Experienced Marketing, Branding, PR Consultant Excited to See Clients Work Hard, Succeed
South Metro Denver SBDC Consultant Stefanie Dalgar has been in your shoes. As a small business owner, she knows about the challenges of business ownership and is here to help.
With more than 15 years of experience in the marketing and communications industry, Stefanie is an accomplished public relations, branding, and marketing consultant known for creating and implementing strategic programs with innovation, foresight and action. She works across a variety of industries helping clients to create and implement public relations, and marketing programs to raise brand awareness for their …
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Small Business Lender’s Panel – Learn About Funding Your Venture!
At the South Metro Denver Small Business Development Center, one of the questions we're frequently asked is “How do I get funding for my business?” If you are an entrepreneur and have been asking that question lately, we recommend you attend our upcoming Lender’s Panel! Each year, we host our Lender’s Panel in both the Spring and the Fall. Representatives from local banks, credit unions, microfinance lenders, and more come together at this event to answer attendees questions about the various lending options available, how to qualify, how to apply … Read Full Post »
Holiday Business Tips
The sound of jingle bells isn't far off! If you are a retailer or look to holiday sales to boost your bottom line you know the holiday season is already in full swing. Here are some tips to boost your sales during this year's holiday season. 1. See the spirit.It's true. People buy more during the holidays, not just in malls or on official shopping trips. They may see something at a gas station or somewhere else and be prone to buying it. Take advantage of that spirit and create a holiday display, marketing campaign or offer special holiday items, deals and packages. … Read Full Post »
Things Not to Say to Your Customers
With Black Friday just days away, here are a few things you don't want to get caught saying to your customers. Otherwise, you may watch them walk out the door and never come back. 1. "I'm surprised you haven't heard about our product."Instead, offer to explain your product or answer some questions. 2. "That's not my job."Instead, find someone who can help the customer or find a solution. 3. "Sorry, it's closing time, so I can't talk with you now."Instead, offer to stay just a few minutes late to tend to the customer. … Read Full Post »
SBDC Proud to Announce City of Centennial as Our Newest Sponsor
After turning 10 this year, the City of Centennial is excited about new opportunities in the next 10 years and beyond. One of those opportunities is sponsoring the South Metro Denver SBDC.
"The City of Centennial has 5,000 businesses in it and many of those are small businesses that make a big difference in the city, "said Corri Spiegel, Economic Development Manager for the City of Centennial. "We have a lot of entrepreneurs who live here, so we are excited to be able to support a program where those entrepreneurs can bring their business ideas to life."
C …
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Colorado Minority Business Office to Host Workshop on Proposals
What's YOUR "Win Rate"?
Come and learn ways to make your "win rate" better...
Analyzing RFPs and Writing Compliant Proposals
This 2.5 hour seminar will provide you with the essential tools to:
Interpret and understand what the RFP/RFQ issuer wants to see
Develop a compliance tracking and management system
Ensure 100% compliance with the issuer's requirements
Structure a logical, readable proposal or statement of qualifications
Make informed "bid/no-bid" decisions
Cope with a "b …
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SBA 8(a),HUBZone,Women-Owned Small Business Workshops
The U.S. Small Business Administration's Colorado District Office has announced the 2012 schedule for its 8(a)/HUBZone/Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) workshops.
8(a), HUBZone and WOSB are all programs offered through the federal government. However, many entrepreneurs are not sure how to become involved with them and what the benefits of each program are.
This class will take you through the following:
8(a) Business Development
Definition of the program
How to apply
Meeting the "Burden of Proof"
HUBZone
…
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Small Business Saturday is November 26th- Support Local Businesses!
The 2nd annual Small Business Saturday® is a day dedicated to supporting small businesses on one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year.
On November 26, American Express is asking millions of Americans to shop small at their favorite local stores and help fuel the economy. When we all shop small, it will be huge.
Whether your a business owner, or a shopper looking for a good deal, you can take part in Small Business Saturday!
BUSINESSES: Get information and free tools to help promote your business and create a special offers at http://www.smallbusinesssaturday.co …
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Five Will Get You 10 - Time Management Tips
Time management has always been important to me. It seems, everywhere I go, people are trying to discover how to fit more into their days, myself included. I know that managing my time will save me hours in the long run, but is the opposite also true? Does rushing around cost me time? When I'm running late, I often feel like I end up behind slow drivers and hit every red light. Running late seems to perpetuate itself.
