Attend these sessions to learn about prototyping and fabrication, business model development, raising financial capital, and virtually every area of skills and knowledge required to become successful entrepreneurs.
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We will share the latest news and resources on innovation and entrepreneurship.
Gulf Coast State College’s Millaway Institute for Entrepreneurship is offering a series of free seminars entitled, The Enlightened Entrepreneur. On Monday evenings throughout the spring, these 1-hour sessions will feature a local entrepreneur sharing the lessons they have learned in their journey. These local innovators in business and industry represent the best our community has to offer in advice and guidance for current and aspiring entrepreneurs. Attend these sessions to learn about prototyping and fabrication, business model development, raising financial capital, and virtually every area of skills and knowledge required to become successful entrepreneurs. The series is slated to begin Monday, January 25th at 6:00 p.m. and will feature Myron Creel, an experienced industrial designer. Mr. Creel has brought to market dozens of products, helping entrepreneurs bring their idea from a napkin through the design phases. Learn about moving design into molding and mass production. Collectively, the participating speakers have raised millions of dollars for their ideas, manufactured and distributed globally, and met every major challenge faced by today’s entrepreneur. See the Millaway Institute Web site at http://www.gulfcoast.edu/millaway for the ongoing schedule and full details.
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You have a great idea for a startup, but need help knowing what to do next. Join us for The Big Idea. This ongoing series of informal conversations with successful entrepreneurs may be your answer to knowing what to do next. The speakers are offering their insight to you at no charge. Each speaker in the series features a unique approach. Their personal journey may be different, but you will discover great tips and tricks while hearing what led to the start of their companies. Of course, there will be stories of business success, business failures, and perspectives on what it takes to succeed. Our 2016 series begins this Thursday, January 14, with entrepreneur Jayme Thomas. Jayme is President, CEO, and Co-founder at Visual Goodness. He is responsible for vision, direction, and business operations. His expertise in Business Development, Creative Direction, Storytelling, 3D Illustration, and Concept Development keep him busy. Visual Goodness is an interactive studio that has been delivering stunning work across a wide swath of the digital landscape for over a decade. Jayme is the creative lead for large site and video/animation projects with extensive experience in Directing, 3D animation, UX, and illustration. This event is free and open to the public! Join us on January 14th, at 5:30 pm at Amavida, 2997 W 10th Street in St Andrews, Panama City. If you are interested in attending and need more information or if you would like to share your experiences in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, contact Pamela Kidwell at the Business Innovation Center, 850-770-2451 or [email protected]. Annual statewide competition rewards Florida inventors and entrepreneurs GAINESVILLE, FL, January 1, 2016 – The Cade Museum for Creativity + Invention invites entrepreneurs, inventors, researchers, and early-stage companies to apply for the 7th Annual Cade Museum Prize competition. Open to all Florida residents and Florida based companies, a cash prize of $50,000 as well as in-kind incentives will be awarded to the most innovative idea that is en route to market. Contestants will be judged on the following criteria: 1) How truly creative is the idea?, 2) How large is the potential impact of the invention?, and 3) Could the invention be marketed successfully? Important dates for the competition are as follows: January 1- January 31 - Applicants submit entries online at cademuseum.org Deadline: 1-31-16. March 1 - Sweet 16 semi-finalists announced. March 28 - Final 4 teams are announced. April 30 - Final 4 teams will present their ideas to a panel of judges and an audience at the 2nd Annual Inventivity Bash in Gainesville where the winner will be announced onstage. Since its inception in 2010, the Cade Museum Prize (funded by the Community Foundation of North Central Florida) has drawn hundreds of entries from all corners of Florida, providing a space for a blend of state researchers, entrepreneurs, and creative-thinkers to showcase their ideas. The 2015 winner, Everix, impressed with their development of high performance optical filters that caters to a variety of uses. Past winners have included an innovative system that matches students with a highly qualified tutors; an improved biodegradable plastic that breaks down under natural conditions in less than 10 years; and a revolutionary sound-monitoring technology that uses catheters in common procedures such as labor and delivery and cardiac operations. This year the Cade Museum Prize competition platform is being sponsored by Skild. About the Cade Museum Based in Gainesville, Florida, the Cade Museum is an interactive museum that inspires creative thinking, future inventors, and early entrepreneurs. Founded by the family of Dr. James Robert Cade, who led the team that invented Gatorade at the University of Florida in 1965, the Cade Museum offers classes combining science, technology, the arts, engineering, and math. The Cade Museum is currently building a new facility in Gainesville, featuring the invention of Gatorade, stories of great American inventors, and the neuroscience of creativity. For more information on the Cade Museum, visit www.cademuseum.org. You are in the final stretch. The schedule seemed impossible last week. Now