Majority of Small Businesses Saddled With Websites That do not Meet Their Needs
Deluxe Corporation Offers Free Website Redesign and Web Hosting to Small Business with Worst Website
ST. PAUL, Minn., May 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Many small businesses have a love-hate relationship with their websites — they love to reach new customers online, but struggle to keep the sites fresh and up-to-date. Deluxe Corporation (NYSE: DLX) is looking for those in most desperate need of a website makeover to receive complimentary website tools and services in the “I Hate My Website” contest.
Small businesses can enter at www.ihatemywebsitecontest.com until May 15, 2010. The grand prize winner will receive a free WebExpress(SM) site redesign, one year of Web hosting from Deluxe and a Gateway® Netbook LT2104u. The grand-prize package has an approximate retail value of $1,800.
“Having a solid online presence is critical to growing a business,” said Joanne McGowan, segment leader, Small Business Services at Deluxe. “Deluxe recognizes that many small business owners do not have the time or expertise to improve their websites. Our proprietary tools and services can fulfill this need, which is why we’re excited to be sponsoring the ‘I Hate My Website’ contest.”
A recent Deluxe survey found the majority of small businesses (56 percent) feel they are saddled with websites that do not meet their needs. Among the survey findings:
21 percent of respondents said that their website needs more work in terms of content and layout29 percent of respondents said their website needs an overall refresh
Deluxe’s WebExpress provides users with access to more than 5,000 professionally designed website templates, one-on-one website design, consultation with an experienced website designer, search engine optimization and e-commerce design service. Through WebExpress, businesses also receive bundled website updates and maintenance service, along with marketing applications to help them reach new customers and communicate with existing customers.
“Deluxe has spent years working closely with small businesses. We can anticipate needs and tailor our tools and services to help small business owners achieve their goals,” McGowan said. “Our WebExpress offering makes it easy for small businesses to quickly establish or grow their online presence. Business owners have access to skilled experts who can deliver a professional, custom site within 10 business days.”
More than 60 prizes will be awarded in the “I Hate My Website” contest. Fifty entrants will receive $50 DeluxeCard® Visa® gift cards and one month of free website hosting and design with the purchase of a WebExpress package. From these 50, a popular vote will determine the 10 finalists who each will win a Flip Video™ Ultra Series II Camcorder White/Silver Model U1120W. Deluxe will select the grand prize winner from the finalists.
About the Survey
Deluxe Corporation fielded an in-depth phone and online survey completed by 227 small business owner respondents through an independent research company. Complete results are available on request.
About Deluxe Corporation
Deluxe Corporation is a growth engine for small businesses and financial institutions. Through its industry-leading businesses and brands, the Company helps small businesses and financial institutions attract and retain customers. The Company employs a multi-channel strategy to provide a suite of lifecycle driven solutions to its customers. In addition to its personalized printed products, the Company offers a growing suite of business services, including logo design, payroll, web design and hosting, business networking and other web-based services to help small business grow. In the financial services industry, Deluxe sells check programs and fraud prevention, customer loyalty and retention programs to help banks build lasting relationships and grow core deposits. The Company also sells personalized checks, accessories, and other services directly to consumers. For more information about Deluxe, visit http://www.deluxe.com.
SOURCE Deluxe Corporation
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Venable, Small Businesses from Across Nation, Launch Small Business Coalition for Fair Contracting
Small businesses, the backbone of the American economy, are negatively impacted by government’s new in-sourcing policy
WASHINGTON, May 7 /PRNewswire/ — Venable LLP announced today that the firm, in conjunction with a group of clients and other government contractors, is launching the Small Business Coalition for Fair Contracting in response to federal government procurement initiatives that could, if unchecked, have a significant and negative impact on the operations of small businesses working for the federal government.
Small businesses represent 99.7 percent of all businesses in the nation and received 21.5 percent of all federal prime contracting dollars in fiscal year 2008. Small businesses contracting with the federal government employ workers in every state in the nation, do work for every government agency, and provide services from cleaning offices to providing complex intelligence analysis.
“Although well intentioned, the federal government’s current in-sourcing initiative threatens to take away work from hundreds of small entrepreneurs,” said Venable partner Rob Burton, who served at the Office of Federal Procurement Policy as the nation’s top career federal procurement official.
The 2011 budget has been designed to “rebalance” the relationship between the government and federal contractors through more oversight and in-sourcing. A goal of the budget is to “decrease reliance on contract services” by using federal employees to perform services currently provided by contractors.
