BusinessAdvising.org is a nonprofit small business accelerator harnessing the model made famous by venture capital-backed tech startups (access to working capital, expert business advice, and extensive networks) to benefit businesses on “Main Street”. Since 1998, businesses working with us, on average, have seen their revenues increase by 25% on average, and added jobs at 10 times the national level. We’ve empowered hundreds of small businesses to create tens of thousands of jobs. The core of this program is you – the small business owner and volunteer advisor. Your commitment to be successful and to this community is what delivers real value for all. This toolkit is intended to support your hard work by providing some structure, templates, tips, best practices, resources, and lessons learned to set your advising match on the right path from Day One. [gview file=”http://businessadvising.pcv.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/08/BusinessAdvising-Partnership-Toolkit-v1.1.pdf” save=”1″]
Free Webinar On April 17: How Healthy Is Your Small Business?
Join us on Friday, April 17 for a free webinar on how to measure the financial health of your company. BusinessAdvising.org will host George de Bruin, an executive with 30 years of experience in the consumer goods industry. This webinar is intended for small businesses. We’ll cover topics like: Does your company have a business plan, a long-term growth strategy, and a sustainable path to get there? How can you measure the health of your business? As in personal nutrition, understanding and measuring the health of your business is about sticking with a goal and being persistent. And: this applies to all businesses. In this free webinar, you’ll start planting the seeds and get a firmer direction on how to ensure you’re building your small business for sustainable growth in the long term. You can sign up here: http://bit.ly/1HTAnZl Friday, April 17, 2015 from 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM (PDT) The … Read More
Small Business Webinar: How to Build and Sell With a Multi-Channel Brand
In this webinar, BusinessAdvising.org hosted Mark Chmiel, a Senior Marketing Executive whose experience includes Baja Fresh, Burger King, Dr Pepper/7Up, got milk? and KFC. The webinar focused on branding and brand strategy for small businesses — especially those in the food and beverage industry — looking to build and grow their marketing capacity. We covered topics like: Today’s consumer— How are they shopping, using technology, and making decisions? Branding — Why is it so important, and how do I connect my brand with the consumer to increase sales? Social Media— Likes, tweets and reviews are nice, but how do they build my brand and increase my sales? If you missed the webinar, you can watch the recording below: Mark Chmiel is a Senior Marketing Executive with extensive experience in driving strategic growth (branding, re-positioning, and new product introductions) for retail, restaurant and CPG companies. This includes Baja Fresh, Burger King, Denny’s, Dr Pepper/7UP Company, … Read More
Free Webinar On March 27: How To Build And Sell With A Multi-Channel Brand
Join us on Friday, March 27 for a free webinar on how to build and sell with a multi-channel brand. BusinessAdvising.org will host Mark Chmiel, a Senior Marketing Executive whose experience includes Baja Fresh, Burger King, Dr Pepper/7Up, got milk? and KFC. This webinar is intended for small businesses — especially those in the food and beverage industry —looking to build and grow their marketing capacity. We’ll cover topics like: Today’s consumer— How are they shopping, using technology, and making decisions? Branding — Why is it so important, and how do I connect my brand with the consumer to increase sales? Social Media— Likes, tweets and reviews are nice, but how do they build my brand and increase my sales? You can sign up here: http://bit.ly/1GjlJX9 Friday, March 27, 2015 from 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM (PDT) The presentation will be followed by a Q&A, where you can ask your questions and get … Read More
Should Your Small Business Go Online To Get A Loan?
