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    <title>ColoradoBiz Articles</title>
    <link>http://www.cobizmag.com/</link>
    <description></description>
    <dc:language>en</dc:language>
    <dc:creator>lryckman@cobizmag.com</dc:creator>
    <dc:rights>Copyright 2012</dc:rights>
    <dc:date>2012-05-22T09:34:20+00:00</dc:date>
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    <item>
      <title>Made in Colorado</title>
      <link>http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/made-in-colorado</link>
      <guid>http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/made-in-colorado#When:06:01:41Z</guid>
      <description><![CDATA[
	

	The model you see wielding two Colorado-made products and wearing another knows something about innovation: He co-founded the state&rsquo;s first brewpub. (Those feathery green buds on his Rockmount shirt are hops, grown here for the brewing industry.)&nbsp;

	&ldquo;Everyone knows Colorado as this great resort community with incredible skiing and biking and white-water rafting. They don&rsquo;t realize all the innovation,&rdquo; says Gov. John Hickenlooper, who cited technology, aerospace, outerwear and recreational gear as examples of the state&rsquo;s leading edge. &ldquo;Colorado is the front-runner in almost all of these industries, and we don&rsquo;t get any respect.&rdquo;

	&ldquo;Made in Colorado&rdquo; features snapshots from 10 industry sectors that represent our state&rsquo;s manufacturing prowess and entrepreneurial ingenuity. Although you&rsquo;ll find many iconic brands, we tried to focus on upstarts. That&rsquo;s why you won&rsquo;t see New Belgium, Odell and Oskar Blues among the craft brewers, for example. All three have graced these pages before and have been widely celebrated. Like the &ldquo;50 Colorado Companies to Watch&rdquo; program &mdash; coming in our June issue &mdash; we hope to introduce you to some of the...<br /><a href="http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/made-in-colorado">Read more</a>]]></description>
      <dc:subject>Magazine Articles, Magazine Featured, Small Biz,</dc:subject>
      <dc:date>2012-04-01T06:01:41+00:00</dc:date>
    </item>

    <item>
      <title>Black gold</title>
      <link>http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/black-gold</link>
      <guid>http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/black-gold#When:06:01:48Z</guid>
      <description><![CDATA[
	

	Five percent or more of the oil consumed in Colorado comes from a sticky, black substance called bitumen, which is mined 1,600 miles to the north in a forested, boggy region of the Canadian province of Alberta. The locals in Fort McMurray, the center of the mining operations, and at corporate headquarters in Calgary, spit out the syllables rapidly, slightly emphasizing the first: BIT-u-men.

	Bitumen is to Alberta what kerogen &ndash; the key constituent of oil shale &ndash; is to Colorado. Both are vast in scale. Using current technology and prices, Canada&rsquo;s bitumen can provide 173 billion barrels of oil, a reserve second only to that of Saudi Arabia. Both pale when compared to the kerogen deposits of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. Leaving a large room for error, between 1 trillion and 3 trillion barrels are technically recoverable.

	There&rsquo;s one crucial difference: The bitumen of Alberta comes in a geological formation that, as one author noted metaphorically, can be spooned, while Colorado&rsquo;s oil shale requires a fork and knife. If the oil companies have invented those utensils, they&rsquo;re keeping quiet. This begs the question of why the oil companies need up to 2 million acres of public...<br /><a href="http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/black-gold">Read more</a>]]></description>
      <dc:subject>Economy Politics, Magazine Articles, Magazine Featured,</dc:subject>
      <dc:date>2012-03-01T06:01:48+00:00</dc:date>
    </item>

    <item>
      <title>A dose of sales mojo</title>
      <link>http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/a-dose-of-sales-mojo</link>
      <guid>http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/a-dose-of-sales-mojo#When:09:34:20Z</guid>
      <description><![CDATA[
	One of the most common questions asked of me by salespeople and business owners is, &ldquo;Can you help me to get and stay motivated?&rdquo; I tell them that motivation isn&rsquo;t something I offer or provide; motivation is something, with my help, they can discover and develop in themselves.

	To clarify the meaning of motivation is the desire to do something. Shockingly simple! It&rsquo;s not some magical ingredient that gives us power to do whatever we want; it&rsquo;s simply the desire to want to do it. It&rsquo;s there or it&rsquo;s not.

	There&rsquo;s no question about it, salespeople and business owners who are motivated earn more money. Your attitude, mindset and approach will always play a huge part in helping you to build the business, close more sales and earn the money you desire. Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.

