Summer Open Market

See you at the Summer Market Place, on Friday July 17, 2009 from 2:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. in the BIC campus parking lot.

The key to problem solving is active listening, yet human beings internalize just 25% to 50% of what they hear, writes psychiatrist Steven Berglas. To be a better listener, Berglas argues that entrepreneurs need to slow down, stop worrying about their image and stop being defensive. Most of all, he suggests, drop the “been there, done that” attitude that gets in the way of taking good advice. Forbes

When customers become consultants

From company names to product design, entrepreneurs are using the Web to give customers input into every aspect of a business, as this article notes. Customers are much cheaper than consultants, and they may also become passionate supporters of companies that engage them. But one Babson College professor warns that too much crowdsourcing can strangle innovation. The Wall Street Journal

Indicators of Entrepreneurial Tendencies

A newly released report by the Kauffman Foundation, Anatomy of an Entrepreneur, reveals that the majority of entrepreneurs had early propensity toward starting companies, judging by their academic performance and socio-economic backgrounds. Kauffman: Anatomy of an Entrepreneur / WSJ: Anatomy Of An Entrepreneur May Not Be What You Think

CAMPUS NEWS

The Price is Right, Right? Establishing Fair Market Value to Buy or Sell a Business.
What would be a fair listing price for a business and how is it determined? Will a lender finance the acquisition? Does selling a business within the industry provide opportunity to command a premium price? Join Mike Schaack, President of The Redstone Group, Ltd., Matt Mayer, President of Mayer Medical Technologies, Inc., and Chris Reddin, Executive Director of the Business Incubator Center in learning about the roles of market analysis and business evaluation in developing a realistic business worth assessment. Cost is $50.Date: Wednesday, August 12 from 8 am – noon

LEADING EDGE – Business Plan Development Program
The Leading Edge Program is an intensive training course that provides business owners and entrepreneurs with expert guidance in the areas of cash flow management, marketing, finance, personnel, legal issues, and more. Each participant will receive hands-on assistance in preparing a complete business plan. Tuition is $275, and includes the NXLEVEL Guide for Entrepreneurs and the NXLEVEL Business Plan Workbook and Resource Guide. When: August 18 – November 10, 200912 Sessions Tuesdays from 6:00 – 9:00 pm Call to register as soon as possible as the class does have a cap on the number of participants and it normally sells out.

Tax Plan Workout: Dealing with the Business Tax Maze
This informative presentation will help you simplify some otherwise confusing tax issues such as tracking and paying all business taxes, computing & filing payroll taxes, depreciation of home or auto use in business, subcontracting vs. employment, sales tax as well as unemployment and use taxes. Cost is $45. Instructor, Pamela J. Belcher, CPA, has many years experience working with entrepreneurs in Mesa County. Other speakers include representatives from the Colorado Dept. of Revenue, Dept. of Labor and Employment and the Mesa County Assessor’s Office. When: Thursday, August 20, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm (lunch on your own from noon to 1 pm)

Get the word out! Incubator Clients, let us help promote your success! I am sure that many of you have seen the weekly articles in the Free Press featuring client companies. Well, that support is just one of many ways we can help get the word out about your business. We have a close working relationship with the Daily Sentinel and the local TV news stations as well. We have recently updated our website (www.gjincubator.org) and would love post videos, stories, pictures, snippets, or blurbs about your business. Please send any news you have to creddin@gjincubator.org.

Join us on LinkedIn

Collaboration amongst peers is one of the most important benefits to being part of the Business Incubator Center community. To help enrich this aspect of the program, we would like to suggest that if you are not already a user of the social networking site LinkedIn, please consider joining! The Business Incubator Center now has a group on LinkedIn, and we would like to invite all of you to join us. The more people who are in the group, the more valuable a resource it will become to the Business Incubator Center community. As the community grows, you will be able to find colleagues who may be in similar industries or facing similar growth issues, and it will serve as just one more way that the community can help businesses grow and prosper.

The Business Incubator Center

The Business Incubator Center is now on Facebook. Click here and login to become a fan and have Business Incubator Center news, events, and videos posted to your personal Facebook page.

Join us as the downtown Toastmasters meeting moves to the Incubator Campus! Toastmasters participants practice and learn skills by filling a meeting role, ranging from giving a prepared speech or an impromptu one to serving as timer, evaluator or grammarian. There is no instructor; instead, each speech and meeting is critiqued by a member in a positive manner, focusing on what was done right and what could be improved.
Good communicators tend to be good leaders. Incubator Clients are welcome! Attend a meeting or two to observe and participate as much as you like, but membership is required for additional participation.
When: Every Thursday at noon
Where: in the Training Room

The GYM is open! The Business Incubator Center is excited to open a gym on campus that will provide all Incubator Client Companies and their Staff the opportunity to meet their fitness goals 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For more details or to get a guided tour of our 540 sf facility, contact Kjersti (khudson@gjincubator.org ) or Katie at the front desk. Here’s to a happy and healthy 2009!

Video Lab Training Session
Topic: Learn to use the new video lab…and make better use of your website.
When: Call Chris to schedule a time
Where: in the video lab on the second floor of the technology building