Archive for October, 2009
Recovery Act Procurement Opportunities
Recovery.org, a service of Onvia, is tracking American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) spending by Federal, State and Local agencies and provides detailed information about what is happening in our States and Municipalities – from the moment ARRA funds are approved, to a government agency’s issuance of a Bid or RFP, through contract award to a business.
Onvia developed Recovery.org to bring unprecedented levels of transparency and accountability to recovery spending* and to ensure that every business, regardless of size, has equal access to the projects associated with the recovery efforts. In order to create jobs, businesses need information about when and where ARRA-funded projects are happening, and they need to know early on in order to prepare and submit bids/proposals. Onvia’s Recovery.org site provides early notices of projects, RFPs, bid documents, amendments to these documents, and contract award information about contractor and subcontractor recipients of Recovery funds, as close to real-time as is possible. Business owners need this information in order to actually win Recovery-funded contracts and thereby hire or retain employees to perform on the contract.
Onvia is the leading provider of Business-to-Government solutions in the United States, covering the broadest set of industries and products at every level of the public sector – Federal, State, Local and Education. For more than twelve years, Onvia has delivered unparalleled coverage of government purchasing activity and commercial/residential projects for clients in a variety of industries, including:
- Architecture and Engineering
- Construction
- IT/Telecom
- Healthcare
- Operations and Maintenance
- Professional Services
- Transportation
- Water and Energy/Alternative Energy
Businesses across the United States rely on Onvia as a comprehensive resource for industry-specific information needed to make intelligent sales decisions. Find out what Onvia’s paid subscribers already know. To receive five free project leads related to your business, call 1-800-331-2822.
All updates on recovery projects available at http://www.recovery.org/for_businesses.aspx?gloc=ALAMEDA+[CA]*CNT:06001&mloc=CA$001#
Popularity: 2% [?]
Walk away
One of our SEO strategies is to migrate all of our blogs over to a CMS Platform (WordPress or Joomla!) to enable SEO features and tagging. I was working on one of our sites which had about 350+ entries, when in the process – the screen went blank. So, I fiddled with this, mess with that and still blank. You know that queasy feeling in the bottom of your stomach? 3 years of entries down the drain? Ugh!
I went online and begged one of my Facebook buddies for help. He didn’t have an immediate solution, but he offered some sane advice – take a break. Walk away, come back fresh. A cool and calm approach – I’ve just lost 3 years of profound words of wisdom – I am not calm!!
Despite my inner control freak – I followed his advice. I took a break.
I came back – reinstalled WordPress 2.7 and there they were – 350 or so of my most profound postings just waiting to be shared with the world.
Sigh!
Popularity: 2% [?]
Increase Conversion
Increase Conversion Through Trust
Whether you are selling a product online or promoting a service, the days of evaluating your success based on traffic to the site are probably over. Today the name of the game is how well you are able to convert your traffic to undertake the desired action which profits your business. If you are selling online the desired action is a purchase, and if you are promotion a service the desired action might be a phone call lead. To achieve your goals you must first create high level of trust with the potential customers.
How to increase conversion rates by creating trust with potential customers:
Add a privacy statement – Similar to the way in which customers are trained to search for the lock symbol (also know as site secure) when buying online, some look for ‘privacy statement’. This statement describes what you as the business owner intend to do with their information and in some cases included in the site’s terms and conditions. By adding a privacy statement you will increase your credibility and boost customer trust making it more likely to convert well.
Check your grammar and spelling – These mistakes and typos could be extremely damaging to your brand and also quite tricky to find in time. Consider getting a second pair of eyes to proof read any new content as customers sometimes associate your level of content with your ability to deliver high quality products or service.
How do you increase conversion rates?
Popularity: 1% [?]
Web Hosting for the Small Business Community
Web Hosting for the Small Business Community
Web hosting, domain names, email and more for the small business community
Popularity: 1% [?]
JOBS NOW!
The San Francisco Human Services Agency (SF-HSA) is using newly available federal stimulus funds to expand subsidized employment opportunities, with a goal of placing 1,000 participants in jobs between May 2009 and September 2010.
This new program is called JOBS NOW!
Consistent with the goals of the federal stimulus package, the primary objectives of the JOBS NOW! program are to provide an immediate source of income for low-income families and to stimulate local economic recovery. JOBS NOW! builds upon several successful transitional jobs programs already in place at SF-HSA, which were designed to help unemployed individuals address barriers to employment, develop soft skills, gain work experience and progress toward self-sufficiency. JOBS NOW! participants will exit the program with stable employment history, leaving them better positioned to obtain an unsubsidized job when the stimulus period ends. The JOBS NOW! program benefits local employers by providing referrals of qualified workers and by subsidizing 100% of their wages until September 30, 2010. It’s a win-win!
For more information, visit http://www.sfhsa.org/1278.htm
Popularity: 2% [?]
Customer Alert – Misleading Business Solicitations
The Secretary of State’s office has been advised that solicitation letters are being sent to California businesses encouraging them to comply with their California Corporations Code filing obligations by submitting fees and documents to a third party rather than by filing directly with the Secretary of State’s office. These solicitations are not being made by the California Secretary of State’s office and are not being made by or on behalf of any governmental entity. The solicitations request that a fee and a completed form be submitted in order for the business to comply with applicable California or other law.
These companies have no affiliation with the California Secretary of State’s office and no business is required to go through another company in order to file its documents with the Secretary of State’s office.
Statement of Information forms and instructions are available through our website, and the fee required to file the statement is $25 for California stock and foreign corporations, and $20 for California nonprofit corporations and all limited liability companies. Also, the Statement of Information can be submitted for filing directly by mail to Secretary of State, Statement of Information Unit, P.O. Box 944230, Sacramento, California 94244-2300, in person at 1500 11th Street, Sacramento, California, 95814, or, for most corporations, by using a credit card through the internet at https://businessfilings.sos.ca.gov/.
Popularity: 1% [?]
Become a Certified Local Business!
Each year, the City and County of San Francisco awards over $710 million in contracts to businesses. The Chapter 14B Local Business Enterprise and Non-Discrimination in Contracting Ordinance of the San Francisco Administrative Code helps certain financially disadvantaged businesses increase their ability to compete effectively for these City contracts.
There are three main benefits to becoming certified as a Local Business Enterprise (LBE). First, LBE certified businesses are entitled to a 10% bid discount or ratings bonus on the bids or proposals they submit on City contracts subject to this ordinance. Second, LBE certified businesses benefit from subcontracting or subconsulting goals set for most City contracts. Third, some contracts are set aside for very small businesses to participate directly as prime contractors.
Popularity: 5% [?]
Who is supporting small business?
The WSJ posted a great opinion piece on credit and the fact small businesses can’t seem to get any . . .
Small business loans are hard to find, and credit-card lines (a critical funding source to small businesses) have been cut by 25% since last year.
The banks get bailouts, while small businesses are left out in the cold. Why do small businesses matter so much? In the U.S., small businesses employ 50% of the country’s workforce and contribute 38% of GDP. If you truly want to support economy, you have to support small businesses.
Popularity: 1% [?]
Latina Business Strategies Breakfast
| October 15, 2009 |
Latina Business Strategies Breakfast
Latina Strategies Breakfast
Date:Thursday, October 15th 2009
Time: 7:30am-12:30pm
Place: Hotel Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf
2500 Mason Street
San Francisco, CA 94133
Join us for this stimulating morning brought to you by the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO-SFBA) and the San Francisco Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (SFHCC) partnering together, dedicated to your success.
NAWBO UNIVERSITY
This year, in conjunction with the San Francisco Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, NAWBO-SFBA is proud to present the Latina Business Strategies/NAWBO-U Breakfast on October 15, focusing on providing educational resources to women business owners during this challenging economy.
This current economy is not business as usual, and we are being challenged as women business owners to find new ways to do business just to maintain our current market share. How can we grow our business in this unpredictable market?
Join us for this diverse panel of women entrepreneurs who will share their experiences and tips for navigating and succeeding in this economy.
AGENDA:
- 7:30a Registration
- 8:00a Welcome Remarks/Breakfast Served
- 8:15a Growing Your Business in a Down Economy: Women Entrepreneurs Share Their Secrets TOPICS: How to Shift and Create New Marketing Strategies, How to Look Beyond your Typical Target Customer for New Contracts, How to Create Strategic Alliances with Other Women-Owned Businesses, and more.
- 9:30a Secure New Contracts for Your Small Business: Demystify the Terminology and Process of Procurement This panel will discuss the ways in which small business, micro-business and minority businesses can secure new contracts through the procurement process. Panelists will share their own successes and pitfalls in securing contracts from corporations and government. Included will be the terminology of procurement and how to cut through the jargon and process to make it easier to bid on and secure the right contracts.
- 10:45a Wrap-up
- 11:00a Networking
- 12:30 Program Ends
Fees:
SFHCC Members
$35 Register
Non-Members
$50 Register
Latina Business breakfast
SFHCC – 703 Market Street, Suite 611 – San Francisco, CA 94103 – (415) 278-9611 – www.sfhcc.com
Popularity: 2% [?]
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