May 2011 eBusiness Watch

e-Business Watch Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches

The Business of Good Blogging Stand Out Above Your Competition Without Leaving Your Office!

May 2011

THESE PENGUINS DON’T BELONG HERE

BUT YOUR AD DOES.

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Contact Business Watch Alexandra Guth at aguth@palmbeaches.org

e-BUSINESS

WATCH

ON THE COVER Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches 401 N. Flagler Drive West Palm Beach, FL 33401 Phone: (561) 833-3711 Fax: (561) 833-5582

9 Stand Out Above Your

Competition Without Leaving Your Office!

17 The Business of Good

Blogging

Visit us online at: www.palmbeaches.org

Staff

Dennis Grady Chief Executive Officer Sandy Pullens Director of Administrative Services Kelley Burke Director of Sponsorships and Special Events Donald Burgess Operations Coordinator Alexandra Guth Communications Coordinator/Webmaster Kelly Fanelli Membership Director Bryan Baker Membership Development

Consumers are exposed to about 5,000 marketing messages each day.

How can you be sure YOUR advertising will stand out in the crowd?

Source: Yankelovich Marketing

FIND MORE MARKET INFO AT:

RealSolutions.PalmBeachPost.com

Mike Penn Membership Development Sharon McIntosh Information Coordinator

May 2011

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Officers

Board of Directors

Larry B. Alexander Jones, Foster, Johnston & Stubbs, P.A. Scott Butler Butler Construction Co.

John Cassidy John C. Cassidy Air Conditioning, Inc. Dr. David Dorfman Mobile Chiropractic of the Palm Beaches

Chair

Carey O’Donnell O’Donnell Agency

Chair-Elect

Michelle Diffenderfer Lewis, Longman & Walker, P.A.

Tom Dye Carlton Fields, P.A. Bill Fleming Palm Beach Atlantic University Clint Glass Balfour Beatty Construction

Treasurer

Russell Greene Grand Bank & Trust of Florida

General Counsel

Christine Hanley Christine D. Hanley & Associates, P.A.

At-Large Member

Patti Hamilton Southern Waste Systems LLC/ Sun Recycling

At-Large Member

Rick Herman PNC Bank

David D. Brooks, CPA Paul Krasker Trident Title LLC

Wesley Lauer Akerman Senterfitt

Harvey E. Oyer III Shutts & Bowen, LLP

Past-Chair

Don DeWoody WGCompass Realty Companies

Business Watch

Trish Lowry Florida’s Blood Centers Monica Manolas CEMEX Danny Martell Florida Crystals Corporation Frank Newman WACHOVIA, A Wells Fargo Company Mark Nosacka Good Samaritan Medical Center Kevin Probel Related Companies Keith Spina Glidden Spina & Partners Jonathan Teaford Digital Domain Media Group John Templeton Templeton & Company, LLP Ricky Wade McDonald’s/”B”ing the Best, Inc. Steve Wasserman WPTV NewsChannel 5

Beth Kigel KBS Strategies Group, LLC

William S. Williams Lytal, Reiter, Smith, Ivey & Fronrath

Don Kiselewski Florida Power & Light Co.

Kathy Willoughby Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Patrick Koenig Flagler Realty & Development, Inc.

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Scott Lampert Broad and Cassel

Upcoming Chamber Events

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May Mixer

The May 11 mixer will be was hosted by CityPlace South Tower, located across from CityPlace. Attendees will network from the building’s ninth floor amenity deck with panoramic city and water views, and a state-ofthe-art club room. This residential tower is the perfect place to live, work and have fun in West Palm Beach.

Finding the time to build your base of business connections can be a challenge, but the Chamber makes it easy – and fun – with regular events when the workday is done.

Join us on Wednesday, May 11 at 5:30 p.m. at CityPlace South Tower, located at 550 Okeechobee Boulevard in downtown West Palm Beach. Valet parking is complimentary.

June 24

2011 Annual Golf Tournament

Calling All Golfers The Chamber’s Annual Golf Tournament will be held at PGA National Resort and Spa on Friday morning, June 24. Corporate foursomes, which include a foursome, hole sign, and perks including a drawing for fabulous prizes, are on sale now for $750. A limited number of Hole Ambassadors, which provide one-on-one networking opportunities with each foursome when they arrive at the Tee, are available for $350. Continental Breakfast sponsored by West Construction. Goodie bag items and raffle prize donations are also welcomed.

