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Small Business Marketing

Jaime’s Local Love Podcast: Knife and Fork Media Group [Video]

A former bank president decided to change her career by filling a void. Susie Timm says she saw a hole in the industry for food and beverage experts who do PR and marketing in Phoenix and nationwide. She took what she knew about helping small businesses with finances from the bank and combined it with her husband Eric’s M.B.A. in marketing and created Knife and Fork Media Group. They represent local businesses like Macayo’s, LDV Winery, the City of Scottsdale and events like Scottsdazzle. Susie says she’s learned how to close a sale, handle last minute media requests and she calls business ownership a daily adventure that’s not for the feint of heart.

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Home Based Business Small Business Growth Small Business Lifestyle Small Business Marketing

He Said, She Said: How to Manage Online Customer Reviews [Video]

Master the art of managing online customer reviews by addressing feedback, responding effectively, and cultivating a positive online reputation. Your professional brand image depends on it!

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Home Based Business Productitivity Small Business Funding Small Business Growth Small Business Ideas Small Business Lifestyle Small Business Marketing Small Business Tips & Strategies

Unlock Your SOC: Moving Your Security From Tactical to Strategic [Video]

The cybersecurity landscape is evolving and expanding constantly. Learn how you can operationalize your security to accelerate business growth. Dive into

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Small Business Marketing

Maine’s Christmas tree industry having a good year in 2024 [Video]

A handful of Christmas tree stands say they experienced a shortage early in this selling season. However, the Maine Christmas Tree Association says this concern about a shortage is not a widespread issue.Gammon’s Garden Center in Auburn said their vendor backed out at the last minute due to a poor growing season. Tyler Gammon said he was rushed to find another option at the end of October to have enough trees to sell this Christmas season. He explained, “When they’re doing shearing, things like that, some of the trees didn’t come out as full and as dense as they would in a normal season.”Lib’s Dairy Treat in Portland is another stand dealing with a shortage. They posted on social media to warn shoppers about a limited supply. Rice’s Tree Farm in Durham is not selling any trees this season to let their trees grow bigger for next year. North Parrish Christmas Tree Farm in Turner is closed as well. They wrote on social media, “This is due to an insect pest that has impacted the aesthetic value of a significant number of trees.”President-elect of the Maine Christmas Tree Association, Matt Quinn, told Maine’s Total Coverage, “Mother Nature is a very fickle business partner.”Quinn explained it takes 7 to 10 years for a Christmas tree can be harvested. He said overly dry or wet conditions in previous growing seasons or overselling in past years could be contributing factors to a limited number of available trees. But Quinn feels most farms in the association are actually having a good year, but people should be open to all trees on the lot. “There’s a tree for every home and a home for every tree,” he said. “These trees are not perfect. Just like people, no one’s perfect. They all have their quirks. They are all different.”Expect the prices to be different, too. Quinn explained that most farms do what they can to keep costs low, but stands that buy from wholesalers can only be so flexible with their prices. The American Christmas Tree Association reports the average price of a real Christmas tree is around $90. Gammon suggests shopping small for Christmas decorations this year. He said you’ll find the best selection of trees at family-run businesses.

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Small Business Marketing

Peter Navarro served prison time related to Jan. 6. Now Trump is bringing him back as an adviser [Video]

Former White House adviser Peter Navarro, who served prison time related to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, will return to serve in Donald Trumps second administration, the president-elect announced Wednesday.Navarro, a trade adviser during Trumps first term, will be a senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, Trump said on Truth Social. The position, Trump wrote, leverages Peters broad range of White House experience, while harnessing his extensive Policy analytic and Media skills.The appointment was only the first in a flurry of announcements that Trump made on Wednesday as his presidential transition faced controversy over Pete Hegseth, Trumps choice for Pentagon chief. Hegseth faces allegations of sexual misconduct, excessive drinking and financial mismanagement, and Trump has considered replacing him with another potential nominee.As he works to fill out his team, Trump said he wanted Paul Atkins, a financial industry veteran and an advocate for cryptocurrency, to serve as the next chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. He wrote on Truth Social that Atkins recognizes that digital assets & other innovations are crucial to Making America Greater than Ever Before.Trump also said he was changing course on his choice for White House counsel. He said his original pick, William McGinley, will work with the Department of Government Efficiency, which will be run by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy with the goal of cutting federal spending. Now David Warrington, who has worked as Trumps personal lawyer and a lawyer for his campaign, will serve as White House counsel.In addition, Trump announced the selections of former Rep. Billy Long of Missouri as IRS commissioner; the CEO of financial technology company Fiserv, Frank Bisignano, as Social Security Administration commissioner; former Sen. Kelly Loeffler of Georgia to lead the Small Business Administration; Daniel Driscoll, an Army veteran who was a senior adviser to Vice President-elect JD Vance, as Army secretary; Jared Isaacman, a tech billionaire who conducted the first private spacewalk on Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket, as NASA administrator; and Adam Boehler, a lead negotiator on the Abraham Accords team, as special presidential envoy for hostage affairs.Navarro was held in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the House committee that investigated Jan. 6. Sentenced to four months in prison, he described his conviction as the partisan weaponization of the judicial system.Hours after his release in July, Navarro spoke on stage at the Republican National Convention, where he told the crowd that I went to prison so you wont have to.”Navarro, 75, has been a longtime critic of trade arrangements with China. After earning an economics doctorate from Harvard University, he worked as an economics and public policy professor at the University of California, Irvine. He ran for mayor of San Diego in 1992 and lost, only to launch other unsuccessful campaign efforts, including a 1996 race for Congress as a Democrat.During Trumps initial term, Navarro pushed aggressively for tariffs while playing down the risks of triggering a broader trade war. He also focused on counterfeited imports and even helped assemble an infrastructure plan for Trump that never came to fruition.Navarro often used fiery language that upset U.S. allies. In 2018, after a dispute between Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Navarro said theres a special place in hell for any foreign leader that engages in bad faith diplomacy with President Donald J. Trump and then tries to stab him in the back on the way out the door.Canadians were outraged, and Navarro later apologized.Issacman has reserved two more flights with SpaceX, including as the commander of the first crew that will ride SpaceXs mega rocket Starship, still in test flights out of Texas. He said he was honored to be nominated.Having been fortunate to see our amazing planet from space, I am passionate about America leading the most incredible adventure in human history, he said via X.Trump kept rolling out positions on Wednesday afternoon. He announced Gail Slater as assistant attorney general for the Justice Departments antitrust division. Trump wrote on Truth Social that Big Tech has run wild for years, stifling competition in our most innovative sector.Slater worked for Trumps National Economic Council during his first term, and she’s been an adviser to Vance.Trump also said Michael Faulkender would serve as deputy treasury secretary. A professor at the University of Marylands Smith School of Business, Faulkender was the Treasury Departments assistant secretary for economic policy during Trumps initial term. He has also been the chief economist at the America First Policy Institute, a think tank formed to further the Trump movements policy agenda.Outside the White House, Trump said that he had asked Michael Whatley to remain on as chair of the Republican National Committee. Whatley ran the committee during the election along with Lara Trump, the wife of Trumps son Eric.___AP Aerospace Writer Marcia Dunn in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Associated Press writer Josh Boak in Washington and Associated Press writer Rob Gillies in Toronto contributed to this report.