America’s SBDC Blog

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Irie’s Island Food!

July 13, 2021
Success Story: Del Mar College SBDC –

Irie's Island FoodNicole Horton and Martin Frannea, owners of Irie’s Island Food in Port Aransas, Texas, were getting ready to expand their business to a larger location as part of a 3-year recovery plan following the devastation of Hurricane Harvey. Then COVID-19 happened.

Prioritizing employee and customer safety, Irie’s Island Food closed its doors for nearly three months, even after limited service was permitted in Texas. When they did reopen, they experienced an overwhelming surge of vacationing customers. To keep everyone safe, they again closed the interior restaurant and offered outside and curbside service only, until they could safely re-open. Through the rest of 2020, and with much commitment and sacrifice, Nicole and Martin continued to focus on the safety of their employees and customers and keeping the business going. In January, 2021, they were able to relocate to their new, larger location, and double their workforce. (more…)

5 Signs You’re Paying Too Much for Your Accounting ERP Software

July 7, 2021
By Intuit

As a business owner, you have to stay on top of all your responsibilities. You have to oversee employees, implement a marketing strategy, communicate with customers, manage finances, and much more. Managing a business is a huge undertaking, and missing a single step could cost you money and time that you probably don’t have to lose, which is why it’s important to take a look at your accounting enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. Having accounting software is essential for a business to assist with various business functions. But you could be buying into an ERP software that is more than what you actually need and more than what you want to afford.

What is accounting ERP software, you ask? ERP is essentially a database software package that assists with a business’s operations, such as manufacturing, human resources, and supply chain. Accounting ERP software simplifies many complicated business processes. However, ERP software can be outdated and complicated, and you may actually be paying too much for your software. (more…)

5 Places to Get Answers to PPP and EIDL Questions

June 24, 2021
By Gerri Detweiler

Covid relief loans, such as the Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Plan (PPP) loans, have provided millions of businesses with critical funding. But with hundreds of pages of ever-evolving guidance about these loans and grants, it’s no surprise that many business owners find themselves confused and unsure where to turn for help with their PPP and EIDL questions.

At Nav, we’ve written extensively about both the Paycheck Protection Program and EIDL, and as a result, we’ve responded to hundreds of questions about these programs. Some of these questions are easy to answer, for example: (more…)

How to Harness the Power of Social Media Without Spending Money

June 1, 2021
By Sharita Humphrey –

Let’s be honest — the rise of social media might be one of the best things that ever happened in the marketing landscape. As tough as the competition is in online marketing, you can’t deny the endless opportunities it brings to the table.

According to an article from Hootsuite, “There are now 4.2 billion active social media users — almost twice as many as there were just five years ago. Those users spend an average of 2 hours and 25 minutes on social channels every single day.”

An average of 2 hours and 25 minutes! If you come up with an effective online marketing strategy, 2 hours and 25 minutes is plenty of time to build a following which will eventually turn to sales. (more…)

E-Commerce Financing: Funding Your Online Business

May 11, 2021
By Susan Guillory –

If you run an e-commerce business, that is, you sell products online and ship them to customers, how do you ensure that you keep inventory stocked, even when funds are low? Here’s what you need to know about e-commerce financing

It’s a Catch-22: you sell your products to make money. But you need money to buy those products to sell. What if you don’t have the working capital on hand to do so?

That’s where e-commerce funding comes in. You can take out a loan to purchase what you need, then pay it back from your profits. (more…)