Open For Business
by OnTheHORN.com
Open for Business is all about who, what, when, where and WHY of entrepreneurs and successfully running a business today, in Connecticut, and beyond. Hosts Tom Russo and Ken Cook talk to the people in the trenches, the business owners, influencers and advocates that make the whole thing work. Come along for the ride. The exploration is well worth it.You can direct always welcomed questions or comments to Tom at [email protected] and Ken at [email protected].
Episodes
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OFB 72 | Joe Zwiebel | Selling to Flat Organizational Charts
We talk with Joe Zwiebel, President of New England Business Media., about: What is a flat business org chart? Why is flat better for selling? And we role play with Joe Zwiebel selling US on advertising with his online publications.
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OFB 71 | Models Come in All Shapes and Sizes
Issue: Your business model is about how you make money. Rules: Sell products - gross margins rule the day Sell personal services - hourly optimization is key Sell knowledge - licensing and distribution matter Solve a need - Uber has no cars; Alibaba has no inventory Actions: Answer the following...
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OFB 70 | Johnny Mac & Me
Social Media has become CLICK BAIT for business owners getting screwed by consultants. I observe people forgetting the basic tenant of social media, if they ever knew it at all, and that’s is SOCIAL! Engaging with other, sans sales pitch. For this episode I ask my friend Johnny Mac -- owner of...
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OFB 69 | CriquetShirts.com | Online Retailer of Classic Golf Shirts
At the age of five, Billy Nachman and Hobson Brown were forced into their first collared shirts to attend an all-boys school in New York City. Although initially squirmy and uncomfortable, the boys quickly began to notice the power of the polo: the approving nods from parents, the lingering…
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OFB 68 | iDevices That Know You
CEO and Founder of iDevices, Chris Allen, iDevices - started with the invention of the iGrill - one of the first app-enabled devices to be featured in the Apple retail stores way back in 2010, This was the cutting / bleeding edge of the IoT era - the Internet of Things era. Today Chris’ company,...
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OFB 67 | How Inbound Marketing Helps New Sales Cycle
Inbound marketing and accurate marketing ROI -- they are like two peas in a pod. Beer prices may go up if fracking messes up the water. Starting an online business? A few bases you need to cover. Customers leaving? A few questions to ask. Brian, Tommy and Ken go far and wide in this episode of…
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OFB 66 | Advertising vs Connecting | Google Bank and Trust
Super Bowl ads for $3.9M, social media hijackers, inbound marketing bubbles?, and a message of endearment from LinkedIn. All this and more to help you get and keep customers, on the latest edition of OFB. Brian, Tom and Ken explore the mania of advertising tied to the Super Bowl, specifically...
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OFB 65 | Anti Social Media
Ken, Brian and Tommy “fly off” on the airlines and airports and then segue into an enlightening conversation about the revolution going on in our universities. And speaking of revolutions, Facebook appears to be, at the very least, redefining the rules of the social media game leaving some…
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OFB 64 | Almost Dante's Circles of Marketing Hell
Short exploratory to marketing hell courtesy of HubSpot, wonder why Facebook needs a search engine, and discuss intrapreneurs vs. entrepreneurs. References to Dante aside, HubSpot says there are nine circles of marketing hell. From ugly content to bad automation to interrupting way too much, we...
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OFB 63 | The Talking Stick | 1+1=4
http:/www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/ofb.s3.amazonaws.com/OFB63_TheTalkingStick.mp3 On this edition of OFB Brian, Tommy and Ken take a crowd sourced funded trip to Vegas, visit another innovative online retailer, and explore how collaboration works in Silicon Valley, but doesn’t work in...
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OFB 62 | Don't Stand Alone with Social Media
Smart marketing is smart marketing, regardless of the venue. On this edition of OFB Brian, Tommy and Ken, along with our guest Chris Reimer explored some applications of smart marketing, and some not so smart marketing moves as well. Our first Hot Potato was ReferralKey.com. Describing itself as…
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OFB 61 | How to Raise Prices without Losing Customers: Lessons from Airline and Cable Companies
-Which do you like better ALL INCLUDED pricing, or ALA CARTE pricing? -What company lost millions in dollars and customers, then gave their CEO a 100% pay increase? -And How to raise prices for your products or services and not lose business Guest Host: Lon Seidman - Host of Behind the Video and...
