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Bill McKown is a Certified Business Analyst and marketing specialist. He has experience in training, facilitating, sales, organizational management, and entrepreneurship. As Retail Vice President for a petroleum marketing company, Bill directed the chain's marketing, co-op advertising, signage, retail construction, human resources, purchasing, and vendor relations. Bill served on the Florida Petroleum Marketers Association's education and environmental committees. He has also owned and operated businesses in the transportation industry, wholesale distribution, and vending. Bill earned his BA degree in Organizational Management from Warner Southern College and his MBA from Warner University. He is a past member of the Avon Park Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and was the first President of the Rotary Club of Hardee County. Bill is also a volunteer for high school Junior Achievement programs.

Author Archives: bmckown

The Big Start-Up Business Mistake!

Posted on April 5, 2013 by bmckown

You’ve probably heard the alarming statistics saying that start-ups have failure rates of 80 percent and higher. While this statistic may be inflated, the truth is that many start-up companies do indeed fail. After working with hundreds of start-ups as

Posted in Business Basics, Featured Articles, Marketing, MarketingandSalesTab, SBDC, Small Business General, Small Business General, Tampa Area, Uncategorized | Comments Off

Ten Star’s Screen Print Growth Leads to New Products Division

Posted on November 14, 2012 by bmckown

After years in management with some of the best corporations in the world, Donna and Jack Killoren were excited to apply what they’d learned toward owning their own business. They had an opportunity to acquire Ten Star Supply Co., which

Posted in Growth Strategy, Marketing, Success Stories, User Published | Tagged financial analysis, growth acceleration | Leave a comment

Unhappy Customer? Use This Three-Step Customer Recovery Process

Posted on August 25, 2011 by bmckown

No matter how great your products are or how well you execute your service and train your employees, it’s inevitable that at some point you’ll disappoint a customer. Fortunately, some of your customers will contact your business to express their

Posted in Customer Relations | Leave a comment

The Hutchinson Studio, LLC – a Hardee County Success Story

Posted on February 23, 2010 by bmckown

The Hutchinson Studio LLC (THS) is a design firm that produces computer generated architectural renderings and animations as well as graphic design. THS was established in the fall of 2008 by Michael and Megan Hutchinson. Michael has over 10 years

Posted in Hardee County, Success Stories | Tagged business counseling, business plan | Leave a comment

Go Daddy – A Highlands County Success Story

Posted on June 2, 2009 by bmckown

Let the Buyer Beware! Caveat emptor is a concept from business law which means “let the buyer beware.” Entrepreneurs Mark and Esther Williard have become very familiar with this concept. In early 2008, Mark found what he thought would be

Posted in Highlands County, Success Stories | Tagged financial losses, internet marketing, risk | Leave a comment

The Threat from Within

Posted on April 1, 2009 by bmckown

If you are a business owner and you think shrinkage is what happened to your clothes after a trip to the cleaners, you really should read on. In business, shrinkage usually describes the financial losses caused by employees. For a