Success Story: Research Center for Human-Animal Interaction
Columbia-based researcher explores benefits of human-animal bonds
The relationship of humans and their pets dates back millennia. That special human-animal bond, which started when the first caveman enticed a canine ancestor to team with him on a hunt, is as important if not as immediately utilitarian today.
Charlotte McKenney, assistant director of ReCHAI, brought Gordon setter Miss Holly for a visit to the residents of TigerPlace, a senior living home in Columbia. The activity was part of the Center's PAWSitive Visits program, which arranges weekly scheduled visits between senior residents and a variety of companion animals.
With the continual graying of our 21st century population and the ever-burgeoning population of animal pets in our society, a University of Missouri nursing professor focuses her research on the practical applications and health benefits of interaction between humans and animals.
Dr. Rebecca Johnson founded the Research Center for Human-Animal Interaction in 2005. As a joint effort of MU's College of Veterinary Medicine and the Sinclair School of Nursing, ReCHAI is true to its name.
Among its many programs and research efforts: PALS (Pet Assisted Love and Support for seniors), an innovative online training program to promote animal-assisted activity for older adults; PAWSitive Visits, an animal visitation effort at senior housing facilities; and Walk a Hound, Lose a Pound, a community project to walk shelter dogs and increase physical activity of human participants...children and adults.
Animals have always played a major role in Johnson's family life, since her formative years in rural northern Illinois. During her early career working as a hospital nurse, she frequently saw many extended-stay elderly patients whose overriding concerns were not for themselves but for the pets waiting for them at home.
In many of those cases elderly people who could no longer care for themselves were forced to give up their pets. Those patients faced the double-whammy of moving to a new environment and losing a loving and trusted companion.
Visit www.missouribusiness.net/success/rechai.asp for the complete story with additional photos.
Where Have All the Customers Gone?
Some small business owners may be wondering if the current economic crisis is causing consumers to be more conservative in their spending, explaining the recent dip in sales.
Although the current economic crisis may be a cause, Kathy Macomber, a business development specialist with University of Missouri Extension, says business owners should also consider the increasing impact of the Internet.
"Whether or not you have a Web site or market online, your customers are using the Internet for shopping, price comparisons and stock availability," says Macomber.
Nielson Online conducted a survey in November 2008 which showed the Top 10 Reasons to Shop Online. The number one reason was the ability to shop 24 hours a day. The number two reason was to "save time" and third was to "avoid crowds" followed closely by "saves gas."
Other top reasons included "sales/discounts," "low prices," "comparison shopping," "selection," "available product information," and "items in stock."
Visit www.missouribusiness.net/docs/where_customers_gone.asp for the rest of this story.
Marketing Relief for Recession Stressed Entrepreneurs
Turn on the news these days and you are likely to hear about job layoffs, stock market plunges, and overall angst about the economic recession. The country's entrepreneurs, those starting and running the country's approximately 25 million small and medium-sized businesses, are certainly hearing this news, interacting with worried customers, and feeling the pinch of the hard times.
So who can blame them for being stressed? In many instances, entrepreneurs not only have their job on the line, but their life savings and personal pride wrapped up into their businesses as well.
Curt Clinkinbeard, a marketing consultant and training director for the Kansas-based nonprofit Foundation for the Advancement of Marketing Excellence in Entrepreneurs (FAMEE), has recently released a free electronic course entitled 8 Marketing Tips for Recession Stressed Entrepreneurs.
"My belief is that to be successful, entrepreneurs have to do everything they can to stay above the fray of national economic news, particularly anything that is negative," Clinkinbeard said. "To me, the hallmark of entrepreneurs is their optimism. When things are going bad, they have the intelligence, determination, and pure energy to go around or bust through challenges."
But after participating in the workshop sponsored by his local chamber of commerce, he recognized how challenged the participants were in his community. According to Clinkinbeard, strange questions from the businesses in attendance, as well as the media who interviewed him after the workshop, indicated to him that fear and pessimism were entering into the entrepreneurial community, which is typically more optimistic than most.
It was at this point that he decided to convert his short presentation and some of the questions posted at the workshop into a 10-part electronic course that could be provided at no cost to entrepreneurs.
Visit www.missouribusiness.net/docs/mktng_relief_recession.asp to continue reading about the FAMEE online marketing course.
Annual Skelton Procurement Conference Set
for
May 29 at UCM in Warrensburg
Mark May 29 on your calendar for Rep. Ike Skelton's 2009 Procurement Conference on the campus of the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg. More than 1,500 government agencies and prime contractors have been invited to the event, sponsored by the Missouri Procurement Technical Assistance Centers and UCM's Small Business & Technology Development Center.
The conference offers opportunities for training in government contracting, visiting trade show exhibits, and networking with business contacts. Booth space is available to allow interested businesses to showcase their products and services to government agencies and prime contractors. To learn more about booth availability at the conference call the MO PTAC state office at 573-882-8058.
Your local Procurement Technical Assistance Center can help you win government contracts. Appointments may be made for consultations on procurement issues by contacting the PTAC office near you.
North Central Missouri Small Business Owner
Testifies before Congressional Committee
Chillicothe-based small business owner Carol Gregg testified at a special hearing of a Congressional committee on small business Feb. 11 at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C.
Gregg was invited to testify by Rep. Nydia M. Velazquesz (D-N.Y.), chairwoman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business, and Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), ranking minority member of the committee, at a special hearing entitled "The State of SBA's Entrepreneurial Development Programs and Their Role in Reporting an Economic Recovery."
YouTube video of Carol Gregg's Feb. 11 testimony
Gregg's five-minute testimony focused on her firm and the role MO SBTDC has played in helping her start and expand her business...Flexible Staffing, an employment services company that focuses on the personnel needs of businesses in north central and west central Missouri.
With offices in Chillicothe, Warrensburg, Sedalia and Kingsville, Mo., Flexible Staffing matches the best people and services to the best companies in the area.
Gregg, who started her company in 2003, has been an SBTDC client since 2000. "The SBTDC office provided me with the assistance to develop cash-flow charts and a business plan to start my business," Gregg said.
With challenges to growth presented by current economic conditions, Gregg is diversifying her business. The firm's Sedalia office offers consulting services for mechanical, electrical, chemical and industrial engineers. In Warrensburg, Flexible Staffing soon plans to offer medical staffing services.
"I have used the SBTDC for market research and I have plans to work with them on an updated financial analysis and marketing analysis of this new medical staffing business," Gregg said in her Congressional testimony.
"I have been fortunate in having an SBTDC office available in each of the communities where I have office locations. The SBTDC has provided all of the services that I have requested when I needed them and stands ready to work with me as I grow my business."
Gregg also told the House committee: "Consumer confidence and the availability of credit to finance expansion should be major governmental goals. Providing technical assistance to help individual businesses determine how much credit they need, how best to utilize that credit, and how best to manage and market their business should be the focus of the SBTDC. SBTDC is a valuable service to small business. I am thankful to have them ready and available to meet the needs of not only my business, but to all small businesses throughout the U.S."
Read more about Flexible Staffing, Inc. in our success stories: www.missouribusiness.net/success/flexible.asp
Missouri Small Business Profile Released by SBA
The federal Small Business Administration recently released a profile of the most up-to-date small business data available for Missouri.
Missouri's 501,849 small businesses provide economic opportunities to diverse groups of people and bring innovative products and services to the marketplace.* This profile from the SBA's Office of Advocacy compiles the latest facts and figures on the status and role of small business in the state. (Note that a small business is defined here as one with fewer than 500 employees.)
- Missouri had 121,350 small employers in 2006, representing 97.8 percent of the state's employers and 49.7 percent of its private-sector employment.
- The health care and social assistance industry was the state's largest small business and overall employer in 2006.
- Small businesses created 67.5 percent of the state's net new jobs from 2004 to 2005.
- Missouri's real gross state product increased by 1.3 percent in 2007. By comparison, growth in the Plains region was 2.0 percent and the United States, 2.0 percent. (Source: U.S. Dept. of Commerce: Bureau of Economic Analysis)
Visit www.sba.gov/advo/research/profiles/08mo.pdf for a detailed look at the Missouri small business profiles issued by the SBA.
* The number of small businesses is the number of small employers plus the number of non-employers in 2006.
IRS Roundup
IRS continues to roll out new Web products for small businesses and the self-employed
The IRS has new products available on its official Web site, IRS.gov, that enable small businesses and the self-employed to easily locate essential information to more easily manage their businesses.
Small Business Resource Guide
In order to provide the most timely and up-to-date tax information, the Small Business Resource Guide (SBRG), formerly a CD-ROM, is now available exclusively online at www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=155439,00.html.
Small Business
Resource Guide
Designed to equip small business owners with the skills and knowledge needed to successfully start and manage a business, IRS has ensured the SBRG 2009 Web site offers the same quality of information the SBRG CD was known for, covering a wide range of tax topics, Web links to business forms, publications, other useful governmental Web sites, and much more.
Small business video and audio presentations
A new page at www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=97726,00.html on IRS.gov features video and audio presentations on a variety of topics for small businesses and self-employed taxpayers, highlighted by an audio podcast reenactment of the May 2008 IRS National Phone Forum for first-time Schedule C filers. Also included are:
- Adjusting Employment Taxes: New for 2009
- Backup Withholding for Form 1099-MISC
- Bartering Income
- Choosing a Tax Preparer
- Employer Identification Numbers
- Small Business Tax Workshops
- Schedule C: Who needs to file and how to do it
In addition to these video and audio presentations, please visit the Small Business/Self-Employed Virtual Small Business Tax Workshop for instructional lessons.
Self-Employed Individuals Tax Center
Small businesses and the self-employed will also find information and resources in the Self-Employed Individuals Tax Center.
e-News for Small Businesses
To learn about other IRS products and services, and to keep up with the latest IRS announcements for small businesses, start a free subscription to e-News for Small Businesses. Go to IRS.gov at www.irs.gov/businesses/small/content/0,,id=154826,00.html, type in your e-mail address and submit.
SBIR/STTR Training Feb. 20
Get help in proposal preparation for upcoming agency deadlines!
This informational session will provide specific tips for preparing a winning Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) or Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) proposal to federal agencies. Dr. Paul Rehrig, SBIR/STTR and Commercialization Specialist with the Missouri Small Business and Technology Development Centers, will offer advice and answer your questions regarding research, proposal submission and award management.
These sessions are open to anyone, but will also specifically discuss information related to upcoming solicitations: Department of Defense (March); National Institutes of Health (April); and the Environmental Protection Agency (May).
Location: MA3060 Medical Sciences Building
University of Missouri, Columbia
Date/time: Feb. 20, 9:00am to noon
There is no charge, but preregistration is required. Please register now by calling 573-882-7096.
Learn more about Missouri's MoFAST SBIR/STTR assistance by visiting www.missouribusiness.net/fast.
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