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Greetings!
 | | Kelly Manning |
Earlier this week I attended the Rural Economic Development Summit at the University of Northern Colorado in order to facilitate a breakout panel featuring Small Businesses. During the panel we discussed keys to success when starting your own business. One of the reoccurring items that dramatically helped make a business successful was a strong and focused marketing plan.
Any small business knows that marketing is a crucial element to success and the SBDC is no different in this regard. Our Network has been working hard to strengthen the SBDC name and make sure more people know about our services.
We are expanding our marketing channels and using new medium to try and reach more potential clients. I recently made a guest appearance on Comcast Newsmakers to talk about our program and describe our services. You can find the interview here.
Last week I took a trip to Washington DC to meet with the Colorado legislative aides. Along with the Assistant State Director, Marie Ryan, I handed out the Colorado SBDC annual report, brochures, and resource guide. We do this annually in order to remind the legislators about the importance of the SBDC. You can view our new 2010 annual report here.
Another important channel the SBDC relies on is word of mouth marketing. We find this to be a very effective strategy because the recipient usually hears it from a friend they trust and thus are less likely to ignore the information. We would like to ask for your help in spreading the word about the SBDC.
In order to assist you, here are a some statistics about the economic impact the SBDC has helped create. A new job is created in the US by an SBDC in-depth client every 9 minutes; a new business is opened by an SBDC in-depth client every 45 minutes; $100,000 in new sales are generated by SBDC in-depth clients every 17 minutes; $100,000 in financing is obtained by SBDC in-depth clients every 18 minutes. Finally, in 2009, the SBDC helped create 57,207 jobs and helped retain 63,399 jobs.
Sincerely,
Kelly Manning
State Director
Colorado Small Business Development Centers |
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Success Story: Acli-Mate Altitude Adjustment |
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The West Central SBDC has been supporting local Gunnison small business Acli-Mate develop their business into a success. Acli-Mate is a 100% natural mountain sport drink formula that helps reduce altitude sickness and promotes hydration.
"With the average base area elevation around 9,000 feet in Colorado, visitors can expect to feel some of altitude's impact like nausea, fatigue, headache, weakness and reduced activity levels," says Acli-Mateâ developer Dr. Roanne R. Houck, N.D. "An article in 5280 Magazine reports that more than 5 million people will be effected. If you look at the Colorado ski industry and how it's impacted, some say that altitude sickness costs them around $200 million every year in reduced ski days, shortened visits, lost rentals and much more."
Acli-Mate is safe for mountain visitors and athletes of all ages, tastes great and helps visitors mitigate the negative altitude effects. The specific combination of natural ingredients including vitamins, minerals, electrolytes and select herbal extracts make it a great tasting way to stay hydrated and become acclimatized much faster to altitudes above 5000 feet. Acli-Mate has been utilizing the free counseling offered by the SBDC to get help with several aspects of their business. Counselors have helped narrow the marketing strategy and revamp the website to increase visibility. While expanding the business, the SBDC also helped increase capital through a partnership. Acli-Mate is now landing some big name contracts and is well on their way to success. |
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Ramp Up: Make Your Green Business Profitable and Sustainable | | |
 Don't miss this incredible opportunity to create a business plan, have all your specific questions answered about running your businesses effectively, have someone hold your hand through the process, and hear directly from experts on marketing, financing options, managing your finances and more!
The Boulder Green Building Guild (BGBG)has teamed up with the Boulder Small Business Development Center (SBDC) to offer local businesses an opportunity to attend a very low cost comprehensive 5-session business planning series. Supported by Boulder County, this series aims to assist small retrofit and green building businesses, especially Energy Retrofit and Weatherization businesses who plan to participate in Boulder County's BetterBuildings program.
Topics include: Creating meaningful financial projections; How to bid on jobs and make sure you are profitable; Developing a Dashboard to stay on track; Developing a Creative Brief and (with input from specialist panel) Building an effective grass roots marketing plan; legal and organizational issues; and, Using research for competitive advantage and getting capital to help your business grow.
