ABS had the good fortune to have Champlain College junior Brittany Hollman intern in our office this summer. She was tasked with a wide assortment of communications, website and event planning assignments and accomplished all projects with creativity and enthusiasm.

Brittany’s talent extends to her photography hobby. She recently created an original piece of artwork (pictured below) for the ABS conference room mantel.

The entire ABS team wishes her well with her semester abroad studies in Ireland this Fall!

By Brittany Hollman

Have you ever felt when someone checks in at a specific location that it’s just plain creepy?  Why would you want the World Wide Web to constantly know where you are?  However, with the increasing popularity of location based apps, businesses have new tools to generate traffic and build attendance without adding expense to their marketing budget.

The key is relevance. If you give your prospective customers a reason to come to your business, they will.  It’s all about marketing to them in the most effective way.  And what could be better than marketing with tools that are completely accessible to anyone with a smart phone.  Using programs like Foursquare, Gowalla, and Facebook-checkin – three popular location device apps – you can connect with your audience and gain interest without spending money because the apps are completely FREE.

All throughout the world, people are checking in just about everywhere – including their own homes. Focusing on business, here are three ways to use these apps as event marketing tools:

1.       Elevate presence – be sure tradeshow attendees know that your booth is there and that if they visit and check in at your location they could gain something from it.

2.       Use incentives – Give consumers a reason to come to your booth and once they are there, reasons to return.  This could be a gift, white paper, e-book, QR code scavenger hunts, etc.

3.       Virtual Networking – Attendees have a chance to network with each other without even having to meet.  Once a person checks into a tradeshow booth they can also view the hundreds of other people who have also checked in there.  It provides them an opportunity to network as well as generate activity for your booth.

Tradeshow and event managers use these apps to make customer traffic at events more productive. It’s as simple as setting up your check-in app and then the rest will fall into place.

Other recent additions to the online world are virtual tradeshows and webinars, expanding the possibilities for location based apps and other new marketing tools.  A topic for a future article!

Click on the box below for the 30 second video!

ABS researches and writes a quick and easy-to-read municipal update to give your members timely information on what’s going on in the district governments where they operate. Whether it is passage of a new law that affects business transactions or government plans for a major redevelopment project that could impact the local market, ABS will report on it to help keep your constituents better informed.

In addition to the newsletter, ABS can provide a menu of other related services focusing on municipal concerns for your members:

• Providing your organization unified representation on any major issue affecting the constituents

• Working with your legislative committee to coordinate municipal outreach with state and federal efforts

• Serving as a point of contact for members who want additional information on a particular issue. Members call us directly for research and follow-up.

• Promoting members’ views on proposed and/or enacted municipal ordinances to local officials

• Facilitating meetings between members and municipal and/or county officials on various issues of concern

• Surveying members to ensure focus on municipal issues of greatest concern

• Representing members at various county and local meetings and functions

• Supplying background information of each municipality for your website

• Monitoring, reviewing, and/or analyzing local legislation and regulations

Contact ABS to develop a customized program for your organization.

Heidi Harrington

Heidi Harrington was recently promoted to the Director of Finance at ABS. She joined ABS in 2005 as Office Manager when they were located in Princeton, NJ.  She oversaw the move to the current office in Trenton, NJ April 2006.  In addition to running the office, she manages the financials for ABS and a few key clients.

Allies Inc. appoints ABS Principal, Paula Hartman, to their Advisory Board to help carry out their mission.

Incorporated in 1999, Allies Inc. is an independent non-profit organization serving more than 1,500 individuals with special needs.  Allies Inc. provides innovative residential, employment and advocacy programs for individuals with special needs in NJ and Colorado. Allies’ goal has always been to provide an array of choices for the individual and their families and to offer creative programs that capitalize on the gifts, talents and preferences of the individual. This approach offers a genuine road to independence, self determination and self-sufficiency.

For more information, please visit the Allies Inc. website at www.alliesnj.org.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 23, Trenton Club, 479 West State Street, Trenton, New Jersey

Host Committee: Elise Gambino (Allies Inc.),  Paula Hartman & Karla Pollack (ABS), Michele Siekerka (Regional Mercer Chamber), Rich Norton (Eastern Armored Car), Don Tretola (PSE&G) 

 

 

 

Trenton Club, 479 West State Street, Trenton, New Jersey
 

Available Presentations:

Writing A Business Plan…Are You Crazy? Why Would I Do That?
Click for Handout: businessplanpresentation
Dr. Ron Cook, Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies and Director, Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, Rider University

This workshop will show why writing a business plan is a valuable tool in helping entrepreneurs make better startup decisions. It will provide an outline for a business plan and identify the questions that a business plan can help answer, and the ones that it can’t.

Funding the Future: Securing Early Stage Capital
Click for Handout: earlystagecapitalpresentation
Kathleen W. Coviello- New Jersey Economic Development Authority, Director of Technology & Life Sciences

An overview of different options to fund your early stage idea/company, with tips on the do’s and don’ts for securing early stage capital.

Not Getting The All the Referrals You Want? . . . Then It’s All Your Fault!
Click for Handout:  networking-checklist
Jeff Callahan, President and Founder, Sandler Training

Fast and Furious: Using Internet Marketing to Start Your Business 
(Click “Fast and Furious” above for copy of presentation)
Alex Cohen – Manager, Online Marketing, ClickEquations

Time and money. Chances are that if you’re an entrepreneur you don’t have enough of either. The solution? Online marketing. In this session, Alex Cohen will teach you the basics of internet marketing to launch your business and run your marketing efficiently.

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Sponsored by: Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation, the National Association of Women Business Owners – Central Jersey (NAWBO), Association Business Solutions, Inc., Precision Office Assistants, A Virtual Office Company, the Uncommon Individual Foundation, and Princeton University’s Keller Center for Innovation in Engineering Education.

Post event attendee survey results

NJBIZ – October 27, 2008

Chatham Courier (& Recorder Community Newspapers) – November 1, 2008

Ewing Observer – November 1, 2008

Princeton’s Keller Center for Innovation in Engineering - October 31, 2008

PRLog - October 28, 2008

Small Business Informer – October 29, 2008

I-Newswire.com – October 27, 2008

24-7 Press Release – October 29, 2008

Digg (press release) – October 26, 2008

Digg (registration) – October 26, 2008

Think Globally. Act Locally. 

As part of Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW), ABS is pleased to co-sponsor an event on November 18 entitled “Starting a Company: From Idea to Reality” (http://www.integra-ls.com/event/).  Read on for ideas about how you can get involved!

Young men and women intrigued by entrepreneurship can learn more about it during Global Entrepreneurship Week, November 17 to 23.

The worldwide initiative is designed to inspire, connect, inform, mentor and engage the next generation of entrepreneurs, defined as people under 30 years old.

More than 60 countries around the world have signed on as participants. During the week, a series of events will be held on international, national and local levels. Activities will include invention competitions, entrepreneurship film festivals, networking events, school-based activities and local entrepreneurship summits.

While global in scope, at its heart the week is a local initiative reflecting the customs and entrepreneurial culture of each community. After all, what works in Boise, Idaho might be quite different from what works in Bangalore, India. For example, the Netherlands is launching its version of the week from the floor of Euronext, and Chile is planning a 10K race.

Global Entrepreneurship Week was initiated by the Kauffman Foundation in the U.S. and Make Your Mark in the United Kingdom. Global sponsors are Ernst & Young, IBM and NYSE.

Featured Activities of Global Entrepreneurship Week / US – http://entrepreneurshipweekusa.com/:10 Cool Things to Do During the Week
Collegiate Inventors Competition
Take an Entrepreneur to Lunch
Global Technology Leaders Conference
Unleash Your Locker Challenge
The BizWorld Largest Friendship Bracelet Challenge

Featured Activities of Global Entrepreneurship Week – http://www.unleashingideas.org/:
Unleash it!
Speednetwork the Globe
Global Innovation Tournament
Creative World Forum
Mentoring Madness

Contacts:

Gianna Sabella                                                                    Karla Pollack

Public Relations Manager                                                 Principal

Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation                   Association Business Solutions

(609) 936-2389                                                                    (609) 392-3800

gsabella@integra-ls.com                                                  karla@absnj.com

Sponsored by Integra LifeSciences, National Association of Women Business Owners, Central New Jersey, Association Business Solutions, Precision Office Assistants, Princeton University’s Keller Center for Innovation in Engineering Education, and the Uncommon Individual Foundation

Plainsboro, NJ, October 27, 2008 –People interested in learning what it takes to start and run a business will hear from several successful entrepreneurs in a series of workshops to be held on the campus of Princeton University. Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation (Nasdaq: IART), the National Association of Women Business Owners – Central Jersey (NAWBO), Association Business Solutions, Inc.(ABS), Precision Office Assistants, A Virtual Office Company, Uncommon Individual Foundation, and Princeton University’s Keller Center for Innovation in Engineering Education have joined with more than 1,000 organizations in Global Entrepreneurship Week.  Dozens of countries are coming together for the first time to host a one-week global initiative to inspire young people to embrace innovation, imagination, and creativity. To think big. To turn their ideas into reality. To make their mark.

Integra and its co-sponsors are presenting their event on November 18, 2008. Entitled Starting a Company: From Idea to Reality, the event is designed to guide entrepreneurs through the process of starting and growing a new company.

“Global Entrepreneurship Week is a celebration of the creative spirit that we all possess, and Integra is honored to a part of the first ever global initiative that encourages young people to be entrepreneurs and pursue their dreams,” said Stuart Essig, CEO of Integra LifeSciences. 

