New titles for Small Business

All Business is Local: Why Place Matters More than Ever in a Global, Virtual World, Quelch, John A. and Katherine E. Jocz.  c2012. (658.8 Quelc.J)
The authors examine how and why place should be an important part of strategic decision making, and how even global businesses are often the leading local brand.


Creating a Bu$iness You'll Love: Top entrepreneurs share their secrets.  Chimsky-Lustig, Mark, ed.  c 2011. (658.421 Creatin)
27 entrepreneurs, including Howard Schultz of Starbucks, and Craig Newmark, of craigslist, reveal decisions, and sometimes, the mistakes, they have made that helped them to start and grow successful businesses.

The First-Time Manager, Belker, Loren B., Jim McCormick, and Gary S. Topchik.  c2012. (658.302 Belke.L)
The sixth edition of this management classic includes new material on increasing employee engagement, encouraging innovation and initiative, improving outcomes, and more.


Guide to Successful Consulting, Stryker, Steven C.  c2012.  (658.46 Stryk.S)
This book provides an essential introduction  to the fundamental concepts of consulting, and contains a number of valuable tools, such as checklists, forms and letters

Recent Small Business Financing Titles

The Evanston Public Library has a number of books about financing and managing the cash flow of a small business.  Here are some recently added titles:

Accounting Savvy for Business Owners: A guide to the bare essentials.  Goodman, Philip B., c2010.  Easy to understand information about tracking business finances.  Also available as an audiobook.

Cash Flow for Dummies  Tracy, Tage C., c2012.  Valuable tips, techniques, and information on the fundamentals of cash management to maximize cash flow.

Locavesting: The Revolution in Local Investing and How to Profit from It.  Cortese, Amy, 2011.  Various types of funding methods are discussed, including cooperatives, credit unions, local stock exchanges, community development funds, public venture capital, and raising money through social networking.

The 30 Day MBA in Business Finance.   Barrow, Colin, 2011.
Covers the fundamentals of business finance; analyzing financial reports; corporate capital structures; business tax and reporting procedures; and more.

JVS Small Business Workshops

Jewish Vocational Service Chicago is offering the following workshops in February and March.  All events will be held at JVS Chicago, 216 W. Jackson,Chicago, 2nd Floor Training Room.

CORE FOUR® Small Business Planning Boot Camp
Tuesday, February 21st, Thursday, February 23rd, Tuesday, February 28th and Thursday, March 1st 5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m
This 10-hour business planning course will give you the information and skills that you need in the four "CORE" elements of planning and sustaining a business: Plan for business success; Plan your business to meet the needs of the market place; Plan for your business cash flow needs; and Plan how your business will operate.  $50. Please contact Steve Bob at stevebob@jvschicago.org or 312-673-3429.

STARTING A SMALL BUSINESS IN ILLINOIS
Tuesday, March 13, 3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m
This workshop will acquaint you with the basic procedures for opening a business in Illinois. You will also receive information designed to answer your questions about the legalities, regulations, and requirements of operating a small business.   FREE. Register online.


SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING METHODS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES
Thursday, March 15, 3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. 
This workshop will address topics in marketing and social media and differentiate between the two. This workshop will combine traditional methods to formulate new social media and marketing methods.  FREE. Register online

FRANCHISING OPTIONS FOR ENTREPRENEURS
Thursday, March 20, 3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
There are over 3,000 franchises is the United States and in this workshop you will learn how to find and finance the franchise that meets your lifestyle and financial goals. Presented by John McLellan, President of FranNet Chicago.  FREE. Register online.

HOW TO WRITE A BUSINESS PLAN
Tuesday, March 27, 3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Planning is the roadmap to success in the business world. A business plan is essential for anyone starting or buying a business, financing or refinancing a business, or raising debt or equity capital. A business plan helps you find hidden business flaws and makes you think carefully about each phase of your business. Receive help on development of your business plan from our skilled and knowledgeable instructors.   FREE. Register online.

Customer Feedback

Getting customer feedback is an important part of running a business.  But where to start??  Caron Beesley, of the Small Business Administration, has a few suggestions for the best way to get feedback in her post, "Going Beyond the Transaction – 5 Tips for Getting Customer Feedback Online."  She includes reasons to use social networking tools, online surveys and online polls.  Carol Tice, of Entrepreneur Magazine, builds on Ms. Beesley's suggestions, and adds a few of her own, in "Seven Simple Tips to Get Honest Customer Feedback." 