The classes will take place on Wednesdays and Saturdays, April 27 - May 14 from 8:00am - 4:30pm at the SBDC at Boulder Chamber.
Costs:
$495: Non members (includes Entrepreneur Manual)
$375: BGBG members (includes Entrepreneur Manual)
$100 rebate or refund, for submission of Business Plan at the end of the series
For details and registration click here. |
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Make Mine a Million $ Business Event Comes to Denver |
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 Join hundreds of women entrepreneurs from across the country in Denver on April 4th for the Count Me In for Women's Economic Independence Make Mine A Million $ (M3) Business event designed to harness the power of community, confidence and control for women business owners. At the event, women business owners will network, attend educational sessions and pitch their business to a panel of experts for a spot in the Make Mine A Million $ Business program.
Want to practice your pitch? Attend a local pitch party to learn more about M3, connect with other women entrepreneurs and to get yourself ready to deliver your pitch on April 4th!
- Thursday, March 24, 6:00pm - 8:00pm, 1345 South Broadway, Denver, CO 80210. Click here to RSVP.
Not sure if you qualify? If you're ready to be one of the 250 women to pitch and compete for prizes on April 4th, make sure you meet the criteria listed below and register today!
- The business should be at least 50% owned by a woman who is a U.S. citizen or legal resident.
- Your business should be at least two years old. (If your business is not at least two years old and you feel you should still be considered, email Heather Lurie)
- Your business should have annual revenues between $85,000 - $700,000.
- You should be ready to grow your business to a million dollars within the next 18-36 months!
Check out the flyer here.
If you have questions, please contact Heather Lurie at hlurie@countmein.com. |
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Small Business Administration (SBA) Plans to Cut SBDC Funding | | |
 Robb Mandelbaum at The New York Times Reported that the Obama administration plans to reduce funding for its biggest counseling program, the nation's network of Small Business Development Centers. The proposed cuts are nearly 10 percent of the current budget, from $113 million in 2010 to $103 million. This has raised questions and concerns because the $7 million grant for Score, a smaller but better-known S.B.A.-financed counseling program that serves the same broad constituency, will not be cut.
Kent Hoover at the New Mexico Business Weekly reported some strong opposition to the reduced SBDC funding. Representative Nydia Velazquez of New York, the House Small Business Committees ranking Democrat, was troubled that the SBA is spending less on "programs that we know work" in order to fund seven new programs that were never authorized by Congress. The committee's chairman, Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., also thinks the SBA should concentrate on its existing programs instead of creating new ones, such as supporting regional clusters or training emerging business leaders in urban areas. |
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University of Colorado Procurement Service Center | | |
The University of Colorado Procurement Service Center (PSC) is a great resource for procurement and payables functions for the University's campuses (Boulder, Colorado Springs, and Denver). PSC maximize opportunities for small business concerns to participate in the University's business of procuring goods and services at all dollar levels and regardless of fund source. They offer Vendor Orientations on a regular basis to explain how the University does business. These are free of charge and open to all interested vendors. Pre-registration is required. For a list of upcoming events click here. |
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Register to Win the Governor's Award for Excellence in Exporting | | |
 The Award has been a tradition since 1970 and symboilizes the governor's recognition of Colorado's leaders in international business. Awards will be presented at the World Trade Center Denver's World Trade Day 2011 on May 17, 2011. Award recipients receive: two complimentary registrations to World Trade Day, the opportunity for brief remarks at World Trade Day, and a news release. 2010 Recipients included: Geotech Environmental Equipment, Promanteck Inc., Innovative Water Technologies, and Bloomin' Productions. Click here to apply online, the deadline is 4/5/11.
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Denver SBDC Turns 25! | | |
The Denver SBDC is celebrating 25 years of supporting the small business community in Colorado. There will be party on April 6th, 2011 that will include music, hors d'oeuvres, prizes and networking. There will be a chance to win $10,000!!! Blackberry is sponsoring the event and will be on hand to demonstrate how to leverage their products to help make your small business more efficient. Please RSVP at www.denversbdc.org |
| Business Tip: How to Run a Successful Business and Have a Life | |
It is spring and the bike trail, park or trip is calling to you, but your work load seems to only grow. Try these five tips to maintain your successful business while having a life, too.
