The ABCs of Profitability
Filed on 01. Jul, 2010 in Contributors
By Jennifer Shelton, director of Western Washington University’s Small Business Development Center As a business owner or future entrepreneur, I believe it’s never too early to start thinking about how to make and keep your business profitable. In simple terms, profitability is the amount of sales revenue left over after business costs. Learning to measure [...]
Competing with Internet stores
Filed on 01. Jul, 2010 in Contributors
By Taimi Gorman, owner of Gorman Publicity I loved the little corner drug store in the south Seattle neighborhood where I grew up. It was the home of fuzzy key chains, cinnamon oil for toothpicks, and the 7-Up floats Mom bought us after playing in concerts. It was a place crowded with toys, health supplies, [...]
Hartrich: 10 green building incentives in 2010
Filed on 04. Jun, 2010 in Contributors
By Nick Hartrich, Green Building & Smart Growth program manager for Sustainable Connections Sustainable Connections members in the design and construction industry across Whatcom County have accomplished a great deal in the past several years which has placed us in a national leadership position for green projects for a community our size. As I reported [...]
Dorr: Competitive intelligence key to raising profits
Filed on 04. Jun, 2010 in Contributors
By Tom Dorr, director of the Center for Economic Vitality Imagine that you could peek into your competitors’ financial statements gleaning instructive business comparisons and competitive intelligence. Or, consider that you can boost sales to your existing customers by knowing their lifestyles and preferences. What are innovative ways your business could cut costs, increase sales [...]
Sometimes success is just showing up
Filed on 30. Apr, 2010 in Contributors
By Taimi Gorman, owner of Gorman Publicity “Eighty percent of success is showing up.”…..Woody Allen I was a moody teenager going through a rough time when I tearfully announced at dinner that I was not going to my crocheting class anymore because it was just too hard. As much as I wanted to make those [...]
Small Business Development Center is back in Bellingham
Filed on 30. Apr, 2010 in Contributors
By Jennifer Shelton, director of the Bellingham Small Business Development Center The Small Business Development Center is back in town, as many of you may have recently heard. One unique feature about Whatcom County is that the majority of businesses have fewer than 20 employees. These business owners are many of the types of clients [...]
Proper publicity attracts attention
Filed on 26. Feb, 2010 in Contributors
By Taimi Dunn Gorman The afternoon Rich McCudden opened Flats restaurant on 11th Street in Fairhaven, the line of customers went out the door and down the block. He hadn’t run any ads. In fact, he had wanted a “soft opening” to give the kitchen crew a chance to practice, but he wasn’t complaining about [...]
Businesses can’t afford to ignore social media
Filed on 19. Feb, 2010 in Contributors
By Debbye Omlie, communications manager for the Center of Economic Vitality It isn’t business as usual. There has been a major power shift and it isn’t going away. Your customers have more power than just their buying dollars thanks to the Internet and social media networking tools. In its most basic form, social media can [...]
COB, SConnect working on green building incentives
Filed on 17. Dec, 2009 in Contributors
By Nick Hartrich, Green Building and Smart Growth program manager for Sustainable Connections The city of Bellingham – a community praised for its successes as a leader in sustainability – was recently recognized as the No. 1 Smartest Small City in the Nation by the National Resources Defense Council for our achievements in green space, [...]
Give back on National Philanthropy Day, Nov. 13
Filed on 12. Nov, 2009 in Contributors
By Stephanie Bowers, WWU Western Washington University’s vice president for advancement and member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals – Washington As our national time of thanks draws near, we’re calling on the community to step up to help the non-profit sector. With the challenges of this economic climate, it is more important now than [...]