At my house recently we tried an experiment. We tried setting our alarms for 5 minutes earlier each morning. The next morning, my children gathered in the kitchen with …
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Free Online Training Videos: Presented by the Colorado SBDC Network
The Colorado SBDC Network is proud to offer free online training videos to help your business succeed.
The videos range in topic from Starting a Business to Managing Your Finances and the Foundations of Marketing. Under each topic there are multiple videos that are focused in different specialty areas. The videos are also offered in Spanish.
These online tutorials are a great way to begin working on your business concept. These on-demand videos offer the flexibility you need to access the information when your schedule allows it. After completing these lessons, feel free …
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Gain National Recognition For Your Company Through ABC News
ABC World News with Diane Sawyer recently started a new series called "Made in America," designed to recognize products that are made in the United States and the companies that make them.
As a part of the initiative, ABC News has created an interactive map on their website to recognize manufacturers and their products by the state their located in. Currently, Colorado only has 21 companies being featured. Meanwhile, California has the most companies listed with 82.
If you are interested in having your company and products featured on the map, email infor …
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SBA Kicks Off Young Entrepreneur Series
The White House and the U.S. Small Business Administration announced today the launch of the Young Entrepreneur Series (YES), which will connect young and aspiring entrepreneurs with SBA officials, local business advisors and resources to help them start or grow their own small business.
“For our economy to thrive in the 21st century, we must set about creating the next generation of entrepreneurs,” said SBA Deputy Administrator Marie Johns. “Young Americans need to know that starting a business is a viable alternative to going to work for somebody else. Th …
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Colorado Lending Source November Webinar: Special Loan Programs
Each month, Colorado Lending Source offers web trainings to help entrepreneurs better understand the small business financing available through their organization.
This month, the webinar focuses on Special Loan Programs. Colorado Lending Source's Diane Rhodes will take participants through the U.S. Small Business Administration 7(a) Loan Program and the Colorado Lending Source packaging services for this program. Diane will also discuss the Colorado Main Street Loan Program, which includes a U.S. Department of Agriculture Micro Loan and Small Business Administration Mac …
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South Metro Denver SBDC December Workshops
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CENTENNIAL, CO (November 14, 2011) – The South Metro Denver Small Business Development Center will offer the following events in the month of December. Also, the South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce, host to the SBDC, is holding its annual Economic Forecast Breakfast next month. To register, please call the South Metro Denver SBDC at 303-795-0142 or register online at http://www.smallbusinessdenver.com/events-calendar.cfm. Thank you.
Monday, December 5th
Lender’s Panel
Learn and Ask Questions About Funding Your Business
Cost: …
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Getting Exposure for Your Small Business
No matter how wonderful your service or product is, you won't make any money if people don't know about it. With the holidays fast approaching, there are a number of things you can do to get your name out there and many of them won't cost you anything but time. Here are eight tips to get you started. Get listed. List the physical location for your business in Google Places and Yahoo. Use Google Product listings to drive shoppers to your website. Get listed on sites like Yelp!, Citysearch, Goby and Local.com so people can find your business and review it. Look for websites … Read Full Post »
Free Small Business Legal Night - Presented by Mi Casa
There is an important event coming up that will benefit small business owners in the area, particularly women- and minority-owned small businesses.
Mi Casa Resource Center is partnering with the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association and Hispanic Contractors of Colorado to offer a free Small Business Legal Night. Small business owners can come and get a free consultation regarding business matters. Some situations may be referred to more formal legal counsel.
This event is being hosted from 5:30pm-8:00pm on November 30 at the Hispanic Contractors of Colorado (646 Mariposa Street, Suite 1 …
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Get the Business Case for Preparedness at Free Webinar
Businesses everywhere are now operating on limited resources. Yet the survival of your company rests – particularly when faced with a disaster – on whether or not your key assets are protected. Developing a business continuity plan will not only reduce liabilities, but will ensure employee and customer retention, and may even reduce operational expenses.
