tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84821431504144486292010-03-12T15:44:12.107-06:00Helping Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses Succeed!Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17932882175217966802noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482143150414448629.post-72009113825393190792010-02-26T16:09:00.000-06:002010-02-26T16:09:38.262-06:002010-02-26T16:09:38.262-06:00

In business, if a production machine costs more to run than the outputs are worth, what happens? People lose money and if this occurs for a long enough period of time, the system fails. For example, I have a marshmallow machine that makes 10,000 marshmallows a day. It costs me $20,000 a day to run the machine and I sell the daily marshmallow batch for $5,000. How long can I run the machine before

Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17932882175217966802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482143150414448629.post-82655587412911087672010-02-02T10:40:00.000-06:002010-02-02T10:40:46.390-06:002010-02-02T10:40:46.390-06:00

With the new year comes new resolutions or commitments such as losing weight, staying more organized, worrying less, or spending more time with the family. These are all great resolutions but are void without a plan. They are more of a hope than a resolution unless there is a specific plan for implementation. Have you ever thought about how many things in our day-to-day life require a plan?

Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17932882175217966802noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482143150414448629.post-87298648846971380922009-11-19T10:31:00.000-06:002009-11-19T10:31:03.527-06:002009-11-19T10:31:03.527-06:00

RSU Innovation Center Client Wins Tulsa Entrepreneur Award The first place winner of the third annual Tulsa Mayor's Entrepreneurial Spirit Award is a Claremore resident and a Rogers State University Innovation Center incubator client. Jeremy Green, founder of Real Time Rehab, a DVD-based physical therapy program, received the $30,000 grand prize at the award program held Tuesday night. The

Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17932882175217966802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482143150414448629.post-66608790026262223732009-10-01T13:54:00.011-05:002009-10-01T14:41:33.534-05:002009-10-01T14:41:33.534-05:00

The basics of marketing are comparable to giving a gift. Here's a breakdown.When you are sending a gift, you must decide who to send a gift to. In marketing, this is called your Market. It's answering the questions of who’s your ideal customer, who are you trying to reach, who is the most profitable?When sending a gift, you must then decide what you're going to send a gift for: birthday,

Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17932882175217966802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482143150414448629.post-88177082831879215442009-06-26T16:48:00.006-05:002009-07-02T16:07:58.628-05:002009-07-02T16:07:58.628-05:00

Do you remember the feelings you got when you heard the ice cream truck coming? The sound of an ice cream truck can trigger several emotions such as excitement and anticipation. As a kid, I would immediately try to remember where I stashed my money so I could quickly grab it and run out the door, chasing the truck. But what if I couldn't find my money in time, or didn't have enough? Or what if I

Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17932882175217966802noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482143150414448629.post-62482119963768033922009-06-02T10:50:00.002-05:002009-06-02T10:57:16.220-05:002009-06-02T10:57:16.220-05:00

We've been helping a local small business for several years. When he has a questions about marketing, taxes, employees, payroll, training, manufacturing, suppliers, vendors, the internet or just about anything else relating to his business, he calls us. It's always a pleasure working with him because his business is always moving so fast. If he calls on Thursday and I don't get back to him with

Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17932882175217966802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482143150414448629.post-58597033290850312092009-05-21T08:36:00.010-05:002009-05-21T10:17:14.399-05:002009-05-21T10:17:14.399-05:00

We've had one main car wash on Hwy. 66 in town for as long as I've lived here (referred to as #1). For an automatic wash, it was around $3. Several years ago, another car wash came into town, just down the highway from the first (referred to as #2). Their prices were higher, around $8 for an automatic wash. At first I was stunned, but they were newer, better, and faster. If you factor in

Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17932882175217966802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482143150414448629.post-72301836297104280252009-05-09T19:09:00.003-05:002010-02-25T16:18:16.361-06:002010-02-25T16:18:16.361-06:00

Here's a third video testimonial for the Innovation Center. Buddy was great to work with and it's wonderful to see he's implemented our suggestions in his restaurant. Buddy Robertson, The Pitts BBQ & Home style Restaurant from Nearsighted Productions on Vimeo.

Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17932882175217966802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482143150414448629.post-20718816678509825522009-04-27T21:24:00.011-05:002009-04-27T22:00:49.923-05:002009-04-27T22:00:49.923-05:00

You may remember a recent escapade by two teenagers at a Domino's pizza. They were filmed doing gross things to pizza, the video was put on You Tube and immediately became a viral sensation. Teenagers have been doing crazy things with food for years, so nothing new, right? What makes this story so unique is the role of social media. Let me illustrate this in a timeline:Teenagers act goofy,

Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17932882175217966802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482143150414448629.post-85695111101279398942009-04-22T15:45:00.002-05:002010-02-25T16:19:55.330-06:002010-02-25T16:19:55.330-06:00

Here's another recent video testimonial. It almost made me cry! Bruce Parks, Parks Custom Cabinets from Nearsighted Productions on Vimeo.

Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17932882175217966802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482143150414448629.post-778619946040806612009-04-20T20:36:00.005-05:002009-04-23T16:20:45.884-05:002009-04-23T16:20:45.884-05:00

I just attended the International Conference on Business Incubation (whew that was tiring) conference. I networked a little and learned a little. I attended 3 breakout sessions each day. All in all, I learned about:SBIR/STTR ProgramsIdentifying Challenges and Opportunities of EntrepreneurshipAvoiding Mistakes when Counseling Incubator ClientsIncubator Funding StrategiesEffective Training for

Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17932882175217966802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482143150414448629.post-84186377472024410842009-04-19T20:35:00.004-05:002009-04-19T20:47:16.372-05:002009-04-19T20:47:16.372-05:00

Imagine you own a gas station that has 800,000 cars, trucks and semi's drive by per day. What would be your #1 marketing technique.Brochures? Phone book? Word of mouth?You're getting closer...It would be SIGNAGE. On my way to a conference, I decided to exit off the highway and get gas. I saw the McDonald's arches so I took a chance that the exit would have gas station. I turned the corner and saw

Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17932882175217966802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482143150414448629.post-61258755627727273012009-04-17T21:20:00.011-05:002009-04-19T19:18:15.492-05:002009-04-19T19:18:15.492-05:00

I had the opportunity to go to the award's dinner on Tuesday night for the 2009 Governor's Cup Business Plan Competition. RSU had two teams enter this year, which is a first. Both teams had great products and amazing business plans - and both placed into the semi-finals!One of the teams made it into the final round, which is the top six teams in the undergraduate level out of 32 teams total. They

Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17932882175217966802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482143150414448629.post-9894616275456699762009-04-09T08:44:00.005-05:002010-02-25T16:21:04.740-06:002010-02-25T16:21:04.740-06:00

Here's a recent video testimonial for the Innovation Center. RSU Innovation Center Testimonial 2 of 5 from Nearsighted Productions on Vimeo.

Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17932882175217966802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482143150414448629.post-23883234750002552902009-03-06T15:24:00.006-06:002009-03-06T16:05:49.531-06:002009-03-06T16:05:49.531-06:00

Do you remember how exciting it is to start a new business? Those first few months or years were full of adrenaline and excitement. Then reality hits - bills, customers, suppliers, lack of cash flow, marketing, etc. Those things have a way of sucking the life out of a small business. However, a true entrepreneur can stay focused on the prize ahead.What do you do if you've lost the passion for

Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17932882175217966802noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482143150414448629.post-1450904817523805522009-02-09T08:56:00.024-06:002009-02-09T10:45:06.781-06:002009-02-09T10:45:06.781-06:00

I've been reluctant to post on the status of the economy because everybody is doing it, but I have a few personal observations from my desk at the Innovation Center. It's always been said that when the economy takes a downturn, public services in small business development (such as the Innovation Center) will be in higher demand. This has definitely been the case over the last few months.

Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17932882175217966802noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482143150414448629.post-28570330728369606372009-01-26T11:36:00.006-06:002009-04-04T14:35:27.880-05:002009-04-04T14:35:27.880-05:00

Have you ever sat down to write a business plan or a marketing plan? It can be a very daunting task, even for seasoned writers and entrepreneurs. If you've been there, you've probably stared blankly at your piece of paper or computer screen. You maybe even took breaks often to tend to other 'more important' projects. Why is it so difficult to physically write a plan of some sort? I have a theory.

Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17932882175217966802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482143150414448629.post-82014279616269164742009-01-08T08:18:00.007-06:002009-02-09T10:45:46.568-06:002009-02-09T10:45:46.568-06:00

We recently received a grant to expand our market research services. The grant funds have been used to purchase databases for business intelligence research. This is going to be very useful as we help start-ups and growing businesses.Let me give you some examples of how these services could benefit a small business.Business to Business (B2B)A local manufacturing facility would like to find new

Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17932882175217966802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482143150414448629.post-70325351175993648682008-12-19T15:30:00.019-06:002008-12-19T16:53:59.873-06:002008-12-19T16:53:59.873-06:00

Rogers State University recently participated in a national competition, sponsored by Google called 'Juicy Ideas'. Teams of students competed to add value to a throw-away item, a plastic shopping bag. I was teaching Entrepreneurship in Bartlesville at the time, so I recruited a few teams out of my class. Two other teams formed from Dr. Gray's class and Dr. Kennemer's class.The student's had ten

Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17932882175217966802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482143150414448629.post-90719493501134578502008-12-19T12:12:00.011-06:002008-12-23T15:47:21.968-06:002008-12-23T15:47:21.968-06:00

Have you noticed Wal-Mart's newest tag line?Save Money, Live Better, Shop Wal-mart. While this isn't anything to knock your socks off, it's a great example of features and benefits. The company has stated a feature and a benefit all in just four simple words.The feature - Save MoneyThe benefit - Live BetterSo what's the difference between a feature and a benefit? A feature results in a benefit.

Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17932882175217966802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482143150414448629.post-54904594527080650002008-12-17T13:41:00.001-06:002008-12-17T15:20:35.239-06:002008-12-17T15:20:35.239-06:00

I have written a few business plans over the years and reviewed hundreds (or so it seems). I remember the first business plan I wrote was for a start-up business. I was 19 years old and completely clueless about the business planning process. I tried to write it like a declaration, so sentences looked something like this:In this business, I will deliver excellent customer service at the

Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17932882175217966802noreply@blogger.com0