Focus

Earth Wizards and B&F Fastener Supply, the two winners of this year’s Upsize Growth Challenge, detail their progress.

“So it’s growing into something else,” says Stacy Anderson about her 10-year-old company Earth Wizards Inc., a $2-million firm that started in the blacktop business.

Describing exactly what that “something” is should be her main focus in the next few months, the Upsize Growth Challenge experts agree.

Anderson’s company is one of two winners of the 2010 Upsize Growth Challenge, which experts who can help them get there, and reports on their progress.

Many business owners received awards this spring from NAWBO Minnesota, the National Association of Women Business Owners, Minnesota chapter. Each was asked a few questions, and each supplied revealing answers that were printed in the program.

If you’re a business owner, you’ve probably imagined dozens of nightmare scenarios that could threaten or even destroy your company’s reputation.

Utilizing social media as part of your business’s integrated marketing plan is a smart move, but you should do it efficiently to gain the most benefits. Here are some best practice tips for Twitter to aid you in finding a solid following.

Unless you’ve been living on a deserted island, it’s hard to escape the buzz surrounding Twitter.

The attention given to social networking is well-deserved, and it’s not just for fun anymore. Businesses, small and large, can make use of social networking as part of their overall marketing toolbox.

John Fallenstein knew that negotiating the acquisition of a company would be difficult. But when his three-year quest to buy his first firm zeroed in last year on CustomRock Formliner of St. Paul, he learned that a formidable seller would be across the table: Bruce Mooty, principal at the Minneapolis law firm Gray Plant Mooty, and representing the Mooty family who owned the firm.

Curt Ratajczak had heard about the financial services collapse so he knew getting funding to buy a building for his company, TMS Johnson Inc., was no sure thing.

When Upsize began its fourth annual search in the spring to find the smartest ways to build a business, we went to the best source: the owners of growing companies. In the pages that follow, we report their 30 best practices and tips for applying those ideas to your own enterprises.