2011 Oregon Small Business Fair

Written by Phyllis Tyler Friday, 14 October 2011 01:01

I attended the 18^th annual Oregon Small Business Fair in Portland, on September 24, 2011. What a great experience! I learned so much and picked up so much information at this 2011 Small Business Fair. It was a day well spent.

There were over 40 vendors there. There were representatives from banking institutions, insurance both medical and business), printing companies, resources for minority-owned businesses.

Amongst the hour-long seminars were:

• Home Business, Home Office — Tax Issues
• Understanding Business Licenses,  speaker, Ron Hansen
• What Business Entity is Best for You? speaker, Greg Levinson
• “Plan as You Go” business plan
• Taxes Made Easy
• How to Get Money for Your Business, speaker, Charles White
• Be Found — Getting Your Website to Your Customer, speaker, Rob Patton
• Computerized Bookkeeping, Speaker, Catherine Weesner
• Fighting Fraud - A DOJ Perspective on Complaints and Scams, speaker, Althea Rodgers
• Ten Things You Should Know Before Starting a Business, speaker, Dr. Thomas Jones
• How to Advertise Your Business, speaker, Jim Smith
• Essential Recordkeeping, sSpeaker, Catherine Weesner
• How to Get Government Contracts, speaker, Barbara Allen
• Smart Marketing, speaker, Robert Sherk
• Attitudes for Selling, speaker, Alan Zell
• Selling on the Web — E-commerce, speaker, Dana Weesner
• Selecting and Working with Lawyers and CPAs, speaker, Jay Richardson
• Social Media Networking for Small Businesses, speaker, Rob Patton
• Successful Networking — the Key to Growing Your Business, speaker, Carolyn Campbell

Each seminar was only offered once, making the picking of which to attend that much harder.

The keynote speaker was Tim Berry of Palo Alto Software, a company located in Eugene, Oregon with a sales office in London, U.K. He encouraged us to spend our own money, use the profits to reinvest in the business and to not lose faith.

I can hardly wait to see what and who will be at next year’s fair. Keep an eye on www.oregonbizfair.org for next year’s schedule of events.

How to Write a Letter of Complaint

Written by Phyllis Tyler Friday, 09 September 2011 22:48

When writing a letter of complaint, one should remember that the purpose of the letter is to get the reaction that you want, whether it is an apology, a replacement or just an acknowledgement that a company was in the wrong.

Nobody likes to feel attacked. Nobody. This goes for corporations as well. We identify with our companies. They, in a sense, are our babies. Attack the baby and you will get attacked yourself. With this in mind, there are steps to writing a letter of complaint that are tried and true.

The first paragraph should be as follows:

The first sentence is a complimentary one: Your company’s transportation service is reliable and trustworthy.

Second sentence should state the problem: This is why I was so surprised that my taxi did not arrive to pick me up Wednesday, August 17, at the arranged time of 1:30 pm.

The second paragraph is the following:

The first sentence tells why this is a bad thing: Because my transportation failed to arrive, I missed my doctor’s appointment and am being charge for the missed appointment.

The second sentence offers a solution to making you a happy customer: I have been a faithful and loyal customer for many years now. As such, I would like your company to reimburse me the doctor’s missed appointment fee or make my next trip a complimentary one. (You know there is no way they are going to pay that doctor’s bill, but you have offered them an alternative.)

The third paragraph tells what will happen if they don’t make you a happy customer:

First sentence states who and why and what: My senior citizen, and very active, friends have come to rely upon your company for transportation to various events.

The second sentence contains what will happen if they fail to make you happy: It would be a shame if we were not able to continue relying upon your company.

The final sentence of this letter should be upbeat and complimentary: Your transportation company has always been a pleasure to use, in the past, and I know we will be able to resolve this.

Be as specific as possible when stating the problem and the desired outcome. If using this, as a complaint letter template, does not get you the results you want, your only recourse is to make it known what an uncaring and unreliable company they are. After all, a happy customer tells three people and an unhappy customer tells 10 people, or the World Wide Web.

To Imply or to Infer

Written by Phyllis Tyler Friday, 22 July 2011 18:03

I know a teacher, a high school teacher, that is beyond irritated when people misuse the words Imply and Infer. In an effort to give peace to her mind, I offer the information below:

Infer: to conclude or determine on the basis of evidence or logical premises.

I inferred his motives from the manner in which he made his request.

Seeing the large number of books in her room, I inferred that she was an avid reader.

Imply: to say indirectly; suggest.

Are you implying that I cheated?

She agreed to do it, but her tone implied resentment.

When she told him he dropped his napkin, she was implying that he should pick it up.

Example:

Sister #1: Look at these stacks of books.

Sister #2: Are you inferring that I have too many books or are you implying that I need more shelves?

Sister #1: Whatever, this room’s a mess!

To test the sentence: The word infer can be replaced by words such as: calculate, conclude, deduce, deduct or determine

The word imply can be replaced by words such as: allude, hint, indicate, intimate or suggest.

Source: www.Wordsmyth.net

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