As the year is ending there are so many things that still need to get done. One thing that comes to mind is training. Training is extremely important to the growth and maintenance of your business. There is a plethora of training platforms to choose from. But what type of training to choose is the rub?
First, let’s discuss training platforms. For your training pleasure you can take training in a variety of ways from webinars, Periscope and in-class to on-demand. The type of training that you choose all depends upon your budget and availability.
Secondly, if there is a restriction on either your time or budget no worries there are a lot of classes designed especially for you. If you are looking for something quick and power-packed consider taking an on-demand, webinar or Periscope type training session. If you have the time and resources and desire a little more personal interaction consider attending a seminar or conference based upon ideal needs.
Lastly, training should not be looked upon as an inconvenience or a time waster. Begin looking at training as a way of staying in compliance, growing your business or looking for ways to work smarter and not harder. As you change your mind about it, your process will change as well.
Do it today by finding a training platform that works for you before the Holidays kick in. And while you are at it schedule time to take some more training in the first quarter of the following year. This will help you to get a head start into the arena of scheduling your training sessions and in being on your way to scaling up.
We all know that as a business owner it can be daunting in the day-to-day operations in managing your business. There are so many resources available to help business owners from growing your business, and maintaining balance to building and marketing your brand in today’s world. What is a business owner to do and where can they turn?
Vernita Naylor, Founder/Owner Jabez Enterprise Group (JEGroup) and Author, Get the Cheese, Avoid the Traps: An Interactive Guide to Government Contracting was invited to speak at the Dublin Rotary Club about a topic close to her heart….the small business owner. Vernita was featured in the Dublin Rotary Club, The Dublin Shamrock Newsletter where in ‘There’s Nothing Small About Being A Small Business’ she outlined some principles on what a small business owner can use to help grow their business.
The S.M.A.L.L. Principle was developed after years of research in reading the successes of businesses like HP and Starbuck and testing the material. You too can grow your business using these principles they are simple and easy to use but will take some effort on your part:
S – See what your competitors are doing and how you can do it better. HP did it best by not focusing on what their competitors was doing but instead decided to build in quality into their products while creating and maintaining synergy with their internal customers, their employees. When the employees are happy the business grows.
M – measure your business against your competitors to see what is lacking. Southwest is a great example they created a strategy that stood the test of time. When the airline market tanked during the recession they instead saw gross profits. Their business model is simple low prices, excellent customer service and low overhead and operational costs.
To see an excerpt about what Vernita says about the rest of the principles in The Dublin Shamrock Newsletter on page 3 click here.
Rhea Aguinaldo (Small Business Majority) and Vernita Naylor (Jabez Enterprise Group (JEGroup)) National Press Club
SERIES 2 – DAY 2 NATIONAL PRESS CLUB Morning Sessions
Day 2 morning sessions at the National Press Club. Our day started at 7.a.m and ended at 8 p.m it was power packed, let me tell you all about it. Despite the time zone differences for several of us we were happy and elated to meet so many other business owners throughout the U.S. We met in the foyer of the hotels and waited for the buses that would transport us to our first stop, the National Press Club.
Panel 1: Access to Capital
Panel 1: Access to Capital
At the National Press Club John Arensmeyer, Founder and CEO, Small Business Majority opened up the morning with a Welcome and Opening Remarks. Panel 1 Access to Capital: The Key to Entrepreneurship and Economic Development facilitated by Amy Cortese, Journalist and Founder, Locavesting Media included Connie Evans, President and CEO, Association for Enterprise Opportunity; Brayden McCarthy, Head of Policy & Advocacy, Fundera and Catarah Coleman, Co-Owner, Southern Girl Desserts. This panel addressed a concern of Hazel Hector, Founder and Executive Director, Jubilee Mobile Institute, Inc in her letter to me for the Summit, access to capital. Here are some highlights of what was discussed in Panel 1:
For banks small businesses are seen as high cost risk factors
There are about 8,0000 businesses denied daily for funding
Women represent one out of every 23 loans
Women businesses grow slower than men
Women businesses do not seek loans or funding for their businesses
There are several non-traditional funding sources available to small business owners: Kiva and TILT Forward that do not use FICO Scores but other scoring factors; Lending Club (peer-to-peer lending based in San Francisco); RapidAdvance in partnership with SBA and Credit Unions
Additionally, several companies offer business credit cards to help grow your business and some of them offer low interest rates and flexible payment plans
It is in your best interest to seek funding before you need it, than when you need it. If you wait until then you will be susceptible to seek any type of funding presented to you.
Let’s hear from Catarah Coleman, Co-Owner, Southern Girl Desserts as she tells her story about her funding experience:
My partner, Shoneji and I began to seek a small loan in 2012 to cover expenses for our build out as we prepared to open the doors to our mall based bakery. We were denied. Then immediately we were approached by a customer who informed us that we could receive $40,000 within three days with no collateral. We tried it and it worked; it was so easy! That loan we were able to pay back within six months with no problem. Then we decided that we needed some working capital and went to our bank for the loan. We thought that since we had been using some of the small business products that they offered (i.e. payroll) and was depositing an average of $50,000 a month that it would not be a problem getting a loan from them but we found out that this was not enough. Again we were denied by them.
Ironically, we had been receiving several types of literature, emails and phone calls from other lending sources offering us quick cash. Since we had previously been able to pay off our previous loan quickly and the process was easy, we decided to accept one of the several offers that we had received. This offer was accompanied by a broker. The broker allegedly performed the research and provided us the best type of loan for our needs, so we were told. Once again we were able to quickly secure another loan, but then things changed. This loan in particular began to interfere with our cash flow. The payback rate began to defeat the purpose of acquiring working capital in the first place.
Let you tell you why this arrangement was not good for us. There were two loans with a payback rate of 30 and 90 days. Every dollar and cent from the merchant side to the daily ACH withdrawals was drowning us. Shoneji and I were so stressed because I was getting married and we still had to manage payroll. We had to do what it took to stay afloat and still pay back the loans that we had acquired for working capital; which actually did not turn out that way after all. We did not know what to do but one day we received a flyer that changed our lives from Opportunity Fund.
At first glance the flyer from Opportunity Fund seemed the same as the other funding information that we had been receiving but with one caveat upon thoroughly reading their literature I felt that maybe we should give them a call. I don’t know how but I felt that it was worth a shot. “I felt as if Jesus himself was on the other line and my faith was restored! I knew I was on the phone with someone who wanted to help and was going to do their best to do so.” It took about two years, but September 2014, our initial loan with Opportunity Fund helped to save our business, sanity and to bring things back to normal. We found out later that those two loans put us at a 56% interest rate; we would have never been able to get out of that bind at the rate this arrangement had us going.
Shoneji and I will forever to grateful to Opportunity Fund for coming when they did. Now we only have an 8.5% interest rate after Opportunity Fund got all of this funding fiasco cleared up. And none of those other loans show up on our credit report! We knew Opportunity Fund was different because they offered low interest rates, longer terms and Eric and his team had a genuine concern about the financial health of our business, and this is why they are so special to us. We were able to experience a human side of lending.
I advise anyone to ask questions before they sign anything! Make sure that they explain everything clearly and that you truly understand what the pros and cons are of the loan. Don’t feel pressured to accept the loan terms, if they want your business they will make the necessary adjustments. And if they don’t that lender does not have your best interest at heart.
This was one huge learning experience for us. We knew that baking cakes and pies would take us on a journey, well it has and we are better for it. “Be present in all aspects of your business, it could determine your longevity!”
Thank you Catarah and Shoneji, Owners of Southern Girl Desserts, for being candid about your lending experience. If anyone is interested in learning more about Southern Girl Desserts visit http://www.southerngirldesserts.com/, email catarah@southerngirldesserts.com or shoneji@southerngirldesserts.com. Also you can connect with them on Twitter @Dessertdivas, or on Facebook or Instagram @southerngirldesserts.
Tell us a lesson that you learned in being a business owner, we would love to hear from you. Of all of the submittals we will choose a few comments to post, will it be yours?
Connect with us @JEGroupBiz on Twitter, or Jabez Enterprise Group on LinkedIn or Facebook to see what we are doing next.
Get the Cheese, Avoid the Traps: An Interactive Guide to Government Contracting
If you are a business owner do you know what it takes to partner with the government or corporate entities? Do you know what opportunities are available to you as a business owner? Are you a disadvantaged or underrepresented business? Do you know what the various types of proposals are? Do you know what the steps in creating an effective proposal are? Did you know that you can increase your revenue stream by working with government and corporate entities?
If you are unable to answer YES to any of these questions then you need to pick up a copy of Get the Cheese, Avoid the Traps: An Interactive Guide to Government Contracting NOW! There are businesses especially disadvantaged and underrepresented businesses that are missing out on getting a piece of the billions of dollars being spent on goods and services. Get the Cheese, Avoid the Traps can show you how you too can partner, obtain opportunities, create effective proposals and increase your business’ bottom line.
Get the Cheese, Avoid the Traps: An Interactive Guide to Government Contracting
Did you know that the government and corporate entities spends billions on buying goods and services from businesses? What type of businesses? Businesses like yours. They are always looking for qualified and viable businesses like yours to partner with. How can you take advantage of this opportunity? How can you learn how they see you as a supplier? You can get the answers and learn more about the supplier diversity and inclusion process by picking up a copy of Get the Cheese, Avoid the Traps: An Interactive Guide to Government Contracting NOW!
Get the Cheese, Avoid the Traps: An Interactive Guide to Government Contracting
Did you know that the government and corporate entities spends billions on buying goods and services from businesses? What type of businesses? Businesses like yours. They are always looking for qualified and viable businesses like yours to partner with. How can you take advantage of this opportunity? How can you learn how they see you as a supplier? You can get the answers and learn more about the supplier diversity and inclusion process by picking up a copy of Get the Cheese, Avoid the Traps: An Interactive Guide to Government Contracting NOW!
Get the Cheese, Avoid the Traps: An Interactive Guide to Government Contracting
GET THE CHEESE, AVOID THE TRAPS ON SALE NOW!
If you are a business owner do you know what it takes to partner with the government or corporate entities? Do you know what opportunities are available to you as a business owner? Are you a disadvantaged or underrepresented business? Do you know what the various types of proposals are? Do you know what the steps in creating an effective proposal are? Did you know that you can increase your revenue stream by working with government and corporate entities?
If you are unable to answer YES to any of these questions then you need to pick up a copy of Get the Cheese, Avoid the Traps: An Interactive Guide to Government Contracting NOW! There are businesses especially disadvantaged and underrepresented businesses that are missing out on getting a piece of the billions of dollars being spent on goods and services. Get the Cheese, Avoid the Traps can show you how you too can partner, obtain opportunities, create effective proposals and increase your business’ bottom line.
The JEGroup Zone 