There is no BBC this Friday, November 23rd. BBC will be back on schedule next Friday, November 30th.

Support your local merchants this Black Friday.

And everyone have a fun and safe Thanksgiving Weekend.

This announcement has been brought to you by the BBC management and various homosapient staff.

Thank you and goodnight. ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

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BBC Regulars – Upcoming Events

OfficeXpats November Tuesday Workshops – “Targeting Prospective Customers” (Noon-1:00)

Don’t miss the last session of November Tuesday @Noon Business Skills Workshops: Exploring the powerful impact of market research and direct marketing, or more plainly, how to target your prospective customers and contact them with compelling offers that get results. By the end of the month, participants will have had the opportunity to create a list of targeted contacts and a plan for what to do with them — a direct marketing campaign from start to finish!
Nov 27 – PART I – BBC Regular Ken Sethney, marketing coach and President of XLR8 Kitsap, returns after packing our seminars in August on How To Advertise On A Small Budget. He now addresses how to choose the best way to contact prospective customers directly, how to craft the appeal, and if the best approach is a personal one, he offers his experience in how to write an appealing script for the dreaded cold call.
PART II – Entrepreneur’s coach & BBC Regular Charlie King also returns after his popular September session on Leadership Skills for Entrepreneurs to offer strategies designed to help you get clear on the value you offer and get past the fear of cold calls.
For more information and to register, go to: officexpats.com/targeting-your-prospective-customers

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BBC Related Links

This Friday, BBC Regular Izzy Sanchez will give a presentation on keeping fit and healthy in the workplace.

Workplace health and fitness: “Is it about stretches? No way! Stretching is unproductive and can exacerbate painful conditions. Is it about engaging the core? Nah-ah! Did you know that the exercise science literature does not have an exact definition of ‘core’? How about med-balls or treadmill desks? Uhh, no. But then again, why? After all, they address a problem that does not exist. We’ll go over strategies to keep you healthy and productive, because, believe it or not, desk work is hard on our bodies.”

Come hear Coach Izzy’s tips and strategies for staying fit and healthy in the workplace, especially for those of us who spend lots of time at the keyboard and on the phone. (coach-izzy-talks-fitness.com)

Invite your friends and associates to join us for this exciting event … and another delicious cup of BBC!

BBC @ OfficeXpats – 403 Madison Avenue N, Bainbridge Island, Upstairs At the Pavilion

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BBC Related Links

This BBC Friday we’ll have a roundtable discussion on OfficeXpats November Tuesday Business Skills Workshops Topic “Targeting and Contacting Prospective Customers.”

One or two of the delightful presenters for this months OXp Business Skills Workshops will be joining us to introduce/moderate the discussion. 

The November Tuesday @noon Business Skills Workshops will explore the powerful impact of market research and direct marketing, or more plainly, how to target your prospective customers and contact them with compelling offers that get results. By the end of the month, participants will have had the opportunity to create a list of targeted contacts and a plan for what to do with them — a direct marketing campaign from start to finish! (OXp info at officexpats.com/targeting-your-prospective-customers)

Workshop Topic Summaries (note, as usual these workshops are open to the public, free for OfficeXpats members and $10 per workshop for non-members):
Nov 6 – Audrey Barbakoff, Kitsap Regional Librarian, demos how to query databases licensed by Kitsap Regional Library for understanding your target demographics or to generate contact lists. The library’s business databases are full of free and low-cost business resources.
Nov 13 – Audrey returns for a hands-on session, to help participants define their own queries and generate an actionable list for cold calls or direct mail. In the first half of class, Audrey will take the entire class through a couple of queries based on requests from participants. Then, for the remainder of class time, she will support participants one-on-one in creating their lists.
Nov 20 – Andrejs Zommers of AMZ Productions helps us understand a simple direct marketing campaign from start to finish, including strategies for what makes a welcomed direct marketing appeal such as a low-cost direct mail postcard or e-mail. Learn the 40/40/20 rule and get a general overview of kinds of mailing lists available on the market (consumer, B2B, donor, etc.). Andrejs will cover list selection, best practices for avoiding questionable data sources and terms-of-service violations, and staying within CAN-SPAM Act compliance.
Nov 27 – PART I – BBC Regular Ken Sethney, marketing coach and President of XLR8 Kitsap, returns after packing our seminars in August on How To Advertise On A Small Budget. He now addresses how to choose the best way to contact prospective customers directly, how to craft the appeal, and if the best approach is a personal one,  he offers his experience in how to write an appealing script for the dreaded cold call.
PART II – Entrepreneur’s coach & BBC Regular Charlie King also returns after his popular September session on Leadership Skills for Entrepreneurs to offer strategies designed to help you get clear on the value you offer and get past the fear of cold calls.

