Rise of Kinko
It’s not easy tracking down Paul Orfalea. The man who made Kinko’s synonymous with American-style entrepreneurship has been speaking out about dyslexia, leading seminars at University of California, Santa Barbara, and making a few appearances in the Tri-Counties. But mainly he keeps a low profile and spends a lot of time managing his investments and Read More →
Willing to risk it? Small businesses take leap of faith in uncertain times
Risk has always been a big part of the equation in small business — and it weighs on the minds of entrepreneurs in today’s economic environment. Eric Sanabia of Signature Woodworks in Goleta took a big risk when he started his business three years ago, and now he is contemplating another sizable one. David R. Read More →
The big business blend – Entrepreneurs combine multiple niches into one
Tough times call on entrepreneurs to get inventive and do something a little different to win customers’ dollars. And two tri-county businesses are doing just that. In Santa Barbara, Live Culture plans to serve up a combination of wine, frozen yogurt and live music. SLO County Sitters in San Luis Obispo has connected parents with Read More →
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Online news start-ups in the Tri-Counties are looking for donations from loyal readers as well as community support to keep them operating through the next year. With signs pointing to a weak start to 2009, it could be an important survival strategy for small online publications that are trying to build brand loyalty on shoestring Read More →
Is your IT disaster-proof?
When hundreds of homes burned in Montecito, the flames neared a cluster of financial advisers and other businesses that depend on data for their livelihood. Though none of those firms burned, the fire spurred companies to re-evaluate their IT disaster preparation plans. John Hunt, head of Santa Barbara-based IT firm CompuVision, said he’s spoken Read More →
Data backup on fast track: Thousand Oaks firm signs deal with Baja Fresh
Thousand Oaks-based Casdex didn’t take long to jump off the blocks. The company launched its first product in February. It provides an online document archiving service that gives small and mid-sized firms the same kind of backups that large enterprises use to protect against lawsuits and audits. And after just a few months, Casdex inked Read More →
Getting into position
Jon Ziskind knows how big the world is, and he doesn’t want people to get lost. A former professional sailor, Ziskind traveled widely to compete in the America’s Cup, sailing’s most prestigious regatta. The sport relies heavily on Global Positioning System, or GPS, technology, so when Ziskind settled down, it made sense for him to Read More →
