Wow, Christmas shopping season is now upon us with Thanksgiving just a week away. The nice thing about Thanksgiving is that shopping season will be soon be here. For small business retailers, this is the make or break it time of the year. A lot of work, but also the time to make money.
I certainly remember the many many long days, seven days away from Thanksgiving to Christmas. What a tough miserable time, but then I think of the really lean times in January and February and always grateful for those November/December sales.
With the dates all around Thanksgiving having names, Black Friday and Cyber Monday, it is great to see that small businesses have their own day. Saturday November 24th is Shop Small Business Saturday. If you are a small business, take advantage of the marketing opportunities available to you. For more info go to https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/Shop-Small/
If you are a shopper, please make all efforts to shop a small business on Saturday November 24th and tell them you appreciate that they are here. Of course, we also want you shopping at small businesses all year long, not just November 24th.
Happy shopping and have a wonderful holiday season.
Tom
www.RoanokeSmallBusiness.org
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Thanks to Our Veterans, and Veteran Business Owners
On this Veteran's Day, I want to acknowledge the accomplishments of all veterans. Having served in the U.S. Army myself, and knowing many of my classmates from VMI who served, I know the sacrifices that are made by all veterans. I would ask everyone to make a special effort to visit a Veteran Owned Small Business whenever they can and thank a veteran for their service.
For veterans who are considering opening a small business, or currently own a small business, there are many programs and people out there to help you.
In 2013 the SBA will be rolling out a new program called "Boots to Business" which is designed to help train individuals leaving the service and transition to business ownership. The SBA also has special lending programs such as the Patriot Express program. For information on Veteran programs go to www.sba.gov/vets
For procurement, www.vetbiz.gov will give you tips on how to do business with the federal government.
In Virginia the SBDC has veteran business resources through the website www.vetbizresourcecenter.com and the SBDC also sponsors a special small veteran owned business award program. For information on this go to www.smallbizvetaward.org And last, the SBDC has a special marketing program for the small veteran business owner called VetBiz, Veteran Owned Business. This is an identification program that allows you to use the VetBiz logo to advertise to the public you are a veteran owned business. We have digital logos that can be placed on brochures, website, etc. and also have decals that can be put on your window. Contact me for more information.
Again thanks to all veterans and let me know if the Roanoke SBDC can help you.
For veterans who are considering opening a small business, or currently own a small business, there are many programs and people out there to help you.
In 2013 the SBA will be rolling out a new program called "Boots to Business" which is designed to help train individuals leaving the service and transition to business ownership. The SBA also has special lending programs such as the Patriot Express program. For information on Veteran programs go to www.sba.gov/vets
For procurement, www.vetbiz.gov will give you tips on how to do business with the federal government.
In Virginia the SBDC has veteran business resources through the website www.vetbizresourcecenter.com and the SBDC also sponsors a special small veteran owned business award program. For information on this go to www.smallbizvetaward.org And last, the SBDC has a special marketing program for the small veteran business owner called VetBiz, Veteran Owned Business. This is an identification program that allows you to use the VetBiz logo to advertise to the public you are a veteran owned business. We have digital logos that can be placed on brochures, website, etc. and also have decals that can be put on your window. Contact me for more information.
Again thanks to all veterans and let me know if the Roanoke SBDC can help you.
Friday, November 9, 2012
Welcome to the New SBDC Blog
After years of talking about adding a blog, we have finally taken the step to create a small business blog for the Roanoke Small Business Development Center as we launch a new website. I and others will be talking about what effects or can help small businesses.
Tom
www.RoanokeSmallBusiness.org
Tom
www.RoanokeSmallBusiness.org
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)