The Scoop Episode 3, Spring in Ballantyne & Beware the Microwave Bomber!

The Scoop was created to allow Ballantyne Business Center to reach out and inform its community on local happenings and office tips. With spring officially in the air, The Scoop has come together to tell you about the outside amenities that Ballantyne Business Center offers, including a USGA putting green!

Event Calendar 

Check out Ballantyne Business Centers page to locate events happening this month!  Food trucks line up to offer a variety of foods to satisfy your cravings, and on hot afternoons stop by King of Pops, where you can enjoy a fresh, all-natural frozen treat!

Modern Day Guide to Business Etiquette

1. The Microwave Bomber: This is that person at your office that puts their lunch in the microwave without covering it and not only doesn't clean up the mess, but stinks out the entire office space! 

2. The Office Rockstar: The person we all see dancing down the office hallway blasting music with their headphones on, but they're the only ones that can hear it! 

7 Steps For Conducting Productive Business Meetings

1. Make your objective clear- A meeting must have a specific and defined purpose. Before you send that calendar invite, ask yourself: What do I seek to accomplish? Are you alerting people to a change in management or a shift in strategy? Are you seeking input from others on a problem facing the company? Are you looking to arrive at a decision on a particular matter? Standing meetings with vague purposes, such as “status updates,” are rarely a good use of time.

2. Selecting Participants- When you’re calling a meeting, take time to think about who really needs to be there. If you’re announcing a change, invite the people who are affected by the announcement. If you’re trying to solve a problem, invite the people who will be good sources of information for a solution. When people feel that what’s being discussed isn’t relevant to them, or that they lack the skills or expertise to be of assistance, they’ll view their attendance at the meeting as a waste of time.

3. Stick to your schedule- Create an agenda that lays out everything you plan to cover in the meeting, along with a timeline that allots a certain number of minutes to each item, and email it to people in advance. Once you’re in the meeting, put that agenda up on a screen or whiteboard for others to see. Estimate a realistic amount of time for each topic.

4. Take no hostages- Nothing derails a meeting faster than one person talking more than his fair share. If you notice one person monopolizing the conversation, call him out. Say, “We appreciate your contributions, but now we need input from others before making a decision.” Be public about it. Establishing ground rules early on will create a framework for how your group functions.

5. Start on time, end on time- If you have responsibility for running regular meetings and you have a reputation for being someone who starts and ends promptly, you will be amazed how many of your colleagues will make every effort to attend your meetings. People appreciate it when you understand that their time is valuable. Another note on time: Do not schedule any meeting to last longer than an hour. Sixty minutes is generally the longest time workers can remain truly engaged.

6. Establishing Ground Rules for Meetings- You don't need to develop new ground rules each time you have a meeting. However, it pays to have a few basic ground rules that can be used for most of your meetings. These ground rules cultivate the basic ingredients needed for a successful meeting. Four powerful ground rules are: participate, get focus, maintain momentum and reach closure. (You may want a ground rule about confidentiality.)

· List your primary ground rules on the agenda.
· If you have new attendees who are not used to your meetings, you might review each ground rule.


7. Follow up- It’s quite common for people to come away from the same meeting with very different interpretations of what went on. To reduce this risk, email a memo highlighting what was accomplished to all who attended within 24 hours after the meeting. Document the responsibilities given, tasks delegated, and any assigned deadlines. That way, everyone will be on the same page.

Top 7 Apps for Small Business

1. Evernote:

Evernote is the app for syncing notes across mobile and desktop devices. If you’re just starting out, you’re probably going to be bombarded with advice from every angle. Evernote serves as a great space in which to organize these nuggets of wisdom. Every Evernote user can use 2 GB per month to upload and organize notes. This version is free. The Business Premium account, which costs $5 per employee per month (or $45 per year), can be synced to your personal Evernote account. Evernote works on all devices and operating systems.

