MU Continuing
Education Programs and Services Showcase
by Gina Mauller, Business & Government Educational
Development, MU Extension
Did you know - MU Extension's continuing education units
provide courses, degrees, certificate programs, conferences and seminars,
along with other professional development activities tailored to the
needs of individual employers and industries of all sizes?
The ART in
a Liberal Arts Education: Employee Skill Sets Gained
by Gina Mauller, Business & Government Educational
Development, MU Extension
To meet the demands of today's business environment,
it is essential that employees continue to expand their current knowledge
base and skill set to add personal value in their organizations. Pursuing
a liberal arts degree is one way to do just that!
Workforce Development
Trends Reflecting the Importance of Continuing Education
and Lifelong Learning
by Gina Mauller, Business & Government Educational
Development, MU Extension
Organizational spending on workforce education and training
is on an upward trend, as employers begin to recognize that money spent
to training employees is an investment as opposed to a cost.
MoFAST: Moving
Missouri's Innovations to Market
byJohn Parfet, Business Development Specialist, University
of Missouri Extension
Got an innovative idea and need early-stage technology
financing? To access federal agency research topics, funding announcements
and other opportunities, access the business resources at www.mofast.net.
MoBDN Web Site Tour
by Jean Bruns, Internet Administrator, Missouri Small
Business Development Centers
To access cutting-edge information, individualized assistance
and training for your business, check out the Missouri Business Development
Network (MoBDN) web site at www.missouribusiness.net.
Writing for the
Web
by Mary Paulsell, Assistant State Director, Missouri
Small Business Development Centers
A common mistake made by many who write for the Internet
is to assume that writing for the computer screen is like any other
writing. Nothing could be further from the truth. Read on for some basic
Internet writing guidelines.
The B2B Business
Directory
by John Parfet, Business Development Specialist, University
of Missouri Extension
Visit the B2B Business Directory
at to place a free "virtual business card" web listing, network with
other businesses throughout Missouri, and ultimately stimulate sales.
Developing Skills
Needed to do the Job
by Willis Mushrush, Business Development Specialist,
University of Missouri Extension
It is estimated that one in five American businesses
is unable to expand because their employees lack the basic workforce
skills necessary to do so. In Missouri, many state resources are available
to assist companies with training programs—among these is the Missouri
Customized Training Program.
Supervisory Skills
101
by Kevin Baitto, Business Development Specialist,
University of Missouri Extension
Whether or not you have the official title of "supervisor,"
if you are in a position that requires you to direct the activity of
others, a periodic review of your supervisory skills may bring better
results. Read on to secure guidelines in conducting that review.
360° Performance
Evaluation
by Rick Sparks, Business Development Specialist, University
of Missouri Extension
If you think that traditional evaluation methods are
not providing you with sufficient input by which to guide employee performance,
take a look at the benefits that utilizing 360-degree evaluation can
provide.
Connecting
With Customers
by John Parfet, Business Development Specialist, University
of Missouri Extension
Customer relationships are a fundamental—but often
overlooked—component of marketing. Few companies truly understand
their customers, nor do they accurately predict behavior or consistently
influence their decision-making. This articles highlights seven factors
that tend to influence customer behavior and relationships, and highlights
the fact that progressive-thinking marketers are creating and solidifying
customer relationships by delivering resources via e-mail.
Customer
Service Counts
by Rick Sparks, Business Development Specialist, University
of Missouri Extension
Customer service is a critically important issue for
every business, because without customers to buy your goods and services,
there is no need for the business. To keep customers coming back, you
must provide customer service that is better than that of your competition.
This article provides a few pointers on just how that can be achieved.
Are You Operating
Lean?
by Rick Sparks, Business Development Specialist, University
of Missouri Extension
Lean Manufacturing - also referred to as "just-in-time"
manufacturing, is a process that can reduce your costs by improving
labor use, decreasing inventory, reducing manufacturing cycle time and
increasing capacity without capital expenditure. Many companies can
attest to its effectiveness.
Understanding
Small Business Administration Financing
by John Parfet, Business Development Specialist, University
of Missouri Extension
The U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA) enables
its lending partners to provide financing to small businesses when funding
is otherwise unavailable. Funding is made available on reasonable terms,
with the SBA guaranteeing a portion of the small business loan. SBA
loan eligibility and credit criteria are very broad in order to accommodate
a wide range of financing needs.
SBA Hubzone Program
by Greg McMullin, Procurement Specialist,
Missouri Procurement Assistance Center
In 1997, Missouri Senator Christopher Bond created legislation
that authorizes businesses in low income and/or high unemployment areas
to compete more effectively for government contracts. The Historically
Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Empowerment Contracting Program
is designed to stimulate economic development and create jobs in urban
and rural communities by providing federal contracting preferences to
small businesses.
