Employee Training and Assessment Tools Are Available – and FREE

Kris Deckard – We continue to hear – almost every day – that employers are having a difficult time finding qualified, appropriately skilled workers to fill their many open positions. Training is also needed to help current employees develop the necessary skills and demonstrate readiness for higher level positions. A less skilled, less educated labor [...]

ISBDC / October 26, 2012

Three Simple Secrets to Starting and Running a Successful Business

Tom Steiner – You could get an MBA from the University of Chicago, you could just jump in and hope it works and fix things on the fly, you could research your business until you know everything there is to know and grow old before you launch. By knowing these three simple secrets you have [...]

East Central ISBDC / October 9, 2012

Don’t Let Politics or Bad News Stop You From Dreaming About Starting a Business.

Scot Goskowicz – Those of us who pay attention to our current national political scene and the nightly news likely hear about how difficult times are for the average small business owner. Additionally people’s fears are compounded by the unknown effect of things like the National Healthcare Law and with the negative feelings that are [...]

ISBDC / September 28, 2012

Top 5 Threats Facing Businesses Today

Scott Makinson – With the help of several leading research firms, including Gallup, Ernst & Young, and The Aberdeen Group, Express Employment Professionals has identified five major threats that businesses are facing today. Listed here, they include: 1)      Inability to Innovate 2)      Losing Your Competitive Advantage 3)      The High Cost of Reckless Hiring 4)      Poor [...]

ISBDC / September 18, 2012

Email Etiquette

Susan Davis – There have been a multitude of articles written about email etiquette. But, since most of us live and die by email, I thought I would highlight what I consider to be some of the most important. Summarize – I find it incredibly frustrating when I am sent an email that has a [...]

ISBDC / September 6, 2012

PR Provides a Positive Return on Your Investment

Mary Popovich – One of the biggest misconceptions I encounter when working with small business owners through my position with the Indiana Small Business Development Center  is that you have to spend a ton of money on advertising to win customers and increase sales. But, as I learned from operating my own public relations firm [...]

ISBDC / September 4, 2012

Marketing Is Essential To Any Successful Small Business Venture

Marti Chestovich – Establishing your business brand and marketing your products or services over several platforms is essential to being a successful company in today’s market. It is too often neglected in the rush to conserve cash, and I have seen it over and over again when companies decide to lower or stop their marketing [...]

Central ISBDC / August 29, 2012

Your Emails and Text Messages Say a Lot About You!

Joe Ubben – As technology continues to change the way in which we communicate, it doesn’t change the fact that we are judged by these messages. Some of my clients who are in the 20 – 30 year old age group seem to think that it’s OK to alter the English Language with abbreviations, misspellings [...]

Northwest ISBDC / August 28, 2012

2012 Indiana Companies to Watch Video and Pictures

Indiana Companies to Watch 2012 video brought to you by TrendyMinds Event pictures for purchase

ISBDC /

The New Innovators

Kim Howard – When people hear the term “innovation” they think of Silicon Valley; Apple, Google; high tech ideas and processes. And while I can’t argue that these associations shouldn’t rise to the top, most SBDCs are not working with clients like Google or Apple. They work with a range of start ups, from small [...]

Southwest ISBDC / August 27, 2012