California Miramar University

Starting your own business is one of the most exciting things anyone can ever do, and being able to do it without constantly worrying about risk is very important. Picking up the right small business insurance can make all the difference in the world when something goes wrong. It is very important to know your rights and take advantage of the best policies that are out there; otherwise, your company could find itself liable for a lot of money and compensation that you simply can’t handle. We go over this in our on-campus, Hybrid MBA and online MBA programs, but it is always good to review just how important business insurance is, especially for start ups and entrepreneurs.

Making sure that there is the proper amount of coverage available all depends on the type of business you do, and this is something that has to be assessed on a case-by-case basis. If a business owner is unsure of what type of coverage they might need, it is vital that they go ahead and consult with a professional. It might cost a bit but it is worth it.

Taking the time to find insurance for the office will go ahead and cover not only against mistakes made by the business, but in many cases it will also cover against fraud and theft that inevitable comes in many different forms. Making sure that this type of coverage is in place before opening for business can be especially important if the business is in a high-risk environment or field. Business insurance is absolutely vital for a business’ long-term survival in light of all the hazards that are out there, and forgetting this fact can result in some serious trouble for those who experience turbulence during the course of a business’ lifespan.

Making sure that everything is in place before making transactions or even announcing that you are opening is a good idea, and knowing the ins and outs of your particular industry is vital. So be sure to always practice due diligence.

Alright folks, there’s a simple truth we all know that has been ceaselessly drilled into our heads, repeated time and time again in an apparent effort to make us as dazed as we are annoyed. Guesses anyone? Anyone? Yep, you got it! Social media is… very… very important for businesses in the world we live in today. Hold on; let me take a step back while you digest that.

Okay I’m done, but there is something to take out of this. Yeah social media is great. Yeah social media never seems to distract us and take away from what we should be doing. But that’s just it. We all participate in social media networking in one form or another and all love that we can bring the far corners of the galaxy into the comfort of our own homes. But for businesses, social networking has become the most quintessential marketing trend in the past few years; and for MBA students – yes that means all of you in traditional, hybrid or online MBA programs – there is a lot more that you should be doing every time you log on.

1. Be social, join the Group. We all Like different Groups on Facebook all the time, but when was the last time you looked at the Group through the Administrator’s eyes? Who are they? What’s their primary objective? What are they doing to accomplish that? These are all questions you should be asking yourself when pressing that good ol’ ‘Like’ button. One of the biggest ways businesses engage and get noticed on Facebook is by participating in Groups, specifically Groups relevant to Influencers and their industry/niche, not necessarily their own. It’s an easy exercise and can really get you clarifying your social business vision every time you log on.

2. Look for the positives in Google+. And the biggest one? Social and search engine optimization. It is, after all Google’s brainchild, and it does, unsurprisingly, appear pretty high in search engine results. Although not many people are using Google+, register for an account, get used to the layout and how it works, and think about different ways you can optimize it for search engines. Pay specific attention to the ‘About’ section (hint: hyperlinks!) and photos (hint: geotag!). Although it will probably never match the Facebook empire, it has its purpose and that, as far as marketers are concerned at least, is to make Google happy.

3. Get Pinterested. It may still be new, but it is booming in popularity because of its easy usability and highly visual format. And while it’s really fun to endlessly scroll down and be bombarded with photos and images from Pinboards that Pinterest us (+10 me), it can serve myriad advantages for businesses when utilized correctly. (And in this case, ‘correctly’ means creatively, which really makes it a fun social network.) So hop on – you still need an invite to register so request one from a friend or request one from the site and wait a little longer – and look at what businesses are doing and how YOU could improve that. What are they missing? What do you and don’t you like about their Pinboard(s)? Simple questions, but very important to get a true business grasp on the emerging platform.

4. Hop on the Blog Bandwagon. I know I wrote a post on this a few weeks back, but now I will focus on blog networking and blog commenting. Find blogs on topics that peak your interest, notice the tone and style of the blogger, and go through what they’re writing a back. Since this is a topic that you’re interested in, are they writing about what you want to read? Or are they boring you with content on social media that you’ve read 10 times before? (Hmmm…) Regardless, start interacting in that blog and communicating with the community. (There’s a joke in there somewhere.) At the end of the day the most successful people in life are passionate about what they do. If you start looking at social media through a business lens about things you’re really interested, heck, maybe you’ve found yourself a career after you graduate.

I’ve only touched on 4 strategies and will get to more later, but for all you on-campus, Hybrid and online MBA students out there, these are simple everyday strategies that can really improve your online business sense. Whether you realize it or not.

Many business people miss out on the opportunity to sell other business. Here’s a short video clip on “Selling Business-to-Business” from MKT 6120: Marketing Management. Find out how to avoid this pitfall. This course provides a strategic framework for organizational marketing decisions. From this managerial perspective, the student will explore the marketing process, concepts and customer-focused processes. The course also analyzes marketing tools to understand their importance to managers. These tools include the incorporation of market research, competitor analysis and consumer analysis.