Researching
Your Market
by Rick Sparks, Business Development Specialist, University
of Missouri Extension
To be successful, a business must know its market. This requires market
research, which is simply learning about people—the people who
do buy or might buy your product or service.
Closing the Sale
by Rick Sparks, Business Development Specialist, University
of Missouri Extension
Getting a client to say, "Yes" can be one of the most difficult things
to do, or it can be as easy as merely asking for the order.
Technology
... Technology ... Technology
By Gwen Richtermeyer, Director of Primary Research,
BRIDG, University of Missouri-Kansas City
Many manufacturers are investing more in technology compared to other
types of companies to gain efficiencies, thus making them strong competitors
in their industries.
Managing the Flow
by Jackie Rasmussen, Business Development Specialist,
University of Missouri Extension
If we take a look at information flow within an organization, it is
important to understand that 70 percent of what employees want to hear
has to do with their particular job assignment. Only after you have
communicated this information will employees be ready to hear what you
need them to hear.
Reducing
Employee Turnover
by Willis Mushrush, Business Development Specialist,
University of Missouri Extension
With today's baby boomer generation beginning to retire from the labor
market, many companies are finding it increasingly difficult to retain
employees. For a company to develop a retention strategy, several key
steps must be taken.
Customizing
Your Compensation Packages
by Jackie Rasmussen, Business Development Specialist,
University of Missouri Extension
If we were to do a survey of business owners across the country, the
popular belief would probably be that financial compensation is the
key motivator when it comes to worker morale and retention. This belief
however, is probably more myth than reality.
Where Does the
Time Go?
by Rick Sparks, Business Development Specialist, University
of Missouri Extension
Time is a resource that is not regulated by anything except Mother Nature.
Deciding how to best use those 24 hours in every day is a challenge
for all of us.
The 12 'P's' of
Effective Leaders
by Jackie Rasmussen, Business Development Specialist,
University of Missouri Extension
The traits of effective leaders include: Personality, Persuasiveness,
Persistence, Patience, Perceptiveness, Probity, Praise-giving, People-based,
Positive, Practical, Progressive, and the able to make things Possible.
How many of these characteristic describe you?
Transitioning
from Manager to Leader
by Jackie Rasmussen, Business Development Specialist,
University of Missouri Extension
When leadership positions come open in an organization, then natural
progression is often for that excellent manager/supervisor to be promoted.
It doesn't take long however, for the individual involved, and the employees
left in their wake to realize that the skills that made them an excellent
manager, may not be the same set of skills required for leadership success.
Missouri Market
Development Program
by Drew Holt, Environmental Quality Specialist, University of Missouri Extension
Learn how your business can use recyclable materials in the manufacturing
of new products via this grant funded program.
Marketing
Resources: Here's Help!
by Rick Sparks, Business Development Specialist, University
of Missouri Extension
Marketing can be one of the most challenging issues in your business.
You can be one of the best manufacturing businesses in Missouri, making
the highest quality products, but if you don't have a winning marketing
strategy, you will not be successful.
Using Electronic
Commerce in Marketing to Government
by Willis Mushrush, Business Development Specialist,
University of Missouri Extension
The use of electronic commerce has become an integral part of marketing
goods and services to federal, state, and even local government entities.
The days of having to wait several months to get paid by the government
are finally over. This means that doing business with the government
is suddenly more attractive to many small businesses that have shied
away in the past.
So Your Company Wants
a Website? Consider Some Hidden Risks
by Suzanne Zemelman, M.S., J.D., University of Missouri Extension, with assistance from John W. Kepler III, J.D., Suelthaus
& Walsh, P.C., St. Louis
Having a company web site is like opening another office—but without
a building. Do not make the mistake of thinking that, just because your
new office exists only in cyberspace, it is not subject to the same
rules or careful considerations used in your other business ventures.
Dealing with
Just-in-time Production Disruption
by James Womack, President, Lean Enterprise Institute
In the days since the events of September 11, many references have been
made to the impracticability of just-in-time supply of parts and call
have been made for massive warehouses to buffer supply chains. This
advice is potentially disruptive to those businesses implementing lean
systems.
Closing Out
the Year for Taxes
by Sylvianne M. Doucot, Senior Tax Specialist, Taxpayer
Education and Communications, Small Business/Self-Employed Division,
Internal Revenue Service
For helpful, money-saving hints, and ways to stay out of trouble with
"Uncle Sam" check this article out. It will give you a "heads-up" on
what is new regarding eligible tax deductions in 2002.
Newsletter archives: 2004
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