LA Design Studio Orange22 Raises Seed Money Without a Business Plan, Bank, or Loan

February 4th, 2012 by Bank Loan | No Comments | Filed in Loans

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) August 03, 2011

The idea of the tip jar has been around for many years. Many individuals put in a small amount of change, a buck or two and the worker supplements their income and in many cases exceeds their wages. For a Los Angeles design studio, Orange22, this has become reality for funding their newest product- a minimalist bench called the Botanist Minimal.

Crowd funding is something I have always been interested in, says design entrepreneur Dario Antonioni. The idea that customers fund projects gives us direct feedback into whether we should produce a design or if it should be shelved.

The idea of crowd funding has existed since the beginning of time, but since the Internet we have seen an explosion in the possibilities of crowd sourced funding.

Kickstarter is an amazingly powerful tool not only to reach out to a global test audience to validate the popularity of a design but also to raise funds without ever leaving the studio. Creative types should be making stuff not worried about business plans, loan documents and venture capitalist funding. This helps us do what we do faster with less distractions, explains Antonioni.

Websites like Kickstarter have changed the field in getting capital behind projects. Crowd funding on websites may be something as modest as an anonymous donation button, or it may include thank you gifts, special privileges, special recognition, products etc. However, there are a few key factors that make this type on funds particularly interesting:


????Funders may contribute as much or as little as they like minimizing the risk.
????There are minimal intermediaries; the funds go straight to the beneficiary.
????Funders can make a real difference in companies and products which they believe in.
????The projects must meet a minimum funding goal in order for the funds to be withdrawn.
????No banks, No Loan Documents and No Venture Capital is needed to get projects and businesses off the ground.

If you have a good idea, whether it is a service or a product or something else, crowd funding on websites like Kickstarter is definitely the way to go. Says Antonioni, For Botanist it was a no brainer. We wanted feedback from our customers, we had a product we believe in and we wanted to get it into their hands as inexpensive as possible. And, thats exactly what we did!

The power of the crowd is the foremost dynamic in crowd funding. Crowd psychology often plays a part in the failure or triumph of a crowd-funding campaign. Normal citizens are commonly able to acquire control by acting as a group. It has been shown through history that large groups of citizens have brought about abrupt and remarkable public changes in a way that sidesteps conventional processes.

If Botanist Minimal does not sell well we still benefit because it would have saved us the cost of tooling, materials, labor, shipping and storage for a product that would have sat in our warehouse. Luckily for us, it is turning out better that we thought.

For designers, crowd sourcing is becoming one of the most substantial ways of getting a new idea into peoples hands without the need for a large amount of capital investment.

We probably will not use this type of approach for all of our designs but their will be times when we want to test out how a product is received by design enthusiasts or maybe some experimental work for a niche crowd.

Online crowds come together virtually. They take action and act cooperatively, producing effects that would not otherwise be possible without the Internet. The dynamics of online users make it possible to make money with little effort involved. For Botanist and others who use websites for crowd funding, these characteristics help to get their projects and ideas funded. All it takes is a great idea and the cloud.

For more information on Botanist and Kickstarter go to:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/23843838/botanist-minimal

For more information on Orange22 Design Lab and design entrepreneur Dario Antonioni go to:

http://www.orange22.com/


Press Contact:

Dario Antonioni

Orange22 Design Lab LLC

Los Angeles, California

213-972-9922

press(at)orange22(dot)com

###





Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Phone Equipment Supplier TelcoDepot.com Adds Leading Surge Protection Tools for Business Phones to Online Store

February 2nd, 2012 by Bank Loan | No Comments | Filed in News

Bay Shore, NY (PRWEB) January 23, 2012

TelcoDepot.com, a provider of Phone Systems, VoIP Equipment, Business VoIP Service, Hosted PBX solutions, assorted phone accessories and phone system support services for small businesses, has added leading surge protection equipment for businesses to its online store. Surge protection ensures that critical business equipment remain safe during periods of unpredictable power surges.

