JumpStart Biz Plan Awards

JumpStart Biz Plan I wanted to share the following information from Denver's  Office of Economic Development.

The City and County of Denver is looking for the best and brightest ideas in small business to support through the JumpStart Biz Plan Awards. Offered through the Denver Office of Economic Development, this business plan competition will honor the most promising business plan with investment capital, office space, mentoring resources and more. JumpStart Biz Plan Awards (www.denvergov.org/oed)

 

 

Who can apply? Awards competition is open to start-up businesses, as well as established Denver businesses with up to 25 employees that have been operating up to five years. Awards are open to Denver businesses, Denver residents and/or individuals with plans to have a Denver-based business.

Awards: Grand prize winner will be awarded all the tools to take their business to the next level, including:

§  $50,000 cash prize

§  Office space – One year of membership and office space in the Galvanize G1.0 building  (up to five staff members)

§  Legal counsel – 35 hours of legal services provided by Polsinelli Shughart

§  Tax/Accounting services – 60 hours of tax and accounting services provided by Deloitte

§  Marketing services – 60 hours of strategic marketing advisory services from Dovetail Solutions

§  Social media services – WideFoc.us

The top ten business plans selected will receive: Recognition as Innovation Award winners, access to mentoring and a business consultation program.

Apply Early! Make sure to apply early – awards program is open to the first 150 entries. Business plan applications will be accepted July 17 through Sept. 14, 2012 (or until the registration cap of 150 entries has been met). Winners will be announced during Startup Denver Week (Oct. 22-26).

Selection Process:  The JumpStart Biz Plan Awards program is designed to benefit all companies that go through the application process, not just the ultimate winner. To accomplish this, the program uses an online mentoring platform, the Business Catapult, to receive and review applications. If you use all the capabilities in this platform, you’ll gain new insights into your business and new ideas to consider.

To maximize the businesses that can benefit from this process, the JumpStart program will review applications through a two-phase process.

Phase I: Initial Selection All entrepreneurs will need to register on the Business Catapult, complete a business profile and submit it to the JumpStart Business Plan Awards group on the site. This will be the first level of review. The top ten business profiles will be selected via Business Catapult’s web site and invited to participate in Phase II.

Phase II: Final Selection (Full Business Plan Review) The top ten finalists will be invited to submit a complete business plan to OED in PDF format for additional review and judging. The full business plan must include the following components:

About The Company Cover page Business name Stage of development Industry sector

Product or Service Product or service description

Market Definition Target market Need in target market for company product/service Demographics Marketing strategy SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats)

Capital Formation Amount of outside capital needed Capital source and structure 3-year projections, including assumptions (cash flow analysis) Exit strategy

Management Ownership structure Owner/officer resumes

Executive summary

 

Applicant Instructions

CLICK HERE to apply

§  By clicking on the above application link, you will be directed to the Business Catapult website.

§  Applicants must first complete a professional profile on the Business Catapult site.

§  Applicants must then complete and submit a business profile to be reviewed and scored by multiple reviewers on the Business Catapult site. (We recommend that you print a copy of your profile for your records.)

§  Please only submit complete business profiles for review and do not make any edits once the business profile has been submitted until the top ten profiles have been identified.

§  Entries will be accepted July 17 – Sept. 14, 2012, or until the registration cap of 150 entries has been met (apply early to help ensure participation).

§  All entries will receive valuable feedback and comments from experienced business profile/business plan reviewers.

§  All entries will be reviewed as they are submitted. Judges are standing by so get your business profile entered early for the best feedback and comments.

§  Top ten finalists will be notified by Oct. 5, 2012.

Greeley Chamber of Commerce

 

The Greeley Chamber of Commerce is in Weld County, Colorado.  They are a WOW town, a lifeline for business and help companies think outside the box.  There key messages include fostering a strong local economy, Greeley Chamber of Commerce promoting the community, providing business connections and visibility opportunities, representing the interests of business with government and building community leadership and development programs.

ICOSA spoke with Kim Barbour, Public Affairs Director at the Greeley Chamber of Commerce since 2007; LeeAnn Sterling, Visit Greeley Director and Sarah MacQuiddy, President of the Greeley Chamber of Commerce.  They discussed the agri-business in Greeley.  In fact 30 percent of business in Weld County is related to agriculture.  Making the Greeley and surrounding area the eighth largest community supplying food sources in the nation.

