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Tuesday, 14 February 2012 05:41 |
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 WASHINGTON – The U.S. Small Business Administration published a final rule in The Federal Register that will increase some of the size definitions of small businesses in Professional, Scientific and Technical Services and Other Services sectors.
The final rule will increase 37 of the revenue-based size standards in 34 industries and three sub-industries in the “Professional, Scientific and Technical Services” sector. It will also increase one size standard in the “Other Services” sector.
As part of an ongoing review of all size standards, the SBA evaluated all of the revenue-based size standards in these sectors to determine whether to revise the existing size standards. SBA took into account the structural characteristics within individual industries, including average firm size, the degree of competition, and federal government contracting trends to ensure that size definitions reflect current economic conditions within those industries. Under provisions in the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, SBA will continue its comprehensive review of all size standards for the next several years.
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Monday, 13 February 2012 05:53 |
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 (HELENA) – The Montana Department of Commerce (MDOC) is now partnering with two economic development corporations to bring microbusiness loan financing to Great Falls and Kalispell.
The MDOC MicroBusiness Finance Program awarded $500,000 to the Great Falls Development Authority and $400,000 to Montana West Economic Development in Kalispell. The economic development corporations will use the funds to provide loans to local start-up and existing microbusinesses, with ten or fewer employees and gross annual revenues of less than $1 million. Eligible businesses may apply for loans up to $100,000. Loans may be used for working capital, start-up operating costs, and equipment.
The Great Falls Development Authority will serve businesses in Glacier, Toole, Pondera, Teton and Cascade counties. Montana West Economic Development will serve businesses in the Flathead and Lincoln counties. Microbusinesses interested in applying for a loan should contact their local development organization.
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Thursday, 09 February 2012 11:09 |
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The Denver-Great Falls flights are scheduled to begin May 14 and run through September 30.
The announced schedule:
- Denver to Great Falls: departs 8:10 a.m.; arrives 10:00 a.m.; Monday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday
- Great Falls to Denver departs 10:35 a.m.; arrives 12:30 p.m.; Monday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday
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Thursday, 09 February 2012 05:52 |
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Missoula and Stevensville students earn $1,000 awards, engraved medallions and trip to nation’s capital
Honors also bestowed on youth volunteers in Great Falls and Corvallis
 (HELENA)--Iko'Tsimiskimaki Beck, 16, of Missoula and Emily Jones, 13, of Stevensville today were named Montana's top two youth volunteers for 2012 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. Iko'Tsimiskimaki (“Ekoo”) was nominated by Hellgate High School in Missoula, and Emily was nominated by the Ravalli County 4-H in Hamilton. The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, now in its 17th year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).
Ekoo, a junior at Hellgate High School, developed a program to prevent bullying and reduce prejudice among students through training workshops and after-school clubs at high schools, middle schools and elementary schools. “Bullying, racist comments, sexist comments, and overall prejudicial actions run rampant in schools throughout Montana,” said Ekoo, who is part Native American. “I know how it feels. I am, and have often been, the target of those prejudicial comments.”
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Thursday, 09 February 2012 05:44 |
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 (Bozeman) — In a quest to create a more traditional product that takes milk drinkers back to a time when milk was delivered to the doorstep with a layer of cream at the top of the bottle, Darigold Montana has begun producing its first Cream-on-Top milk. Stores throughout Montana and northern Wyoming are the first to carry Darigold’s Cream-on-Top products — 100 percent Montana-made in Darigold’s Bozeman plant with milk from Montana dairies.
“We have 31 dairy farmers in the state who supply us with the best product we could ask for,” said Scott Kiilsgaard, Bozeman’s plant manager. “And the Cream-on-Top milk allows us to maintain the milk’s most natural qualities.”
Cream-on-Top milk is pasteurized, like all Darigold’s dairy products, but not homogenized. Skipping the homogenization process, which breaks up the milk’s fat cells by applying hydraulic pressure, allows the fat (or cream) to rise to the top of the milk — just like in the old days.
