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Big Brand Theory Applied to Small Business Challenges in New Book from Master Marketer, Jim Joseph

Cupertino, CA (PRWEB) March 07, 2012

Today, HappyAbout announces the release of Jim Joseph’s newest book The Experience Effect for Small Business, a follow-up to his award-winning first book released in May 2010. In that groundbreaking edition, The Experience Effect, marketing master Mr. Joseph delivered a critically acclaimed, straightforward volume of marketing advice that showed big business how to build the ultimate brand experience to create consumer loyalty. Now, he takes that big brand theory and applies it to the backbone of the American economy, small business, in The Experience Effect for Small Business.

While it is often said that small business is the key to our economic recovery, many are still suffering in the continued challenging environment. Small businesses simply cannot afford the same resources or access to big brand thinking as the large corporations. Jim believes that there’s no reason a small business can’t perform like a big brand, which makes this new book a timely must-read for small and medium sized businesses.

As Jim says, “It’s the experience that turns an ordinary product into a beloved brand. When all of the marketing elements come together in a cohesive and seamless way that adds value, a loyal customer is born.” Jim calls this “the experience effect.”

Filled with practical advice and real-life examples that will resonate with readers, The Experience Effect For Small Business teaches small business owners how to understand their target audience, conduct effective market research, craft a unique positioning, connect with customers on an emotional level, build efficient touch points, and ultimately build a successful brand. Readers will learn how to replicate the success of big brands with limited budgets and with few resources. Loaded with inspiration, Jim’s book will strike a chord with many small business owners in today’s turbulent economy.

As Jim says on his daily blog at JimJosephExp.com, “Marketing is a spectator sport, so let’s all learn from each other.”

About the Author, Jim Joseph

Jim Joseph is an award winning marketing master who has specialized in building consumer brands and agency businesses across virtually every consumer category. His impressive client list includes blockbusters Kellogg’s, Kraft, Nestle, IKEA, Cadillac, Tylenol, Clean & Clear, and Walmart. As President of North America for Cohn & Wolfe, Jim has the expertise and experience to consistently create seamless brand experiences for his teams and his clients.

Jim is a graduate of Cornell University and has an MBA from Columbia University. Fulfilling a lifelong dream (aside from writing), Jim teaches two courses in marketing at New York University modeled after his books The Experience Effect and The Experience Effect For Small Business. Jim’s first book won a Silver Medal at the 2011 Axiom Business Books Awards. His blog, jimjosephexp.com, has an impressive industry following and received an Honorable Mention for best blog at the 2011 PRNews Digital Awards. A sought-after speaker, Jim is also a regular contributor in trade publications like PRWeek, The Holmes Report, AdWeek, and other industry publications. His Twitter chats @JimJosephExp around pop culture sporting events and award shows have reached near trending status, bringing marketing devotees together to comment on brand experiences.

About Jim’s Agency, Cohn & Wolfe

Cohn & Wolfe is a leading global brand communications agency committed to delivering the unexpected. Our award-winning marketing and digital campaigns supercharge brands through targeted, innovative strategies that captivate and motivate stakeholders. Our agency continues to be recognized for its creative spirit and imaginative mindset, ranking as one of Advertising Age’s “Best Places to Work.” We are decidedly more entrepreneurial and risk-taking that other agencies our size. Our culture nurtures the new, unleashes the unexpected, and celebrates ideas of all stripes. For everything we tackle, we create teams that will best deliver success. We combine social media evangelists with sustainability connoisseurs; corporate experts with consumer innovators. We then create programs that are pitch-perfect, eliciting each brand’s mission and charm.

PUBLISHER: Happy About

TITLE: The Experience Effect for Small Business

SUBTITLE: Big Brand Results with Small Business Resources

AUTHOR: Jim Joseph

DATE OF PUBLICATION: January 2012

PRICE: Hardcover $ 29.95, eBook $ 9.99

ISBN: Hardcover: 978-1-60005-206-4 (1-60005-206-1)

ISBN: eBook: 978-1-60005-209-5 (1-60005-209-6)

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CONTROL NUMBER: 2011942256

About Happy About®:

Happy About® books educate, entertain, and evoke. We publish books for both individual non-fiction business authors who excel in their field of expertise as well as corporations that want to establish thought leadership and lead generation through a series of books. Corporations interested in exploring publishing a book series should contact the associate publisher, Janae Pierre at janae.pierre@happyabout.info, 408-921-1568. Non-fiction business authors should send an email to Ms. Pierre asking for the “6 questions” or go to this URL: http://happyabout.info/contribute.php. To purchase a copy of this book, visit Amazon.com, HappyAbout.com or other leading online stores.

Press Copies:

A free copy of the book is available to the press upon request. Please email your request to presscopy@happyabout.info.

Press Contacts:

Sharyn Fitzpatrick, @themarcomguru

Phone: 650-814-5835

E-Mail: sharyn.fitzpatrick(at)happyabout(dot)info

Katy Kelley for Cohn & Wolfe

Phone: 212-798-9773

Email: katy.kelley(at)cohnwolfe(dot)com

Please send all interview requests to Katy Kelley at Cohn & Wolfe

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, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
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Grass Roots Band of Entrepreneurs, ICO Group, Reaches-Out to SBA to Help American Business Ready Itself for Crowd-Funding

San Ramon, CA (PRWEB) March 05, 2012

Initial Crowd Offering Group (ICO) Group, a coalition of local small business leaders and entrepreneurs who are committed to level the financial playing field, today announced a new grass-roots approach in support of the crowd-funding initiative currently before Congress. This approach would make it safe and practical for every day investors to buy and sell shares of local, small and start-up companies. It would also make it possible for these same companies to receive government sponsored training and assistance in doing so, utilizing the already available resources of the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) and the Small Business Administration (SBA). To kick-off this initiative, ICO Group will deliver a series of apolitical, unbiased briefings to SCORE and SBDC offices across the state.

Crowd-funding legislation will allow businesses to sell equity to a broad shareholder base via an Internet intermediary. The legislation was introduced into the House by Representative McHenry [R-NC] and into the Senate by Senators Brown [R-MA] and Merkley [R-OR].

Having already passed 407 to 17 through the House (bill HR 2930), according to Project Vote Smart, crowd-funding is earning bipartisan support. The Senate bills are awaiting approval. However, they were recently identified as a top priority by Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid [D-NV].

Supporters argue crowd-funding provides entrepreneurs or small business owners the green light to engage the middle class and their local communities as investors — a massive, yet previously prohibited, capital alternative to angel investors, venture capitalist and banks. They also point out that it provides individual investors and communities with the opportunity to “get in on the ground floor” and support local commerce. Detractors fear fraud because an illegitimate shell company with an attractive website could conceivably con many investors. They also fear the well-meaning but unready entrepreneur who could become quickly inoperable due to the added responsibility of juggling a hundred new shareholders.

To this end, ICO Group is working with SBA’s SCORE and SBDC offices across California to kick-off a series of meetings discussing crowd-funding’s promises and dangers and the role that their organizations could potentially play.

“The SBA holds the solution to safeguarding the crowd-funding process,” said Ian Schuster, President of Schubros Brewery and the head of ICO Group. “As an entrepreneur, I want crowd-funding to pass of course, but I’m just as worried about fraud as are the bills’ detractors. But we’ve resources already in place to address that issue — take SCORE, for instance, with 364 offices and over 13,000 volunteers, who don’t receive a dime of tax-payer money. It can provide low-cost, face-to-face validation of a company’s legitimacy along with the voice of reason to save or dissuade the overambitious entrepreneur. By working with SCORE and the SBDC, we can craft a very affordable human solution to this problem”.

“Without the involvement of SCORE and the SBDC, the House and Senate will be challenged to find a centralized way to deliver the crowd-funding protections that investors need and the preparations that entrepreneurs require,” added Bryan Brumfield, CEO of Brumfield Cellars. “They will be forced to refer the issue back to the SEC in a regulatory process that will guarantee recession-wearied small businesses another year of capital-starvation.”

The presentations, which will be held from March through May, 2012 at SBA SCORE offices in cities throughout California including Chico on March 26; Santa Rosa on March 29; Los Angeles on April 2 and Ventura on April 9; will answer questions like:

•What is Crowd-Funding?

•What are its requirements for investors, Internet-intermediaries and small businesses?

•What are its limitations?

•What will it change?

•What are its pros and cons?

•How can SBA and SCORE play a significant role?

•What can small businesses do to address its complexities?

More About Crowd-Funding

Although the crowd-funding legislation was overwhelmingly approved by the House of Representatives (407 to 17) last November, it has experienced delays in achieving Senate approval. However, voting on this legislation is expected to be complete in early March, potentially making it possible for small businesses and entrepreneurs to raise funds online.

With companies like Kickstarter and Kiva, which have pioneered the concept of collecting small contributions from thousands of individuals, online fundraising is not new. However, up until now, equity sales were not possible. These fundraising efforts were only limited to charity and micro loans.

About ICO Group

Schubros Brewery and Brumfield Cellars, together with other small businesses, are spearheading the newly formed ICO Group, a grass-roots organization which aims to help small businesses identify alternative sources of capital. In addition to a collection of companies that are currently working to further its cause, ICO Group is made up of security lawyers, accountants and leading accounting software experts. Currently, the organization’s main focus is to help to facilitate crowd-funding best practices.

ICO Group’s lead, Ian Schuster, president of Schubros Brewery, is a business consultant and former brand manager for Marlboro with an MBA from the London Business School.

About Schubros Brewery

Schubros Brewery was founded in 2011 by four beer and food industry veterans who together possess nearly 50 years of industry experience. Striving to elevate beer enjoyment to the highest level, Schubros believes in creating the ultimate epicurean experience through its purposefully reciped beers.

Guided by three core values– community, responsibility and quality, Schubros is committed to preserving the purity of its brands, investing in green technology and using all-natural and organic ingredients. Schubros Brewery plans to participate in community events, hire locally and give one percent of its core-brand sales to worthy organizations in San Ramon and the Tri-Valley including area schools, parks and wildlife and environment preservation groups. Some of the causes to which the brewery is already lending its support include Blue and Gold Star Moms and the local SBA SCORE group’s effort to help veterans transition to entrepreneurial ventures. For more information about Schubros or ICO Group, please visit http://www.schubrosbrewery.com or call (925) 786-2232.

Media Contact:

Andrea Corry

TopMind PR

(925) 640-5482

andrea(at)topmindpr(dot)com

©Copyright 1997-

, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.

San Jose Business Attorney Tamara Pow Receives AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating From Martindale-Hubbell®

San Jose, CA (PRWEB) February 16, 2012

San Jose business lawyer, Tamara Pow of Structure Law Group, LLP has received the prestigious AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating of 5.0 out of 5.0 from Martindale Hubbell® which is the highest such peer review rating that an attorney can receive.

Ms. Pow has over 15 years of experience as a business and corporate lawyer in San Jose and was admitted to practice in the State of California in 1996. She is one of an elite class of California business attorneys that holds both an MBA and a California Real Estate Broker’s License (Broker’s License #01860035).

Ms. Pow’s practice focuses on all aspects of business transactions including contract negotiation, liability protection, employment issues and tax planning. Her practice also focuses on the formation and representation of various entities including corporations, LLCs, LLPs, general partnerships and limited partnerships. Ms. Pow’s real estate practice focuses on 1031 exchange tax planning, purchase and sale agreements, due diligence reviews and leases.

In addition to being a licensed California real estate broker Ms. Pow is also a member of the Mensa Society and involved in various sections of the Santa Clara County Bar Association. Ms. Pow also gives presentations on several topics including California LLCs, Tenants in Common and Other Methods of Holding Title in California, Understanding Business Entities, Understanding Stock Options, and 1031 Exchanges in California.

An AV Preeminent rating is a significant accomplishment and shows that a lawyer is rated at the highest level of professional excellence by her peers. Martindale-Hubbell® is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the anonymous opinions of members of the bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell® PEER REVIEW RATINGS™ fall into two categories – legal ability and general ethical standards.

The Legal Ability Rating indicates professional ability in a specific area of practice and is based on five key areas: legal knowledge, analytical capabilities, judgment, communication ability and legal experience.

The General Ethical Standards Rating denotes adherence to professional standards of conduct and ethics, reliability, diligence and other criteria relevant to the discharge of professional responsibilities.

AV Preeminent and BV Distinguished are certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell® certification procedures, standards, and policies.

About Structure Law Group, LLP

Structure Law Group, LLP is a business law firm located in the heart of Silicon Valley with clients located in San Jose, Santa Clara, Los Gatos and surrounding cities. Practice areas include:

    Business Litigation
    Business Transactions
    Start-ups & Financing
    U.S. Market Entry
    Corporations
    Employment
    Limited Liability Companies
    Mergers & Acquisitions
    Partnerships
    Real Estate
    Tax Planning

For more information about the firm please go to http://www.structurelaw.com or visit the firm blog at http://www.sanjosebusinesslawyersblog.com.

Tamara Pow

Structure Law Group, LLP

(408) 441-7500        

http://www.structurelaw.com

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©Copyright 1997-

, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.