2. Dropbox:

Boasting about 300 million users, Dropbox is the most popular platform on which to store and share files on the cloud. Though Dropbox could probably benefit any small business, its services are especially useful for companies that have telecommuters and need a reliable way to share information. If you’re interested in seeing how much Dropbox would cost your small business, check out its quote tool. Dropbox offers free trials and works on all devices and operating systems.

3. ZenPayroll:

ZenPayroll streamlines the entire payroll process for employers. The service is paperless and automatically calculates all relevant income taxes. The app lets its users access their pay stub archives at any time, along with documents like state and federal payroll taxes. ZenPayroll works on all devices and operating systems and has a $25 monthly base fee, along with a monthly charge of $4 for your company’s first 10 users, and $2 for every employee after that.

4. Contactually:

Contactually lets you keep in touch with everyone, from teammates to former colleagues to prospects, with ease. Its mobile app is a cinch to use, too. You simply put your contacts into "buckets," and then decide how often you want to follow up with the people in each one. Contactually will do the rest, automatically creating follow-ups for you and letting you know the last time you spoke to the person in question. Use dynamic templates to make your holiday wishes, congratulations and follow-ups after meetings incredibly easy, while still retaining a human touch.

5. HelloSign:

Eliminate paperwork and having to sign, scan and email signed documents.

HelloSign makes it possible to sign forms and contracts from your tablet or smartphone. You simply save your signature and use it to sign documents and request signatures for up to 20 others to sign. When the document is fully executed, everyone gets a copy delivered to their inbox. See your documents progress with status notifications that keep you in the loop throughout the approval process.

6. Quip:

Quip enables you to collaborate with others on documents. The app is a dream for business users who need to work on drafts and edits in real time, as well as keep in touch with constant updates. As the company says, Quip makes it easy to cut down on email because work groups can be notified on mobile devices as projects evolve. The app also works with attachments and allows you to create and work on documents — even when you're offline.

7. Unroll.me:

There is nothing we hate more than a crowded email inbox filled with subscriptions. Thankfully, Unroll.me was created to fix that exact problem. Simply sign up with your email address and let Unroll.me find all of your subscriptions for you. Then easily scroll through and unsubscribe from the ones you'd rather never hear from again. Unroll.me will deliver one daily email with all of your subscriptions. You can also make sure the right emails break through all the noise and go directly into your inbox.

Top 12 Websites Every Small Business Should Know About

Marketing:

1.  Facebook for Business – As a small business owner, your best friend is social media. If you use it right, you can get a lot out of it. This blog offers some great insights on how to reach out to more customers, and it can even help you to find leads and increase your customer base.

2. Google and Your Business – While this doesn’t get as many updates as Facebook’s business site, it still has plenty of information that you can use for your business. Learn how to market your business through Google, and how to make sure your business appears high on search results.

3. Mailchimp: Use Mailchimp to create a number of customized email newsletters you can send to customers or clients. It is free to sign up, but pricing will vary based on how many inboxes you want to reach with the latest news about your business.

4. Canva: Canva is a design service that takes the friction out of designing marketing collateral. All you have to do is choose one of 11 available templates or start from a custom-sized blank canvas. You then use the Layouts and Background tabs to get a rough idea of what you want to design. These tabs are chock-full of options to choose from, whether you want a complete template or just a nice background from which to build. Canva revolves entirely around intuitive controls such as drag-and-drop. Adding, removing and editing elements on your canvas is almost a no-brainer.

Resources: 

5. SCORE – This site will give you loads of free advice from amazing mentors who have plenty of experience to share. You can even meet your mentors in person, as well as get free newsletters. Learn about a number of small business topics, from office security to mobile technologies and more.

6. Entrepreneur – This site is loaded with resources that will help your business grow. Information you can find includes franchising, setting work schedules with teams, finding new ways to make money and more.

Legal:

7. Small Business Administration – This is a government branch that helps entrepreneurs. You can use this site to get funding, find employees, and a whole lot more.

8. Better Business Bureau – Learn everything you need to know about business ethics from the BBB. Demonstrate your companies credibility by getting a BBB rating.

9. Shake – This is a new site that provides information on the legalities involved in operating your own small business. Use the mobile app to create contracts that can be signed immediately. The blog will explain the legal terminology used in your contracts.

