PCED Info
Destination Business Bootcamp-Jon Schallert-June 4-6
JON SCHALLERT’S
DESTINATION BUSINESS BOOTCAMP
REINVENTING BUSINESSES INTO CONSUMER DESTINATIONS
Hope to see you at one of our 2013 BootCamps:
Our March BootCamp is done. Register for one of our remaining BootCamps.
June 4-6
October 1-3
“This is the single most important thing you can do for your business. This separates the men from the boys. If you want success, fun & excitement in your business & life – GO TO BOOTCAMP!”
Jon Schallert is an internationally recognized speaker and business expert specializing in teaching businesses and communities how to turn themselves into Consumer Destinations. His 2-1/2 Day BootCamp is for you if you are a business owner, a retailer, an entrepreneur thinking of starting a business, or a person interested in learning the strategies of creating a Consumer Destination. This BootCamp is for business owners who want to accelerate their learning curve, receive in-depth instruction, strategies, and specific tactics on how to become a dominant Destination Business, which can pull consumers past your competition. When you return from Jon’s BootCamp, you will be light-years ahead of your competition. If your goal is to make your business stronger and more profitable, or make it more desirable to sell when you decide to retire, you can’t afford to miss this. You will not only know what to change in your business to become a Destination, but you will know what to do next, and you will have the tools to get there.
This BootCamp is also for you if you answer “yes” to any of the following questions:
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Are you dissatisfied with the performance of your business?
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Would you like to increase customer loyalty?
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Would you like to increase customer traffic?
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Would you like to keep local customers spending with you, and not out-of-town?
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Is your business losing dollars to competition like Wal-Mart and Home Depot?
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Is your business experiencing falling or flat sales levels?
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Would you like to learn how to run your business more effectively, and quit having it run you?
COST TO ATTEND:
Cost to attend the BootCamp: $1,295.00. Additional persons from the same business: $1,095.00 per person
BOOTCAMP SCHEDULE:
Plan to arrive the day before Day 1 of the BootCamp: We will have an Open House from 5-7 p.m. for our attendees to meet Jon and other BootCamp attendees before Day 1 begins.
Day 1: Check-in between 7:30 – 7:55 a.m. Then be ready to start at 8:00 a.m. sharp. You will have breaks every 75-minutes during the day and a wonderful buffet hot lunch will be served as part of your registration fee. Day 1 is long, so be rested and ready. Dinner will be on your own. There are a choice of many restaurants within walking distance from the BootCamp location. Individual meetings will be scheduled for the evening and you will have homework.
Day 2: Begins at 8:00 a.m. sharp with the schedule similar to Day 1. You will have a hot buffet lunch, dinner will be on your own, and individual meetings will continue throughout the evening.
Day 3: Begins at 8:00 a.m. sharp and will end around noon. You will be able to leave at noon when the BootCamp officially ends, so if you are flying, you can make your return flight reservations for mid-afternoon or evening on this day.
To find out more about our Community Reinvention Program, click here
CONTACT PHILLIPS COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOR MORE INFORMATION. DEADLINE MAY 20.
Know any youth who have great business ideas?
They could have a chance to pitch the idea to Warren Buffet! For more information click here!
Start My Own Business
Start My Own Business
Discover Phillipsburg Main Street is once again facilitating the “Start My Own Business” course following the Christmas season! Classes are scheduled to begin January 16th, 2013 at 6:30 p.m. (lasting 2-3 hours) each Wednesday evening with the last class scheduled for March 20th. Classes will be held in the E-Center – Fischer Building. The course is facilitated by Gene Bugbee, Vice President with Farmers National Bank with additional help and guidance from the Discover Phillipsburg Main Street Economic Restructuring committee. The cost of this course is $200 including textbook and materials.
(2012 SMOB Graduates)
Topics covered in the SMOB course include: Deciding on a business, Business Plan, Financing, Licenses and Permits, Accounting and more! This course is unique in that we ask our local professionals to teach the class that relates to their expertise! “Start My Own Business” is designed for the entrepreneur who wants to start his or her own business and the individual who has an established small business and would like to see that business grow and prosper.
If you would like us to reserve your spot in class, please contact the Main Street office at
(785) 540-4284 or dpmainstreet@ruraltel.net.
Grant Program for state and local attorneys
Governor Sam Brownback recently announced a grants program for state and local attorneys who serve full-time as prosecutors or public-defenders. The grant funds are available from the Federal John R. Justice Grant Program for calendar year 2013.
The purpose of this grant program is to provide student loan repayment assistance prosecutors and public defenders who commit to serving for at least three years. The available grant award is $51,252, which will be split evenly between prosecutors ($25,626) and public defenders ($25,626). Federal John R. Justice Grant funds awarded under this program are a supplement to personal student loan obligations. Attorney who are in default on repayment of federal students loans are ineligible.
Contact John Cronister for a grant application. He is available at (785) 291-3205 or john.cronister@ks.gov. Applicants must submit the required materials to the Kansas Governor’s
Grants Program by 11:59 p.m. on October 26, 2012.
Drought, Impact on Food Production
Kansas Ag Secretary Rodman to Speak Nov. 5 On Drought, Impact on Food Production
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas Secretary of Agriculture, Dale Rodman, will speak at Kansas State University at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 5, in the K-State Student Union Main Ballroom. The lecture is the fifth installment of the Upson Lecture Series, sponsored by the K-State student and young alumni group, Food For Thought.
Rodman will address pertinent issues surrounding the recent drought and how it has affected food production and the agriculture industry’s challenge of feeding the world. The impending increase in the cost of food, which affects families from all demographics, will be discussed at length. The lecture is free and open to the public and will be followed by a question and answer session.
Rodman grew up farming and raising cattle with his family in southeast Kansas. A feed milling graduate of Kansas State University, he spent 37 years at Cargill, Inc. working alongside agribusiness professionals. He also served four years as president of Tramco, Inc. and has traveled the world on behalf of food production.
Rodman’s experience in grain processing, meat processing, milling and many other facets of agriculture led him to be called out of retirement in 2011 by Gov. Sam Brownback to serve as the secretary of agriculture.
Food for Thought, the lecture series’ sponsor, is a grass-roots group of K-Staters who strive to bridge the gap between consumers and agriculture. The group includes undergraduate, graduate and veterinary students, as well as young alumni, who work under the guidance of Dan Thomson, the director of K-State’s Beef Cattle Institute and Don Boggs, associate dean of the K-State College of Agriculture.
The Upson lecture series is named after Dan Upson, K-State retired professor emeritus. Upson taught in K-State’s College of Veterinary medicine for 35 years before retiring with emeritus status in 1994. He has received numerous awards for his dedication to classroom teaching and the veterinary profession.
More information about Food For Thought is available on the group’s blog, on Twitter or on Facebook.
For more information about the lecture, contact Brandi Buzzard, a Food For Thought member, at bbuzzard@ksu.edu or 785-532-1123.
The Workforce of Tomorrow Needs the Skills of Yesterday!
Developing our future workforce in areas that are needed for our regional and economic support is VERY important. I continue to hear from some of our local business leaders and residents about the need to have training in classes in high school or apprenticeship programs for our students. The reasoning behind why such skills of yesterday are in DIRE short supply can be associated to: school budgeting cuts or restrictions in the ‘arts and vo-tech’ areas, federal mandates on schools to push one style of curriculum – steering our kids toward a degree field, less encouragement toward students following desiring these fields, or other reasons which are so numerous it would take another page to get them all down. The fact remains, there is a big push to get our students to higher degree fields in college — now more than ever.
OK. With that being said, please don’t misinterpret my intentions as being against our kids pursuing higher education. That is definately NOT the case, but we need to ENSURE that our kids are 1) given all the options as to ALL employment fields/options and benefits to working in that field, 2) encouraged to take apprenticeship training throughout their high school years in order to provide a guaranteed source of employment immediately out of school, and 3) are recognized for their innovation and committment in blue collar trades as well as those seeking a higher degree at a college or university.
