America’s SBDC Blog

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Success Story: Ohio

March 5, 2014

State: Ohio
Center: Ohio SBDC
Client: K & J Web Designs

K & J Web Designs is a small web design firm located in Cincinnati. The firm builds attractive, engaging websites for local small businesses and nonprofits, and offers consulting on Search Engine Optimization and social media management. Founder Kris Jones learned web design while working on a separate project that helps recent graduates as they enter into the workplace, but as he became a more competent web designer people began requesting his services.

He continued designing and partnered with a friend to start K & J Web Designs. They reached out to the Small Business Development Center in Cincinnati and met with SBDC advisor Karla Boldery. She helped them create a business plan and set measurable goals for various aspects of the business. (more…)

5 Things You Need to Do to Take Your Business Paperless

March 4, 2014

Have you ever noticed an airline pilot lugging a black briefcase on their way to the next flight?  Those briefcases aren’t filled with personal effects, but are 40-pound flight kits containing charts, maps, manuals and guides.

Delta Airlines recently made a move to replace those bulky flight kits for its 11,000 pilots by giving them each an electronic flight bag in the form of a Microsoft Surface 2 tablet. The cockpit will now be a paperless workspace for Delta pilots, with all Delta cockpits projected to be paperless by the end of 2014.

The concept of the paperless workspace – whether it’s a cockpit, a cubicle, a reception area or remote jobsite – is exciting for numerous reasons: reduced clutter, improved data security, cost savings and environmental benefits, to name a few. Here are 5 steps you need to take to begin creating your version of the paperless cockpit:

1. Clear out the clutter. Determine which of your documents are worth digitizing, and which are not, and discard what’s not necessary. (more…)

Success Story: Florida

February 26, 2014

State: Florida
Center: SBDC/VBOC at UWF Pensacola FL at Gulf Coast State College
Client: Jennifer Clark
Business Name: Back to Center Wellness Associates

Author Jennifer Clark served nearly eleven years as a Physician Assistant in the United States Air Force. She has written and published a book “166 Days: My Journey Through the Darkness.” In 2008 she was deployed to Afghanistan; she was assigned to a team of Green Berets as the leader of a Female Treatment Team where her mission was to treat local nationals and run the clinic.

The clinic was located on the border of the firebase, separated only by barbed wire and a checkpoint guarded by local Afghanistan National Army (ANA) soldiers. Not much shielded Clark and her team from the unknown dangers of the Middle East. Her covert mission was to gain information on her patients that could be used in the war. She gathered intelligence while treating local Afghans, who would often travel for days to seek treatment. Due to the lack of infrastructure and perils of war, many of her patients had nowhere else to turn for life threatening conditions. (more…)

Make the most out of email marketing for your business: Friday 15: Small Business Tips

February 25, 2014

Welcome to the second installment of Friday 15: Small Business Tips, a series designed to help small businesses like yours make the most of their online presence.  If you missed our first post, you should check it out here: https://americassbdc.org/introducing-friday-15-small-business-tips/.

This month, let’s talk email marketing. It’s one of the most efficient and cost-effective ways to communicate with your target audience. We highlight three lessons below. After you watch the lessons, set aside 15 minutes to create a professional email address, write that fabulous email, or add an email sign-up form to your website.

These are three of my favorite lessons from 2013, and I hope you enjoy them.

Lesson Highlight: Look more professional with a business email address

A dedicated business email address makes your business communication look more professional.  And it’s an available and affordable option to businesses of all sizes. (more…)

Technology means growth: Lessons from SMEs

February 24, 2014

It is widely known that small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) play an important role in the vitality of local economies around the globe. I was recently reminded just how important SMEs are as growth engines of our economies.

Microsoft commissioned The Boston Consulting Group to conduct an independent study, which surveyed more than 4,000 SMEs in five of the world’s largest and most diverse economies: the United States, Germany, China, India and Brazil. The objective was to look at the economic impact of IT on small businesses today.

The study found that tech-savvy SMEs outperformed SMEs using little technology in innovation, job growth and increased revenues over the last three years. SME leaders using technology have grown their businesses and reduced costs, and one important factor seems to be increased worker productivity. (more…)