TelcoDepot.com now stocks market-leading SurgeGate surge protection tools including the SurgeGate AC Protector 4-outlet (4-outlet AC protection base unit for the SurgeGate complete protection system for telephone systems), SurgeGate AC Protector 8-outlet 1 line (8-outlet AC, 1-line protection base unit for the SurgeGate complete protection system for telephone systems. Outlets spaced to accommodate power transformers), and the SurgeGate AC Protector 8-outlet, SurgeGate Line Protector 4-line 4xRJ11 (SurgeGate module 4-POTS telephone lines with 1 line per modular jack).

Other available solutions include the SurgeGate Line Protector 4-line 2xRJ14 (SurgeGate module 4-POTS telephone lines with 2 lines per modular jack), SurgeGate Line Protector 4-line 110 type (SurgeGate module 4-POTS telephone lines with 110 Type punch down connection. Requires a 110 punch down tool, available from TelcoDepot.com), and the SurgeGate Line Protector 8-line 110 type (SurgeGate module 8-POTS telephone lines with 110 Type punch down connection. Requires a 110 punch down tool, available from TelcoDepot.com), among others.

TelcoDepot.com provides discounts on all available models of surge protection products. Please inquire from customer service.

“The award-winning SurgeGate Surge Protection Tools add value for small business while protecting their critical phone systems and equipment,” says Yaron Ram, Principal at TelcoDepot.com.

To learn more about the TelcoDepot.com Surge Protection Tools, including available systems, support options, discounts and pricing, visit telcodepot.com/phone-system-equipment/surge-protection. For additional inquiries, call TelcoDepot.com support lines on 1-800-390-1200 or send an email to info(at)telcodepot(dot)com.

About Telco Depot

Telco Depot is a leading supplier of quality business telephone systems, business VoIP service, VoIP phones, phone headset equipment, video surveillance systems, voice & data cabling solutions, conference phone solutions and Microsoft Response Point Systems. The companys top priority is to help its clients make informed decisions based on their specific small business phone system needs by providing experience and expertise and guiding them in selecting the best phone systems for their businesses. Telco Depot ensures that their phone systems are fully scalable, affordable priced, and provide the highest value for their clients.

# # #





Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Learn Forex – Is Forex Trading The Ultimate Home Business Opportunity ?

January 28th, 2012 by Bank Loan | No Comments | Filed in Forex

Learn Forex – Is Forex Trading The Ultimate Home Business Opportunity ?

Article by Tom Leroy

That’s true, you can be a trader at home. Forex, or Foreign Exchange Market is by far the largest financial market in the world. About $ 2 trillion are traded EVERY DAY. The Forex market is the currency market, where a currency is traded against another. Quick example :

you buy a dollar and sell euros. Not that easy to understand. But can we do this from home ? Yes, we can. About ten years ago, you would need millions of dollars to start trading. Now you can start with a few hundreds of dollars.

What you need is your computer and an internet connexion. You can trade from the comfort of your home, without having to deal with any boss or clients. You will only deal with money. Then you can start selling dollars and buying euros and make a profit.

You have to find a broker, where you will open an account and funding it. You will also have the possibility to get a demo account and practice, with fake money but in the real time market. I strongly recommend you practice a few months before thinking of “live” trading.

It is not that easy, it is extremely risky if you don’t know anything about trading. First rule : don’t invest what you can’t afford to lose.

Forex is not a game, there is a lot of parameters to take in account, and human factor is one of the most important in this business.

You may have already understood it, currencies are traded by pairs. The european Euro versus the US Dollar, The US Dollar versus the Japan Yen, etc. When you buy a currency, you want to sell it later at a higher price. When you sell a currency, you want to buy it later at a lower price. This is how you make profit. Think like you were buying a foreign company share. You always want to buy low, and always want to sell high.

