by EGBI Tech Team | Jun 15, 2017 | Community Partner Events
The Consulate General of Mexico in Austin announced the launch of the Consular Assistance Special Campaign for Mexican Nationals in Central Texas, a new effort sponsored by the Mexican Government to promote “know your rights” seminars, US citizenship workshops, financial education clinics, and individual consultations with immigration attorneys, among other services.
This initiative is the result of extraordinary resources allocated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico to its consular network in the United States. In Austin, funds will be used in a capacity building effort to better protect the rights and interests of Mexican nationals within the Consulate’s jurisdiction.
The main activities and programs that are part of the campaign are:
- Know Your Rights Information sessions. Attendees of these sessions will receive information about their rights, what to do in case of detention by an authority, and information about SB4.
- Immigration screening consultations with immigration attorneys. Through an individualized screening consultation, a person will be able to talk to an immigration attorney to find out if he/she qualifies for any type of immigration relief. The person will receive legal counsel as to his or her potential options, and what next steps to follow.
- Naturalization clinics. At these clinics, Legal Permanent Residents who qualify will receive legal assistance to apply for U.S. citizenship.
- Emergency preparedness clinics. Attendees to these clinics will receive information on how to protect their children and properties in case of deportation proceedings. They will receive assistance executing powers of attorney forms, and other legal instruments, as needed. They will also receive useful information in case they decide to return to Mexico.
- The Financial Assistance Window.This service, located within the Consulate, will provide training and guidance on how to protect patrimony, as well as cultural and linguistically appropriate financial and educational advice with the purpose of increasing financial literacy among the immigrant community.
All services offered will be free of charge to participants. This program was made possible in the collaboration of several organizations and attorneys throughout Central Texas. Economic Growth Business Incubator was proud to be one of the organizations along with American Gateways, Asociación de Restauranteros Mexicanos de Texas, Casa Marianella, Catholic Charities of Central Texas, De Mott, McChesney, Curtright and Armendáriz, LLP (DMCA), Education Austin, Equal Justice Center, Foundation Communities, Hispanic Alliance, Lincoln – Goldfinch Law, Migrant Clinician Network, Mis Cuentas, RAICES Texas, The Law Office of Yohana Saucedo, P.C., The Lyttle Law Firm, and Volunteer Legal Services.
- Mexican and other Latino immigrants interested in knowing more about the campaign or how to take advantage of this opportunity for free services can register at the Consulate’s website https://consulmex.sre.gob.mx/austin/, under the Protección tab (Centro de Defensoría).
by EGBI Tech Team | May 12, 2017 | Business Tips
Last year Rand Fishkin, a Seattle software executive, started an exciting Twitter thread when he let loose a provocative comment regarding sales tactics:
“Best way to sell something—don’t sell anything. Earn the awareness, respect, & trust of those who might buy.”
As you’d expect, the comments that flowed in ranged from total agreement to disagreement bordering on denouncement.
In many ways, everyone is right and wrong: Sales and salespeople get a bad rap, some of it deserved, in large part because the worst examples (i.e., pushy, sometimes sleazy tactics) stick out in our minds and override those occasions when salespeople were actually quite helpful.
We have our brains to blame for the contempt, says Clifford Nass, a Stanford communications professor and co-author of The Man Who Lied to His Laptop: What Machines Teach Us About Human Relationships, said in a New York Timespiece on the topic.
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by EGBI Tech Team | May 9, 2017 | Business Tips
By Al Lopez, EGBI Executive Director
Too often, small business owners and startups are so focused on becoming known and marketing themselves to the wider public that they forget about the importance of good customer service. Either they fail to take into account customer satisfaction or they begin to take their earliest customers for granted. However, don’t let the pursuit of fast growth blind you to the need for good customer service.
First and most importantly, good customer service is the foundation of building a trusted brand with an engaged and loyal customer base. Especially in the digital era, the power of word-of-mouth marketing cannot be underestimated. If customers aren’t happy with the service they have received, they won’t just tell their friends – they will also let everyone on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram know about it as well.
But look what happens when you keep a close focus on customer service: you can convert regular customers into super-customers of your business. Marketers often refer to these super-customers as “brand ambassadors” or “evangelists.” And it’s exactly these ambassadors and evangelists who can really help your startup grow and take it to the next level. After all, it is much cheaper to retain a customer or gain a referral than it is to find a new customer.
The most obvious way existing customers can help to jump-start your growth is by bringing repeat business. You no longer have to worry about churning through customers and finding new ones. And, it is often the case that customers will trust you to take on bigger and bigger projects as they gain confidence with you. For example, a loyal customer who comes into your restaurant on a regular basis might decide to hire you for a big catering project that can help take your new restaurant in a new growth direction.
You also won’t have to worry about spending a bigger and bigger piece of your overall budget on marketing. Your customers will do your marketing for you. They will make word-of-mouth referrals for you and let everyone know what a quality product or service you deliver each time. Best of all, these are authentic reviews. Nobody is paying them to say something nice about you, and that’s something that readers or viewers will immediately recognize. Authentic customer testimonials can be very powerful indeed.
That’s why a satisfied customer is good, but a delighted customer is best. There are many ways to “surprise and delight” your customers with good customer service. If you’re paying attention on social media, for example, you can sometimes pre-empt any problems a customer might be having. It’s best to get ahead of a concern on Twitter than to let a few bad tweets get out there!
And, you can choose to surprise and delight customers around special times of the year – such as with a special year-end holiday gift. Even a small gesture – like giving away a complimentary dessert “on the house” to help celebrate a special anniversary – can create a very loyal customer.
So you can see why quality customer service is really the key to sustaining and growing your business. Every interaction with a customer can become an opportunity to deepen the relationship and ensure that your customers are as happy with you now as when they first started using your product or service.
In short, quick and rapid growth is not just about piling up new customers as fast as you can – it’s also about making sure that your existing customers are still enthusiastic about what you offer. Great customer service is the key to growing your business.
Customer service
by EGBI Tech Team | May 8, 2017 | Business Tips
Follow the infographic below to make sure you’re setting yourself up for financial success.
Find out information on loan types, equipment financing, qualifying factors, business line of credit, and more here.
by EGBI Tech Team | May 5, 2017 | News & Events
Monica Peña will be assisting with the expansion of Economic Growth Business Incubator’s (EGBI) outreach by promoting programs and services through traditional marketing, social media, media outlets, and partnership development. She has an entrepreneur background including helping locally owned businesses as a strategist on marketing time management, promotion follow through, and maximization of their social media efforts. She has a strong passion for helping small businesses succeed and has been a supporter of EGBI prior to joining the team.
