always realize what the implications will be at tax time. An article in the Small Business section of the New York Times discusses some of the bookkeeping and tax problems you may encounter as your business grows.

There are some resources that can help. Taking accounting classes at a local community college, such as Oakton Community College can be useful. SCORE, Counselors to America's Small Business, offers reasonably-priced workshops and free individual counseling.The IRS provides important small business tax information in its Publication 583.

The Evanston Public Library has some resources, also.  Check out J.K. Lasser's Small Business Taxes, or Tax smarts for small business, or Nolo Press' Tax savvy for small business, to name just a few.

Award to honor businesses that support the arts | Evanston Now

Award to honor businesses that support the arts | Evanston Now

The Arts & Business Committee of the Evanston Arts Council is seeking nominations of a local businesses that have been supportive of the arts for the third annual Arts Leadership Award.
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SBA and the Recovery Act

On November 23, 2009, the SBA began the transition period from two of its Recovery Act programs. The funds made available from the Recovery Act eliminated the upfront guaranty fee for loans with maturities greater than 12 months as well as provided higher SBA guaranties to lenders for most 7(a) loans. The SBA Recovery Loan Queue has information about what this might mean for your small business loan.  Jim O'Connor, SBA's manager of online training, and Eric Zarnikow, associate administrator of SBA's Office of Capital Access, have produced a video that also provides information about the loan process.

Facebook and your Small Business

More and more small businesses are using Facebook to help them market their products and services to their target audiences. In addition to just setting up a Facebook account, you can take advantage of Facebook Pages, and use the "vanity" URL, www.facebook.com/yournamehere. This allows you to be visible even to folks who aren't Facebook members, to be found in a Google search, and to stay in close contact with customers who become your fans.

Here are some recent articles about how business are using Facebook and other social media in their marketing efforts. The Chicago Tribune and the L. A. Times ran this story, "Facebook becoming big friend of small businesses," in October, and the New York Times's Kermit Pattison has suggestions on "How to Market Your Business With Facebook." The Facebook site also has information about how to use their site to your advantage, on its Advertising page, and on its Facebook Pages page. The Evanston Public Library has recently added the title, "The Facebook era : tapping online social networks to build better products, reach new audiences, and sell more stuff," by Clara Chung-wai Shih, to its collection.

For even more help in learning how to use Facebook for your business, try this YouTube video, "Facebook 4 Business Free Module."

Evanston businesses in the news

Several Evanston small businesses made the news during October! PRWire reports that the Joel Warady Group, a boutique marketing consulting group, placed 15th on Brill Street's Top 50 Generation Y Employer Program Chicago. MightyNest.com, a resource to purchase and learn more about safe and environmentally friendly products, was featured int a Sun-Times article recently. The Chicagoist website has featured Neu Uber Burger and Edzo's Burger Shop in the last several weeks. And, finally, an article from the Chicago Tribune that featured Winthrop Properties.

Your small business on the web

The Evanston Public Library has some new books that will help you ensure you are getting the most out of your small business' web presence: Do the web write : writing for and marketing your website, Furman, Dan. Self-Counsel Press, 2009; Six pixels of separation : everyone is connected : connect your business to everyone, Joel, Mitch. Business Plus, 2009; Million dollar website : simple steps to help you compete with the big boys--even on a small business budget, Culwell, Lori. Prentice Hall Press, 2009.

Stop by to check out these and other books related to small business management. We're located at 1703 Orrington, the corner of Church and Orrington, in downtown Evanston.

Business Resources at Evanston Library

Check out these recently acquired books that may help you plan, manage or market your small business: The complete idiot's guide to guerrilla marketing, by Susan Drake; Business plans that work : for your small business, published by Toolkit Media Group; e-Riches 2.0 : next-generation marketing strategies for making millions online , by Scott C. Fox, or Turn your hobby into a business--the right way, by John Alan Cohan.

Advertising Your Small Business Online

The New York Times has a "Self-Service Advertising" feature aimed at small businesses. According to NYT, "If your online advertising budget is less than $10,000 per campaign, Self-Service Advertising from NYTimes.com is right for you."

This self-service advertising feature offers a "complete on-demand banner advertising solution" on the NYT website. You can select and customize one of the ad templates they supply, or upload your own--and then choose to target that ad geographically.

The Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times also have options for advertising online. From the Trib's Advertiser E-Services page, you can choose to run your ads in the print and online editions of the full paper, the Redeye, or the TribLocal.

For the Sun-Times News Group's site, STNG Online Advertising, you can target your ads to run not just in the Sun-Times, but also in any of the local papers that STNG owns, including The Evanston Review.

Financing and Small Business

The Small Business Administration has devoted a section of its website to the 2009 Recovery Act, and what the bill will mean to small businesses. Recently, as part of the Act, a change was made to the CDC/504 Loan program. The Wall Street Journal explains the impact of the changes in an article from the June 26, 2009 issue. Entrepreneur Magazine gives information about the new ARC Loan program, which provides loans up to $35,000 to financially troubled small businesses, in an article published on June 10, 2009. For start-up companies, the SBA's Micro-loan Program may be helpful. Entrepreneur Magazine has useful information about this loan program as well.

Small Business and the Stimulus Package

The Economic Stimulus package of 2009 has received a lot of press. But what does it mean for a small business owner?

A presentation produced by MyVenturePad, in cooperation with SCORE, Counselors to America's Small Businesses, provides some in-depth discussion of how the Stimulus Package will benefit small business. The authors are Steve King, who runs Emergent Research,
Barbara Weltman, a national spokesperson for small business taxes, and Erik R. Pages, who leads EntreWorks Consulting, an economic development consulting and policy development firm.
$730 million is slated to go to the Small Business Administration, and changes will be made to the agency’s lending and investment programs. The SBA is planning a comprehensive report on what this will enable them to do for small businesses. The SBA also has a slide presentation, with audio, that outlines some of the tax benefits for small businesses that resulted from the 2008 stimulus package.

Small Business Insurance

Insuring your small business is a wise move. The folks at MyOwnBusiness.org, a non-profit group specializing in educating small business owners, have put together a lesson about the types of insurance your small business might need. Using videos and text, they explain the various types of insurance most businesses need, i.e., property, liability, workers' compensation, etc., and offer some "Do's" and "Don'ts" about the best approach to obtaining the right coverage.

The Small Business Administration offers advice and information about insuring your small business. For example, they point out that homeowners' insurance policies do not generally cover home-based business losses. The folks at SCORE, "Counselors to America's Small Businesses," also have some tips about buying insurance.

Small Business TV

For small business tips in the form of short videos or podcasts, be sure to check out SBTV.com. The videos include marketing tips, franchising information, legal advice, and more. For example, here's a video titled, "Small Business Sales Strategies for 2009." You can also find podcasts provided by StartUp BizCast with Steve McMullen.

"SBTV.com is the first television network on the web devoted 100 percent to the small business market - from business start-ups to established enterprises. We believe that being an entrepreneur is a way of living - not just a way to make a living."