To that end, the Chamber needs your input! All Bloomington-area business and elected officials, whether Chamber members or not, are invited to complete a brief survey on the Chamber's services, advocacy, and future direction. All responses will be held confidential by the Chamber's marketing firm.

Businesses who complete the survey are eligible to win dinner for two at the Uptown Café. Complete the online survey or phone the Chamber at 812-336-6381 to request a paper copy.

This is a great opportunity to give feedback to the Chamber and help make it more effective at meeting your needs!
Take the online survey!

Living Wage Ordinance To Be Introduced
In the coming weeks, a proposed Living Wage Ordinance will be brought forth to the Bloomington City Council. The purpose of the ordinance is to ensure that jobs created with public funds coming from or through the City of Bloomington pay at least $8.50 per hour with health insurance or $10.00 without. If you would like to voice your opinions on this issue contact the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce at 812-336-6381 or your City Council representative.

Student Projects Showcased, Local Small Businesses Benefited
The 2005 Make IT Happen!—an information technology fair held at IU Bloomington on February 16—featured two projects conducted by the School of Library and Information Science students for local small businesses. These projects included:

EcoSystems Web Site
Students: Fagdeba Bakoyema, Lee Christopher, Dan Nguyen

MSP Aviation Web Site
Students: Chris Friend, Mariana Harjevschi, David Osmundsen, Junior Tidal

South Central Indiana's area economy is made up of many unique small businesses which often are overlooked. Each month learn about a local small business that you might have not known about!

BlackBerry Press Inc.
BlackBerry Press's goal is to create original, memorable, and cost-effective design and marketing solutions to help maximize your business opportunities. Founded January 1992, in Bloomington, Indiana, Blackberry Press is located at 201 N. Morton. Their building is a Bloomington landmark located 1 block west of the Courthouse Square at the corner of 6th and Morton. They enjoy working in the special atmosphere of this restored historic building, and their clients tell them they find it to be a great venue for sparking creative ideas.

Their staff includes fully trained and qualified graphic designers, photographers, web designers, and advertising copywriters. We have developed strategic relationships with a variety of other professionals and vendors in order to offer their clients a wide range of design and marketing solutions for print, web, and multimedia.

Five Steps for Setting up Spam Defense
E-mail security has become a critical concern for small businesses, as they're bombarded daily with spam, virus and fraud attacks. Unsolicited e-mails, more commonly known as spam, are now the single largest nuisance for internet users. An estimated 45 percent of all e-mail is defined as spam, costing business worldwide $20 billion a year in lost productivity and technology expenses, according to the Radicati Group (Palo Alto, CA).

The need to eliminate spam and fraud is critical: Spam and viruses rank as the top two security breaches for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). According to the Yankee Group, more than 80 percent of SMBs have fallen victim to security breaches, leading to major losses in business productivity.

Here are five critical tips which will help you create a more productive workplace that is totally free from spam and phishing attacks—even if you have minimal or no IT staff.

Entrepreneur Magazine

eBay The Right Way
Do you want to get rid of that old inventory that is just collecting dust? Trying to expand your business?

The South Central Indiana Small Business Development Center has Certified eBay Education Specialists on staff to assist your business in leveraging eBay's 135 million registered users to increase cashflow.

Call the SBDC at 812-339-8937 to learn more about how to turn that old inventory into new cash for your business.
View More Small Business Solutions

March 9: Business Orientation Start-up Session (BOSS)
What: Learn what it takes to start your own business and become your own boss.
Where: SBDC, 501 N. Morton, Suite 106
Time: 3:00 - 5:00 pm
Cost: $20
Contact: SBDC, 812-339-8937 (registration required)

March 10: Business Planning Workshop
What: Learn how to use ActivePlans, an online business planning tool, to help your business idea become reality. Each participant will receive an ActivePlans account.
Where: SBDC, 501 N. Morton, Suite 106
Time: 2:30 pm - 5:00 pm
Cost: $69.95
Contact: SBDC, 812-339-8937 (registration required)

March 15: QuickBooks Basics
What: Learn the basics of accounting and how to set up QuickBooks software to fit your needs.
Where: SBDC, 501 N. Morton, Suite 106
Time: 2:00 - 4:30 pm
Cost: $39
Contact: SBDC, 812-339-8937 (registration required)

March 23: Business Orientation Start-up Session (BOSS)
What: Learn what it takes to start your own business and become your own boss.
Where: SBDC, 501 N. Morton, Suite 106
Time: 3:00 - 5:00 pm
Cost: $20
Contact: SBDC, 812-339-8937 (registration required)

March 24: Business After Hours
What: Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce monthly Business After Hours
Where: American Legion, 1800 W. Third St.
Time: 5:30 - 7:30 pm
Other: Open to all Chamber members and their guests.
Sponsored by: American Legion

April 12: eBay - The Right Way
What: Learn how to sell on eBay the right way!
Where: SBDC, 501 N. Morton, Suite 106
Time: 9:00 am - 2:00 pm
Cost: $85 (includes lunch and book)
Contact: SBDC, 812-339-8937 (registration required)

April 21: Business Expo
What: 21st Annual Bloomington Business Expo
Where: Convention Center
Time: 10:00 am - 7:00 pm
Cost: Free, open to public
Sponsored by: Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce and Small Business Development Center
Contact: SBDC, 812-339-8937

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