News in Business:

10. CNBC Small Business – When it comes to business news, this is one of the most popular and well-known names in the industry. Articles are frequently updated, and you will find new information every time you visit.

11. Fortune – One of the changes you will notice about Fortune is the lack of ads. You no longer have to wade through ads to get to the information you really want, with topics on everything in business. 

12. Businessweek – Find the latest business news, from economic trends to new mergers and more. This publication offers a section just for small businesses, as well as plenty of other great information.

Spring is in the Air and Charlotte is Blossoming with Events

Ballantyne Business Bash
Thursday | June 4, 2015 | Ballantyne Corporate Park - Brixham Green, 15800 John J. Delaney Drive 

Hosted by the Charlotte Chamber the annual Ballantyne Business Bash event at the Ballantyne Corporate Park features great networking, amazing food, giveaways from sponsors, and Wells Fargo stagecoach rides. More than 500 people and 30+ businesses attend this event each year.

  


Ballantyne Brews, the Un-Official Ballantyne Corporate Park Social Hour

Tuesdays | May 26th, 2015 | Various locations in Ballantyne 

What: Ballantyne Brews is a social hour conceived to connect all of the great companies and folks who work in or around the Ballantyne Corporate Park. Ditch the business cards, and drop by to have a drink, relax, and meet your neighbors.

When: 1st and 3rd Tuesday of every month from 5:30 to 7:30 pm.

Where: Locations in Ballantyne will alternate and will be announced by email a few days in advance.

Anyone who's interested in joining us to send an email to Allen Starrett at ars@starrettlawfirm.com to be added to the list.

Like them on Facebook: CLICK HERE.

Questions? Email Allen Starrett at ars@starrettlawfirm.com.

Donate blood with the American Red Cross in Ballantyne Corporate Park
Tuesday | May 26th, 2015 | 9am - 1:30pm 

Donate blood with the American Red Cross in Ballantyne Corporate Park. The blood drive will be held on the blood mobile at the Brixham Tent from 9 a.m. until 1:30p.m. Volunteer your time with the Ballantyne community to help save lives.

Register online by clicking here and entering sponsor code "Ballantyne Corp." New donors will be prompted to create an online account.

2015 Season Alive After 5
Every Thursday at the EPICENTRE
Alive After Five is how Charlotte kick-starts the weekend every Thursday in style! As the largest weekly happy hour and free entertainment celebration, Alive After Five provides a destination for friends and co-workers to gather, unwind, and network while enjoying great live music, tasty beverages and a fun, casual atmosphere. With Epicentre’s prominent uptown location, whether you are walking, using many of the parking options or hopping the city light rail you can access Charlotte’s #1 weekly event.

Charlotte Knights

Last season’s Charlotte Knights’ games proved to be the hottest ticket in town. A record number of fans attended games during the team's first season as the Knights led minor league baseball with nearly 688,000 fans over 71 games. The Knights kicked off their sophomore season opener on April 9^th and the season is now in full swing.  This spring be sure to visit the gorgeous BB&T stadium where every seat is a good seat. For beer lovers, a new craft beer area opened for the sophomore season. The space will feature craft beer from six local breweries.

May 2015 YouTube Pick of the Month

Each month we like to give you something to just laugh about! These YouTube Pick of the Month videos are aimed to be things we can all relate to in our everyday professional lives and hopefully laugh and/or be inspired!

We laughed out loud even while we were embedding this video even though we had seen it several times.   Kid Snippets are short clips where adult situations are dubbed with real life kid voices.  In this video a  kid is asked to interview his little brother for a job. This is what they came up with.

Kid Snippets: "Job Interview" (Imagined by Kids)

BBC's The Scoop Episode 2

The Scoop is a unique way for Ballantyne Business Center to reach out to the business community and share tips, trends, Charlotte happenings and things that get us laughing at ourselves as a culture with "Modern Day Guide to Business Etiquette!"