The full cycle of agri-business is looked at by the Greeley Chamber of Commerce from education of agriculture, to immigration, to water.  The Greeley Chamber hosts tours illustrating various subjects in agriculture.  The tours are one day and focus on subjects such as water and livestock in the area.

LeAnn Sterling of the Visit Greeley Program shared that the community has visitors to the range of 30,000 in three days that bring in about seven million dollars.  A few of the events that bring in the large dollar amounts are ones such as Greeley Jazz, The Greeley Blues Jam and The Greeley Stampede.

Agri-business is big business in Greeley.  They are also a university town.  Greeley is also home of the University of Northern Colorado which brings in an educational component to the agri-business as well as other disciplines for example nursing and liberal arts studies.

The Regional Leadership Program that the Greeley Chamber of Commerce hosts creates dialog in the region including the Fort Collins and Loveland communities.  They focus on the economy, employment, education and healthcare both regionally and nationally.

For more information on the Greeley Chamber of Commerce, visit; www.greeleychamber.com or call 970-352-3566.

 

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Pathfinder Solutions

Alexandra Mitchell  

 

Community service industries such as Pathfinder Solutions are preparing to show a new work force how to get into the civil service/non-profit field of work.  This industry anticipates job opportunities will continue to open as the baby boomer generation retires.  Pathfinder Solutions is building a bridge to connect the right talent with the civil service industry.

Alexandra Mitchell is co-founder and president of Pathfinder Solutions.  Pathfinder Solutions principle goal is cultivating a diverse civil service workforce.  Mitchell related to ICOSA that 1.5 million people work in the civil service industry which is about 10 percent of the national workforce.

Dr. Jeff Pryor

 

Dr. Jeff Pryor, co-founder and CEO of Pathfinder Solutions has decades of experience in philanthropy.  Pryor served for 20 years as the Executive Director of the Anschutz Family Foundation.  Both Pryor and Mitchell believe civil service organizations need to equally spend time developing and inviting talented individual into the industry.

Pathfinder Solutions is a 15 member, team based consulting firm.  They work on projects, with each member bringing their unique skill-sets.  At the forefront is the Talent Develop Inititive Project in Colorado which inspires individuals to consider working in the civil service industry.  Other states are invited to participate in this project.  Currently Pathfinder Solutions is partnering with the National Council on Nonprofits.  People interested should contact their state nonprofit association and mention the Talent Develop Inititive.

Another Pathfinder Solutions project is with the University of Mongolia in China.  They have asked Pathfinder Solutions to develop a non-profit degree program which will offer a certificate or master’s degree.  A symposium has also been proposed for companies, funders and non-profits focusing on non-profits within China.

For more information, visit; www.pathfindersolutions.org or email [email protected] or [email protected].

 

http://www.icosa.co/magazine/looking-for-jane-goodall

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ACCION

ACCION_PRI_RGB_D  

Accion brings small business loans to micro-entrepreneurs.  The loan model they use is profitable, expanding and viable.  Small loans range from $200 to $10,000.  Most $200 loans are for small inventory build-up or to build credit.  Accion has been a micro-financing firm for about 17 years.  Forty-five percent of their funding comes from revenue they bring in from interest rates and the remainder comes from donations, government and bank entities.

Accion also provides mentors, workshops and community networks.  Accion is a micro-lender that can work with FICO scores of 500 and above.  International micro loans are much smaller, based on trust and range from $20 to $500.  Accion has a 92 percent international micro-finance loans repayment rate.

The collateral is 100 percent due to the risk involved with low credit scores.  Several items can be used as collateral such as car titles and manufacturing equipment.

The mentorship program provides networking for similar industry companies.  Workshops are a more formal and traditional method of increasing business acumen.

Social capital is a way to offer loans to international businesses with no collateral.  For example a group of people may apply for a loan and each must pay back their share in order to take out another loan.  The group shares in the responsibility.

Any small business can apply from trucking companies, service providers or janitorial.

Entrepreneurs who come in with an idea they have wanted to do for some time are better than those with several ideas.  Passion and character piece play a role into lending.

To start the process contact Accion at www.accionusa,org.

