Columbus Chamber to Host Business Leadership Sessions at Small Business Forum & Leader Awards Nov. 15

Columbus, Ohio (PRWEB) November 01, 2011

Small business leaders will be armed with knowledge and insights they need to accelerate their business at the Columbus Chambers 2011 Small Business Forum and Leader Awards. The event, hosted in conjunction with the Chambers Small Business Council, will be held Tuesday, Nov. 15 at the Renaissance Columbus Downtown, 50 North Third Street.

Highlighting the forum agenda is keynote speaker Donna James, who is managing director of Lardon & Associates LLC and a corporate director for several public companies including three Fortune 500 companies. In addition to her corporate governance expertise, James has over 25 years of diverse management and leadership experience at the highest corporate levels. James topic will be Persistence toward Good Fortunesharing how in business as in life the ability to rebound, regroup and push forward to a successful conclusion is key.

The Small Business Forum also will feature 24 educational sessions on business-critical topics including Business Development, Funding and Finance, Human Resources, Legal and Regulatory, Marketing and Public Relations and Organizational Leadership. These sessions will be presented by Columbus Chamber members who are thought leaders in their areas of expertise. Topics and presenters include:

Demystifying International Business: The Dos and Donts

Luis Alcalde and Vinita Mehra, Kegler, Brown, Hill & Ritter, LPA

To the Cloud! A Cloud Computing Primer and Roadmap for Small Business

John Massie, Oxford Consulting

Achieving Success with an Advisory Board

Mary McCarthy and Caroline Worley, Your Management Team, Inc.

Diversity Bridge: Your One-Stop Business Resource

Somers Martin, Columbus Chamber; Ellen Harvey, ECDI;

Douglas Sweazy, Small Business Administration

General Financing Options for Small & Emerging Businesses

Thomas Washbush and Ted Motheral, Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff, LLP

Loan Options for Your Small Business

John Mavrouleas, KEMBA Financial Credit Union

Alternatives for Financing Your Business

Parker MacDonell, Invergarry Partners

Taking Advantage of the Commercial Real Estate Market to Add to Your Bottom Line

Brad Kitchen, Alterra Real Estate Advisors

The Human Age Attracting and Retaining Talent for Small Business

Ken Lazar, ManpowerGroup

So You Want Grandma to Get a Job?

Andrea Applegate, Columbus Chamber

Human Resource - Build Your Bunker

Bill Hutter, Sequent

Employers All Atwitter Social Media Legal Problems and Solutions

Marie-Joelle C. Khouzam, Carlile Patchen & Murphy, LLP;

William A. Nolan, Barnes & Thornburg, LLP; Timothy J. Owens, Lane Alton & Horst, LLC

My Generation: Legal Issues in the Changing Organization

Nicholette Hudson and Amy Ruth Ita, Barnes & Thornburg, LLP

2012 Marketing Forecast: Small Businesses Level the Playing Field

C. Lee Smith, Ad-ology Research

Is it Time to Transform Your Marketing Plan? Eight Small Critical Tweaks to Help Change the Way You See Your Plan to Help Change the Results You Get

Christine Adams, Bascom & Adams Business Solutions, LLC

Internal Branding Drives Profitability

Jason Mlicki, Mlicki

Decision-Making in Business: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Brenda Stier-Anstine, Marketing Works; Dave Bianconi, Progressive Medical; Jeanne Gokcen, FutureCom Technologies; Kevin Gadd, Venture Highway

Quality Translations in Marketing Material and Social Media

Madalena Sanchez Zampaulo, Accessible Translation Solutions

Niche Marketing 270

Michael Daniels, Outlook Media, Inc

Leading with a Limp

Anthony Redic, Servant Leadership Development Institute, LLC

Creating Your Leadership Maxims

Mike Figliuolo, thoughtLEADERS, LLC

Passing the Leadership Baton: Succession Planning

Sadicka White, Servant Leadership Development Institute, LLC

Building Small Business Success

Bill Balderaz, Webbed Marketing

Leading: Be Your B.E.S.T.

Dr. Patricia Larkins Hicks, The Outcomes Management Group, Ltd.

To register and find details about forum tracks, sessions and presenters, as well as information about the Small Business Leader Awards, visit http://www.columbus.org/sbfla.

The Small Business Forum & Leader Awards are produced by the Columbus Chamber and presented by Commerce National Bank with presenting partners Columbus Business First and Honorary Chair Mike Rosati, Rosati Windows. Partners include Alterra Real Estate Advisors, Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield, Bartha, Big Lots, CareWorks, CareWorks Consultants, Inc., Columbus Crew, FASTSIGNS Westerville, Hahn Loeser& Parks, LLP, Integrys Energy Services Inc., Kemba Financial Credit Union, Ohio Environmental Council, OhioHealth, Spinelli's Deli, State Auto Insurance Companies, WMNI-AM 920, WRKZ-FM the Blitz 99.7, and WTDA-FM Classic Hits 103.9.

About the Columbus Chamber

The Columbus Chamber helps businesses thrive. It leads business growth, retention and expansion initiatives in the Columbus Region, enhances the business environment and delivers programs and services that enable its members to be more successful. To learn more about the Columbus Chamber, visit http://www.columbus.org.

