News

By Jillaire Ingebretsen, Utah SBDC Network

Business failure is an extremely real and terrifying prospect for many start-ups. Many unforeseen market pitfalls and management issues can quickly derail a small business. It’s even scarier in the post-2008 economic landscape.

The Harvard Business School cites Shikhar Ghosh as stating that 30 to 40 percent of start-ups fail if you define failure as the “liquidation of all assets.” That quickly jumps to 70 to 80 percent if failure means inadequate return on investment (Carmen Nobel, Working Knowledge). Those are daunting odds when communities and families depend on small businesses to survive.

Small business owners, however, are not left without options. Small Business Development Centers (SBDC’s) have seen enormous success with keeping businesses alive. In 2011, Utah SBDC consulting helped local businesses create and retain 1,696 jobs.* Sales impact of consulting...

Nickson Kasue has specialized in innovative product development since Zuri and Company launched in 2005. The company now offers over 1000 products that are distributed throughout the world - including his home country of Kenya.

“We have created products that cannot be found anywhere else, and we are a one-stop shop for people in the beauty industry," says Kasue. "We offer competitive prices and innovative products, and on top of that our workshops help other professionals improve their own businesses."

Evidently, Kasue knows how to create success. He also knew where to go when he needed an outside perspective on his business.

In the spring of 2012, Kasue contacted the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) in Salt Lake City for help to expand his international business and pull some cash out of the business to reduce his need for additional financing. "We were looking for ways to re-energize the company to move it forward," says Kasue. "I needed advice and...

By Jillaire Ingebretsen, Utah SBDC Network

The Utah SBDC and partners have teamed up to mentor businesses through the financing process.

Kathy Ricci with the Utah Microloan Loan Fund, John Holt with Proficio Bank, Sidni Johnson with the Utah Small Business Growth Initiative, Steve Price with the Small Business Administration, and Robert Edminster with MountainWest Small Business Lending met with the SBDC team end of January. The main objective was how to make the lending process manageable for clients of the SBDC.

One suggestion?

Meet with the bank with your SBDC consultant to review the progress of your financials. Banks and lenders want to work with you. They're in the market to say "YES!"

Please visit utahsbdc.org/locations to find your local SBDC for financial consulting. 

By Alan Christensen, Ephraim SBDC Director

If you are a one-person shop and your business feels like it's out of control, you are not alone.  Here are a few "watch out" items for you, depending on what type of person you are.  They are based on the idea that certain temperaments in people lead those people, be adept at and thus focus on certain activities - sometimes at the exclusion of other types of activities.

• If you love accounting - WATCH OUT for marketing.  Outsource it or make a conscientious effort to focus on and improve your efforts at marketing.
• If you are good at marketing - WATCH OUT that your books aren't a mess. 
• If you tend to take action quickly - WATCH OUT for big-picture thinking.  In other words, make time to understand the overall strategy and possible long-term implications of your current...