More Than A Few Words

Lately it seems like everyone is talking about Pinterst.  While we have written a few blog posts on the topic, it is hard to scratch the surface in 400 words.  So this week Allison and I will be talking about this new platform. What it is, and more importantly what we think the business applications are.

How do you train young entrereneurs?   Long before the internet, budding entrepreneurs sold Lemonade.   On street corners all across the country, on sunny days, you could find them with paper cups, cardboard signs and pitchers of lemonade.   Today a national movement runs programs to bring back this old style entrepreneurship.  In Indianapolis, Lemonade Day will be  Saturday May 19th.

Everyone loves to eat, and everyone loves to discuss the best (and the worst!) restaurants on Twitter. How can businesses make sure they’re taking advantage of the social media craze? Join us for tomorrow’s episode of More than a Few Words as we talk to Jeffrey Summers about how restaurants can use marketing and social media. Do you have any comments or questions? Call in during the show at (805) 285 -9865 or drop us a comment on Twitter.  Direct the comment to@roundpeg or use the hashtag #MTFW so we are sure to see your remarks.

Want to know what’s going on in Indy? Do what I do, and check out Around Indy. The local events website celebrated ten years on February 1, 2012. The site ranks in the  top 1% of all Web sites in America, according to Quantcast.com. Passing  60 million hits in December 2011, checking out their daily calendar is a regular part of my routine.   The site  is the go to resource for most of the Indianapolis social media community.

Social media is increasingly becoming a critical part of the television viewing experience. With many viewers now watching with a “second screen” in front of them, live tweeting and Facebook updates are changing the world of television like never before  Join us for today’s episode of More than a Few Words as we talk toCarolyn Baumgarten who manages the social media program for the popular TV series Shark Tank, airing Friday nights at 8:00 EST on ABC. Do you have any comments or questions? Call in during the show at (805) 285 -9865 or drop us a comment on Twitter. Direct the comment to @roundpeg or use the hashtag #MTFW so we are sure to see your remarks.

I am really excited about our guest this week.  I have known Lalita Amos of Total Team Solutionsfor about nine years.  She is smart, outspoken and funny. A coach and leadership development specialist, she is an active member of the Indianapolis business community. Do you have any comments or questions? Call in during the show at (805) 285 -9865 or drop us a comment on Twitter. Direct the comment to @roundpeg or use the hashtag #MTFW so we are sure to see your remarks.

Hamilton County is a great place to start a business with a strong economy and great support from local government. It is also home to the Entrepreneur Advancement Center, a relatively new 501C3 focused on fostering economic development and an entrepreneurial mindset in Hamilton County. With programs ranging from a high school business plan competition, rural small business loans, monthly networking and a community-wide celebration in the fall, the EAC is making things happen in Hamilton County. Join us this week as we talk to the association’s executive director, Cathy Langlois about entrepreneurship in Hamilton County.

In the startup community, funding is all the craze. But what if you could build a business from scratch? What if you didn’t sell equity in the early stages? Could the business grow? Have businesses been built like this? It can, and they have. There exists a rare breed of entrepreneur, one who has what it takes to create a self-funded company—bootstrapped—and build it into a blue chip company. Join us for today’s episode of More than a Few Words as we talk to Nick Carter about his experiences growing his firm AddressTwo as an “unfunded” venture. Do you have any...

Social networking is critical for forming business relationships and meeting new colleagues, prospects and customers, but don’t forget about taking the conversation offline, too. Join us for an episode of More than a Few Words as we talk to Randy Clark about the importance of face-to-face networking in a digital world.

Delivering great customer service is about actions and words. While it is important to coach your employees on how to resolve customer complaints and what to say,  it is also important to focus on how to say it. The same is true as you try to communicate your vision as a business owner. Effective leaders know what to say and how to say it. Guest Ellen Dunnigan

To do marketing well is always a challenge. To do it in a heavily regulated industry can seem impossible at times. But with a little creativity and a lot of hard work, you can overcome regulatory hurdles to create innovative marketing that gets results. We’ll be joined by Muhammad Yasin, social media strategist for HCCMIS, a travel health insurance company. Learn how you can make regulations work in your favor.

It is Valenties Day, and so we are sharing a special episode of our regular podcast with guests Hazel Walker and Frank De Raffele, Jr.  They are the co-authors of the book:  Business Networking and Sex, The book and our conversation will be about SEX. (Well really gender differences.)   We will talk about issues that are controversial, and possibly push some buttons. It was a very  lively conversation

These days, everyone is talking about social media, and almost everyone is an expert.   Well today on More Than a Few Words we will talk with someone I really think is an expert.   Our guest is Erik Deckers  one of the authors of No Bullshit Social Media: The All-Business, No-Hype Guide to Social Media Marketing (Pearson, 2011). We talked about social media users who are serious about using this tool as part of their business marketing strategy.

In this episode of  our marketing podcast, we will be talking about graphic design To every parent, their baby is a beautiful and special angel. Many businesses feel the same way about their logos, websites and other graphic designs. How do you tactfully tell a client their design is ugly, and help guide them to a better aesthetic?

Just because you are a cook, does not mean you should be a chef in a restaurant. The same is true for your business. 

As some of you may know, we’ve been having a bit of an identity crisis here at Roundpeg. For years, Lorraine used the @roundpeg Twitter account as both her personal account as well as the company account. But as the company grew and evolved, that situation became more and more difficult for Lorraine and the rest of the Roundpeg team. A few months ago, Lorraine finally made a clean break and divided her persona into two distinct parts: @roundpegand @lorraineball.

Starting a business is filled with challenges. Even once you have your business up and running, the challenges don’t stop. For example, finding a way to get out of your business when you are ready to retire. There are several choices: selling the business, transferring it to employee or children, or simply shutting it down. Listen as we talk with business transition expert Chris McEvoy about things you can do now to smooth they way for your exit down the road.