SBDC
“Setting the Table”
What does the phrase ‘Setting the Table’ mean to you? I have used this phrase for years as a metaphor for how I approach the development of organizations. This view defines the phrase as a proactive, positive development tool or concept to use to fit the elements that make a…
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Welcome to the New Year!
It’s not like 2024 anymore…. In December 2024, one assessment of what to expect for 2025 stated that 2025 would likely resemble 2024, should the U.S. economy not crater and nukes don’t fly. With January not quite complete it is safe to say that the initial assessments of 2025 were…
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The Grants Issue
A regular conversation in business finance is held regarding the availability and value of grants tobusinesses made from various sources. Grant funding had traditionally been a very small part of afunding matrix for private businesses, but then the COVID Pandemic reactionary lockdowns occurred,and public-sector grant funding to businesses became a…
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Business Expansion Opportunities in 2025
With just a few short weeks of activity left in the current year, the last opportunity to meet this year’s goals has arrived, and is soon to pass. As a business owner, if you have any doubts as to how this year is going to work out, then you undoubtedly…
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Leading With Your Best Efforts
This article is a divergence from what an individual business might need or an area to develop, rather it focuses on us – who we are, where we may be going, and why we should consider going there. From an economic development perspective, countless people in all kinds of different…
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A Simple Solution
I am sitting in front of my keyboard today, contemplating how to frame the ideas in this article, and my mind is wandering to thinking about the differences between successful entrepreneurs and the non-successful. I have met many of each kind over the years – those who will found or…
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The Role of Uncertainty
Take a moment ……………………….. Take a few minutes and consider how well positioned your business is, what the likely growth trajectory is, and then assess your chances of remaining viable in the mid-term future. What do you see? Do you see a clear pathway…
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What’s it Worth?
Sooner or later, there comes the time when an entrepreneur asks the question: “I’ve built my business and it has supported my family, but now I am thinking…What’s Next?” Roughly half of small businesses in America are owned by entrepreneurs with ages over 55 years. In Oregon, the number is…
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Marketing as a Deliberative Process
By Marshall Doak, Director of the Southern Oregon University Small Business Development Center July 2024 Starting with this definition of marketing: “The creation of an image or description of a product or service that elicits a positive response in a target group”, the concept of marketing seems relatively straightforward. If…
Read MoreUncertain Pathways
“These are the times that try men’s souls” Thomas Paine December 23, 1776 What types of business information do you use to make decisions with? Do you exclusively rely on internal data and reports to draw inferences from for guiding future activities? Are you more inclined to listen to external…
Read MoreStart Out Right to Build Success
Starting a business has never been an easy task. If it was easy, and if continuing business operations wasa breeze, then the failure rate of young businesses wouldn’t be so high. But it is high and stubbornlyrefuses to lower, indicating that it is no easier today than it was in…
Read MoreBusiness Thoughts for 2024
By Marshall Doak, SOU SBDC Director It seemed appropriate to compile a few thoughts together regarding the business ecosystem as it pertains to the start of 2024. The reader might find this strange when the first two months of 2024 have already occurred. The calendar seemingly is moving forward faster…
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