Entrepreneurs fret over packaging and a host of other details as they get started, and then leave one of the most important aspects as an afterthought. The sad truth is that the right name can sometimes make all the difference when it comes to propelling a business to success, rather than just slogging on.
Names are quite powerful. Each word has a distinct difference. Get the name right, and you get branding as a by-product of your advertising.
Entrepreneurs starting out, seeking a name for their business: 7 Quick Tips
April 24, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Starbucks Teams up with Opportunity Finance Network to help create jobs
April 24, 2012 by Leave a Comment
In November, Starbucks teamed up with the Opportunity Finance Network, a membership network of more than 180 Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) that provides loans and counseling to community businesses on the Create Jobs for USA Fund. Since November 2011 the fund raised about $2 million, helping to create or retain more than 2,300 jobs, many in poor communities.
The Create Jobs for USA program also provides capital grants to select CDFIs. These groups, in turn, provide loans to underserved community businesses like microenterprises, nonprofit organizations, commercial real estate ventures and affordable housing firms. The goal of Create Jobs for USA is to bring people and communities together to create and sustain jobs throughout America.
Starbucks Founder Howard Schultz makes good on his promise to invest in small business programs.
Chipotle’s Quest for Increased Throughput leads to an Increase in Sales
April 23, 2012 by Leave a Comment
We have all admired the Chipotle Model and how efficient the business runs. Many emerging businesses we work with look to the Chipotle model from a financial and operational perspective of what works so well in the fast casual restaurant segment. Although they have achieved such a great model, all models must continue to be looked at, analyzed and tweaked to ensure businesses are achieving the maximum levels they should be. Take a read on how Chipotle continues to enhance their business.
Chipotle Keeps doing it.. Increasing the throughput for greater sales
David’s Teas Integrates Multiple IT systems for One Platform including scheduling, POS and inventory management
April 19, 2012 by Leave a Comment
While the company’s rapid growth is just what business owners want, it has also presented challenges — most notably within the IT systems. The inventory and sales systems were not connected, so the system might show an inventory balance, but not provide any value to it. The warehouse management system lacked the ability to track each store’s inventory to a specific location within the facility. And because the merchandising system lacked effective forecasting or replenishment tools, the buying function was handled via spreadsheets.
Management needed a way to assemble more accurate information in order to reduce stock-outs and increase inventory turns. Choquette and his colleagues began looking for a new system in early 2010, ultimately deciding on Microsoft Dynamics AX.
David’s Tea integrates multiple IT systems to create one platform
South Africa’s Rooibos Tea is on the Rise
April 18, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Production of the crop more than tripled to 14,000 metric tons the past decade as farmers expanded rooibos plantings to meet demand from companies including the world’s largest coffee shop operator and Nestle SA (NESN), the biggest food company.Tea consumption is increasing as health-conscious consumers spurn sugary and caffeinated beverages. Rooibos, like green tea, contains antioxidants that boost the immune system, calcium and fluoride. The drink constitutes about 10 percent of the herbal tea market and 1 percent of a global tea market that has an estimated value of $23 billion, according to the South African Rooibos Council.
Rooibos Tea is on the rise
May 19th, Stand up for Food Revolution Day: Get Involved and Make a Difference
April 18, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Food Revolution Day on 19 May is a chance for people who love food to come together to share information, talents and resources; to pass on their knowledge and highlight the world’s food issues. All around the globe, people will work together to make a difference. Food Revolution Day is about connecting with your community through events at schools, restaurants, local businesses, dinner parties and farmers’ markets. We want to inspire change in people’s food habits and to promote the mission for better food and education for everyone.
Join in and Make a difference in our food ecosystem, May 19th 2012
Fox News Small Business Spotlights Opening a Specialty Food Store or Restaurant
April 18, 2012 by Leave a Comment
One of the tricks to opening a successful specialty restaurant is finding a niche market. While serving dishes made entirely with organic, local and/or vegetarian ingredients isn’t anything new, it may still give you the edge you need to draw a steady stream of customers to your café or restaurant.
My Alumni, University at Buffalo Students launch Restaurant IPAD POS System
April 17, 2012 by Leave a Comment
The days of waiters and waitresses scribbling down orders on scraps of paper may soon be coming to an end. There’s now an app for that. It’s the work of two former servers who ditched waiting tables for entrepreneurship.
The two former servers have launched a company around their app known as Refulgent Software. In January, the business was accepted into the University at Buffalo’s business incubator. As former UB students, O’Leary and Khan say running Refulgent out of an office in the incubator lends legitimacy to their business. They’re also able to tap consultants and professional advisers in making decisions about Refulgent’s future. The company has grow steadily in its one year of existence and now employs five people. Ambur is available on the iTunes App Store.
New IPAD restaurant POS from UB alumni
Appeals court delays April 30 National Labor Relations Board
April 17, 2012 by Leave a Comment
In a major setback for the National Labor Relations Board, a federal appeals court today officially put the brakes on a new poster mandate that the NLRB sought to impose on most U.S. businesses starting April 30.
Despite a series of legal setbacks, the NLRB had appeared to be moving ahead with its planned April 30 enforcement date for the controversial new poster requirement. The unusual NLRB rule seeks to require most U.S. businesses to hang new 11″ x 17″ workplace notices advising employees of their rights to organize into unions. Many have called the posters biased and heavily slanted toward unions.
Startup Lessons From The Food Truck Revolution
April 16, 2012 by Leave a Comment
The food truck phenomenon has taken the country by storm. From New York to Los Angeles, the number, the variety, and the quality of food trucks are on the rise. In 2011, the mobile food industry in the United States was estimated to be at $630 million.
Read about the following interview with Natasha Case of Coolhaus, the first gourmet branded truck with a national reach, on how she built her brand and her food-truck business. Coolhaus operates four trucks and a shop in Los Angeles, two trucks in Austin, two trucks and a cart in New York City, and two trucks in Miami. They also have a successful retail product that they sell in Whole Foods Market.
Fast Company Interview with Natasha Case, Owner of Coolhaus
paigepapers.com 