SBDC
When Data Makes the Difference
Over the years, we have been inundated with an increasing amount of data used in a number of ways to influence or to make arguments for one cause or another. We have become so used to hearing and seeing data that we think it has always been a part of…
Read MoreSuccess Building in 2024
Some of the most fascinating aspects of business management revolve around the nature of change as a business progresses through the stages of the Business Lifecycle. The lifecycle analogy is similar to human development where there is a start, growth, maturity and decline phases as a stylized structure to understand…
Read MoreBuilding Resilience in Your Organization
As another year winds down, it is customary to take a look back at the year’s events and reflect on the meaning of them. In many instances, 2023 has been the first year that I have heard people say that it is actually ‘post-COVID’ in their lives and businesses. Comments…
Read MoreSeason’s Greetings!
One might think this is a reference to upcoming festivities, a view appropriate for this time of year. However, this article is using the reference a little differently. Tis the season to review 2023 business performance and prepare for the upcoming year with the changes that are in store for…
Read MoreA Primer on Partnerships
There are a number of inherent problems that small businesses face which can be extremely difficult to remedy. One of the most difficult areas is scaling-up, or growing the business from a small core of talent, business volume and market reach into a larger, more resilient entity. There may not…
Read MoreLet’s Talk Lending and Debt Financing
From startups to large corporations, when a business wants to expand – whether it be new products or markets or increasing the volume of business transactions – capital is needed to fund that expansion. Expansions always occur in advance of the increased revenues and profits used to pay for the…
Read MoreHead Back to the Classroom to Build Business Resiliency
Have you taken the time to think through the following questions? What makes a business good, and not just a mediocre economic performer? How are you going to address all of the changes you face as a business owner or manager and still remain profitable, especially when your staffing levels…
Read MoreThe Top Line in Business Performance
If I was pressed to name the ONE item most difficult to manage in small businesses today, I believe I would settle on the people aspects of having a business. Without people involved, so many reasons for having a business vanish, such as having a market to sell to or…
Read MoreDon’t Overlook the Most Important
So much of the energy expended by businesses are centered around producing, labelling, shipping, buying, selling, recording, managing, identifying, cataloguing and quantifying…… every aspect of the business operation. The weighted emphasis placed on the ‘How of Things’ can shift management’s perception of what the business actually is and does. In…
Read MoreWhere is the Hidden Value?
When companies sell, the results are all over the board regarding what the selling price is for like-sized companies. Some of the factors in a business’s value can be attributed to the physical assets that transfer from seller to buyer. These can be counted, costed, discounted or other wise modified…
Read MoreSome Human Issues with Scaling Your Business
During the lifecycle of small businesses, the inevitable question is arrived at and asked at one time or another. This question is: As I need to grow my business to survive or to take advantage of growth opportunities, how am I going to find the people I need to have…
Read MoreThe Travails of Young Businesses
If you were to ask enough people to find out why new business failures are so high, you would probably end up with 100 reasons for the failures. To borrow an analogy from Benjamin Franklin concerning his experience developing the lightbulb: “I didn’t fail the test, I just found 100…
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