Posts by bb4b_Pam

The Program U can B is an in school program that provides career exposure and awareness in the Pittsburgh region. Part of the Building Bridges program, founded in 2010, the U can B program provides • Proprietary curriculum • Educational Film series Coffee With ™ now on CBS/KDKA digital • In school in person interactive discussions with business and region leaders • Power Trips to locations – Google Pittsburgh, City Hall, Energy Innovation Center and CBS • Virtual Career Coaching Schools and educational entities may either engage their own school faculty or work with Building Bridges to teach 9th – 12th graders on topics of • Career choices • Entrepreneurship • Business • Finance • Politics This program has resulted in students • Learning about career options that were not presented previously. • Having a clearly defined career they want to pursue. • Gaining experience and being exposed to curriculum and opportunities they would not have been exposed to. Curriculum Overview The 2013/2014 school year pilot was launched at Keystone Oaks School. The program is a 24 week program. Classes are taught on a weekly basis. Subject matter includes entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial passion exercise, components of business plans, and ways to create a business. This curriculum was augmented with Coffee With videos and in school in person discussions with experts focused on arts and music, business, and politics. The school year concluded with a Power Trip to City Hall to meet the Mayor of Pittsburgh and two city council members....

Social media is best way 2 promote you and your business – just like traditional networking build relationships. You can become a celebrity in your industry with social media. You must make commitment to social media to succeed. Engage with people. Start and participate in conversations. Don’t use it to sell. People will block you. Build trust. Provide helpful information. Become the go to person for advice in your business via social media. There are many success stories. How do I get on track to become a #milliondollar business? Most small biz fail because think too small. Think big & decide what you want your business to be. What’s your vision ? With vision in mind, think about the building blocks you’ll need to get there. Then start to build. Like a blue print. There is a big difference between a self-employed job with income stream and a business. Business has value without you. Think first about your exit strategy. Start with big vision and build your legacy. How can I position myself as an expert in my marketplace? You can become a celebrity – a 3rd party expert brand. Create a blog, fan page, etc. Also define your value so you stand out from competition. Leverage the media. use http://www.helpareporter.com and respond to reporter queries. Don’t sell – be expert. If you blog, make sure you commit to regular posts. Build your following and people with see you as the expert. And in some cases podcasts and blog talk radio shows can be a good marketing tool too. Watch for another blog with more great...

5 Steps to Create Business Growth Creating business growth takes consistent planning and strategy. This can be achieved through business education, regular professional business development and presentations of business events. Implement the 5 Steps to create Business Growth and make your business thrive! 1. Education For Business Sake Business Education should be accepted as a lifelong opportunity for focusing on business trends and curves. By maintaining an attitude of continuous education, opportunities to seek out the most advantageous additional courses provide the extra edge for business growth. 2. Professional Development Professional business development ranks among the necessary elements for business growth. Professional development requires marketing, sales, management, staffing and executive skills. Achieving the rank of professional isn’t just a matter of title. Development at each phase of business determines the quality of professionalism of the individual. 3. Business Events That Affect Business Growth The business professional seeking optimum business growth employs a give and take attitude toward events that help their businesses. It’s as important to present an event as it is to take part in events. This is the basic structure of networking. Surrounding your business with a beneficial network helps grow business stature. 4. To Grow Your Business Today’s webinars and seminars fill a particular gap that links direct offline events and business presentations with the internet world. For businesses, this is an unparalleled opportunity for growth. The hi-tech world can be a catalyst for advancing business image as well as name recognition, branding and ranking. Creating linked business webinars and seminars produces a well-structured microcosm of vested target markets. The links between webinars and seminars should be seamlessly woven to create an overlapping flow of interest and awareness of the specific business. This is also true for patrons attending webinars and seminars. Thus, the “give and take” attitude becomes the operative for giving patrons a direct link online and off while the business takes in a higher rate of growth. 5. Educate, Develop, Grow Present webinars and seminars with a professional style and content. Contrast this by attending webinars and seminars that focus on educating, developing and growing your business. These may contain new ideas for management structure, creating cohesive team embodiment and financial and economic guidelines as well as current compliance regulations relating to business operations. A tightly knit program of webinars and seminars for patrons and businesses offering them are essential for business growth. Creating business growth takes planning and strategy. By following these 5 Steps to create Business Growth, hopefully you will be well on your way to...

