Grab the Popcorn, It's Movie Time!

One of my personal goals this year is to watch the American Film Institute's Top 100 Films. I'm currently on number four, Singing in the Rain. I'm not typically a fan of campy musicals, but you've got to agree that there's something wonderful about this movie. I can't believe that people could dance like that! I really wish I had fulfilled my adolescent dream and purchased tap shoes. It's never too late, right?

I'm thinking that I'll work on this routine tonight. :)

Have a great weekend!

Carrie



Toot Your Own Horn!



Flickr CC olga.belobaba

I am fascinated with the idea of creating a personal brand. As indiepreneurs, we may shy away from corporate jargon, but the concepts behind self marketing will help any new entrepreneur create name recognition and establish expertise.

Currently, I’m reading Self Marketing Power, and will review it soon. In the meantime, here’s a short ‘net roundup for those of you who lack the time for leisure reading. Print these puppies out (or not, save a tree!) and peruse while waiting in line at the market:

Personal Branding 101 offers ten tangible tasks that you can accomplish within a specific timeframe.

10 Ways to Build Your Personal Brand offers well-known and unique tips from seasoned self-marketers.

Women and The Art of Self-Marketing helps to reframe the social stigma women often use to equate self-promotion with lack of humility.

What steps have you taken towards personal branding so far?

Guest Post: Green Your Small Business

Today's post comes from Gainesville native Emily Rodriguez, M.S. - Plant Ecologist and Environmental Activist.

From Flickr User epSos.de

When thinking about how to incorporate green practices into your small business, consider the phrase, “People, Planet, Profit.” You probably already have a good idea of how your business serves people and generates a profit, but what about the planet? Sometimes it’s possible to save money while helping people and the planet, but other times, you make a personal sacrifice or spend money specifically to be more environmentally friendly. Exactly how to partition your resources among the three Ps is up to you, but here’s some information to help you make those decisions:

Before the environmental movement of the 1970s, point source pollution was one of the biggest environmental problems we faced. That is, businesses used to literally discharge toxic materials from their premises into the environment. These days, non-point source pollution is a leading cause of environmental degradation. Hardly anyone is intentionally dumping pollutants generated by their business, but low levels of pollution are still being emitted by enough people, that it’s causing problems on a large scale. Examples of non-point source pollution include storm-water run-off, fertilizer run-off and vehicle exhaust fumes. This type of pollution has contributed to global warming, a dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico, and algae blooms in our springs, to name a few effects.

So, the number one change you can make to become a greener small business, is to reduce your non-point source pollution. Around the physical location of your business (and home), plant attractive native plants and discontinue or minimize fertilizer and irrigation. Wherever possible, minimize your indoor concrete footprint – and outside, use permeable surfaces such as mulch, pavers, or pervious pavement. Minimize the amount of gasoline you consume by cutting down on driving and flying or switching to alternative fuel vehicles. If you cannot cut-down on your own exhaust pollution, you can purchase carbon-offsets, which pay for projects such as tree plantings.

Of course, we all know “Reduce, Re-use, Recycle.” Consider participating in local recycling programs. Consumable items that you need for your business can be made out of recycled or renewable materials. Partnering with other ventures may help you become part of a recycled waste stream – think creatively and ask around. Be flexible in setting employee work hours, since using electricity during off-peak times is more efficient. Remember that technology can be a powerful tool in minimizing our impact on the environment. There are investments large and small that you can make in water and energy saving technologies for your business. It is possible to maintain a healthy natural environment and to thrive as a small business, as long as you take care of the three Ps: “People, Planet, Profit.”

Have you taken steps to green your small business?

Consider the following resources:

Green Guide for New Businesses by the U.S. Small Business Administration

How The iPad Is Helping Businesses Go Green on Mashable

And for an in-depth read:
Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things
Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage

Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution--and How It Can Renew America

Easy Shortcuts for Increasing Blog Traffic

Mike Licht
NotionsCapital.com

Have you launched a company blog to promote your brand? If you’re already generating quality content on a consistent basis, you need to promote your blog to gain traffic and raise brand awareness.

With limited time and resources, what’s the indiepreneur to do? Here are a few Information Slinger approved articles for quick (and cheap!) ways to generate blog traffic:

How to Promote Your Blog With Only $100 offers tips for (mostly) free blog promotion. Some tips, such as gaining a following in Twitter and getting involved in the blogosphere will take a lot of time, effort and strategy (but are probably worth the effort!). The minimum shortcuts to success:  Activate Google Alerts for mentions of your business or brand, and offer giveaways and donations to charity.

How to Promote Your Business Blog with Social Media offers tips for utilizing the strength of social networking. Highlights include: Use automated feeds to push content automatically from their blog to select social networks. However, remember to follow the 80/20 rule. Only 20 percent of your posts should be promotional; the rest should provide value to your customer.

How Not to Promote Your Blog by the folks at ProBlogger provides an overview of blog etiquette. The best tips include: Be genuine. Focus on writing for your customers (rather than search engine optimization), and avoid cold-calling for link exchanges.

Do you blog for your business? Here’s your chance to show us what you’re working on! What topics have generated the most interest?

Today, I picked up The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging at the public library. I'll review it, and let you know if it's worth the read.

The CIED: Cultivating Entrepreneurial Growth in North Central Florida

From Flickr User LadyDragonflyCC

How is innovation cultivated in North Central Florida? Recently, I had the opportunity to tour Santa Fe College’s Center for Innovation and Economic Development (CIED). I met with Dug Jones, the Assistant Vice President of Economic Development, and Bill Dorman, the Entrepreneur in Residence at the center. The mission of the CIED is "to foster innovation and economic development by adding value and providing enrichment to individuals and organizations within our business community." Dug demonstrated how the CIED eliminates barriers to entrepreneurial success through its services such as meeting space, educational programs, technology resources, peer group meetings, mentoring, and more.

The CIED provides services to entrepreneurs at every level. The Entrepreneur Incubator caters to new businesses and provides opportunities to meet with seasoned Incubator Resource professionals for mentoring and guidance. As an alternative to the home office or coffee shop, the CIED provides space for business meetings and interaction with clients. As a business grows, “Incubator babies” are expected to thrive and graduate from the program. Success stories include the Citizen’s Co-op, Applied Food Technologies, and Corks & Colors Studio.

The Incubator and other services are included with membership to the CIED. There are two levels of membership, and fees are paid on a month-by-month basis. The Associate Level membership offers access to the CIED facilities, networking group meetings, and advising services, while a Resident Level membership provides these services as well as permanent office space at the center.

New members and guests will experience Dug and Bill’s passion for helping fledgling and established business owners succeed. Depending on your needs, I believe membership to the CIED would be an invaluable resource. For more information on the center or the incubator, visit the CIED, or watch this video. The CIED is located at the corner of 6^th Street and University Avenue and offers plenty of parking.

For more information on business incubation, check out:

How to Choose an Incubator from the New York Times

Incubation Nation: Where Great Ideas Are Born: An overview of 20 incubators by Inc.

The Perks of Business Incubators from the North Central Florida Business Report

In the coming weeks, I'll report back on other business incubators in North Central Florida.

Have you utilized any incubator services? Would you consider it in the future?

The Survey Says...

From Flickr user orangeacid

Thanks to all of the local indiepreneurs who filled out my informal survey!  I asked the following two questions from a variety of local business owners:

What do you feel is the biggest challenge in running your small business?

What would help you with this challenge?

The biggest challenges represented on the survey dealt with time management and marketing outreach. Others were concerned with raising consumer awareness or sourcing financial support. Finally, navigating the legal and regulatory landscape was a major issue for new business enterprises.

Some of the notable solutions offered for these problems included a desire for affordable human resource services and guidance in finding alternative support staff (interns, virtual assistants, etc.). Others mentioned a need for affordable bookkeeping and accounting and shortcuts to getting things done. Finally, outreach and networking were major concerns – so let’s start a meet-up (more info soon)!

Do these results sufficiently reflect of the needs of the local entrepreneur? What sort of support do you think is needed in our local community?

Over the next few weeks, I’ll look into resources and organizations to help local indiepreneurs with these needs. If you have a recommendation for a resource or service, please let me know!

Indiepreneur Spotlight: Ashley Glenn

Flickr User Jacob Rickard

Ashley Glenn owns Culinary Professionals, a small local business specializing in culinary education for people of all ages. Culinary Professionals provides personal chef services, nutrition classes for kids, demonstration cooking events, and private cooking classes. Ashey's passion is sharing her knowledge with the health-conscious food lover!

IS: What inspired you to create Culinary Professionals?
Ashley: After graduating from culinary school and spending the past four years working in catering and the past three summers teaching children to cook in South Florida, I moved to Gainesville and decided I was ready to share my love of good food and my passion for cooking with people in Alachua County.

IS: How did you begin the process of building your business?
Ashley: I am still in the early stages of building my business. I started the process by creating a very simple website and establishing the business on Facebook and Twitter. Having an online presence is critical in building a business today.

IS: What motivates you towards your indiepreneurial goals?
Ashley: The chance of improving the lives of others by showing people how to cook, teaching people the importance of good nutrition, and sharing my culinary creations is a constant motivator for me.

IS: What advice do you have for other indiepreneurs who want to create a business?
Ashley: If you have a solid basic concept for your business and a strong work ethic, chances are you will be successful. My best advice is to start small and always be thinking of ways to expand your business when you are able to.

Check out Culinary Professionals on Twitter for more information on cooking demos, nutrition education, and personal chef services!

The Information Slinger's suggested book pairing...
Integrative Nutrition by Joshua Rosenthal
Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon