News - April 8

Business Incubator Center NEWS April 8, 2008

Small U.S. Firms Make Big Global Sales
A rising wave of U.S. small businesses and start-ups are going cross-border and selling hundreds of billions of dollars in goods and services to Asia, Canada, Latin America, Europe and Africa.. "Exports are the underrecognized opportunity for many American small businesses," says SBA Administrator Steve Preston. USA TODAY

Small Firms Find Credit Is Tightening
Lenders’ credit woes are starting to take a toll on small businesses. Though it may be too early to determine how hard small businesses will be hit, some national surveys show that the businesses are encountering more restrictions at lending institutions, making it harder to get the credit necessary to expand or, in some cases, stay afloat.. The New York Times

Key Words Assure Message Will Be Understood
Discovering the key words and phrases your customers use is important to getting a message across in a press release. To figure out what these words are, use online keyword research tools, look at the words your competition is using, avoid jargon and test them out by entering them into a search engine. MSNBC/Entrepreneur

60-Second Guide to Collecting Payments
Collecting late payments is a downside of being an entrepreneur, but establishing operating procedures can make the task easier to do. Experts advise setting policies to prevent late payments and consistently enforcing a late policy. Entrepreneur

Campus Life….

TAB
The Alternative Board (TAB) hosts monthly and are facilitated by Bill Vrettos. While BIC offers this program at no cost to Client Companies, normal TAB participation costs $500 per month. Please take advantage!
Topic: "Time Wasters"
Where & When: Wednesday, April 9 at 1:30pm in the small conference room.

Client Company Lunch
Topic: So you have a website up and running, now what? How to generate value from this marketing tool.
Speaker: Andrew BE, Elegant Technologies - http://www.elegantwebsitedesign.com/
Where & When: Tuesday, April 15 at noon in the training room

Spring Cleaning Week
As the weather warms, it is time to think about spring cleaning again. As part of our annual “dump week”, we will have extra trash bins and recycling options for everyone. We will also have a work crew from the Sherriff’s Department here on April 12th to clean the grounds. New this year will be a paper shredding option!
When: The week of April 21st

Upcoming Workshops at the Incubator….

Learn How To Protect Your Invention / Idea / Logo
Are you an inventor, artist or writer? Do you have a new company name or logo? Have you designed a new technology? Come learn from the pros how to protect your intellectual property through trademarks, patents and copyrights. Presented by David F. Dockery, Attorney At Law, Marsh Fischmann & Breyfogle, LLP who specializes on the formulation and execution of technology and identity protection strategies. Cost, includes lunch: $55.
When: Friday, April 18, 9 AM to 5 PM

Upcoming Events….

Entrepreneurship Day at Mesa State
An entire day of great presentations on a variety of topics including:
· Panel discussions by local entrepreneurs
· Breakout sessions on entrepreneurship
· A banquet honoring Entrepreneur of the Year
When: Thursday, April 10, 9 AM to 9 PM
Where: W.W. Campbell College Center at Mesa State
Banquet Tickets: $27.50 per person

The Women’s Foundation of Colorado – A Luncheon Honoring Women
This Annual event honors local women for their leadership and contribution to the community. This year’s honorees are Judy Burford (former Chair of the Mesa County Republican Party), Kellie Caldwell (Supper Solutions) and Christy Whitney (CEO, Hospice and Palliative Care of Western Colorado).
When: Thursday, April 10, 11:30 AM
Where: Two Rivers Convention Center
Tickets: $45