Success Story: Vermont
‘Serial Entrepreneur’ Relies on VtSBDC Advising for Start-Up Support
A self- described “serial entrepreneur,” Caleb Magoon, knows a lot about doing business in Vermont. “I am always looking for my next business opportunity,” he said. And when he saw downtown Waterbury businesses rebuilding in the years after the massive flooding of 2011, another opportunity showed itself.
“We knew the community was hungry for a store,” Magoon said. And he delivered, opening Waterbury Sports at 46 South Main Street last summer. “I started this business because the possibility for a sporting goods store in Waterbury was a tremendous opportunity and something I had been looking at for a while,” he said. “Waterbury is a fantastic town riding a wave of momentum following its rebuilding after Hurricane Irene.”
The retail store offers a vast array of sporting goods and recreation products that rotate seasonally. In spring and summer products include bikes and accessories, lacrosse, baseball, soccer and disc golf products, among other things. In winter, the store focuses on alpine and cross country ski products, as well as snowboards, hockey supplies, winter outerwear, snowshoes and more. (more…)
Remember when you were a kid and your parents told you not to put your hand on the hot stove? Or when you mistakenly went along with the crowd and your parents said, “If all the other kids were jumping off a bridge, would you do it, too?” What if I told you that email marketing is a lot like the hot stove? And just because lots of small business owners send email to customers without their permission, it doesn’t mean you should, too.
In honor of National Small Business Week, America’s SBDC hosted it’s first ever Twitter Chat on May 4th, “10 Most Common Small Business Questions.” 
Congratulations to West Virginia SBDC client Diana Lewis Jackson, President and CEO of Action Facilities Management based in Morgantown, West Virginia. Her company is the 2016 SBA 8(a) Graduate of the Year.