What you are looking to when trading currencies is the exchange rate. This will tell you your next move. Buy or sell. Currencies are part of the economy of each countries. When the value of a currency is increasing, this means the economy is going better as before. The exchange rate can be viewed as the country’s economy compared to another economy. This is why economic factors can help you to predict your next move. If you know that a currency will increase, you will buy it and expect to sell it at a higher price, a higher rate.

You can choose the pair you want to trade, but the most people trade the main currencies, Euro, Dollar, British Pound, Japan Yen. And you can only choose to trade one pair only if you want. You are the only person that will make the decision. Hope you are making the good ones, profit can be huge, as well as losses.

Like any business, forex trading has to be taken seriously. Lots of people are trading the forex and some are earning thousands of dollars every day. But it needs a lot of training, education and analysis before reaching such results. It can be the perfect business and actually it is for advanced traders.

You can find more forex resources on Forex Business Opportunity website. Learn Forex at ForexBO.com.










Tags: , , , , , ,

Best Credit Cards for Home Business in 2012

January 25th, 2012 by Bank Loan | No Comments | Filed in Loans

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) January 19, 2012

With more than half of U.S. businesses operating from their home (51.6%), according to a recent survey by the U.S. Census Bureau, CreditDonkey.com published their updated list of the best business credit cards with the home business owner in mind.

“As home businesses continue to thrive, savvy business owners are turning to business credit cards instead of traditional bank loans,” said Charles Tran, founder of the credit card comparison website, CreditDonkey.com.

Credit card issuers are offering big incentives to entice business owners to sign up.

CreditDonkey.com compared generous rewards, low interest rates, low fees and helpful benefits to determine the best business credit card for home business owners.

“Business credit cards are a competitive advantage for home businesses, when used intelligently. It’s important to pick the right credit card for the specific needs of your home business,” says Tran.

The experts at CreditDonkey.com recommend the following business credit cards, depending on your home business needs:


Cash Back: Chase Ink Cash Business offers $ 250 cash back bonus after you spend $ 5,000 within 3 months. 5% cash back on the first $ 25,000 spent annually on office supply store purchases, cellular/landline phone service, and cable services. 2% cash back on the first $ 25,000 spent annually on gas and dining. 1% cash back on all other purchases with no limit to the amount you can earn. All with a $ 0 annual fee.

“Earning cash back helps your bottom line. Business credit cards aren’t just for charging needless expenses. The perks of cash back business credit cards allow you to reinvest into your growing business,” says Tran.

Travel Rewards: American Express Business Platinum offers up to $ 200 airline fee credit to cover incidentals with the airline of your choice. 20% travel bonus when redeeming with Membership Rewards Pay with Points. Complimentary airport club access, including American Airlines Admirals Club lounges. Concierge service to assist with your business needs from gift giving to dinner reservations. Business Platinum Car Rental program with complimentary enrollment in the Hertz #1 Gold Club, Avis Preferred, and Emerald Club from National Car Rental. There is a $ 450 annual fee.

“Traveling to conferences or meeting clients are well worth the investment. Using business travel credit cards allows business owners to minimize travel expenses while still enjoying the benefits of traveling in comfort,” says Tran.

Cash Flow Management: American Express Plum card offers a 1.5% discount when paid in full within 10 days. Otherwise, pay as little as 10% and take up to 2 months to pay off the balance, interest free. $ 0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $ 185.

“Volatile cash flow, seasonal trends and slow months are problems all home business owners face. Cover expenses with a business credit card until your customers pay,” says Tran.

Home business owners can visit CreditDonkey.com for free comparisons of business credit cards. CreditDonkey.com publishes credit card deals, tips and reviews to help entrepreneurs make informed credit decisions. They can search, compare and apply online, finding the best credit cards for their business needs.

Media Contact:

Charles Tran

charles(at)creditdonkey(dot)com

###





Tags: , , , , ,

New Vocus VP and Small Business Evangelist Peter Shankman Slated to Keynote International Conference for Women

January 25th, 2012 by Bank Loan | No Comments | Filed in Forex

Beltsville, MD (PRWEB) October 03, 2011

The Diva Toolbox and Vocus (NASDAQ: VOCS), a leading provider of cloud-based marketing and PR software, announced today that Vocus will be the Lead Media Sponsor for the 2011 Diva Toolbox Conference for Women in Business.

