The Small Business Development Center helps businesses become more successful and meet the challenges of tomorrow. Whether you are starting a business, buying a business, growing a business, selling a business or looking for financing, we can help you!
Cathy Hagan is Area Director and Certified Business Analyst at the Small Business Development Center at UNF. For more than 15 years, she has been providing training and one-on-one management assistance for prospective and existing business owners, helping them meet the challenges of today and prepare for future opportunities.
For more information about the “Upside of the Downturn” or other workshops and tools offered by the SBDC at UNF, click here.
The Economic Stimulus - What it means for small business.
SBA lending initiatives overview
Stimulus grants??
“Shovel-ready”, construction, infrastructure and energy initiatives
Trends/Opportunities
Export
Niche - anything practical - integrating “now”
Entertaining - diversions - “insperiences vs. experiences”; cocooning
Aging baby boomers
Pets
Health
Innovation
Construction
Anything green - save environment, save energy, save money
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Financial Strategies (1:25)
Cash is KING
Manage your margins
Renegotiate debt
Seek supplier and contractor discounts
Monitor the creditworthiness of your customers - and THEIR cash flow
Timely invoicing and collections
Prepayment incentives and discounts on long-term buys
Curtail unnecessary expenses and unprofitable activities
Protect your credit
Reduce, eliminate or charge for convenience services
Nurture your lender relationships
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Operations Strategies (2:40)
Adjust processes, expenses and inventories to current level of sales.
Negotiate expenses – rent, telephone, advertising contracts, etc.
Reconsider insurance needs and shop for better rates
Use open book management; create employee awareness of their relation to bottom line.
Recruit the best talent you can afford.
Invest in your employees (and yourself) with training opportunities.
Consider reducing work hours in lieu of a layoff.
Outsourcing vs. in-house.
Get smart about estimating and bidding.
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Marketing Strategies (3:28)
Network, network, and network.
Assess the effectiveness of your marketing. Eliminate what does not work.
Consider increasing marketing budget, not decreasing.
Resist temptation to lower prices; instead, create added value.
Diversify revenue streams.
Nurture your existing customers.
Expand the definition of your target market.
Hug your customers.
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All SBDC Locations - Choose location to launch Google Map
The SBDC at UNF is a member of the Florida SBDC Network, a statewide network funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.
