NEO Biz Blog

Sherrod Brown's Going For The Green

2010-02-10T00:26:37-05:00

Green energy. Green Jobs. Jobs...

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown is pushing to more than double the $2.3 billion in stimulus funding approved nationwide for the Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit program.

Here's what the Senator said in Columbus on Monday;

(From The Columbus Dispatch)

"If we don't act we're going to replace our dependence on foreign oil with a dependence on other countries manufacturing solar panels and wind-turbine components and so many other very, very important components of our energy future,"

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Employers; Get A Green Team!

2010-02-04T14:11:53-05:00

How green is your workplace? How green will you allow it to become this year? need some help?

Kelly Spors, known for her business writing prowess at The Wall Street Journal, is contributing articles focused on green topics, and how they relate to small business, over at the locally owned Small Business Trends website. (Disclosure; I'm the Community Promotions Director)

In a recent article, she suggested this;

"Start a green team. Enlist employees most passionate about environmental causes to lead the charge by starting a club or committee that oversees workplace green initiatives. They might come up with green employee benefits or start a company recycling program. This relieves top management from doing all the planning and legwork, but employees are also more likely to follow suit when it’s their peers asking them to."

Is this something you'd like to do?

Here's some other green workplace ideas from Anita Campbell's Small Business Trends site.

Write for Discussion Boards: $1200 per week...
Administer a Web Business from Home: $4000 per month...
Transcribe Authors' Notes: $80 per hour...
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The Union Club's 3rd Annual Summit on Leadership Coming In February

2010-01-27T22:09:47-05:00

Mark your calenders for February 25th...

The Summit on Leadership is an annual, area-wide gathering hosted by members of the Cleveland Business Leaders Committee of The Union Club. The primary goal for the event is to provide a concentrated and highly effective learning experience for the younger and senior leaders of Northeastern Ohio's business community.

Here's who you'll be learning from, this year...

Panelists:

Howard W. "Hoby" Hanna IV, President of Howard Hanna Ohio
A.J. Hyland, President and CEO of Hyland Software OnBase
Richard W. Pogue, Senior Advisor of Jones Day
Oscar Villarreal, Managing Partner of WW Capital Partners

The panel will be moderated by: Jennifer Thomas, Director of Civic Innovation Lab

Registration Information

VC's ARE Investing In NEO

2010-01-26T09:01:34-05:00

Some great news from Paula Schleis at The Akron Beacon Journal;

Venture capitalists and angel investors poured $1.1 billion into Northeast Ohio in the past five years, supporting 183 companies and fueling some 40,000 jobs.

The 2009 Venture Capital Report being released today also notes that while seed-stage investment in the country declined 38 percent last year, investor attention to Northeast Ohio start-ups climbed to its highest level in four years.

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Northeast Ohio Auto Sales Down Big-Time In 2009

2010-01-18T07:00:31-05:00

Last year was the worst the industry faced in decades as the economy slumped, credit was tight and GM and Chrysler went through bankruptcy.

According to The Plain Dealer, auto sales were down a whopping 23 percent. The folks I know in the car business tell me that it's been tough this month, too.

They also tell me that from their side of the desk, the cash for clunkers program managed to do one thing;

It slowed sales down for two months after it was over. I was also told that a lot of the "clunkers" were still in good enough shape to be used for basic transportation.

Hopefully, auto and truck sales will get better as the economy tries to gain a little steam...

The Nation's 10th Most Dangerous City Lays Off 60+ Police Officers

2010-01-11T07:11:17-05:00

Today is the day that Mayor Jackson lays off 60+ police offers, because of a budget deficit.

NewsChannel 5 reports this, here.

If my memory serves me, Jackson ran for re-election on the premise that he didn't have to lay folks off last year. (Please let me know if I'm wrong on this.)

If it's true, where was the transparency? Why didn't he say that he may have to lay folks off in 2010?

Maybe some of the folks that work for the Water Department should have been let go, to help out the "budget."

Become A Dealer; A Black Jack Dealer, That Is...

2010-01-03T23:34:51-05:00

The ABC School of Bartending and Casino College in southeastern Michigan trains students how to deal cards, manage a game of blackjack, count poker chips and other skills needed to work in a casino.

It looks like Cleveland is on their radar for a new school, now that a casino should be coming here soon

More about this school on ClevelandLeader.com