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BOSS Boot Camp

Posted in: Blog by Whitney Recker on November 20, 2011 | No Comments

Held by the Excelsior Insitute of Business and Finance

The Business Optimization Success System (BOSS) Boot Camp is a 12 week course and is the most comprehensive business boot camp ever.  If you are wanting to start a business or have recently started a business this boot camp is for you!  You may have the opportunity to receive free services, free consulting and a chance of receiving a loan.

DATE:  Tuesday January 31st, 20212 (First Class)
TIME:   6:00-8:00 (with time after for tutorials or one-on-one consulting)
*Date and time subject to change

LOCATION:   BenchMark Financial Services
                        8423 Beechmont Ave.
                        Cincinnati, OH 45255

Class topics include:

• Entrepreneur Self Assessment
• Business Plan Overview
• Exit Strategies
• Entity Selection
• Marketing Overview
• Accounting
• Sales Process
• Financing Your Dream
• Internet Marketing
• Credit Overview
• Manuals, Documents and Systems
• Compliance/Contracts/Legal
• Social Media
• Tax
• Intellectual Property
• Technology
• Insurance
• Women Owned Businesses (WBE)
• Minority
• The Science of Business
• Team Building

Fall Greetings from PBS

Posted in: Blog by Mallory Malloy on October 21, 2011 | No Comments

It’s official the fall tax season is finally over!  Here at PBS we are ready to celebrate the end of the tax season and Mary’s upcoming birthday.  On Friday October 28, 2011 at 1:30pm-8:00pm we are holding our annual fall open house.  We invite you and your friends and family to join us in the festivities. 

In addition to the upcoming party we have had great success with our Anderson Business Roundtable networking meetings.  There have been a lot of business professionals in attendance at the Rountable meetings this month and valuable business connections are being made.  We would like to thank all of our loyal members and new members and we invite you to visit us at a roundtable sometime soon!

The Blue Book Event

Posted in: Blog by Mallory Malloy on October 10, 2011 | No Comments

Contracting companies from all over the tri-state will gather together and exhibit their services on October 18, 2011 at the Sharonville Convention Center in Cincinnati from 3pm-6pm.  Contractors have the opportunity to network with each other and make connections in the contracting industry.  This networking event is a great resourse for contractors to take advantage of in order to make business relationships that lead to referrals.

Fall Open House

Posted in: Blog by David Richins on October 5, 2011 | No Comments

You’re invited to the annual PBS fall Open House!

Business Connections

Posted in: Blog by Mallory Malloy on | 1 Comment

The Business Connections networking group is a great networking opportunity for any business professional. Meetings are held monthly at the Northern Kentucky Pub in the Crestview shopping center. The networking event is held every second Tuesday of each month from 6pm-8pm. The Pub offers a laid back atmosphere where people can get together and network in a pressure free environment. If you are interested in the Business Connections group feel free to visit us on meetup.com or call 513-474-4555.

New Addition to PBS

Posted in: Blog by Mallory Malloy on September 30, 2011 | No Comments

PBS says Goodbye to Mandy Henson.  Mandy was a  payroll specialist and receptionist for over a year at PBS.  She is pursuing other job opportunities and will be missed at PBS.  However, PBS is excited about their new addition, Tasha Foy the new payroll specialist and receptionist at PBS.  Tasha is currently attending Northern Kentucky University seeking a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Tasha is a very busy woman; she juggles the roles of student, mother, and now PBS employee. She currently resides in Northern Kentucky with her husband, two cats, three ferrets, and a five month old son. We are very excited to have Tasha here at PBS and we know she will do a wonderful job.

Meet Mallory

Posted in: Blog, People at PBS by Mallory Malloy on September 14, 2011 | No Comments

Hello, I am Mallory Malloy.  I am a marketing manager here at Professional Business Services and I have been with the company for one year.  I am currently a senior at Northern Kentucky University studying English with an emphasis on literature, I love to read!  I am a huge Shakespeare fan; some of my favorite works are Titus Andronicus and Macbeth.  When I am not at the office or in school I enjoy teaching Zumba Fitness. 

You might recognize me from a networking event or the web-based promotional videos showcasing our different businesses here at PBS.  I recently shot a video promoting the upcoming open house event we host every fall.  Look for the new video coming soon and I hope to run into you sometime at a networking event, be sure to say hello.

Business consultants, coaches, facilitators, and mentors

Posted in: ABR Handouts, Blog, Business Planning, Leadership by Mallory Malloy on September 12, 2011 | No Comments

Business Consultants- A consultant is usually an expert or a professional in a specific field and has a wide knowledge of the subject matter. A consultant usually works for a consultancy firm or is self-employed, and engages with multiple and changing clients. Thus, clients have access to deeper levels of expertise than would be feasible for them to retain in-house, and may purchase only as much service from the outside consultant as desired.  A consultant does things for others as well as by giving them advice on how to make their business more successful.

Business Counselors- A counselor is also an expert like the consultant but limits his involvement to giving advice only, that is, he tells the client how and what to do.

Business Coaches- Coaches also help people do things for themselves but not in the same way as counselors. They may have no expertise or knowledge of a specific technical area. They partner with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential. They may challenge the client’s internal beliefs or help to remove internal stumbling blocks that limit the client’s potential. Coaching regards the client as the expert in his/her life and work and believes that every client is creative, resourceful, and ultimately “whole.”

