http://cruzbusiness.santacruzgeeks.com Create.Innovate.Recreate Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:32:00 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Welcome to Santa Cruz Geeks. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging! http://cruzbusiness.santacruzgeeks.com/2009/09/29/hello-world/ “We can’t really compete with cupcakes,” says Ryan Coonerty, a trifle wistful. The former mayor and current City Council member is sitting downtown at NextSpace, the shared office space and networking center he co-founded with Jeremy Neuner. He’s here to talk about their newest project, a series of classes for ... http://cruzbusiness.santacruzgeeks.com/2009/09/29/business-basics-%e2%80%93-gt-web-exclusive/ Save money and invest early. Those were the two most important delivered during Thursday night’s community class on the basics of saving and investing hosted by Bay Federal Credit Union. It was part of a series of free financial education seminars hosted by Bay Federal that are open to the public. Angelica ... http://cruzbusiness.santacruzgeeks.com/2009/09/28/credit-union-hosts-free-financial-seminars/ At our Real-Time Stream CrunchUp in July, 12seconds previewed a new iPhone application to send video messages to your Twitter and Facebook followers. Today, the app, called 12mail Video Messenger, is finally live in the App Store. To refresh your memory, basically, the app allows you to send short videos to ... http://cruzbusiness.santacruzgeeks.com/2009/09/22/12mail-12seconds-twitter-facebook-iphone/ Market Tech boosted sales by changing the product mix to suit customers. Ameri-Kleen emphasized customer retention, with bonuses for employees when they meet company goals. The Armada Group, recognizing customers were more cost-conscious, offered services to reduce costs for clients. With a laser-sharp focus on customers, all three kept revenues on ... http://cruzbusiness.santacruzgeeks.com/2009/09/21/companies-growing-despite-downturn/ An intensive all-day workshop to position and promote profitable and sustainable growth for your business. Craft your company’s Unique Selling Proposition — your promise to the marketplace — what separates you from the competition; develop and articulate the story behind your USP worth tens of thousands of dollars of media ... http://cruzbusiness.santacruzgeeks.com/2009/09/21/build-a-powerful-unique-selling-proposition-usp/ With the trailing impacts of recession still in the foreground of our day-to-day workscape it is encouraging to see some positive local news. Encouraging developments include: Sentinel Building New capital investment is a key indicator of business confidence. The commitment of an investment group including ... http://cruzbusiness.santacruzgeeks.com/2009/09/18/good-news-in-hard-times/ The luster is returning to Silicon Valley’s economy even while much of California is likely to stay stuck in recession through next year, according to a report released today by a California economic research team. High tech is a relative bright spot in a state still caught up in the bursting ... http://cruzbusiness.santacruzgeeks.com/2009/09/17/local-economy-poised-for-quick-rebound-with-tech-help/ The BBC says that the G20 group of countries shelled out $10.8 trillion bailing out global economies. The U.S. spent the most overall: $3.6 trillion, breaking down to $10,000 for every single American. Stephen Beard reports. BILL RADKE: The global cost of fighting the financial crisis is a little clearer today. ... http://cruzbusiness.santacruzgeeks.com/2009/09/14/bailout-cost-10k-per-head/ 80 percent of all new startups fail within the first three to five years. Planning helps reduce the risk of failure. Entrepreneurs must thoroughly research their ideas to form realistic goals and to understand the true market opportunity, customer needs, and competitive landscape that they will be involved with. As an ... http://cruzbusiness.santacruzgeeks.com/2009/09/14/planning-a-successful-startup/