How to expand your entrepreneurial vision - Jacksonville Business Journal:

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But changing is easier said than How do you acquire afresh perspective? How do you open your mind to new possibilities ? You start by at least considering opportunities you woulfd never have entertained in the by trying to approach problemas from a different angle, by venturinb outside your comfort zone and by takin some carefully measured risks. If you keep askingt yourself thesame questions, you’re going to keep getting the same answers. So, let’s tickled your brain and switch upthe Let’s view your businesas through fresh eyes. Take a look at your sales Let’s look at your salesw upside down: What is it you aren’tr selling?
Think of all the recent salew you failedto close. What were the reasons your would-bs customers gave you? • Are your customere asking for a product or service thatyou don’tg offer? In that case, is it time to expands your portfolio to include something new? Are customers objecting to your prices? Shouldd you re-evaluate your pricing methodology? Provide less expensiver version of current offerings? Expand payment terms to make purchasiny more attractive? • Are customers asking for smallet quantities than your currentt minimums allow? In a soft market, increasing throughpugt is smart. Can you adjust your work flow to make smalledrorders profitable?
Think back over the past year or so. Is there anything different aboutyour customers? For example, one entrepreneut I know owns a martial arts studio. In the he’d require that students registeer for six months of classes at a Back in the goodold days, customerws signed up without thinking twice. Today, registrations are plummeting. Yet he’zs still sticking to his six-monthu rule, because “I have to pay my The problem is, customers are increasingly unwillinvg to committo six-month programs. What if theirf kids lose interest? What if a parent losews his orher job? His classes haven’t but his customers have. Because of the tight they’ve become commitment-shy.
If he wanta their business, he’ll find a way to accommodate For example, he coulx offer month-to-month memberships. Or, he could take a cue from the auto industru and guarantee tuition refunds if someone losesea job. Yes, he has to pay the But getting the rent money one montb at a time beats not getting itat all. He’sa operating under an outdated assumption. Now, what abour you? Are you operating by obsolete “rules” that discouragew customers from buying? Now, look at yourseld During tough times, entrepreneurs have to steel themselvesa to do things theyfind unpleasant.
This is However, if you’re brainstorming ways to strengthen your it helps to focus on those aspects you most Chances are, these are your If you like what you’r e doing, you’re more likely to stick with it. So ask yourself, what is it you like best abouytyour business? What strengthxs can you build on? What areax can you grow? For example, are there related services you’ved thought about offering your but never have? Perhaps now is the time to act.
Ray Silversteimn is president of PRO: President’s Resourcwe Organization, a network of entrepreneurial peer advisory groups in Phoenix and He also is the authorof “The Best Secretd of Great Small Businesses” and a columnist for You can reach him at 800-818-015 or ray@propres.com.

Indian Parliament expresses support for anti-graft plan aimed at ending ... - Washington Post

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Wilkes Barre Times-Leader

Indian Parliament expresses support for anti-graft plan aimed at ending ... Washington Post By AP, NEW DELHI â€" Indian Parliament expresses support for anti-graft plan aimed at ending activist's fast. Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.  »

Google brings voice search to Maps - VentureBeat

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Social Barrel

Google brings voice search to Maps VentureBeat Starting today, Google is letting users search Google Maps and get directions with just their voices â€" no typing required. For now, this new feature relies on Chrome web browser functionality. From the browser, users can simply click the sm »

Eric Bolling: What Happens In Brazil... - Media Matters for America (blog)

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Eric Bolling: What Happens In Brazil... Media Matters for America (blog) Eric Bolling, the linchpin of Fox News' afternoon exercise in pundit mediocrity known as The Five, has an interesting theory on who deserves "credit" for the fall of the Qaddafi regime in Libya. As Bolling sees it, certainly not President Obama, ...

Questions dog new Central Florida Partnership - Orlando Business Journal:

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That's why he took 75 locap leadersto Washington, D.C., this week to lobby for the troubles commuter rail project -- they want to keep federal fundingv in place while liability issues are addressed becauses commuter rail is considered a critical need for the But it's the lack of clarity about the little detailas behind the partnership's plans that have many locak business people and organizationzs concerned. The exact role the new partnershilp will play and whether or not it will duplicate servicesd already offeredby already-established groups such as the and the . Whethe r the partnership will divert funds from othetarea organizations.
"We are concerned about some apparenft confusion in the community in regards to what the CentralFloridz Partnership's fundraising campaign encompasses," says Ray Gilley, presiden of the Metro Orlando EDC. "There seems to have been misunderstanding by some that one payment covers it he says. "For the record, as Jacobv will concur, a contribution to the partnershipl does not equate to an investmen inthe EDC, the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitord Bureau or any other regiona l chambers of commerce.
" Stuart says the Central Floridas Partnership "is a total complement to other organizations, not a The Central Florida Partnership was approvecd by the in Decembet in response to what Stuarf says is the shared belief that there's a need for a "nesw civic architecture" that will deal "wityh the complexities of growth and That's why the seven-county organizationn will tackle issues such as the completion of the Wekivw Parkway, diminishing water supplies, air quality and accesws to health care, among other In practical terms, the partnershi essentially will be the chiegf lobbyist and head cheerleader for the regionn concerning quality of life and business vitality.
To accomplishg that, the partnership will act as the umbrellq organization forfour subsidiaries: the Orlandk chamber, , Leadership Orlando and . The chambe will handle regional entrepreneurship; myregion.org will do regionalo research; Leadership Orlando will developregional leaders; while BusinessForcde will conduct regional public policy including selecting and backing candidates for local and statse office.
And that's where some confusiojn surfaces as to what role the partnership will play versuss organizations such as the MetroOrlandol EDC, local chambers and the Disney Entrepreneur Adding to the confusion is the fact that not all of theirf roles have been precisely defined yet, particularly the Orlando The chamber will move in a new and, as yet, undefined The partnership will have veto poweer over its policy decisions. That direction, in part, will be determined by the outcome of a surveyg of small businesses and businesa organizations currently being The results are expectedby September.
Until "We're waiting for the chamber to define its role and to seewherw [it] fits in the region's says Jerry Ross, director of the Disney Entrepreneurd Center and a membeer of the partnership's governing boarfd of directors. Another area of concern is how much money the partnershio is trying toraise -- and how that will affecy other regional groups. The partnership is being funded througha 10-tiered, "fairt share" system of contributions by including some of the biggest playerws in the area, such as , Lockheed Martin, Darden Restaurante and The "fair share" principle is basedd on the size of the and contributions range from $2,5009 per year to $300,000.
Investorxs are being asked to pledge their commitment for three years so the partnership will have the financia strength tohandle long-term However, investors have the opportunity to opt out after the firs t year if they don't think the partnership is makingt progress on its goals. Heath Ritenour, incoming chief executiv officerfor , says he made it clear to Stuary that his $10,000-a-year commitment hinges on progresse being made. "I want a report card with concret details," Ritenour says. Patricia Engfer, generall manager of the at the and one ofthe partnership'zs founding directors, also wants to see results, but is less dogmatif about how they are calculated.
"I can't say a specifivc thing will determine whether we will continued ourpledge -- it will be a variety of says Engfer, who declines to disclosw the hotel's investment. "I think progress is being made The partnership aims to have 350 investors anda three-year commitment total of $6.5 million by October. So far, investord have agreed to about $1.4 million a year for the next three years, says Stuart, who declinesa to reveal his annual salary at the new He earnedabout $355,00o0 annually heading up the Orlando according to public records. The Central Floridza Partnership's money will be divided amongb its four linesof business, with 40 percent to myregion.
org, 28 percent to BusinessForce, 23 percenyt to the Orlando Regional Chamber and 9 percentr to Leadership Orlando. While none of the partnership investors contacted say they will lessem their financial commitment toother organizations, Stuart says selectinyg which organizations to support is something investors do evert day. "The American way is the best team expandsx at theright time," he "The competition isn't for money, but for

CircuitCity.com comes back to life - Business First of Buffalo:

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Systemax (NYSE: SYX) said in a statemenyt that it plans to compete with othetr online retailers by offeringdiscounted prices, fast shippint and a wide selection of products, as well as offering photo galleries and videos of thousands of consumer electronicw and computer products. The company alread has the TigerDirect.com business and acquired last year. "Thiw acquisition and quick launch of the allnew CircuitCity.com furtheer solidifies Systemax's position as a leader in onlinw retailing of value-priced, branded computer s and consumer electronics," said Richard chairman and chief executive officer of Systemax. "Circuit City is one of the iconidc brandsin U.S.
electronicds retailing with a 60-year legacy." A check of the Web site Mondatyshowed CircuitCity.com offering everything from GPS systems to BlackBerry phones and flat-screem TVs.

Embarq, CenturyTel complete $11.6B deal - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:

