354th Class: Introduction to Drycleaning
DLI

Every year it becomes more challenging to keep up-to-date and competitive. The clever cleaners above have found a way with DLI's ongoing educational initiatives.More

Drycleaning business will set students on path to fresh start
Wisconsin State Journal
Helping to end the cycle of poverty in a community may seem like a tall order for a drycleaning business. But Diana Shinall is ready to give it a try, using loans from the city of Madison, the state and her own savings. The first unusual thing about the new business is that it will charge the same price — $3.99 — for nearly every item of clothing. The second thing that will be different is who else will benefit.More

Threads: New trends from fashion weeks
Thirdcoast Digest
The fashion weeks in New York, London, Milan and Paris that show trends for fall 2012 (collections are always shown 6 months in advance) wrapped up recently. The exact looks shown at these shows won't be worn by the average person, so why should we care? Because the fashion world and industry revolves around these shows and the trends for the next season are created from them. This means, at your local department store or even mass marketer like Wal-Mart, you'll see a version of the trends that were shown. Of course, they won't be as strong as the runway originals, but there will be some sort of resemblance of them.More

How to bring out the magic in marketing
Fast Company
Whether you're trying to sell whiskey or get people to adopt dogs, marketing can be magical when there's a deep understanding of both an organization's culture and its strategic needs.More

In defense of fun: Humor is serious business for small business marketers
MarketingProfs
Big brands use jokes to market their products all the time. But, sadly, many small- and medium-sized (SMB) marketers have lost their sense of humor. Why is that? Maybe SMB marketers sense they have too much to lose to throw it all away with a joke. "We're running a business here" may be the kind of thinking that squashes their sense of humor. Not to mention smaller marketing departments are juggling an awful lot of balls. What happens when you complicate things by adding a rubber chicken?More

Spreading your brand like a zombie apocalypse
Small Business Trends
What do zombies have to do with your small business? A trend that has exploded on the Web and beyond can inspire lessons for our own marketing success. Here are some key marketing resources to remember.More

How to fix your retail website
Inc.
Butch & Harold's peel-and-stick wall art, dry-erase boards, and sticker picture frames were a hit with wholesalers and retailers. But online sales were virtually nil. Michele Gold, who founded the company in 2007, wasn't surprised: Butch & Harold's website didn't make it particularly easy for would-be shoppers to make a purchase.More