you are just days away from Christmas. Stress is mounting for everyone and as a business owner, you may feel even more of the holiday pressures. If so, remember to take a deep breath. There may be mishaps. Any misgivings you feel at the time will pass; consider the amount of stress that will result if you lose your cool. Remember, you are the example. If you need to count to ten, do it. Consider doing it while you are smiling and do it with your inside voice. Remind your team of the final push. Your team can make or break your business. Keep as much fun as possible in the season and consider adding incentives for motivation. If possible, take off the owner badge and get in the trenches with your crew. If you are at the top, you may recall witnessing other business owners in your past, and the positive impression felt from the helping hand. Finally, enjoy the season. Let the team know how thankful you are for their commitment to the company. The New Year is around the corner, and we can make plans to do it all over again. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays Even small businesses can get overwhelmed with tedious human resource requests. Employees requesting vacation time, travel reimbursement, adding new employees to payroll: it can be hard to keep track. Maybe you should test KiSSFLOW. I did, and it took one click to install. KiSSFLOW is a web-based interface created to organize workflow for your business. The app assists in holding several employee requests and makes adding an employee simple. Creating your personal workflow is just a click away. Just click “create process” on the left sidebar and KiSSFLOW will pull up their templates: The most popular templates are listed first, with the option to customize your template or request a template from KiSSFLOW. The one you chose will determine how your five-step process works. KiSSFLOW uses an easy “5 step process” to create any workflow to your business needs. Creating a “process,” or creating a personalized workflow, is as simple as following the five steps above. KiSSFLOW will first ask you to name your desired workflow and provide a description. I will demonstrate the process to create a vacation time-off request. The second step in the process is to design your form. KiSSFLOW is customizable, allowing users to delete or add fields for their users to fill in when entering their data into the workflow – giving you the freedom to tailor your interface to your business needs. After you complete the third step, you are then prompted to customize the steps your employee’s request goes through. When your employee makes a request, KiSSFLOW recommends that the if it will go to a manager, then human resources. However, as the administrator of the group, you can change the route the request goes through. If a change is made, the only thing the administrator needs is an email address. For example, if a request needs to go to a manager, just hover over the “manager approval” box and change the email address of the desired manager. The fourth step before publishing is editing the permissions to your process. This step is to enable the different avenues listed in step three to modify the request. The fifth and final step is publishing your process! KiSSFLOW makes creating a process incredibly simple through their five step process. After the administrator publishes the process, it will show on the left sidebar next to any other completed operations. Keeping track of various requests is effortless when requests are sorted into different files based on their completion. Once the designated manager has reviewed the request, it will show under one the tabs listed: in progress, rejected, or if accepted, it will show under completed. As the administrator, you will be able to see the background of the interface. You can see reports based on how many requests you receive, how many are accepted and denied, as well as the average time taken to decide on a request. KiSSFLOW shows the administrator reports on previous requests, whether they were accepted or denied, and shows how many requests were submitted during certain months. Owning a business is rewarding but can be daunting, especially as your employee list gets longer. Utilizing KiSSFLOW will assist any manager or human resource department to accept easily or deny employee request, add an employee to the books, among other functions. KiSSFLOW is the number one business process management system on the market today, and they have over 10,000 customers across 108 countries. KiSSFLOW is integrated with Google Apps and works as a simple plugin. KiSSFLOW also offers a mobile device for those on the go. With the business world accelerating at such a speed, an essential trait is an organization. With KiSSFLOW, the user gets an easy-to-use interface for sorting employee requests, organizing processes, and viewing your process management reports. KiSSFLOW offers a free trial, with monthly pricing at $3.00 per user per month. Find more information at https://kissflow.com/ Jessica Williams Communication Intern In 2015, Facebook and other social media services saw a record creation of small business pages across their networks. Social media sites require less expertise to launch and anyone can start a page at little to no cost. However, as your business becomes more established, professional existence away from social media is vital to any business’s digital marketing effort. While social media is an excellent source for a quick and easy solution, with not much commitment needed, in the world of today’s digital marketing trends, it can be rather limiting. Some of these downfalls include minimal design, very limited reporting and tracking tools, and most of all lack of ownership. If you want full control over your brand and the ability to better track your marketing efforts, a website should be in your marketing plan for 2016. The number one reason is