It’s taught by Dr. Tim Becker. Dr. Becker holds a B.A. in German from Luther College, an M.B.A. from University of North Texas and a D.B.A. from United States International University. His research interests and teaching specialization include marketing and global management.

Stay tuned for next week’s MBA Mondays video lecture: “Corporate Social Responsibility” from MGT 6190: Strategic Marketing Capstone.

Transcript of the Video Lecture from MGT 6120: Marketing Management

Let’s take a look at businesses. Business-to-business. You know what, this is a great opportunity. Most people think about selling and producing products to consumers. Well that’s a good market and, you know, the consumers actually in the United States drive about 70% of the economic value of the economy. But ultimately, if you really want to look for opportunities in the future, let us try to figure out how you can get into and service what’s called the B-to-B, the B number 2 B, world. Business-to-business, there’s tremendous opportunities there. And what you want to take a look at is, whose businesses?

Businesses are companies that you are involved in yourself or it could be big companies, small companies. It could be the government that’s considered a business, or falls into this category. Same thing with institutions. Maybe you are dealing with schools, hospitals and so on. So what are they buying or selling? So what does a hospital sell to another business or what products or services do you maybe want to sell to a hospital? Obviously if you are 3M, you are selling tapes, and bandages and the like to hospital chains. That’s a business-to-business purchase. If you are into computers, or projectors for example, you may be selling that from a company over to another company.

Big difference, and a few of the things you want to take a look at here are businesses that are buying products from another business; they are looking for several things. They are looking for high quality and also good service. Price isn’t the number one thing; they are looking to see out of this product or service, are they getting the results that they’re looking for?

This is a short video clip from a lesson on Market Research, which is taught in our MKT 6120: Marketing Management online MBA program. This course offers a combination of marketing principles and marketing management within a study of the relationship between the marketing mix, the changing business environment and the overall corporate strategy.

It’s taught by Dr. Tim Becker. Dr. Becker holds a B.A. in German from Luther College, an M.B.A. from University of North Texas and a D.B.A. from United States International University. His research interests and teaching specialization include marketing and global management.

Stay tuned for more video lessons every week as part of our new MBA Mondays blog section!

Transcript of the Lesson

Hello. Welcome back! All right, today we are going to take a look at the Market Research. When I say market research, Oh my Gosh! That is research, we are not getting into it, and we really appreciate the value. Let’s go back for just a second and take a look at what’s the function of a business and what is marketing all about? It is to get, serve and keep customers that are profit repeatedly. That’s what we’re in the business to do.

Now, so remember we have the buyers and the sellers. The buyers have the money and they are giving that to the seller in exchange for a product, service or idea they are looking for. Wonderful! Alright.

So what products are out there? What customers to go after? What’s the nature of the product? What’s the timing? You need information. Well that we do about Market Research, that’s why we do it. We try to get information so then you can decide on what products, what services, and so on. So let’s take a look at, while the textbook goes through some processes – we’re going to discuss those – but what are we really looking for? Why are we doing research? I like to take a different look at it, prospective at it, and the only reason we do market research is to make decisions. Okay, so make a choice. So you as a marketer, you are trying to figure out ultimately which customers to sell to; what prices to price the product at; what distribution systems do you want to use? Do we truck it? Do we airplane it? Whatever.

So those are your decisions. Okay, so the best thing with Market Research is to anticipate decisions and figure out ahead of time, what decisions are you going to have to make in future? Whether or not it’s in a few weeks, a few months, whatever – but identify the decision, then come back and do as the book says, the various steps of research, indeed recognition and so on, where you analyze what you need or you decide what to get, go out and get it, analyze it and then report it and actually ultimately implement it. But the very first thing, the guiding force should be what decisions you have to make because that’ll then help you to decide what information to get. Because you may have to decide how much to price the product at and you may not need to know about the demographics of the customer, or the distribution system.

That’s up to you. So, ultimately the first step of research is to decide which decisions you have to make.

I just finished deciding the list of the most useful apps for MBA students and graduates. Even while researching I found some that I had never heard of before, so I went ahead and tried them out and WOW – they are powerful!Do you agree or disagree with the list? If you think an app doesn’t belong on the top 10 list, let us know. Go ahead and post your comments and offer up your favorites. We certainly wouldn’t want to be in an MBA course without these 10 apps on our phone…

Thumb Jot.This handy app for the iPhone allows MBA students to take notes directly on their mobile device, potentially eliminating the need for a backpack full of notebooks.

Ledger. Keeping track of MBA-related finances can be a headache, especially as more numbers are added to the mix. This iPhone app makes the detailed accounting of education easier by recording purchases, loans, bank activity and other financial activity.

TripIt. Frequent travelers can make potent use of this trip tracker, keeping an eye on which friends or colleagues are in their target cities. Available for the Android, BlackBerry and iPhone, this app is a great networking tool and can really enhance the social experience of conventions and other business adventures.

The Wall Street Journal Mobile Reader. MBA students who use certain models of the BlackBerry can take advantage of this real-time newswire app from one of America’s leading financial news publications.

do.Oh. This to-do list manager connects your iPhone to a web-based application that helps organize your responsibilities in a simple, comprehensible manner. If you want everything centralized on your smartphone, this app is definitely a must-have.