Virtual Space

In this episode we discuss Virtual Space. What is virtual space? How can it be used effectively? We also explore what a business gets with a virtual space here at Ballantyne Business Center. To quote Erin, "We are going to make your business look like a big deal!" Be sure to check out all that we offer with our virtual space! You may be surprised at how affordable it is and all that we do as your "brand evangelist!" 

Modern Day Guide to Business Etiquette

In this episode, with the help of our guest actors Lisa Sperber & Drew Partridge (From The Acting Project,) we explore the following:

1. The Space Invader:  This is that person at your office that does not understand the meaning of personal space.
   
2. The Obnoxious Speaker Phone Guy:  The person we have all heard at some point in our office that puts people on speaker, then proceeds to share their conversation with the entire world...even things that they would not normally share on your lunch break.

The Virtual Office, Where We make Ours Yours

Whether you need a professional receptionist to answer your calls or a meeting location when you're ready to close the deal, Ballantyne Business Center offers flexible meeting space. With high-tech conference rooms for both small and large groups, we offer both hourly and daily rentals for our virtual offices. Take a virtual tour, and experience all the benefits of Ballantyne Business Center, and let us customize your next meeting!

The virtual office package has all the perks of business communication, including catering and concierge services, innovative audio-visual equipment, a professional on-site meeting coordinator, complimentary parking, and even access to the helipad, convenient for your VIP guests. The Ballantyne location also provides the conveniences of hotels, restaurants and shopping!

Check out all the features for your virtual office on the meeting page, view all the possible layouts for your space, and get signed up today at BallantyneBusinessCenter.com

Charlotte Business Journal - 40 Under 40 EVENT!

Each year, Charlotte Business Journal makes a point to recognize and celebrate forty of the most talented individuals under the age of 40 who are making a major impact on the community, and continue to guide Charlotte into the business city that it is.

Thursday, March 12, honorees will put on a show at the 22nd annual 40 Under 40 Awards, demonstrating their best talents at the historic McGlohon Theater at Spirit Square. The reception will follow with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, so come mingle with this year's most talented crowd. Find more details on this event and register here.

All honorees have been asked to take part in the Selfie Challenge, and take weekly photos expressing Click here for a look at last year's Forty Under 40 honorees and their Charlotte selfie stories. They will post some of their favorite things - sporting events and teams, restaurants, skyline views, etc. to social media using hashtag #CBJ40Under40.

For event tickets, event details or registration questions, please contact Allie Gatlin at AGatlin@bizjournals.com

Congratulations to the 2015 Winners

Brad Austin, McGuireWoods LLP

Meredith Ball, Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer

Kelly Barnhardt, Town of Indian Trail, NC

Shannon Binns, Sustain Charlotte

Laura Clark, Renaissance West Community Initiative

Benjamin Collins, Crescent Communities

Devin Collins, UNC Charlotte, Charlotte Research Institute

Ryan Doherty, ai Design Group

Erinne Dyer, Carolinas HealthCare System

Peter Fischer, F.H. "Sammy" Ross, Jr. Trauma Center at Carolinas Medical Center

Michael Giles, PricewaterhouseCoopers

Karen H. Good, Lantern & Scroll, Inc.

Brett Gray, DTZ (formerly Cassidy Turley)

Flavil Hampsten, Hornets Sports & Entertainment

Julie Harris, Bank of America

Chris Hobart, Hobart Financial Group

Pearlynn Houck, Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson

Christina Howard, DHG

Chad Jenkins, SeedSpark

Cadie Jessup, Wells Fargo

Jennifer Leary, CliftonLarsonAllen LLP

Lauren Lewis, Essex Richards, P.A.

