Three Qs for Ann Bancroft

Our first question for explorer, adventurer and philanthropist Ann Bancroft was, “So, what’s up with you and the Minnesota Roller Girls, and your name ‘Sno Mercy?’ You’re in the roller derby now?”

Bancroft laughed. She could explain.

Bancroft is well known in Minnesota and the world as being the first woman to cross both the North and South Pole ice caps, the first woman to ski across Greenland, to cross Antarctica, and to be inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame for the United States.

A former teacher, Bancroft uses her trips and adventures as ways to engage young people in history, culture, geography, and science. Bancroft has successfully put her high profile into good use as a philanthropist and an educator. And she’s sought after as a speaker, telling her own story as an example of overcoming obstacles to achieve her dreams.

Bancroft is the keynote speaker March 6 at Minnetonka High School’s Winter Conference. The conference is an extension of the school’s Vantage Program, a career exploration program initiated in Minnetonka earlier this school year. The Winter Conference is open to all middle school and high school-aged students across the state.

But back to the roller derby.

Her Ann Bancroft Foundation partners with other groups who share its mission to inspire girls, including the Minnesota Roller Girls. “They’re philanthropic, too,” Bancroft said. “We share opportunities back and forth.”

And as a nod to their partnership, they bestowed “Sno Mercy” as her game name and the number 55 —“for my age at the time,” Bancroft said—for her team jersey.

Q: Describe the Ann Bancroft Foundation’s grant programs.

A: We raise money to award small grants, up to $500 for girls from all over the state of Minnesota. There are two granting programs—sports and fitness, and culture. If a girl has a dream to play hockey for example, but can’t because her family is challenged financially —she can’t afford equipment or fees, she can apply for a grant. Same for the arts. It helps girls dare to dream. Maybe she wants to take a music class, or take some lessons. Or go to Concordia language camp or dance camp. It’s not so much for a girl to pick a career, but for a kid who is struggling or a little bit lost and they need a boost to give them a positive experience, and an opportunity to make friends.

Q: How do girls find out about the grant program?

A: The girls themselves rarely seek out the grant. It’s usually someone from their family or a teacher from school. We have a pipeline with counselors at schools, we work with the United Way, Campfire, or anyone serving a group of girls. It can be as simple as a neighbor down the street getting in touch. So often, if a parent loses a job, it’s the sports or other activities that get pushed aside. And there are so many hidden costs. In rural areas, it can be a transportation issue. (www.annbandroftfoundation).

Q: What’s next on the adventure list for you?

A: We’re currently training for a three-month trip down the Ganges River in India. It’s me and an international team of six women, one from each continent. We’ll start after the monsoon season, end of September, beginning of October at the head of the Ganges, in the Himalayas. We’ll start off in the cold, where the glacial water feeds into the river and hike for two weeks. Then we’ll take local boats, and depending on rivers personality travel down the river. Along the way, we’re visiting schools and farms, different industries. We’re meeting mostly with local groups that have initiatives to clean up the river, and with children in their schools. Water is one of the top issues for all of us. It’s one resource that connects all of us. Water gives us a wide berth of topics to cover as the team travels the Ganges—economic, ecological, political, cultural. (www.yourexpedition.com)




Source: http://www.chanvillager.com

Why Small Businesses Need to Think More Like Good Neighbors

Small business owners can sometimes feel like it's a dog-eat-dog world out there. If you fall behind, even for a moment, a more tech-savvy business with greater resources could swoop in and take your customers. But competition among businesses doesn't always have to mean war. Instead of viewing other companies only as competitors, entrepreneur Jay Bernstein thinks business owners should look at them as potential collaborators.

"Collaboration is vital to every business," said Bernstein, founder and CEO of B2B social networking platform WinWin. "There are so many opportunities out there for businesses to work together to exchange ideas and increase purchasing power."