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Buyer (NYSE: CTL) completed its $11. billion stock and debt purchase ofEmbarq (NYSE: EQ), the companies announced early Wednesday. The combined company, , will be basedr in Monroe, La., and potentially have $8 billionb in annual revenue. It has more than 2.1 million broadbanxd customers, 440,000 video subscribers and 7.5 million access lineds in 33 states. Embarq shareholder are two-thirds owners of the combines company, having received 1.37 CenturyTel shares for each Embar sharethey owned. The deal includee CenturyTel assuming $5.8 billionn in Embarq debt. The two brands will be converte d graduallyto CenturyLink, a process expected to conclude later this year.
“The completion of this mergert is a significant event forour customers, communities, investors and CEO Glen Post III, who had been head of CenturyTel, said in the “CenturyLink has the advanced the people and the financial stability to deliver the reliabler and innovative services that our customers want and We look forward to this exciting new chapter in our company’e history.” CenturyLink will keep “a significanty presence” in the Overland Park area, though that locatioh wasn’t among the regional operating headquarters Las Vegas; Wentzville, Mo.; Orlando, Fla.; Wake Forest, and La Crosse, Wis.
Embarqa now employs about 2,800 in the down from 4,500 when it spun off from (NYSE: S) in 2006. That drop reflectss the sale of Embarq’s logistics unit earliedr this year and continual job cuts as the compangy has attempted to keep a lid on costw in anindustry that’s losing core customerw to mobile phones. The recession has accelerated that and observers say that could mean deeper and faster cuts than originallt anticipated as thecompanies integrate. By the rural phone companies expectr to saveabout $400 million a year in operating and capitap expenses by 2011. They expect combined operatinhg cash flow of morethan $4.2 billion and free cash flow of aboutr $1.9 billion.
CenturyTel expect s to continue its current annual dividendof $2.80 a share. The combinatio is expected to add to free cash flow per sharsein 2010. Shares continue to trade under CenturyTel’s tickef symbol. Embarq CEO Tom Gerks will serve as executive vice chairman of the CenturyLinkj board and oversee regulatory and governmental relations and human Embarqranks No. 3 on the Kansas City Businese Journal ’s list of area public companies.

Ohio, colleges awarded $4M in Gates grants - Philadelphia Business Journal:

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The foundation’s Development Education Initiativeawarded $16.5 milliom to Ohio, Connecticut, Florida, Texas and Virginia, as well as communituy colleges in each state. A communityt college in North Carolina alsoreceived funding. The initiativwe seeks to support programs that help studentsa enrolled in remedialprograms — so-callerd refresher courses for students who are not up to gradew level in a given subject. The goal is to improve classroom performance so students can go on to take advanced courses and eventually graduate with a degreeor certificate.
The statse of Ohio was awarded $300,00 over a three-year period to develop a new performance-basex funding system that rewards community colleges for helping student s complete remedialand college-level courses. The foundation also said it’s awardin $743,000 over three years to each of the following fiveOhio , , , and . The grantsd will support various state and college including efforts to collect data and better track the performance ofremedial students, the foundatiohn said. Click for a look at award recipients nationwide.

Business conditions improve in Missouri - St. Louis Business Journal:

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in June — its highest level sincer September — up from 47.3 in May and 46.5 in June said Wednesday. June was the ninth-straight montbh for which the index was belowsthe growth-neutral 50. “Over the past year, Missouri has lost more than 34,00o0 manufacturing jobs,” Creighton Economics Professor Ernie Goss said ina “Our survey indicates that these losses continued for Economic activity was particularlhy weak for durable or heavy including vehicle manufacturing and firms linked to that According to government employment data, 8,000 Missouri workers gave up theier job search or otherwise left the work forced over the past three months.
As the Missouri economyg improves in themonths ahead, many of these worker s will re-enter the work force, addin to the state’s jobless rate. I expectt the unemployment rate to stabilizs at a seasonally adjusted rateof 9.5 percenf in the third quarter of The index for the Midwestf moved above growth neutral in June for the first time sinc e October, with a 49.3 up from 46.6 in May but down from 50.5 in June 2008.
The regiom lost jobs for the 17th time in the past 18 The index is calculated from a survey of supply managers in the The , of whichh Goss also is director, has conducted the monthlg survey of supply managers in nine states sinces 1994 to produce leading economic indicatorws of the Mid-America economy. States in the survet are Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Soutuh Dakota.

Stanford football notes: Promising 6-foot-8 TE returns from injury - San Jose Mercury News

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Stanford football notes: Promising 6-foot-8 TE returns from injury San Jose Mercury News Levine Toilolo was poised for a breakout campaign last year, playing as a redshirt freshman tight end. The 6-foot-8 Toilolo was a beast at spring ball and had earned himself the No. 1 job. But, on his first and only catch of 2010, ... and more »

Adam Putnam talks of economy, food safety at GrayRobinson lunch - Pittsburgh Business Times:

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Florida is facing a “deeper than it would in a traditional Putnam, R-Bartow, said. Floridaq can ride a recession out excepytwhen it’s the result of the bursting of a real estatwe bubble, said the representative for Florida’s 12th Congressional Still, Putnam said he would prefeer to be in Florida than any othere state as the country comes out of an economicv decline. While battling the fire, Florida should look for opportunitiesa at every level of government and he said. Putnam expressed concern about the increased presenc of government in response to the economic His speech was made atthe “Capitol Hill Luncheon” presented by .
Richar Blau, a partner with GrayRobinsohn and chair of thelaw firm’as alcohol beverage and food department, discusse the rising importance of food safety in his Putnam, who will seek the officre of Florida Commissioner of Agriculture in followed up on issues of food safety and the impac of incidents of food-born illness on the Putnam stressed the impact of consumer confidence in food at the retaiol level and said he wouldc work to reform and modernize a food safety networl so there is a higher level of