In line with the budget’s goals, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy recently provided detailed guidance to agencies on the types of work that should be reserved for government employees. As a result, contractors may soon see fewer business opportunities, as agencies in-source jobs that serve a “critical function” in the government.
“No one wants to be associated with a ‘non-critical’ function,” Burton said. “Many federal agencies will be tempted to ‘over classify’ jobs as ‘critical.’ Those agency choices are not victimless. Small businesses are already feeling the impact of those choices.”
According to Burton, the in-sourcing initiative has already forced small contractors across the nation to dramatically reduce the scope of their operations as their contracts are cancelled and their employees are hired into government jobs.
The Coalition represents a diverse group of companies with a common interest in ensuring that small businesses do not suffer a disproportionate loss of business as a result of the government’s in-sourcing and other policy initiatives.
“The government recognizes small contractors’ critical role in supporting the operation of the federal government and understands the importance of expanding that role,” said Burton. “The coalition will educate lawmakers and federal executives about the unintended consequences of the in-sourcing initiative, provide ideas on how to fix the process and implement fair solutions that best meet the nation’s needs, while protecting the economic viability of America’s small businesses.”
The Small Business Coalition for Fair Contracting will hold a briefing conference call on Tuesday, May 11 at 11 am (EDT). Small businesses doing business with the government are invited to participate in the call and should contact Venable for additional information. Although the call is closed to members of the media, Venable partners Rob Burton and Paul Debolt will be available to provide members of the media with commentary on the call and issues raised by the participants.
Note: An American Lawyer top 100 law firm, Venable LLP has attorneys practicing in all areas of corporate and business law, complex litigation, intellectual property and government affairs. Venable serves corporate, institutional, governmental, nonprofit and individual clients throughout the U.S. and around the world from its headquarters in Washington, D.C. and offices in California, Maryland, New York and Virginia. For more, visit www.Venable.com.
Contact: Allan Ripp 212-262-7477 arippnyc
Majority of Small Businesses Saddled With Websites That do not Meet Their Needs
Deluxe Corporation Offers Free Website Redesign and Web Hosting to Small Business with Worst Website
ST. PAUL, Minn., May 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Many small businesses have a love-hate relationship with their websites — they love to reach new customers online, but struggle to keep the sites fresh and up-to-date. Deluxe Corporation (NYSE: DLX) is looking for those in most desperate need of a website makeover to receive complimentary website tools and services in the “I Hate My Website” contest.
Small businesses can enter at www.ihatemywebsitecontest.com until May 15, 2010. The grand prize winner will receive a free WebExpress(SM) site redesign, one year of Web hosting from Deluxe and a Gateway® Netbook LT2104u. The grand-prize package has an approximate retail value of $1,800.
“Having a solid online presence is critical to growing a business,” said Joanne McGowan, segment leader, Small Business Services at Deluxe. “Deluxe recognizes that many small business owners do not have the time or expertise to improve their websites. Our proprietary tools and services can fulfill this need, which is why we’re excited to be sponsoring the ‘I Hate My Website’ contest.”
A recent Deluxe survey found the majority of small businesses (56 percent) feel they are saddled with websites that do not meet their needs. Among the survey findings:
21 percent of respondents said that their website needs more work in terms of content and layout29 percent of respondents said their website needs an overall refresh
Deluxe’s WebExpress provides users with access to more than 5,000 professionally designed website templates, one-on-one website design, consultation with an experienced website designer, search engine optimization and e-commerce design service. Through WebExpress, businesses also receive bundled website updates and maintenance service, along with marketing applications to help them reach new customers and communicate with existing customers.
“Deluxe has spent years working closely with small businesses. We can anticipate needs and tailor our tools and services to help small business owners achieve their goals,” McGowan said. “Our WebExpress offering makes it easy for small businesses to quickly establish or grow their online presence. Business owners have access to skilled experts who can deliver a professional, custom site within 10 business days.”
More than 60 prizes will be awarded in the “I Hate My Website” contest. Fifty entrants will receive $50 DeluxeCard® Visa® gift cards and one month of free website hosting and design with the purchase of a WebExpress package. From these 50, a popular vote will determine the 10 finalists who each will win a Flip Video™ Ultra Series II Camcorder White/Silver Model U1120W. Deluxe will select the grand prize winner from the finalists.
About the Survey
Deluxe Corporation fielded an in-depth phone and online survey completed by 227 small business owner respondents through an independent research company. Complete results are available on request.