Invite your friends and associates to join us for this exciting event … and another delicious cup of BBC!

BBC @ OfficeXpats – 403 Madison Avenue N, Bainbridge Island, Upstairs At the Pavilion

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BBC Related Links

A Friend of BBC Regular Lee Hoffman, Arthur Bogard, Planetarium Supervisor, will tell the story of Digitalis Education Solutions, Inc.

Digitalis was founded in 2003 by Robert Spearman and Karrie Berglund. Rob had been a software architect, and Karrie was a teacher for Seattle’s Pacific Science Center (PSC). At PSC Karrie taught with Starlab cylinder based systems all over Washington state for many years, and later oversaw the on-site Willard Smith Planetarium and its Spitz 512 starball. Digitalis was the perfect way to combine their knowledge and experience to fill an unmet need.

Digitalis moved into their new headquarters in late April, 2011, former Fire Station No. 1 in Bremerton. They now have enough ‘space’ for their own fixed planetarium which is open to the public with live, interactive shows presented by Digitalis staff. The Pacific Planetarium is a 6.1m fiberglass dome with concentric bench seating for 28 people. Digitalis also organized and hosted the first ever “LIPS: Live Interactive Planetarium Symposium” in August, 2011. They firmly believe in the educational effectiveness of live, interactive programs, and they understand intimately what is required of a system so that planetarium teachers can easily do live shows. (From website digitaliseducation.com/about.html)

Invite your friends and associates to join us for this exciting event … and another delicious cup of BBC!

Cafe Networking Model: For the opening 1/2 hour (7:30-8:00) before the formal meeting begins we’ll set up individual “cafe” tables allowing for informal small roundtable visiting, networking, open topic discussions. So, try to get to BBC this Friday around 7:30 to give the “cafe” idea a try!

BBC @ OfficeXpats – 403 Madison Avenue N, Bainbridge Island, Upstairs At the Pavilion

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BBC Related Links

Bill Ruddick will give an update of his “Business Reality Check” including slides and a discussion roundtable.

This presentation is based not only on Bill’s classic “Ruddick Consulting” business plan development, but also reflects Bill’s latest work for Accelerate Kitsap’s “business growth mentoring” program (acceleratekitsap.org).

Invite your friends and associates to join us for this exciting event … and another delicious cup of BBC!

Cafe Networking Model: For the opening 1/2 hour (7:30-8:00) before the formal meeting begins we’ll set up individual “cafe” tables allowing for informal small roundtable visiting, networking, open topic discussions. So, try to get to BBC this Friday around 7:30 to give the “cafe” idea a try!

BBC @ OfficeXpats – 403 Madison Avenue N, Bainbridge Island, Upstairs At the Pavilion

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BBC Related Links

This BBC Friday we will do our “Your Board Of Directors” business strategy roundtable.

Classic BBC! 

We will also also have an update on how our first Thursday evening BBC2 went. 

Invite your friends and associates to join us for this exciting event … and another delicious cup of BBC!

BBC @ OfficeXpats – 403 Madison Avenue N, Bainbridge Island, Upstairs At the Pavilion

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BBC Related Links

Annette Walker will give a delightful overview of the October OfficeXpats Tuesday workshops “Free & Cheap Business Tools.”

The business of software is changing fast and most of these functions can be done online or downloaded for free (or very affordable monthly fees). This October there will be 5 Tuesday seminars on what’s available and how to choose the best money-saving productivity and business tools.

Maybe you’ll discover that perfect task manager that makes your whole life come together in organized puzzle pieces! Ok, maybe not perfect, but worth trying out for free. Annette Walker, leading these October seminars, returns after drawing crowds for her social media marketing seminars back in May. Annette’s company Astonishinc.com offers mobile marketing help to small businesses to get customers interacting with your business while they are out-and-about. More info at officexpats.com/free-and-cheap-business-tools

October 2: Work flow and task management (calendars/email/address books/to-do lists/note taking)
October 9: Productivity (word processing/spreadsheet/presentations)
October 16: Marketing tools (newsletters/surveys/templates)
October 23: Websites, social media tools, news gathering
October 29: Financial management and contact management (customer relationship management)

Invite your friends and associates to join us for this exciting event … and another delicious cup of BBC!