Becky Lindahl, Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP

Jose Luis, Family Dollar Stores

Jessica Manzo, American Airlines

Molly McIntosh, Troutman Sanders LLP

Abhishek Mehta, Tresata

Ron Messenger, Grant Thornton LLP

Brandy Milazzo, Milazzo Schaffer Webb Law, PLLC

David Miller, Powell Financial

Sean Owens, Charlotte Knights

Julie Parikh, KPMG LLP

Kourosh Sharifi, RE/MAX Executive

Leigh Ann Smith, Bank of America

John Sutton, Red Ventures

Tri Tang, Carolinas Medical Center - NorthEast

Matt Telmanik, CCS Construction Staffing

Elizabeth Timkovich, Winston & Strawn LLP

Mindy Vervais, Moore & Van Allen PLLC

John Zimmer, Smith Moore Leatherwood LLP

Show Your Ballantyne Corporate Park Card

Access hundreds of great discounts available in Ballantyne, and surrounding areas, with the Ballantyne Corporate Park Card. Visit go-Ballantyne.com, and check out all the local deals! You can receive 20% off at The Spa at Ballantyne, or get 25% off your first meeting reservation with Ballantyne Business Center.

In addition to the BCP Card benefits, go-ballantyne.com features a calendar of events and activities you can join. Whether it's a tenant golf night, or a special luncheon, the site offers Ballantyne happenings all in one place. Want to add an event to the calendar? Simply submit your date and description via the form on the home page, and it could be featured within the next business day.

Don't have a card?  Sign up today for a virtual office at Ballantyne Business Center and become part of our Ballantyne business community! 

*The BCP Card program is only offered to tenants and virtual office clients in Ballantyne Corporate Park.* 

Charlotte Chamber of Commerce

The Charlotte Chamber is the number one advocate for Charlotte business, and works every day to create the very best economy and quality of life for all its residents. The mission is to create a competitive advantage by growing the economy, advocate pro-business public policies, and deliver innovative programs and services. 

Mark your calendars - The Charlotte Chamber is gearing up for another memorable event in the Ballantyne area: the Ballantyne Chamber Luncheon on March 5. SPX's Chief Information Security Officer, Chris Hudel, will explain how to protect your business from cyber crimes, how to detect cyber attacks before they occur, and how to identify the patterns of those attackers. This will be a great opportunity to visit Ballantyne Country Club and attend the most active meeting in the chapters the Chamber has to offer. To attend this luncheon, please register here.

Ballantyne Chapter Luncheon - March 2015

Event Date: Thursday, March 5, 2015 

Event Time: 11:30 am - 1:00 pm 

Event Location: Ballantyne Country Club

Event Subject: Cyber Security: How to Protect Your Business

Join in the Madness at BBC

Selection Sunday is right around the corner, then the March Madness begins!

At Ballantyne Business Center, we are gearing up for some friendly competition, and we will have brackets available for all clients to participate. First, second and third place winners will receive an awesome gift card.

Also, for those of you who don't have tickets, what better way to watch the game than on a state-of-the-art projection screen, or our 80'' LCD TV during game days? Email us for the schedule, as we will have open doors and appetizers for those who have some free game time to come hang out at BBC!

Lastly, on March 20 and 22, the 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament second and third rounds will be hosted at Charlotte's Time Warner Cable Arena. Tickets are available with the official ticket provider of the NCAA, PrimeSport, with additional access to the NCAA Fan Experience. The road ends at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, April 4 and 6 for the National Semifinals and National Championship.

Here are the dates and locations for the 2015 NCAA men's basketball tournament:

Selection Sunday

March 15

First Round

March 17-18

UD Arena (Dayton, Ohio)

Second-Third Rounds

March 19, 21

Veterans Memorial Arena (Jacksonville, Fla.)

KFC Yum! Center (Louisville)

Consol Energy Center (Pittsburgh)

Rose Garden (Portland, Ore.)

March 20, 22

Time Warner Cable Arena (Charlotte, N.C.)

Nationwide Arena (Columbus, Ohio)

CenturyLink Center (Omaha, Neb.)

KeyArena (Seattle)

Midwest Regional

March 26, 28
Quicken Loans Arena (Cleveland)

West Regional
March 26, 28
Staples Center (Los Angeles)

South Regional
March 27, 29
NRG Stadium (Houston)

East Regional
March 27, 29
Carrier Dome (Syracuse)

National Semifinals
April 4
Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis)

Championship Game
April 6
Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis)