Kentucky Business Network » management

Being defensive at work… an alternative approach to receiving criticism.

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:51:34 +0000

Have you ever found yourself arguing back in a reactionary way after receiving criticism at work? Being defensive is a very common reaction to criticism in the workplace. In most cases, being defensive however can hinder progress or do no good at all. Often times, a defensive reaction only further distances the opposing critic.

Next time you or your project comes under criticism, try simply asking questions in return. Be careful to not work out your anger or feelings of rejection in your questions. Leading or pointed questions are not exactly what we are recommending. Instead, simply use the questions as a process of better understanding where your critic is coming from.

This may help in a number of ways. For one, you will benefit to understand the agenda of the critic and the goals of the critic. It will help your position to view your project through a different lens–even if you don’t change anything about your project, presentation or stance. Secondly, good questions will open a sense of empathy between you and your critic. This is a good base for gaining support in your endeavors. If the critic feels understood, they may also be more open to readjusting their stance–and taking a look from your perspective as well.

Whether or not the criticism aimed at you or your project is well founded, taking a more interested and invested approach through asking genuine, exploratory questions will create a spirit of colaboration and thus garner a base of broader support for your endeavors.

Lexington To Host Creative Cities Summit In April

admin — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 18:52:49 +0000

This spring, Lexington will host the “Creative Cities” summit, which will be a chance to put Kentucky’s innovative talent on display as well as a way for Kentucky businesses to network and share creative strategies. The Creative Cities Summit is a multi-disciplinary conference that brings together creative leaders from around the world to build and showcase creative business approaches and thinking. The conference will focus on several key areas, including: talent attraction & retention, innovation, developing entrepreneurship, community design and civic engagement. The typical audience for the Creative Cities Summit will include: economic development professionals, artists, arts and cultural advocates, government, business leaders, various professionals, entrepreneurs, planners, architects, venture capitalists, and, of course, college students. Currently the Lexington summit is expected to have 600 attendees. Organizers of the conference have raised more than $200,000 in donations to host on the conference in Lexington. The largest gift was donated from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

How do I sign up?
Visit the Creative Cities newsletter form for more information and sign up details: http://creativecitieslexington.us1.list-manage.com

New Head of Cincinnati Economic Development Organization Favors Aggressive Economic Development

admin — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 20:11:27 +0000

Julie Janson, from Duke Energy, will become the next president of the Cincinnati USA Partnership–the Cincinnati economic development organization. Julie Janson favors regionalism and aggressive economic development, and in 2008 she headed Duke Energy’s Ohio and Kentucky operations.

Contact info:
Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber
441 Vine St Ste 300
Cincinnati, OH 45202-2812
1 513 579 3111
cincinnatichamber.com

About the organization:
The Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber is the nation’s fifth largest Chamber, representing the interests of nearly 6,000 member businesses. The Chamber provides numerous services, including business retention and attraction, programs and events, member benefits to improve members’ bottom line, solutions to members’ workforce challenges, government advocacy, and more to create and sustain a positive business climate for our community, including demonstrating a commitment to small business assistance and economic inclusion.

Quickbooks vs. Quicken

admin — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 21:03:32 +0000

One of the most important tools for a business is a clear and organized tool to track finances. If you can’t track your finances, then you won’t be in business very long. There isn’t just one method or tool that suits all businesses however. Some businesses prefer to use spreadsheets over off the shelf accounting software. This can work for for some businesses, but for others a more robust tool may be needed to track expenses, draft reports, create profit and loss statements, track employee expenses over time, consider time and materials and a host of other features to help empower a business owner with valuable tools for sharpening their business blade.

Two extremely popular software tools are Intuit’s Quickbooks and Quicken. Many business owners are directed early on to adopt a practice of running their finances through one other these two great tools. “But which one is best for me” is a very common question. We hope to provide a very short outline comparing the two products.

What will I need for my business?

Your accounting tool will need to accurately measure your profits and your financial condition and share this information with a third party, whether it is the IRS, your bank, your accountant, or a business partner.
Allow you to product checks, invoices and customer statements and records for the daily activities of your business
Allow you to see clearly detailed records of the assets and liabilities of the business

Business Forms

Quicken produces only two business forms: checks and invoices. This means that it will work fairly well for small, service businesses.
Quickbooks is better for businesses that require other forms such as: customer receipts, purchase orders, customer statements that show finance charges, or detailed records of what the business owns and what it owes.

Downloading Transactions

Both Quicken and Quickbooks can download transactions for bank, credit card and investment accounts.

Comparison for Business

Quicken

1. Easier to learn program
2. Standard reports with sort and filter
3. Great for tracking checkbooks–totally by category and produce simple reports for income and expense. It is more difficult if you have multiple checkbooks.
4. Terrific personal financial tracking software- Track stocks and other investments, track household inventory , emergency tracker for describing locations of important documents, important phone numbers in case of serious accident or death, financial planning tools to help save for retirement and children college funds.
5. Add on payroll system ( extra expense )
6. Cannot track inventory
7. Home and Business addition tracks vehicle mileage
8. Limited invoicing, receivable and payable capabilities
9. Only one user on the software at a time
10. No add-on software available

Quickbooks

1. More complicated (due to the business customization and sophisticated business features)
2. Balance sheet, journal entries, behind the scenes double entry accounting features.
3. Improved data collection. Customized transaction fields plus customize customers and vendors, can collect data by location, department, job, repairs on equipment, referral sources, employees, salesman
4. Standard reports include full range of financial reports, sales and expense reports, inventory and sales detail reports, time tracking and employee reports, job reports, departmental reports and much more. All can be modified and filtered and memorized for easy access in the future.
5. No personal financial tracking features
6. Inventory tracking is a feature, but has limited functionality.
7. Integrated Payroll feature is excellent for the small business. Can have unlimited state withholding but each employee is limited to withholding for just one state. Prints 941, 940 W-2’s (additional cost)
8. QuickBooks Pro and Premier have a mileage tracker.
9. Full features for receivables and payables, invoicing and purchase orders. Includes: professional invoices, statements purchase orders
10. Multi-user – can have up to 5 simultaneous users. Enterprise solutions can have up to 10
11. Over 300 add-on software developers to date that integrate to QuickBooks. This combination gives the same power of similar systems selling for over $20,000.

Pay To Employees

Do you hire employees? QuickBooks comes with a complete payroll system, and can print the required quarterly reports.

Quickbooks Pro? Oh, now I’m confused

QuickBooks Pro adds the capabilities for:
(1) estimating, such as estimating construction costs to make a bid on a construction project
(2) time tracking, for businesses that bill on the basis of time, such as a CPA
(3) advanced job costing to compare estimated costs to actual costs of a project
(4) exporting data (reports) to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet for further analysis
(5) and some more stuff

Write Your Own Business Plan

admin — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 18:21:26 +0000

There are a number of ways to form your Business plan, we have a few tips that can help make the process a little easier.

When you begin writing your business plan, start by defining your current and past business operation. You will then need to describe your goals for your company’s future and explain fully how a financial investment in your company will enhance your goals and reward potential investors. Be very clear about defining your goals for the future and stressing them above all else.
Step One:

Start with a numbered Table of Contents. You will need to name and number each section of your business plan for clarity and ease of use.
Step Two:

You will need an Executive Summary, comprised of 1-2 pages focusing on your business plan’s primary points of interest. Include descriptions of your management team’s structure and process, marketing techniques, business alliances, market size, profit potential, also be sure to include the dollar amount you are requested and outline your re-payment plan. You may actually decide to write this section last, after all the variables have been defined.
Step Three:

You will need a detailed Business Description that includes your mission statement, a thorough explanation of your company, your business’ philosophy or management model, as well as your primary goals and desired achievements.

Include in your business description a concise overview of the field you are operating in, as well as your services, products, and strengths that are unique in your field to your company. Be sure to include the specifics of the company’s legal form of ownership.
Step Four:

Next you should furnish a more in-depth list of Products / Services that your business offers. This expanded description should include your pricing structure and marketing scheme.
Step Five:

Outline your Marketing Strategy. Describe how your business’ marketing plan will work to capture market share. Give specific details about your public relations strategy.

It is important to include an analysis of Marketing Data. Identify your Target Audience, their demographic and specific information about your target market. Next, identify and define the industry you are operating in. Be specific about market growth, size, trends, and other related details. You also want to include a review of your competitors and the positive and negative ways they are managing their marketing campaigns.
Step Six:

It is important to have a clear explanation of your day-to-day and long term Business Operations. Include details about your company’s location, staff, machinery/equipment, legal considerations, operational expenditures, and the processes used to carry out daily operation. Also add information about operation practices unique to your business.
Step Seven:

A Management Outline is a vital feature in a well-crafted business plan. Explain the experience and strengths of your staff members, include job descriptions, and an delineate of your management processes.

Explain who has the management responsibilities. Even attach key employees’ resumes as supporting materials. All primary employees should have their jobs clearly described. An outline of other important advisors to your business should be included with this portion of the report.
Step Eight:

Devise a clear Financial Plan. You will want to state Financial Projections of up to three years into the future. In order to deliver a clear financial plan, you will need to describe your overall income statement. Include details about your cash flow, break even analysis, forms of funding, balance sheet, spreadsheets, and requests for future funds.
Step Nine:

Close your report with an Appendix. In addition, you will need contracts, supporting documents, letters of intent, research, and any pertinent related information.