America’s SBDC Blog

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4th Annual SBDC Day Responds to COVID-19

March 18, 2020
By Charles “Tee” Rowe –

Happy SBDC Day! SBDC Day is a national celebration of the success of SBDC clients and the impact that SBDCs have on our nation’s prosperity.

SBDC Day unites the nearly 1,000 SBDC centers across the country and the millions of clients they have served over the years by sharing, in real time, the success stories of SBDC clients and the SBDCs that serve them. Typically, this special day is celebrated with social media campaigns, public relations initiatives, online and in-person events. In light of the recent COVID-19 pandemic and its unprecedented impact on everyone’s lives, especially small businesses, we have decided to focus this fourth annual SBDC Day on how SBDCs can help their local small businesses and clients prepare and persevere in the weeks to come.

We encourage all entrepreneurs and small businesses to check out and bookmark our new “COVID-19 Small Business Resources” webpage. We will continue to add information, resources and opportunities for businesses, to help them keep their businesses afloat as they navigate through this challenging period. And check out your local SBDCs as well — they are there to help!

SBDC clients need their advisors’ expertise now more than ever. For over 40 years SBDCs have been building trust, building communities, and advising small businesses through financial crises, natural disasters, and other misfortunes. This year is no different.

This SBDC Day we ask SBDC clients to share their stories or questions online, and we ask our SBDC Day Ambassadors and other friends in the field to highlight resources they have in their toolboxes that can assist people and companies facing this crisis. We ask everyone to include the #SBDCDay hashtag in their social media communications so we can track and share questions and resources that are posted. Together through this pandemic, SBDCs and their clients will “Stay Calm and Small Business On.”

If you aren’t familiar with the SBDC program and would like more information, please take a few minutes to check out the rest of my blog.  (more…)

Speeding Up the Search for Cures – Jeeva Informatics Solutions

March 12, 2020
Success Story: Virginia –

By any measure, Harsha Rajasimha, PhD, was a successful man. He had published journal articles and chapters in professional textbooks; he had received patents, honors, and awards for his work. But none of these accomplishments equipped him to help his baby, who died from Edwards Syndrome, a rare congenital disease.

Determined to honor his daughter’s memory, Harsha started Jeeva Informatics Solutions, where he could devote his years of post-doctoral training in genomics and precision medicine at NIH to accelerating the process of making novel diagnostics and therapeutics for rare diseases.

Jeeva’s initial focus was on projects such as next-generation sequencing and data-analytics interpretation, and discovering novel approaches (turning raw data into actionable insights). In 2018, the company pivoted to address the problem of recruiting and retaining participants in clinical trials, a mandatory step in getting products to market. Patient recruitment takes time and, if anyone drops out, it takes more time recruit more patients. These issues cause delays and cost the biopharmaceutical industry a loss of billions of dollars, rendering it unsustainable. (more…)

Get Ready for Your Annual Website Spring Cleaning

March 9, 2020
By Ramon Ray –

Spring is on the way, and according to one survey, 77% of households do some form of spring cleaning. As a business owner, the concept of spring cleaning can be applied to the place where much of your information resides — your website. An annual website “spring cleaning” is a great idea for your business.

The Basics

If you’re going to do a major cleaning, you’ll want to tackle the most important parts first.

As reported in Smart Hustle, in a VistaPrint survey, respondents considered up-to-date and accurate content to be most important on small business websites. They were bothered by outdated product and contact information and a lack of address, directions and business hours. In addition, consumers were less likely to buy from a poorly designed website. (more…)

CDC Provides Interim Guidance For Businesses About Coronavirus Disease

March 6, 2020

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has provided interim guidance for businesses and employers to plan and respond to Coronavirus Disease.

The CDC says the interim guidance is based on what is currently known about the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and the CDC will update the interim guidance as needed and as additional information becomes available.

According to the CDC, the interim guidance may help prevent workplace exposures to acute respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19, in non-healthcare settings. The guidance also provides planning considerations if there are more widespread, community outbreaks of COVID-19.

The interim guidance includes recommended strategies for employers to use now; planning for a possible COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S.; planning considerations; and considerations for creating an infectious disease outbreak response plan.

For the complete CDC interim guidance, and additional resources and information from the CDC, click here.

How to Manage Performance of Employees

March 5, 2020 3 Comments
Proven Strategies to Increase Productivity and Motivation

By ComplyRight –

How many of your employees do you consider actively engaged in their jobs and your business? If you’re like most employers, the answer is probably “not enough.” According to a Gallup report, roughly only 30% of U.S. employees are engaged in their jobs – and this low percentage is mostly attributed to managers and their supervisory style.

Engaged employees feel appreciated and motivated to perform at higher levels. They also are loyal to their company and less likely leave when other offers come around. So what can you do to foster engagement? One proven strategy is to implement an ongoing performance management system. (more…)