8 questions, millions of answers
By Jerry Bellune Ken Blanchard, co-author of “The One-Minute Manager,” “Raving Fans” and other books, has a challenge for us. As business owners and community leaders, we need to spend time developing a personal mission statement by answering these 4 short questions: • Why am I in the world? • What is my overarching…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: advice, marketing-and-communications
Attorney General aims to close online sex-trafficking loophole
By Katie Ritchie Online sex-traffickers have been hiding behind a loophole in a South Carolina law. South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson and 46 other state attorneys general want Congress to protect you from online crime. The AGs hope to address a misinterpretation in the 1996 Communication Decency Act (CDA). Some courts have allowed…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: advice, technology
Four Common Mistakes When Engaging The Media
By Heather Matthews NP Strategy In all my years as a journalist, it never failed: 5:50 p.m. and my work phone would ring. Did the caller not know we had a 6 p.m. newscast? During the decade I spent working for a variety of television stations, the ‘show stopping phone call’ was one of…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: advice, marketing-and-communications
Can Absolut vodka teach us anything?
By Jerry Bellune Have your products and services become commodities? Are you forced to compete on price, discounts and other concessions? Take a lesson from a former dish washer and French master marketer, Michel Roux. He made Absolut an iconic vodka with snob appeal in the booze market. As head of the firm importing…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: advice, marketing-and-communications
Try a free spam blocker
By Katie Ritchie If you followed the instructions from last week, you should be on track toward a much cleaner inbox. It can take up to 30 days for unsubscribe requests to take effect. This is even on legitimate company mailing lists, so try to be patient. The next step involves blocking the actual…
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How to get rid of email spam
by Katie Ritchie The best scam email I’ve ever gotten read as follows: Dear beneficiary, I have been mandated to inform you that, “Yvonne Wachendorfer” has come to let us know that you are dead, but before you die you instructed her to come to us and claim your $970,000 which has been deposited…
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Leaving the Nest: Financial Strategies for Life After College
By Ann J. Beckwith, CFP® With spring upon us, nearly 3 million college students are preparing to proudly accept their hard-earned college diplomas and storm the “real world.” With their ambition, ingenuity, and creativity, many of these graduates are bound for success and will truly make an impact for good on the world. If…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: advice, banking-and-finance, on-the-move
Dog Trainer, Manager, Entrepreneur?
By Connie Cleveland A Business Owner’s Perspective Listening to a recent interview, this question was posed to comedian Brian Regan: “Your colleagues are in awe of how much material you produce. How is it that you come up with so much material?” Without any hesitation he responded, “I see funny where other people see…
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Are you neglecting your best branding tool?
By Marcia Purday, APR NP Strategy Companies throughout the nation invest millions (or billions!) in their brands – from research and communication strategies, to analytics and more. But ultimately, the key to your brand’s success has always been and will always be your employees. So why do businesses neglect this important branding tool? For…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: advice, marketing-and-communications, on-the-move
Make it fun to do business with you
By Jerry Bellune Dian and Gerald Harmon worked hard to make their concrete business successful and sold it for a bundle long before they were ready to retire. They started a “fun” business – a Christmas tree farm with hay rides, spooky Halloween rides and other events for kids. It was fun and profitable,…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: advice, marketing-and-communications
