Is Your Business Prepared For Disaster?

Linda Hunt King

Is your company prepared for the next emergency or disaster? Whether natural or man-made, can your business survive a disruption or crisis if you were closed for a few days, a week or even a month? Most organizations believe they can - until a disaster occurs.

According to Linda Hunt King, PhD, MBA, the worst disaster is the one that threatens the viability of your organization directly. Even more, 40% of businesses struck by a disaster never reopen and 25% of those that do reopen close in two years following a disaster

Macy's Launches Workshop For Minority Fashion Designers

Macy’s, a popular retailer in the U.S., has recently launched a comprehensive retail vendor development program designed to give select high potential multicultural and/or women business owners the tools to better succeed and sustain growth in the retail industry.

Held in New York City, the workshop is essentially a 4-day training course for up to 20 participants, selected from applications submitted through the web site. It includes comprehensive lessons in strategic planning, branding, merchandising and assortment planning, sales and marketing, and access to capital.

Top 10 Black Business Resources For 2011

According to the United States Census Bureau, African Americans are 5 times more likely to fail in business than their white counterparts. Furthermore, of the 27 million businesses in this country, barely 2 million or 7% are owned by African Americans.

There are tons of resources available to business owners and entrepreneurs, but because of these devastating statistics, I've decided to compile a list of the top ten resources that are specifically designed to help African Americans be more successful in business. Here they are:

Small Business Revival: Free Seminar To Explore 11 Key Principles To Turning Your Concept into Cash

Many top financial and businesses experts agree that a recession can be the best time to start or grow a business. This proven concept is the underlying theme in Andrew Morrison's free 3-night Small Business Revival held from Jan 18-20th at the International Palms Resort in Orlando, FL.

According to Morrison, who is the founder of Small Business Camp: "There's never been a better time to grow your business."

He continues, "Sometimes it just takes just a nudge to steer us in the right direction. It's my hope that my 3-night event will be the nudge many small business owners need to help breathe life back into their passion and show them how they can grow their business even during these tough economic times."

How I Got 100,000 Facebook Fans In 10 Days

With 500 million users worldwide, Facebook has proven itself to be a very innovative online tool that allows companies to interact with and even market to their existing and prospective customers.

Even non-profit organizations, publications (newspapers, magazines, blogs, etc), speakers, authors, musicians and more can use it to build and manage a following.

This is very easy to do because Facebook enables such entities to create "fan" pages (or what I call "brand" pages) - a customized profile page that allows them to share content, dialogue, photos, and resources. They can even launch custom apps, contests, and sign up forms - all from their very own fan page.

Q&A With Russell Simmons

Music and media mogul Russell Simmons has recently released a new book entitled Super Rich: A Guide To Having It All. The book, which is a follow up to Do You!, redefines success as a combination of consciousness and compassion - qualities that can be cultivated even if you don’t have two nickels to rub together.

Due to his busy schedule, I wasn't able to get a one-on-one interview with Simmons, but his publicist did send me the following questions and answers: