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Your Business and
The Affordable Care Act
Thursday February 5, 2015
11:00 am-1:30 pm 
UMD Center for Economic Development

11 E Superior St, Suite 210 Duluth, MN 55802

Price: $15 (lunch included)


Join Pamela Branshaw and representatives from the IRS, SBA, SBDC and insurance industry to discuss the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and it's affect on your business, employees, and you.

For more information or to register, go to our website at www.umdced.com. 
  

January is National Mentoring Month and Small Businesses.
Read more at www.sba.gov

Charles Hammond, President and CEO, Raining Rose advises: 

"Try to find a mentor if possible. I was incredibly fortunate to have had Art Christoffersen as my business partner ... He was a great sounding board and really never told me what to do, but he asked some great questions that led me to the answer."

Read the rest of the tips 
Quick Links
Contact Us

UMD Center for
Economic Development


The Small Business Development Center for Northeast MN

Helping Entrepreneurs
and Businesses

Grow and Succeed


218.726.7298

Regional Center:
 
  • Duluth
Satellite Offices:
  • Cook County
  • Ely 
  • Grand Rapids
  • Hermantown
  • International Falls
  • Lake County
  •  Quad Cities
A Successful 2014 for the Northeast MN SBDC  
MnSBDC LogoThe Northeast Small Business Development Center (SBDC) program had a successful year working with 583 
entrepreneurs/businesses, as well as helping to start 39 new businesses and assisting our clients in obtaining $7,936,838 in equity loan investments for their businesses. The SBDC services provided through CED had a positive, direct impact on 1016 jobs in the Northeast region.

 Thank you, entrepreneurs and business owners, for placing your trust in the Northeast SBDC. We are proud to have been a part of your success.  
Nominate a deserving Business for the 23rd Annual Joel Labovitz
Entrepreneurial Success Awards

 

  
Celebrate entrepreneurial leadership and success in the Twin Ports and Minnesota's Northeast Region by recognizing entrepreneurs who have followed their dreams and taken risks to forge ahead meeting the challenges of today's economic reality.

 

Read more about the awards or click on the Labo medallion above to nominate a business.
4 Smart Marketing Resolutions for 2015
 
 
By: Rieva Lesonsky

 

Happy New Year! Have you resolved to take your small business to bigger and better heights in 2015? Then one of the best moves you can make is to upgrade your marketing. Here are four marketing resolutions that every small business owner should consider making for 2015.

 

1.) Invest more money in your marketing. 

 

I see so many small business owners who make the (sometimes fatal) mistake of playing Scrooge when it comes to their marketing. By pinching pennies, they may save a few dollars here and there, but they lose out on bigger opportunities. It's important to look at marketing costs as investments in your business and your brand-not as expenses.

 

When I'm feeling stressed that a marketing tactic my company is considering is too costly, I always stop to assess how much new business could come from it. If spending $500 on ads this month stands a good chance of netting you a client that could be worth $50,000 a year, isn't that worth the investment? Yes, you win some, you lose some, but if you make resolution #2, you'll lose less.

 

2.) Assess the results of your marketing. 

 

Of course, one reason many small business owners are reluctant to spend money on marketing is that they fail to keep track of results. Therefore, they never know exactly what marketing campaigns attracted new customers or converted to sales. With only a haphazard idea of what works and what doesn't, they begin to view spending on marketing as throwing good money after bad.

 

Whether you're advertising online, marketing with social media or using traditional marketing methods such as print or cable television advertising, there is always a way to track your results. Use your website's analytics tools to see what specific online marketing campaigns attract users, get them to click and convert them to buyers. Use codes in your print, TV or radio ads to track which specific ads bring customers in to your store or business.

 

If all else fails, try the easiest method: Ask customers where they heard about your business! Take time at the end of each month, each quarter and each year to review your results and plan for how you'll modify your marketing accordingly. This can help you save money by spending less on tactics that aren't fruitful for you.

 

3.) Devote more time to marketing. 

 

When you're swamped with business, it's hard to make time for marketing-and it may seem like you don't need to market much if business is falling into your lap. Unfortunately, this state of affairs never lasts, and suddenly you're twiddling your thumbs with no new business in the pipeline.

 

I admit I fall prey to this problem myself-it's easy to do. Set a rule that you will devote at least 20 percent of your time to marketing your business, no matter what. If you've got extra time during a slow period, you can put in even more. Here are a couple of quick marketing techniques you can use when you're slammed:

  1. Reach out to current customers with a special offer or discount on additional services or products related to past purchases.
  2. Contact satisfied customers to see if they're willing to give you referrals. Then follow up with the referrals within a week or two.

4.) Always be looking ahead.

 

 It's easy to keep your head down, nose to the grindstone and work so hard on your current business that before you know it, your marketing methods are outdated and your competitors have left you in the dust. Don't let this happen to you! Keep your head up and pay attention to your customers, your competitors and your industry.

How are your competitors marketing? What new developments are affecting the way businesses in your industry market? How are your target customers changing and what new markets might you reach out to next? Growth can come from unexpected places, so don't discount anything you notice. One startup entrepreneur I know noticed her marketing was drawing customers from unexpectedly far away to shop in her store. By paying attention to the results of her marketing and the demographics of her customers, she was able to seize the opportunity to open a second store. Now, both locations are thriving.

 
Read more at www.sba.gov 
MnSBDC Logo
Funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development and regional support partners. All opinions, conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the program sponsors. Programs are open to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis. Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance.
Contact the UMD Center for Economic Development at 218-726-7298 to make arrangements.