SMALL BUSINESS Resources

 

Solid Oak Consulting is pleased to present the following information and contacts that you can use immediately in your business growth plan.

Podcasts on Business Topics of Relevance to Small Business Owners

Issues in Starting Your Own Business

If you are thinking of starting your own business or you have recently started one, these podcasts are for you.

• Business Startup - Funding (7 min)
• Business Startup - Planning (8 min)
• Business Startup - Branding (6 min)
• Business Startup - Insurance (6 min)
• Business Startup - Legal Issues (8 min)
• Business Startup - Marketing (9 min)
• Business Startup - Sales (6 Min)

Networking Mastermind Workshops

Recording of workshops conducted on topics related to business networking skills, techniques and principles. The Chicagoland Central Chapter of BNI offers free tele-seminar workshops on a periodic basis on topics related to networking. These Podcasts are recording of past workshops.

• Developing and Improving Your 60Second Infomercial (45 min)
  
  If you are new to networking and need to develop a good 60-second infomercial, or if you just need to improve the one you have, then this workshop is for you.
• Getting the Most Value From A Networking Group (48 min)
  
  

  If you are a member of a networking or leads group and do not feel you are getting the leads you were hoping for, then this workshop is for you.

For a free initial meeting contact Tom Long or call 708-524-0886.

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Presentations

In addition to teaching, Tom Long often gives presentations to various business groups. A selection of presentations, including some with audio, are presented below.

• Are your Employees Preventing Company Growth? (500KB)
• Are your Employees Preventing Company Growth? - Audio (9MB)
• How To Succeed In Business By Really Trying (178KB)
• The Biggest Mistake An Owner May Make (849KB)
• The Biggest Mistake An Owner May Make - Audio (3MB)
• Why Small Businesses Fail (329KB)
• Develop Your Elevator Speech (58KB)
• Develop Your Elevator Speech - Audio (7MB)
• Elevator Speech Forms (Zip-MS word)
• So You Want To Be An Independent Consultant - Presentation(91KB)
  

Marketing - Reach Your Target Audience

Marketing is much more than just advertising; it includes a wide range of activities, many of which are low-cost or even free. Learn how to identify new markets, leverage existing lines of communication, sell your company's benefits and convert "suspects" and "prospects" into customers.

• Marketing - Reach Your Target Audience - Presentation(74KB)
• Marketing - Reach Your Target Audience - Audio(20MB)

I’ve Started My Independent Consulting Practice – Now What?

As people in the retiring baby-boomer generation leave the traditional workforce, they are seeking new careers in their own businesses. One of the more frequent choices is independent consulting. This presentation focuses on the key issues new consultants face and some approaches to resolve them. How you face and resolve these issues will determine your success or failure. The first and foremost issue to be faced is the fact that you are starting your own business. For someone who has been an employee, this is no small consideration. For some, the most disturbing part of having a business is the financial uncertainty. For others it is the loss of a social infrastructure. And for others, it is the realization that you are not as employable as you used to be. This session deals with the conscious and deliberate decision to start your own business and the things you have to do to make it successful.

What a new independent consultant typically wants to do is practice his or her craft, which is based on some kind of technical skill. Regardless of the technical skill, the long-term success of a consulting practice lies in the building of a firm foundation. This presentation and discussion will focus on the elements of the firm foundation and the actions necessary for the new practice to be successful.

• Presentation Audio(16MB)

For a free initial meeting contact Tom Long or call 708-524-0886.

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Articles & Whitepapers

The following articles were published in a variety of sources and are available for your download.

• I Don't Need A Business Plan
• Social Status and Resistance To Change
• Reaching Goals
• Dealing With Diversity - Article in Inc. Magazine
• So You Want To Be An Independent Consultant
• Tom Long is Interviewed by Crain's for SmallTalk Issue 7-17-07
• Tom Long is Interviewed in Entrepreneur Magazine, October 2007 Article - Oh, Grow Up!
• Tom Long is Interviewed in Crain's, December 2008 - You can't sell; Now what?
• Tom Long is Interviewed in the Wall Street Journal, January 20, 2009 - Small Businesses Cut Costs by Renegotiation
• Tom Long is Interviewed in Entrepreneur Magazine May 2009, -Creative Ways to Get the Cash Flowing

Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference (BCERC) - Founded by Babson College in 1981, BCERC is considered by many to be the premier entrepreneurship research conference in the world. Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research contains the proceedings of the conference and is the most comprehensive collection of empirical research papers on entrepreneurship.

Patrick Murphy's and Thomas Long's BCERC Paper and Presentation: Disease Epidemics and Entrepreneurial Tipping Points: Models of Venture Viability from Customer and Financier Perspectives

For a free initial meeting contact Tom Long or call 708-524-0886.

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Solid Oak Consulting

Phone: 708-524-0886
Fax: 206-238-2835
Email: Tom Long
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