America’s SBDC Blog

A “Forbes 100 Best Websites for Entrepreneurs”

14 Low-Cost Ways to Test Your Website With a Small Audience

October 15, 2013

1. Go With Google AdWords

“Build a simple landing page with an email signup. Test various keywords via AdWords and see what converts (via email signup) and what doesn’t. It’s a pretty simple and effective way to test a new idea or product with a targeted audience.” – Josh Weiss | Founder and President, Bluegala

2. Linkback With a Guest Post

“Want to see how a product, service or idea is going to resonate with a market outside your current niche? Write a guest post for a popular blog in that space. See how the readers respond to your ideas. You’ll get traffic sent your way, but more importantly be able to gauge whether or not that market is a good fit for your business.” – Sean Ogle | Founder, Location 180, LLC

3. Recruit Your Feedback Army

“Feedback Army is a great tool for receiving feedback on your website. It’s cheap and provides excellent results. “ – Ben Lang | Founder, Mapped In Israel  (more…)

Love to Travel? 13 Reasons Entrepreneurs Do Too

October 8, 2013

The Young Entrepreneur Council asked 13 start-up leaders why entrepreneurship allows them to travel so much.

PUBLIC SPEAKING AT EVENTS

 “I travel all the time for work as I am a behavioral investigator. I speak and consult with companies about human lie detection. To be able to reach many audiences, I try to book as many events in different cities. I also love doing on the ground research in new countries to see if their cultural nonverbal behavior is different. I enjoy working with both foreign and national HR and sales teams.”
Vanessa Van Edwards | Author and Techpreneur, Science of People

LIVING OUT LOCATION INDEPENDENCE

 “I created Location Rebel, a community designed to help people build businesses they can run from anywhere on Earth. The nature of the community forces me to continue my own goal of traveling, both for credibility and marketing purposes. It’s my goal to show people that you don’t have to sit in a cubicle all day to make a good living!”
Sean Ogle | Founder, Location 180, LLC (more…)

3 Simple Steps To Close The Sale

October 7, 2013

A year ago I made the decision that I wanted — no, I needed — new carpet in my home. Believe me, it was time. So that very day I started the process. I found a few hours in my insanely busy schedule and got to work shopping for carpet. I started online, but that was just too hard. There was no way to see and feel the carpet or really ask questions. So I headed to the carpet stores; two I had chosen through my online shopping. Now, let me reiterate: I was ready, more than ready, to buy carpet. In my mind the deal was done, the sale was closed, and the price was really not, or at least not the major issue.

I visited both stores. Both had a great selection, knowledgeable sales people, and a variety of carpet styles, colors etc., from which to choose. So much so that I left a little overwhelmed. Both shops and their sales people were very helpful. They encouraged me to take a few samples home, test them out, see what I like, and then give them a call back.

Well, can you guess what happened next? See, like you, I am busy as heck.  Once I got home and put the carpet samples in the rooms, my busy life again took over. For the next six months, those carpet samples lay on the floor in the three rooms in which I wanted carpet. Every week or so, I would make a plan to head back to the store, give a call or something, but I never did; my life just got in the way. Again, I was ready to buy. The nice people from both carpet stores would call me and follow up, and ask if I was ready to buy. I would assure them that as soon as I had time I would head on over. Even with all that encouragement and support, I just never made it back to buy carpet, and they never closed the sale. (more…)

What Is The Most Common Type Of Loan For Purchasing A Franchise?

October 2, 2013

An SBA loan is the most common type of loan for purchasing a franchise.  Because the SBA provides up to an 85% guarantee to the bank, banks are more willing to assume the risk of lending money to a “start-up” business. It’s a common misconception that the SBA approves loans. The SBA only provides a guarantee to the bank; if the bank is a PLP lender (Preferred Lender Program) then the bank is still the entity approving the loan.

A bank will typically require you to provide 20% to 30% of the total cost of the business and the needed working capital.  For example, if you need $150k to purchase your franchise and $50k in working capital, for a total project cost of $200k, the bank would want you to put $40k to $60K towards the project and the bank would provide a loan for balance.  In addition to the capital injection the bank will require some form of collateral.  This can be a combination of business and personal collateral such as the equity in your home, real-estate or other investments.

Banks all differ on what criteria they focus on when deciding whether or not to approve a loan. These parameters are known as the bank’s credit box.  Some banks place more emphasis on your credit score, other banks may be more interested in the amount of collateral you can provide.  Some banks may avoid certain industries because they already have enough exposure to that industry in their loan portfolios. (more…)

HOW TO: 7 Easy Ways To Improve The Way Your Company Works

October 1, 2013

At my last 9-to-5 job, every time I thought differently from my supervisors and managers about a problem we faced, I wrote down what bothered me and how I would do it differently given the opportunity. Before long, I had a huge spiral notebook filled with ideas. I realized that all these “negatives” were actually opportunities for better leadership. And I brought many of those ideas to the company I now co-own.

You can do the same. Whether you are working in an executive position, just striking out on the entrepreneurship path, or you have already started a business, consider the following seven ideas for taking your business (and company culture) to the next level:

1) Location. Location. Location! (Did I mention location?) You are paying rent already, or your bosses are, so make it money well-spent and get on a prime street with high traffic. Bright signs near a freeway let everyone know you are there. If you only need a small office suite, make sure you can have your name on a sign outside the building so you are getting the exposure.  (more…)