As the Lead Media Sponsor, Vocus will be providing live updates throughout the Conference on social media. In addition, the Vocus team, including Keynote Speaker, Peter Shankman, will be sharing best practices and the latest technology for business with Conference Attendees.

Vocus will teach Conference Attendees about:


????How to access more than 1.4 million journalists, bloggers, media outlets, opportunities and more using their industry-leading media database

????How to track interactions: who opened your news, who covered you, and who you influenced

????How to listen, measure, and engage your brand across millions of social media channels – Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and more. Identify influencers and determine favorability for a complete picture of your brand presence

????How to monitor news about you, your competitors and key trends

????How to organize, prioritize, score, compare, and generate coverage reports instantly

????How to distribute press releases and pitches directly to journalists or across the web

Vocus VP and Small Business Evangelist, Peter Shankman will be opening the 2011 Diva Toolbox Conference as the Keynote Speaker. With an experienced perspective from the social media trenches, Mr. Shankmans keynote topic, The Near-Future World of One Screen, will address the revolution in customer centric marketing and help women business owners to invest in the new social currency: relevance and trust.

In the new world of social media and client engagement, Peter has real experience with real results. Peter is the master at leveraging social media to market and promote a business, says Diva Toolbox Founder, Janet Powers. His practical approach to business, understanding of how excellent customer service can fuel any business and his engaging delivery is sure to educate and entertain everyone in attendance.

The Diva Toolbox International Conference (Second Annual) will be held Thursday, October 20 through Saturday, October 22, 2011 in Wakefield, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. The conference brings together women business owners from across the globe.

The conference, now in its second year, was created as a forum for women business owners to help others like themselves to grow bigger and faster. Women-owned businesses continue to grow at a rate two times that of other businesses. At the conference, attendees will network with one another, learn about new products, services and technologies and participate in educational workshops and keynote sessions. Among the highlights are sessions on how to market to women, entrepreneurial myths, and financial strategies for growth, how to leverage social media to attract new clients and how to stay healthy, happy and in balance running your own business.

Conference details are available at http://divatoolbox.com/conference.

About Vocus

Vocus (Nasdaq: VOCS) is a leading provider of cloud-based marketing and PR software that helps organizations of all sizes reach and influence buyers across social networks, online and through the media. Vocus provides a suite of software for social media, content marketing and media relations, creating a comprehensive solution for our customers looking to generate awareness, build their reputation and increase sales in todays customer-led buying cycle. Vocus is used by more than 30,000 organizations worldwide and is available in seven languages. For more information, please visit http://www.vocus.com or call (800) 345-5572

This release contains “forward-looking” statements that are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These are statements that are predictive in nature, that depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, or that include words such as “may,” “will,” “expects,” “projects,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “believes,” “intends,” “plans,” “should,” “seeks,” and similar expressions. This press release contains forward-looking statements relating to, among other things, Vocus expectations and assumptions concerning future financial performance. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual future results to differ materially from those projected or contemplated in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may be significantly impacted by certain risks and uncertainties described in Vocus’ filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The risks and uncertainties referred to above include, but are not limited to, risks associated with possible fluctuations in our operating results and rate of growth, our history of operating losses, interruptions or delays in our service or our Web hosting, our business model, breach of our security measures, the emerging market in which we operate, our relatively limited operating history, our ability to hire, retain and motivate our employees and manage our growth, competition, our ability to continue to release and gain customer acceptance of new and improved versions of our service, successful customer deployment and utilization of our services, fluctuations in the number of shares outstanding, our ability to integrate acquisitions, foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates.