Register now at www. palmbeaches.org, as the golf tournament sells out every year. For information on golfing or sponsorships, please contact Kelley Burke at 833-3711 ext 231 or kburke@ palmbeaches.org.

May 2011

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Mayor Muoio Speaks at Chamber Breakfast Jeri Muoio, Mayor of West Palm Beach, spoke in front of a sold-out April Chamber breakfast at the Palm Beach County Convention Center.

She began her detailed presentation with a recap of the Digital Domain/Florida State University collaboration and showed a brief video from their recent press conference.

Mayor Muoio’s goals are to build a highly responsive and affordable city government that is focused on results, including building a citizen centered organization, a sense of team, an empowered workforce and valuing transparency. Her presentation also included some budget tightening moves like pension reform, deletion of unfilled city positions, reorganizing city operations and a hold on job vacancies.

The breakfast was sponsored by Good Samaritan Medical Center which was recently honored as one of the eight Tenet hospitals in

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the country to receive the 2011 Tenet Circle of Excellence Award. Parking was underwritten

by The Morganti Group.

Photo id: Mark Nosacka - CEO of Good Samaritan Medical Center, Mayor Jeri Muoio, Carey O’Donnell - Chamber Chair, and Steve Cohen - Oxbow Carbon

SunFest Mixer at the Crowne Plaza Always one of the most popular networking events, the Chamber’s SunFest Mixer was held on April 12. This year’s host was the Crowne Plaza West Palm Beach on Belvedere Road, and the event was held in their spacious lobby bar area. All of their accommodations (nearly half are suites) have been meticulously designed, offering stylish furnishings and an array of amenities including complimentary Wi-Fi and the ultimate in personal comfort.

May 2011

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Business Awards Finalists Announced

PNC Bank and the Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches are pleased to announce the 2011 Business Awards Finalists. These awards recognize Palm Beach County companies that lead with confidence, demonstrating a solid commitment to their business goals, their employees and their local community.

The Small Business Person of the Year finalists are: Robin Gianantonio Blakeman, President, Foliage Design Systems of Palm Beach County; Penny G. Murphy, President, Pioneer Linens and Richard Rampell, CEO, Rampell & Rampell, P.A. Certified Public Accountants and Consultants.

The Business of the Year finalists are: ESPN 760/Good Karma Broadcasting; Florida Power & Light; and Rybovich Boat Company, LLC. This award is sponsored by The Palm Beach Post.

The Non-Profit of the Year finalists are: Achilles International of South Florida; Coalition for Independent Living Options, Inc.; Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida;

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Business Watch

Norton Museum of Art; and West Palm Beach Police Athletic League.

The Health/Science Professional of the Year finalists are: Brenda Bean, Business Development Representative, The Medical Store; Hector Gomez, M.D., PhD, President and CEO, GLG Pharma, LLC and Mark Nosacka, Chief Executive Officer, Good Samaritan Medical Center.

The Community Leader of the Year Award will be presented to George Wedgworth, Chief Executive Officer and President of the Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida for over 50 years.

The Business Awards breakfast will be held on Friday, May 20 at 7:45 a.m. at the Palm Beach County Convention Center. Registration is open for tabletop displays and seats. Please register online at www.palmbeaches.org and for more information, contact Kelley Burke at kburke@palmbeaches.org.

Stand Out Above Your Competition Without Leaving Your Office Can’t come to Chamber events? Not everyone can. The good news is that the Chamber has ways to support its members who are not able to participate in all the networking events, but still need help with visibility, sales and marketing. There are many avenues for members to increase sales, promote their events, and direct traffic to their individual websites via links from the Chamber’s site without even leaving their businesses.

• www.palmbeaches.org – the Chamber website lists all its members twice, once alphabetically and once by business category, complete with a link to the member’s website. It includes a Community Calendar created specifically to help members promote their events, fundraisers and seminars.