credibility. A well put together site versus a competitor with only a Facebook page immediately gives your business more credibility and stance in the marketplace. Another reason to move to a website is the ability to target better marketing techniques most social media lacks. You have more leeway and freedom to communicate and sell your product or service. Finally, one of the main reasons you need a website is to reduce overhead. Ah, music to your ears as a small business owner, right? What does this mean? By building a website, you will have created a sales agent that is available 24 hours a day seven days a week. With most consumers turning to the internet as the preferred option for obtaining business information, you have just automated some of your sales efforts. However, do not discount social media altogether. Ideally, in a well put together plan, social media should be a vital piece of the marketing puzzle. With the average increase of website traffic by 25%, social media will always encourage more business growth. However, look to move to a site in 2016 to push your business a bit further and provide your clients and customers a more comprehensive solution for your services or product. News headlines tend to highlight only wide-scale attacks against large enterprises. However, most attacks target small and midsize businesses (SMB). In relative terms, these attacks often are much more costly to smaller targets. Targeting small and midsize businesses makes more sense than it might seem. Cybercriminal groups are ruthlessly efficient. They want the biggest bang for their buck, which often means the SMB segment. The following sections outline five reasons that make these businesses inviting targets. No. 1: Your data is valuable Most companies have information they want to keep secret: customers’ credit card numbers, employees’ personal data, or it could be something as valuable as the keys to the business banking account. A New York mannequin maker learned that lesson the hard way in 2012 when it lost $1.2 million within a matter of hours through a series of fraudulent wire transfers. Cybercriminals breached the firm and got its online banking credentials. The company’s anti-virus (AV) software never detected anything amiss. Sarah E. Needleman (The New York Times). “Cybercriminals Sniff Out Vulnerable Firms.” July 2012. In addition to having valuable data of their own, most SMBs do business with larger companies. Often this includes ties into partners’ computer systems or access to their sensitive data and intellectual property. Even if you are not the ultimate target, only a few hops separate you from a valuable target. “It might not be your data they are after at all,” the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report states. “If your organization does business with others that fall within the espionage crosshairs, you might make an excellent pivot point to their environment.” You might think of yourself as a small fish, but you are connected to bigger fish. No. 2: Attacks offer high returns for criminals with minimal risks The Internet connected the globe in ways barely conceivable just a few decades ago. It has opened up outside markets, uncovered lucrative niches to serve, and created brand new ways of doing business. The dark side of this progress: the Internet has also made attacks possible from anywhere in the world. Attackers are rarely caught, let alone punished. Advanced malware typically resides in infected systems for weeks, even months, before conventional security tools detect it. Some malware quietly cleans up after itself after exfiltrating data to make a clean getaway. Moreover, in some cases, attackers are even sponsored by their home government. Those factors are amplified when it comes to SMBs, which are usually less able than their larger counterparts to detect and counter advanced threats. With much to gain and little to lose, cyber attackers have strong incentives to attack. No. 3: SMBs are an easier target SMBs face the same threats as large enterprises but have a fraction of the budget to deal with them. More than 40 percent do not have an adequate IT security budget, according to a survey by the Ponemon Institute: “The Risk of an Uncertain Security Strategy Study of Global IT Practitioners in SMB Organizations.” Unlike big corporations—with dedicated roles for chief information security officer, chief information officer, and the like—the general IT director at a small or midsize business wears many hats. Only 26 percent of small and midsize companies in the Ponemon survey were confident their firm has enough in-house expertise for a high-security posture. Likewise, many smaller companies lack strong security procedures and policies. According to a September 2013 survey sponsored by Bank of the West, only 36 percent of small business owners have data security policies. Most cyber attackers follow the path of least resistance. In many cases, this means targeting the very businesses that can least afford to be hit. No. 4: SMBs have their guards down The statistics are clear: a small or midsize business is more likely—not less—to face an attack compared with large enterprises. Nearly 60 percent of small and midsize businesses in the Ponemon survey do not consider cyber attacks a big risk to their organization and forty-four percent do not find high-security a priority. Despite a growing tide of cyber attacks, 77 percent of SMBs believe that their company is safe from cyber attacks, “showing that some small businesses are operating under a false sense of security.” Many businesses assume that they do not have anything worth stealing. Others are unaware of the volume and sophistication of today’s attacks. In either case, the effect is the same: the business remains vulnerable. As the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report puts it: "Am I a target of espionage? Some may already know the