###





Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

The Business Finance Store Discusses Upcoming Events from the U.S. Minority Business Development Agency

January 19th, 2012 by Bank Loan | No Comments | Filed in Loans

Santa Ana, CA (PRWEB) January 12, 2012

The U.S. Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) has several Web seminars planned for the first quarter of 2012, starting with a small business web series called choosing a tax return preparer that aired yesterday. Also in January will be the National 8(a) Association 2012 Winter conference, hosted at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, a project of the U.S. Small Business Administration that allows smaller or disadvantaged businesses to benefit from different support systems. Small business owners around the country could benefit from learning about upcoming events from government agencies geared at supporting small businesses. In the recent blog post Upcoming Events from the U.S. Minority Business Development Agency, the Business Finance Store discusses upcoming events for small business owners and how they can benefit from these events.

Webinars and conferences are great ways for small businesses to network as well as learn valuable information to help their business grow. Knowing about the different opportunities and events will help keep business owners prepared. Read more about upcoming webinars and conferences from the Minority Business Development Agency at the Business Finance Store blog.

The Business Finance Store is a business financing and consulting firm that offers customized Business Financial Solutions. Seasoned professionals offer assistance in a variety of financial solutions to help small businesses succeed such as: Business Financial Solutions, Legal Solutions, and Accounting Solutions.

The staff at The Business Finance Store understands that starting and growing a business is an exciting time. They keep it exciting by taking care of some of the most difficult aspects, by providing legal advice, helping with vital responsibilities like accounting & bookkeeping, and by obtaining business finance. They can quickly and easily guide entrepreneurs through many different complicated processes, and put them on the path to success.

For 10 years The Business Finance Store has been helping startups and other small businesses legally structure their companies, find the right franchises, get the funding they need, and to achieve the American Dream of owning their own successful business. Since expanding nationwide in 2007 they have helped thousands of companies and have funded over $ 60 Million in business credit lines, not including SBA loans. The Business Finance Store sees limitless potential in the current climate, and looks forward to many strong years of growth to come. Take some time to review their services, and give them a call.

For more information, or a free, no-obligation analysis of your business needs, visit The Business Finance Store website:http:// http://www.businessfinancestore.com. A member of their professional staff will contact you to discuss your business’ short and long-term goals. Whatever you need, The Business Finance Store is there.

###





Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Padgett Business Services Joins Frantopia As Business Partner

January 14th, 2012 by Bank Loan | No Comments | Filed in News

Portsmouth, NH (PRWEB) January 11, 2012

Franchise Business Review, the premier market research firm for the franchise industry, announced today that Padgett Business Services, which offers financial services to small businesses, has become a business partner and content expert for Frantopia, FBRs social networking and business resources site.

Frantopia is the only social network of its kind, exclusively dedicated to bringing tools, services, and best practices to franchisees. By signing up to be a part of the free Frantopia network, franchisees can connect with other franchise operators, learn from industry experts, and grow their businesses. Through Frantopias business centers, business partners provide critical best-practice strategies and expert know-how in the form of articles, webinars, FAQs, and on-demand expert adviceall updated regularly and provided at no charge to the Frantopia community.

Padgett Business Services offers financial expertise, including tax preparation, payroll services, and financial planning advice, through a global network of franchisees.

Perhaps nothing is as overwhelming to a small business owner as tax preparation and filing, especially as we come up on tax season, said Michelle Rowan, president of Franchise Business Review. The Frantopia community will greatly benefit from Padgetts knowledge and resources in this area.

Frantopia also provides expert information (through business partners) in the areas of Business Coaching, Payroll, Profitability, Printing, Marketing, and Public Relations, with more content areas to come. Franchise operators can join the Frantopia community at http://www.frantopia.com.

About Padgett Business Services

With a network of over 400 North American offices, Padgett Business Services is one of the largest privately-owned small business services firms in the country. Over 25,000 small businesses rely on Padgett franchise owners for a wide array of business services including accounting, financial reporting, tax, government compliance, payroll services and general business consulting.

