Business Digest Radio

William Craighead, Ph.D. - Executive Director, UCCS Economic Forum

Executive Director, Dr. William (Bill) Craighead discusses this year's 28th Annual Economic Forum being held September 26, 2024 at the ENT Center for Performing Arts from 12pm to 5pm. Registration is required: https://web.cvent.com/event/711a169b-e9a5-441c-b629-38e8833d395f/summary 
 
The UCCS Economic Forum is the most widely attended expert economic overview in the region held annually in the fall. 
 
The program begins at 1 pm with our keynote “Where do we Grow from Here?  Population Trends in Colorado and El Paso County” presented by State Demographer Elizabeth Garner.  That will be followed by two concurrent (choose one) panel discussions: “The Future of Downtowns and Commercial Real Estate” and “Small Business in the Pikes Peak Region: Opportunities and Challenges.”  Forum Director Dr. Bill Craighead will conclude the program with “The Economic Outlook for the Pikes Peak Region.”
The forum will conclude with a Happy Hour reception from 4:00-5:00 pm.
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ABOUT UCCS ECONOMIC FORUM
Key Economic Metrics
The UCCS Economic Forum provides and tracks key economic metrics to help gauge the economic health of the region.
 
Data Analysis
The UCCS Economic Forum applies economic and statistical principles to analyze trends in local and national data.
 
Expert Commentary
The UCCS Economic Forum is a trusted source for informed interpretations of economic news and data. 

Colorado College's Manya Whitaker, Ph.D., Interim President

Colorado College is marking a significant milestone this year as it celebrates its sesquicentennial anniversary! Join Interim President, Dr. Manya Whitaker on #BusinessDigestWeekly as she sheds light on the college's array of access programs tailored for students aspiring to attain one of the finest liberal arts degrees in the nation.
CC Website: https://coloradocollege.edu Tune in to discover how Colorado College is strategically positioned within the community to equip the next generation workforce with Liberal Arts, Economics and Business degrees for the region's prominent industry employers in S. Colorado, spanning #Aerospace, #AdvancedManufacturing, and #Cyber sectors. Moreover, learn about CC's ongoing partnerships with major community endeavors such as #CityforChampions, Downtown Partnership of Colorado Springs, and the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College. Don't miss out! Catch the discussion this Friday at 3PM on 101.1FM or AM1460, stream live on AM1460TheAnswer.com, or listen later on #Spotify, #iHeart, or #Apple podcasts. Search: "Business Digest Radio". Dr. Whitaker also joins me next Monday morning on Business First Look on KKTV 11 News and on KKTV.com

Firma IT Solutions CEO, Rodney Gullatte Talks about Cyber Security for Small Business

We hear about Crowdstrike, Target, United Airlines, and even UnitedHealth falling prey to cyber attacks in the news all the time. What we don't hear so much about are the minions of small business owners that also find themselves sideways in a data-breech or outright ransom situation. 
This army of cloaked criminals is growing at an astronomical rate and will continue create havoc on those businesses.  Today's hyper-reliance on cyber tools that keep businesses competitive also create exposure for wanting cyber thugs to poach your data, money and in worse case scenarios ones livelihood. 
Certified Ethical Hacker, Rodney Gullatte, CEO of Firma IT Solutions, shares some pearls of first and second level steps you can take to reduce instances of cyber threats. 
Website: https://FirmaITSS.com 

Jill Gaebler, Executive Director - Pikes Peak Housing Network

Executive Director, Jill Gaebler explains the organization's mission in fostering innovative and collaborative solutions that advance housing affordability, access, and production in the Pikes Peak Region.
Understanding Housing Affordability & Attainability
Economically, the more a household has to spend on housing the less money they have to spend on other products and services that contribute to their quality of life and support the entire community.
Housing costs typically take precedence over other staples such as food, transportation and medical care. These factors lead to less community prosperity and individual wellness and increase trauma. Ultimately, this downward spiral leads to less stable housing conditions, workforce, families and neighborhoods.
From an environmental perspective, a lack of housing ability options pushes our community members to housing further from where they work. This creates congestion on our roads and increased pollution, which damages the environment that the Pikes Peak Region cherishes.
Pikes Peak Housing Network is the only nonprofit accomplishing this work in the state of Colorado and we need your support. 
Learn more about the Pikes Peak Housing Network here: https://pphousingnetwork.org/ 

Opus Creative Industries president and CEO, Linda Weise

Colorado Springs Community Cultural Collective and Opus Creative Industries founder and CEO, Linda Weise shares how three unique creative workforce programs are making a significant impact in three key areas, all of which have wide-ranging implications for those in 1) the hospitality and 2) early childhood educator and care industries, and a third program for those who are passionate about the 3) creative technologies or media arts industries. 
Hear Linda explain how these one-of-a-kind, earn-and-learn programs in partnership with Pikes Peak Workforce Center have put an innovation grant to work for hundreds of area adults who now have an opportunity for formal pre-apprentices with local industry partners helping prepare them for high-standard work opportunities. 
Next is a world-class program around early-age child care and education where both working families with young children and those seeking opportunities in early childhood development gain opportunities. The program in part helps allow working members of the family to not have to call off or be late for work due to child-care challenges, and the child benefits from properly programmed, age-appropriate social interaction and engagement for their development, and allows for the development of formalized FFNs or Friends, Family and Neighbors child care programs.
Learn more about Opus Creative Industries and how you can participate: https://communityculturalcollective.org/ 
#JointInitiatives, #PikesPeakWorkforceCenter, #BroadmoorResort, OpusCreativeIndustry, #SherryLynnBoyles, #BrotherLuck, #GoatPatchBrewery, #LindaWeise, #BusinessDigestWeekly, #DirkHobbs, #ColoradoHealthFoundation, #TraciMarques

