If you haven’t followed the story of Alvin Greene, you should. In essence, the story goes like this: Greene filed as a Democratic candidate for DeMint’s seat in the U.S. Senate. He bought no yard signs, he showed up on no TV commercials. He didn’t campaign, stump or otherwise even appear in public. (Although he apparently WAS doing some type of person-to-person meet and greets, thus his felony charge.)

Still, he beat his opponent with 59 percent of the vote.

What does this mean for you? Well, whether you are a large corporation or a small business, it should tell you one thing:

If you aren’t marketing yourself, and marketing yourself well, you could very easily be beat by a nobody.

Okay, so maybe “nobody” is a harsh term here, but the truth is that many businesses eschew a marketing and PR plan because “money’s tight” or “it’s the easiest thing to cut.” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard those — and many other—excuses. Many companies think themselves so far ahead of competition, or maybe even exempt from it, that marketing is the first cut. Advertising? Gone. Strategy? Gone. Social media presence? Takes too much time. Website? We’ll do it later.

Well guess what? While you are fading off into the noise, the general public (who now doesn’t know you from the next guy) is not getting a Top-of-Mind *ping* on your company when they need your product. Nope, they are simply picking up the phone book and dialing the first name on the list.

So, unless your name starts with an “A”, I’d suggest you re-evaluate where you are going.

(Yeah, we said GIVEAWAY!)

Business Black Box is giving away FOUR free tickets to this weekend’s Launch Greenville event, at the Carolina First Center!!!

If you don’t know about the event, visit www.launchgreenville.com.(But you’re also in trouble, because it means you haven’t been reading your emails!)

Here’s how you can win:
1. Send us an email at jordana@insideblackbox.com.

2. Put CONTEST in the subject line. (This is important! You don’t want to get overlooked!)

3.Then, give us one reason why you need to go to Launch Greenville. Is it because you need a better sales process? Need to know about marketing yourself? Or you’re just a start-up or small business and need to figure out what you’re doing in the first place?

4.Include your Name, Company, Title, Phone number and Email address. This info MUST be present to win!!

Listen, now, this is important: Deadline is 8 a.m. TOMORROW, Wednesday, April 14. No exceptions! We’ll take the best responses and pick four to attend.

Yes, it’s that simple. So send us an email NOW to get a free ticket ($149 value!)

See you there!

I like to learn. Always have. I was the geek who got excited when the school shopping list came. I lost it over new textbooks. I got excited when they assigned huge projects.

As an adult, I miss college (and not for the same reasons that most people miss college!). I still shop Amazon.com for textbooks on topics I want to learn. I simply adore this site. And, for the most part, I’ve always thought I was the lone dork in all this.

Until TED.

I forget who it was that first introduced me to TED.com, but whoever it was, thank you. TED (which stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design) is a website that contains hundreds (or thousands?) of 15 to 20 minute lectures on all different kinds of things. Random things. Things that you could never learn about in school, or from a single textbook. Things that make you think and see things just a little differently.

My favorites? Adam Savage (of Mythbusters fame) talking about the dodo and creative obsession.
Jennifer 8. Lee and the Search for General Tso.
Jane Chen, discussing the newest design for incubators for third world countries.

I am NOT alone.

So imagine how excited I was when I heard about TEDx coming to Greenville. It was new notebook paper and textbooks all over again.

Cool people are on the slate for March 5. People like Ted from Inner Cirkus, and Ellen from Fast Company. People who have stuff in their heads that never would make their way to mine, were it not for events like this.

Tickets are only (only!) $25.

So go to the TEDx Greenville site, and register. Fast. There’s limited seating and limitless ideas.

*Full disclosure: Business Black Box is a sponsor of TEDx. (Heck yeah, we are!)

If I could pinpoint only one thing—the most important thing—that many business people ignore, it wouldn’t be the finances, or employee retention, or even marketing. In fact, the thing that businesses, in my opinion, is so off-the-radar for many that it wouldn’t even show up on a Top 10 list.

I’m talking about politics.

Yes, politics. Not the “what is red” or “who is left of center” discussions that seem to permeate every conversation. I’m talking about the legislation that, in its very essence, is designed to layout a framework for business in our state.

Yet most of us don’t get it. A lot of us can’t follow it. It’s nebulous, confusing and altogether frustrating.

