Social Media Workshop

Folk, it's here and it's free, Social Media for Small Businesses.  This workshop will cover how to use Facebook , Twitter, and YouTube to grow your business.

This workshop will be at Vol State Community College, Thursday, February 23, 2011 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM. 

To register click here http://www.tsbdc.org/workshop.aspx?ekey=53320009.

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

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

Social Media in Plain English

This video is a couple of years old, but sums up social media very well.

And ice cream cut outs are very cool.

Remember that the Tennessee Small Business Development Center (TSBDC) also specializes in personal and confidential one-on-one advising services for existing and start up small businesses.   Whether the counseling is in the area of marketing, finance, management, or any other business service, the TSBDC consultant provides guidance every step of the way. To schedule an appointment visit http://www.tsbdc.org/.

February workshops

February (It’s Marketing month!)

How to Start a Small Business workshop of Volunteer State Community College's Tennessee Small Business Development Center, 3-5 p.m. Tuesday, February 14, 1480 Nashville Pike, Gallatin, TN in the Betty Gibson Hall, Gibson Conf Room 104. Registration is required. Reserve online. www.tsbdc.org. Free.

5 Steps for Marketing Success workshop of Volunteer State Community College's Tennessee Small Business Development Center, 9-11 a.m. Thursday, February 16, 1480 Nashville Pike, Gallatin, TN in the Betty Gibson Hall, Gibson Conf Room 104. Registration is required. Reserve online. www.tsbdc.org. Free.

Social Media for Small Businesses workshop of Volunteer State Community College's Tennessee Small Business Development Center, 9-11 a.m. Thursday, February 23, 1480 Nashville Pike, Gallatin, TN in the Betty Gibson Hall, Gibson Conf Room 104. Registration is required. Reserve online. www.tsbdc.org. Free.

Upcoming in March
Government Contracting workshop of Volunteer State Community College's Tennessee Small Business Development Center, 2 - 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 7, 1480 Nashville Pike, Gallatin, TN in the Betty Gibson Hall, Gibson Conf Room 104. Registration is required. Reserve online. www.tsbdc.org. Free.

Seth Godin on Small Business

Take a few minutes and see what marketing guru says about making your small business indispensable.

Not to mention, he has an awesome haircut.

6 Things to Fix in 2012

Yes, I know that 12 things to fix in 2012 would have a much better ring, but who has time for 12 things.  In fact, I think 6 things may be pushing it.  At least 12 is divisible by 6.  You know what, just read this list and pick out 2 or 3 that you are comfortable with, and stick with those. 

1.      Poor cash flow management

Problem: Payment doesn't always match outflow and it's up to the business owner to make up the difference.

Solution: Fill out a cash flow (not P/L statement) and identify shortfalls.  Do not extend credit to all customers.  Bill customers quicker in order to speed up the collection process (billing cycle) and get funds into the business faster.  Eliminate or reduce some overhead or fixed costs to reduce monthly expenses. Pull frequent (weekly) accounts receivable reports in order to examine how effective the business is at collecting funds. 

2.      Lack of planning

Problem: On average, people spend more time planning a vacation or wedding than they do for running their small business.  The business should last a lot longer than a seven day vacation or a one night wedding.

Solution: Create goals for your business and a plan to reach those goals through marketing, management, and financial planning. Obtain an annual business check-up.  Meet with an accountant, banker, or TSBDC counselor to review financial statements and get advice on how to improve performance.

3.      Marketing

Problem: Set up a real marketing budget. It should be at least .5% - 8% of your monthly expenditures.

Solution: Identify your target market and a good marketing mix to attract that target market.  Track where your sales come from, such as internet, coupons, chamber contacts, etc.

4.      Delegation

Problem: If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.  If you want to own your business longer than a few years, learn to delegate and deal with imperfection.

Solution: Hire the right people using systematic processes to operate the business.  Recognize what you are not good at and delegate that role so you can spend time managing your business

5.      Personal use of business funds

Problem: DO NOT GET THAT NEW DIAMOND ENCRUSTED IPAD YET!

Solution: Monitor the amount of money that is being used for activities unrelated to the business.  Keep personal use of funds separate from all business funds, by using different accounts.

6.      Unexpected growth 

Problem: Perform an annual SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis to determine what your business will likely be experiencing and create a plan to meet that growth.

Solution: Have a growth plan and stick to it.  This may mean turning down customers.

Vol State TSBDC 2011 Results

The Results Are In.........

We met with 215 clients and had 710 people attend workshops.

However, we are most proud of….

---

Working with clients to obtain$1,251,000 to expand or start their business.

Working with clients to create70 jobs.

Working with 29 clients to start their business.

Use Video to Promote Your Business

One of the hot topics from the social media "experts" is video.  They say, if you don't have video content on your website in five years, you will not be on the first page of Google and may not be found at all.  This doesn't mean that posting videos will make you a YouTube sensation.  It just means that you will need to have this type of content just to compete.  And it makes sense.  We are not a very patient society.  We want to access information quickly, easily and we  want to be entertained.  Therefore videos are currently the way to go.   (If in five years we are talking about hologram monkey professors that will inject you directly with a knowledge shot, that will be a different story.  But right now, it's video.)   And from taking a look around, you can get a jump on the competition by posting brief, informative and entertaining videos to your site and YouTube now.  This will drive more traffic your way and keep people on your site longer. 

Starting a Small Business

This is the TSBDC's first run at online video content.  This clearly is not a training video, however it does provide information that people are searching for and has given our website a boost.

Will It Blend?

The story goes that on the days that employees at the Blendtec plant smelled sawdust, they knew Tom was experimenting again and would flock to see the show. Tom was stuffing things like 2x2s into his blender. Noticing how entertained the staff was, Tom's marketing manager, George Wright, caught it on video, and with an advertising budget of only $50 it all began. It instantly hit the jackpot on YouTube, and the company saw a 700% sales incrase over the next two years.

Zappos 

Zappos has used video to cleverly promote their online retail store for a while now.  This is an example of how they used humor to incorporate themselves in the holiday season.

QuickBooks - How To Do a Year-End Close

Topic: Business Accounting and Budget

Thursday, December 15, 2011 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM

The class will show you the procedures you should complete at year-end before the preparation of your income tax return. It will also go over items to look out for on financial statements that can be red flags to incorrect entries within your QuickBooks software.

Speaker(s): Rachel Hutcherson McCrary - Greeno CPA

This class is in room 175 in the Ramer Administrative Building, NOT the Betty Gibson Building.

Fee: $ 25.00        Register for this event online

Check out our new Starting a Small Business video!  It is also posted on our home page at www.tsbdc.org.
You'll soon see that Joe has a lot of new things to learn and consider.

November Workshops

How to Start a Small Business workshop of Volunteer State Community College's Tennessee Small Business Development Center, 4-6 p.m. Tuesday, November 8, 1480 Nashville Pike, Gallatin, TN in the Betty Gibson Hall, Gibson Conf Room 104. Registration is required. Reserve online. www.tsbdc.org. Free.

Social Media for Small Business Owners workshop of Volunteer State Community College's Tennessee Small Business Development Center, 9-11 a.m. Thursday, November 11, 1480 Nashville Pike, Gallatin, TN in the Betty Gibson Hall, Gibson Conf Room 104. Registration is required. Reserve online. www.tsbdc.org. Free.

Borrego Springs Bank SBA Loan Seminar workshop of Volunteer State Community College's Tennessee Small Business Development Center, 10-12 p.m. Wednesday, November 16, 1480 Nashville Pike, Gallatin, TN in the Betty Gibson Hall, Gibson Conf Room 104. Registration is required. Reserve online. www.tsbdc.org. Free.

Borrego Springs Bank SBA Loan Seminar workshop in Lebanon.  2-4 p.m. Wednesday, November 16, Wilson County/Lebanon Chamber of Commerce. Registration is required. Reserve online. www.tsbdc.org. Free.

