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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…)

Turning Passion Into Reality

August 24, 2015
Vermont-Fitness-UnboundSuccess Story: Vermont
  • Vermont SBDC
  • SBDC Counselor: Ross Hart
  • Client: Fitness Unbound

“We needed help with our financial proposal and business advice from someone with more experience. [VtSBDC] advisors were very, very helpful throughout the entire length of the process – over three years!” Matthew Wells, Co-Owner, Fitness Unbound

Impact of working with the Vermont SBDC: First and foremost, the company needed funding before anything else could get started. Wells said the advice he got from his VtSBDC advisor was pivotal in making that happen. The pair went to work drafting and revising a business plan and financial projections that lenders would be responsive to and were eventually able to secure and finalize start-up funding for the business. VtSBDC advisors also helped the company work through the other challenges they had encountered up to the day they opened their doors in late 2014.

Read the whole story, and learn more about the Vermont SBDC.