Business

Youth entrepreneurship is growing rapidly in the United Staes and internationally. These stories prove that kids can be just as impactful in the business world as adults! With programs like U can B, we can prepare the next generation for college and beyond. More importantly, we can start unburying their passions today instead of tomorrow. Age is just a number. Let’s teach our kids there’s nothing they can’t master with a little knowledge and hard work. After that, we’ll see more and more youth entrepreneurial success stories, just like these! Rachel Zietz: Gladiator Lacrosse In 2013 at the age of 13, Rachel Zietz founded Gladiator Lacrosse. As a lacrosse player herself, Rachel found that sports equipment was too expensive and not particularly durable. To solve this problem, she has created a line of quality and affordable rebounders and practice goals for lacrosse players. Three years after its founding, Gladiator Lacrosse generated more than $1 million in revenue and Rachel was honored as one of the finalists for the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce’s 2015 Entrepreneur Award. Moziah Bridges: Mo’s Bows Moziah is only 14 years old, but he is already the CEO of his own company! Fueled by his love for fashion, this dapper CEO launched his own bow-tie business at age 9. Since its launch, Mo’s Bows has been featured on the Steve Harvey Show, the Today Show, Good Morning America, and Shark Tank. Mo hand picks every fabric and approves every visual element, and has sold more than $300,000 worth of bow ties and men’s accessories. Additionally, he’s dedicated to giving back to society. In 2012, Moziah started “go mo!” a charity focused on sending Memphis children to summer camp. Youth entrepreneurial success stories don’t have to be headline news. As technology and society advances, our education system needs to follow. That’s where programs like U can B come in. With courses in entrepreneurship, students grades 6-12 can be inspired from a young age to create their own opportunities in life! Together, we can make these types of success stories a prominent part of our culture, and not so taboo. Investing in our youth is investing in everyone’s future....

Three Ways to Maximize Your Facebook Reach You’ve had your Facebook brand page for months, invited your friends and received some initial Likes, filled in your About section and started posting here and there – but after that first couple months when your total Likes and overall reach started to taper, you began to wonder – What is this doing for my business? The truth is – if you aren’t doing anything with Facebook, it probably won’t do anything for you. A hammer purchased and then left in the tool box won’t drive any nails, after all. But rest easy – these three simple tips can help you boost your online image, spur your Facebook growth, manage your relationships, heighten your visibility and – ultimately – drive your sales. 1. Reward Your Audience – Whether you offer a coupon or simply just mention your audience members, a little reward can go a long way. Try creating a ‘Fan of the Week’ or ‘Fan of the Day’ to create interpersonal engagement that drives Likes to your page. If people see their friends are getting rewarded, odds are they’ll want a free slice of pie too! You’ll also want to make sure you’re providing your audience with a mix of information they can use in their daily lives, in addition to promotions for your business. If you make it about THEM, they’ll make it about YOU. 2. Keep Your Content Fresh – If you don’t update your content regularly, your page will fall by the wayside and people will have no reason to check on it, aside from never being reminded about your presence on their newsfeed. How often you post a photo, status, link or event may depend on how busy things are for you, but don’t forget that the social space is all about sharing. Ask your audience how they are, share industry news, and talk about current events with a spin that ties your business into the equation. The Web is near infinite, so you should never really have an excuse not to have something to say. At the very least, post 2-3 times a week – but not more than 2-3 times a day (people don’t like to be bombarded either). 3. Be Proactive – Many argue that the social media space is a new public relations function – and PR is all about establishing and maintaining relationships. Keep in mind that it’s highly likely that no one is looking for your page, which means you have to invite them in. Ask your friends to give you a Like and connect with other local non-competing businesses and non-profit organizations by Liking their page and sharing their content. Facebook is all about taking the initiative to start a conversation and then making the effort to keep it going! These three tips should help you get your Likes up, improve your reach and boost traffic to your page – but it’s important to have realistic expectations and to be patient. If you keep yourself focused and have a daily or weekly social media plan that utilizes all of these ideas, keeps you focused, and efficiently maximizes your gains by minimizing your time spent, you can expect realistic growth in your numbers and carry that over to your...

Americans have always taken pride in having the best-educated workforce in the world, but now that is no longer true. In Tough Choices, Tough Times, the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce reports that over the past 30 years one country after another has surpassed the United States in the percentage of its population entering the workforce with the equivalent of a high school diploma, and many more countries are on the verge of doing so. Thirty years ago, the U.S. could lay claim to having 30 percent of the world’s population of college students. Today that proportion has fallen substantially, to 14 percent, and continues to decline. American students place anywhere from the middle of the pack to the bottom in all three continuing comparative studies of achievement in mathematics, science, and general literacy among advanced industrial nations. Students from low-income families are six times more likely not to finish high school than those from high-income families. Dropouts face severe obstacles to employment, livable wages, and civic participation; instead, many drift into crime. This situation means a loss of opportunities for the individuals, substantial cost to the govern¬ment and taxpayers, and a decline in productivity for businesses. Even those students who do graduate may not be well prepared. According to the National Reading Panel, American companies lose nearly $40 billion annually due to il¬literacy. A survey by the National Occupational Information Coordinating Com¬mittee and the National Career Development Association found that a majority of students report feeling unprepared in skills, knowledge, and attitudes upon entering the...

