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Sustainable Financing for Small Business

September 2, 2015
Financial-SolutionsBy Terry Crispen

Going green and recycling may be old concepts but that does not diminish their effectiveness in helping to achieve sustainability.  Oftentimes, we only associate sustainability with the environment, but sustainability is much more than that.  Sustainability is what should drive business decisions today and into the future. The Great Recession, largely caused by markets that were unsustainable, dealt a blow to consumers and businesses. Analysts estimate that more than 170,000 small businesses ceased operations during the Great Recession.  Now that the economy is rebounding, it is more important than ever for small business owners to remain focused on sustainability.

Today, alternative online lenders are the new rage in the financial world.  They promise speed and often deliver in three days or less. The temptation is great for small businesses to access funds in such a short period of time.  But are they making a sustainable business decision?  Once interest rates reach the 20%-40% range, the cost of getting access to fresh capital severely limits a company’s ability to perform and grow long term. Although alternative online lenders offer quick access to capital, the high interest costs make the solution unsustainable for many businesses.  (more…)

Traditional Polish Comfort Food Comes to Vermont

September 1, 2015
Vermont-Pierogi-CafeSuccess Story: Vermont

“Throughout the workshop and in the many follow-up meetings with Deborah Eibner, I was supported and equipped with an invaluable set of tools and strategies that changed my rough idea into a clear vision.” – Viktor Witkowski, Owner, Pierogi Me! and Pierogi Café

Impact of working with the Vermont SBDC:  With the help of VtSBDC advising, Viktor Witkowski has melded his traditional Polish culinary roots with a solid business base, giving his company a stable platform for continued growth. What started as a home-based kitchen business quickly needed space to grow. Witkowski worked with his SBDC advisor to find suitable commercial kitchen space, as well as a small restaurant space to help the growing company expand. His plans continue to become reality as he puts the finishing touches on Pierogi Café in Quechee, where he plans to be serving fresh Polish pierogi soon. He also moved into a commercial kitchen and is ramping up his retail sales while streamlining product packaging.

Read the whole story, and learn more about the Vermont SBDC and Pierogi Me! and Pierogi Café.

Help, I Don’t Know What To Write About!

August 31, 2015
By Anissa Starnes, Director, National Organizations for Constant Contact

In the six years that I have been with Constant Contact I have presented to over 30,000 small business and nonprofits that have attended my seminars.  One recurring theme that I hear over and over from those in attendance is “I want to do email marketing and social media but I just don’t know what to write about.”  Have you ever felt that way?  If so, you are not alone.

I will let you in on a little secret. You don’t have to be the one that writes it! You just have to be able to recognize good content and share it. Most of us read a lot of information daily.  Some of it comes from social sites, newspapers, magazines, industry periodicals and even other people’s email newsletters.  The trick is when you read something that gets your own attention then ask yourself “would my audience get value from this if I shared it?”

If the answer is yes, then you have found good content.  Of course, you always want to give credit where credit is due and site the original source when sharing.  Good content is everywhere you just have to be on the lookout for it and it doesn’t have to be original to you. That makes it a lot easier, doesn’t it?

Here is a link to a blog post with some really great tips on content marketing:
blogs.constantcontact.com/content-marketing-help.

Why An FDD Should Be Your Guiding Beacon

August 27, 2015

financial-disclosure-document-1With over 3,000 choices of franchise concepts in the marketplace today, your options for owning your own business are limitless. But not all franchises are created equally.

Say hello to the Franchise Disclosure Document, or FDD for short. Quite simply, it’s a legal document mandated by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), designed to assist the potential franchisee through the due diligence process. Every legitimate franchise must produce one. If a company doesn’t, remove yourself from discussions as quickly as possible. At its core, the FDD removes any emotion from the process.

Under FTC guidelines, the FDD must be presented to the potential buyer in the pre-sales process no less than 10-14 days prior to entering a contract or paying any amount of money for a franchise. Regardless of the type, size or scope of a franchise opportunity, the FDD follows a strict format. FDD’s are uniform and consist of 23 specific items. Expect to see franchise fees, initial investment totals, trademarks, assigned territories, renewals, restrictions and advertising efforts.  (more…)

What You Need to Know About Web Hosting for Your Small Business Website

August 26, 2015
Bill WattQ & A with Bill Watt

Q: Web hosting can be intimidating. Can you break it down? 

A: Hosting can be intimidating because the technology behind it is really complex. However, for small business owners, the part they need to understand is simple: Your website is made out of a bunch of files. Your hosting is simply the place where you upload those files so people can view them on the Internet. All of the techno-wizardry going on to make that happen is your hosting provider’s responsibility. 

Q: What options do small business owners have for hosting their websites?

A: That depends on how they want to build their site, which we’ll get into in a minute. Most do-it-yourself website builders have hosting baked right in. If, on the other hand, the small business owner hires a designer, that person might handle the hosting or recommend a shared hosting account from a third-party like GoDaddy. This means they share resources with other websites hosted on the same server, as opposed to buying a server that’s dedicated to their site alone (which is much more expensive and labor-intensive). They might even look into WordPress hosting. (more…)