Kauffman Foundation Expands Global Scholars Program . . .

U.S. Graduates Invited to Apply
Media Contacts:
Barb Pruitt, (816) 932-1288 or bpruitt@kauffman.org


Applications available online, due Oct. 17, 2011


(KANSAS CITY, Mo.) Sept. 22, 2011 — A world-class opportunity awaits U.S. college graduates with innovative ideas for a new business. The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is expanding its successful Global Scholars Program to include up to 10 recent graduates from U.S. colleges and universities who will join Scholars from around the world.


During the first five years of the Global Scholars Program, Kauffman hosted students sponsored by governments and organizations from five countries representing 11 nationalities. In 2012, the expanded Program will enable selected U.S. Scholars to learn and network with an international group of fellow aspiring entrepreneurs.


"It is essential that countries seek to educate global citizens whose vision, knowledge and reach extend beyond their own national boundaries," said Wendy E.F. Torrance, Global Scholars Program director. "By inviting U.S. Scholars into this Program, we can engage our next generation of entrepreneurial talent at a global level."


The Global Scholars Program is now accepting applications from outstanding U.S. college students or recent graduates with business ideas in the science, technology and engineering fields who are U.S. citizens or legal U.S. residents. Applications can be submitted at www.kauffman.org/USglobalscholars, and must be completed by Oct. 17, 2011. The U.S. Scholars will be selected in November 2011 and will begin the six-month Program in January 2012.


The participants will ultimately develop their entrepreneurial skills, ideas, competencies, and capabilities to start a business.

Some info on Twitter!

For you, the small business owner, Twitter is an amazing tool that can expand your reach to customers and potential customers. It can allow you to stay in touch and connect with thousands and thousands of people instantly. It can help drive your brand and communicate with customers in a way that you’ve never been able to before. And so much more.

For many mom-and-pop shops with no ad budget, Twitter has become their sole means of marketing. It is far easier to set up and update a Twitter account than to maintain a Web page. And because small-business owners tend to work at the cash register, not in a cubicle in the marketing department, Twitter’s intimacy suits them well

Small businesses typically get more than half of their customers through word of mouth and Twitter is the digital manifestation of that.

If you really feel you can’t or won’t be able to keep up with your Twitter page, you can always make it the responsibility of that young cashier who never seems to have enough to do, or ask your own teenager who I assure you is already totally aware of how to use social networks. They may even enjoy helping you promote your business and being able to teach you a thing or two about the digital world!

If you’re not ready to take advantage of all the free help Twitter can offer to your business, realize this: You can get benefit from Twitter in less than 10 minutes a month. Twitter is a free local, regional and internet listing for your business that takes less than five minutes to set up. So, first: Invest those five minutes and go set up your twitter page!

Already have a small business but thinking about hiring new staff? Here are some helpful questions that will help you decide who the best fit is for your company.

Once you have established your business, having an outstanding staff is essential for it to be successful.

Hiring employees is one of the most important tasks for a business owner. But how do you know who is the right person for the position? Who will bring the most into the company? Who will make the business succeed to your expectations? Anyone can put on a good act for 30 minutes and try to sell themselves as someone that will be the best fit, but how can we tell?

Here are some good questions that will help you see beyond the candidate’s responses:

• Give an example of a time when you had to make a quick decision.
• Give an example of a situation when you exceeded your manager’s expectations
• What have you done that demonstrates your willingness to succeed in a job?
• How would you convince me that you can adapt to a wide range of people, situations and environments.
• Why should I hire you??

Remember: your business is only as good as your people.

"If you can DREAM it, you can DO it." - Walt Disney

How to set up a facebook page for your business

Today, most companies worldwide use facebook to advertise their companies, so why not you too? Here are some basics you should know about setting up your facebook profile.

Facebook is a great way to advertise your business online; it already has over 300 million users. It offers a large platform to build up a company’s presence and target people that have interest in your industry. It also offers excellent and low cost marketing opportunities for every small business, so to save a little on advertising take advantage of this.


Once you have created your page, take some time to research your competitor’s pages to have an idea of how they are marketing their business. Notice how many fans/friends they have, how many people “like” them, what they are posting, photos, videos, etc. Remember, this is the face of your company, so make it as professional as you can so your clients will take you seriously.

These are just some quick tips for starting your own facebook page.


If you have not yet signed up for it, you should absolutely do so as soon as possible!!



-Caroline

The best tip to start your own business

Research..Research..Research!!!

The best way to help your business idea take place is doing the research. Without research you won’t even know what is happening in that industry. First, there needs to be 3 crucial facts you must consider. The business needs to be something you are great at and have the talent for. It also needs to be something you are absolutely passionate about, because you may be doing this for the rest of your life. And finally, the business needs to make sense. You may love to paint space helmets but if there is no demand for that, your business may not be the most successful out there. So start by opening books or using the web to get started!

-Caroline

Tips on developing a website that will differentiate your business

• State what your business does best and define your niche.

• Create a strategy that will differentiate you from your competition convincing your customer that there is no other company out there like yours and why they should pick you.

• Do not create a quick webpage just to have one, create the best webpage out there; remember, this is the face of your company.

• Think about what unique offerings make your company successful and highlight those points on the webpage.

• Incorporate your webpage into a mobile internet application giving your customers access to it anywhere at any time.

• And, we suggest that you take a course or go to a workshop like our “Getting Your Business Online” workshop (check our calendar for the next one), to make sure that your site will not only be helpful and of interest to people, but will also be search engine-ready to make sure it gets found! A beautiful website that never comes up in the search engines won’t be helpful to your business.

-Caroline