What makes an effective leader? This question has been the focus of much research. A study of 195 leaders in 15 countries over 30 global organizations were asked to choose the 15 most important leadership competencies from a list of 74. The top ones were grouped into five major themes that suggest a set of priorities for leaders and leadership development programs. The top two are: Continue reading
You get what you focus on. In business, it means focusing on profit.
A business without profit will die. Being passionate about your work may keep you in the game longer, but without profit you are still losing money. You have to keep business expenses in control. There isn’t a shortcut that allows you to succeed if don’t have a clear path to profitability for your company. Every business may go through short cycles when expenses exceed income, but allowing it to happen repeatedly without making adjustments is the definition of insanity – doing the same thing over and over without making changes, expecting a different result. Continue reading
Not all business ideas are new!
Do you remember the era where you could sign up for a membership and every month a vinyl record was delivered right to your door? It’s that time again! Vinyl Me, Please is a record of the month club that believes in the power of the album as an art form. Each month they press an LP album exclusively for their members. It arrives with an album-inspired art print and pairing recipe. They claim to be a great way to build your vinyl collection. They highlight new artists, essential releases from artists you may never have heard of before, as well as a healthy dose of must-have reissues from decades past. If you have missed your vinyl collection and need to start one again, or need new material to add to your collection, this back-again business may be for you. www.vinylmeplease.com Continue reading
We’re excited! The CBI has been awarded grant funds by the Launch Tennessee Creative Communities Grants program. The Creative Communities Grant initiative was created to connect rural and underserved populations with entrepreneurial education, tools and resources. The funds will be used for a number of programs by the end of the grant period, June 30th, 2017. Continue reading
If you are a typical business owner, whether you plan for it to happen in the next year or 20 years from now, at some point you are going to either sell, transition, or simply shut down your business. If you plan to sell or transition your business one day, you should understand how the Business Valuation Scale works. Continue reading
There are really only four ways to “do” something: completion, deletion, delegation, and deferment.
Completion– doing the task – is the option most people think about. If you keep a to-do list, you’re probably assuming that those tasks are all your responsibility to get done. That’s not quite true – completion is best for important tasks that only you can do particularly well. Everything else can be handled in another manner. Continue reading
Calling all 1st – 6th Grade Girls
A group of students from University of Illinois are touring the country this summer with MakerGirl Mobile with a mission to encourage young girls to become leaders in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields through 3D printing. Roane State Community College’s Cumberland Business Incubator will be hosting the group on July 15th. Registration is limited to 20 girls from 1st through 6th grade. Continue reading
Memorial Day, a time to honor all vets. Did you know that Cumberland County has one of the highest concentration of veterans in the 95 counties of Tennessee? Continue reading
Paul Falk worked for nearly 40 years with GE. He worked with the fabrication, design and packaging of high reliability electronics primarily for bio-medical and spacecraft applications. Most notable projects that Paul worked on include participation on spacecraft teams that were first to land on an asteroid, the first to orbit Mercury and a flyby of Pluto. If you saw the photos sent back to earth from Pluto, Paul played a part in developing the equipment! Continue reading
We are excited to have Christien Fontaine of Altered Ego Design creating his custom laser cut arts and automotive accessories at the CBI Maker Space. Christien owns the same Full Spectrum laser that we have in the Maker Space and has been making some of his creations and volunteering to help others learn what the laser can do. Continue reading