Lynn University & SCORE South Palm Beach

SOUTH PALM BEACH SCORE AND LYNN UNIVERSITY TEAM UP TO ASSIST ENTREPRENEURS SEEKING BA AND MBA DEGREES

 

Lynn University, Boca Raton, Florida (home of the last Presidential debate) and South Palm Beach SCORE, have teamed up to offer South Palm Beach SCORE clients (and eligible family members) “education benefits” at the University’s School of Business. Qualified applicants are eligible for a waived application fee and a 20% tuition discount on any evening undergraduate or graduate degree from Lynn (including MBA).

“This generous act by Lynn University can have a profound effect on the careers of these savvy entrepreneurs”, stated South Palm Beach SCORE Chairman Hal Finkelstein.

And eligible immediate family members can enjoy benefits too, with a 10% discount on the evening undergrad or graduate program of their choice. With degree tuition fees ranging from $19,500.00 to $23,040.00 eligible applicants will see savings of $3900.00 to $4600.00. Courses are typically completed within 12 months, but may run 18-24 months, and are held online or on campus in Boca Raton, Florida.

Ø     Eligible family members as mentioned above include spouse or legal domestic partner and adult dependents over the age of 19.

Ø     Eligible family members will receive a ten (10) percent tuition discount for eligible programs.

Ø     Eligible programs include all graduate and evening programs.

Ø     This program cannot be combined with other discounts.

Ø     Traditional Day Undergraduate students are not eligible for this program.

Lynn University and South Palm Beach SCORE, in their sole discretion either together or separately, reserves the right to make changes in tuition, program, costs, curriculum, regulations, eligibility, program dates and to make additional charges for special features and services whenever such actions are deemed appropriate. 

For further information and eligibility requirements Interested applicants may contact Chairman Finkelstein at hal.finkelstein@scorevolunteer.org or call 561-981-5180.

One of the current requirements for South Palm Beach SCORE clients to be eligible, they must have at least 3 mentoring sessions with the chapter since 2012, the sessions could be online, via SKYPE, email or face to face

Lean and Mean

 

Not having as much capital as you would like is an excuse we hear from entrepreneurs all the time. “If only I had more money, I know my business would be doing better than it is”. Sorry, people, that really doesn’t hold water. Here’s why:

Many small business owners use the lack of capital  as an excuse for not REALLY knowing what it takes to succeed, to getting more sales, making more profits, satisfying more customers. The real answer is that if your business fundamentals aren’t all lined up, having more capital will only create the same, unsatisfactory result, just more expensively, or even worse, provide a little better results and conceal the real problems.

The real answer, especially in a difficult business environment that only now, slowly is recovering, is: Review every person, every step in the operations of your business, from how you get prospects (do you REALLY know), how you deal with your customers, how you (efficiently) maintain the operational aspects. What you’re searching for is avoiding wasteful redundancies, unnecessary expenses, ineffective people, and instead, becoming Lean and Mean.

At the end of the day you will have an operation that runs like a Swiss watch, and we all know how efficient they are!

 

Martin Kahn, Certified SCORE Mentor

 

visit us at: www.scoresouthflorida.net

 

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Steve Koenig, SCORE Counselor

Visit us at: www.scoresouthflorida.net

 

 

Marketing Strategy

Market strategies result from a market analysis that enables the target market to be defined and the business positioned in order to gain its share of sales.

Marketing strategies differ depending on the situation of the business. Sometimes more than one marketing strategy may be used simultaneously. Here are a number of ways of categorizing some generic strategies.

Strategies based on market dominance are based on market share or dominance such as Leader, Challenger, Follower or Niche Player.

Strategies based on market penetration and sustainable competitive advantage such as Pioneers, Early or Late followers and include a growth factor for sustainability.

Strategies based on warfare analogies: Offensive (secure competitive advantages), Defensive (defend competitive advantages), Flanking (operate in areas around the competition) or Guerilla (attack, retreat, hide, repeat).

As with everything in business, time changes it all. So it is important to reexamine your market strategies every so often.

How have you defined your marketing strategy lately?

 

Steve Koenig, SCORE Counselor

Visit us at: www.scoresouthflorida.net

 

The Ultimate Entrepreneur

In 1988 the book “The Ultimate Entrepreneur” was a biography of a man I had the good fortune to work for and with. Engineer Ken Olsen founded Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) with a loan of $70,000 and built the second largest computer company in the world, challenging IBM for first place. His company thrived and grew in the face of competition from no less than five other competitors in the same state of Massachusetts. He has been described as the most successful entrepreneur in the history of American business.

