- You Talkin' to ME?
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written on March 03, 2011
by Nikki Evans
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Marketing 101
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If you’re writing for signs, websites or email, and you want people to do what you want them to, you should address their concerns first. Maybe later, you can talk about yours.
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- Five Steps To Sales Success
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written on March 01, 2011
by Diane Helbig
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Relationship Selling Strategies
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So many people are starting businesses these days. In addition, there are many small business owners who have been confronted with the necessity to sell for the first time.
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- Are You a DoItYourself Marketer- Get Online
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written on March 01, 2011
by Karen Malone Wright
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E-Marketing Tips and Trends
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Every form of traditional media exists in new versions online. Most are free of charge to use, but require investments of time.
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- Eleven Key Questions for a Business Broker to ask a Seller
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written on March 01, 2011
by Kipp Krukowski
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Buying and Selling a Business
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Understanding the entire situation from the business owner’s perspective is important for a business broker to successfully sell a company.
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- Invoicing and the Collections Process
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written on March 01, 2011
by John Doucette
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Receivables Management
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The first step of the accounts receivable management process is invoicing. It’s hard to collect an invoice that the customer does not have or which is inaccurate or incomplete so here are a few simple suggestions to make your billing process more effective.
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- Ohio Supreme Court Case Could Expand Employee Workers' Compensation Retaliation Termination Lawsuits
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written on March 01, 2011
by Scott Lawson
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Termination of Employees
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A case currently pending before the Ohio Supreme Court could expand the rights of employees to sue their employers for workers’ compensation retaliation.
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- Why Strategic Plans Fail
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written on February 25, 2011
by Eric Kurjan
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Strategic Planning and Execution
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If you are expecting your strategic plan to magically come to life without focus, measurement and defined responsibility, then you are just one more statistic of failed execution.
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- Smart Grids Can Lower Peak Demand and Improve Energy Efficiency
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written on February 25, 2011
by Eli Auerbach
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Energy
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One of the more controversial and complex pieces of the energy efficiency puzzle is the smart grid. Currently, electricity is almost universally billed at the same price per kilowatt hour, regardless of the season or time of day. This flat pricing model to the consumer hides the reality of electric consumption – it varies widely, based on the hour of day and the time of year. Improved technology, like the smart grid, gives the utilities additional options to address this variability and flatten that usage curve.
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- Advance your brand from social media experimentation to activation
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written on February 25, 2011
by Jason Therrien
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Social Media
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Many brands spent 2010 collecting friends, followers and likes on their various social networks. This is the year to do something with your established network.
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- The CEO's Practical Overview of Cloud Computing - Part II
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written on February 25, 2011
by Laura Pettit Rusick
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Innovation in Technology
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As we discussed last month, there is a continuum of “cloud computing” services available. We went over software as a service last month. This month, we review server virtualization in the cloud.
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- Prospecting and Lead Generation for Tech Firms
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written on February 24, 2011
by Brad Nellis
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NEOSA- The COSE Technology Network
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NEOSA hosts an annual, popular sales and marketing series for tech companies; our first seminar in 2010 was Prospecting and Lead Generation for Tech Firms. Joining us to share their expertise were representatives from Concept Services, Lapis Business Solutions and Fathom SEO. Each offered their insight into how a tech firm can develop and implement an effective lead generation system yo grow their business.
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- Maximize Your Social Media Marketing
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written on February 23, 2011
by Administrator One
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Member Education Series
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Are you having trouble navigating the social media terrain and figuring out how you can actually use these mediums to effectively market your business? Join us as we take a look at the hundreds of Social Media tools available. Our speaker will explore the different properties, discuss demographic targets and teach you how social media can boost and enhance your internet presence and business exposure.
Speaker: COSE Member, Natalie Morris, Morris Mc
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- Big Business Marketing on a Small Business Budget
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written on February 23, 2011
by Administrator One
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Member Education Series
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Learn clever, low-cost and even free ways to market your business. Learn how to use cost-effective marketing and sales automation tools to increase sales and compete effectively against bigger companies for name recognition and market share.
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- Workers' Compensation - Beware of Employee Misclassification When Using Independent Contractors
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written on February 22, 2011
by Ross Brittain and Schonberg
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Workers' Compensation
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Although many employers may currently be experiencing an uptick in their businesses, the uncertainty surrounding the direction of our country’s economy remains. On top of the already-recognized economic uncertainty, a new incentive to stay “downsized” is the passage of health care reform. The ever-increasing cost of health care has always been a major consideration for employers; however, it is heightened by new penalties to be imposed when employees opt out of company-sponsored programs or when employers fail to provide affordable health insurance to employees. These penalties may run as high as $3,000 per employee.