Documents to Go. Users of BlackBerry, iPhone, and Android devices can make use of this useful document processing tool. It supports the viewing and editing of several different file types, including Microsoft Office documents, PDF files and PowerPoint presentations. This is very useful for really making your business mobile.

Evernote. Students can put the rich features of their iPhone, Android or Blackberry to use with this practical multimedia info-capture application. It allows photos, web screenshots, typed text and spoken information to be recorded and organized, offering features such as searchable text in photographs.

Pocket MBA: Learning Studio by ComboApp (a reputable company active in the business of Mobile Learning Applications). It is an absolute masterpiece that gives everyone access to a professional-level MBA course. After completing it you will have the knowledge and understanding of everything that affects businesses, from market influences and financial conditions to real-world crisis scenarios and general business practices. Highly recommended as a supplement to your MBA coursework.

Dropbox. This is a fantastic free service that acts like a ‘Cloud’, enabling you to bring all your documents together and save them to all of your computers/laptops, phones and the Dropbox website. Not only does this app make sure you have access to everything at all times (regardless of whether your laptop crashes), but you can also easily share your items with friends, family and business colleagues. A very convenient and safe way to handle all of your business responsibilities to say the least!

Dragon Dictation. Now this is where exciting technology meets the application world. With this app, you can say whatever you want into your device and watch as it is instantly types before your very eyes. You can dictate a text message, e-mail, social media post, tweet and status update, or even send notes and reminders to yourself… and it’s 5 times faster than typing on a keyboard. This is perfect for people, businesses and ideas on the run!

A Master of Business Administration, or MBA, is becoming an increasingly hot commodity right now in the business world. According to a recent study by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), MBA graduates are currently seeing many benefits come their way. More than half of all graduates this year (54%) are getting jobs right after they get their diplomas, up 22% from last year. Additionally, MBA grads are enjoying higher salaries after they get their degrees, with a 73% remuneration increase in their post-degree job compared to what they were making before getting their diploma. It seems that for MBA holders, 2011 is the start of something big: a significant shift to more opportunities.

So how many businesses actually hire an MBA graduates? According to the same GMAC research, job offers are also up to an average of 2.0, up from 1.7 a year ago. 67% of employers who were surveyed also stated that they planned to hire new MBAs in the upcoming year, further highlighting the wealth of benefits that are pouring in to those who have their Master’s.

Now, with rapid changes in the global market, most financial, technological, managerial and consulting firms need many MBA graduates to handle the demands of the global marketplace. As companies continue to widen their scope and develop customer bases overseas, MBA students with unique specializations have catapulted to the top of their ‘Most Wanted List’. For example, being able to speak another language can land an MBA graduate a great job speaking with clients in another country. MBA programs prepare individuals to handle corporate culture, provide them with the tools and knowledge necessary to secure higher positions and salaries, and build their drive for success.

From this, the real discussions over MBA programs are internal ones. Many programs are costly, namely in terms of tuition, living costs and time spent getting the degree. Hybrid MBA and online MBA programs are great ways to get over these hurdles as they put the student in charge of their education and are just as reputed as traditional, on-campus programs. There are sacrifices that must be made, but in the end, high starting salaries, respected positions and a lifetime of personal satisfaction makes the investment worth it.

In the world of business it’s not always about what you know, it’s about who you know and who knows you. While hard work generally will allow you make good impressions, developing relationships with others is the best long-term strategy. If you don’t have a solid network of business contacts, it will be very difficult to get ahead. More often than not, knowing the right people will spring you farther than doing everything right.

You should take the time to do whatever is needed to make new connections and get yourself out there. Joining a trade organization is a great way to meet new people and establish yourself among those in your industry. Participating in business-focused groups not only helps you come in contact with others who share your common goals and a common vision for the future, but also enhances your resume because the group falls within your sphere of specialization.

Another great way to establish yourself is to take public speaking or public relations courses. A course like Toastmasters will teach you how to speak in public and gain confidence doing so, while also enabling you to meet other professionals at the same time. Dale Carnegie is also a great course, as you will to learn how to better interact at work and be interacting with colleagues while doing so.

Your current job holds tremendous opportunity for you to go out and meet other people. Everyday, you are surrounded by people who can help you get ahead in your career. Take the time to meet the people you work with and get to know who they really are — beyond simply learning their names. It will allow you to work better with your co-workers now and leave a big impression on them for the future. You never know when a colleague might become a manager somewhere else and might enlist your services to be apart of their team.

What about the Internet for networking? Not only can you use social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook build your identity, but you can also take classes online as well. This can work out for you because your online courses can originate from anywhere and allow you to interact with people from all over the country, perhaps the world. This is a great networking opportunity while you enhance your skills and improve your resume.

Your career will be your legacy, so take the time to make it the best it possibly can be. Make as many connections as possible and put yourself out there on a regular basis. The more people you know, the more doors that will be opened for you down the road.