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Quote of the Week - Knowing Your Customers

I feel I'm able to serve my customer by knowing what she or he wants. One of the ways I'm able to do this is through my website, and email: people give me great ideas, tell me what they want, what they don't want. It's really instrumental, and helps me stay in touch with people. Kathy Ireland

20 Tips For Making Sure You Buy the Right Business Printer

Here is a great article on picking a business printer by M. David Stone for e-week.

Choosing the right printer for your business is trickier than you may think. There are probably a few criteria that you're most interested in, and it's only natural that those are the ones you'll focus on. But it's too easy. Click Here

Small Business Advocate: Refuse to participate in recession talk in 2008

Now here is some recession advice I can get behind.

"Refuse to participate in recession talk in 2008" by Jim Blasingame the Small Business Advocate

"It sure seems that this year we're going to experience the ancient Chinese curse, "may you live in interesting times."

Two thousand eight is going to be very interesting for many reasons, but clearly, one of the most interesting is the economy.

Some folks are wringing their hands about the possibility of a recession. But, in my opinion, for every indicator that could cause a recession there is another that will help us avoid one. Frankly, I think one of our greatest challenges this year is resisting the inclination to talk ourselves into a recession.

My proposal is to refuse to participate in a recession. One of the ways we can do this is by focusing on tried and true business operating fundamentals. If you're with me, here are ten fundamentals you should focus on immediately:" More

We Love Doing Business in New York and New Jersey

We live here too. But it is not easy.

CEOs Weigh in on Best, Worst States to Do Business

Texas, Nevada, North Carolina Top List as Best States; California, New York, Michigan Are the Worst, NJ close to NY.

MONTVALE, NJ--(Marketwire - January 22, 2008) - While much of the nation's focus is jumping from state to state during the presidential primary race, CEOs did their own "state-jumping," ranking the best and worst states to do business. In an annual polling by Chief Executive magazine, CEOs ranked the states with no income tax as the top two states for business -- Texas and Nevada -- and those highly-regulated states as the worst two -- California and New York. These same states have been ranked as the best and worst two states to do business in for the past three years. CEO Magazine

A Lesson For Small Businesses from Big Auto's Disastrous Missteps

Fortune Small Business which is found on CNN Money has great articles on Small Business.

Jonathan Blum is their Tech Editor and he brought this story on how small business owners can learn from Detroit's Mistakes. 

If I had my druthers, I'd rather learn from someone else's screw-ups than face another of my own bone-headed business blunders. So I was all eyes and ears here at the North American International Auto Show, which opened to the public over the weekend after several days of press previews and glitzy industry events. If ever there were a poster child for how a small business should not play the innovation game, it's here at this massive shrine to All Things Automotive. More 

Be sure to see our list of Innovation Tools below.

Flight Plan - How to Achieve More, Faster Than You Ever Dreamed Possible

Flight Plan: How to Achieve More, Faster Than You Ever Dreamed Possible

A great easy to read book packed with fresh, realistic perspectives and techniques on turning your dreams to reality.

Brian Tracy is Chairman and CEO of Brian Tracy International, a company specializing in the training and development of individuals and organizations.

Brian's goal is to help you achieve your personal and business goals faster and easier than you ever imagined.

Brian Tracy has consulted for more than 1,000 companies and addressed more than 4,000,000 people in 4,000 talks and seminars throughout the US, Canada and 40 other countries worldwide. As a Keynote speaker and seminar leader, he addresses more than 250,000 people each year.

Find it here on Amazon or Powell's Books

NJSBDC Presents Online Training Program for Entrepreneurs

NJSBDC Presents Online Training Program for Entrepreneurs 

Newark, N.J. (Jan. 14, 2008) – The New Jersey Small Business Development Centers (NJSBDC) is offering a series of four online courses for business entrepreneurs.  Course topics include Business Q&A, How to Start a New Business; Financing, How to Make Lenders Pay Attention to Your Business; Marketing Strategies, How to Reach Target Markets While Fitting Your Budget; and The Business Plan.

Free Educational Workshop for Sage MAS 90 Users

Increase Cash Flow, Productivity and Optimize Business Processes

• How does your organizations days-sales-outstanding policy affect profitability?
• What would happen if your organization could not produce needed financial supporting documents?
• Does your organization have internal/external compliance regulations that require supporting documents be verified for transactions?
• How would you rate your organizations customer service and productivity?
• Is your organization interested in minimizing hardcopy/paper documents?

Work smarter, faster, better. Ricoh Americas Corporation's Document Solutions and Services and SWK Technologies cordially invite you to join us for a complimentary half-day Software Solutions Workshop and Product Demonstration. Youll hear from industry leaders on how to enhance business processes and productivity, and learn how Ricoh's software solutions can help solve tough business challenges. Designed to work around your busy schedule, two Software Solutions Workshops will be hosted at Ricoh's Technology Portal in New York City on Thursday, February 7, 2008.

Register now and you will be eligible to win a 50" HDTV.  Register Here

Small Business Summit 2008, New York City

With changes in technology, the economy and the marketplace continuing at breakneck speed, many businesses have realized it's time to reinvent themselves. We recommend:

Tips for Small Businesses on Surviving a Recession

Deborah L. Cohen who covers Small Business for Reuters shares these tips for surviving a recession. Whether we have one now or not remains to be seen. Nevertheless these points apply to good times or bad.

"If a recession does take hold, small- to mid-sized companies will be among the hardest hit. Lacking the resources of bigger players in their industries, they are usually the first to get called in by skittish banks and suppliers during a credit crunch. Yet there are many steps smaller businesses can take now to hedge against a sustained downturn. Here's what some experienced busines owners and consultants say they've learned to do to prepare for a slowdown in business activity."  More