Digg it UP - Entrepreneurs: You've Got Help!

After the initial burst of business success and survival in the first three years, many small businesses encounter struggles that can leave them feeling isolated. What can assist a 30-year old consulting firm whose personal presence and paper products face a changing world of electronic presence and high travel costs by helping them with development of electronic products? What can encourage a small playground equipment manufacturer to move from $1 million to $2 then $5 million in annual revenues by helping her with facility expansion issues? What can help a successful cookie baker beat the competition through strategic partners, cause marketing and high tech kitchen equipment?

Small Business Development Centers can.

According to the Small Business Administration these SBDC's gave face-to-face help to more than 247,000 clients last year. A treasury of business answers lies waiting and ready to assist at 1,100 top colleges and universities across the United States, according to the SBA. These centers are funded by a combination of federal, state and local government monies as well as with private sector dollars.

Here are just few examples from the State of Wisconsin. The University of Wisconsin at Whitewater hosts a Small Business Development Center at www.uwwsbdc.com Its email is ask-sbdc@uww.edu This center is also affiliated with the Wisconsin Innovation Service Center, that "takes pride in an extremely high rate of client satisfaction...nearly 75% of clients have been referred by former clients and professionals. The Wisconsin Innovation Service Center charges an "affordable fee" to provide companies with enough information for improved product and market development decisions.

A few diverse examples of this university-related treasury of successes include these:

1. A local gardener gained international attention for a unique gardening tool.
2. An innovative drywall finishing product offers significant benefits over competition.
3. A new product helps a honey producer grow.
4. A business in the electrical equipment industry finds new customer segments.
5. Investors and inventors find value in a flooring company start-up.
6. An environmental product company breaks past the $15 million mark with a new product.
7. An ornithology hobby becomes a successful business venture.
8. An outdoor equipment manufacturer finds a potential acquisition.
9. Customer purchase decisions and perceptions are revealed to a manufacturer.
10. An automotive aftermarket tool gains distribution outlets across the U.S.
11. A "hot" tool is offered to the propane and plumbing industries.
Don't Name The Lobsters - Nurture The Right Relationships For Your Small Business
Small business, at its core, is about one thing and one thing only--success. How does our capitalistic society measure success? Dollars, my friend, cold hard cash. Now before you start emailing me about "relationships" and "making a difference" stop to consider that without positive cash flow, your entire enterprise can shrivel up and die right before your eyes.It is imperative that you separate you and your intentions from your business. Put another way, your business is not you and you have no right to impose your needs, financial or otherwise, on it. The resence and high travel costs by helping them with development of electronic products? What can encourage a small playground equipment manufacturer to move from $1 million to $2 then $5 million in annual revenues by helping her with facility expansion issues? What can help a successful cookie baker beat the competition through strategic partners, cause marketing and high tech kitchen equipment?

Small Business Development Centers can.

According to the Small Business Administration these SBDC's gave face-to-face help to more than 247,000 clients last year. A treasury of business answers lies waiting and ready to assist at 1,100 top colleges and universities across the United States, according to the SBA. These centers are funded by a combination of federal, state and local government monies as well as with private sector dollars.

Here are just few examples from the State of Wisconsin. The University of Wisconsin at Whitewater hosts a Small Business Development Center at www.uwwsbdc.com Its email is ask-sbdc@uww.edu This center is also affiliated with the Wisconsin Innovation Service Center, that "takes pride in an extremely high rate of client satisfaction...nearly 75% of clients have been referred by former clients and professionals. The Wisconsin Innovation Service Center charges an "affordable fee" to provide companies with enough information for improved product and market development decisions.

A few diverse examples of this university-related treasury of successes include these:

1. A local gardener gained international attention for a unique gardening tool.
2. An innovative drywall finishing product offers significant benefits over competition.
3. A new product helps a honey producer grow.
4. A business in the electrical equipment industry finds new customer segments.
5. Investors and inventors find value in a flooring company start-up.
6. An environmental product company breaks past the $15 million mark with a new product.
7. An ornithology hobby becomes a successful business venture.
8. An outdoor equipment manufacturer finds a potential acquisition.
9. Customer purchase decisions and perceptions are revealed to a manufacturer.
10. An automotive aftermarket tool gains distribution outlets across the U.S.
11. A "hot" tool is offered to the propane and plumbing industries.
Charity Campaigns - Overcoming Awareness Apathy
Charity campaigns usually have two aims – to create greater awareness of their particular cause and often to fundraise as well. Who could argue with that? The problem is that commercial organisations are joining in the awareness game and creating their own world/ international or national awareness day, week or month for their products or services. So everything gets lumped in together – the commercial and the charity – with a resultant ‘awareness apathy’ fast setting in.So what can be done?A bit of creativity is called for I believe. Of course the organissist at 1,100 top colleges and universities across the United States, according to the SBA. These centers are funded by a combination of federal, state and local government monies as well as with private sector dollars.