Accion is also looking for workshop leaders, volunteer hours, mentors, donations and can be contacted at www.accionusa.org or Jesse Golland through, www.accionnm.org.

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Smart Trust [Leadership Book Release]

SMART TRUST: Creating Prosperity, Energy, and Joy in a Low-Trust World, a highly anticipated new book on business leadership, is being released today.   Written by Stephen M. R. Covey & Greg Link, co-founders of CoveyLink, this book project stems from their significant experiences in leadership training and influencing influencers.

 

This book comes out at a crucial time- attendees at the World Economic Forum have identified the #1 challenge to economic growth as the loss of confidence and trust. With a forward written by Indra Nooyi, Chairman & CEO of PepsiCo, and advance praise from many leaders within their industries, this release is sure to be received by an interested audience.

 

“Smart Trust is without doubt one of the most powerful and seminal books of our age.” --Warren Bennis, Professor USC author of Still Surprised: A Memoir of a Life in Leadership

 

"Smart Trust persuasively demonstrates that trust is the key to our new global reality. This powerful book shows how to regain trust, prosper, and experience more energy and joy in the process." - Muhammad Yunus, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Winner

 

"Smart Trust is an insightful and actionable guidebook for creating high trust teams and cultures that spark innovation and growth. It teaches how to analyze both people and situations to make 'smart' decisions by managing risk and optimizing possibilities.  Those aspiring to influence people, enhance performance, and increase innovation will want to read to read this insightful book and master its principles." -Clayton M. Christensen, Professor, Harvard Business School, author of The Innovator's Dilemma

 

...and many more such accolades from leaders of companies including DirecTV, Frito-Lay, Eli Lilly, AT&T, Procter & Gamble, Lenovo, and Deloitte.

 

In the context of the global crisis, 'trust' is an important concept to master.  With untrustworthy governments, corporations, and financial institutions, the world seems to be a low-trust environment. It has been shown that high-trust environments are more productive and satisfying. Higher trust increases energy and joy and therefore prosperity, argue Covey and Link.  The book creates a framework for viewing trust and goes in depth on the judgement required  for 'Smart Trust'.

 

“Trust is like the air we breathe- when it’s present, nobody really notices; when it’s absent, everybody notices.” --Warren Buffett

 

Learn more & buy a copy at http://smarttrustbook.com/

 

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National District Export Council and Export University

Daniel Ogden  

Daniel Ogden is chair of both the National District Export Council (DEC), and the National DEC Trade Policy Committee. He is a former vice-chair of the North Texas DEC and has been involved in DEC since 2005.  He is an attorney specializing in international exporting which includes intellectual property and export compliance.

The National District Export Council is comprised of 16 DEC members who are elected from individual DECs to the National Steering Committee.  The National Steering Committee supports DEC in mentoring, educating and legislative affairs.  Their bottom line is creating U.S. exports.

Companies first starting out in exports to medium sized enterprises use DEC to increase profits through exporting.

With the vitalization of Export University, DEC’s will play a part in developing a premiere, quality export curriculum with uniformity available across the U.S.  Export University will teach financing, logistics, sales and marketing, etc.

Currently Export University is looking for sponsors, visit http://www.exporttexas.com/ds/become.asp for more information.

To learn more about the District Export Council visit, www.districtexportcouncil.com.

Export University will have a new website late January 2012, and currently has a basic site at; http://www.exportuniversity.com.

To contact Daniel Ogden visit; www.internationaltradeattorney.com or email him at [email protected]

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Lew Cramer: Go Global, Go Big, or Go Out of Business.

Lew Cramer, president and chief executive officer of the World Trade Center Utahknows that if you are not internationally minded, you will go out Lew Cramer

of business.  Lew Cramer knows this from his extensive background in exporting which includes;

  1. Director general of the U.S. Commercial Service; directing the activities of 1,400 commercial officers at over 150 embassies worldwide, as well as in 65 offices throughout the United States,
  2. US WEST International developing major telecommunications projects in 30 plus countries,
  3. White House Fellow, as a Deputy Assistant Commerce Secretary, and as the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for International Trade,
  4. Practiced corporate law in Los Angeles and in the San Francisco Bay area,
  5. Taught at the business schools of the University of Southern California and Georgetown University,
  6. Honors graduate of the charter class of the Brigham Young University Law School.