• Chamber newsletters –the newsletters provide targeted marketing message and advertising opportunities. The electronic, weekly newsletter, Chamber Update, has a single sponsorship with a click through to a website, special offer, video or event. The monthly newsletter, Business Watch, reaches members electronically and the community through The Palm Beach Post, where it reaches 80,000 in 20 zip codes!

• Free PR - those newsletters all contain new member listings, press releases and ribbon-cutting photos. The Chamber will come to your business, take the photo for the ribbon-cutting and highlight it with an article in the Business Watch. You can also write a press release from your desk and send it in for consideration in the Business Watch as well.

• Stand out above your competition Chamber membership is an important stamp of credibility for your business.

Make sure the Chamber E-Plaque appears on your website. That may be what prompts visitors to your site to select you above your competition.

• Establish yourself as an expert - speakers are viewed as experts in their fields. Can’t get out to speaking engagements? Write an article for consideration on the Chamber blog.

• Use the Chamber lobby – member brochures, business cards and flyers are all available to the many visitors and committee, seminar and event attendees.

• Host an event – have the Chamber come to you! Host an event and have the members experience your location.

• Supply a raffle or auction item – put your name in front of the right people. Raffles, auction items, and golf bag goodies all reach specific types of members.

There are countless ways to promote your business without the luxury of leaving the office. The Chamber also has seminars to provide education and guidance for these members.

Contact Kelly Fanelli, Membership Director, at kfanelli@palmbeaches.org or (561) 833-3711 ext. 235 for more information.

May 2011

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New Members

Advanced Medical Practice

Management Herman B. Steinberg 8983 Okeechobee Blvd.

West Palm Beach, FL 33411 (561) 568-0025 www.advancedmedicalpractice. com MEDICAL & DENTAL BUSINESS

CONSULTANTS

www.bluewaterdoctors.com PHYSICIANS & SURGEONS -

FAMILY PRACTICE Cartridge World Boynton Beach Jeffrey Rosenzweig - Owner 1777 N. Congress Ave. Boynton Beach, FL 33426 (561) 732-0016 www.cartridgeworldusa.com/

store190 INK & TONER CARTRIDGES &

RECYCLING

Maya’s Personal Service Dorothy Hazard - President P.O. Box 2186 West Palm Beach, FL 33402 (561) 881-8298 PERSONAL SERVICE & ASSISTANTS

Merlin’s Enterprises, Inc. / All

Temps - Foodservice

Professionals Art Segal - President P.O. Box 243246 Boynton Beach, FL 33424 (305) 940-9101 EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES - PERM & TEMP Altitude Funding Associates, LLC Casey Ciklin Lubitz Martens and

O’Connell Mark Corcoran Gary Walk - Partner Out of the Blue Restaurant 301 Clematis St., Suite 515 N. Flagler Dr., 20th Floor Alan Cohen - President

3000 West Palm Beach, FL 33401 3238 Casseekey Island Rd. West Palm Beach, FL 33401 (561) 832-5900 West Palm Beach, FL 33477 (561) 449-2067 www.caseyciklin.com (561) 741-2882 www.altitudefunding.com ATTORNEYS www.outofthebluecelebrations.com FINANCE - COMMERCIAL & RESTAURANTS

INVESTMENTS Genesis Partners Palm Beach LLC Speak Up! For Kids of Palm Beach Arthur I. Meyer Jewish Academy Mark Foley

County / Guardian Ad Litem Morli Josza - Dir. of Marketing & P.O. Box 93 Diana Reese - Marketing

Strategic Planning Palm Beach, FL 33480 P.O. Box 1896 3261 N. Military Trail (561) 578-4340 West Palm Beach, FL 33402 West Palm Beach, FL 33409 REAL ESTATE - INVESTMENTS (561) 373-1233 (561) 686-6520 www.speakupforkidspbc.org www.meyeracademy.org Hector Torres RE NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION SCHOOLS - PRIVATE Hector Torres - CEO 9112 Alternate A1A Steam Master AT&T Mobility Services North Palm Beach, FL Lida Wendler - Owner Terri Fekete - Retail Small 3575 23rd Ave. S. #103

Business Sales Executive / (561) 502-0285 www.hectortorres.us Lake Worth, FL 33461

