Do you know your competition?

Part of my job is to meet with a number of Yakima County companies in our key sectors such as warehouse and distribution, manufacturing, food processing, health & medical, aerospace and back office operations.  I’m constantly amazed at how well these CEOs, owners, plant managers and CFOs know their business AND their competition.  Just ask the CEO of a large manufacturer or warehouse distribution center how business is and you will get their margins and numbers as well as their competitors. 

Oftentimes, competition is something that new business owners fail to look at when preparing to start a business.  It could be that it’s always been your dream to open a winery or restaurant, you know you have a good idea and you just take a leap of faith that it will be successful because it’s such a great idea, or you have a really catchy name or idea.  If it’s one thing I’ve learned in the past year, knowing your competitors are just as important as knowing your target market.  It is vital that you do your homework on this!

You hear people harp on having a business plan and how important it is.  Granted, it may seem like a pain or something that you don’t need to do.  One of the best reasons to complete a formal business plan is that it forces you to look at areas you might not think are important – like your competition.

If you have an existing business or want to start one, there are resources available to help identify how your competition is doing and how you measure up.  Check with your SCORE office or the local Small Business Development Center and they can get you started in the right direction.

Plan Ahead: Global Entrepreneurship Week Nov 16-22

Visit the Kauffman Foundation’s website for inspiration on entrepreneurship and information on Global Entrepreneurship Week 2009!  The Kauffman Foundaton is recognized as the leading institution for research on entrepreneurship.

The following press release issued by the Kauffman Foundation on 08.19.2009 tees off some of the events that over 81 countries will be celebrating the week of November 16th – 22nd.  Keep an eye out for the YVEN Pub Night to be held during this week. 

Global Entrepreneurship Week 2009 Celebrates the Vital Role Entrepreneurs Play in Innovation, Job Creation and Economic Recovery

 81 countries join worldwide effort to educate and inspire next generation of entrepreneurs Nov. 16 – 22

Washington, DC (Aug. 19, 2009) – This November, young people around the globe will get together to change the world. That’s when hundreds of organizations worldwide will be holding events to inspire, connect, mentor and engage young people and encourage them to pursue entrepreneurial ideas and opportunities. Global Entrepreneurship Week, the worldwide celebration of creativity and innovation, will be held Nov. 16 – 22, 2009.

Co-founded in 2008 by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in the United States and Make Your Mark, a business-led government-backed campaign in the United Kingdom, Global Entrepreneurship Week will connect young people through local, national and global activities designed to help them explore their potential as self-starters and innovators. Students, educators, entrepreneurs, business leaders, employees, non-profit leaders, government officials and others will participate in a host of activities that include virtual and face-to-face events, large-scale competitions and intimate networking gatherings.

In 2009, the Week is estimated to exceed the 3 million people and 8,800 organizations around the globe that participated in the inaugural Global Entrepreneurship Week in 2008. Already, 81 countries have signed up.

"The world knows that entrepreneurship is the key to economic recovery, and the next generation of innovators holds that key," said Carl Schramm, president and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation. "Now more than ever, we need to unleash the creativity and ingenuity of our youth by engaging them in the endless possibilities of entrepreneurship."

Global Entrepreneurship Week Activities in the Works

In the United States, all 50 states are joining the global effort with more than 650 partners hosting events throughout the country. More than 200 universities and colleges are engaging students and celebrating entrepreneurship at their schools through a variety of Global Entrepreneurship Week activities and events.

While each participating organization can create its own unique event, the Week offers four activities, listed below, that organizations can easily adapt to host in their home markets. Each event comes with a customizable toolkit:

• Global Clean Tech Open Ideas Competition: This event series seeks the best clean technology ideas from around the world. Participating organizations can solicit business ideas from young entrepreneurs and hold local competitions throughout September and October. Local winners will participate in a national competition in San Francisco, where the top idea will receive at least $100,000 worth of startup services from seasoned experts in Silicon Valley and elsewhere.

• Global Innovation Tournament: This "Apprentice-style" competition pits students around the world against one another with the goal of promoting innovation. The challenge begins by revealing a common, global problem as the focal point for contestants. Teams have eight days to execute an idea and create a three-minute video explaining their work, which is then posted on YouTube. During Global Entrepreneurship Week, area hosts will coordinate a panel of judges made up of local business and civic leaders who select a local winner. A separate panel of judges will then select a global winner from these local winners shortly after Global Entrepreneurship Week.

• NYSE Euronext Mentoring Madness: Mentoring Madness aims to inspire young entrepreneurs by learning from those at the top of their game. Local partners are encouraged to host their own mentoring events by inviting a local panel of successful entrepreneurs and incorporating the NYSE Euronext Web cast feed into their event, which will take place at the New York Stock Exchange.