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OFB 60 | Best Marketing of 2012 | Mommies, Spacedivers and Drama
In 2012 we saw wonderful marketing from clever producers and agencies. Here's a rundown of the top campaigns in 2012. What can we steal from their great ideas? Happy New Year! Tommy and Ken
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OFB 59 | Practical GO VIRAL Tips
When it comes to content everyone wants a virus, or better said, wants their content to go viral. We’ll explore how to do that. Plus, warm your heart this holiday season with a feel good story out of rural Minnesota. Give holiday cheers at the signs of the resurgence of American Manufacturing.…
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OFB 58 | Ziglarisms & Top 12 Business Books
An interesting mix of items this week -- A 30 year fan offers surprising suggestion to HP; Burn your business plan before it burns you; Thumbs up / thumbs down on the best business books of 2012. Plus, some insights and homage to Zig Ziglar, a man who inspired generations of successful…
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OFB 57 | Apple's Next Steps
Hot Potato News -- iPad owned 88% of Black Friday deals LINK Arrests made at Walmart on Friday for snooty strikers LINK IPOs in a deep freeze for now LINK HOSTS: Brian Parker: Chief HORN at OnTheHORN.com Jeffery Powers: Jeffrey Powers - Owner and podcaster at Geekazine.com - Started 5 years ago...
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OFB 56 | Inappropriate Holiday Thankyous To Customers
[audio http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/ofb.s3.amazonaws.com/OFB56_SayThankyouToCustomers.mp3] OFB 56 | Saying thank you should not be reserved just for Thanksgiving, HP has no thanks for Autonomy, WalMart survived “no thanks” from workers, SAC Capital are just thankless bastards. On this...
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OFB 55 | Sir Richard Branson Drives Wagon Off Cliff to Avoid Landmines!
An American icon rises, Branson is audacious, and landmines and cliffs. On this edition of OFB Tom, Ken and Brian revisit a favorite from our childhood with the Radio Flyer wagon. Sir Richard Branson discusses the need for audacity. Ken rants on the dismal NFC East. And we look at the post…
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OFB 54 | CEO Turned Diesel Mule, Happy Feet at Penguin Publishing & The Art of Make the Business Connection
Connecting – when you first meet do you elevator pitch, sell, connect, ask, tell …? How good are your first-impression-making skills? We explore The Art of Making a Connection on this edition of Open For Business. But first, some Hot Potato News items …. Oh Sandy!! The storm was devastating,...
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OFB 53 | Confidence vs. Hubris | The Art of Selling Professional Services
There is a thin line between confidence and hubris. This is true is what ever we do, be especially in selling professional services. The top eleven business writers (Seth Godin, Alan Weiss, Keith Ferrazzi and others), have teamed up for a focused look at this most delicate endeavor: How to Sell...
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OFB 52| Social Media VS Advertising
[audio ] Hot Potato News items are two articles that connect very well with our discussion this evening. 7 Targeted Social Networks Niche Marketers Should Try. Hubspot’s blog is on the mark again, exploring how the social network world is becoming more and more fragmented, not unlike great...
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OFB 51 | Poo-Poo On Franchisers | One Good Thing Only
Franchising has great appeal, but is it right for you? Tom Russo, Brian Parker and Ken Cook take an in depth look at franchising; the good, bad and ugly of it. As always, we open with what’s Hot in the world of customers, marketing, and sales. Presenting the Hot Potato News for the first full…
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OFB 50 |Top Ways to GET and KEEP Customers | Love Them Back
This is episode #50 – Who Loves You Baby!? If “customers” is not your answer, then tune in. Tom Russo, Ken Cook and Brian Parker explore seven ways+ to make customer love you As always, we open with what’s Hot in the world of customers, marketing, and sales. Presenting the Hot Potato News for the...
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OFB 48 | Top Three CLASSIC Marketing MISTAKES
Marketing is a foundational and necessary element because it tells the world who you are and maybe why they should do business with you. At least that’s the hope. The challenge is marketing encompasses so many different things and can and should be different for every company. What you say, who…
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OFB 47 | Linked In with LinkedIn | Marc Halpert
In the latest edition of Open for Business Tom Russo, Brian Parker and Ken Cook, along with our special guest Marc Halpert explore the world of Social Media. We looked at the Social Media universe and how the multitude of tools work, both independently and with each other. Our primary focus was…
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OFB 45 | Find and Create Great Jobs
In the latest edition of Open for Business Tom Russo, Brian Parker and Ken Cook explore where the jobs are, what jobs are worth getting, and how talent wins out on a global scale. PLus, the continuing titanic battle between Apple & Samsung (with Google and every mobile equipment maker on the…
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OFB 44 | In Zuck We Trust
This show covers a lot of territory in 45 short minutes. Ken Cook, Brian Parker and Tommy Russo explore in some depth the growing trend of “sequestering” by manufacturers as one more way for them to stay viable and for that matter profitable, too! Another topic that took up some of the show’s…
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OFB 42 | LinkedIn Job Seekers (Not-So) Anonymous | A Group For You?
