America’s SBDC Blog

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Jump-Start Client Success: 8 Tips to Immediately Boost Your Financial Coaching Game

May 23, 2023

As your SBDC clients grow their businesses, add employees or even locations, you must help them achieve their sales and profit goals as efficiently as possible. Mastering financial coaching skills is essential to guiding their profitable growth.

Many counselors are comfortable discussing marketing, operations or human resources, but struggle with conversations about financials. Even counselors who are comfortable on the financial side of things sometimes struggle to get their clients to take action. How can you get clients engaged in this important topic? Here are some tips using goal focused, solutions-oriented coaching conversations to jump-start your clients’ financial success.

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Small Business Insights: 7 Lessoned Learned From Real Business Owners

May 16, 2023

The small business community is thriving now more than ever, with nearly 60% of entrepreneurs belonging to a community group. While product offerings may vary vastly, many key business principles remain universally true. We turned to real business owners and recent studies to share seven small business insights you can take with you into your entrepreneurial journey.

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What is alternative credit and lending?

May 9, 2023

By Ken So

Small businesses, especially the newest, smallest businesses, can face challenges when trying to secure financing through traditional banks and credit unions. If you own one of these types of businesses, then alternative funding can be a viable option to meet your financing needs.

Of course, as with any type of funding, there are certain things that you should be aware of before signing a loan agreement. In this article, we’ll explore what alternative lending is, how it differs from traditional lending, and what to know before applying.

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Build Your Profit Maker’s Intuition with Breakeven PLUS

May 3, 2023

If I were to ask you what is the most important financial skill you need to master to
improve your ability to make more money in your business, what do you think it is?

Benchmarking? Cash Flow Forecasting? Ratio Analysis? Creating Ninja-level
spreadsheet formulas?

The answer is none of the above. It’s mastering Breakeven PLUS. Breakeven PLUS is
the fastest and most effective way to hone what I call your “Profit Maker’s Intuition.”
Once your Profit Maker Intuition is dialed up, your ability to make the right decisions
that lead to more profits goes way up as well.

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Sustainable Practices for Small Businesses: Tips for Getting Started

April 22, 2023

By Leora Price

There’s no time like Earth Day to green your small business, but where do you start? Is
it time to invest in carbon offsets, or would a new HVAC system be a better way to go?

Consumers’ demand for green products and services goes beyond sentiment. A recent
joint study by the global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company and
NielsenIQ found that products marketed as eco-friendly grew 28% on average in the
past five years. Those that didn’t make such claims only grew by 20%.

As with any new venture, making your small business more environmentally conscious
can seem intimidating. With a little reading and a can-do attitude, however, it could be
your business’s time to shine.

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