Utah has doubled exports over the past five years, and World Trade Center Utah played a key role in making that happen.  There are a number of ways they have accomplished this such as applying for grants, hosting events, pushing exporting, etc.  Collaboration is one method the World Trade Center Utah boosts exporting.  WTC-Utah collaborates with the U.S. Department of Commerce, business chambers, universities, economic development agencies, and business.  Collaboration is one of Utah’s strengths.  World Trade Center Utah believes in building with what you got so to get the word out that they successfully assist companies in growing businesses by means of exporting they do by connecting and building partnerships.

The World Trade Center Utah provides businesses with resources and tools and through exporting create profits and jobs by expanding businesses into new territories.

The World Trade Center Utah emphasizes international exporting is not that hard and once you learn it, it’s easy.  An attitude of “we can export” makes a difference.  C-level executives must set that tone.  Businesses must be global.  Exporting is not all about outsourcing but selling American made products/services to another country.

The World Trade Center Utah’s #1 export is metals for example gold and cooper.  China is the near west to Utah and so China is their #2 location to export to.

For more information, visit; www.wtcut.com.

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Export University

The Export University program in Hawaii gets small businesses up and going out of their comfort zone and home bias.  Home bias is only doing business with people in your market area or next door.  Export University takes a business into new markets by diversifying customers and making businesses more competitive.  Export University is open to mainland companies. The courses offered at Export University are beginning exporting 101, yet well-established exporters still find relevance in taking the course so any beginning, intermediate or experienced exporter has only to gain for attending a course.  The courses are instructed by John Holman and Steve Green.  Businesses who have taken part in Export University are in agriculture to law―a gamut of exporting good are covered.  Courses are taught by skillful experts in in exporting.  Resources such as experts in shipping such as FedEx and lawyers answer FAQ’s about exporting.

Lesley Harvey

Courses range from $70.00-$150.00 and typically are two-four days.  Exporting workbooks and a basic guide to exporting are included.  Scholarships are available to those who qualify.  Portions of the cost are paid by the attendee with the remainder being paid by the department of agriculture and other companies invested in the exporting business.

Lesley Harvey is the Project Director for the Hawaii Pacific Export Council, Export University Program and holds a master’s degree in Economics, specializing in International Economics. Having helped to secure grant funding for this program, she also helped to develop the materials and construct the curriculum for the HPEC Export University.

Steve Craven

Steve Craven is an international business consultant in Honolulu known for his former radio show, now a blog, called “Business Beyond The Reef.”  Some may know him from his days with the U.S. Commercial Service in places like Washington, DC, Taiwan, Germany, Singapore, Austria, Slovakia - and exotic Denver. He currently chairs the Hawaii Pacific Export Council (HPEC), an expert advisory committee appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.

 

 

 

For more information, visit;

Website: www.globalexportsupport.com,

Blog: www.kekepana.com/blog,

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/groups/Hawaii-Pacific-Export-Council-3995575,

Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Hawaii-Pacific-Export-Council/121212024630310.

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The #1 Financial Risk in Importing and Exporting

Knowing the risks associated with importing and exporting can ultimately lower those risks.  Finding the right partnership produces profits and there are resources to finding legitimate overseas partners. Roy Becker Seminars

 

Roy Becker of Roy Becker seminars has 30 years of experience in importing and exporting.  Becker is an expert in letters of credit and the International Chamber of Commerce INCOTERMS.

The #1 risk is of course, getting paid.  Risks falls under three categories.

  1. Commercial risk.  The payment arrangement must be forethought and agreed upon by the seller and buyer.  Cash advance payments, letters of credit and bank intermediaries can be methods for determining risk.  A letter of credit is not a bank guarantee of payment and is document intensive.
  2. Country risk.  A specific country may have risk due to business methods, economics and political issues which can result in unexpected investment losses.
  3. Currency risk. The exchange rate must be determined.  A bank can guarantee exchange rates on a specific day to elevate the risk and solidify final costs.

INCOTERMS determine seller and buyer delivery issues like cost, risk and responsibilities/duties.  The most misunderstood issue is at what time the title passes meaning possession and ownership are two different terms.

Roy Becker

Roy Becker Seminars give in depth use and definition of importing and exporting.  To contact Roy Becker Seminars, visit; www.roybeckerseminars.com.