About Frantopia and Franchise Business Review

Frantopia.com is a social networking and business resources site designed specifically for franchisees and created by national market research firm Franchise Business Review. Open to franchise operators and free to join, Frantopia brings targeted content, tools, services, and best practices designed to improve franchisees day-to-day operations. Frantopia also offers a closed Frantopia campus option to franchisors looking for a learning management and Intranet solution. Franchise Business Review developed both tools based on the firms many years of research on franchisee satisfaction and franchisee-franchisor relations.

In addition to its Frantopia network, Franchise Business Review offers independent franchisee satisfaction and consumer experience surveys, commissioned franchise research projects, as well as industry-wide studies of franchisee satisfaction. The firm administers the FBR50Franchisee Satisfaction Awardsan annual rating of the top franchise companies based on the highest level of overall franchisee satisfaction by participating companies. Franchise Business Review is headquartered in Portsmouth, NH, and can be reached at (866)397-6680 or by visiting their company websites at http://www.frantopia.com, http://www.FranchiseBusinessReview.com, or http://www.FBR50.com. Prospective business partners may learn about Frantopia opportunities by calling (866)397-6680 or emailing mzanderigo(at)frantopia(dot)com.

###





padgett business services franchise complaints

Tags: , , , , , ,

Getting a business loan in China and why it won’t happen for your company

January 3rd, 2012 by Bank Loan | No Comments | Filed in Bank

Getting a business loan in China and why it won’t happen for your company

Article by Matt

Last year a friend of mine came to me with a project for an American company that was trying to get a business loan from a major bank here in China.

I asked some banking lawyers in Hong Kong what they thought the client’s chances for obtaining a loan in China were and they all agreed that it would be pretty unlikely.

Basically it is most unlikely that a foreign company without a track record of dealing with Chinese banks will obtain credit lines from Chinese banks.Chinese banks are moving toward becoming standard Western commercial banks – they always look for profitable and safe investment, but this is a very slow movement.

When they do extend credits to what may look like risky borrowers, it is always because either they are pressed by local governments or some key bank managers are otherwise influenced in the decision making.

In practice, local governments may act in favor of major FIEs that matter to local economy, but perhaps not a “pure” foreign company.

So, unless they have a track record of doing a significant amount of business in China or they have funded major investments in infrastructure development or they employ a large number of Chinese workers they don’t have much of a chance.You might be able to get financing if you can persuade a local government to give the banks a nudge, meaning you either employee a huge number of local Chinese in your company or JV or you have enough pull with the local government to get them to go to bat for you.

It got me to thinking about Chinese banking, the big 4 Chinese banks have some of the largest holdings of bank in the world, how do they make loans? Why would foreign businesses have such a difficult time getting funding? The answer comes down to a practice called “Window Guidance”.

Window Guidance is a favorite tool of the PBOC, this is an idea that is borrowed from the Japanese banking system.

The PBOC uses window guidance to “guide” the lending polices of the big 4 banks.

This is accomplished through a combination of moral pressure, to support the national government’s policy wishes, and the hidden threat of “complications” with money supplier from the central bank, as the PBOC controls this lending.

By allowing the market to make an “educated guess” as to what the lending policies of China’s biggest banks will be, the PBOC allows the largest banks to appear to act independently but in actuality, they are somewhere in between the planned economy and a completely market based economy.

While the central bank does not technically direct the lending of the big four banks, they do apply pressure in the banks to follow the governments policies.

The big four banks generally adhere to these policies because the PBOC provides the banks with loans.

These direct loans from the PBOC to the commercial banks are a very useful tool in maintaining the stability of the financial system.

Providing banks with a gift wrapped mini bail out allows them to work through difficult times without being completely accountable to shifts in the market.

The opposing argument, often heard regarding U.S. financial market bailouts, is that these types of low interest loans will encourage the banks to engage in risky behavior with less restraint, because they expect to be taken care of.

These financial institutions will then become too big or important to fail, forcing a government to take more responsibility in overseeing the operations.

Having the government’s monetary policy so closely intertwined with what are regarded as independent private banks in the west is a troubling thought for those that tout the free market over all.