He had an idea, move computing out of the glass house (such as the clean rooms of IBM), and put it in the hands of engineers and scientists. That was the start of the minicomputer era, and boom it did! It led to DEC moving computing into the hands of small and medium businesses. Ken is often credited with much of the innovation that created the personal computer. The next step…mobile computing is here today largely due to the initial idea Ken had.

So what are some of the attributes that drove this entrepreneur?    

Dependable and trustworthy. Even in tough times, while Ken was in control, the company had a no layoff policy. This created an environment where new ideas were brought forward freely. There was no shortage of projects seeking funding.

Supporter of innovation. Most good ideas were funded to the extent that some funded projects competed with each other under the concept that only the best would survive. In the extreme the company introduced three different personal computers.

Charitable. Community service and higher education were actively supported. Computers were donated to schools. Employees were not only encouraged to obtain higher education but also to teach others. College building funds were supported. I was able to get funding for a program to support children of employees attending advanced education programs. All employees received a bonus at the end of the year and a turkey at thanksgiving, which could be donated to needed families.

Humble. Ken did not like publicity, often donating anonymously. He did not make future promises but let the products speak for themselves. He received many awards for his successes. I had the opportunity to witness Ken getting an award from the King of Sweden. He seemed uncomfortable. 

How do you and your company compare?

 

Steve Koenig, SCORE Counselor

Visit us at: www.scoresouthflorida.net

 

Shipping Methods in Exporting

Marketing strategy frequently overlooks the question of logistics. Utilization of the "THROUGH BILL OF LADING" (TBL) couplers with a LANDBRIDGE (MULTI-MODAL TRANSPORT) can make it possible to effectively use shipping charges towards closing a sale. Multi-modality combining several cargo moves into a single THROUGH B/L is a mixture for lowest & fastest movement to your customer overseas.

LANDBRIDGE - THE MULTI-MODAL SHIPMENT

This method combines speed of delivery. Speed is expensive in exporting. Since customer satisfaction results in more sales,
this combination of overland shipment coupled with ocean cargo containers will provide you with a competitive sales price. You MUST have a Int'l. Freight Forwarder handling this type of logistic to obtain the TBL

For example, if you client is in the Far East and the FOB point is in the mid-west, you would opt for a rail transfer to the West Coast, load oboard the Ocean liner for shipment to the foreign port. The carrier will issue a TBL for this combination. Why rail?
Ocean container cargo is the least cost method, but the slowest. Thus rail/ocean will get your stuff there fast than if you ship via ocean from the the East Coast to the Far East.

TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT IS VITAL

The TBL will have the final destination which the carrier will handle irrespective of that several cargo methods may be used. Air Freight does NOT have this type of service. However, you should investigate trucking to the airport closest to the fins destination.
For example: if your FOB point is in Colorado and the customer is in Cologne Germany, you would check out trucking to JFK-NYC as opposed direct air from DIA (Denver Int'l) to Frankfurt.

Int'l. Traffic & logistics are so vital in exporting that ALL exporters MUST seek experienced support thru an In'tl. Frt. Fwdr.
The effect of reducing landed cost overseas, invariably results in new business opportunities. Ocean container cargo is the least expensive shipping method. Air is the fastest but costs the most. How you handle this issue when considering speed of arrival will help grow your sales volume.

Ya wanna know more?…..contact:
Henry Samuel; Certified SCORE Counselor.
SCORE Chapter 412 www.scoresouthflorida.net
e-mail: hank.samuel2@gmail.com

Pricing Services for Profit

 

Here are some things to take into consideration when setting the price of your service:

 

1. What is the competition charging? Check trade publications and competitive quotations. Others offering a similar service perhaps in a nearby location may be helpful, but take this with information a grain of salt. If you have worked for others in the industry, you may have an idea.
2. Set a start point that is attractive to your customers and leaves room for negotiation.
3. Remember to include all of the items that contribute to your cost such as benefits, insurance, Social Security, taxes, supplies, space, transportation, marketing, etc. Don’t forget the profit element and the cost of money if payout is extended. Consider payment terms and progress payments as well.
4. Communicate your charges to your customer clearly in advance. Use a written quotation and get the customer to sign off before and after the work is done.
5. Don’t let your pricing get stale. Keep it current and keep your customers up to date. They may need more work or refer a friend, in which case you may want to consider paying a referral fee.

How do you set your prices?

 

Steve Koenig, SCORE Counselor

Visit us at: www.scoresouthflorida.net