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SMALL BUSINESS PROFILE: EXPRESSIONS SOFA STUDIO: Following her heart CPA-turned-retailer trying out a new way to sell furniture

SMALL BUSINESS PROFILE EXPRESSIONS SOFA STUDIO Following her heart CPA-turned-retailer trying out a new way to sell furniture When Jennifer O’Connor graduated from the University of Dayton in 1990 with an accounting degree, the Fort Wayne native began navigating the fast track toward partnership at a public accounting firm. But O’Connor’s plans to marry and have children didn’t mesh with her 70-hour work weeks, so she quit her position with Ernst & Young and settled into decorating the Meridian-Kessler home…

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Part-time manager experiment working: Pilot program could be expanded beyond Indianapolis

The bell outside Michael Goldberg’s office rang, and the OmniSource Marketing executive exchanged a knowing glance with part-timer Rob MacDonald. One of the company’s 17 sales representatives had just closed a deal. And MacDonald deserved some of the credit, since he has managed OmniSource’s sales force for about a year-working four hours a day twice a week. It’s a concept MacDonald developed as part of his full-time job at Sales Team, an Indianapolis-based consulting firm. The aptly named Part-Time Sales…

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WEB REVIEW: Is e-mail marketing the answer for you?

If you’re running a business, there’s a good chance you’ve been frustrated with marketing. You’ve spent time and money on ads here and there, but the results were unpredictable-or worse-questionable. You’re in the phone book because you feel you have to be, but the cost goes up year after year. Word of mouth works, but it’s too slow. Direct mail works, but it’s too expensive. Radio and TV are difficult to do well and nearly impossible to track for results….

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PROFILE: Complexions Day Spa: Downtown day spa has glowing business Irvington native focuses on organic products, attracts clients from entertainment, sports scenes

Complexions Day Spa Downtown day spa has glowing business Irvington native focuses on organic products, attracts clients from entertainment, sports scenes Trinia Cox’s venture builds on a 10-year career in skin care and makeup artistry with stints in Chicago and Los Angeles. And the location of Complexions Day Spa on Massachusetts Avenue was a good fit with her background in the arts, including gigs as a singer with Dr. Bop and the Headliners and her own group, Trinia and the…

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Smaller banks seeking relief: Legislation takes on costly regulatory costs

German American Bancorp in Jasper has spent more than $1 million the past two years complying with the stringent accounting provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The cost alone is reason enough for the community bank’s president and CEO, Mark Schroeder, to support a measure exempting smaller public companies such as his from Section 404 of the act. He even traveled to Washington, D.C., May 3 to testify in front of the U.S. House of Representatives Small Business Committee. “Ultimately, this…

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Right decision crucial for small firms:

Of course, trying to be less subjective does not mean you shouldn’t consider “fit” with the organization’s culture. In a small company, fit can be critical. One way to attempt to reduce early turnover is to use the “realistic job preview,” in which prospective employees are given both the positive and negative aspects of the job, as opposed to the traditional approach of “selling” the firm. If individuals aren’t going to enjoy the job, it’s better to know it before…

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SMALL BUSINESS PROFILE WTH: Firm mapping out its own success Owner shifts focus from old-school engineering to GIS

SMALL BUSINESS PROFILE WTH Firm mapping out its own success Owner shifts focus from old-school engineering to GIS Rex Jones wants to show off his company’s work, so the lights go down, a computer comes on and a map of Starke County appears on a screen. The map is a maze of green lines representing county and local roads, red for state/interstate highways, blue for water. Jones zooms in further, picking a random street in the rural county. Up pops…

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: As construction costs rise, older buildings gain appeal

Construction costs continue to rise in the wake of hurricanes, tornadoes, the war in Iraq, the building boom in China and general inflation. The trickle-down effect often lands at the feet of small business owners. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index, prices for materials and construction components increased 0.3 percent in February, following a 1-percent hike in January and continuing a threeyear upswing. The average building cost index has increased about 45 percent since 1995,…

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Indiana to alter Web site: Small IT firms aren’t thrilled with contract requirements

For the first time in more than a decade, Indiana is shopping for a Web portal manager. Indiana Office of Technology CIO Karl Browning is attempting to make the state’s award-winning Internet gateway even better. The hunt will also test Gov. Mitch Daniels’ “Buy Indiana” initiative, which aims to give local companies a leg up in competition for state contracts. The larger players in Indiana’s IT community say they’re pleased with the new process. But some smaller firms complain it’s…

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E-commerce can level the playing field:

The same point can be made for small businesses, which can reach wider audiences through electronic commerce-purchasing, selling and exchanging goods and services over the Internet. So how can small-business owners take advantage of the e-commerce phenomenon? First, it’s important to understand that ecommerce isn’t an end unto itself, but a tool to grow your business-as such, it should be used only if it serves your business strategy. Ask yourself a few questions: Can you effectively promote your product or…

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Federal farm lending could shrivel under latest budget: Banking associations oppose proposed fee increases