The event will feature four workshops, which will cover how to write a business plan, obtain financing, and market your company via public relations and internet marketing. Richard E. Caruso, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Integra LifeSciences and Founder of The Uncommon Individual Foundation, will deliver the opening address.  Workshop leaders include Dr. Ron Cook, Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies and Director, Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, Rider University; Kathleen W. Coviello, Director of Technology & Life Sciences, New Jersey Economic Development Authority; Jeff Callahan, President and Founder, Sandler Training; Tom Szaky, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Terracycle, Inc; and Alex Cohen, Manager, Online Marketing, ClickEquations.

“Innovation is at the heart of entrepreneurship, and Global Entrepreneurship Week offers the opportunity to connect with that spirit of innovation,” said Patrick C. S. Lo, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, Co-Founder and Director, NETGEAR.

The event will begin at 8:30 am on Tuesday, November 18, in the Frist Campus Center on the campus of Princeton University. The event is free and open to the public. Registration is required as space is limited. To learn more and to register for the event, visit www.Integra-LS.com

About Global Entrepreneurship Week      

Countries all around the world are joining together to carry the banner of Global Entrepreneurship Week, an initiative aimed at young people everywhere. During the week of November 17 – 23, 2008, partner organizations will conduct a range of activities – from simple speeches to comprehensive competitions – designed to inspire, connect, inform, mentor and engage the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Global Entrepreneurship Week will engage young people everywhere to learn about the possibilities of entrepreneurship, and is a combination and expansion of two successful initiatives – the debut of EntrepreneurshipWeek USA in 2007 and the inspiration behind it, Enterprise Week in the UK, which was kicked off in 2004 by now-Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

And while it may be global in scope, at its heart, the Week is a local initiative that reflects the customs and entrepreneurial culture of each community. After all, what works in Boise, Idaho might be quite different from what works in Bangalore, India.  Founding sponsors for Global Entrepreneurship Week are the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in the United States and Make Your Mark in the United Kingdom.  Global Entrepreneurship Week/USA will inspire and inform young people through these activities – online and face-to-face – helping them explore their potential as self-starters and innovators.

For more information on events and activities across the country as well as how to engage young people to get involved in Global Entrepreneurship Week, visit: www.unleashingIdeas.org.

About Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation

Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation, a world leader in regenerative medicine, is dedicated to improving the quality of life for patients through the development, manufacturing, and marketing of cost-effective surgical implants and medical instruments. The company’s products are used to treat millions of patients every year, primarily in neurosurgery, extremity reconstruction, orthopedics and general surgery.  Integra’s headquarters are in Plainsboro, New Jersey, and it has research and manufacturing facilities throughout the world.  Please visit their website at www.Integra-LS.com.

About The National Association of Women Business Owners, Central New Jersey Chapter (NAWBOCJ)

The National Association of Women Business Owners, Central Jersey Chapter (NAWBOCJ) is a network of women entrepreneurs who provide each other with information, resources, referrals, and support, whose vision is to propel women entrepreneurs into economic, social, and political spheres of power. Please visit their website at www.nawbocentraljersey.org.

About Association Business Solutions, Inc (ABS)

Association Business Solutions, Inc. (ABS) is an Association Management Company that provides marketing, writing and municipal monitoring services to all types of organizations.

Please visit their website at www.absnj.com.

About Princeton University’s Keller Center for Innovation in Engineering Education

Established in February 2005, the mission of Princeton’s Keller Center for Innovation in Engineering Education is to prepare all students – both engineers and non-engineers – to be leaders in an increasingly complex, technology-driven society. The center is creating new courses and strengthening existing ones that go beyond purely technical subjects to provide students a broader understanding of the global economic, environmental and cultural forces that shape and are shaped by technology. At the same time, the center is improving students’ technical education by exposing them to real engineering projects throughout their four years, through internships, entrepreneurial opportunities and multidisciplinary courses. www.engineering.princeton.edu/ciee.

About Precision Office Assistants

Precision Office Assistants is a network of administrative professionals that offers small businesses the luxury of having staff without the added cost of benefits and employer taxes.  Through contractual arrangements Precision Office Assistants works offsite providing services related to office support and administration, including desktop publishing, database design and management, website design and management, internet research and executive/administrative support services, including correspondence and data entry. 

About the Uncommon Individual Foundation (UIF)

UIF was founded in 1986 by Dr. Richard Caruso, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Integra. They are a private, not-for-profit foundation exclusively devoted to mentoring: mentor/protégé training, consultation, program implementation and evaluation.  UIF’s goal is to enable each individual to recognize the benefits of mentoring and to learn how to use it to achieve personally defined success.  UIF designs and implements mentoring programs, writes training manuals, provides instructors to train mentors and protégés, and evaluates the mentoring process.  UIF’s clients include a number of America’s largest corporations, as well as colleges, universities, government agencies, faith-based organizations, public and private schools, professional associations, youth organizations, and social service agencies. Currently, after more than four years of development and testing, UIF is introducing a new web-based mentoring platform, which is designed to help individuals better understand their unique qualities and become the entrepreneur residing within.  Please visit their websites at www.uif.org and www.mentorsphere.com.