Bernstein based WinWin on what he calls the "neighbor principle" — you go to your neighbor to borrow some milk because you're out. The next day, when it snows, you bring your snow blower down the hill to help him. When this idea is applied to small business, companies can leverage each other's strengths at little or no cost to grow both of their businesses.

There are plenty of ways that small business owners can use the neighbor principle and collaborate to bring about mutual growth. An independent Web development company can offer their website design services to other local businesses in exchange for a link back on the homepage. Small businesses with similar inventory needs can combine their orders to receive discounted wholesale prices. An entertainment company can host an event at a restaurant in town to bring in business while marketing its own services. These real-life examples from WinWin users prove that working for and with other small businesses can be more powerful than working against them.

"Collaboration saves time, saves money, and levels the playing field for American companies," Bernstein told Business News Daily. "[Instead of outsourcing], businesses who collaborate can keep money in the country and their local economies."



Source: http://mashable.com

General Membership Meeting: Own The Room

Name: General Membership Meeting: Own The Room
Date: February 26, 2014
Time: 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM

Event Description:

OWN THE ROOM
Speaker: Tasha Rolfs

What does is it mean to "own the room"?
Whether it is in front of five, fifty or five hundred people, public speaking is something that gives many people a great deal of anxiety. Tasha provides public speaking coaching for business professionals who are looking to engage and wow an audience. Owning the room is about engaging an audience to the fullest. Its is about communicating your message in a way that is authentic to you.

Tasha will work with our group to capitalize on each person's strengths and to strengthen their weaknesses. Pubic speaking is one of the most valuable business / career skills you'll ever have, and it is a skill that most definitely can be learned!

Registration Deadline: Monday, February 24th at noon

Source: http://business.swmetrochamber.com

Genius Girl Scout Sells 117 Boxes Of Cookies in 2 Hours

Though it's had flings with sushi and Nutella, weed has a particularly special bond with Girl Scout cookies -- and one savvy Scout exploited that fact in the name of old-fashioned capitalism. On Monday, a San Francisco scout set up shop outside weed dispensary The Green Cross, where she proceeded to sell 117 boxes of cookies in two hours flat to some very slow-moving Tagalong fans.

This unconventional location scouting could obviously anger some (totally square) people, but everyone's been completely chill with her innovative salesmanship thus far. Her mom and the dispensary itself were both cool with it, and unlike the weirdly harsh Girl Scouts of Colorado, the Girls Scouts of Northern California gave it a pass. She's making her grand return tomorrow from 4-6pm, so if you want to see the future CEO of Oreos at work, stake a space in line.

Source: http://www.thrillist.com/

Residents brace for more tree loss

At the corner of Elm and West Second streets, Julie Parvis has swathed one of her front yard trees in an eye-catching blanket of red, green, brown and white.

“It is my homage to our beautiful trees that we may lose,” she said.

The Parvis home sits on one of the 11 blocks slated for street reconstruction this summer.

As the city continues with its decade-long project to reconstruct all 5.2 miles of downtown streets, many mature front yard trees and boulevard trees have paid the price — often being removed and replaced with much smaller, younger trees. City Engineer Bill Monk has said that the street reconstruction project will essentially result in the reforestation of downtown.

It has been a tough pill for residents to swallow.

Two summers ago, when his neighborhood was slated for street reconstruction, Jerry Bielke went door-to-door throughout the downtown collecting signatures in the hopes of saving the trees.

“It’s personal,” he said. “You grow up with them. The trees become a part of your life.”

Trees attracted Parvis to her downtown home. “The trees were one of the reasons we moved,” she said.

The potential loss of the trees that line the boulevard outside her home is “devastating” to Parvis. “Our house is almost 100 years old,” she said. “We depend on the trees to provide us with shade. We don’t have air conditioning and we can’t afford air conditioning.”

Over the last couple of years, outspoken residents have convinced the city to change their tune a bit when it comes to tree removal.

“Last year we took a new turn or a little bit of a twist in the way that we handle trees,” Monk told the Chaska City Council on Feb. 3.

