University of La Verne SBDC Small Biz Blog

Photo by  Kelly Sikkema  on  Unsplash by Joshua Botello Getting small business certifications has been a way for disadvantaged businesses to get a leg up on the ever-competitive market. These are the most common small business certifications you are going to find. They definitely offer an advantage in the marketplace, so here is some background on what these programs are about and what you’re going to need. Photo by  Hannah Skelly  on  Unsplash Service-Disabled/Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB/VOSB) The Veteran-Owned Small Business certification is a federal certification through the Department of Veterans Affairs. This particular program is not what is known as a set-aside, the government does not allocate a specific amount of contracts to VOSBs. What this certification offers is a spending goal of all contracts at 3% of total spending. Now, this might sound small, but in fact, amounts to $40 billion in contracts annually. T...

Image by   pictavio   from   Pixabay   by Joshua Botello If you have ever asked: “what the heck is a bond?” don't worry, you aren't alone. Basically, bonds are contracts typically between three parties, protecting losses caused by one of the party’s not meeting contractual obligations. Here are the major types of bonds and when you might need them in your line of work. Surety Bonds So, if you’re a construction business then the surety bond would be for you. The surety bond is between your company, the customer, and the guarantor (the issuer). You pay the guarantor to take out the bond. If you fail to meet the contractual obligations to your customer, then the guarantor pays the fee or the fine to your customer. The SBA has resources for providers and even guarantees surety bonds in order to help small businesses compete for jobs. It’s worth checking to see if they can guarantee your surety bond. License / Permit Bond This type of bond falls under the um...

by Joshua Botello If you are looking to open a business in a particular city, a city business license is a must when it comes to operating legally. The purpose of the license is for cities to regulate what businesses are in the city and collect local taxes for all businesses operating within the city limits. I’ll cover all the things you will need to look out for and what information you are going to need for filling out the application. The first thing you want to know is where your business is going to be: a home business or a storefront? There are few differences, So let’s hop on to the internet and get to that application. Ok, so I’m in my web browser and starting on google.com. I am going to use our city as an example to go to cityoflaverne.org. Here I am on the webpage. What we need to do is navigate to the business department. Luckily it’s right here and we can just click on “business licenses” to head over. For the city of La Verne they only do printed applications, but w...

by Joshua Botello An investor presentation drums up images of “Shark Tank”, where the founders create goofy, but memorable pitches with ridiculous propositions for investment into their businesses.  But that’s TV. In reality, it’s very different.  For starters, investors prefer a pitch deck. This is a slide presentation made in a program like Powerpoint or Keynote to set the scene and explain why they are needing the investment. The investors are serious and will grill you about all aspects of your business before they even consider hearing how much you are actually asking for. The pitch deck is all the data and rationale about your business and why to deserve the investment you are asking for. That’s why we created this infographic. It distills all the information needed to make a concise and persuasive presentation to the 11 must-have slides to make the presentation work and win your investment. I will also use some notable examples to illustrate how these slides wo...