Government Contracting workshop of Volunteer State Community College's Tennessee Small Business Development Center, 2-4 p.m. Thursday, December 1, 1480 Nashville Pike, Gallatin, TN in the Betty Gibson Hall, Gibson Conf Room 104. Registration is required. Reserve online. www.tsbdc.org. Free. 

Legal Tips for Small Businesses

One of the areas of advice that the TSBDC defers on is legal issues.  That’s why I choose to surround myself with folks that can give advice in these areas.  One such person is attorney, George Phillips from Bone McAllester Norton.  He will be teaching a “Best Legal Advice for Small Businesses” workshop and below are some of the tips he finds important.

1.         Get Personal Guarantees.  If you are extending credit to a small business, always try to get a personal guaranty.  When the borrower fills out the credit application for their LLC, add a line and ask them to sign that if the LLC does not pay, that they will.  Most of the time when a small company is seeking credit, they will sign what is put in front of them.  If they won’t, you should wonder why, and start asking for financial statements for the LLC to see if it is credit worthy.

2.         Have A Partnership Agreement.  If you have to have a partner, make sure there is a partnership agreement.  However, given the risks of a true partnership, and given that the LLC is available as an alternative, most are done through an LLC.  Either way, you need an agreement that spells out how a partner can exit, can he compete after exiting, and what happens if a partner dies or is disabled.

3.         Oral Agreements Aren’t Worth the Paper They Are Written On.  Many small businesses operate on a handshake, but even the most honest and good folks over time forget details or remember them differently.  Even if you don’t do a formal contract, send a confirming e-mail.  A writing made at the time the deal was made, especially if shared with the other side and not objected to, will always trump a person’s memory in court months or years later. 

           

4.         Worker’s Compensation Insurance.  While worker’s compensation does provide some level of coverage for injured employees, it caps liability for the business unlike a normal negligence suit where the damages are unlimited and sometimes only constrained by the plaintiff’s attorney’s imagination.  Even if you have less than 5 employees, workers compensation coverage makes lots of sense, even if not required.

5.         Deal with Good People.  A bad contract with good people will, in most cases, work itself out because everyone will do what they should to try to make it work.  The best contract is the one that is signed, put on a shelf and the parties never have to read it over again.  They work together to both parties’ benefit, sometimes in spite of what the contract may actually say.

            The opposite is also true.  No matter how good the contract, no matter how hard your attorney works on it, it is still only as good as the person or business it is with.  We all, on occasion, have no choice but to deal with bad folks.  With those folks, the signing of the contract is often only the beginning of the negotiation.  In addition to whatever the contract provides, you have to make sure you keep the leverage and anticipate and plan for the other party not doing what they promised. 

            With respect to your employees, insurance agents, accountants, and attorneys use the best folks you can find.  Do you really want an accountant or an attorney who is so hungry for the business, they will just tell you “yes” to whatever you want to do?   

Guy Kawasaki on Why He's a Justin Bieber Fan

Learn about marketing to the decision maker.  The business guru talks about the power of marketing to influencers and how he'll do anything for his young daughter.

To learn more about targeting the decision maker attend:

Small Business Sales Forum

Tuesday, October 18, 2011 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM

October Small Business Workshops

October

How to Start a Small Business workshop of Volunteer State Community College's Tennessee Small Business Development Center, 4-6 p.m. Tuesday, October 11, 1480 Nashville Pike, Gallatin, TN in the Betty Gibson Hall, Gibson Conf Room 104. Registration is required. Reserve online. www.tsbdc.org. Free.

IRS Small Business Tax workshop of Volunteer State Community College's Tennessee Small Business Development Center, 9:00 – 3:30 p.m. Friday, October 14, 1480 Nashville Pike, Gallatin, TN in the Betty Gibson Hall, Gibson 110. Registration is required. Reserve online. www.tsbdc.org. Free.

Small Business Sales Forum workshop of Volunteer State Community College's Tennessee Small Business Development Center, 3-5 p.m. Tuesday, October 18, 1480 Nashville Pike, Gallatin, TN in the Rochelle Center in the Thigpen Library. Registration is required. Reserve online. www.tsbdc.org. Free.