IRU REAL ESTATE (561) 547-3390 1862 Okeechobee Blvd. www.mysteammaster.com West Palm Beach, FL 33409 Holland & Knight LLP CARPET, UPHOLSTERY & TILE (561) 231-3514 Richard Hutchison - Partner CLEANING www.att.com 222 Lakeview Ave., Suite 1000 TELECOMMUNICATIONS West Palm Beach, FL 33401 Sue Jones Promotions (561) 650-8333 Sue Jones - President Best Webs Online 6023 Barbara St. Ross Russell - President / Owner www.hklaw.com Jupiter, FL 33458 777 E. Atlantic Ave., Suite C2286 ATTORNEYS (561) 401-9862 Delray Beach, FL 33483 Lamborghini Palm Beach www.suejonespromotions.com (561) 374-4161 Ron Levinson - General Manager PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS www.bestwebsonline.com 2345 Okeechobee Blvd.

WEB SITE DESIGN & HOSTING West Palm Beach, FL 33409 T- Mobile (561) 370-7953 Leonard Neal - Store Manager Blue Water Doctors Dr. Roy Bassett - Medical Director www.lamborghinipalmbeach.com 1960 Okeechobee Blvd.

AUTOMOBILE DEALERS - NEW/ West Palm Beach, FL 33409 400 N. Congress Ave., Suite 110

USED/SERVICE (561) 478-7988 West Palm Beach, FL 33401 www.t-mobile.com (561) 688-8917 WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS

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Business Watch

Tattoo Paradise Clark O’Dell - President 2072 S. Military Trail ,Suite 6 West Palm Beach, FL 33415 (561) 318-7767 www.tattooparadisewpb.com TATTOOING & BODY PIERCING TD Bank Michell Morgan - Store Manager,

AVP 4646 Okeechobee Blvd.

West Palm Beach, FL 33409 (561) 242-5201 www.tdbank.com BANKS TD Bank Robert Pregnolato - Store

Manager 2130 Centrepark West Dr. West Palm Beach, FL 33409 (561) 704-8857 www.tdbank.com BANKS

The Cochran Law Firm Florida Foreclosure Division, PA Carol Anne Plowman - Managing

Attorney 801 Northpoint Parkway, Suite 33 West Palm Beach, FL 33407 (561) 275-1755 www.HelpSavingHomes.com ATTORNEYS

West Construction, Inc. Matthew West - Vice President 318 S. Dixie Highway, Suite 4-5 Lake Worth, FL 33460 (561) 588-2027 www.westconstructioninc.net CONTRACTORS - GENERAL

West Palm Beach Event Hall /

The Box Expo Center The Pension Source Maurene Gall - Manager Scott Grant - Director of Business 2231 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd.

Development West Palm Beach, FL 33409 2110 SE Rays Way (561) 689-0004 Stuart, FL 34994 www.wpbeventhall.com (772) 287-9163 EVENT & BANQUET FACILITIES www.thepensionsource.com RETIREMENT PLANNING SERVICES Water’s Edge Dermatology Lewis Bergman - Practice

Administrator 2031 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd.

West Palm Beach, FL 33409 (561) 296-7710 www.wederm.com PHYSICIANS & SURGEONS -

DERMATOLOGY

Renewals Advantage HR Services, Inc. Audio Video Systems, Inc. Barber’s Baskets Beach Environmental

Exterminating Bravo KB, Inc. Carrier’s Career Service Inc. Casa Grandview Historic Luxury

Inn, Cottages & Suites Coastal Construction Costco Wholesale D. TECH Networking Services Dermatology Associates P.A. of

the Palm Beaches Evergreen Insurance Agency Field of Greens Florida’s Blood Centers, Inc. Gator Electric and

Communications, Inc.

GreenbergTraurig, P.A. Habitat for Humanity of Palm

Beach County Halsey & Griffith Health Insurance Linked, LLC Image Janitorial Services, Inc. Keller Trust Muvico Parisian 20 Narda E. Butner, C.P.A., P.A. Palm Beach County Golf Palm Beach Gardens Medical

Center Paramount Training Services Pre-Paid Legal Professional Touch International Realtors Association of the Palm

Beaches Sam’s Club SCORE-Counselors to America’s Small Business

Seminole Marketing, LLC Servpro of West Palm Beach Show Management Shutts & Bowen, LLP Southern Waste Systems LLC / Sun Recycling Special District Services, Inc. Stuart R. Manoff & Associates,

P.A. Sunset House, Inc. The Brazilian Court Hotel &

Beach Club Palm Beach Vila & Son Landscaping

Corporation Wantman Group Inc. WTAS LLC

April 2011

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Trustee Happenings

Moore Hallmark, Southeast Regional Vice-President, for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce addressed the Trustees regarding the threat of organized labor to the business community of Florida. He urged local businesses to visit the web site, www.Workforcefreedom.com, to help them understand the many union issues that are impacting small businessmen and women.

Gary Johnson, Former Governor of New Mexico spoke on a variety of topics from civility liberties and foreign aid to debt reduction and privatizing education. The Presidential candidate’s goals include reducing spending by 43% and implementing an immigration policy that makes it easier to obtain work visas.

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Business Watch

Now accepting Raffle & Goodie Bag item donations for the

Annual Golf Tournament Friday, June 24, 2011 Why donate?

• 150 business men and women participate in the tournament • Your company will be featured in our program, Chamber newsletter e-Business Watch and listed on our website www.palmbeaches.org • All prizes must be valid June 24, 2011 to June 24, 2012 • Please drop off or mail the prize accompanied by this form no later than June 15, 2011 to the Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches, 401 North Flagler Drive, West Palm Beach, FL 33401 • If possible, please enclose a pamphlet or flyer to help showcase your item

Please Fax Back to (561) 833-5582

If you would like to play in our tournament call Kelley Burke at (561) 833-3711 ext. 231 Annual Golf Tournament Friday, June 24 PGA National Resort & Spa Please check one:

Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches 401 North Flagler Drive, West Palm Beach, FL 33401 Phone: (561) 833-3711 Fax: (561) 833-5582 For more information, contact Kelley Burke at kburke@palmbeaches.org

Raffle Item

Goodie Bag Item

Item Description:

Value: $

Blackout Dates/Restrictions:

Donated by: Contact Name:

Phone:

Address: City/Zip: Fax:

Email:

May 2011

6.24.11

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Members In Motion

GUNSTER WELCOMES NEW SHAREHOLDER EDWARD F. TANCER TO THE WEST PALM BEACH OFFICE New shareholder Edward F. Tancer joins Gunster’s corporate practice group in the West Palm Beach office. He will focus his practice on general business counseling, corporate governance and commercial transactions.

HEDRICK BROTHERS CONSTRUCTION SELECTED FOR BOYS & GIRLS CLUB BUILDING PROJECT Hedrick Brothers Construction has been selected as the contractor for the new Marjorie S. Fisher Boys & Girls Club, located at 905 Drexel Road, West Palm Beach.

LOCAL LEADERS CELEBRATE CONSTRUCTION MILESTONE FOR MAX PLANCK FLORIDA INSTITUTE’S NEW FACILITY Business and community leaders joined Dr. David Fitzpatrick, CEO and Scientific Director at the Max Planck Florida Institute, for a brief ceremony and reception on April 7 to mark the “topping out” of construction on the 100,000-square-foot biomedical research facility that will become the permanent home to the first U.S.-based Institute for Germany’s Max Planck Society.

HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF PALM BEACH COUNTY APPOINTS NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER The Historical Society of Palm Beach County announced today that it had appointed Jeremy Wayne Johnson to the position of Chief Executive Officer, effective May 2, 2011.

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CLEVELAND CLINIC FLORIDA RANKED NO. 2 HOSPITAL IN METRO AREA RANKING BY US nEWS & WORLD REPORT Cleveland Clinic Florida ranked second among the 18 best hospitals in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale metro area in US News & World Report’s first-ever ranking of Best Hospitals by metro area.

A complete list of newly ranked hospitals is available online at www.usnews.com/hospitals.