If you have recently gone to a bank and were unable to secure a loan, don’t be discouraged. It’s not you, it’s the banks. Bank lending to small businesses is at an all-time low, with around 82% of small business loan applications being denied. But why is this happening? While every bank probably has its own set of reasons, the two most popular are: Increased Regulation Less Potential for Profit Post-recession, banks have been carrying less risk in their portfolios. As they are making loans with consumer dollars, it’s important they adhere to this regulation. Unfortunately, small businesses are inherently riskier than larger businesses. Therefore, there’s less room for small businesses in a bank’s portfolio. When it comes down to it, small business owners aren’t often looking for large amounts of working capital. When they need a loan, more often than not, they just need a small amount to get … Read More
Instagram Marketing Tips For Small Businesses
You wouldn’t think that Facebook, with 1.35 billion active users, has an issue with a declining population, but you would be wrong. Among young users, many are turning to Instagram instead and many businesses are following them over. A younger demographic isn’t the only reason you should get started on Instagram. It’s also a great platform if you want to create a more personal connection with your audience via visuals. As a visual platform, Instagram is the perfect place to show off your product in action. When posting images to Instagram, make sure that they tell some kind of story. It’s the best way for customers to remember your brand and create an emotional connection. Think in terms of story arcs instead of individual pictures and connect associated items together. Twitter might have popularized the hashtag, but it’s gained traction across every social media platform and Instagram is no exception. … Read More
Tumblr: A Key Tool For Your Small Business
Social media sites that are focused on the user him or herself are a good place to start because, of course, user engagement is the primary focus of any small business. But, the business world is multi-faceted, and consumers want to know more about a company than just what shows up in a picture. Such as in a fashion-focused lifestyle business, you’re driven by what you love, so, if you want to engage consumers and share your passion using more than just photos and a quick blurb, then you need to focus your social media marketing strategy on Tumblr. As someone who owns a small business, there are a number of reasons why you should use Tumblr as your primary social media site, not the least of which is the potential for valuable exposure. Here are a few facts about Tumblr and the potential is has to help you reach as many … Read More
Hashtags, Trends & Tweets: Oh My! How to Effectively Utilize Twitter for Brand Building
Twitter is an indispensable tool for anyone looking to build a strong brand and get noticed, but it can be a little bit intimidating for those people just getting started. But that’s not the only problem. It seems that the ins and outs of Twitter just don’t come naturally. It’s a steep learning curve: you only need to look at all the people failing at it to see that. So what’s the best way to use Twitter to build a brand without annoying all of your followers? Read on to hear our best tips and tricks for making Twitter work for you. Twitter moves fast by design. Despite having only 140 characters to work with, it seems like people still feel compelled to be verbose. With all these tweets coming and pushing your content endlessly down the page, you get the impression that maybe your followers are missing your posts. … Read More
3 Small Business Resolutions To Keep in 2015
It’s a new year! The holiday season brings with it a substantial uptick in sales, fulfillment, and marketing, but now that you’ve turned the corner into 2015, it’s time to start thinking about your business’ strategic goals, and how to achieve them. No doubt you’ve already made a dozen lists of growth strategies, hiring plans, marketing goals, etc. As a small business owner, you know that making resolutions for your business in the new year is hard. At BusinessAdvising.org, we wanted to make sure that you prioritize the kinds of changes and tactics that will help your business become more sustainable and profitable not just in this quarter, but over the long term. Read on to discover the 3 small business resolutions your small business should keep to make 2015 your strongest year yet. Your customers don’t just interact with you in place. Your website, Facebook page, online ads, Yelp … Read More
Affordable Care Act 101 Webinars for Small Employers
The SBA, the Department of Health Human and Services, and Small Business Majority have teamed up for a free weekly webinar series where small employers can learn the basics of the Affordable Care Act and what it means for their organization and employees. Topics covered include cost containment, the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit, the new Health Insurance Marketplace, and Employer Shared Responsibility. Webinar content will generally be the same each week. Below are the registration links for upcoming webinars in English. October 30, 2014 at 2 pm ET: Click to Register November 6, 2014 at 2 pm ET: Click to Register November 13, 2014 at 2 pm ET: Click to Register November 20, 2014 at 2 pm ET: Click to Register December 4, 2014 at 2 pm ET: Click to Register December 11, 2014 at 2 pm ET: Click to Register December 18, 2014 at 2 pm ET: Click to Register Spanish-language ACA 101 Webinars … Read More