1. Stay focused. Turn off your cell phone, e-mail or Facebook account and focus on work. You will be surprised at how much you get done when you give your work some of your undivided attention.
2. Be consistent. Do things the same way every time. This will not only make it possible to outsource tasks or hire an employee down the road, but will free up time.
3. Be choosy. Don't be afraid to say no. Juggling too many projects or clients doesn't always mean more cash; it may mean you offer a lower-quality product as your attention is diluted.
4. Be creative with marketing. There are many ways to market your business, some of which require less time than others. Try some of these to free up some of your time (and your marketing budget): write a blog, post on social networking sites, attend a networking session, or put press releases online.
5. Delegate. Virtual assistants or summer interns may be just what you need to free up some time and get those tasks you can't stand off your plate.
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| Minority Business Office | | |
 Upcoming MBO Events
Analyzing RFPs and Writing Compliant Proposals
This three-hour seminar will provide you with the essential tools to:
· Interpret and understand what the RFP/RFQ issuer wants to see
· Develop a compliance tracking and management system
· Ensure 100% compliance with the issuer's requirements
· Structure a logical, readable proposal or statement of qualifications
· Find bidding opportunities
· Make informed "bid/no-bid" decisions
· Cope with a "bad" RFP/RFQ
The seminar is designed for small businesses-both formally and self-certified.
Date/Time: April 14, 2011 from 1:00p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Venue: The Denver Public Library at 13th/14th and Broadway
Cost: $49 per person-payment in advance
Additional information: Contact Janet Arrowood, The Write Source, Inc. at 303.717.7444 or e-mail her at TheWriteSource2@yahoo.com
Sponsored by:
The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade Minority Business Office; The Asian Chamber of Commerce; The Denver Public Library; The Society of Hispanic Human Resource Professionals
For information related to minority business events please contact LeRoy Romero at: l.romero@state.co.us
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Upcoming SBDC Events | | |
Denver Metro
Tuesday, April 5th
Breakfast Brown Bag:Enhance Your Brand Through Community Envolvement
Recognize the relationships between the public, private, and non-profit communities
Cost: $15
Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce
1445 Market Street
Denver, CO 80202
7:30 am - 9:00 am
Please register with the Denver Metro SBDC.
South Metro Denver:
Tuesday, March 22nd
Tax Season Survival Tools
Top 5 Tax Questions for the Self-Employed and Preparing an Audit-Proof Tax Return
Cost: No Charge
Online-Only Workshop
10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Monday, April 25th
Lender's Panel
Learn and Ask Questions About Funding Your Small Business
Cost: $10
South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce
6840 S. University Blvd.
Centennial, CO 80122
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Please register at the South Metro Denver SBDC.
Colorado Springs:
Wednesday, March 23rd
How to Develop a World Class Brand on a Small Business Budget
Every Business Needs a Brand
Cost: $30
Tri-Lakes Incubator
14960 Woodcarver Road
Colorado Springs, CO 80933
11:00 am - 1:30 pm
Wednesday, March 30th
Ask a Business Attorney
Cost: $40
Colorado Springs SBDC
1420 Austin Bluffs Parkway
Colorado Springs. CO 80933
9:00 am - 11:00 am
Please register here
Boulder:
March 21- 25th
Breakfast Bootcamp for Retailers
Take Your Retail Business to the Next Level
Cost: $30
Longmont Chamber
528 Main Street
Longmont, CO 80501
7:30 am - 9:30 am
Wednesday, April 6th
SBA/Certification 8a - Hubzone
Cost: Free
Boulder Chamber
2440 Pearl Street
Boulder, CO 80302
April 19 - June 21
FastTrac New Venture Business Planning Series
10 week comprehensive business plan series
Cost: $495
Boulder Chamber
2440 Pearl Street
Boulder, CO 80302
Please register here. |
  Colorado Small Business Development Centers A division of
Denver, CO 80202 | |
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