America’s SBDC Blog

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Michigan SBDC on Speed Dial

May 7, 2014

Starbuck Machining has been chosen by the SBDC as the West Michigan Region’s Best Small Business of 2013

When Rich Starbuck contacted the West Michigan Region SBDC for help with a business plan in 2000, he didn’t know he’d be beginning a working relationship that would last through all stages of his business’s growth. For two years Starbuck and his SBDC consultant, Dave Sayers, worked on a business plan that would allow him to receive the financing needed to purchase an existing machine shop’s assets and start his own.

On the day Starbuck Machining opened in April of 2002, owner Rich Starbuck recalls running machines as fast as they could get them started.

“We literally moved our first machine into the shop, hooked it up and had somebody run it while we went and got the next one,” Rich laughs. Since that day twelve years ago, both the staff and the machine equipment at Starbuck Machining have never stopped moving, and never stopped growing.

Since this Holland, MI based business opened Rich Starbuck and his son Aaron Starbuck have grown Starbuck Machining from six employees to twenty-seven, and currently have $3 million in sales. Starbuck Machining manufactures products for the agriculture, aquatic, automotive, electronic, security and oil industries, and are government sub-contractors of military armor. Most of their sales come from within Michigan, but they are beginning to do business in other states as well. (more…)

5 Tips for Winning the New Internet Name Game

May 5, 2014

If your website is the online home for your business, your domain name is the unique street address that helps visitors find you online. It’s a critical part of building a strong presence on the Web. Unfortunately, many of the short, easy-to-remember .com’s and .net’s are no longer available. And who wants a domain name with so many characters that you need a ph.D to remember it, or, even worse, a domain that really doesn’t describe what your business has to offer?

Luckily, the online naming game is changing.

With new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) hitting the market all the time, there’s never been a better time to choose a memorable online identity for your business. The hundreds of descriptive new domain extensions—such as .shop, .lawyer, .photography and .guru, just to name a few—give business owners an unprecedented opportunity to register domains that perfectly represent their products or services.

Here are five tips to help you pick a kick-ass domain name for your business’s online identity:

Tip No. 1: Choose a Domain That Describes Your BusinessSure, you want your domain to stand out like a flashy commercial among the gazillions of other domains on the Web, but you also want to be clear about what you do and who you are. (more…)

Candy Crush Saga receives trademark on the word “Candy”

May 2, 2014

Candy Crush Saga is a cute game that revolves around mixing and matching candies. A simple enough concept, it also happens to be one of the most downloaded games on both the Apple and Google app stores, making around $900,000 a day for its developers according to Independent.co.uk. Considering the amount of money it generates for its developers, King.com (the studio behind Candy Crush Saga) filed for a trademark on the word “Candy” last year and have recently been approved.

This created quite an uproar in the game developing community. If I was a developer I would be mad too, considering a majority of free to play games with add-on purchases are aimed at children, the word “candy,” at least intuitively, seems like a popular word to use. Though in King’s defense, they provided a statement to Mashable claiming, “We have trademarked the word ‘CANDY’ in the EU, as our IP is constantly being infringed and we have to enforce our rights and to protect our players from confusion. We don’t enforce against all uses of CANDY – some are legitimate and of course, we would not ask App developers who use the term legitimately to stop doing so.”

The main developer they had an issue with was Candy Casino Slots, who allegedly focused heavily on their trademark to enhance downloads of its own game by search ranking. Fair enough, considering Candy Crush is King’s candy cash cow; I cannot really blame them for wanting to protect their IP. But contesting another trademark application filed by game developer Stoic, for “The Banner Saga” is just plain wrong. In their notice of opposition they claim the use of the word “Saga” is apparently confusing and deceptively similar to the use of “Saga” in their own game. The Banner Saga is a role playing game about Vikings! Freaking Vikings! How would anyone in their right mind confuse a dark turn based strategy game with lining up colorful candy? It’s like saying people might confuse “Lord of the Rings” with “Lord of the Flies”. Although possible, it is highly unlikely. (more…)

Tax Deductions for the Self Employed

May 1, 2014

It’s important to make sure that you don’t miss any tax deductions that are available for the self-employed. Make sure you review these key tax breaks.

Do you have a home office?
If so, you may able to claim the home office deduction. You must meet certain requirements though. Specifically, the office must be allocated to the portion of the home that you regularly and exclusively use for your business (reference: IRS Publication 587). Generally, you can deduct the business portion of these expenses: real-estate taxes, qualified mortgage-insurance premiums, deductible mortgage interest, rent, casualty loss, utilities, insurance, depreciation, security systems, and repairs. You can also deduct expenses associated with a separate free-standing structure that you use exclusively and regularly for business (IRC Section 208A(c)(1) & IRS Publication 587).

It’s important to note that there is also a new method for the home office deduction. It is important to note though that businesses will only be able to use this option if their home office expenses does not exceed $1,500 or 300 square feet. In addition, small businesses that opt to use this method won’t be able to claim any depreciation expense as an itemized deduction, which is allowed under the regular method. (more…)

IT Company Finds Exceptional Value in the SBDC and the GrowSmart Program

April 29, 2014

Strategic Planning Sets the Pace for Rapidly Growing Alpharetta Firm

“If you have a long-term vision for growing your business, this is a must-do program.”

Many entrepreneurs learn about the Georgia SBDC through the well-honed network of public agencies that support the state’s small business growth. That’s how business owner Sidd Ahmed met Sharon Macaluso, area director of the DeKalb office of the Georgia SBDC.

“We were selected for the Georgia Mentor Protégé Connection in 2012, which pairs smaller businesses with larger corporations,” says Ahmed, president and CEO of the global IT staffing firm VDart Inc. in Alpharetta. “The Georgia SBDC plays an active role in the program. Sharon’s session caught my attention, and we got involved.”

Ahmed, a computer engineer, started VDart in 2007 after working for several smaller firms. Soon after meeting Macaluso, he asked her to conduct a strategic planning session with his senior management. She and consultant Bob Thiele also took them through a SWOT analysis and situation analysis and helped them identify an operational structure that would meet their goals. After the planning, Ahmed and his senior managers participated in the SBDC GrowSmart™ program. (more…)