Chief Marketing Officer, Dawn Dawson - Mortgage Solutions Financial

We're on a bit of a marketing kick lately on Business Digest Weekly. It can be one of the most elusive topics for small business owners who struggle to find a balance between marketing and running the business. Then, what is good marketing? Targeting the right audiences? Using media? How much should I budget? And the list goes on. 
Dawn Dawson, local marketing executive and Chief Marketing Officer for Mortgage Solutions Financial, (founded by Roy Clennan), talks about several key ares of marketing that small business owners and operators will want to better understand. In this interview, Dawn discusses the "dos and don'ts" of brand changes, how to vet, screen and hire a marketing team (internal or out-sourced), what your marketing spend should look like per $1M in revenues, and how to buy media and learn from local media reps how to optimize performance when media is purchased. Enjoy this content-rich discussion that can help your business forward regardless of budget with insights from this highly experienced CMO!See Mortgage Solutions Financial here! Listen to this podcast on Spotify: Business Digest Radio, iHeart: Business Digest Radio

James Anderson - Small Business Partner at Dad's Donuts

What do you call a 109-layer pastry?  A delicious treat from Dad's Donuts!
From Woodland Park to Hollywood, and back to COS, entrepreneur and partner at Colorado Springs' newest delectable retail spot, Dad's Donuts, James Anderson unpacks how this newest take on the all-American treat has been elevated to a near art form. 
The Springs' downtown food options scene has been growing steadily for nearly seven years. Joining restauranteur, Mitch Yellen, James talks about the evolution and mission of this concept store located at 29 E Moreno in downtown Colorado Springs. 
Taking the retail food service employment model into a mission to create great customer experiences at every opportunity, learn how this dynamic and visionary team has launched a local sensation.
Website: https://dadsdonuts.com/ 
 

U.S. Small Business Adminitration Region VIII Administrator Aikta Marcoulier

Small Business support has never been more accessible than in today's world.
Most small business owners are excellent at their specific niche or skill. But where does one go when help is needed for required business tasks with which a business owner is not well informed? Financials - Permitting - Real Estate - Marketing - Media - Legal issues, and the list goes on...
Today's U.S. Small Business Administration is powerfully equipped to assist small businesses throughout southern Colorado no matter what phase your business is in: early stage, mature, succession planning and no matter what industry. 
The best news is, these expert support resources are available to business owners and operators are at no charge to the business. Through each community's Small Business Development Center (the SBA's local outreach and support organizations), business owners can meet with industry experts who can coach leaders on topics they are not familiar with to advance their business. 
Listen in as Region VIII Administrator Aikta Marcoulier unpacks the countless ways the SBA is here to help Colorado small businesses. 
Website: https://sba.gov 

Lyle Small, Founder & CEO - Lahjavida Cancer Research

Chromatic Technologies, Inc., or CTI, was founded by Cornell University chemistry student Lyle Small in his dorm in 1993. After a long-shot pitch in 2002 and five long years of R&D later in 2007, Coors' brewery would adopt Small's thermo-chromic technology (temperature sensitive dye), moving the brand to become the second best selling domestic beer in the U.S.   
Fast forward to an interaction Small had with a colleague who was demonstrating the dye's propensity to bond to nano particles of gold. While interesting, Small didn't give it much thought until he was happened to catch a 60 Minutes episode on cancer research just a few weeks later. This interaction in the lab, and the news report Small happened to catch on television proved to be a series of unusual, but fateful events. 
Small's new cancer research company, Lahjavida (pronounced: la-yah-vē-da) meaning, Gift of Life (combination of Finnish & Portuguese) has developed proprietary technology that combines the dye and gold particles together using a specific chemical linkage that preserves the selective binding characteristics of the dye to cancer cells, providing a delivery system for the gold particles to kill tumor cells. 
Listen in and learn more about this exciting new frontier in the fight against cancer. Visit https://www.lahjavida.com/home 

Disrupting & Innovating the Education System is Happening in Colorado Springs!

Pioneering K-12 Education Leaders in Colorado Springs Prepare to Launch Innovation Tech School - The Colorado Springs School of Technology. 
Michael Gaal, Superintendent of Colorado Springs School District 11, Vance Brown, software executive/entrepreneur and co-founder of Exponential Impact, and experienced school principal Nathan Gorsch showcase how a vision for a fresh, new learning track for STEM-oriented students, has become a reality. 
This unique learning environment places students in front of top educators who are intimately familiar with the region's tech ecosystem job requirements of a number of high-tech, cyber, and aerospace employers.
Listen in as these dynamic leaders  unpack how they have partnered with area influencers like The U.S. Air Force Academy, Space ISAC, University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, Exponential Impact, and others have constructed the school into an active academic setting for kids who are interested and excited about the high tech jobs of tomorrow. 
Learn more here and register for Fall 2024 semester. https://www.csrockets.org/
At COS School of Technology, OUR MISSION is to create an innovative learning environment where students excel in Space, Cybersecurity, Entrepreneurship, and Ethics, all while embracing character-based education. Our core values, emphasizing ethical leadership and social responsibility, are at the heart of our approach. Recognizing the vital role of humanities in our STEM curriculum, we integrate subjects like history, literature, philosophy, and the arts. This enriches students' understanding of human experiences, ethical dilemmas, and societal contexts. OUR VISION is to cultivate students who merge technical proficiency with ethical values, encouraging them to become pioneers in critical fields. CSST upholds our core principles in a holistic educational approach to unite forward-thinkers prepared to shape the future.