Welcome to Arkansas Entrepreneur, a site dedicated to entrepreneurs and small businesses in Arkansas! I have developed this site as a place where small business owners and entrepreneurs will be able to find information about issues that are important to them, to share ideas and discuss current topics that are affecting their business. I have started this blog for two very important reasons.
First - it is what I do for a living. I am the center director of the Arkansas State University Small Business and Technology Development Center and I help entrepreneurs through a variety of services. As part of the university’s economic outreach program, my staff and I provide consulting assistance, market research, and seminars to small business owners and entrepreneurs throughout our region of Arkansas. The ASU SBTDC provides free consulting assistance on such topics as feasibility studies, market analysis, business plan development, loan packaging & capital acquisition, financial analysis, e-commerce marketing issues and more to start up and to existing small businesses. So this blog is a logical step to reach out to small business owners throughout Arkansas. I will be posting short articles on issues affecting small businesses, providing links for readers to dig deeper into topics that interest them, offering resources and information, and answering questions. So join in. For more information about assistance to entrepreneurs and small businesses in Arkansas see the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center network for a center nearest you.
Second - to provide an experiment in “viral marketing” that we can all participate in. I am not an e-commerce guru nor an internet expert. I am just an average guy, like many small business owners out there doing my regular “day job” while trying to figure out how to incorporate internet marketing opportunities into my overall marketing plan. While I am not a technophobe, I am certainly technologically challenged. Just pushing the “send button” can sometimes be a major accomplishment for me. So if words like viral marketing, social media, flitter, twitter and SEO is foreign to you…join the crowd! I am trying to navigate through this information jungle like everyone else, so join in and we can learn together. Also, when it comes to adopting new ideas I am a “middle of the road” kind of guy. Not the first to rush out and embrace new concepts but then not the dead last either. Much like many small business owners, I want to learn how to incorporate internet marketing into my marketing mix, I am just not sure how.
This blog will be an excellent opportunity for small business owners to sit back and watch as I try to incorporate all the concepts of internet marketing into my ASU SBTDC marketing plan. Maybe you will see things that work that you want to incorporate, or at least hopefully see mistakes I make so you can avoid them.
Fortunately I am not alone here; I have the guidance of some good small business friends, Joe and Christi Wharton of Mountain Home, owners of Wharton Website Design and Marketing. Christi has a wonderful blog for small businesses wanting to learn more about developing an e-commerce marketing program and I would strongly suggest you join it at http://whartonmarketing.biz/blog/. The best part of Christi’s blog is that she talks about internet marketing “in English” so her ideas are easy to understand and put to use. With Christi’s expert advice to guide me, Arkansas small business owners can sit back and watch as I work to develop an on-line marketing program over the coming year.
So, bookmark this blog, visit often, read the articles on a variety of issues important to small businesses in Arkansas, sit back, have a cup of coffee, AND respond. This blog is established to provide information that will help small businesses and entrepreneurs in Arkansas… so, here is what I need you to do:
· Bookmark this site, visit often, find information vital to your business growth, read articles to improve your business performance, and see how my internet marketing plan is working.
· Read the articles posted AND respond. – There is a COMMENT button below each article. PUSH IT. Let me know if the article is helpful to your business, ask for clarification, ask for additional resources, suggest other topics you would like to see. Communicate with me. Either by commenting on as part of the blog, or feel free to e-mail me if you don’t want everyone to see your comment.
· Tell other small business owners about this blog and encourage them to join in. You can e-mail the link to this blog to your civic club friends, friends at the chamber, or others who are involved in small business. Make a commitment to spend some time each day, reading about e-commerce and how you can take advantage of the internet to improve your marketing outreach and dramatically improve sales.
First - it is what I do for a living. I am the center director of the Arkansas State University Small Business and Technology Development Center and I help entrepreneurs through a variety of services. As part of the university’s economic outreach program, my staff and I provide consulting assistance, market research, and seminars to small business owners and entrepreneurs throughout our region of Arkansas. The ASU SBTDC provides free consulting assistance on such topics as feasibility studies, market analysis, business plan development, loan packaging & capital acquisition, financial analysis, e-commerce marketing issues and more to start up and to existing small businesses. So this blog is a logical step to reach out to small business owners throughout Arkansas. I will be posting short articles on issues affecting small businesses, providing links for readers to dig deeper into topics that interest them, offering resources and information, and answering questions. So join in. For more information about assistance to entrepreneurs and small businesses in Arkansas see the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center network for a center nearest you.
Second - to provide an experiment in “viral marketing” that we can all participate in. I am not an e-commerce guru nor an internet expert. I am just an average guy, like many small business owners out there doing my regular “day job” while trying to figure out how to incorporate internet marketing opportunities into my overall marketing plan. While I am not a technophobe, I am certainly technologically challenged. Just pushing the “send button” can sometimes be a major accomplishment for me. So if words like viral marketing, social media, flitter, twitter and SEO is foreign to you…join the crowd! I am trying to navigate through this information jungle like everyone else, so join in and we can learn together. Also, when it comes to adopting new ideas I am a “middle of the road” kind of guy. Not the first to rush out and embrace new concepts but then not the dead last either. Much like many small business owners, I want to learn how to incorporate internet marketing into my marketing mix, I am just not sure how.
This blog will be an excellent opportunity for small business owners to sit back and watch as I try to incorporate all the concepts of internet marketing into my ASU SBTDC marketing plan. Maybe you will see things that work that you want to incorporate, or at least hopefully see mistakes I make so you can avoid them.
Fortunately I am not alone here; I have the guidance of some good small business friends, Joe and Christi Wharton of Mountain Home, owners of Wharton Website Design and Marketing. Christi has a wonderful blog for small businesses wanting to learn more about developing an e-commerce marketing program and I would strongly suggest you join it at http://whartonmarketing.biz/blog/. The best part of Christi’s blog is that she talks about internet marketing “in English” so her ideas are easy to understand and put to use. With Christi’s expert advice to guide me, Arkansas small business owners can sit back and watch as I work to develop an on-line marketing program over the coming year.
So, bookmark this blog, visit often, read the articles on a variety of issues important to small businesses in Arkansas, sit back, have a cup of coffee, AND respond. This blog is established to provide information that will help small businesses and entrepreneurs in Arkansas… so, here is what I need you to do:
· Bookmark this site, visit often, find information vital to your business growth, read articles to improve your business performance, and see how my internet marketing plan is working.
· Read the articles posted AND respond. – There is a COMMENT button below each article. PUSH IT. Let me know if the article is helpful to your business, ask for clarification, ask for additional resources, suggest other topics you would like to see. Communicate with me. Either by commenting on as part of the blog, or feel free to e-mail me if you don’t want everyone to see your comment.
· Tell other small business owners about this blog and encourage them to join in. You can e-mail the link to this blog to your civic club friends, friends at the chamber, or others who are involved in small business. Make a commitment to spend some time each day, reading about e-commerce and how you can take advantage of the internet to improve your marketing outreach and dramatically improve sales.
Herb Lawrence
Veteran? Go to Arkansas Veteran Web Portal keep abreast of benefits and programs for Arkansas Veterans. Vets Helping Vets Succeed in Life and Business.
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