In this month's newsletter we give special emphasis and recognition to those who have served our country. 

  

 

SBDC logo
Issue 16 October 2011
Galveston County - SBDC Newsletter

Welcome to the online edition of our  newsletter! We hope that you enjoy reading about our exciting happenings this year, and we hope to see you soon!    


The Galveston County SBDC is pleased to announce our new and improved website.  Check it out at www.gcsbdc.com . The new website will enable you to view our classes on-line and to register and pay for classes on-line.  You must first become a STAR member.  This is very simple and easy to do and there is no cost to become a STAR member.  STAR members receive a discount for registering and paying for their courses on-line.  Become a STAR member today! 
Special Feature
 

The GCSBDC will host a special luncheon event to honor our clients who are U. S. Veterans and to encourage other Veterans who are interested in starting their own business, or who are already in business to take advantage of the programs offered by the GCSBDC to support U.S. Veteran entrepreneurs. The event will take place on Wednesday, November 9, 2011 at our offices 8419 Emmett F. Lowry Expressway between 11:30 and 1:30 with speakers at 12:00.   The event is free for Veterans and their guests. Please register for the event on our website: www.gcsbdc.com. Our STAR Veteran clients will receive special recognition and guests will invited to tour our facilities, meet our staff, and learn more about our program for Veterans. Catering will be provided by Texas Medical Airlift, a non-profit organization owned and operated by a U.S. Veteran client of the GCSBDC. This worthy organization provides low cost fixed wing air ambulance services for persons in need of access to the Texas Medical Center, UTMB, and Shriner's Hospital in Galveston. TMA will also have whole briskets for sale to the public in our parking lot. Please register to attend.

 Veteran Flyer 2011

Veterans Day is Friday, November 11. As a nation, we pause to give special thanks and recognition to those who have served our country, especially those who have served during wartime. At GCSBDC, we have noticed that our clients who are veterans of military service, whether during wartime or during peace, have a much higher than average success rate in starting new businesses and in creating new jobs. This month, we will be recognizing and honoring our veteran clients with a special event to be held on November 9, and to thank our funding partners, especially KBR for their generous support of our program of outreach for Veterans.

 

This month, we would like to recognize our veteran clients who have been especially successful in starting new businesses, infusing capital into our economy, and creating jobs.

Success Story

November Veterans' Success Story:

 

This month we want to recognize the continued success of our clients who have served in our country's military. These business owners, as a group, have achieved some very impressive results as creators of businesses and as creators of jobs. The GCSBDC has worked with 64 veterans. Of these, 53 are male and 11 are female. Of the 64 veterans, 6 are disabled veterans. As of today, these 64 veterans have started 24 new businesses, and we are aware of three others that will start before the end of the year. These business owners have created 114 full time jobs and 22 part-time jobs, and have injected several million dollars into the Galveston County economy.

We express our appreciation, not only for their military service, but also for their continued service in the form of creating jobs and driving our economy. Salute!

News You Can Use

The GCSBDC is proud to announce that Consultants Andrea Cortinas and Jeanne Hudson and Director Carroll Cobb have achieved Certification as Global Business Professionals by NASBITE, the North American Small Business International Trade Education organization. All candidates for certification were required to attend over 40 hours of classroom instruction and to pass a rigorous national certification examination.

 Consultants - Global Certs 2011

Certified Global Business Professionals are qualified to provide advice and assistance to any small business interested in accessing the international market. We can help you assess your readiness to engage in international commerce, define your target market, learn about trade treaties that may affect your strategies, explore options for shipping and for payment, and actually become acquainted with potential trade partners. There are many Federal and State resources available to assist American businesses export their products to other countries. Certified Global Business Professionals are trained to assist you in accessing these programs. We encourage any business in Galveston County that has questions or concerns about entering the international market to call and make an appointment to talk with a CGBP who will help "de-mystify" international trade.

 

Pledge Your Support for Small Business Saturday

 

The 2nd annual Small Business Saturday� is a day dedicated to supporting small businesses on the busiest shopping weekend of the year. On November 26, pledge to shop small at your favorite local stores and fuel your local economy. When millions of Americans shop small, it could be huge.

  

 Small Business Sat AMEX

 

 

Shop Small on Small Business Saturday

http://www.facebook.com/#!/SmallBusinessSaturday

 

Check out Small Business Saturday on Facebook. 

 


AND NOW, A WORD FROM OUR DIRECTOR...

 

The Director's Corner 

Carroll Cobb                        

For the past several issues, we have been exploring one of the 8 principles discussed in my book, Advice From the Lemonade Stand. Although the 8 principles have not changed, the book was originally published in 1998, and is certainly due for a bit of updating. I am pleased to report that the 2nd Edition is nearly finished and will be made available as an e-book at no cost to SBDC clients. We are hoping that hard copies will be available sometime in 2012. Information about how to access your free e-book should be available in our next newsletter.

 

The 7th principle is "Do the Thing Right." As you might guess, this chapter deals with quality control. Most businesses are started by someone who knows how to do something quite well. Whether it is providing a service or making a "widget" typically the business owner is skilled and fully capable of providing excellence. But, if the owner can not develop and implement systems to enable others to perform at the owner's standard of quality, the business will never grow any larger than the owner's personal production.

 

Management is all about productivity and quality control. Part of the owner's responsibility is to create a work environment where excellence is the expected norm. This is achieved through setting the example, communicating the expectations, assessing and rewarding performance, and constant monitoring for improvement opportunities. Customer feedback is a vital component of the monitoring process. All complaints whether we think they are "justified" or not, represent an opportunity to improve. Management and peer feedback can also be a valuable source of information to assist the owner in improving quality.

 

The owner is also responsible to be sure that every job is well defined and that adequate instruction is provided for each step of the process to be sure that every single detail is performed according to the owner's requirements. Only by having detailed operational instructions and a workable system of monitoring performance can the owner feel confident in turning over tasks to others.

 

The MAC Loop (Monitor, Assess, and Correct) is the basic tool for developing quality control programs. The owner must set up a system for monitoring performance, assessing problems, deficiencies, and opportunities for improvement as they are noted, and implementing corrective measures. It is a loop because, once the corrective measure is implemented, the owner/manager returns to monitoring, assessing and correcting all over again. We may not ever be able to achieve perfection in every detail, but we are never so good that there is no opportunity for improvement.  

 

If you are beginning to feel "stressed out" by your business and overwhelmed by the work you must do as an owner, it may be a signal that you need to develop a workable system of management that will enable you to comfortably turn over some of your duties to others. If you need help in working out or implementing these systems, call your SBDC advisor.   Help is a phone call away.

 

Alliance logo 

UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER NETWORK

The Galveston County SBDC is a business consulting and training center of the University of Houston Small Business Development Center Network.  The UH SBDC Network serves 32 counties in Southeast Texas and is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. 



In This Issue
Director Announcement
Success Story
Director's Corner

Free Consultation
 
The success of your business is our only priority. Call to meet a Senior Consultant in your area today.


Galveston County Small Business Dev. Center Website 

Quick Links  
 

 


Galveston County Small Business Development Center

8419 E.F. Lowry Expressway

Texas City, TX 77591

(409) 933-1414

(409) 933-3365 fax

[email protected]