U.S. Small Business Administration UTAH DISTRICT NEWSLETTER

The New Year Presents Opportunities to Own Your Own Business

As we begin 2012, it’s a perfect time to think about the fu-ture and set new goals and resolutions. If your plans include starting a new business, the best place to begin is with the Small Business Administration.

We are committed at the SBA to providing access and oppor-tunity to Americans who are – or who want to become – small business owners. For a variety of reasons, rural com-munities may be underserved when it comes to getting the tools they need to grow a business and create jobs. With resource partners located throughout the state, SBA is com-mitted to providing services to small businesses that need help. We have a vast network with proven experience, espe-cially in areas with limited access to financial and technical assistance.

Our staff has travelled to many rural counties in Utah and are familiar with their unique small-business needs. Check out your own local resources at www.sba.gov/direct simply by typing in your zip code.

Our resource partners include the Utah Small Business Development Centers which provides professional business counseling at no cost and training for a nominal fee. The SBDC is on the ground—it knows what it takes to start and finance a business. Questions about licens-es, loans, local regulations, leasing, inventory, and many others can be answered by their staff.

For FY 2011, the Utah Small Business Development Centers provided counseling to over 2900 clients resulting in 855 jobs being created or retained.

In addition to these counseling efforts, providing access to capital tops our agenda. Small firms require financing to grow, to hire new employees, and invest in the future. Many of the SBDC’s clients qualified for loans in 2011 and will be expanding their businesses in the coming New Year. You can too!

Working with our lending partners, in FY 2011, SBA guaranteed a record number of loans though-out Utah totaling 435.7 million.

Already, there are a significant number of SBA loans that are guaranteed by rural lenders, but unfortunately, there are still gaps in the marketplace. SBA studies show that low-dollar small business loans are particularly important for economic development in rural communi-ties. While overall small business lending has started to come back after the recession, we still see a need to work harder with small banks located in smaller towns.

Daniel P. Hannaher

Regional Administrator

The New Year Presents Opportunities to Own Your Own Business

Beyond these capital and counseling focused programs, we also help small businesses get linked up with the world’s largest customer – the U.S. Government. Working closely with other federal agencies, we help set aside nearly one-fourth of all federal contracts for small businesses, totaling nearly $100 billion annually.

This includes specific efforts targeted at service-disabled veteran-owned business, firms in historically underutilized busi-ness areas (HUBZone) , minority and disadvantaged firms through our 8(a) program, and – new in 2011 – women-owned businesses.

As always, contact our Utah District Office at 801-524-3209 or www.sba.gov .

As we begin 2012, it’s a perfect time to think about the fu-ture and set new goals and resolutions. If your plans include starting a new business, the best place to begin is with the Small Business Administration.

We are committed at the SBA to providing access and oppor-tunity to Americans who are – or who want to become – small business owners. For a variety of reasons, rural communities may be underserved when it comes to getting the tools they need to grow a business and create jobs. With resource partners located throughout the state, SBA is com-mitted to providing services to small businesses that need help. We have a vast network with proven experience, espe-cially in areas with limited access to financial and technical assistance.

Our staff has travelled to many rural counties in Utah and are familiar with their unique small-business needs. Check out your own local resources at www.sba.gov/direct simply by typing in your zip code.

Our resource partners include the Utah Small Business Development Centers which provides professional business counseling at no cost and training for a nominal fee. The SBDC is on the ground—it knows what it takes to start and finance a business. Questions about licens-es, loans, local regulations, leasing, inventory, and many others can be answered by their staff.

For FY 2011, the Utah Small Business Development Centers provided counseling to over 2900 clients resulting in 855 jobs being created or retained.

In addition to these counseling efforts, providing access to capital tops our agenda. Small firms require financing to grow, to hire new employees, and invest in the future. Many of the SBDC’s clients qualified for loans in 2011 and will be expanding their businesses in the coming New Year. You can too!

Working with our lending partners, in FY 2011, SBA guaranteed a record number of loans though-out Utah totaling 435.7 million.

Already, there are a significant number of SBA loans that are guaranteed by rural lenders, but unfortunately, there are still gaps in the marketplace. SBA studies show that low-dollar small business loans are particularly important for economic development in rural communi-ties. While overall small business lending has started to come back after the recession, we still see a need to work harder with small banks located in smaller towns.

Daniel P. Hannaher

Regional Administrator

The New Year Presents Opportunities to Own Your Own Business

Beyond these capital and counseling focused programs, we also help small businesses get linked up with the world’s largest customer – the U.S. Government. Working closely with other federal agencies, we help set aside nearly one-fourth of all federal contracts for small businesses, totaling nearly $100 billion annually.

This includes specific efforts targeted at service-disabled veteran-owned business, firms in historically underutilized busi-ness areas (HUBZone) , minority and disadvantaged firms through our 8(a) program, and – new in 2011 – women-owned businesses.

As always, contact our Utah District Office at 801-524-3209 or www.sba.gov .

Jakob Marketing Partners was named the 29th fastest growing company in Utah in 2011 (Mountain West Capital Network “Utah 100”). It was also recognized by Inc. Magazine in 2011 as one of the nation’s fastest growing companies (Inc 500/5000 List), at number 937. The company was also named the 2011 Holladay Business of the Year.

Congratulations Julie!

DECA hosts a series of student competitions to support its mission. Beginning April 23, 2012, the DECA International Career Development Conference will be held in Salt Lake City.  DECA is actively searching for 1,000 industry professionals to serve as competitive event judges at the collegiate and high school conferences. Volunteers for the collegiate conference are needed April 23 and 24, please sign up to be a volunteer by January 20th, 2012.  Volunteers for the High School conference are needed April 30 and May 1. If you have experience in the fields of accounting, finance, marketing, management, retail, hospitality, tourism or entrepreneurship, you are invited to register as a competitive event judge.  Click HERE for more information:

In her current role, Amber works with agency financial professionals on their marketing and public relations initiatives. She assists in the business planning process for advisors, and develops agency brand awareness, recruiting materials, public relations, and advertisements.

Amber is active in the community, serving on a variety of committee and boards. She cofounded the Utah chapter of Women in Insurance & Financial Services where she currently serves as President of the nonprofit group. She is also the co-chair of the Workforce Services Committee developed by the Salt Lake Chamber.

Lori Teske Hudson, NAWBO VP Communications, interviewed Amber for this newsletter.

LTH: Tell us about your company.
AMD: Intermountain Financial Group helps individuals, families and businesses secure their financial future with appropriate investment and insurance products based on their needs. The company has more than 14,000 policyholders and clients.

LTH: What are you passionate about?
AMD: My passion has always been marketing. I wanted to be an author growing up, worked on the newspaper in school, enrolled in marketing for college and then went to work for a public relations company. The owner of the company took me under her wing and rapidly advanced me to be head of several public relations accounts. I knew it was what I was meant to do and I have worked in marketing capacities since that time.

LTH: What differentiates your company from competitors?
AMD: We are a fortune 100 company and how we differentiate is not solely our products, but how our company works. Everyone is empowered, owns their own business, but they do not work alone. The flexibility, management, specialists, training, and overall environment create a dynamic work environment. Our company has won many awards for workplace flexibility and best places to work in Utah numerous years in a row. Our incentives include trips internationally and domestically. Families are a big part of the success and we have many activities to include them. It is a family environment.

LTH: What do you aim to get from NAWBO and give to other NAWBO members? And, what motivated you to re-join NAWBO?
AMD: I have a very strong passion about and for women entrepreneurs. I have been asked many times to speak, help with marketing plans outside of the company, train on social networking, and work with outside companies on a consultation basis. For this reason, I feel like an entrepreneur myself. Also, working with entrepreneurs makes me have the same mindset and drive. The actions and plans I help create have a large impact on their business. Being a member I am looking to expand my awareness, be alongside other determined and outgoing successful women, and help create awareness of our company and what we have to offer women wanting to own their own business without working entirely alone.

You can reach Amber at adixon@financialguide.com or at 801-453-2274. ]]> http://nawboslc.org/amber-dixon-member-spotlight/feed/ 0 http://nawboslc.org/5-mistakes-most-entrepreneurs-make-in-their-social-networking%e2%80%93and-how-to-avoid-them/ http://nawboslc.org/5-mistakes-most-entrepreneurs-make-in-their-social-networking%e2%80%93and-how-to-avoid-them/#comments Tue, 20 Dec 2011 17:17:43 +0000 nawbo-slc http://nawboslc.org/?p=252 By: MaryPat Kavanagh

Have you jumped into social networking yet? Facebook, Twitter, even LinkedIn. You are making some friends, checking things out, but it feels like there’s something missing.

Whether you are spending a lot of time with your social networking or just dabbling, make sure to check out these mistakes so that you don’t do the same thing most people are making.

Social networking is a powerful place to build quality relationships with great people. These relationships are the foundation for building a tribe of raving fans who can’t wait to buy your latest goods and promote everything you do and what you stand for. Isn’t that what we all want? It IS completely possible through social networking, when done right. And relationships are based on WHO YOU ARE, NOT WHAT YOU DO. Although what you do IS important, it is the little things, like what you do on the weekends, where you vacation, what books your read, what movies you like, are you a family person or not–THESE are the reasons people connect. Preferring you over your professional peers for expert advice comes later.

But don’t feel bad if you read this list and find you have made some of these mistakes. We all have. Most people learn by their mistakes.

1. Building a network with no clear reason? Ever sent a “friend request” without a message that clearly connects you to the person? In my research, over 90% of all friend requests are anonymous, even with people who know you. Even though we have too much stuff on our plate, we have to slow down if we want to build quality connections over the internet. First make sure you have reviewed the profile of the person you are wanting to connect with. You must have a reason to connect with someone and let them know what it is. Social networking is not about quantity. It’s about quality. Second, send a private message to the new friend explaining why you think that you should connect.

2. Spamming your friends. When you post comments on someone’s wall or send them a message, do you include a “signature” with a link back to your web site? Survey after survey shows that social networkers consider this spam. Only include links when it is relevant to the conversation at hand.

3. Premature selling. When someone asks “what do you do”, do you refer them to a sales page for more information? Or copy the sales content into a message? Social networking is not about selling. It is about building quality relationships. As I mentioned earlier, build the relationship first and your friends will want to purchase and share when the time comes.

4. Do you talk about yourself too much? We look to our peers for information and there is an expectation that you will share good information. This information should be a combination of expert advice from yourself and from others.  Because there is so much information in the Web 2.0 world, we rely on each other to help sort the relevant information from the trivial and unimportant information.

5. Is it all about you? This point is a continuation of that last one but bears discussing. Do all of your comments and messages direct people back to YOU for more information? In my research, the main reason people delete a friend, is because that person comes across as selfish and self-absorbed. The social networking world is a cooperative and collaborative environment based on sharing. If you can’t get past yourself, or you feel like everyone is competition, then it is probably not the place for you.

There are three reasons that people go onto the internet: 1. To be entertained, 2. To get information. And 3. To connect with people. And the first place we look for information is our friends. In this world of information sharing, people are looking to the peers for advice and direction. So building a network of peers is necessary to be considered an expert in your industry. To build quality connections, make sure to “fix” these problems quickly.

The best news about social networking is the community is very forgiving. If you make a mistake and it’s brought to your attention, apologize and fix it. And then go on. None of us are perfect. Even when we know the rules.

MaryPat Kavanagh, chief marketing strategist & relationship liaison, has extensive experience in marketing and small business since 1989. She has owned retail businesses, restaurants and consulting practices and has been extremely involved in her community through local Chambers of Commerce, networking organizations and professional development organizations. In 1999, she began Strategic Results Marketing LLC. Strategic Results Marketing is an expert marketing firm specializing in entrepreneurial strategizing and planning. For more information about MaryPat and to access her free audio, How to Turn REALationships Into Revenue, go to www.QueenofConnections.com.

There are unlimited possibilities, despite the seemingly endless challenges we hear about. Because real opportunities come to those who “accept the calling” to leave their comfort zone and take the risk to step into their most powerful self where they lead their passions and vision forward. And from doing so, they become empowered leaders in all areas of their life, creating a ripple effect to all they influence. Leadership is not solely for those in the boardroom, it is a must develop and master quality for all of those who want to fulfill their dreams.

Depak Chopra shares in his book, The Soul of Leadership, “Becoming a leader is the most crucial choice one can make–it is the decision to step out of the darkness into the light.”

It’s not a mysterious or illusive place!

For over 20 years, I have been inspired by, and been a partner to, individuals who choose the path of leading their dreams forward. It is a privilege to witness their transformation and acceleration to their higher, greater self, their Power Zone. Or as Depak Chopra refers to, “the light.” This is not a mysterious or illusive place. It is not a woo-woo thing either. It is a real and tangible part of us. We need only to give our permission to step into our Power Zone and partake of the benefits and influence of our personal and business success.

In fact, I imagine you’ve had many chances in your life to live or perform from your Power Zone. When you are in it, you want more of it and to stay there. You might call it being in your ZONE. I share in my book it’s where transformation happens, courage is found, inspiration is fired up, passion and confidence combine and taking risks to grow and fulfill your dreams looks different. But one of the biggest shifts that happens is you’ll be more deliberate. It is this deliberateness that will make the biggest impact on being the leader you can be – even if you are an independent solo-entrepreneur, you need to be a leader too!

Why you may not be able to create the desired success you want!

When you are not leading your life or business from your Power Zone, it’s a result of one or more of what I call “Power Leaks”. Power Leaks cause you to stay in your comfort zone, where you’ll play small, not use your leadership abilities, or make the best use of your time. Power leaks don’t allow you to feel very confident that you can create desired success in your business, nor experience much peace and joy in your life. Because you’ll be less deliberate, your decisions, thinking, actions and behaviors can end up causing you to waste money, waste time and not be able to fully utilize your strengths, gifts and talents. This could stall—even create a downward spiral and devastation, of your business dreams.

In order to fully express your passions in your business, and to be the leader it will require, you must be willing to do a self evaluation of where your power leaks are.

You can tell you need to plug these when:

You feel overwhelmed, tired, lacking in enthusiasm, a constant stress that there is never enough time or need to take control of your time, a lack of confidence that you can fulfill your vision, an inability to communicate your goals well to others and a sense that you are more often on the starting line rather than reaching the finishing line of your goals…and more!

When you plug your power leaks you’ll experience:

An increased clarity and passion, with newfound confidence to play bigger. You’ll show up and inspire differently, you’ll see solutions rather than obstacles, you’ll empower others to help fulfill your dreams, you’ll honor your time and stop doing things that take you away from your fulfilling vision and celebrate many successes….and more!

How to join the entrepreneurs and small business leaders – enjoying success and more joy!

Today’s successful entrepreneurs and small business leaders will be the ones that realize in order to achieve their dreams while having the balance, joy and freedom their pursuit of this should bring, they’ll need to focus on their own development as much as getting the next client. Think of it this way, just as important as sound business processes are to your long-term success are personal and professional development to support the person behind the business – YOU!

To learn more about Rene visit: www.powerzonecoach.com

]]> http://nawboslc.org/power-leaks/feed/ 0 http://nawboslc.org/beth-strathman-member-spotlight/ http://nawboslc.org/beth-strathman-member-spotlight/#comments Mon, 12 Dec 2011 16:38:01 +0000 nawbo-slc http://nawboslc.org/?p=241 Beth Strathman is a dynamic trainer, strategic catalyst for change and energetic lifelong learner, who delights in challenging others to realize their potential. While training and coaching others has always been a core part of her professional life, Beth only recently began her formal career as a “coach.”  Through her business, Firebrand Consulting, Beth works with clients who are ready to challenge their status quo and offers management training, one-on-one coaching, and HR consultation.

A tireless champion of others, Beth’s careers in education and human resources give her a unique perspective on organizations, management and leadership. Beth’s coaching interest stems from her years as a classroom teacher, where she coached other teachers to improve their instructional skills.  Coaching is also a part of her human resources career, as she has worked in various industries for 15 years, with front line employees, managers and executives to improve systems and performance.  Beth earned a bachelors degree in Elementary Education from the University of Kansas and a Juris Doctor from the University of Utah’s SJ Quinney College of Law.  She is also certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR).   Beth currently serves on the Board of Directors for the YWCA Salt Lake City as Past- President.

Lori Teske Hudson, NAWBO Vice President of Communications, recently interviewed Beth.

LTH: What inspired you to start your coaching business?
BS:  With experience in education and human resources, I have always been a people developer.  I like nothing better than challenging myself and others to continually grow to become more self-aware of their thoughts, beliefs and actions to realize their true potential. I have a knack for training and coaching, so I thought I would concentrate on offering those services to others.

LTH: What are you passionate about and how does that translate into your business?
BS:  I am passionate about integrity, authenticity, and personal growth, especially as it relates to people operating in organizations.  These concepts are what becoming a leader is all about.  That’s why I love working with managers and executives to help them become more self-aware through the training and coaching I offer.

LTH: Describe a good prospect for your business.
BS:  A good prospect for my business is a an organizational leader who understands that her influence (both good and bad) reaches throughout the organization, and who is serious about wanting to transform herself, so she can confidently transform others.

LTH: What sets your coaching business apart from similar businesses?
BS:  In a coaching relationship, the coach and client need to “gel.”  I know I won’t be the right coach for everyone, and not every client is the right client for me.  That said, I enjoy working with those clients who see that even though they made it to the top of the corporate food chain, they have more work to do on themselves and that continuing to work on their own personal development can lead to personal transformation and consequently transform their organizations.  Also, I’m a stickler for accountability and integrity in myself and in my clients.

LTH: What do you aim to get from being a member of NAWBO and what do you intend to give to other NAWBO members?
BS:  I joined NAWBO to network with other local women business owners and to learn how to run my business as effectively as I can.  In turn, I can offer other NAWBO members camaraderie and a 15% discount on my services.

For more information on Beth and Firebrand Consulting, e-mail firebrandconsulting@hotmail.com or call 801-946-0675