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Lacy Houle, Community Outreach and Resource Planning Specialist for the U.S. Department of Labor, joined us today to discuss what small business owners need to know about child labor laws. The office is encouraging compliance from employers and educating minors and their parents on legal protections.

Lacy shared a story of a 14-year-old girl who was operating a forklift for her employer. There are specific rules for different age groups of workers, including hourly work restrictions.

You can see part 1 of Lacy’s interview here.

For more information:

You can find resources for employers here.

India Johnson, Executive Director of Thrival Indy Academy, says the mentality of a leader impacts everyone who works under them. She always tries to take a positive approach and take an intentional approach to ensuring she’s in a good place.

Self accountability and vulnerability are two things that India says help create a safe space for coworkers and students at Thrival Academy. She also recommends being transparent in order to build trust between members of the school.

For more information, watch the video above or click here.

This information is presented by India Johnson.

This content is made possible by Eleven Fifty Academy.

Christia Hicks, Chief Human Resources Officer at Eskenazi Health, joined us today to discuss how to attract and keep top employees.

Eskenazi Health hires in a variety of ways including encouraging online applications, utilizing talent sourcers and acquisition specialists, and displaying videos of current employee testimonials.

They also have a Very Important Referral program, where if an employee recruits someone who is hired at Eskenazi, that employee can earn bonuses. Retention is key at Eskenazi, and Hicks said the culture and strong benefits is a key element of that. They offer tuition reimbursement, medical support, pet insurance, and more.

They also offer professional development, and Hicks emphasized the importance of career growth for employees. Eskenazi Health has a strong commitment to recruiting diverse individuals.

To learn more, watch the video above or click here.

This information is presented by Christina Hicks and Eskenazi Health.

This content is made possible by Eleven Fifty Academy.

Successful business owners say knowing how to give back to your community is part of creating success. Being socially responsible not only feels good, they say, but can be good for business as well.

Katina Washington, Owner of SHExperience Shoppes, offers free weekly courses to business owners and youth workforce development programs. The youth programs also cover life skills, the curriculum of which emphasizes the importance of mental health.

Washington encourages other business owners and community members to get involved with mental health initiatives. Pavel Polanco-Safadit, Executive Director of Amigos Latino Center, also believes in the power of youth development programs.

The Amigos Latino Center in Richmond, Indiana is a nonprofit that exposes youth to various career paths and life opportunities. They offer youth mentoring programs and adult empowerment programs for the LatinX community in Richmond and Wayne County.

Polanco-Safadit said it’s very important to be invested in your community to help community members and organizations advance.

You can learn more about SHExperience Shoppes here. More information about The Amigos Latino Center is available here.

This information is presented by Katina Washington and Pavel Polanco-Safadit.

This content is made possible by Eleven Fifty Academy.

Part of running a successful business is knowing how to reach your target customer. Ashley Scott Martin, CEO of Cerulean Consulting Group, has several tips for small business owners on the importance of a marketing strategy.

Scott said she advises new business owners not to be scared of investing in their brand and marketing. People make quick decisions about whether or not to purchase your product, and since you are always introducing your brand to new people, it’s important to have a consistent message across your platforms.

Your core mission and values should emanate through every touchpoint you have with customers, she said. It’s important to understand why you started your business to help build your brand messaging. Investing in your marketing will help design the look, feel, and experience of your product or service.

For more information on brand marketing, click here.

This content is presented by Ashley Scott Martin.

This content is made possible by Eleven Fifty Academy.

Part of creating a successful business is knowing how to find the right people, and keeping them. Cathy Langham is the President and CEO of Langham Logistics, a woman-owned business that is an Indiana success story. She shared several strategies that have helped her build on success.

Langham Logistics has continued to invest on how they acquire good talent, including updating their website, including videos in the recruiting process, and changing how they post jobs. This helps the company stand apart from others in their industry as a top notch employer. Of course, this comes in addition to compensating employees fairly, a 30/60/90 day plan, and being open to feedback.

Company culture is one aspect of retaining good employees, and Langham recommends getting employees involved in events, giving them recognition, and making all staff meetings accessible to everyone. She says that communication is the key to everything, especially in times of high turnover. This includes listening to employees, giving them genuine respect, and giving adequate training.

For more information on Langham Logistics, click here. This information is presented by Cathy Langham.

This content is made possible by Eleven Fifty Academy.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) Scott Jones is the Founder and President of Eleven Fifty Academy, a non-profit focused on software development learning, specializing in cybersecurity programs.

“Every business is in the business of tech, even agriculture, logistics, healthcare, or manufacturing,” Jones said. “Tech is a component of everything — what company doesn’t have a website? What company doesn’t have to worry about cybersecurity?”

While everyone in a company may not be doing tech, Jones said that if you know the language of tech, you’re likely to be doing your job a whole lot better, and you’re likely to learn more income.

Learning the components of coding, IT, or cybersecurity, gives you many more dimensions of what you can do in your career. Or when building your company, Jones said it gives you the ability to see things that others don’t.

For more information, watch the video above or click here.

This information is presented by Scott Jones.

This content is made possible by Eleven Fifty Academy.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Deana Haworth, COO of Hirons, explores some of the potential dangers that small business owners may face in today’s “Running your Business day-to-day” segment. She says that creating a crisis strategy is a very important part of a business plan.

Hirons frequently works with businesses on their crisis strategy and crisis communication. While you may have a broader incident response strategy, but Haworth recommends that business owners look specifically at what they plan to do if a crisis occurs. Some of the questions she asks to help create a plan are:

Haworth recommends an issue management approach to help a business prepare for any of these instances. This means fleshing out 3 to 5 scenarios that are likely to hit the company, and craft a strategy for your response and messaging.

You can learn more about Hirons here.

This information is presented by Deana Haworth.

When you’re deciding what goods and services your business will provide, it’s important to effectively identify the needs of your target customers. Is there a need for what you’re selling? John Thompson, Chairman and CEO of Thompson Distribution Company, discusses how he chooses his products in order to maximize success in today’s “Running Your Business Day to Day” segment.

Thompson recommended that business owners sell to known needs, not latent needs. In other words, the customer knows they already need the product, they just don’t know who they’re going to buy it from, as opposed to the customer not knowing that they need the product.

It’s also important to understand the criteria that buyers use to make the purchasing decision, especially when the buyer is a company. This helps put the business owner in a position to best satisfy that criteria.

You can learn more about John Thompson here and connect with Thompson Distribution Company here.

This information is presented by John Thompson.

This content is made possible by Eleven Fifty Academy.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — There are many things to consider when starting a business, and one of those is how you will handle the day-to-day operation of running your business. Emil Ekiyor, Founder of InnoPower Indy, explains the importance of an effective physical work environment even on a small budget.

For example, COhatch is a coworking space designed for entrepreneurs to come together, without having to pay the overhead costs of an office or building space. Business owners from the same community can come together to share ideas and resources in this unique space.

This space was created to be sustainable and accessible to the people who need it most. It encourages entrepreneurship by fostering collaboration, growth, and mutual support.

You can find more information about InnoPower here and information about COhatch here.

This information is presented by Emil Ekiyor.

This content is made possible by Eleven Fifty Academy.