Clarkston Chamber eNews Connection
January 12, 2010
Welcome to the Electronic Newsletter of the Clarkston Area Chamber of Commerce
www.clarkston.org
5856 S. Main St.
Clarkston, MI 48346
248-625-8055
| From the President |
 |
Chamber President Johnna Struck Changing Places Moving & Services |
On your mark get set go… Happy New Year! It’s not too late… If you haven’t put together a business plan or budget there is still time. Make it . . . .MORE |
QUICK LINKS |
| Contributors Corner |
EVENTS |
| Online Registration |
Sign up to receive Chamber eBlasts and eNewsletters |
Connect with us on Linked In
Be a fan of the Chamber on Facebook
Follow the Chamber on Twitter
Check out our Blog
Clarkston Area Chamber of Commerce
248-625-8055 www.clarkston.org
Take 5 (Five Fast Facts)
1. Over 40 people have already signed up for the January 14 BOB at Great Lakes Athletic Club. Are you in? If not, what are you waiting for? This is 40 people you can meet & touch base with before 9 a.m.! This THURSDAY!
2. Sheriff Mike Bouchard is our guest speaker at the January 21 Luncheon Mixer at Outback Steakhouse.
3. Social Media is the 2010 version of guerilla marketing. It's about relationships. It's low cost. It helps you connect with your ideal client base and your competition may not know how to use it yet. Get the edge on your competition by learning Twitter, Linked In and tips for effective websites. Social Media Bootcamp--Friday Jan 22
4. Palace Sports & Entertainment EXCLUSIVE CHAMBER networking event in the North Tower Jan 29, 2010 Exclusive Chamber Offer
5. Dean Dan Izydorek has called a special Winter Session for Beer University! SAVE THE DATE Weds Feb 10, 2010 at Hamlin Pub 5:00-8:30. We'll be researching Winter Lagers. Save your seat at the Bar
Upcoming Networking events
|
BOB January 14, 2010 7:45-9:00 a.m. Great Lakes Athletic Club |
$10 with PREPAID reservations $15 at the door NON-MEMBERS $25 per person |
|
Luncheon Mixer January 21, 2010 11:45-1 pm
Outback Steakhouse SPEAKER Sheriff Mike Bouchard
|
$25 per person at the door. MEMBERS save $5 on registration when you sign up and pay in advance. ($20 per person). MENU: Steak or Chicken or Salmon |
 |
Social Media Bootcamp TWITTER, Websites and LinkedIn January 22, 2010 8:15-Noon Knights of Columbus |
$25 Twitter Session 8:15 $25 Websites Session 9:45 $25 LinkedIn Session 11:00 OR sign up for all 3 workshops for just $35 |
 |
Women in Business Resolve This! Shake off the Recession Blues and Jump Start 2010 with a New Attitude Thursday, January 28 10:45-1:00 pm
|
$50 per person Includes LUNCHEON MEMBERS pay just $30 when you sign up and pay in advance.
|
Women in Business (Not just for women, but designed especially for women business leaders) Sponsored by
|
PRESENTER:
|
WOMEN IN BUSINESS GIVE BACK: Bring donations of business clothes (cleaned & on hangers) to help women get back in the workforce. Collected clothing will be donated to Lighthouse's Career Closet. |
MEMBERS: When you donate a career outfit, you earn a coupon good towards $25 off an Advertising Advantage OR $25 off Chamber website advertising. Earn a coupon for EACH of your donations! |
Contributor's Corner
Improving Business Performance by Ron DeLorme (A series of articles designed to help you improve employee/business performance) |
Are you Insane?!!! You know the definition of I N S A N I T Y, right ……….. “Doing the same things over and over and expecting different results!”
Are you ready to make changes/improvements so that you can get Better Results in 2010? Doing the same things over and over will NOT help you get new and better results! Below, I’ve listed some great ideas that WILL help you make 2010 a much better year!
Let’s start with Goals for 2010! Goals for 2010
tasks to those persons who have the talents and skills to execute those duties well!
