America’s SBDC Blog

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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…)

Get Your Website Found

February 24, 2014

When it comes to getting your small business website found online, finding the most effective ways to drive traffic to your site can be a bit confusing. It’s easy to fall victim to trends in SEO (Search Engine Optimization). They are quick fixes that sometimes offer temporary results, but ultimately end up hurting your site’s success.

Instead of sketchy SEO tricks and shortcuts, focus on creating long-lasting results by adhering to these best practices for getting your site found online:

Create fresh and interesting content. When writing content for your site, consider what visitors want to know. Put the customer’s needs first, and you’ll get the chance to say what you want after you cultivate loyalty. Use relevant keywords. People enter specific keywords in search engines to find the products and services they want. Do some research to discover commonly used keywords for the products and services you offer, and include them in your site’s content.

Write for real people.Those search engine spiders that crawl the Web for keywords aren’t going to buy your products or services. When including keywords in your content, write naturally – like you would speak to customers and prospects. Avoid awkwardly cramming keywords into your content in a wayward attempt to boost SEO. (more…)