America’s SBDC Blog

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Oh No! My Web Traffic Is Falling!

November 21, 2013

I’ve been hearing about falling web traffic a lot lately. I find it is no surprise, with the vast amount of changes Google regularly makes versus how infrequently business owners implement website changes. It is inevitable that a website that remains stagnate will lose ground as Google continues to change the rules, which they do about 500 times each year.

What was sound SEO advice last year and the year before is the Kiss of Google Ranking Death this year.

Some recent changes are:

1. Content – the good kind. Your content has to be good enough to read well (Google looks for spelling and grammar just like your high school teacher did), interesting enough to hold a visitor’s attention (Google looks at how long visitors stay on a page) and written just for this page (Google hates to see the same thing over and over on other pages or on other sites).

2. Link building. While link building was all the rage and if you worked at getting a bunch of links in to your site or hired someone to go and get hundreds or thousands of links for your site, now it could bring you nothing but penalties. Inbound links from relevant and high performing sites was and still is a good plan but you might want to check what links you have coming in and actively seek to have irrelevant ones removed. (more…)

Success Story: Uni-Ref of Indiana

November 19, 2013

Business Name: Uni-Ref/United Refractories
Client: Fred Daniels, VP Operations

Assistance provided: Access to capital; incentives, human resources
Results: Relocation to Indiana, purchase of new building, purchase of new equipment, increase in market share

Trevor Lane, with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, contacted SEISBDC business advisor Kelly Will in 2012 with regard to a company seeking to move their operations from Ohio to Indiana. As there were incentives associated with the project, Will was asked to perform a financial analysis on the company and worked with Vice President of Operations Fred Daniels.

Uni-Ref, a subsidiary of United Refractories Co., designs innovative, durable refractories with a focus on customer-specific needs and application. United Refractories was founded in 1973 by Raymond Niesen, who later started a manufacturing facility (Uni-Ref) in Cincinnati in 1882. By 2011, they had outgrown their current facilities in Sharonville, Ohio, and had a need for more space. Current expansion of the Sharonville plant was explored as well as moving to another larger facility. (more…)

4 Ways to Improve Your Holiday Marketing Results

November 15, 2013

There’s nothing small about the holiday season when it comes to small businesses. Between 20 to 40 percent of yearly sales for small and mid-sized retailers take place within the last two months of the yea according to the National Retail Federation.

With the holiday season (and busy shopping days like Black Friday, November 29th, 30th, and December 2nd respectively) fast approaching, now is the time to make sure you have a sound marketing plan in place. Following are few things you can do that are guaranteed to improve your results:

Pay attention to what people are saying

As the holiday season approaches, make sure to pay special attention to what people are saying about your business on social media. Look for opportunities to engage with your most loyal fans on Facebook, respond to a customer’s question on Twitter, or thank someone for a positive online review whenever you get the chance. (more…)

What Investors Really Want to Know

November 14, 2013

Venture capitalists (VCs) make you work hard for their money by inundating you with question after question about your fundraising process, your company goals, your founding team, among other things. Many of these questions will seem reasonable. Some will seem ridiculous.

But no matter the question, you must have an answer. And your answers better be good.

Behind all of this interrogation, there is one key underlying question: what makes you different? Regardless of the variation on the theme, your potential VC is really asking why your business — as compared to others vying for their money — is worth their investment.

If you’re ready to join the ranks of funded entrepreneurs, you need to be prepared to answer this key question. How? (more…)

Success Story: CQM Systems of Iowa

November 12, 2013

The Iowa Small Business Development Center at The University of Iowa assisted Chuck Dirks extensively with his energy efficient water treatment and tube cleaning systems business and continues to help him grow his company.

Charles (Chuck) Dirks grew up on a farm in Jones County and graduated from Anamosa High School. He joined the Army, served in the Gulf War as a pilot, and throughout his military career flew a number of different aircraft including the UH-60 Blackhawk. He then worked for Cessna Aircraft for several years before joining Rockwell Collins, where he worked as a principal marketing manager for the company’s Next Generation Avionics Program and its information management department. A chemist Chuck had worked with came across a company doing interesting work on energy efficiency technology in Israel, which is kind of the green technology center of the planet right now. Chuck was very interested so he licensed some of their technology and left Rockwell Collins to start his own business. Unfortunately, he started his company in 2009 during one of the most challenging economies in American history.

Chuck went to the Iowa Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at The University of Iowa in April 2010 for help with his business. Center Director Paul Heath first reviewed Chuck’s application for tenancy at The University of Iowa’s BioVentures Center, which was approved. Paul helped him identify potential private and government customers for the company’s technology. He then reviewed the company’s business plan and provided feedback, and assisted Chuck in completing a demonstration fund grant application. (more…)