Free Webinars for National Small Business Week

In recognition of National Small Business Week, the Small Business Administration offers the following free Webinars throughout this first week of May.  Register to learn more about what you need to know this year!

Webinar: The Decline of Magstripe Cards—and What That Means for Your Business
Sponsor: Square, Inc.
Webinar Date/Time: Monday, May 2, 3:00pm ET / 12:00pm PT
Description: The payments landscape is changing. New security measures, a decline in the use of traditional magstripe cards, the switch to EMV chip cards and emerging technologies like contactless payments, are forcing a monumental shift in the way people pay. These changes have major implications for businesses of all sizes. Is your business prepared? Join Square’s Head of Business Intelligence Owen Britton Jennings and Head of Seller Education Erin Renzas for this can’t-miss webinar. They’ll break down all of the major changes in payments and what you need to do to ensure you’re ahead of the curve. In this webinar:

• Get need-to-know information on all the major payment changes
• Understand how consumer behavior is shifting and how to address their new needs
• Learn how to ensure your business is prepared for upcoming trends

Register: http://event.on24.com/wcc/r/1166555/BC3DA14B3572C0BB9EF0A8813FA76CB3?partnerref=sba

Webinar: Cloud, Mobile, and Social: Great Apps and Services That Will Grow Your Business
Sponsor: YP
Webinar Date/Time: Tuesday, May 3, 3:00pm ET / 12:00pm PT
Description: Watch and learn from small business experts, Gene Marks and Ramon Ray, as they discuss the latest trends, tips, and services to help you grow, manage, and increase your profits. You’ll discover how to leverage cloud, mobile, and social technologies that will allow you to stand out from your competition.

Register: http://event.on24.com/wcc/r/1166576/38AB60D7BBD7E48535F7C8FCEC57A6D9?partnerref=sba

Webinar: Access to Capital and Business Loans: Best Practices
Sponsor: Sam’s Club
Webinar Date/Time: Wednesday, May 4, 4:00pm ET / 1:00pm PT
Description: Cash is the lifeblood of any business yet access to capital, managing business finances, and navigating sources of finance are some of the most challenging areas for business owners and can make or break any enterprise. Sam’s Club has teamed up with Small Business Majority’s Rhea Aguinaldo to help entrepreneurs and small business owners bring finance into focus for long term success. Participants will learn background on the small business loan market and providers as well as how to identify the right type of financial product for the business need.

Register: http://event.on24.com/wcc/r/1166578/B65100047A3C6461EE4781F1A49D949E?partnerref=sba

Webinar: Tips for Getting Your Business Financially Fit
Sponsor: Intuit Quickbooks
Webinar Date/Time: Thursday, May 5, 3:00pm ET / 12:00pm PT
Description: Understanding the fiscal condition of your business is critical when managing daily duties, planning for the longterm and making consequential decisions. But that means more than simply knowing what’s in your bank account. Join Intuit QuickBooks in this interactive webinar, where you’ll learn practical, actionable tips for improving the financial fitness of your small business.

Register: http://event.on24.com/wcc/r/1166582/18C9865EF65B5576ED73B89A75D5F9B3?partnerref=sba

Union, SC -- Entrepreneur's Start-Up Workshop

An Entrepreneur's Start-Up Workshop will be held in Union, SC for area residents interested in starting their own businesses.   This event will be held Wednesday, August 5, 2015 from 9 to 11 am.  Details and Registration information on the flyer below.  This event is offered through a cooperative effort between the Winthrop Region SBDC in Union, and the Union County Chamber of Commerce.

Don’t Get Caught Short! Be Prepared for Your Business to Recover from Disaster

Business owners need to develop emergency/disaster plans for their businesses.  Recovery times from natural disaster or man-made disasters are about the same, so whether your business experiences an electrical fire, wildfire, vehicle crashing through the window, flooding, tornado or hurricane damage, you need to consider all those possibilities BEFORE a disaster hits if you don’t want to lose your business.   

Small business owners frequently don’t have their own financial resources to recover from disaster, and seldom have created a disaster plan to include preparation for financial loss (insurance), or things like employee loss or employees’ inability to come to work, even if your business itself is open.  If half your city is under water or without electricity, or your employees become homeless during a tornado, it will affect your business even if the office or storefront itself is completely untouched.  And what happens if the disaster isn’t your disaster, but one experienced by a supplier that you depend on for your inventory?  

If a customer should ask you, “What assurances do I have that you’ll be able to honor this contract in case of disaster?” don’t be caught off guard.  Get prepared with answers that will help put them and you at ease.   Think – “What if?” and consider every possible disaster and result; then work up your disaster plan and see that every key employee has a copy and knows how to proceed if a problem arises.  Start here:

•  Get proof of preparedness from the large companies you depend on, to insure that they are ready to supply YOU if they’re caught up in disaster 

•  Determine how you can create cost-effective, sustainable preparations

• Get adequate information from employees to be able to reach them or their families in more than one way in case of emergencies.    

• Know what information you’ll need to gather in an emergency and where it can be found: safe deposit box, digital files on CD, paper files?   Keep a hard copy and electronic duplicate set of these records off site.  (Remember, if your town is without power, no number of CDs or digital files will help you.) 

• How will you communicate with your employees and/or clients? 

• What specific immediate tasks would each employee be responsible for getting done if you could not communicate immediately?   Where are they to go, who are they to try to reach? 

• What tasks could be done from another location and where would that location be?   Does everyone who would do those tasks know where that is?  Could you have a tentative plan for more than one location in case of community-wide disaster.

Also ….. keeping a weather radio handy and knowing the NOAA Weather Radio codes and how to use it for information regarding weather, routes to be taken in emergency in your area, etc., is a good idea.  Read and download whatever applies to you here:  http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/stations.php?State=SC

Disasters happen, but they don’t have to put you out of business ….. pre-prepare and sleep easier at night!