2009 March | Julie Lenzer Kirk's Blog

Archive for March, 2009

Using technology to grow your business – a new online class from the New York Times Knowledge Network

Thursday, March 19th, 2009

In this economy, small business owners need every advantage they can get. When technology, often seen as a necessary evil, is leveraged the right way, it can actually provide an incredible strategic advantage without costing a lot of money.

Many entrepreneurs I know have a love/hate relationship with technology. They know the basics, can’t live without e-mail or the internet, but few travel far beyond that. Even with my first business, a software company, I knew how to build and deploy technology solutions but we admittedly didn’t leverage technology internally as well as we could have. It was a case of the shoemaker’s children having no shoes.

That’s why I’m pleased to be the instructor for a new on-line course through a partnership between the Women’s Entrepreneurship Institute and the New York Times Knowledge Network in conjunction with NCWIT. The program, which starts on March 30^th is called “Using Technology to Grow Your Business.”

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Posted in Business Growth, Entrepreneurship, business success secrets | 3 Comments »

Taking a chance, finding new joy

Friday, March 13th, 2009

One of my favorite parts of being a parent is learning from my kids. My daughter, Sydney, recently reminded me of a trait that Breaking glass we seem to lose as adults – the pure joy of taking a chance and shattering what we thought we were to create something new.

A little background: She had been playing lacrosse for the past 4 years and chose her current high school in part because of their lacrosse team – one of the tops in the country. Over the past year, or though, the game had lost its joy for her. It just wasn’t fun anymore. So when she announced to us just this last January that she was done, we weren’t totally surprised, though I suspect her coach was.

Her next announcement, however, DID surprise us. She wanted to try out for the high school softball team. The funny thing was she had never played on a team before. Ever. We were cautiously optimistic – she is very athletic but having never played, imagined she would be at a disadvantage.

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Posted in Being a ParentPreneur, Business Growth, Entrepreneurship, business success secrets | 14 Comments »

7 Tips for preparing for business financing

Thursday, March 5th, 2009

With money and financing on everyone’s mind these days, I asked friend and ACTiVATE Alum Marian White to provide us with some tips on getting ready to get financing. While it is better to ask for it before you really need it, it’s also better to be prepared before you ask. Although she’s referring mainly to business financing in this guest blog, the tips are good for preparing for personal needs as well.

Preparation is key with many things in life. Business financing is no different. In order to properly prepare and position yourself for the journey, make sure you are very familiar with the following 7 topics that may determine your ability to get the financing you seek.

1. Personal credit score. Everything in today’s headlines is about credit and if it’s still available to the small business owner. This affects start-ups (less than 2 years in business) as well as experienced companies. Be familiar with the information stored about you on all three reporting bureaus, TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. Understand the FICO range, 300-850, and know your score. Strong credit is generally considered 720 and above. Many leasing companies will consider applications with minimum scores of 650. Make sure you know what your credit history says about you before applying. Money to Lend