Best Legal Advice for Small Businesses workshop of Volunteer State Community College's Tennessee Small Business Development Center, 9-11 a.m. Thursday, October 27, 1480 Nashville Pike, Gallatin, TN in the Betty Gibson Hall, Gibson Conf Room 104. Registration is required. Reserve online. www.tsbdc.org. Free.

Best and Worst Customer Service Experiences

We all have stories of what our best and worst customer service experiences are. For some of you, this experience will make you a loyal customer for life or make sure that you never use that company again.

Below are two experiences that come to mind for me.

Worst

Our television service provider, who shall remain nameless (not a satellite company), is somewhat notorious for poor customer service. They have a good product, but if and when you need to have an issue resolved, it can be a train wreck of an experience. For example, a few years ago we had to close our checking account. We had several monthly bills automatically withdrawn every month: electric, gas, water, cell phone, cable, etc. We called each of them, filled out paperwork, and were told the process for each. When we contacted our cable provider, after waiting on hold for over twenty minutes, being disconnected, then connected to the wrong department, then finally transferred to a real person, we were told that this would be no problem. “Just fill out this form and send it in, and then next month the billing will come out of your new account.” Fast forward two months. The billing is still coming from the old account or rather the closed account. And each time it does, there is a “bounced check” fee and late fees. After several rounds of calls and discussions, I was told, in a condescending, you’re-too-dumb-to-be-on-the-phone-with-me-manner, that I should know that it takes several months to change this process and there is nothing more we can do about YOUR PROBLEM. The icing on the cake - after I refused to pay the fees, they finally managed to go into my new account and take the fees out without asking, but still would not connect billing to my new account.

Best

On the other hand, I do have an example of exemplary customer service, and it’s a familiar business - Publix. Several of us could probably give a glowing story or two about this grocery store, however, I have long been a resentful shopper there. You see, I’m a cheapskate. I have been known to squeak a little when I walk. With that being said, I’m also a converted shopper to this place. Yes, I know that I may be stepping on a few toes when I say that you may spend a couple of dollars extra to go here, but in many cases it is well worth it. Case in point, last year I made a quick shopping trip in to get a few items I needed to make gumbo. I had my items in my basket and was ready to check out, when I realized that I had the wrong sausage (not the one Mr. Cheapie had a coupon for), so I set my basket down up front and ran back to get the right sausage. When I returned, my basket was gone. Was someone else too lazy to shop for their own gumbo items? No, the fast and friendly folks at Publix had noticed the unattended basket, and put the items back where they came from. When I asked an employee where they may be, he asked for my grocery list that was in my hand, and took off. He was fast, too. In just a few minutes, he returned with the items on my grocery list, wiped the sweat from his brow, and apologized for the inconvenience. Now this is not ground breaking stuff here, but I could just imagine if this happened elsewhere, the reaction would have been much different.



TSBDC Grow Your Business Tour comes to Vol State!

TSBDC Grow Your Business Tour

Wednesday, August 31, 2011 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM 

Cost: FREE

The “Grow Your Business Tour” is a fast-paced 90 minute workshop that will help the business owner with their direction, identity, marketing and benchmarks so they will have more confidence, more prospects, more referrals and a path and a plan for more business.

Information on 90 minute workshop

http://smallbizmidsouth.com/page/grow-your-business-free-fast

Testimonials

http://smallbizmidsouth.com/page/coaching-testimonials-2

Coaching Video

http://vimeo.com/20412060

Speaker(s): Robert Staub - Robert Staub, "The" Small Business Coach

Small Business Success Story - from your local TSBDC!

Check out this video of Vol State TSBDC client, Café Rakka.  Owners Riyad and Linda Alkasem were featured on the very popular Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives on the Food Network.

Guy Fieri enjoyed this Mediterranean restaurant and was served lamb with a traditional Syrian spiced tomato sauce.