answer to this question by firsthand experience. Many others assume they are not or haven’t thought much about it. Despite the growing number of disclosures and sometimes alarmist news coverage, many still see espionage as a problem relevant only to the Googles of the world. Unfortunately, this is simply not true." No. 5: Most SMBs use security tools that are no match against today’s attacks The defenses most SMBs have in place today are ill equipped to combat today’s advanced attacks. Firewalls, next-generation firewalls, intrusion prevention systems (IPS), AV software, and gateways, remain relevant security defenses. However, they are woefully ineffective at stopping targeted attacks. These technologies rely on approaches such as URL blacklists and signatures. By definition, these methods cannot stop powerful attacks that exploit zero-day vulnerabilities. If an IPS or AV program does not have the signature of a new exploit, it cannot stop it. When highly dynamic malicious URLs are employed, URL blacklists do not cut it. Most defenses stop known attacks. But they are defenseless against unknown advanced targeted attacks or zero-day threats. Recommendations: Here are two key steps toward shielding your business from the growing scourge of data breaches.
Contributor Mr. Tomas Santos-Alejandro is Advent Service’s VP of Operations. He can be reached at [email protected] or (850) 441-2915. Advent Services (www.adventsvcsllc.com) specializes in Information Technology and Security services for government and private sector organizations. “The most powerful force in the universe is compound interest.” Words said to be spoken by genius Albert Einstien. I am writing to share the truth behind this principle, and the genius idea put into action by individuals and organizations who believe in social responsibility and positive environmental impact. The topic is B Corp certification. B Corp stands for Benefit Corporation and companies under this type of certification recognize the impact of applying the principle of compound interest to business. This is a new class of corporation that voluntarily meets different standards of corporate purpose, accountability, and transparency. Businesses are the most powerful force in the world affecting social, economic and environmental outcomes. B Corporations are “people using business as a force for good.” They are a community of individuals and companies who are more purpose driven than profit driven, and they are changing the way organizations communicate and interact with those affected by their operations. This community of ambitious individuals has been around far longer than the certification. Although, the development of it is significant to a sustainable future. Introduced in 2006 by the nonprofit B Lab, the B Corp Certification is inspired by those already working with the belief that systems should exist to serve society. Now it has become a big stamp of validation for the companies who are working hard to make a difference and set a framework holding all organizations accountable for their actions. As of this writing, there are 1,468 Certified B Corporations, across 42 countries and from a variety of 130 different industries, whom all share one unifying goal “to redefine success in business.” Amavida Coffee and Tea is a Certified B Corporation and Florida Benefit Corporation. To achieve certification, all B Corps must undergo a rigorous investigation of business policies and procedures and are scored on four facets: Governance Structure, Employee Engagement, Community Involvement, and Environmental Impact. All B Corps voluntarily meet higher standards of transparency, accountability, and performance making them powerful agents for change. Amavida Coffee and Tea is an importer, roaster, and purveyor of Organic and Fair Trade specialty coffees. Amavida operates several cafes in the Florida Panhandle and maintains a thriving coffee roaster and wholesale operation that focuses on providing the highest-quality Organic and Fair Trade coffees in the industry. Amavida Coffee and Tea is a member of Cooperative Coffees, a green coffee importing cooperative comprised of 23 community-based roasters throughout the United States and Canada. Cooperative Coffees shares Amavida Coffee and Tea’s vision to promote transparent Fair Trade and sustainable development alternatives and believes that the Fair Trade movement goes beyond the importation of fairly traded coffee and products. Amavida Coffee and Tea and Coop Coffees work together to promote fair buying practices and work to ensure that partnering farming communities are being properly cared for and educated. We believe that true fair trade is essential to creating a sustainable, honorable, and honest business. This occurs by building long-lasting, deep-rooted relationships with farmers and by creating a real partnership; we pay what is earned and deserved. Amavida Coffee and Tea shares the vision of B Corp to redefine success in business by creating higher quality jobs and improving the quality of life for our community, as well as the communities of our trade partners. Entrepreneurs have been known to fuel the train of American progress; they drive their dreams and are the backbone of the economy. In honor of their raw innovation and ingenuity, President Obama has declared November to be National Entrepreneurship Month. “We celebrate America's innovators, support small businesses, and empower entrepreneurs to turn their visions into reality,” proclaims President Obama. In celebration of National Entrepreneurship Month, the Veterans Business Outreach Center, VBOC, at Gulf Coast State College, is hosting Boots to Business Reboot, a no-cost two-day event to honor not only the savviness of American entrepreneurs but also the bravery and endurance of the American veterans. Boots to Business Reboot is an entrepreneurial training program for Veterans and Military Spouses.
