Learn how to grow your business through effective marketing practices. This class will teach you how to create better advertising, further develop your brand, and enable you to reach your target audience.

Killdeer | December 13 from 11:30 – 1pm
Held at the Buckskin
RSVP by calling 764-6092 or emailing DunnJDA@ndsupernet.com

Bowman | December 15 from 11:30 – 1pm
Held at the Bowman Library
RSVP by calling 523-5880 or emailing bowcodev@ndsupernet.com

Dickinson | December 20 from 11:30 – 1pm
Held at the Strom Center
RSVP by calling 483-2756 or emailing Shelly.Cardona@DickinsonState.edu

Cost is $20 and includes lunch

A physical therapist by trade, Suzanne Sobolik received the 2011 Social Entrepreneur of the Year award for developing Leadership Dickinson, a youth leadership program designed to address the fact that few young residents are involved in local leadership roles then furthering her personal investment in the project with the youth in Dunn County.

Randy and Shelly Fleck received the 2011 Entrepreneurs of the Year award. The Flecks began operations of the Badlands Integrity Group in November, 2009, providing on-site drug testing to 12 companies.  Now two years later, they are provide drug testing and safety training to nearly 700 oil field workers monthly,  as well as DOT compliance and auditing services, log maintenance for truckers, and payroll/bookkeeping services to over 400 companies.

Both Sobolik and the Flecks were nominated by Dickinson’s Small Business Development Center, which exists to provide high quality assistance to existing and prospective small businesses in the form of counseling, training, and research.

Even the smallest of small businesses are typically aware of the benefits of being online. Having a well-designed website allows your customers and potential customers to learn more about your products and services and serves as a communications hub for furthering your brand.

But what comes after your domain name has been purchased, your website created, and your site hosted online? Maintenance. Websites need to be monitored and maintained to ensure that they continue to be effective in reaching your audience. Search engine optimization, design, navigation, and analyzing visitor’s interactions with your site are all important considerations. Here are five tools to help make these tasks quicker, easier, and more enjoyable without costing you a dime:

Website Grader

Hubspot’s www.websitegrader.com scores your websites search engine optimization (SEO) effectiveness. You just type in your site’s URL and make one click to generate a detailed report which will detail any SEO issues you have, evaluate your blog and social media activity, and tell you how to make improvements.

Firebug

This Firefox extension allows you to inspect a pages HTML code and test modifications in real time. Although the changes you make won’t actually take effect on the live website, this tool can help you test style changes and track down finicky lines of code.

You can inspect elements of your website by clicking directly on them, or search for a specific snippet of code and go from there. Firebug is an extremely powerful tool that is quick to launch, easy to use, and immensely valuable in creating and maintaining your website.

YSlow

A great addition to the above Firebug extension, Yahoo’s YSlow is available for Firefox, Safari, Chrome, and Opera. When activated, YSlow will analyze your websites performance and offer recommendations on how to make your page load faster and more efficiently.

YSlow offers easy to understand letter grades for many components of your site’s performance as well as detailed information on how to make improvements.

Google Analytics

By far the most important and most powerful website analysis available, Google Analytics gives you extremely detailed information on your websites performance as well as demographic information on visitors, a list of traffic sources and keywords, and an evaluation of the popularity of your content.

Being able to see which of your pages are gaining new visitors, which pages receive few views, and where the majority of your traffic comes can help you make important changes to your site’s content. Additionally you can learn where your visitors are from and what browsers they use to access your content. Learn how to read your Google Analytics report.

Yoast SEO plugin (for WordPress websites)

One of best qualities of WordPress is its ability to add helpful plugins. The Yoast SEO plugin is by far the most important, and is the first plugin installed on every website I create. This tool allows you to quickly and easily add meta data, Google Analytics tracking code, automatically generate sitemaps, edit your robots file, and so much more. This plugin is loaded with features, is extremely user friendly, and very effective. See a more detailed analysis of Yoast SEO.

The Strom Center’s Business Incubator was featured in The Dickinson Press.

Read the full article here: Coaching for Success

Published October 26, 2011, 12:00 AM

Coaching for success

Experience meet aspirations. Under a year-old program, the Dickinson State University’s Strom Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation has been teaming experienced business coaches with area entrepreneurs, and now it’s going one step further — it’s compiling resources for a website expected to go live early next week.