In our latest edition of Open for Business Tom Russo, Brian Parker, Ken Cook and guest Mike Lynch explore how understanding one’s passion and why you do something is a great accelerator for finding that ideal job. There are 631 people who are part of the CT Re-employment Group founded by Mike…
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OFB 41 | Getting Things Done, and Making Money While Doing It
When it comes to getting things done everyone wants to do things right – being efficient. Everyone wants to do the right things – being effective. The best processes work though when everyone is disciplined to do things – they execute. Add to that the up front discipline of setting goals that are...
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OFB 40 | CEO for Only 20 Minutes | Top Leadership Skills
Just because you get to the top of the mountain doesn’t mean you can stay there. Bad style had the proverbial door hitting CEO Bill Johnson on his way out. North Carolina Utilities Commission Board of Directors fired CEO Bill Johnson 20 minutes after the $32 billion merger of Duke Energy and...
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OFB 39 | Covey Dies | Online Money Trick | Scams of Online Reputation "Defenders"?
Dr Stephen Covey passed away on Monday the 16th of July. We reviewed his "7 Habits of Highly Effective People” and the relevance today. Hear Tony Robbins reaction to the passing of Covey. Seth Godin recently was explored “Making money in the digital world!” Godin’s blog entry on monetizing…
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OFB 38 | Navigators of Bureaucracy | The McDonaldization of Banking
I sure hope we don’t need a bank loan soon, because last night on Open for Business Tom Russo, Brian Parker and Ken Cook dove deep into the lack of lending by financial institutions. Businesses want to grow and there are thousands of them across the country who could grow with a little more…
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OFB 37 | Live From Vegas | Risk/Reward of Service
The latest edition of Open for Business focused exclusively on Customer Service; what does it look like, how do you deliver it, and what should be the expectations? Tom Russo, Brian Parker, and Ken Cook challenged assumptions, questioned the “unreasonable” expectations of customers, and wondered,...
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OFB 36 | Don't Be Lazy; Online Marketing Easy | Vanishing Veins Success
This segment of “Open For Business” features Dr. Bruce Stein speaking with Ken Cook & Tommy Russo. Bruce is the Executive Director of Vanishing Veins & Vivesse, both located in the greater Hartford area. Bruce shares with Ken & Tommy how he made the decision to retire from his practice as a...
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OFB 35 | Replace Your Website with an APP?
Guest Expert: Matt Service, owner of Service Internet Solutions Having a website is just good business sense, right? Ten years ago, we all questioned why we need a website. Now APPs are the fad. Do we need a website and an APP? To answer this (or just further grapple with) Matt Sevice explains…
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OFB 34 | Why Over 90% of Businesses are Worth Nothing to a Buyer
When it comes to exiting from their most valuable asset, their business, 90% of business owners do little to no planning. Last night on Open for Business Ken Savino, Partner with North Star Wealth Partners, joined Tom Russo and Ken Cook to explore why. Ken Savino believes you should start your...
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OFB 33 | Next Facebook Born in CT | Fipeo.com
Mark Zuckerburg, Tom Houge’s coming up behind you. Sean Parker, Tom Houge’s Fipeo.com is better than your Airtime.com, and Tom built it for less than 1% of the $33.5 million you invested to launch Airtime. [audio ] Tom Houge is the co-founder of Fipeo.com and he was Tom Russo and Ken Cook’s guest...
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OFB 32 | Get $10 Million for Your Business Idea!
It’s not alchemy. It’s not having a money tree. It’s crowdfunding – the latest means for entrepreneurs or anyone with an idea or project to get funding. Tom Russo and Ken Cook had as their guest this week on Open for Business Bob Metzler, an attorney and Principal with Cohn, Birnbaum & Shea in...
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OFB 31 | Rags to Riches: Columbia Dental
You hear their commercials everywhere. A great rags to riches story, hear how Dr. Abbas Mohammadi, DDS started with only $200 in his pocket and sleeping in his car, learned some valuable lessons from unrelated businesses, and why working 7 days a weeks isn’t like working 7 days a week. Home Depot...
About this show
Open for Business is all about who, what, when, where and WHY of entrepreneurs and successfully running a business today, in Connecticut, and beyond. Hosts Tom Russo and Ken Cook talk to the people in the trenches, the business owners, influencers and advocates that make the whole thing work. Come along for the ride. The exploration is well worth it.You can direct always welcomed questions or comments to Tom at [email protected] and Ken at [email protected].
Hosted by
OnTheHORN.com
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