About Deluxe Corporation
Deluxe Corporation is a growth engine for small businesses and financial institutions. Through its industry-leading businesses and brands, the Company helps small businesses and financial institutions attract and retain customers. The Company employs a multi-channel strategy to provide a suite of lifecycle driven solutions to its customers. In addition to its personalized printed products, the Company offers a growing suite of business services, including logo design, payroll, web design and hosting, business networking and other web-based services to help small business grow. In the financial services industry, Deluxe sells check programs and fraud prevention, customer loyalty and retention programs to help banks build lasting relationships and grow core deposits. The Company also sells personalized checks, accessories, and other services directly to consumers. For more information about Deluxe, visit http://www.deluxe.com.
SOURCE Deluxe Corporation
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Turner School of Construction Management Training Program Graduates 35 Minority and Women Owned Businesses
Graduation Ceremony for Inaugural Program in State of Delaware to be held at Delaware Technical Community College on May 11th
NEW YORK, May 7 /PRNewswire/ — Turner Construction Company, in partnership with the City of Wilmington Contractors Assistance Participation Services Program (CAPS), the State of Delaware Office of Minority and Women Business Enterprise, the Wilmington Housing Authority, Surety Bonding Associates and the United States Small Business Administration Delaware District Office, will hold a ceremony to recognize the first graduates of the Turner School of Construction Management training program held in the state of Delaware. A ceremony for the 35 minority and women owned business enterprise graduates will be held on Tuesday, May 11th at the Delaware Technical Community College located at 333 Shipley Street, Wilmington Delaware at 6:00pm.
The Turner School of Construction Management (TSCM) provides M/WBE contractors with the tools necessary to pursue work in the private and public sectors, including opportunities created by the City of Wilmington and the State of Delaware new initiatives through the Supplier Diversity Executive Order # 14. Participants learn the essentials of a construction management business, including managing a business, bidding, cost estimating, scheduling, fiscal management, safe building practices and bonding in order to become better equipped to compete for progressively larger contracts. Attendees also have the opportunity to network with peers, instructors and others in the construction industry during the training program.
The Turner School of Construction Management was established more than 40 years ago. Today, the training program is offered in more than 70 cities across the country and includes more than 15,000 graduates.
“Turner’s community affairs programs are the lifeblood of our corporate culture and our firm is committed to promoting partnerships and relationships in the communities we serve. The TSCM training program expands opportunities for minority and women owned firms and Turner’s network of M/WBE partners in Delaware as we work together to deliver services to the City of Wilmington and through the State of Delaware’s Supplier Diversity Executive Order # 14,” said Herb Young, Turner’s Regional Director of Community Affairs.
The TSCM has been crucial in helping Turner achieve success in awarding more than 52,000 contracts with a value in excess of $18 billion to minority- and women-owned business enterprises. For the past five years, Turner has surpassed the milestone of awarding more than $1 billion of contracts to M/WBE firms.
About Turner
Turner is the leading general builder in the U.S., ranking first or second in the major segments of the building construction field. During 2009, Turner completed $8.2 billion of construction. Turner is the only builder offering clients a nationwide network of offices across the U.S. Founded in 1902, the firm is a subsidiary of HOCHTIEF, a publicly traded company and one of the world’s leading international construction service providers. For more information, visit Turner’s website at www.turnerconstruction.com.
SOURCE Turner Construction Company
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Parago Named to List of 50 Fastest Growing Women-Owned or Led Businesses in North America
Texas incentives provider led by Juli Spottiswood recognized for exceptional growth
LEWISVILLE, Texas, April 27 /PRNewswire/ — Parago (www.parago.com), a leading provider of innovative rewards-based incentive programs, today announced that it is amongst the Top 50 Fastest Growing Women-Owned or Led Companies in North America, as determined by the Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO).
The WPO’s mission is improving business conditions for women entrepreneurs and promoting the acceptance and advancement of women entrepreneurs in all industries.
Despite a tumultuous economy, Parago has realized tremendous growth in core business lines and new products – as well as being heralded by the business community and industry with a number of awards and recognitions.
With a tag line of “Don’t Stand Still”, Parago constantly pushes the boundaries to change the industry paradigm and enhance the participant experience. It is this march of thought leadership coupled with heralded execution and service performance that has resulted in remarkable growth. And for the second consecutive year, Parago’s client renewal rate was 100%.