“The milk’s appearance, taste and smell is bringing back all kinds of feelings of nostalgia — if you’re old enough to remember a time when the milk man brought a bottle to your door,” said Vern Bowden, Darigold Montana’s sales account manager. “And if you’re not, you’ll still appreciate its natural flavor and full-body taste.”
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Thursday, 09 February 2012 05:32 |
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 BOZEMAN - This spring, Montana State University's College of Nursing and Extended University offer a series of recorded Webinars designed for primary care providers who offer mental health care in their practices but who are not mental health professionals.
Topics cover conditions that often present in the primary care setting: Diagnostics; Pharmacotherapy; Depressive Disorders; Anxiety Disorders; Bipolar Disorders; Cognitive Disorders in the Older Adult; and Managing Neurobehavioral Crises. All Webinars are led by licensed medical professionals, and participants can earn continuing education units from the Montana Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.
The Webinars are available from Feb. 1 through March 16; participants must register by Feb. 17, but may view the Webinars at any time. Each lasts about 2 hours. The cost is $25 each.
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Wednesday, 08 February 2012 06:40 |
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"Planning grants are essential economic development tools that allow community leaders to invest smartly in the future of their citizens," said Dore Schwinden, Director of the Montana Department of Commerce.
BSTF planning grants are awarded to local certified regional development corporations (CRDC), tribal governments and local economic development agencies not located in a CRDC region, to assist in planning efforts to promote long-term, stable economic growth in both the region and Montana.
CDBG-ED planning grants are awarded to local governments to help stimulate economic development activities in Montana. CDBG-ED receives its funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and is awarded to states annually.
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Tuesday, 07 February 2012 05:51 |
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 Helena - The Montana Stockgrowers Association (MSGA) is offering two scholarships for MSGA member students. For graduating high school seniors, MSGA is offering the Swede Schlesinger Scholarship worth $2,500. To be eligible for this scholarship, students must be graduating from a Montana high school this year, be a member of MSGA, or have at least one parent who is a member, and demonstrate a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0. Applicants must complete the application form, include a copy of their current high school transcript, include three sealed letters of recommendation, and answer a series of essay questions. Applications are due March 15.
For current college students, the MSGA Educational Heritage Scholarship of $1,000 is available. To be eligible, students must be currently enrolled in college and have completed at least one semester in college, be a member of MSGA, or have at least one parent who is a member, and demonstrate a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0. Applicants must complete the application form, include a copy of their current transcript, write a 500-word essay discussing their educational pursuits and what they hope to do with their education, and include two letters of recommendation. Applications are due April 15.
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Monday, 06 February 2012 06:22 |
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WASHINGTON – The nation’s top entrepreneurs will be honored at the U.S. Small Business Administration’s National Small Business Week events May 20-22 in Washington, D.C. A series of award ceremonies, small business events and educational forums will mark the 59th anniversary of the agency and the 49th annual proclamation of National Small Business Week.
National Small Business Week is cosponsored by the SCORE Association as well as numerous corporate and trade sponsors to be announced.
More than 100 outstanding small business owners from across the country will receive awards while gathering for three days at the city’s Mandarin Oriental Hotel. They will meet with top administration officials, congressional representatives and national business leaders. The highlight of the celebration will be the announcement of the National Small Business Person of the Year.
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Wednesday, 08 February 2012 06:47 |
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 (Chris Syme) When it comes to successful crisis communications, planning is the key. At CKSyme.org, we train organizations to plan, prepare, and practice for a crisis. To get you there, we have developed a new crisis communication curriculum called, “Listen, Engage, and Respond.” In addition to helping you develop an effective crisis communications strategy, this strategy will help you build and deepen your two most overlooked assets in a crisis—public trust and reputation. Today, we'll look at the listening piece.
Listen
First, design a system to listen to the conversations surrounding your brand. You need a feel for the landscape before you start planting. An effective listening strategy has several primary benefits:
- Discover early warning signs of negative or false information that can trigger a crisis if left unattended.
- Uncover ethical blind spots your organization may have.
- Keep tabs on your competitors and find out what is engaging and trending in your sector.
- Find out who your key influencers and ambassadors are.
- Find out who your key critics and watchdogs are.
