Calabar Magazine

by Atim Annette Oton, Feb 6, 2010 Even as the media continues to proclaim that things are getting better and the statistics are showing some improvements, the truth is for small businesses in local communities, it’s not getting better. Just talk to any small business today and you will hear the “pain” as well as comments [...]

by Atim Annette Oton, May 2006 For those thinking of opening a store…check out how we create our brand, Calabar-Imports-Prototype So, you finally have come up with a great idea for a business? Congratulations and welcome to the “biz mind” field called business ownership. My first step is to ask you this questionFirst, ask yourself this question:: [...]

by Atim Annette Oton, June/July 2008 After my last article on Food 4 Thought, a Brooklyn restaurant, I was thrilled to see their re-emergence in the same space with a slew of partners that included Brother Solomon, the guy who created Solomon’s Porch and the Sankofa Collective, a locally based Bed-Stuy organization. My wish for Wil [...]

An experience with Social Media - Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

By Atim Annette Oton With failure occurring in the foreclosure market and a suggested- maybe real – looming recession, things are rougher today than last year. Don’t panic! Take stock, and since you are serious about your business, it is time to step up your tactics to keep your customers buying and continuing to do business [...]

By Atim Annette Oton I am a big believer in partnerships and collaborations. My business is a partnership and I collaborate with a select list of people to grow my business. It always allows me to utilize creative ways to expand my ideas and grow my business, and most importantly, it gives me a chance to [...]

By Atim Annette Oton Article was written in 2007 An intangible asset in a business plan is networking. It is one of the ways to promote and grow a business. It gives you an additional hand or what I call a “circle of influence,” thus expanding your Roledex. Joining business associations and organizations is a great recommendation [...]

by Atim Annette Oton Some marketing genius once said, “All business is local.” My business, Calabar Imports, comes close to bearing out this dictum: a good 80% of our business is local. We take our local business seriously and work to grow our bottom line. Since we opened two years ago, our numbers (we do collect [...]