In honor of Martin Luther King Day and in the wake of the Haiti earthquake, many businesses are looking for ways to make a difference. Here are a few wonderful blog posts on philanthropy, volunteering and giving back to the community.

Give Thanks, Give Back 
No Woman is an Island 
The Spirit of Giving 
Women Donate to Causes

Have you found ways to get involved in your community? How are you and your business making a difference? Share your advice and suggestions below.

Jacalyn Barnes, SCORE
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Have you checked out the new SCORE Community? It is an online community focused on the needs of small business owners and entrepreneurs. Some of its features include:

• Business opportunities
• Commercial real estate listings
• Free advice and answers
• Relationship building
• Business discussion forums
• Networking opportunities with other entrepreneurs and business owners

Take the SCORE Community tour by signing up here.

SCORE Association, SCORE
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SCORE would like to wish you a very happy new year! Take this time to prepare for a prosperous year. Check out these resources from SCORE.

• Overview: Your 12-Month Web Marketing Plan
• Webinar: Learn How to Create a Strategic Plan
• Template: Sales Forecast (Excel)
• Quick Guide: 60-Second Guide to Writing a Business Plan

As you begin 2010, how do you plan to jump-start your business? Share your business resolutions with us. Leave a comment below.

SCORE Association, SCORE
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Want to improve your business in 2010? Check out SCORE’s upcoming events in January:

• 1/1- 1/31 : Online Leadership Webinar
  Learn lessons from leaders who’ve made it. A special nationwide webinar featuring Steve Forbes.
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• 1/14- 1/15: Social Media: Revenue, Branding, Connecting
  A great opportunity to increase your social media skills. Choose from four different programs in Phoeniz, Arizona.
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• 1/14-1/17: The NAMM Show: Hands-On-Training Zone
  The National Association of Music Merchant’s 2010 Show will take place in Anaheim, CA. SCORE will be presenting four workshops and roundtable counseling sessions.

 SCORE Association, SCORE
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Can’t get enough of the SCORE Women’s Success Blog? Well then check out the rest of our blog family. Visit the SCORE Ask an Expert Blog.

New Bloggers, Same Great Info
Get the blidget code for your web site and share with your friends and clients. Then tell us what you think. Leave a comment below.

SCORE Association
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Some of the biggest issues that we find on the subject of Social Media is “What is it?”  “How important is it to me in my business?”

People today think of the term Social Media as the tools of Twitter and Facebook as differentiated from thinking of it in terms as a new way of communicating.  In essence, however, it really isn’t that different from what we did before, we are just using different tools and the method is faster and more personal.

All of this “new stuff” has been caused by the age of the computer and its new generation of offshoots – iPhones and BlackBerrys — which have arrived in our pockets and have permanently changed our world and the way we communicate.

Our customers and clients today – no matter our business – demand and expect a personal, instant response to requests, complaints, observations, returns and questions.  The younger the person – the less time they are willing to wait for a response.

So how important is this new personal way of communicating?  It is imperative that a business learn how to use the tools of social media and integrate them into their already existing systems.  Email, Twitter, your website – they must all work together – and function within your advertising, your print material and your radio or TV spots.  Hand in glove is the rule, and if it is not – then your business will not receive the benefit.

And what is the benefit?  Greater retention – a bigger customer base – greater cash flow – a bigger bottom line – steady growth – all of the foregoing can be achieved with a good, sound social media program that is placed within a company and integrated into its systems.

Maryanne Weiss, SCORE Guest Blogger
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The Mashable Blog just had a post about 10 Essential Entrepreneurs to Follow on Twitter.  Two women made the list. I’d like to introduce them to you and get your nominations for more women entrepreneurs with useful tweets on Twitter.

Leila Janah

Leila C. Janah on Twitter

Leila is founder of Samasource, which provides digital work for Kenyan refugees.

Caterina Fake on Twitter

Caterina is a female entrepreneur with a major success under her belt — co-founder of the photo-sharing website Flickr – and a new and exciting project — Hunch – underway.

Who else would you nominate?

Please leave me a comment, a one sentence bio, and their Twitter name.  The voting booth is open.

And come connect with me on Twitter:  @pcorwin

Peg Corwin, SCORE Chicago
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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce presents, “DREAM BIG Small Business of the Year Award” contest sponsored by Sam’s Club, now through December 18, 2009. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce wants to recognize America’s small businesses for being the backbone of America’s economy. Award nominations are due on December 18, 2009 and award applications are due on January 15, 2010.

Criteria & Eligibility
To qualify, each business must have fewer than 250 employees, have gross revenues less than $20 million in 2008 and be able to attend America’s Small Business Summit, May 17-19 in Washington, D.C.

Eligible applicants will be judged on financial performance and business history, staff training and motivation, community involvement, customer service and business plan or strategies and goals.

Find Out More
Visit the web site for more details. Get applications and nomination forms here. If you have additional questions, you can contact summit@uschamber.com directly.

Best of luck!

SCORE Association
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Passion: If you don’t love what you do then you need to seriously think about doing something else. Work never feels like work if you love your job.

People: Surround yourself with bright, energetic, optimistic people. Choose people who can get things done. Never work with anyone who causes you stress.

Planning: Always update your plan. Be aware of all aspects of your business and respond to the changes in your customer needs, the market and the finances.

Persistence: Continue to work your plan and never give up. Be open to change. If one thing doesn’t work try something else.

Personal well being: It is important to take a break, a day or two off and revitalize yourself so that you can mentally get back into the focus of the business.

Profits: You are in business to make a profit. Staying on top of the business and being aware of where the profits are. Know who your best customers are and nurture those relationships so that your company will continue to grow and be profitable.

Please share other success tips that have worked for you.

Julie Brander, New Haven SCORE
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I once heard someone say, The smaller the niche, the more you get rich”. Sounds weird, doesn’t it, but it proves to be true. The first thing I ask my SCORE marketing clients is, “who is your customer?” You’d be surprised by 80% of the clients who answer, ‘everyone’.

Everyone is not an ideal client. Everyone is not someone to which you can direct your marketing. Everyone doesn’t exist. When you take time to define who is your ideal client – age, lifestyle, buying habits, economic level, etc. – you can narrow down your marketing to where they live and work directing your time, talents and money only toward qualified prospects. This is especially true now when the the majority of successful marketing is done either online or in physical networking.

What blogs are your clients reading and are you considered an expert on those blogs? Knowing what web sites they use for reference tells you what sites are good links for you. If you know what networking groups they belong to, you can join those groups, also. By identifying your strategic partners you help your partners, yourself and your client.

Start with the biggest problem you can solve and then determine in great detail who has that problem. Of course, the chain doesn’t stop there as now that you know who they are you have make yourself known, build their trust and develop a strong relationship. Sounds like a lot of work, well, it is, but well worth it. If you are reading this you are probably already on your way to successfully knowing your client. Congratulations.

Tell me more – how did you figure out your client niche? Does this rule work for you? Did for me. Wish I had known it sooner.

Betty Otte, SCORE Orange County
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