FORMA TECHNOLOGY TAKES TELECOMMUNICATION TO THE NEXT LEVEL Pompano Beach, Florida- Integrated Professional Services (IPS) a full service telecommunications company located in Pompano Beach, has just been renamed and rebranded due to rapid expansion. IPS is now Forma Technology boasting the tagline, “Experts in the communications game”.

SEAGULL TO HONOR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FRED EISINGER Seagull Industries for the Disabled, Inc., a social service agency providing programs for persons with intellectual disabilities, will be honoring executive director Fred Eisinger for his 25 years of service to Seagull Industries for the Disabled during the month of May.

Health Care Committee

Ambassador Coffee

Many thanks to the Rehabilitation Center of the Palm Beaches for sponsoring and The Medical Store for hosting the April Health Care Committee meeting. Committee CoChairs Lissette Diaz and Brenda Bean hosted a wonderful lunch, which followed with tours of the facility.

For more information on the Health Care Committee or to host a luncheon, contact Kelly Fanelli, Membership Director at kfanelli@ palmbeaches.

The Ambassador Committee put on a great networking event at the AAA Auto Club South office in Palm Beach Gardens. The Ambassador Coffee was very well attended and our hosts provided breakfast and a great venue for networking. Kathleen Elek, Location Manager for AAA Auto Club, gave away goodie bags to all our guests following the event.

Ambassador of the Month - April Gary Baja of Costco Wholesale

“After recently being transferred to Palm Beach County I have found from my past chamber experiences that joining a chamber and becoming involved is one of the quickest ways to become established.

The Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches has made me feel at home since day one. Getting involved as an Ambassador has opened new doors and is creating great business and personal relationships.

I’m honored to be named the Ambassador of the month and looking forward to many years of working together.”

May 2011

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Young Professionals of the Palm Beaches On Thursday, April 7, the Young Professionals of the Palm Beaches enjoyed their monthly HotSpot networking event at Leila Restaurant in Downtown West Palm Beach. Special thanks to Alex Awad for the generous hospitality.

Upcoming YPOP HotSpots include: • Thursday, May 5 at the Omphoy Ocean Resort on Palm Beach • Wednesday, June 1 at World of Beer • Thursday, July 7 at iBar – PGA National.

YPOP is for young professionals ages 21-40. To learn more, visit www.ypopconnect.org.

News from Women in Business Missy Strauss from the U.S. Green Building Council and host of Radio Green Earth, shared her passion for sustainability with the Women in Business Committee, just in time for Earth Day. The group learned simple ways in which we can all contribute to a greener earth so that it may be enjoyed for many generations to come. Attendees were reminded to support those businesses and organizations that implemented green strategies and purchase green products whenever they are available as well as to carpool, bike, or walk as often as possible since our cars are the biggest contributor to global warming and pollution.

Lunch was donated by Chick-fil-A on Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard, which is great for catering business breakfasts and lunches.

The Women in Business Committee meets on the 2nd Thursday of the month at 11:45 a.m. in the Chamber board room. Contact Kelley Burke for additional information at kburke@ palmbeaches.org.

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The Business of Blogging It’s no secret that blogs have become increasingly popular over the last few years as a new way for companies to reach potential clients.

The beauty of a blog is that it injects a human element into what would otherwise be a cold technological transaction. When writing a blog article, it is important to know who is reading your blog and why they’re there. While there is a blog for every need and audience, the majority of your potential customers are looking for information. Your website, in general, serves as your sales pitch. Potential buyers visit to learn what you have to offer and how much it costs. So where does your blog fit in? Often inexperienced bloggers make the mistake of trying to turn each blog entry into a sales pitch by providing little to no real information.

XYZ Plumbing Service Example: Sales Pitch: A toilet that leaks or constantly runs can quickly turn into an expensive water bill. Call us at the first sign of trouble – it will save you hundreds in the long run.

Compare that to: A toilet that leaks or constantly runs can quickly turn into an expensive water bill. View this video to learn how you can easily fix this problem and save yourself hundreds! Looking for more ways to conserve water and lower costs? Our WaterSaver line can save you an average of $50 a year on your water bill.

By offering free advice you are positioning yourself and your company as helpful experts that care about their clients. This type of blog entry helps form a relationship with your potential client, so when it comes time to buy WaterSaver fixtures, they will think of you first. A continuing stream of high-quality articles will bring the same readers back time after time as they look for more information which often ends up getting shared with people they know.