BBC @ OfficeXpats – 403 Madison Avenue N, Bainbridge Island, Upstairs At the Pavilion

Local Business Entrepreneurs Tory Felkey of “All Media Bainbridge” Tells Her Story

Tory will tell her story of 18 years working as a storefront owner in downtown Bainbridge Island. Expert in Photoshop, Dreamweaver, WordPress, Web Design, Product Development, Internet Marketing, SEO, Brand Building, she and business partner Eric Swanson are co-entrepreneurs of this new business start-up. Eric, a skilled Flash and 3D designer, handles e-commerce solutions, development of new platforms, debugging, compliance and compatibility. 

Tory will also discuss intellectual property rights and the internet where it applies to ownership of your names, blog and website, and also the next incarnation of names on the internet and which social media tool is right for you. One of the services of All Media Bainbridge includes e-publishing.

A NEW BBC IDEA: For the opening 1/2 hour (7:30-8:00) before the formal meeting begins we’ll set up individual “cafe” tables allowing for informal small roundtable visiting, networking, open topic discussions. Back at our original home of the Blue Ocean Cafe, the 7:30-8:00 informal networking time was always well-attended because of this “cafe-table” model (of course back then it was a cafe). Let’s see if this might work at our present home of OfficeXpats. So, try to get to BBC this Friday around 7:30 to give the “cafe” idea a try!

NOTE: Tentative launch date for next Thursday evening BBC2 (6:00-7:00 PM @ OfficeXpats) will be October 4th. More information to follow soon on the BBC website and in the newsletters.

Invite your friends and associates to join us for this free, fun, and friendly event … and another delicious cup of BBC!

BBC @ OfficeXpats – 403 Madison Avenue N, Bainbridge Island, Upstairs At the Pavilion

BBC Regular Ken Sethney will present the new local non-profit organization Accelerate Kitsap

“Accelerate Kitsap is a group of experienced business leaders working to help others take their companies to the next level. We volunteer our time to serve as business mentors. We share what we’ve learned—our successes and failures. We aren’t satisfied with process, we insist on results. We serve our community by helping its businesses grow.” (XLR8 website)

A NEW BBC IDEA: For the opening 1/2 hour (7:30-8:00) before the formal meeting begins we’ll set up individual “cafe” tables allowing for informal small roundtable visiting, networking, open topic discussions. Back at our original home of the Blue Ocean Cafe, the 7:30-8:00 informal networking time was always well-attended because of this “cafe-table” model (of course back then it was a cafe). Let’s see if this might work at our present home of OfficeXpats. So, try to get to BBC this Friday around 7:30 to give the “cafe” idea a try!

NOTE: Tentative launch date for Thursday evening BBC2 (6:00-7:00 PM @ OfficeXpats) will be October 4th. More information to follow soon on the BBC website and in the newsletters.

Invite your friends and associates to join us for this free, fun, and friendly event … and another delicious cup of BBC!

BBC FRIDAY Roundtable Discussion: (A) Strategy Roundtable, “What would we like to see at BBC this coming year?” (B) New BBC2.

The First BBC was held on Friday, 9 January 2009, at the Blue Ocean Cafe, graciously hosted by Dave Beck. (Sadly, the Blue Ocean closed its doors a year later on March 1st 2010.) We were called BISBER back then: “Bainbridge Island Small Business Entrepreneurial Roundtable” — happily later shortened to BBC. After the Blue Ocean, we met downstairs at the Pavilion, then at Local Harvest (the later discontinued breakfasts), then couple times at Roosters Cafe, then at Flowering Around, finally to settle here at OfficeXpats graciously hosted by Leslie & Jason.

Below is an early BBC (AKA BISBER) newsletter header & announcement. You can see our first tagline was “Bainbridge Island Chamber Of Commerce Outside The Downtown Core.” (From the start the B.I. Chamber supported what we were doing.) Now we’re just: “Free, Fun, Friendly!” Note: January 2013, BBC will be 4 years old.
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BISBER At the Blue Ocean Café – Friday, 20 February 2009
7:30-8:00 – ½ HOUR SOCIALIZING over coffee, free waffles, etc.
8:00-8:30 – ½ HOUR BISBER MEETING – Dave Beck Hosting and Leading
8:30-9:00 – ½ HOUR PERSONAL NETWORKING
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So, for this BBC Friday we will discuss a new Thursday evening BBC2, to meet from 6:00-7:00 PM and piggy-back on the OXp Thursday afternoon Happy Hour (4:30-5:30); idea is to start out meeting either once a month or twice a month.  This Friday we will also roundtable a bit on “What would we like to see at BBC this coming year (September 2012 – June 2013)? Please bring your entrepreneurial ideas, serendipitous cogitations, and creative feedback.