Blog
Small Business Marketing: Advertising Basics
[This is a continuation of our Marketing 101 series] We all know what advertising is, and the myriad forms it comes in — from banner ads on websites, to billboards along the highway, to promoted posts on Facebook. Many of us think of advertising as a push-button way to drive revenues, until we actually look […]
Jul 22, 2015 – Small Business Advising And Mentoring • Small Business Resources •
Small Business Marketing: Engaging Your Customers
[This is a continuation of our Marketing 101 series] Email marketing is one of the most effective ways you as a small business owner can keep in touch with your customers. It’s relatively easy, it can be very cost-effective, and if you do it right it can help you increase loyalty and even grow your […]
Jul 22, 2015 – Small Business Advising And Mentoring • Small Business Resources •
Small Business Marketing: Compelling Website Content
[This is a continuation of our Marketing 101 series] Your website is the front door of your business – it’s where perspective customers get to know you, and where perspective funders get their first impression of your business. Crafting compelling website copy about your products and services, even about your company, is essential for a […]
Jul 22, 2015 – Small Business Advising And Mentoring • Small Business Resources •
Small Business Marketing: Branding Basics
[This is a continuation of our Marketing 101 series] Branding is one of the most important things a small business can engage in, regardless of your industry or your products or services. It’s the way in which your customers understand you, what you stand for, and how you separate yourself from your competitors. Your brand is […]
Jul 22, 2015 – Small Business Advising And Mentoring • Small Business Resources •
Marketing 101 For Your Small Business: What Is Marketing?
Most people tend to think that marketing equals promotion: an ad on television; a poster on the subway a promoted post on Facebook. By definition, “marketing” is the action or business of promoting and selling products or services. But in practice, it’s a much larger and broader discipline. As a small business owner, marketing is […]
Jul 22, 2015 – Small Business Advising And Mentoring • Small Business Resources •
How To Write A Business Plan For Your Small Business
For all small business owners, a business plan is core to your company’s success. It’s a written description of your business’s plans for the future, and explains to potential partners and investors how you’ll get there. These documents usually look ahead three-to-five years into the future, and outline the path your small business intends to […]
Jul 22, 2015 – Small Business Advising And Mentoring • Small Business Resources •
Small Business Marketing: Content Marketing
[This is a continuation of our Marketing 101 series] Once you have the groundwork done in building your small business’ marketing — research and messaging, website, digital marketing, and maybe ads — you’re likely thinking two things. What’s next? And at this point, how can I afford to compete against larger businesses? For many […]
Jul 22, 2015 – Small Business Advising And Mentoring • Small Business Resources •
Mentoring and Advising: Crucial To Small Business Success
Seventeen years ago, we saw venture capital firms doing something to drive startups to greater success: pairing an entrepreneur not just with working capital, but an expert business advisor as well. Our founder Bud Colligan connected the dots: small businesses are the engine of job creation in America, but more of them fail then they […]
Jul 22, 2015 – Small Business Advising And Mentoring • Small Business Resources •
5 Tips To Prepare Your Small Business For Capital
As a small business lender in California, we meet small business owners looking for capital for all sorts of reasons, and in all kinds of amounts and forms. One thing that almost all small business owners that we meet have in common? The need to do a little financial and business strategy housekeeping before they’re […]
Jul 21, 2015 – Small Business Loans • Small Business Resources •
Free Webinar: Pillars of a Successful Small Business Brand
Update: If you missed the live webinar, you can watch the relay here: Join BusinessAdvising.org on Friday, July 24 for a free webinar on building your small business brand. You’ll learn four essential keys to developing, launching and sustaining a successful brand. Vision/Mission Statements – Where are you going and how are you getting there? […]
Jul 21, 2015 – Small Business Advising And Mentoring • Small Business Resources • Webinars •
What’s New In Impact Investing? June Roundup
Impact investing is about a very simple, progressive idea: markets and money for good. Impact investing is built on the belief that financial tools can play a powerful role in solving the massive global challenges of our day, and that capital markets should work for good as well as profit. This vision is realized through […]
Jul 21, 2015 – Impact Investing •
Free Webinar: Small Business From Idea to IPO
This past Friday, our BusinessAdvising.org program hosted entrepreneur Noah Alper — founder of Bread & Circus and Noah’s Bagels — and discussed strategies and practices to take your small business from its conception through to an IPO. This webinar leads small businesses — especially those in the food and restaurant industry —on a path to […]