“Boots to Business Reboot is scheduled to highlight the second annual National Veterans Small Business Week.” According to Brenton Peacock, associate director for the VBOC, “This course is open to veterans and their families of all eras, including those in the National Guard and Reserves.” The event is November 6th and 7th in the Advanced Technology Center at Gulf Coast State College. The two-step training program by the U.S. Small Business Administration, SBA, through public-private partnership with the Institute of Veterans and Military Families, the Marcus Foundation, and First Data Corporation will offer insight to those pursuing business ownership or other areas of self-employment. The experts at the event will encourage ideas such as the importance of a business plan and the core ideas of business concepts. SBA resources are available for those who wish to attend the event, including start-up capital, technical assistance, and contracting opportunities. For more information and to register, visit http://www.vboc.org. On Friday, lunch is included, so preregistration is required. The very word “Millennials” aka Gen Y prompts head scratching. There’s no hard and fast rule on these age labels but most agree that this term represents those born from the early 1980’s to the very early 2000’s - the 18-34 year old. According to the Pew Research, Millennials are projected to number 75.3 million, surpassing their 74.9 million Boomer parents and grandparents, ages 51 to 69. We also know is that they are different from the Boomer generation in more than just age. The Gen Y world is digital and interactive, less personal and yet very personal. They seem to be tied to their smart phones and hardly tethered at all to traditions or traditional marketing. This market is far too large to ignore, plus they have an estimated $1.3 trillion worth of annual spending power! If you’re not one of them yourself, you better figure out how to market to them and drive them to your door. Fortunately, a lot of attention is being paid to this consumer phenomenon. According to US Census data, the consensus is the message and the medium matter. “Mills” have grown up in the Digital Age with immediate information literally at their fingertips and multi-tasking as a matter of course. If you haven’t paid much attention to your online presence, you’re missing the mark. Entrepreneur Magazine contributor Sujan Patel offers this advice: 1. Make sure your web-based marketing is mobile device compatible, i.e. smart phones. Patel says, “Marketing through mobile devices is important in general, but given that 85% of millennials in the U.S. own smartphones.... Are your landing pages optimized for mobile? Are they too graphics-intensive, making load times longer with slower connections? Is your call to action clear, even on a smaller screen?” 2. Millennials value social identities and like-minded communities than to traditional life stages. “Millennials are the most non-traditional, non-lineal generation so far, and they don’t value traditional life-stage advertising the way previous generations did [i.e. they are starting families later, not desiring or economically able to buy a house at 30, etc.] They view life differently. Millennials are much more likely to have a strong attachment to social identities…”, be it a lifestyle or social causes like the environment. Tying your brand to social causes they value or situations impacting them is more likely to resonate with them. Examples: the socially conscious B Corps like Ben & Jerry’s or Apple’s leading edge technology that has literally transformed the way we communicate. 3. Make your material relevant and engaging. Patel concludes,” While this strategy obviously applies to all generations, it’s required for Millennials, have never known a world without the Internet and social media. Don’t expect [them] to simply accept your message on face value and act on it. Instead, Millennials [engage in] online research and [through] social media. Roughly 95% say that friends are the most credible source of product information. This means that if you can engage a customer base within this generation and create ‘brand evangelists’, you’ll see far better results than through any other form of traditional online marketing. The best way to get your message heard among Millennials is to have Millennials themselves spreading the word.” |
AuthorsGuest writers include entrepreneurs, business owners, community leaders and other stake holders. The intent for our writers is to share their perspective on success.
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