April 2012 Features

  • What Type of Financing Is Right For Your Business?

    April 29, 2012

    When it comes to securing money to start, expand, or just continue your business, you’ll need to choose wisely. Some options will be too complex, others too risky. Some will provide too much, and others not enough. We give a snapshot of the various financing options that might fit your needs.

  • How Small Business Can Benefit from Time Tracking

    April 26, 2012

    As a small business owner, it can be hard to justify going through the motions and controls of the larger corporations. Your time is already limited and enterprise software can be quite expensive. So when I say that you really should be comprehensively tracking employee time, you might be skeptical. Lets look at why you shouldn’t be.

  • Governor Deal Visits Albany to Highlight Recent Legislative Session

    April 25, 2012

    Governor Deal stopped in Albany to share the highlights from the recent legislative session, one that has been the most productive in recent memory. He also talked about recent successes in bringing jobs to the state.

  • Common Misconceptions About Salaried Employees: Who is Exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act?

    April 24, 2012

    Many business owners assume that if an employee is “salaried,” the employee is exempt from the minimum wage and overtime provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Whether or not an employee is exempt depends on the employee’s actual job duties. Its important that your business stay up to date with the FLSA.

  • 4 Steps To Succeed In The Government Marketplace

    April 22, 2012

    The U.S. Federal Government buys nearly $100 billion worth of goods and services from small businesses each year – but cracking this market as a small business can be challenging. If your small business is interested in selling to Uncle Sam, we share a four-step plan that summarizes the process of entering the federal marketplace succesfully.

  • 4 Surprising Things Great Sales People Say

    April 19, 2012

    A lot of people in the sales business seem to think that there is a standard expectation of what a “good sales person” is supposed to sound like. We’ve built up this idea that a “good sales person” is supposed to be relentless, energetic, good at building relationships, always eager to close the deal, and unwilling to take “no” for an answer.

  • Albany SBDC Sees Shift in Challenges Facing Business Leaders

    April 17, 2012

    Debbie Finney, head of the Albany office of the Georgia Small Business Development Center, says that activity level at the SBDC stays high regardless of the economy. It's just the nature of the questions that changes.

  • Why You Should Encourage Your Employees to be Entrepreneurs

    April 15, 2012

    Are you worried about keeping employees in your workplace happy, engaged, and maintaining your competitive edge? One way to accomplish both of these challenging goals is to encourage entrepreneurship in your workplace.

  • States Rely Heavily on Tax Incentives, But Few Evaluate Whether They Work

    April 12, 2012

    Every state offers tax incentives to attract, retain, and expand businesses and jobs. But no state ensures that policy makers rely on good evidence about whether these investments deliver a strong return, A new study examines outcomes at a time when most states are trying to rebuild their budgets and many have not regained private-sector jobs lost during the Great Recession.

  • U.S. Press Grows with a Can-Do Attitude

    April 10, 2012

    Founded 30 years ago, U.S. Press, LLC is a $5 million company providing color printing and related services that is growing at a nice clip despite the slow economy. Founder and owner Kent Buescher chalks it up to a can-do attitude.

  • Improved Outcomes Without an Increase in Skill

    April 08, 2012

    Improving and helping capture knowledge are always at a premium in organizations, and sometimes can actually help improve outcomes in your business without an increase in skill set from your employees. Curt Fowler of Fowler & Company talks about the use of checklist to help improve work outcome in your organization.

  • U.S. Business Products Sees Accelerated Pace in Marketing

    April 03, 2012

    Information overload from the Internet has raised the level of noise that marketers must overcome to reach consumers and shortened the window of time they can hold their attention. USBPI Manager Sterling Phillips talks about the change in marketing he is seeing and changes they have made to continue growing.

  • An Interview With New Chamber President/CEO Chris Hardy

    April 01, 2012

    In an exclusive question and answer with AlbanyCEO, new Albany Area Chamber President/CEO Chris Hardy talks about his decision to come to Albany, and some priorities he sees in the first few months on the job.