If those Goals sound good, read on. The next step is to take a Hard Look at your Company.
Take a hard look at your COMPANY Keep the very best: Products, services, employees, procedures, vendors, advertising, etc. Unload the rest: Get rid of anyone and everything that is not helping you be more profitable! Improve whatever you keep: increase and improve your most effective advertising. Keep and improve your best products and your best people. Improve your guarantees and warrantees. Improve your services, response time and customer service. Improve your procedures by making them “customer-focused.” Identify gaps or weaknesses: After you jettison everything that is NOT working for you, do you have any gaps in your product/service mix? Do you have key positions that MUST be filled? Fill the gaps: Fill the gaps with high-quality products, services and personnel ONLY! Again, this probably means that you will need to use new, and BETTER, employee selection techniques; BETTER product design approaches; Best-in-Class guarantees and customer satisfaction; etc. Study your Customers: Your customers can tell you what you need to Start doing and what you need to Stop doing….ASK! Study your Competitors: Who are your most successful competitors? What are they doing/offering that makes them so successful? Why do customers like them? Adopt whatever you can from your competitors so that you can offer the same or better products/services.
You ain’t done yet! As a business owner or manager, you need to take a Hard Look at YOU!
Take a hard look at YOURSELF Keep the best: You do some things well, other things not so well. Keep whatever you do well and do more of it. Want honest, accurate feedback about your business strengths and weaknesses? Ask your spouse (or significant other). Are you really serious about doing things better in 2010? Ask your employees to fill out a Performance Appraisal on you! Unload the rest: Reassign or outsource the things you don’t do well to someone who is good at those tasks or eliminate those tasks! Improve whatever you keep: If you are really good at Marketing, do more of it and find ways to do it better. If you are mediocre at interviewing/selecting employees, find someone who is very good at it! Identify gaps or weaknesses: Since no one is good at everything a business requires, be honest with yourself: What should you be doing that is left undone? What business tasks do you HATE doing? (probably the same tasks that are left undone) In what business tasks are you a Poor or Average performer? Your business suffers if you do these tasks poorly! Fill the gaps: Honestly now, are you suddenly going to become a GREAT performer in those things that you Hate? Are you suddenly going to become a great Marketer if you have performed poorly in this area the last 10 years? Find someone, internally/externally, who can do these jobs well! Study your employees: You may have an employee who will do a great job completing the tasks you hate! Reassign these tasks to those persons! Then, you can focus on doing what you do best!
Getting better results in 2010 will require that you do things differently and BETTER! Are you ready to make changes and improvements? If not, you will get the same results as last year…and that just might be INSANE !
Don’t act INSANE! Take action NOW! Get the assistance and insight you need to take your Sales and Profits to the next level! Contact Ron DeLorme, Manage Max Performance Improvement 248.396.5031 or training_pro@hotmail.com Chamber members always receive a BIG DISCOUNT!
“It’s not what you KNOW about business/management that makes you successful – it’s what you DO!” |
Chamber and Community CALENDAR Events
January 21 2010 BLOOD DRIVE at Lafontaine Automotive Group. 11:00am to 5:00pm www.givelife.org
RESOURCES
- SOCIAL MEDIA BOOTCAMP January 22 2010 sessions just announced. Twitter, Websites and Linked In FLYER SOCIAL MEDIA
- Quickbooks online training and live event schedule--Kildal Services LLC
- Quickbooks Seminar January 14, 2010 9-4 in Auburn Hills, Presented by Stacy Kildal of Kildal Services LLC
- Hallmann Advisors offers Tax Preparation discount to Chamber members
- January 13, 2010 – SCORE Presents “Planning Your Own Business”
In one of a series of workshops for small businesses, Detroit SCORE Chapter 18 presents “Planning Your Own Business.” This workshop discusses how potential entrepreneurs should do the research and planning necessary for writing a comprehensive business plan and starting a successful business. Featured are interactive discussions with SCORE counselors sharing their years of business experiences in management, marketing, manufacturing, and IT systems. From 8:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on Wed. Jan. 13 at Southfield Public Library, 26300 Evergreen Rd. in Southfield. $45. Call 313-226-7947 to register.