• Speednetwork the Globe: This event brings together entrepreneurs of all backgrounds to unleash energy, share ideas and make connections—fast. Participants are given about five minutes to "speednetwork" with another person. When time is up, a whistle is blown and everyone has to find someone new to talk to. Discussions can be about anything, but this is an opportunity to pose your burning entrepreneurial questions to a variety of people and potentially find a collaborator or investor.

Global Entrepreneurship Week Supporters

Those supporting Global Entrepreneurship Week include well-known entrepreneurs, industry luminaries and influential political figures such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, California governor; Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group; and Lord Bilimoria, founder of Cobra Beer.

Organizations supporting Global Entrepreneurship Week include global sponsor NYSE Euronext; global partners Endeavor, Junior Achievement Worldwide (JA), Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO), DECA, the Prince’s Youth Business International, Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), UK Department for Business Innovation and Skills, MIT Enterprise Forum, the European Confederation of Young Entrepreneurs and Youth Enterprise and Sustainability.

To view a complete list of participating countries and organizations, or to learn more about the Week, visit www.unleashingideas.org.

About Global Entrepreneurship Week
With the goal to inspire young people to embrace innovation, imagination and creativity, Global Entrepreneurship Week will encourage youth to think big, turn their ideas into reality, and make their mark. From Nov. 16-22, 2009, millions of young people around the world will join a growing movement to generate new ideas and seek better ways of doing things. Tens of thousands of activities are being planned in dozens of countries. Global Entrepreneurship Week is founded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the Make Your Mark campaign. For more information, visit www.unleashingideas.org, and follow @unleashingideas on Twitter.

Make Your Mark
Make Your Mark is the campaign to give young people in the UK the confidence, skills and ambition to be enterprising—to have ideas and make them happen. Run by Enterprise Insight, which was founded by the four leading UK business membership organizations—the British Chambers of Commerce, the CBI, the Federation of Small Businesses and the Institute of Directors. Their Director-Generals sit on the Make Your Mark board, which is chaired by entrepreneur Peter Jones from BBC’s Dragon’s Den. It is supported by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and endorsed by the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. www.makeyourmark.org.uk

Contact:

Barbara Pruitt
(816) 932-1288
bpruitt@kauffman.org

Matthew Hantz
M Booth & Associates
(212) 481-7000
matthewh@mbooth.com

 

 

 

 

Looking for home business write-offs? Check this first…

Here’s a great article from the IRS:  Five Facts about the Home Office Deduction.  "With technology making it easier than ever for people to operate a business out of their house, many taxpayers, entrepreneurs and small business people may be able to take a home office deduction when filing their 2009 federal tax return next year.  Here are five important things the IRS wants you to know about claiming the home office deduction.

  1. Generally, in order to claim a business deduction for your home, you must use part of your home exclusively and regularly:

• As your principal place of business, or
• As a place to meet or deal with patients, clients or customers in the normal course of your business, or
• In the case of a separate structure which is not attached to your home, it must be used in connection with your trade or business.  For certain storage use, rental use or daycare-facility use, you are required to use the property regularly but not exclusively.

 2. Generally, the amount you can deduct depends on the percentage of your home that you used for business. Your deduction for certain expenses will be     limited if your gross income from your business is less than your total business expenses.

3. There are special rules for qualified daycare providers and for persons storing business inventory or product samples.

4. If you are self-employed, use Form 8829, Expenses for Business Use of Your Home, to figure your home office deduction. Report the deduction on line 30 of Schedule C, Form 1040.

5. Different rules apply to claiming the home office deduction if you are an employee. For example, the regular and exclusive business use must be for     the convenience of your employer.

For more information see IRS Publication 587, Business Use of Your Home, available on IRS.gov or by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).

 

To get the latest IRS news and products and services, subscribe to e-News for Small Businesses on IRS.gov at http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=154825,00.html, click “Subscribe Now” at the bottom of the page and enter your e-mail address.

 The IRS Small Business and Self-employed Tax Center at http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/index.html has more information about starting and operating a new business."

 

Marketing workshop

Want to learn some marketing tips for your business?  This is the final workshop in the Yakima Valley Entrepreneur Network’s ‘Working Lunch Series’, presented in partnership with SCORE.   This class is perfect for you if you want to start a business or need more information on how to market your business.    Workshops are taught by professionals with real-world business experience. 

• Marketing your Business, Wednesday, October 21st, 2009.  11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Held at the Central Washington Business Resource Center, 10 North 9th Street, Yakima 98901.  Classes are $10.00 each if you pre-register or $15.00 at the door and includes the price of lunch. 

To register or for more information, call Tammy Everts, Business Development Director at 509.575.1140 or email tammy@ycda.com.