Here are just few examples from the State of Wisconsin. The University of Wisconsin at Whitewater hosts a Small Business Development Center at www.uwwsbdc.com Its email is ask-sbdc@uww.edu This center is also affiliated with the Wisconsin Innovation Service Center, that "takes pride in an extremely high rate of client satisfaction...nearly 75% of clients have been referred by former clients and professionals. The Wisconsin Innovation Service Center charges an "affordable fee" to provide companies with enough information for improved product and market development decisions.

A few diverse examples of this university-related treasury of successes include these:

1. A local gardener gained international attention for a unique gardening tool.
2. An innovative drywall finishing product offers significant benefits over competition.
3. A new product helps a honey producer grow.
4. A business in the electrical equipment industry finds new customer segments.
5. Investors and inventors find value in a flooring company start-up.
6. An environmental product company breaks past the $15 million mark with a new product.
7. An ornithology hobby becomes a successful business venture.
8. An outdoor equipment manufacturer finds a potential acquisition.
9. Customer purchase decisions and perceptions are revealed to a manufacturer.
10. An automotive aftermarket tool gains distribution outlets across the U.S.
11. A "hot" tool is offered to the propane and plumbing industries.
Five Hot Ways To Create Customer Loyalty
First, analyze your company carefully. You must think about every aspect of your organization from the customer's perspective. What do you do well? What are your areas of weakness? Are there things that you can offer customers that you may have never considered?Remember to think of everything from the customer's point of view, and you will have an entirely new insight into your company, thereby increasing your customer's ability to stay loyal to you.Second, show individual care for each customer who walks in your door. From the ability to greet them by name to j of client satisfaction...nearly 75% of clients have been referred by former clients and professionals. The Wisconsin Innovation Service Center charges an "affordable fee" to provide companies with enough information for improved product and market development decisions.

A few diverse examples of this university-related treasury of successes include these:

1. A local gardener gained international attention for a unique gardening tool.
2. An innovative drywall finishing product offers significant benefits over competition.
3. A new product helps a honey producer grow.
4. A business in the electrical equipment industry finds new customer segments.
5. Investors and inventors find value in a flooring company start-up.
6. An environmental product company breaks past the $15 million mark with a new product.
7. An ornithology hobby becomes a successful business venture.
8. An outdoor equipment manufacturer finds a potential acquisition.
9. Customer purchase decisions and perceptions are revealed to a manufacturer.
10. An automotive aftermarket tool gains distribution outlets across the U.S.
11. A "hot" tool is offered to the propane and plumbing industries.
5 Ways to Market Your Business for Free - Part III - The Bonus Method
Ok, so this is only one method.Like article writing, press releases, joint ventures, and search engine marketing, you can make this the only method that you use to promote your business, and it's highly effective. Although it takes a little while to set up correctly, it's also free.Start an affiliate program for your business.An affiliate program will do several things for you.1. Build a sales force for you. Don't think that sharing your profits will make you more money?Here is an example of how an affiliate program can make you a lot of mohe electrical equipment industry finds new customer segments.
12. Investors and inventors find value in a flooring company start-up.
13. An environmental product company breaks past the $15 million mark with a new product.
14. An ornithology hobby becomes a successful business venture.
15. An outdoor equipment manufacturer finds a potential acquisition.
16. Customer purchase decisions and perceptions are revealed to a manufacturer.
17. An automotive aftermarket tool gains distribution outlets across the U.S.
18. A "hot" tool is offered to the propane and plumbing industries.

Part of the success of these entrepreneurs and a couple of hundred thousand others is due to the one-on-one relationship of these advisors with their entrepreneurial clients. Developing business plans, wading through loan applications, securing critical market research, exploring product design options, identifying a lasting competitive edge---these are typical of the services that SBDC's can provide to the entrepreneur.

These services are nothing to be sneezed at. In another state, South Carolina, the economic impact on the state's economy in 2005 alone was $86 million, resulting in a return on investment of $121.11 for every dollar of state funding, according to Regional Director Jill Burroughs as quoted in the Greenville News. Further explaining the power of the program, Burroughs said that breaks down to $45.7 million in capital formation, 1038 jobs created, nearly $25 million in wages paid, $869,000 in additional sales taxes and $15 million in contracts awarded to 381 businesses.

SBDC's are located in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, Samoa and the US Virgin Islands. If you conservatively cut the impact of South Carolina in half and multiplied by the 50 states, you would have a $2.1 BILLION impact.

This is a powerful treasury of real riches that spills over to the rest of the economy from the struggles of entrepreneurs who refused to let their dreams be defeated by the obstacles they encountered. They got help.

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