“I am very proud of the disruptive changes we brought to the incentives industry, which have vastly improved the consumer rebate experience and helped us become one of the largest consumer incentive providers in the country,” said Juli Spottiswood, Parago President and Chief Executive Officer. “To also be recognized as an overall fastest growing company led by a woman is personally very significant and humbling. My wonderful team of employees and partners made this distinction a reality.”
2010 marks the 3rd Annual WPO competition to find the 50 Fastest™ women-owned/women-led companies in North America. Companies were ranked according to revenue growth from 2005 to 2009.
About Parago
Parago is the innovative provider of rewards-based incentive solutions that deploy technology to drive better results from consumers and sales channels. Parago provides a full range of corporate and consumer incentive programs to Fortune 500 companies. Its offerings include incentive solutions targeted at customer acquisition and retention and sales and channel incentives solutions. Parago has distinguished itself in the rewards-based incentives field for more than ten years by consistent reinvention of legacy approaches, introducing 27 industry firsts and receiving three patents. For more information visit www.parago.com.
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InterCall Launches Hosted Unified Communications Geared to Small and Medium-sized Businesses
Strategic Partnership with CallTower to Deliver Services Reinforces InterCall’s Commitment to Becoming a Collaborative Solutions Provider
CHICAGO, April 26 /PRNewswire/ — InterCall, the world’s largest conferencing and collaboration services provider, today announced the launch of InterCall Hosted Unified Communications for the SMB market. The solution delivers the productivity, cost savings and enterprise-class reliability businesses are looking for in a Unified Communications solution, without expensive hardware and infrastructure investments, long and complex deployments or on-going support and upgrade concerns.
“Many small to mid-sized businesses are very interested in Unified Communications from a productivity and cost savings standpoint, but are intimidated by the prospect of hardware expenses, complicated implementations, and day-to-day management requirements,” said Bob Wise, executive vice president of Unified Communications Services, InterCall. “This solution provides cost-effective, easy-to-deploy and scalable Unified Communications services that meet the needs of that market.”
InterCall Hosted Unified Communications includes central hosting and management of:
Microsoft® ExchangeOffice CommunicatorSharePointActive DirectoryCisco UC Manager
The solution will be bundled with InterCall’s award-winning audio conferencing and custom options will be available. As a fully hosted solution, customers can leverage all the benefits of Unified Communications without upfront capital expenditures and no need to hire dedicated on-site staff to maintain the system.
To deliver the offering, InterCall has partnered with CallTower, a leading provider of Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) and recognized in Gartner’s 2009 UCaaS Magic Quadrant as a visionary in the Unified Communications services market. The combination of InterCall’s best-in-class conferencing services along with CallTower’s technology platform provides customers with an unparalleled service and support experience, as well as the benefit of having a single vendor to manage and a single invoice for their monthly communications spend.
“We were wholly impressed by InterCall’s Unified Communications vision,” said Bob Barnes, executive vice president of sales, marketing and business development at CallTower. “Their long history of success, their ability and desire to find the best available partners, and their commitment to bring them to market in an integrated fashion is what makes us strongly believe in the partnership.”
InterCall customers will also have access to expert technology consultants, thanks to the recent acquisition of SKT Business Communication Solutions by West Corporation (InterCall and SKT BCS are a part of West Corporation). SKT BCS is a leading professional services, systems integration and information technology firm specializing in the consulting, project management and implementation of Unified Communications and IP telephony, legacy telecommunications systems, virtualization and Communications Enabled Business Processes.
Both the CallTower partnership and SKT relationship are key pieces of InterCall’s Unified Communications strategy, reflecting the transition from being the world’s largest conferencing provider to becoming the leading provider of collaborative business solutions.
“We’ve built our services out of the desire to meet customer needs, so our move from being the number one conferencing provider to the number one collaboration provider is a natural transition that reflects where the market is going,” stated Wise. “This partnership will ensure our continued delivery of best-of-breed services and easy-to-use solutions.”
About InterCall
InterCall, a subsidiary of West Corporation, is the largest service provider in the world specializing in conference communications. Founded in 1991, InterCall helps people and companies are more productive by providing advanced audio, event, Web and video conferencing solutions that are easy-to-use and save them time and money. Along with a team of over 950 Meeting Consultants, the company employs more than 1,600 operators, customer service representatives, call supervisors, accounting, marketing and IT professionals. InterCall’s strong U.S. presence, which includes 10 call centers and 35 sales offices, is bolstered by a global reach that extends to Canada, Mexico, Latin America, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, China, India, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan. For more information, please visit www.intercall.com.