- Create a culture of value by listening to your internal constituencies. Find out who your best in-house advocates are.
- Find out which social media channels will best suit your organizational culture, and which ones your stakeholders use.
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 08 February 2012 06:54 |
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Tuesday, 07 February 2012 06:34 |
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 If you self-publish your work, you’re an entrepreneur whether you want to be or not. Once it’s between covers and in your hand, or an e-reader, your book is a product.
That means you’re in business. You’re an entrepreneur.
Me, too. I self-published my first book, God’s Thunderbolt: The Vigilantes of Montana, in 2008 and discovered I was in the publishing business. Then I published the sequel, Gold Under Ice, in 2010, and in December 2011, The Devil in the Bottle.
After nearly four years of being a self-publisher, what do I think about it? As with any small business, it’s incredibly hard work, but I love it. I’ve written journalism, academic papers, software manuals, and books and articles about horticulture and horticultural history, but writing fiction is what I was born to do. Although I’m not a best-selling author, I’m building an admittedly late-blooming career as a novelist.
To make more money from my books, I keep up with trends in publishing. I study book marketing and promotion. To save you some time, and perhaps save you from making the mistakes I’ve made, I pass on new mistakes and information to you, the readers of mtbusiness.com. I also teach “Successful Self-Publishing” at Flathead Valley Community College, and I write a sporadic newsletter on “Successful Self-Publishing.” (Leave a comment if you’d like to receive it.)
My mission statement as a writer is “Celebrating courage, faith, and hope in stories of people who made tough choices to survive in the West.”
I hope you find the information in this blog helpful. Good luck with the business of self-publishing!
DRM & Intellectual Property
Do you believe in the unintentional coalescence of ideas? Have you ever found yourself thinking of someone, only to have that person call you or bump into you on the street?
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 07 February 2012 06:39 |
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Monday, 06 February 2012 06:41 |
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(Chris Syme) Blackberry (RIM) became the second major brand to experience a thrashtag this week as the result of an ill-conceived Twitter campaign. The online anomaly, or "bashtag" as Mashable is calling it, is causing PR professionals and community managers to re-think the idea of fan engagement on Twitter. The 140-character giant has become a bullhorn of customer experience, both good and bad. But, the backfire is a result of mistaken concepts by PR and new media folks, and could have been avoided. Two reality checks before you launch a Twitter campaign:
1. Are our products high quality in the eyes of the public or do our strengths lie elsewhere? Both McDonald's and Blackberry have had their share of customer troubles recently. McDonald's woes hearken back to the release of Super Size Me and Fast Food Nation. Even though we're still lovin' it, we know that the rich taste in those fries is the product of a chemical made in New Jersey. If you ask people on Twitter to recall a fond memory of McDonalds, chances are they won't be glowing. A fast food joint is not a touchy-feely place despite what their commercials portray. 2. Have we had a recent public customer service crisis? Blackberry's recent failures would seem to dictate that a feel good campaign about Blackberry is not appropriate yet. Just ask BP. If you answer yes to this question, you should table the Twitter feel-good campaign. |
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Last Updated on Monday, 06 February 2012 06:47 |
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Friday, 03 February 2012 09:03 |
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‘Work horse’ aircraft to maintain job strength in Great Falls
 (GREAT FALLS) – Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester will join forces in Great Falls to announce a new flying mission for the Montana Air National Guard.
After years of top-level meetings and advocacy, Baucus and Tester will announce that they have secured an Air Force C-130H mission for MANG. The announcement comes after the Pentagon announced $259 billion in program cuts that will result in a significant loss of aircraft and jobs at other Air Guard units across the country. Both Senators pushed the Air Force and the National Guard Bureau to ensure that Great Falls would retain a manned flying mission.
"This mission is a victory for MANG, Great Falls and Montana -- and it was no accident. The C-130s are on their way to Gore Hill because of a lot of hard work by a lot of good people, including our Montana airmen who've earned National recognition for their exceptional service," Baucus said. "I'm proud to see our hard work pay off with a strong flying mission and all the jobs that come with it."
Tester called the announcement a result of "the world-class reputation of MANG and its men and women."
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(Great Falls) The 