New Online Small Business Survival Training

I am happy to announce that our New Online Small Business Survival Training website, http://www.tsbdctraining.org/ launched at midnight.


So, please feel free to register for an account, log in, and look around!

www.­tsbdctraining.­org

Here is a brief overview of the website. The website has fourteen chapters (listed below). Each chapter contains “chapter tools” which feature PDF documents with written content, voice-narrated PowerPoint presentations, and video segments featuring educators, professionals, and entrepreneurs from all over Tennessee. Each chapter also has available a “Document Center” where the users can download the full PDF and PPT for the chapter, a quiz which will earn them a certificate, and a chance to give us feedback and thoughts.


Once a user logs in, they can freely move between chapters as they wish, without having to register for each one – These classes also never expire, so the experience will be much more fluid for the attendees.

Chapter list:
1. Hiring and Managing Employees

2. Business Planning

3. Financing

4. Accounting

5. Legal Structures

6. Marketing

7. Online Marketing

8. Marketing Research

9. Entrepreneurship

10. Buying an Existing Business

11. Franchising

12. Exporting

13. Government Contracting

14. Internal Revenue Service


In the new online training center, we combined several specialized topics into one module- such as Marketing: it contains Marketing Basics, Positioning and Advertising, Pricing, and Marketing on a Budget – . By having fewer modules with each covering a broader spectrum of material, the user is guaranteed a more comprehensive training experience.

Please help us spread the word of the availability of this great asset to the small business owners and rising entrepreneurs of your community- FREE online business training available 24/7 at their fingertips & even globally . As always, your partnership and collaboration in supporting the success of small businesses is both valued and appreciated more than you know!!

Contractor or Employee

Have you ever wondered if you were in violation of an employee/employer relationship by calling someone a contractor? This is generally the case when a business wants to avoid paperwork, taxes, overtime, and other employee headaches.

The general rule is that an individual is an independent contractor if the payer has the right to control or direct only the result of the work and not what will be done and how it will be done. The earnings of a person who is working as an independent contractor are subject to Self-Employment Tax and they have to take care that.

An individual is not an independent contractor if they perform services that can be controlled by an employer (what will be done and how it will be done). What matters is that the employer has the legal right to control the details of how the services are performed.

Folks, the IRS will be cracking down on these differences over the next few years to increase tax revenue, and you want to make sure that you are playing by the rules.

Small Business Success Story Video

Coloft - Entrepreneur Success Story Profile - Shared Work Space, Meeting Rooms, and Virtual Office

Coloft is a community and work space focused on empowering and bringing together entrepreneurs, startups, freelancers, programmers, designers, and professionals.

The Top 10 Reasons Businesses Fail

Starting a small business is always risky. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, roughly 50% of small businesses fail within the first five years, and I believe those are generous statistics.  Below are a mix of what the SBA and I (for whatever that's worth) believe are the top 10 reasons that businesses fail.

 Top 10......get it?  Hayo!

1. Lack of experience  - Someone has been training you on your existing job, but who trains you to run a business?
2. Insufficient capital (money) - Every business needs money to start, even if it is just working capital to pay personal bills, until the business reaches a profit level.
3. Poor cash flow management - Payment doesn't always match outflow and it's up to the business owner to make up the difference.
4. Lack of planning  - On average people spend more time planning a vacation or wedding than they do for running their small business.  The business should last a lot longer than a seven day vacation or one night wedding.
5. Poor location - If you don't have good traffic, parking space, signage, then you may not have customers. 
6. Competition - Always know who offers what, and what makes the two of you different.
7. Marketing - Set up a real marketing budget. It should be at least .5% - 8% of your monthly expenditures.
8. Delegation - If you want something done right you have to do it yourself.  If you want to own your business longer than a year, learn to delegate and deal with imperfection.
9. Personal use of business funds - DO NOT GET THAT NEW BOAT YET!
10. Unexpected growth - Have a growth plan and stick to it.  This may mean turning down customers.