	Motivation starts and ends with you. Smart and enlightened sales people and business owners know that their personal motivation is like a thermostat. They set and maintain the level of their motivation. &nbsp;It&rsquo;s a choice and that&rsquo;s...<br /><a href="http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/a-dose-of-sales-mojo">Read more</a>]]></description>
      <dc:subject>Sales/Marketing, Web Exclusive,</dc:subject>
      <dc:date>2012-05-22T09:34:20+00:00</dc:date>
    </item>

    <item>
      <title>Stop, don&#8217;t, never!</title>
      <link>http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/stop-dont-never</link>
      <guid>http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/stop-dont-never#When:07:49:19Z</guid>
      <description><![CDATA[
	I love interviewing people to work at Gnip. &nbsp;Unless I&rsquo;m having a really crappy day, I enter each interview full of hope and optimism. &nbsp;I&rsquo;ve done countless interviews in the last 20-plus years, and I can easily slip into autopilot mode if I&rsquo;m not careful.&nbsp;To avoid this trap, I mentally prepare by reminding myself: &ldquo;Today could be the day I&rsquo;ll meet the next great team member.&rdquo; I&rsquo;ve found this mental pep talk helps remind me that there is no better use of my time than investing in the interviewing process. &nbsp;In other words, the next interview could be a company game changer and I need to be 100 percent&nbsp;engaged.

	Most interviews don&rsquo;t directly lead to someone joining our company.&nbsp; Often the person doesn&rsquo;t have the right skills or experience.&nbsp; There are plenty of cases where it becomes clear to the candidate that we can&rsquo;t provide them an opportunity that meets their interest/needs.&nbsp;Both of these outcomes are normal and healthy.&nbsp; Unfortunately, I often find another outcome can occur which is frustrating...<br /><a href="http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/stop-dont-never">Read more</a>]]></description>
      <dc:subject>Biz Jobs, Careers/Growth, Leadership/Management, Web Exclusive,</dc:subject>
      <dc:date>2012-05-22T07:49:19+00:00</dc:date>
    </item>

    <item>
      <title>The courage factor</title>
      <link>http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/the-courage-factor</link>
      <guid>http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/the-courage-factor#When:07:24:03Z</guid>
      <description><![CDATA[
	&ldquo;Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one&#39;s courage.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; - Anais Nin

	When was the last time you gathered every ounce of courage within you to do something that scared you throughout every fiber of your body, mind and spirit? Maybe it was to do something like skydiving or, if you are an entrepreneur, the courage factor may have been focused around taking your business to new heights that you had never previously ventured towards before.&nbsp;

	Think about when you have had the best successes in your life both personally and in business&hellip;something tells me that courage was bubbling up like a rocket inside of you to take you where you needed to go.&nbsp; When change is eminent and (note the underline under the word and) we embrace the vision of what we want to be, do or see, we can find ourselves with the tenacity to throw our comfort zone to the sidelines.&nbsp; And with that dream killing comfort zone out of the way we can find ourselves achieving great things.&nbsp;&nbsp;

	Albert Einstein summed up courage this way, &ldquo;Great spirits have always found...<br /><a href="http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/the-courage-factor">Read more</a>]]></description>
      <dc:subject>Biz Jobs, Careers/Growth, Leadership/Management, Web Exclusive,</dc:subject>
      <dc:date>2012-05-22T07:24:03+00:00</dc:date>
    </item>

    <item>
      <title>The leader and the guy in charge</title>
      <link>http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/the-leader-and-the-guy-in-charge</link>
      <guid>http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/the-leader-and-the-guy-in-charge#When:08:38:05Z</guid>
      <description><![CDATA[
	I don&rsquo;t usually write about leadership, primarily because I don&rsquo;t fully understand it. I think I get caught up in the definition. You, dear reader, can help me to learn.

	Usually a list of leadership traits describes the guy in charge, not necessarily a leader. &nbsp;The guy in charge and the leader aren&rsquo;t the same thing. They CAN be, of course, but I don&rsquo;t see that very often.

	So I guess a person first needs to decide if they want to be the leader, or be the guy in charge. You&rsquo;ll need different qualities for each.

	Take the Broncos, for instance. Pat Bolen is in charge, but is he the leader? Can he say something to the team which will make them play harder? I don&rsquo;t think so. What about the Coach Fox? He&rsquo;s in charge of the team, but he&rsquo;s trying to motivate guys who earn more than he does. What can he say? He can design plays, and choose who starts, but can he make them play harder? Ultimately he&rsquo;s just managing personalities and planning the offense - while...<br /><a href="http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/the-leader-and-the-guy-in-charge">Read more</a>]]></description>
      <dc:subject>Leadership/Management, Web Exclusive,</dc:subject>
      <dc:date>2012-05-21T08:38:05+00:00</dc:date>
    </item>

    <item>
      <title>Freelancers to the rescue: Part 2</title>
      <link>http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/freelancers-to-the-rescue-part-2</link>
      <guid>http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/freelancers-to-the-rescue-part-2#When:07:20:07Z</guid>
      <description><![CDATA[
	(Editor&#39;s note: This is the second of two parts. Read Part 1.)

	Whether you hire freelancers directly or go through an agency or consulting group may initially depend on the person you&rsquo;ve identified and how they work. You may want to change that arrangement after considering the following.

	Cost &ndash; Rates vary considerably. Agencies regularly mark up the hourly rate of a worker by 100%. This means if you&rsquo;re paying $50 an hour, the worker is only getting $25. When comparing rates, ask what an agency worker will actually be paid, and expect to pay a direct freelancer more than that amount to cover their operating costs, including taxes and insurance. But don&rsquo;t try to hire around the agency. Note that a consulting group will usually pay the consultant a salary so probably will not tell you what the individual is paid. The typical array of rates from low to high is direct hire &ndash; agency temp &ndash; consulting group, but this varies by the type of work.

