FANTASTIC Workshop yesterday morning!

Patrick Henry spoke to us, made us laugh, made us cry, made us think, made us re-think, made us learn to look at old things (like learning) in new ways. He redefined customer service and even the word customer itself, for us.

He challenged us to create friendlier work places to ultimately create friendlier customers and increase sales.

He opened our eyes to see what he believes "that success is my fault, failure is my fault" it's all up to us and we need to embrace that and take every opportunity to make our customers our friends people like shopping with their friends!

Go to Patrick's Facebook page to learn more about the business of friendship!

Also, check out his website Patrick Henry's website.

More tips on Social Media

Check out this video to see how you can engage your customers in social media.



This video was originally posted by www.entrepreneur.com, to watch more videos or to go to the website click here .

Social Media – be careful with it.

Thanks to social media, we are all connected in some way or another whether it is through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest.  When using your business social media account, you always need to be careful that it is not being used improperly.

Although social media is a great platform for every business it can also be dangerous and can ruin your reputation in no time. If it is hard to get people to like you, it can be easy for them not to like you. So always make sure you are protecting your reputation and always double check everything before posting anything on your Facebook or Twitter account. 

Some of the things you should always try to avoid are the following:

1.       Don’t be boring... post photos, interesting promotions and sales, new products and posts that will catch the viewer’s attention.

2.       Don’t ignore visitors’ comments -- always reply to them.

3.       Be careful what pictures you are tagged in, this can be dangerous.

4.       Have someone always be on top of your social media, checking it constantly.

Save the Date.

SAVE THE DATE

Greenville Small Business Development Center is hosting a half-day Small Business Government Workshop titled

“Exploring the World of Government Contracts”

Thursday, November 15, 2012 at the Greenville Marriott in Greenviìle, SC

Presentations by:

Shaw Air Force Base

Small Business Administration

Procurement Technical Assistance Center

Veterans Administration

General Services Administration

Fluor Corporation

US&S, Inc. (Service Disabled Veteran-Owned)

Register here: click here to register

This fast paced forum will provide information on the various missions of Government agencies, what they buy and howl when they buy it, how subcontracting works on Government contracts, how to market to prime contractors, and much more!!

When: Thursday, November 15th

8:00 a.m. - 12 noon

Where: Greenville Marriott

One Parkway East

Greenville, SC 29615

Investment: $49.00

For more information contact: Sherry Pittinger at (864) 276-5560, sQittin@clemson.edu

Important Information For Your Start-Up Business.

Are you looking into opening up your own business and you don’t know where to start? You can visit the South Carolina Business One Stop or SCBOS website below.

They are the official South Carolina business web portal where you will find all the information you need to know about how to file permits, get business licenses, business registrations, or where to pay your company’s taxes.


You can also make payments for multiple filings or even taxes with your credit card, debit card or you can use EFW payments. If you do not have time to go to their offices, visit their website at your convenience to get some more information www.scbos.sc.gov

A quote from H. Jackson Brown

Stay focused on your vision.

Perhaps the most important thing when starting your own business or while running a company is to have a vision. A vision gives a sense of direction and it helps you get to where you want to be.

It tells you where you want to take your company in the future. The strategies of achieving that ultimate goal may change over time but the vision should remain fixed.

Things will always come up and you will have to adapt to them, but try to stay focused on your company's vision. This will help you in the long-run. 

Check out this article that discusses the importance of maintaining a vision.