Building Bridges for Business would like to take this opportunity to thank Justine Coyne, a reporter with the Pittsburgh Business Times, for writing a story about our U Can B entrepreneur program that is currently in it’s second year. We have had great success with our program and are very excited that additional schools have an interest in it. This article brings further awareness of our program to the community. Thank you, Justine, for your hard work in this endeavor. Below is a copy of the article. Let us know what you think. Building Bridges for Business Expands High School Education Program Following a successful pilot program, Building Bridges for Business is expanding its U Can B education program to serve more students in the Pittsburgh region. The program, which began last year at Keystone Oaks High School, provides students in grades eight through 12 exposure to a variety of careers through classroom curriculum and in-person interactive discussions with business leaders. The 24-week program highlights community leaders in diverse fields, with a focus on entrepreneurship, said Building Bridges For Business CEO Renee DeMichiei Farrow. “This program is really about opening a dialogue and giving students the opportunity to learn about careers and fields they may not otherwise be exposed to,” she said. Participating schools are provided with the group’s proprietary curriculum, as well as access to Building Bridge’s “Coffee With…” educational film series. Students can also participate in “Power Trips,” which are in-person site visits to locations ranging from the City-County Building to Google Pittsburgh’s offices. “Teaching students about entrepreneurship is important, even for students who aren’t interested in running their own business,” said Jim Ellenbogen, Allegheny County Council member for District 12, who represents the Keystone Oaks school district, said in a statement. “Given how the economy has shifted and the uncertainty of the job market, entrepreneurship and evaluating career choices is something we should be teaching at an early age.” Farrow said the organization is working to bring three additional city schools on board this year, with the possibility to take on up to eight additional schools this winter. Founder Linda Handley said they are looking for schools throughout different areas and different socioeconomic backgrounds. “Especially for those students that may not be interested in going to college, it may help them realize there is opportunity to do something else and start a business,” Handley said. “It’s another way to give students a sense of direction.” Schools do pay a fee to participate in the program, but the organization is looking to get support from local foundations to cover or offset the cost, she said. The group is hosting an event Oct. 30 at Keystone Oaks high school for eight schools across the county. More information can be found...

Public Relations – Points for Success Be unique, be first or be exceptional with the products/services you provide, your branding, the audience you serve. Align with celebrities or top newsmakers. BE the expert by providing new information, great solutions, and fresh insights. Create products that solve problems in a new way. Plan them this way when designing them. Here are just a few. 1. How do I earn the trust of my customers & clients? Deliver on promises, be consistent with your message, brand and products. Take responsibility for your actions. Allow people to get to know you and to experience your values in action, through social media posts & live interaction. 2. How can I stimulate consistent business growth? Be consistent with your PR, marketing and sales efforts. You need all three, working together. 3. What are some ways I can get to know my customers better? Survey them, using tools like Survey Monkey. Ask if you can interview some of them by phone. Follow your customers on Facebook, Twitter and other social media. Join forums where they may share info. 4. How can I carve out a niche market? Think like a member of your niche market. Think about the problems you’d want to solve as such. Think about the search terms you would use to find what you’re looking for. Do a Google search with those search terms. You’ll find forums, articles, etc. that will lead you to your audience. Try groups on LinkedIn and FB. 5. How can I tell when to hire someone or to learn how to do something new by myself? Consider how much time you have to take on this new task/role & whether or not your expertise is needed. If you can hire someone else to do it & free yourself up for higher-level business building activities, hire someone. If you’re going to be miserable taking on this new task, hire it out. Don’t drain your energy. Want to know more of the Points for Success in Public Relations? Contact Building Bridges for Business...