- JAN 14, 2010 9 am-12:00 Fundamentals of Starting a Business
This is a seminar for anyone thinking about going into business. Participants examine their entrepreneurial skills, learn how to implement their ideas and receive a list of pitfalls to avoid when starting a business. The class runs from 9:00 a.m. - noon on Thursday, January 14, at the Oakland County Executive Office Building Conference Center, 2100 Pontiac Lake Road, west of Telegraph, Waterford. For location and pre-registration, visit our website at oakgov.com/peds/calendar, or call (248) 858-0783. The fee is $30. No refunds.
- January 20, 2010 – SCORE’s “Understanding the Language of Accounting”
As part of their series of workshops for small business, Detroit SCORE Chapter 18 presents “Understanding the Language of Accounting”. One of the important prerequisites to running a successful business is to understand and control finances. This workshop compares financial statements for two businesses to show how to create and monitor an effective financial strategy. From 8:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on Wed., Jan. 20 at MBPA Hoover Business Center, 27700 Hoover Rd. in Warren. $55. Call 313-226-7947 to register.
- JAN21, 2010 9:00-Noon Fundamentals of Writing a Business Plan
This is a workshop for small business owners who are developing a plan to serve as their road map to success. The class is held on Thursday, January 21, from 9:00 a.m. - noon at the Oakland County Executive Office Building Conference Center, 2100 Pontiac Lake Road, west of Telegraph, Waterford. For location specifics and pre-registration, visit our website at oakgov.com/peds/calendar, or call (248) 858-0783. The fee is $40, which includes all materials. No refunds.www.oakgov.com/peds/calendar.
-
JAN 26, 2010 9:00-Noon Legal & Financial Basics for Small Business
This workshop covers many of the key legal and financial issues faced by both new and existing small businesses in Michigan. The program initially focuses on the many management and liability concerns faced by entrepreneurs, as well as today's tax consequences. The program also provides solutions and techniques for business concession and individual investment and retirement planning. Presented by Carter & Affiliates, P.C. Tuesday, January 26, from 9:00 a.m. to noon at the Oakland County Executive Office Building Conference Center, 2100 Pontiac Lake Road, west of Telegraph, Waterford. For location specifics and pre-registration, visit our website at oakgov.com/peds/calendar, or call (248) 858-0783. This workshop is free, but pre-registration is required. www.oakgov.com/peds/calendar.
- January 27, 2010 – SCORE Presents “Write a Successful Business Plan”
In one of their series of workshops for small business, Detroit SCORE Chapter 18 shows potential entrepreneurs “How to Write a Successful Business Plan”. Attendees learn what is required for their business plan with examples and templates for the marketing, management and financial sections. From 8:45 a.m.-12:00 p.m. on Wed., Jan. 27 at Southfield Public Library, 26300 Evergreen Rd. in Southfield. $45. Call 313-226-7947 to register.
-
JAN 28 9:00-Noon Fundamentals of Marketing Your Business
Marketing is an essential of business success. All products/services must be sold to well-targeted audiences with a wide-ranging marketing mix. Our staff/SCORE counselors can guide you through successful techniques and marketing principles helping you to promote your products and services to the most promising customers-your target audience. Presented by The Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Center (MI-SBTDC). Thursday, January 28 from 9:00 a.m. to noon at the Oakland County Executive Office Building Conference Center, 2100 Pontiac Lake Road, west of Telegraph, Waterford. For location specifics and pre-registration, visit our website at oakgov.com/peds/calendar, or call (248) 858-0783. The fee is $40 (make check payable to E.M.U.), which includes all materials. No refunds. www.oakgov.com/peds/calendar.
Save Money with the Chamber |
| Advertising Advantage |
| Office Depot Discount |
| Comcast Business Services Chamber Program |
| Verizon Wireless |
 |
| Did you know that SCORE is standing ready to help with your business needs? See FLYER |
|
http://twitter.com/InternInMich |