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SBDC Client is “Economic Artery” of Indiana Town

April 18, 2014

Cathy Hale, Madison Railroad’s CEO, has been with the company for 36 years. The Madison Railroad operates a 25-mile mainline extending from Madison to North Vernon, Indiana. The railroad offers daily train service, and interchange is accomplished with CSX Transportation at North Vernon. The Madison Railroad also owns and operates 17 miles of railroad track within a 3,400-acre industrial park, offering a team track and rail car storage facilities.

Cathy is very passionate about her position at the Madison Railroad. She loves utilizing the revenues the Madison Railroad earns and stretching them to accomplish the most she can. She finds pride in knowing that communities believe in the Madison Railroad, and when they offer to help, they do so as a hand up not a hand out.

The mission at the Madison Railroad is to provide economic development to the communities they serve. They are preserved to be an economic development tool. The Madison Railroad has a nine member board of directors made up of businessmen and businesswomen. Although all the board members each have a broad range of backgrounds, they all have the same mission of making sure the railroad thrives. They believe it is important to maintain jobs and create new ones. (more…)

Website Best Practices, Friday 15: Small Business Tips

April 16, 2014

Let’s get back to the basics. I’m dedicating today’s post to helping you make the most of your website. In these two Friday 15 lesson spotlights, we’ll teach you about 1. choosing that perfect domain name for your website, and 2. tips to develop a game plan to make sure your website helps you achieve your business goals.

Sit down, grab a cup of joe, and enjoy these Friday 15: Small Business Tips to help your business succeed online.

Lesson Highlight: Choose the right domain name for your business

A domain name is your online address. It’s important to think carefully before selecting a domain name for your business website because this is how people will find you on the web.

Domain names usually start with a “www” and end with an extension like “.com” or “.net.” This lesson covers tips for choosing the words that fall in the middle, like www.OrganicCity.com. Some highlights: (more…)

Why You Should Consider Having a Blog for Your Business

April 14, 2014

As a small business owner, you have plenty of things to do on a day-to-day basis. The last thing you need is to have another item added to your to-do list. That’s probably why you may not be overly enthusiastic if I suggest you start a blog for your business.

But what if I told you that starting a blog could actually help you alleviate some of your most pressing marketing challenges and enable you get more from the work you were already doing?
For example, if you already create email newsletters, chances are you’re already hard at work, planning and writing content for this month’s scheduled mailing. You’re thinking of content ideas, going through a few different drafts, and eventually you’ll have everything ready to go — just in time to start planning for what’s coming next.

Let’s say instead of just plugging that content into your email newsletter, you published it on your blog first. Better yet, instead of trying to pack every article in its entirety into your newsletter, you use your blog to trim down the amount of text within your email newsletter and link to your blog to read more.

Right away you can identify a few important benefits. The design of your email becomes a lot simpler. This means an easier creation process for you, but also a more enjoyable experience for your readers — especially those email contacts that are checking email on their smartphone or tablet. (more…)

Missouri SBDC Helps Secure SBA Loan for Brewery

April 9, 2014

It’s a bright, cold day in January. Traffic is sparse and sunlight glitters on freshly fallen snow. Inside the industrial-zoned building on Fay Street just northeast of downtown Columbia, sparks fly and construction workers grind, weld, nail and otherwise ready the former meatpacking plant to become Logboat Brewing Co. LLC in February.

Tyson Hunt, CEO and one of four partners of Logboat, graciously points out the offices and a conference room and the tap room, where thirsty patrons can sip at tables. He explains the purpose and location of steam generators, a glycol cooling system and the huge stainless steel tanks trucked in from Oregon.

Every beer lover knows it takes a combination of hops, barley, malt and water mashed together and cooked to make beer. But there’s much more to brewing than that. The resulting fragrant mash, blended to exacting specifications, must then be steam-heated and vented through stacks that will carry the steam out of the brewery, giving the whole building that intoxicating, malty-sweet aroma of beer in the making. The beer must then be pumped and cooled into fermenters, mixed with carbon dioxide, aged and then finished before it can flow from a tap or keg into a frosted glass. (more…)

What the technology you’re using says about your business

April 8, 2014
By Cindy Bates, VP, Microsoft U.S. Small and Medium Business

Did you know the technology you use has an impact on what current and potential customers think of your business? Those are the findings of a survey we recently conducted, in which 90 percent of respondents said they would – or would consider – taking their business elsewhere if a company uses outdated technology.

About 60% of respondents said they consider a 5-10 year old operating system or desktop computer to be “outdated.” That means the estimated 30% of small businesses that are still using the Windows XP operating system (introduced over 12 years ago in 2001), are running their business on technology that definitely falls into the category of “outdated.” On April 8, 2014, businesses running Windows XP will no longer receive security updates or technical support, leaving them vulnerable to potential security threats. (more…)