I have been working with several local busiensses wanting to expand or start new ancillary businesses over the last few years. This is one major reason why PCED has been at career fairs over the last few years marketing our area businesses and job opportunities. Workforce development issues, once again, is a trend experienced by many firms over the years. Where are all the skilled workers? We are losing our pool of workers with technical skills. Fewer high schools offer trades courses, fewer kids grow up learning mechanical skills at home or on the farm. It is because of these challenges, the Rural Opportunity Zone legislation was passed as an incentive to our rural communities. It was a tool to help recruit more workforce into the areas to accomodate the growth trend of our western Kansas businesses.
Current reports show that some of the most in demand careers now and in the future do not require a four year degree, but training from technical schools/community colleges, or on the job training. Trade skills in fields such as welding, machining, electronics, drafting/autoCAD, etc. are in demand and will continue to be so in the future. There is also a shortage in CDL drivers in many areas, and the recent oil boom in the Midwest is only growing the demand. With some proactive changes and financial investment to our local schools vocational-technical programs, these learned trades could: 1) have more students working right out of high school, 2) create more business expansion of existing businesses, 3) keep more residents in our rural areas, and 4) strengthen our local economies.
A number of organizations are looking at this issue and how to get people interested in working in careers in skilled trades: economic developers, workforce specialists, schools, manufacturers, etc. There are a number of resources available to assist people looking to change careers. But the first step is educating our youth and residents that there are good careers in manufacturing, and growing opportunities across the country. Not every child is suited to go to college. Nationally, the percentage of students that enroll in a four-year college and don’t finish is around 45%. Imagine the savings if those students were directed to different career paths, with shorter training requirements and considerably less expense. We need to keep this in mind as we look to the future and decide where we want to be, and what we want to be doing.
Jeff Hofaker, PCED executive director
…With thanks to Aaron White (ECC Director) with some format insights
Swine and Poultry
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July 2012 Labor Report and Map of Kansas Unemployment
July Labor Report Shows Positive Long-Term Trends |
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| TOPEKA, Kan. – In the July Labor Report, private sector employment and nonfarm jobs both showed increases since one year ago with significant increases in some industries. Kansas gained 22,100 private sector jobs since July 2011, a 2 percent increase. Nonfarm employment grew by 19,100 jobs since one year ago, a 1.4 percent gain. Compared to June 2012, the private sector increased by 2,600 jobs, or 0.2 percent. Nonfarm employment decreased by 16,900 jobs since one month ago, a 1.2 percent decrease mostly caused by a seasonal decline in government jobs at educational institutions. “Private sector job growth is the encouraging note in this report. Contraction of the labor force and its impact on the unemployment rate is worthy of our attention,” stated Secretary of Labor Karin Brownlee. Seven of the 11 major industries reported job gains since July 2011. Healthcare and social assistance gained 5,300 jobs, a 3.2 percent increase, while heavy and civil engineering construction increased by 2,500 jobs, a 24.3 percent growth. Six of the 11 major industries saw gains from one month ago. Professional and business services grew by 2,200 jobs, a 1.4 percent increase. Construction added 1,900 jobs, a 3.4 percent gain. “In July, the size of the labor force contracted by more than 6,100 people. Nearly all of these people came from the ranks of the employed to no longer being part of the labor force,” Tyler Tenbrink, Labor Economist, said. “This is a trend that surfaced early in 2012 and has persisted. The major age group contributing to this trend is the group of workers age 55 and over.” Many of the above workers leaving the labor force gave the answer that “they do not want a job now” when surveyed. This decline in the civilian labor force affected the unemployment rate. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Kansas was 6.3 percent, down from 6.7 percent one year ago and up from 6.1 percent in June 2012. The non-adjusted unemployment rate was 6.7 percent, down from 7 percent in July 2011 and up from 6.2 percent one month ago. The August 2012 Labor Report will be released on September 21, 2012. For more information, visit www.dol.ks.govFollow KansasDOL on Twitter and Facebook.http://www.dol.ks.gov/LMIS/NewsRelease/pr1207/pr1207.aspx |
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