Join us at the INBA Community & Business Expo on April 18!

Please joinus and other members of the LGBT and Ally community at the INBA Community & Business Expo on April 18 at the DoubleTree by Hilton - Spokane City Center. This is the first year the Inland Northwest Business Alliance has created a major public event, providing a forum for our community.We hope you'll stop by our booth while you take advantage of these great…

I am moderating the panel discussion tomorrow for the LaunchPad Startup and Entrepreneur Forum and I would like to get some questions from our members prior to the event.

Please take a moment to tell me what your toughest challenges in starting or growing your startup.

Our panel consists of some impressive talent which you can see below so please share some of your questions via this blog and join us if you can!

Panelists: Bill…

I enjoy a funny story as much as anyone. 

But not every joke is worth telling, certainly not in all places, at all times.

Just because you can tell it doesn't mean that you should.

Context matters, it really does.  Letting fly a formidable beer belch might impress your buddies at the bowling alley, but how would it be received at, say, the library, or in the middle of a church service?

Likewise, the use of certain language that could be described as…

Today I'm going to suggest that you take a look at this blog post from Business Networking and Sex (not what you think) dealing with how men and women handle stress (and from where their stress comes).  There was too much great information to try and paraphrase!  http://businessnetworkingandsex.com/stress-and-the-sexes/

If you're interested in learning more, please join us next Tuesday as Dr.…

Hey there LaunchPad networkers...I realize that I've made a mistake.

When talking about the book, Business Networking and Sex (not what you think), I made in error in not including the names of the 2 authors who wrote the book in conjunction with Dr. Misner.…

Are you more interested in knowing someone’s character or their level of competency before making a referral to them? That might be determined, in part, by your gender. Women are more likely to try a person’s product or service first before making a referral. The reason: Women are more relational than men. If a woman makes a referral to someone and it doesn’t work out well, she will consider it a personal…

All you need to do is…

Did you know that when you like a Facebook Page it will be added to your news feed? Have you wondered why you hear and see businesses advertising to "Like" us on Facebook? The answer lies in the "Like" button at the top of the page! If you simply visit at a Facebook page you will not be updated when the page owner posts something new. If you do not click "Like" it actually means you don't like the page!…

This is intended to be the first in a series of posts over the coming weeks discussing different aspects of business strategy and some tools for developing it.

Information and intelligence are vital to the effective development and execution of any strategy.  Just as a general would never take the field without first surveying the terrain and attempting to locate the enemy, no manager should ever commit to any strategy without first collecting as much relevant intelligence as…

I get asked all the time by business owners and artists of all sorts why they should set up a business page instead of keeping their presence as personal profile. After explaining it, the next question is why they should change when it works fine the way it is. The need to leverage social media for business is a no-brainer at this point, but an artist, non-profit, organization or  company's effectiveness on Facebook can be hampered if the account isn't set up properly.

Here are nine…

There are several different types of organizational structures that you may operate your business under.  Attorneys and accountants can be useful in helping you decide which is the most suitable for your business or organization.  Once you have your business set-up you can oftentimes change to another structure, if need be.  Changing your business structure is a great thing to do at the beginning of a new year, if needed! 

Below is a brief description of each of the…

My younger brother has recently embarked on a quest to purchase his first car, prompting me to proffer some advice on optimizing on the negotiations.  It is a subject which I hope will be of interest and benefit to those of you who read my periodic ramblings. 

BATNA

Bat-what?  In the academic study of negotiation, this term represents your best alternative to a negotiated agreement.  Many of you probably had a good understanding of concept before it had an…

When I first decided to start my consulting practice I had all of these grand ideas of how I was going to attract customers and how rapidly business was going to take off.  Optimism, that quintessential trait of the entrepreneur, has a frequently unpleasant side effect.  Sometimes (often) things don’t go according to plan or remotely near the way we would like them to. 

The plan was to use and build my professional network to attract small business owners as clients.  I…

This was shared on the Facebook wall of a friend of mine. I LOVE it! Talk about shopping local and helping our neighbors prosper! If each one of us did this...what a huge impact we could have on our local economy. HUGE!

Kim

 

Christmas 2011 -- Birth of a New Tradition

By Brian Sanders



Coeur d' Alene, Idaho



 

As the holidays approach, the giant Asian factories are kicking into high gear to provide Americans with…

For those of you who didn't make it to Launchpad INW's Entrepreneur and Small Business Community Event today; guest panelist, Katy Brown of Thin Technologies, described starting a business as "terrifying."  As I go through the early stages of starting my own business, I can sympathize.

When I first made the decision to 'take the leap,' I was excited by all of the…

How does someone decide whether or not to start a business?  While I cannot make this decision for anyone besides myself; I can certainly suggest a few things to consider. 

The first thing to consider is your opportunity cost.  Opportunity cost is an economist’s way of defining the value of your other options.  What are you going to give up if you start a business?  What can you gain?  What are the pros and cons of other things you could do rather than start a business? …

TGIF, everyone!

Just finished compiling BBB's latest Naming Names, a monthly release that lists the top ten complaint categories for the past month at BBB. Here is our latest, with a variety of tips, warnings, videos on timely topics reflected in BBB complaint activity. (Note that our interface has changed, and we have added active links to many of the companies named in the release that take you to their active BBB Review.)

JUNE 2011 NAMING…

Hello LaunchPad Groupies,

I did a post on how local business are falling behind, and what they can do to stay ahead of the curve.

If you are wondering why your phone hasn't been ringing lately, you should  check out this post and make the suggested adjustments.

Here is the link to the post.  I hope it helps.…