And then there’s the time factor—”I’m trying to run a business, I don’t have time to learn what every bill holds and keep track of who is doing what!” Who has time to sit down and learn the processes and people over and over again?

Fair enough. But that doesn’t change it from being important. After all, with the Upstate serving as a major (if not THE major) business hub of the state, we can’t afford to ignore politics.

So, to help, Business Black Box teamed up with WORD 106.3 FM and Sunnie HARMON and John DEWORKEN group to provide a weekly podcast that will give you the down-and-dirty details of S.C. politics and legislation—in 10 minutes or less. We’ll tell you who is bringing what to the statehouse. We’ll tell you why it’s important. And, we’ll even do a little translation on the way.

You can find it on our site, you can subscribe to the RSS feed, or, soon, be able to get it on iTunes. Then, go to the statehouse website to find your legislator and tell them what you think.

Easy, right? Ten minutes, and all the tools are in place.

Now, no excuses.

One year ago, I had the opportunity to meet Bo Griffin when we covered her as one of our very first Trailblazers. If nothing else, Bo was full of energy and the second you spoke with her you had to smile. She forced it—drew it out of you without you even realizing.

We talked about her ventures, of course, but seeing her in action was a completely different thing. A photoshoot at her store was intermingled with her care for her customers. A few times she’d jump out of frame to help a young girl looking for a wedding dress. She was constantly laughing, smiling, talking—drawing you in to a world that she found amusing, lovely, and bright. But deep down, Bo was an entrepreneur. An innovator. A brilliant mind with brilliant ideas. A magnetic personality with the know-how to back it all up. In a word—amazing.

Today, I am torn more than I might be for any other interview. Bo, without even knowing it, was an encouragement to me, as a woman from a small town who made it big. What she wanted, she didn’t just get—she made happen. From radio personality to game show host to dress designer and probably many other titles known only to those closest to her—Bo Griffin was an example to every woman (and every man, for that matter) who wants something but can’t figure out how it needs to happen. She was proof positive that anything can be done, and that success can come in many forms.

The Upstate business world has profited greatly from this woman, and she will be greatly missed.

To see Bo talk about her successes, failures and everything in between, click here.

Last Sunday, we put a post out to all of our Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin followers with an offer for our Social Media friends. One year’s subscription to Business Black Box for only $15, and the offer was good for one week—through Friday, February 5.

Thing is, we don’t make our web guys work on the weekends, which means the price hasn’t changed back yet, and you still have two more days to take advantage of this offer!

On Monday, everything goes back to normal, so click here to subscribe right away!

If you knew that by reading this article, you could reach any goal that you set, would you read it?

Reaching any goal is possible­—the key lies not in setting that goal but in the step before it, which is found in the questions, “What do you want?” and then “Why?”

So many people in sales (although this applies to every area of life) want to jump straight to putting numbers on a page: “I’m going to book this many appointments, sell this many contracts or make this much money.” They set some tangible goal. But these goals become nothing more than numbers on a page unless they become internalized. Each person needs to consider what it would mean to reach them and why reaching them is important.

In planning your goals for 2010 and beyond, you need to start with the “What?” and “Why?”

So, first, ask yourself: “What do I want?”

You may remember reading a poll asking the American people “What do you want?” The number one answer? “I don’t know.” Number two? “To be happy.” And number three? “Money.”
So what’s your answer? Do you truly know what you want?

Consider your definition of happiness. What is your definition of “enough” money? If you don’t set a goal that reflects what you truly want, you’ll always strive for more, which can ultimately leads to burnout, addiction or worse.

But even once you know what you want, you’re still not ready to put numbers on a page yet. Your next step is to run those desires and wants by the five people closest to you to see if they’re consistent with who you are and what truly makes you happy. If you’re not honest with yourself (even if you don’t realize it), they will be.

After internalizing what you want, the next step is to ask yourself: “Why do I want this?”

The tricky part here is that the answer is the question, and the question is the answer: “What do you want?” is the question; the answer is “Why do you want it?” So why do you want to make that much money or book that many appointments?
Here’s the key to asking yourself “Why?” If your why doesn’t really mean something to you, you’ll never achieve it because it’s not really worth making the effort to you.

