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Planning for Success:
June is here! Time for summer vacations, picnics in the park and
6 month performance reviews. Ask
me how. |
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Are you dreaming of success or planning on it?
Every new business is started on a dream. It’s the
dream of creating a better life for yourself while making a difference
in the world - combined with the entrepreneurial spirit and courage
it takes to strike out on your own. If you have taken this step or
are about to, congratulate yourself! Entrepreneurs are amazing, inspiring
people and an important part of our economy.
As an entrepreneur, you've no doubt imagined
yourself a few years from now running a million dollar business
that has happy customers and employees, and generates profits whether
you are in the office every day or not. These things are possible.
The media is full of examples of people who have achieved this with
their own businesses.
The big question is how to make it
true for yours as well.
The fact is, many successful businesses have been started
during a down economy. There are still plenty of opportunities out
there, it just takes perseverance, a great idea… and a lot of planning.
After all, success in business usually doesn’t happen by accident.
As a wise person once said, “He who fails to plan, plans to fail.”
A well crafted business plan:
- takes your dreams and puts them into words,
- clearly articulates your ideas for growing your business,
- and details the actions that you need to take to make those dreams
come true.
Getting your dream on paper makes it more tangible
and gets you energized and focused on making it happen. Once you
have your plan in place, you can use it like a roadmap to help you
stay on track and focused on your goals.
If you’re still not convinced, here’s another fact
for you: It’s been proven that businesses with a plan are more successful
than those without one. I have seen it firsthand as well. On my website,
I have posted a couple of case studies that I encourage
you to check out. So if you haven’t yet, take the time to create
a business plan for your business. You’ll be happy that you did.
If you’d like help with the planning process, or aren’t
sure where to begin, laPLANette can help. Just give me a call.
Vickie Olson
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10 Sectors Poised for Growth
It sounds like a joke, given all the
news, but some sectors are growing.
By Mark Henricks | Entrepreneur Magazine - April 2009
As the overall economy loafs in the doldrums, a few sectors are
actually growing--some at impressive paces. Here are 10, ranging
from nationwide to niche, that offer more opportunity than most.
- Services: This sector, which makes up more than half the total
U.S. economy, is on the rise, as indicated by the increase in the
ISM Nonmanufacturing Index from November’s all-time low of 37.6
percent to December’s 40.3 percent.
- Discount stores: Low prices are leading to higher sales for the
nation’s discounters. Shares in the likes of Family Dollar and
Wal-Mart have risen about as fast as the rest of the stock market
has fallen over the past year, reflecting increased earnings and
better-than-average prospects.
- Fast food: Quick-service restaurants such as McDonald’s--where
monthly sales rose nearly 8 percent in November--are looking better
and better to cash-strapped consumers choosing them over pricier
casual eateries.
- Secondhand goods: Pre-owned is fine to consumers looking for
a deal, as shown by a 19 percent earnings increase for Winmark
Corp. in last year’s otherwise dreary third quarter for retailers.
- Medical office buildings: A growing market in real estate? You
bet, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers, which sees an aging population’s
health-care needs fueling demand for medical office buildings,
especially out West.
- Netbooks: Ten million of these tiny notebook computers, priced
between $300 and $500, were sold last year, up from hundreds of
thousands in 2007. New models that boot faster and run longer on
batteries could boost sales further.
- Education and health services: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
has projected that employment in these sectors will grow more than
any other, adding nearly 5.5 million jobs from 2006 to 2016.
- Social networking: Just four months after enrolling its 100 millionth
user, Facebook reached 150 million users in January. At that rate,
it could top 200 million as you read this.
- 3-D: Once derided as a goofy gimmick, 3-D pictures are technologically
much improved, and content is expanding rapidly. This year’s BCS
Championship football game was broadcast in 3-D--a first.
- Savings: U.S. personal savings as a percent of disposable income
rose from 0 percent in early 2008 to 2.8 percent by year-end. Sales
of related goods, from home safes to piggy banks, are also up.
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I have known Julia for over a year now and she is a
true pleasure to work with. Trained first as an artist, she has a
unique approach to website design that is really wonderful. If you
need a website, please give her a call.