To learn more about INCOTERMS visit; www.iccbooksusa.net.

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The Best Business Plan Tool for Startups!

If you've ever started a business, been involved with a Startup, or know somebody who has; a business plan in a static state is good for a matter of days. It is not that the process of planning is bad. It is that fact that things in the business world change at warp speed. I recently found a solution to this problem that I am going to share in the post below. Recently I came across a tool called www.fundingroadmap.com . In their own words they are a "..fast and easy multiple choice planning platform built in the cloud." So....what does that mean? It means it has never been easier to build a business plan. It means it shows you everything you need to take your idea and put some meat to it. It means that when you show this to an investor it shows you know what the hell you're doing.

Why the cloud for a Startup business plan? Ever been working on a doc and need someone to add to it? This tool allows you to always have the most current version ready for anyone in the company or a potential angel or venture capital investor. Instead of emailing a pdf, you can now email a secure login and password (that you control) to an investor and they have everything they need in its current form, ready to go! Instant global access for review by investors, secure online storage in case of fire or natural disaster. A feature more important now,then ever before.

Video in your Startup business plan. Huh? Yep, you heard me. Funding Road map allows you to insert a short video right in the start of your plan. Think about it, you can how put your 90 second to 3 minute pitch right in the beginning. This gets the investor interested. Of course they'll have questions after viewing the video. Now with Funding Road map they can just click on the link to go to the piece of information they need in the business plan to do the correct amount of due diligence to report back to their peers and get you the funding you need to start your business.

TIME SAVER when making your Startup business plan. Alright. You fill out all your info. You have your plan ready to go. You're counting the days till your business gets the funding it needs. But, is your Startup business plan compliant? How do you know? An oversight on your part could take those expectations of business funding an shatter them.

Problem alarms indicate when information is incorrect or out of compliance. Automatically populates other fields with pertinent information, cutting data entry time.Try doing that with a pdf template! You know that whole change dilemma we were talking about earlier? Well, in this tool, you make a change in one financial statement of the plan, it will update all of the other relevant fields . For instance. I make an sales figure change on one sheet. It will update all the other areas to reflect the potential change in revenue. YOU GROW- IT GROWS. You change and morph, it changes and morphs.

If you are looking for an easy solution to create a business plan for your Startup or entrepreneurial venture and don't' want to spend a fortune (only $60!), Funding Road Map is the answer.

Visit them today at www.fundingroadmap.com 

---EXTRA CONTENT---

I contacted the CEO of this innovative company and asked her to write up a few sentences on why she created it.  The below paragraphs are her words:

"I believe in the people who invent and start great businesses, who struggle every day to make their ideas become a reality.

I created the Funding Roadmap TM to markedly improve their odds of success and contribute to a new, reality-based economic recovery.

Especially now, enhancing access to capital for small and growing businesses matters to us and to the health of the global economy, that’s why I am committed to providing the best networked online business planning and reporting solution to help achieve the goals of entrepreneurs, investors and lenders alike.

I couldn't have imagined that the online launch of the Funding Roadmap TM would coincide with the most profound economic crisis of our lifetime, but here we are, and as a world full of investors and lenders look to reboot, we're here to provide an innovative, networked solution for funding professionals and entrepreneurs alike. Now everyone looking for transparency and defensible information have a timely scalable new cloud based platform that accelerates business planning, due diligence, and funding.

It is standardized, simple to use and features a video pitching platform, a document repository and deal flow marketplace so entrepreneurs will have an online medium to brilliantly communicate all the essential data - along with their personal passion and commitment."

Ruth. E. Hedges is the creator of  Fundingroadmap.com. As CEO she's responsible for overseeing and directing all facets of the Company's development and operations. Ruth has an executive managerial track record spanning over 27 years, in sales, marketing, and strategic development. She has been featured in the Chronicle of Philanthropy as well as the New York Times, the LA Times and People Magazine for her work with Oxfam America and the Hollywood Hunger Banquets. She was also once featured on ABC's Home Show, and the Financial News Network did a two-part series on her for their show entitled 'American Entrepreneur'.

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Social Enterprise is a Blend of Business Acumen

Chris Pelley  

Chris Pelley is managing director of Capital Investment Management which embraces the Japanese proverb: “None of us are as smart as all of us.” In addition Pelley views social entrepreneurship as a meaningful endeavor.  Social enterprise is a blend of business acumen where more purpose equals more efficiency, more effectiveness and more sustainability.

The triple bottom line of company, children and charity increases profits.  Chris Pelley’s view on social enterprise derives from a unique source, his daughters.

Get Ready.

Becoming involved in social enterprise is simple and accessible.  Knowledge is key and available.  Ask youth about concerns in their lives to get a feel for what is going on or ask your alma mater about how becoming a social entrepreneur.  Also, reading “Encore,” by Marc Freedman and “Thanks,” by Robert Emmons will give insight, social awareness into becoming better human beings.

Get Set.

To experience life at a different level add a social entrepreneurship element to your business strategy.  Employees are the best PR there for bottom line results.  A way to do this is helping employees find what their next venture will be within the company’s social enterprise.

GO!

Association for Corporate Growth, ACG is about a community for small to medium companies.  The ACG promotes communication, community and collaboration with the academic, business and citizen sector.  Kim Jordon, from New Belgium which has 100 percent of the company’s energy coming from solar power will be a speaker at ACG’s December 6th, 2011 luncheon.  For more information, visit; www.acg.org.

More social enterprise opportunities can be found at the following websites:

  1. www.projectpave.org
  2. TiE is a global network with a commitment to changing the world, (www.tie.org).
  3. Colorado Gives Day- Tuesday, December 6th, 2011, (www.givingfirst.org). Website offers a chance to give to nonprofits.
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Bruce DeBoskey

Bruce DeBoskey is a Colorado-based Philanthropic Advisor, helping businesses to develop philanthropic strategies.

He gave up a career as a successful trial lawyer for 25 years to focus on giving. As Bruce describes, he was going to battle each day for things that only mattered to the people involved, until he decided he wanted to be involved in something with a broader impact.

Now he encourages businesses to to connect their core competencies in their giving. It is advice that all of us can use when it comes to our holiday giving.

WHY WE GIVE All donors need a strategy for their giving, and it should be something in line with what we value. The place to start is your reason for giving; is it theologically based? For ego gratification? Or to create a legacy, so that the things you care about can continue? If you are considering your business' philanthropy, consider your goal. Are you giving to engage employees, to gain customer loyalty or satisfy shareholders? Realize that pleasing shareholders is a legitimate concern for a business. After all, while we all recognize that philanthropy is for the greater good, business is business to make a profit so it is reasonable to invest in your community, your customers, your supply chain to both improve your surroundings and your bottom line. Likewise, unless you can provide evidence to your shareholders that the company's charitable giving impacts the bottom line, you have failed your fiduciary duty.

HOW WE GIVE

The options for making charitable contributions are innumerable.

One way to narrow things down is a Giving Circle. ( http://www.givingcircles.org/) There are 800 Giving Circles in the United States and about a dozen in Colorado alone. The Giving Circle is a way to come together and make a greater impact by researching topics and investing with others.

Families can determine their giving as a part of their holiday traditions. DeBoskey suggests looking around your home to determine if you and your children have enough stuff. If you find that you do, consider foregoing a holiday gift exchange and pool the money you would otherwise spend and give it to a worthy cause. Make it a family discussion of your values and determine what cause becomes a part of your family mission.

Bruce DeBoskey writes about giving at The Denver Post in his weekly column "On Philanthropy". You can learn more about philanthropy with a purpose at www.deboskeygroup.com.

Cristin Tarr

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BranchOut

 

BranchOut opens avenues in job matching.  They are about connecting people with career opportunities.  With three million job posts and 20,000 internship opportunities it is no wonder that there are 1 million users on BranchOut.  80 percent of jobs are found through connections within networks.  BranchOut is a network within a network for job seekers and recruiters.  It’s all about whom you know and who knows you.  November 11th is Veterans Day and BranchOut will has tools to translate military jobs skills into civilian job skills.  BranchOut also provides networking, referrals for hiring, sales leads and collaborative partners.  Being a network within Facebook allows the tapping into friends and friends of friend’s networks making degrees of separation to a job less degrees away.  Facebook has 800 million users so BranchOut’s networking possibilities are stunning.  The products BranchOut provides to sales and recruiters are: 1. Job posting; 2. Career connect and; 3. Recruiter connect.  Some users have found their ideal job, higher paying jobs, and leverage in having their network.  For more information, visit: www.branchout.com.

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Boyer's Coffee

 

Boyer’s Coffee was established in Colorado, 1965.  The unique flavor comes from being grown and roasted in high altitude.  The environment coffee is roasted in attributes to the flavor for example the humidity and batch size roasted.  Boyer’s Coffees can be found at these supermarkets throughout Colorado: Sam’s Club, Wal-Mart, King Soopers, City Market and Albertsons.  And online Boyer’s ships coffee around the world.  Boyer’s sustainable practices focus on consumers, company and environment.  Boyer’s only roasts the finest hand-selected Arabica beans.  Environmentally Boyer’s found a way to re-use coffee chaff which is used to make wood starters, compost and bedding.  They have also implemented a packaging system which saves 450,000 boxes a year.  Boyer’s headquarters is a remolded school house made into a coffee bar.  Uniquely they found a 1920’s wood gymnasium floor and repurposed it for their coffee bar area.  They provide a free meeting space to the community which is available to anyone.  To learn more, call: 303-289-3345 or visit: www.boyerscoffee.com.

 

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Good Company Convergence with Laurie Bassi

Laurie Bassi  

Laurie Bassi lead author of Good Company, takes an in-depth look into the worthiness era.  The worthiness era is a convergence of economic, social and political forces requiring companies to be better employers, sellers and stewards of community and environment in order to make more profits.

Good Company systematically compiled information on the Fortune 100 and dispersed grades; A through F.  Good company index focuses on going beyond social responsibility.  Companies who use their core capabilities to make contributions to community and society are good companies such as Disney and FedEx who earned A’s.

Consumers require and buy more from a good company so the good guys make more money than the bad guys.  At the micro level power shifts show technology fueled people power which forces companies to be better.  To be good a company must be simultaneously caring, exacting and inspiring for example boards of directors should be involved and know about all levels in a company.

Go to www.glassdoor.com to see into that which is normally blocked and discover employee reviews about what it is like to work in 100,000 companies.  Salaries and interview processes are shared.  Also, www.wratings.com shows consumer experiences on 4000 companies.

Book signing:

November 15th

12:00P.M.

Barnes and Noble Downtown Denver

Also available at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and Berrett Koehler Publishers

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Vic Ahmed

Vic Ahmed Plug and Play Colorado  

Plug and Play Tech incubator will open in November 2011 in Colorado.  It is the first branch opening outside Silicon Valley in the nation.  Plug and Play Tech incubator also has three international locations. Vic Ahmed, CEO of Plug and Play incubator in Colorado is well versed in growth challenges and exiting companies once successful.  He has experienced the gamut of being an entrepreneur.  He offered advice to young and young at heart entrepreneurs.

Find mentors to avoid obvious mistakes.

If you fall on your face, GET BACK UP!

Ahmed relates entrepreneurship to swimming.  Practicing strokes outside the pool doesn’t teach you to swim.  You have to get into the pool and into the water to learn.  Being an entrepreneur is just like that.  Taking the first step is always the toughest.   And the spirit of becoming an entrepreneur is contagious which makes Plug and Play a hot spot for innovation.

Ahmed collaborated with university students in researching best practices for incubators and discovered Saeed Amidi’s first Plug and Play in the Silicon Valley.  Plug and Play provides access to financing, partners, mentors, networks and ecosystems for collaboration.  Individuals in software, social media, clean tech, gaming, animation and video are encouraged to contact Ahmed for both on-site and virtual opportunities at [email protected].

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Trade Wind Program

BillBurwellBlairWoodring  

Bill Burwell, director of the U.S. Commercial Service in Baltimore, MD and Blair Woodring of Custom Alloys were guests on Connect and Collaborate with ICOSA radio.  Together they shared the robust opportunities of participating in the Trade Winds program offered by the U.S. Commercial Service.   The Trade Winds Forum connects business to exporting opportunities.   For information on the Trade Winds program, visit: http://export.gov/pennsylvania/tradewinds.  The program is geared towards senior executives such as CEOs and vice presidents.  Up to 300 people are present at Trade Winds conferences making networking with both U.S. and foreign companies possible and are held in the exporting region.

Gold Key services are available at Trade Wind conferences.  Starting at $700 for small to medium sized companies the USCS will screen, verify and arrange meetings with qualified companies.  Even though only one in 100 U.S. companies export this federally funded program results in 100 million in sales overall for companies who have been part of Trade Winds.

Blair Woodring of Customs Alloys sees value in exporting with the U.S. Commercial Service due to the competitiveness and the U.S. Commercial Service brand.  He recommends the Trade Wind program for not being a typical government service but one with extreme customer service and commitment to success.

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Become a Sustainable Company.

Pete Dignan Executive Director of CORE  

To get your business connected and ready to take action join Connected Organizations for a Responsible Economy (CORE).  This business association is dedicated to making your business sustainable in Denver, CO.  Pete Dignan, executive director of CORE advises businesses to find similar associations in any city by searching the Internet for keywords such as, “business, sustainability, (insert your location)” and associations in your area will generate.  A CORE membership allows companies to unload their sustainability baggage and determine specific actions to become sustainable.  This covers the areas of energy and materials use as well as community engagement.  For example Molson Coors calculates its carbon foot print, by calling it their “beer print.” They realize that 88 percent of customers are looking for companies practicing sustainability.

Colorado is leading the nation in having the most “green” companies.  Following the triple bottom line of people, plan and profit is not a partisan issue.  Everyone can follow these four steps:

  1. Asses your sustainability
  2. Set sustainable goals
  3. Engage employees
  4. Report progress

CORE can help companies identify the four steps.  Being completely sustainable is possible.  NREL in Colorado actually produces more energy than they consume.  There model is one to aspire to.  For more information, visit: www.corecolorado.org.

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The Results Are In! Best State To Be An Entrepreneur

Image representing TechStars as depicted in Cr...

Last week, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln released its State Entrepreneurship Index.  Eric Thompson, an economics professor and director of the university’s Bureau of Business Research said,

"The annual index ranks states using the number of businesses that open and close, the average earnings of its entrepreneurs, the number of patents per capita, and other data..."

What surprised me after looking at the stats is how low my home state of Colorado was ranked.  I've always thought that CO was a great place to start a business.  With an international airport, a tech community stretching from Denver to Boulder, an approachable community of investors, and other factors;  I was thinking we'd at least be in the top 20.  Apparently my assumptions were not founded on real data.  According to the report, CO has fallen from her former glory dropping 15 spots to number 33.

First on the report and holding the position for at least the last 3 years is NYC.  Any guesses on who come in last?  South Carolina.  Guess I don't have a comment one way or another as I know nothing about the state's economic and entrepreneur climate.

Despite this poor ranking there are several noteworthy organizations making great strides in developing and producing entrepreneurs for Colorado.  One of which is Boulder based TechStars.  A quick glance at their website and one can see that this organization is proud of the work being done for CO based techies.

"TechStars provides seed funding from over 75 top venture capital firms and angel investors who are vested in the success of your startup, as well as intense mentorship from hundreds of the best entrepreneurs in the world."

TechStars also has operations in Boston, New York City, and Seattle.  It should be noted that these three cities parent states hold the number 1,2, and 3 top spots according to the study.  Coincidence?  I think not.

The other organization happens to be have a global reach made up of members and charter organizations.  TIE Rockies is the CO chapter of TIE.org.

"The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), was founded in 1992 in Silicon Valley by a group of successful entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and senior professionals with roots in the Indus region. There are currently 13,000 members, including over 2,500 charter members in 57 chapters across 14 countries. TiE’s mission is to foster entrepreneurship globally through mentoring, networking, and education."

With the state of economic affairs in our country I believe that entrepreneurs play a tremendous role in revitalizing our economy.  Entrepreneurs are innovative and the lifeblood of what makes our country great.  They are problem solvers, job creators, community minded, and are keepers of the American Dream.   For those of you folks who have the itch, are on the fence, are tired of corporate America, and want to be your own boss-  TAKE THE PLUNGE!  Our state and our country need more of you.  There are organizations to support you.  What are you waiting for?

When is NOW the right time?

 

Recommended books on entrepreneurism:

Uncertainty: Turning Fear and Doubt into Fuel for Brilliance

 

Making Ideas Happen

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