TWEETCHAT – The best of the TWEETS Gina Schreck Social Media Maven Make sure you use the right mix of promotional info & helpful and interesting content. Keep ROCKIN’ biz growth in Pittsburgh! See the business advice and strategies from a Tweetchat. In small biz we have to have more discipline to monitor our time. Log in w a purpose don’t sit w chips all day chatting! I don’t spend time on MySpace but in music industry you’d better still be there.  There are many other ways to improve your business – go seek good business advice from the experts. I don’t belong to some assoc I used to because my needs changed–same with social platforms You do have to know what is out there but spend time where the biz opportunity is Staying w/in our comfy social world w our “friends” is like keeping that ad in the YellowPages cause you know the rep The new social consumer has an insatiable appetite for new tools and biz MUST keep up to satisfy If you stay on the social sites where YOU are comfortable, you are missing HUGE opportunities-get out and EXPLORE Pinterest PINS should point to your site–but there are over 7Mill social consumers crawling & sharing there Always ask “Who is my audience or community?” “What do they want or need from me to stay engaged...

Webinar Schedule – June 2015 CLICK here for the List and to REGISTER http://thealbertinstitute.com/109612.html Click any title for registration details! Webinars for career growth. A portion of the profits from all webinar sessions will benefit Building Bridges for Business, a 501c3 that provides career awareness education for students grades 7-12! Rap Sheet Cleanup Friday, June 5th @ 10:00 AM EST Rap Sheet Cleanup Topics will include How to Interpret a Criminal Record, Process for Making Corrections, Filing Expungements and How to Access National… Databases for Assistance! Networking 101 Wednesday, June 10th @ 10:00 AM EST This workshop will provide job seekers and career counselors tips for building contact lists, using social media and creating a branded message that will help generate better job leads. Very practical and applicable information. Participants will leave this webinar with actual tools and strategies that can be put to use same day! This webinar is esential for career growth. Job Club 1-2-3! Friday, June 12th @ 10:00 AM EST Job Club 1-2-3 is a step-by-step guide for setting up and carrying out successful Job Clubs. This workshop is ideal for job developers and career counselors who want to improve program outcomes. Topics will include Job Club History & Effectiveness, A Typical Job Club Agenda and more! Using LinkedIn for Job Search Friday, June 19th @ 10:00 AM EST Social Media can be a powerful tool in the job seeker’s toolbox. LinkedIn is sort of the professional’s version of Facebook. If utilized correctly, LinkedIn can help job seekers connect with employers. This webinar will focus on LinkedIn profiles, tips for following potential employers and the ways of tapping into passive job leads! Participants will leave this webinar with practical tools and strategies that can be put to use same day! Upcoming Sessions! Offender Workforce Development Basic Skills – Online! g-CDF Pittsburgh – September of...

There are so many social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, Tumblr, just to name a few. They are always changing, growing, updating, expanding. And there are always new channels to learn. How can your company keep up with the ever changing landscape that is social media? Here are a few social media tips to get you started. • First of all, don’t try to post on every single one of them. Pick two or three that your company would benefit from the most and hit them hard. Post as often as you can so you get the most views from the largest amount of people. • Time is critical. If you have an in-house employee handling your accounts, make sure he/she has the time to do the job properly. If they have other responsibilities, they might not always get to their social media activities in a timely manner. • Social media marketing demands constant attention. If someone comments negatively on one of your posts, you need to react instantly. You want to take care of the problem as fast as possible to insure your customer relations reputation. • Your business has its own personality and you want to make sure your social media marketing reflects that. Make sure the person who is handling your accounts knows your firm and can post in a tone that conveys that personality. • Social media is always changing. Make sure you keep up with the times. Take training classes and refresher courses so you know what it new and relevant to the platforms you are working on. • Consider the benefits of outsourcing your social media. Make sure you hire someone who has marketing experience. Remember that social media is not really about being social. It is entirely about marketing your business. You do want to be social and build relationships, but you need to do that in a marketing atmosphere. • When looking for a marketing firm, make sure you check out other clients they have worked for. Do you think their marketing reflects their business? Are you happy with the amount of posts you are seeing? Social Media marketing is an ever changing technology. In order to get the most out of it you need to plan your actions. Take the time to do it right, get the best person for the job, know what is new and relevant, and make those connections that...