But judging by the manner in which recklessness and greed played such an integral part in the deep troubles of the American and European banking systems, maybe having a government oversight committee is an intelligent move.

Giving the committee some real power to act and intervene when it sees potential abuse seems to be an intelligent solution to the West’s current banking system difficulties.

Window guidance is a very important tool for the PBOC, it will play a major part in the Chinese government’s 2009 economic stimulus plan.

The central bank has made it very clear that they expect their contributions to the economic stimulus package to be matched, on a 1 to 1 ratio, by the big four central banks.

This is also a policy that the West should strongly consider using, there needs to be some balance between allowing a free market to guide itself and making the big national banks into puppets that are incapable of making intelligent decisions of their own free will.

The type of cooperation that China promotes between the responsible government agency and the banking sector is a model that the west should attempt to emulate with the shares they have acquired “bailing out” western banking entities.

Matt is apart of Southern Perspective SZ and has been working in China for the last six years.










Tags: , , , , , ,

Cathleen Zapata, VP of Research and Customer Experience at Metrics Marketing Group Selected as a Crain’s Cleveland Business Women of Note Finalist

January 3rd, 2012 by Bank Loan | No Comments | Filed in Bank

Cleveland, OH (PRWEB) July 26, 2011

Metrics Marketing Groups Vice President of Research and Customer Experience, Cathleen Zapata, was chosen as a Crains Cleveland Business Women of Note Finalist. The popular Cleveland business publication annually identifies the most deserving female business leaders who bring passion, dedication and strength to Northeast Ohios workforce.

Metrics Marketing, an analytics-driven database marketing and interactive services firm in Cleveland, hired Cathleen Zapata in 2009 as Vice President of Research and Customer Experience. Zapata established and continues to grow the companys research and customer experience service offerings to include usability testing, user research, heuristic evaluations (expert reviews), conversion enhancement strategies, traditional market research and more.

One of Zapatas first initiatives upon joining Metrics was designing and developing MetricsLab(SM), a groundbreaking user research facility with a highly technical set-up, yet supremely comfortable space for both participants and study observers alike. Building a best-in-class research facility uniquely designed with usability testing first in mind was an indentified need in the marketplace by Zapata, particularly in the Midwest where most dedicated usability labs available for broad use are on the coasts. Today, Metrics Marketing is one of the only interactive marketing firms with full research, usability and eye tracking capabilities across the U.S.

Zapata has more than 15 years experience in quantitative and qualitative research, specializing in usability. She has been featured in MarketingSherpa, About.com, UX Magazine, Crain’s Cleveland, The Columbus Dispatch, and regularly teaches on topics of usability, user experience and conversion strategies internationally, including Shop.org, BAI Retail Delivery, American Marketing Association, UPA and more. She has worked with numerous companies to improve their user experiences, including KeyBank, Citizens Bank, Nationwide Insurance, Medical Mutual of Ohio, The Cleveland Clinic, American Greetings Interactive, Midas and Coach, Inc.

Zapatas additional credentials and community service involvement secured her as a finalist in the Women of Note Class of 2011. She has volunteered her time for nearly seven years to the Northeast Ohio chapter of the Usability Professionals Association (NEOUPA), currently serving as President of the Chapter. UPA is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing usability and user experience education and skill development with over 2,500 members worldwide. She has also spearheaded the global World Usability Day event in Northeast Ohio since its inception, and served as an executive board member of the Web Association from 2008-2009.

Zapata regularly teaches on topics of research, user experience and usability at colleges and events internationally, and through publically available webinars. She has worked with numerous colleges to help provide education in the field of usability, including Cleveland State University and Kent State University, and has lead shadowing programs to provide students with actual hands-on experience. Zapata also volunteers and supports several community service programs and nonprofit organizations including The Humane Society of the United States, Santas Hideaway Hollow, the American Diabetes Association and the Official U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots Foundation.