About CallTower, Inc.
CallTower (www.calltower.com) transforms a company’s voice and data communications into a strategic business tool that provides a competitive advantage in today’s market. CallTower’s Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) provides growing companies with enterprise-class reliability, a single point of support, productivity-enhancing features and 24/7 service for a fixed monthly fee. CallTower’s communication services are based on the Cisco® CallManager, Microsoft Office Communications Server, Microsoft® Exchange Server and Microsoft® Sharepoint Server powered by the proprietary CallTower vXML VoiceCube voice messaging platform.
About West Corporation
West Corporation is a leading provider of technology-driven, voice-oriented solutions. West offers its clients a broad range of communications and infrastructure management solutions that help them manage or support critical communications. West’s customer contact solutions and conferencing services are designed to improve its clients’ cost structure and provide reliable, high-quality services. West also provides mission-critical services, such as public safety and emergency communications.
Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, West serves Fortune 1000 companies and other clients in a variety of industries, including telecommunications, banking, retail, financial, technology and healthcare. West has sales and operations in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Latin America. For more information on West Corporation, please call 1-800-841-9000 or visit www.west.com.
SOURCE InterCall
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Free DTE Energy Lighting Webinar to Show Businesses How Little Changes Can Save Them Big Bucks on Energy
DETROIT, April 26 /PRNewswire/ — DTE Energy will be conducting a free webinar May 20 to help small- and medium-sized businesses learn how to save money on energy bills by making changes to their lighting. The hour-long Internet-based session starts at 2 p.m. and will cover topics such as energy reduction, effective spacing and placement of lights, fixture efficiency and more.
The webinar will be led by Kenneth Klemmer, design director of Illuminating Concepts, a nationally recognized lighting design company based in Farmington Hills. Participants can easily access the webinar from home or office, and will have the opportunity to ask questions via phone or e-mail.
Registration is required. To register or for more information, go to: dteenergy.com/webinars.
SOURCE DTE Energy
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Landrieu Chairs Hearing to Discuss Efforts to Expand Broadband to Underserved Small Businesses
WASHINGTON, April 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — United States Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., Chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, today convened a hearing entitled “Connecting Main Street to the World: Federal Efforts to Expand Small Business Internet Access.” The hearing focused on implementing the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) National Broadband Plan and ongoing broadband grant opportunities made available from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
“In the same way that our interstate highway system connected America by reducing travel time and facilitating commerce, broadband has minimized the barriers that separate small businesses from geographically distant consumers,” Sen. Landrieu said. “Broadband has not only impacted small high-tech businesses, this technology has changed the traditional business models that all small business owners once relied on. As such, it is particularly important that small businesses have access to broadband technology, so that they can compete on a global level. Expanding broadband access and adoption is not just the FCC’s job; we all have a role to play. We have some challenges ahead, and it is important that we understand how to best work together to implement our National Broadband Plan to benefit small businesses, particularly in rural, underserved and unserved areas of the nation.”
According to reports from the FCC, businesses with 25 employees or less pay two times more per employee for broadband than those with more than 25 employees.
“While we must expand access to these services, at the same time, we must ensure broadband is affordable for these entrepreneurs,” Landrieu said. “If our goal is to allow these small firms to grow, we cannot limit their growth by over-charging for services. Business could instead use this capital to hire new workers or upgrade older equipment.”
In a February letter to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, Senator Landrieu cited several policy recommendations that were included in the National Broadband Plan, including:
Creation of SBA Broadband and Emerging IT Coordinator;
Improvement of Broadband Counseling Among SBA Resource Partners;
Expanding the reach of Entrepreneurial Development Service Via Broadband and Online Applications;
Creation of Public-Private Partnership on Technology Training for Small Disadvantaged Businesses; and
Creation of Pilot Entrepreneurial Development Programs through the Economic Development Administration (EDA).
A copy of the letter can be viewed by clicking here.
During the hearing, Senator Landrieu announced the release of a Federal guide for small businesses interested in applying for loans and grants, to connect small entities with valuable Federal resources. A complete copy of the guide can be viewed by clicking here.
Additionally, Senator Landrieu announced that the Small Business Committee will hold a hearing in the coming weeks with small business owners to discuss the availability and affordability of broadband Internet access.
To view the complete and to view written testimony from all the witnesses, please click here.
SOURCE U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship
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