July Seminars

How to Get a Loan for Your Small Business workshop of Volunteer State Community College's Tennessee Small Business Development Center, 3 - 4:30 p.m. Thursday, June 28, 1480 Nashville Pike, Gallatin, TN in the Betty Gibson Hall, Gibson Conf Room 104. Registration is required. Reserve online. www.tsbdc.org. Free.

Starting a Small Business workshop of Volunteer State Community College's Tennessee Small Business Development Center, 3-5 p.m. Tuesday, July 10, 1480 Nashville Pike, Gallatin, TN in the Betty Gibson Hall, Gibson Conf Room 104. Registration is required. Reserve online. www.tsbdc.org. Free.

Increase the Value of Your Business workshop of Volunteer State Community College's Tennessee Small Business Development Center, 3 - 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 18, 1480 Nashville Pike, Gallatin, TN in the Betty Gibson Hall, Gibson Conf Room 104. Registration is required. Reserve online. www.tsbdc.org. Free.

Time Management and Goal Setting for Your Small Business workshop of Volunteer State Community College's Tennessee Small Business Development Center, 9-11 a.m. Thursday, August 2, 1480 Nashville Pike, Gallatin, TN in the Betty Gibson Hall, Gibson Conf Room 104. Registration is required. Reserve online. www.tsbdc.org. Free. 

The TSBDC also offers free and confidential one-on-one counseling for existing and start up small businesses.  To register for go to www.tsbdc.org.   

Other contact information - Phone (615) 230-4780  www.volstate.edu/tsbdc

The Tennessee Small Business Development Center Network is funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration and local community donors. 

Commerce Union Bank of Gallatin Wins SBA Financial Champion Award

That would be me, Paula DeBerry, Jeff Bond, and Ron DeBerry,
all three from Commerce Union Bank.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) celebrated National Small Business Week recently with events and award ceremonies. Commerce Union Bank of Gallatin was a winner for Financial Services Champions of the Year.  They were nominated by Volunteer State Community College’s Tennessee Small Business Development Center (TSBDC) for working with small businesses during the past year.  Paula DeBerry from Commerce Union Bank was the recipient of the award at a presentation.

“They’ve been doing the hard work.” says Charles Alexander, Director of the TSBDC.  “It would have been easy for them to bury their head in the sand over the last few years. They have been working through tough regulations and rough economic waters to make loans to small businesses in our community.”

Over the last 18 months Commerce Union Bank has made several loans to small businesses, from simple lines of credit to a variety of different SBA Loans.  The loans have helped small businesses start and grow in Sumner and surrounding counties.

“These award winners represent the many excellent small businesses that we have in the Volunteer State,” said Walter Perry, District Director of SBA’s Tennessee District Office.  “All across Tennessee, our hard working award winners are the very best at what they do.” 

A complete list of all award winners is available on the National Small Business Week Web site at www.nationalsmallbusinessweek.com

Social Media Revolution

Razor Blade Wars (The Key to New Customers)

   Many of you whom I have met may have noticed I have a teensy bit of a hair problem.  This is not new.   I started shaving my head 15 years ago.  And when I started shaving my head, it was not as universally accepted as it is now.  There were many times that I cleared the aisles of soccer moms and grannies at Kroger, simply buying some Honeycomb.  Since then, it is my trademark look.  And I have always been a Gillette Mach 3 user.  I love that blade.  I once tried the Head Blade.  I looked like I got into a fight with the Samuri Delicatessen and lost. 

   Recently, I ran out of my Mach 3 blades.  It was bad.  Five o’clock shadow on my head is not a good look.  My lovely wife Sarah, aka the Coupon Queen, had a solution.  She recently obtained a deeply discounted Schick Quattro.  Oh yes, the four blade razor.  I didn’t really have a choice.  I used it.  And you know what, it wasn’t too bad.  In fact, it did a fine job.

   What does this have to do with the entrepreneurs of the world? 

So many times we give up on our marketing efforts toward a very specific type of customer we want, because they don’t respond immediately.  If we don’t get instant gratification, we try something else. 

Think about it like this:

• I did 7 sit ups yesterday and I’m still 40 pounds overweight.
• I put half a tank of gas in my car last week and now my car doesn’t run again.
• We put our house on the market last Saturday and we still don’t have any offers.

  Sounds absurd, right?  But that’s what we do every day with our business.  We’ll try one or two random things for a short period, get frustrated, and move on.

  Persistence is the key to getting new customers.

• If you are implementing a social media campaign, do not expect 1,000 likes and twice the revenue in a week.  It will take time, good content, and a lot of interaction.
• If you are writing a newsletter campaign, try it out a full year, before you declare people don’t read it.  By the way, make sure you write good stuff.
• If you are networking and prospecting, do it several times a week.  Not once in a while, as you have time.  Also, make it a point to identify other people you want to work with and give them a reason to want to work with you.  If they are already using your competitor don’t just give up and say they don’t need me.  You never know when they will run out of blades.

The TSBDC offers free and confidential one-on-one counseling for existing and start up small businesses.  To register for go to www.tsbdc.org.   

Other contact information - Phone (615) 230-4780  www.volstate.edu/tsbdc

The Tennessee Small Business Development Center Network is funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration and local community donors.