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The Free Resource Your Business Is Overlooking

March 28, 2017
By Gerri Detweiler
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Free ResourceAmy Cantin and Larinda Rainwater had been travel agents for over 20 years. They loved helping their clients and were successful, but were finding themselves increasingly dissatisfied with their jobs at the travel agency where they were both employed. They knew the logical next step would be to open their own travel agency, but that prospect was intimidating.

“We knew how to sell travel but we didn’t know how to run a business,” says Cantin, echoing a common dilemma many would-be entrepreneurs face. “It was scary,” Rainwater adds.

Fortunately, a friend referred them to the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center, where, for nearly a year, they worked with business consultant Robert Bahn to develop a plan for their business and prepare to go out on their own. They also hired an attorney who, among other things, made sure they didn’t take any client information with them, which could open them to legal action by their former employer.  (more…)

The Secret Behind One Small Business’s Success—Hint: It’s Free!

February 22, 2017
By Gerri Detweiler
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MentoringShane and Melissa Nichols’ five-year-old business, Arkansas-based Medex Waste, is on track to bring in $1 million in revenue, thanks in large part to the free help they received from the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center. “I don’t think we could have made it without them,” says Shane. “Without them there to answer questions and to lead us in the right direction, it would have taken us a lot longer and cost us a lot more money.”

The idea for the Nichols’ business, a firm that transports medical waste for disposal, started percolating after Melissa lost her sales job with a large national medical waste disposal firm when her office closed. As a top salesperson, Melissa often found herself frustrated when some of her clients were unhappy with the services they received from the firm. Initially, she took the layoff as an opportunity to go back to school, but then decided to take a job with another firm in the same industry. When the new company tried to shortchange her on her commission, she decided with her husband to start their own business.  (more…)

SBA Chief Urges Respect, Support for Small Businesses

May 5, 2016
By Rhonda Abrams

Rhonda-Abrams-w-SBA-Administrator-1Since 1963, the first week of May has been designated by the President of the United States as a time to celebrate entrepreneurs.

To mark the start of this year’s Small Business Week, small-business owner and USA TODAY contributor Rhonda Abrams sat down for a discussion with Maria Contreras-Sweet, the Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration. Contreras-Sweet talked about technology and small-business lending, and elaborated on some of the challenges — and resources — for the nation’s estimated 28 million small businesses.

She also encouraged shoppers to spend at their local stores.

“When you shop at a small business, 64 cents of your dollar stay right in your neighborhood,” she says. In turn, she adds, those stores could become a “destination” for more consumers, leading to more job creation in the community. (more…)

“Dream Big” This National Small Business Week, May 4-8

May 4, 2015
 By Maria Contreras-Sweet

Small Business Week 2015

With apologies to baseball and your mother’s apple pie, nothing is more American than National Small Business Week.

Our country was founded by risk-taking pioneers in search of new horizons. More than two centuries later, what sets America apart in the world is the willingness of our entrepreneurs to take risks. Small businesses allow Americans to be their own boss and improve their lot in life through hard work – a core American value.

Every year since 1963, the President of the United States has issued a proclamation declaring National Small Business Week to recognize the critical contributions of America’s entrepreneurs, who create nearly two out of every three net, new U.S. jobs each year. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said it was our small businesses that powered our recovery after the Great Recession.  (more…)

Leave only green footprints: 7 ways to conserve at work

August 18, 2014

It’s not easy being green, or so we’re told, but take a look around your office and consider: How “green” are you?

It’s no surprise that an increasing number of companies are working toward becoming more environmentally conscious: constantly introducing programs to reduce both costs and their carbon footprint. Typical areas of opportunity are employee telecommuting, lighting, recycling and paper usage.

Here are some suggestions that you might use in your green movement at work:

1. Telecommute to reduce and produce

It could be argued that people working from home face more distractions and are often less productive. In reality, reports indicate that the opposite is true — not only does productivity increase, but there is often reduced stress on the employees. Gone are endless hours sitting in traffic, and the stop-go of a slow car creates a lot more pollution than a car that never leaves the house. And what does it mean to ROI? Well, for the company, approximately $11,000 per year per employee, in addition to the savings made by the employee, and the not-to-be-forgotten oil and greenhouse gas savings. And in case you need to ask, yes — I am sitting at home writing this, and it’s past 5 o’clock. How’s that for productivity?  (more…)