Keeping Score in Your Business

You often hear the debate among parents about keeping score in Little League. Some parents say there is no need in it, since the kids are just having fun and learning to play the game. Other parents say that kids need to learn the value of hard work and skill paying off. Since I have a two year old little girl and another on the way, I’ll abstain from the argument…….for now. I will say that keeping score in your business is crucial. Unfortunately, I see many business owners taking the advice of the first set of parents.


Since tax season has officially ended for most businesses, right now is a good time to sit down with your accountant and make sure that you are accurately keeping records. Also review your Profit and Loss Statement, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow Statement on a regular basis. You don’t want to wait until April 14th, 2012 to find out that you are losing the game.

The TSBDC offers free and confidential one-on-one counseling for existing and start up small businesses.

To register for go to http://www.tsbdc.org.


Other contact information - Phone (615) 230-4780 or charles.alexander@volstate.edu.

QuickBooks Workshop - Thursday, May 19, 2011 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Register Here!

This QuickBooks workshop is designed for basic users and small business owners that operate a for-profit business. Therefore the course description below is focused on that group of learners.



Course Introduction:

This course is an introduction to QuickBooks. Its main objective is to introduce you to the basic features in QuickBooks and give you an opportunity for hands-on practice. You’ll learn about the types of information you need to track in your business, and you’ll see how to enter that information and track it in QuickBooks. By the time you complete the course, you’ll have a good idea of all that QuickBooks offers, you’ll be familiar with the most common tasks, and you’ll know where to find information about more advanced features.



Course Outline:

• Introducing QuickBooks

• All the accounting you need to know

• Working with lists

• Working with bank accounts

• Tracking credit card transactions

• Using sales forms in QuickBooks

• Receiving payments and making deposits

• Entering and paying bills

• Creating and customizing QuickBooks reports

Fee: $ 25.00


The TSBDC offers free and confidential one-on-one counseling for existing and start up small businesses.



To register for go to http://www.tsbdc.org.

Other contact information - Phone (615) 230-4780 or charles.alexander@volstate.edu.

Entrepreneur Quiz

So if you are thinking about starting a business, buying a business or just want to know if this whole business ownership thing is still for you, take our quiz below.  If the answer is no more than once, you may want to either reconsider or find a way to get good at that particular area.

1. Creating a practical plan with a good foundation.
2. Being dedicated to reaching your goal.
3. A basic knowledge of management, finance, record keeping and market analysis.
4. Are you a leader?
5. Do you make your own decisions quickly?
6.  Do others turn to you for help in making their decisions?
7. Will you enjoy the inevitable competition?
8. Are you sure of your will power and self-discipline?
9. Are you capable of planning ahead?
10.  Do you like people and can you work with them (strange, strangers are included)?

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

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

Small Business Make-over

Take a peek at how this cattle ranch style restaurant gets a quick make-over with their web presence and by surveying employees and customers.

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

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

Time Management for Small Business owners coming soon!

Click here to register for this workshop - Tuesday, April 26, 2011 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM



Time management is one of those vague terms in business that gets tossed about quite a bit. Whenever it is mentioned, most people think about some “school-house” stuff that doesn’t work in the real world. In reality, time management is one of the greatest keys to running a successful business and this presentation will discuss some real world applications to implement into your daily routine.



This workshop will focus on:



*Examine why time management is important

*Relate time management to your organization

*Learn a 5 step approach to time management

*Apply what you’ve learned to your business


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

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

How to Hire Bad Employees

Tell me if you’ve heard this story before. We got really busy and hired a new employee and assumed since the economy was down that we could find some really good folks. Turns out the person we hired didn’t stick around and didn’t do a very good job.


If you want to keep doing this, here’s how:

• Never ever start recruiting for a position until you are absolutely overwhelmed.

• As for the interview, just wing it. Do not ever prepare for the interview process.

• Hire the first warm body that you come across. Never check out any of the referrals.

• Never ever spend any time with the new employee. To train them, just have them follow your most mediocre employee around for a half day or so.



So if you are tired of hearing basically what not to do, just do the opposite of everything suggested.



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

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