Posted by Ching Ya | Repost by Carie Statz, DCTC Marketing and Sales Instructor 

This is a must read for those interested in getting the most out of their Facebook presence. For information on promoting using Facebook, take DCTC’s Social Media Marketing certificate or AAS degree offered this August.

20+ Facebook Security Tips and Timeline Features

For Personal Profiles:

#1  To View Upcoming Birthdays

Facebook has been great in ‘remembering’ our friends’ birthdays. You can view upcoming birthdays via this link (visibility depends on your friends’ privacy settings) and even the option to export the info.

#2  To Hide Likes from Your Timeline

For those who have yet hidden their ‘Likes’ from Public before the launch of Timeline (but wanted to), go to this Favorites -> ‘Favorites’ -> Scroll down to locate ‘Other Pages You Like‘ -> Adjust your audience selector.

#3  To Secure Your Facebook Account

Go to your Account Settings -> General -> Password ->Edit. Make sure ‘Log me out of my apps and other browsers’ is ticked at ALL times.

#4  To Review Your Security Information

You can edit all your security info here except your security question.

Read more »

The second principle of the 21 Question Business Plan™ is to think in terms of highlights and bullet points rather than lengthy narrative.  Because I have personally written a bunch of business plans (over 20) and presented these plans over 200 times in investor presentations, I can tell you for a fact that business plans DO NOT get read cover to cover!  During one round of financing I did, I actually went back and asked each investor if they read the business plan I handed them completely.  To my surprise, only one person (out of thirty) said they read the plan cover to cover!  Most people merely glanced at the financials, perhaps read the overview, briefly looked at management team bios, or simply paged through the plan looking at pictures or highlights.

After having taught a formal business plan class at Dakota County Technical College 35 times in 10 years, I also discovered that most people do not consider themselves good writers.  At the beginning of each class I ask the students to raise their hands if they would consider themselves a good writer.  In every class only about 10-20% of the students raise their hands.  I then say, “Good, because you don’t have to be a good writer to complete your 21 Question Business Plan™.  All you have to do is think in terms of highlights and bullet points, and the writing flows easily after that!”  At that point the anxiety level of classroom drops dramatically because most people dread having to write anything!

For each of the questions in the 21 Question Business Plan™ you do not write lengthy narrative, all you do is create 2-4 highlights or bullet points to answer each question.  These highlights are what investors, bankers, or anyone who is reading your plan wants to see anyway.  I should also tell you that most 21 Question Business Plans™ are relatively short.  Most are only 5-7 pages with a page or two of financials.  Some are longer based on how much proof (the 21^st question) is included with the plan.  Another advantage of thinking in terms of highlights and bullet points rather than a lot of writing is that the plan gets completed much faster than most traditional business plans.  Many of the people who have already completed their 21 Question Business Plans™ have completed them in 12-24 hours, not 12-24 days!  Principle #2 of the 21 Question Business Plan™ is that you answer the questions with highlights and bullet points, rather than a lot of writing!

If you have any comments on this blog or want to ask me a question, you can e-mail me at bob.voss@dctc.edu!

Memorial Day 2012 Video

To those who lost their lives in military service, thank you for your dedication to the U.S.

Opening Session for 8,000 Attendees in Las Vegas

The recent MPI-DCTC Student Club trip to Las Vegas was an opportunity of a lifetime for club members selected through an application process to intern at the Catersource Conference & Tradeshow and Event Solutions Idea Factory. While some things that happen in Vegas do stay in Vegas, the experience gained on this trip is on resumes and in portfolios. These students “rocked” their career potential.<

Conference organizers praised the work ethic, positive attude, teamwork mentality and leadership skills of the DCTC internship team that assisted in all aspects of this 8,000-person conference. Students networked with prospective employers and talents such as David Tutera, Andrew Zimmern and many others.

The MPI-DCTC Student Club endeavors to schedule a working, experiential trip each academic year. Discussions are underway now for the potential 2012-2013 trip destination.

For more information about MPI (Meeting Professionals International) click here. Visit the club here.

The new Spa and Resort Management program that began this year is teh gateway to working in the glamorous and luxury-stacked spa and resort industry.

Students will benefit from a unique multi-disciplinary curriculum that blends information from the Exercise and Sport Science and Meeting and Event Management programs. As a graduate, students are ready to manage or coordinate activities at a spa or resort destination.

Hospitality shines as the largest and fastest growing industry on the planet. Spas and resorts rank as one of the industry’s most expansive and promising segments. Having a degree could make all the difference when going after a great job.

According to HCareers, a hospitality employment website, employers are looking for job prospects with more schooling.

“On the hiring side, there’s a distinct trend in employers looking for candidates with post-secondary degrees and diplomas in hospitality and foodservice-related disciplines,” reported Jordan Romoff, a recruiter of hospitality professionals for Lecours Wolfson, one of the top hospitality recruitment agencies in North America.