I cannot think of someone more deserving of this honor than Cathleen Zapata, commented Dan Rose, Partner, Metrics Marketing Group. From hiring a full supporting staff, to developing propriety research, to furnishing the lab with the best equipment and technology on the market, Cathy has literally built MetricsLabSM and our usability offerings from the ground up. Her hard work, dedication, passion and expertise have resulted in our company growing exponentially. Cathy and her team continue to strengthen and expand our offerings to fit the demands of our clients and the industry.

More than 200 nominations were submitted to this years class and Cathleen Zapata was one of 26 women selected as a finalist, in addition to 15 honorees. To view the complete list of Crains Women of Note, visit http://www.crainscleveland.com/marketing/woneditorial.html.

About Metrics Marketing

Based in Cleveland, Metrics Marketing offers comprehensive analytics-driven database and interactive marketing services that include: automated/triggered marketing systems, marketing database development and hosting, email strategy and deployment, predictive modeling, segmentation analysis, search marketing, creative services, website design, development and hosting, eCommerce solutions, web usability, web analytics, user research, traditional market research and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) strategy consulting. Metrics Marketing Group is a Precision Dialogue company and is located at 905 Corporate Way in Westlake, Ohio. Additional information can be found at http://www.metricsmarketing.com.

Media Contact:

Megan Smargiasso

440.471.6011

msmargiasso(at)metricsmarketing(dot)com

twitter.com/MetricsMrktg

###





Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

AHEB Investment Group launches new business partner investor matching system for financing and investment

December 31st, 2011 by Bank Loan | No Comments | Filed in Bank

Manchester, UK (PRWEB) October 18, 2011

AHEB Investment Group, the specialist financial consulting services firm, today announced the launch of their business partner system, an innovative service for investor matching, which has been rolled out with immediate effect. The new system, which is available on the AHEB website, allows investors to quickly find and evaluate suitable projects in which they may wish to invest and allows those seeking financing to effectively communicate their needs for business growth and expansion to the right audience.

The service includes a secure online system whereby project and business owners can showcase their business opportunity to investors, locate suitable business partners, business angel investors or even form a business management team. Project owners can upload details directly into the system and also attach text, images or video as necessary to best present their individual proposals.

Through the advanced matching technology that the system includes, the system also recommends and proposes potential investment opportunities directly to investors as they are uploaded into the portal, rather than waiting for investors to locate them. This allows for faster and easier results, as investors quickly see what opportunities are immediately available to them and AHEB ensures that the right investors are matched to opportunities that are of interest to them or in sectors in which they have indicated a desire to invest.

Projects and investment opportunities which are listed in the partner investor system also appear on affiliated sites of AHEB Investment Group, increasing the reach of the service and the potential for investors to locate suitable business opportunities.

Speaking about the launch of the service, Mr Andreas Charalambous, Managing Director of AHEB Investment Group, says that this is a service that is already in use by existing clients and highly valued. Our long term clients have had access to this service for a while and search our network regularly, however due to increased demand from both investors and clients of ours who are seeking financing, we are now expanding this to a larger audience, in order to allow more opportunities and matching potential due to a greater number of users.

The company immediately invites investors and also project owners to apply for free membership in order to take advantage of this unique system and service, which is offered at no cost to users, and is designed to make it easier to match the needs of businesses with those of investors.

About AHEB Investment Group

AHEB Investment Group was founded in 2008 aiming to provide professional support and consulting regarding financing to businesses of large and medium size but also start up enterprises. AHEB specializes in assisting the development of large commercial and industrial projects by offering financing solutions and advisory support. Successful projects include real estate developments, construction including large hotels, energy based projects covering power plants and oil rigs with other major purchases of ships and aircraft. AHEBs relationships with principal global and regional banking institutions assist businesses in arrangement of collateral via its network of investment partners. For further information about AHEB Investment Group or to join the business investor matching system, please visit http://www.ahebgroup.com , email info(at)ahebgroup(dot)com or call + 001 347 4166069.

###





Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

« Older Entries