SmallBusinessExecutiveInforming, Inspiring and Connecting Businesses
How to use handwritten media to get noticed
By Lidia Varesco Racoma, Guest columnist It can be worthwhile for a small business to take a break from social media and focus on “handwritten media.” Being an avid user of social media, I realize its benefits for small business—but I also believe that staying connected with clients and prospects requires a more personal approach [...]
GlobalBiz: How to avoid legal hurdles when expanding overseas
By Michael Muth, GlobalBiz columnist In this interview with attorney David Laverty, a principal of International Counsel, GlobalBiz explores the legal options and challenges associated with moving a small business into the international marketplace. Laverty has more than 20 years of experience with contracts, investment and market-entry matters. In his work in the United States as [...]
SIM panel celebrates spirit of innovation
By Sara Al-Farhan Imagine ordering a drink without having to ask a bartender, or knowing exactly when the next bus arrives on a cold day at the bus stop. The Society for Information Management held a panel discussion Wednesday to celebrate four innovators who transformed these ideas into reality. Chicago Innovation Award winners John [...]
What’s a QR code? How to use new 2-D barcodes to link print with the Internet
By Mark Goodman, Guest columnist What is this 2-D Barcode? How are businesses using it to link print content with their Internet strategies? Have you ever seen a barcode like the one shown below? In the parlance of the Internet, they are QR codes. These two dimensional representatives of data were invented by a [...]
Spotlight on locally made products: How do entrepreneurs go from idea to market?
This article made possible by a Chicago Innovation Awards sponsorship. Just as every Chicago small business has a story behind it, so does every product an entrepreneur designs. Behind many of the city’s newest products are entrepreneurs who have created opportunity from adversity, often using severance checks to launch new businesses. By designing concepts that [...]
Our view: Groupon’s rebuff a cash vs. king tale
Business is rarely entirely about the money. While Google’s alleged $5 billion or $6 billion offer for Groupon would make many of us starry-eyed, without knowing what the terms of the deal were, we won’t second-guess Groupon’s decision to decline the big bucks. Anyone who has founded a company and considered selling all or part [...]
`Small Business Saturday’ concept takes hold
American Express reports that its campaign to boost sales at small retailers on Saturday, Nov. 27, was effective largely because other groups embraced it. According to the company: Forty-one elected officials, including Illinois Gov. Quinn, declared the Saturday after Thanksgiving “Small Business Saturday.” Throughout the nation, 130 small business groups and public and private [...]
Our view: Think of all the good $5 billion from Groupon can do
Count us among those who would encourage Eric Lefkofsky, Brad Keywell and Andrew Mason to take the $5.3 billion Google is rumored to be offering for “the fastest growing company ever,” as Forbes has described Groupon, and put it to good use. Remember that Groupon morphed out of ThePoint.com, which Mason, a Northwestern alum, created [...]
WBDC to offer micro loans to start-ups
The Women’s Business Development Center is offering microloans for start-ups and established small businesses based in Illinois. The loan program, which starts this month until funding runs out, was created in response to the credit crunch that has constrained small business development. Newly formed businesses can apply for loans up to $50,000, while the [...]
Mcommerce sites add gift centers: Chicago report
Mobile commerce sites are getting more sophisticated with 42 percent offering a gift center for mobile devices, according to Chicago-based e-tailing group’s third-quarter mobile mystery shopping report. That’s up from 30 percent of merchants who offered gift centers a year ago. That means many mobile sites now allow users to shop by criteria, such [...]