You may also pick up some tips from books on consumer satisfaction that we have here at the library.  Three to try:  Users, Not Customers, by Aaron Shapiro, c2011; Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3,000, by Pete Blackshaw, c2008; and Satisfaction, by Chris Denove, c2006

Women in Business

If you are a woman in business, either on your own or as a corporate player, here are some books that will interest you:

Birthing the Elephant: The Woman's Go-for-it! Guide to Overcoming the Big Challenges of Launching A Business, Abarbanel, Karin.

Goes beyond logistics to prepare women for the emotional challenges they will face, with expert advice on reshaping one's business identity, giving up the paycheck mentality, anticipating problems, and avoiding costly mistakes.

Break Your Own Rules: How to Change the Patterns of Thinking That Block Women's Paths to Power, Flynn, Jill.

Reveals what it really takes for any woman to succeed at the highest levels This hands-on guide is for women who are ready to transform their assumptions and join the senior ranks of American business.

Read more »

Crain's Small Business Week

Crain's Chicago Business has designated October 3-7, 2011 as Small Business Week.  Dozens of events are taking place, primarily in downtown Chicago.  Events still to come this week include Alternative Financing, Managing Cash Flow, and City Treasurer's Office Small Business Expo.  Check it out!

Small Business workshops by Jewish Vocation Service--Chicago

BUSINESS WORKSHOPS


August 1, 2, 3 and 4

Core 4® Small Business Planning Boot Camp:This 10-hour business planning course will give you the information and skills that you need in the four “CORE” elements of planning and sustaining a business: Plan for business success; Plan your business to meet the needs of the market place; Plan for your business cash flow needs; and Plan how your business will operate. JVS Chicago, 216 W. Jackson, Suite 700, Chicago. Cost $50 which includes all 4 sessions, textbook and a Certificate of Completion. 3:30p.m.- 6:00p.m. To RSVP call: Kim Valente (312) 673-3429 or email sbdcdumancenter@jvschicago.org.

Read more »

New titles at Evanston Public Library

Check out these new titles to jumpstart the creative process where you work:

Brainsteering: A Better Approach to Breakthrough Ideas, by Kevin Coyne, c2011. (650.1 Coyne.K)  The concept underlying "brainsteering" is to encourage users to focus, to look into an idea deeply rather than ricocheting around it, brainstorming-style. 

Disciplined Dreaming: A Proven System to Drive Breakthrough Creativity, by Josh Linkner, c2011.  (650.1 Linkn.J)  A 5-part process that will transform your organization or your career into a non-stop creativity juggernaut.  It shows even the stuffiest corporate bureaucracies how to cultivate creativity in order to become more competitive in today's shifting marketplace.

Tell to Win: Connect, Persuade, and Triumph with the Hidden Power of Story, by Peter Guber, c2011. (658.45 Grube.P)  "Former chairman of Sony Pictures and current CEO of Mandalay Entertainment Group, Guber illustrates how powerful storytelling-about yourself or your product-can be the ultimate tool to get the meeting, engage the listener, and close the deal." (PW)

Ten Steps Ahead: What Separates Successful Business Visionaries from the Rest of Us, by Erik Calonius, c2011. (658.409 Calon.E)  Drawing on recent insights from neuroscience about the roles that intuition, emotional intelligence, and courage can play, Calonius reveals what makes visionaries tick and how they develop and use their extraordinary powers.

Invest Evanston to provide low-interest loans

Lending for Evanston and Northwestern Development, (LEND), is a non-profit student group at Northwestern University that is applying the principles of microfinance to help alleviate poverty within the Evanston community. On Monday, they launched a campaign, Invest Evanston, which will allow the group to use those same principles to finance entrepreneurs in the Evanston community. Donations from Northwestern students will be used to fund these low-interest loans for small business owners.  In the next two weeks, Invest Evanston hopes to raise at least $5,000, according to co-founder Sahil Mehta, a McCormick junior.  The full story can be found in North by Northwestern.  LEND is part of the Kellog Venture Community, 2169 Campus Drive Evanston IL 60201-2927; Phone: 866.867.3820, Email: info@kelloggventurecommunity.com

BizyDeal offers local small businesses great deals

Now that Groupon has become a household name, it's time for a "hot deals" website that targets Chicago area small businesses.  That website is Bizydeal.com, which launced on March 28.  The owners are planning to showcase “provocative” deals to drive attention to BizyDeal over its first two weeks (Ford Motor Co. offered a discount for its Transit Connect light van on opening day), and then will eventually settle into more traditional offerings like online payroll and janitorial services.

Find great deals for your business, and find out how your small business can offer great deals on Bizydeal.com.