Tips on developing a website that will differentiate your business

• State what your business does best and define your niche.

• Create a strategy that will differentiate you from your competition convincing your customer that there is no other company out there like yours and why they should pick you.

• Do not create a quick webpage just to have one, create the best webpage out there; remember, this is the face of your company.

• Think about what unique offerings make your company successful and highlight those points on the webpage.

• Incorporate your webpage into a mobile internet application giving your customers access to it anywhere at any time.

• And, we suggest that you take a course or go to a workshop like our “Getting Your Business Online” workshop (check our calendar for the next one), to make sure that your site will not only be helpful and of interest to people, but will also be search engine-ready to make sure it gets found! A beautiful website that never comes up in the search engines won’t be helpful to your business.

-Caroline

Training for New GA's Begins

The enthusiasm continues as training for new Graduate Assistants in the SBDC . It's always such a great experience for us to meet these enthusiastic college graduates as they go on their journey to learn even more about business ..... all with fresh ideas and fresh energy! Today is proving no exception as they express opinions, share thoughts, and learn our procedures.

Call in and make an appointment to talk about your business today!

Welcome to our new Graduate Assistants in our Winthrop Region SBDC office!

This week, we welcomed new GAs to our Rock Hill office at Winthrop University. They are enthusiastically and anxiously awaiting their assignments to work with clients, helping them get their businesses off the ground. Meet Wiseman Chimbani, Reba Prevost, and Caroline Portugal. You'll find them personable, qualified, and ready to assist you in the all important task of creating your business plan.

Introductory Financial/Accounting Principles for Small Business

Tue, August 16, 6:00pm – 8:30pm

Where: Winthrop University's Thurmond Building, Room 415,
Rock Hill, SC 29733

Cost: $50.00 per person/business.

Description: Financial & accounting principles, with focus on discussion, review and analysis of an Excel workbook which presents financial projections (start-up assumptions, cash flow, P&L and Balance Sheet) of a fictitious enterprise. Entrepreneurs will get an understanding of how good financial and accounting records are kept. Also offering existing businesses an opportunity to review principles they may have forgotten or never implementedRegistration checks should be made out to Winthrop Regional SBDC and mailed prior to August 12th. Those registering at the door should bring cash only. Email receipts will be provided. For further information, call 803 323-2283 Mon-Thurs, 8:30am – 5pm, Friday, 8am – 11:30 am.

Driving directions: Coming from out of town, driving from Interstate 77, take 82B, the Cherry Road exit. Travel toward Rock Hill 3.7 miles to Oakland Ave. Turn left onto Oakland Ave.,then right at the 1st intersection, Eden Terr. (Main Campus Entrance). At yield sign, bear right. The Thurmond Building is the 2nd building on the right. Enter through any entrance and take elevator to the 4th floor.

FANTASTIC! Marketing Seminar for Small Business Coming to Rock Hill!

Presenting . . .

“The 8 M's of Marketing” & “Facebook for Business”

Two Fantastic Workshops Wrapped Up in One Terrific Seminar!


Date: Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Time: 9:00 AM TO 3:00 PM

Event Description and Registration:

The Rock Hill Small Business Development Center at Winthrop University, in partnership with the York County Regional Chamber of Commerce and York Technical College, are excited to present a one-day seminar with South Carolina native and international marketing speaker and business consultant, Jay Handler.

The seminar will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 13 in the Anne Close Springs Library, Room L100 at York Technical College, 452 S. Anderson Road, Rock Hill. Registration must be made in advance (see below). Check-in begins at 8:30 a.m.

Jay will focus on the following timely topics during the one day seminar:

The 8 M's of Marketing - Participants will learn a top-down filter for all their marketing efforts, ensuring a more efficient use of their time and Marketing budgets. Attendees will have the tools necessary to effect change immediately!
Facebook for Business - Anyone who needs to make use of the free (or nearly free) tools available on Facebook to market their businesses or themselves will benefit. You can use more business, can’t you? Participants will start with some basics to get everyone on a level playing field, and then graduate to more advanced tips and strategies that even the expert Facebooker will appreciate!
Jay’s career in marketing started in the radio industry where he served as Senior Account Manager and Automotive Marketing Specialist with ClearChannel, CBS, and Cox Radio. Jay was then recruited to become the original General Sales Manager of ESPN radio in Orlando and later was the first person to bill $1,000,000 in a single year in the history of 107.3 JAMZ in Greenville, SC. He started his text message marketing company, SellPhone Marketing, in 2008, and applied the marketing principles he’d learned in radio to the SMS world. To market his own company, he began utilizing social media platforms, experimented in how to best benefit from what they had to offer, and then began helping other business owners make the social networks work for them. From there it was a short journey to fulfilling his passion of teaching small business-owners the principles that make marketing effective and how to make the most of today’s technology in their marketing. He works with a variety of SBDC offices and Chambers of Commerce throughout NC and SC, as well as national and international conferences on social marketing.

If you have a business to market, you do NOT want to miss this energetic and enthusiastic marketing guru! Register now (through the York County Chamber) for the early bird special of $75 per person for the full one day seminar, to include lunch. This special price ends on Aug. 31. Starting Sept. 1, the registration price will be $99 per person. Please note that your credit card will reflect a charge to the York County Regional Chamber for this event.

For more information about this seminar, contact Carol Daly at the Rock Hill SBDC at (803) 323-2283

One Lucky Entrepreneur to Receive $10,000 Grant!

Starting a Business along SC's Grand Strand? Need a financial boost to make it happen? Have you done your homework. Have a well-thought-out written business and marketing plan? You may qualify to win this one-time start-up grant.

The grant is being funded by a generous reader of The Sun News and being handled by the Grand Strand chapter of SCORE. The grant of $10,000 is open to entrepreneurs seeking to start small businesses. A reader of the Sun News asked them to find someone who wouldn't squander a $10,000 gift. She thought it was a good idea after a relative asked her for money. She wanted to help someone who didn't have relatives who could provide that kind of monetary assistance.

She's serious about helping an individual strike out on their own in a fragile economy that is only now producing enough jobs to reduce the high unemployment rate. She also wants to inspire others to follow their dreams, and encourage those in positions to do so to also provide hands up to those who could benefit. The Sun News and Coastal Carolina National Bank have agreed to partner with SCORE to select the recipient; company and that it can become an annual event with the support of more sponsors.

But for those looking to go into business for themselves, here's what you need to know:
• The grant is limited to businesses in Horry and Georgetown counties.
• Grant applications will be judged by SCORE professionals and a panel of select local business leaders. It must be submitted by Sept. 1, 2011.
• Need a Business Plan that should include:
-- A marketing plan
-- A three-year financial plan
-- Describe the business and detail how the grant money would be used.• The business must be scheduled to open by Jan. 1, 2012.
SCORE will be offering a number of courses around the Grand Strand focused on "How to Really Start a Business."They will be offered through the Conway Library, Georgetown County Library System, and a few others to be announced.

Visit www.thesunnews.com or www.mbscore.org to download the application. They can be dropped off at The Sun News or mailed to SCORE Chapter 381, P.O. Box 2468, Myrtle Beach, SC 29578. Applications can also be obtained directly from the SCORE office. Call 843-918-1079.