University of La Verne SBDC Small Biz Blog

by Joshua Botello Are you looking to build an audience on Facebook for your business? Whether you have been in business for years or you are just starting out, figuring out how to use social media to grow your business is going to be a challenge. So here is a list of 4 tips you can use to build your following on Facebook.  Tip #1 Contact Existing Customers Tip number 1 is to Contact your existing customers: If you're currently and have existing customers who are also on Facebook, you want to let them know once you join. You can do this a few different ways by putting a Facebook like button on your website that connects to your business page so they know they can connect with you there.  If you have an existing email list let them know you are on Facebook and have a follow button in the email as an easy call to action to click.  If you have a brick and mortar location, post your Facebook page name somewhere visible for the customer to follow you and get all the latest info...

By Joshua Botello The world of grants is a hazy one, especially for the uninitiated. To outsiders, grants seem to be free money floating around that people are willing to just hand over and are ridiculously easy to get, but difficult to find (unless you know where to look). If by some miracle, one of those previous statements might actually be true (uh, no), the world of grants and business financing is confusing and difficult. There is a lot of information and misinformation in the world, so let's dispel the myths and uncover the truth about grants. But first... What exactly is a Grant? A grant is one of many forms of federal, state, county, city, corporate, or foundation funding. Within the federal government (the largest grant funder), Federal financial assistance is a broad term for the various ways the U.S. government distributes resources to eligible recipients. Simply put, a grant is any money that funds ideas and projects to provide public services and/or stimulate the ec...

by Joshua Botello If you are looking to start digital marketing, a Facebook account is a good start to reach your customers, with over a billion active users. If you need to run a business from your Facebook account, track who views your page, and make sales with Ads you need to invest in a Facebook Business Page. A Facebook Page is a free and easy way to gather analytics on your audience, Schedule and post content, and use advertisements. So let hop on to Facebook and start-up that business page. The Set-up We’ll naturally start on Google.com. We need to make sure that we are logged into our Facebook profile so let's go to Facebook.com. We will type in our Facebook profile login and password. Verify you are logged in to our Facebook profile and then open a new tab. Now it’s time to open your Business page. On your profile, in the 2020 interface will be these buttons. Click the plus button and choose the page. it will bring up a page with a sidebar that looks like a profile. The f...

by Joshua Botello Non-profits are some of the noblest organizations to help communities all over the United States. The National Council of Nonprofits describes nonprofits this way: “America’s 1.3 million charitable nonprofits feed, heal, shelter, educate, inspire, enlighten, and nurture people of every age, gender, race, and socioeconomic status, from coast to coast, border to border, and beyond... They foster civic engagement and leadership, drive economic growth, and strengthen the fabric of our communities. Every single day.” While some look to build a business others look to starting a nonprofit organization to make a living, by helping the community. Here is a list of the major differences between for-profit companies and nonprofits, if you are looking to start a nonprofit of your own. Profits The biggest myth with non-profit organizations is that unlike for-profit companies that can’t make a profit. The term non-profit is somewhat of a misnomer. Non-profit organizatio...