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- Employee or Independent Contractor?
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written on February 22, 2011
by Ross Brittain and Schonberg
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Workers' Compensation
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Consider this scenario: Acme Builders is constructing a beautiful home for new Browns quarterback Brady Quinn. Acme contracts with former Browns quarterback (and first round draft pick) Tim Couch, out of work and quite bored, to hang drywall at the worksite. Tim verbally agrees with Acme that he is an independent contractor and therefore acknowledges that Acme will not provide him with workers’ compensation coverage. A few days into the job, Tim sustains a serious workplace injury. Although Tim’s injury itself is not surprising, Tim’s actions post-injury are surprising. Despite his verbal agreement with Acme, Tim decides to file a workers’ compensation claim. Acme contests the same under the assumption that Tim (as an independent contractor and not an employee of Acme) is simply not entitled to workers’ compensation benefits through Acme.
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- An Overview of LEED - Its Costs, Benefits, and Components
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written on February 22, 2011
by Eli Auerbach
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Greening Your Business
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Over the past few years, the concept of green building has gone from the periphery of the real estate and construction business to a central component. LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) has become a mainstream buzzword and has come to dominate the market. But despite its notoriety, there are still many people that are not familiar with LEED, do not understand the process, and/or do not see the benefit in green building practices and standards.
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- The Three Secrets to Every Marketing Success
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written on February 22, 2011
by Karen Malone Wright
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Marketing 101
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Every marketing project comes down to three basic components: story, audience, tools.
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- The Power of Permission in Public Relations
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written on February 22, 2011
by Katherine Bulava
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Public Relations
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When you want to borrow someone’s car or a pair of jeans or even a pencil, you ask permission first right? So why is it that so many people don’t think to ask permission to email you or call you or give your name as a reference?
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- The Widening Gap
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written on February 22, 2011
by Kenyon Mau
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Employee Development
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In May of 2010, it became apparent to George Wilson, president of Metairie, La.-based Barriere Construction Co., that what was happening at his company demographically was also happening nationwide. Increasingly, older workers were reporting to more highly-skilled supervisors their kids' ages. The gap was widening.
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- Happy Chinese New Year
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written on February 22, 2011
by Tameka Taylor
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Diversity Awareness and Education
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The Chinese New Year 2011 is the Year of the Rabbit and began on February 3rd. The Chinese New Year starts with the New Moon on the first day of the new year and lasts for 15 days.
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- Leading a Sales Force of One
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written on February 17, 2011
by Joe Mayer
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Relationship Selling Strategies
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For many small businesses, sales and marketing are the key components to success. Without customers seeing value for their operations in the products and services you offer and willingness to pay you adequately, no business can exist. So how do you lead a sales force if it consists of just one person and that person might be you? Here are five tips to make sure you leverage sales.
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- The IT Word of the Day- VIRTUALIZATION
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written on February 10, 2011
by Ryan Shorts
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Business Technology
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Historically servers have run a single operating system and required a dedicated machine to process applications and data. The new trend is virtualization, which allows you to run multiple virtual machines or VM’s on a single physical computer.
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- Why is Unemployment Stuck at Nine Percent
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written on February 10, 2011
by Frank Fantozzi
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Business Financial Planning
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When a recession strikes, an unfortunate by-product is that many workers are let go, and not always for economic reasons. A dark undertone plaguing unemployment is that many companies view difficult economic times as an opportunity to let go of marginal performers.
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- What Can Winter Teach us About Public Relations
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written on February 03, 2011
by Katherine Bulava
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Public Relations
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As I stare at the snow STILL falling outside my window, two things come to mind: (1) I’m grateful to work from home and (2) Cleveland winter is a lot like public relations. It’s persistent, it’s long-lasting and it’s as much about what you see as what you don’t.
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- The Bigger the Better
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written on February 03, 2011
by Phil Stella
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Networking Strategies
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It’s not about the size of your network -- it’s about the relationships you build. I’ve been networking for a long time, and over the years, I’ve made many contacts who fell off the map and many who I still carefully nurture as valued business and client acquaintances.
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