By: Sean M. Soehren, The Dickinson Press

Experience meet aspirations. Under a year-old program, the Dickinson State University’s Strom Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation has been teaming experienced business coaches with area entrepreneurs, and now it’s going one step further — it’s compiling resources for a website expected to go live early next week.

The Strom Center Business Incubation Program was developed in the spring of 2010 through a grant from the Economic Development Administration’s University Center program, said Steve Glasser, executive director of the Strom Center.

As part of the program, the Strom Center started pairing up area entrepreneurs with experienced business mentors to help foster economic growth and business expansion.

Starting on Tuesday, participants will have access to an electronic resource library that provides information about financing, human resources, accounting, marketing and various other aspects of business.

So far, 10 participants have been linked up with seven coaches.

The implementation of mentors has been a great enhancement to the incubator and provides useful information for the online resource, said Clay Kraby, Strom Center marketing specialist.

“That is really a great relationship to build on and pick the brain of area professionals and get some guidance in how to further their own business and entrepreneurship initiatives of their own,” he said.

Kyle Thiel, owner of the early-stage web development and mobile application service company Frontrunner Technologies, was paired up with Steffes Corp. CEO Paul Steffes.

Thiel said using the website resources will be an improvement over traditional business information gathering and added that the mentoring program offers unique perspectives.

“To be able to work with someone like Paul (Steffes), who has been there and started in the garage and turning that venture into a multi-million dollar company, it is just great to be able to have someone like him as an additional resource,” Thiel said.

Mentors are not paid and there is no charge, but participants must be registered.

Steffes said the altruism of trying to help others succeed is rewarding. Mentors provide advice and guidance, but have little involvement with the operation of client companies.

“We are not the problem-solver and we are not a crying shoulder and we don’t supply money,” Steffes said. “We are just here — based upon experience we have had in life — and willing to share with a client and bounce things off about being strategic and honest.”

For more information or to apply to the program, visit www.stromcenter.com/incubator.

For the past few months Kyle Thiel of Frontrunner Technologies has been hard at work on his submission for the Layar Creation Challenge, a contest put on for developers of smartphone app technology. This competition received over two hundred submissions from around the world and featured apps which take advantage of ‘augmented reality’ capabilities.

Augmented Reality (AR) is the art of super-imposing digital information over a live view of the real world, enhancing what’s already around you. Layar augments reality by using a  combination of the mobile phone’s camera, GPS, compass, accelerometer and a mobile Internet connection. The camera captures the world as seen through its lens and shows it on the screen. The GPS determines the location, and the compass and accelerometer determine the field of view.

Based on these sensors and the selected layer, digital information is retrieved over a mobile Internet connection and augmented on top of the camera view.

Kyle worked closely with Clay Kraby, the Strom Center’s Marketing Specialist, on developing the concept of Fan Vision, a smartphone app which gives sports fans a more immersive experience through instant stats, replays, audio commentary, and more directly to your phone while at the game or at home.

Kyle Thiel’s submission placed 4th overall
and earned a $5,000 cash prize

Concepts are judged on how well they fit into one of these four categories: magazines, books, self publishing or the special “wildcard” category. Other Challenge criteria included:

• Business potential (volume in usage) of the layer, i.e. ideas that can have mass appeal
• The feasibility of replicating the layer for multiple clients
• The layer must include Layar Vision capabilities, be aesthetically attractive and must technically function in the Layar Vision-enabled beta release of the browser

A video demonstration of Kyle’s app can be viewed below

Below is a video montage of the top 10 finalists in the competition

$15,000 REWARD for each of the five best ideas for new or existing busines ventures in North Dakota.

Whether you are looking to start your own business by launching your business idea, or already have an existing business, you’ve come to the right place! Innovate NDis where the search for innovation and breakthrough ideas that lead to exciting ventures begins. Be part of a unique entrepreneurial community that connects coaches, business leaders, investors and mentors to budding entrepreneurs, like you, to create economic growth in North Dakota. Innovate ND provides:

• Value to innovative ideas,
• Tools and resources needed to create a successful new venture, and
• Insight to pursue your idea in the marketplace.

Deadline to Enroll is November 14

Details on Competition Categories

In addition to the five $15,000 cash prizes for the Idea Champions, prizes will be awarded in each of the five competition categories.