Business Facilitators- The facilitator’s job is to support everyone to do their best thinking and practice. To do this, the facilitator encourages full participation, promotes mutual understanding and cultivates shared responsibility. By supporting everyone to do their best thinking, a facilitator enables group members to search for inclusive solutions and build sustainable agreements.

Business facilitators’ work in business, and other formal organizations but facilitators may also work with a variety of other groups and communities. It is a tenet of facilitation that the facilitator will not lead the group towards the answer that he/she thinks is best even if they possess an opinion on the subject matter. The facilitator’s roles are to make it easier for the group to arrive at its own answer, decision, or deliverable.

Business Mentors- A mentor is someone with more experience and “seasoning” than the protege that they counsel.  A mentor serves as a trusted confidante over an extended period of time, usually free of charge. Why do they do this? First and foremost as a way of giving back to their community and to society at large. They may do it to develop their skills as a teacher, manager, strategist, or consultant. And a true mentoring relationship also works in both directions—they learn about new ideas from their protege just as the protege learns timeless wisdom from them.

But whatever the benefits to the mentor, the benefits to you, the entrepreneur, are even greater:

• Where else are you going to turn? There’s no boss any more to turn to for advice or direction—maybe not even any employees yet. You’re flying solo. But you don’t have to. Everybody needs a good reliable sounding board, second opinion, and sometimes just emotional support.

• They’ve “been there, done that”. Learn from others’ mistakes and successes. They don’t have to have experience in your particular industry. They don’t have to be up on the latest trends or technology—you’ve got other sources for that. Their role is to share with you lessons from their experience in the hopes that you can learn them a bit more quickly and easily.
• It’s (usually) free. If you’re on a tight budget, that’s a major factor. While good coaches and consultants may be able to offer some things that a mentor doesn’t, it comes at a price, usually of several hundred dollars a month. Mentors, though, are readily available free of charge through a number of organizations.
• Expand your social network. Your mentor, being an experienced businessperson, is likely to have an extensive network, and can offer you access to far more senior decision-makers than you currently have. And they will be far more willing to open that network up to you than some casual acquaintance from a networking meeting.
• A trusted, long-term relationship. Your mentor has no ulterior motive—no service or product to sell you. That combined with their experience creates a good foundation for trust. And as the relationship develops over time, that trust can grow even stronger. Also, your time with them becomes more and more efficient as they become more and more familiar with you and your business.

Roundtable News

Posted in: Blog by Mallory Malloy on August 29, 2011 | No Comments

At the most recent Anderson Business Roundtable (8/26/11), we saw lots of new faces and made some new connections.  There were so many people in attendance that it became a standing room only event.   We truly appreciate all of the support we get from our regular members and new people that come to see what all the talk is about.

The Anderson Business Roundtable is a great way to make connections with business professionals in a laid back atmosphere.  It is so rewarding to see our numbers growing weekly.  Each week we have a riveting discussion about what is happening in the business world and how it affects the business owners in attendance of the ABR and other business professionals.

Over the years we have witnessed strong business relationships form through the Anderson Business Roundtable, and Professional Business Services is proud to have supported something so impactful.  When our members attend each ABR meeting they come in with a smile on their face, ready to enjoy a good meal, and intelligently discuss and network with not only business professionals but the friends they have made through attending the ABR.

About QR Codes

Posted in: ABR Handouts, Blog, Business Development, Technology by Mallory Malloy on | No Comments

A QR code (abbreviation for Quick Response code) is a specific matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code) that is readable by dedicated QR barcode readers and camera telephones. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. The information encoded may be text, URL, or other data.

Although initially used for tracking parts in vehicle manufacturing, QR codes now are used in a much broader context, including both commercial tracking applications and convenience-oriented applications aimed at mobile phone users (termed mobile tagging). QR codes may be used to display text to the user, to add a vCard contact to the user’s device, to open a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI), or to compose an e-mail or text message. Users can generate and print their own QR codes for others to scan and use by visiting one of several free QR code generating sites.

QR codes storing addresses and Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) may appear in magazines, on signs, buses, business cards, or almost any object about which users might need information. Users with a camera phone equipped with the correct reader application can scan the image of the QR code to display text, contact information, connect to a wireless network, or open a web page in the telephone’s browser. This act of linking from physical world objects is termed hardlinking or object hyperlinking.

The use of QR codes is free of any license. The QR code is clearly defined and published as an ISO standard. Denso Wave owns the patent rights on QR codes, but has chosen not to exercise them.

Recently, QR codes have become more prevalent in marketing circles and have been integrated into both traditional and interactive campaigns. Media where QR codes have been deployed include: billboard ads, guerrilla marketing campaigns, in-store displays, event ticketing and tracking, trade-show management, business cards, print ads, contests, direct mail campaigns, websites, email marketing, and couponing just to name a few. QR codes are of particular interest to marketers, giving them the “ability to measure response rates with a high degree of precision” on marketing budgets. QR codes also have been used at trade shows and in conferences.

In July 2009, QR codes were created for character design and promotional materials in the Shane Acker film 9. The use of QR codes was part of the characters in the movie and culminated into a promotional campaign with unique QR code cards, posters, and street advertisements on billboards or public transportation for major popular art events. These advertisements were largely focused upon the attendees of the 2009 San Diego Comic Con and 2009 Academy Awards. QR codes were integrated into the artwork and symbolized individual characters in the movie. Instructional pamphlets and videos were released to explain how the codes could be retrieved and deciphered. QR-coded artwork could be read with QR-capable cellphones for prizes and access to exclusive online content. This was one of the first major integrations of QR codes with Hollywood studios and urban environments.