Brent Kerns likes to compare the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s lending program to that of the Small Business Administration’s. In short, the USDA helps farmers the way the SBA assists small-business owners. But if a proposal to cut the budget of the farm loan program is approved, it could become as expensive to use as the SBA’s offering. Supporters fear a hike in user fees would hurt those who need the money the most. “That cost goes straight to the…

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You can take it to the bank: Financial experts say state’s economy is rising, merger mania isn’t over and regulatory laws could take a toll

On Feb. 24, IBJ Publisher Chris Katterjohn, Managing Editor Greg Andrews and banking reporter Matt Kish sat down with four leaders from Indianapolis’ banking and finance sector: Judith Ripley, director of the Indiana Department of Financial Institutions; Kit Stolen, CEO of Union Federal Bank of Indianapolis; Steve Beck, president and CEO of the Indiana Venture Center; and Keith Slifer, senior vice president of LaSalle Bank. Among the topics of conversation: How’s the state’s economy doing? Are more bank mergers on…

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IT firm bought again: New York company acquires Core Business Technology but will move HQ to Indy

Now, Core Business Technology Solutions has gone down the aisle again, tying the knot last month with White Plains, N.Y.-based Convergence Technologies Inc.-a deal that makes Indianapolis headquarters for a company with 270 employees and $105 million in revenue. But, with apologies to Wynette, nobody at this wedding sang, “Stand by your LAN.” The good ol’ local area network is now just a slice of the increasingly diverse information-technology products and services Core offers small and midsize companies these days….

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Six firms land $6.1M from state tech fund: 21st Century program issues its first grants since 2004; local companies Semafore, Cadent among recipients

The state launched the fund in 1999 to invest in new technologies and appropriated $137 million during the first five years of the program. The state awarded no money in 2005, partly because none was available the first half of the year. The administration took the second six months to get acquainted with the fund. Kidd left his job as vice president of the Indiana Venture Center in October to join IEDC. The veteran small-business consultant since has helped reshape…

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New support group aids entrepreneurs: Growing network quick to attract diverse membership

But it’s not because Roots doesn’t know how to write HTML code. Rather, he’s got so much business coming in the doors he doesn’t have any free time for turning wrenches on his own site-www.squishdesigns.com. That’s a good problem to have for an entrepreneur who’s still dotting the “i”s on his LLC application. He credits the influx of business to a new networking group for entrepreneurs that is attracting a sizeable contingent of women and minority business owners. The group-which…

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Banning ‘McLawsuits’: State bill outlawing fast-food litigation nears passage

A bill nearing the governor’s desk would make it illegal to sue Indiana restaurants-including the state’s ubiquitous fast-food joints-for those extra notches in the belt. Commonly referred to as the “cheeseburger bill,” the measure is part of a national effort by restaurants and small-business owners to protect themselves from enormous class-action lawsuits that have been filed against some national chains. House Bill 1113 passed out of the Senate Committee on Corrections, Criminal, and Civil Matters on Feb. 14 by a…

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Know where to look for funding:

Conventional bank loans Banks provide conventional financing, evaluating loan requests against the socalled “five Cs” of credit. They must feel comfortable that borrowers have: capacity to repay the loan; capital of their own invested in the business; collateral to offer as a secondary source of loan repayment; creditworthiness, based on personal and business borrowing history; and character worthy of the bank’s trust. It’s in banks’ best interest to minimize risk. Loans are made only where the likelihood of being repaid…

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Development plans percolating in five urban corridors: East 10th Street, Fountain Square lead FOCUS pack

DataSmith Technologies owner James Smith started looking almost two years ago for a building to house his business, his home and possibly a revenue-generating tenant. What he ended up with was a dilapidated former bar on a struggling section of East 10th Street that had become a haven for vagrants. Smith took a chance on the building at 2032 E. 10th St., most recently home to Mustang Sally’s tavern, largely because of the involvement of the East 10th Street Civic…

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Firms face choice: Spend or be swallowed: Independent third-party benefits administrators watch consolidation wave sweep through state

For small companies, “their systems costs are just eating them alive,” said Donley, president of Donley & Co. Inc. “If they lose a couple large clients, all of a sudden they go from being in the black to being in the red.” Donley and others say the skyrocketing cost of doing business has triggered a wave of consolidation in the Indiana market for benefits administration. Since 2003, larger companies have gobbled or plan to gobble at least seven independently owned…

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Home Room Construction: Remodeler’s building plan: Double revenue Company targets homeowners considering do-it-yourself projects

Scott Heinemeyer’s business is all about potential. That’s why Home Room Construction tackles many kinds of projects-everything from simple handyman services to complex room additions. After all, what’s the point in limiting the possibilities? “We are a big company that happens to be small right now,” Heinemeyer said of his four-person firm. All told, Home Room finishes anywhere from 200 to 300 projects a year, he said, and revenue is expected to nearly double to $500,000 in 2006. Heinemeyer started…

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