• Each category winner will be determined by the category sponsor.
• Prizes for each category will vary as they are determined by each sponsor.
• When you enroll, please check the box of the category that you feel you fit best in. We understand that some may be able to fit into two or more categories.
• You DO NOT need to be a top 20 finalist to be chosen as the winner of the category you enroll in.

Please contact Innovate ND at 701-328-5373 with questions or visit http://www.commerce.nd.gov/innovate/innovatend/

Certification Achievements

As opposed to outbound marketing, which focuses on targeting customers through means of unsolicited advertising, inbound marketing focuses on attracting customers through providing exceptional content and focuses on websites, blogs, and social media.

This certification acknowledges Clay’s proficiency in inbound marketing principles and best practices. These principles include: blogging, search engine optimization, social media, lead conversion, and lead nurturing.

To complete the Inbound Marketing Certification, Clay completed 16 in-depth classes covering each facet of inbound marketing and passed a comprehensive certification exam.

To date, over 2,000 individuals have successfully passed the IMU program. His certification was ranked among the top 15% of exam takers, earning the Honors Distinction.

The courses are taught by a knowledgeable faculty of professors, including New York Times’ best-selling author Chris Brogan, Google’s Analytics Evangelist Avinash Kaushik, Internet celebrity Gary Vaynerchuk, best-selling author and international speaker David Meerman Scott, and more.

This certification is administered by HubSpot.

Those interested in learning more about Inbound Marketing or wishing to obtain certification as an Inbound Marketing Professional can do so by attending Hubspot’s Inbound Marketing University, via the course videos above. Upon completing all courses, certification can be obtained through Inbound Marketing University Certification Program.

About InboundMarketing.com

InboundMarketing.com is an online community and certification program for marketers. The site’s content teaches a new style of marketing that emphasizes business uses of social media, content creation and search engine optimization for marketing. InboundMarketing.com is hosted and moderated by HubSpot, Inc. Additional information for InboundMarketing.com at www.inboundmarketing.com.

About HubSpot

Based in Cambridge, MA, HubSpot, Inc. provides Internet marketing software that helps businesses get found online, generate more inbound leads and convert a higher percentage of those leads into paying customers. HubSpot’s software platform includes tools that allow professional marketers and business owners to manage search engine optimization, blogging and social media, as well as landing pages, lead intelligence and marketing analytics.

Thiel worked with Strom Center’s Marketing Specialist Clay Kraby in developing ‘Fan Vision,’ which enhances sporting venues by allowing spectators to access real time stats, video, and other information on their smartphone.

This concept offers sports fans a quick and easy portal to online stores to purchase items on their smartphones while attending live events or watching from home. An example of Thiel’s concept can be viewed online at bit.ly/nlHABw

The top ten finalists in the competition will be announced on October 18th. Good luck Kyle!

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Check out the attached information to learn more about this great event!

Registration is Now Online! Home Program Agenda Register Online Speakers Hotel Information Sponsors Welcome Marketplace of Ideas Connecting Great IDEAS and Great PEOPLE, continues to bring together a network of entrepreneurs interested in starting a business and growing their business. More commercial success means more jobs, vibrant communities, and a higher standard of living for everyone.   The key to new business growth can be found in the core values we all share – hard work, innovation, and partnership. At Marketplace, we are committed to practical, hands-on learning that translates into real-world business success.   Nationally recognized speakers including Louis J. Foreman, publisher of Inventors Digest and creator of the Emmy Award winning PBS TV show, Everyday Edison’s will address the audience on Saturday, October 29, 2012 at 11:00 a.m. His address, Say Hello to Innovation… “That was My Idea. I Wish I had Done Something with It!” will inspire everyone that has an idea to start a business or create an innovative product.   The first gathering at Marketplace is on Friday, October 28, 2011, with a networking social at the Bismarck State College Energy Center (4th floor) at 5:00 p.m. We hope to see you there. Register today!

Featured Speakers Contact Us Marilyn K. Kipp, Executive Director Marketplace of Ideas/Marketplace for Kids, Inc. 210 North 4th Street Bismarck, ND 58501-4004 701-663-0150 Toll-Free: 888-384-8410 Fax: 701-663-1032 www.MarketplaceOfIdeas.org www.MarketplaceForKids.org Marilyn.Kipp@marketplacend.org