On Tuesday, November 15, Agility Recovery Solutions and the U.S. Small Business Administration will host an online webinar focusing on how preparedness affects a company’s bottom line. Agility president &am …
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Phoenix Window Restoration Preserves History While Conserving Energy
Phoenix Window Restoration, Inc. is preserving history, one window or door at a time. The company specializes in restoring and repairing historic windows and making custom, energy efficient reproduction windows and doors. Phoenix Window Restoration is proud to be doing its part to preserve historic architecture while conserving the earth's resources through repairing, restoring or renovating already existing historic wood windows and doors. Their goal is to renew and extend the life of each vintage product.
Lynn Bingham bought the company nine years ago and just recently …
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Improving Your Success with SBIR Grant Opportunities
Presented by the Colorado Association for Manufacturing and Technology (CAMT)
The final SBIR solicitations of 2011 will be announced soon. Is your team ready to take advantage of these funding opportunities for new product development? Each year, the federal government awards over $2B in Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants to thousands of US companies.
Attend a short course hosted by CAMT on Monday, November 14th to learn how to better market your business to the government and dramatically improve your chances of securing SBIR grant funding.
Program High …
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Exit Planning and Why It's So Important for Small Businesses
How much time do you spend thinking about business exit planning? If you're like many of the small business owners we meet - not much. Now, I know what you are thinking... 'But, I'm not ready to sell my business. Why do I have to think about exit planning for my business now?' Here's Why Exit Planning Is Critical For Your Business Now - And Why You Should Not Delay Thinking About Exit Strategies... An exit plan better prepares you (the business owner) for the inevitable transition of your business - whether it's expected (intended), unexpected or th … Read Full Post »
Creativity Meets Business at the Streets at Southglenn
THE TOOLS FOR SUCCESS
Hosted by The Fashion Group International, Inc.
Featuring Marcia McGilley and Neil McKenzie
Join us for an evening of creativity and entrepreneurship as our featured speakers discuss how to run a successful small business in the creative economy.
Marcia is the Executive Director of South Metro Denver Small Business Development Center, dedicated to helping small businesses throughout Colorado achieve their goals. Marcia and her team assist over 1,500 entrepreneurs annually and growing small businesses through free and confidential one-on-one consulting …
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Colorado SBDC Network & The StartUp Path Mentor Entrepreneurs Online
The Colorado SBDC has teamed-up with The StartUp Path to offer free online training videos to help your business succeed!
What is the best way to succeed with a new business? Learn from a mentor – someone who has succeeded in that business. The StartUp Path offers an array of videos featuring entrepreneurs who succeeded in different industries while examining how they achieved their high levels of success. Entrepreneurship expert Dr. Tom Duening digs deeply into each mentors’ startup experience to give insight into what works and what doesn’t, so you can save tho …
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South Metro Denver SBDC Launches New Blog!
The South Metro Denver Small Business Development Center (SBDC) is proud to announce the launch of its first-ever blog, “The Everyday Entrepreneur.”
The idea to create a small business blog came about as the South Metro Denver SBDC was in the midst of re-designing its website, www.smallbusinessdenver.com, earlier this year. While discussing the new website and ways to utilize it to stay better connected to clients, SBDC staff and the web developers at Webolutions decided to create a blog to get clients useful, pertinent information on a daily basis.
& …
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25th Annual Economic Forecast Breakfast
The South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce's Economic Development Group (EDG) is hosting the 25th Annual Economic Forecast Breakfast on Thursday, December 15th at 7:00am at the Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Center.
This year's topic, "Calculating Colorado," focuses on the both the near and distant future of our state's economic climate. The forecasters will be Dr. Rich Wobbekind, Economist and Executive Director of the Business Research Division at the University of Colorado's Leeds School of Business, and Dr. Martin Shields, Director of the Regional Econom …
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Dale Clack Excited to Give Back as SBDC Consultant
Dale Clack is one of the South Metro Denver SBDC's newest consultants. He started in January 2011 after stopping by the chamber and learning that the woman he helped to buy a home in Summit County 15 years ago, Marcia McGilley, is the director of this SBDC. He said working with the SBDC clients has been a great experience.
"I really enjoy it," he said. "It's the idea of giving back. I like that I can contribute ideas, information and provide a service to people who need it."
Dale has more than 15 years of experience in financial management roles in the fun …
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