Topics: Small Business, Starting a Business, Food

It goes without saying that opening a restaurant is a huge commitment. This is especially true for those who have never opened a restaurant before, and are putting all their chips on the table to fulfill a lifelong dream or passion.

Topics: Small Business, Stories & News, Retail, Starting a Business, Food

Topics: Small Business, Starting a Business, Food

Corey Schreiber is a guest instructor in the new SBDC program - Restaurant Business Builders. He will be guest speaking in two sessions: "Your Concept & the Money to Do It" and "Stocking Your Restaurant." Corey's life-long experience in the restaurant industry brings a valuable level of expertise to the program.

Topics: Small Business, Meet the SBDC Team, Starting a Business, Food

The Holidays are such an important time of year for small businesses. For many, especially in retail, the Holidays may make or break the entire financial year. Craft fairs and holiday markets have become popular among both consumers and small businesses during this time. But are businesses doing all they can to maximize their retail sales from holiday markets?

Topics: Professional Development, Small Business, Retail, HR & Organizational Effectiveness, Leadership, Management, Starting a Business, Growing a Business

Owning your own retail business can be an exciting, albeit challenging, undertaking. When you look around at some of the larger brands you can see how shifts in consumer behavior and brand loyalty has changed the success and trajectory of a once rather predictable industry. For instance, Wal-Mart announced earlier this year that they would close 269 locations in 2016, accounting for roughly three percent of their stores.

Topics: Professional Development, Small Business, Retail, HR & Organizational Effectiveness, Leadership, Management, Starting a Business, Growing a Business

There’s something exciting about getting your business to the point of being able to bring on new employees. Your business is growing and you’re successful enough to be able to hire people to share some of the load.

On the other hand, there’s something tricky about hiring the right person for the job. As a manager or business owner, there’s a lot on the line in terms workplace culture and customer service quality, not to mention the time and resources it takes to train them. Hiring the wrong person and having them leave is something all companies seek to avoid, but it does happen.

Topics: Professional Development, Small Business, HR & Organizational Effectiveness, Leadership, Management, Starting a Business, Growing a Business

It’s a reality for most business owners, but no matter how successful you think you are, there’s always more to learn. Whether it’s marketing, sales, operations, or finance, you can’t know everything and there’s always gaps to fill. But how do you know when it’s time to invest in additional training and education? Will it be worth your time? And what areas should you be focused on?

Here we’ll discuss the importance of business education and what questions you need to ask yourself to determine if it’s time for you to invest in additional training.

Topics: Professional Development, Small Business, Starting a Business, Growing a Business

With all the buzz around digital marketing and e-commerce, it might be tempting to think that brick and mortar stores are going the way of the dinosaur. But you’d actually be wrong. As a matter of fact, 94 percent of all retail sales in America are still generated by brick and mortar stores.

But before opening a brick and mortar store, you need to have all of your bases covered as a small business owner. There are a lot of moving parts to getting your physical storefront up and running, and with that comes a lot of opportunities for things to go sideways.

Topics: Small Business, Retail, Starting a Business

Becoming an entrepreneur and opening your first business is thrilling and rewarding, but it's not without its risks. After all, so many that are inspired by the American dream and the glowing success of startups, fail and close their doors for good. Today's post will discuss the five most common small business pitfalls as well as how you can avoid them and come that much closer to lasting success.

Topics: Small Business, Starting a Business, Growing a Business