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No Monkeying Around: Appointment-Plus Adds MailChimp Sync to Industry-Leading Small Business Toolbox

Scottsdale, AZ (PRWEB) August 31, 2011

Appointment-Plus, the leader in online scheduling calendars for businesses and organizations of all sizes, today announced the release of its MailChimp e-marketing sync, which allows users to quickly and seamlessly transfer customer e-mails and contact information from their scheduler software directly to their MailChimp account. The sync further reinforces Appointment-Plus motto We Work with What You Work With and its standing as the only online scheduling system to marry Web-based appointment-scheduling, payment-processing, accounting and e-marketing solutions, as well as the ability to sync calendar applications, in one easy-to-use scheduling system.

The integration is the latest in a series of upcoming releases that comprise its small business toolbox, which currently includes syncs with QuickBooks, Constant Contact and iContact, as well as online customer payment options through Merchant Warehouse. Upcoming releases include syncs with Google and Microsoft Outlook calendars and a new user interface.

Service-based businesses need more than just a scheduling software program to manage their appointments and reservations, says Bob La Loggia, CEO of Appointment-Plus. They need an integrated solution to sync their scheduler with other applications they routinely use.

Appointment-Plus is the industrys only scheduling system that enables them to accomplish this, as our system works with software programs they already have.

Free to all Appointment-Plus clients, the new sync enables them to seamlessly upload their Appointment-Plus customer information right into their MailChimp account, where they have access to all available applications, such as templates for newsletters and product and event promotions; co-branding options; and tracking and reporting tools. Appointment-Plus users can add their Book Now button in newsletters and e-mail messages, thereby creating a highly-visible image that draws customers attention and encourages them to schedule their services right through the e-marketing message.

The sync also eliminates the need to manage two or more separate customer e-mail lists. A subscription to MailChimp is required to utilize the sync.

The leading provider of Web-based scheduling software since 2001, Appointment-Plus online business calendar provides service-based businesses and organizations the tools they need to automate, streamline and improve their appointment- and reservation-booking processes.

Among the functionality offered in the feature-rich system are:

Online self-scheduling, whereby customers can book their own appointments and reservations at their own convenience, 24 hours a day.
Automated e-mail and text message reminders sent prior to a scheduled appointment or reservation.
Robust record-keeping and reporting capabilities.

Because its Web-based, Appointment-Plus online scheduling calendars require only an Internet connection to use, without any downloads, installations or additional hardware.

Pricing starts at $ 39 per month, with no long-term contracts. All signups receive a complementary training session with a professional set-up coach during their 15-day free trial period.

E-marketing can be an effective and affordable way to drive sales and grow your company, especially when combined with our industry-leading appointment-scheduling software, La Loggia continues. This new sync is an easy and effective way to quickly distribute messages to customers and keep your appointment slots full.

Its just another benefit that illustrates how We Work with What You Work With.

To learn more about Appointment-Plus online scheduler calendar and how it can sync with other software applications you already utilize, click here.

About Appointment-Plus: Appointment-Plus is the leading online appointment-scheduling system, serving organizations in 11 countries ranging from one-person businesses to Fortune 500 companies. With over 15 million end users across 100 industries, Appointment-Plus is the preferred scheduler for colleges and universities, personal fitness trainers, spas, salons, shipping docks, government agencies, health care providers, financial institutions, tour operators, and many other types of organizations. Headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz., over 70 million appointments have been booked through Appointment-Plus since its launch in 2001.

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Westwood Chamber of Commerce Opens Holiday Season With AMEX Small Business Saturday, Home for the Holidays and Shop Westwood With a Chance to Win $100 Shopping Spree

Westwood, NJ (PRWEB) November 23, 2011

Westwood Chamber of Commerce will open the holiday season in grand style with an Amex sponsored event that is geared toward encouraging holiday consumers to spend their shopping dollars with local merchants. The 2nd annual Small Business Saturday

deskRunner.com is your Business Information Center for Business Start-ups and Small Business Help

Columbus, OH (PRWEB) October 18, 2006

Searching for business help and information on the Internet just got easier. deskRunner, a search engine/directory devoted exclusively to business, legal and accounting resources and information, has added content-rich articles addressing the most relevant business topics searched on the Internet.

deskRunner provides business resources to start your own business, information for your business start up needs, resources and information on how to start a small business, finding the correct IRS tax forms as well as tracking down hard to find state tax forms.

We developed deskRunner to address the online needs of businesses and entrepreneurs as well as the professionals that serve them, Jim Meaney, managing member of eSolve, LLC, the developer of deskRunner, said. Now we have taken the further step of adding content-based articles that offer basic guidance on Starting Your Own Business, Business Start-up, and How to Start a Small Business-all with links to deskRunner's valuable resources.

The Articles page can be directly accessed from 'http://www.deskrunner.coms main navigation page. Additional articles include: finding free business forms and free small business forms, small business help, information and resources on franchising, business name search and multi-state UCC searches.

Meaney adds we want deskRunner to be your Business Information Center-the one place you can come for small business help, starting your own business, IRS and state tax forms as well as reliable information on franchising and business name search, including the interplay of trademarks, company names and domain names.

Nick Sisco, Meaney's partner and the tech wizard behind deskRunner, said that Less is more. deskRunner is a dynamic business tool dedicated to delivering only relevant, responsive business information to folks who want to start their own business, buy a franchise, search for a business name or trademark or might need tax forms and advice from a variety of states.

Sisco notes that the Articles page adds a 3rd dimension to deskRunner's search options. Our users can search deskRunner like Google