HCareers also noted that the “average salary for general managers of some upscale resorts is now more than $100,000, plus a handsome annual bonus.”

Visit www.dctc.edu for complete information.

It’s likely that students in one of the three DCTC Hospitality programs* are also part of the MPI-DCTC Student Club. Club members are selected each year to assist in direction and coordination of DCTC’s commencement. The 2012 Commencement welcomed more than 3,000 attendees to this tremendous celebration of achievement — graduation. Thank you to the following Club members who have placed this experience on their resume and in their portfolio.
Student Event Directors: Heather Lavin and Patricia Young
Student Event Coordinators: Katie Johnson, Nora McLellan, Connie VanBeck, and Nicole Wirth

*Hospitality programs are: Meeting and Event Management, Hospitality Lodging Management, and Spa and Resort Management

a>How do you get experience on your resume and get course credit at the same time? DCTC Meeting and Event Management students did when they interned at the recent Bootleggers Ball. The event was the 2012 awards evening for the Minneapolis/St Paul Chapter of the International Special Event Society (ISES). ISES members represent the top-tier of event design professionals, so everything these members do is sure to be over-the-top amazing.

For two days volunteers and contractors worked to transforme raw warehouse space into a fabulous bootlegger’s paradise. This celebration of special events left nothing undone.

From start to finish, this culmination of the year’s events was stellar in production. I had the pleasure of witnessing the event’s strike. Yes, there is glamour . . . and then there is strike. Here are some photos of our students hard at work on the other end of the experience. All, still amazed at the opportunity to help put an event of this calibre together and now more certain than ever that they are entering the right profession . . . even if some parts aren’t so glamerous. It is, after all, all about the guest!

Special thanks go to the board members of ISES MSP Chapter, Cara Tuenge, DCTC alumn and coordinator for the 2012 Bootleggers Ball, AND the DCTC students who were part of the Bootlegger experience.

            Over the course of the next few blog posts I will be discussing the four major principles that separate the 21 Question Business Plan™ from all other business plan classes.  Principle #1 is that the process of creating a business plan is more important than the plan itself.  It is the process that helps the new BizOwner decide if the business they want to start is the right business for them.  It is the process that verifies that the business will meet the BizOwners financial and psychic goals.  It is the process that identifies the holes in the plan that make it vulnerable to failure, and it is the process that gives the new BizOwner the necessary belief and confidence to start and grow the business.  At the end of the process you do get a plan, but the plan itself is not nearly important as what you went through to create the plan.

            I have taught a formal three-credit business plan class over 35 times in the last ten years.  In every class between 10-20% of the students change their business idea during the process of creating a business plan.  The reason they change their business is that the process of creating a business plan has showed them, in some dramatic way, that the business they wanted to start had little chance for success.  Here are a few examples of how the business plan process changed people’s business ideas:

-Penney wanted to open a scrap-booking store but when she saw the margins she would make she changed her idea and opened a successful furniture consignment store instead.

-Randy wanted to open a deli, but when he realized the amount of overhead a retail deli would have, he changed his idea to a food truck and got his business launched faster.  He also reached positive cash flow in the first 30 days!

-Connie wanted to open a Bed and Breakfast with her husband but the business planning process showed her she needed some experience before she could make her dream real.  She used her plan to get a job managing a Bed and Breakfast and after a year the owner sold her and her husband the business!

            In each of the examples the people went through the planning process.  By going through the process they discovered the necessary information to make the right decision for them.  The business plan process is what makes all the difference in the world!  Principle #1 of the 21 Question Business Plan™ is that the business planning process is more important than the final business plan.

            If you would like to comment on this blog or ask me a question, you can contact me at bob.voss@dctc.edu

Posted by Carie Statz, DCTC Marketing and Sales Instructor; Twitter: @dctcmarketing

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* PLEASE NOTE: Some anti-virus programs like McAfee or Norton automatically flag Bit.ly links as potentially harmful. However, all of these links have been tested and they were deemed safe to download from.*

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Feel free to forward this to your friends and colleagues if you think it will help them.

Posted by Carie Statz, DCTC Marketing and Sales Instructor; Twitter: @dctcmarketing

Reposted by Carie Statz, Marketing and Sales Instructor from http://www.inboundmarketingagents.com/inbound-marketing-agents-blog/bid/140064/How-To-Create-A-Social-Media-Strategy-for-Your-Business

The rapid growth of social media communities and sites has revolutionized the way businesses market themselves to the public.  Any company that wishes to survive in the near future must embrace and include a viable social media strategy within its broad strategy. Lack of a clear social media strategy to guide the company can hamper its success in this arena to a larger extent. In fact, a study conducted by Smartblog on

Social Media poll indicates that 77 percent of respondents view their companies as lacking in formal social media training process. Managers wishing to develop a successful social media strategy should follow the tips below.

Specify the Company’s Goals and Objectives