This is the reason why this series is entitled “The Art of Goal-Setting.” The “what” and “why” are your art. The science, or numbers on a page, only comes after the art is complete. You get to put the colors on the canvas and be the artist of your life. Once you’ve internalized that, then there truly isn’t any goal you can’t reach or anyone or anything that can stop you.

In preparation for this coming year, begin planning around what you truly want to accomplish in life and why you want it. If you plan your goals around those two factors, you’ll set yourself up for success and be pleased with the outcome.

We need you to be our eyes and ears. As we focus on the many faces of Upstate business, let us know who you think should be featured in upcoming issues of Business Black Box. We’re looking for people and businesses that fit these descriptions, and we know that you know who they are!

Trailblazers: Some blend in, some stick out, but all Trailblazers have one thing in common. It’s not that they’re all successful or have reached a certain level of fame. Trailblazers are people who are either doing something no one has ever done before (and succeeding) or they’ve taken something old and status quo and made it new by doing it in a way no one has ever tried before.

Speed Pitch: For individuals looking to start up a business or take their business to the next level, we’ve provided a venue for them to share their pitch so it can be critiqued by key players in their field as well as investors. Are people likely to invest based on your pitch? Find out here and receive critiques to make it even stronger.

Big Picture: For those people in the Upstate who sit back and think, “I wonder what all went into making this facility a reality,” we created Big Picture, and feature a different Upstate location covering a two-page spread and print a by-the-numbers breakdown of what went into creating it. It’s a great way to take a peek into how local development and expansion is impacting Upstate businesses across the board.

101 Days: Whether you look at it as 2,424 hours, 145,440 minutes, or 8,726,400 seconds, 101 Days is a detailed look at a local business for this predetermined amount of time. We usually feature emerging businesses or businesses looking to take their next big step in development. See their processes, their struggles and their successes—and learn a thing or two along the way.

What Matters: In What Matters, Business Black Box takes an alternative look at Upstate business. Here we focus on the people and the lives behind that business. Know someone from the Upstate with an incredible story? Fill us in on what happened and why it matters to you.

If you know anyone who fits any of these categories, let us know by email, and they may be featured in an issue of Business Black Box.

We look forward to your insights!

Today is the day.

Apparently, our website worked, because my phone and email have positively blown up since work hours began – people wondering where they can pick up a copy, where they can find it, and all that jazz.

Even a few people asking who’s in the next issue and when the copy deadlines are.

A lot of people have equated it to having another baby. The process; the hard work; the joy of the arrival.

But far better than having this baby is having the Upstate excited to see it. Wanting it to be here. Asking for it; asking for when they can see it. It’s always nice to create something – it’s a far better reward to create something that people want.

Thank you, all, for your support. We are here to serve you, and we hope you remain as excited about each issue as you are about this one.

If you’re looking for copies, they’ll be on sale for $4 at our offices as of Thursday morning, April 30. (That’s a 33% discount off the cover price!) Local newsstands will be receiving their copies over the course of the next week – and if they don’t have it out, be sure to ask them when they will be carrying Business Black Box on their shelves!

We already know that a recession is a great time for entrepreneurs. A down economy is a great time for innovation and cultivation of great ideas.

But for entrepreneurs making that leap, those who already have, or those who really want to, it can sometimes feel like you’re all alone. It can feel like you’re in over your head – that there are too many options and not many at all.

For those in that position, April 20 will mark an opportunity like no other – a panel discussion on “Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: Servicing Fast Growth Technology Start-Ups.” The panel will serve to answer a number of questions related to entrepreneurs in the Upstate, as well as to educate those in attendance about NEXT, an Upstate entrepreneurial resource collaborative for entrepreneurs, technology start-ups and high-growth companies.

Directly following the panel, NEXT will hold a press conference for a special announcement regarding the Anderson business community.

4 p.m.-5 p.m. Panel Discussion, hosted by Vincie Albritton

5 p.m. - 5:15 p.m. Press conference

5:15 - 6:30 Networking reception

So, mark your calendar for April 20, from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m. Join us at the Anderson Arts Center (110 Federal Street, Anderson, SC). Business Black Box will be media sponsor of the event, along with sponsors Clemson University Research Foundation and the Anderson Chamber of Commerce.

To RSVP for the event, contact Ginger McKenzie by email or by calling (864) 239-3708. Reservations are due by Friday, April 17.