“We still have trees that need to come down because of utility conflicts, or because they’re diseased or deteriorated to the point they are safety issues,” he continued.

“The intent is to leave as many full-grown trees that are healthy as possible,” said Monk, noting that would include ash trees, despite threats of the emerald ash borer.


Monk said residents seemed supportive of that approach during last year’s project. “As you drive through, there are large trees on every block,” he said. “It does help to lessen the impact.”

“We will use that same approach this year,” he added.

CHANGES

Steve Hermann was part of the neighborhood that asked the City Council to make some changes to last year’s project — including the removal of a planned bike trail and saving more trees.

Hermann said the city did listen. “We got the bike path taken away and we got to keep some trees,” he said. “From my perspective, we made out like bandits.”

That being said, Hermann acknowledges that post-street reconstruction, “the neighborhood looks pretty bare.”

“I don’t think they were consistent with their judgement [on which trees had to go],” he added.

Parvis watched the block to the south of her undergo reconstruction two summers ago. She said the day the trees were removed it “looked like a tornado went through.”

“It’s devastating,” she added, noting that she has read about methods other cities have used to work around trees and minimize loss. “Trees add to property value,” she said.

Hermann issued a challenge to the city to up the number of trees saved. “If it was 20 percent last year, I’d like to see 30 percent or 50 percent this year,” he said.

“I would think they could do better,” he said. “Even better than last year.”

Bielke said he’s “kinda glad” the city is still trying to save trees, but he agrees with Hermann that they “could do better.”

Bielke would like to see the city cater more to the residents being affected through the street reconstruction process. “It should be treated as a remodel or a renovation,” he said, advocating for a more individual approach to each situation. “It’s their homes.”

For those unhappy with various aspects of the plans for street reconstruction, both Bielke and Hermann recommend bringing concerns to the City Council.

“You can only say what you feel and hope they listen,” said Bielke.

“Don’t go in with a mob mentality,” said Hermann. “We went in with options and they seemed to respond well to that.”

Source: http://www.chaskaherald.com

Candy Crush Tries To Avoid Becoming Another Dying Fad Like Farmville

Candy Crush mania is about to hit Wall Street. King Digital Entertainment, the company behind the highly addictive mobile game, is prepping an IPO that could value the company between $8 and $10 billion. A regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission shows that Candy Crush Saga is indeed a phenomenon, and a highly lucrative one at that. But King will still face challenges convincing Wall Street that it can parlay a hit title into a thriving, sustainable business.

The company struggled on Wall Street throughout 2012 as its desktop-based games lost users and it began steadily racking up losses. Its stock bottomed out near $2 per share in November 2012 and is currently trading at about half its IPO price.

Like Zynga, King’s games originally became hits as Facebook apps, but they’ve reached a much broader audience on mobile devices. In the third quarter of 2012, before Candy Crush hit the iOS and Google Play stores, King had about 52 million monthly active users across its games and $41 million in total revenue. By the fourth quarter of 2013 those figures had exploded to 408 million monthly users generating $600 million in revenue (games like Candy Crush are free but force users to pay to eliminate time restrictions). Seventy-three percent of the company’s sales now come from mobile users.

King has achieved a user base that dwarfs Zynga’s. At the time Zynga went public in late 2011, its most popular game, CityVille, had 60 million monthly active users. Candy Crush has 93 million daily active users. The metabolism of the mobile market has increased rapidly since Zynga went public, with games now going viral as easily as YouTube videos. Flappy Bird, a painfully simple game which accrued millions of downloads in the span of a few weeks earlier this year, was basically the “Friday” of mobile games.

Unlike traditional gaming titans like Nintendo and EA, though, the giants of mobile have so far proven to be one-hit wonders. Flappy Bird was made by a single developer in Vietnam who has no other hit titles to his name. Zynga spent $180 million to acquire the company that made the popular mobile app Draw Something, then promptly shuttered the developer a year later after interest in the game waned. Even Rovio, the developer that kicked off the mobile gaming revolution with Angry Birds in 2009, has failed to develop a new IP that approaches the birds’ popularity. King, which generates 78 percent of its gross sales from Candy Crush Saga, will be particularly exposed to this phenomenon if users tire of its flagship game. Here’s a scary sign for King: a chart that shows the faddishness of games like Angry Birds and Farmville.

But King won’t need the same number of hit games as Nintendo to be successful since it constantly updates its titles. Candy Crush gets new levels every two weeks and how has more than 500. This strategy has successfully converted 12 million of the company’s users into paying players who spend more than $17 per month on its games. King seems to recognize that no matter how many games it pumps out, the chances of another Candy Crush-level success are slim. It’s important then to keep the stream of content coming so gamers keep playing—and paying for—the flagship title. “Continuous innovation is important, but mobile’s different in that I don’t really think you need another hit,” says Julie Ask, a principal analyst at Forrester Research. “This is about earning a spot on someone’s phone and figuring out how to monetize those moments.”

http://business.time.com

His book is 'One in a Million'

Chance you’ve read the Bible cover-to-cover: .0572 percent.

Chance you’ve backpacked across Europe: .1755 percent.

Chance you’ve competed in a competitive eating contest: less than .0001 percent.

Chaska resident Matthew Udermann can check all of these items off his bucket list and add one more -- publish a book.

Udermann has authored a book called “One in a Million: Life to the Fullest.” The book is a mash-up of statistics and inspirational goals, presented in easy to read graphics. The author hopes it will prompt people to follow their own dreams -- the spine of the book includes logos meaning “Dream. Do. Share.”

“I want to take people along for the ride,” said Udermann, who many Chaskans may know as the organizer of the annual SayHey5K race.

“One in a Million” includes the probability that, in the past year, an American has done anything from go camping to meet Lady Gaga to climb Mount Everest.



The book includes a “Did it/Do it” check list, as well as guides to accomplish one’s goals. “I’ve had a chance to manage a number of people,” said Udermann, a marketing professional. “If you believe in people and give them something to believe in that’s bigger than day-to-day, they just rise to the occasion,” he said.

This Saturday morning, Udermann is launching a Kickstarter campaign at Dunn Bros Coffee to raise funds for a larger run of his co-published book. (Kickstarter is an online tool used to raise money for projects, in exchange for small rewards. If a goal isn’t reached, donors keep their money.) If Udermann reaches a goal of raising $57,750, he offers a series of rewards, beginning with a handwritten card from his mother for a $5 donation.

Writing a book is a result of Udermann’s own goal he set for himself about a year ago, along with reading the Bible and, a soon-to-be-reached goal of visiting all the Major League ballparks in the Unites States. He is planning an official book signing at a Barnes and Noble in Houston -- where he plans to visit Minute Maid Park, completing his ballpark tour.



“I have an impatience for mediocrity. I like to lead by example,” Udermann said. He hopes the book will help people take “baby steps” toward their goals.

The book reflects Udermann’s own thought-process. “Half of my brain is logic and finance … The other half of my brain is marketing. This book pulls both of those together.” As a result, Udermann said the book would appeal to computer programmers as well as artists.

The statistics in the book are “intentionally diverse, but also some things are attainable and some things aspirational,” he said.

Udermann said he reviewed several sources before including the statistics in the book, “a very difficult and very laborious” process. He welcomes people to challenge his numbers and post their findings on his website. He also encourages to share their own accomplished goals on the site.

“I would encourage people to come out and share their support -- pledge with Kickstarter and buy a book at the book signing. And pick an adventure to do in the next year,” Udermann said. “I think the title sums it up, 'Life to the Fullest.' If I can spark that in other people, I think I’ve won.”

Source: http://www.chaskaherald.com

Love in a Cup of Coffee

We're on the lookout for the best and worst Valentine's Day restaurant stories, asking chefs, managers, bartenders and readers to submit their most memorable tales about the holiday.

Maybe there was an amazing proposal, the best first date ever, or an especially bad breakup. Here's a story from Gisselle Delapuente, marketing manager at STK, about one particularly memorable Valentine's Day proposal at the West Hollywood restaurant.

"We had a guy call in once to please switch out our cappuccino cup with one that had “will you marry me' at the bottom of the cup, so that his girlfriend would see the message when she finished her coffee," said Delapuente.

The restaurant switched out the cup, and the server brought the cup over to the couple.

"But it never occurred to the guy that she may not finish the coffee," said Delapuente. "Midway throughout he started drinking her coffee for her in order to make sure she would see it."

When she took the last sips of the drink, she realized what it said. 

"The guy got down on one knee in front of the whole restaurant and took the ring out of his pocket," said Delapuente. "As soon as we saw her reaction, we had our servers come out with a bottle of Champagne with sparklers and all the dinner guests clapped and cheered for them."

Source: http://www.latimes.com

ValenSpines Day!

Name: ValenSpines Day!
Date: February 14, 2014
Website: http://chaskachiropractor.com
Event Description:
Do you or someone you know think you could benefit from getting your spine checked?

We ALL have spines, which means we ALL should get our spines checked! Our spines are our lifelines! We need them to function at 100% in order for everything else in our bodies to be functioning at 100%.

Now is the time to get them checked for FREE on ValenSpines Day!
The whole day of February 14th we are doing complimentary screenings in our office completely on us! Help us spread the word and save lives!

What You Will Receive:
-Full Spinal Nerve Scan
-X-Rays
-Your First Adjustment
-Your Name in Drawings Throughout the Day for a Chance to Win Giftcards and Other Prizes




Source: http://www.swmetrochamber.com/

Why Offline Businesses Need Online Marketing

You have a local based brick and mortar business, so no reason to invest in online marketing, right? Location based businesses couldn’t be more wrong. Do not miss out on sales and customers by ignoring or avoiding online marketing.  One of the key principles of business is to be where your target audience is looking for you. A growing number of consumers are searching online before making a purchase decision, so your business needs to be there in order for them to find you and include your company in their decision making process.

According to the BIA/Kelsey  report, 97% of consumers use online media before making local purchases.  Google Research  showed that 9 out of 10 internet searches resulted in a follow up action, such as calling or visiting the business. Mobile searches triggered an additional action or conversion 73% of the time; and 28% of mobile searches resulted in a store visit or purchase. Since mobile searches are on the rise, this behavior is only going to continue to increase. How do consumers search for businesses?

90% use a search engine
48% use the online Yellow Pages
42% use comparison shopping websites
Embracing and online marketing can help you get the edge on your competition; especially when you take into consideration that a recent study  shows that 50% of small businesses’ online listings are incorrect and 70% of small business owners state they do not have time to keep their online listings updated. Therefore, something as simple as updating and optimizing your online listings, including the Yellow Pages, will give your business the edge over the competition.

Four takeaways for brick and mortar businesses looking to take advantage of online marketing:

With so much of your competition having an incorrect listing or nonexistent presence online, taking just a few minutes to fill in the data about your business in your online listing will make your business more visible to consumers searching for the products or services you sell, even if you do not sell anything online.
Websites for your local business should include a responsive design so that it can be easily read via mobile devices. Especially considering that tablets will outsell PCs this year, and more than half of all cell phones are smartphones. What is responsive design? The Wikipedia definition of responsive design  “is a web design approach aimed at crafting sites to provide an optimal viewing experience—easy reading and navigation with a minimum of resizing, panning, and scrolling—across a wide range of devices (from desktop computer monitors to mobile phones)”. Mashable named 2013 The Year of Responsive Design and rightfully so with the growth of mobile search that results in visits to local businesses.
Including online sign up for appointments or reservations on your website will increase conversions and also provide an added convenience of allowing them to make appointments online 24/7. Of the consumers surveyed, 19% made appointments with a local business through the business’ website, that doesn’t include restaurant reservations; Cornell University research shows that over half of those surveyed made restaurant reservations online. If you do not have an online reservation system you have the potential to double your seatings.
Embracing social media will allow you to keep connected with these new customers that are tech savvy; making customer retention easier. Get social with the community, build a following host events, and engage with local consumers in an effort to stay top of mind.

Source: http://www.searchenginejournal.com/

Jazz Festival Feb. 8 at Chan High School

Chanhassen High School will hosts District 112’s 20th Annual Community Jazz Festival Finale Concert at 7 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 8.

The public is invited to attend the concert with guest artists Kenni Holmen on saxophone. Holmen is a well-known musician who plays throughout the United States, and Geoff Senn on trumpet.

The concert also showcases performances by students from World Learners School, Chaska Middle School East, Chaska Middle School West, Pioneer Ridge, Chanhassen and Chaska high schools, and The Valley Jazz Big Band.

During the day Friday and Saturday, District 112 students will participate in jazz music clinics.

Ticket prices for the Saturday night show are: $8, adults; $5 students and seniors. For more information, contact Chanhassen High School Band Director Paul Swanson at swansonp@district112.org.

Source: http://www.chanvillager.com

What was your favorite Super Bowl ad?

The 80s called ... they want their store back. 80s celebrities invade a RadioShack to take back their old stuff and make room for the RadioShack of the future.

Does Your Startup Give Away Too Many Freebies?

For many bootstrapped businesses, liberal giveaways could be the icing on the cake of financial downfall. If your freebies aren't part of a productive marketing investment, you're probably doing it wrong.

We spoke to a few experts and businesses to get an idea how startups should change the way they look at freebies.
1. Your freebies should match your brand.

For BarkBox, a startup that assembles and ships monthly packages for the pup in your life, maintaining brand identity is key.

"We're kind of an irreverent, silly company, so our marketing stuff and giveaways match that," says Chris O'Brien, puplick relations director at Bark & Co. "Our aim is to make dogs happy and healthy. So if we're going to discount BarkBoxes with coupon codes, we make sure that it benefits dogs."

Basically, it wouldn't make sense for a company like Bark & Co. to be giving away, say, human watches. Bark & Co.'s quirky giveaways and freebies align with the brand and products its customers have come to know.

2. Don't give away your best sellers.

While handing out free iPads with your sticker on the back might make your booth the most popular at the conference, it's not going to help in the long run. For SparkFun Electronics, an online retail startup that sells electronic components and creative building kits, there's a delicate balance between what to give out and what to keep in inventory.

"We tend to give out products that are low risk and can last for multiple events," a SparkFun spokesperson told Mashable. "We do have a lot of free swag, but we're not giving out our top sellers."

3. Know your audience.

While SparkFun and Bark & Co. are established startups, the team at Kiwi Wearables makes due with a smaller, newer team.

"With freebies, from a founder's perspective, you have to get some kind of return," says Ashley Beattie, vice president of marketing. "I'm not going to get much value from you if I'm giving you a t-shirt. It's about making sure the right people are getting your product."

Kiwi has given away development kits at development-centric events, such as hackathons, making it more likely that their market audience gets their product.
4. Make freebies work for you.

Though products like t-shirts and pens will make for a nice goodie bag, they aren't going to do much for your business' future.

"I saw a booth that gave away freebies if you tweeted about them," Beattie tells Mashable. "Creating viral products like that allows you to analyze your audience."
5. Cut down on branding.

"Think about when you go into a store; what do you want to pick up?"

According to Morrill, it's important to get value out of every single piece you give away, whether that value is in driving awareness or driving sales. If you're creating and giving away products that people don't want, it's likely a waste of resources.

"The best giveaway is one that creates community," says Beattie. "You're always going to be in a limited resource situation, so if you're just giving away material, you're probably wasting money."

Source:http://mashable.com