	Liability &ndash; If your freelancer will be working on your premises, your worker compensation carrier will want you to make sure that they are covered by their own worker...<br /><a href="http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/freelancers-to-the-rescue-part-2">Read more</a>]]></description>
      <dc:subject>Biz Jobs, Careers/Growth, Leadership/Management, Small Biz, Web Exclusive,</dc:subject>
      <dc:date>2012-05-21T07:20:07+00:00</dc:date>
    </item>

    <item>
      <title>Seven ways to dispense with Debbie Downers</title>
      <link>http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/seven-ways-to-dispense-with-debbie-downer</link>
      <guid>http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/seven-ways-to-dispense-with-debbie-downer#When:07:12:26Z</guid>
      <description><![CDATA[
	Any small business professional will run into negative people. You know the type: The glass is half empty, constant doom and gloom, stories of how everyone has wronged them and nothing is fair. Having pessimism present within a small business is similar to a locomotive: The more it gets going and the faster it moves, the more it will run over everything in its path.

	I recently found myself at a business networking event and very much in the thick of several business owners. I watched as nearly everyone in the circle ultimately got completely consumed by the pessimist and her viewpoint. It was difficult to witness this person&rsquo;s negative energy both captivate and repel everyone around her. But as a social society, we often see people join in on the fast train of negativity. In these situations, it is easy to find others to join our pity party, supporting our story of how we were &ldquo;wronged.&rdquo;

	Although there are times when a little venting is necessary to get a complaint off our chest, it is possible for too much pessimism to damage ourselves, our employees and our business. Rather than continuing to accommodate this negative...<br /><a href="http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/seven-ways-to-dispense-with-debbie-downer">Read more</a>]]></description>
      <dc:subject>Leadership/Management, Small Biz, Web Exclusive,</dc:subject>
      <dc:date>2012-05-21T07:12:26+00:00</dc:date>
    </item>

    <item>
      <title>The danger of discounts</title>
      <link>http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/the-danger-of-discounts</link>
      <guid>http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/the-danger-of-discounts#When:08:02:40Z</guid>
      <description><![CDATA[
	Benjamin Franklin said, "The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten." What a powerful and true statement. But do you believe it and stand by it when you sell? Today&rsquo;s prospects are better than ever at pressuring you about your price. And&nbsp;they get to use the economy as an excuse and leverage to beat you up to get you to lower your price.

	This sound familiar? &ldquo;You know Mr./Ms. salesperson, times are tough out there and I really, really do like you and really want to buy , &ldquo;but&rdquo; can&rsquo;t you help us with that price? We just can&rsquo;t afford that price in today&rsquo;s economy.&rdquo;&nbsp; By the way, the &ldquo;but&rdquo; word is the most dangerous word in sales next to &ldquo;think it over.&rdquo; Did you know prospects love this down economy. Why? They get to use it as leverage on you and your price. And why do they do this? Simple.&nbsp; Because it works on &ldquo;too&rdquo; many salespeople . My sales rule? &ldquo;You&rsquo;re not selling if you&rsquo;re...<br /><a href="http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/the-danger-of-discounts">Read more</a>]]></description>
      <dc:subject>Sales/Marketing, Web Exclusive,</dc:subject>
      <dc:date>2012-05-18T08:02:40+00:00</dc:date>
    </item>

    <item>
      <title>Rockin&#8217; my wine world</title>
      <link>http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/rockin-my-wine-world</link>
      <guid>http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/rockin-my-wine-world#When:07:38:56Z</guid>
      <description><![CDATA[
	

	Panzano&rsquo;s Executive Chef, Elise Wiggins, and her Umbria, Italy-born colleague, Gennaro Villella, changed my wine-drinking life last week.

	Under nights filled with a full moon, deep and delicious vineyard wanderings, and Verona, Italy third-and fourth-generation winemakers, Elise and Gennaro introduced me to days filled with Amarone, a wine I&rsquo;d only knew vague knew about (read: I never really knew at all).

	I drank this deep wine a dozen times last week and it was seven days of absolute debauchery. In addition to becoming so spoiled, so satiated with extraordinary wine and dining, I learned more about Italy&rsquo;s Amarone wine culture than probably most sommeliers know.

	Eight million bottles of Amarone are produced every year. That&rsquo;s a lot of one kind of wine. It&rsquo;s made from Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara grapes which are harvested in October and then carefully dried over the next three to four months. The grape skins, during this drying time, bring forth the color, the intensity and the tannins to the wine.

	Fermentation takes place for another one to two months and then the wine is aged in oak barrels &mdash; and size matters. Some centuries-old, Verona-area...<br /><a href="http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/rockin-my-wine-world">Read more</a>]]></description>
      <dc:subject>Hospitality, Web Exclusive,</dc:subject>
      <dc:date>2012-05-18T07:38:56+00:00</dc:date>
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