B2B Bingo by Janie Clark

B2B Bingo by Janie Clark: The plight of the small biz owner

2012-02-12T09:14:00.000-06:00

B2B Bingo by Janie Clark: The plight of the small biz owner

The plight of the small biz owner

2012-02-12T09:09:00.001-06:00

I just read a post on LinkedIn where the question posed was that since more than 50% of small businesses fail in first four years and more than 90% fail within 10 years...why is that and what can be done about it? That set me to thinking. I've been working with micro-businesses for quite some time now, and by and large they are a great group of hard working folks. Too hard working, perhaps.

Beware the new phone scam

2011-08-25T14:49:00.002-05:00

We heard from our friends at MyWireless.org on about a new twist to an old scam involving your mobile. Here's how it goes: The caller rings your number and lets it ring once or twice before disconnecting so that the number stays on your call log. Sometimes they might leave a voicemail. The number shows up as a missed call and is typically a normal three-digit area code that would appear to be a

Back to School Basics: A is for App

2011-08-22T16:15:00.001-05:00

There's a new app store on the block, and helping college students find jobs and internships is part of its reason for being. Check out these great places to find work or an employee. Internship Seeker (FREE for Apple iPhone) – Internship Seeker provides mobile access to thousands of available internship listings, with new ones updated and posted every day. Internship Seeker is powered by

Is everybody asking this question? Should you outsorce your payroll?

2011-08-18T10:55:00.001-05:00

Michael Singleton on the Innovation and Market Research Manager, UALR Lead Center, reports that the IRS is now offering tips on outsourcing payroll. It seems small business owners often have great demands for their time and attention, and more often than not, can benefit from outsourcing their payroll. That's exactly was certified accountant Josh Appling of Sequoia Payroll Solutions in

Contractors need be aware of new law in Arkansas

2011-08-18T10:22:00.001-05:00

According to Gwen Green, Communication Coordinator, UALR Lead Center, a new law in Arkansas requires home improvement contractors to be licensed. Under a new state law, contractors doing home improvement or remodeling in Arkansas must have a license for jobs over $2,000, starting in 2012. According to the Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board, effective Jan. 1, 2012, "Act 1208 of 2011 requires

NWAB2B in the news

2011-08-04T13:00:00.000-05:00

Can't help but share the publicity. We're usually the ones doling it out, so it feels good to see it come back. Thanks, Mark Carter, for taking up our song! NWA Startup Growing Business-to-Business By Mark Carter 8/4/2011 11:08:52 AM Change font size One Bentonville startup is providing a valuable resource for businesses across Northwest Arkansas. NWAB2B.com started as a

Smart Moves: Local barter organization lands a healthy solution for small business health care reform

2011-08-01T11:52:00.000-05:00

According to barter broker, Rich Creyer, with Fayetteville-based Local Trade Partners (www.localtradepartners.com), his organization is a first in the nation to open dollar for dollar trade with a hospital. With the recent addition of Physicians' Specialty Hospital in Fayetteville, Ark., Creyer said his community-based local currency program has broken ground on what could be a major impact on

Aspiring Entrepreneur? Start with an inspiring elevator pitch

2011-07-19T16:58:00.004-05:00

Raise your hand if you have health insurance. Raise your other hand if your employer provides part of it. If your hands are still at your sides you are a member of some 45 million Americans without health insurance. Of those without insurance, an estimated 63 percent are either self-employed or work for a small business, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute (

What kind of a shopper are you anyway?

2010-05-05T09:45:00.000-05:00

Money. It’s on the minds of many of us. In business everything we do impacts our bottom line in some way. And so does our personal relationship with money, finances and budgets. What kind of relationship do you have with money? Brent Kessel, author of It’s Not About the Money and co-founder of Abacus, a sustainable investing and financial planning firm, says there are eight broad

Adding the Green Hat in Small Business

2010-05-05T09:39:00.002-05:00

As a small business owner I wear a lot of hats. You, too, I suspect. So now along with our role as CEO, CFO, and COO – I say we need to add one more. That’s CSO – Chief Sustainability Officer. CSO is a relatively new role for the business world and brand spanking new for small business. So new, in fact, that industry is struggling to define a job description and who would be best suited to

The Sustainable Divide

2010-04-09T08:57:00.000-05:00

I spent two days at the Walmart Sustainability Packaging Expo this week. A client asked if I could help (wo)man his booth and so I did. I felt a bit like a fish out of water -- flopping around in a world I know nothing about: Consumer packaging. Little did I know there are thousands of companies that make something so another company can put something in it. Yes, a fish on the flop. But,

The Greening of Small Business

2010-03-31T20:37:00.002-05:00

By Janie Pritchett-Clark As a small business owner I wear a lot of hats. You, too, I suspect. So now along with our role as CEO, CFO, and COO – I say we need to add one more. That’s CSO – Chief Sustainability Officer. CSO is a relatively new role for the business world and brand spanking new for small business. So new, in fact, the industry is struggling to define a job description and who

Cycling for a Crisis

2010-02-22T11:08:00.000-06:00

Some people watch the news and wring their hands. Some people watch the news and get involved. Keith Schuman, an investment banking analyst turned world traveler believes that getting involved is a must. With a riding partner he met in Lima, Peru, Pieter Schouwstra, the pair formed 4Legs4Haiti and are now in route on a 10,000 kilometer bicycle ride from Guayaquil, Ecuador to the Marina Green

Green is the new black

2010-02-17T12:48:00.002-06:00

In this ADHD world of multi-tasking, multi-talking, multi-functional devices, it's encouraging when some ONE thing comes along to alter the way you see the world. That happened for me last May when I was involved in the birthing of the first NWA Green Expo with the 'green team' at the Bentonville Chamber. Super hero Kyle Howell at Walmart and mother superior Nancy Desler at the Chamber moved

Taking it to the streets

2010-01-17T08:08:00.000-06:00

Nearly every day I hear from a small business owner struggling with the concept of using social media to market their business. The questions come tumbling: how, when, why, what for? Inevitably, they feel shy, silly, even stupid as they poke around in the social media "nonsense." I've been in the advertising industry for nearly three decades, and I admit, I had the same confusion. My Aha!

Well Hello 2010!

2009-12-28T19:14:00.008-06:00

The New Year is a time for resolution. Like the Roman god, Janus, for whom the month is named, we face in two directions at once to look both at where we’ve been and where we’re going. On a personal level our resolutions are the stuff we share with friends over a glass of champagne. It’s unlikely anyone will hold us accountable, now or later, as they’ve heard them before: our resolutions are

Burned by the Bait and Switch

2009-11-20T11:00:00.001-06:00

I'm loath to say something unkind about the wine dinner I attended last night at Ella's in Fayetteville. The food was fabulous and well paired with a delicious variety of wines from the Reynolds Family vineyard in Napa. Unfortunately, the final taste left on my palate was the feeling I'd been cheated. I felt burned by the old bait and switch routine. Here's what I think: If businesses are going

Naked! Naked, I say!

2009-10-23T10:00:00.000-05:00

The other day I left home without my cell phone. You know how I felt. Naked! Like all those bad dreams about showing up for a job interview without a bra. Or giving a speech with your fly unzipped. OMG! I spent the day reaching for it. Red light: I'll make a call. Not. Take a break: I'll play Scrabble. Not. Send a text: Nope. Get my email. NOT! By the end of the day I couldn't wait to get home

Thankyouverymuch should be no problem

2009-10-13T18:11:00.019-05:00

I have learned a lot about business etiquette at chamber events. I've learned a lot from emcee Beth Stephens at the Rogers Chamber of Commerce, who does an excellent job of publicly acknowledging and thanking the businesses who support and sponsor their events. I don't know that I've ever walked away from a Rogers Chamber event and NOT known what companies put up the bucks to help make the event

Finding the Joy in the Junk

2009-09-16T06:50:00.009-05:00

I'm the only one in the whole complex of some 200-plus apartments with plants on the patio. It makes me feel different from the norm. An outsider. An oddity. My need to garden on the concrete could be a flashback to my college days of pothos and pony tail palms. It is a way to stay connected to my land and home in Eureka Springs. Here I tend morning glories and herbs, tomatoes and geraniums, and

Dumbing it down for really smart robots

2009-08-05T09:06:00.004-05:00

I'm reading a lot about SEO. Search Engine Optimization. Frankly, I don't like what I read.It seems that in order to entice those really smart search engine robots, spiders and wanderers into giving your web pages good ranking in search engine results, you have to dumb it all down. You have to break all the good rules of writing.SEO copywriting "secrets" advise you to search and find your most

Business Image Hokey Pokey

2009-07-03T08:06:00.003-05:00

...Put your right foot in and shake it all about. Do the business hokey pokey... and that's what it's all about. Kathryn Lowell of Image Matters in Bentonville and I have been corresponding briefly about image mistakes in the workplace. She's doing an article on the 10 most dreaded faux pas one can make in earning an image in the business world. Kathryn's focus is on the person. As a marketing

Get up and get over it

2009-06-30T16:44:00.002-05:00

I am afraid of horses. I've been on a horse three times. I've been thrown off a horse three times. It doesn't take a rock scientist (to quote Tara Reid) to suggest that riding isn't my game.But when I met Theresa Thompson something went afoot. She's aptly in the role of volunteer coordinator for Horses for Healing in Bentonville and compelling in her goal, and before I knew what was happening, my

The exception to the rule

2009-06-26T08:40:00.001-05:00

It's not common for a small business of 27 employees to have such a huge impact on a community. Yesterday I met the exception. Cameron Smith (and Associates) is one of the candidates for the Small Business of the Year Award presented by the Small Business Council of the Rogers Lowell Chamber of Commerce. (The award is presented at the Business Expo August 6 during the keynote with Harley