Better Blogging tips: - Include How-To’s, tips, product comparison, and other expert advice and information - Don’t cram too much information into one blog entry. Multi-part entries will keep readers interested and coming back for more - Don’t reinvent the wheel; if someone else has written it better ask their permission to post it on your blog with credit and links.

- Engage your readers – ask questions and respond to comments - Be consistent with your blogging, choose a time frame (monthly, weekly, daily) to blog and stick with it - Have fun! Blogs allow you the opportunity to have a conversation with potential clients; don’t feel like it needs to be cold and impersonal.

Have you written a fantastic blog entry? The Chamber is looking for member submissions for our blog. Entries must be informative and may not include your or your company name in the body (you will receive credit at the end).

For more information on the guidelines and to submit your blog article for consideration, contact Alexandra Guth, Communications Coordinator, at aguth@palmbeaches.org.

May 2011

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Writing Effective Job Descriptions

What are your expectations for employees in specific jobs in your business? A job description ensures that your applicants and employees understand their roles and what they need to do to be accountable.

The importance of job descriptions cannot be understated. It is essential in hiring and managing your employees. A job description: Helps attract the right job candidates.

Describes the major areas of an employee’s job or position.

Serves as a major basis for outlining performance expectations, job training, job evaluation and career advancement.

Provides a reference point for compensation decisions and unfair hiring practices.

Overview of Job Description A job description should be practical, functional and current. It also should be clear and accurate in order to effectively define your needs. Good job descriptions typically begin with a careful analysis of the important facts about a job such as: Individual tasks involved.

The methods used to complete the tasks.

The purpose and responsibilities of the job.

The relationship of the job to other jobs.

Qualifications needed for the job.

What to Avoid in a Job Description Don’t be inflexible with your job description. Jobs are subject to change for personal growth, organizational development and/or evolution of new technologies. If inflexible, job descriptions will keep you and your employees from trying or learning new tasks within the job. A flexible job description encourages employees to grow within their position and contribute over time to your overall business.

What to Include in a Job Description A job description includes: Job title.

Job objective or overall purpose statement.

Summary of the general nature and level of the job (no longer than three to four sentences).

Description of the broad function and scope of the position.

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List of duties or tasks performed critical to the success (including principal duties, continuing responsibilities and accountability of the occupant of the position).

Most important functional and relational responsibilities in order of significance.

Description of the relationships and roles within the company, including supervisory positions, subordinating roles and other working relationships.

Additional Items for Job Descriptions for Recruiting Situations Job specifications, standards, and requirements (minimum amount of qualifications to perform essential functions of the job such as education, experience, knowledge and skills).

Job location where the work will be performed.

Equipment to be used in the performance of the job.

Collective Bargaining Agreements (agreements and terms that relate to job functions, if applicable, such as when your company’s employees are members of a union).

Non-essential functions (functions which are not essential to the position or any marginal tasks performed by the incumbent of the position).

Salary range (pay for the position).

Proper Language in the Job Description Keep each statement in the job description crisp and clear: Structure your sentences in classic verb/object and explanatory phrases. Since the occupant of the job is your sentences’ implied subject, it may be eliminated. For example, a sentence pertaining to the description of a receptionist position might read: “Greets office visitors and personnel in a friendly and sincere manner.”

Always use the present tense of verbs.

If necessary, use explanatory phrases telling why, how, where, or how often to add meaning and clarity. For example: “Collects all employee time sheets on a bi-weekly basis for payroll purposes.”

Omit any unnecessary articles such as “a,” “an,” “the,” or other words for an easyto-understand description. Using the above example, the statement could have read, “Greets all visitors and the office personnel to the building in a friendly and a sincere manner.”

Use unbiased terminology. For example, use the he/she approach or construct sentences in such a way that gender pronouns are not required.

Avoid using words which are subject to differing interpretations. Try not to use words such as “frequently,” “some,” “complex,” “occasional,” and “several.”

This information has been reprinted from the U.S. Small Business Administration website. For more information and additional articles visit www.sba.gov.

May 2011

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