Julia Stoops
President
Blue Mouse Monkey, Inc.
About Blue Mouse Monkey
Blue Mouse Monkey crafts outside-the-box, artistic websites for creative
individuals, businesses and organizations, such as musicians, artists,
architects, and visionary non-profits. The company also develops
e-commerce sites for distinctive products. Collaborating closely
with clients to ensure their unique needs are met, Blue Mouse Monkey
enables them to articulate and refine their project or brand, and
in the process gain a new perspective on what they do. The aim is
to take every project farther than initially imagined, deliver a
powerful web presence, and to help the client achieve their professional
goals.
The business was launched in 2001 while Julia was still
a college art teacher. In 2006, she decided it was time to commit
to Blue Mouse Monkey full-time and stepped into the business with
both feet.
About Julia
Julia holds a BFA in Fine Art from the Corcoran College of Art, Washington,
D.C., a BA in Philosophy from the University of Auckland, New Zealand,
and a MFA in Painting from Portland State University. She honed her
web skills by studying at the Pacific Northwest College of Art, PCC,
and other places.
Julia considers website design as a new creative medium with many
dimensions: the aesthetic, the time-based, the communicative, and
the interactive. Beauty and functionality are both hugely important,
so much so that Blue Mouse Monkey is on a mission to beautify the
Internet one website at a time.
When she’s not making websites, Julia is working on
her first novel, which she hopes to submit to literary agents this
year.
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I first met Tia a few years ago at the Women Entrepreneurs of Oregon.
Tia has been instrumental in the growth of WEO and can help you grow
your business as well. She is multitalented and can help you in a
number of ways especially with those tasks that you just don’t have
time to do yourself.
Tia Ribary
Principal
Ribary & Associates, LLC
About Ribary & Associates
Ribary & Associates helps small and home based businesses elevate
their game by providing professional office support services including
office organization, efficiency consulting and ongoing support, specifically
in sales and marketing and accounting. Delivering services both virtually
and onsite, Ribary & Associates serves as a true business partner,
customizing services to meet the needs of each unique client.
As a small business owner, you understand the demand that managing
the business places on you. You’re often left with more work than
there are hours in a day. With Ribary & Associates on your team
you can not only run and grow your business more efficiently, but
you’ll recapture the work-life balance you set out to create when
you launched your business. Ribary & Associates works with clients
in a wide variety of fields and industries. To learn more about Ribary & Associates,
visit them online at www.tiaribary.com.
About Tia
Tia has always loved a challenge… In 2002 after several years of
working with many successful teams she felt she needed more. That’s
when she launched Ribary & Associates. With her depth of experience
and knowledge of how to successfully manage and administer a going
concern, Tia set out to work with entrepreneurs and small business
clients to enable them to reach their goals without getting mired
in the details of day to day management. With nearly 20 years of
experience in the business world, there isn’t much that Tia hasn’t
seen and had an opportunity to optimize or trouble shoot.
In her free time, Tia stays fit while empowering other women to
defend themselves. She’s a Women’s Strength Self Defense Instructor
for the Portland Police Bureau and works with women aged 13 and older,
teaching them how to prevent, defend and heal from sexual assault
and domestic violence. She also enjoys spending time outdoors with
her husband and son, cuts a mean rug with Wii’s Dance Revolution,
reads, scuba dives and loves to travel.
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laPLANette congratulates FITS Riding,
Inc.,
featured in out Spring newsletter, for two big milestones. In April
FITS was awarded a patent for their revolutionary full seat riding
breach design. And on May 18, FITS was awarded the City of Portland’s
first annual Mayor’s Export Potential Award. For details please visit
www.fitsriding.com/pressreleases.php.
Portland Business Journal
Fastest Growing Private 100 Companies Awards Reception 2009
June 18, 5:30 to 8:30pm
Portland Art Museum
1219 SW Park Ave
Portland, OR 97205
OEN Webinar
Bootstrapping Your Start Up
June 17, 10 to 11am
online: www.oen.org/events.aspx?id=85
WEO Lunch and Learn
“Greening Your Business”
June 18, 11:30am to 1pm
Ironstone Bank
309 SW 6th Avenue, Suite 100
Portland, OR 97204
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